Firefly Ficathon
Title: Sugar High
Author: darkjosh
Written for the Firefly ficathon for raebird.
Not beta'd. Therefore nervous.
Kaylee giggled in anticipation as Inara led her by the hand to the dining area.
Inara smiled and gently nudged Kaylee into the room. Kaylee gasped in astonishment, and then squealed in delight. Inara burst into elegant laughter.
Kaylee ran to the table and picked up what lay on it, looking from what she held in her hand to Inara with an expression of utter disbelief.
“Is this…is this…”
“Real chocolate?” Inara completed the sentence for Kaylee, who was trembling in excitement. “It is. The client I was with on Redwing was the son of the owner of an enormous pharmaceutical corporation. He showered me in gifts, and as I can’t eat it… and I know how rarely you get real chocolate…”
Kaylee giggled in glee, and broke off a small chunk of chocolate. She nibbled it like a squirrel, her eyes rolling into the back of her head, a sheer sugared orgasm. Inara’s face was lit up with a beam, watching Kaylee’s innocent face delight in this simple pleasure.
Kaylee sat at the table, and began to slowly eat her bar of chocolate. She grinned at the sight of five more bars lying on the table, and looked up at Inara.
“I’m gonna save them for later.” Inara sat down next to Kaylee, stroking her hair as Kaylee daintily munched her chocolate.
“You are such an adorable creature, Kaylee.” Kaylee turned to Inara, her mouth covered in chocolate, and poked her tongue out. Inara laughed and leaned on Kaylee’s shoulder. Kaylee rested her head on top of Inara’s, and they sat in comfortable stillness, the only sounds Kaylee’s jaws softly munching and the hum of Serenity’s mighty engine.
“So, has anything happened with Simon?” Inara asked, softly. Kaylee shrugged sadly.
“Nothin’ at all. It’s not like I aint been trying! It’s just hard… We talk, and then it just…falls apart.” Inara stroked Kaylee’s hair.
“He adores you. It’s quite obvious. You just have to give him the confidence to move your relationship forward.”
“I’d like to!” said Kaylee, exasperatedly. “I just don’t know whether it’s the right time or place…I mean, he’s got to look after River an’ all…” Kaylee trailed off miserably.
Inara lifted her head and held Kaylee’s chin, looking directly into Kaylee’s wide, thoughtful eyes.
“If you spend all your time worrying about whether it’s the right circumstances, nothing will happen.” Inara stroked Kaylee’s cheek. “The only way you’ll get what you want is if you reach for it.” Kaylee nodded, a smiling blooming on her face.
“You’re right! I never been like this about anything before…I ain’t ever been shy, or nervous…but he makes me feel different.” Kaylee looked at Inara, grinning widely, and Inara felt as if her heart would burst with affection. “He’s special. When I’m around him, it’s like…everythin’ else stops…frozen in place…and there’s just us, and his dimples…”
Kaylee suddenly stopped speaking as Simon appeared in the doorway. Inara turned and looked at him, and Simon felt extremely nervous, as he was obviously intruding on a private moment. He gave them a little cautious smile, and walked past the table into the kitchen. Inara gave Kaylee a knowing look, as Kaylee watched Simon’s careful movements, watched him pour exact amounts of water from a jug into bottles. He was as precise in everything he did as he was in his work, Kaylee noticed.
“Best doctor in the ‘verse,” Kaylee muttered under her breath.
Among her excitement at the possibility of what Kaylee and Simon could share, Inara felt a twinge of sadness at what she could not have, at the world which created the illusion her life was based around, the world she was forbidden to touch. But her mask prevented this feeling from become noticeable, and she quickly brushed it aside, having become quite expert in hiding her lingering sadness.
“What are ya doin’ with all that water?” Kaylee asked Simon as he walked past them, carrying a plethora of bottles. His expression of sincere concern let through cracks of happiness, Inara noticed, as he talked to Kaylee.
“River’s not feeling too good. The drugs she’s taking…there are some side effects, like dehydration, that I’m just unable to prevent.” Kaylee nodded.
“You want me to come bring that water to her with you? If you think she’d like to talk to me…” Simon nodded happily.
“She would. She really likes you.” Kaylee giggled, and effortlessly took some of the water bottles that were weighing Simon down into her arms.
“Talk to you later,” Kaylee said to Inara, who winked at her. They turned away and began walking out of the room.
“Wait!” Kaylee turned back to Inara. “Take River some chocolate.” Kaylee laughed and took the bar that Inara was holding out for her.
Inara’s smile faded as Kaylee and Simon departed the room. She breathed deeply, and got up from the table, watching Simon and Kaylee walk together. Once they had disappeared from her view, she returned to her shuttle, pausing as she floated through Serenity’s long, deep, metallic corridor to breathe in the ship’s wondrous air of melancholy and energy. Inara sighed, loving the ship with all her soul, and yet hating it at the same time, for it seemed to her to be a symbol for all the aspects of her life she most adored and despised. Hopeful, brave and strong but world-weary, battle-worn, restless, and trapped in an endlessly repetitive cycle of events. Kaylee’s unfailing hope lit Inara’s mind with a warm glow, and she carried it all the way to her shuttle, where her next client was waiting on the Cortex to speak with her.
Kaylee peered around the corner of the sliding door, watching Simon gently pour water down River’s throat. River’s sweat-soaked hair hung in her face, and Simon pushed it away and kissed her forehead. River whimpered in pain.
“Simon, it hurts…”
“Shhhh, meimei,” Simon soothed, dabbing at her cheeks with a wet cloth. “You just need to sleep.” He gently lay her down on her bed, covering her with a thin blanket, leaving the damp cloth on her glistening cheeks.
“I’m going to stay with her, just sit there. In case she wakes up, or needs me,” Simon told Kaylee quietly as he slipped out of the room. “I’ll talk to you later, okay?” Kaylee nodded sadly, disappointment, mixed with anger at herself, rose in her stomach. Simon looked at her gratefully, and turned to go back in the room. Kaylee remembered Inara’s advice and jerked herself from her reverie of self-pity. She softly grabbed Simon’s arms.
“I’m going to sit with you.”
Simon’s face lit up with joy, slightly masked by his sadness, and his eyes were filled with silent but palpable thankfulness. Kaylee followed him into the room, and sat down next to him on the bench opposite the bed. She watched as he gazed mournfully at River, filled with admiration. Gently, she brought his head down onto her shoulder, her body buzzing with emotion, and they sat there, connected, warm, comforted, watching as River tossed and turned in uneasy sleep.