An: Jenny an' Vastra sittin' in a tree K.I.S.S.I.N.G… It's still frickin' Boxing Day but I promise this is the last chapter on it! Last Ride of the Day is a song by Nightwish. \m/ \m/

"It'll be you. That'll do me." Jenny stroked Vastra's cheeks with her thumbs and then kissed her gently. "You tol' me Silurians don't kiss?"

"Not in this particular way no." Vastra returned Jenny's kiss. She had to credit apes for coming up with it.

"What do they do then?"

Vastra gently took Jenny's hands from her cheeks; leaning back to look at her before placing them on her head crests, tensing at the sensation of warm fingers. It was something that hadn't been covered in her education, the feelings that such warmth would elicit.

"There are many meanings to this." She tried to keep her voice steady as Jenny stroked her head crests, amazed that Vastra would let her. "As with human kissing. A parent might comfort a child, a sibling might show affection or pride, a friend might greet. But it is also…in certain scenarios, sensual." She uttered a low vibrating sound in the back of her throat as Jenny clasped her crest tips. "Jenny."

"'m sorry." Jenny pulled her hands away, thinking Vastra had had enough. "You gonna kill me now?" she joked awkwardly.

Vastra blinked and then remembered. "I believe I would sooner kiss you." She pulled Jenny back towards her and duly did so, highly amused at that ridiculously little tongue trying to tangle with hers.

Jenny had always felt a twitch when Vastra kissed her but this was something else. The small fire within was beginning to burn a little out of control. Her hands went to the front of Vastra's dress, trying to undo the buttons, wanting the Silurian to be closer but Vastra pulled away sharply as she did so.

"What?" Jenny asked, a little out of breath and entirely confused by the reaction. Vastra had let her touch the Silurian's crests after all. Her puzzlement was overcome with worry at the way Vastra was still retreating. "Vastra!" she went to move after her but Vastra hissed. She looked angry and scared and Jenny stopped, completely baffled as to why Vastra had reacted like that; after all, Vastra had said that she wished to be close.

A phrase of Vastra's echoed through her head. "It is incomprehensible why you are acting that way…" Vastra had said that that's what bad memories did to people. Bile suddenly rose in her throat against the hurt and confusion at Vastra's withdrawal.

"What…" she started to ask what had happened, what Vastra was reliving but another conversation drifted up from her memory. "When she was first captured, they took her clothes, made her wear a shift…"

Anger overrode all other emotions, tensing up her entire body, making hands into fists and setting her teeth chattering within a clenched jaw. But she forced herself to relax, afraid that Vastra would think she was angry at her. She stepped backwards, trying to keep her breathing calm but she was so angry. Was this what Vastra felt, whenever Jenny had told her of something that had happened? She could understand now why Vastra threatened to eat people who did anything wrong towards Jenny because Jenny wanted to killthe people at the circus.

"Vastra…" she called softly.

"Stay away from me, ape." Vastra spat and stalked past her.

Jenny let her go, tried to let it go. It wasn't her. Vastra wasn't mad at her. All those other times, it hadn't been her.

She let out a breath, and swilled out the tea that had gone cold, sweeping up the cup she'd smashed in her anger. There had been so many emotions in the past few minutes let alone the past few days. She tidied up for a few minutes then sat on the floor, hugging her knees and letting the tears roll unchecked. Jenny had always prided herself on being a Flint and 'ard as 'em but she felt better, lighter as she got up and washed her face. She took a few deep breaths to steady herself and went to find Vastra.

The Silurian was sat in the plant room with a box on her lap, staring up at the glass ceiling. Jenny recognised it the box in an instant but was puzzled as to why Vastra had chosen to bring it with her.

"The Doctor said I shouldn't open it until you were here." Her voice was distant, detached as she answered Jenny's unspoken question, still gazing upwards.

Jenny shrugged and sat down in the opposite chair. "Well I'm 'ere now ain't I."

"I didn't…"

"I know."

That got Vastra to look at her, a question now in her eyes.

"George tol' me." Jenny reminded her.

"Ah. Still…"

Jenny got up suddenly, cutting Vastra off with the motion. She stood, leaning over Vastra, her hands on the arms of the wicker chair. "C'n I kiss yer?"

Vastra gazed at her in silence, impenetrable blue eyes locked with still slightly reddened brown ones. "What would you do if I said no?"

"Go sit back down again." Jenny shrugged.

"What would you feel, if I said no?"

Jenny sighed. "Sad. I dunno." She stood upright again. "I jus'…I'm tired." She swayed slightly, realising that what with fighting dogs and getting tea and arguing with Vastra she hadn't eaten since breakfast and she wasn't even sure what time it was now. It was ridiculous; living on the streets she'd sometimes gone days without food and now she was feeling dizzy because she'd skipped lunch.

"Jenny." Vastra was stood up, steadying her, guiding her to sit down in the chair.

"I'm fine ma'am." She protested weakly.

"Stay here. I will return with food." Vastra studied her for a second, satisfying herself that it was merely hunger and not some adverse reaction to the scratches of the hound.

Some leftovers from the dinner she'd cooked for the Irregulars later and Jenny felt much better. Vastra had opened her present, pronounced it satisfactory and was now wearing it.

"I have a present for you too, little ape." She informed Jenny, playing with the beads.

"Thought the bank account was the present."

"No. That was just necessary." Vastra grinned and held out a hand. It was that plotting grin again and Jenny sighed before taking it, wondering what her Silurian was up to now.

Vastra led her down into the basement. There was a small cupboard where she kept training equipment and this she opened and brought out something wrapped in velvet.

"Captain Jack. As you correctly surmised." Vastra explained, whipping off the cover to reveal two swords, one long, one short. The sheaths sparkled in the candle light and Jenny's eyes glittered equally as she picked up the short sword. "Of course, further training is absolutely necessary before you even think of…" Jenny pulled it out and examined it. "…using it. The short sword will probably be more suitable to your stature." Vastra placed the other sword down on the table and came to stand behind Jenny, correcting her posture and her grip.

"Yer makin' it very difficult to concentrate." Jenny murmured, getting distracted by the sound of Vastra's breath near her ear and the feel of cool fingers around her wrists.

"Well then perhaps we should put the sword away." Vastra deftly relieved her of it and went to place it on the table with the other one.

Jenny followed her and leaned against the table. "So you don' want to train today then?"

"You said you did not wish to fight me. Not today." Vastra ran her fingers long the sheath; the cold of it mirroring her own cold touch. Annoyed, she withdrew her hand, staring at them. They'd seemed appropriate when she'd asked Captain Jack to have them made for her. But cold steel for Christmas was not the gift she wished to give Jenny now.

"What should we do instead then?"

Vastra looked sideways at Jenny. "Your seduction technique is as terrible as your sword action."

Jenny threw Vastra her best unimpressed expression. "Still killed the dog wiv it din't I?" she pointed out.

Vastra blinked and then let out a snort of laughter. "So you did. Very well, little ape." She surprised Jenny by grabbing the young woman's hand and tugging Jenny after her as she walked up the stairs out of the cellar.

"ere! You don' 'ave to…" Jenny tried to tell her, stunned at the sudden change of pace. "I'll stop."

"Would you like me to?" Vastra paused at the bottom of the stairs, releasing Jenny's hand.

Jenny mentally cursed as she felt the heat rise in her cheeks. "No." She slid her hand back into Vastra's.

Vastra leaned over to whisper in her ear once more. "As I told you, little ape, I do wish to be closer."

An: There is an EXXXtended Version of this chapter but to keep the T rating on Spinning Jenny I have not included it here. I'm not comfortable posting it here either because of ff's rules and not being entirely certain and not really wanting to lose my account. It's posted elsewhere (pretty sure everyone knows where elsewhere is?) so if you want to read it then message me on here and I'll get a link to you.