Work Text:
Faye glanced around the large ballroom, her frilly fan open and covering most of her face as she observed the crowd. Sashaying between dresses and suits of varying colors and cuts, her eyes roamed over the faces of each guest at the party.
She had been sent with Spike to capture a petty thief who was supposedly supposed to show up tonight, but it was hard to focus when everyone was dressed to the nines. She eyed a luxury handbag she had been wanting ever since it was announced it would be dropping in stores, and frowned at the sight.
It made her nauseous, really, how rich everyone here was.
As for her own dress, she hoped nobody looked too closely at it. She had found it second-hand when the crew went out to find disguises, and it had clearly been worn multiple times if inspected a moment longer than necessary. Thankfully, due to the revolving fashion trends on Mars, her decade-old dress at least fit the desired aesthetic of the party: big, obnoxious, and covered in lace.
At least it’s not some ugly color, Faye thought to herself as she smoothed down one of the silver pleats on the front. Snapping her eyes back up to the faces in the crowd, her heart leaped for a moment as she caught a glimpse of a head of green hair. As the man turned, however, he clearly was not who Faye had imagined him to be.
She hid her pout behind the fan. Where’s Spike? He should be here by now.
The pair had agreed that it would be less conspicuous if they went to the party separately as opposed to going as a pretend couple– especially because their faces had started getting recognized lately. The last thing they would need is to be thrown out of the establishment not because they were bounty hunters– but because neither had a woolong to their name.
What Faye didn’t realize is that she would be arriving at the party two hours earlier than Spike. She couldn’t help but be put out; her ankles were being rubbed raw by the straps of her shoes, the bar had run out of champagne, and the cloud of perfume and cologne hanging in the air was giving her a headache.
But most of all, she was disappointed that Spike wasn’t there to keep her company.
Of course, she would never tell him that to his face. But when she thought about it, and thought about it honestly– she couldn’t deny that the man made her feel at home. There was something about the way that he lived his life that drew Faye to him, but she couldn’t quite place what it was.
She had given it some thought before, and her best guess was that even though he put up a believable front, he was still hurting deep down. She could see past his go-with-the-flow, devil-may-care facade; and when she chose to, she saw her own loneliness and longing reflected back at her. Just that fact alone, that unspoken similarity, made Faye feel like she could almost trust Spike.
Almost.
Then she’d inevitably remember that Julia existed. That Vicious was someone he’d be obsessed with until the day he died. That those two people mattered more to him than she ever could, that she was just one of the people who was drawn into him like a moon to an orbit, and that’s all she’d ever be: always seen, but never known.
But, oh, it was so easy for her to forget her hesitation when he’d give her that classic playboy smirk, and reach one hand up to play with the cigarette between his lips… And there she’d go again, following her heart instead of her head, back at square one where Whitney had abandoned her years before.
Maybe it’s time, she thought as she narrowly avoided bumping into someone. Time to leave again. She sighed and stopped walking.
But I’m so tired of leaving. I want to see his stupid face every day. I want to wake up and see him next to me. When I’m not on the ship, it’s like I can’t bear being apart from him. I miss his voice, his laughter, the way he seems to always be on my last nerve.
If I leave… I know I’d just come right back.
Her fan dropped to her side, sliding shut as it fell. She let out an astonished laugh and shook her head, ignoring the weird looks she was getting. Well. In any case, I want to leave this awful party. The guys will just have to deal with it; it’s not like this guy was worth that much anyway. She spun on her heel and was about to head toward the central staircase, when she ran straight into someone.
“Oof!” She said, rubbing her nose with her hand. “Hey, watch it, would ya?”
“Oh, it’s you, Faye!” Spike said as he looked down at her with a smirk. “I almost didn’t recognize you, but as soon as I heard that big mouth of yours, I knew it couldn’t be anybody else.”
“Spike?” Faye looked up in confusion.
It was Spike, but he looked completely different. His hair was pulled back nicely for a change, as opposed to sticking up in weird places all over his head. He was wearing a different suit than normal, and his coat jacket was actually on for a change. His shoes were black Oxfords, as opposed to the goofy-looking shoes he normally wore.
Faye blushed. He looked good. “Sure took you long enough,” she recovered quickly with a huff. “ I’m leaving. You’ll have to find the guy on your own.”
Spike gave her a bemused look. “Oh, I already did.”
“You what?” Faye hissed.
Spike grinned. “Yeah, I nabbed ‘im on my way in, actually. It took me a while to take him to and from the police station, though.”
“So you’re telling me,” Faye started, staring daggers at Spike, “That all this time, I’ve been here for no reason?”
“Aw, don’t be mad. I’ll even give you five percent of the earnings. Y’know, since you didn’t do anything.”
“AARGH!” Faye growled, throwing her hands up in frustration. A couple guests nearby backed up to give her some space. “Why didn’t you tell me?” she demanded.
Spike’s smile softened as he looked at her angry face. “Well, because I wanted to dance with you, of course.”
Faye flushed again, her retort dying on her tongue.
“Ladies, gentlemen, and others, this is the announcement of the last dance of the night,” a deep voice rumbled over the loudspeakers.
Spike’s grin returned, and he took Faye’s hand. “C’mon!”
Faye tried to fight the smile that was threatening to show itself.
I can be angry tomorrow. But for now… I’m going to dance with Spike while I’ve still got the chance.