Spike wandered aimlessly through the market, eating an apple he'd swiped from one of the stands, his ears picking up various transactions between the market dealers hawking their wares.
He stopped and looked up to watch the Venusian spores float from the sky like furry snowflakes, illuminated in the waning light of dusk.
As the spores fell, he imagined that they held memories, perhaps Faye's, floating through space and time. A spore landed softly on his nose and he stuck out his tongue to catch it.
He turned his thoughts away from Faye and continued his lazy amble through the street, pausing every now and then at a stall to eye the goods. After the fourth or fifth stop, he found himself at a stand displaying an assortment of gems and trinkets of varying sizes and colors.
One in particular caught his eye. It was a thin silver strand with a small iridescent green stone, the light hitting it in such a way that he was immediately reminded of Faye's eyes – green, like a cat's, especially when she was up to something. Her eyes would take on that look he knew well, which she always tried to play off as innocence.
But he knew better. Oh yeah, he knew, because these days he found himself watching her all of the time, not that she would ever catch him, since his technique had been perfected years before he had ever met her.
He bent down to examine the stone more closely. Yeah, definitely looked like her. On an impulse, he purchased it.
****
"Here." Spike thrust the package in her hand.
"What's this?" she asked, looking suspiciously at the package and then up at him.
"Just open it already."
"Are you feeling alright?" she asked as she peeked into the bag.
Spike shrugged.
Faye's eyes widened as she pulled out the gift. The gem sparkled in the cabin light as she twirled the silver strand on her fingers.
She looked up at him in astonishment. "You bought this? For me?"
Spike reddened. "Shut up, Faye," he mumbled, walking away. Yeah, he was right – it was a perfect match.
"Thanks, hon!" she yelled to his retreating back.
