Prompt: Movie line, Unforgiven-"It's a hell of a thing, killing a man. Take away all he's got and all he's ever gonna have." Un-betaed.
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Mal called over a 5th round of drinks, and when they arrived, he passed them around the table respectively. Raising his glass, the captain scanned the faces of Zoë, Simon, Kaylee, Inara and Jayne. "Too not the one of us gettin' a hole put through 'em!"
"I'd say that's as good as cause as any ta get liquored up." Jayne put in as he raised his glass to his lips and knocked back the shot.
Zoë drank hers with ease and set her glass down. "Jayne, you'd drink to Sunday Mass."
"Yeah, well, God's a cause fer celebratin' too."
Mal lifted up his empty glass. "Too God!"
"Welp, Captains inebriated." Simon affirmed.
Inara slide her arm through Mal's. "I prefer him this way. He's less combative."
Mal turned to Inara and looked her straight in the eyes, swaying a little. "Now hear you me, woman. I can be all crotchety and mean when sauced up. Just you mind to that."
"You tend to giggle, Sir." Zoë offered. "In a girlish manner."
"Do not!" Mal admonished. "Do I?"
Jayne came to Mal's rescue. "Hey, now, nothin' wrong wit gettin' a little blurry-eyed. Helps a man forget."
"That explains everything." Simon derided.
"Don't explain why yer a pantywaist." The merc shot back.
"You gonna hit him? 'Cause I woulda hit him." Mal slurred.
"Captain, you ain't helpin'." Kaylee reprimanded. "Jayne, you an' Simon play nice. Chi ger, always at it."
"Be nice to walk out of a bar for a change. Opposed to flyin' outta one." Zoe added.
Mal snorted. "Party pooper."
Inara was ignoring them, silently pondering Jayne's words. She didn't know why they affected her so. She searched the hard lines of his face, a map made up of rogue terrain and posed a serious thought amidst the silliness. "Jayne, you implied you needed to forget."
The merc turned from reminiscing about past bar fights and respond to Inara. "Yeah, so?"
The companion neatly placed her hands on the table in front of her. "I just imagine that it must have been hard to choose this life."
"Didn't choose it." Jayne responded simply. He then took another shot and slapped the glass back down onto the tabletop. "Chose me."
"Yeah? How do's ya…figure… that?" Mal asked only to ask. He really could care less. The room was spinning.
Jayne motioned as he spoke. "Same as Kaylee fixin' up her engines, an' the doc bein' all prissified. Theys did what come natural. Picked up a six shooter one day an' it spoke ta me. It said, Jayne Cobb, this is yer callin'."
"Wow. You refer to yourself in the third person now?" Simon reproved.
" 'Pears so."
"Well, I don't know how ya'll do it." Kaylee announced. "That's the way o' things, I guess. Some givin' and some takin'."
Jayne sat back, recalling some old wisdom. "My pa used ta tell me, it's a hell of a thing, killin' a man. Take away all he's got an' all he's ever gonna have."
"Your father is a very wise man." Inara acknowledged.
"Thing is, that part of it never bothered me. The killin'." Jayne admitted. "Liked the sway of it. Never did pay much heed ta what the old man dished out."
Jayne looked down at his drink and hesitated a little before he continued. "Know now what the man was prattlin' on 'bout all them years."
"What changed things?" Zoë asked, always fascinated when Jayne got deep, the rare occasion it was.
The merc looked up and located River at the jukebox, flipping through the song selections. As if reading him, she peeked over her shoulder and met his eyes. He let his lips twitch the faintest bit before looking away and back to Zoë.
Jayne shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know. Guess I understand the whole losing things part. Like what I've got jus' fine."
Jayne's gaze wondered back over to River, smiling internally as he watched her spin to some old-word tune.
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Chi ger -foolish boys