Crime and Punishment
Title: Crime and Punishment
Prompt: #95 Steel
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1202
Title: Crime and Punishment
Prompt: #95 Steel
Author: Cricket
Disclaimer: I’m just playing with Joss’ toys, but I promise to put them back when I’m done
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1202
When the would-be hijackers were face down, lying in pools of their own still warm blood, Mal had released the crew from their handcuffs one by one. Except for Jayne. He looked up at them pleadingly as they passed by him, still shackled wrists and ankles to the cold steel grating of the catwalk. Zoë marched by, barely sparing him a glance. Kaylee looked regretful, but was led away by Simon’s hand on her shoulder. Mal and the girl must have left through the doors that led to the infirmary, their heavy bootsteps echoed on the cargo bay floor.
It wasn’t fair, he thought. Sure it was his drunken ramblings that had blabbed about the ship’s whereabouts and what their rather valuable cargo was, but he didn’t see how that made him responsible for what happened. Hell if they hadn’t hit him over the head when he wasn’t looking, he would’ve been the one to take them out and let everyone free. Instead he was being punished like a bad dog chained up in the backyard.
Jayne blinked at the harsh glare of the light fixture above him and turned his head, pressing his face into his arm that was secured firmly above his head. Kaylee must have nudged up the thermostat a bit because he could feel the dry heat blowing out of the air vents, drying out his eyes and nose. The lump on the back of his head ached as it pressed up against the warming steel beneath him and sweat started to form across his hairline, the small of his back and behind his knees.
The heat and forced immobility made him sleepy and he dozed on and off, waking jerkily at odd sounds around the ship. When he woke fully he couldn’t tell how long he’d been sleeping, but if the darkened cargo bay and decreased temperature were any indication it was well after the rest of the crew had gone to bed. He had a cramp in his calf that throbbed sharply every time he shifted his body and he his fingertips tingled painfully, it wouldn’t be long until he lost all feeling in them.
He wondered how long they were going to let him stew here. Probably until morning, he reasoned, and while it was no picnic, at least they hadn’t shot him. So he figured he could handle the punishment until they decided enough was enough. He heaved a heavy sigh of boredom and shifted within the few inches of movement that the restraints allowed. Wincing at the pain of the steel scraping against his tailbone, he listened to the quiet hum of the engine pushing them through the black. He was almost lulled back to sleep until he heard the soft drag of fabric against metal and a light footstep somewhere above his head.
Straining his neck and rolling his eyes as far up as they could go, he searched the shadows for a human form. “My time done yet, or y’all gonna make me lie here all night?”
She emerged from the gloom like a ghost, pale skin glowing in the dim nighttime lights of the ship. Her knee length nightgown was a bland oatmeal color and made up of soft cotton, probably one of Kaylee’s hand-me-downs. “Time is on your side,” she giggled, taking a few steps closer to him.
“I’m not about to guess what’s goin’ on in that crazy head of yours, girl. Now, you just get on out of here and get yourself back to bed, dong ma?” He wasn’t ashamed to admit that she still creeped him out something fierce most of the time. She’d been getting steadily better since the whole Miranda affair, but she had yet to lose that odd way of speaking and knowing exactly what was going on in his head. Thing like that wasn’t normal, wasn’t natural and it made his skin itch to think about it.
“Nothing to be afraid of. Here to open your cage, let you fly free.” She approached him slowly until her feet were inches away from his head, then bent at the waist to peer closely at his tired face. He tried not to look up her skirt, though when he finally gave in a took a peek he couldn’t see much besides a little pale thigh skin and a whole lot of shadows.
“You gonna let me go, girl?” He looked solidly up into her eyes, trying to appear confidant despite his vulnerable state.
“Soon.” River let her eyes trail down his body slowly, taking in every detail. He felt like a frog about to be dissected. “Ribbit,” she croaked, smiling at his horrified expression.
“What are you - ”
She placed a sweet smelling hand over his mouth. “Shush.” Leaving her hand in place, she knelt beside him, allowing her other hand to venture lightly across his stomach. His stomach muscles tightened beneath her fingers and, with an amused giggle, she pulled up the hem of his t-shirt to see. She inspected the trail of hair beneath his bellybutton, stroking it softly with one pale fingertip.
The warmth of her hand across his mouth was surprisingly pleasant, he found. Her skin smelled faintly of vanilla and he fought the urge to part his lips against her hand and drag his tongue across her palm to find out if she tasted the same. But when she started touching his stomach, peeling back his shirt and running teasing fingers on his lower belly he knew he was in a heap of trouble. He was a little bit scared and a lot aroused and all manner of confused.
She dipped her head out of his line of sight and felt a hot tongue on the skin of his belly, right where her hands had been seconds earlier. She pulled back slightly and he felt the remaining patch of saliva start to cool in the open air, before her mouth against him again, this time with lips and teeth joining in. Traveling steadily upwards, she licked, nipped and kissed her way across his body. When she stopped to tentatively lick a nipple her shuddered and groaned against her hand and when she wrapped her lips around the same bit of flesh, sucking fiercely on the pink tip, he reflexively arced up, arms straining against the metal handcuffs on his wrists.
He closed his eyes tightly all at once hoping that she would stop and that she would continue forever. He barely noticed when her hand unclamped from his face until he felt her lips firmly pressing against his. His eyes flashed open and he frantically tried to figure out what was happening and if he should be kissing her in return, but she was already pulling back, a dreamy smile on her face. After smoothing his shirt back into place, she stood gracefully and, with one final hungry look, turned and started walking away. His stunned silence abruptly crashed around him as her warmth drifted away.
“Wait, I thought you said you was gonna let me free?” her called after her, twisting his head to watch her call back over her shoulder.
“Had to tie you up first.”
Prompt: #95 Steel
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1202
Title: Crime and Punishment
Prompt: #95 Steel
Author: Cricket
Disclaimer: I’m just playing with Joss’ toys, but I promise to put them back when I’m done
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1202
When the would-be hijackers were face down, lying in pools of their own still warm blood, Mal had released the crew from their handcuffs one by one. Except for Jayne. He looked up at them pleadingly as they passed by him, still shackled wrists and ankles to the cold steel grating of the catwalk. Zoë marched by, barely sparing him a glance. Kaylee looked regretful, but was led away by Simon’s hand on her shoulder. Mal and the girl must have left through the doors that led to the infirmary, their heavy bootsteps echoed on the cargo bay floor.
It wasn’t fair, he thought. Sure it was his drunken ramblings that had blabbed about the ship’s whereabouts and what their rather valuable cargo was, but he didn’t see how that made him responsible for what happened. Hell if they hadn’t hit him over the head when he wasn’t looking, he would’ve been the one to take them out and let everyone free. Instead he was being punished like a bad dog chained up in the backyard.
Jayne blinked at the harsh glare of the light fixture above him and turned his head, pressing his face into his arm that was secured firmly above his head. Kaylee must have nudged up the thermostat a bit because he could feel the dry heat blowing out of the air vents, drying out his eyes and nose. The lump on the back of his head ached as it pressed up against the warming steel beneath him and sweat started to form across his hairline, the small of his back and behind his knees.
The heat and forced immobility made him sleepy and he dozed on and off, waking jerkily at odd sounds around the ship. When he woke fully he couldn’t tell how long he’d been sleeping, but if the darkened cargo bay and decreased temperature were any indication it was well after the rest of the crew had gone to bed. He had a cramp in his calf that throbbed sharply every time he shifted his body and he his fingertips tingled painfully, it wouldn’t be long until he lost all feeling in them.
He wondered how long they were going to let him stew here. Probably until morning, he reasoned, and while it was no picnic, at least they hadn’t shot him. So he figured he could handle the punishment until they decided enough was enough. He heaved a heavy sigh of boredom and shifted within the few inches of movement that the restraints allowed. Wincing at the pain of the steel scraping against his tailbone, he listened to the quiet hum of the engine pushing them through the black. He was almost lulled back to sleep until he heard the soft drag of fabric against metal and a light footstep somewhere above his head.
Straining his neck and rolling his eyes as far up as they could go, he searched the shadows for a human form. “My time done yet, or y’all gonna make me lie here all night?”
She emerged from the gloom like a ghost, pale skin glowing in the dim nighttime lights of the ship. Her knee length nightgown was a bland oatmeal color and made up of soft cotton, probably one of Kaylee’s hand-me-downs. “Time is on your side,” she giggled, taking a few steps closer to him.
“I’m not about to guess what’s goin’ on in that crazy head of yours, girl. Now, you just get on out of here and get yourself back to bed, dong ma?” He wasn’t ashamed to admit that she still creeped him out something fierce most of the time. She’d been getting steadily better since the whole Miranda affair, but she had yet to lose that odd way of speaking and knowing exactly what was going on in his head. Thing like that wasn’t normal, wasn’t natural and it made his skin itch to think about it.
“Nothing to be afraid of. Here to open your cage, let you fly free.” She approached him slowly until her feet were inches away from his head, then bent at the waist to peer closely at his tired face. He tried not to look up her skirt, though when he finally gave in a took a peek he couldn’t see much besides a little pale thigh skin and a whole lot of shadows.
“You gonna let me go, girl?” He looked solidly up into her eyes, trying to appear confidant despite his vulnerable state.
“Soon.” River let her eyes trail down his body slowly, taking in every detail. He felt like a frog about to be dissected. “Ribbit,” she croaked, smiling at his horrified expression.
“What are you - ”
She placed a sweet smelling hand over his mouth. “Shush.” Leaving her hand in place, she knelt beside him, allowing her other hand to venture lightly across his stomach. His stomach muscles tightened beneath her fingers and, with an amused giggle, she pulled up the hem of his t-shirt to see. She inspected the trail of hair beneath his bellybutton, stroking it softly with one pale fingertip.
The warmth of her hand across his mouth was surprisingly pleasant, he found. Her skin smelled faintly of vanilla and he fought the urge to part his lips against her hand and drag his tongue across her palm to find out if she tasted the same. But when she started touching his stomach, peeling back his shirt and running teasing fingers on his lower belly he knew he was in a heap of trouble. He was a little bit scared and a lot aroused and all manner of confused.
She dipped her head out of his line of sight and felt a hot tongue on the skin of his belly, right where her hands had been seconds earlier. She pulled back slightly and he felt the remaining patch of saliva start to cool in the open air, before her mouth against him again, this time with lips and teeth joining in. Traveling steadily upwards, she licked, nipped and kissed her way across his body. When she stopped to tentatively lick a nipple her shuddered and groaned against her hand and when she wrapped her lips around the same bit of flesh, sucking fiercely on the pink tip, he reflexively arced up, arms straining against the metal handcuffs on his wrists.
He closed his eyes tightly all at once hoping that she would stop and that she would continue forever. He barely noticed when her hand unclamped from his face until he felt her lips firmly pressing against his. His eyes flashed open and he frantically tried to figure out what was happening and if he should be kissing her in return, but she was already pulling back, a dreamy smile on her face. After smoothing his shirt back into place, she stood gracefully and, with one final hungry look, turned and started walking away. His stunned silence abruptly crashed around him as her warmth drifted away.
“Wait, I thought you said you was gonna let me free?” her called after her, twisting his head to watch her call back over her shoulder.
“Had to tie you up first.”