More Than Friends

A/N: Any resemblance between an upcoming scene in the cargo bay and a certain Diet Coke commercial is purely coincidental, up to and including the use of slow motion.


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“Okay, we can do this one of two ways – I can either cut the shirt off and slice off the skin your hair is attached to, or I can simply pull it off and leave you a bit sore,” Simon said cautiously, crouching and holdin’ out his hands outstretched as if he were approachin’ some wild critter so’s not to spook it. Kaylee lifted herself onto her toes to peer over Mal’s shoulder to get a good view of Jayne, who had backed himself into a corner of the cargo bay and was holdin’ both hands over his chest protectively.

“Ain’t there a third option?” he asked desperately.

Mal snorted and stepped forward. “Jayne, quit bein’ such a gorram baby and get over here. It’ll be over before you have time to miss that rug a’yours.”

“Happened? What’s happened? What did I miss?” Wash asked, runnin’ down the stairs. “Zo… baby? Come here – this looks like it could be funny,” he called back over his shoulder. “What’s going on? I don’t think I’ve ever seen Jayne so terrified,” he murmured to her as he reached them.

Kaylee quickly explained what had happened, scowlin’ at Wash when he began to laugh. “You shouldn’t laugh at him, it ain’t fair. Poor Jayne,” she said worriedly, peekin’ around at the big man again.

Wash stared at her incredulously. “What, you didn’t think it was funny?”

She shifted uncomfortably, crossin’ her arms. “Well, at first? Yeah,” she admitted. “But I been waxed before – not there, but you get the capture – and he’s got a whole lot more’n I had ta get rid of.” She reached over and pulled on a few of the pilot’s arm hairs sharply, makin’ him snatch his hand back. “Now imagine that lotsa times worse.”

“Ouch,” Wash said again, puttin’ a hand on his chest in reflex. “But it’s Jayne, so that means we can still laugh. Right?” At her angry glare, he backed up and raised his hands. “Fine. I’ll on the bridge laughing, then…”

She shifted her eyes back to Jayne, who’d been coaxed out of his corner and into pullin’ his shirt over his head so that it hung off of where it was attached to him. He was arguin’ over lettin’ them just keep the shirt on ‘til the hair grew long enough to slide a knife between his skin and the shirt, but Simon was sayin’ something about the glue bein’ somewhat toxic and that he would stink, besides. Well, he actually said he would stink worse, but Kaylee pretended she didn’t hear that. They was supposed t’be friends now, after all. Jayne sighed. “A’right, I guess you’re gonna have to pull- no, no, hey, I ain’t ready yet….git away! It’s your gorram sister did this to me,” he threatened Simon with a fist.

“As if you being your charming self did nothing to influence her. Captain? Get the other side.” Kaylee clapped her hands over her eyes as Jayne let out a loud yell of pain; she jus’ couldn’t watch this. “No, don’t pull yet – on three: one, two…two and a half…two and three quarters…”

A hand on her shoulder made her jump in surprise, and she uncovered her eyes to see Zoë beckoning to her. “Past time to be gone,” the other woman advised her. They hurried out of the cargo bay and pressed the door lock as Simon got into decimal points, and the last they heard before the door cycled shut was him reachin’ ‘three’, a loud ripping sound, and a real piteous soundin’ wail. With another touch on her shoulder, Zoë re-opened the door to let the big merc out; he was lookin’ a mite murderous as he stormed past them and down to his bunk without even sayin’ nothin’ to her, clutchin’ his shirt to his chest. “Best be gettin’ something for that eye, Sir,” the first mate said to the captain solemnly, with a wink for Kaylee as Mal staggered by holding a hand to his face.

Jayne didn’t come up his ladder ‘til mealtime, and even then he still looked real mad; not that she blamed him, but she didn’t like to see him so angry – he’d a real shiny smile to him, even if she was the only one to see it when he weren’t bein’ mean with it after he’d teased someone. He ate slower’n usual, tryin’ not to bend too much and mostly ignorin’ it when Wash harassed him. He did, however, give plenty of nasty looks to River’s side of the table. “How ya feelin’?” she asked, reachin’ out a hand to place it on his arm sympathetically.

She got a blue-eyed glare for her troubles, so just scooted in close to cuddle him out of his bad mood. Kaylee felt a strange urge to simply kiss the frown right off of his face – more’n more, she’d been catching herself lookin’ at the merc just for the pleasure of it. While he weren’t core-pretty like Simon, he was mightily swai in his own way and it appealed to her more with each passin’ tick of the chrono. She decided that Jayne Cobb was a proper treat to look at, no mistakin’ it. Kaylee got some looks for snugglin’ on him – mostly from Mal and Zoë, Wash didn’t seem too surprised – and after rufflin’ his hair one last time, stood to help take up the plates while Jayne pretended to be still mad and she pretended that she’d just been sisterin’ him, that her heart weren’t goin’ like thunder under her skin.

The mercenary lurched away from the table, automatically helpin’ her with the dishes as best he could, what with havin’ to hold his shirt away from his chest carefully. “You should just take it off,” Kaylee scolded him. Gorramnit, she wanted to see. She’d no rules against a man havin’ some hair on his chest, but she was dyin’ to see what he looked like without it. He just gave her a look and reached into the jar they’d set up for chores.

“Gorrammit, trash again? ” he sighed, tossin’ the scrap of paper on the table and turnin’ to pick up the galley’s trash bin.

Wash elbowed Mal. “You’re just being a sore loser, Jayne – get it? Sore loser? ” he grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled on it, wincing like it hurt and just laughin’ when Kaylee fixed a glare on him. He stopped laughing when a hurled ration pack hit him hard in the back of the head, and Mal was smacked with one for good measure.

“Hey – I wasn’t even laughing this time,” the captain complained. “Why’d you have to throw one at me? ”

“Felt like it,” Jayne snarled back.

Simon stepped in quickly, offerin’ a jar of something to the angry merc. “Oh, I forgot to give you this – it’ll calm down the skin irritation,” he apologized, jumpin’ when Jayne swiped it from his hand on his way down to the cargo bay with the trash. “Wash your hands first before putting it on,” he called after him. Kaylee finished cleaning up and sat at the table just talkin’ a spell with the other women before they all decided to go down to the cargo bay for some hoopball – Inara insisted upon being score-keeper no matter what they said, so they laughed and joked all the way down the corridor while Zoë doubled back to ask the others if they wanted to join in the fun.

Kaylee stepped through the door and stopped dead, causing Inara to walk into her and River started to smile when she glanced back at the younger girl. Her eyes were quickly drawn back to the floor of the cargo bay, and to Jayne – he had his shirt off and was pourin’ water all over himself from a bucket he’d swiped from somewhere, rubbin’ a hand over his chest. And Ni tama de tianxia suoyou de ren duo gaisi, what a chest it was.
She leaned over the railing to get a better look. It was like she was seein’ it in slow-motion or somethin’. “Wode Tian, ‘Nara, you seein’ what I’m seein’? Mercy me.” Did someone turn up the heat in the ship? The air felt awful close; she plucked at the top of her coverall to loosen a button as she stared at the water runnin’ down his chest and stomach. Wouldn’t mind lickin’ that water up, myself…

“What exactly am I supposed to be look- oh, my. Not that I should be looking, or even need to be looking. That’s very, um…. Where did Zoë go?” the Companion asked hastily, glancing around.

At that precise moment, Zoë arrived with Wash. “I thought we were playing ball, what – ooh. Honey, don’t look or you’ll get jealous.”

Wash stared around at the women and down at Jayne. “What in the name of…? It’s like I’m in the middle of some cheesy adult program from the Cortex. Jayne! For God’s sake, put some clothes on! ” he yelled.

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Jayne poured the water he’d taken from the shower room over himself once he figured out that splashin’ just weren’t doin’ it. He’d put the go se that Doc’d given him onto his chest, but it had started burnin’ like crazy…the water was supposed to have been for cleanin’ up the rest of the glue that had been in that gorramned can – he’d been mightily pissed off earlier and had thrown it across the bay where it had exploded all over the wall. Looked like most of the redness had gone down from that stuff, even if it had hurt like hell. He sighed in relief as the cool liquid slid over him and brought up a hand to rub off the last of the whatever-it-was, shaking his head from side to side to fling off the water drippin’ from his hair.

A shout made him look up to the upper level of the bay, and he saw Wash scowlin’ at him…then he noticed that all the women were rangin’ around one spot and starin’ at him. What was their problem? “Quit pervin’ at me,” he yelled up with a frown. Ain’t like they’d never seen him ‘thout a shirt before, the crazy biddies. He still wasn’t feelin’ real sociable, even if Kaylee had surprised him at the table by puttin’ her hands on him like she had. That thought made him look back at his audience quickly – yes, there she was. And lookin’ at him like…like…

Maybe he shoulda gone through this a long time ago.

“What’re we all gapin’ at?” Mal asked. “Jayne, you takin’ a bath in here again? We got a special room for that; it’s called the ‘shower room’ for good reason….and put your gorram shirt on, will you? You’re scarin’ the women again.”

Jayne took another look at Kaylee’s eyes fixed on him like he was some sorta treat, and turned away as he pulled his shirt back on. He couldn’t wait ‘til their first combat lesson- then he’d get to have her in his arms for a perfectly good reason. “Need help with that?” she asked suddenly, her voice right in his ear and makin’ him nearly jump outta his hide.

“Help with what?” He swallowed hard to find her movin’ closer and feelin’ a small hand touchin’ his chest carefully.

“Does it still hurt?” she asked, beautiful eyes wide and lookin’ up at him. Jayne figured she’d stopped thinkin’ he was her gorram ge ge, from the way he felt her fingers start to slide between the shirt and his skin. He guessed he could handle that. He could handle that just fine.


tbc…
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