[fic: break even, firefly, jayne/inara, rated ma]
| break even || firefly || jayne/inara || rated ma |
Thanks to inlovewithnight for the beta!
break even
It's all Kaylee's fault.
"Bet you could get Jayne to kiss you," she says, grinning, perched on the table in the mess. Inara has no idea why they've started talking about this at all, other than they're women and sometimes she misses girl talk. Kaylee is as far from a companion as Inara is from an engineer, but Inara finds her company delightful regardless.
Usually. Right now, she's just vaguely flustered. "Kaylee!"
"What? Come on, Inara! I just know if anyone can do it, it's you. It's your job!" Kaylee kicks her feet, smiling. She's got a smudge of something Inara presumes is oil across her cheek, her hair pulled back in a messy ponytail.
"My job? Kaylee, my job is not to make foul-tempered and untrustworthy mercenaries kiss me," she says, exasperated. "I'm a Companion. It's a skill, an art. Would you like me to ask you to fix my electric kettle and say that it's your job?"
Kaylee giggles. "Sure, I'll fix your kettle. But Jayne's--tyen shiao duh, Inara, Jayne's better looking than a tea kettle."
"A matter of opinion, Kaylee. My tea kettle is useful. And it's quite stylish."
"You scared?" Kayle wiggles her fingers at her.
"I'm not Mal, Kaylee, that doesn't work on me." Inara studies her carefully. "But I could do it. That doesn't mean I want to. Or that I will. But I could. I'm very good at my job."
"Oh, I believe that, 'Nara." Kaylee hops down off the table. "But if you do, I'll...I'll fix that thing in your bed that rubs at you. The one that don't work right?"
Inara blinks, confused. "You mean the massage feature?"
"Yeah, that. C'mon, Inara. I bet your customers would love that."
Inara considers this. They would, and quite honestly, so would she. "You'll fix that, and all I have to do is get Jayne Cobb to kiss me?"
Kaylee nods. Inara smiles and holds out her hand. "It's a deal."
* * *
"You sure you wanted to see me...in here?"
Inara doesn't really blame Jayne for the skeptical look on his face--she can't think of a single time she's ever implied he would be welcome here, much less invited him. In fact, Inara is pretty sure she's never given the impression she wanted to see Jayne at all, anywhere.
Inara studies him carefully. He's not an unattractive man. A little brutish for her tastes, but he's got a certain appeal if you like the rough, mercenary types. "Yes. I'm sure. Come in, Jayne."
He looks around as he steps inside, towards the corners of the room and back. He's probably so thrown at being invited to Inara's shuttle that he assumes there's some kind of imminent attack or enemy stowed behind the silken drapes framing her bed. "Yeah, okay. What--you need something? Need me to kill somebody?"
"Ah...no, but thank you." Inara waves a hand to the chair. "Have a seat."
"Inara," Jayne says, unmoving, his hand resting lightly on the gun at his waist. "Someone in here? You can just tell me."
She has to hold back a laugh. "No, Jayne. There's no one here. Just you. And me." Inara moves up towards him, feeling a slight shiver assail her. She's never thought about Jayne before as anything other than someone to avoid or ignore, but the thought of touching him is suddenly not as loathsome as she imagined.
She steps in front of him, running her hands up his chest, tracing the firm muscles beneath his shirt. "How many weapons did you bring with you?"
Jayne smirks at her. "Enough," he says, and then takes a step back. "What are you playing at, anyway? You don't even like me."
"It's not that I don't like you," Inara says, but she can't really finish that sentence. "I--you and I, we're very different people, Jayne."
"Not really," Jayne says with a shrug. "We both got something to sell. Ourselves. You sell sex, I kill people if they need me to. Ain't that different."
Inara's not sure anyone's ever compared her to hired killer before. She doesn't quite know what to say, but she gives Jayne a frank look and says honestly, "I never thought of it that way before. I bring pleasure. You bring death. They're opposites, aren't they?"
Jayne shrugs again, unconcerned. "Bring pleasure to the people who're paying me," he says. "They're pretty happy when I kill somebody they want dead."
"I suppose they are." Inara moves forward again. "Jayne, you keep moving away from me. I don't know if I should be offended or not." She tries for teasing, playful.
Jayne just looks suspicious. "Inara? I might not be very book smart like the doc, but I ain't born yesterday. Don't think you brought me here to do what you usually do in here." Jayne looks down at her, his eyes wary. "And I ain't comin' in here if you're gonna slip me some kind of knife between my ribs in the middle of things."
"Jayne, why on earth do you think I'd kill you in my own bed?" Inara asks, frustrated. "Please."
Jayne tips his head back and laughs. "Okay, maybe not in your bed. But you'd do it, if you had to."
"I didn't say--"
Jayne puts a hand on her waist--she can feel his fingers warm through the light fabric of her dress--and smiles slowly. "Sure. So you're not trying to kill me for something?"
Inara tilts her head and looks up at him. "Have you done something I need to kill you over?"
Jayne lowers his head, breath warm on her neck. "Now, if I had," he murmurs, pushing her back toward the bed, "Would I tell you?"
Inara doesn't bother to answer that. She lets him push her back on the bed, moves her head easily enough as he kisses her neck and settles on top of her. He's not as rough as she thought he'd be, but rough enough to suggest he wants her, wants this, and she finds herself responding. Inara likes her job for obvious reasons, and he's clearly very experienced.
Eventually, she manages to get herself out from under Jayne's heavy weight so that they are reversed and she's straddling his waist. His hands are slipping under her dress, and she shivers because he's got good hands. Something is poking her in the side, however, and she doesn't think it's the obvious. "Jayne, is that--"
"Oh, sorry," he says, lifting his hips up--with her on top of him, that's--very arousing, actually--and reaching one hand down, pulling out a gun, a knife, and something else she doesn't get a good look at. Then she forgets about it entirely, because his hands slide up and cover her breasts and he says, "Move, c'mon," in a voice that makes her shiver.
Inara moves on top of him, rubbing against the hard length of his cock through his pants. He likes that, pushes up against her, and for a moment she forgets she has a goal for this and just lets herself enjoy it. They're both fully clothed, though her dress is pushed up around her hips, and as Jayne grinds her down against him she can feel herself growing wet, the material of her panties growing damp.
Inara leans down to kiss him, but he turns his head so she kisses his neck instead. He gives a soft groan and she bites him a little--his hips buck up and his fingers tighten on her waist at that--so she bites a little harder. Inara kisses his ear, gets him groaning and moving her harder against him. Despite this being the very last member of Mal's crew she ever imagined herself doing this with, Inara is very close to coming on top of him. Jayne's head is tossing on the pillow and he's muttering Aiya and yeah, harder.
Occasionally she leans down, trying to catch him unaware and kiss him, but it never works. And then he moves her just right, and the hard length of his cock is pressing perfect against her clit through her panties, and Inara stops thinking about anything at all. She braces her hands on his chest, head back, making small sounds as he pushes up against her, brings them both closer, closer, and rides him until she comes with a small, breathless cry.
Inara slumps forward on her chest, shaking a little. Jayne gasps out something she can't quite make out through the roaring in her ears and pulls her hard against him, once, twice, and his body stiffens as he comes against her, his face in her hair.
A few seconds after she manages to catch her breath, Inara peeks up at him. He looks relaxed, sprawled beneath her, his eyes closed and the lines on his face eased. "If you kiss me," she says, "The bed can give you a massage."
"Wha?" Jayne opens his eyes and blinks at her. "What are you on about?"
"Kaylee will fix it for me. If you kiss me." Inara has no idea why she's telling him this, but she's sated and she's brought him pleasure, and that is her job, and she feels good about it even if no money changed hands between them.
"Your bed's got those things in it that rub at you?" It's almost, word-for-word, what Kaylee had said earlier.
Inara nods. "Yes. But the mechanism is broken. It's not a priority, but Kaylee said she would fix it if I was able to get you to kiss me. On the mouth," she clarifies, because he might take that as a challenge and kiss her other places.
Not that she would mind. No, suddenly she finds she doesn't mind that thought very much at all.
"Huh." Jayne looks curiously at her. "You and Kaylee made a bet? About me?"
Inara nods again.
"A sex bet?"
"Well, it was about kissing," Inara explains, feeling a little silly. "But, yes."
Jayne is looking at her like he's never seen her before. "Wuh de tyen, ah. I will never understand women. And look, Inara, that thing with your bed? The massage thing? That's creepy. I'll kiss you so's you'll keep it broken. Deal?"
Inara smiles at him and takes his face in her hands. She presses her mouth to his, and he doesn't move away. He rests one hand on her back and kisses her back, slow, his mouth opening easily for her. He tastes like peppermint, which is surprising. She almost expected gun oil. His beard is soft against her face.
"You're gonna tell her, aren't you," Jayne murmurs against her mouth. "And get the stupid thing fixed."
Inara nips his lower lip sharply before she pulls away, smiling down at him. "Mmm. But I'll keep it turned off when you come visit. How's that?"
Jayne laughs. "Deal."
Thanks to inlovewithnight for the beta!
break even
It's all Kaylee's fault.
"Bet you could get Jayne to kiss you," she says, grinning, perched on the table in the mess. Inara has no idea why they've started talking about this at all, other than they're women and sometimes she misses girl talk. Kaylee is as far from a companion as Inara is from an engineer, but Inara finds her company delightful regardless.
Usually. Right now, she's just vaguely flustered. "Kaylee!"
"What? Come on, Inara! I just know if anyone can do it, it's you. It's your job!" Kaylee kicks her feet, smiling. She's got a smudge of something Inara presumes is oil across her cheek, her hair pulled back in a messy ponytail.
"My job? Kaylee, my job is not to make foul-tempered and untrustworthy mercenaries kiss me," she says, exasperated. "I'm a Companion. It's a skill, an art. Would you like me to ask you to fix my electric kettle and say that it's your job?"
Kaylee giggles. "Sure, I'll fix your kettle. But Jayne's--tyen shiao duh, Inara, Jayne's better looking than a tea kettle."
"A matter of opinion, Kaylee. My tea kettle is useful. And it's quite stylish."
"You scared?" Kayle wiggles her fingers at her.
"I'm not Mal, Kaylee, that doesn't work on me." Inara studies her carefully. "But I could do it. That doesn't mean I want to. Or that I will. But I could. I'm very good at my job."
"Oh, I believe that, 'Nara." Kaylee hops down off the table. "But if you do, I'll...I'll fix that thing in your bed that rubs at you. The one that don't work right?"
Inara blinks, confused. "You mean the massage feature?"
"Yeah, that. C'mon, Inara. I bet your customers would love that."
Inara considers this. They would, and quite honestly, so would she. "You'll fix that, and all I have to do is get Jayne Cobb to kiss me?"
Kaylee nods. Inara smiles and holds out her hand. "It's a deal."
* * *
"You sure you wanted to see me...in here?"
Inara doesn't really blame Jayne for the skeptical look on his face--she can't think of a single time she's ever implied he would be welcome here, much less invited him. In fact, Inara is pretty sure she's never given the impression she wanted to see Jayne at all, anywhere.
Inara studies him carefully. He's not an unattractive man. A little brutish for her tastes, but he's got a certain appeal if you like the rough, mercenary types. "Yes. I'm sure. Come in, Jayne."
He looks around as he steps inside, towards the corners of the room and back. He's probably so thrown at being invited to Inara's shuttle that he assumes there's some kind of imminent attack or enemy stowed behind the silken drapes framing her bed. "Yeah, okay. What--you need something? Need me to kill somebody?"
"Ah...no, but thank you." Inara waves a hand to the chair. "Have a seat."
"Inara," Jayne says, unmoving, his hand resting lightly on the gun at his waist. "Someone in here? You can just tell me."
She has to hold back a laugh. "No, Jayne. There's no one here. Just you. And me." Inara moves up towards him, feeling a slight shiver assail her. She's never thought about Jayne before as anything other than someone to avoid or ignore, but the thought of touching him is suddenly not as loathsome as she imagined.
She steps in front of him, running her hands up his chest, tracing the firm muscles beneath his shirt. "How many weapons did you bring with you?"
Jayne smirks at her. "Enough," he says, and then takes a step back. "What are you playing at, anyway? You don't even like me."
"It's not that I don't like you," Inara says, but she can't really finish that sentence. "I--you and I, we're very different people, Jayne."
"Not really," Jayne says with a shrug. "We both got something to sell. Ourselves. You sell sex, I kill people if they need me to. Ain't that different."
Inara's not sure anyone's ever compared her to hired killer before. She doesn't quite know what to say, but she gives Jayne a frank look and says honestly, "I never thought of it that way before. I bring pleasure. You bring death. They're opposites, aren't they?"
Jayne shrugs again, unconcerned. "Bring pleasure to the people who're paying me," he says. "They're pretty happy when I kill somebody they want dead."
"I suppose they are." Inara moves forward again. "Jayne, you keep moving away from me. I don't know if I should be offended or not." She tries for teasing, playful.
Jayne just looks suspicious. "Inara? I might not be very book smart like the doc, but I ain't born yesterday. Don't think you brought me here to do what you usually do in here." Jayne looks down at her, his eyes wary. "And I ain't comin' in here if you're gonna slip me some kind of knife between my ribs in the middle of things."
"Jayne, why on earth do you think I'd kill you in my own bed?" Inara asks, frustrated. "Please."
Jayne tips his head back and laughs. "Okay, maybe not in your bed. But you'd do it, if you had to."
"I didn't say--"
Jayne puts a hand on her waist--she can feel his fingers warm through the light fabric of her dress--and smiles slowly. "Sure. So you're not trying to kill me for something?"
Inara tilts her head and looks up at him. "Have you done something I need to kill you over?"
Jayne lowers his head, breath warm on her neck. "Now, if I had," he murmurs, pushing her back toward the bed, "Would I tell you?"
Inara doesn't bother to answer that. She lets him push her back on the bed, moves her head easily enough as he kisses her neck and settles on top of her. He's not as rough as she thought he'd be, but rough enough to suggest he wants her, wants this, and she finds herself responding. Inara likes her job for obvious reasons, and he's clearly very experienced.
Eventually, she manages to get herself out from under Jayne's heavy weight so that they are reversed and she's straddling his waist. His hands are slipping under her dress, and she shivers because he's got good hands. Something is poking her in the side, however, and she doesn't think it's the obvious. "Jayne, is that--"
"Oh, sorry," he says, lifting his hips up--with her on top of him, that's--very arousing, actually--and reaching one hand down, pulling out a gun, a knife, and something else she doesn't get a good look at. Then she forgets about it entirely, because his hands slide up and cover her breasts and he says, "Move, c'mon," in a voice that makes her shiver.
Inara moves on top of him, rubbing against the hard length of his cock through his pants. He likes that, pushes up against her, and for a moment she forgets she has a goal for this and just lets herself enjoy it. They're both fully clothed, though her dress is pushed up around her hips, and as Jayne grinds her down against him she can feel herself growing wet, the material of her panties growing damp.
Inara leans down to kiss him, but he turns his head so she kisses his neck instead. He gives a soft groan and she bites him a little--his hips buck up and his fingers tighten on her waist at that--so she bites a little harder. Inara kisses his ear, gets him groaning and moving her harder against him. Despite this being the very last member of Mal's crew she ever imagined herself doing this with, Inara is very close to coming on top of him. Jayne's head is tossing on the pillow and he's muttering Aiya and yeah, harder.
Occasionally she leans down, trying to catch him unaware and kiss him, but it never works. And then he moves her just right, and the hard length of his cock is pressing perfect against her clit through her panties, and Inara stops thinking about anything at all. She braces her hands on his chest, head back, making small sounds as he pushes up against her, brings them both closer, closer, and rides him until she comes with a small, breathless cry.
Inara slumps forward on her chest, shaking a little. Jayne gasps out something she can't quite make out through the roaring in her ears and pulls her hard against him, once, twice, and his body stiffens as he comes against her, his face in her hair.
A few seconds after she manages to catch her breath, Inara peeks up at him. He looks relaxed, sprawled beneath her, his eyes closed and the lines on his face eased. "If you kiss me," she says, "The bed can give you a massage."
"Wha?" Jayne opens his eyes and blinks at her. "What are you on about?"
"Kaylee will fix it for me. If you kiss me." Inara has no idea why she's telling him this, but she's sated and she's brought him pleasure, and that is her job, and she feels good about it even if no money changed hands between them.
"Your bed's got those things in it that rub at you?" It's almost, word-for-word, what Kaylee had said earlier.
Inara nods. "Yes. But the mechanism is broken. It's not a priority, but Kaylee said she would fix it if I was able to get you to kiss me. On the mouth," she clarifies, because he might take that as a challenge and kiss her other places.
Not that she would mind. No, suddenly she finds she doesn't mind that thought very much at all.
"Huh." Jayne looks curiously at her. "You and Kaylee made a bet? About me?"
Inara nods again.
"A sex bet?"
"Well, it was about kissing," Inara explains, feeling a little silly. "But, yes."
Jayne is looking at her like he's never seen her before. "Wuh de tyen, ah. I will never understand women. And look, Inara, that thing with your bed? The massage thing? That's creepy. I'll kiss you so's you'll keep it broken. Deal?"
Inara smiles at him and takes his face in her hands. She presses her mouth to his, and he doesn't move away. He rests one hand on her back and kisses her back, slow, his mouth opening easily for her. He tastes like peppermint, which is surprising. She almost expected gun oil. His beard is soft against her face.
"You're gonna tell her, aren't you," Jayne murmurs against her mouth. "And get the stupid thing fixed."
Inara nips his lower lip sharply before she pulls away, smiling down at him. "Mmm. But I'll keep it turned off when you come visit. How's that?"
Jayne laughs. "Deal."