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toxic_cornSeries: The Present
Title: Chapter Four (4/11)
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
toxic_corn
Rating: R
Pairing: River/Jayne
Disclaimer: Firefly belongs to Joss Whedon. I own nothing and earn no money from this.
Summary: A mysterious package from Jayne's past will change the course of his future.
Notes: Another AU. This time, I didn't kill the crew. :D Everything is pretty much the same except River and Simon aren't on board the ship. At least, not right away. I was planning on holding off on updating this butcurikitten said it's been a slow fic day and I wanted to help her fic jones.
Get caught up at the organizational post.
CHAPTER FOUR
Jayne rested his back against his favorite tree and stared up at the sky, perfectly content. River had been helping him study for their big science test all week and today he'd taken it and gotten a B+ back. Mr. Ewing had damn near fallen over in shock. Old bastard was probably disappointed he'd seated River way the hell across the room so he couldn't accuse the two of them of cheating.
River had been so proud of his grade she'd announced they were going to have a celebration picnic in their spot. His belly gurgled at the thought. The Tam family cook was almost as good as his Ma. Well, around River, he admitted that Kat was better just to avoid a fight but everyone in the county knew that Vera Cobb made the best damn potato salad in all creation.
The bushes nearby rustled and River emerged, grinning and lugging a basket nearly as big as she was.
"Hot damn, ya need some help with that?" Jayne jumped up and rushed over, taking the basket.
"Thank you. A few stray dogs followed me for a block or two and I started to get nervous." River took the blanket she had folded over her shoulder and shook it out.
"Yeah, don't want no mutts eatin' my victory feast." He grinned at her and waited impatiently for her to spread the blanket on the ground. "Got all my favorites?"
"Of course. Kat informed me she wasn't running a restaurant but I could tell she enjoyed making everything." River sat down, curling her legs up daintily. "Well? Are you going to sit down?"
These days, neither of them had much time for playing in their spot. Big tests determining what classes they were going to go into next year were coming up. Normally, Jayne didn't care about that kind of thing but River took it seriously and spent a lot of her time studying. And what's a guy supposed to do without his best friend? He'd been studying some, but he just wasn't as smart as River, despite what she said in protest.
So he was kind of taking a moment to just look at her in these well-loved surroundings. Same old Riv, overly serious but then she could surprise you with a well-timed silly comment that revealed that she really was just eight years old.
When he realized he was gawking at her, he quickly sat down and watched eagerly as she pulled out wax-paper wrapped sandwiches full of thick slices of ham and cheese, macaroni salad, deviled eggs, apple pie... Jayne salivated over each revealed item.
River helped herself to one of the turkey sandwiches she preferred and nibbled at it politely. "Go ahead, Jayne."
"I don't know where to start," he said honestly.
She picked up one of the ham sandwiches and handed it to him. "Start here."
He grinned and accepted it, taking a big bite. As he chewed, he considered River. She was younger than him, yes, but there was no denying she was pretty. Today she had her hair in braids and Jayne wasn't sure he liked that much. Or her navy blue sweater and usual checked skirt. But he could overlook that kind of thing when she smiled at him, which she was doing now.
"What?" she asked.
"You ever been kissed yet, River?" Jayne asked before he could stop himself.
Her eyes widened in surprise. "You know I haven't!"
"I do?" he asked, puzzled.
"You're my best friend," she said, softly. "If I had been kissed, you'd be the first to know."
That made him grin. "So you ain't been kissed?"
"I have not, no."
He considered that a moment and then nodded, setting his sandwich aside. "Right then. Best get on that."
"I beg your pardon?" River's eyes were the size of dinner plates.
"You ain't been kissed yet and I'm gonna be the one ta do the honors. Now come here."
"No!" Her round apple cheeks turned a pretty shade of pink. "You're..."
"What?" Jayne said, starting to feel nervous. Didn't she wanna kiss him?
"I don't know," she said, miserably. "Have you ever been kissed before?"
"Sure I have," he lied. When she gave him a look, he ducked his head. "Well, okay, no. But you've been able to teach me so much this year, I thought maybe we could learn this bit together."
River bit her lip. "So this would be for educational purposes?"
He jumped on that. "Right. Educational."
She took a deep breath and set her own sandwich aside. "All right." Nervously, she wiped her hands on her skirt. "How do we...?"
"Close your eyes and lean forward," Jayne instructed her. "I'll meet ya halfway."
"This isn't a trick, is it?" River asked, warily. "Like when you told me to open my mouth for a surprise and you put a dirt clod in it?"
"That was forever ago!" Jayne said, defensively. "Are you gonna kiss me or not?!"
For a second, it looked like she was going to say "or not" but she closed her eyes and leaned forward. Jayne took a second to clear his throat which had suddenly gone dry, and inched close to her, lowering his head to hers.
His breath was coming fast and excited though he tried to control it. Maybe he should've brought some breath mints along? Hell, he hadn't planned on this; it'd just happened. He paused a centimeter from her mouth. I'm about to kiss River Tam.
Heart pounding, he pressed his lips to hers. So soft. Without realizing it, one his hands rose up to cup her soft, velvety cheek. She made a little noise in the back of her throat and started to kiss him back. For some reason, Jayne felt like he wanted to cry which was confusing since he wasn't sad. He was probably the happiest he'd ever been.
They broke apart at the same time and Jayne sank back on his heels to look at her expectantly. He grinned when he saw River still had her eyes closed, smiling, her cheeks still a pretty pink.
"I think you liked that," he said, slyly.
Her eyes fluttered slowly open. "It wasn't displeasing," she said.
His face fell but he quickly recovered himself. "That's it? Not displeasing?" He narrowed his eyes at her. "How come you're blushing and lookin' all swoony, then?"
"I don't look swoony!"
"You do, too!" he snapped. "You look like a swoony girl! Probably got a crush on me now and everything." When she turned a darker shade of red, he smiled meanly. That's what she got for hurting his feelings. "River Tam's got herself a cruuuuuuush!"
"I do not!" River leapt up and kicked the basket over, spilling the remaining food. "I hate you, Jayne Cobb! I hope you... I hope you..." She burst into tears and ran off through the branches.
"River!" Jayne jumped to his feet and ran after her, instantly regretting everything. "River, come back!" He stumbled over a tree root and fell on his face. By the time he'd scrambled up again, she was long gone.
~*~
It took hours for Jayne to work up his nerve to go apologize to River. After the way he acted, he wouldn't blame her if she never spoke to him again. She'd been all nice and sweet to help him get his B+, then get him a nice picnic, and then kiss him when he'd asked. And what did he go and do? Torment her and make her cry, just because she hadn't gone falling over herself saying he was the best kisser in the 'verse.
Taking a deep breath to steady his shaky nerves, Jayne knocked on the kitchen door. For some crazy reason he was welcome at the front door, Mr. Tam had said so, but he felt more comfortable entering the Tam house through the kitchen. A lot of people he knew worked there.
A young woman with a friendly, freckled face and pretty strawberry blonde hair opened the door. "Hey, Jayney. How'd you like your picnic?"
"It uh, was good. I brung back the basket for ya." He held it out to her and she took it from him.
"Wanna come in? River's about to have her milk and cookies before she goes to bed. Why are ya over here so late, anyway? Isn't it a school night?" Kat stepped back and Jayne hesitated before coming inside.
"I forgot about the basket and I remembered late is all," Jayne muttered.
Kat looked at him and Jayne knew she knew all about the fight. "Well, River should be down any minute. You still like chocolate chip, right?"
"Right."
Jayne leaned against the counter and watched as Kat opened the oven and pulled out a tray of cookies. The butterflies in his stomach were keeping him from wanting any, however, so the scent of the melted chocolate was wasted on him.
"Kat? I changed my mind; I just want regular milk not chocolate." River came down the kitchen stairs, all clean and in her dressing gown. Her long, dark hair spilled over her shoulders and she was hugging a stuffed white rabbit to her chest. She looked happy but froze in place when she saw Jayne. "Oh!"
"Uh, hi," Jayne said, awkwardly.
"Hello." River pretended like her rabbit needed to be fiddled with.
"Look. Uh." Oh hell, he wanted his best friend back. "River, I'm sorry I was mean to ya. Don't hate me no more, okay?"
She gave him a shocked look. "I don't hate you!"
"Well, I deserve it at least."
"No." River went to him and took his hand. "I could never hate you."
He looked at her imploringly. "So you forgive me?"
River nodded. "I do," she said, making Jayne beam.
"Hey, you two. Cookies and milk time. And then I'll walk you to your house on my way home, Jayne." Kat smiled at them and gestured to the little kitchen table. Once they sat down, she left them two glasses of milk and a plate of cookies then made some excuse to leave the room.
"To friendship," River said, holding up her cup of milk.
"To friendship," Jayne agreed.
They clinked their glasses together and dug into their cookies.
< Chapter Three : Chapter Five >
Title: Chapter Four (4/11)
Author:
toxic_cornRating: R
Pairing: River/Jayne
Disclaimer: Firefly belongs to Joss Whedon. I own nothing and earn no money from this.
Summary: A mysterious package from Jayne's past will change the course of his future.
Notes: Another AU. This time, I didn't kill the crew. :D Everything is pretty much the same except River and Simon aren't on board the ship. At least, not right away. I was planning on holding off on updating this but
curikitten said it's been a slow fic day and I wanted to help her fic jones.Get caught up at the organizational post.
Jayne rested his back against his favorite tree and stared up at the sky, perfectly content. River had been helping him study for their big science test all week and today he'd taken it and gotten a B+ back. Mr. Ewing had damn near fallen over in shock. Old bastard was probably disappointed he'd seated River way the hell across the room so he couldn't accuse the two of them of cheating.
River had been so proud of his grade she'd announced they were going to have a celebration picnic in their spot. His belly gurgled at the thought. The Tam family cook was almost as good as his Ma. Well, around River, he admitted that Kat was better just to avoid a fight but everyone in the county knew that Vera Cobb made the best damn potato salad in all creation.
The bushes nearby rustled and River emerged, grinning and lugging a basket nearly as big as she was.
"Hot damn, ya need some help with that?" Jayne jumped up and rushed over, taking the basket.
"Thank you. A few stray dogs followed me for a block or two and I started to get nervous." River took the blanket she had folded over her shoulder and shook it out.
"Yeah, don't want no mutts eatin' my victory feast." He grinned at her and waited impatiently for her to spread the blanket on the ground. "Got all my favorites?"
"Of course. Kat informed me she wasn't running a restaurant but I could tell she enjoyed making everything." River sat down, curling her legs up daintily. "Well? Are you going to sit down?"
These days, neither of them had much time for playing in their spot. Big tests determining what classes they were going to go into next year were coming up. Normally, Jayne didn't care about that kind of thing but River took it seriously and spent a lot of her time studying. And what's a guy supposed to do without his best friend? He'd been studying some, but he just wasn't as smart as River, despite what she said in protest.
So he was kind of taking a moment to just look at her in these well-loved surroundings. Same old Riv, overly serious but then she could surprise you with a well-timed silly comment that revealed that she really was just eight years old.
When he realized he was gawking at her, he quickly sat down and watched eagerly as she pulled out wax-paper wrapped sandwiches full of thick slices of ham and cheese, macaroni salad, deviled eggs, apple pie... Jayne salivated over each revealed item.
River helped herself to one of the turkey sandwiches she preferred and nibbled at it politely. "Go ahead, Jayne."
"I don't know where to start," he said honestly.
She picked up one of the ham sandwiches and handed it to him. "Start here."
He grinned and accepted it, taking a big bite. As he chewed, he considered River. She was younger than him, yes, but there was no denying she was pretty. Today she had her hair in braids and Jayne wasn't sure he liked that much. Or her navy blue sweater and usual checked skirt. But he could overlook that kind of thing when she smiled at him, which she was doing now.
"What?" she asked.
"You ever been kissed yet, River?" Jayne asked before he could stop himself.
Her eyes widened in surprise. "You know I haven't!"
"I do?" he asked, puzzled.
"You're my best friend," she said, softly. "If I had been kissed, you'd be the first to know."
That made him grin. "So you ain't been kissed?"
"I have not, no."
He considered that a moment and then nodded, setting his sandwich aside. "Right then. Best get on that."
"I beg your pardon?" River's eyes were the size of dinner plates.
"You ain't been kissed yet and I'm gonna be the one ta do the honors. Now come here."
"No!" Her round apple cheeks turned a pretty shade of pink. "You're..."
"What?" Jayne said, starting to feel nervous. Didn't she wanna kiss him?
"I don't know," she said, miserably. "Have you ever been kissed before?"
"Sure I have," he lied. When she gave him a look, he ducked his head. "Well, okay, no. But you've been able to teach me so much this year, I thought maybe we could learn this bit together."
River bit her lip. "So this would be for educational purposes?"
He jumped on that. "Right. Educational."
She took a deep breath and set her own sandwich aside. "All right." Nervously, she wiped her hands on her skirt. "How do we...?"
"Close your eyes and lean forward," Jayne instructed her. "I'll meet ya halfway."
"This isn't a trick, is it?" River asked, warily. "Like when you told me to open my mouth for a surprise and you put a dirt clod in it?"
"That was forever ago!" Jayne said, defensively. "Are you gonna kiss me or not?!"
For a second, it looked like she was going to say "or not" but she closed her eyes and leaned forward. Jayne took a second to clear his throat which had suddenly gone dry, and inched close to her, lowering his head to hers.
His breath was coming fast and excited though he tried to control it. Maybe he should've brought some breath mints along? Hell, he hadn't planned on this; it'd just happened. He paused a centimeter from her mouth. I'm about to kiss River Tam.
Heart pounding, he pressed his lips to hers. So soft. Without realizing it, one his hands rose up to cup her soft, velvety cheek. She made a little noise in the back of her throat and started to kiss him back. For some reason, Jayne felt like he wanted to cry which was confusing since he wasn't sad. He was probably the happiest he'd ever been.
They broke apart at the same time and Jayne sank back on his heels to look at her expectantly. He grinned when he saw River still had her eyes closed, smiling, her cheeks still a pretty pink.
"I think you liked that," he said, slyly.
Her eyes fluttered slowly open. "It wasn't displeasing," she said.
His face fell but he quickly recovered himself. "That's it? Not displeasing?" He narrowed his eyes at her. "How come you're blushing and lookin' all swoony, then?"
"I don't look swoony!"
"You do, too!" he snapped. "You look like a swoony girl! Probably got a crush on me now and everything." When she turned a darker shade of red, he smiled meanly. That's what she got for hurting his feelings. "River Tam's got herself a cruuuuuuush!"
"I do not!" River leapt up and kicked the basket over, spilling the remaining food. "I hate you, Jayne Cobb! I hope you... I hope you..." She burst into tears and ran off through the branches.
"River!" Jayne jumped to his feet and ran after her, instantly regretting everything. "River, come back!" He stumbled over a tree root and fell on his face. By the time he'd scrambled up again, she was long gone.
It took hours for Jayne to work up his nerve to go apologize to River. After the way he acted, he wouldn't blame her if she never spoke to him again. She'd been all nice and sweet to help him get his B+, then get him a nice picnic, and then kiss him when he'd asked. And what did he go and do? Torment her and make her cry, just because she hadn't gone falling over herself saying he was the best kisser in the 'verse.
Taking a deep breath to steady his shaky nerves, Jayne knocked on the kitchen door. For some crazy reason he was welcome at the front door, Mr. Tam had said so, but he felt more comfortable entering the Tam house through the kitchen. A lot of people he knew worked there.
A young woman with a friendly, freckled face and pretty strawberry blonde hair opened the door. "Hey, Jayney. How'd you like your picnic?"
"It uh, was good. I brung back the basket for ya." He held it out to her and she took it from him.
"Wanna come in? River's about to have her milk and cookies before she goes to bed. Why are ya over here so late, anyway? Isn't it a school night?" Kat stepped back and Jayne hesitated before coming inside.
"I forgot about the basket and I remembered late is all," Jayne muttered.
Kat looked at him and Jayne knew she knew all about the fight. "Well, River should be down any minute. You still like chocolate chip, right?"
"Right."
Jayne leaned against the counter and watched as Kat opened the oven and pulled out a tray of cookies. The butterflies in his stomach were keeping him from wanting any, however, so the scent of the melted chocolate was wasted on him.
"Kat? I changed my mind; I just want regular milk not chocolate." River came down the kitchen stairs, all clean and in her dressing gown. Her long, dark hair spilled over her shoulders and she was hugging a stuffed white rabbit to her chest. She looked happy but froze in place when she saw Jayne. "Oh!"
"Uh, hi," Jayne said, awkwardly.
"Hello." River pretended like her rabbit needed to be fiddled with.
"Look. Uh." Oh hell, he wanted his best friend back. "River, I'm sorry I was mean to ya. Don't hate me no more, okay?"
She gave him a shocked look. "I don't hate you!"
"Well, I deserve it at least."
"No." River went to him and took his hand. "I could never hate you."
He looked at her imploringly. "So you forgive me?"
River nodded. "I do," she said, making Jayne beam.
"Hey, you two. Cookies and milk time. And then I'll walk you to your house on my way home, Jayne." Kat smiled at them and gestured to the little kitchen table. Once they sat down, she left them two glasses of milk and a plate of cookies then made some excuse to leave the room.
"To friendship," River said, holding up her cup of milk.
"To friendship," Jayne agreed.
They clinked their glasses together and dug into their cookies.
< Chapter Three : Chapter Five >
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-01-18 10:38 pm (UTC)Want more! : )
no subject
Date: 2007-01-19 01:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-18 10:42 pm (UTC)I'm done sing-songing now. It just felt necessary.
Right. Back to work that includes academic things.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-19 01:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-18 10:45 pm (UTC)Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww... so cute!!
More ittybitty!Jayne and ittybitty!River, please!
And I really really want to know who put her in that cryo thing!
no subject
Date: 2007-01-19 01:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-18 11:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-19 01:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-19 12:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-19 02:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-19 12:32 am (UTC)This gets better and better. I'm enjoying storytelling back and forth of present and past.
*goes back to re-read*
no subject
Date: 2007-01-19 02:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-19 12:37 am (UTC)*sniffles*
awwwwwww
no subject
Date: 2007-01-19 02:06 am (UTC)*hugs you*
I'm glad you like it!
no subject
Date: 2007-01-19 01:19 am (UTC)But what a way to die....
no subject
Date: 2007-01-19 02:07 am (UTC)Can't have ya dying now!
no subject
Date: 2007-01-19 11:57 am (UTC)I have to join in with the awwwwww's. The contrast between the lovely past and the not so lovely future is going to be pretty grim.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-19 08:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-19 07:15 pm (UTC)Damn. 8 and 10. He sure moves fast, doesn't he?
no subject
Date: 2007-01-19 08:01 pm (UTC)