Hey everyone! This is my first Cowboy Bebop fic. It's Spike/Faye. There's really no designated time slot for it... all I know is everyone is alive and Ed is still here. Cuz everybody luvs Ed! Alrighty then, enjoy! ^-^

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Cowboy Bebop related except a few tapes of recorded episodes. -_-' So don't sue me! All I own in Josie, who isn't a main character anyway.

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Faye grit her teeth and kept her temper in check as another drunkard slapped her ass as she walked past. The cat calls and suggestive innuendo thrown at her from across the room were bad enough, but physical contact was pushing her limits.

"Just stay calm," she coaxed to herself under her breath. "Remember, you need this job. You need the money. -We- need the money. Right." She sighed and headed back around to the other side of the bar, empty trays balanced professionally in her hands. She placed the trays down and looked around the bar in disgust.

"What's with you?" a voice asked from her side.

Faye turned to find one of her co-workers, Josie, standing next to her. "I hate this place."

Josie laughed. "Then quit. It ain't that hard."

Faye shook her head. "I can't. I need this job." '-We- need me to have this job,' she added silently.

Almost six months ago, Faye had finally gotten fed up with always opening the refrigerator door to nothing but empty disappointment. She was sick of grumbling stomachs and getting a good bounty, hoping for food, but watching as the money went to repairs on the ship instead. The life of a bounty hunter, however exciting it may be, was not putting bread on the table. For any of them.

Despite how many times Faye pretended to only be interested in her own well-being, she was still hell bent on the idea that she, Jet, and Spike were all partners; in everything together, whether it be a bounty or financial problems. And as a member of the team, it was her responsibility to do everything in her power to help out. That's why she had taken to getting a job at one of the local bars whenever they reached a city.

She always made sure to pick the most disgusting, lowlife filled bar she could to ensure that Jet and Spike would never accidentally catch her. She may truly believe that they were all a team, but it's not like she had to let -them- know that. Her perfect Conceited Bitch reputation was gonna stick, no matter what she had to put up with. Like countless ass-slappings.

"Hey, Faye!" Faye snapped out of her thoughts to look at Josie. "If you're gonna stay here, get back to work! And unbutton one more button on your top."

Faye scowled at Josie. Her stupid, slutty uniform was worse than her regular outfit, which was saying a lot. The skirt was so high up you could actually see the edge of her underwear, and the shirt was tight and only had three buttons. She had already unbuttoned one, hoping to get a few more tips. But another one? Was her co-worker nuts? "Are you crazy!?" she voiced aloud. "If I unbutton one more button everyone will have a clear shot of my boobs!"

"Which is a great place to stick more tips, if you catch my drift, darling." She scooped up her trays of drinks and headed off into the crowd.

"Not even -I- would stoop so low for money," Faye grumbled to herself, picking up her fresh tray of drinks as well.

*****

"Spike, you seen Faye?" Jet asked from the doorway.

Spike opened one eye, obviously ticked about being disturbed from his nap on the couch. "No," he responded, moodily.

Jet ignored Spike's attitude. "Have you noticed that she seems to disappear right after dinner lately?"

"No."

Ed jumped up from the back of the couch with a squeal, scaring the shit out of the two men in the room since nobody knew she was back there. "Ed noticed!" she announced, proudly.

Spike closed his eyes again. "Good for you, Ed."

Ed did a somersault over the back of the couch, landing on Spike's stomach. He 'oofed' and glared at the child. She remained oblivious. "Ed also noticed that Faye-Faye doesn't come back until almost four o'clock in the morning light!"

Jet looked thoughtful. "That's strange. I wonder what she does all night."

Getting tired of Oblivious Ed sitting on him, Spike pushed her to the floor. "I don't know and I don't care as long as she's not gambling off all our money."

"That's another thing," Jet added. "She can't be losing all our money. Haven't you also noticed that lately, we seem to have food whenever we open the refrigerator?"

"How would I know? I don't cook the meals." Spike was getting agitated by all the questioning. He didn't want to know where Faye was. He just wanted to sleep.

Jet was also getting agitated. He was sick of Spike always pretending not to give a damn about Faye when it was apparent that he cared about her. Even though Jet didn't want to admit that his best friend might be falling for a shrew like Faye, it was too painstakingly obvious to ignore. "What if she's getting into trouble? You know, this is a rough city. Maybe you should go out and look for her."

Spike shifted, turning over so his back was to Jet. "If she gets into trouble, it's her own damn fault and she can deal with it herself."

Jet lifted an eyebrow at Spike. 'Yeah, sure, flip yourself over so I can't see the worried look that's come over your face. Too late, buddy. I saw before you had a chance to hide it.' The elder man sighed. "Come on, Spike. Just go out and look for her."

Spike sighed. He would not go out and look for her. He would -not-! "Look, how about this: I'll wait for her out here, and if she's not back by four o'clock I'll go out and look for her."

Jet sighed, knowing that was the last proposition he would get out of Spike. "Fine. Come on, Ed. We should go to bed."

Ed finally jumped to her feet from the position on her head that she had stayed in since Spike pushed her to the floor. "All righty-right! Come on, Ein!" She skipped off to her room, the perky little corgy at her heels.

Spike waited until they were all gone, then turned onto his back and pulled a cigarette from his pocket. Jet's words filtered through his head as he lit it and absently puffed out a cloud of smoke. What if Faye -was- getting herself into trouble?

"Arg, nonsense," Spike said to himself, flicking the ash off the end of his cigarette. Faye was perfectly capable of handling herself. Besides, if she wanted to go get herself in trouble, it's not like he had anything to do with it. He wasn't her guardian.

But still...

Spike sat up suddenly, crushing his cigarette brutally against an ashtray. "Damn you, Faye." He pocketed his gun and was about to leave when a mocking voice stopped him.

"Funny; I didn't think it was quite four o'clock yet."

Spike glared over his shoulder. "Shut up, Jet." And he stormed out of the room.

*****

Faye sighed at the measly pile of tips she had managed to score so far. It had been the same every night since she started here. She glanced over at Josie who was quickly pocketing a large tip from some guy she was serving, giving him a flirtatious smile. Maybe she should take Josie's advice from earlier and unbutton one more button. What could it hurt? She'd be out of this place in another week or so anyway.

Faye quickly turned her back to the bar and undid the second button. She outwardly cringed. "I might as well not be wearing anything," she complained. But nonetheless, she straightened herself and headed back out to the tables.

She had only gotten to the other side of the bar when the same guy who had slapped her ass earlier grabbed her arm, pulling her against him. Faye turned away as he breathed on her, too much alcohol filling her nostrils. "So, lil' lady," he slurred, glancing down at her shirt. "I see you've finally decided to find some action."

Faye frowned. 'Stupid button! I knew this was a bad idea.' "Thanks anyway, but I have to get back to work," she snapped, not sounding at all thankful. She tried to pull away, but for a drunk, the guy's grip was tight.

"Come on, baby, what's your hurry? Spend a lil time with me n' the boys."

Another guy came up from behind her and clasped her other arm. "Yeah. We could show you a real good time." They snickered.

Faye tried jerking away again. "Please. Let me go!" she yelled.

A third guy came from her other side, turning her head to his, playing with her short hair. "What's the matter, sweetie? We just wanna have some fun."

"No! Let me go!" Her voice was almost panicky now as she struggled futily.

The first drunk hopped off his stool and the three began dragging her quickly to a dark, abandoned corner of the bar near the bathrooms. Faye struggled, but two of the guys had her arms in iron grips, and the other guy was too close to kick now as he leaned in. She closed her eyes, tearing up as he began to slide his hand up her already ridiculously short skirt. She never in her life thought she would end up in this kind of situation. 'Oh, God. What have I gotten myself into?'

Suddenly, the guy was ripped from her and a loud smack was heard before she felt him hit the ground. She hesitantly opened her eyes to see none other than a very pissed off Spike.

*****

Spike was already in a bad mood. Not only had he been persuaded to go search for Faye in the middle of the night, but his damn ship wasn't working properly. So, he had set out on foot.

First, he had checked all the local casinos figuring that was his best bet to find Faye. However, there was no trace of her. Next came the bars. He hit all the decent ones first, hoping beyond hope that Faye had enough sense to go to one of them. But of course, with his luck, she hadn't. So, his last resorts were the grungy places around town.

When he had first come upon this little, run-down bar with unappealing music blasting way too loud, he almost blew it off thinking that even Faye wouldn't spend her time in such a disgusting place. But since she was nowhere else, it wouldn't hurt to check things out.

He almost instantly left as soon as he opened the door. This place was degrading to the entire galaxy. Not only was the music horrible but the waitress over there was wearing the sluttiest outfit he had ever seen; and he had seen quite a lot. Wait a minute...

That waitress was Faye!

"The hell...?" So this was where she was going at night? What was she thinking? Oh well. It wasn't his problem. It had succeeded in his goal, which was finding Faye. Now, he could leave.

He was about to step ouside again as she came around the bar but stopped as she was grabbed by some slime ball at the bar. He couldn't hear the words being said, but Faye looked pretty mad. She said something back and tried to pull away but the guy held tight. Even from where he stood, Spike could tell that her patience was reaching its limit.

She shouted something and tried to tug away as another guy grabbed her other arm. Spike felt his own anger boil. But he wouldn't do anything just yet. It wasn't good to jump into situations until you were needed.

A third guy played with her hair causing her to turn towards him. As he spoke, Spike noted that Faye's face was becoming less angry and more panicked. Could it be she actually -was- getting herself into more trouble than she could handle?

The three guys started to pull her away and he was able to clearly make out her shouts over the music now. "No! Let me go!" She sounded frightened and panicky; a side of Faye that Spike disliked seeing.

That was it. Now, these punks were gonna pay.

Spike reached the group in the corner just as Jerk #1 was sliding his hand up Faye's skirt. Without hesitating, the bounty hunter ripped him back and dealt him probably the hardest blow anyone has ever received from Spike Spiegel. He promptly fell to the ground unconscious.

Faye slowly opened her eyes and they widened as they saw him. However, he ignored her for the time being and turned to Jerk #2, quickly punching him out as well. Jerk #3 received a nice kick in the face, knocking him to the ground also.

Faye had no support keeping her up now except the corner behind her. Her legs trembled as she gazed up at Spike who was currently glaring at the last guy who had fallen. "Sp- Spike?" she stuttered.

He turned to her now, his eyes hard. "How long have you been working here?" he demanded.

Faye seemed slightly taken aback by the question but answered anyway. "Since we got here."

"Why?"

"Because we need money, stupid!" she shouted, regaining her old self back.

Spike, however, seemed unfazed. "So, you've been using your money from here to pay for all the food we've been having lately." It was more of a statement than a question. Faye merely nodded. He looked at the guys on the ground again. "Does this happen often?" he asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

Faye paused, startled by this question. Since when did Spike care? "No. I mean, they always hit on me, but this is the first time they actually tried anything if that's what you're asking."

Spike nodded once as if confirming something to himself, then spoke in a gentle voice, "Good. Let's go." He pulled Faye away from the wall and placed a hand on her back to guide her through the bar.

"But- my job!" Faye protested, glancing over her shoulder.

"You're not working here anymore," Spike stated in a firm voice, pushing her slightly faster through the crowd and then out the door.

"But, we need money!"

"We get money."

"I mean money that doesn't all go to the ship. We have to eat, Spike!" She pulled away from him now, both of them stopping in the middle of the sidewalk. "In case you haven't noticed, but for the past six months we've had plenty to eat, and it's all because of me! Everything I make from these revolting bars goes to our food fund. If you make me quit, we go back to starving!" She turned away from him now, putting her hands on her hips. "Besides, you always say I have to earn my keep, pay for my own food and supplies. So, that's what I'm doing. I don't see why you have anything to complain about."

Spike sighed and grabbed her arm to make her continue walking again. "Look, if it means that much to you, I'll get you a job somewhere else. But you're -not- going back there!"

Faye jerked away from him, her temper rising. "You don't have to baby-sit me, Spike! I can take care of myself!"

"Oh, sure! Just like you took such good care of yourself in there five minutes ago, huh?" He was yelling at her now. "Face it, Faye! If I hadn't shown up when I did, you would've been raped!"

Faye took an unconscious step back. Not only had his words hit her, but just the pure emotion behind those words was enough to shock her. He seemed genuinely upset. Not in a sombody-smoked-my-last-cigarette upset, but more in a something-almost-happened-to-someone-I-care-about upset.

But she chose to ignore it for now as she crossed her arms in front of her chest, shielding herself from the cool night air. "What were you doing there anyway?"

Spike blew out a breath of air, watching it cloud up. "Looking for you." What was the point in lying? She might as well know.

Faye looked surprised, then turned her head to the ground. "Why?" she whispered.

Spike took a deep breath. "I was worried." Faye couldn't help but shoot her eyes back up to him. "Jet and Ed told me that you were leaving for almost the entire night lately, and since this city can be kinda rough, I figured I better make sure you were safe. You know, just because I'm a gentleman."

Faye snorted. "Right, Spike."

He was silent for a moment as he gazed up at the sky. "You know, I probably would've just left you there had that guy not suddenly grabbed you."

"Well, then I'm kinda glad that he did." Spike shot her a look. "I mean, I'm just glad he did since it made you stick around."

The green haired bounty hunter gave her a lopsided smile. "Yeah, me too." Taking this as his cue, he leaned in and planted a soft kiss on Faye's startled lips. Just as quickly, he pulled back and observed her shocked face. "Come on. Let's go home." He began walking back to the Bebop.

Faye smiled. Not only had Spike, -Spike!-, just kissed her, but he had called the Bebop -their- home. As in, including her. She started walking but stopped as Spike's blue jacket smacked her in the face. "Put that on. You look like a whore."

Faye sighed, shrugging the jacket onto her shoulders. 'I guess some things never change.' She glanced down at her shirt as she put the jacket on.

It was kinda funny that all the events of the evening had been triggered by one little button. That second little button sitting innocently on her uniform.

Looking ahead at Spike to make sure he wasn't looking, she quickly snatched the button off the shirt and pocketed it. She would keep it; a souvenir.

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Yay! You just know it's gonna be a good week when you can sit down on Sunday night and just reel out an entire one-shot in less than two hours. ^-^ I hope you enjoyed the story, even if there wasn't really a plot or nothing... if you're looking for a real plot, please check out my Big O story, "Nosey Little Reporters". It's R/D pairing and also a mystery. Ok, I know at the moment, it doesn't seem all that mysterious but I normally take things kinda slow in my stories unless I'm writing a one-shot.

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