(no subject)
Title: Cowboy
Series: "When I Grow Up"
Author: Aurieal
Rating: PG
Pairings: Jayne/River, a bit of Simon/Kaylee, if you squint
Summary: When I grow up, I want a cowboy with dust all over his jeans. With a horse named Jack and a ten gallon hat. He is nice, but he looks so mean.
Lady
Pony
"Just what in the sphincter of hell is this?" a gravelly voice asked. Simon paused in his journey to the engine room to see what Jayne was complaining about now. What he saw when he peeked into the common room made him bite his cheek to keep him from saying something.
His baby sister... his mei-mei... was sitting cozy on the sofa with that overgrown ape, watching him with an eager expression as he examined the object in his hands.
"It is a hat, silly Jayne," River scolded playfully. Jayne glared at the supposed hat.
"Says who?"
Simon recognized the hat immediately. At their last stop, River had asked him to purchase for her a small amount of cow hide and a list of mild chemicals. He had questioned her at first, but left it alone when she insisted that it had to remain a secret. She spent the two weeks following holed up in her room when she wasn't on the bridge, working tirelessly on her creation. When she finally showed the finished product to Simon and informed him to whom she was presenting it, he hadn't objected.
As much as he hated to admit it, the mercenary had actually been tolerable towards River. Not towards anyone else, oh no. But he'd been...sweet, if that word could possibly be used to describe the Ape.
"Try it on," River insisted, dragging Simon back from his thoughts. He watched as Jayne tugged the hat onto his head, eying the brim warily.
"Ain't gonna eat me while I sleep, is it?" he asked. River giggled, shaking her head.
"Silly Jayne," she repeated, straightening the hat gently. "Hat is not living organism. Was made with care by the Beauty." She grinned widely as Jayne snorted and tipped back the hat enough to glare at her.
"Suppose yer makin' me the Beast now, huh?"
River shook her head. "Jayne is a cowboy," she said sweetly. Jayne screwed up his face in confusion, and Simon could practically see the wheels turning.
"Wait jus' one second. There weren't no cowboys in that gorram story," he accused. River smiled again, touching the tips of her fingers to the back of his hand.
"Making our own story."
When Jayne didn't push her hand away, Simon turned, resuming his trek to the engine room. His mei-mei was growing up. And as much as he loathed her choice of first crush, he could understand it, in a way. She'd always loved stories about the cowboys of Earth-that-was. Now she had one of her own.
Series: "When I Grow Up"
Author: Aurieal
Rating: PG
Pairings: Jayne/River, a bit of Simon/Kaylee, if you squint
Summary: When I grow up, I want a cowboy with dust all over his jeans. With a horse named Jack and a ten gallon hat. He is nice, but he looks so mean.
Lady
Pony
"Just what in the sphincter of hell is this?" a gravelly voice asked. Simon paused in his journey to the engine room to see what Jayne was complaining about now. What he saw when he peeked into the common room made him bite his cheek to keep him from saying something.
His baby sister... his mei-mei... was sitting cozy on the sofa with that overgrown ape, watching him with an eager expression as he examined the object in his hands.
"It is a hat, silly Jayne," River scolded playfully. Jayne glared at the supposed hat.
"Says who?"
Simon recognized the hat immediately. At their last stop, River had asked him to purchase for her a small amount of cow hide and a list of mild chemicals. He had questioned her at first, but left it alone when she insisted that it had to remain a secret. She spent the two weeks following holed up in her room when she wasn't on the bridge, working tirelessly on her creation. When she finally showed the finished product to Simon and informed him to whom she was presenting it, he hadn't objected.
As much as he hated to admit it, the mercenary had actually been tolerable towards River. Not towards anyone else, oh no. But he'd been...sweet, if that word could possibly be used to describe the Ape.
"Try it on," River insisted, dragging Simon back from his thoughts. He watched as Jayne tugged the hat onto his head, eying the brim warily.
"Ain't gonna eat me while I sleep, is it?" he asked. River giggled, shaking her head.
"Silly Jayne," she repeated, straightening the hat gently. "Hat is not living organism. Was made with care by the Beauty." She grinned widely as Jayne snorted and tipped back the hat enough to glare at her.
"Suppose yer makin' me the Beast now, huh?"
River shook her head. "Jayne is a cowboy," she said sweetly. Jayne screwed up his face in confusion, and Simon could practically see the wheels turning.
"Wait jus' one second. There weren't no cowboys in that gorram story," he accused. River smiled again, touching the tips of her fingers to the back of his hand.
"Making our own story."
When Jayne didn't push her hand away, Simon turned, resuming his trek to the engine room. His mei-mei was growing up. And as much as he loathed her choice of first crush, he could understand it, in a way. She'd always loved stories about the cowboys of Earth-that-was. Now she had one of her own.