Restless

So, there they are, Wash and Kaylee one team, and Jayne, Simon and Book another.  Inara is watching, smiling at their antics, and River hovers in a corner, chewing her hair and sometimes yelling odd encouragements to Simon.   It's the most carefree fun Kaylee's had in a while, and she's laughing herself sick as Simon fumbles with the ball.  It always makes her a bit sad to think he's never played like this.  Core worlds -- for all their pretty dresses and fancy technology, Kaylee thinks they can't be much fun.  Not, at least, once people scratch the surface of glamour and every convenience known in the 'verse.

Kaylee's usually on Jayne's team, and their favourite move is her up on his shoulders, making the basket, nice and smooth.  This time Wash whispers he wants to try the move, so Kaylee drops down onto him from the catwalk, and tries not to fall off when he stumbles.

"Gorramit, girl!  How's it Jayne keeps you up there?"  Wash is laughing, trying to balance himself.

Kaylee doesn't think they'll be getting far like this.  "Then let me down!"

He shakes his head.  "No way.  Can't do that.  This is a point of honour.  What'll the others say to Zoe if I can't even carry you a few paces?  Get that ball, girl!"

Instead, Kaylee thumps him on the arm, and his knees buckle a little.   She tries to untangle her legs from around him, but she's laughing too hard, and when they hit that floor, it's gonna gorram hurt.  Kaylee can't quite make herself care too much though.

Then hands grasp her hips, and she's being lifted from Wash, who is sighing in relief.  Kaylee gets put down solidly, and she turns slightly to smile her thanks up at Jayne.  He, in turn, grins over at Wash, and says,

"Always said Wash weren't man enough for little Kaylee."

"Hey!  I'll have you know that I'm more than man enough for--"  He cuts himself off as the cargo doors open and Zoe and the captain walk in, both eyeing the scene with caution.  Wash turns fully towards Zoe, and continues, " -- my beautiful wife.  Hi, honey.  How was work?  I was going to make you muffins, but as you can see, these vagabonds forced me into playing this uncivilised game."  Wash turns and winks at them all.  Kaylee's not sure what's more amusing: the way he was too proud to let her go, or the idea of Wash trying to bake.

Kaylee watches Zoe and Wash smile at each other, Zoe already teasing Wash about something or another.  She tries not to laugh as Mal rolls his eyes a little.  It doesn't pass her attention either that since Jayne pulled her down from Wash's shoulders, his hand has been resting low on her back.  It stays there as Zoe and Mal congratulate each other on a job well done. 

After Mal leaves the cargo bay, Zoe pulls a few bottles out of a bag, grinning widely.  "Turns out we got ourselves a good job and good pay for just a little work.  I thought, us being all tense lately, maybe we could celebrate."

~~~~

A few drinks later, most of them are in the common area, and Kaylee's nicely buzzed.  She's not as drunk as back on Canton, but she feels good.  Simon though, he can't hold his liquor, and he's slumped on her shoulder, smiling loosely.  It's real cute.

Jayne is telling stories, crude enough to make Inara frown a little, but the rest of them, including the captain, though he's not drinking, are laughing real hard.  Even Simon is laughing, but Kaylee's not so sure it's 'cause of the stories.  Simon's lost in his own head right now, but it's nice he's not so worried about River for a change.   She's off with Book, and it's a shame the Shepherd didn't want to join them.  Still, it's good for Simon to have River babysat for a while.

Kaylee tunes in again, just as Jayne finishes off another story, one he claims really happened.  She's not so sure, but it's nice, them all like this, a feeling of family, and no one's gonna challenge Jayne on anything right now.

"...and so he tells her, 'She got fired too'."  Jayne takes another drink from his bottle as the rest of them choke and laugh. 

"Jayne.  That's the nastiest thing I've heard you say in a long time."  The captain is shaking his head, but he don't look mad to Kaylee.

"Must be losin' my touch then."

Wash feigns aiming his bottle at Jayne's head, smiling wildly.  "Oh yes.  What is the 'verse coming to, when we don't have Jayne constantly regaling us with crude stories and delightful phrases.  Me and Zoe, every night before we curl up comfy under the covers, we talk about Jayne.  I ask, 'Honey, now what was your favourite Jayne moment today?', and she goes and tells me.  And then we have wild sex with much tearing of clothes."

"Hey!  I ain't interested in hearin' you brag about your sex lives."  Jayne smirks.  "But, I could give you a real sweet Jayne moment, if you two just go and ask."

Wash opens his mouth, but Zoe cuts him off.  "I don't think so."  Her words are definite, but she's smiling, so it doesn't get tense. 

Shrugging, Jayne takes another chug of his drink, then says, "Your loss." 

Looking him up and down surreptitiously, and remembering back to the day before Wash and Mal got themselves kidnapped, Kaylee thinks maybe it is Wash and Zoe's loss.  Not that she wouldn't mind a round with them either, if they were the types to be interested.  Wash might be, especially if Zoe made the suggestion.  Zoe though, she likes Kaylee just fine, but she's not exactly the sharing type.

It takes a while, but eventually the drink is all gone, and everyone starts to go their separate ways, all in high spirits.   After watching Simon struggle to stand and walk, Kaylee laughingly volunteers to escort him back to his room.  This gets her teasing warnings not to take advantage of the doc when he's in poor shape.   She smiles, all sweet and innocent, and as he walks out of the room, Mal tells her that look doesn't fool him none. 

It's slow going to Simon's room, him laughing the whole time, and stumbling too often.  It does Kaylee good to see him so relaxed.  She figures it was a rare good day for Simon, although maybe he won't feel so hot tomorrow.  They're almost at his room when he stops walking, looks at her and says, 

"You're really very pretty."  The words run together a little, but the sentiment is sweet.  Simon has a knack for the pretty talk when he's had a few drinks.

"Thanks, Simon!  That's real nice of you to say."  He's still smiling at her, all sentimental-like, and she enjoys it, but she wonders who he thinks he's fooling.  She doesn't understand why Simon won't come out and say he's not so much interested in girls.  There's no shame in it, unless Simon's folks are them kind that put breeding as more important than feelings and pleasure.   It's too sad for her to think about right now, people all controlled like that, so instead she grins back and says, "Bet you think Jayne's way prettier though, right?"  She resists the urge to poke him in the side, the way she might have done with a brother.

Simon frowns and sputters for a minute.  "Jayne isn't pretty.  You're pretty."

Right.   "Yeah, Jayne ain't what I'd call pretty."  She winks at Simon.  "But he's got good shoulders, don't he?  I like them shoulders."  It'd be nice if Simon could be honest with himself, face the truth about what he wants.

Simon frowns some more, a look of concentration.  Eventually, he nods.   "Yes.  They are nice." 

Kaylee tries not to laugh at how formal the words are.  She doubts Simon is thinking nice, formal things about Jayne right now.   Gently, she pushes him forward.  "Come on.  We're almost there.  Then you can get some sleep."

In his room, Simon settles easily, tells her she's pretty again, and falls asleep.  Smiling to herself, Kaylee leaves, checks to see that Book put River to bed, then heads for her own room.  She gets there fast, then decides maybe she'll do a walk about the ship first.  She's kind of restless, not quite ready for sleep.

Everything is quiet, most everyone asleep probably.  They're staying landlocked until tomorrow morning, the ship is sealed up tight, and even Mal is probably getting some rest.  She feels like she's alone on the ship, just her and Serenity.  It'd get real lonely if it were like that for real, but sometimes it's nice to imagine the peace.

She walks around the ship and eventually doubles back to Serenity's engine room, where she thinks about how odd it is for everything to be so quiet there.  Serenity at rest.  It's kind of creepifying, reminding her of that time the engine blew and the oxygen ran out.   After a while, she leaves the room, walking slowly.  She's so wrapped up in her thoughts, still faintly buzzed from the drink, that she nearly walks into Jayne.  His hand reaches out and stops her just in time, and she looks up to find him smiling down at her.  His hair looks slick, he's got a towel over his shoulder and there are faint wet spots on his shirt.

"Been showerin'?"

Jayne's hand stays on her shoulder, the fingers clasping lightly.  "Yup.  Mal said we're fillin' up on water before we leave.  Figured I'd take a wash since it ain't bein' rationed." 

It's a good idea, she should do the same.  Maybe later.  Right now, Jayne's real close, and he even smells kinda good.  Kaylee remembers again that time after they saw Inara and the fancy councillor, and how good Jayne felt between her legs.  Jayne is smirking down at her now, and she figures he's remembering too.

For a minute, she feels strangely shy, but she pushes the feeling away as Jayne starts talking.

"Been a while." 

"Yep."  There's no mistaking what he's talking about.  Jayne'll never get much credit for style, but she likes how he gets straight to the point.

"Gotta say I been thinkin' about you sometimes."

Laughing a little, she grins up at him.  "Now ain't that real sweet."

Jayne moves his hand from her shoulders, reaches for her hips and pulls her closer.  "They ain't been sweet thoughts."  His thumbs stroke her through the thick fabric of her overalls. 

The hairs along her neck rise.  They had a great time before, and Kaylee's feeling pretty happy right now.  Some fun with Jayne might just round out her good day, leave her feeling all set for the morning and whatever mess they're bound to get into soon enough.  Plus, it'd be lying to say she hasn't had a few of her own thoughts about Jayne lately.  "Oh yeah?"   She rolls her hips a little, rubbing against his thigh.   She should invite Jayne back to her bunk, but it's a bit of a way.

It looks like he's thinking the same thought, because he jerks his head back towards Serenity's engine room.  It's a question, and she answers with a nod.  They cover the distance quickly, Jayne turning so he's walking backwards.  As he pulls her along, he sniffs at her hair.  It's downright weird, but who's she to judge?  She works her fingers under his shirt, and tangles them in his hair, tugging slightly.

"You don't mind doin' it here?"  Jayne's words are muffled by her hair.

"Ain't the first time."

Pulling back a little, he laughs.  "Guess not."  He tugs down the zipper of her overalls, pushing the fabric off her shoulders and exposing the shirt she's wearing underneath.  "Got a lot of layers on, girl." 

"Let me worry about 'em.  You get your own stuff off."

They take off their clothes as efficiently as last time, Kaylee laying hers carefully aside, Jayne tossing his randomly on the floor.  Standing naked in front of her, maybe even posing a bit, Jayne looks just as good as she remembers.  She says so, and it makes him look real smug.  It doesn't really matter though, because he's looking her up and down, and he's obviously got it bad. 

It's only a few breaths before he reaches for her, his hand around her waist again and guiding her to him.   She's too short compared to him, and the position isn't the best ever, but she likes the feel of his skin against hers, of his cock hard between their bodies.  He traces a fingertip between her breasts, then slowly across her nipple, pausing to twist just hard enough to make her skin tingle.  Her head falls back involuntarily, and Jayne's mouth moves to her neck. 

The touches go on for long minutes, his fingers all over her, caressing her belly and hips; his hands cupping her breasts while she slowly rubs herself against his thigh.  One of her hands is stroking him lightly, but she's mostly concentrating on the slow, slick heat building between her legs; and the rough hands teasing her nipples. 

His hands move down and wrap tightly around her hips, and with a slight grunt, he lifts her up and onto a narrow ledge that isn't much good for holding anything.  Still, it balances her, and Kaylee quickly wraps her legs around his hips, spreading wide and pulling him close. 

Jayne smirks as he angles himself and pushes into her, both of them moaning at the easy slide in.  Keeping his hands clasped to her hips, his mouth still wetly travelling her neckline, Jayne pulls out a little, then pushes back in hard enough for her eyes to widen in shock at the sudden pleasure.  Bracing her arms on the ledge as leverage, she changes the angle slightly, and then she's gasping every time he pushes in deep and rotates his hips. 

Kaylee's orgasm is fast and sudden, and she cries out sharply.   She slumps forward a little, then wraps her arms over Jayne's shoulders, panting against his neck as he keeps moving, muttering nonsense words she can't quite make out.   Her legs squeeze Jayne tighter, pull him closer, and maybe that sets him off, because he stiffens and bites her shoulder hard enough to leave a bruise.  They stay pressed together, both of them shaking slightly with aftershocks.  Every time Jayne shifts a little, Kaylee shivers at the sensation.   After a few minutes, Jayne asks, 

"Better'n the last time you got off down here?"  His fingers curl in her hair.

"Didn't get off last time.  Got interrupted by the captain."  She winks at Jayne.  "Weren't so bad though.   Got me a job."   She hadn't screwed the mechanic so much for his good looks anyway.  She'd wanted a close-up of Serenity's insides.   "This was real nice."

Jayne grunts, and they stay still until the parts of Kaylee not touching Jayne start to get cold.  She disentangles herself, and pushes at Jayne's shoulders until he lets go of her waist and hair, drawing back slightly.

"Cold?"  He's staring at the goosebumps on her arms. 

"Yep."

He moves back slowly, pulling out of her completely.   Without his help, Kaylee can't stay up on the narrow shelf, so she slides down, balancing carefully on shaky legs. 

Jayne rights her, then stoops down to grab her shirt.   Handing it over, he grins, his hand rubbing his eyes.  "Gorram."

Kaylee laughs and the sound gets muffled as she pulls on her shirt.  When she can see again, Jayne is holding out the rest of her clothes.  She takes them, dressing and half-watching as Jayne carelessly pulls on his pants. 

"That woulda been one hell of a show, if anyone was watchin'."  He's still grinning at her.

The words immediately trigger a mental image of Simon, hidden behind a grate, his eyes bugging right out as he watches.  She starts to laugh, and Jayne makes her explain what's so funny.  He snorts when she tells him, then wonders what it would take to make Simon join in the fun.  Privately, Kaylee figures all Simon would need is her walking away, half-way through, leaving Jayne naked and all worked up.

It feels good, laughing like this.  She loves Serenity, and in a way, she loves Mal.  The crew is great, and she's glad she took the job.  But things aren't usually happy and relaxed.  Mal is always thinking about money and the Alliance and now Niska; Kaylee worries about spare parts, Serenity, Simon and River; Simon frets about almost everything, and River sometimes scares Kaylee. 

It isn't a light-hearted ship, and she savours the times she gets for laughing and relaxing.  Today has been so fun.  Her body is still humming from the sex, and laughing again like this just ups it a notch.  It's enough that she decides to invite Jayne back to her room.

"You want to keep this going?  Somewhere else?"  She's pleased at the surprised look on his face.

"Yeah?"  Jayne's holding his shirt in his hand.

"Yeah.  Seen your room.  It's only polite to show you around mine.  We got lots of time before mornin'."

"Figured you'd want to take a bath."

She nods.  "I will.  Just later."  Another thought strikes her, and she frowns.  "You think I need one?"

Smirking, Jayne shakes his head.  "Nah.  Just thought women...they like messin' around in the water, like bein' real clean.  Figured you'd take advantage."

"Lots of time," she repeats.  "So, you comin' or what?"

Jayne looks down at the shirt in his hand.  "Guess I won't be needin' to put this back on."

"Guess not."  Together, they walk to Kaylee's room, climbing down the ladder quickly.  It's smaller than Jayne's space, but she doesn't mind.  She doesn't need all the room he does, what with his bigger body and stock of weapons.

Jayne looks around the room with bemusement.  "It's real girly in here."

Punching him in the arm, she tells him to shut up and take his clothes off.  He grins back, and says he's always liked a girl who takes charge.

They're naked again in no time, both of them breathing a little faster in anticipation.  Jayne isn't quite hard, so she pulls her blanket off the bed, pushes Jayne down onto it and climbs on top of him.  His hands are on her breasts in an instant, and he seems to like watching her nipples slide under and between his fingers.  It feels great, and the way he's looking at her, his mouth a little slack, his eyes hot, it makes her want to kiss him hard.  She leans down to do just that, but he turns his face away and starts sniffing at her hair again.  His hands work themselves from her breasts to wrap around her waist.

Moving so there's a bit of space between them, Kaylee says, "You really don't like kissin' on the mouth."  Kaylee's not so much disappointed as surprised.   She'd figured that was all posturing.

"Nah.  Ain't my thing."  He doesn't look even slightly apologetic, but Kaylee's not asking for romance, so she just shrugs and quickly works her mouth down his neck, across the raised line of his collar bone, and down to his chest, which is hairier than most she's seen.  She likes working her fingers in the hair, tugging and twisting, as her tongue flicks out to lick his nipple.   From the noises he's making, and the hand twisting in her hair, she figures Jayne likes it too.

Kaylee takes her time working her way down Jayne's chest, making up for how quickly everything went in the engine room.  He gets hard pretty fast but she keeps it slow, loving the way his skin and hair slide under her as she traces the lines of muscle and bone.  She grins at the way he groans and clutches at her when she wiggles and presses her body into strategic places. 

Eventually, her mouth reaches his bellybutton, and she stays there for a few minutes while she gets herself all worked up thinking about sucking his cock into her mouth.  Kaylee wonders what he'll taste like; how, if they do this again, he'll taste different, because this time it's going to be a combination of her and him. 

Moving down a little further, she braces her hands on his hips and licks a path along his cock, grinning to herself at the way his body jerks.  She licks like that a few more times, then shifts a little and sucks on the head of his cock, slow and easy.  He feels huge in her mouth, and she likes the stretch of her lips. 

He tastes salty, and underneath it, she gets hints of the coarse soap they all use.  It's not bad, and she moves her head down a little, taking more of him into her mouth.  Jayne is breathing harshly, and he thrusts upwards a few times, an automatic attempt to get further in.   Kaylee does her best to anticipate the movements and keeps sucking as Jayne's hand slides into her hair.  He starts to guide her, nothing rough, just a little faster than she had planned.   All the while he's muttering at her again, saying how good it is. 

Jayne's hand has moved her hair away from her face, making it easier to see.  When she looks up, she can see him up on one elbow, watching her.  His eyes are lidded and his face is flushed.  If she could, she'd smile.  Most guys like watching themselves push into a mouth; Kaylee has always liked the feel of the act.  She likes the slide of skin over her tongue, the way her lips get hot from friction.  It gets her more worked up when Jayne grunts and curses as she tightens her lips or sucks a little harder.

She's working her tongue around the tip of Jayne's cock when the hand in her hair tugs her head up.   Releasing the flesh in her mouth, she looks up and smiles.  Jayne traces her lips with his fingers, a soft kind of gesture that surprises her.  Then, he reaches down and pulls her up, flipping her onto her back in the process.

Jayne looks at her for a few seconds, and then he's all over her body with a kind of concentration she hasn't felt in a long time.  He rubs the roughness of her hands and her elbows -- dry and tough after hours of working on engines and other repairs; he spreads his fingers over softer areas, her belly and thighs, pausing to say, "You got nice skin," before continuing.   His teeth graze her breasts, and his lips on her nipples feel as fantastic as she'd remembered.  It's eerie how focussed he is, but she's still surprised when he goes down on her, his beard scraping her thighs as his tongue slicks over her skin. 

He keeps going until she's shaking with pleasure, her hands pressed hard to his shoulders.  Everything seems to slow down, and as she comes, he keeps his mouth tight to her, his tongue drawing out the sensations. 

Finally, she pulls his head away and watches as he swipes a hand across his mouth, grinning broadly the entire time.  Then he smirks a little and says, "Tastes better'n that crap we got for food most days." 

It's stupid, but the words make her blush a little.  She grins as Jayne pushes himself up, settling more evenly between her legs.  Looking down, she can see how hard he still is.   She wants to move down, get her mouth on him again, but Jayne's holding her hips.  It's obvious he has other plans. 

He grins down at her and starts stroking himself roughly, asking, "Still hot for it?"

Nodding, Kaylee says, "Hell yes." 

Jayne's eyes narrow a little as she speaks, and she's kind of surprised he doesn't just spread her legs wide and get to it.  Instead, he lets go of his cock and pushes his fingers inside her.  His fingers twist, making her gasp and buck upwards between words.  Shifting, Jayne gets his mouth to her belly, licking at the scar left from her gunshot wound and then moving back up to her breasts.  His tongue rolls around her nipples, one at a time, as his fingers work into her.

She's sensitive and aching, more than ready when Jayne pushes inside her again.  He doesn't make her wait, but he takes things slower at first, until Kaylee's hips are jerking upwards, trying to make him move faster and deeper.   She can tell the pace is hard for Jayne too: he's shaking over her, his eyes closed tightly and his head hanging. 

Grabbing his ass, Kaylee pulls Jayne closer.  He gets the hint and sets a fast motion, his hips twisting slightly as he pushes into her again.  Squeezing herself tight, Kaylee rides the waves of pleasure, urging him on.   It isn't long before he's tensing up and grunting, his arms shaking as he comes.  The final jerk of his hips sets her off too, hard.  It's a fantastic way to round out the night, and she says so, her breaths still coming fast.

Jayne grins down at her then collapses, knocking the air out of Kayleeís lungs.  She whacks him hard on his back, and he pulls away and shifts to her side.   Kaylee's bed is small, and Jayne lies on his side, facing her.  Their legs tangle together as his arm falls across her hips.  She breathes deeply, the air thick with the scent of Jayne and soap and sex.

After a few minutes, Kaylee starts to get cold again.  Serenity's ambient temperature goes down at night, a way to save on fuel.  The cold is enough to make Kaylee think about getting up and taking herself off for a wash, but it's comfortable here, and Jayne's sending out a lot of body heat.   Instead of getting out of the bed, she reaches down and pulls her blanket up and over her shoulders, concentrating on basking in the feelings of warmth and great sex for a little while longer.   Jayne slides part of the blanket over himself.

Jayne's breathing gradually slows down and gets deeper.  Kaylee listens to it and the way it mixes with the sounds of the ship: soft clanks as metal settles; the shush of air through the vents; the occasional on and off of the engine, just enough to maintain the minimal systems they need when they're not spaceborne.   Jayne's deep breaths join the more familiar sounds, and after a while, she figures he's fallen asleep. 

Carefully, she slips out of the bed, pulls on a thin robe, and gathers up her wash kit and towel.  There's still lots of time for a good bath, and this time of night, she won't get interrupted by anyone.  The idea of a taking a long time in there for herself makes her smile. 

She climbs up the ladder and out of the room, taking a backward glance at Jayne.  He's shifted to his stomach, one arm hanging over the side of her bed.  As far as Kaylee can tell, he's asleep.  His head is turned to the side, and she can see that his expression is a slight frown, but otherwise he looks relaxed.  Kaylee figures he'll wake up and be gone before she gets back.