Jayne/Simon prompt ficlet #11: Interval (PG)
Title: Interval
For: lyrstzha
Words: About 1200
Prompts: blood feud, polished, magnetic
Notes: This one is more Jayne, Simon than Jayne/Simon.
Disclaimer: Clearly I claim no ownership to the Firefly 'verse or its characters; nor am I making money from this fic writing thing.
"This is what happens," Jayne yells over the sound of gunfire and explosions, "when we set down in the middle of a gorram blood fued!"
He's too busy shooting to look at Simon while he yells, but Simon doesn't care because he isn't looking at Jayne either. He's listening to the sounds, trying to guess when Jayne makes a hit, and when he misses; he's trying to guess how many people are left out there, shooting.
But mostly, he's looking down at his hands, pressed hard against Zoe's shoulder, trying to stop the bleeding.
*
"Easy job." Mal assures them. "Take something from some folks, deliver it to another. Easiest job we've had in months."
Simon isn't about to dispute that, but Jayne snorts.
"How come every time you say it's easy, it ends up getting screwy?"
Mal frowns, briefly, but he can't exactly pretend it isn't true. "This one'll be easy," he says.
Simon doesn't look around the table. He doesn't want to see the doubt on the others' faces.
*
Zoe is staring up at him, her eyes unblinking.
"You'll be fine," Simon says, automatically, trying to ignore the way her blood wells up around his fingers. "Jayne'll shoot everyone who's shooting at us, the captain will stage a rescue, and I'll sew this up without even trying."
"Told him this was a bad idea," she says, her voice too soft. "Saw it coming."
Simon smiles at her gently. "We all know that the clairvoyant one is my sister." It might not be true - River never claims to see the future - but it keeps Zoe focused on him. "So you know what Mal would say - don't start getting any notions."
Her lips twitch slightly, and Simon takes it as recognition of his desperate humour.
*
The mayor of the town has a certain kind of magnetism. He and Mal are edgy with each other from the start, Simon can see that much. And he can tell why, too. The mayor draws in people the same way Mal does, with a force of personality that's hard to deny.
The mayor is just more polished about it. He doesn't have the rawness that Mal cultivates. There's something too slick about him, too practiced.
Simon distrusts him after three minutes of listening to him talk.
*
"Mayor's out there." Jayne yells. "Think it's him. He's the one shootin' the best. Big gun."
Simon isn't surprised to hear that. Smaller the man, bigger the gun, he wants to say. More often than not, it's true out here. The more small-minded or petty they are, the more ridiculous their guns get.
He doesn't say it, though, because Jayne's got some awfully big guns, even if he isn't quite as small-minded as Simon would have thought.
"You got a gun with you?" Jayne asks him, in a brief moment of quiet. The silence lends the illusion that they're safe. At least they'd been able to retreat into a fortified area. It seems that there are many in the town - makeshift shelters, surrounded by low metal walls, visibility clear on all sides.
"No. Don't you have enough with you?"
"Wasn't thinkin' for me. You're gonna have to fire, cover me, if I'm to get us outta here."
Simon looks down at his hands pointedly. Jayne follows his gaze, and curses.
Zoe's eyes are closed now.
*
Kaylee and River come back from a supply run in town. The rest of them are waiting for the job - the merchandise they're supposed to deliver will be available tomorrow. For once, they had arrived early.
There's disturbing news from the market.
"Sounds like a blood feud of some kind. Town's divided into two factions, maybe three, and they ain't friendly with each other. Heard that things are getting bad, going places no one expected. Got worse since the latest election. Mayor is maybe firing things up even worse." Kaylee tells them everything while she unpacks the food supplies. Simon watches as container after container fills the kitchen, all of it new, all of it holding the promise of actual flavour. "Ain't too clear on how it started, but it sounds like it ain't gonna end any time soon."
"You ever known a blood fued to end quick?" Jayne asks, sounding like maybe he has first-hand experience. Maybe one day, Simon will ask.
For now, he looks at Mal and Zoe. "This could be a problem."
River sighs. "It's already a problem."
"I don't like it," Zoe adds. "Never a good idea to get caught up in something that doesn't even make sense to the locals."
"We need the work," Mal says, and no one can disagree. "We don't get to be choosy right now." He looks at each of them in turn. "Just be careful, and don't go asking the locals questions about the situation."
None of them need the precaution.
*
Jayne suddenly sits up, aims, takes two shots. Simon hears distant yells of pain. "Mayor," Jayne grunts.
There's another brief, welcome moment of quiet. "Mal ain't gonna make it." Jayne is reloading as he speaks. "Not in time for her."
Simon already knows it's true.
"So, if you wanna get gone, I'm gonna have to go out there. So I'll need cover." He's reaching into his boot, pulling out a small, slim gun. Simon's seen it before, practiced with it even.
"Zoe -"
"Keep one hand on her, use the other for this."
He tosses the gun, and Simon just reacts, reaching up to catch it. His hand is wet, sticky with blood, sliding across the polished surface of the gun. But he doesn't drop it. "Jayne -"
"Just do it. She'd want it." And he's up, over the barrier, moving towards where the last of their assailants are sheltered.
Simon is stretched between two points, one hand pressing hard against Zoe's wound, the other holding the gun, struggling to keep it steady.
*
It isn't the job that goes south. They get the cargo, they load it, they deliver it, and they come back for the rest of the pay.
The mayor is waiting for them, with the money. After, even Simon's smiling about it.
The trouble comes later in town. Jayne, Zoe and Simon are shopping for last-minute, specific supplies. Simon has heard there's a good medical supply store in town - well stocked because of the continual violence - and now that they have money, he might as well spend it.
It's not clear what happens. Maybe they get mistaken for someone, maybe they get caught in the middle of something else, or maybe they were the targets. Simon's money is on the last one, but ultimately, it doesn't matter. Zoe gets hit, twice in the shoulder, hitting the ground hard. Jayne manages to drag her behind a shelter, already firing.
They never make it to the medical supply store.
*
Simon fires the gun, sees a man fall.
Glancing down at Zoe, he counts until she takes a breath.
When he looks back up again, someone is running towards them, gun in hand.
Simon shoots again, and says silent thanks for hours of monotonous target practice, Jayne's goading notwithstanding. He hears more shots in the distance, probably Jayne.
And then he hears something better, something almost beautiful. It's the sound of too much wind, mixed up with smooth engines. The shuttle. Simon looks up, briefly blinded by the sun.
When he looks back down, Zoe's still breathing. It's a ragged, broken rhythm, but she's breathing.
The shuttle lands.
End.
For: lyrstzha
Words: About 1200
Prompts: blood feud, polished, magnetic
Notes: This one is more Jayne, Simon than Jayne/Simon.
Disclaimer: Clearly I claim no ownership to the Firefly 'verse or its characters; nor am I making money from this fic writing thing.
"This is what happens," Jayne yells over the sound of gunfire and explosions, "when we set down in the middle of a gorram blood fued!"
He's too busy shooting to look at Simon while he yells, but Simon doesn't care because he isn't looking at Jayne either. He's listening to the sounds, trying to guess when Jayne makes a hit, and when he misses; he's trying to guess how many people are left out there, shooting.
But mostly, he's looking down at his hands, pressed hard against Zoe's shoulder, trying to stop the bleeding.
*
"Easy job." Mal assures them. "Take something from some folks, deliver it to another. Easiest job we've had in months."
Simon isn't about to dispute that, but Jayne snorts.
"How come every time you say it's easy, it ends up getting screwy?"
Mal frowns, briefly, but he can't exactly pretend it isn't true. "This one'll be easy," he says.
Simon doesn't look around the table. He doesn't want to see the doubt on the others' faces.
*
Zoe is staring up at him, her eyes unblinking.
"You'll be fine," Simon says, automatically, trying to ignore the way her blood wells up around his fingers. "Jayne'll shoot everyone who's shooting at us, the captain will stage a rescue, and I'll sew this up without even trying."
"Told him this was a bad idea," she says, her voice too soft. "Saw it coming."
Simon smiles at her gently. "We all know that the clairvoyant one is my sister." It might not be true - River never claims to see the future - but it keeps Zoe focused on him. "So you know what Mal would say - don't start getting any notions."
Her lips twitch slightly, and Simon takes it as recognition of his desperate humour.
*
The mayor of the town has a certain kind of magnetism. He and Mal are edgy with each other from the start, Simon can see that much. And he can tell why, too. The mayor draws in people the same way Mal does, with a force of personality that's hard to deny.
The mayor is just more polished about it. He doesn't have the rawness that Mal cultivates. There's something too slick about him, too practiced.
Simon distrusts him after three minutes of listening to him talk.
*
"Mayor's out there." Jayne yells. "Think it's him. He's the one shootin' the best. Big gun."
Simon isn't surprised to hear that. Smaller the man, bigger the gun, he wants to say. More often than not, it's true out here. The more small-minded or petty they are, the more ridiculous their guns get.
He doesn't say it, though, because Jayne's got some awfully big guns, even if he isn't quite as small-minded as Simon would have thought.
"You got a gun with you?" Jayne asks him, in a brief moment of quiet. The silence lends the illusion that they're safe. At least they'd been able to retreat into a fortified area. It seems that there are many in the town - makeshift shelters, surrounded by low metal walls, visibility clear on all sides.
"No. Don't you have enough with you?"
"Wasn't thinkin' for me. You're gonna have to fire, cover me, if I'm to get us outta here."
Simon looks down at his hands pointedly. Jayne follows his gaze, and curses.
Zoe's eyes are closed now.
*
Kaylee and River come back from a supply run in town. The rest of them are waiting for the job - the merchandise they're supposed to deliver will be available tomorrow. For once, they had arrived early.
There's disturbing news from the market.
"Sounds like a blood feud of some kind. Town's divided into two factions, maybe three, and they ain't friendly with each other. Heard that things are getting bad, going places no one expected. Got worse since the latest election. Mayor is maybe firing things up even worse." Kaylee tells them everything while she unpacks the food supplies. Simon watches as container after container fills the kitchen, all of it new, all of it holding the promise of actual flavour. "Ain't too clear on how it started, but it sounds like it ain't gonna end any time soon."
"You ever known a blood fued to end quick?" Jayne asks, sounding like maybe he has first-hand experience. Maybe one day, Simon will ask.
For now, he looks at Mal and Zoe. "This could be a problem."
River sighs. "It's already a problem."
"I don't like it," Zoe adds. "Never a good idea to get caught up in something that doesn't even make sense to the locals."
"We need the work," Mal says, and no one can disagree. "We don't get to be choosy right now." He looks at each of them in turn. "Just be careful, and don't go asking the locals questions about the situation."
None of them need the precaution.
*
Jayne suddenly sits up, aims, takes two shots. Simon hears distant yells of pain. "Mayor," Jayne grunts.
There's another brief, welcome moment of quiet. "Mal ain't gonna make it." Jayne is reloading as he speaks. "Not in time for her."
Simon already knows it's true.
"So, if you wanna get gone, I'm gonna have to go out there. So I'll need cover." He's reaching into his boot, pulling out a small, slim gun. Simon's seen it before, practiced with it even.
"Zoe -"
"Keep one hand on her, use the other for this."
He tosses the gun, and Simon just reacts, reaching up to catch it. His hand is wet, sticky with blood, sliding across the polished surface of the gun. But he doesn't drop it. "Jayne -"
"Just do it. She'd want it." And he's up, over the barrier, moving towards where the last of their assailants are sheltered.
Simon is stretched between two points, one hand pressing hard against Zoe's wound, the other holding the gun, struggling to keep it steady.
*
It isn't the job that goes south. They get the cargo, they load it, they deliver it, and they come back for the rest of the pay.
The mayor is waiting for them, with the money. After, even Simon's smiling about it.
The trouble comes later in town. Jayne, Zoe and Simon are shopping for last-minute, specific supplies. Simon has heard there's a good medical supply store in town - well stocked because of the continual violence - and now that they have money, he might as well spend it.
It's not clear what happens. Maybe they get mistaken for someone, maybe they get caught in the middle of something else, or maybe they were the targets. Simon's money is on the last one, but ultimately, it doesn't matter. Zoe gets hit, twice in the shoulder, hitting the ground hard. Jayne manages to drag her behind a shelter, already firing.
They never make it to the medical supply store.
*
Simon fires the gun, sees a man fall.
Glancing down at Zoe, he counts until she takes a breath.
When he looks back up again, someone is running towards them, gun in hand.
Simon shoots again, and says silent thanks for hours of monotonous target practice, Jayne's goading notwithstanding. He hears more shots in the distance, probably Jayne.
And then he hears something better, something almost beautiful. It's the sound of too much wind, mixed up with smooth engines. The shuttle. Simon looks up, briefly blinded by the sun.
When he looks back down, Zoe's still breathing. It's a ragged, broken rhythm, but she's breathing.
The shuttle lands.
End.