FRAMED - Cowboy Bebop fanfiction

Session 1

It wasn't easy being a criminal.

Life on the run was not nearly as thrilling as the movies made it out to be, and unfortunately for Quinn, this life was her reality. For the past 9 months Quinn had been running from police, government officials, bounty hunters, and anyone else who had a problem with her. Life wasn't as easy as it used to be, and needless to say, Quinn was majorly burnt out.

As she finished the last sip of her drink, she wondered if she'd ever have the chance to sleep in a warm bed again. The thought made her sick, and as she placed her empty glass down on the counter she figured it would be her last. But that's what she had thought about the last 3 drinks; or was it 4? She couldn't quite remember.

Spending a night at the bar used to be something she enjoyed. It always meant she had accomplished another hard day at work or finished another grueling project, but not anymore. This was her reality almost every night and it was really starting to get old. At first it was fun, living life on the edge and surviving like a real movie runaway, but it had been months since a home cooked meal had hit her stomach and the comfort her old life gave her was now becoming nothing more than a distant memory.

Moments after her glass had hit the counter top, the familiar jingle of a door bell indicated that a new patron had just entered the bar. Quinn looked around for a moment, and noticed the bar was far from being full. Plenty of empty seats were scattered throughout the room, but to Quinn's dismay, the patron who had just entered decided to make himself comfortable in the seat next to her.

Quinn mentally cursed to herself as she heavily judged the patrons bar etiquette. There were plenty of empty seats along the counter and of course it was just her luck that this guy wanted to sit next to her. Even in her downtime she was never able to catch a break.

She didn't think much of his presence and she certainly didn't want to give off any signs of interest, so she gave him nothing more than a side eyed glance. She swirled around the ice in her empty cup as the man dug around in his coat pocket before flicking out a lighter. In her peripheral she saw that he had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

The lighter flicked on and within seconds the pungent odor of cigarette smoke began to fill the air around her. It didn't surprise her that he was a smoker, and judging by the tacky blue jacket he was wearing she figured he was nothing more than a lowlife like herself. But even then, she didn't want to associate herself with someone like that.

"An old fashioned please," the man suddenly called out as he raised a finger. The bartender gave him a nod before preparing to fix his drink.

"Actually," the stranger paused for a second before glancing towards Quinn.

"Make it two," he added, and the bartended nodded in response.

Quinn rolled her eyes as she placed her empty glass on the countertop.

"Thanks," she sighed audibly before propping her elbow up onto the counter.

"But I'm not interested," she added before turning to face the mystery man.

Between the smoke filled air and the dimness of the bar lights Quinn could barely make out what he looked like. His shirt collar was unusually popped out and while she couldn't quite make out much more of his appearance she knew she had never encountered him before.

He raised a hand to his lips before pulling the cigarette out of his mouth. He let the smoke drain slowly through a small side smile while he kept the cigarette between his fingers. He maintained a steady forward gaze and if Quinn hadn't been the one to start the conversation she wouldn't have guessed that he was talking to her at all.