That was fantabulous! I loved it, and how you described beauty as not just something seen in a romantic sense, but as a way of looking at an object or person and believing them to be whole. For something to be wonderful just as it is.
Fantastic job! ;)

Interesting and beautifully written. I always thought Jayne and River had the least in common of all the crew, except maybe Jayne and Simon, but this is a really intriguing idea. Only Jayne can really see her and appreciate her. Very nice.

Very insightful.

Very good story, sits well on its own :)

A sweet, well-written story. I like Jayne's view of beauty, and I like the glimpse into River's mind.

This is beautiful in a quiet way. You've done a good job of giving Jayne credit for positive, almost poetic, feelings while staying true to his character. Nice trick, and a hat tip to you for it.

The other half of the story, River's viewpoint, is even more interesting. It's very believable - that's exactly how she should react, yet not something I would have thought about. You paint her confusion and appreciation nicely.

Now this is a beautifully crafted piece of writing.
I love the way it methodically explores the shape of each person's view of the other, yet although methodical, the language is in places pure lyric.
When I first saw the glimpse of Jayne's response to River, elsewhere, I found it a bit tacky, a sentimental romance arc, the big guy and the broken girl, and no more. Here I was led into a much deeper understandng and I loved it.
How they are drawn together by their common dedication to the art of violence. How both are warped by that to not be 'normal' yet both find a place with each other where they can create their own normality. That is a profound understanding of love, which here generates something good, yet can also be dangerous as it crosses the boundaries of the safe zone.
I liked very much Jayne's perception of beauty, in weapons, women's bodies, the ship; offering us that first makes the magnetism of River for him fall into place as a girl-weapon unity.
I liked the way the writer here quietly without awkward fuss, excludes sexual desire, at least consciously. Both these people have an innocent young self which is pre-sexual, River more obviously, and Jayne held inside. These aspects are in close affinity so they can connect in a purity which does not deny or suppress their sexuality, but rather makes it irrelevant by connecting somewhere else, in an art form they share, and their loneliness around others. A friendship.

Seeing Jayne's view first is helpful for of course River is more complex as she has her own reactions, as well as knowing his by ESP. The parallel thinking about the gift of a gun, and River using his weights shows these shy, difficult people, moving a little bit closer into trust.

I wonder what will happen when Jayne takes a lover? He's a very healthy bodily person after all. Will he feel this is so separate from River that it should not affect her? Even so he might feel protective that she just might feel she has less of him. Which River might do. The lover might feel uncomfortable too and could easily put foot in it by a careless comment on River.

Thank you so much for a genuinely mature and wise piece of writing.

This was really beautiful, I think, and it's nice to see someone who understands that they don't have to sexually involved to have a relationship. You have a wonderful way with words, and you write River extremely well, which can be difficult. Actually, you manage to recreate the two hardest and least-understood characters (in my opinion) and put them together in such a way that the story is both believable and amazing. Thank you for writing this!

*applause*

really good

You captured both of them perfectly :)

Adorable.

Just lovely, the different points of view, and very poetic. The use of language is gorgeous.

So good, so smart, so sweet. It's lovely to read a fic that's so utterly different than most. There's no graphic violence or nudity or even dialogue but you're very effective in getting your point across; I like how almost-stripped down it is. Thanks for posting.

Awesome, even Jayn would be affected by what happened to them on Miranda and beyond. And he would see her that way. Excellant!