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honeybakedwham · 4 years

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Finding His Warmth

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The water heater is broken, and Jet is waiting till they get to some asteroid orbiting Ganymede to fix it. Since, apparently, he has some old friend there that'll sell him the parts or repair it or something for way cheaper than the going rate. Or whatever. Faye wasn't really listening all that hard. Too busy lamenting the loss of hot water to pay attention.

Jet and Spike begrudgingly deal with it. Spike only complains the first two days. Jet says it's not the first time it's happened, probably won't be the last. Ed and Ein don't even seem to realize anything was different.

Faye, however, whines and whines and refuses to shower to try and get it fixed faster. Even though all she does is complain, her efforts fail.

The water stays cold.

But she won't be showering in freezing cold water, thank you very much.

Not that she could if she wanted too.

Last time she tried, she immediately fell into a panic attack that sent her reeling and careening sideways down to the shower floor. She could feel the sting of cryo freeze snaking its way across her body, starting at the tips of her toes and spiderwebbing up. Faye snapped out of it an hour later, when Jet dropped something loud and metal down the hall and swore loudly. Her fingers and toes were numb, and she felt frozen down to the bone.

She didn't try again.

________

She's starting to envy the kid a little, and how easy things seem to be to her, when they stop to chase a bounty head on some random rock three days away from Ganymede.

She is watching some stupid show over Spike's shoulder when Jet starts to tell her about the guy they're going to go chase down. However, he is quickly cut off by Faye, proclaiming she will be on strike from now until the water heater is fixed. She knows it's petty, but she is so irritated that she seems to be the only one majorly inconvenienced by the stupid cold showers.

She is even more irritated when Spike and Jet do nothing more than look at her, look at each other, shrug, then go back to what they were doing before she walked in. She growls and walks out.

________

Before Spike and Jet head out, Spike tries to hands her a backpack and a sealed envelope.

"Since you're free," damn him, "mind delivering this for me?" Faye initially says no, but then Spike tilts his head and attempts to persuade her, using dinner as a bribe.

"I'll bring you your favorite." he singsongs. Faye snorts.

"Please! You don't even know my favorite!" she thinks she won and turns her nose up at him. She can't see Spike's self-satisfied smirk.

"Shrimp lo mein with an extra side of oyster sauce. You like to pick out all the shrimp and dip it in the sauce, then eat the lo mein, and then you eat the vegetables after with the rest of the sauce." Faye snaps her head to look at him in genuine shock, which he just smirks wider at.

"H-how?" she shakes her head and, in a huff, snatches the bag and letter away from him. Finally agreeing to deliver his "stupid package."

________

Faye leaves shortly after they do, saying goodbye to Ed and only getting a bark from Ein in response. Making her way through the city streets, she can only think about Spike. When did he suddenly notice all these things about her? Who the hell does he think he is! She works herself into such a tizzy over the whole situation, she forgets all about her plan to snoop around in the bag and open the envelope. It's not until shes turning onto the city block Spike refers to in the written directions he gave her that she even realizes what she's doing. She fades back into reality and goes to look for the address numbers but spots the painted addresses on the sidewalks bordering the street. It actually does wonders to make it seem more decorated, a little unique touch, and Faye appreciates each one while searching for the numbers Spike specified.

She finds it at the end of the block, it's only when she goes to look at the name she realizes it's in Japanese. Faye whirls around, it's all in Japanese. Every few shops, she'll spot a few lines in English or a smattering of other languages. But every sign and banner and poster, on every store window, is in Japanese. Where did Spike send her?

A fragrant wave of ylang-ylang swirls around as she tentatively enters the store. It's a bath product shop. Faye stands for a moment and takes in the carefully placed hills of fancy soaps, shelves lined with facemasks, the little makeup counter set perpendicular to the main checkout counter. Idly wondering what's behind the beads covering the doorway next to the main counter, She walks up to deposit the backpack on the unused portion of the checkout counter. Considering calling out to see if anyone's there, she spots the little bell on the counter. Luckily the sign next to it has an English translation, cheerfully telling her to ring for assistance. Taking the direction, Faye starts to poke around as she waits. She turns at the sound of the bead curtain rustling and is greeted by two happy wrinkled faces. She smiles back and, a little awkwardly, greets the old couple.

"Hi, I'm here to drop something off. It's for a Mr. and Mrs. Watanabe? Am I in the right place?" Faye trails off a little at the end, realizing all signs point to them not speaking English. She is grateful to be proved wrong by the couples fast nodding and shuffling to stand behind the counter.

"Ah! Yes, yes, that would be us!" They both spoke together as if they were one person, speaking a long run-on sentence, taking turns at every comma. "You've come to the right place, dear."

"Great." Faye finally relaxes a little at the evidence that Spike didn't lead her into some weird, dangerous trap. Apparently, he just wanted her to drop something off to some random old couple. Who, luckily, speak really good, only lightly accented English. She wonders how he knows them as she takes out the letter and nudges the bag forward. She is about to walk out when she remembers what Spike asked of her before leaving with Jet.

________

"Please make sure they read the letter. Just stay until at least one of them opens and reads the entire thing, okay? Then you can find a casino to gamble your life away in." He tossed the last sentence over his shoulder just before the door shut. A wise decision considered had he stayed she would've kicked his ass.

She was thankful he did go, it would have been remarkably embarrassing had he stayed and witnessed her childishly stick her tongue out at his retreating figure.

________

"I was told to wait until you read the letter before I go so um." God, she was so awkward today. Faye tried to laugh to erase the discomfort, but she wasn't sure it worked. They all looked down at the letter. Mr. Watanabe questioned her as Mrs. Watanbe pulled a letter opener out of a hidden drawer.

"Who did you say this was from again, Dear?"

"Do you know Spike Spiegal?" please say yes, please say yes. They both light up.

"Oh, Spike!" They laughed and quickly cut through the top of the envelope. "Oh, we know all about him!"

"How is he, dear? Still rushing around, causing trouble?" Mrs. Watanabe said it with such genuine warmth, Faye was taken aback for a moment. When she finally choked out a little yes Mrs. Watanabe just hummed and unfolded the letter.

"Of course he's causing trouble, love, it's Spike! Trouble runs through his veins!" Mr. Watanabe proclaims, and the couple shares a laugh before they settled to read through the letter together. Faye just stands there silent, a little helpless and watches. She's even more confused now than when she started this whole delivery journey! Spike sure doesn't make anything easy for her.

A couple moments pass with only quiet snickers from Mr. and Mrs. Watanabe. Faye is surprised to watch them finish the letter and move to pull a thin bundle of woolongs from the envelope. Mr. and Mrs. Watanabe share a knowing, sentimental glance. They set the note down on the counter, Mr. Watanabe sighs.

"Oh, Spike, such a good boy." Mrs. Watanabe nods as she walks around the counter and starts picking up items seemly at random.

"He's always been such a sweetheart, hasn't he?" Mr. Watanabe hums back, drumming his fingers across the countertop. Well, they seem to think highly of him. Faye takes a quick glance at the letter but can't make it out since its upside down and...in Japanese. Faye is once again taken aback. What is going on?

"Spike speaks Japanese?" She's just thinking out loud, but she gets a response anyways. Mr. Watanabe doesn't bat an eye at the confusion in her tone.

"Spike is Japanese. Big community there on Mars, you know." No, she didn't know, thank you very much. She barely turns when Mrs. Watanabe speaks up from behind her, not really even registering what she said.

"And how dare he think he needs to pay. Stubborn boy." Faye snaps to attention when Mr. Watanabe turns to scribble something down. She gives in to impulse and snaps a photo of the letter with her communicator. Spike may think she drains her cut at the casino, and he's not exactly wrong, but sometimes she'll buy useful things. Like this new communicator with a lovely camera upgrade and data roaming with internet access. The photo is saved and shoved back in her pocket right as Mr. Watanabe turns back around and hands her the backpack. She is about to question him, but Mrs. Watanabe swoops in and is ushering her through the beaded doorway. The two women get halfway up a flight of stairs before she thinks to ask where the old woman was taking her.

"To the bathing rooms, of course!" Mrs. Watanabe glances back at Faye, obviously confused silence and chuckles. "Spike said you're having a problem with the water heater? Poor girl. That sounds very frustrating. You're lucky it's a bathhouse too! I make all soaps in-house, you know!"

Faye tunes out the rest of the old woman's chatter about the idiosyncrasies of soap. There are too many thoughts swirling around her head for her to focus on. Spike paid for her and better yet he bribed her to.....take a bath? Does she smell that bad? She's starting to feel a little self-conscious when Mrs. Watanabe turns and opens a door at the end of the upstairs hallway. She dumbly stands there as the old woman quickly sets down towels on a stool next to a big round tub on the far wall. Faye takes in the room as Mrs. Watanabe turns on the tap lines up soaps and a few jars on the tile steps leading up into the tub. The wall to the left of the tub has a large shower room built into it with a cascading shower head. Parallel to the shower is a chaise lounge big enough for three people squished together.

Faye is starting to get really annoyed with feeling confused. She's gonna assume it shows if Mrs. Watanabe's giggle is to be trusted. The other woman pats her arm softly as she goes to leave.

"Take as long as you'd like, dear! Spike says everything you'll need is in your bag, but I left you a few extra goodies to try out. You know us old ladies, we just can't help it." Mrs. Watanabe seems to say the last part more to herself as she shuts the door. Faye just stands there a moment to fully take in the strangeness of the day in silence.

Springing into action, Faye flicks the lock and rips the backpack open to find, to her absolute horror, that Spike had neatly packed all her toiletries inside. He even packed her a damn change of clothes! Including underwear! What the hell! Who does Spike Spiegal think he is!?

She opens the photo of the letter she took as she turns off the flow of hot water to the tub. The room is quickly filling with steam, and Faye kind of wants to cry with how excited she is. Regarding the photo doesn't yield any results since she still can't speak Japanese, but an idea forms. A quick web search later, she finds a cheap translator A.I. to do her bidding. The photo is sent, service paid for, all before shes finished undressing.

________

It's 30 or so utterly relaxing, lazy minutes later when her communicator pings on top of the pile her clothes make by the soaps Mrs. Watanabe set out for her. Faye barely turns her head towards it before snorting and eases further into the honey-orange blossom scented bubbles. The scent is doing wonders as it swirls and swirls and mixes with the vanilla of the cream face mask she decided to try. A quiet, embarrassingly happy noise escapes her.

Several more calm moments pass before being swiftly broken by Fayes eyes snapping open and her hastily snatching up her communicator. Fumbling it open while trying not to drop it in the tub, she navigates the A.I.'s messages. The first message is a standard 'Thanks for your business blah, blah, blah' bullshit. There's an attached invoice telling her how much she paid and the customer service number. She scrolls as quickly as she can, then she's staring at the translation file. Honestly? She's a little hesitant to open it. Shaking her head of the thought, she clicks and dives in.

Hey guys, Sorry I couldn't come by in person. You know how work is. Anyway, the girl delivering this for me is Faye. She's a good friend of mine and has been traveling with Jet and me for a while now. Recently our water heater broke, and we've only been able to take cold showers. This has been hitting Faye the hardest, so I figured the only option was to send her to you guys. I know you'll take good care of her. I think I've sent along enough woolongs to cover everything (please take them), and Faye should have everything she needs in the bag. I'll stop by and see you on my way back by. And don't you think I won't be there for your birthday, Mrs. W. It's not every day a girl turns 67. Thank you for doing this, guys. I'll see you soon. Stay safe, Spike ________

Faye moved only once, to set down her communicator and to lean back in her original spot. She sits perfectly still,

and thinks.

________

It's a long time before she comes back to herself.

Her eyes are burning. She thinks it's the face mask for a split second until she accepts it from unshed tears.

She doesn't know why she's crying.

Maybe because the letter sounded nothing like the Spike she knew.

Maybe because she didn't know he was this thoughtful.

Maybe because, while she knew this whole thing was exactly something he would do, she never thought he'd do it for her.

After all, this is what Spike does. His M.O.

Claims he hates dogs, then save one and takes care of the thing.

Claims he hates kids, then does nothing to stop one joining the crew.

Claims he hates women with attitude, then set up this whole thing for her. Even going as far as to disguise it as an errand, realizing she would probably turn her nose up at the charity to stay unattached.

Spike paid for her, insisting Mr. and Mrs. Watanabe take money that he could really use, knowing they would have done all this for free anyways. And she knows he'll keep his promise and come back for Mrs. Watanabe's birthday. Probably even bring her a gift.

Faye tries so hard to think of all the different gifts Spike might buy in a last-ditch effort to not think about how well he apparently knows her. How he so quickly figured out her stupid issue with the cold.

A sudden burst of annoyance makes her lose her train of thought. Losing her train of thought sends her spiraling down into an often ignored memory.

________

She had been about to nap, but her room was the furthest away from the heating unit. So, she moved into the living area where the heater was centered around, picking up a couple of blankets and her pillow. She'd just have to make do with the couch then. She starts to pray for no one to be there but remembers the scene that unfolded the day before. Where Ed sang a song about someplace she wanted to go see on the planet, they were docked at, and Ein yipped and yapped and ran circles around her and Jet, the object of their torment, sat and rubbed his temples. He lasted all of 15 minutes before he gave up and promised to take them the next day. Thank god for kids. She has her pillow down, swathed in her blankets, and had just gotten comfortable when he spoke.

"Chilly?" she squeezed her eyes shut tighter. Damn it, Spike.

"Just like being warm." It was a totally nonchalant reply, even a little snooty as a hint to back off, yet her cool came crashing down with his next comment.

"Bad memories from cryo?" she didn't reply. Couldn't.

She flipped over, so she was facing the back of the couch. They both knew she couldn't handle him seeing the truth etched into her expression.

Spike didn't speak again, and she didn't want him to.

A few minutes passed in labored silence before she heard him get up to leave. The lights dimmed. She was about to check if he was gone. A third blanket was draped over her before she could. It smelled like him. He quietly walked away.

She dreamt of him all afternoon.

________

Of course he figured out why she hated being cold. And of course he went and found her a solution until the problem could be fixed. She tried comforting herself with the fact it was only a temporary one. Still, she was tossed off that track when she thought about how it would absolutely last her the three days until the water heater would be fixed.

God! Spike really doesn't make anything easy for her! Faye could hate him if her eyes weren't still shining with tears.

________

A few hours later, she emerges, clean and fresh, and Mr. and Mrs. Watanabe beam when they see that she's obviously feeling much better. Mr. Watanabe asks her to wait a moment and disappears, while Mrs. Watanabe questions her on the products she left her. They push a letter into one hand and a gift bag full of everything Faye liked into the other, refusing her money and shoving her out onto the street.

"Come back anytime, dear!" "Yes, you're always welcome!" "Oh, and tell Spike to come to visit more!" "And to stay out of trouble!"

She laughed and promised each one as she traced her original path. Thankful shes alone when she gets to the empty warehouse block she parked her ship by, she starts skipping.

She hums the entire way to the Bebop.

________

Jet and Spike aren't back yet. Instead, Ed and Ein comment that she looks "Happy Happy!" and they both start barking as Ed cartwheels after her. Faye just smiles, settling down with a magazine to wait for the boys.

________

Jet and Spike trudge in looking a little worse for wear but satisfied. Ed and Ein run circles around Jet as he tries to make his way to the kitchen without tripping. Spike collapses onto the couch next to her and picks up her discarded magazine to flick through. She shifts her position so she can see his expressions under the guise finding the light to better file her nails. His lips twitch up when shes settled. He doesn't look at her.

"Enjoy your day?" Smug, Of course. She sighs but can't keep the little smile off her face when she says yes.

"Unfortunately, it was lovely." He hums noncommittally. "They sent you this." She pulls out the envelope they sent back with up for him to see.

This time he does look up at her. His smirk softens into something affectionate, as he rips the top of the envelope. She once again tries to sneak a peak, but unsurprisingly it's in Japanese. His smile eased into a slightly sour frown when he pulled out the thin bundle of woolongs he tried to pay them with. He mutters something she can't catch and tucks the letter and bills inside his suit's inner chest pocket. Faye bites her lip but asks anyway.

"Who were they?" She's praying Spike will quell her curiosity, but she isn't betting on it. She's a little worried he'll get mad at her for asking. He's been so sweet today, she, for once, doesn't want to piss him off. He doesn't answer for several moments, then his smile returns. Her body relaxes once more.

"Old friends. I...I've known them a long time." Faye nods. Silence overtakes again before she can muster up the courage to say what's on her mind. She doesn't really know what to say.

"Thank you, Spike. Really." Is what she settles on. When he looks at her, Faye knows he's seeing through her defenses. Thick walls, made of solid steel, yet she knows it's just like thin glass to him. He doesn't respond, just squeezes her leg, smiles knowingly.

He doesn't move his hand until Jet, and his two new shadows, make their way back into the living room. Spike goes back to the magazine. She is about to go back to filing her nails, but a take out carton is deposited in her lap. A big hand with long, slender fingers set a little cup of oyster sauce on top of the carton. Spike winks when he catches her eye. Faye's head snaps to look at her food, but she still feels the vibrations of his quiet laughter buzz through her from where he pressed his has knee against hers. Ed hands her a pair of chopsticks and starts to chatter to Jet and Spike about what she and Ein did that day when they all were gone. Faye tunes it out, she had already gotten the full spiel when she got back earlier. She breaks the chopsticks, opens the oyster sauce, and is taking a bite of shrimp when she pauses and just stares down at her food. Why is she so surprised that he brought her food. It was the bribe he used.

Spike nudges her and sends her yet another secret little smile. Faye sends him one back and finally digs in.

________

And later that night, when she hesitantly knocks on the door to his room, she knows she really should stop being surprised by Spike Spiegal.

Faye knows she shouldn't be surprised when he answers the door wearing a pair of old faded pajama pants and that knowing smile.

Spike winds an arm around her waist and draws her inside. He shuts the door behind her.

He's so calm.

"Took you long enough."

They both laugh softly as he guides her to his bed, coaxing her under his covers.

________

Faye is warm when she wakes, tangled in his sheets, tangled in his arms. With his chin tucked over her head and his heart beating in her ear. Shifting, she nestles her head back under his.

Spike tugs her closer and mumbles her name in his sleep. Her heart skips a beat, and she glows.

She's warm when she goes back to sleep.

And it's the easiest thing she's ever done.

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♡♥ Thank you so much for reading ♥♡

#cowboy bebop #spike spiegal #faye valentine #spike x faye #fanfiction

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