Company For The Journey... Part 3: ~ CLEVERNESS ~

A short while later, they were packing up to go. River was just finishing with the tent when Kaylee decided on impulse to go over and sit next to her. There hadn't been any more sex after they'd come back in, notwithstanding of what River'd said. They'd already done that a lot already this morning, and, practically speaking, with the long walk they had ahead of them, they didn't have near enough food and water to justify burning more energy and hydration, no matter how much Kaylee might like to. Still, she was feeling in a very romantic mood and wanted something more to make her forget their troubles and hold her over until later, so, when River turned to meet her eyes, Kaylee slowly moved in to kiss her. Her eyes fluttered shut as River kissed her back, River dropping what she'd been doing in the process.

Her heart was beating faster in her chest as they kept making out for exactly how long she couldn't rightly guess at much. It was heavenly though, through and through. Kissing with River always was. Doing that other thing surely was too. All things bright and shiny was it ever great to have someone she could do that with again... and someone who was so, so, so very good at it too... Almost enough to make a woman grateful to be stranded on a Reaver blighted colony world with a fritzed out weather management system. Would be enough too, she thought, if it she weren't so worried about Inara and the others were on Serenity now... That they hadn't come back for them by now, it was worrying her more all the time. River didn't talk about it much, but Kaylee knew she felt it too, specially for her brother. Wasn't nothing either of them could do about it though. Wasn't much to say about it hadn't already been said either... All talking on it more would do was bring down their spirits, and that didn't do anyone any good.

The kissing broke at long last and River was smiling to her, looking... fairly blissful. Kaylee had to admit, despite all their troubles, she was kind of really feeling that way too. It was amazing how being in love could do that to a person like that... And Kaylee knew she was definitely in love. In love in a way more deep and wide feeling than she'd ever felt... Vast as the sky it felt...

"We need to get going, don't we?" Kaylee asked, almost hoping River could come up with a reason not to.

River nodded positively. "So we can have sex like rabbits again, later in the day."

"We're rabbits again now?" Kaylee asked with a bemused smile.

River nodded. "Lola adopted us into her family. By rabbit customs, it's fully official."

Kaylee laughed. "I should be able to tell if you're joking with me or not by now, shouldn't I?"

"It would be less fun for me if you could." River replied.

Kaylee pounced on her and kissed her again, long and thorough. River had such a smile on her by the time she was done. "Stars..." River spoke softly.

"What about um?" Kaylee asked.

"You just make them dance in my head sometimes. I like that about us."

"I like that about us too." Kaylee told her back softly, kissing her just sweetly once more for good measure.

"...I like everything about us, all the time..." River spoke after the kiss.

Kaylee swallowed. "You're pretty darn good at it too, you know?"

River smiled. "I had strongly suspected it, yes." River replied, sounding, perhaps, just slightly smug about it (but in a playful and not entirely seriously meant sort of way).

Kaylee sighed, privately admitting that River really did have cause to be a lot more smug on the subject than she was being. "Time to go for a hike?" She asked, firmly telling herself not to kiss River again, even though she really, truly wanted to.

River kept smiling. "We can hold hands again?" She asked.

"What about Lola? Don't you have to use both hands to hold her right?" Kaylee asked.

"I'm going to make a bed for her in my backpack." River told her. "When traveling across treacherous terrain, its best to have your hands free for balance."

"Clever you then." Kaylee replied.

"More than I thought, actually." River mused.

"How's that?" Kaylee asked.

"Something I did made you want to ask me for a marriage. I've tried to think what it was, but answers are elusive..."

Kaylee smiled. "...And that's why you don't make sense to me sometimes."

River looked surprised again. "What do you mean?" She asked, a playful, happy smile forming on her lips.

"Well, it's just, the answer's so easy..." Kaylee told her, moving down to kiss her again.

When the kiss parted, River started laughing.

Kaylee smiled and burred her head in River's shoulder, laughing a little too.

Kaylee raised her head up and kissed River again. It was just so easy to kiss her, so easy not to stop. She did stop though and sighed again. "We need to stop doing that at some point."

"We do..." River replied.

Kaylee closed her eyes, sighed for a third time, and sat back, getting off her girlfriend/fiancé and offering her a hand up.

River laughed just a little again.

Kaylee looked over to her and smiled. It was really nice hearing her laugh again. Kaylee blushed just a little, thinking about how lovesick she really was for this woman.

She made herself focus on getting ready for departure then. They really didn't have very much left to do for that. Soon, Kaylee was putting Lola in River's pack and watching the rabbit curl up in a cute little ball.

"It's really kinda amazing how tame she is for us." Kaylee mused.

"We're her family now." River replied. "Family trusts family. That's the it way works... by some definitions at least..."

Kaylee moved in close and hugged her. "You are my family."

"I know..." River replied, soft and simple. "We're going to be married soon, right?"

"Come what may." Kaylee spoke it like a promise.

The hug parted and River stepped back and smiled to her, offering her hand. "Come what may." She agreed, like she really believed in it too.

Kaylee smiled back and took the offered hand, letting River lead her out into the day.

to be continued

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