Cowboy Bebop Fan Fiction ❯ Clouds in My Coffee ❯ Mocha Mocha Remix Part 1 ( Chapter 9 )

Disclaimer: If Cowboy Bebop was mine, then Spike would be my boyfriend and Jet my sugar daddy.

 

AN: I didn't really get that much response for last chapter, but I guess that's cause it was…weird, I'd say. I won't change it though. There's too much stuff in there that is imperative to the story later on. Anyhoo, chapter nine is way more lighthearted, and a little bit romantic, too. But the big stuff don't come till later.

 

You can't hurry love, no you just have to wait… Alright, so before I burst into song, here's chapter 9 of CIMC.

 

 

Mocha Mocha Remix pt.1

 

Morning.

 

 

She'd heard someone say somewhere that everything looked better in the morning. Apparently, they hadn't seen her face after her encounter from last night. Of all the places he could've hit me, she thought, he had to hit me in the face. She whined a little, and touched the swollen cheek, then winced…not just because of her face, but all the other sore places too. And was she sore! Faye felt, if she could put it in words, that she'd been not only hit by a truck, but stomped on by two ornery and pregnant elephants, then ran over by a steam roller.

 

Lowering her arm from her face, she winced again and starred for a few more moments in the mirror at her bruised face before wobbling, with a respective degree of misery, back to Jet's room. It was further down the hall from the bathroom than her room, but Jet's bed was way more comfortable than her shabby excuse for a bed. Why didn't I get that new mattress when I thought about it? Besides, sleeping beside Jet was just plain comforting, to say the least. When she'd woken up minutes before, getting up with difficulty and nearly crying at how her limbs and muscles protested and how she felt every one of her 80 years, his arms were still wrapped protectively around her. The warmth from his body radiated like a heater; even though it was May and technically summer, hot natured Jet usually kept the air conditioner on in the Bebop, so Faye slept with a blanket anyway. But the chill she'd had last night wasn't entirely physical. Just the idea of sleeping alone had scared her in ways she didn't think it could, even safe on the Bebop with Jet. It wasn't enough knowing that he was only a little ways down the hall from her if she needed anything. She needed to know that he was right there beside her. And, with him cradling her against his chest last night, she had managed to fall into a dreamless and rather deep sleep, even after her ordeal.

 

Reaching the door to his room her eyes adjusted to the dim light and roamed the bed till she found Jet's sleeping face. He was curled up on the far right edge of the bed, breathing deeply from his mouth, his face tons calmer and more serene than it had been last night. When she came to him and asked, after a well deserved sob, what had happened, he had been silent for a long while before simply and gravely replying, “I don't know.” Faye had a feeling that he really didn't know why he had lost control the way he had and she knew that it bothered him to the fullest extent that he didn't know. If anything, Jet liked being in control of a situation, especially of his emotions and actions before, during, or after.

 

 

Last night had definitely not been Jet Black in control.

 

Oh sure, he'd managed, by the skin of his teeth, to rescue her at the last minute from being raped (and who knew what else?) by that scum Marcos, but he hadn't been able to control his rage after. The semblance of control he'd maintained while holding the con against the wall was nothing more than a fragile levee that creaked under the strain of his burgeoning emotions. His voice, calm and deadly as he confronted Marcos, had creeped her out even more so than the look of pure hatred on his face. The Jet she was used to, the one that was her best friend and now husband, growled and complained and yelled when he was angry or irritated. But last night had gone beyond angry. Jet had been near ready to kill. And it was that deathly calm that had frightened her.

 

She didn't know for sure or not, but she figured that he must've thought she was afraid of him. She wasn't. Faye couldn't be afraid of Jet even if she tried; they had been through too much together, had gotten too close for that. Faye trusted Jet with her life. She knew him better than she knew anyone, and he knew her better than she knew herself. So she knew he'd never hurt her any kind of way. What she was scared of last night was that he would lose all control and make a mistake he could never fix. So what if Marcos was a con and a murderer and probably wouldn't have been missed if he'd been killed? That was against Jet's principles. Jet had better morals than to kill a man just for the sake of it; if anything, he preferred to bring them to justice and make them suffer the way they'd made others. Yet, Faye couldn't but help think of how he'd shot Fad after discovering the truth behind loosing his arm. She hadn't been there, so she didn't exactly know what had happened that made Jet do that. When he had told her about it, there was a serious look of remorse and sadness in his eyes as he talked. Fad had been his partner and a good friend…or so Jet thought. “Betrayal has a weird way of bringing out the worst in people”, he had said gravely after. Faye had agreed, and she still did. But Jet wasn't being betrayed when he snapped last night. Betrayal had nothing to do with it. It was merely a task of protecting her safety and stopping Marcos from molesting her. Jet would've done that for any woman, she knew, because that was just how he was. What had made last night different, other than the fact that she was probably closer to him than any other woman, was because she knew he was fiercely protective of her.

 

And, because he loves you.

 

Faye sighed and proceeded to wobble on into the room. It was still pretty early, and she wanted to get as much sleep as she could before Jet woke up. Gingerly, so as not to upset any of her numerous bruises, she got into bed beside him and laid her head on the pillow softly. Facing him, she lifted her hand slowly and traced the outline of his lips, feeling the warm breath pass through gently. She closed her eyes, and snuggled further into his chest, and before she knew, she'd fallen back asleep.

 

o0o

 

Sapphire blue eyes opened slowly to the sight of a mess of violet. For a split second, he had no idea where the stuff had come from (what was that anyway?) but he knew it smelled nice. And it was soft. And every time he took a breath it would tickle his nose.

 

Sort of reminded him of hair…

 

Hair. Wait, maybe this was hair. Yep, it was hair. Straining his still groggy eyes in the darkened room to focus on the hair, he shifted a little to the left, so he could get a better look. There was something in his way. It was warm, not really heavy but had weight to it. It was soft, too. But not soft like the hair had been. This was kind of squishy like, like his pillow, but it felt better. He took his hand, which had been lying on another soft part of whatever was beside him and ran his fingers through the hair, revealing…

 

A set of thick dark lashes framed her eyes, her lips parted slightly, a few strands of hair that he hadn't moved out of the way falling into her face. With a lazy smile he watched the pretty woman sleeping, his hands still tangled into her hair. Then, suddenly, the lashes parted to reveal brilliant green eyes, eyes that glowed in the dark. Seeing his smile, she attempted to smile back. But when she did, she winced and it was only then that he noticed that her face, her very pretty face, was swollen. His fingers moved from her silky strands to her swollen cheek, touching the flesh tenderly. She closed her eyes again, and let out a slow sigh, then, with a level of difficulty and even more wincing, reached up and lay her hand on his.

 

“Jet…”

 

He sat up then, slowly, and pulled her with him. “Faye, are you okay?”

 

“Hmmm…other than the soreness, the bruising, the swelling…yeah.”

 

Jet looked around the room for the clock then and frowned when he saw what time it was. 12:24…had he slept that long? “What's wrong?” she asked sleepily. “Nothing,” he responded with a yawn. “I just don't remember the last time I woke up this late.” She nodded slowly and moved to get out the bed. He did the same.

 

Sitting on either side of the bed, neither party spoke for a few long moments, trying to find a way to comfortably talk about last night but not coming up with any ideas. Jet sighed, deciding he may as well be the one to break the ice.

 

“I'm sorry.”

 

“For what?”

“For almost not getting there on time. For scaring you last night.”

 

“You didn't scare me…what you did scared me.”

 

“Well, whatever I did, I'm sorry.”

 

“You don't need to be. It's not a big deal or any-“

 

“How are you gonna just sit there and pretend it's no big deal?! You were almost raped, Faye, all because I didn't…cause I wasn't…and then…then I made you afraid of me-don't say you weren't!”

 

She shut her mouth.

 

“I scared you, I know I did. I scared Lori, I scared Chris, I even scared myself. It was like I could see myself, I could feel myself losing control but I couldn't stop it. I don't know why I did that. I don't even know why I was able to stop. But…” He sighed, his voice weary and tired. “I don't ever want you to be afraid of me.”

 

“I'm not,” she whispered. “I was scared, yes, but not of you. I was afraid you'd do something that you'd regret. I know you, Jet.”

 

He didn't move, didn't speak, but she continued.

 

“I know you'd never hurt me. I know you'd do anything for me. But I'm just scared that if anything like that ever happened again…you might snap again…and…well, you could've killed him, Jet. That's what scared me. And then, the way you looked, the way you talked…that scared me, Jet. I've never seen you like that.” Faye shuddered involuntarily at the sight of his normally calm, composed self on the verge of collapse.

 

“Neither have I.”

 

She turned her head the best she could to look at him in the still dark light of the room. His brows were furrowed, his hands shaking, a deep frown engraved on his face as he was obviously reliving the night. Ignoring her battered body's protests, she crawled over to where he sat and crouched beside him. She laid her hand gently on his shoulder, her eyes boring into his face, begging him to look at her.

 

“Look at me.”

 

He hesitated but met her gaze, his eyes troubled and her heart broke just staring into them.

 

“I could never be afraid of you,” she whispered and leaned forward, meaning to press a comforting kiss on his cheek. The tip of her nose touched his skin, and something strange erupted inside her. Aiming her mouth just a little lower, she found his mouth and pressed her lips, tentatively, against his. For a moment, just a moment, he didn't move, but his mouth reacted anyway and he was kissing her back and suddenly she was in his lap and his arms were crushed tightly around her, so tight she thought she'd suffocate but he drew back and she caught her breath. She propped her chin on his head and wrapped her arms around him, even though it hurt and he closed his eyes, his arms still locked around her possessively. `I could never be afraid of you…'

 

I could never hurt you…

 

o0o

 

 

Neither of them really talked about that night or that morning after over the next few days. Faye simply lay around and recuperated; Jet stayed beside her and catered to her needs. One day, she finally asked about the money. They were lounging on the couch silently, she resting against the cushions and he holding her feet in his lap as they listened to some quiet music when she realized she had yet to hear about the money. When she asked, he smiled, for the first time in days, and chuckled.

 

“I was wondering when you were going to ask”, he said quietly. Lately, everything he said had been quiet and although it didn't necessarily bother her, it was still somewhat strange. She ignored it. “So…” “So,” he continued, absently playing with her toes, “Between the time his bounty was posted and the time Chris and I drug him in, it shot up another two million.” Her eyes widened at this information. “3.2 million…” she breathed. “Yep, 3.2 million woolongs.” “What are you going to do with it?” Jet leaned back and stared up at the ceiling fan. “Half a mil goes to Chris and Lori. I would've given `em more but that's all they would accept. One million goes toward some remixing…around here.”

 

“You're gonna remodel the ship?” He nodded. Then he took breath and let out a sigh, flexing his cybernetic arm. “But first I figured, I'd do a little of my own remixin'.” Faye frowned and opened her mouth to ask what, but then realize what he was talking about. “It's giving me trouble,” he said. “I never could feel anything with it, but it's a cheap model so…but it's bothering my whole side. I think something wrong with the nerves. And it keeps freezing up, so I think there's probably a short in it too.” Faye sat up, wincing softly (she was still sore), and touched the cool metal arm. “So, you're gonna get a replacement?” she asked and looked up at him. He shook his head. “If you mean another one of these pieces of junk, no.” Jet turned his head to look at her and, with an optimistic twinkle in his eyes he smiled and said, “I'm finally getting an organic one. Should've done that in the first place.”

 

o0o

 

Dr. Bruce Guirney's eyes looked at the tumble and jumble of wires that lay inside of Jet's arm. From the frown on his face, Jet and Faye could tell that something definitely was wrong. Jet had seen all the wires before, when he was still in the hospital and the doctor that had done his previous operation showed him briefly how the arm worked, but Faye hadn't and it showed all over her face. Of course she knew that his cybernetic limb ran with wiring, but this was just weird. He wanted to chuckle at how shocked she looked to see someone digging around in his arm. It was too cute. After some mumbling under his breath and a few notes, the middle aged doctor shook his head and cocked an eyebrow at Jet.

 

“When you said it was a slipshod job, you weren't lying. This is cheap, for a lack of a better word. I suppose I don't really have to tell you that, though; I'm pretty sure you could feel it.” Jet nodded, glaring at the arm as if he could burn a hole through it with his eyes. “It's always been…iffy, but lately it's gotten worse.” Dr. Guirney tapped his chin. “Iffy, you say? Well, it's not one of the better models, but it should've at least lasted you another ten years, without any interference. Of course, the lifetime of these things and how they respond do depend a lot on the doctor that does the operation. I suppose your doctor did the operation in under an hour, am I right?”

 

Jet looked at Guirney stunned. “Um, yeah… I mean, he attached it, I was out for about another hour after, and I went home the same day.” Guirney shook his head. “No wonder, then.” Faye, who'd been pretty much silent the entire time, spoke up. “What do you mean, Dr. Guirney?” she asked confused. “Are you saying that the doctor that did Jet's first operation really messed it up?” He nodded. “That's exactly what I'm saying Mrs. Black. If a procedure like that isn't done properly, and I mean if it's not done carefully and meticulously, serious side affects will result. Other than shortage in the wiring itself, nerve damage and even spinal injury could happen. In some rare cases, paralysis or even death has been reported.” Upon hearing this, Jet visibly blanched. Dr. Guirney just chuckled. “Don't worry, Mr. Black”- “Call me Jet,” he grumbled. “Okay, Jet. Don't worry about that, though. The most serious side affect of your prosthesis is some nerve damage, but none beyond repair. However, I wouldn't risk anymore damage; every time you use that thing-flex it, hold something, even move it-you damage the nerves a little bit more. So, you'll need two operations; one for detaching the arm and one for reattaching the organic model.”

 

Jet frowned as he glared at his arm, the wiring still visible, and absently massaged an ache in his neck. “How long is this gonna take?” Guirney sat back in his chair and crossed his hands in his lap. “Oh, about four or five hours for the detachment, and about six for the attachment. You'll need a two week recovery period between operations, though, and when I mean recovery, I mean as little work or activity as possible. The nerves need a chance to heal before we can apply you're organic model.” “And it's already in the process of being made?” “Yes sir,” Guirney replied. “We used the skin sample, blood sample, and tissue sample we obtained from your real arm to start construction. It should be ready for the operation.” Jet winced and looked at bandage covering the hole in his arm from the previous week, when he had went in for consultation, and the doctor had taken the samples. Guirney smiled and went to work on closing the cybernetic arm back up. “If you think that's painful,” he said, “just imagine if we needed a bone marrow sample.” Jet's eyes widened and he looked at Faye nervously. “You don't, do you?” she asked slowly. The doctor shook his head and laughed. “Oh no. Modern technology no longer requires it; we can use his blood samples and DNA to make bone mass.” Jet sighed in relief and when he was finished with the wiring, Guirney began scheduling the operations.

 

o0o

 

“So, are you nervous?” she asked, as they sat at Vic's and ate ice cream later that day. He looked down at his cup of butter pecan and nodded slowly. “A little, I guess. Not so much of whether or not it'll hurt or anything, but…” “That it won't work right or it won't be as real as he said it would. Am I right?” Jet stared at her astonished for a moment and nodded again. “How'd you know that?” Faye just shrugged. “I guess cause I know you, that's all.” He mused over that for moment, then smiled somewhat to himself and gazed at her, absently mulling over the way the sun reflected off her hair. “Hmm…I guess so. If anybody would know me, it would be you.” Then they were quiet again and she ate another bite of her moose tracks, her eyes wandering the semi busy streets of an Alba City afternoon. Her mind wandered to the comment Jet had just made and it brought and unconscious smile to her lips. If anybody would know me, it would be you. It was almost strange how simple things that he said like that meant so much to her. Normally she would've taken them with a smile and never thought much else about it, but as of late, she'd been thinking things like that over. Just what did he mean by that? She was sure she knew him better than anyone else, and yet she couldn't help but want to feel even more exclusive.

 

All and all, things hadn't changed too much over the past month. It was nearing June and the weather had gotten hotter; she still hadn't been able to think of anything else to write at the moment, which irritated her beyond measure; Jet's upcoming surgery and plans for remodeling the ship after his recovery dominated their conversation on a daily basis. Lori and Chris had called several times and even stopped by, and Faye felt she and Lori were becoming friends. It was nice to have another female to talk to and often times, she would sit in the kitchen with coffee or a sandwich and the two would just chat. And, although she'd only known her for three weeks, it was to Lori that she had expressed her thoughts about Jet.

 

The redhead was silent on the phone for a minute before saying, “Have you ever thought that maybe you feel more for Jet than you think?”

 

Faye paused. “You mean, like, am I in love with him?” “I wouldn't go that far yet, but…you did tell him you could fall for him didn't you?” Faye agreed and poked at the crusts of her sandwich, watching as the bread caved in then slowly rose back up. “Well, yeah, but…I mean, this is Jet we're talking about.” “Exactly,” Lori said with a hint of a smile in her voice. “Why'd you say it like that?” Faye quipped, one violet eyebrow arched in thought. “Did I ever tell you how bad of a crush I had on Jet when I was younger?” Faye shook her head, eyes wide and mouth dropped. “N-n-no, no! You had a crush on Jet?” she squeaked out. Lori laughed. “Oh yeah. This was back when I was about fourteen, barely in high school. I'd never been kissed before, never had a boyfriend, and all my friends had already gone through that. By then, I was so ready to be part of the `in-crowd' and I figured Jet Black would be just the guy to help me…even if he was twenty six and my big brother's pal. It didn't help either that any relationship between us would've been illegal.” Faye laughed at that and brushed bread crumbs from the table. “But anyway, the point is, I found something about Jet that I just thought was the most amazing thing. Eventually, I grew out of my crush, but it's that something about Jet that makes me like him still; that something is the reason we're friends.”

 

“I understand that,” Faye agreed, “but that's it. I don't see Jet as anything other than a friend.” “Are you sure about that, Faye?” Lori asked. “I don't know,” Faye admitted. “What do you mean?” “Are you sure that Jet is just a friend to you, or maybe is he something more? You don't necessarily have to be in love with him to have more than friendship between you two. Just think about it, Faye. What is Jet to you?” Faye sat quietly for a moment and thought about Lori's question. What was Jet to her? She frowned in thought before Lori's voice broke the silence. “Look, I'll give you a little while to think about it. Make a list and call me back, okay? Maybe we can sort some of this out.” After hanging up Faye had gotten out a sheet of paper and had all intentions of making out that list, but all she could think about was friend.

 

Is there really anything else between friend and lover?

 

As she sat eating her ice cream, she realized that maybe, just maybe there was. There probably wasn't a name for it, but she knew that Jet meant more to her than merely a friend. In fact, she could go so far as to say that she loved him. But loving someone and being in love with someone were two entirely different things. Truthfully, she'd never actually been in love. What she had felt for Spike was something different in itself. The determining factor between infatuation and love was the willingness to give of oneself; her crush on Spike had been rather selfish, though in the end, she would've given anything if he hadn't left. By then she'd realized that she loved him…but then again, she wasn't in love with him. What exactly was it that made someone fall in love with another? Faye didn't know and it was really aggravating her the more she thought on it. Growling unconsciously to her self, she took another stab into her ice cream and was about to pop the spoon in her mouth when she saw the look on Jet's face. He must think I'm crazy.

 

“I'm okay, if that's what you're wondering.”

 

He nodded but the look he was giving her spoke otherwise.

 

“Seriously, Jet, I'm fine. I'm…I was just thinking about some things and I'm having a hard time figuring them out.”

 

He nodded again and looked back down at his ice cream, as if he was trying to determine the best possible place to scoop another lump of butter pecan. “Anything I could help with?” he asked quietly, finding the spot he wanted to eat from and digging in. She glanced up and stared at him. Could Jet help her figure out if she was in love with him? Of course he could; if he had fallen in love with her, then apparently he knew what it was that made him fall in love with her…or did he? But there was no way she was going to ask Jet about that; she could share just about anything with him, but she didn't think she could ask him something like that.

 

She shook her head at the thought. “Okay,” he said, and she jumped, almost forgetting he was there. “But if you need anything…” “I know, I know, just ask, right?” He smiled and nodded. “Right.” Then the conversation shifted toward renovations to the ship as it had lately. Faye made a subconscious thought to ask Lori next time she called; maybe she could help her figure this out.