LOG: River/Dean
She'd finally decided to venture out in search of food. Hopefully the galley would have decent protein pastes. River couldn't remember the last time she'd really eaten, though - the captain had been used to going without, and it made her heart twist to even think about it. Still. She shoved it down and walked into the dining area, barefoot, toes faintly tickled by the carpet. Actual carpet. The place had some people in it, though she didn't see the Doctor or Alice. Everyone else was still unknown.
Dean had thrilled to find out they had food at the Hotel. Real, genuine food, food that made his mouth water and stomach growl every time he set foot in the dining hall. At present, he was sitting in the corner facing the entrance, so if someone walked in, he could be on the offensive. He had five plates of food around him, all steaming hot and ready to be devoured. An empty beer bottle was at the corner of the table, and two frosty full ones were within arm's reach.
The odors of the place smelled different, somehow. Fresh. River sniffed the air, letting her nose carry her for a bit. She stopped abruptly, looking around, before her eyes settled on a table full of food and a young man, maybe Simon's or the captain's age, sitting in front of it.
Thinking of that made her ache, though, and she tried to be analytical before she dwelled too much on her brother again. She looked at the young man quizzically for a few moments. "The males of Earth-that-Was must have enhanced gastrointestinal capacity. In any average human, so much food would cause the stomach to likely explode. What is your stomach made of?"
He raised an eyebrow but didn't stop chewing. "Lead." He swallowed a mouthful of pork chop, raising a beer to his lips without taking his eyes off of her. "Earth-that-Was? Um. You're on it, sweetheart. Where are you from?" He used his knife and fork to cut into the remaining piece of pork chop on his plate, eyeing his plate of meatloaf even as he chewed.
He had a lazy, drawling voice. More like the captain than Simon, then. "Going through weapons detectors would be most difficult with that quantity of lead present. Also, in my time, lead in its pure elemental form can lead to toxicity." River blinked, though, as he asked her a question. "I come from Osiris. If it even exists anymore."
"It's a figure of speech." He quirked a smile. She was cute, in a weird way. Sort of like a little kid who wanted to know "why" every three seconds. "Might as well sit, if you're gonna rubberneck. And you're from a town named Osiris? That's pretty sweet. Is Anubis close by?"
"A world named Osiris, not a village. What is Anubis?" He was definitely of Earth-that-Was. Either that or her world had dematerialized, but she made the conscious choice not to think about that, and looked absurdly pleased with herself for a second. She sat decorously on the chair across from his plates of food. "You must make this world go. So much energy." She pointed to the plates. "Push it around your sun?"
He blinked. "Another world? So, what, you're an alien?" He set aside the empty plate that had formerly housed his pork chops, stacking the meatloaf plate on top of it. He moved the pile in front of him, forking up some of the savory mush, sighing contentedly. "I have no idea what you just said, sweetheart." He wondered if she really was an alien, or just crazy.
Was he trying to guess her name? "My name is River," she answered simply, but her brow furrowed. "I could not come from Earth-that-Was. It's a fable; a children's story." Of course, this ... man ... seemed to be a local.
River laughed faintly. After Miranda she'd been sure that her sanity was returning. This place had her doubting the validity of that conclusion. Frustrating, to be sure.
"Lots of children's stories ended up being true." He didn't say anything else about that, but couldn't quite meet her eyes. He took another mouthful of meatloaf. River was a pretty name, and he found her to be a bit puzzling, but hey. He had been feeling lonely and sorry for himself, missing Sam and drowning his sorrows in calories. She was distracting.
It was likely true, what he said, though she couldn't think of anything immediately. So she just folded her legs underneath her on the chair and watched him. It was the simplest way to learn about someone. For example, the slight jut of his mouth meant he was hiding something; some sorrow or fear. The casual tone of his voice was too perfect - he didn't know how to talk to her. Though he did seem happy about the food. If only she could get a long look at his eyes. Then she could truly extend some hypotheses that might have value. "What is your name?" She asked, to get him to look at her.
He took another long sip of beer before he looked up at her. "I'm Dean." He reached out to shake her hand. She was so formal, he did it almost on reflex. "You should eat something. Take my potatoes. You look like you could use a sandwich or ten."
"What's a potato?" She surveyed the plates. She recognized some things - that was a slice of pork, that was some white bread of some kind - but not many. Which was which?
It was only when he extended his hand that River remembered her manners. She belatedly recalled the old way of greeting. It was so archaic. Though kind of ... charming. She took his hand, looking down at it, curious to see what it would say to her.
He shook gently, blinking at her question. "They stop growing potatoes in space? It's a ... vegetable. I think. Yeah, I don't think it's a fruit. Just try it. There's cheese in there." He took a forkful, popping it in his mouth and groaning faintly as he chewed.
All right, if he wasn't going to let her see what his hands would give up. River looked at the plateful of food he'd just taken a bite of, and reached for an extra fork. She knew what cheese was. She hadn't had it since before she was sent to school. No, wait - they'd gotten some once on Persephone. Her and Kaylee. "All right." She took a small forkful, raising it to her eye level, seeing it up close. It had a fairly pleasant scent, at least.
He paused for a moment to watch her eat. He wouldn't deny that she was cute. He also wouldn't deny that if she wasn't full of strange, he'd probably be macking on her right now. But she was adorable, and he was curious to see how she'd react to the food. "Here." He took the fork from her and scooted closer. "Close your eyes."
River blinked, not sure whether or not to submit, but eventually she did so. She didn't sense anything malevolent from him. Merely a slight bit of impatience? And of course, that was nothing new. Even Simon got impatient. Have to find Simon. But she closed her eyes obediently, brushing a tendril of hair away from her forehead.
He opened her mouth slightly, then put the fork just barely into her mouth. "Now make sure you chew after I take the fork out." He put the fork back into the potatoes, and watched her move. She had a dreamlike quality about her, and he chuckled a little. "River, huh? Your parents hippies?"
She didn't answer right away, instead focusing on the food. She did chew, and was surprised at its texture. It was rather soft. Mushy, even. "Mmm." Her eyebrows rose. These potatoes were native to Earth-that-Was? Well, at least the food would be better than on Serenity.
As she finished, she realized he'd asked a question, and she tried to answer it. "My father's name was Gabriel, and my brother's name is Simon." It wasn't an answer, but it was close enough.
"So not hippies then. Huh. Stockbrokers that decided to break with convention. I could get down with that." He tucked back into his meatloaf, trying not to get too close to her. The last thing he needed was a crazy girl with a crush on him. "You can have the rest of those."
She smiled faintly, allowing her eyes to fall in line. "Thank you," she murmured, sticking the fork back into the pile of food. "I don't remember my father," she murmured. It was basically the truth.
He didn't mean to blink, but he did, the lines of his mouth softening. "I... only remember my mother a little." He sighed and offered her the unopened beer. "You miss someone, though. You're all slumpy."
She paused around a mouthful of food. "Don't remember my mother, either. Only Simon." There she went, bringing up her brother again. "He takes so much looking after."
"Simon? Who - oh. Your brother." He laughed at her comment. "Yeah, my brother's... not here yet, either. And yeah. Tell me about it. Is your brother an idiot too?" He threw his hands up. "Sammy's always getting into trouble. So irresponsible."
River shook her head, though she couldn't help but smile faintly at his exasperation. "Simon saved me."
Dean swallowed against the lump forming in his throat. She was reminding him that he missed Sam more than he'd ever let on. "That's... good. 'Scuse me." He stood up suddenly, going back to the buffet area to find some bacon.
River nodded, watching him walk. He moved with purpose, almost like Jayne, but with very little of Jayne's fear. This man was interesting.
He returned with a plate of bacon strips, settling back into the chair. "You look confused by the food. What did you eat on your planet?" He wondered if she'd had a little green man as a pet. Or maybe a talking robot dog.
"On Serenity we ate protein pastes." River ate another forkful of potato, speaking carefully in between. "On Osiris, I don't remember. Lots of things gone up in smoke into the black."
"What's Serenity? And gross." He wrinkled his nose. Health food of any sort made him shudder. "And... the black?" He knotted his eyebrows. "Do you come with a translator, maybe?" He winked at her to let her know he was joking. Mostly.
"Serenity. My home. Rusted old boat, but she'd fly true." River couldn't help but smile a little. She was still proud of the ship. She knew it well. Embraced it. "The black," she said again, pointing upward.
"Oh! Your... " He was about to say boat, but when she pointed upward, he got it. "Space... ship?" Dean couldn't help shaking his head and grinning. "That's never going to get easy to say, you know."
River nodded, finishing the potatoes. "She's up there somewhere." She had to believe that. "Stuck here in Flypaper Hotel, but she's still free." It hurt to think of.
"Could be just that you're in an alternate dimension. Or we're all in some sort of mass hallucination. Or a spell." He hadn't ruled out magic yet. "Me and my dad are trying to figure out what's going on."
She liked things that got her brain going, and nodded, looking almost eager. "There are scientific explanations. A pocket universe - photon energy, perhaps - "
"Could be a sandman. Or a - wait, you're a science geek? Man, you and my brother would get along." He shook his head, cursing himself inwardly. He was bad even at denial.
Why Dean looked sad, she couldn't tell right away, but River merely shook her head. "I've been called intelligent," was all she said. Simon had told her it was bad to tell people she knew everything. And now that she couldn't see their hearts, she didn't know everything, anyway. "Is he intelligent, or just irresponsible?"
Dean sighed. Apparently they were just going to proud the wound. "He's smarter than I am. He's smart, but bad shit wants him, and I'm supposed to be watching him." He couldn't help it, pushing his plate aside to cradle his head in his hands. "I'm sorry. I - I'm supposed to take care of him."
River inwardly cursed herself. Simon had warned her about pushing too hard. She tried to think of what Simon would do, and just reacted. She laid a small hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry." It was all she could offer.
He turned his head, smiling a little at her tiny hand. "It's okay. You understand. We've got to take care of them. And they'll come, soon. Or we'll get out of here and go to them. We have to." He shrugged. It was that simple. "So, how many people were on your ship? It's kind of cool, having an alien friend."
She raised an eyebrow at the upswing. Had that worked? Perhaps the placebo effect of commiseration did have some validity. But the question. Yes. "There were so many," River answered, taking her hand back. It was hard for her to think about them all. "The captain. The pilot and his widow. Kaylee, the traitor, Simon and me. Beauty Inara. The dead shepherd." She still missed Shepherd Book. She didn't know many gentle men.
He cocked his head to the side, eyes widening. "You had a zombie on your ship?" He figured she'd either take it as a joke, or say that she had indeed, before someone had cut its head off. Or she could just be riddlespeaking again. Dean laid odds that it was that one, and popped some more bacon into his mouth.
"He died when he left Serenity." River nodded, folding her legs underneath her again. "It wasn't safe." She just watched him, the way his hands moved and the tiny twitches and expressions inherent in his face.
He nodded a little. That made more sense. "So. Uh. River." He shrugged, a bit at a loss for more small talk. He had no clue what to say, so he just offered her some bacon.
River accepted the fork, looking at it curiously. It had a familiar scent. "This is pig. How is this prepared?" She had had pork, of course, but never prepared in this way. Crispy and twisted like barbed wire.
"Um, it's heated in a pan. It's sliced really thin, and I think it's from over the ribs. Not sure." He grinned at her. "You really come from a different planet, huh?" He couldn't fathom that it was all an act. Then again, she could just be brain damaged or something.
River saw that smile, but she didn't react. She would have doubted her own sanity if she hadn't had so much practice at it already. "No proof. My world hasn't happened yet." She saw his eyes, unsure, but curious. Wanting to know. "You're not credulous," she told him, leg swinging idly off the chair. "But in my family, liars are in short supply."
"Wait, the future? And I'm not what? I don't know what that - yeah, I'm not... creduwhatever." He grumbled and sunk into his seat, shoving three strips of bacon into his mouth at the same time.
She felt a twinge of irritation at herself, as if Simon was whispering in her ear. She didn't want to patronize him. "You're not stupid," she told him bluntly, taking another strip of the bacon from his plate. "Don't act it."
He rolled his eyes and spoke with his mouth full. "I know I'm not. But words aren't my game. I'm not as good with 'em as other things." He wiped his mouth on a napkin and stole some of her mashed potatoes.
She took his free hand in hers without another word. She couldn't contain her curiosity anymore, and people lied when you asked them what they were good at. Hands and skin couldn't lie.
Her small fingers ran over his palm, then his fingers, probing the bones and deposits of muscle. She felt the callus on his index finger, and smiled. "Hand weapons," was all she said. Either that or ancient throwing stars from the precursor civilization of Nippon, and she doubted that somehow. It wasn't logical. But the callus was too deep, and the fingers seemed to curve in a certain way on their own.
That made his eyes widen, and he chewed hard, swallowing too fast and coughing until he could take a swig of beer. "You're good. Yeah. Mostly .45s and a sawed off that's my favourite thing in the world. How do you know?" He blinked and looked at his hands.
She took his hand back, content to explain. River could admit by now that showing off her abilities was a little bit fun. Not as fun when it isn't Simon.
Still, she shook her head, turning his hand back over. "Your fingers curve." She traced the almost cupped outline. "Old habits don't die at all. Neither do love bites." She ran her thumb over the callus on his trigger finger. "Couldn't be huge guns ... too much wear and tear on one hand. The other would get jealous."
He grinned broadly and rolled up his sleeve to show her the scar from the time Sam had capped him in the arm. It wasn't a particularly good memory, but he wondered if she'd seen a scar like it. Jo's stitching had left a jagged scar about the size of a quarter. "Yeah, usually light firearms. But like I said, my shotgun's my girl. Well. My other girl. My car's not here." He sighed, puffing out his cheeks like a toddler denied ice cream.
She looked at the scar, reaching out two fingers to touch it, then remembering her manners and drawing back. Something he said, though. Car. River ransacked her brain, trying to remember what that was. She'd learned about them in school. Is it long ago if it hasn't happened yet?
She hedged aloud, feeling stupid for not remembering, and clearly hating it. "That's a transport of some kind."
He didn't mind, moving his shoulder closer to her so she could touch it. There was an odd bit of pleasure to be gleaned from flirting with someone who didn't know they were being flirted with.
"Yeah, a car's like... a small boat on wheels. It's fueled by a combustion engine that takes fossil fuels. Did you guys still have those, or did you use like, jetpacks?" Sam would be smacking him for taking her seriously, but still. His dad was back from the dead, and the Hotel had summoned him with crazy powers of some variety. It seemed as plausible as anything.
River couldn't help but smile a little as he let her probe the scar. It wasn't deep, and had been fixed rather expertly, though without any of the skin regenerators that were commonplace for Simon to be using. She drew back, shaking her head. "Serenity ran on ionic energy, but some of the ground transports ran on fossil fuels. A car sounds like a big mule - a four-wheeled conveyance used for transporting small quantities of goods." She stumbled a little over the unfamiliar word, pushing the C sound too much and probably sounding like a hick right out of Jaynestown.
He smirked at her fingers, the right hand side of his mouth curving up. "Yeah. It's big enough for me and my brother to sit in for really long periods of time, and we could've fit people in the back. And there's a storage space in the back where we kept all the... supplies." He reached out and took a fingerful of mashed potatoes, smearing it gently onto her nose. "Beep."
River outright squeaked, hands flying up to cover her nose, though that only smeared the potatoes more. "Beep?" Dean looked ... happy, almost.
Dean laughed. "You never had anyone beep your nose? You do it to little kids. Makes 'em laugh. I have no clue why." He was tempted to lean forward and lick some of the potatoes off, but something about her made him cautious. It irked him and turned him on at the same time. He got a napkin and moved her hands to dab at her.
River moved her hands, looking confused for one moment. "Not a kid. I'm twenty," she informed him, completely unconscious of the fact that most five year olds declaimed their ages in the same way.
He leaned forward, taking far more time to clean her up than he normally would. "You can do it to girls at any age, though. You're a girl, right?" He waggled his eyebrows.
That made her laugh a little, amazingly. "A right prize filly." River said, one finger pointing to herself, though her smile turned faintly sad as she thought of the captain.
He cocked his head to the side. "You still say that in the future?" Then he noticed her sad smile and reached out to tickle her sides.
River nodded, though she couldn't help the eeping noise as he tickled her. Strangely enough, him touching her wasn't offensive. There were the few. Simon. The captain. Apparently this Dean. "The captain spoke that way," she managed.
He shrugged. "Maybe you'd like my dad. He sort of sounds like your captain." He sat back in his chair, yawning. "So, what have you been doing to keep from getting bored? Staying still sucks."
River shook her head. "No one's like Cap'n Reynolds." But she just shrugged to the second question. Truth told, she'd been in her bunk, calculating the probabilities of Simon reappearing here. The mathematical odds weren't good with the information she had right now. "I rarely get bored," she said instead, looking away.
"How come?" He cocked his head to the side, studying her. "Wanna go explore?"
It was perhaps not a bad idea. River nodded, rising, ignoring her bare feet. "I've seen the library. It's endless." She couldn't keep the sheer contentment from her voice.
He shook his head. "You and my brother. Popping hard-ons all over the books." He wondered if there was anything really interesting, like a garage, or a gym.
River didn't answer, figuring bringing up his brother was a bad idea. It would lead her to hers. All she said was "Anything can be discovered in a library."
"Sure. Except fun." He moved in front of her, bending a bit. "Hop on." He wagered if nobody had ever beeped her nose, she'd never had a piggyback ride.
She sighed. Well, so many boys were philistines. But when Dean bent his back in front of her like that, River just blinked. ".... Hm?"
"Jump on, dork." He heaved an overly melodramatic sigh for her benefit. "It's fun for you, and means we'll get to go past the library for me."
"On your back?" She surveyed his body critically. She knew she wasn't heavy, especially not without her boots, and he did look in good shape. Oh, why not.
She didn't know what he'd called her, either, but all she said was "Bizui,"* and managed to clamber onto his back. She squeaked as he stood, clinging to his neck more on reflex than any rational impulse.
He laughed a little bit. "That's not a word. Wrap your legs around me too. Like a monkey." She barely weighed anything, and he was able to walk at his normal pace. "Jesus, do you weigh two pounds?"
"I don't know," she replied seriously. It was one of the things she could admit ignorance of. "And bizui is Mandarin." She kept clinging, her hair and skirt billowing as he walked fairly fast through the halls.
"Oh, like Chinese?" He blinked. "Why do you speak that?" He sniffed the air, smelling chlorine. "I think there's a pool. Wonder if there's a hot tub." If he was stuck in a rather posh hotel, the least he could do was relax.
It was as she'd told Alice. "The last remaining superpowers of Earth-that-Was were your United States" - she presumed he was of that race, from what she recalled from history - "and the People's Republic of China. The Alliance mandated all its people would speak both languages." She almost said 'my government' but the Alliance had never controlled her. Not permanently.
He blinked. "Huh. That makes... a lot of sense." He bounced her a little for effect as he reached for the door, jaw dropping a little at the pool room. It was nice. He and Sam had never really gotten the chance to stay in nice hotels, taking the cheapest room with two queen beds they could find.
River squeaked as he did something to make her shake as if his body was quaking, and clung harder to his neck. But as he opened the door, she could feel her eyes light up. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen a swimming pool. But what was the foul odor? "Lao tian ye,"** she murmured under her breath.
He patted her legs so she'd let herself down, blinking. "Man. Hey, you know how to swim?" He waited for her to situate herself on the floor before taking his shoes off.
River did get down, shaking her head and wrapping her arms around her body. It was chilled in here, especially with bare feet. It reminded her of death.
He looked at her. "You okay?" He saw what she was doing with her arms, and Dean screwed up his mouth. It was almost like when he and Sammy had been kids. Sammy was always doing stuff like that and making Dean feel like he wasn't taking good enough care of him. He went to the water and dipped a toe in. "It's warm in the pool. Too bad we don't have bathing suits."
When he turned around, he blinked hard. "What the ... " There were two suits folded neatly on top of his boots, a pair of simple black trunks and a dark red one-piece. "If... holy shit." He had to tell his father. Something here can hear us.
River's eyes even widened at that. "Illogical," she muttered, turning away for a moment, clasping her arms tighter around her thin body. She couldn't explain things. It made everything worse. And as kind as Dean seemed, he couldn't give her answers.
Dean shrugged and shucked his shirt. He hoped River had her head turned, otherwise she was about to get an eyeful of Dean Winchester's ass. He pulled on the trunks and went to the water's edge. "I won't watch you change."
Somehow she actually believed him. Still. River turned her head back and watched him walk into the water. "What is that stench?" She asked, trying to sound calmer than she was. It was an ancient skill, and she was struck by how even when Simon wasn't here, he was dictating her actions.
"It's chlorine. They put it in the pool to kill gross things like pee and bacteria." He pushed himself into the water, groaning a little. The temperature was perfect, and it was perfect and blue. There wasn't a leaf or a bug to be seen.
Chlorine? She blinked. "And it's safe for you?" She was walking back toward the water's edge now, somewhat distracted from the conundrum that was this place. The science was confusing.
"You shouldn't drink a lot of the water. Or keep your eyes open for a long period of time. But yeah, it's okay. There's not a lot of it in here. It's just smelly." He went underwater, swimming toward her. He resurfaced, dark blonde hair a darker brown now that it was wet. "C'mon."
She hadn't known chlorine could be so pungent. But in spite of herself, River nodded, going to pick up the swimming suit. She had likely forgotten how - it had never been bad, really, to live on Serenity, but she was starting to realise that maybe she'd missed things. "Turn your back."
He turned around, trying not to grin too lewdly. She had a slight figure, so he doubted she'd be too curvy or busty, but he'd noticed her long dancer's legs. They were graceful, and he wondered what they'd feel like wrapped around his waist in less innocent activities.
He shook his head and tried to clear the thought. "Done yet?"
"Yes." River stood at the water's edge, looking down at it. Whoever had provided the swimming suit had known what would fit and what she would accept. Later. When you have time to reflect, the curious River-Simon voice in her head murmured.
She stuck a foot in the water, standing on the first step, surprised by how warm it was. She just kept walking, until she stood in enough water to go up to her hips. What a strange feeling it was, after all this time.
He opened his eyes and smiled at her. "You look... nice." It was a blanket Guy Statement, one that men pulled out when they couldn't say what was really on their minds. He swam to the deep end to cover it up, sighing happily. He hadn't been swimming in a long long time.
She didn't know what to say to that, so she simply didn't answer, staying in the shallow end and watching him. She couldn't see his heart - but she could tell some things. He moved with purpose - accustomed to action. He'd start to claw the walls with nothing, eventually. He seemed kind to her.
On an impulse, River ducked down, tilting her head backward without actually getting her face in the water. But her hair got wet, and she liked it dripping down her back.
He pushed off against the deep end wall, swimming a fast lap toward her. He loved swimming. Sam had wanted to do a bunch of sports and extra activities in high school, and he and John had fought over that extensively. Dean had always kept quiet about the things he'd wanted to do. He would've been good enough to be on the varsity swim team, and he'd really wanted to, but never said anything.
When he reached River, he surfaced, blinking and rubbing his hands over his face to clear off the extra water. "You can get your face in it. Just plug your nose and keep your eyes closed."
It didn't seem to affect him. She didn't answer, though, looking down at the calm pool. It was nice, temperature wise. She supposed she could go under the water briefly. As long as she kept her eyes closed. So she clamped her thumb and forefinger across her nose, screwed her eyes shut and simply let her knees drop out from under her.
Dean watched and waited for her to resurface, smiling a little. He felt a little bit like a mother watching her child swim for the first time. He couldn't help feeling a little nervous and stupid, but still. He watched her body, counting seconds in his head.
It was such a freeing feeling. It almost felt like awakening from suspended animation; the fuzziness, the feeling of being enclosed in somewhere safe. River decided she liked it. She stayed under the surface until her lungs started to ache, and then simply arched her neck backward so her face broke the water.
He breathed deeply, unaware that he'd been holding his breath too. "God, you scared me." He laughed and floated onto his back a little. "Try floating. It's nice." He looked at her, and swam past, fast as a fish.
Her hair was sticking to her back, and she pushed it off. She wondered why he'd been frightened, but he was too far away to ask right now.
Floating. Hm. It was possible, of course. She would have to properly calibrate her body to displace the correct amount of water. Especially holding her nose to guard against any of the noxious liquid.
He grinned. "You don't have to hold your nose if you're on your back. It won't go up your nose then." He showed her how by doing it himself, paddling carefully with his hands. "It's easy, just make sure to lay totally flat."
It was true, there was less possibility of chlorine toxicity if she was on her back. Still. River watched him, cocking her head. "You came from it," she said, smiling faintly. He definitely seemed at home in the water. Her, not so much.
She looked over once again. Hopefully he would help her, should she miscalibrate. She tried, though, tilting back her head and then arching her back so her legs seemed to float upward.
He grinned and rolled over so that he was closer to her. Standing up, he put his hands under her back, resisting the (very strong) urge to cup her ass. He held her body, then helped her straighten out her legs. "Like this."
River's eyes went wide, and she had to fight the urge to sit up, but eventually her body straightened out again. She didn't want to move, but every time she tightened her muscles she started to sink. "Aiya,"*** she murmured, breathing out, trying to let herself relax. When her legs seemed to go weightless, she mustered a small smile over at Dean.
He let go of her, stepping back a little. She floated, and he couldn't help grinning. Teaching someone something felt pretty good. He floated onto his back next to her, reaching out and making sure she was still near him.
This was strangely calming. No voices whispering. No death, no privation. River tried to crane her neck to watch Dean - he also seemed worth exploring. He was kind. If only Simon were here.
He grinned at her and waved a little. "It sucks 'cause I can't hear you." He reached out to try to tickle her a little bit. It didn't work, as she floated away from him a bit.
She didn't see him reach for her, keeping her eyes on the ceiling. The water sloshed into her ears a little, and she fought the urge to shake her head. "I can't hear anything," she murmured. Would the chlorine damage her ears? Or was this normal? There was so much she didn't know. It was embarrassing.
He tapped her shoulder, motioning for her to stand. "The chlorine won't hurt your ears, but do this." He showed her how to shake her head to get excess water out. "Any time you get a lot of water in your ears, it helps to try to get it out." He trailed his hands in the water. "You like this?"
She stood, doing as he told her and shaking her head hard, though she screwed her eyes shut immediately after. "Ow. Dislodges my workings." But it did seem to get the water to slosh away.
As regards his other question, she shrugged. "The captain always preached action, instead of contemplation. I appear to be following his advice. "
"Swimming's a little bit of both. Do you know how to swim?" He went toward the deep end a bit, reaching out to grab her by the wrist and bring her with him. "I can teach you."
She resisted as the ground seemed to ebb under her feet, trying to shake her hand out of his grip. "It'll swallow me whole." She hadn't been swimming since very early childhood. She didn't trust the water anymore.
"It won't. I'll have you, I won't let you go. Do you trust me?" He stopped moving, just in case the answer was no. She reminded her so much of Sam in this moment, his chest ached. He had to look away from her. They had similar puppy eyes.
River looked at him. She didn't think he'd push her under. And yet one couldn't trust right away, not after hours. Still. "You don't have all the coin for it," she finally said, letting him keep her hand, but holding onto the side of the pool, so as not to go any deeper. "Only some."
He chuckled. "How about I teach you in the shallow end?" He led her toward the shallow end, motioning for her to hold onto the side of the pool. "Okay. The most important part is kicking. You don't have to do it really hard, or try to be a ninja, just steady and even. Watch." He held onto the edge, kicking even and steady.
She remembered some of this. Vague snatches of photographs in her mind, of her mother teaching her and Simon to swim. Simon splashed her with water, and she'd pushed his head underneath until Mother yelled. River shook her head, hoping the memory would be thrown away. But she was watching Dean, and the slow motion made sense to her. Whatever a ninja was, it could likely wait.
He stopped and waited for her to mimic the motions. "You try." He stood back a bit. to watch. "You can do it. Just don't let it be too powerful. It's not about how enthusiastic you are with it. Strong and controlled."
She nodded, feeling a little foolish, but obeying. She simply tried to keep a rhythm, though she could tell just how much water she was displacing. Her feet slashed the water, sinking for a fraction of a second before she pulled them right up again. Her legs were staying up, at least.
"Go a little bit faster. Small kicks, lots of power, but a little faster." He couldn't help watching her legs again. "Were you a dancer?"
River nodded, holding onto the side, even as she obeyed. "Whenever I wanted." She'd always danced. Even in the Academy, she'd heard music and danced. She remembered that much.
He nodded, glad that he'd pegged it. "Okay, you've got the legs." He put his hands under her stomach. "Now let go, and we'll work on the arms."
River couldn't stop her eyes from widening, but she comforted herself with two facts: she was in the shallow end, and if he did anything she didn't like, she could probably reach his dangly bits if she had to and twist.
She nodded, unsure what to do with her arms as they came off the side. His hands felt strange even though they weren't touching her, technically.
"Okay. Did you see me swimming before? Try doing that with your arms, but don't put your face in the water." He wondered if he should teach her how to doggy paddle. It was the easiest. "So, uh, River. What's your favourite color?"
What a strange question. She started to make the motion with her arms, adjusting a little, cupping her hands differently as she went. "Colors are mere waves of light bouncing off various surfaces." She had colours she found pleasing in certain situations, but he had to be more specific.
That was the strangest answer he'd ever heard, and he couldn't help chuckling a little. "Ooo-kay. But which one makes you happiest?" It was standard stuff you asked girls. And honestly, he had to do something to not think about her legs. They were right there.
"When?" River asked, trying to mimic the arm angle he'd had to the closest degree possible. She was getting more adept at ignoring his hands. "On my own skin? In the sky? Colours don't go where they're not wanted."
He couldn't help but chuckling, and tried to think. "I don't know, on your clothes." He watched her hand placement. "That's really... really good for a beginner. Okay. Now do the arms and legs at the same time. Just don't hit me in the face or the nads, 'kay?"
"Red," River replied promptly, acquiescing to his request and trying to start a rhythm with her legs and arms. The same short, slashing kick; the looping arms. He was intelligent enough to remove his face from the path. She hoped.
He did, and bit his lip. "I'm gonna let you go now. With any luck, you'll go straight. Just keep your head above the water, and you'll go toward the stairs, okay?" He was smart enough not to send her into the shallow end. His stomach was doing flip-flops at the fact that she was and wasn't like Sam. Nobody's Sam but Sam and he's not here.
She nodded, getting ready for him to let her go. When he did so, she started to kick and move her arms, but keeping her face above water arched her back too much. But she couldn't swim with her nose held. So she simply ducked her face into the water, eyes screwed shut. She felt herself move for a few minutes before she surfaced again, coughing and choking and trying to breathe too hard. Was the water too toxic?
He swam over to her. "You okay? You can't breathe water, you're not a fish." He patted her on the back, gently, then felt another pang of loneliness so hard that he wanted nothing more than to go back to his room.
She managed to get her breath, nodding, still coughing. But his eyes looked so sad all of a sudden - it made her quail; it made her look down like she'd done something wrong. "You should go, if you want," River murmured, wrapping her arms around her body again. Whatever was troubling him, it was strong. It was eating him.
He shook his head. "Thanks." He shook his head. "We can keep this up tomorrow, if you want. You'll learn it quick." He got out of the pool, scrubbing his hands over his face and hair.
She watched him, slightly crestfallen about how fast he was running away, but she knew it wasn't her. She hadn't done anything. She'd just seen the sadness, not caused it. River just laid her hands on the edge of the shallow end, watching Dean get his boots and his clothes. He wasn't even moving the same way as earlier.
He looked at her, and couldn't help but feel like shit. She was such a puppy. "... wanna come back to my room and watch a movie or something?" He grinned at her, trying to look convincing.
He wasn't being serious, and she shook her head. If she couldn't tell him how to fix it, she could at least give him the chance to do it on his own. "Don't lie to me. I know," she informed him quietly. She would see him again. Simon had told her everyone got sad.
He blinked. "Huh?" He hadn't been lying, not really, he just hadn't... really wanted to watch a movie with anyone but Sam. He just sort of wanted to fall asleep and wake up if Sam was here. and if not, just sleep.
"I'm River. Not a doll." She wasn't a replacement for whoever he was missing. But her eyes were soft. She wasn't angry. Simon had told her he'd done the same, when she hadn't been around.
He nodded. "You're right. I'm sorry." He didn't bother putting on his jeans, just picked up his clothes and went toward the door, leaving a dripping trail the whole way.
She hoped he understood she wasn't angry. She would see him again, of course; being here, they had no choice. River simply tilted her head back and tried to rediscover that weightless feeling she'd had before. She found it and floated, water sloshing in her ears, hair flailing out into the water like a toddler's hands.
* "Shut up."
** "Holy Jesus."
*** "Damn."
OOC: Mandarin Chinese is not my language; I'm going by the Pinyinary. So bear with me. XD