Cowboy Bebop Fan Fiction ❯ One Last Cigarette ❯ I'll Take My Bad News With a Smile, Thanks ( Chapter 5 )

I know I'm slow with my updates, but now I suddenly feel I need to write more. So I'm back into the habit (this is the part where you cheer), that means more updates now. This chapter was a little tough for me to get out but I'm doing it. ^^ Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Me no own Cowboy Bebop. And me no own Dashboard Confessionals' "Bend and Not Break" which is where the lyrics for this chapter are from.

"One Last Cigarette"

By: Setryochi

"I'll Take My Bad News With A Smile, Thanks"

Try to understand there's an old mistake that fools will make
And I'm the king of them, pushing everything that's good away
Wont you hold me now (I will not bend I will not break)
Wont you hold me now (I will not bend I will not break)

I am fairly agile
I can bend and not break
Or I can break and take it with a smile
And I am so resilient
I recover quickly
I'll convince you soon that I am fine

* * *

"Great…" Spike sighed taking a puff of his quickly diminishing cigarette. He sighed looking around. The streets were quiet and dark. Littered and worn. This town was like death. Only mold and scum could flourish here, and it had. He looked down lazily at Faye now curled up on the bench with him her head in his lap and his suit jacket lain over her as a makeshift blanket. He sighed again flicking the cigarette out into the deserted street.

"Is there a day you're not in trouble..?" He asked to the unconscious woman. He probably should have taken her to a hospital. She most likely had a concussion. He still half debated it. He could walk all the way to the next town. Local hospitals didn't exist here. The old hospital buildings were now worn down crack houses or more brothels. Thinking about these hospitals made him wonder if she should be checked out for anything she might have caught on the job. He cringed and shifted uncomfortably. How long had this been going on? Idly his hand dropped and his fingers stroked the purple locks of hair in his lap. It was longer than he last remembered.

"Mm…" The mass laying half in his lap and half on the bench stirred slightly.

Spike looked down a little surprised she was waking so soon.

"W…where…?" She managed to croak out shakily lifting herself off of… a person? She blurrily looked on through the dark trying to decipher who this person was. Her head was pulsating.

Spike grasped her upper arms to help her sit up. "On a street bench." He stated lamely.

"Oh…" she dumbly replied. "Who…?" One worded questions and answers were easiest right now.

"Spike. Remember what happened?"

Faye lifted her hands to rub her face effectively smearing her make up even more. "Maybe." Was all she said.

"Where do you live?" The lanky man stood up as Faye steadied herself against the backing of the bench which creaked and leaned back with her.

"Why do you need to know?" She growled out rubbing the back of her head. She winced realizing the skin had broken and she now had dried blood in her hair and on her neck.

"Because I need to take you home to get you cleaned up." He snapped frustrated with her. He sighed ruffling his own hair.

Faye began to stand up using the bench for support. "I can do it myself. Leave me alone." She shook her head trying to clear the blurriness.

"Oh, yeah, sure! Go ahead, walk home in that state! Do you even know where you are?" He threw his hands out to his sides to emphasize the "where" in his question.

"The street bench." She said sarcastically. Slowly she turned and began to walk awkwardly away, wobbling a little.

Spike sighed and murmured, "damn woman," before stalking up to her.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm following you."

"Well stop it."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes!" She stomped stopping in her tracks. Maybe she shouldn't have though, the dizziness still wasn't clearing and her head was pounding.

"No!" He shouted back making the pounding in her head worse.

"Stalker!" She shouted.

He shrugged, "I can stand here all night and argue with you. Or you can just keep walking and let me help you. Your choice."

Faye sighed, she really wasn't in any state to argue. She could use someone like Spike to lean on, or to take care of any thug that might think she was an easy target. 'I am a pretty easy target right now…' Her shoulders slumped slightly, she could count on Spike this last time, right?

Spike waiting, hands in pockets; fresh, unlit cigarette hanging from his lips.

Faye looked around a moment, finding her surroundings to be very familiar. This bench was right across the street from what used to be the city park. The park was now of course only good for burying bodies and drug deals.

"We have to go this way." Faye turned and began to slowly walk to the left of the bench again. Spike casually strolled next to her, half of his attention on her, the other half on their environment. They turned down a street heading the opposite way of the park. They weren't all that far from her dungeon of an "apartment."

Spike idly thought about tonight's events. Faye was in trouble, on top of that her mental state was deteriorating, she was in no shape to take care of herself in this situation. Come to think of it, she was never in any shape to take care of herself. He thought about giving Jet a call. Seeing if he wanted to buddy up again. 'I wonder what he's doing right now…' His thoughts were broken as Faye murmured a small "we're here" as she climbed the few steps going into the broken down building. Spike followed her in all the way to her room.

She stopped at the door pulling out a ring of keys, she looked back at him, "Ok, I'm 'home', you can leave now."

"Faye, I've still got to talk to you, have you forgotten?"

Faye blinked, "I remember, I just…" She sighed, what was the use? She turned back to the door and unlocked it several times.

When they had entered Spike was unimpressed. It was relatively clean, it couldn't be called dirty, there just wasn't enough in it to say such a thing. "Nice place you got here," He stated sarcastically.

"I know, I was lucky to find it, my own little palace," she replied, sarcasm wrapped around every word. Faye didn't say anymore, she just walked into the bathroom and closed the door.

Spike scowled and made himself comfortable on the edge of her mattress. About a half hour later he could faintly hear water draining from the tub. A few moments later Faye came out with a worn towel wrapped tightly around her. He noted her skin was unusually pink. She didn't say anything, didn't even look at him, she just grabbed a bundle of clothes from the closet and went back to the bathroom. She seemed so different.

For the second time Faye emerged from the bathroom this time fully clothed. A red sweat shirt with a pair of loose fitting jeans. Her hair was still damp, but it was combed and neat. She finally looked at him, her eyes were dim and somewhat lost, her lips pursed in a tight line, she looked pitiful.

Spike looked away his fingers tangled in his hair, the cigarette dangling from his mouth now lit.

"What did you need to tell me?" She asked going to the kitchen. He listened to her open and shut cabinet doors. A clanking of pots was heard.

No use beating around the bush, "That Quincy guy, he works for a syndicate." Spike paused, the noise in the kitchen seemed to get a little louder. "Most of the brothels around here are syndicate owned, this whole city is run by syndicates. That's why the ISSP doesn't even look this way."

Faye placed the can opener on the top of the can roughly, she twisted the handle too fast and the opener came off and the can tipped. She cursed picking it up and trying again.

"That guy Quincy, he has a bit of a 'crush' on you, Faye. I think it's in your best interests to get out of here ASAP." Spike looked up at her. Her back was facing him, she was hunched over toying with the can and can opener.

"I can't…" She said shakily.

Spike's eyes narrowed, "Why not?"

She placed her hands slowly on the counter supporting most of her weight on them. "I have to pay off some depts."

"What depts.?"

"I borrowed money from Quincy a long time ago." She went back to messing with the can opener. "I… I had an honest job. Really, I did…" Her voice wavered. "They fired me though. I was a waitress at the Astro-Diner." She paused, "I looked for work all over the place… I was determined to make it honestly… mostly." She said this as if she was trying to prove to him she wasn't dirty.

"Why'd you start working for Quincy?" He asked piecing it together. He knew why, did she?

"No one would hire me…" She shook.

"They always looked scared of you, or they just wouldn't even talk to you."

She nodded mumbling a "yes."

Spike shrugged knowingly. "Seems Quincy has been eyeing you for a long time then."

Faye finally opened the can of mixed vegetables. "Why do you say that..?"

She didn't know… "He made sure you didn't get a job, to force you to work for him. How much did you owe him?" He watched her stiffen.

"Not a lot. It was only about 500,000 woolongs." Faye fought to control her voice. She knew now that Quincy wasn't going to just let her say "no" to him. She shuddered feeling sick. "Won't he follow me… if I leave?"

"Probably…" He pulled the used cigarette from his lips. He looked around for an ash tray of some sort, finding none he placed it back between his lips, carefully holding it with his tongue he opened wide, flipped it back, and swallowed it with out so much as a grimace.

Faye finished with her vegetables. It didn't take long to heat them up. She grabbed a bowl from a cabinet over her head, "Did you want some..?" she asked.

"Sure," he replied, eyebrow raised.

Faye grabbed a second bowl and filled them up. It may have seemed strange to have just a can of mixed vegetables for dinner, but it was the usual for her. She put a spoon in each bowl and turned to bring Spike his bowl, a smile upon her face.

Spike watched her, her smile was so… creepy.

"Here you are." She handed him the bowl still smiling; Spike looked up at her, startled by her eerie pleasantness. . "Tomorrow night I have to work. I don't think I'm going to go though." She paused thoughtfully, "I'm going to leave tomorrow night." She grinned down at him, a broken, painful grin, "Any suggestions?"

* * *

That's it for this chapter. It is very clear where I'm going with this (at least to me) and I can happily say I'm going to be able to write lots more! ^^

Questions, comments, suggestions, reviews, all welcome. Please be constructive if you want to flame me! Thanks.

Set-chan