Lazy Days on the Banks of the Mississippi

By,

Rune Wolfe

Disclaimer: I own none of Mark Twain's novels.

Note: I apologize for the unusual shortness of this chapter.

Chapter 2: What It Would Be Like….

Life atop a sun-baked rock is most often misleading, for although the sun warmed his shoulders as butterflies fluttered by, what lay in wait for Huck Finn was either a monster, or an anticlimactic situation. He wasn't sure which ending he was hoping for, but he hoped that it wouldn't be painful.

Tom Sawyer watched with piqued interest, praying for the first time in his life that his friend would fail. "What is you waitin' fo' Huck? You ain't scared…. We done this before."

Huck looked at him with the confusion of a boy who had just woken up from a daydream. He swallowed, then, shaking slightly, lunged forward as hard as his anxious body could be thrown off of the top of his rock. Air rushed through his wet bangs and cooled the droplets of water that clung to his tan cheeks. He closed his eyes and hoped.

The sound of splashing water reached his ears before the sensation of being soaked. Everything seemed to move in slow motion, and he clumsily kicked out, trying to regain his footing in the river.

Once the water had stilled, Huck dared to crack open his fiery eyes, glancing meekly at how far he had jumped. He had done well, much farther than most of the boys could ever do, even the older ones, but, as he looked in dismay at the branch which they had used as a marker, it still wasn't enough to defeat Tom Sawyer.

The blonde grinned, he had won. As the idea rolled over in his mind, he seemed somewhat enlightened, almost as if he had returned to his old cheerful self.

Huck remained staring at the marker for a long time. It couldn't be… he had always beaten Tom before… how could he lose now. As a hand fell upon his bare shoulder, a thought came to him. Could Tom have moved the branch when he wasn't looking? But why would he?

"Come' on Mrs. Sawyer, it were a good try, but ain't good enough." The joy in Tom's voice was hardly masked by his calm and collected attitude.

The brunette sighed, well… he had managed to cheer up his friend. Besides… now he wouldn't have to eat Tom's cooking. As they sauntered towards the shore, he thought more about it. Sure. This would be fine, it couldn't be that bad to be Tom's wife, and it would only be a week. Yes, he concluded. This would all be fine. "This'll be just like in them books, won't it?"

Tom looked at him suspiciously, "how'd you know? You ain't never read them books…."

Huck straightened himself up, pulling on his shirt which he had left out to dry on a large log. "I hear you talk enough about books to know somethin' about 'em. Huck Finn ain't as dumb as you think, Tom Sawyer."

The blonde turned to him scoldingly, and in his best impression of the long deceased Widow Douglass he spoke, "ah ah ah, its Huck Sawyer now."

For an unexplained reason, Huckleberry felt his cheeks grow warm, and this time it had nothing to do with the sun.

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Their daily routine didn't seem to change much now that Huck had been declared Tom's temporary wife. In fact…. as Huck duly noted…. Nothing changed at all. His companion acted the same as he always had before, save for a renewed bounce in his step which had been lost to the grueling heat of summer. He glanced over at the blonde who was hurriedly stoking a campfire outside their cabin. "Hey Tom, why is it we ain't doin' nothin' different?"

Tom looked up momentarily, eyeing him, and then looked back at the flames. "What'ya mean, Huck?"

The brunette rolled his eyes. "You ain't forgot, Tom. You won today, so why ain't we doin' anythin' differ'nt? You know…. on account'a we is man and wife now." His hazel eyes were wide and confused, yet at the same time they were stern.

The ornery blonde merely grinned to himself. "Oh don't you worry yourself none, Huck, we's gonna do somethin' different. Just…. not right now."

Huck leaned forward into the heat from the fire. Although the night was humid, there was never a time when the boy couldn't appreciate a glowing warm fire. However, he continued to stare at Tom expectantly. "When?"

The blonde laughed and sat down beside him on their poor excuse for a porch, "tonight."

A silence followed, Huck still unaware of what Tom had in mind. The air filled with the intermittent crack and popping of the firewood as small sparks would fling themselves from the fire only to die upon the dirt.

Huckleberry sighed, staring into the dancing of orange and red. "You really know a lotta things don't'ya Tom?"

"You ever thinkin' that I didn't?" Tom tilted his head to look him in the eye.

The brunette shook his head, "nah, its just surprisin' for some sortofa reason. You know things I ain't never heard of."

"Well, that's cause you don't read enough of them books," his friend said as-a-matter-of-factly. "You needs to read them books to be learn'd like me." He ran his calloused boyish fingers through his unruly hair and rolled his head back. "Besides, Huck, not knowin' stuff makes life more excitin' so it ain't a bad thing."

"I ain't complainin' or none, I just says that I am surprised. Don't know why, just am." Huck's soft youthful voice had a nice peaceful rhythm to it, one that had always sounded so much wiser than others.

Tom then stood, listening to the wind rustle idly through the trees, blowing a few rogue leaves out to the river, upon which the reflection of the moon was bright and shining. Yes, it was right for them to have settled here beside the grand Mississippi. It would be just like them to live on the edge of a grand frontier that lead to so many strange and unknown places. Tom then glanced back at a daydreaming Huck enviously, he had been able to experience that adventure.

"What's it like, Huck?" Tom sighed thoughtfully.

"I don't reckon I know what you are talkin' about." The brunette spoke without looking at him. He too was thinkin' back. But to a time before his adventure with Jim. No, he was thinking of his adventure with Tom and finding all that gold.

The blonde looked back towards the rippling water. "Goin' up the river, Huck, what's it like?"

Huckleberry shifted his feet, reaching out a hand to pluck a small reed on which to chew. "It ain't nothin' much to your likin' Tom. It's very slow…. very tired-like... nope I don't reckon you'd like it at all."

Tom didn't say another word on the subject. Life had disillusioned him about many things, and he didn't want it to happen to his dreams about the river. Slowly he sat back down. "Earlier you says it was okay to do that kissin' stuff… was you bein' honest, or just bein' nice-like?"

Huck's hazel eyes met his in surprise. "I suppose I was bein' honest. Why…. You want to do that stuff right now Tom Sawyer?"

"If you'd let me…," the boy's voice trailed off.

The brunette scooted closer to him, shifting so that he now sat on his knees. "I don't mind none, Tom." He then closed his eyes and waited to be kissed as he had seen a lady do once. But no lips met his.

Tom grabbed his arm, pulling him up onto his feet. "Not out here, Huck, we ain't animals. We gots to go inside for that."

Huck tripped slightly as he was tugged towards the door. "Why? We is both out here…"

But Tom didn't answer.

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A half-hour or so later, Tom finally believe that he had everything ready for their 'kissin' stuff.' Huck merely watched in awe from where he lay on their pillows which had been fluffed to give an appearance of being full to bursting. Tom had positioned Huck just right, his dark head in the middle of the pillow whilst one of his slender hands rested near his cheek. The brunette was now afraid to move for fear that another half-hour of doing absolutely nothing would ensue.

"Tom… I don't see why we is goin' to need all these things…" the boy voiced his thoughts nervously as Tom set about lighting a new fire using embers from the one they had had outside.

The blonde, shot him a frustrated expression, "its called bein' romantic, Huck, now quit your complainin' I is almost done."

Huck shivered, having had all of his clothes forcibly taken away from him. "Hey Tom…," his voice was more timid, "why is it I can't have my clothes?"

His companion shook his head, "why? 'Cause you ain't gonna need 'em."