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toxic_cornSeries: Persephone
Title: Chapter Three (3/7)
Author: Toxic Corn
Rating: R
Disclaimer: Firefly is owned by Joss Whedon. I own nothing, sadly.
WARNING: This deals with some dark subject matter that may not appeal to everyone. Also, this is an AU where River never went to the Academy and Jayne never joined the Serenity crew. So if you're really into canon, this fic is not for you.
Summary: River and Jayne bond in their cozy little dungeon*.
Notes: Written as a gift to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sandwch__zombie. Here's to you, sweetie!
Catch up on earlier chapters at the organizational post.
CHAPTER THREE
River had dozed a little but woke up when her stomach growled. Jayne had been gone much longer than two hours. It was well past her usual suppertime not to mention the little snack she would have after her last class. To further add to her discomfort, she really needed to urinate. Preferably soon or she’d have to embarrass herself.
A sudden rattling at the door made her tense up and Jayne let himself in, swinging a greasy paper bag. “Ya like burgers?”
“I don’t know,” she answered.
“Guess you’re gonna find out.” He shut the door and locked it. “I’m gonna let ya up to eat. No kickin’, scratchin’, biting, punchin’, or nothin’ else that’s like to make Jayne go ouch and kill big brother, got it?”
River sighed in exasperation. “Understood.”
“Just so we’re clear,” Jayne said. He unlocked the cuffs and even if she had wanted to scratch at Jayne, her arms had gone dead.
She shook them to try to get the feeling back. “May I use the bathroom?”
Jayne had thrown the bag onto the table and was shrugging out of his jacket. He gave her an odd look. “Yeah, go ahead.”
Once she could actually move her arms, River made quick use of the facilities, making a face at all the rust in the toilet. At least she hoped it was rust.
After rinsing her hands for there wasn’t any soap, River found Jayne at the table already well into his fast food meal. He took a large bite out of a burger the size of a small meteor and gestured at the chair in front of him.
“Ake a feat,” he said, spraying chunks of beef.
Hesitantly, River sat down in the offered chair and reached into the paper bag. Her parents had been strict with her and Simon’s diet while they were growing up. No fast food ever, only healthy meals made especially by their cook, Katherine. River was now old enough to make her own dietary decisions, but years of studying dance and watching her weight had put fast food low on her list of desired foodstuffs. She unwrapped the crackly yellow paper, revealing a lopsided burger.
“If ya don’t like it, I’ll eat it,” Jayne said a little eagerly.
“I told you I don’t know if I like it,” River replied, testily. “I’ve never eaten a hamburger before.”
“Then try it,” Jayne snapped back. “What are ya waitin’ for, a written invitation?”
Glaring at him, River took a bite of the burger and millions of flavors exploded on her tongue. First the meat, then the toasted bread, the ketchup, the mustard, and ugh, the pickle. With some difficulty, she swallowed the mouthful and lifted the top bun to fish out the offending article.
“Aww, don’t take it apart.” Jayne’s voice dripped with disdain. “You’ll ruin it.”
River gave him a frosty look. “I don’t like pickles.” She held the little slices out to him. “You can eat them for me if you’d like.”
“Yeah, okay,” he replied and held his hand out. She dropped them in his palm, her fingertips brushing lightly against his callused skin. The small contact caused a flash of heat to speed up her arm and she drew back sharply enough to accidentally elbow herself in the side. Jayne smirked at her infuriatingly and popped the pickles into his mouth.
They ate in silence for a time. The bag also held French fries and soft drinks with scrunchy straws to drink from and it was a nice meal, considering it had hardly any nutritious value to speak of. It was nice not to have to fill the air with conversation, the way her parents always did at mealtimes. River, how was school? Simon, how were things at the hospital? Gabriel, I saw Mildred today and she said blah blah blah.
Still, old habits die hard.
“What are you going to do with me?” River asked.
Jayne swallowed his mouthful of French fries. “After this I’m cuffin’ ya back to the bed and settin’ up that cot. I’m tired.”
“I mean what’s the point of all this?” She looked around the room and back to him. “What’s the object of this caper? Ransom?”
He stared at her a long moment and then nodded. “Yeah. Ransom.”
She nodded back and looked down at her half-eaten burger. Maybe she could put it in the refrigerator for later. “How much are you asking for?”
“Five hundred.”
Her head snapped up to gape at him. “Thousand?”
“Yeah,” Jayne said, defensively.
Despite herself, she started to laugh. Really, really laugh. Unladylike snorts and she was even pounding her fist on the table.
“What the hell’s so funny?!” Jayne exclaimed.
“You’re not going to get it!” she shouted through her laughter. “If you wanted five hundred thousand credits, you’ve kidnapped the wrong Tam, Jayne.”
The look on his face made her laugh harder. God, what an absolutely ridiculous scenario. Kidnapping her and selling her into the sex trade or to slavers, that was a plan. But asking Gabriel Tam to part with his hard-earned money on account of his daughter? She’d seen better plans on those ludicrous serials she used to watch on the Cortex.
“What are you sayin’?” Jayne demanded.
River took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. “My father’s not going to pay your ransom. He’ll no doubt be glad to see the last of me. He’s practically said it himself every day the last five and a half years or so.” She giggled a little. “Five hundred thousand. Oh, my.”
“Why’s that?” He still looked a little stunned. If he hadn’t kidnapped her and threatened Simon’s life, she could almost feel bad for the oaf.
She took another bite of her hamburger to temporarily avoid answering the question. This wasn’t actually that funny but the stress of the day had gone to her head. Better laughter than tears.
“Five years ago, I had schools nearly jumping all over each other, begging me to attend,” River began. “A lot of them were very good, some very interesting, and I chose the one I’m going to now after a great deal of thought.” She took a sip of her drink. “They have excellent physics and dance programs. But one school in particular didn’t want to take no for an answer. The Academy.”
“That’s the name?” Jayne asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes. We looked into it but other than being government funded we didn’t find out much information. The secrecy worried me.” She frowned, staring off into the distance. “It could’ve been a trap for the brightest minds in the ‘verse, get them to attend a fake school just to experiment on them and turn them into super-weapons or something.”
“Super weapons?” Jayne said, skeptically. “That’ll be the day.”
River shrugged. “It’s just a silly idea I had. Anyway, the Academy continued to pursue me and started regularly sending letter after letter begging me to reconsider. It was like I’d broken off an engagement or something. Then they started making trouble for my father. Little things, but those tend to add up in the end and he’s very concerned about his position in the community. It doesn’t look good to one’s peers to have that much trouble with the government.”
Jayne chewed his burger thoughtfully. “Huh. Good thing you didn’t go, then.”
How had he drawn that conclusion? The trouble started because she hadn’t gone. He noticed her confusion and shrugged.
“Hell, all I’m sayin’ is if someone wants ta getcha that bad, they’re most like not lookin’ t’ make you tea ‘n dumplin’s.”
“That’s true,” River said, softly. A chill ran down her spine. Perhaps her silly idea hadn’t been so silly after all.
~*~
Once they’d both finished their meal, River used the bathroom again and Jayne wheeled out the cot. Wanting to be comfortable this time, she slipped off her shoes and started to roll down her stockings. Jayne watched this with apparent interest and didn’t seem phased when she glared at him.
“Is it really necessary to chain me up while I’m sleeping?” River asked irritably. She dropped the uncomfortable shoes to the floor and hung her stockings over the foot of the bed before flinging herself onto her back with a theatrical sigh.
“You kiddin’? A genius like you could find a way to disarm me and run in five seconds flat. It’s safest t’ keep you contained, girl.” Jayne came to the bedside with the cuffs and indicated she raise her arms before cuffing her as he’d done before.
Strange. Somehow, that felt like a compliment. She watched the big man carefully as he tucked her in and noticed how he wasn’t allowing himself to really touch her, just pushing the quilt quickly with his fingertips.
Finally, he stepped back and looked at her uncertainly. “Well…” He appeared to struggle over whether to say goodnight or not for a moment and then turned away.
River shut her eyes. She most likely wasn’t going to be getting any sleep. Usually when she was in a new place she never slept the first night. Add that idiosyncrasy to the fact that she’d just been abducted and that resulted in a sleepless night.
She heard the light switch off and Jayne make his way carefully to his cot. He ended up crashing into it and swearing softly under his breath, making River giggle.
“Shut it,” he muttered, sounding embarrassed.
Her giggling tapered off when she heard the rustle of clothes. She’d never been in a room when a man disrobed before. It put her off guard. He had said he wasn’t going to harm her, but he’d told so many lies already.
But there was only the squeak of the cot as he settled his considerable bulk onto it and there was nothing but the sound of his deep, even breathing until morning.
*term coined byguinny_hamilton
< Chapter Two : Chapter Four >
Title: Chapter Three (3/7)
Author: Toxic Corn
Rating: R
Disclaimer: Firefly is owned by Joss Whedon. I own nothing, sadly.
WARNING: This deals with some dark subject matter that may not appeal to everyone. Also, this is an AU where River never went to the Academy and Jayne never joined the Serenity crew. So if you're really into canon, this fic is not for you.
Summary: River and Jayne bond in their cozy little dungeon*.
Notes: Written as a gift to
sandwch__zombie. Here's to you, sweetie!Catch up on earlier chapters at the organizational post.
River had dozed a little but woke up when her stomach growled. Jayne had been gone much longer than two hours. It was well past her usual suppertime not to mention the little snack she would have after her last class. To further add to her discomfort, she really needed to urinate. Preferably soon or she’d have to embarrass herself.
A sudden rattling at the door made her tense up and Jayne let himself in, swinging a greasy paper bag. “Ya like burgers?”
“I don’t know,” she answered.
“Guess you’re gonna find out.” He shut the door and locked it. “I’m gonna let ya up to eat. No kickin’, scratchin’, biting, punchin’, or nothin’ else that’s like to make Jayne go ouch and kill big brother, got it?”
River sighed in exasperation. “Understood.”
“Just so we’re clear,” Jayne said. He unlocked the cuffs and even if she had wanted to scratch at Jayne, her arms had gone dead.
She shook them to try to get the feeling back. “May I use the bathroom?”
Jayne had thrown the bag onto the table and was shrugging out of his jacket. He gave her an odd look. “Yeah, go ahead.”
Once she could actually move her arms, River made quick use of the facilities, making a face at all the rust in the toilet. At least she hoped it was rust.
After rinsing her hands for there wasn’t any soap, River found Jayne at the table already well into his fast food meal. He took a large bite out of a burger the size of a small meteor and gestured at the chair in front of him.
“Ake a feat,” he said, spraying chunks of beef.
Hesitantly, River sat down in the offered chair and reached into the paper bag. Her parents had been strict with her and Simon’s diet while they were growing up. No fast food ever, only healthy meals made especially by their cook, Katherine. River was now old enough to make her own dietary decisions, but years of studying dance and watching her weight had put fast food low on her list of desired foodstuffs. She unwrapped the crackly yellow paper, revealing a lopsided burger.
“If ya don’t like it, I’ll eat it,” Jayne said a little eagerly.
“I told you I don’t know if I like it,” River replied, testily. “I’ve never eaten a hamburger before.”
“Then try it,” Jayne snapped back. “What are ya waitin’ for, a written invitation?”
Glaring at him, River took a bite of the burger and millions of flavors exploded on her tongue. First the meat, then the toasted bread, the ketchup, the mustard, and ugh, the pickle. With some difficulty, she swallowed the mouthful and lifted the top bun to fish out the offending article.
“Aww, don’t take it apart.” Jayne’s voice dripped with disdain. “You’ll ruin it.”
River gave him a frosty look. “I don’t like pickles.” She held the little slices out to him. “You can eat them for me if you’d like.”
“Yeah, okay,” he replied and held his hand out. She dropped them in his palm, her fingertips brushing lightly against his callused skin. The small contact caused a flash of heat to speed up her arm and she drew back sharply enough to accidentally elbow herself in the side. Jayne smirked at her infuriatingly and popped the pickles into his mouth.
They ate in silence for a time. The bag also held French fries and soft drinks with scrunchy straws to drink from and it was a nice meal, considering it had hardly any nutritious value to speak of. It was nice not to have to fill the air with conversation, the way her parents always did at mealtimes. River, how was school? Simon, how were things at the hospital? Gabriel, I saw Mildred today and she said blah blah blah.
Still, old habits die hard.
“What are you going to do with me?” River asked.
Jayne swallowed his mouthful of French fries. “After this I’m cuffin’ ya back to the bed and settin’ up that cot. I’m tired.”
“I mean what’s the point of all this?” She looked around the room and back to him. “What’s the object of this caper? Ransom?”
He stared at her a long moment and then nodded. “Yeah. Ransom.”
She nodded back and looked down at her half-eaten burger. Maybe she could put it in the refrigerator for later. “How much are you asking for?”
“Five hundred.”
Her head snapped up to gape at him. “Thousand?”
“Yeah,” Jayne said, defensively.
Despite herself, she started to laugh. Really, really laugh. Unladylike snorts and she was even pounding her fist on the table.
“What the hell’s so funny?!” Jayne exclaimed.
“You’re not going to get it!” she shouted through her laughter. “If you wanted five hundred thousand credits, you’ve kidnapped the wrong Tam, Jayne.”
The look on his face made her laugh harder. God, what an absolutely ridiculous scenario. Kidnapping her and selling her into the sex trade or to slavers, that was a plan. But asking Gabriel Tam to part with his hard-earned money on account of his daughter? She’d seen better plans on those ludicrous serials she used to watch on the Cortex.
“What are you sayin’?” Jayne demanded.
River took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. “My father’s not going to pay your ransom. He’ll no doubt be glad to see the last of me. He’s practically said it himself every day the last five and a half years or so.” She giggled a little. “Five hundred thousand. Oh, my.”
“Why’s that?” He still looked a little stunned. If he hadn’t kidnapped her and threatened Simon’s life, she could almost feel bad for the oaf.
She took another bite of her hamburger to temporarily avoid answering the question. This wasn’t actually that funny but the stress of the day had gone to her head. Better laughter than tears.
“Five years ago, I had schools nearly jumping all over each other, begging me to attend,” River began. “A lot of them were very good, some very interesting, and I chose the one I’m going to now after a great deal of thought.” She took a sip of her drink. “They have excellent physics and dance programs. But one school in particular didn’t want to take no for an answer. The Academy.”
“That’s the name?” Jayne asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes. We looked into it but other than being government funded we didn’t find out much information. The secrecy worried me.” She frowned, staring off into the distance. “It could’ve been a trap for the brightest minds in the ‘verse, get them to attend a fake school just to experiment on them and turn them into super-weapons or something.”
“Super weapons?” Jayne said, skeptically. “That’ll be the day.”
River shrugged. “It’s just a silly idea I had. Anyway, the Academy continued to pursue me and started regularly sending letter after letter begging me to reconsider. It was like I’d broken off an engagement or something. Then they started making trouble for my father. Little things, but those tend to add up in the end and he’s very concerned about his position in the community. It doesn’t look good to one’s peers to have that much trouble with the government.”
Jayne chewed his burger thoughtfully. “Huh. Good thing you didn’t go, then.”
How had he drawn that conclusion? The trouble started because she hadn’t gone. He noticed her confusion and shrugged.
“Hell, all I’m sayin’ is if someone wants ta getcha that bad, they’re most like not lookin’ t’ make you tea ‘n dumplin’s.”
“That’s true,” River said, softly. A chill ran down her spine. Perhaps her silly idea hadn’t been so silly after all.
Once they’d both finished their meal, River used the bathroom again and Jayne wheeled out the cot. Wanting to be comfortable this time, she slipped off her shoes and started to roll down her stockings. Jayne watched this with apparent interest and didn’t seem phased when she glared at him.
“Is it really necessary to chain me up while I’m sleeping?” River asked irritably. She dropped the uncomfortable shoes to the floor and hung her stockings over the foot of the bed before flinging herself onto her back with a theatrical sigh.
“You kiddin’? A genius like you could find a way to disarm me and run in five seconds flat. It’s safest t’ keep you contained, girl.” Jayne came to the bedside with the cuffs and indicated she raise her arms before cuffing her as he’d done before.
Strange. Somehow, that felt like a compliment. She watched the big man carefully as he tucked her in and noticed how he wasn’t allowing himself to really touch her, just pushing the quilt quickly with his fingertips.
Finally, he stepped back and looked at her uncertainly. “Well…” He appeared to struggle over whether to say goodnight or not for a moment and then turned away.
River shut her eyes. She most likely wasn’t going to be getting any sleep. Usually when she was in a new place she never slept the first night. Add that idiosyncrasy to the fact that she’d just been abducted and that resulted in a sleepless night.
She heard the light switch off and Jayne make his way carefully to his cot. He ended up crashing into it and swearing softly under his breath, making River giggle.
“Shut it,” he muttered, sounding embarrassed.
Her giggling tapered off when she heard the rustle of clothes. She’d never been in a room when a man disrobed before. It put her off guard. He had said he wasn’t going to harm her, but he’d told so many lies already.
But there was only the squeak of the cot as he settled his considerable bulk onto it and there was nothing but the sound of his deep, even breathing until morning.
*term coined by
guinny_hamilton< Chapter Two : Chapter Four >
