Lust
Breakfast had been an interesting affair. Mal had announced that they were picking up a salvage job on the side. En route to the fifth moon of Athens, Demeter, to where the shipment of tobacco from Dorian was headed, they were to stop off on the backwaters of Greenleaf. There, they could refuel and, Mal claimed, collect what salvageable parts from the busted generators outside town they could. They'd received newer generators and were looking for a cheap way to get the old parts off-planet. This was where Serenity came in.
"It's easy work, and it's quick. The more hands chip in, the more we can get in the hold before we have t' scoot on over to Demeter and drop this tobacco. Who all is in?" Mal looked about at the entire assembled crew, the spoon halfway to his mouth.
Jayne was the first to raise his hand. Kaylee and Zoe were quick to follow, looking glad to be off-ship and working for once in a good while. Surprisingly, Wash and River volunteered next, both looking eager. Mal nodded, stuffing the spoon in his mouth. "Anyone else?" Simon shook his head simply. Book was staying onboard as well, and Inara differed the sweaty, arduous work quickly.
Mal and Wash took off for the bridge. All dispersed on their own to make ready for the work ahead. They'd been warned ahead of time that this was not a cool planet. Dress appropriately for heat and sweat and sun. It was going to get very hot, very fast.
Jayne waited for the others on the ramp after they'd landed, being the first one ready, apparently. He felt awfully light without the guns he usually strapped onto himself, but it was just the LeMat on his hip this time. He hadn't gone on a job without at least one gun for years. Feeling the blasting heat coming off the land already, he'd removed his fingerless gloves and stuffed them in the pockets of his shorts. As he stood impatiently with arms folded across the simple white wife-beater, he managed to look up at the figure crossing the cargo bay.
Somehow, Jayne suddenly got even hotter.
She was wearing those damn little black shorts, making her long white legs stand out. She had on light sandals that he'd never seen her wear, and her hair was pulled back neatly behind her head with little ringlets falling into her eyes. And it was definitely one of Kaylee's sleeveless tops, and it hung loose on River's slight frame. She was smiling.
Reasonably, Jayne's mouth went dry. It felt like five thousand thoughts blazed through his head in that moment as she walked toward him, most of which made her blush bright red and stop in her tracks. Despite her reaction, his mind focused on one thing, that one thing he swore he didn't need from her, but now stood quite obviously in front of him. She'd told him how many times that she wasn't ready, but something burned hard in the pit of his stomach that he tried very hard to control.
He opened his mouth to rectify his stare and the thoughts she'd picked up on, and, as usual, nothing came out. Mal chose that moment to stride right past the both of them, shouting out orders to those who followed after. Kaylee's hand on River's shoulder jolted her back into motion. The girls walked past Jayne together, River glancing back at him with a strange mix of emotions as she did. He followed soon after, under the combined concerned stares of Wash and Zoe.
Zoe drove herself and River out to the nearest cluster of old generators in the mule, the men walking the short distance. Walking wasn't the problem. It would be easier to load the mule down with parts and have one person drive them back and forth to Serenity than to carry all of it back themselves. It was taking the generators apart that was the problem. And the work started as soon as they'd all arrived.
It was only a matter of time before they were all sweating and miserable in the harsh sun above. And while River lifted a control box from the generator the men were disassembling, her eyes remained locked on the brawny, shirtless mercenary.
When he tore the metal sheeting off of the front of the generator, that same, strange boiling low in her stomach took over. She didn't know why he suddenly made her legs all weak, but it had something to do with the way he'd looked at her back on the ship. The muscles bunched up in his arms as he tore the sheeting away and heaved it to the side, and something in River's chest seized up. It was suddenly very much hotter outside than she remembered. A low, unidentifiable burning made her hold her hand to her chest to attempt to catch her breath back. She didn't know the feeling, but she had an inkling that Jayne did, and would know what to do about it.
He met her heated gaze, paused slack-jawed for a moment, then turned quickly away as Mal stalked between the two of them.
What Mal saw next probably scarred him for life and nearly gave him a rather nasty heart attack.
River suddenly walked up behind Jayne and ran longing white fingers slowly up the man's sweaty back. His spine and shoulders stiffened, and Mal readied himself to step in to keep the merc from killing the girl. He wasn't expecting Jayne's eyes to glaze over like that, or for River to latch onto him despite the heat. Her voice was like none of them had heard before, low and smoky.
"Yes," she said simply. "Yes, Jayne, my hui xiong, my man-bear. Yes a million times, until 'yes' doesn't mean anything anymore."
Mal hoped he imagined the redness in Jayne's face. The merc turned slowly to face the girl, both of them red and hot and wet from the work and the heat--and, Mal realized suddenly with churning horror, from each other. It was like Mal and the others didn't exist in that moment, like a spotlight was on the two of them and blotted out everything else. The captain glanced frantically at his first mate, only to find an uncharacteristic, completely un-sarcastic smile on her face. Similarly, his mechanic looked ready to jump for joy at any minute now, and their ever-dour pilot grinned while linking elbows with his wife.
"Wo de mah," Jayne uttered at last, as if he'd suddenly remembered how to breathe. "You're not just messin' with me, little bear?"
Her smile was her answer, and it nearly melted Mal in his boots; it was a wonder the merc was still standing. Just as he thought it, River had her hands in Jayne's sweaty hair, down his neck, and pulled him straight against her lips.
It was something none of them could easily forget: Jayne Cobb, weak in the knees. His eyes rolled back all strange in his head, and his knees gave out on him, just like that. The two simultaneously sank behind the generator and disappeared from view.
Mal only let the shock descend on him for one moment before the rage boiled up behind his eyes. "JAYNE!"
The merc's head shot up almost comically from behind the generator, wide-eyed and startled with River still latched around his neck. Wash couldn't help himself any longer and burst into laughter. Kaylee looked just about happy enough to bust. Mal looked ready to maim, kill if possible.
"What in the ruttin' hell you doin' to that little girl?!"
Jayne stared incredulously back at his captain as River kissed him on the face and neck again and again.
"What I'm doin' to her?" He was nearly lost to her kisses, but managed somehow to keep talking through the haze in his eyes and throat. "Cap'n, I think she's doin' to me!"
"Seems that way, sir," Zoe commented, as straight as possible. Wash snorted a half-giggle beside her, trying to stifle it as hard as he could. Mal whirled on the both of them, unbelieving with brows furrowed hard.
"Are you two not seein' what I'm seein'? Are you seein' this big hulkin' hun dan takin' advantage of this little--"
"Lao tien ye," Jayne growled heavily, and Mal whipped around again just in time to see River biting at the merc's ear before they sunk behind the generator again.
"Looks like she's doin' all the... doin'," Zoe remarked flatly, raising one slender eyebrow and allowing a quirk of her lips.
"There will be no doin' on my ship!" Mal roared furiously.
"Uh, just in case you haven't noticed, Mal," Wash interrupted with a finger raised in question, "Zoe and I have been 'doing' for quite some time now."
"And we ain't on the ship right now," Kaylee butted in.
"Would y'all just shut up for a second?" Jayne's annoyed rumble came from behind the generator. A high line of River's giggles sent red heat across their collective faces.
He could barely breathe between their quick and fevered kisses, trying to get a solid hold on her, to feel every bit of her with his hands. He didn't care what the others were doing to keep the captain at bay, as long as they were doing it. He didn't want this to end. She was all little and lithe and hot and the way she fit against him, slid against him, how she knew so much... She took a shuddering intake of breath, all she could dare to grab, before pressing him back down into the dust and seizing his lips again.
Wash saw Jayne's booted foot twitch and squirm from behind the generator, kicking dust into the air, followed by a strange sound he didn't want to know the origin of. He honestly wondered if the two of them were just gonna get it on right there, with everyone watching.
His fingers clutched in her hair, calling her everything he could think of with his mind as heated as it was. The sound of her name brought a little growl to her lips, which she latched onto his ear gladly.
"Fuck me sideways, girl, you got no idea how much I wanna sex you right now," he growled into her hair, loving the way she smelled even when she was dirty.
There was a pause, and she looked at him dully through heavy eyelids. One small finger tapped the side of her head, as if impatient. His eyebrows shot up.
"Oh, right... Psychic."
She didn't let him waste any more time talking. She knew Mal was already on his way to force them apart. She didn't want the captain to feel guilty dragging off the little girl, so she effortlessly hooked one leg around the man under her and flipped the both of them. Jayne was astonished for only a moment, bright thoughts of that's one hell of a girl I got myself brought a blooming smile to River's lips before she leaned up to kiss him one more time.
Mal's hands seized Jayne by the feet and just tugged. While he was bulky and large, even for a man of his height, Mal had caught him in a moment of weakness and was able to wrench the man off of River. Even if she'd seen it coming, she reached out for Jayne as he was pulled off of her, whimpering in a longing way. Jayne was just stupefied.
The captain rolled Jayne over with his boot, glaring death down at him. Luckily for everyone, he'd left his pistol with his other things aboard the mule. So he settled for pointing a deadly accusatory finger at the wide-eyed merc staring up at him from his back.
"Give me three reasons not t' kill you right now, Jayne Cobb."
A serious pause, then Jayne cocked one eyebrow up. "I'm so damn good-lookin'?" Mal glared even further at the happy giggle from River, who had sat fully up to watch.
"Three." Mal's voice was undebatable, and all the smiles dropped off of the surrounding faces. Jayne sat up, getting himself to a better position to glare up at his captain.
"I'm the best damn shot on Serenity," Jayne reasoned, "and you'd have a hell of a time findin' a replacement if ya spaced me."
"Sounds like one, sir," Zoe said in her normal monotone. As an answer, Mal held up one finger, glaring steady death down at Jayne.
"Kaylee's awful attached t' me now," Jayne flashed the mechanic a grin, which was reciprocated too easily. "Hate t' have a grievin' mechanic, wouldn't ya, Mal?"
"I'd cry like all hell, Cap'n," Kaylee backed him up, pouting in a mood swing that none had seen the likes of. Mal begrudgingly held up a second finger.
That left one good reason. Jayne thought good an hard. This had to be the best reason anyone could ever think of, or Mal would just wave it off and space him anyway.
Jayne's face got so serious and so sober that dead silence took even the heart of chatty Wash. The merc stood, standing over his captain with that look in his eye that could shatter the hearts of lesser men. He dared one glance over his shoulder to where his girl stood with hands clutched white. She knew what he was going to say. His stern facade slipped into something softer, just for that one moment, and it made Kaylee's heart skip a beat. She wondered how River was still standing. Jayne turned back to Mal, his third reason found.
"I love 'er."
No one but River had expected that answer, and all seemed completely bowled over. Mal looked for all the world like a gaping fish. He'd been just fine imagining the merc as some emotionless stone just getting tail and booze where he had enough money to do so. He never for the life of him expected that "L" word to come out of that lummox's mouth.
The captain's inner turmoil was interrupted by a bright, deafening squeal beside him as Kaylee finally lost control of herself. She had both hands at her mouth, staring at Jayne with a fondness and admiration that bordered on adoration.
"That's the best reason I ever heard in my life, Cap'n," Kaylee turned to him, her eyes sparkling like she'd just been read a tale of fantastical knights and princess, expecting them to ride off into the sunset. "You heard the man!"
"If you're gonna shoot me, do it quick. I ain't one for waitin'." Jayne tried so hard to retain that hard mercenary shell he'd spent all this time building up. All it took was one girl to break him down. He tensed at her touch on his shoulder. She effortlessly turned him to face her, cupping his cheek in one of her hands. Mal was about to protest, but something in that girl's eyes made his throat seize up unexpectedly, and he couldn't find any words.
"Truth?" She asked Jayne in a quiet, hopeful voice.
Mal swore then and there that what Jayne said next was the deciding factor in his doom. He broke that girl's heart, he was gonna be shot five times by everyone on the ship. If he somehow said something right, Mal knew there was no power in the 'Verse that would get that man off his boat.
And Jayne smiled. Damn him, he actually smiled. The lines on the edges of his eyes crinkled up just the way she liked it, and he smiled. "You know I ain't ever lied t' you, ni zi. Don't plan on startin' any time soon, either."
A long, wonderful pause, and River mirrored his smile. She clamped herself suddenly to his side, embracing him like she never planned on letting him go. She shook slightly, Jayne recalling what the doctor said about never being able to hide her emotions. Something almost broke inside him as he realized she was crying.
"My hui xiong," she said in a quavering voice. "My truthful bear, never lies. Loves his little bear." She paused to shake silently for a quiet moment, and she sniffled helplessly. Looking up at him with wet doe eyes and a beautiful smile through the tears: "I love my Jayne."
His knees almost buckled out from under him again, but by clutching onto her he was able to keep his ground. He reflected her smile, gripped her shoulders tight, then he lifted her up off the ground. He fixed her in a tight, strong bear-hug, and spun them once, twice before setting her back on the ground.
Kaylee clapped and cheered. Wash whistled. Mal and Zoe exchanged a glance that spoke volumes. There was no way anyone was letting him kick that merc off the ship. A low, grumbling sigh, and he grudgingly offered a muted slow-clap to the grinning, giddy couple.
Simon was bored and waiting in the cargo bay when the team arrived back with the last load of salvaged generator bits. Zoe drove in on the mule first, smirking knowingly as she climbed down, not saying a word. Wash and Kaylee were next, talking in low voices and grinning ear to ear. Mal stalked on next, looking miffed beyond reason, and sunburned across his exposed shoulders. He only spoke one loud, obnoxious sentence as he entered:
"Doc, would you get outside and surgically remove your sister's tongue from my merc's throat?!"
Simon was lucky Kaylee was there to catch him from falling down a flight of stairs.
She plopped down on the bed before him, clothed only in her bra and those little black shorts, cheeks glowing a soft red. He was awfully quiet as he stared down from his position straddling her, drawing fingers light on her torso. She shivered instinctively. He removed his fingers with a twitch, obviously torn by something.
"Y' don't gotta do this t' make me happy," he told her finally. She could see inside him and knew that seeing her like this was bringing him plenty of happiness, but she could also feel that he told the truth. She nodded, catching her breath.
"I know," she murmured, bringing his hands gently back down on her, slipping her fingers up through the dark hair on his arms. "Want to." She got this smoky look in her eye that nearly broke Jayne just looking at her. "My choice."
"S'gonna hurt," he added quickly before she could do any more to him. She paused, the light in her eye fading slightly at the truth of it, and watched him for a short moment before she nodded again.
"I know. Prepared. Or... as much as I will be." Her little fingers ran along his jaw line encouragingly. "My choice." With a suddenness that almost scared him, her fingers were latched onto his belt and were quickly pulling it off of him. River didn't waste another moment, seizing his lips in hers openly. She pressed full up against him, chest to chest. She couldn't get enough of him, which was just fine by him on any normal occasion. But he pulled back just barely.
"S-slow down, ni zi," he said in a barely controlled voice. She faltered, grazing her lips against his and just wanting him. He somehow was able to control himself against the look in her eye. "We got all night, baby, and rushin' in won't do no good for you or me, dong le ma?"
Her face was red and lips full as she offered a low: "Understood." Then, she gave him a bright smile, which softened into something that just melted him in that hard Jayne core of his.
He cupped the side of her face fondly in one hand, looking for the words. "Darlin', you keep lookin' at me like that, and I'm like t' bust-up." A pause, and she placed her hand gently over his. "It just ain't fair. You got me all wrapped up, lookin' at me like I'm just the shiniest thing you ever saw, and just I don't know what t' do."
"Do you love me?" She asked suddenly.
Only the briefest of pauses to get over the shock of her asking, then he nodded. "Yeah."
"Then that's all you need to do," she told him, leaning up to steal a kiss. With that, she wrapped her arms up and around his neck and pulled him back down to her.
AN: Whoo! I gotta go take a shower now. A cold shower. And, I apologize to whomever, but I don't write smut. I don't mind reading it (tee hee) but I won't be writing it. Sorry! Hope this is enough to sate all my fine readers. And I hope this is a fine culmination. The next chapter is the last (oh, woe!!) and I have the possibility of continuing on afterwards. If only I had something like the senses or the vices/virtues to base the chapters on! I like my little organization method, and I kinda hope to keep it for later. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm open and listening. Thanks much for sticking with me this far, and I hope I've managed to keep your attention for this long. Much love, and thanks for reading!