(no subject)
Oct. 14th, 2005 12:24 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kittydesadeTitle: Survive
Author: Jaguar
Fandom: Firefly/Serenity
Rating: PG
Pairing: Jayne/River
Disclaimer: Maybe eventually I'll edit these into a semblance of betterness. Till then, you get my bad prose. Hah!
Notes: 5/5
The girl was smarter than anyone he’d ever met, but she didn’t have a lick of sense just the same. He’d heard her fighting with her brother all the way across the ship, ‘specially since they’d been walking up and down yelling at each other. About him, too, but that wasn’t what bothered him. What really was chapping his ass was the fact that her brother’d run his gorram mouth off and said what he’d been thinking about her and Jayne.
And now she’d gone and stormed off into the wilderness. They’d been landed on the planet three days now, with Mal and Zoe off doing crime and them all with orders to stay on the ship until they called for a rendezvous. Mal was gonna kill him when he’d found out their only pilot had gone and got herself hurt.
The infirmary was too cold, too. He’d have to have words with the doc about that.
When she hadn’t come back after two hours, Inara and Kaylee had decided to take the sled out to find her. Just lucky she hadn’t gone far. Lucky, too, Jayne had taken up standing at the back hatch just in case someone might show up with someone else on their tail. Like Mal. Or River. But mostly Mal. He’d took Inara’s place on the sled and when they found Kaylee about to be done a grievous wrong by some idiot bandits, well, he and Vera’d had something to say about that.
She hadn’t woke up since, though. The doc hadn’t even flinched when he’d patched her up and afterwards he’d gone off and Jayne’d heard him puking his guts up down the hall. That, more than anything the doc had said, told him it was bad.
Jayne wasn’t fool enough to say he never got scared. The two, three, five, eight times they’d been chased by Reavers, he’d been plenty scared. Niska was pretty scary. He wouldn’t say he ever got scared when they were landed on some backwater planet with Mal and Zoe off doing crime.
‘cept they must have been back, ‘cause that was Zoe looking in on him like she knew something. He looked up at her.
“Captain says we’re good to go,” she told him. Her voice was always that quiet these days, but it was the first time he thought he heard something other than that deadness in it. Pity wasn’t what he’d had in mind, but it was better than nothing. “He’ll get us off the ground soon.”
Jayne nodded. “Make sure he doesn’t crash, get us all killed.” He didn’t look up at her much. Caught her nodding out of the corner of her eye and then she was gone.
He stared down at the girl who didn’t even make the end of the cot. She had to be cold, though, in the infirmary with the blanket slipping down around her shoulders like that. He tucked it tighter around her shoulders and brushed the hair from her cheek where the ends had found their way to her mouth again.
“Girl,” he muttered. “One day you are gonna be the death of me.”
“I’ve been saying that for years.”
He almost fell off the stool, glaring at the doc for sneaking up on him like that. “You think you could lurk a little louder? Maybe not scare the rest of us outta our skin?”
Simon just gave him a look like he was measuring Jayne for a coffin and kept walking. Jayne woulda gone after him and taught him not to sneak up on people like that, but he didn’t feel much like moving right then.
“Your brother’s gonna be the death of me,” he corrected. Her hand was limp, like death. “Skulking around like that. You been teaching him your tricks when no one’s been looking?”
“Got no tricks.”
Her hand was still limp but he was squeezing it fit to pop. He swallowed back his lunch and pushed to his feet. “That you, girl?”
“No-one else.” She opened her eyes. The world started to blur.
“You need to learn to quit scaring people like that,” he told her. She smiled, and the room started to swim again. “God, girl. What’d you think I’d …” do without you. No, he wasn’t going to say that. Not even now.
“Stop,” she tapped her fingertip against his mouth, but he could tell it took effort. “Calling. Me. Girl.”
He made some sort of grunting noise and tucked the blanket around her shoulders again. “Keep that on ‘fore you catch your death.”
“You really worried about me,” she smiled, but she did burrow down into the blankets till only her nose up was visible. “’s nice.”
“You’re the only one…” the ship lurched. “Who can fly this piece of go se proper. Way Mal flies we’re all like to crash into lots of itty bitty pieces on some planet somewhere. ‘sides, your brother …”
She looked away. “He doesn’t like us.”
“Us?” Jayne squeaked.
But she wasn’t looking at him, and he remembered how loud she and her brother had been in the hallway. Her hand was so tiny in his. He didn’t understand most of what was going on in her head; if he was lucky maybe he’d get half what she was thinking. But he knew women well enough to know what that look on her face was now, and what it meant that she wouldn’t look at him. The lights in the infirmary hid the last few signs, but he figured he had enough to make a good guess.
“Like I told him,” he forced himself to say, “It ain’t his decision. ‘s you and me. We’re in this together, River. If you want to be.”
She was quiet for a long time. Long enough for his mind to come up with all kinds of ideas.
“My brother’s an idiot,” she smiled when she turned back to him. “You’re an idiot too. But you’re my idiot.”
Author: Jaguar
Fandom: Firefly/Serenity
Rating: PG
Pairing: Jayne/River
Disclaimer: Maybe eventually I'll edit these into a semblance of betterness. Till then, you get my bad prose. Hah!
Notes: 5/5
The girl was smarter than anyone he’d ever met, but she didn’t have a lick of sense just the same. He’d heard her fighting with her brother all the way across the ship, ‘specially since they’d been walking up and down yelling at each other. About him, too, but that wasn’t what bothered him. What really was chapping his ass was the fact that her brother’d run his gorram mouth off and said what he’d been thinking about her and Jayne.
And now she’d gone and stormed off into the wilderness. They’d been landed on the planet three days now, with Mal and Zoe off doing crime and them all with orders to stay on the ship until they called for a rendezvous. Mal was gonna kill him when he’d found out their only pilot had gone and got herself hurt.
The infirmary was too cold, too. He’d have to have words with the doc about that.
When she hadn’t come back after two hours, Inara and Kaylee had decided to take the sled out to find her. Just lucky she hadn’t gone far. Lucky, too, Jayne had taken up standing at the back hatch just in case someone might show up with someone else on their tail. Like Mal. Or River. But mostly Mal. He’d took Inara’s place on the sled and when they found Kaylee about to be done a grievous wrong by some idiot bandits, well, he and Vera’d had something to say about that.
She hadn’t woke up since, though. The doc hadn’t even flinched when he’d patched her up and afterwards he’d gone off and Jayne’d heard him puking his guts up down the hall. That, more than anything the doc had said, told him it was bad.
Jayne wasn’t fool enough to say he never got scared. The two, three, five, eight times they’d been chased by Reavers, he’d been plenty scared. Niska was pretty scary. He wouldn’t say he ever got scared when they were landed on some backwater planet with Mal and Zoe off doing crime.
‘cept they must have been back, ‘cause that was Zoe looking in on him like she knew something. He looked up at her.
“Captain says we’re good to go,” she told him. Her voice was always that quiet these days, but it was the first time he thought he heard something other than that deadness in it. Pity wasn’t what he’d had in mind, but it was better than nothing. “He’ll get us off the ground soon.”
Jayne nodded. “Make sure he doesn’t crash, get us all killed.” He didn’t look up at her much. Caught her nodding out of the corner of her eye and then she was gone.
He stared down at the girl who didn’t even make the end of the cot. She had to be cold, though, in the infirmary with the blanket slipping down around her shoulders like that. He tucked it tighter around her shoulders and brushed the hair from her cheek where the ends had found their way to her mouth again.
“Girl,” he muttered. “One day you are gonna be the death of me.”
“I’ve been saying that for years.”
He almost fell off the stool, glaring at the doc for sneaking up on him like that. “You think you could lurk a little louder? Maybe not scare the rest of us outta our skin?”
Simon just gave him a look like he was measuring Jayne for a coffin and kept walking. Jayne woulda gone after him and taught him not to sneak up on people like that, but he didn’t feel much like moving right then.
“Your brother’s gonna be the death of me,” he corrected. Her hand was limp, like death. “Skulking around like that. You been teaching him your tricks when no one’s been looking?”
“Got no tricks.”
Her hand was still limp but he was squeezing it fit to pop. He swallowed back his lunch and pushed to his feet. “That you, girl?”
“No-one else.” She opened her eyes. The world started to blur.
“You need to learn to quit scaring people like that,” he told her. She smiled, and the room started to swim again. “God, girl. What’d you think I’d …” do without you. No, he wasn’t going to say that. Not even now.
“Stop,” she tapped her fingertip against his mouth, but he could tell it took effort. “Calling. Me. Girl.”
He made some sort of grunting noise and tucked the blanket around her shoulders again. “Keep that on ‘fore you catch your death.”
“You really worried about me,” she smiled, but she did burrow down into the blankets till only her nose up was visible. “’s nice.”
“You’re the only one…” the ship lurched. “Who can fly this piece of go se proper. Way Mal flies we’re all like to crash into lots of itty bitty pieces on some planet somewhere. ‘sides, your brother …”
She looked away. “He doesn’t like us.”
“Us?” Jayne squeaked.
But she wasn’t looking at him, and he remembered how loud she and her brother had been in the hallway. Her hand was so tiny in his. He didn’t understand most of what was going on in her head; if he was lucky maybe he’d get half what she was thinking. But he knew women well enough to know what that look on her face was now, and what it meant that she wouldn’t look at him. The lights in the infirmary hid the last few signs, but he figured he had enough to make a good guess.
“Like I told him,” he forced himself to say, “It ain’t his decision. ‘s you and me. We’re in this together, River. If you want to be.”
She was quiet for a long time. Long enough for his mind to come up with all kinds of ideas.
“My brother’s an idiot,” she smiled when she turned back to him. “You’re an idiot too. But you’re my idiot.”