"Evolution." Chapter Two.
Story: Evolution
Chapter: The Art of War (2/10)
Character(s)/Pairing: River Tam, Jayne Cobb, Mal/Inara
Prompt: 1: Red; 2: "Madness in great ones must not unwatched go." -Claudius; Hamlet (III.2.188)
Rating: PG
Word Count: 2518
Disclaimer: Not mine.
-Author's Notes: Written for 2by2fics. Well I am just a busy little bee, aren't I? Heh. Here's chapter two already - and I'm fairly happy with it. I'd like to give an extra special thanks to mercuryandrain (thanks so much for looking over it!) and adverbia (thanks so much, especially for the awesome "thinking" suggestion!) for beta-reading this chapter for me. I appreciate it very much! I really, really like this story so far; I'm looking forward to writing more. Heh. Enjoy, everyone!
Evolution
Two: The Art of War
Everyone on Serenity had been expecting the inevitable explosion. Mal and Inara still fought; that hadn’t changed. But Inara was there, on the ship, and that had changed their relationship in a way that could never be undone. The action said more than words ever could. However, neither one was willing to verbally acknowledge the change; they hadn’t admitted that they cared and there was still the looming, inescapable question of Inara’s career. She had to make what could be the most difficult decision of her life and Mal was giving her no reason to think that giving up her status as a Companion would be worth it in the long run.
“You think he loves ‘er?” Kaylee asked River one day as they sat in the engine room. The mechanic was doing a routine maintenance check; River was in charge of the tool box.
“Captain is not very clear-headed,” she murmured, furtively examining an old, oil-streaked wrench. “He loves. But he does not want to. He does not know how to tell her; does not know how to love her. They always hurt each other. Difficult change.”
“I guess so,” Kaylee sighed. She smiled dreamily, laying back so her head was pillowed on her arms. “But ain’t it romantic? Both thinkin’ they ain’t good ‘nough for the other, always hurtin’ each other, but really burnin’ up with passion on the inside.”
River snorted. “Romance is impractical and rarely yields the desired results. Captain Daddy wants Inara but he is too proud to tell her. Inara is too proud to give up her livelihood for a man who is not a sure thing.” She picked up Kaylee’s red bandanna and started cleaning the wrench. “Must come to boiling point. Explosion before either will be willing to concede.”
“Well I sure hope it comes soon,” Kaylee said. “I love ‘em both, but they sure can be stupid, huh?” She sat up and sighed. “Y’think maybe we should try to help them?” That brought an instant smile to her face, and River’s head buzzed as Kaylee’s thoughts floated like bees and rose petals around her. “Like maybe give the captain some datin’ advice, or -
“No!” she said quickly, shaking her head. “Would not do any good. Will come together eventually.”
Kaylee scooted closer, eyes wide with something approaching awe. She’d gotten over her fear of River long ago, and after the events on Mr. Universe’s moon she’d begun to see the girl through a rose-tinted veil, as some sort of near-magical being. “Y’mean, you can… You know they will?”
River smiled a little. “Too much has changed. Malcolm Reynolds has lost too much in his life to let her go again.”
“Aww!” Kaylee beamed. “Ain’t that jus’ the sweetest thing! I bet he’ll make her mad an’ then she’ll leave all in a huff an’ he’ll have to go after her all heroic-like.”
The warmth of Kaylee’s romantic notions wrapped around her like a blanket and River let herself enjoy the feeling as her friend went on at length about the depth of Mal’s devotion, how tragic their story had been, and how beautiful it would be when they finally worked things out.
She shelved all of Kaylee’s musings as mere fancy. She cared enough for both Mal and Inara to hope they worked things out and she could see their thoughts clearly enough to know that they would eventually overcome all their hurdles. It was the length of time that would take that was really in question; they could be very, very frustrating.
She was laying on the catwalk one afternoon when things finally reached their breaking point. Her body was bombarded with emotions as sharp as spears; she could feel the argument tearing through the two involved as though she, too, shared their battlefield.
“Oh really?” Mal shouted, coming into the hold behind Inara. He carried a bundle of laundry under his arm; a quick mental scan told her that Inara had come to talk to him just as he was taking his clothes out of the dryer. “Thought you were through with this ‘Nara, but apparently you can’t get enough.”
“Can’t get enough of what, Mal?” she asked coldly, standing straight and tall, facing with him with eyes that burned. “Is it any of your business what I do with my time? I need to take a short… I need a few days to myself. That’s all I am telling you.”
“How many clients you gonna see?” he sneered. “I figure four days… Well, you should be nearly ‘round a whole moon by then.”
Inara wanted to cry; she wanted to slap him. River felt the red of wrath bleeding out of her, thick and tinged with heartache. She felt sick from the force of it.
And Mal felt betrayed. He thought she’d come to stay; he thought that had meant she cared. Though he knew she had taken a temporary hiatus, he’d assumed that she suddenly wanted to see clients and had decided to hide that fact from him.
They were both yelling; they were both so angry. They had hoped - hoped so hard that it had been a physical pull River could feel - that this time things would be different. And suddenly both felt like they’d lost something more precious than their own hearts.
The psychic wanted to shoot both of them for their sheer idiocy; if they’d only talk, if they weren’t so stubborn, so gorram proud…
The flood of bad feeling weakened her already shaky mental barriers and the internal voices were becoming indistinguishable from the external ones. She whimpered a little, trying to push out the anger and hurt. Her body involuntarily curled up, trying to block out the captain and the Companion. She could feel threads snapping slowly in her mind.
Until a wave of simple exasperation hit her like a brisk, cool breeze. She flopped helplessly over onto her back, looking up to see the tall, hulking mass that was Serenity’s mercenary.
“Moonbrain… What the hell’re you doin’ on the ground?” Jayne - who had been cleaning the spare shuttle for most of the morning - had come out to see what the yelling was about. He sneered down at River, though not with any malice. His assessment of her had merely been reinforced by her prone position and vacant stare.
“Anger,” she said, sitting up enough to stare down at Mal and Inara. “Hurt. Hurt hurt hurt. One is white, one is black - bishop to E7, move and block, check and mate.”
Jayne rolled his eyes and looked down. He listened for a moment to the heated words. “They makin’ you go ga-ga again? With their fightin’? You can feel it?”
“Yes,” she said, seething. “Yes - feel everything. Oozing red out every pore. Not blood. It’s not blood…”
“Yeah, uh-huh, sure you’re not crazy.” He snorted then said to himself, “Still creepifyin’ as hell, whatever you are.” He leaned over the railing. “Hey!”
Mal and Inara stopped mid-shout to look up at him, fury written on both faces.
“What do you want, Jayne?” Mal asked harshly. “Ain’t you supposed to be cleanin’ my extra shuttle?”
“Yeah, I was,” the merc called back. “’Cept I heard you two yowlin’ like alley cats out here an’ I came out to tell you to be ruttin’ quiet. Can’t work with all that noise.”
Inara gave him a withering look.
Jayne tapped River with the toe of his boot. “Hey,” he said, low enough so the two below couldn’t hear him. “Why they fightin’?”
“Inara made her choice,” she said, wriggling away a little. “Planned to leave the guild. Asked for a few days to herself. Captain assumed the worst. Feels betrayed. She blames herself for being too rash - now thinks he can never change.”
“Wha… Ahh, gorram, they’s the two stubbornest fools I ever met.” He glared down at Mal and Inara, crossing his arms and frowning. “Y’all gonna stop yellin’?” he asked.
“This is our argument, Jayne,” Inara said heatedly, “and - “
“Ain’t just yours when you’re havin’ it loud enough to wake the dead. Now listen.” Mal looked shocked for half a second before opening his mouth to speak. “Hey,” Jayne barked, stopping the protest before it could escape, “I mean both o’ you. Now ‘Nara - you wanna go out to wherever the hell it is an’ you ain’t tellin’ Mal why?”
“Yes,” she stammered, “but how did you - “
“’Cause I got a ruttin’ psychic up here with her eyeballs ‘bout to pop out ‘cause you two ain’t got a lick of sense ‘tween you.”
“River!” Mal and Inara exchanged worried glances. “Jayne, is she - “
“I said listen!” he roared, clearly exasperated. “Now ‘Nara. You ain’t seein’ clients, right?”
“That’s right,” she said coldly, fixing her eyes on Mal. “I had no intention of booking any appointments. Though now I see that my decision may have been too hasty.”
“Wha… If you’re not seein’ no men what the hell you wanna do?”
“Her business, Mal,” Jayne said, clearly enjoying his chance to control the captain. “Bet he got all het up over nothin’, an’ went on assumin’, and then ‘Nara said somethin’ to make him angrier.” That had been stark and clear, scrawled in mental script across his mind. River shifted her focus to him, trying hard to drown out the rage and injury of the arguing pair. Jayne sneered at them. “Why you askin’, anyway? Tryin’ to start whorin’ yourself?”
“Bi zui,” the captain snapped, steadily losing patience. Then he turned to Inara. “I…” Mal cleared his throat. “I may have jumped to a conclusion there.”
Inara set her jaw and turned back to look at Mal head on. “Yes, Mal, you did. Maybe if you didn’t - “
“Hey. Know what?” Jayne leaned over and pointed a finger towards them. “I’m sick o’ this. Y’all been dancin’ ‘round each other since ‘Nara first started rentin’ that gorram shuttle.” Jayne had no patience for “dancing around”. You best go on an’ get nekkid already and stop all this screamin’ an’ fightin’ ‘fore I get Vera out on both your asses!” He nodded, satisfied. “There ain’t much a good bout o’ sexin’ won’t fix.”
”Can’t believe the two o’ you,” River Read. ”Mal, you love ‘er an’ you’re jealous when she sexes up anyone else. ‘Nara, you love him, too, but you like bein’ a fancified Companion just about as much. An’ you’re too proud. Both o’ you. An’ too ruttin’ stubborn! Gorram.”
The hold had gone completely silent. Both of them gaped at him, utterly dumbfounded. Jayne just grunted under the scrutiny, annoyed that he’d had to finally say what he imagined everyone on the ship - and that included the both of them - already knew.
He stepped away from the railing and looked down at River with a hard scowl. She’d sat up sometime during his tirade and had her knees up to her chest, her tiny chin resting on the arm she had slung across her knees. She felt much better as Mal and Inara moved elsewhere to continue their argument.
“An’ you,” Jayne said darkly. “Why I gotta be the one puttin’ a stop to this? Don’t give a good gorram ‘bout your little… feelin’ problem.” He grabbed her arm and hauled her to her feet; his hand was nearly large enough to match the circumference of her arm and though better trained he had strength and size heavily in his favor. She yelped a little but didn’t fight. “Don’t you got nothin’ to block out other people’s go se?” he asked, leaning closer to peer at her intently.
Intensely annoyed with his close proximity and the audacity he had to physically lift her off the floor, she shook her head.
“Well ruttin’ fix it then! Jus’… block ‘em out. Stop feelin’ it if it bothers you so much.”
She stared at him a moment, blinking once. “My mental barriers are porous and - “
“What the hell does pour us mean?”
She scowled and made a vague, wavey gesture with her hand. “Slips in. Feeling crosses over like water into cloth. Soaks in. Can’t stop it.”
Jayne scratched his head. River could feel how frustrated he was and how ready he was to just leave - or maybe kick her down into the hold. She glared at him and took a step back. Finally he said “Well then obviously it ain’t good to have clothes in your head.” River barely had time to process the absurdity of that statement before he continued with, “You wanted to block out all them Miranda not-talkin’ voices by bein’ stone. Well jus’ stop bein’ a pourin’ cloth or whatever the hell your brainpan’s made out of an’ start bein’ rock.”
She put her hands on her head and closed her eyes. The feelings were still there, like perfume lingering in the air. But the deep, deep red in Mal and Inara had been diluted to a rosy pink and she could feel passion blooming underneath as they talked in strained, quiet voices somewhere more private. Having only one person to deal with made things much, much easier. Jayne’s feelings did not generally affect her; sometimes it was because he simply didn’t feel as deeply, but more often than not he simply chose not to deal with emotions. The waves he sent out when something moved him enough to really affect him were powerful - at those times there was nothing she could do to stop the flood of whatever he was feeling.
He let out an impatient sigh and River’s eyes snapped open as she realized he had been waiting for some sort of response. “That is sound advice,” she said, lowering her arms. “I will employ it immediately.”
“Whatever.” Jayne was uninterested in what she did; he only wanted to avoid dealing with another of her fits.
Though he obviously hadn’t made the suggestion with any sort of design to help her, she felt the tingly mix of appreciation and modesty forming gratitude in the back of her throat. But the ape did not deserve to know that. “Captain Daddy will be mad if you do not finish cleaning the shuttle.”
“Well that’s why I was ‘bout to go finish, wasn’t it?” he growled. He was already annoyed that the conversation had gone on as long as it had and she knew any other “crazy moment” she had was liable to make him lash out. Muttering to himself in Chinese, he stalked back to the shuttle.
River closed her eyes. If one person was easy to deal with, then being alone made her feel positively feather-light. Jayne felt warm and prickly off to her right. Kaylee was maternal and confident as she tended to Serenity. Simon and Zoë were working on the next meal. Mal and Inara…
She grinned as she let voyeuristic mental fingers reach out to them. Well, they hadn’t taken Jayne’s advice to “get nekkid” yet, but from the sense of shining, newborn happiness blazing in their brains she could tell they were well on their way.
~~~
Thanks for reading; feedback is always appreciated.
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Chapter: The Art of War (2/10)
Character(s)/Pairing: River Tam, Jayne Cobb, Mal/Inara
Prompt: 1: Red; 2: "Madness in great ones must not unwatched go." -Claudius; Hamlet (III.2.188)
Rating: PG
Word Count: 2518
Disclaimer: Not mine.
-Author's Notes: Written for 2by2fics. Well I am just a busy little bee, aren't I? Heh. Here's chapter two already - and I'm fairly happy with it. I'd like to give an extra special thanks to mercuryandrain (thanks so much for looking over it!) and adverbia (thanks so much, especially for the awesome "thinking" suggestion!) for beta-reading this chapter for me. I appreciate it very much! I really, really like this story so far; I'm looking forward to writing more. Heh. Enjoy, everyone!
Evolution
Two: The Art of War
Everyone on Serenity had been expecting the inevitable explosion. Mal and Inara still fought; that hadn’t changed. But Inara was there, on the ship, and that had changed their relationship in a way that could never be undone. The action said more than words ever could. However, neither one was willing to verbally acknowledge the change; they hadn’t admitted that they cared and there was still the looming, inescapable question of Inara’s career. She had to make what could be the most difficult decision of her life and Mal was giving her no reason to think that giving up her status as a Companion would be worth it in the long run.
“You think he loves ‘er?” Kaylee asked River one day as they sat in the engine room. The mechanic was doing a routine maintenance check; River was in charge of the tool box.
“Captain is not very clear-headed,” she murmured, furtively examining an old, oil-streaked wrench. “He loves. But he does not want to. He does not know how to tell her; does not know how to love her. They always hurt each other. Difficult change.”
“I guess so,” Kaylee sighed. She smiled dreamily, laying back so her head was pillowed on her arms. “But ain’t it romantic? Both thinkin’ they ain’t good ‘nough for the other, always hurtin’ each other, but really burnin’ up with passion on the inside.”
River snorted. “Romance is impractical and rarely yields the desired results. Captain Daddy wants Inara but he is too proud to tell her. Inara is too proud to give up her livelihood for a man who is not a sure thing.” She picked up Kaylee’s red bandanna and started cleaning the wrench. “Must come to boiling point. Explosion before either will be willing to concede.”
“Well I sure hope it comes soon,” Kaylee said. “I love ‘em both, but they sure can be stupid, huh?” She sat up and sighed. “Y’think maybe we should try to help them?” That brought an instant smile to her face, and River’s head buzzed as Kaylee’s thoughts floated like bees and rose petals around her. “Like maybe give the captain some datin’ advice, or -
“No!” she said quickly, shaking her head. “Would not do any good. Will come together eventually.”
Kaylee scooted closer, eyes wide with something approaching awe. She’d gotten over her fear of River long ago, and after the events on Mr. Universe’s moon she’d begun to see the girl through a rose-tinted veil, as some sort of near-magical being. “Y’mean, you can… You know they will?”
River smiled a little. “Too much has changed. Malcolm Reynolds has lost too much in his life to let her go again.”
“Aww!” Kaylee beamed. “Ain’t that jus’ the sweetest thing! I bet he’ll make her mad an’ then she’ll leave all in a huff an’ he’ll have to go after her all heroic-like.”
The warmth of Kaylee’s romantic notions wrapped around her like a blanket and River let herself enjoy the feeling as her friend went on at length about the depth of Mal’s devotion, how tragic their story had been, and how beautiful it would be when they finally worked things out.
She shelved all of Kaylee’s musings as mere fancy. She cared enough for both Mal and Inara to hope they worked things out and she could see their thoughts clearly enough to know that they would eventually overcome all their hurdles. It was the length of time that would take that was really in question; they could be very, very frustrating.
She was laying on the catwalk one afternoon when things finally reached their breaking point. Her body was bombarded with emotions as sharp as spears; she could feel the argument tearing through the two involved as though she, too, shared their battlefield.
“Oh really?” Mal shouted, coming into the hold behind Inara. He carried a bundle of laundry under his arm; a quick mental scan told her that Inara had come to talk to him just as he was taking his clothes out of the dryer. “Thought you were through with this ‘Nara, but apparently you can’t get enough.”
“Can’t get enough of what, Mal?” she asked coldly, standing straight and tall, facing with him with eyes that burned. “Is it any of your business what I do with my time? I need to take a short… I need a few days to myself. That’s all I am telling you.”
“How many clients you gonna see?” he sneered. “I figure four days… Well, you should be nearly ‘round a whole moon by then.”
Inara wanted to cry; she wanted to slap him. River felt the red of wrath bleeding out of her, thick and tinged with heartache. She felt sick from the force of it.
And Mal felt betrayed. He thought she’d come to stay; he thought that had meant she cared. Though he knew she had taken a temporary hiatus, he’d assumed that she suddenly wanted to see clients and had decided to hide that fact from him.
They were both yelling; they were both so angry. They had hoped - hoped so hard that it had been a physical pull River could feel - that this time things would be different. And suddenly both felt like they’d lost something more precious than their own hearts.
The psychic wanted to shoot both of them for their sheer idiocy; if they’d only talk, if they weren’t so stubborn, so gorram proud…
The flood of bad feeling weakened her already shaky mental barriers and the internal voices were becoming indistinguishable from the external ones. She whimpered a little, trying to push out the anger and hurt. Her body involuntarily curled up, trying to block out the captain and the Companion. She could feel threads snapping slowly in her mind.
Until a wave of simple exasperation hit her like a brisk, cool breeze. She flopped helplessly over onto her back, looking up to see the tall, hulking mass that was Serenity’s mercenary.
“Moonbrain… What the hell’re you doin’ on the ground?” Jayne - who had been cleaning the spare shuttle for most of the morning - had come out to see what the yelling was about. He sneered down at River, though not with any malice. His assessment of her had merely been reinforced by her prone position and vacant stare.
“Anger,” she said, sitting up enough to stare down at Mal and Inara. “Hurt. Hurt hurt hurt. One is white, one is black - bishop to E7, move and block, check and mate.”
Jayne rolled his eyes and looked down. He listened for a moment to the heated words. “They makin’ you go ga-ga again? With their fightin’? You can feel it?”
“Yes,” she said, seething. “Yes - feel everything. Oozing red out every pore. Not blood. It’s not blood…”
“Yeah, uh-huh, sure you’re not crazy.” He snorted then said to himself, “Still creepifyin’ as hell, whatever you are.” He leaned over the railing. “Hey!”
Mal and Inara stopped mid-shout to look up at him, fury written on both faces.
“What do you want, Jayne?” Mal asked harshly. “Ain’t you supposed to be cleanin’ my extra shuttle?”
“Yeah, I was,” the merc called back. “’Cept I heard you two yowlin’ like alley cats out here an’ I came out to tell you to be ruttin’ quiet. Can’t work with all that noise.”
Inara gave him a withering look.
Jayne tapped River with the toe of his boot. “Hey,” he said, low enough so the two below couldn’t hear him. “Why they fightin’?”
“Inara made her choice,” she said, wriggling away a little. “Planned to leave the guild. Asked for a few days to herself. Captain assumed the worst. Feels betrayed. She blames herself for being too rash - now thinks he can never change.”
“Wha… Ahh, gorram, they’s the two stubbornest fools I ever met.” He glared down at Mal and Inara, crossing his arms and frowning. “Y’all gonna stop yellin’?” he asked.
“This is our argument, Jayne,” Inara said heatedly, “and - “
“Ain’t just yours when you’re havin’ it loud enough to wake the dead. Now listen.” Mal looked shocked for half a second before opening his mouth to speak. “Hey,” Jayne barked, stopping the protest before it could escape, “I mean both o’ you. Now ‘Nara - you wanna go out to wherever the hell it is an’ you ain’t tellin’ Mal why?”
“Yes,” she stammered, “but how did you - “
“’Cause I got a ruttin’ psychic up here with her eyeballs ‘bout to pop out ‘cause you two ain’t got a lick of sense ‘tween you.”
“River!” Mal and Inara exchanged worried glances. “Jayne, is she - “
“I said listen!” he roared, clearly exasperated. “Now ‘Nara. You ain’t seein’ clients, right?”
“That’s right,” she said coldly, fixing her eyes on Mal. “I had no intention of booking any appointments. Though now I see that my decision may have been too hasty.”
“Wha… If you’re not seein’ no men what the hell you wanna do?”
“Her business, Mal,” Jayne said, clearly enjoying his chance to control the captain. “Bet he got all het up over nothin’, an’ went on assumin’, and then ‘Nara said somethin’ to make him angrier.” That had been stark and clear, scrawled in mental script across his mind. River shifted her focus to him, trying hard to drown out the rage and injury of the arguing pair. Jayne sneered at them. “Why you askin’, anyway? Tryin’ to start whorin’ yourself?”
“Bi zui,” the captain snapped, steadily losing patience. Then he turned to Inara. “I…” Mal cleared his throat. “I may have jumped to a conclusion there.”
Inara set her jaw and turned back to look at Mal head on. “Yes, Mal, you did. Maybe if you didn’t - “
“Hey. Know what?” Jayne leaned over and pointed a finger towards them. “I’m sick o’ this. Y’all been dancin’ ‘round each other since ‘Nara first started rentin’ that gorram shuttle.” Jayne had no patience for “dancing around”. You best go on an’ get nekkid already and stop all this screamin’ an’ fightin’ ‘fore I get Vera out on both your asses!” He nodded, satisfied. “There ain’t much a good bout o’ sexin’ won’t fix.”
”Can’t believe the two o’ you,” River Read. ”Mal, you love ‘er an’ you’re jealous when she sexes up anyone else. ‘Nara, you love him, too, but you like bein’ a fancified Companion just about as much. An’ you’re too proud. Both o’ you. An’ too ruttin’ stubborn! Gorram.”
The hold had gone completely silent. Both of them gaped at him, utterly dumbfounded. Jayne just grunted under the scrutiny, annoyed that he’d had to finally say what he imagined everyone on the ship - and that included the both of them - already knew.
He stepped away from the railing and looked down at River with a hard scowl. She’d sat up sometime during his tirade and had her knees up to her chest, her tiny chin resting on the arm she had slung across her knees. She felt much better as Mal and Inara moved elsewhere to continue their argument.
“An’ you,” Jayne said darkly. “Why I gotta be the one puttin’ a stop to this? Don’t give a good gorram ‘bout your little… feelin’ problem.” He grabbed her arm and hauled her to her feet; his hand was nearly large enough to match the circumference of her arm and though better trained he had strength and size heavily in his favor. She yelped a little but didn’t fight. “Don’t you got nothin’ to block out other people’s go se?” he asked, leaning closer to peer at her intently.
Intensely annoyed with his close proximity and the audacity he had to physically lift her off the floor, she shook her head.
“Well ruttin’ fix it then! Jus’… block ‘em out. Stop feelin’ it if it bothers you so much.”
She stared at him a moment, blinking once. “My mental barriers are porous and - “
“What the hell does pour us mean?”
She scowled and made a vague, wavey gesture with her hand. “Slips in. Feeling crosses over like water into cloth. Soaks in. Can’t stop it.”
Jayne scratched his head. River could feel how frustrated he was and how ready he was to just leave - or maybe kick her down into the hold. She glared at him and took a step back. Finally he said “Well then obviously it ain’t good to have clothes in your head.” River barely had time to process the absurdity of that statement before he continued with, “You wanted to block out all them Miranda not-talkin’ voices by bein’ stone. Well jus’ stop bein’ a pourin’ cloth or whatever the hell your brainpan’s made out of an’ start bein’ rock.”
She put her hands on her head and closed her eyes. The feelings were still there, like perfume lingering in the air. But the deep, deep red in Mal and Inara had been diluted to a rosy pink and she could feel passion blooming underneath as they talked in strained, quiet voices somewhere more private. Having only one person to deal with made things much, much easier. Jayne’s feelings did not generally affect her; sometimes it was because he simply didn’t feel as deeply, but more often than not he simply chose not to deal with emotions. The waves he sent out when something moved him enough to really affect him were powerful - at those times there was nothing she could do to stop the flood of whatever he was feeling.
He let out an impatient sigh and River’s eyes snapped open as she realized he had been waiting for some sort of response. “That is sound advice,” she said, lowering her arms. “I will employ it immediately.”
“Whatever.” Jayne was uninterested in what she did; he only wanted to avoid dealing with another of her fits.
Though he obviously hadn’t made the suggestion with any sort of design to help her, she felt the tingly mix of appreciation and modesty forming gratitude in the back of her throat. But the ape did not deserve to know that. “Captain Daddy will be mad if you do not finish cleaning the shuttle.”
“Well that’s why I was ‘bout to go finish, wasn’t it?” he growled. He was already annoyed that the conversation had gone on as long as it had and she knew any other “crazy moment” she had was liable to make him lash out. Muttering to himself in Chinese, he stalked back to the shuttle.
River closed her eyes. If one person was easy to deal with, then being alone made her feel positively feather-light. Jayne felt warm and prickly off to her right. Kaylee was maternal and confident as she tended to Serenity. Simon and Zoë were working on the next meal. Mal and Inara…
She grinned as she let voyeuristic mental fingers reach out to them. Well, they hadn’t taken Jayne’s advice to “get nekkid” yet, but from the sense of shining, newborn happiness blazing in their brains she could tell they were well on their way.
~~~
Thanks for reading; feedback is always appreciated.
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