Come Down in Time

Chapter 4. Surprises

He didn't understand why she mattered to him. It wasn't as if he felt like that about her or anything. In fact, she was an aggravating little minx most of the time, like an annoying itch just below the skin surface, out of reach that just would not go away. Everywhere he turned there she'd be, watching him, waiting to catch him off guard so that she could etch her digs into him. Sometimes he could see how much pleasure she got out of making him squirm, those green eyes glittering in triumph at his expense. Not that he didn't enjoy making her squirm, it was so easy to do, and she wouldn't even realize he'd got her until it was too late and she'd predictably blow up at him to hide her embarrassment.

Spike chuckled to himself as he remembered a shared moment in the past.

It was one night long before he'd gone off to confront Vicious, before his past started closing in on him. They'd gotten a payoff from a particularly lucrative bounty and he and Faye had come back to the ship in high spirits and just a bit more than tipsy after a night of drinking at The Big Easy in Alva City. That's when he remembered stumbling upon a bottle of Jet's tequila while seeking out a new hiding place for his smokes. Faye knew too many of his stash spots and he really wanted to have a full pack available to him at breakfast. He pulled out the bottle which he offered to share with Faye, that TJ tequila would sure make it easy enough to have fun teasing her without pissing her off, she'd be much easier to trip up. Hell, Faye can hold her liquor pretty well, I'd better make sure she doesn't turn the tables on me, he grinned to himself.

A few hours later, the room had grown uncomfortably close and sticky which they figured was because they'd nearly polished off the entire bottle of tequila. They lay sprawled on the floor next to the couch, Spike's legs stretched onto the cushions. It was definitely cooler down there as a draft from some unknown part of the ship wafted through, blowing refreshingly over his sweaty face and damp curls. The two of them threw drunken insults at each other while giggling over their stupidity. It was Faye's turn, and she stared up at the ceiling, trying to focus on the spinning fan while trying to come up with a retort to Spike's last insult. "Your legs are so-so skinny that… that – " She scrunched her eyes closed to quiet the spinning of her thoughts.

"Come on Faye, spit it out already," Spike laughed at her as he sat up to take another swig from the bottle, the amber liquid chasing down his throat like a warm embrace.

Shit, Faye grumbled to herself, her thoughts as scattered as petals as her retort threatened to fade away like a wisp of wind. Then her eyes shot open, glittering mischievously as she remembered, "… that any extra hair growing on them would bend them like a willow tree!" She collapsed to the floor, in a fit of giggles.

"Huh?" Spike stared down at her in mock confusion, trying to suppress a grin while scratching at the unkempt curls on his head. "Am I drunk, or did that not make any sense?"

Faye frowned then got mad as her tongue tripped over a curse she spat at him halfheartedly. Spike laughed hysterically at her face that, in his inebriated state resembled a green-eyed hellcat trying to intimidate with her hiss. Faye tried to maintain her frown but the uncharacteristic sound of Spike laughing was so infectious that she found herself unable to contain her own laughter, rumbling back through her nose as a loud snort. Spike glanced at her face again, then burst out laughing, falling over holding his side.

"Faye, do you know … what you … look like?" He gasped the words out between laughs. "Like a cat with a pig snout! " He looked at her and burst out in renewed chortles.

"That was just so lame," Faye pouted, glaring at him. "Stupid lunkhead," she muttered.

"Please stop looking like that," he pleaded, gasping for air, his sides aching from uncontrollable mirth. He took a deep breath to contain the giggles which just started up again as soon as he looked at her face.

"Alright!" Faye grumbled. "I have had enough of your stupid jokes…" she tried giving his head a well deserved whack, but the attempted swipe only resulted in her landing on top of his chest as a wave of alcohol induced dizziness swam over her. It had to be the tequila, it couldn't possibly be because she was close enough to feel the breaths coming from his mouth. His lips, slightly open, didn't look so thin from this close, she thought. She was staring at his lips and the hint of dark stubble along his jaw, not noticing him watching her through half closed eyes. She imagined biting on his bottom lip, that would surely wipe away his usual smirk.

Flustered, she attempted to contain her discomfort by throwing a punch that landed right below his chest.

"Faye, what the fuck-" Spike grunted, tensing at the sudden pain in his stomach as her punch hit its mark. He felt a surge of anger passed through him and he repressed the urge to retaliate, instead uneasily glancing into her livid green eyes. What he saw there startled him. She was mad, yeah, but barely perceptible, was something else …

The room suddenly seemed unusually quiet, the only sounds heard were the low humming of the ship's engines and the sound of Spike's breathing and Faye's mingling together in a resonance of its own. She glanced up to meet his gaze. Startled, she started to lift herself off of him, but he held her in place by the sudden movement of his hand across her back. She inhaled in a barely audible gasp as the warmth from his hand seeped into her skin.

Uh oh, he thought. She's really pissed now. Spike knew that an angry Faye was capable of inflicting a lot of damage, and he was not in the most advantageous position to protect himself without hurting her in the process.

So he did the only thing he could do. He kissed her.