toxic_corn | Firefly fic: Rewiring (River/Jayne): 2/2

Title: Rewiring (2/2)
Author: toxic_corn
Pairing: River/Jayne
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: Everything is Joss's. Not mine.
Summary: A medical study gives River an idea...

Previous part here.

You wouldn’t know it to look at her that River had had her first orgasm last night and Jayne had been the one to give it to her. She didn’t give him too much attention like a lovesick puppy or too little so’s to tip anyone off to what had happened. Instead, she did an excellent job of acting like everything was normal. Maybe everything was. When he’d sat down at his place that morning, he found a bar of chocolate. Maybe this was her little way of saying she wasn’t going to take him up on her offer and giving him the chocolate was supposed to make everything square.

Scowling, Jayne set to eating and answered Kaylee’s polite questioning with his usual noncommittal grunts. Fine. If nothing happened then nothing happened.

~*~

River waited until everyone was asleep and then crept down to Jayne’s bunk. He was still awake and scribbling on a piece of paper. When he heard her, he stuffed it under his pillow and glared at her.

“You lost?”

“No. But my insomnia was last night. Could you help me again tonight?”

Jayne sniffed, settling back on the bed with his arms crossed. “What’ll ya pay me this time?”

River frowned. “You said I could come to you anytime!”

“Didn’t say it was for free.”

“But--! You said I didn’t have to pay you.” River was disappointed with how surprised she felt. She should have known Jayne would do something like this.

“I got paid though,” he said, giving her a significant look. “Tasted good, too. Almonds make chocolate even better, don’t they?”

“That was a gift, Jayne. To thank you.” She crossed her arms and sighed. “Knew I should have left a note.”

“Oh.” He looked troubled for a moment and then his expression smoothed over. “Well, I still gotta get paid. I ain’t in the habit of doin’ favors.”

“I don’t have any money,” River said warily. That was a lie, she had some. But that was going toward Simon’s birthday gift and she wasn’t willing to part with it.

“I think we could work somethin’ out,” Jayne said in a casual tone that set off alarm bells in River’s mind.

“Such as?”

He grinned, slow and lazy. “I do you and you do me.”

She felt herself start to blush and took a step back. “I don’t…”

Jayne shrugged. “Fine. You have fun with all them emotions then, girl.” He started to pull the paper out from under his pillow, wordlessly dismissing her. The thought of going back to bed and feeling the horror and misery overwhelm her was too much.

“All right!” she agreed and held her hands up. “But I have to warn you that I lack experience. I won’t know what to do.”

“Guess I’ll hafta be your mentor then,” he said with a grin.

~*~

Jayne had two fingers inside her, curved so he could tap at her spongy g-spot. Like last night, her hips were bucking and she was shaking all over, moaning his name. “Oh, Jayne, it’s so… oh I feel so full!”

“Yeah? You gettin’ there?” He curved his fingers and made a beckoning gesture like he was coaxing her orgasm from her.

“Yes. Yes, I’m so close, Jayne.”

“Well, I’ll help ya get there, pretty girl,” he growled.

Like flipping a switch, she went stiff, thighs trembling and her mouth fell open in a soundless scream, eyes shutting tight. She clenched around his fingers and he felt a gush of fluid coat them, to his satisfaction.

“Well now,” he murmured, withdrawing his hand and staring at his fingers. “How do ya like that? Look at the mess you made.” He made sure she was watching as he licked his fingers, never taking his eyes from hers.

She stared at him in disbelief. “You just ate my secretions.”

He made a face. “You make it sound gross. ‘sides, it tastes good.”

“Let me try.” She grabbed his hand and sucked his fingers into her mouth, her expression sweetly curious. Jayne felt his gut clench. Oh, ta ma de the sooner he got out of his gorram pants the better.

“Hmmm. I wouldn’t market it as a new flavor of cola but you're right, the taste isn’t displeasing.”

Jayne laughed. “Nope. Ready to hold up your end of the bargain, girl?”

“River.” She sat up, eyes flashing with daring and cupped his bulge. “My name’s River.” He swallowed and her grip tightened. “Say it.”

Before he could stop himself he gasped, “River.”

She smiled and pulled back his sweatpants’ waistband, allowing his erection to bob free. She stared at it for a long moment and he gritted his teeth, waiting for her to do something. Finally, just when he was about to snap, she reached out and grasped him, sliding her hand up and down experimentally. Her fingers were still slick from having them in her mouth and she managed to grip him just tight enough but not too tight and Jayne had to grit his teeth to keep from coming on the spot. He wanted to enjoy this for a bit.

As if she sensed this, she slowly stroked him up and down. His hands opened and closed a few times before gripping the sheets as she continued to jack him off, torturously slow. He could hear the blood rushing in his ears and was surprised he had any left up in his head; he was so hard he figured everything had rushed to the smaller head.

“Faster,” he snarled and the girl obliged him. The sensation was mind-numbingly good but he still needed something to push him over the edge. He looked down at her little hand working him and that was all it took. With a groan, he came and River gasped, jerking her hand away from the semen.

Catching his breath, he saw her face and had to smile. “It ain’t poisonous.”

“I know. It just surprised me.” She shook her hand a little, like it had cramped up on her. “Was that adequate?”

“Yeah, it did the job,” he said and grabbed a tissue box from under the bed, mopping up his mess. “How ‘bout you? Feelin’ okay?”

“It did the job,” she said cheekily and he chuckled. “Well, good night Jayne. I’m sure to sleep well because of you.” She stood up and headed to the ladder. Watching her, he felt disappointed but he couldn’t say why.

“Yeah, night.” Once she’d gone and the door had shut, he lay back on his bed and smiled.

~*~

They had been doing this every night for a week now. River would wait until the whole ship was asleep and then sneak into his bunk for their time together. She still wouldn’t let him see up her skirt and he’d once succeeded in getting it a most of the way up her thighs before she’d pushed his hand away and called him a bad boy. That’d been all kinds of hot.

Panting, Jayne sank back as River cleaned him up herself and tried to focus on uncrossing his eyes.

“What did you want to be when you grew up?” River asked.

He blinked. Everything was unexpected with this girl. “Where’d that come from?”

“A series of firing synapses in my brain. Answer required.”

Jayne rolled his eyes. “Jesu. I wanted to be a space man.” She stared at him expectantly and he gave her a puzzled look back. “That’s it. A space man.”

“Oh. That’s very vague.”

“Yeah, well, shut it. What did you wanna be?”

Her eyes glittered. “Everything.”

He thought that over for a moment. “Yeah. That sounds about right.”

~*~

“So I ended up growing five inches during the summer and Ma couldn’t afford new clothes so I had to go to school in flood pants.”

River pressed a hand to her face. “Oh, that’s awful! Were the other children cruel to you?”

“’Course they were. They were kids. But I picked out the ringleader and knocked his block off during recess so that set ‘em all straight.”

“I was never much of a fighter,” River admitted and then looked down sadly. “Not until lately.”

Jayne reached out and gently tugged a lock of her hair.

~*~

“We never had cats; my mother’s allergic. I had a bird once, though. A talking grey parrot who could tell the time. But I let him free.” When Jayne didn’t look shocked, she added, “He was expensive.”

“Yeah,” Jayne shrugged, “but a caged life ain’t even worth livin’.”

Pleasantly surprised, she dropped her head onto her arm and smiled up at him.

~*~

“Everyone has a talent!” River protested.

“I told ya! I can shoot a guy’s eye out from ten football fields away!”

River gave him a look. “Something not destructive.”

Jayne snorted and then admitted gruffly, “I juggle.”

She gasped. “Show me?”

“No!”

“Please?”

“You got wax stuck in your ears girl? I told you no!”

“I’ll use my mouth this time.”

“Get me three pairs of socks from the drawer over there.”

~*~

One morning, Mal announced they had a job and over breakfast he started going over the details. “So after we land, it’ll still be a ways away. But these folks don’t care for out of towners so it’ll be about a day’s ride to get there. I got a fella who’ll let us use some horses. Then, Zoe, once we’re in town--”

“Wait, we gonna be there over-night?” Jayne interrupted.

“Yes, Jayne,” Mal said with exaggerated patience. “So be sure to pack your nightlight and fuzzy slippers.” As he continued on with his explaining, Jayne looked worriedly at River, who ate her breakfast with a carefree look on her face.

~*~

Jayne worried about River the whole time but he was a professional and he didn’t let it affect his work. He got the job done and Jayne, Zoe, and Mal returned to Serenity with everything they’d set out for. It’d been an all-around success which was a small miracle since Mal had planned the majority of it.

Mal started making noise about having a celebration, but Jayne ducked off to River’s room to check in on her. She was on the floor, drawing and when she heard the door open, she looked up and gave him a smile.

“Hey,” Jayne said awkwardly. “You all right? I know I been gone for awhile so we haven’t been able to--”

Her smile brightened. “I’ve been wonderful. When the emotions became overwhelming, all I had to do was think about our activities and I was able to handle it. I think you’ve rewired something in my brain. I can’t even begin to thank you enough, Jayne.”

“Oh.” He took a step back. “So, we about done here?”

Her smile faded. “Yes, that would appear to be so.”

He nodded. “Right. Celebration’s in the mess if you’re interested.” He didn’t wait for a response and went off to his bunk, begging off the festivities because he was tired. He hadn’t been able to sleep a wink while they’d been gone.

~*~

River sat up on the catwalk, watching Jayne shift crates around to make room for their new cargo. She admired the play of his muscles as he worked, the sweat that glistened off his skin, and had to suppress a sigh. He was ignoring her, had been ever since she revealed to him that his services weren’t necessary anymore. And while she slept better, it was her waking hours that were unbearable now.

She’d hurt him. She didn’t even know he could be hurt, which made him even more fragile. Lightly, she caressed the rail and closed her eyes, feeling the tears gathering behind her lids.

Oh, she missed him so terribly.

~*~

It was a lazy day and River surfed the Cortex while the Captain steered the ship. Once in awhile one of them made an idle remark but it was mostly silent. While sorting through mindless entertainment news, a pop-up appeared on screen.

“Fruity oaty bars, make a man out of a mouse…”

Mal snapped to attention sharply but before he could say anything, River leapt up and delivered a roundhouse kick to his head, knocking him unconscious. As he slumped to the floor, River dashed out the door, headed for the engine room where she could hear Kaylee singing and her tools clanking away.

“Girl! The hell!” Strong arms tightened around her waist and she was drawn to an abrupt halt. Unimpressed, she turned her hands into claws and made a grab but was rebuffed and instead someone grasped her between her legs.

“River! Remember this! You have to remember this! Rewiring! River, I rewired your brain so this don’t happen anymore. You got control now! Remember!”

The foggy vague self destruct mission started to crumble. “Jayne?”

“Yeah, it’s me. Come on, River. You don’t wanna do this.”

His pleading tone made the rest of the mission fall apart and she was just River again, not a weapon, not a bomb of flurried fists and high kicks waiting to go off. Sobbing, she sagged in his arms.

“It’s okay,” he said awkwardly, turning her so he could look into her face. “Don’t cry.”

“I miss you,” she blurted out and pressed her face into his chest.

He smiled a little. “Yeah?”

“Yes. It hurts.”

Jayne dropped his chin to the top of her head and slid his arms around her waist. “Well, we can’t have you hurtin’ then, can we? Better fix ya all up. I think I got the bandages and iodine you need down in my bunk. Wanna go?”

She sniffled and looked up at him. “I think that’s the worst euphemism you’ve come up with, yet.”

“What’s goin’ on here?” Kaylee stood half in the hallway, half in the engine room, staring at them with wide eyes.

“Ah, nothing’. Just saved the day ‘n now me ‘n River are gonna be in my bunk.” He popped open the hatch and started to usher her down before remembering. “Oh yeah, you might wanna get the Doc. Mal got a li’l banged up.”

Kaylee stood there a moment then squealed. “Romance?!! Inara, guess what?!” She hurried off to the companion’s shuttle in her excitement.

When Mal woke up an hour later he wasn’t impressed with the news.

THE END