'Twas the Night Before
Title: 'Twas the Night Before
Author: quiesce
Fandom: Firefly
Rating: G
Characters: Young!Tams
Disclaimer: Not Joss
Word Count: 225 Words
Notes: For emelerin's Serenity-Not-Quite-Now Challenge.
"357...374...391...408"
Simon whispered under his breath, counting. He'd been taught to count whenever he was impatient, keep his mind occupied, but even using bigger numbers he was still wide awake.
"It won't help." Simon jumped at the words and turned to see his sister leaning against his doorframe, hair in a tangle.
"What won't?"
"Counting. It won't make time go faster. If you want to find out, there's only one option."
"Go to sleep and wait for morning; I know." He half-sighed, half-yawned.
"No, silly: peek."
"River! We can't do that!" Simon hissed. "Besides, they've set up motion sensors after what happened last year."
"Already disabled them all," she shrugged.
Simon went into full big brother mode. "Swear you won't go snooping tonight. It's only a few more hours."
Chastened, River put hand over heart and answered solemnly, "I promise I will not peek under the tree."
Simon knew his sister's impishness well enough to catch her loophole.
"Don't look in the closet, either. It's greedy. It's not in the spirit of the holiday."
River grudgingly agreed and made a production of sighing and slouching as she headed back out to the hall.
She turned back, grinning.
"Race you there?"
Author: quiesce
Fandom: Firefly
Rating: G
Characters: Young!Tams
Disclaimer: Not Joss
Word Count: 225 Words
Notes: For emelerin's Serenity-Not-Quite-Now Challenge.
"357...374...391...408"
Simon whispered under his breath, counting. He'd been taught to count whenever he was impatient, keep his mind occupied, but even using bigger numbers he was still wide awake.
"It won't help." Simon jumped at the words and turned to see his sister leaning against his doorframe, hair in a tangle.
"What won't?"
"Counting. It won't make time go faster. If you want to find out, there's only one option."
"Go to sleep and wait for morning; I know." He half-sighed, half-yawned.
"No, silly: peek."
"River! We can't do that!" Simon hissed. "Besides, they've set up motion sensors after what happened last year."
"Already disabled them all," she shrugged.
Simon went into full big brother mode. "Swear you won't go snooping tonight. It's only a few more hours."
Chastened, River put hand over heart and answered solemnly, "I promise I will not peek under the tree."
Simon knew his sister's impishness well enough to catch her loophole.
"Don't look in the closet, either. It's greedy. It's not in the spirit of the holiday."
River grudgingly agreed and made a production of sighing and slouching as she headed back out to the hall.
She turned back, grinning.
"Race you there?"