Five Times that River Made Jayne Truly Smile
Five Times That River Made Jayne Truly Smile
as requested by nutmeg610
1.
Jayne sucked gently on the webbing between his thumb and index finger where blood was oozing out of the torn skin. He’d been fixing the loose railing in the cargo bay when the screwdriver had slipped, slicing his hand clear open on the sharp edge. He headed to see the Doc, hoping that the wound wouldn’t need stitches, just a quick weave and a bandage. When he passed the brightly lit sterile room, noting the doctor’s absence, he almost continued on without a second glance until he saw River sitting on the infirmary’s exam table, her dangling legs kicking back and forth.
“Yer brother around?” Jayne looked skeptically around the room as if expecting the doctor to be hiding somewhere, before settling his gaze on the waiflike girl in front of him.
“Simon is preparing my medications.” Her voice was so soft and calm even Jayne wondered if all the medicine Simon was pumping into the girl was necessary.
“I guess I’ll just wait for ‘im then.” He stood unsure of himself for a moment in the awkward silence that followed before pulling himself to his full height, striding over to the table and plopping down next to her.
Jayne spent the next few minutes alternating between sucking on the cut and poking at it to watch the blood well up through the split skin. It had nearly stopped bleeding now and he was getting tired of waiting. Just seconds before he decided that he could handle the cut on his own, he felt River’s small hand pull his close to her face to inspect it.
Maybe it was because she’d seemed so lucid that day or the loss of blood was affecting his judgment, but instead of yelling at her and cussing her out for touching him, he willingly followed when she dragged him over to the sink to wash out the wound with the little pink bar of antibacterial soap. Neither did he struggle when she dabbed healing ointment onto his hand and he almost enjoyed feeling her breath on his skin when she carefully secured a thick piece of gauze onto the cut and wrapped a bandage around it.
Later, he wouldn’t remember if he’d thanked her or not, but he knew that every time he saw that thin scar on his hand, he thought of her taking care of him that day and he smiled.
2.
It was safe to say that Jayne was having a bad day. He’d overslept that morning and had missed breakfast, so his stomach had rumbled painfully most of the day, he’d stubbed his toe on his way down to the cargo bay and the job they’d just come back from had gone horribly south, resulting in him having to save the crazy girl’s pi gu when she went wooly and refused to fight.
He grumped and grumbled as he limped back to his room, nursing his swollen ankle and bruised jaw. Hearing footsteps rushing up behind him, he paused in front of his bunk and turned to face whoever was approaching. The girl hurried over to him, an almost bashful look to her as she shuffled her feet and peeked up at him through her lashes.
Jayne rolled his eyes and mumbled, “Whaddya want?”
River chewed her lip slightly before hopping onto her tiptoes and pressing a quick kiss to his stubbled cheek and dashing away, her giggle dissolving into the air behind her. He frowned fiercely at her retreating figure and gingerly climbed down into the privacy of his bunk where an unwelcome and bitterly unwanted smile crawled onto his lips.
3.
Jayne was gasping and grunting while River rode him hard. Her small breasts bounced jauntily, pink tips hardened and tingling with delight. She paused mid-thrust to turn her body around so she faced his feet, his stiff cock still buried inside her. She bent nearly in half, her head touching the mattress somewhere between his knees as her lower half continued to buck against him.
Her passionate moans almost drowned out his own as he came, having the most powerful orgasm he’d ever experienced. He lay panting and spent, waiting for his nerve endings to stop buzzing and his brain to coalesce from its liquefied state again. Right about now most girls would either snuggle up next to him to fall asleep with their heads on his chest, or run off to the bathroom to shower off the sweat and cum, and Jayne fully expected River to be no different, but when she crawled up his body, grinned at him and eagerly asked if they could do it again, he couldn’t keep the surprised smile off his face.
4.
Once he got the idea in his head, it was all he could think about. How would he do it? Would he get down on one knee and beg like they did in the movies? Would she want him to do it in front of everyone or save it until they were completely alone? He didn’t savor the thought of there being witnesses to his humiliation if she said no and the time they spent alone together always led to sexin’ and he didn’t imagine she’d appreciate bein’ told that he loved her when they was getting’ it on; might make her think he only wanted her for the sex. Place, time, words; it all had to be perfect, and he wracked his brain trying to come up with the best way to do it.
He was still thinking on it when he went to bed that night and he found it impossible to concentrate on anything else. He shook his head irritably when River’s soft hand tried to burrow into his sleep shorts and turned away, falling asleep with his back to her. Waking up the next morning, he found River had already gotten up. Her side of the bed was cold, the blankets smoothed down, and there was a small square of paper resting lightly on her pillow. Squinting through his tired gritty eyes he read her loopy script that was scrawled across it, “My answer is yes.”
The smile that stretched across his face from ear to ear almost hurt his cheeks with its intensity. She’d agreed to be his wife and hadn’t even made him ask.
5.
When she told him at dinner that they needed to have a talk, Jayne started to worry. “Talks” were never a good thing and the last time they’d had one, she’d broken things off with him, spoutin’ something about her not being the kind of woman he wanted. He’d hoped they were past that kind of thing, seein’ as how he’d married her and all. That oughta have proved to her that she was exactly the kind of woman he wanted. So, what could this “talk” be about, he wondered.
He watched River climb carefully down the ladder into his bunk and he stood from his perch on the edge of his bed where he’d been waiting for her. Worry swamped his mind and he couldn’t think of anything to say, so he stayed quiet, allowing her to speak first.
She took his hand in her own and traced along the lines of his palm. “Heart, life, fate; all determine the paths we follow. Lines across our hands and strings that tie souls together. Love begets life and two becomes three.”
When it became obvious that Jayne hadn’t understood a word she was saying, River tried another tactic. Meeting his eyes in her steady gaze, she pressed his hand to her flat warm stomach and smiled dreamily up at him.
He furrowed his brow in confusion. What was so important about her tummy that they needed to talk about? And why was she smilin’ about it?
“Love begets life.” he mumbled under his breath, trying to put the pieces together. River nodded encouragingly.
And then it clicked.
“Two becomes three?” he asked excitedly. “We’re gonna be three?!”
With a whoop he dragged her into his arms and nearly pulled her off her feet with the strength of his hug. She felt him smile against her neck and giggled at his excitement. But it was the hot tears on her skin that made her fall in love with him all over again.
as requested by nutmeg610
1.
Jayne sucked gently on the webbing between his thumb and index finger where blood was oozing out of the torn skin. He’d been fixing the loose railing in the cargo bay when the screwdriver had slipped, slicing his hand clear open on the sharp edge. He headed to see the Doc, hoping that the wound wouldn’t need stitches, just a quick weave and a bandage. When he passed the brightly lit sterile room, noting the doctor’s absence, he almost continued on without a second glance until he saw River sitting on the infirmary’s exam table, her dangling legs kicking back and forth.
“Yer brother around?” Jayne looked skeptically around the room as if expecting the doctor to be hiding somewhere, before settling his gaze on the waiflike girl in front of him.
“Simon is preparing my medications.” Her voice was so soft and calm even Jayne wondered if all the medicine Simon was pumping into the girl was necessary.
“I guess I’ll just wait for ‘im then.” He stood unsure of himself for a moment in the awkward silence that followed before pulling himself to his full height, striding over to the table and plopping down next to her.
Jayne spent the next few minutes alternating between sucking on the cut and poking at it to watch the blood well up through the split skin. It had nearly stopped bleeding now and he was getting tired of waiting. Just seconds before he decided that he could handle the cut on his own, he felt River’s small hand pull his close to her face to inspect it.
Maybe it was because she’d seemed so lucid that day or the loss of blood was affecting his judgment, but instead of yelling at her and cussing her out for touching him, he willingly followed when she dragged him over to the sink to wash out the wound with the little pink bar of antibacterial soap. Neither did he struggle when she dabbed healing ointment onto his hand and he almost enjoyed feeling her breath on his skin when she carefully secured a thick piece of gauze onto the cut and wrapped a bandage around it.
Later, he wouldn’t remember if he’d thanked her or not, but he knew that every time he saw that thin scar on his hand, he thought of her taking care of him that day and he smiled.
2.
It was safe to say that Jayne was having a bad day. He’d overslept that morning and had missed breakfast, so his stomach had rumbled painfully most of the day, he’d stubbed his toe on his way down to the cargo bay and the job they’d just come back from had gone horribly south, resulting in him having to save the crazy girl’s pi gu when she went wooly and refused to fight.
He grumped and grumbled as he limped back to his room, nursing his swollen ankle and bruised jaw. Hearing footsteps rushing up behind him, he paused in front of his bunk and turned to face whoever was approaching. The girl hurried over to him, an almost bashful look to her as she shuffled her feet and peeked up at him through her lashes.
Jayne rolled his eyes and mumbled, “Whaddya want?”
River chewed her lip slightly before hopping onto her tiptoes and pressing a quick kiss to his stubbled cheek and dashing away, her giggle dissolving into the air behind her. He frowned fiercely at her retreating figure and gingerly climbed down into the privacy of his bunk where an unwelcome and bitterly unwanted smile crawled onto his lips.
3.
Jayne was gasping and grunting while River rode him hard. Her small breasts bounced jauntily, pink tips hardened and tingling with delight. She paused mid-thrust to turn her body around so she faced his feet, his stiff cock still buried inside her. She bent nearly in half, her head touching the mattress somewhere between his knees as her lower half continued to buck against him.
Her passionate moans almost drowned out his own as he came, having the most powerful orgasm he’d ever experienced. He lay panting and spent, waiting for his nerve endings to stop buzzing and his brain to coalesce from its liquefied state again. Right about now most girls would either snuggle up next to him to fall asleep with their heads on his chest, or run off to the bathroom to shower off the sweat and cum, and Jayne fully expected River to be no different, but when she crawled up his body, grinned at him and eagerly asked if they could do it again, he couldn’t keep the surprised smile off his face.
4.
Once he got the idea in his head, it was all he could think about. How would he do it? Would he get down on one knee and beg like they did in the movies? Would she want him to do it in front of everyone or save it until they were completely alone? He didn’t savor the thought of there being witnesses to his humiliation if she said no and the time they spent alone together always led to sexin’ and he didn’t imagine she’d appreciate bein’ told that he loved her when they was getting’ it on; might make her think he only wanted her for the sex. Place, time, words; it all had to be perfect, and he wracked his brain trying to come up with the best way to do it.
He was still thinking on it when he went to bed that night and he found it impossible to concentrate on anything else. He shook his head irritably when River’s soft hand tried to burrow into his sleep shorts and turned away, falling asleep with his back to her. Waking up the next morning, he found River had already gotten up. Her side of the bed was cold, the blankets smoothed down, and there was a small square of paper resting lightly on her pillow. Squinting through his tired gritty eyes he read her loopy script that was scrawled across it, “My answer is yes.”
The smile that stretched across his face from ear to ear almost hurt his cheeks with its intensity. She’d agreed to be his wife and hadn’t even made him ask.
5.
When she told him at dinner that they needed to have a talk, Jayne started to worry. “Talks” were never a good thing and the last time they’d had one, she’d broken things off with him, spoutin’ something about her not being the kind of woman he wanted. He’d hoped they were past that kind of thing, seein’ as how he’d married her and all. That oughta have proved to her that she was exactly the kind of woman he wanted. So, what could this “talk” be about, he wondered.
He watched River climb carefully down the ladder into his bunk and he stood from his perch on the edge of his bed where he’d been waiting for her. Worry swamped his mind and he couldn’t think of anything to say, so he stayed quiet, allowing her to speak first.
She took his hand in her own and traced along the lines of his palm. “Heart, life, fate; all determine the paths we follow. Lines across our hands and strings that tie souls together. Love begets life and two becomes three.”
When it became obvious that Jayne hadn’t understood a word she was saying, River tried another tactic. Meeting his eyes in her steady gaze, she pressed his hand to her flat warm stomach and smiled dreamily up at him.
He furrowed his brow in confusion. What was so important about her tummy that they needed to talk about? And why was she smilin’ about it?
“Love begets life.” he mumbled under his breath, trying to put the pieces together. River nodded encouragingly.
And then it clicked.
“Two becomes three?” he asked excitedly. “We’re gonna be three?!”
With a whoop he dragged her into his arms and nearly pulled her off her feet with the strength of his hug. She felt him smile against her neck and giggled at his excitement. But it was the hot tears on her skin that made her fall in love with him all over again.