Mal liked to think of himself as a reasonable man. Now, there might be some that'd be disinclined to agree with him, but they were mostly folks that had crossed him.
And maybe a few that hadn't.
And...possibly most of his crew, but the point was that he was always willing to sort things out and try to come to an agreement that would benefit everyone involved.
It's just that not everyone in the 'verse was as amiable and cooperative as he tended to be.
"You're 'bout as cooperative as a jackass with a small army shooting at him," Jayne said. He stood quickly, firing several shots before ducking behind the crates shielding them. "Oh, my mistake. You are a jackass with a small army shooting at him."
"Jayne," Mal gritted out, "this is neither the time nor place to be tryin' my patience." Somebody shouted from above them and Mal looked up just in time to see three men taking aim at him and Jayne from the catwalk. He grabbed the back of Jayne's shirt and yanked him out of the way just as they opened fire. "We need a better hidin' place."
"You reckon?" Jayne snapped before turning and breaking the neck of the man who had tried to sneak up on him.
Mal looked around quickly. The storage facility was small, barely bigger than a barn, and it didn't appear that there were any sort of rooms they could hole up in or any exits other than the one currently being filled with angry, gun-toting smugglers. There was, however, the grill covering a ventilation shaft behind them. He tapped Jayne's shoulder and jerked his head towards it. Jayne nodded and without a word, stepped in front of him, both guns firing and providing coverage as Mal kicked the grill in. He crawled in, moving forward when he felt Jayne's boots pushing against his. The din of gunfire echoed loudly against the metal walls of the shaft and Mal was starting to reconsider this idea when there was a loud explosion, a whole lot of smoke, and Jayne hollering, "Go! GO!"
It was during times like this - well, maybe not all of it, just that particular moment - that reminded Mal of one of the reasons why he kept Jayne around. The merc may not have had a fancy education, or any sort of education really, but when it came to situations like the one they were in at the moment, the man was a genius.
As for the other reasons, Mal figured the less said about them, the better.
He crawled forward quickly, reaching a point where the shaft opened up a little more, and turned around in the bit of extra space it provided. Jayne still faced the way they had come, moving backwards slowly with a rifle at the ready.
The smoke started to clear out, revealing that the entrance to the shaft had caved in, keeping anyone from following. Jayne had finally reached Mal and sat up as much as he could. "Don't think they'll be comin' for us anytime soon," Mal said.
"Probably not. Finished off most of them with that grenade."
"Still, might be prudent to wait it out before we go tryin' to dig ourself out of that."
Jayne just grunted and leaned back on his elbows, stretching his legs out in front of him. "So, Mal," he said after a few moments of silence, "you always show yer dates as good a time as this."
"What?" Mal replied, quite certain that he'd misheard. He shook his head violently, as if he was trying to make the words fall into some sort of order that made sense, and gaped at Jayne, who was staring ahead with a slight smirk on his face. "Did you say...I...what?"
"Well, ain't that what this is?" Jayne said, his smirk growing wider.
Mal's mouth was hanging open but no words were coming out, he was so dumbfounded by what Jayne had just said. He closed it, then opened up again, saying, "Mind tellin' me how you came to this conclusion?"
Jayne sat up a little. "We land on this rock and first thing you do is ask me to go to town with you."
"As back-up. Last time I was here, I...well, I might've upset a few...dozen people."
"That's a surprise, what with that charmin' personality of yours."
"Now, it weren't my fault that folks 'round here are just a might sensitive."
There was a snort from Jayne. "And I guess it weren't your fault tonight, when you called that fella's woman a po fu, right?"
Mal glared at him. "Don't matter, because this still ain't a date in any sort of way. We don't date, Jayne."
"You paid for my meal."
"On account of you not havin' any cash on you!"
Jayne shrugged. "Still paid for it," he said before looking over at Mal and grinning. His teeth were gleaming white in the darkness of the shaft, and the sight of them, of Jayne's smile, twisted something in Mal, deep inside. He blinked several times and looked away.
"That still don't make this a date." There might've been a time a few months ago when it could've been, but Mal had put a stop to that. Need time to think about it, he'd told Jayne, but it'd really been more like, Need time to panic over what you and I have been getting up to.
"Naw, I 'spose not." Jayne leaned over then, that grin still on his face like a big cat moving in for the kill, and got in real close to Mal's personal space. "Know what does?"
Mal tensed up as Jayne sniffed at him, keeping as still as possible, as if he could make Jayne go away by not offering up any sort of reaction. "Seein' as how this ain't a date, I'm guessin' that I don't."
"The part where we get nekkid," Jayne said before swiping his tongue along the curve of Mal's ear.
Mal shivered and gasped at that, jerking back and scooting away from Jayne. "Now wait one gorram minute, Jayne."
"Tired of waitin', Mal," and that was all the warning he got before Jayne grabbed a hold of his leg and pulled, knocking Mal flat on his back. "Been waitin' for three ruttin' months for you to make up your mind 'bout this." He crawled over Mal until they were face to face.
Mal pushed at Jayne but he wasn't going anywhere other than down, pressing his body fully along Mal's, pushing his legs in between Mal's. "I still ain't made up my mind." Jayne narrowed his eyes and gave a little thrust, the smirk returning when Mal gasped and clenched his fists into Jayne's shirt.
"Let me convince you some more then," Jayne said and bent his head down.
Mal turned away, anticipating that Jayne was going to kiss him, but Jayne was aiming for his neck, licking at the straining cord of it before biting down. Mal arched at that, pulling Jayne closer, and, oh, he'd tried to forget all about this, how good it felt to have Jayne lying on top of him like this, to have Jayne's mouth on him, but it hadn't worked. No matter how many times he'd tried to deny himself, this had always been what he'd wanted. Mal figured he could continue denying himself what little bit of pleasure he could get out here, or he could take advantage of everything Jayne was offering up to him.
Mind made up, he hooked his legs over Jayne's, wriggling around a little until he could feel the hard ridge of Jayne's cock along his. He canted his hips up, and Jayne swore, his mouth skittering along Mal's collarbone.
Jayne reared up and pulled off his t-shirt. "Too many ruttin' clothes," he mumbled, giving Mal a pointed look.
Mal nodded in agreement and began unbuttoning his shirt. "Always knew you were a smart one, Jayne," he said. He'd manage to free one arm before Jayne was pushing down on top of him again, biting at Mal's neck again. Jayne's hands found their way to Mal's trousers and started to work on the fly. Mal reached for Jayne's but his hands were slapped away.
"Jus' wait on that," Jayne said as he tugged Mal's trousers and shorts down. Mal wanted to argue on that, say that if he was going to be layin' around bareassed, then Jayne should be, too, but the words were lost when Jayne grabbed a hold of Mal's dick and swallowed it down.
Mal shouted at that, and then he shouted some more when Jayne's tongue licked a broad stripe up the underside of Mal's cock, pressing in a little harder when it reached the ridge. He finally worked his other arm free from his shirt and reached for Jayne, pulling at his shoulders. Jayne shook them off and moved his mouth down again, being downright sloppy about it, like he couldn't get enough of the taste of Mal, like he needed to make sure every last bit of skin was tasted. Mal's hands moved to Jayne's head, fingers scrubbing through the short hair. Jayne hummed at that and looked up at Mal.
That look just about undid Mal, a look so full of want that it shook him. That look, coupled with the way that Jayne kept sliding his mouth up and down Mal's dick, had Mal jerking his hips up frantically. "Jayne, Jayne, I'm...I'm gonna..."
Jayne pulled off him and sat back on his haunches. "Not yet, you're not."
Before Mal could lodge a formal complaint, Jayne stripped off his pants and crawled back over Mal, straddling his lap. He had to hunch over pretty far but that just brought him in range of Mal's mouth, and he took full advantage of that, latching onto one of Jayne's nipples, smiling at the hiss that came from the other man.
Jayne reached back, grabbing a hold of Mal's dick, and then shifted a little, up and back, until Mal could feel himself pushing into Jayne, slowly. It was tight, but not as tight as Mal'd thought it would be, and definitely slicker, and..."Lao tian ye, Jayne, when'd you do that?"
Jayne grunted and smiled, breathing heavily. "Told you I figured this was a date." He rocked his hips, eyes fluttering shut at the motion, and Mal knew that it wouldn't take long at all for him to go off, not with the way that Jayne was moving or with the sounds he was making.
He pulled Jayne back down until they were chest to chest and then rolled them over. Jayne groaned at that, so deep and low that Mal could feel it in his dick. He held still for a moment, getting his bearings, until Jayne opened his eyes and smacked Mal's ass. "Gorramit, will you move already?"
Mal snorted at that and then grabbed Jayne's legs, pushing them back and apart as far they would go. Jayne grunted his approval and Mal began thrusting, shifting the angle every now and then until he found the one that had Jayne pounding his fists on the ground, ass gripping Mal so tight he could hardly move. He let go of one of Jayne's legs and grabbed his cock, giving it four long pulls before Jayne arched up, long shuddering moan escaping from him as he spilled over Mal's fist. Wasn't too long after that before Mal felt the familiar hot coil deep in his gut, tightening up and driving his hips faster until it snapped and released, leaving him breathless and shaking on top of Jayne.
They lay for a good bit, just catching their breaths and waiting for their limbs to start working again. Mal felt Jayne's hand on his head, fingers carding through his hair, and he raised his head to look at him, smiling at the satisfied expression on Jayne's face.
"Date," he said, and Mal laughed, burying his face into Jayne's shoulder.