Too Darn Hot

Timeline: Post OIS, BDM not happening.

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The heat was nearly unbearable, and Kaylee was close to tears as she checked the wiring yet another time with no more success than she’d had the first time she’d felt the change. Somethin’ had thrown the climate control unit into fits and for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out what exactly was wrong. Buncha feihua, is what it is. Gotta be somethin’ I ain’t thought of yet, she thought.

Everyone was bowed down by the heat: Zoë and Wash pretty much stayed up on the bridge (which was the coolest place in the whole ship) while Mal, Simon, and River kept near the galley and their water supply. Kaylee guessed she was grateful that ‘Nara and Shepherd Book were gone so they weren’t feelin’ the heat just as much as the rest of ‘em. She felt guilty enough as it was about Jayne, who was ‘bout as miserable as a man could be – bein’ so much bigger’n the rest of the crew, the heat was really gettin’ to him and bearin’ down hard though he tried not to show it. ‘Specially around her, knowin’ she felt guilty over it. But she’d come across him just leanin’ against a wall as if movin’ were far too much of an effort, and knew that when it got too much he’d go into the airlock for a spell even though she knew how much it disquieted the big man to come anywhere near it.

They were all sufferin’ because she couldn’t figure out how to fix what was wrong, and the nearest way station was days away – they’d even started rationin’ their water when Zoë had discovered that the heat was slowly but surely dryin’ up their supply tanks, and the temperature in their coolers was all out of whack too. Frustration welled up inside her, sharp and bitter. Why couldn’t she fix somethin’ as simple as this? Kaylee threw her spanner down violently and rubbed her stinging eyes to keep the tears from spillin’ out. Suddenly needin’ a break from starin’ at the wires she couldn’t seem to be able to fix, she stood up and let her feet take her to the cargo bay, and to Jayne.

The merc was layin’ on the far catwalk, stretched out with his eyes closed. When he heard her boots climbin’ the steps, he opened his eyes and rolled his head over to look, sittin’ up quick as he could when he saw it was her. “Was just tired,” he protested.

The tears she’d been tryin’ to hold off started to spill down her cheeks. “I’m so sorry, bao bei – I’m trying, I really am!” Kaylee pressed her face against her man’s chest as he came over to put his arms around her. “Seems like every time I think I know what’s wrong, it just slips away from me again. I know you ain’t said nothin’, too, even though you got cause to be mad.”

Jayne stroked a hunk of hair from her sweaty face. “It ain’t your fault, ai ren, don’t go sayin’ that it is.”

“But I’m ship’s mechanic, I’m supposed to know how to fix things…”

He snorted. “If’n ya don’t stop feelin’ so ruttin’ sorry for yourself, you won’t fix a gorram thing, baby girl. No, don’t get all mad – just listen. I’ve seen how you’re tryin’, but you gotta quit worryin’ if any of us are angry at ya because we ain’t, none of us. Just concentrate on doin’ what you’re doin’ in there.” Kaylee pulled away slightly to look up into his face, and he smiled down at her. “I got me a clever girl, an’ I know she can fix anything she sets her mind to.”

She couldn’t help but smile back, feelin’ proud that he had such faith in her. “I guess I do know that I can crack it, but it just ain’t comin’ easy.”

“Hell, baby - you think I nail all my targets spot on the first time? How about takin’ a break for a bit, looks like you need some sleep.” Placin’ a kiss on her lips, he stood slowly and held out his hand. Kaylee took it and let him pull her to her feet, walkin’ hand in hand with him to their bunk hatch and waitin’ for him to go down first before climbin’ down the ladder. “Lord above, I smell like a Tamade,” Jayne complained as soon as she closed the hatch.

Kaylee wiped an arm across her sweaty forehead, grinnin’ at his look of disgust as he caught a good whiff of himself while he was pullin’ off his shirt. “We’re all pretty ripe,” she admitted, strugglin’ with her clothes which were just stickin’ to her body. Lately they’d just been stayin’ bare when in private; a mite cooler that way, and Naked Jayne was a treat for the eyes - when she weren’t so miserable that she could actually relax an’ enjoy the sight of him. She lifted an arm and sniffed. “Whooooeeee, I think I smell even worse’n you do,” she choked, pinchin’ her nose while Jayne grinned over at her. Suddenly the whole situation struck both of ‘em as hilarious and they collapsed on the bed, laughin’ like idiots. “Ai ya, but it’s warm,” she murmured when they’d laughed themselves out and were layin’ side by side, drowsy from the heat.

“I been on a few ships ‘thout climate control before,” Jayne sighed, shiftin’ atop the sheets. “Weren’t fun, but I lived through it somehow.” He fell silent and Kaylee rolled onto her stomach, lookin’ over at him. His skin shone like someone’d spilled a bottle of oil down him, and the dark hair – not so short anymore – was all mussed and damp with sweat….as she watched, a rivulet of sweat tracked its way down his temple. She reached out and caught the moisture on her fingertip, touchin’ it to her lips and tastin’ the saltiness of him while he sighed again.

Kaylee wrapped her arms round her pillow and closed her eyes, feelin’ the bed shift as Jayne climbed over her for somethin’. “Whatcha doin’, Xin gan?” She asked, then heard the sound of their cooler openin’. “How’s that doin’, has it heated up yet?”

The touch of somethin’ mighty cold and wet ‘twixt her shoulders made her yelp. “You tell me,” Jayne said, all sly and mischievous-like.

“Gaoyang zhong de guyang, don’t tell me we still got ice? Is it really ice?” she asked plaintively.

“We do, and it is…meltin’ fast, though.”

He drew the chunk of ice down her spine slowly, lettin’ it melt while she gasped at the feel of it. “Wode Tian,that feels like a boatload of shiny…” The ice moved over her skin as Jayne directed it over her hip and down her legs before movin’ it back up to her neck. She writhed when he let it slide back down to rest on the swell of her pi gu and licked up the water in one slow, sure swipe of his tongue. “How much ice is left?” she asked breathlessly.

“Enough,” was all Jayne answered. “Roll over.” She could hear the huskiness in his voice and shivered again as she turned onto her back. He dipped a hand into a small bowl he’d set beside their bed, and pulled another cube of ice from it. Kaylee let out a mewl of pleasure as he began to work on her again, rubbin’ the ice over her nipples so that the melted water slid down to pool between her breasts before he leaned down to lap up the moisture. Her belly got the same treatment, and his hand dipped into the bowl again as he looked up at her with a smile that promised mightily good things to come.

The promise was fulfilled when an ice cube made its way down her stomach, tracin’ round her Ni yin. She bucked up off the bed and cried his name as he brushed it over her again.

Her man gave her another of them sneaky-ass smiles and palmed the ice, closin’ his fingers round it and holdin’ it over her sensitive parts while he lowered himself ‘twixt her nethers. “Just relax, bao bei,” he purred. The first drop fell and she called out, shudderin’ helplessly as the cold water struck her clit. Jayne applied himself to lickin’ up the water as soon as it dripped on her, and Kaylee couldn’t stop from screamin’. The sensation of the meltin’ water followed by the feeling of his hot tongue raspin’ against her drove her near the edge, and when the ice had melted, he sent her even closer by slidin’ two cold fingers inside her heat.

Kaylee was near crazed when he finally pushed inside her, and it didn’t take long for Jayne to work her into a frenzy – she sobbed his name as her orgasm overwhelmed her, grindin’ against him to make the incredible feelin’ last a bit longer. She was plenty satisfied to find that the big merc’d been so keyed up by his playin’ that he couldn’t hold out on her no more. Jayne swore, raisin’ himself up on his forearms to work his cock in and out of her faster until he let loose a long, drawn out groan as he came. “Tianna, wo ai ni,” he gasped out as he rolled off her to the far side of the bed. They’d found out the hard way that, although cuddlin’ after they’d loved on each other was the way to go, it was just too darn hot to be anywhere near each other while the climate control was outta whack. He stretched out a hand, and Kaylee slid hers over to link fingers with him. “Too bad we ain’t got one’a them freezer boxes that Crazy Girl was shipped aboard in,” Jayne yawned.

“Hmmm, yeah…that’d be….” Kaylee’s eyes flew open. “Freezer boxes! Come on, get up – think I know what’s wrong,” she urged her lover.

Jayne snorted. “So why do I gotta move?”

“You wanna stay all sweaty and nasty?”

“Yeah…”

“Jayne! Git that big pi gu of your’n outta bed and help me!”


Two hours later, Serenity’s climate control system was back online and beginnin’ to cycle cold air through the entire ship. “So I guess it was my sexin’ that jarred the thoughts around in your head enough for you to fix it,” Jayne teased as he helped her down from her perch high up in the engine room.

“You just keep tellin’ yourself that,” she shot back, grabbin’ his shoulders as he lowered her down to the deck in front of him. “Feels good to have that air runnin’ again.” Kaylee lifted her face to the nearest vent.

“Ruttin’ well told –hey, you think the water supply has cooled off yet?” Her man’s eyes were full of mischief as he looked down on her, and she answered him with a grin. “Well, then. Let’s go afore anyone else gets the notion.” Grabbin’ her hand, he pulled her behind him as they raced for the shower, only stoppin’ to kick their bunk door open to let the hot air out. They indulged in each other once more while waitin’ for the water to cool down, then took turns soapin’ each other. “Sure feels shiny to be clean again,” Jayne sighed, leanin’ against the shower wall while she ducked under the water.

A poundin’ on the door made both of ‘em jump. “Kaylee! Jayne! You in there?” Mal bellowed.

Kaylee met Jayne’s eyes and couldn’t stop herself from callin’ out, “We’re just tryin’ to fix the water leakin’ in here, Cap’n – shouldn’t be but another hour and it’ll be ready for everyone else. Looks like the temperature change cracked it a tad.” Their captain sounded mightily disappointed about that, and told ‘em to come for him first thing when the problem was taken care of.

“Kaywinnit Lee, did you just tell a lie?” Jayne asked like he couldn’t quite credit what his ears had heard.

“It were just a bitty one,” she protested, winkin’ at him. “Ya know wo hui yong yuan ai ni, baby – but I think I like my big swai man more when he’s all clean and smellin’ nice like right now. Can ya blame me for wantin’ to stick around for a while?” Kaylee added in a bat of her eyelashes for good measure, and giggled when he reached over to haul her into his arms where she felt him press against her. “Oh! I guess ya can’t.” She made a note to nearly overheat him again some time so they could have this much fun in a cold shower.


~*~END~*~

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A/N: Thought this up in an attempt to make myself forget all about how cold it is.... it didn't work per se, but I am catching myself eyeing the freezer at odd times. :|