This is a little Talyn filler that's been rattling around in my head for a while, and it finally got finished. I hope you enjoy.
Rating: G
Setting: post-Meltdown
Spoilers: Through Meltdown/IP:DD
Disclaimer: Not my characters, not my universe, no money being made, no disrespect intended.
Thanks to Crash, Loco, and MadScientist for a look-see.
To Pass the Time Away
Good old Crais, no longer in Captain Bligh mode but still determined to exercise his authority aboard Talyn, had his unintended crew members scattered throughout the ship looking for any remaining damage from the drexim incident.
John and Aeryn had been put to work tracing a fluid conduit that was giving off subpar readings. "This is getting old," John said to Aeryn, flinging her a glance where she stood, a motra or so away from him, poking critically at a slight discoloration on the wall.
"Hmm?" she murmured without looking up.
"All this work for something that shouldn't have happened in the first place. Like I said the other day, this ship really should have some system upgrades."
Aeryn bristled. "Talyn isn't yet full-grown. We need to make allowances."
Ooops. Foot in mouth.
Remember, John, Aeryn loves this ship, probably more than she loves you! "I know, I know," he sighed. "But it's still a pain in the ass," he muttered under his breath, turning his attention back to his section of the red and black corridor. Despite the difference in color, the vertical ribs made John think of Moya. Logically, he should be "homesick" for the Leviathan he'd lived on since he arrived in the UTs, but he wasn't...because here, on Talyn, he had the one thing he needed: Aeryn Sun.
Of course, Aeryn was kind of keeping her distance from him right now. For the past couple of days, she'd been very careful to maintain her personal space anywhere but in the area of the ship that served as their quarters. It didn't take a mind-reader to see that she was embarrassed by the extent of their very public displays of affection under the influence of the drexim and needed a little time to recover her equanimity. Since she was completely uninhibited when they were in their own space, he was doing his best to deal with the frustration of not being able to just reach out and touch her when he felt like it, like, say, right now....
Aeryn's leather pants and vest creaked every time she moved, and it was driving John crazy. Trying to drown out the way-too-sexy sound, he started humming. For some reason, the bouncy tune of "I've Been Working on the Railroad" was what came out. The song seemed appropriate to the moment, and before he knew it, he was singing softly. "I've been workin' on the railroad, all the live-long day...." He tapped on the patch he'd just stuck on the conduit, pressing to make sure it was tight. "I've been workin' on the railroad, just to pass the time away..." The lyrics got fuzzy in his head at that point, and he switched to dum-dum-dums for a while till he got back on track.
"Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah
Someone's in the kitchen I know
Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah
Strummin' on the old banjo!
"And singin' fi, fie, fiddly-i-o
Fi, fie, fiddly-i-o-o-o-o
Fi, fie, fiddly-i-o
Strummin' on the old banjo."
John was totally getting into it, nodding his head in time with the music he was making, when Aeryn's voice intruded. "Stop!"
"What?" Baffled, he turned her direction, to see that she was standing upright, looking at him with a question on her face.
"What does that mean?" she asked.
Enlightened, he realized he must have been singing louder than he'd intended. He straightened up and shrugged. "It's just a song."
She raised her chin towards him with just a hint of stubbornness. "'Fee-fa-fiddy,'" she mangled. "What does that mean?"
He snickered. "Nothing, as far as I know. It's just nonsense."
"Well, some of the words must mean something. Even you don't spout only nonsense," she insisted.
The slight twinkle in her eyes told him both that she was just kidding with the slam, and also that she really was interested in the song, for some reason. He set down his tools and asked, "Okay, how about 'railroad.' The microbes get that?"
She shook her head.
"It's a ground transport. Travels on rails. Laying the tracks used to be real physical labor – picks and shovels and all that."
"That's what the song is about?"
He shrugged. "Sort of. It's not literal. It's a folk song. It's just something people used to sing, to pass the time."
"When they were working."
"Or any time." He shrugged again. "Singing's fun."
Aeryn's expression said she didn't believe
that for a microt. She turned the discussion back to the lyrics."What's a 'ban-cho'?"
"Banjo. It's a musical instrument, with strings. You strum it." He mimed fingering the strings with his left hand, and strumming with his right, even though he'd never held a banjo in his life. Aeryn didn't need to know that!
"Like a shilquen?"
"Something like that," he agreed.
She nodded in apparent satisfaction, and then her expression grew cautious. John waited her out, until she licked her lips and asked, "Will you teach me your language?"
Caught completely off guard, John asked the first thing that came to mind. "Why?"
She gave a studied shrug. "We don't have much to do while Talyn is hiding out. It will help pass the time."
"I can think of other things to do to pass the time...."
She smiled, but said firmly, "Things that won't disturb Crais and the others."
"Where's the fun in that?"
Aeryn clonked him on the arm, hard enough to suggest she was genuinely irritated despite the banter.
He took the hint and considered the question. Really, he didn't see the point in her learning English. The translator microbes caught 99.9% of what he said, when he wasn't off on something scientific, or some silly fluff like the song they'd just been discussing, just like they let
him understand Sebacean. Not to mention, a little voice inside pointed out, he didn't really want to focus on the language of his home. It only reminded him that he was probably never going to get back there, and certainly never going to be able to take Aeryn there....
His silence apparently went on too long for Aeryn. "Fine, if you don't want me to understand what goes on in that head of yours...." She turned away abruptly, setting her ponytail swinging.
Surprised, John studied her back, stopping himself before he was distracted by her very lovely ass. The rigidity of her shoulders told him he'd managed to hurt her feelings. Well, hell, how was he to know she'd equated learning English with getting closer to him! This was a whole new development with Officer Aeryn Sun, former Space Nazi.
Well, why not? It would make her happy, and she was right, it would be something they could do together. "Aeryn," he said, taking a step closer to her. When she turned around, he could see a tiny glint of moisture in her eyes. Ah, hell. He abandoned what he'd been intending to say, and started singing the alphabet. "A, B, C, D—"
She stopped him with a gentle shake of her head. "No, I want you to do it properly. No games!"
"Aw, Baby, that's how I learned...." She stared him down, and he sighed. Without translator microbes, kids back home learned by hearing. Thinking about options, he asked, just to be sure, "You can hear what I'm saying, right? English under the translation?"
"Yes. If I listen for it."
He nodded absently and thought about it a little more. Every language class he'd ever taken began with the same thing as learning a first language. Listen and repeat. Aeryn might already have an advantage, since she'd been "hearing" him for three cycles. But he had a feeling that they'd get further if they used the written language to help her focus on the sounds. Something simple, like an early reader. He looked up and gave her a winning smile. "I'll figure something out, I promise."
"Thank you," she said softly, and then grinned. "We'd better get back to work. If we don't finish this corridor in the next half-arn, Crais will have us in the brig."
"Talyn doesn't have a brig!"
"Are you sure?" she teased.
Considering they'd just discovered a pilot's den two days ago, she had a point! "Yes ma'am," he agreed with a smile.
Aeryn leaned over and kissed him, which sent his heart and other things soaring.
Buoyed with optimism, when Aeryn turned back to the conduit, John leaned over her shoulder to check the readouts she was getting. She didn't move so much as a dench away from him, and they went back to work, together.
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