A/N: Special thanks for this chapter go to luv0iz0luv and Ella Greggs!
Simon had not long disappeared from view when the hatch to Wash and Zoe's quarters thunked open.
Close one, thought Mal, his mouth forming a silent whistle as he hooked his thumbs under his suspenders. Wash's sleep-dishevelled hair appeared, followed by the rest of him, as he climbed the ladder.
Mal greeted his pilot with a captain-y nod as he entered the bridge. "Wash."
"Everything alright, Mal? I thought I heard an alarm before."
"Hm? Alarm? Uh, yeah," Mal began to answer, distracted. "But, no cause for – alarm. Everything's shiny...real shiny." His lips twitched as he tugged on his suspenders and rocked back on his heels.
"O-kaay," said Wash slowly, as he scrutinized the captain. "Funny, but right now you're reminding me of a giddy school girl."
"Must be on account a' my youthful skin and high-pitched giggle. Also, truth to say," Mal leaned in and lowered his voice, "I do look very shuai in a skirt. It's been said."
Mal sauntered off the bridge, all but giving up his attempt to conceal his goofy grin.
Wash sank into the pilot's seat. His forehead scrunched as he pondered the captain's uncharacteristically upbeat mood. Turning to the flight console, he noticed that the stegosaurus and the triceratops were slightly askew from where he'd left them. Ah, Wash thought knowingly, Mal's been amusing himself playing with things that aren't his.
"So, guys," he said genially to his plastic friends, "What'd I miss?"
When Mal reached the door to his bunk, he paused a moment and rested a hand lightly on the ladder. He glanced back to ensure Wash was sufficiently distracted, then hastened to his true destination with a lightness of step borne not only from stealth.
Simon paced around his room adjusting random objects, but the cabin was already tidy. He couldn't imagine Mal would notice or care, in any case. He had stumbled back from the bridge in a lust-filled haze, but in the few minutes since, he was quickly beginning to over-think the whole situation. His brain was his biggest asset, but some days it was his biggest curse. When he was this strongly attracted to someone, he was capable of over-analysing things to the point of paralysing self-doubt.
Simon sat down on the edge of the bed. What exactly was about to happen between them? Well, he had a fair idea of what was about to take place, but would it have any meaning at all for Mal? His feelings for the captain ran deeper than he liked to admit. He could already imagine how mortifyingly awkward it would be tomorrow: passing him in the corridors and trying to figure out whether to make eye contact or not; sitting at the dinner table with all of them and pretending that none of it ever happened. Could he really go through with it, if it was just about the sex?
Simon's opinion of Mal had changed a great deal since the day he first stepped onto Serenity. The more he learned about the captain, the more he found to appreciate. Behind every seemingly cold-hearted or dangerous act was a morality, an ingenuity and a loyalty to his crew that had to be admired. Loyalty was something Simon could understand, although he still wasn't sure why Mal had extended that loyalty to him and his sister so readily in the early days. Regardless, it was something Simon would be eternally grateful for. He and River would no doubt be dead or imprisoned by now, if not for the captain.
But it was more than that. In Mal, he felt he had someone to shoulder the weight of the 'verse with him. Keeping River safe from the Alliance was a heavy burden to bear on his own.
And then of course there was that perfect ass. Not to mention the ruggedly handsome features, those incredible eyes, that disarming smile. Simon groaned inwardly at how hopelessly love-struck he was.
The door slid open and he sprang to his feet. As soon as he saw Mal with that roguish glint in his eye, he knew there was no way he could say no to him. Every part of him was at Mal's mercy, no matter how much he might regret it tomorrow.
Mal waltzed into the room like he owned it. I suppose he does, Simon thought ironically as he moved quickly to the door. After glancing out to make sure no one had seen the other man enter, he carefully slid the door closed. The captain wandered about, picking up and proceeding to misplace several of the items Simon had just rearranged. Mal briefly examined a name badge that bore a hospital insignia and read 'Dr Simon Tam, Trauma Surgeon'. He sniffed at Simon's bottle of cologne, then raised an eyebrow and sniffed again.
Simon moved back towards the centre of the small room and opened his mouth, but found himself at a loss for words. What does one say in a situation like this? He settled on "Hi."
"Hi yourself," said Mal, as he thumbed casually through a book of poetry from Earth-that-was. Then he set it down and strode slowly over to Simon, eyes for him alone. Mal may as well have been rummaging through his internal organs, the mess it left him in when the captain looked at him like that.
Mal stood in front of him, just inches away. Not close enough to be physically touching, but near enough to remind him of how intimately close they'd been only moments ago on the bridge. Simon's wide blue eyes were brilliant with emotion, saying far more than the young doctor ever would have. Mal could see it all: the incredible depth of Simon's feelings, his rising desire, the surrendering of his good sense in the face of it. But all that was under-written with trepidation – a fear of rejection, of giving and wanting more than could be returned. Mal leaned in and kissed him, just so he'd close those beautiful, tortured gorram eyes.
He wrapped his arms around the doctor as the kiss deepened, and Simon's blood turned to warm honey in his veins. If this was his one chance to be with Malcolm Reynolds, he would just have to make the most of it. He slipped his fingers under Mal's suspenders (renci de fozu, how he'd longed to do that) and pushed them off his broad shoulders. Then he deftly unbuttoned the captain's shirt and slid his hands inside.
Mal realised the doctor had the advantage on him, all the times Simon must have removed his clothes while he was unconscious, to get at bullet holes and stab wounds. Mal sobered as he shrugged out of his shirt, thinking of just how many times the young man in front of him had kept him flying.
Simon gave him a gentle push in the direction of the bed, and Mal sat down. To his surprise, Simon dropped gracefully to his knees and eased the captain's boots off his feet. Despite himself, Mal was touched by the gesture. He pulled Simon up into his arms and they both fell lightly onto the bed together, a tangle of limbs and lips.
Mal rained soft kisses down on his face – his cheeks, his nose, his eyelids. He was rewarded with one of those rare and precious Simon Tam smiles. Would you look at that, thought Mal with satisfaction. Maybe the boy can relax for more than thirty seconds.
They shed their pants and lay entwined on the bed, lips locked, fingers laced together. The mood in the cabin was as tender as their encounter on the bridge had been impassioned.
Mal's eyes and fingertips roamed over Simon's handsome physique, drinking in the pleasure of pale velvet skin over sculpted muscles, a stark contrast to Mal's brawny, tanned and scarred body. Then it was Simon's turn. He shifted on top of Mal and traced the length of his torso with his lips, nails and tongue, as if trying to memorise every part of him. He drew a line of wet kisses down Mal's chest. Then he found a nipple and moistened it with his tongue. At Mal's soft moan of encouragement, he took it gently in his teeth and tweaked the other with his fingertips.
He trailed lips and tongue down further and Mal felt his stomach muscles constrict. He moved lower still and traced the crease where hip met thigh, coming dangerously close, then moving teasingly away from Mal's hardened organ. Mal gave a moan of dismay and Simon smiled against his thigh at the sound. Then he stopped teasing.
Mal's breath hissed through his teeth as the moist warmth of Simon's mouth enveloped him. It had been longer than he cared to remember since someone had done that for him. Simon poured all his adoration into the act, worshipping Mal with his expert tongue. With every groan of pleasure from the captain, Simon's doubts retreated further into the shadowy corners of his mind. He knew they would come racing back once it was all over, but for now he let them lie.
Mal ran one hand through Simon's hair as he licked and swirled and sucked, and soon Mal's other hand was gripping the blanket as he fought the urge to buck his hips. It would all be over much too fast if the good doctor kept this up.
Simon's lips farewelled his erection with a long, languid kiss, then he moved back up to Mal's level. Mal pulled him close and kissed him soundly, a thank-you for the gift he'd just bestowed. Then he covered Simon's body with his own.
Simon revelled in the friction of Mal's hardened flesh against his, and reached eagerly for his ass. Wo de ma, how he adored that ass. He remembered the first time he saw it, just after the Lassiter heist, when they picked Mal up after he'd been left stranded without his clothes. Mal had sauntered past him in the corridor, in all his naked glory, and he could still remember how Mal had simply thrown him a winning smile and strode on, not even attempting to cover himself. Simon had stared, speechless, unable to tear his eyes away.
"Looks to be your chin on the floor there, Doctor. Might want to see to that," he'd tossed over his shoulder with a wry grin, leaving Simon blushing.
Now, Mal kissed him hungrily as he ground their hips together. Simon gripped both cheeks and thrust upwards to meet him with a moan.
Mal buried his face in Simon's neck and breathed in deep. He smelled of that musky, expensive cologne of his. Mal revelled in the heady scent. It was just so Simon: all refined and intoxicating, a pleasure to the senses. He sucked in another lungful as he ground down again. Simon spread his legs wider beneath Mal as his aching need intensified.
Then Mal was there, easing himself gently into Simon's tight warmth, a fraction at a time. Once he was buried to the hilt, he held still and found Simon's lips again with his own.
Before long, Simon began to shift underneath him, asking for more.
Mal moved slowly at first, but his thrusts grew deeper as Simon began to gasp his name over and over. He grit his teeth in his attempt to hold back so as not to cause Simon pain, changing his angle slightly to ensure he was giving the younger man as much pleasure as possible with every thrust.
"It's ok, Mal," Simon gasped, "you can – oh God...just keep-"
Mal plunged in ardently, again and again, and the intensity grew to an exquisite peak. Simon's lower lip caught between his teeth as waves of ecstasy crashed over him and his white hot seed filled the space between them. Mal had to crush his mouth against Simon's to muffle a cry that otherwise would have woken the whole ship, as he, too, surrendered to the burning blankness.
He collapsed with all his weight on Simon, both of them gasping for air. After a minute he rolled to the side, taking the younger man with him. Mal held him close and rested his sweaty brow against Simon's own.
It wasn't long before a weary contentment stole over them both.
"Will you stay?" Simon asked.
Mal didn't know if he meant for the night or forever. Didn't much matter though.
"Yeah, I'll stay."
Chinese Translations
Shuai – cute
Renci de fozu - Merciful Buddha
Wo de ma – Mother of Jesus
A/N: Reviews and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated!