Cowboy Bebop Fan Fiction ❯ Hymn for Cowboys Led Astray ❯ Daydream Believer ( Chapter 6 )

Disclaimer: Cowboy Bebop and its characters are the property of Bandai and Sunrise, Inc. I'm not making any money off this story. Sorry it's been such a long time between updates, folks, but I've been really busy and also really lazy. This story is going to be a romance for at least the next two chapters, so bear with me.

Chapter 6: Daydream Believer

As I walked down the street, I caught myself humming an old Earth lullaby. It was something my mother used to sing occasionally when I couldn't sleep. Odd how a song about cradles falling from tree tops could be comforting, but I guess kids never really listened to the words.

Before I knew it, I was standing outside the apartment building, staring up at the address that matched the flowery handwriting on the letter I still held clenched in my hand.

I pushed open the lobby door as I switched to whistling a lively jazz tune. The letter went into the breast pocket of my coat, close to my heart. There was a mirror near the entrance, and I ran a quick hand through my mess of hair before sprinting to the stairs leading to the second floor.

Outwardly, the apartment door looked just like any of the others in the narrow, poorly lit hallway, but I knew who was behind that door, and realized my heart was pounding. It wasn't from the brief flight of stairs behind me, but from the sudden impact of what I was about to start.

Face it buddy, you're looking forward to this. I chewed my lip for a second. If I turned around now without knocking, she would never know I had been here, and we could continue playing our little game; whatever that was.

Poised to finally knock, the door swung inward, and abruptly Julia was standing in front of me. I can't even begin to imagine how much of an idiot I looked like standing there, fist in the air. It certainly wasn't the way I had planned this meeting to go.

She stopped expectantly, as if she had been waiting for me, and we just stared at each other. There was a beat of silence. For a woman, she was impressively tall, a fact I had forgotten from our first meeting in the bar. Her blue eyes began to water, probably taking in the still-healing bruises on my face, and then her arms were around my sides, squeezing tightly until I let out an embarrassing squeak of protest. Gotta tell her about that bad arm. I reminded myself.

"Spike." She pulled back, and I winced against my will at the strong throbbing in my arm. Maybe skipping therapy was a bad idea. The pain was soon forgotten as her soft, perfect hand caressed the left side of my face. There were no words to say. Her simple letter had said it all for me, and I knew that this was what I had been waiting for. She loved me as much as I loved her, and the best part about it was that we didn't have to say it.

I leaned into her touch, but it was broken when she pulled me by the front of my shirt in through the doorway. "You shouldn't be here." She hissed, and cautiously shut the door. It was then that I noticed what she was wearing. The ruby red evening dress sparkled in perfect contrast with her pale skin. Even with the background of her homey little apartment, she looked like a queen.

Somewhat confused as to why she would be dressed like this at home, I could only shrug. "All dressed up with no where to go?" I joked. She frowned. God, even her frown was beautiful. "Spike, tonight's the Syndicate ball." Realization hit me. Shit! I glanced at my wrist, but in my haste to get here, I had forgotten my watch.

I vaguely remembered Mao mentioning something about the Syndicate bigwigs getting together to wine and dine each other soon, but I had no idea it would be tonight. "You have to go. Vicious is coming to pick me up in a few minutes." She continued to talk as she moved around the apartment, shoving on one high heel as she grabbed for her purse.

"He can't know that you've been here. You know how he is, Spike." She moved to stand in front of me, holding a matching ruby wrap for her shoulders. I took it from her, and then kissed the delicate skin of her neck as I folded it around her.

She edged away from me with a wistful sigh, and placed one of those delicate hands again on my shoulder. "Please Spike, you have to go now. He could be coming up the stairs, and if he finds you here…" She turned away for a second to grab her purse.

I pulled her close to me, and we shared our first kiss. The spark I had felt across that smoky bar was nothing compared to this. Her unwillingness to be caught melted from her, and we shared a miniature eternity before it was broken by a sharp knock at the door.

Julia gasped softly, and made shooing motions with her hands. "Go! He can't find you here! Wait a few minutes until after we've left, and be careful!" I took the unfamiliar apartment in with a glance, and decided my best chance for a hiding spot would be in the bedroom. I had just wedged myself into the closet when I heard Vicious' rasping voice and her soft answering murmur from the next room.

I closed my eyes and the image of Vicious' smile at the White Tiger fortress danced before my eyes. There was a rattling noise from the living room, and then the door slammed. Silence. I let out a breath that I didn't know I had been holding and smiled to myself. I was reminded of the old cliché of the lover hiding in the closet, and laughed once into the stillness.

As per Julia's instructions, I waited at least ten minutes before cautiously sneaking out of the apartment building. Outside, the air smelled sweeter than it ever had before, and I sucked in deep breaths as I walked down the street. I was finally living the life I had waited for, and it felt good. The entire walk back to my apartment, I began to plan for the time when she could be by my side forever.

KEEP DREAMING, COWBOY…