fandomhighdorms | The roof, Wednesday evening

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The roof, Wednesday evening

From the dorm roof you got a good view of the result of the alien attack.. Perhaps not the most uplifting thing to look at, or a pretty sight, but River found the location fitting. She'd called Jack like she had told him she would, asking him to join her here, and now she was just standing there, waiting, leaning against the edge of the roof.

She'd brought food, in this case more than enough pizza for the two of them, and drink, which had been a more difficult choice. She'd ended up with sparkling wine of the non-alcoholic kind, the lack of alcohol due to the fact that she had no intention of falling asleep early tonight. In addition to this she'd brought a few blankets as well as proper plates and glasses from the common room kitchen.

But food wasn't the most important thing she'd planned for this night. Having borrowed a CD-player and an assortment of CD's, she'd hoped there would be something suitable for dancing to. Not that music was really essential - she could always listen to it in Jack's mind - but it was a lot more fun. For once, she'd also made an effort with her appearance and actually enjoyed it. She wore one of her newer dresses, a red one that Buffy had suggested to her. Her hair was arranged using the hairpin that Parker had given her - the beads on it moved nicely when dancing - and she wore the opal pendant Jack had given her for Christmas. Bare feet had perhaps been an unwise choice considering there were some debris from the blown-up buildings lying around, but she chose not to worry about that.

River smiled to herself and traced a pattern in the dust on the roof edge with the tip of her finger.

[Roof is open as a roof. Thread to Jack and River locked to them.]

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Jack went bounding up the stairs, two at a time, and he smiled as he reached the roof and saw everything River had done. "You called, I came," he said as he picked his was across the roof to stand beside her, mind filled with how beautiful she looked.

River smiled up at him. "That's good. Couldn't eat all the pizza myself." She took his hand. "That's the first part."

Jack threaded his fingers through hers and leaned down to kiss her. "What's the second part?"

Taking her time kissing him back, River didn't reply, just pointed at the CD-player, assuming that was answer enough.

And it was. Jack slipped an arm around her waist and swept her into a circle, music trailing through his mind.

River laughed, throwing her head back, her arms around Jack. "Very simple plan," she said.

"Sometimes simple plans are the best," he said, watching her laugh, letting the sound wash over him and through him. "Food first, or dancing?"

"Food," River replied happily. "Unless you object." She took his hand and tugged him towards the blankets laid out on the roof, where she'd arranged the pizza.

"I'll follow your lead, River. This is your plan," he said as she pulled him towards the blankets, where he sat, never letting go of her hand. "But you have to sit here." He patted the spot in front of him.

"No objection to that." River sat down in front of him and pulled one of his arms around her, lifting his other hand to kiss his fingertips. This was a goodbye present. There was nothing she could give him other than another memory, which should be something you'd never lose. Might not be for Jack though, considering he'd already lost quite a lot of them.

Jack pulled her back into the curve of his body, settling them both comfortably, and took a minute to just enjoy the moment. "This is good, River," he said as he tipped his head up to look at the appearing stars. "This is very good. Thank you."

Sensing his enjoyment anchored River in the moment, feeling her own happiness clearly as well. She placed a slice of pizza on a plate and handed it to Jack, then took one for herself. Looking up at the darkening sky too, she reached out an pointed. "My sun. That light is so very old now."

Munching on pizza, he followed River's finger. I doubt even the light's left in my time. But I'll look, if I can. One of the nice things about a telepath was that you didn't have to talk with your mouth full.

River chuckled, taking a bite of her own slice. She had to wait until she'd swallowed to reply, however. "It fades. Show me a memory from your time?"

He blanked momentarily, then grinned and closed his eyes. The day he made it onto the roof of the institution - he was seven? eight? - standing right at the edge, looking out over a city that gleamed with steel and glass and constant movement. It was the city he'd grown up in. "It covered the entire planet. It was so bright, you couldn't see the stars."

River closed her eyes to see the memory clearer. "You never saw the stars until you left?" she asked, even though she knew the answer. "But the city must have distracted, not just hiding stars with brightness."

"They showed us pictures and vids and star charts in class. And it did," he said, remembering sneaking out, running wild through the city. "We weren't allowed to go out unsupervised." But he had, every chance he'd gotten. One day he'd just kept going and never looked back.

She smiled at that, not surprised at all. "Had to see for yourself," she said. "I liked watching the stars as a child. Learnt all the names. Had a small telescope." Her family's house had been far enough from the city for the sky not to be too lit up. "Pretended I was there, floating in space. We did that once, Simon and I. Clung to Serenity, hiding on the outside. It was beautiful and I've never seen Simon that frightened."

"That would have been incredible." He could almost imagine that, nothing between him and space but the skin of a suit. "Been in small ships, was in a capsule once," naked, when an overenthusiastic partner had accidentally triggered the release mechanism, "but I've never walked in space."

River chuckled at the capsule incident, then said: "You'd like it. And I'm sure you'll find an opportunity to try." She wiped tomato sauce from the pizza off her mouth, then turned her head to kiss him.

Jack returned the kiss, arm around her waist, pulling her closer while his other slid into her hair. It's wasn't my foot that set us loose, and then he let the thought go and just focused on the feel of her against him. "You're staying tonight."

River closed her eyes again, this time to focus clearly on the here and now. She kissed him again, slowly, exploring. "Yes," she agreed, whispering against his lips. "Will stay. And I assume you got back safely, so no harm done." She couldn't help it, the idea of having Jack naked with her in a capsule was a very distracting thought. "But we're not finished here."

Jack's focus intensified, and he drew one finger down the length of her spine. "No, we're not."

River shivered at his touch and forced herself to pull away. She reached for two glasses, offered Jack one, and began to open the bottle.

"Thank you," he said, lying back on the blanket and rolling onto his side. He set the glass in front of him and just watched River, memorising the way she looked, the way she moved, the way it felt to be here. Only four days left.

River gave him a look that acknowledged she knew what he was thinking, but quickly smiled as she poured the drinks, not worrying about the sparkling wine pouring over the rim of the glasses.

He laughed as it overflowed the glasses. "Are you trying to get me tipsy?"

She laughed. "No reason why I should want to get you tipsy. It's non-alcoholic. I wouldn't want to fall asleep." Definitely not tonight. "But I like the way it doesn't want to stay in the glass. Uncontainable."

"A lot like you." Jack snagged a glass and took a long sip. "Tasty, and yeah, no need to get me tipsy." He grinned at her over the top of the glass. "You can have your wicked way with me any time you want, no need to ply me with alcohol."

Not for much longer. But River moved away from that thought and grinned back at him. She sipped the wine, then said teasingly: "And doesn't alcohol have certain disadvantages on men when it comes to the wicked ways?"

Jack threaded his arm around her, tucking her against him. "Not for me. I've yet to disappoint, no matter how much I've had to drink," he said as he closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against her back, breathing in the scent of her. "When you've got one thing you're very good at, I think you can do it in any condition."

"I'm going to take your word on that," River replied quietly, then began to giggle. "As well as you being very good, as I've had no one to compare with," she teased him, while placing her hand over his and locking their fingers together.

"Hmm, this is true. For all you know, I'm terrible," he deadpanned, but he was barely restraining laughter, thoughts bubbling over with mirth.

River put the glass down, then turned around, keeping his arm wrapped around her. She leaned her face very close to his, almost touching, laughter in her eyes. "Have no complaints whatsoever, Jack."

"That makes me happier than I can say." Which luckily wasn't an issue, and he closed the minute distance and kissed her softly, mind flashing back to the first time she'd made him carve an apple.

River returned the kiss equally softly, experiencing the memory from his point of view. "Was an exercise meant to turn people against each other. Meant to cause betrayal. Didn't work." She smiled, trailing the tip of her nose along his cheek.

"Nope. Exactly the opposite." In Jack's opinion Vader had been kind of a moron when it came to working people. He wasn't complaining about the outcome, though.

He nipped at the tip of River's nose and grinned. "Time to dance now?"

"Time to dance," River agreed, snagging another kiss before rising to her feet. "You choose the music."

Jack stood and wandered over to the CD player, flipping through the CDs until he found the perfect one. Cueing up a particular song, he held out his hand in invitation, letting the music run through his mind.

River took his hand and stepped closer. Dancing with Jack was special, and she had to force herself to stay present, not thinking about that this would be the last time. Smiling up at him, she gently placed her other hand on his shoulder and let her body follow his.

Jack quickly scanned the roof, making sure he knew where the edges were and, arm around her waist, led River into a dance. Right then, he didn't care about steps or style, all he cared about was the two of hem, moving together with the music.

All thoughts about anything were banished and all that was on River's mind was moving to the music, responing to Jack. She lost the sense of time passing, being completely in the present moment.

It was so easy with River. There was no hesitation, no confusion, no tangled feet, and he dipped her over his arm seconds after he thought about doing so.

Bending backwards, River watched the world upside down, then the starlit sky passed in front of her until she was once again facing Jack, their faces nearly touching.

Jack slowed to a stop, swaying slightly but his feet were still, and touched his forehead to hers. I'm going to miss you. So much easier not to say the words, though there was no sadness in his thoughts. Promise you're going to live the life you want?

River had no option but to speak. "Will try to, once I decide what it is I want," she replied. "Will miss you too," she added quietly. "I'll know you'll be somewhere and that makes the world less lonely."

"Good." Jack could be satisfied with that. "If I ever get the chance to come back," even as he said it, he knew he wouldn't, "I'll go with you to Serenity. We can scandalise your brother."

River gave him a look that told him to stop. "We have this, not the impossible 'if's'." She reached up to kiss him, almost to make him stop talking.

Jack chuckled at the look and kissed her back, acknowledging that she was right. This was good, and he was going to enjoy every second of it.

They danced through to the end of the CD, not even noticing when the music stopped, only a sudden chill breeze bringing them back to reality.

Without speaking, they gathered up blanket and wine, then made their way down the stairs for one last night together.

It was some time before either of them slept.

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The roof, Wednesday evening

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