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You swear to everything holy, you don’t think you’ve ever been this cold.
With a breath of relief passing through your lips, you finally set down the many, many, many bags you were carrying in both of your hands. The sound of someone doing the same follows almost immediately afterward. Of course, your coldness doesn’t serve as much of a surprise given the circumstances. You just spent hours and hours trekking through frigid temperatures as a light snow fell from the sky. The flurries managed to find their way into your boots and your hair. They brought with them a wind that snuck between the small holes of your mittens and the tops of your cheeks that remained uncovered by your scarf. It was a brutal experience. A climate you weren’t used to. A climate you couldn’t stand.
But you had to. Or at least, someone had to. The ship needed more rations- ones that weren’t expired by two years at least- so a trip to the grocery store was necessary. And then everyone needed bullets since supply was running low so there had to be a quick store at a gun supply store as well. Then Ein needed some more dog food and a new toy so he would stop stealing socks. And so there had to be a run to a pet store too. And of course, Ed wanted new some tech equipment (specially requested on behalf of Jett who was tired of the young girl tearing up his ship) so another stop was put on the list. And naturally , that meant that Faye had something she personally wanted to request too. Something that required the memorization of three ridiculously named shades of lipstick and two different containers of mascara. Something that led to you all but begging Spike to come with you so you could have help carrying the bags- all while he pretended to be asleep on the couch.
But you can’t blame her. Or Ed. Or Jett. Or Spike. You couldn’t blame anyone, really.
The whole reason why you even volunteered to go out in the first place was so that you could get your own stuff. After all, you were the one with all the money on the ship. The one who kept this piece of junk floating and kicking even after all those failed bounties. So what if you wanted to use this time out to get a few snacks that only you knew about? So what if you wanted a buy a few things that you didn’t have to share? You should be allowed that right! Especially after going out to do all these things in such poor weather conditions. And it’s been such a long time since you were able to enjoy a nice pack of cookies considering how fast food goes on this ship. Or to have your own entertainment system that wasn’t being snatched away as soon as you weren’t looking. Or to even enjoy something as simple as a nice, warm cup of tea with just a little bit of honey.
Just like what you used to drink back at home.
But were a few simple treats for yourself worth all the trouble you had to go through to get them alongside everything else? Probably not. But luckily for you, you don’t have to remain cold for much longer. In fact, you don’t have to remain in the cold anymore at this point. The Bebop’s door shutting close and being locked tight behind you reminds you of that. But even as the warm air of the ship starts settling in, you find that it really isn’t enough. At least, not working quickly enough. Truth is, you need warmth. You need heat. And you needed it yesterday .
With a huff, you look around for a heat control system- hoping that one was within sight. Your eyes scan all the walls for a control panel or a control unit or the controls to anything with absolutely no avail. Feeling defeated, your mouth falls into a pout. You regret not calling ahead to ask Jett or Faye to turn up the heat before you both returned to the ship. Then again, knowing those two just meant that Faye would find every excuse in the book to not do it before forgetting about it altogether and Jett would talk your ear off about the cost of running the heating unit above its regular settings. And now you can’t help but regret not knowing where the hell that stupid temperature control was and what the hell it even looked like so now you could-
“ Something wrong? ”
Someone’s voice breaks you from your thoughts. And because it’s the very same voice that’s been giving you directions and doing all the talking as you two ran errands today, your mind almost instantly recognizes the voice to be Spike’s. But even if you didn’t spend the entire miserable day with him outside in the freezing cold, you know for a fact that you would still be able to tell it was him. Especially from the get-go. After all, you’ve never met someone with a voice like his. A voice as smooth as ice. A voice as rich as velvet.
A voice as warm as honey .
“Umm…” You finally manage to get out after you realize that he’s been waiting on you to respond for a while now. Your face warms instantly and your embarrassment grows as recall how you were practically picking him apart mere seconds ago all because he said two words to you. Maybe you really do need to get that heat up. Maybe the cold really is driving you crazy. “I was just, um…”
Spike lets out a quiet chuckle, his hands moving to undo the snaps of his large, puffy coat. You watch as his fingers move quickly to free himself from the layered, maroon-colored prison. Part of you feels bad as you notice the redness of his skin from the cold now that he’s shed himself of the jacket. As much as you enjoyed spending time with him today and as much as you appreciated and needed his help, you know he much rather be inside the Bebop where it’s nice and warm and not snowing.
You know that because that is where you would rather be too.
“Did you forget something while we were out?” He asks you with a tilt of his head as he steps closer to you with a glint of emotion in his eyes. Some of his hair, still covered in tiny little white dots of snow, falls in front of his eyes. You remember all the particularly strong gusts of wind- the ones that had you stopping in your tracks and fighting to move forward- had a field day with blowing through his hair. By now, it looks a bit neater, but the damage has been done. And its only purpose? “Or…”
To keep you distracted as he leans into you, warm brown eyes bearing into you as your body starts to feel hotter and hotter.
“...are you…”
To keep your focus off the bag of chew toys. Of ratios. Of makeup. And of spare parts.
“...still feeling a little…”
To make you forget about all the things you grabbed for yourself.
“... cold ?”
To make you only think of honey.