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toxic_cornSeries: Persephone
Title: Chapter Five (5/7)
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: The deal changes.
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 FIVE
“I’m not yours,” River whispered.
“I know.” Jayne cupped her cheek, staring into her impossibly dark eyes. “Kinda like to pretend you are, though.”
She smiled, shaking her head. “You’re too old for games.”
He shifted his position on top of her so his arousal ground against her thigh. She gasped and he took advantage of her opened mouth, dropping a hot, desperate kiss onto it.
“For some of ‘em, maybe,” he growled. Her hands went to his fly and slowly eased down the zipper. “I can think of a few I haven’t outgrown yet.”
Her fingers eased into his underwear and started to squeeze him. He slumped forwards, resting his forehead against hers. This little girl had made him hers forever.
“River…”
“Cobb,” she answered, all breathy. “Cobb if you don’t answer me in five seconds, you can forget about your share.”
“Huh?” Jayne jerked awake and could hear the fuzzy ranting of Hatchett on the walkie-talkie. He glanced over at the bed and noticed River was awake, glaring at him.
“Will you answer that?” she snapped. “He woke me from a pleasant dream.”
“Yeah, join the club,” Jayne muttered and scrambled off of the cot. He grabbed the walkie-talkie just as Hatchett was on the count of four. “What?!”
“It’s your lucky day, Cobb. Meet me at our usual place in half an hour.”
Lucky day? Must mean they’d be getting their money, soon. Either River’s father had gotten the money together or the Academy had made an offer to Hatchett’s liking. He glanced over at her and saw the worry in her face. Ruttin’ hell.
“I’ll be right there,” he said but there was no response.
“Could you let me up before you go?” River asked quietly. “I’d like to use the bathroom.”
“Yeah, sure.” Jayne wiped his face with his hands and sighed. “Just think, this time tomorrow, you’ll be home in yer own bed after gettin’ a decent meal and changin’ into your own clothes.”
“Don’t insult my intelligence,” she spat. Once she was loose she stormed to the bathroom and slammed the door so hard it was a miracle it didn’t break. “I hope your money is worth it!”
He couldn’t even muster up a response.
~*~
“So? Tam got the money together?”
Hatchett looked up in surprise. “You’re early.”
“Well?” Jayne demanded. “Did he?”
“No. Someone better.” Hatchett sat back and practically beamed. “We are both very rich men, Cobb.”
Jayne sagged into the chair opposite Hatchett. “Look, I been thinkin’. This whole thing with the girl ain’t sittin’ right with me. It don’t have to be fifty-fifty anymore if we send her on back home. I don’t like the idea of sellin’ her on to someone else.”
“When did you suddenly grow a conscience?” Hatchett asked, curiously. “No, wait, I don’t think that’s it. Let me see…” He sat back and studied Jayne for a long moment as Jayne fought not to reach across the table and punch the son of a bitch’s face in.
“Look, Hatchett-”
“Why, Jayne Cobb,” Hatchett drawled, “you’re in love.”
“You shut your gorramn mouth,” Jayne said, clenching his fist.
“You are! Jayne Cobb the mercenary is in love with a little school girl.” An ugly smile spread across Hatchett’s face. “I think I want to meet the girl who could steal your heart, Jayne.”
Jayne’s blood ran cold. He’d heard about what Hatchett did to women. The stories had always sounded so far-fetched that Jayne had figured they were just rumors put out there to give the fussy looking bastard a more dangerous reputation. But there was no denying the look on his face; he’d earned the reputation of a monster by deed and deed alone.
“No,” Jayne said flatly.
“You’ve behaving as if you have a choice here.” Hatchett’s eyes glittered. “I’ll stop by today before we make the drop.”
“Gorramn it, Hatchett!” Jayne slammed his fist on the table. “Fine. Have it your way, you miserable bastard.”
“Oh, don’t even think of playing the hero, Jayne.” Hatchett’s smile faded. “Don’t think of doing anything stupid. If you don’t give me any trouble, we’ll take the girl back to her family.” He shrugged. “Your cut will be much less, of course.”
Jayne stood up to leave. “Deal.”
“Good.” Hatchett’s smile returned. “Be sure to pretty her up before I get there.”
~*~
It had been so long since Jayne had last been to his hole in the wall apartment. Absence hadn’t made his heart grow any fonder of the place. He strode across the room and threw open the closet door.
There, all pretty and shiny, were his girls. He considered for a bit and then chose Samantha. She was a good-sized gun, felt right in his hand and was good enough to end the life of one Josh Hatchett.
No way was he gonna let that son of a bitch touch so much as a hair on River’s head.
He stuffed the gun down the back of his pants and hurried back to her.
~*~
River’s stomach couldn’t stop rolling. He was really going to do it. He was going to send her to the Academy, even after knowing what they would do to her. She couldn’t believe that one person could be so selfish. It was disappointing. She’d wanted to believe so badly that Jayne was a good person. Perhaps he wasn’t?
The door opened and Jayne came in looking troubled. “Hey. Need to go again?”
“No,” she said, staring up at the ceiling.
Jayne came to her side and unlocked her anyway. “Wanna play cards for awhile?”
“Not really.”
He sighed and sagged down on to her bed. “Listen, girl-”
“You don’t need to-” She stopped when she took a good look at his face. He wasn’t young, she knew that, but the lines that were barely noticeable before had deepened over the course of the day. This wasn’t easy for him even though he was infuriatingly stubborn for going along with it. “Jayne?”
“What.” He dropped his forehead into his palm, massaging where he no doubt was developing a headache.
“Why do you need that money?”
“I wanna get a ship of my own,” Jayne answered. “Get a business started up so I don’t gotta do the bidding of everyone else. ‘m sick of it.”
“Oh.” River again found herself reaching out to him. “I suppose that’s worth sacrificing a young girl’s life for.”
“Please don’t start,” Jayne said and his pleading tone both angered her and broke her heart.
“Fine. You look like you’ve wound yourself up, Jayne.” River scooted behind him and started to rub his shoulders. “Undid all of my work from last night. That’s very inconsiderate of you.”
He snorted out a laugh. “Sorry ‘bout that, magic hands.”
“That’s an odd term of endearment,” River teased, running her hands over his back. She allowed her hands to skim lower than usual; why not, she was going to be leaving soon and this might well be the last time she would get the opportunity to misbehave.
Her hand hit something cool and hard. A gun.
When she was a small child she’d read a tale from Earth-That-Was called Oliver Twist. She’d been fascinated by the character of the Artful Dodger and had practiced pick-pocketing on Simon for months until she could take his wallet without his ever noticing. It was still something she did from time to time, just to make Simon annoyed with her and call her a brat.
She could probably get the gun from Jayne, but she needed some more room to work. She didn’t even want to think about the reasons why he was carrying a gun today.
“Jayne?”
“Hm?”
“I need to get up.”
“Why?” he sounded annoyed and she bit her lip.
“Because I left my shirt hanging in the bathroom and I want to see if it’s dry now.”
He sighed heavily. “I’ll do it.” When he heaved himself up, she quickly slid the gun out of his waistband and tucked it under her pillow. Her heart couldn’t stop pounding and she had to school her features into an apologetic smile when he tossed a look at her over his shoulder.
She wasn’t losing her touch; he hadn’t felt a thing. Now what was she going to do with the gun? The image of holding it on him when he came out of the bathroom nearly made her laugh, it was so over-the-top and ridiculous. Like the girls in all the films she saw, holding a gun in their shaking hands as they sobbed and the villain wrenched it out of their weak hold.
“Almost dry,” Jayne said, coming back out to join her. “You got maybe another hour or so.”
“Thank you, Jayne.” She patted the bed. “I don’t think we were finished yet.” She inwardly winced when his eyes flashed with sexual intensity. “With your backrub,” she added, delicately.
“Yeah, I better let ya get back to it, magic hands,” he said with a teasing smile. He sat back down and added, “Don’t know who else is gonna work the kinks out of my back when you’re gone.”
“I’m sure you can go to any massage parlor in the city,” River said, icily. This was going to be easier, now that he’d reminded her of his intention to sell her to the Academy. But then he had to go and make her resolve waver.
“Wouldn’t be the same,” he muttered, regret in his tone.
Ai ya, she couldn’t do this anymore. Blinking back tears, River pressed a soft kiss to the nape of his neck, sliding her hand under the pillow. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“What for, you didn’t do any-”
With all of her strength, River brought the gun down hard on Jayne’s head and he crashed to the floor.
“Oh god!” River cried and dropped the weapon. She scurried to his side and felt for a pulse. It was there and strong. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “But I can’t go with them.”
Unsure of how long he was going to stay unconscious, River quickly changed into the clothes she’d washed that morning, the clothes she’d been brought to the basement in. She started to run out the door but paused.
It would behoove her to take the gun. The neighborhood didn’t strike her as a particularly good one and she’d need the protection. She scooped it up and tucked it into the waistband of her skirt, pulling out her blouse to disguise the weapon's presence.
Before leaving, she took one more look at Jayne. She couldn’t just leave him like that. A quick search of the bathroom revealed a bottle of over the counter pain relief medication and she left that along with a glass of water on the table. She found some napkins but no writing implements, so she had to improvise with a few packets of ketchup they’d been collecting from all of their fast food meals.
She left the note next to the glass then hurried out without allowing herself a backwards glance.
Maybe if we’d met under different circumstances...
< Chapter Four : Chapter Six >
Title: Chapter Five (5/7)
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: The deal changes.
Notes: Written as a gift to
sandwch__zombie. Here's to you, sweetie!Catch up on earlier chapters at the organizational post.
“I’m not yours,” River whispered.
“I know.” Jayne cupped her cheek, staring into her impossibly dark eyes. “Kinda like to pretend you are, though.”
She smiled, shaking her head. “You’re too old for games.”
He shifted his position on top of her so his arousal ground against her thigh. She gasped and he took advantage of her opened mouth, dropping a hot, desperate kiss onto it.
“For some of ‘em, maybe,” he growled. Her hands went to his fly and slowly eased down the zipper. “I can think of a few I haven’t outgrown yet.”
Her fingers eased into his underwear and started to squeeze him. He slumped forwards, resting his forehead against hers. This little girl had made him hers forever.
“River…”
“Cobb,” she answered, all breathy. “Cobb if you don’t answer me in five seconds, you can forget about your share.”
“Huh?” Jayne jerked awake and could hear the fuzzy ranting of Hatchett on the walkie-talkie. He glanced over at the bed and noticed River was awake, glaring at him.
“Will you answer that?” she snapped. “He woke me from a pleasant dream.”
“Yeah, join the club,” Jayne muttered and scrambled off of the cot. He grabbed the walkie-talkie just as Hatchett was on the count of four. “What?!”
“It’s your lucky day, Cobb. Meet me at our usual place in half an hour.”
Lucky day? Must mean they’d be getting their money, soon. Either River’s father had gotten the money together or the Academy had made an offer to Hatchett’s liking. He glanced over at her and saw the worry in her face. Ruttin’ hell.
“I’ll be right there,” he said but there was no response.
“Could you let me up before you go?” River asked quietly. “I’d like to use the bathroom.”
“Yeah, sure.” Jayne wiped his face with his hands and sighed. “Just think, this time tomorrow, you’ll be home in yer own bed after gettin’ a decent meal and changin’ into your own clothes.”
“Don’t insult my intelligence,” she spat. Once she was loose she stormed to the bathroom and slammed the door so hard it was a miracle it didn’t break. “I hope your money is worth it!”
He couldn’t even muster up a response.
“So? Tam got the money together?”
Hatchett looked up in surprise. “You’re early.”
“Well?” Jayne demanded. “Did he?”
“No. Someone better.” Hatchett sat back and practically beamed. “We are both very rich men, Cobb.”
Jayne sagged into the chair opposite Hatchett. “Look, I been thinkin’. This whole thing with the girl ain’t sittin’ right with me. It don’t have to be fifty-fifty anymore if we send her on back home. I don’t like the idea of sellin’ her on to someone else.”
“When did you suddenly grow a conscience?” Hatchett asked, curiously. “No, wait, I don’t think that’s it. Let me see…” He sat back and studied Jayne for a long moment as Jayne fought not to reach across the table and punch the son of a bitch’s face in.
“Look, Hatchett-”
“Why, Jayne Cobb,” Hatchett drawled, “you’re in love.”
“You shut your gorramn mouth,” Jayne said, clenching his fist.
“You are! Jayne Cobb the mercenary is in love with a little school girl.” An ugly smile spread across Hatchett’s face. “I think I want to meet the girl who could steal your heart, Jayne.”
Jayne’s blood ran cold. He’d heard about what Hatchett did to women. The stories had always sounded so far-fetched that Jayne had figured they were just rumors put out there to give the fussy looking bastard a more dangerous reputation. But there was no denying the look on his face; he’d earned the reputation of a monster by deed and deed alone.
“No,” Jayne said flatly.
“You’ve behaving as if you have a choice here.” Hatchett’s eyes glittered. “I’ll stop by today before we make the drop.”
“Gorramn it, Hatchett!” Jayne slammed his fist on the table. “Fine. Have it your way, you miserable bastard.”
“Oh, don’t even think of playing the hero, Jayne.” Hatchett’s smile faded. “Don’t think of doing anything stupid. If you don’t give me any trouble, we’ll take the girl back to her family.” He shrugged. “Your cut will be much less, of course.”
Jayne stood up to leave. “Deal.”
“Good.” Hatchett’s smile returned. “Be sure to pretty her up before I get there.”
It had been so long since Jayne had last been to his hole in the wall apartment. Absence hadn’t made his heart grow any fonder of the place. He strode across the room and threw open the closet door.
There, all pretty and shiny, were his girls. He considered for a bit and then chose Samantha. She was a good-sized gun, felt right in his hand and was good enough to end the life of one Josh Hatchett.
No way was he gonna let that son of a bitch touch so much as a hair on River’s head.
He stuffed the gun down the back of his pants and hurried back to her.
River’s stomach couldn’t stop rolling. He was really going to do it. He was going to send her to the Academy, even after knowing what they would do to her. She couldn’t believe that one person could be so selfish. It was disappointing. She’d wanted to believe so badly that Jayne was a good person. Perhaps he wasn’t?
The door opened and Jayne came in looking troubled. “Hey. Need to go again?”
“No,” she said, staring up at the ceiling.
Jayne came to her side and unlocked her anyway. “Wanna play cards for awhile?”
“Not really.”
He sighed and sagged down on to her bed. “Listen, girl-”
“You don’t need to-” She stopped when she took a good look at his face. He wasn’t young, she knew that, but the lines that were barely noticeable before had deepened over the course of the day. This wasn’t easy for him even though he was infuriatingly stubborn for going along with it. “Jayne?”
“What.” He dropped his forehead into his palm, massaging where he no doubt was developing a headache.
“Why do you need that money?”
“I wanna get a ship of my own,” Jayne answered. “Get a business started up so I don’t gotta do the bidding of everyone else. ‘m sick of it.”
“Oh.” River again found herself reaching out to him. “I suppose that’s worth sacrificing a young girl’s life for.”
“Please don’t start,” Jayne said and his pleading tone both angered her and broke her heart.
“Fine. You look like you’ve wound yourself up, Jayne.” River scooted behind him and started to rub his shoulders. “Undid all of my work from last night. That’s very inconsiderate of you.”
He snorted out a laugh. “Sorry ‘bout that, magic hands.”
“That’s an odd term of endearment,” River teased, running her hands over his back. She allowed her hands to skim lower than usual; why not, she was going to be leaving soon and this might well be the last time she would get the opportunity to misbehave.
Her hand hit something cool and hard. A gun.
When she was a small child she’d read a tale from Earth-That-Was called Oliver Twist. She’d been fascinated by the character of the Artful Dodger and had practiced pick-pocketing on Simon for months until she could take his wallet without his ever noticing. It was still something she did from time to time, just to make Simon annoyed with her and call her a brat.
She could probably get the gun from Jayne, but she needed some more room to work. She didn’t even want to think about the reasons why he was carrying a gun today.
“Jayne?”
“Hm?”
“I need to get up.”
“Why?” he sounded annoyed and she bit her lip.
“Because I left my shirt hanging in the bathroom and I want to see if it’s dry now.”
He sighed heavily. “I’ll do it.” When he heaved himself up, she quickly slid the gun out of his waistband and tucked it under her pillow. Her heart couldn’t stop pounding and she had to school her features into an apologetic smile when he tossed a look at her over his shoulder.
She wasn’t losing her touch; he hadn’t felt a thing. Now what was she going to do with the gun? The image of holding it on him when he came out of the bathroom nearly made her laugh, it was so over-the-top and ridiculous. Like the girls in all the films she saw, holding a gun in their shaking hands as they sobbed and the villain wrenched it out of their weak hold.
“Almost dry,” Jayne said, coming back out to join her. “You got maybe another hour or so.”
“Thank you, Jayne.” She patted the bed. “I don’t think we were finished yet.” She inwardly winced when his eyes flashed with sexual intensity. “With your backrub,” she added, delicately.
“Yeah, I better let ya get back to it, magic hands,” he said with a teasing smile. He sat back down and added, “Don’t know who else is gonna work the kinks out of my back when you’re gone.”
“I’m sure you can go to any massage parlor in the city,” River said, icily. This was going to be easier, now that he’d reminded her of his intention to sell her to the Academy. But then he had to go and make her resolve waver.
“Wouldn’t be the same,” he muttered, regret in his tone.
Ai ya, she couldn’t do this anymore. Blinking back tears, River pressed a soft kiss to the nape of his neck, sliding her hand under the pillow. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“What for, you didn’t do any-”
With all of her strength, River brought the gun down hard on Jayne’s head and he crashed to the floor.
“Oh god!” River cried and dropped the weapon. She scurried to his side and felt for a pulse. It was there and strong. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “But I can’t go with them.”
Unsure of how long he was going to stay unconscious, River quickly changed into the clothes she’d washed that morning, the clothes she’d been brought to the basement in. She started to run out the door but paused.
It would behoove her to take the gun. The neighborhood didn’t strike her as a particularly good one and she’d need the protection. She scooped it up and tucked it into the waistband of her skirt, pulling out her blouse to disguise the weapon's presence.
Before leaving, she took one more look at Jayne. She couldn’t just leave him like that. A quick search of the bathroom revealed a bottle of over the counter pain relief medication and she left that along with a glass of water on the table. She found some napkins but no writing implements, so she had to improvise with a few packets of ketchup they’d been collecting from all of their fast food meals.
She left the note next to the glass then hurried out without allowing herself a backwards glance.
Maybe if we’d met under different circumstances...
< Chapter Four : Chapter Six >
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Date: 2006-12-13 05:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-13 07:42 am (UTC)