Disclaimer: I don't own Firefly.

Prompt #9: Advantage - She used to believe she had the upper hand. Up until he showed he could play just as dirty.

Words: 699

Kaylee considered herself quite a skillful flirt. When you live on a farm planet and work as a mechanic in the family shop, there wasn't much else to do but flirt with any and all customers that came through. A useful skill for a backwater girl on a dusty hunk of rock in the Outer Rim.

It got her on Serenity, didn't it?

After that, there wasn't much call for her to flirt. Oh sure, the Captain would sometimes ask her to "bat them pretty eyes" at a potential client or mark, but rarely did it go beyond that. Mal and Zoe and Wash looked after her like family, like she was their own meímeí. Once Inara came aboard, she gained another sibling who wanted her kept safe from the world of flirting.

And then Simon came on board. Core-bred, polite as anything, well-mannered and well-educated man, but he couldn't flirt his way out of a wet fortune cookie. It was almost too easy an opportunity.

At first, her flirting was too much for the poor boy. Kaylee wasn't a shy person by a long shot, but when she got tongue-tied around Simon, she got into the habit of using her coy words to cover up her nervousness. She could tell he liked her - hell, any blind fool could see that he liked her. His properness and ignorance kept him from responding in kind, and when he tried to, most times he only crammed his foot down his throat. It was a long, difficult process, with long stretches between rewards. She regarded his cursing and drunken ramblings on Higgin's Moon a small victory.

Once they became friends, the remarks grew easier and the smiles became fond. He still had his moments, but at least now Kaylee could cut him some slack. He was learning how to exist out in the Black, how to lose some of his properness and gain a rougher edge to deal with the people who lived in the Outer Rim. He even managed to pick up a few swears and a spine of his own.

But unknown to Kaylee, he was also learning a great deal more than just that.

"C'mon Simon," she coaxed. "I jus' wanna hear you say somethin' that ain't proper."

The doctor chuckled as that shy Core-boy grin of his appeared over pink cheeks. "What is with you and the need to hear me swear?"

"Don' need ta be swearin'. You could just say somethin' naughty." Her smile turned mischievous and teasing. "It ain't that hard."

Simon was saved a response by the arrival of the Captain. "We're gonna break atmo in a few, Kaylee. I don' want bits of my ship fallin' off all over Freya."

"Aye aye, Cap'n," Kaylee said, getting to her feet. Simon rose as well, as polite as a lord with a lady. "No worries. I'll make sure she don't drop a single bit."

Mal nodded and headed back towards the bridge. Kaylee gave Simon a little smile and said, "Aren't you gonna say something?"

"Like what?" he asked, smiling in his clueless way.

She rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Never mind. See ya, Simon." She turned and started heading for the engine room.

Suddenly a lean arm snaked around her waist and pulled her back against the warm, toned chest of her doctor. Kaylee couldn't help her gasp of surprise. Never before had Simon done anything quite like this. And it was kind of hot, now that she thought about it.

Those soft lips pressed to the skin just behind her ear. "Were we alone, I would take you in a manly fashion right here and now."

Kaylee's breath caught in her throat. Shock and pleasure had her choke out the words, "C-C-Cuz I'm pretty?"

He just chuckled. Then he had to open his mouth and whisper huskily, "Kaylee Frye, you're the most beautiful girl in the 'verse."

Ohhh, he's definitely been learnin' some smooth-talk, thought Kaylee as he pressed another kiss against the side of her throat.

Could you just imagine Simon being a smooth flirt around Kaylee? God... *fans self*

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