He almost turned around once he figured out what was happening but the feng le girl turned her tear-stained face towards him and he was stuck. Rolling his eyes he went to where River was huddled and sat himself heavily across the small hall from her. And waited. He didn't have to wait long.
"Blue hands deceive. Hide in dark. Hide in ghosts. Make missing people whole." She grasped both sides of her head and pulled at her hair. "Non-stop noises. Never leave me be."
He reached out to stop her small hands. "Don't pull your hair out, girl. Then you'd have bald spots and no one will like ya."
"You don't like me anyway," she said but a corner of her mouth quirked up and he redoubled his effort.
"Like you enough for a crazy person."
"Not crazy. Just unwell."
He sat back against the wall once again. "What was this latest 'unwell' episode?"
She ran her nose across her arm and started to slowly get uncurled from her fetal position. "Dreams. Blue hands can't get awake so attack asleep."
"You know dreams are just make believe, right. Your own self-con..."
"Self-conscious," she supplied.
"Right. The blue hands can only get you in your dreams if you let them."
She looked at him with wide, shiny eyes, blinking slowly.
"Whatcha doin' in the hallway?" he asked.
"Went to find Simon but he was otherwise occupied. Memories resurfaced so sat down."
Jayne lifted an eyebrow. "So, the doc was..."
"With Kaylee. I didn't wish to disrupt them."
"They was sexin'? Would have been fun ta interrupt them."
She gave him a disapproving look. "Not coupling, Jayne, but not sleeping. Time for sister to outgrow ge ge."
"You tryin' to outgrow him in the hallway? Cargo area has more room."
River used the heel of her hands to wipe her eyes of tears. "Figuratively speaking."
"Don't you always?"
She shivered under his blue gaze as thoughts of her nightmare speared her mangled brain. She would be too keyed up to sleep anytime soon. "Let us fight," she said, decidedly, jumping to her feet, lithely.
"What?" He gave her a blank look as she extended her hand down.
"Fight. Go toe-to-toe. Practice maneuvers,"
"Fight?" He stood but studied her cautiously.
"I am in need of a diversion from sleep laced thoughts."
"You wanna spar?"
"Assuredly." She twirled around in a circle and then led him down to the cargo hold which enough room for their mock fight.
"'K, but there needs to be rules, Mooney," Jayne told her, nervously. "Like don't use no ball breakers or mind tricks."
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Ball breakers"
"Hey! You have a tendency ta grab parts don't need ta be grabbed like that."
"Agreed then." She took a band of rubber from around her wrist to put her hair back away from her eyes.
They circles each other before starting their mock fight. What River didn't have in brawn she had in deft speed so the two were surprisingly well matched. So matched, in fact, it took a misstep of Jayne's own foot to bring him down around thirty minutes after the fighting had started.
River took advantage of this and sat her slight frame down on his stomach, putting her hands on his to hole his grasp. "Yield."
Jayne did not but used his bulk to dislodge her and flipped them over, his body on hers. "Yield," he repeated with a smirk.
She struggled underneath him. "Release me."
"Yield," he said, grinning in her face.
Suddenly she grew still. "No. You."
"No." As suddenly as River grew still, he did as well, realizing how intimate their positions were. "Uh," he sputtered. "We should..."
Her hands flexed in his. "Should?" she questioned.
His eyes left her to flit to her lips as she licked them. "Should?" he repeated, losing his train of thought.
She grinned. "Why just think it."
"Think what?" he asked.
"A kiss."
"A kiss?"
She was able to get her hands free and placed then behind his head, pulling it down so their lips met.
It was a gently meeting, soft lips together before Jayne's mind took over and he broke away. "Witch," he hissed at her and went to move away.
"Jayne?" she asked, confused between his thoughts and his actions. The look in her soft doe eyes was the end of his restraint.
He kissed her thoroughly, increasing the pressure as his mouth coaxed her own to follow. She hadn't kissed much before and he could tell. A part in the back of his mind was glad he could school. her.
Finally, he ended the kiss and her eyes looked shiny and bright at him. "Guess I wanted ta do that."
"Since seeing me in my box?"
"Don't rightly recollect."
"Will you kiss me again?"
He got himself to his feet and gave her a hand in getting to hers. "Don't suppose it would hurt any more than that one did." He gave her a small kiss. And another. And then another.
He walked her down to her bedroom and kissed her goodnight, telling himself that would be the last but knowing it would not be. Not now he had gotten the taste of it. The taste for her.