More Than Friends

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The first time it happened Wash put it down as misguided flirtation, plain and simple. The next time, he scratched his head and wondered. The third time, he decided to just -corner Jayne and ask. The looks, the almost-accidental touches…something was going on, and he was going to find out what. He was currently lying in wait for the other man in the galley, since anyone who knew Jayne also knew that the colossus was almost always eating something. Sure enough, the bottomless pit that was their mercenary came through the door just minutes after Wash had installed himself in front of the food lockers. Surprisingly, Jayne went straight to the common area and began to move the chairs around for some reason – he walked over to watch as the other man pulled the cushions up from the settee and looked under them. “The food lockers are in the other room,” Wash said helpfully.

Jayne raised his head to look over at him. “So?”

“So, I don’t think you’ll find anything to eat under there. Weren’t you just eating a minute ago? I could have sworn…”

“Very funny. Naw, Kaylee’s all upset over losin’ an earring somewhere an’ I told her I’d find it.” Jayne went back to rummaging through the cushions before he crouched to look underneath the furniture. “Ruttin’ thing could be anywhere.” Wash walked further into the room and leaned against the wall, watching as Jayne sighed in disgust and dropped to his hands and knees to scan the floor. “Why’s it gotta be so gorram teeny… Zoë like to wear them bitty things, too?”

Wash grabbed a chair and turned it around, sinking down onto it with his arms crossed around the back. “So, that advice I gave you about Kaylee…how’d that work out for you?” he asked curiously.

“Well, she don’t like wontons – I asked her. Where is that rut- hey, there it is,” Jayne exclaimed happily, picking something off the floor with exaggerated care.

Wontons? What on God’s Green Earth That Was did wontons have to do with anything? He was just about to ask when their earlier conversation came back to him. “No, I asked if she liked wanton destruction. Are you sure there’s actually something between your ears, or do you just rent it out by the hour?” he asked before he could help himself. Jayne’s face darkened and he pushed to his feet to leave. “No, wait…I’m sorry, don’t go.” He was dying to be let in on the latest gossip, not least because Zoë had been harassing him for details.

“Why you always gotta be that way?” The big merc demanded angrily. “I ain’t gotta tell you nothin’.”

“But you want to, and I’m here to help you with that urge to have a man-to-man talk,” Wash wheedled shamelessly.

“If’n I want to talk to a man, I’d have to find one first. Where is Zoë, anyhow?” Jayne grinned.

Wash glared up at the other man. “Very funny, coming from the famous ape of the cosmos. I helped you out, now you can help me out by letting me live vicariously through your inept courtship skills and fumbling. It’ll give me something to laugh at when I’m up on the bridge with nothing else to do.”

“Maybe I don’t wanna talk about it,” the merc said evasively.

“Since when? Aren’t you the one who says every little thing that crosses your tiny little mind?”

Jayne stared at him. “Yeah, that’s a shiny way to get me to tell you somethin’.” But after a quick glance towards the doorway, he pulled out a chair and sat down. “Here’s the deal….” Wash felt his expression slowly slide from curiosity to incredulity as Jayne told him about what had occurred – glossing over the details which were probably as interesting as the fact that there was actually something the merc wanted to keep to himself – and he laughed aloud when Jayne ended his tale by relating what he had told Kaylee. “…so I just said I weren’t no cheap an’ easy lay, and - what?”

Wash couldn’t contain himself any longer. “But, Jayne…you are cheap and easy,” he hooted.

“That’s it,” the other man decided, lurching out of the chair and reaching for the collar of his floral-printed shirt. “I been wantin’ to cram you in one of them lockers ever since I came aboard,” Jayne snarled.

A cool voice cut across the sounds of their quarrel, and they both turned to see Zoë standing in the doorway. “Do I have to separate you two boys since you can’t play nice?” Jayne snorted and shoved Wash away from him, brushing past the disapproving first mate. “You want to tell me what that was all about, Husband?”

He began to laugh again and pointed towards the back of the departing merc. “Sweetie – you won’t believe this, but Jayne just said that he wasn’t cheap and easy…!”

_ _ _ _ _ _


With the earring safely delivered and the prize of a kiss collected for findin’ the gorram thing, Jayne left the engine room smiling as he headed down to the cargo bay to do a few reps on his weight bench. He greeted Simon amiably as the two passed each other, not seeing the shocked look aimed after him…the doctor shook his head and kept walking. “What’s up?” he asked curiously when he noticed Mal circling around the Mule and frowning at it.

The captain looked up at him, a mightily odd look comin’ over his face before he blinked and glanced back at the craft. “Zoë tells me there was some sort of drag to this when she flew it last – looks like we might’ve hit something.” He pointed, and Jayne followed his direction to crouch down, peerin’ under the Mule.

“Hell, looks like it’s fixin’ to fall apart down here,” he said thoughtfully. “Prob’ly be put right with some weldin’ – you asked Kaylee about it yet? I thought she checked this out.” There was that weird look on Mal’s face again – ‘Nara must’ve been doin’ somethin’ freaky lately, he was actin’ all kinds of jittery and odd these past few days.

“If you think you can weld it back, best get on with it,” was all the other man said.

Jayne shrugged and tossed his towel onto a nearby crate. “Ain’t gonna be no problem,” he assured the captain as he went to fetch his welding gear. He soon regretted sayin’ that, since it turned out to be trickier than he’d thought – when he finally got it fixed, he placed the torch on the deck and stood to stretch cramped muscles.

“Whatcha doin’ down there?” He turned to see Kaylee leanin’ over the railing. “Looks like hot work, maybe ya should take your shirt off,” she said hopefully.

He winked up at her. “Maybe later, if’n you ask sweet enough. After all, I was doin’ your job for ya.” He explained about the Mule, and grinned at her yowl of outrage that equipment had been damaged. “Don’t fret over it, Zoë prob’ly just hit some rocks when she weren’t payin’ attention and talkin’ to that fool husband a’hers.”

“Jayne! That ain’t nice.”

“I ain’t nice, girl.”

“Are too, your mouth just needs some schoolin’,” she said with a bright smile as she went back through the door. Jayne shook his head and turned to put up his gear, cursin’ when he saw that the torch was layin’ on its side and the flame he coulda sworn he’d shut off was heatin’ up one of the spare sheets of metal he’d used for patchin’ the Mule. He put back on the heavy gloves and propped it against the weight bench to cool while he finished cleanin’ up. On his way back up for a shower, he passed Mal and warned him about not touchin’ it until he gave the go-ahead. Zoë walked by seconds later, and he reached out to give Kaylee a playful pinch as she came out of the engine room to see what was goin’ on. She slapped his hand away, grinnin’ as she went by. Seconds later as he was headin’ in the shower room, he heard a cry of pain that made his blood freeze. His clean clothes and towel were abandoned as he dropped them to race back to the cargo bay…


_ _ _ _ _ _ _


Kaylee followed Mal and Zoë back to the cargo bay. “How’d the Mule get so beat up?” she asked disapprovingly. Weren’t no excuse for messin’ up things that shouldn't never have cause to be broken in the first place, her Daddy had always said so. Both of ‘em fidgeted under her glare and she sighed, knowin’ she weren’t about to get a confession any time soon. “Never mind, I’ll just go down an’ make sure it’ll fly next job.” She rolled her eyes affectionately at ‘em and skipped down the steps to the Mule.

It looked like Jayne’d done a real shiny job weldin’, she thought to herself as she knelt to peer underneath the craft curiously. She always liked to watch him work; you’d think a man like Jayne would make a mess of everything he did, but that weren’t the case a’tall. He always kept his space neat and clean, and took pride in doin’ a good job no matter how he grumbled ‘bout it… she smiled at the thought of the big man as she ran an appraising hand over the joins on the bottom of the Mule. The smile turned to a puzzled frown as she caught sight of a piece of scrap metal leanin’ against the weight bench – that was odd, why’d he leave it out like that?

Probably too busy thinkin’ on her askin’ him to show her some skin, Kaylee thought with a smile, and reached out for it. She’d put it away for him, and then tease him over cleanin’ up after him like she was his momma – he’d most like give her that little scowl that was so cute. Her fingers curled around the edge of the metal sheet and all thought of Jayne was abandoned when agony suddenly stabbed its way through her hands, and she screamed in pain as she dropped the blisteringly hot sheet of metal.

She hunched over reflexively, tears spillin’ down her cheeks, when suddenly Jayne was there. “Chúsheng xai-jiao de xiang huo! Whyn’t you tell her not to touch it?” he bellowed over his shoulder. “Let me see yer hands, bao bei,” he coaxed in a different tone, and she gulped back another sob to extend her hands towards him. Jayne hissed between his teeth, scooped her up in his arms, and carried her off to the infirmary, yellin’ for Simon. “Where the ruttin’ hell is he?” he muttered angrily after settin’ her down on the edge of the exam table. “Doc, get yer ass in here mashang! ” She bit back another sob and leaned into him – wode tian, it hurt like a mother.

Simon walked in the room. “What did you do now – Kaylee? What happened?” he rushed forward to her, and checked at the sight of her hands. “How…?”

“She grabbed onto some hot scrap in the cargo bay….gorramnit, but I shoulda put it in the airlock,” Jayne said, scrubbin’ a hand through his hair. Simon hurried to get bandages for her hands, instructing the distressed merc on how to wrap it proper while he fixed a smoother for her. The pain medicine kicked in and she sighed in relief, saggin’ against Jayne…just her luck that she’d messed with somethin’ like that. She extended her hands again and watched as both men wrapped a hand carefully; when Simon started to automatically give her spare bandages and cream for the burns, Jayne snatched ‘em away. “She can’t put ‘em on by herself….’sides, was my fault she got hurt so I’ll do it,” he muttered, lookin’ as miserable as could be.

“It weren’t your fault, I was the one grabbed it,” she protested, not likin’ to see him so down.

Jayne sighed as Simon discretely left the room. “I shoulda moved it ‘stead of just tellin’ Mal ‘bout it. I’m awful sorry, Kaylee,” he said.

She reached up to touch his face with her fingertips, which were about the only thing stickin’ out the wrapping, and the term slipped out before she even thought about it. “Aw, baby….you know this means you gotta be my nurse now, right?” she teased, then yawned as the rest of the smoother started kickin’ in.

“Nurse, huh?” he bent to lift her in his arms again. “Looks like you need a nap before anything else, includin’ bein’ nursed by a mean old man…hey! Nursin’ includes givin’ you a bath, don’t it?”

Kaylee giggled, as he’d plainly meant her to. “It might, ya naughty thing. Plus there’s the outfits.” She yawned again and fell asleep as soon as he laid her down on River’s bed. Wakin’ up much later, from the looks of the chrono, the smoother’d mostly worn off and she climbed off the bed careful not to lose her balance. It smelled like dinner was ready, and she realized in alarm that it’d been her turn to cook it. Kaylee moved to the closed door and reached for the latch release when it opened to reveal Jayne on the other side. “It was my turn,” she lamented.

“That ain’t nothin’, Zoë got it covered soon as she heard.” Jayne reached out to smooth her sleep-rumpled hair and lifted her hands in his gently to check on the dressin’. “How’s your mitts?”

“They been lots better,” she started, but the rumble of hunger from her stomach near drowned her out. “…an’ I guess my stomach’s been better too,” she said wistfully. “Is, um, dinner gonna be soon?”

He slipped an arm around her shoulders and guided her down the stairs to the galley in reply. “I’ll get ya settled, don’t worry.”

“But how’m I gonna eat it?” she exclaimed in dismay as she saw that Zoë had made stew.

Jayne fixed her with a look. “How you think you’re gonna eat it? We put some in a blender and I got you a straw.” Her mouth dropped open, and he started to smile. “Oh, I’m just playin’ a bit – I said I’d get ya settled, an’ I will.” With that, he pulled out a chair for her and went to get a bowl of stew for her.

Zoë came in and started to put Jayne through the wringer for swipin’ food when she noticed Kaylee and sat down beside her. “How’re the hands, mei mei?”

“They hurt plenty, but that smoother near did me in so I dunno what Simon’s got in his bag a’tricks… I still don’t see how I can eat that, Jayne,” she complained when the merc plopped the bowl down in front of her. “I ain’t about to eat it like no dog, either, so-” she was silenced when he returned with a spoon, pulled the bowl over, and lifted a spoonful of it to her mouth.

“Well, you ain’t exactly got the grip that’s needed to pick up a spoon…. what? She can’t eat it by herself,” he said defensively when Zoë started to laugh. “You gonna eat this or what, girl?” Kaylee opened her mouth obediently, tryin’ hard not to laugh as he fed her. He was so serious… when he saw her face, he stopped and sighed at her to behave before givin’ her another spoonful. The others came in askin’ about her and smilin’ at the sight of her bein’ fed like she was a little’un, so Jayne got her a drink with a straw while he ate and got the cream to rewrap her hands before bringin’ her more stew. “You look like you’re about ready to get in that bowl and roll around in there,” he smiled.

With her feelin’ better – the cream soothed the burns so she could relax some – and her belly half-full of good food, she giggled at the thought of climbin’ in the stew. She studied Jayne closely as he fed her carefully; the others had finished up and left, so it was just them. The throbbing in her palms eased as she thought on his care for her, and strangely enough she was gettin’ the feelin’ she usually got when they was sneakin’ a kiss somewhere. Down, girl – he’s just feedin’ you, it ain’t foreplay or nothin’. The thought didn’t help none, though.

She couldn’t help herself from clampin’ her teeth down on the spoon when he was ready to pull it back, and he looked at her in surprise when she slid her lips off it and licked the end suggestively. Jayne stopped completely to stare at her, then slowly put more stew on the spoon and extended it to her again; this time when she pulled off the metal, she leaned forward to repeat the action slowly while she looked up at him through her eyelashes and licked her lips after she'd lifted her mouth from the spoon. Jayne stared at her for another long moment. “Kaylee…what the hell was in that smoother?”

Want was surgin’ through her veins with a roar she could hardly hear over. “I’d like more, please.”

“…stew, right?” he asked warily.

Kaylee locked eyes with him and parted her lips slightly. Time to jump, girl. “A mite else besides.”

tbc…
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