firefly_fanfic | Conformity

Title: Conformity
Author: Jules

saturnine_tears
Prompt: 097. Insanity is catching of the

joss100 challenge
Fandom: Firefly/Serenity
Character: River Tam
Genre: Humor/General
Rating: PG
Word Count: 497
Disclaimer: Firefly and all related aspects belong to Joss Whedon.
Summary: Some people are just too gullible.
Beta: Dani

sirius_starr
Table: Click here for my joss100 table.

River stood in the cargo bay, leaning over the railing, staring up at a spot on the high ceiling. Her mouth was hung open slightly and she looked unblinkingly at absolutely nothing. She tried her best to make it look interesting. It was difficult to make something out of the nothing she was staring at, but it would get interesting soon enough, she knew.

At just that moment, Jayne made his way down the hallway, his heavy footfalls echoing throughout the cargo bay as he crossed the catwalk, heading in River’s direction. He stopped just short of her and raised an eyebrow.

“What’re you starin’ at now?” He asked.

“There’s something up there,” River commented softly.

Leaning out a little over the railing, Jayne glanced up at the ceiling. He stared at it for a few moments but nothing caught his attention.

“Gorram it, yer seein’ things,” Jayne scoffed.

“Am not,” River replied. “You’re just blind.”

“Oh yeah? I’ll find it, you just wait ‘n see,” Jayne hissed.

River smiled that ethereal smile of hers as Jayne sidled up closer to her to get a better look at what she was seeing. She giggled inwardly, wondering just how long he would stand there before he gave up and figured out she was pulling one over on him. Knowing the big ape, it could be days.

As Jayne continued to gaze intently at the ceiling and River pretended to focus on the same nothingness which was there, Simon and the captain rounded a corner, deep in discussion over just which supplies for the infirmary they absolutely could not get along without picking up at the next port. The two men stopped in their tracks as they noticed the two occupants already on the catwalk. Simon stepped forward, reaching out to rest a hand on River’s shoulder.

“Meimei,” he said softly. “What are you looking at?”

“Looking at what isn’t there,” River replied calmly.

Mal raised an eyebrow as he stepped forward as well, turning his gaze to the ceiling, toward where Jayne and River were staring. He didn’t see anything, but for some reason he didn’t want to look away, either. He just continued to stare at the ceiling, looking for something; anything.

Simon sighed lightly and glanced up at the ceiling. His eyes quickly scanned the area the three other occupants of the room were looking at and when he found nothing, he looked down. He patted River lightly on the shoulder and shook his head as he stepped past her and Jayne, leaving them on the catwalk with the captain. He smiled lightly as he turned the corner, a thought running through his mind at the same time as the same words left River’s lips in a whisper.

Insanity is catching…

With that she looked down, finally tearing her eyes from the ceiling, and made her way out of the cargo bay, leaving the captain and the mercenary behind, still intently searching out what wasn’t there.

Tell me what you think!

X-posted.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

erinya.livejournal.com

Hee! I like River's mischief here, sharing the crazy around. Especially like the way Jayne scoffs at her and then falls for the trick anyway. Very cute!