roruna (roruna) wrote in roads_diverged, @ 2009-04-22 20:45:00 |
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Entry tags: | discworld, firefly, roruna:vimes/sybil, theme 01: crossover |
"Dragonfly", [Discworld/Firefly], Theme #1: Crossover
Title: Dragonfly
Author: roruna
Fandom: Discworld, Firefly
Characters: Vimes and the Watch mostly.
Warnings: Obscenely long fic. Just the prologue turned into 14 pages when I wasn't looking.
Theme: #1. Meta - Crossover
Rating: I think that I'll rate this part R just to be on the safe side.
Summary: Sam Vimes, captain of the dragonfly class bulk transport ship, "The Watch" is just trying to get by in the 'Verse after the Unification War. He's got a crew made up of a fellow Browncoat (Carrot Ironfoundersson), two ex-coppers from his old police department in Ankh-Morpork, Dyton. (Nobby Nobbs and Detritus) and an engineer (Havelock Vetinari) who is very good friends with the Companion (Rosie Palm) renting Vimes' shuttle. Life in the 'Verse was complicated enough just making ends meet but when an old flame of Vimes' (Sybil Ramkin) turns up needing passage to Athens, Vimes is going to really miss the simple days when he just had to kiss Badger's arse for a job.
Richness was the main theme of the décor. Dark, rich colors. Dark red like warm blood and gold that didn’t shine or sparkle. But that didn’t take away from its richness. The gold didn’t need to shine. It didn’t need to prove its worth to an untrained eye. Vimes glanced at Carrot and was surprised that he didn’t look as uncomfortable as Vimes felt. He was standing very patiently like a man in a long elevator ride. At least Detritus looked a little uncomfortable. Rosie called out from the cockpit. “There it is, gentlemen. Happy scavenging.” Vimes rolled his eyes. “Thank you, Rosie.” He muttered. It took some work but Vimes, Carrot and Detritus managed to squeeze into the shuttle’s air lock, vac suits and all. “Ok, lads…” Vimes stopped talking as the doors opened and he was faced with the vastness of space.
He heard Carrot take a breath. Vimes stared at the wreck. It was a Firefly class transport ship. “Sir...” Carrot said quietly. Vimes shook his head slowly. “Fireflies are a cred a dozen, Carrot… It could be someone else’s.” He said without much assurance. A treacherous little voice in his head was already saying, Carrot did wonder why Mal hadn’t gotten this job… This could be why. Maybe Badger was madder at Mal than we thought. Maybe this is what happens to people who cross that little dog’s jībā. Vimes shook his head again trying to dislodge the thought. No, it had to be someone else’s Firefly. Badger was a lot of things but he didn’t have it in him to make an example of someone. But… “Detritus, check the starboard side of the ship. Carrot’s worried this might be Serenity.”
Carrot would have given Vimes a Look, if he hadn’t been Carrot. Detritus floated away toward the starboard side. Vimes waved a hand. “Come on, Carrot. Let’s get this heap open.” There was a moment’s hesitation. “Carrot.” Carrot looked down in his helmet. “Seems sorta wrong, sir. Stealing from folks we know.” Vimes groaned. “Carrot, we don’t even know if it is Serenity. I got Detritus checking and if it is, so what? They’re not going to need the cargo anymore? It’d just be wasted sitting here.” Vimes died a little inside. He realized that he really believed what he said for a moment. He sighed. “If it’s them, well, they might still be alive. We’ll see they get some doctoring if they need it and if they… don’t… we’ll give them a decent burial, ok?” He finished with feigned cheerfulness.
Carrot remained silent and then Detritus’ rumbled on the com, “It ain’t Serenity, cap’n. It’s a ship called Lilac Egg.” Vimes sighed with relief. So the poor dead sods were folks he didn’t know. That made it ok. He looked at Carrot and tried to smile. “See… it wasn’t them. Silly to worry, really. I mean Mal and Zoë survived New Kashmir and
Vimes looked at the ingots and laughed. “Our Badger’s not going to like this.” He handed Carrot one of the ingots. “Oh… it’s er… imprinted too.” Vimes nodded. “Hardly see why it matters now. Food’s food. He could scrap it off or melt ‘em down or something.” He took the ingot and put it back. It was about four in the morning local time, when they got back to the Watch. It occurred to Vimes that four in the morning was some magic hour. Whenever someone woke up after a terrifying nightmare, it would very likely be four in the morning. Or if he had to stay up all night, at four the exhaustion would finally hit him. Four in the morning was special. The rumbling of the ship as it prepared to take off, woke the passengers. “Sorry ‘bout that folks. We’ll be outta here soon enough but since everyone’s up, I’d like to make an announcement.” Sally, Knock and Sybil nodded slowly while trying to fully awaken.
Vimes coughed. “Er… since this cargo is
There was another pause. “You heard about that?” Vimes rolled his eyes. Was Badger really that stupid? “Of course, you little tit! We were soldiers, we gossip like washer women.” Vimes heard Badger snort. “Ah right. A real band of brothers, eh?” Vimes shrugged. “If you like. Carrot’s just very good at keeping in touch with other Browncoats. That wasn’t funny by the way.” Vimes growled. “What was?” Vimes leaned forward a little. “Sending us to pick off of a Firefly. It was a big risk, Badger. How did you know I wouldn’t just turn ‘round when I saw it?” Vimes heard Badger laugh a little. “Nah, that ain’t your way. You’d stick ‘round until you knew if it was Mal’s ship for sure.” Vimes hated it when Badger was right about him. “Did you know it was a Firefly and were trying to make some kind of point?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “Well, it must have worked otherwise I wouldn’t be checking in, huh?”
There was silence again. Badger was probably grinning and feeling quite pleased with himself at having Vimes under his thumb. Eventually he said, “You sure no one saw you?” Vimes sighed. “Yes.” He leaned back and waited. “How long til you get back?” Vimes shrugged. “About a week. Need this stuff in a hurry?” Eventually Badger said, “Nah, nah. A week’s good.” Then he hung up. Vimes leaned further back in his chair. Without any instruction from his brain, his hand reached for his bottom left drawer and pulled out a bottle of… either it was very cheap whiskey or slightly safer wood alcohol.
Vimes woke up when there was a knock at his office door. “Yea?” He called out. “It’s Sybil. You missed dinner so Carrot asked if I would bring you a tray.” She paused. “Can I come in?” Vimes shot out of his chair and opened the door. Sybil smiled at him and stepped inside. She was carrying a tray with two bowls of gruel like substance. “I hope you don’t mind if I join you… I ended up sleeping right through dinner. Jet lag, you know.” Vimes nodded and motioned to the ratty old couch in his office. Sybil set the tray down on the little coffee table in front of the couch. “I er… wanted to apologize about making such a fuss this morning.” Sybil said eventually. Vimes blinked. “What? Oh, er… that’s fine. I’d forgotten all about it really. Wasn’t much of a fuss, you could do with some practice.” Sybil laughed.
They sat in silence awhile. The protein gruel was quite disturbing and left undisturbed. Sybil shifted in her seat a little. “The last few days here… have really been wonderful.” Vimes tried to think of something to say to that. “Well, we still have about three more days together.” Sybil nodded slowly. “Yes, we do.” She took a deep breath. “It occurs to me, that we haven’t gotten quite caught up.” Vimes tried to stay calm. “Oh?” Was all he could manage. Sybil laughed softly and moved closer to him. “I’m not trying to make you uncomfortable, Sam. It’s just funny that we’ve talked a lot but we haven’t…” She faltered and looked down shyly.
Vimes coughed. “I er… didn’t… I thought…” Sybil gave Vimes a Look. “Sam Vimes, are you telling me that you haven’t been trying to seduce me ever since I got on your ship?” Vimes went red. “What? I er…” He glared. “Oh and like you haven’t either.” Sybil looked surprised in that way that meant she wasn’t remotely surprised. “What do you mean?” Vimes rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean. Every time you call me captain you might as well unzip my pants with your teeth.” Sybil gaped. It took her a few minutes to rally herself. “Oh and what about you and that… taking off business?” Vimes blinked and then smirked. “What taking off business?” Sybil blushed and looked away. “I… you must have known how… It gets everyone doesn’t it?” Vimes looked innocent. “I’m not sure what you mean. Take offs take everyone differently. Do you want to tell me how it took you?”
Sybil’s thighs rubbed together. She looked so embarrassed and Vimes loved it. Then she took another deep breath. He could almost hear her say ‘the hell with it’. She leaned back on the couch. “It was a rush. It’s it funny how just as we’re being separated from the earth, the brain fights harder to make us aware of our bodies.” Vimes’ brain didn’t have to fight very hard to let him know that his stomach twisted in that not unpleasant way it sometimes did around her. She put her hand on Vimes’ knee. “We have… three days and then we probably won’t see each other again, Sam.” Vimes nodded. “So it’s going to be another one of those things?” Sybil shrugged. “I suppose so. Did you want it to be something else?” She asked but Vimes wasn’t sure if it was hopefully or anxiously.
Vimes wasn’t sure if he wanted this to be one of those things or not. He could do with one but he wasn’t used to ‘those things’. Sybil must have seen what he was thinking. “Sam, we’re both adults and we got along well enough after the last time.” She moved her hand from his knee to his face. She caressed the scar over his eye. There was something in her eyes but Vimes couldn’t quite place what it was. Then she said so quietly, Vimes wasn’t sure if she was saying it to him, “It would be nice… to do something that feels good for once.” She kissed him. When she pulled back, Vimes waited a few seconds in case he passed out. It had become a habit now. When he didn’t, he thought a very short curse towards Mavis Trouncer and then put his arms around Sybil and kissed her back in earnest.
Sybil pushed him back and climbed onto his lap. She set her legs on either side of him and leaned forward to kiss him. Vimes ran his hands down her back, pausing on her bottom and then moved them down her thighs. Then they started moving up again, moving her skirt with them and Vimes noticed that Sybil was wearing stockings held up by a garter belt. He didn’t mean to dwell on that fact much but he’d never actually seen a woman wearing a garter belt in person before. He only ever saw them on the Cortex. He ran his hands up and down the back of Sybil’s thighs while she started kissing his face and neck. Her hands were already unbuttoning his shirt and pushing his suspenders off. Vimes finished pushing the suspenders off and untucked his shirt while Sybil took off her sweater.
Vimes started kissing Sybil’s neck and shoulders, pushing her bra straps down. Sybil moaned in his ear and was already moving her hips up and down. Vimes stopped kissing. “Wait! Wait a second.” Sybil froze and stared at him. “This is daft.” He managed to say and then pointed to the door on the opposite wall that led to his bedroom. “There’s a perfectly good bed through there.” Sybil’s jaw dropped and then she started laughed heartily. Vimes would have laughed too but he was mesmerized by the way her breasts bounced when she laughed. When she’d stopped laughing, she stood up. Vimes remained sitting and watched her wiggle out of her skirt. Vimes stared at her. She was standing in front of him, wearing that garter belt, bra and panties.
She did not look like those models on the Cortex. He could see a little bit of fat bulge where the stockings ended and somehow that made it better. Sybil was built like those women in classic artwork. In the old days of Earth-That-Was, a full figure had been considered the standard of beauty, he’d heard. By those standards, Sybil was stunning. Sybil noticed him watching her. “What?” Vimes smiled and walked over to her. “You just… knocked me off balance a second.” Then while he was still caught up in the moment, he took her in his arms and picked her up. Sybil actually cried out in shock. He grunted just a little as he tried to keep his balance. Sybil held onto him tightly and tried not to laugh or look down for that matter. It was quite fortunate that Vimes didn’t have to walk very far to go to get to his bedroom and since they were on a ship, beds had a penchant of taking up most of the room.
So they stumbled into bed again. Vimes removed his clothes and Sybil finished getting undressed. At his request, she kept the stockings and garter belt on. Sybil was not shy in bed. There was none of that lay still and think of [insert name of home planet here] nonsense, she threw herself into the act. She wasn’t shy about vocalizing how she was feeling. She screamed and moaned with pleasure. And she was so giving too. Perhaps she was approaching this like it could be the last time. Or maybe she really was catching up after six years of being without. When they’d finished, as they started drifting off to sleep, Sybil said, “All my life, I’ve been around spoiled dandies and pompous nobles.” She took his hand, taking in the roughness, calluses and blisters. “And the memory of these hands kept me warmer than all the nights I’ve had with anyone else put together.”
Vimes stroked Sybil’s cheek not sure what to say to that. She had said that this was just going to be one of those things. She was still going to