Serenity Ficlet
Sat down to write this and it didn't come out quite like I'd wanted, but... eh. Here it is.
Title: Twitchy
Rating: PG
Word Count: 514
Summary: Somethin' about River Tam just makes Jayne twitchy, and he's not gonna sit around and take it for much longer. Set during the film Serenity, mildly spoilerish.
She made him twitchy.
Now, that wasn’t gonna be what he told the cap’n, if Mal ever asked, but it was the truth, and the worst part of it was, he’d never have to tell her the truth, ‘cause the gorram reader already knew the truth behind it. Probably thought it was a laugh, too.
She never used to make him twitchy… well, almost never. Oh, sure, they’d been fine. One turn to ‘nother, between cuttin’ him up and turnin’ her in, and it almost seemed he could cotton to her, at least to tolerate her. Hell, he’d been worried ‘bout her on the payroll job, hadn’t he? Downright concerned. But thinkin’ to that again, he didn’t really like mentionin’ that. Wasn’t any reason for him to be concerned. Just shoulda asked her what in the gorram hell was wrong with her and hauled her off the floor mâshàng.
But that wasn’t twitchy, damn it, that wasn’t twitchy in the least. She didn’t make him twitchy until…
Well, that brawl in the Maidenhead-and never you think he didn’t catch that name, he’s simple, but he ain’t that simple-that changed everything. He hadn’t seen a piece of fightin’ that pretty since… well, since ever. He got the job done, and Mal weren’t much different. Zoe fought like a man, and Kaylee, she didn’t at all. But that little girl…
She wasn’t no little girl at all, and he had to keep remindin’ himself of that. Or maybe he shouldn’t remind himself of that. ‘Cause if she wasn’t a little girl, she was a weapon. And that boat didn’t have a single person on it who didn’t know he liked his weapons. Hell, Vera was sexy because she was lethal, so what did that mean about…
Qù tāmāde! He wasn’t gettin’ into that, no way, no how. Twitchy. And a man with a gun couldn’t do his job if he’s twitchy all the time. Finger’d get to itchin’ on the trigger, and tìan xiâo de, God knew he wanted to shoot enough as is.
Way he saw it, he had two options. He could give into the twitchiness and do a few things’d make the shepherd damn him straight to hell, or he could get rid of the girl. And really, gettin’ rid of her was the smart thing to do, right? Ain’t many times in his life he’s wanted to do the smart thing, but they got people on this ship, gorramit, little innocent Kaylee and a married couple, and he had to look out for himself. He wouldn’t hurt her if he didn’t have to, he’d just… use them sleep words on her and haul her into a shuttle, set it on auto for a little while. Girl as smart as her could fly that shuttle just fine.
He downed the last of the drink he’d poured and drew his gun, creepin’ for her door. He wouldn’t hurt her if he didn’t have call to, and he wouldn’t touch her if he didn’t have call to. He’d just keep tellin’ himself that.
Title: Twitchy
Rating: PG
Word Count: 514
Summary: Somethin' about River Tam just makes Jayne twitchy, and he's not gonna sit around and take it for much longer. Set during the film Serenity, mildly spoilerish.
She made him twitchy.
Now, that wasn’t gonna be what he told the cap’n, if Mal ever asked, but it was the truth, and the worst part of it was, he’d never have to tell her the truth, ‘cause the gorram reader already knew the truth behind it. Probably thought it was a laugh, too.
She never used to make him twitchy… well, almost never. Oh, sure, they’d been fine. One turn to ‘nother, between cuttin’ him up and turnin’ her in, and it almost seemed he could cotton to her, at least to tolerate her. Hell, he’d been worried ‘bout her on the payroll job, hadn’t he? Downright concerned. But thinkin’ to that again, he didn’t really like mentionin’ that. Wasn’t any reason for him to be concerned. Just shoulda asked her what in the gorram hell was wrong with her and hauled her off the floor mâshàng.
But that wasn’t twitchy, damn it, that wasn’t twitchy in the least. She didn’t make him twitchy until…
Well, that brawl in the Maidenhead-and never you think he didn’t catch that name, he’s simple, but he ain’t that simple-that changed everything. He hadn’t seen a piece of fightin’ that pretty since… well, since ever. He got the job done, and Mal weren’t much different. Zoe fought like a man, and Kaylee, she didn’t at all. But that little girl…
She wasn’t no little girl at all, and he had to keep remindin’ himself of that. Or maybe he shouldn’t remind himself of that. ‘Cause if she wasn’t a little girl, she was a weapon. And that boat didn’t have a single person on it who didn’t know he liked his weapons. Hell, Vera was sexy because she was lethal, so what did that mean about…
Qù tāmāde! He wasn’t gettin’ into that, no way, no how. Twitchy. And a man with a gun couldn’t do his job if he’s twitchy all the time. Finger’d get to itchin’ on the trigger, and tìan xiâo de, God knew he wanted to shoot enough as is.
Way he saw it, he had two options. He could give into the twitchiness and do a few things’d make the shepherd damn him straight to hell, or he could get rid of the girl. And really, gettin’ rid of her was the smart thing to do, right? Ain’t many times in his life he’s wanted to do the smart thing, but they got people on this ship, gorramit, little innocent Kaylee and a married couple, and he had to look out for himself. He wouldn’t hurt her if he didn’t have to, he’d just… use them sleep words on her and haul her into a shuttle, set it on auto for a little while. Girl as smart as her could fly that shuttle just fine.
He downed the last of the drink he’d poured and drew his gun, creepin’ for her door. He wouldn’t hurt her if he didn’t have call to, and he wouldn’t touch her if he didn’t have call to. He’d just keep tellin’ himself that.