Eat My Goat or Take My Virgin
Jul. 2nd, 2006 09:54 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
echoesinspace.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
firefly_fanfic
New here, so I provide sacrifice for acceptance:
Title: Cryptography
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
rogue_fate
Summary: River's getting better. Question mark.
Rating: PG-13
Characters: River, Simon, Kaylee, mentioned!Mal
Pairing: none yet.
Warning: pre-tamcest
Spoilers/Timeline: After Serenity
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. If I did, they would angst more and Simon would not have on a sweater.
Author's Note: 100word self-challenge. I thought. To clarify my goals. Apparently, they didn't want clarification, they wanted satisfaction.
Word Count: Um, over? As in, 1105 over? For those who can't math, it's 1205.
Can also find this at:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
applebits, light_it, _the_firefly_, and my own site. Yeah. X-posted too much? >.<
Kaylee thought she was getting better, and when he talked, the captain said the medicine was "fixin' her up right well". Simon had opened his mouth thoughtlessly, but, before he could speak, Serenity sucked the moisture on his tongue straight into her metal body. He'd been on the verge of saying that River had been off her medication for two months now--and, despite his very proper stance against belief in the customs of the uncultured, superstition now breathed against his ear.
She was better, he said it like a mantra in his head. She was better. She was behaved in company, she was more coherent, and she had fewer of those times where nothing could reach her. She was better than she had been in so many, many ways.
Then, why couldn't he say it out loud?
He tried. He looked in the mirror at the end of each day; River was "better" and he watched his lips form the words. Nothing came out.
He played with her in the afternoon. The crew knew he worked on her, fed her, walked her, and when he wasn't moving around he was still doing... something. Something River-related, like research. He doubted they knew when he and River disappeared, it was more often to play and relax than poke holes in her skin. Doctoring wasn't all about examination tables. And while Kaylee was gradually stretching his boundaries of propriety, River didn't need public nudity to measure the pinnacle of her evening. He sent a small grateful prayer of thanks to the universe in general that the doctors had left that small measure of River alone.
Today it was a game of cards, the deck bought during the last time Serenity hit planet side. He had picked it out because it had colorful sketches, and she had liked it because it was from him. It came with a little instruction booklet, which was glanced at by both parties, but played more fluidly than directed. They did that as kids, too. Standard games got boring fast, so one day, in unspoken concert, new rules were made.
Simon had been the first. He hadn't even said what the new rule was, but River was adapting to his moves as if that was the way it had always been played. Moments later, she was adding to them.
He let her win a round of the afternoon's game, but was unable to keep from smiling as she gathered up the cards. She laughed at "her silly Simon", and tossed the cards up with a flourish into the air. He fell on his back at her overenthusiastic hug, ignoring the pain for the sake of her beautiful moment. Her body was against him and moving with laughter and he was grinning at the ceiling while colors fluttered down like rain.
That evening he beamed at what he saw. Leaning close, he said hotly into the mirror what he hadn't been able to say since Miranda. River is getting bet--
01101000 01100101 01101100 01101100
He jerked back, didn't move for a few moments.
Trick of the light. River is getting--
01101000 01100101 01101100 01101100
No, wrong, it was a memory. All those games with her today bringing back--"River is getting--"
01101000 01100101 01101100 01101100
"River is getting--"
01101000 01100101 01101100 01101100
"River is getting--"
01101000 01100101 01101100 01101100
"She's--"
01101000
"No! NO! She's getting better!"
01101000 01100101 01101100 01101100 01101111 00101100
"NO!" He shouted, wondering if his soul was tearing. He wanted to slam his fist into the glass, watch the shards fall, pick them up, crush them with his fists, the blood washing away what was there, what could be there, he wanted to--
He wanted to save her.
So, like he was seven again, he gathered up his breath, and exhaled onto the mirror.
01101000 01100101 01101100 01101100 01101111 00101100 00100000 01110011 01101001 00101101 00101101NITUMUDAJALITUBUZUPOFONITUSIHASUTUMUZAZUWALIZUTULISIZUFONIHOHOBUBUZOPOBOBOZAA
He didn't feel anything, no shock, no satisfaction, no chill, even. He merely stared at the vanity, unable to move, even if it brought back the oil signature of her fingers. Truthfully, he didn't need to see it again. It had been burned into his memory on first glance, as inerasable as the words of her doctors. "...River Tam is our star pupil... She's a creature of extraordinary grace... It's a little startling to see at first, but... River Tam is our star pupil... " ZAZUWALIZUTULISIZUFONIHOHOBUBUZOPOBOBOZAA
He stood there for a while.
Then Kaylee slipped arms around his waist and pressed her nose into his sweater. He stiffened further, hadn't heard her come in, and, well.
She lifted her head, chin in his shoulder blade, when he continued not to speak. Those green eyes were studying him for sure, Simon didn't need a smart certificate to verify that.
"Simon?"
She could be just like those strawberries she loved--sometimes so sweet, as she was now with soft confusion; sometimes so tart, with sour assessment.
"Simon," she said. He didn't move. "Simon?" She drew back, arms snaking from his sides. "What--" Stepping to the side, her mouth hanging open, she didn't finish.
Moved like that, he could see her reflection in the mirror. The abrupt obviousness of her presence broke his transfixion. He saw himself, tears running down his face, and blinked. It was something he hadn't done since visiting the vanity. "Oh, ah, dui bu qi, dui bu qi, dui--I, I just, staring, I--"
Kaylee grabbed him with arms and hands far stronger than appearance would have others believe. She whirled him around to face her. Her mouth moved, but she was still speechless.
"I was--daydreaming. Thinking, a-and," Simon grasped at anything in his mind that wasn't River. Stuttered. "Lost my... I lost myself. Forgot to... blink." He took a deep breath, and wiped the tears away with the back of his hand; such an infantile gesture, one he hadn't done since childhood.
"Simon?" Kaylee found herself. "Is it your sister?" Ah, they always asked that one first. Simon supposed that was because it was always true. "What's the matter? Did she say something--do something?" She bit her lip, as nothing but a tightened jaw responded. It was enough, apparently. "She's got so much better," she sniffed. Even through the unusual haziness of his mind, Simon marveled at her compassion for others, and reached up to grip her shoulders, knowing it was too tightly. Kaylee looked up as far as his eyes before flinging her arms around him and burrowing her head in his shoulder.
"It'll be okay, Simon. Don't you worry, it'll be okay," she was saying, pushing him away from the vanity, to his bed, pushing him down into it. She was saying something, probably nice, probably very Kaylee. He wasn't trying to make it out. He was staring at the image in his head, how neat and pretty the message had started out, and then how skewed, slashed, and frightened it had become.
01101000 01100101 01101100 01101100 01101111 00101100 00100000 01110011 01101001 00101101 00101101NITUMUDAJALITUBUZUPOFONITUSIHASUTUMUZAZUWALIZUTULISIZUFONIHOHOBUBUZOPOBOBOZAA
River was not better. She was just better at hiding it.
Hello, Si--AND WHEN YOU CAN'T FIND SOMEONE TO CARRY YOU...?
Notes:: dui bu qi-"I'm sorry." 'Least that's what the Internet gods tell me.
I dare you to figure out the code. Dare dare dare. I will gift the person who can do it... with... respect. And back away slowly in case they can also kill me with their brain, which I imagine they would be able to do.
If this is continued, I will reveal how the code worked out. Quite proud at the effort, really. Not all me, though.
And somehow, I can't make myself hate Kaylee. O.o Thought it would be easy. But then she just pops up like a daisy, actin' all shiny.
Title: Cryptography
Author:
rogue_fateSummary: River's getting better. Question mark.
Rating: PG-13
Characters: River, Simon, Kaylee, mentioned!Mal
Pairing: none yet.
Warning: pre-tamcest
Spoilers/Timeline: After Serenity
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. If I did, they would angst more and Simon would not have on a sweater.
Author's Note: 100word self-challenge. I thought. To clarify my goals. Apparently, they didn't want clarification, they wanted satisfaction.
Word Count: Um, over? As in, 1105 over? For those who can't math, it's 1205.
Can also find this at:
applebits, light_it, _the_firefly_, and my own site. Yeah. X-posted too much? >.<Kaylee thought she was getting better, and when he talked, the captain said the medicine was "fixin' her up right well". Simon had opened his mouth thoughtlessly, but, before he could speak, Serenity sucked the moisture on his tongue straight into her metal body. He'd been on the verge of saying that River had been off her medication for two months now--and, despite his very proper stance against belief in the customs of the uncultured, superstition now breathed against his ear.
She was better, he said it like a mantra in his head. She was better. She was behaved in company, she was more coherent, and she had fewer of those times where nothing could reach her. She was better than she had been in so many, many ways.
Then, why couldn't he say it out loud?
He tried. He looked in the mirror at the end of each day; River was "better" and he watched his lips form the words. Nothing came out.
He played with her in the afternoon. The crew knew he worked on her, fed her, walked her, and when he wasn't moving around he was still doing... something. Something River-related, like research. He doubted they knew when he and River disappeared, it was more often to play and relax than poke holes in her skin. Doctoring wasn't all about examination tables. And while Kaylee was gradually stretching his boundaries of propriety, River didn't need public nudity to measure the pinnacle of her evening. He sent a small grateful prayer of thanks to the universe in general that the doctors had left that small measure of River alone.
Today it was a game of cards, the deck bought during the last time Serenity hit planet side. He had picked it out because it had colorful sketches, and she had liked it because it was from him. It came with a little instruction booklet, which was glanced at by both parties, but played more fluidly than directed. They did that as kids, too. Standard games got boring fast, so one day, in unspoken concert, new rules were made.
Simon had been the first. He hadn't even said what the new rule was, but River was adapting to his moves as if that was the way it had always been played. Moments later, she was adding to them.
He let her win a round of the afternoon's game, but was unable to keep from smiling as she gathered up the cards. She laughed at "her silly Simon", and tossed the cards up with a flourish into the air. He fell on his back at her overenthusiastic hug, ignoring the pain for the sake of her beautiful moment. Her body was against him and moving with laughter and he was grinning at the ceiling while colors fluttered down like rain.
That evening he beamed at what he saw. Leaning close, he said hotly into the mirror what he hadn't been able to say since Miranda. River is getting bet--
01101000 01100101 01101100 01101100
He jerked back, didn't move for a few moments.
Trick of the light. River is getting--
01101000 01100101 01101100 01101100
No, wrong, it was a memory. All those games with her today bringing back--"River is getting--"
01101000 01100101 01101100 01101100
"River is getting--"
01101000 01100101 01101100 01101100
"River is getting--"
01101000 01100101 01101100 01101100
"She's--"
01101000
"No! NO! She's getting better!"
01101000 01100101 01101100 01101100 01101111 00101100
"NO!" He shouted, wondering if his soul was tearing. He wanted to slam his fist into the glass, watch the shards fall, pick them up, crush them with his fists, the blood washing away what was there, what could be there, he wanted to--
He wanted to save her.
So, like he was seven again, he gathered up his breath, and exhaled onto the mirror.
01101000 01100101 01101100 01101100 01101111 00101100 00100000 01110011 01101001 00101101 00101101NITUMUDAJALITUBUZUPOFONITUSIHASUTUMUZAZUWALIZUTULISIZUFONIHOHOBUBUZOPOBOBOZAA
He didn't feel anything, no shock, no satisfaction, no chill, even. He merely stared at the vanity, unable to move, even if it brought back the oil signature of her fingers. Truthfully, he didn't need to see it again. It had been burned into his memory on first glance, as inerasable as the words of her doctors. "...River Tam is our star pupil... She's a creature of extraordinary grace... It's a little startling to see at first, but... River Tam is our star pupil... " ZAZUWALIZUTULISIZUFONIHOHOBUBUZOPOBOBOZAA
He stood there for a while.
Then Kaylee slipped arms around his waist and pressed her nose into his sweater. He stiffened further, hadn't heard her come in, and, well.
She lifted her head, chin in his shoulder blade, when he continued not to speak. Those green eyes were studying him for sure, Simon didn't need a smart certificate to verify that.
"Simon?"
She could be just like those strawberries she loved--sometimes so sweet, as she was now with soft confusion; sometimes so tart, with sour assessment.
"Simon," she said. He didn't move. "Simon?" She drew back, arms snaking from his sides. "What--" Stepping to the side, her mouth hanging open, she didn't finish.
Moved like that, he could see her reflection in the mirror. The abrupt obviousness of her presence broke his transfixion. He saw himself, tears running down his face, and blinked. It was something he hadn't done since visiting the vanity. "Oh, ah, dui bu qi, dui bu qi, dui--I, I just, staring, I--"
Kaylee grabbed him with arms and hands far stronger than appearance would have others believe. She whirled him around to face her. Her mouth moved, but she was still speechless.
"I was--daydreaming. Thinking, a-and," Simon grasped at anything in his mind that wasn't River. Stuttered. "Lost my... I lost myself. Forgot to... blink." He took a deep breath, and wiped the tears away with the back of his hand; such an infantile gesture, one he hadn't done since childhood.
"Simon?" Kaylee found herself. "Is it your sister?" Ah, they always asked that one first. Simon supposed that was because it was always true. "What's the matter? Did she say something--do something?" She bit her lip, as nothing but a tightened jaw responded. It was enough, apparently. "She's got so much better," she sniffed. Even through the unusual haziness of his mind, Simon marveled at her compassion for others, and reached up to grip her shoulders, knowing it was too tightly. Kaylee looked up as far as his eyes before flinging her arms around him and burrowing her head in his shoulder.
"It'll be okay, Simon. Don't you worry, it'll be okay," she was saying, pushing him away from the vanity, to his bed, pushing him down into it. She was saying something, probably nice, probably very Kaylee. He wasn't trying to make it out. He was staring at the image in his head, how neat and pretty the message had started out, and then how skewed, slashed, and frightened it had become.
01101000 01100101 01101100 01101100 01101111 00101100 00100000 01110011 01101001 00101101 00101101NITUMUDAJALITUBUZUPOFONITUSIHASUTUMUZAZUWALIZUTULISIZUFONIHOHOBUBUZOPOBOBOZAA
River was not better. She was just better at hiding it.
Hello, Si--AND WHEN YOU CAN'T FIND SOMEONE TO CARRY YOU...?
Notes:: dui bu qi-"I'm sorry." 'Least that's what the Internet gods tell me.
I dare you to figure out the code. Dare dare dare. I will gift the person who can do it... with... respect. And back away slowly in case they can also kill me with their brain, which I imagine they would be able to do.
If this is continued, I will reveal how the code worked out. Quite proud at the effort, really. Not all me, though.
And somehow, I can't make myself hate Kaylee. O.o Thought it would be easy. But then she just pops up like a daisy, actin' all shiny.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-03 02:36 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-04 01:54 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-03 07:09 am (UTC)Very interesting beginning.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-04 01:55 am (UTC)