Opus 5
Jonah browsed through the music on his player, looking for something that would help him sleep. Most of it was the normal stuff you would find in the player of any seventeen-year-old boy and would be no help- zip orchestras, screaming electric guitars, amped slamming pianos. But then he found something a little different, a tango. Sambas and waltzes were alright, but Jonah had always had a soft spot for tangos.
"Jonah? Joe?"
Jonah scrambled off him bed and was next door with his sister in an instant. "I'm here, Bree. Are you okay? What's wrong?" He hopped up onto the bed next to Breezy, who frowned at him.
"Nothing's wrong. Stop worrying. How do you spell 'kyrie?'"
"Why? Since when do you write for chorus?"
"Do you want to help me or not?"
"The phrase is k-y-r-i-e e l-e-i-s-o-n, c-h-r-i-s-t-e e l-e-i-s-o-n. Why aren't you sleeping?"
"Hm, I dunno, Joey. Maybe it's 'cause I'm so stupid that I can't spell a simple sentence," she responded snidely.
You're not stupid, you're just the most dyslexic person I've ever met, Jonah thought. There was no use telling Breezy that, though. Reading and writing notes came much easier to her than reading and writing letters. "Why aren't you sleeping?" he repeated.
"'Cause. I'll just have nightmares," his little sister muttered. "Get off my case, would you?"
"Bree, you shouldn't have to go through this alone-"
She cut him off, snapping. "I can. I can handle it. You…I could have taken it."
"You shouldn't have had to."
Breezy pointed to the cordless earphones he held in one hand. "What are you listening to?" she asked, abruptly and pointedly changing the subject.
"A tango. Now sleep."
"Tell me what to do again and see what happens." She smiled as she said it. As if there was anything she could do to hurt him. She doubted that she could jump high enough to hit him in the face. She wouldn't, anyways. Ever.
"Stuff it, midget."
"Put on a shirt, skankwad."
Skankwad? Oh well. At least it isn't 'fucktard' anymore. "Just go to sleep, brat-face." Jonah grinned at his younger sister as he exited her room.
River was standing in the hallway. Jonah suddenly became very conscious of the fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt. "River. I-"
"You can't sleep either?"
He couldn't help but smile. "No. I was just…"
"Worried about your sister," she stated. "I know. Simon's the same way with me…except he never calls me brat-face. Is that a tango?"
"Uh…yeah. Yeah, it is."
"Wanna dance?"
"Do you know how?"
"Better than you do," she responded without a hint of sarcasm.
"If you really wanna do this, we're gonna need more room."
"Come on."
River led Jonah out into the spacious cargo bay. He had a smile playing around the corners of his mouth. "Just as a precaution…are we gonna get in trouble for this?"
"No. We won't get caught. Give me one of those."
Jonah handed an earphone to River, placing the other one on the outside of his ear. "Slow, slow, quick quick slow," she whispered to him. He grinned.
"I'm not an amateur."
"I know."
"Let's do this."
The music was an Argentine tango, giving River a slight idea of what to expect. Jonah would lead, of course, and when he did, he started off in an orillero style- a close embrace, small steps, tricky syncopated footwork, and lots of embellishments. Show off, she thought. Well, watch this.
He tried a sacada, stepping into her space and displacing her foot, seeing how far he could push her. She quickly hooked her leg around his in a gancho, grinning all the time. Her arm reached up and grabbed his, twirling him around, astonishing him.
"What the hell are you doing?" he hissed.
She smiled in response. "Leading."
"You can't…you're a…"
"A girl? Thanks for noticing." Boys, thought River. They just can't take it when they're not in control. She pulled a quick arrastre, dragging his foot along with hers. "Calm down." He frowned, looking almost angry at her for usurping his position. The music got faster, more frantic.
He broke away from her quickly and did a pirouette, spinning on demi-pointe. After maybe five spins he flipped over backwards in the air and landed in an arabesque position. River just rolled her eyes- he was so obvious, all boys were. "We're dancing a tango, not a ballet, you boob." She did a front-flip, no hands, landing in front of him and taking him in a tango position again.
She let him lead for the rest of the dance.
It ended with a long, held out note from the bandoneon. They were both breathing heavily- their dance had taken them rapidly around the cargo bay several times. He was grinning his face off, River was more subdued.
"You're good," she granted. "Where'd you learn?"
"Ballet from a man on Vici named Kyo Mohammed Uotani. Tango from a girl."
"A girl?"
"A friend. She taught me the basics, I learned the rest. What about you?"
"I taught myself." She knew how ludicrous that sounded, given the way she had danced, but she didn't care- because it was true. "We're still in dance position."
"Oh…hey. We are." They were close, their bodies pressed completely together. A bead of sweat was running down the side of Jonah's neck, and for some reason River couldn't take her eyes off it. He spoke softly. "Do you think…we should go to bed?"
Her response was just as quiet, barley above a whisper. "I'm not tired. Neither are you."
"How do you-"
He was cut off by a kiss. Jonah had kissed girls before, lots of them, but this was different. There wasn't even any tongue, but it was still better than anything he had had. But go-se. He couldn't do this. He had known River for less than two days. He was supposed to be a gentleman. "River, I don't think-"
"You didn't like it?"
"Of course I liked it, but we can't…I can't-"
"You can. You just did. You will again, soon enough. It'll be better next time." River was naturally brilliant at everything she tried to do, but there was always room for improvement. It would be better next time.
And of course there would be a next time.
"River, you're…you're just…"
She was enjoying not letting him finish his sentences. "I know. Goodnight." She left Jonah standing alone in the darkened cargo bay. He ran a hand through his hair, confused but smiling all the same.
Inara smiled as she looked silently down from the catwalk. Good for River.
X
Translations
Kyrie e lesion, Christe e lesion- Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy…Latin.
Appassionato- Passionately.
A bandoneon is an instrument that's kind of like an accordion.
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