Black Widow, Session 1
By: Hotaru
/thoughts/
"speech"
~^~ time passed
You know how when you were a little kid, you'd climb into your parent's bed during a thunderstorm and stay there the night? Well that's exactly what Faye Valentine felt like doing. The Bebop crew was staying on Earth for a while. Lady Luck had given them a sufficient bounty for some criminals, so they were stable..for the moment anyway.
Faye wasn't used to storms, seeing how the crew was usually in space. She stared up at the ceiling as the rain splattered against her window. Sighing, she turned her head in time to see a crack of lightning. She shivered slightly as thunder made the hotel they were staying in shake. "I can't stand this." Faye murmured, getting out of bed and walking into the hallway.
She passed Ed and Ein's room, Jet's room and finally came upon Spike's room. Sighing again, she pushed the door open and stepped inside. The door closed silently, but it wouldn't have woken Spike up, even if it had made noise. Faye crept over to the bed and laid down on it next to Spike's sleeping figure. One of his arms was stretched across both pillows, and the other was behind his head. Miraculously, both legs were still on the bed.
"Spike." Faye whispered, grabbing onto his arm. "Spiiike." She whispered, a little louder. A soft moan escaped Spike's lips as he turned his head away from the racket. "Spike!" Faye hissed. Groaning, Spike turned around and opened his eyes groggily. "Faye? What's the matter?" He asked. There was a low rumble of thunder, and upon seeing Faye flinch, Spike knew what was wrong. "Oh, I see how it is. You're scared." He said, sitting up slightly and smiling.
Faye moved onto the bed further and laid beside Spike. "I'm not used to Earth storms." She said, although it was a lame excuse. "And what am I supposed to do about it?" Spike asked, watching the lightning flicker. "Can I…stay here tonight?" Faye asked shyly. "Stay here?" Spike repeated. He thought it over in his head. /It's not like she likes you or anything..might as well/. "Yeah, go ahead." Spike answered, crawling back under the covers.
"Thanks Spike, I owe you one." Faye said gratefully, joining her comrade under the blanket. Faye couldn't help but stare outside the window, the gray sky being lit up by the frequent flashes of lightning. Sighing for what seemed like the thousandth time, Faye got out of bed and walked to the window. /It's quiet..like space/ Despite how late it was, an occasional car would drive by, casting an odd shadow in the room momentarily. "Can't sleep huh?"
Faye jumped at the voice that broke the silence. Spike had managed to sneak up behind her, and was currently staring out the window too. "Can ya tell?" Faye asked sarcastically. "'Doesn't look like it's going to let up any time soon." Spike reported, glancing up at the sky. Faye mumbled a mm-hmm and crossed her arms, shivering slightly. "Here, this'll help block out the light." Spike said, reaching up and pulling the curtains closed. The room became dark, and Faye bumped into Spike trying to make it back to the bed.
"Here, it's this way." Spike said, taking hold of Faye's arm and leading her to the bed. "Thanks." Faye murmured, watching Spike's shadow-like form climb into bed. He sighed as he got comfortable. "What, are you afraid of the dark, too?" Spike said teasingly. Faye snapped out of a daze and climbed into the bed. "Ha ha, very funny. I bet you have some really stupid fears too Spike." She said, trying not to feel nervous. "I probably do." Spike replied, turning on his side. "Goodnight Faye." He said, already falling back to sleep. "Night.."
The next morning, Jet was working on his Bonsai trees, and Ed was typing away at her laptop. "What's for breakfast?" Faye asked, shuffling towards the kitchenette. "The usual." Jet replied, trimming at a tiny tree. Faye grumbled and went for some mushrooms and milk, the usual. "This is supposed to be a vacation. Why can't we eat good food?" Spike asked, sauntering in and peering into the mini-fridge. "We have to spend our money cautiously Spike, or else we'll be eating mushrooms until the day we die." Jet replied.
Faye and Spike stared into the fridge, pondering what they could make. "We could make mushroom omelettes." Spike said, nodding at the two eggs they had left. "How are two eggs going to inflict any damage on our appetites?" Faye asked. "Well…if we mix some milk with the eggs, and add plenty of mushroom, it won't be too noticeable." Spike replied. Sighing in agreement, they pulled everything out of the fridge. "Hey Spike…I never thanked you..for last night. It meant a lot to me." Faye whispered, as she sliced the mushrooms. Jet stopped trimming and Ed stopped typing, not long enough to be noticed by Faye and Spike.
"Oh..right. No problem." Spike answered, whisking at the eggs and milk. "I can only assume one thing considering what they're talking about." Jet whispered to Ed. "Edward saw Faye Faye's room was emptyyyy and there were stra~ange voices coming from Spike Spike's ro~oom." Edward replied, emphasizing her statement by wiggling her fingers. "You don't think they…you know..did anything, do you?" Jet asked. "Maybe….they're in loo~oove." Ed said, wiggling her toes and making dozens of red hearts appear on her screen. Spike and Faye turned to glare at the two.
"You know we can hear you." Spike said dryly. Jet and Edward pretended to be working. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Spike." Jet said, accidentally chopping off a precious limb of his bonsai tree. "So what exactly are we going to do on this vacation?" Faye asked, crossing her arms. "Don't look at me." Spike said defensively, flipping over an omelette. "Beach beach peach peach leech leech beach beach beach!" Edward offered, hopping around like a monkey of some sort. "The beach?" Faye asked, looking from Jet to Spike, then to Ed who continued to bounce around.
Spike looked out the window as the clouds slowly began to clear. "Hm..I guess we could go. But the sand would be all mushy." He said, plating an omelette and handing it to Faye. She stared down at the black mass of goo. "What the hell is this supposed to be!?" She exclaimed, thrusting the plate under Spike's nose. "It's an omelette, what do you think?" Spike retorted, beginning on another one. "Oh no you don't! You can eat this one, and I'll make my own." Faye said, grabbing the spatula from Spike and shoving him out of the way.
"Fine. There's nothing wrong with this one." Spike said, sitting down at the couch with a fork. "Nothing wrong with it besides the fact that the outside is burned to a crisp and the inside isn't even cooked." Faye muttered. Jet shook his head and put his clippers down. "This wouldn't be such a problem if the two of you would cook more often." He said, crossing his arms. Spike eyed the mass of over-cooked and under-cooked omelette that lay before him, and sighed, putting the plate on the floor so Ein could eat it.
Faye stared out the window, and didn't notice the smoke rising from the pan. "Faye!! Snap out of it." Spike said loudly, nudging Faye's shoulder. "Huh? Oh no!" Faye exclaimed, turning the burner off and staring at the glop she'd just burned. "Man this sucks." She moaned, giving up on the food. "I think I deserve a little appreciation for cooking every night, seeing how you two managed to screw up omelettes." Jet said, tilting his head to the side. "Well Jet, we never actually tasted what we made, so we can't be certain it was worse than the crap you cook." Spike said cockily.
"Well then you won't mind if I only cook for me and Ed then, would you?" Jet said, smirking. Faye and Spike grimaced at the thought of having to cook everyday. "Just as I thought." Jet said under his breath. "Faye Faye, bo baye, banananana fo Faye, me my mo Maye, Faye!" Ed sang, hopping around the kitchen. "Yes, Ed?" Faye asked. "Ed wants to swim at the beach! Ed wants to make sand castles!" Ed sang, latching onto the counter-top and flipping upside down. "Alright already! We'll go to the damn beach." Spike said, caving in much to Edwards delight. "Yeeehooo! C'mon Ein!" Ed sang, extending her arms and "flying" to her room.
The rest of the crew headed to their rooms as well to get ready. No one was really going to go swimming, except Ed and Ein that is. Faye would tan, and God only knows what Spike and Jet were going to do. "Come on Faye! Hurry up! Ed wants to swim!!" Everyone except Faye was ready and standing outside the ship, waiting impatiently. "I'm coming, hold your damn horses!" Faye's voice echoed through the ship. "Why do you think women take so long to get ready any way?" Jet asked, running a hand over his head.
Spike raised an eyebrow. "How the hell should I know?" he replied, pulling out a cigarette. Eventually, Faye emerged wearing a bikini and a towel wrapped around her waist, toting a small bag. "Yay! Faye Faye is ready to go!" Ed exclaimed, frolicking down towards the beach. "Jesus Faye, it took you that long to put on underwear?" Spike asked, falling into step with Faye. "It's not underwear you moron! I only have one bikini, and I had to find it, that's all." Faye replied. Spike looked down at the bag. "And that?" he questioned.
"Nothing of your concern." Faye retorted, sticking her nose upward. Spike snorted and resumed walking beside Jet. "What are we going to do there anyway?" Jet asked. Spike shrugged and the beach loomed into view. "Yay! We're here Ein!" Edward shouted, racing towards the beach with the Welch corgi. The three others found a spot on the beach and settled down. Faye laid down a towel and proceeded to put on suntan lotion. Spike found himself involuntarily staring at her. "Spike? Yo, Spike!" Jet said, trying to get his attention.
Spike snapped around guiltily. "Huh? What?" he asked. Jet shook his head, seeing what Spike was gawking at. "If you're still hungry, there's a bar over by the boardwalk." Jet suggested, pointing backwards with his thumb. Spike nodded and said, "Yeah, thanks. I'm starving, and Faye probably is too." He stood up and pulled off his jacket, it was quite humid that day. "Yo Faye." He said, trying to get the purple-haired woman's attention. "Hm? Yeah, Spike?" Faye asked, rubbing lotion into her arms.
"Jet said that there's a bar up on the boardwalk incase we were hungry." Spike said, trying oh-so-hard not to stare. "Oh. Let me finish putting on my lotion, alright?" Faye replied, reaching for her back. Spike, noticing an opening, stepped forward and grabbed the lotion. "Here, let me. You can't reach." He said quickly, sitting down behind Faye. "..Thanks." Faye said, slightly startled. Faye got déjà vu from the night before—she got the same dazed feeling when Spike tried to diminish her fears. /Shit…/ Faye thought, noticing a pattern.
She did, in fact, enjoy the feeling of Spike's calloused hands moving across her back and shoulders, massaging in the lotion. She shivered slightly, and Spike handed her the suntan lotion back, much to her dismay. "All done." He announced, standing up. "Thanks." Faye repeated, taking Spike's hand and standing upright. "Wanna get something to eat?" Spike asked, pulling out a few woo long from his pocket. "Sure." Faye replied. The two walked by Jet, who shook his head and crossed his arms.
"So…" Faye said, trying to start a conversation. "Yeah?" Spike asked. "I uh…" Faye stammered, looking downwards. Spike turned to look at her. "You…what?" he asked. Sighing deeply, Faye answered, "I'm sorry..about last night. I shouldn't have bothered you." Spike chuckled softly. "You don't have to be sorry, I wasn't really bothered. It's been a long time since I've slept next to someone." Spike mused, looking up at the sky. "Really?" Faye asked, sounding quite surprised. Spike nodded and unbuttoned the top buttons of his shirt. The look on his face told her not to inquire any further.
They reached the bar and sat down under the shade of a canopy. "What can I get you folks?" The bartender asked, cleaning a glass. "Piña colada." Faye answered, picking up a napkin. "And for you sir?" The man asked, looking at Spike. "Whiskey sour." Spike answered finally. "Comin' up." Spike turned on his stool and looked at Faye, smiling slightly. Faye didn't notice however, she seemed to be concentrating on tearing up her napkin. "Here you go." Two drinks were placed down in front of Spike and Faye, as the bartender went to serve other patrons.
Faye took hold of her straw and stirred her drink slowly. Spike pulled the lemon off the rim of his glass and offered it to Faye. "No thanks, they're too sour." Faye said, turning to watch as Spike drew the lemon slice to his mouth. He bit into it and sucked the juice out, grimacing slightly. Faye chuckled and looked down at her glass. "You should have known better not to do that, Spike." She scolded. "Yeah well…" Spike said, leaning down, pausing, and kissing Faye's lips briefly.
He sat upright afterwards and took a sip of his drink. "Why did you do that?" Faye asked, her lips tingling. Spike shrugged nonchalantly. "I needed something sweet to cover the taste of that lemon." He answered. "Oh God Spike, that is so lame!" Faye exclaimed, nudging her counterpart gently. "It was supposed to be lame, Faye. What do you expect me to say?" Spike said, taking some more of his drink. "I don't know! Something like.."You're lips are so irresistible Faye" or "I've had these feelings for a long time."" Faye said, giggling slightly.
The two shared a laugh before becoming silent again. Spike picked up a menu and examined it. "Hm..what can we eat that's good and affordable.." He murmured out loud. Faye leaned over and looked at it. "What do you mean "we"? Are you, dare I say, offering to pay my bill?" Faye said incredously. Spike shrugged again. "Maybe…you did have to deal with me kissing you and all." He said, tapping the counter. "Oh come on Spike, it wasn't that bad." Faye said, automatically wishing she hadn't said that.
Spike smiled inwardly. /So maybe she does like me/ he thought. "Yo, bar-keep!" Spike said, raising his arm to get the mans attention. "Yes sir?" The man asked. "What's your best dish?" Spike asked, folding his hands and resting his chin on them. "Well, a lot of people order our seafood dishes. Might I recommend the shrimp, crab and lobster combo with sea urchin marinara sauce?" Spike chuckled and said, "Maybe what I should have asked was what's your best affordable dish. We're bounty hunters, not billionaires."
The man pretended to be shocked. "Well, if you're short on money, the best thing you're gonna get is the chef's specialty—you get a salad, soup, sandwich and drink for around 400 woo long." Spike looked at Faye for her approval. She shrugged with an "I don't want to eat it but I'll eat it" look on her face. "We'll take two of those." Spike said, closing his menu. "You know, this wouldn't be such a big deal if Jet wouldn't be such a cheap bastard and get some good food every now and then." Faye said, turning to look at the beach where Jet was currently tossing Ed into the water over and over again.
Spike joined her in watching the two and nodded. "Yeah, that's true. But like they say, if you were starving you'd eat any food you can get, and we're usually starving." He said, leaning his arms on the bar top. Faye felt her eyes wander to catch a glimpse of Spike's exposed chest. He never did wear anything as revealing as she did after all. Meanwhile, Spike's eyes wandered to see into Faye's bikini top. His eyes darted upwards momentarily to notice she was staring at his chest, so he leaned down further.
/If I didn't know better, I'd swear he was doing this on purpose!/ Faye thought, leaning slightly to see more of Spike's chest. In turn, Faye raised her arms upwards and stretched her body, to see if Spike was watching her as well. He was. "Food's here!" Faye and Spike jumped slightly and turned around to their not-so-nice looking meals. "So…when do you think we'll go back to space?" Faye asked, taking some soup on her spoon. "I don't know…whenever Jet decides that we need more money." Spike replied.
"Why does he get to make all the decisions? We just had to go on vacation, he couldn't just buy some good food and fix up the ship or something." Faye grumbled. Spike chuckled slightly. "Are you saying that you'd prefer that?" he asked. Sighing, Faye shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, what the hell are we doing on Earth anyway? Aside from the meteor showers, there's nothing here, except the beach, and all we can do is sit for hours and get tanned while watching Ed and Ein play in the water. I feel like a parent or something." Faye mused, slurping down her soup.
Spike mirrored her soup slurping and sighed. "Yeah…and even if Jet and Ed wanted to have a vacation, we could be up in space collecting bounties and using it for what ever we wanted!" He said, getting some ideas in his head. "We should leave them here." Faye agreed, starting on her salad. "Why don't we?" Spike said, turning to face her. Faye turned and looked up at him. "Are you serious?" She asked, chewing on a carrot slice. Spike smiled and nodded. "I guess…hell, why not?!" Faye said, enjoying the idea of spending some time alone with Spike.
/Who knows! Maybe he'll even kiss me again!/ Faye thought, blushing slightly. "Great. Why don't we finish eating and head on over at tell Jet?" Spike said, biting into his sandwich. Faye nodded and they ate their meal rather quickly. "That'll be 800 woo long." The bartender said as they prepared to leave. "Oh, right." Spike said, digging into his pocket. "I don't have any money on me. I'll pay you back once we get to the hotel." Faye said. Spike winked and handed the man some crumpled bills.
"Don't worry about it." He answered as they set out under the blazing sun. /Whoa, that's certainly a first. Since when does Spike care about something other than money?/ Faye thought. Spike groaned and un-buttoned his shirt the rest of the way. "Who the hell decided to come here? It's so hot." He grumbled, fanning himself. "Jet. It was all Jet's idea. "Let's go to Earth! We need a vacation!" he says, forgetting to mention how crappy it was gonna be." Faye said, imitating Jet. Spike chuckled softly as they walked down to the water where Jet was tossing Edward in.
He had just tossed the zany computer-freak in when they arrived. "Hey guys, what's up?" He asked as Ed began to swim ashore. "Listen Jet, we want to head back to space and get some money." Spike said, enjoying the occasional sprinkle from the waves. "What do you mean? You want to go to a bank or something?" Jet asked, knowing that none of them even had a bank account. "No, Jet, we want to collect some more bounties." Faye answered for Spike. "Again again!" Ed shouted, hopping up and down. "Okay, here we go!" Jet said, picking Ed up and tossing her into the water again.
"But I thought you guys wanted a vacation." Jet said defensively. "We did Jet, but this is hardly a vacation. It's hot as hell here, my clothes are sticking to me, and my hair is going to be an absolute mess." Faye complained. It was quite humid after all. Jet sighed. "Alright…I'm trusting you guys with my ship, ok? If there is a scratch that wasn't there before on it when you come back, you'll be sorry you ever came up with the idea of leaving." Jet warned. Faye and Spike grinned at each other. "Again again!" Ed said, clinging onto Jet's knee.
Spike and Faye headed back to get their things when Ed ran after them. "Where are Spike and Faye Faye going?" Ed asked. "We're going to space Ed, we need more money." Faye answered, dusting off her towel and folding it up. "Aw…but Ed will miss you!" Edward said, hugging Faye tightly. "We'll miss you too Ed, go on, Jet's waiting for you." Spike said, hoping that the sopping wet Edward wouldn't hug him too. She did though, and then went back to Jet and Ein.
Spike dusted some water off of his suit and proceeded to follow Faye back to the hotel. "I'm going to get changed and pack my stuff. We'll meet outside, ok?" Faye said as they entered their suite. "Sure." Spike replied as they went their separate ways. Spike didn't have much to do really. Toss a few things into a bag, borrow some money from Jet and that was about it. Faye, on the other hand, had to make sure she had every last thing; toothbrush, razor, shampoo, conditioner and soap, socks, shoes, hair brush, make-up, the whole nine yards, stuffed into a little duffel bag.
Meanwhile, Spike was waiting outside under the vestibule smoking a cigarette. A few girls in bikini's smiled and giggled at him as they walked by. He looked at them with a dumbfounded look, and banged on the door. "Faye! What the hell is taking so damn long?" He called inside. "Hold on Spike! I'll be out in a minute!" Faye called back. Spike finished his cigarette and stepped on it, pulling another one out of the pack. "Don't you know that smoking's not good for you?" Faye said, pulling the lit cigarette out of Spike's mouth and placing it in hers.
"Hypocrite." Spike snorted, picking up his bag from the floor. "You sure you have enough to last until we get to space?" Faye asked sarcastically, handing him back the cigarette. "Just as long as you don't keep mooching off of me, I'll be fine. But lets pick some up, just to be sure." Spike said, stopping at a store on the boardwalk. "Don't waste all our money on cigarettes Spike, or I'll be forced to toss you out in the middle of space." Faye warned. Spike made a face at her and handed a few packs back to the clerk.
"Can we go now?" Faye asked impatiently. Spike took a drag and nodded. The two got to the Bebop and started off for space, on autopilot of course. "So..you know of any good bounties?" Faye asked as they lounged in the living area. Spike picked his head up from the arm of the couch and shrugged. "Maybe…there's a rumor of a woman going around—she's known as the Black Widow. She marries the wealthiest men in the universe, get's them to leave their money to her, and they all have mysteriously died." He said.
Faye snorted. "Anyone that believes it's just coincidental should be shot." She said. Spike raised an eyebrow. "And why's that?" He asked curiously. Faye sighed and tapped the ash off of her cigarette. "Because, it's hard enough to find true love as it is, and we're supposed to believe that this woman falls in love, over and over again, with rich men no less? Please." She explained. Spike smiled at her admission. "Not only that, she gets a shit-load of money from the insurance agencies and whatnot, which leads me to believe that they might not be dead." He reported, crossing his legs on the coffee table.
Faye pondered this for a minute. "But wouldn't the agencies need proof that they died?" she asked. Spike shook his head and smiled again. "In a couple of the cases, there was a witness who saw the guy get killed, and then, well…disposed of. Turns out, the Widow and the witness got married." Faye chuckled slightly. "It's just one big scam." She said, shaking her head. Spike shrugged and handed Faye the wanted poster. "50 million woo long for her capture?" Faye asked, looking up from the paper.
Spike nodded. "It seems a little steep for someone who must be an amateur." Faye said, handing the paper back to Spike, who folded it and put it back in his pocket. "You seem to be forgetting Faye…these guys were billionaires, and relatives of billionaires would want the suspect brought to justice, wouldn't you agree?" Spike asked. Faye tapped her chin thoughtfully. "There seems to be something odd about this…it could be that the relatives were in line for the cash, but weren't allowed to get it because there was no written will." She said, but Spike countered her.
"But if there was no written will, then how did the Widow get the money?" The two were silent for a while. "Then again…it could just be that the family was really shaken by the whole thing and didn't want to see anyone else get hurt." Spike said casually, leaning against the back of the couch. Faye nodded. "Well…we have photos of The Widow, and the locations she's hit. We should be able to figure out where she'd be hit next." Spike continued. "Or, you could pose as a handsome, love seeking billionaire and lure her to you." Faye offered, nonchalantly hinting at how she found Spike attractive.
Spike chuckled softly. "Do I look like a billionaire to you? I'm malnourished for Godssakes." He said, and the two laughed lightly. "It was just an idea." Faye said defensively. "We'd have to get the cops involved…" Spike said, actually considering the thought. A short while later, they had decided that Spike would pose as a billionaire. The police chief wasn't exactly thrilled with the whole plan, but agreed that Spike and Faye would get all the help they needed.
Continued next session!
See you Space Cowboy…