Kaylee hefted the latest load of foodstuffs that the Alliance had given them across the counter to Simon. With that swai grin she now loved even more, he took it from her, his hands ghosting over hers as they switched holds on the box. Blushing, although she had no idea why, it wasn't as if they hadn't done a lot of touching earlier that day, Kaylee turned back to the galley table, filled with more food to store as Inara entered, a smile on her face.
"Hey there, 'Nara," Kaylee said brightly, greeting her friend with a wide smile.
"Hi," Inara answered, seeming to pull her mind from a far-off place. Glancing over to Simon she saw that the normally shy doctor was not paying a whit of attention to the task before him, but instead staring dreamily at her young friend. Deciding to save him at least a little embarrassment, Inara inclined her head in his direction and said, "Simon."
Jumping at the sound of his name, the blush that crept up Simon's neck and to his face made Inara smile – same old Simon. "Inara," he muttered quickly, immediately turning back to empty the box before him.
Shooting Kaylee a knowing grin which the mechanic returned in megawatts, Inara moved towards her friend, taking her by the elbow and pulling her out of the room. Once they were a few paces from the galley, she whirled on Kaylee, her eyes twinkling. "Spill."
Kaylee smiled again and giggled, pretty much telling Inara everything she needed to know, but she still would not be deterred. "I don't know what you're talkin' 'bout, 'Nara," her friend answered coyly, batting those unbelievably green eyes at her and trying vainly not to burst.
Crossing her arms over her chest, Inara gave Kaylee her best 'You-know-exactly-what-I'm-talking-about' expression. "Oh yes, you do," she said. Leaning into Kaylee, she whispered, "You didn't, you know? Did you?"
Kaylee could not contain herself a moment further and she blinked rapidly as happy tears clouded her eyes. Grabbing her friend's hands, Kaylee squeezed them intently even as she squealed. "Mmm hmmm," she breathed, unable to form a thought, let alone words.
Swallowing her own happy tears for Kaylee and for Simon, Inara rested a light hand against her friend's cheek and said, "I am so happy for you, mei mei. Truly." Glancing past Kaylee's shoulder, Inara caught a glimpse of Simon from inside the galley. He had ventured near the hatch apparently curious as to where his helper had gone. At Inara's quick gaze he immediately returned to his work, trying to appear as though he had never stopped. Returning her grin back to Kaylee, she added, "For you both."
"Oh 'Nara, it's so great," Kaylee said, her voice an enraptured whisper. "I mean I thought it would be great. Actually, I pretty much knew it would be great, but this …" She let the thought die on her lips, unable to finish it. She closed her eyes for a moment, picturing Simon's bare and sweaty chest as he pulled her close; the feel of his mouth on hers as they'd both given in to passions they'd been trying to keep hidden; the feel of him pressed against her, wanting her, crying out her name …
Another, more urgent flush rising on her cheeks, Kaylee opened her eyes and licked her lips. Giving her friend a quick peck on the cheek, Kaylee said abruptly, "Sorry, 'Nara, I gotta go."
Inara watched with amazement and glee as Kaylee spun around and practically sprinted back towards the galley. They could use some of that happiness on board, especially now.
As Kaylee reentered the room, she scanned the small space quickly, looking for Simon's yummy form. Not seeing him, she felt a pout form on her lips, as she circled back towards the kitchen and called out, "Simon?"
"In here, Kaylee." His muffled voice came to her from behind and she looked to see the door to the storage room open. Squealing with even more glee, Kaylee entered the small room, shutting the door behind her. Peeking around a set of shelves, she saw him there, storing more cans of foodstuffs they would no doubt be very grateful for when they were back to molded protein. Actually, truth was, Kaylee was very grateful for them now.
"Whatcha doin'?" she asked innocently, trying to affect her most nonchalant tone. Glancing over his shoulder and grinning wickedly at her, Simon turned and in one swift motion captured her in a strong embrace.
"Waiting for you," he whispered against her cheek, pressing light kisses there that trailed down her neck and to her shoulder. She sighed against him at his touch and let her hands work up his strong back, feeling all the muscles there that she now knew existed – and wanted to see again.
"Why, doctor Tam," she said in mock surprise, returning some of his fevered kisses to any bare skin she could find. "I am shocked at your behavior."
"Oh really," he murmured against her skin, tickling her with his breath and causing Kaylee to giggle. He loved that sound, especially when it vibrated through his lips.
"Okay, well, not that shocked," she told him, running her hands through his hair, and bringing his mouth up to hers. She crushed her lips over his, not even pausing as she pushed her tongue in his mouth. She felt him respond immediately, all over and Kaylee decided to make it just a bit more uncomfortable for him, when she pressed her hips against his already aroused midsection. As she felt him groan into her mouth, Kaylee knew, she had him.
"I'm more surprised I didn't think of it first," she whispered in his ear, as he made short work of her skirt and was about to lift her top off when the sound of the door opening made them both freeze.
Holding their breath in the unbelievably uncomfortable position they were in, both Kaylee and Simon said a silent prayer it wasn't the captain. But as the voice let them know who it was, it was actually worse, for Simon anyway.
"Found you," River's voice sing-songed to them. While Kaylee for some reason Simon could not comprehend seemed to find this humorous, he found it quite humiliating.
Recovering first, Kaylee gave Simon a quick kiss and whispered, "We'll finish this later," and then straightening her clothes and her hair, rounded the corner and asked River brightly, "Did you need us, sweetie?"
"No, Captain does. Something else just fell off his gorram ship and he says that if she crashes, it'll be your fault, again." River stated this in that obnoxious, I-know-it-all way that Simon had begun to despise when she was three. But he tried to quell his anger, knowing that at the moment, he was more upset she had interrupted an intimate moment with Kaylee than anything else.
With a muttered curse under her breath, Kaylee stepped around the girl and headed for the engine room, certain that's where the captain would already be, looking for an excuse to yell at her again.
Simon waited for another five minutes, taking a few deep breaths. Luckily, his interlude with Kaylee had not gone quite that far and he was able to control himself, choosing to dwell on all the ways he could kill his sister for her unbelievable timing. When he finally felt calm once again, he moved to leave, River in his path.
"River," he exclaimed, slightly startled. He had not known she was still standing there. "Are you all right?"
She nodded and continued to gaze at him with those big brown eyes. Finally, she grabbed his hand and said quietly, "I'm happy for you."
Simon was slightly taken aback by this admission; he had felt for sure River would say something to embarrass him as that always seemed to be her way, especially when girls were concerned.
"I, well," he stammered for a moment, not certain what to say. Finally he placed both hands on her shoulders and said, "Thank you mei mei."
She nodded again and then turned to go. Pausing once in the doorway, she looked back to him with that knowing grin once again and said, "Don't have sex in the engine room tonight. It'll hurt."
All color draining from Simon's face, he stood dumbfounded as River skipped away, apparently not at all effected by the fact that she had just spoken so plainly with her brother about his sex life. Feeling as though this whole afternoon might require some serious therapy, Simon again counted to ten before exiting the room. Trying to focus his mind on anything other than Kaylee, Simon set to working on the kitchen, wishing he could think of a way to nullify his sister's psychic abilities, at least a few hours at a time.
---- ----
Kaylee banged and drummed against the engine, taking out of her frustration at the captain's obvious pig-headedness as she tried to make adjustments to keep them flying.
There was no reason for her to be down here. The Alliance's men had done a right fine job of patching them up and now Serenity was flying smoother than she had, well, probably since ever. But no, the captain, who was obviously tweaked by her burgeoning relationship with the doc, was determined to keep her sequestered in the engine room, where she would only serve to get tired, grimy and sweaty before supper.
Pouting even more fiercely, Kaylee chucked the wrench into the tool kit at her feet and grunted a curse.
"That bad, huh?"
Turning suddenly at the unexpected sound, Kaylee smiled slightly when she saw Inara standing there. "Oh, hey 'Nara, whatcha ya doin' down here?"
Smiling, the woman entered the room and sat gingerly on the edge of Kaylee's hammock. "Looking for you." Glancing around the empty room, Inara cocked an eyebrow and asked, "I'm slightly surprised to see you alone though, I have to admit."
Frowning even more violently, Kaylee huffed over to her friend, taking a rag and wiping her face and hands. "Yeah, well, don't be. That hundan of a captain felt that maybe Simon and I needed some time apart. So he ordered me in here to fix, well, nothin' and Simon's been relegated to the infirmary, forced to take stock of medicine or some such." Dejectedly, Kaylee sat next to her friend, causing the hammock to swing as she took a seat.
Turning her own frown on her friend, Inara's eyes held a familiar fire as she asked slowly, "Mal did this?"
Nodding, Kaylee was lost in thought. "Said if'n he came looking for Simon and me and we weren't where we was 'sposed to be, he'd give us septic duty for a month."
Swallowing her growing anger, Inara extricated herself from her seat, and pulled Kaylee to her feet. "Come with me," she ordered, leading the girl from the room.
Protesting slightly, Kaylee said, "But 'Nara, the cap'n-"
"You leave the captain to me," she ground out, just about ready to space the infuriating man herself.
Noting the harsh tone in her friend's voice, Kaylee followed silently, not at all surprised when Inara brought her to the infirmary, where both women were faced with a very sullen looking doctor.
He looked up at their entrance, slightly shocked, and asked, "Kaylee? Inara? Is everything all right?"
"Oh, everything's going to be fine, as long as you two don't let the captain keep you from being happy," Inara told them both, letting go of Kaylee's hand and pushing the girl into the waiting doctor's arms. Still surprised by her friend's forcefulness, all thoughts of Mal's anger and reprisals flew from Kaylee's mind as Simon's strong arms encircled her waist.
Turning her eyes up to him and smiling wide, she lifted her eyebrows coyly and asked, "Miss me?"
Smiling back at her, the two young people forgot all about Inara in seconds as their lips met and they shared a passionate kiss, the hour they had been separated obviously having been too long for either of them. Nodding with satisfaction, Inara left them to their passions and whirled on her heel, determined to find the idiotic man who ran this ship and give him a piece of her mind.
She found him, not surprisingly on the bridge, surveying his domain, like the red-blooded alpha male he was. Trying to hide her scowl, she stepped through the doorway and crossing her arms over her chest, cleared her throat loudly.
He spun at her entrance and fixed her with a lopsided grin that soon faded as he noted the fire in her eyes. "Uh-oh," he said quietly, shaking his head in disbelief. Sighing heavily, he stood and came to stand in front of her. "All right, what'd I do?"
Slightly taken aback as that was not his usual response to her anger, Inara faltered for a moment and then said haughtily, "You know what you did."
Still looking confused, Mal glanced over his shoulder and around hers, certain that someone was playing a joke on him. Raising his hands in a placating posture, he took a step back and leaned against the console. "No, darlin' I surely don't, so why don't you 'splain it to me."
At that moment the sound of laughter and kissing could be heard and Inara turned with a satisfied smile as Simon and Kaylee entered the crew hallway, their hands and mouths all over each other. At the sight, Mal instantly stood, his body tense and eyes flashing. The mechanic and the medic made it to the door of Kaylee's bunk before realizing they had an audience. Looking towards the bridge both of their eyes widened in shock as they saw Mal staring them down from over Inara's shoulder.
"You two have fun," Inara told them sweetly, waving them on. Glancing back to each other, both Simon and Kaylee decided to get while the getting was good and had scampered down the ladder, closed the hatch and locked it in record time.
"I swear, I told those two," Mal started to mutter, making an effort to move past Inara and clock the two moony adults over the head. But Inara remained in his way.
And placing a hand to his chest to hold him back, she made it clear she was not moving. "'Nara, I tol' 'em they had work to do and that they'd suffer the consequences if'n they shirked their duties to go ruttin' around like gorram teenagers."
Her eyes again blazing, Inara answered him evenly, "And I told them to enjoy themselves. It doesn't seem right to me that they should suffer for being young and in love just because their pi gu of a captain can't take his head out of his own said ass to be happy. Don't you think?" She smiled so sweetly, so innocently, that it took a minute for the insult to register.
Anger rising, Mal looked at her and bit out, "Are you tellin' me I'm tellin' them to do their jobs 'cause I'm jealous?" When Inara cocked her head to the side in a gesture of agreement with his statement, Mal felt his anger burn even brighter. "You gotta be ruttin' kiddin' me! Inara, we got this thing called work. The boat don't fly or run itself you know."
Glaring at him with a stare that could have frozen water in a nanosecond, Inara raised one finely manicured hand and proceeded to poke him in the chest with her sharp finger. "Malcolm Reynolds, you are the biggest liar that ever roamed this 'verse. You know this ship is flying better now that it ever has before and that all of us could use a break. So don't go lecturing me about ships and their needs. I think I am painfully aware of how much you indulge this ship!"
Her own voice had risen in volume and the loudness of it shocked Inara as much as Mal. They both glowered at each other for a moment, their emotions running hot. Mal knew the woman was right which was what really had him irked, while Inara knew she had no right to be jealous of Mal and his ship or the happiness Kaylee was experiencing right now. Her friend deserved to be happy and so did Simon. It was Mal she was really angry at. He was hiding under a guise of keeping Serenity in working order when he really just wanted to begrudge anyone any kind of happiness.
"Now, you listen me to Mal and you listen good." Inara's voice again held a dangerous edge and Mal swallowed hard despite his own anger. "You will stay out of Simon's and Kaylee's affairs and allow them to be happy. If you need them for anything, you will first be sure that it is a true emergency and then you will politely ask them for their assistance." Watching his eyes as they searched her face, trying to determine where exactly this forthright woman had come from, she smiled innocently to him again and asked, "Dong ma?"
With a hesitant nod, Inara again smiled and then turned on her heel, heading back for her shuttle and getting away from the ridiculously swai man before she gave in to the passions that Kaylee had.
---- ----
As soon as Simon and Kaylee had locked the hatch, they both broke into a fit of laughter. Seeing Inara and the captain, so obviously trying to deny their attraction for each other struck the two love birds as ridiculously funny. Kaylee flounced over to her sink and wet a washcloth to wipe off some of the remaining grease from her face. "I told you we shoulda gone to your bunk. It was closer."
Shaking his head, Simon watched her, entranced by her every movement and said, "No way. The chance of River happening upon us – again – is just a little too great."
Kaylee smiled slightly, remembering earlier in the day when River been caught peeking at them in the engine room – it had flustered Simon something terrible.
Glancing up to study him from her mirror, Kaylee's green eyes met Simon's gaze of barely contained desire, causing a shiver to run down her spine. Coming up behind her, he again wrapped his arms around her waist and instantly started kissing and sucking on the skin of her neck right behind her ear. Suddenly feeling self-conscious although she didn't know why, she pulled away slightly and said, "Wait a second, I'm all sweaty and greasy."
Not listening, Simon turned her in his embrace and crushed his mouth to hers, tasting her sweat and the sweetness of her all at once. "So," he whispered huskily as he again started to work that skin at the base of her neck, pulling and sucking at it with his teeth and tongue.
Now putty in his hands, Kaylee dropped the cloth, her eyes closing with pleasure. Tipping her head back to give him better access, she ran her hands around his neck and up into his hair, feeling the smooth strands slip through her fingers. "Oh god, Simon," she breathed, as she felt his kisses cause her middle to start to ache in that wonderfully pleasant way. "That's good."
He smiled against her skin and she could feel the upturn of his lips. Tugging gently on his hair, she brought his face back to hers and kissed him fiercely, teasing him for a just a moment with her tongue running along his lower lip before she hastily parted his mouth and pushed her tongue inside, feeling his need for her as he grabbed her about the base of her spine and pushed her tighter against him.
She moaned with pleasure into his mouth as she felt his growing arousal harden against her, and deepened the kiss, working her hands through his hair and back around to the front of his shirt. Deftly moving buttons, Kaylee slid one hand under the clean fabric, to his bare chest, smiling as he inhaled slightly at her touch, his body again responding to her in ways that excited them both.
With a fierceness she hadn't quite expected, he backed her into the nearest wall, bracing himself with one hand as his mouth and tongue continued to work over hers. His other hand found the bottom of that sexy skirt she'd donned this morning, and worked up under it, brushing over her already aroused core and causing her to again groan with pleasure and need. Moving his hand up and over her hips, he found the edge of her shirt and ran his light fingers up and over her skin, delighting and growing even harder when he realized the thin fabric was the only thing she was wearing. Cupping her breast in his hand, he fondled the supple flesh, delighting in the continued mewls of pleasure his ministrations elicited.
Kaylee, however, was growing impatient. How much did he really think he could tease her? Lifting both arms over her head, she broke their passionate kiss, needing the air and encouraging him to lift her top over her head. He obliged, removing the flimsy fabric and tossing it aside, only to gaze into those green eyes for a moment. Reaching out a gentle hand to rest against her cheek, his eyes still burning with desire, he leaned in, his mouth just an inch from hers and whispered, "Kaylee, you are so beautiful."
She smiled as he again closed his mouth over hers, and then with her own desire burning, Kaylee pushed him back, working to get his pants off as she backed him towards the bed. Once she had pushed him down onto the mattress, his naked form before her, she wiggled out of her skirt and unders, and joined him, grinning wickedly. "Beautiful, huh," she whispered, leaning down and capturing his lips in a kiss.
He groaned with pleasure against her mouth, his hands working up and along her back and pulling her tight, his hard length ready for her. And Kaylee would not be deterred for another second. Already straddling him, she moved her hips in just the right way and joined them, gasping in pain and pleasure as he moved into her, filling her as completely as he had earlier that day. Simon let out a small cry as well, and squeezed his eyes shut with pleasure as Kaylee began to dictate the pace, knowing that this would be over soon if he didn't slow her down.
Moving with a fluidity that surprised his young lover, Simon grabbed her around the waist firmly and turned them over, never breaking his connection with her. Delighting in the feel of him driving even deeper, Kaylee looked up into his blue eyes and again brought her mouth to his.
It was not the second, third or fourth time they made love that day. But after each time, both of them would lie in the other's warm embrace, wondering in silence what had taken them so long to get here and never wanting it to end.