Seven Days - part four
Title: Seven Days
Author: Ru_salki99
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Mal/Jayne
Disclaimer: Firefly belongs to Joss.
Summary: The passanger dorms need to be fumigated, so with that comes some reorganising of bunks. Post OIS Pre BDM, Book and Inara have left but Inara will be coming back.
DAY FOUR
Jayne woke up to the sound of running water. He decided he must be imagining it, so he rolled over to cuddle into Mal (not that he cuddled or nothin, just weren’t a better word for it) but Mal wasn’t there. Confused he finally opened his eyes and saw the steam coming from the shower unit in the corner and figured Mal must be in there. He looked at the clock… four forty am. Groaning he realised that Mal must be on an early today. He rolled back over and tried to get back to sleep, but then the memory of Mal watching him in the shower the other night popped into his head, so he once again rolled over as he had decided to watch Mal. Unfortunately though, with the repositioning of the bed, there wasn’t a very good view. So he decided to take matters into his own hands.
Mal nearly jumped out of his skin when the shower door was flung open. Jayne didn’t wait for any further response than that, just stepped into the shower beside him.
“Mornin,” he said as wound his arms round Mal’s waist and begun nuzzling at Mal’s neck.
“Mornin Jayne. What… ai ya that feels good,” Mal managed to grunt out as Jayne let his hands wonder all over Mal’s body.
Mal pulled Jayne’s head up from his shoulder so he could kiss him proper. Jayne melted into the kiss and pressed Mal up against the unit wall before bringing one of his hands round to Mal’s front to play with his balls. There wasn’t much room in the small cubicle but there was enough to allow both men to gain a firm grip on the other’s diao as they attempted to give each other as much pleasure as possible.
They hadn’t done much the previous night but jerk each other off like before, but they had kissed this time and it had enhanced the experience for both of them. Now in the shower, it wasn’t so much about enhancing pleasure as it was about passion. Mal could tell in the way Jayne was holding and kissing him. It was a very possessive kiss that told him exactly what and who Jayne wanted. Mal basked in the attention that Jayne was paying to his body. When they pulled apart for air, Mal’s knees nearly buckled when he caught the sight of a very wet and breathless Jayne. His eyes were filled with lust and the water only made them sparkle more. As Jayne dove back in for another kiss, he did somethin with his thumb at the tip of Mal’s diao that sent Mal over the edge. Feeling Mal groan his orgasm into his mouth, Jayne soon followed him, not able to hold back any longer.
Once they had regained their composure, neither said anything. Jayne leaned behind Mal to get his shower gel and in doing so stole another kiss or two. Mal didn’t mind, he just smiled at the thought of the man in front of him who up until last night never kissed on the mouth, now couldn’t stop. He watched as Jayne lathered himself up, the smell of lime hittin him like a sledge hammer. Jayne then turned his attentions to Mal and used his shower gel to clean him up too. So now the smell would be following him about all day.
Once he was satisfied that his job was done, Jayne stepped out of the shower and began to dry himself. Mal reluctantly followed. Their drying process was interrupted by yet more kisses and fondling. However, groaning to himself, Mal realised that he was due on the bridge in five minutes so he reluctantly pulled away.
“Jayne, I wish I could stay but I gotta work.”
Jayne just pouted before he climbed back into bed naked. The thought of him in there naked made Mal really reluctant to leave. But he used all his strength to turn from the merc and begun to get dressed. He decided against his boots just now cause he really didn’t want to be wearing them all day. Although he wouldn’t tell anyone, he enjoyed walking about in bare feet as much as River did. It helped him think.
“Hey Jayne,” Mal asked over his shoulder as he buttoned up his shirt, “You’re on breakfast today right?”
“Yeah why?” Jayne answered him from his position in bed… still pouting.
“When you get up can you bring my socks and boots with you?”
“Uh, yeah sure,” Jayne said confusedly.
“Shiny,” Mal said as he leaned in for one more kiss before heading up the ladder.
Two hours later, Mal heard the hatch to a bunk opening, however it was the lack of noise after that told him that it was Jayne who had just got up and that he would be approaching the bridge to give him his boots. For such a big man, he could tread awfully lightly when he wanted.
“Hey, you brought ‘em,” Mal said as he turned just in time to see Jayne enter the bridge.
“Yeah, what’s that all about anyway?” Jayne asked as he sat in the co pilot’s chair.
“Just couldn’t be bothered to put them on just yet.”
Jayne gave him a weird look, but accepted the explanation anyway as he was now fishing in his pocket for something smiling triumphantly when he pulled it out. It was a music disc.
“What’s that for?” Mal asked him as Jayne handed it over.
“I figure it’s time to get revenge on the Washburns for their wakeup call the other morning.”
Reading the label on the front and recognising it as an old Earth That Was song Mal’s eyebrows shot up, “You do realise, that if we play this, we’ll be officially declaring war on Zoe.”
“I know, but c’mon. It’ll be fun,” Jayne smiled wickedly at him.
Mal agreed, it would be fun to get their own back. Would also be good punishment for the giggle twins as Jayne had taken to calling them.
“Ok, you’re on. I’ll play it in about fifteen minutes instead of the usual wake up call.”
“Oh man, it’s gonna be wild,” Jayne said as he kissed Mal and hopped down the stairs towards the galley to start breakfast.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Wash had been snuggled up close to his wife, in fact he was practically on top of her. So really it was his own fault that when she bolted up right at the sound of music blasting through their bunk that he was accidentally, yet rather forcefully, flung off the bed to land in a heap on the floor.
When the sound of loud screeching guitars hit Simon, he too sat bolt upright, however he had forgotten about the lamp he had left hanging over the bad and promptly smacked his face off of it.
River and Kaylee both woke suddenly at the sound of the loud music, but as it registered what kind of music it was, they both smiled. River was able to find a strange sort of pleasure in rebellious rhythms of the guitars and drums and it was the sort of music that Kaylee liked anyway. In fact she thought it was a shiny way to wake up.
Inara got a fright when the music sounded through her shuttle, but she merely smiled and rolled her eyes. This is probably one of those changes that Mal no doubt forgot to mention to her… or it was Jayne’s influence. Probably the latter.
As the song reached the first chorus, Mal turned in his seat to see Zoe tapping on the glass of the locked door to the bridge with her gun. She was also shouting something at him. But Mal pretended he couldn’t hear her death threats and pointed to his ears to let her know this. So she instead pointed to him and then drew her finger across her throat before turning away. Mal gulped. He really had declared war. He was dreading what she was going to do.
As Zoe finished threatening Mal, she turned to see the rest of the crew come out of their bunks, Wash rubbing his behind, Simon his face and the girls smiling. However it was the voice coming from the galley that they could all hear singing (or screeching to be exact) along to the song that drew her attention. She quickly strode in to find Jayne at the stove dancing and singing like a mad man;
“I kinda hope we get stuck
Nobody gets out alive
She said Ill show you how to fax
In the mailroom, honey
And have you home by five…”
Jayne stopped singing when he noticed everyone in the galley staring at him like he was insane. Even Inara had arrived from the opposite direction had frozen in the doorway and was looking at him like he was one of them magic eye pictures you get a fairs. He just smiled at them all and went back to his dancing whilst he finished off his cooking.
“Well, this is just weird,” Simon said as he took his seat.
The rest of the crew followed suit as they waited for the God-awful song to finish and for breakfast to be served. It was a fairly strange gathering as they were still all wearing their night wear… apart from Jayne and Mal who had just arrived in the kitchen. He danced his way over to Jayne who just smiled at him and gestured for him to start making the coffee.
Once the song was over most of the crew gave a sigh of relief except River and Kaylee who asked Mal if they could be woken with a song everyday.
“Well that just depends on who’s on the am shift mei mei,” Mal smiled at her as he helped Jayne carry the food and coffee over to the table.
“Well I actually thought it was kinda funny,” said Wash as his eyes lit up at all the real food in front of him, courtesy of the previous days shopping trip.
“No you didn’t dear,” Zoe told him as she helped herself to coffee.
“I didn’t?” Zoe just shook her head confirming that they didn’t find it funny, but Wash had a feeling that after seeing Jayne dance she actually did see the humorous side to it.
“So how’s the new bed?” Inara asked Mal, causing Jayne to spurt milk through his nose.
“Um, just fine thanks,” Mal answered distractedly, “You ok?” he asked Jayne once Jayne had sat back up and had wiped his face.
“Yeah, fine,” Jayne said as he tried to hide his embarrassment by shovelling food into his mouth.
The sound of giggling could be heard from the other side of the table. Just as Mal was about to tell the two of them to grow up he realised that it had come from Simon. Slightly taken aback, he just ignored it and went on to eat the brilliant breakfast that Jayne had managed to cook up for them all.
Breakfast was a mostly silent affair as everyone tried to eat as much as they could. Afterwards it was Kaylee and River’s turn to clean up so they left them to it as everyone else went to get dressed. Mal and Jayne returned to the bridge. Once there they burst out laughing.
“What did Zoe say?” Jayne finally asked Mal once he had breath.
“Oh nothin much, just the usual death threats,” Mal told him as he retrieved the disc so that it couldn’t be destroyed. Jayne put it back in his pocket and pulled Mal into his arms.
“You smell good,” he told him.
“I smell like you,” Mal pointed out.
“Like I said, you smell good,” Jayne smiled at him before leaning in for a kiss.
But before he was able to reach his intended destination, they were interrupted by a flash and a wolf whistle. Turning they saw Zoe holding a camera and smiling and Wash beside her wagging his eyebrows at them.
“Really Mal, the amount of times you have told Zoe and I ‘Not on the bridge’…you should be ashamed of yourself,”
As Mal was about to give a snarky answer back, he noticed Jayne blushing before the merc quickly apologised and ran from the bridge. Well he didn’t completely run but he might as well have.
“Was it something I said?” Wash asked.
“No, don’t know what that was about,” Mal told them, “I should go after him,” he added as he went to leave the bridge. But Zoe stopped him.
“He’s not goin anywhere, I want to talk to you about somethin first though.”
“Look if it’s about the song, it was just a joke…”
“It ain’t about the song.”
“Well, what is it then?”
“Yesterday, Jayne started asking me about the late and early shifts that three of us do,” Mal just nodded at he to carry on, “Well, I explained to him how it all came about and he asked why he had never been asked to do one. I said cause it was never his responsibility, but he seems to feel that after being on the crew for over two years that he should be given some of that responsibility.”
“Why didn’t he talk to me about this?”
“I expect it he didn’t want to make you feel anymore uncomfortable than you already were around him.”
“Is he wanting a bigger cut, cause now we got the Doc on board, I don’t think we can afford that.”
“He never said anything about a bigger cut. I honestly don’t know why he suddenly feels this way.”
“Maybe he just wants to feel like a more valued member of the crew,” Wash told them, “Like you know you can trust him with the ship if you have to.”
Mal froze. Did they know about Ariel? They must have figured something out, after all it was Wash who had pulled Jayne out the airlock…”I’ll talk to him, find out if he’s serious or not. If he is, well I guess that means less shifts for all of us.”
“You sure Sir?” Zoe asked him.
“Look Zoe, I trust him. And apparently he trusts me as we spent most last night kissin.”
“Most Sir?”
“The rest was spent sleeping,” he told her innocently as he went to find Jayne.
Mal found Jayne in his…their bunk? He was in the bunk anyway, and he was putting his music disc away and locking it up in that small box he had brought with him.
“Hey, you ok?” Mal asked Jayne as he sat down on the bed next to him.
“Yeah, I just… I wasn’t prepared for the rest of the crew to see us like that y’know?”
“Yeah I do. But ain’t no point in hiding it, they all know it’s goin on anyway thanks to you leavin your mark.”
Jayne just smiled at that, but didn’t say anything. He just remained fiddling with the lock on the box.
“Look, we don’t gotta be all over each other like Wash and Zoe, but you don’t gotta be embarrassed if someone sees us kissin.”
“I know, just gonna take a while to get used to is all.”
They sat in silence for a while before Mal approached the subject of Jayne taking on more responsibility.
“So, Zoe tells me you want more responsibility on the ship. That true?”
Jayne just looked at him for a bit before answering, “When you and Zoe ain’t here, I’m in charge right?”
Mal nodded.
“But I don’t know any of the flight sequences or passwords to release the auto pilot… what am I supposed to do if Wash can’t fly? How am I supposed to get the ship to safety?”
Mal went to answer him, but Jayne interrupted him, he was on a roll and wanted to get it all out whilst he could.
“I could fly this ship near as good as Wash does. Had to fly plenty of other ships I was on, or stole… but every time I see or hear you arguing with Zoe or Wash about them wantin to swap shift or somethin, I just keep thinkin’ how much easier it would be if I could fill in for them or if I was already rota’d onto doin a shift. And every time, it cuts at me a bit cause it reminds me of how much I fucked up and of how much you and everyone else don’t trust me…”
Mal didn’t know what to say. Jayne was staring at his shoes and looked like he was trying his best not cry. Mal took his hand in his and turned his face up so he could look in his eyes.
“Jayne, I trust ya. Wouldn’t let you in my bed if I didn’t, and I certainly wouldn’t let you stand behind me when you got a loaded gun in your hand if I didn’t either. And neither would Zoe. And Wash would definitely complain about your presence around his wife if he didn’t trust you. Fact is, I think he thinks of you as his best friend… And Kaylee, well you’re like another big brother to her. As for the Tams… well I think they’re getting there.”
“You missed out Inara and the Shepard.”
“Well they ain’t exactly crew but I know they trust you. I can tell by the way they act round you. ‘Nara aint the only one that’s good at readin’ body language.”
Jayne gave a small smile and Mal squeezed his hand, before giving him a small kiss.
“You really want to do shifts on the bridge?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Okay, well I guess you better get your ass up to the bridge and let Wash teach you all the sequences and stuff. Then you can have Zoe’s shift tonight. Deal?”
“Deal,” Jayne smiled as he stood up and let Mal lead him up the ladder towards the bridge.
“Oh and one more thing, you ain’t getting a pay rise… can’t afford it.”
“I expected as much.”
~*~*~*~*~*~
Jayne had spent most of the day learning all the different sequences off by heart. Mal wouldn’t let him write them down in case an intruder came upon them so it took a bit longer than usual, but he managed to learn them all just fine and actually impressed Wash with his flying ability when he took off the autopilot.
After dinner Wash went up to make sure that Jayne would be okay with everything,
“If you need anything and don’t want to ask Mal feel free just to COM down to our bunk,” he told Jayne as he handed him a coffee he had brought for him.
“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind,” Jayne said as he took the coffee from Wash.
“But just to make clear, it’s only for tonight. Zoe might kill me if I let you do it whenever you feel like it.”
Laughing, Jayne agreed to his conditions.
“Oh and one more thing,” Wash said as he turned in the exit from the bridge, “No touching the dinos.”
About a half hour later Mal came up to the bridge and sat in the co pilots chair, much the same as Zoe did with Wash and vice versa when they were on lates.
“You don’t need to keep watch over me Mal,” Jayne said as he twirled Wash’s raptor in his hands, deliberately ignoring his last rule.
“I’m not,” Mal said as he thumbed through a gun magazine that he found lying out on his bed, obviously left by Jayne.
“Well what you doin here?”
“Honestly? I’m bored.”
“You’re bored?”
“Yeah, Zoe is off having a night in with Wash, Inara is still trying to re-organise her shuttle and the girls are trying to persuade Simon to let them put make up on him so I was left all on my own with nothin to do.”
Jayne just stared at him in disbelief. “They’re putting make up on Simon… and you just abandoned him to that?”
“Hey, it was everyman for himself. Ain’t my fault he can’t run fast.”
Jayne smiled at that before giving his empty cup to Mal, “Go make yourself useful and make me another cup of coffee. That early mornin shower seems to have taken it out of me.”
Mal rolled his eyes, but took the cup and went to leave the bridge, but just before he did Jayne called him back.
“Will you do me a favour and get the stuff for my lenses and my glasses. My eyes are startin to itch, need to take these gorram things out.”
“Sure where are they?”
“In that locked box… combination is my birth date,” Jayne said smiling knowing that Mal didn’t know when his birthday was, as they had never celebrated it.
“Uh…”
“04 07 76,”
“Year of the dragon!” Mal smiled, realising now why Jayne had a fascination with dragons, “I was born in 78, year of the horse.”
“I know,” Jayne smiled at him once again before he shooed Mal off the bridge to go carry out his errands.
Mal had returned to the bridge pretty promptly with Jayne’s glasses and lens solution and such, but he was itching to go back and study the contents of that box. It was full of letters and trinkets which all looked quite old, like they were from before the War and there was a book of some sort in there too.
So it was when Jayne came down to go to bed that he found Mal sittin in his underwear, crossed legged on the bed, staring at the box in front of him, as if daring it to move.
“What you doin?” He asked as he begun to get undressed.
“Resisting the urge to look through your personal stuff. It’s harder than you’d think.”
“Feel free, if I wanted to keep any of that stuff a secret from you I would never have given you the lock combination.”
Mal frowned at that, never taking his eyes off the box, “Not yet,” he told Jayne who was now sitting beside him on the bed, thoroughly amused at the situation.
“What do you mean not yet?”
“Well if you have any personal secrets in there, I would rather you tell me about them then maybe show me the evidence… it’s what I’d rather do with you.”
“Okay, but it might be a while before I tell you anythin’,” Jayne said as he took the box away and placed it with the rest of his stuff.
Mal turned to look at him now, “You know, you should wear your glasses more often.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, somethin about them makes you look really hot.”
Laughing Jayne crawled under the covers, “Would you believe me if I told you I used to wear them all the time? It was only after I became a mercenary that I got the contacts.”
Mal crawled on top of him so that he was looking down into those big blue eyes, “So you weren’t always a merc then?” he smiled.
“Nope, just as you weren’t always a soldier.”
“Well what did you do?”
“Not yet,” Jayne echoed his words from earlier, “I ain’t ready to tell you yet,” he added as he took his glasses off and turned out the light before pulling Mal down for a searing kiss.
TBC
CHINESE
Ai ya - damn
Diao - penis
Mei mei - little sister
Author: Ru_salki99
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Mal/Jayne
Disclaimer: Firefly belongs to Joss.
Summary: The passanger dorms need to be fumigated, so with that comes some reorganising of bunks. Post OIS Pre BDM, Book and Inara have left but Inara will be coming back.
DAY FOUR
Jayne woke up to the sound of running water. He decided he must be imagining it, so he rolled over to cuddle into Mal (not that he cuddled or nothin, just weren’t a better word for it) but Mal wasn’t there. Confused he finally opened his eyes and saw the steam coming from the shower unit in the corner and figured Mal must be in there. He looked at the clock… four forty am. Groaning he realised that Mal must be on an early today. He rolled back over and tried to get back to sleep, but then the memory of Mal watching him in the shower the other night popped into his head, so he once again rolled over as he had decided to watch Mal. Unfortunately though, with the repositioning of the bed, there wasn’t a very good view. So he decided to take matters into his own hands.
Mal nearly jumped out of his skin when the shower door was flung open. Jayne didn’t wait for any further response than that, just stepped into the shower beside him.
“Mornin,” he said as wound his arms round Mal’s waist and begun nuzzling at Mal’s neck.
“Mornin Jayne. What… ai ya that feels good,” Mal managed to grunt out as Jayne let his hands wonder all over Mal’s body.
Mal pulled Jayne’s head up from his shoulder so he could kiss him proper. Jayne melted into the kiss and pressed Mal up against the unit wall before bringing one of his hands round to Mal’s front to play with his balls. There wasn’t much room in the small cubicle but there was enough to allow both men to gain a firm grip on the other’s diao as they attempted to give each other as much pleasure as possible.
They hadn’t done much the previous night but jerk each other off like before, but they had kissed this time and it had enhanced the experience for both of them. Now in the shower, it wasn’t so much about enhancing pleasure as it was about passion. Mal could tell in the way Jayne was holding and kissing him. It was a very possessive kiss that told him exactly what and who Jayne wanted. Mal basked in the attention that Jayne was paying to his body. When they pulled apart for air, Mal’s knees nearly buckled when he caught the sight of a very wet and breathless Jayne. His eyes were filled with lust and the water only made them sparkle more. As Jayne dove back in for another kiss, he did somethin with his thumb at the tip of Mal’s diao that sent Mal over the edge. Feeling Mal groan his orgasm into his mouth, Jayne soon followed him, not able to hold back any longer.
Once they had regained their composure, neither said anything. Jayne leaned behind Mal to get his shower gel and in doing so stole another kiss or two. Mal didn’t mind, he just smiled at the thought of the man in front of him who up until last night never kissed on the mouth, now couldn’t stop. He watched as Jayne lathered himself up, the smell of lime hittin him like a sledge hammer. Jayne then turned his attentions to Mal and used his shower gel to clean him up too. So now the smell would be following him about all day.
Once he was satisfied that his job was done, Jayne stepped out of the shower and began to dry himself. Mal reluctantly followed. Their drying process was interrupted by yet more kisses and fondling. However, groaning to himself, Mal realised that he was due on the bridge in five minutes so he reluctantly pulled away.
“Jayne, I wish I could stay but I gotta work.”
Jayne just pouted before he climbed back into bed naked. The thought of him in there naked made Mal really reluctant to leave. But he used all his strength to turn from the merc and begun to get dressed. He decided against his boots just now cause he really didn’t want to be wearing them all day. Although he wouldn’t tell anyone, he enjoyed walking about in bare feet as much as River did. It helped him think.
“Hey Jayne,” Mal asked over his shoulder as he buttoned up his shirt, “You’re on breakfast today right?”
“Yeah why?” Jayne answered him from his position in bed… still pouting.
“When you get up can you bring my socks and boots with you?”
“Uh, yeah sure,” Jayne said confusedly.
“Shiny,” Mal said as he leaned in for one more kiss before heading up the ladder.
Two hours later, Mal heard the hatch to a bunk opening, however it was the lack of noise after that told him that it was Jayne who had just got up and that he would be approaching the bridge to give him his boots. For such a big man, he could tread awfully lightly when he wanted.
“Hey, you brought ‘em,” Mal said as he turned just in time to see Jayne enter the bridge.
“Yeah, what’s that all about anyway?” Jayne asked as he sat in the co pilot’s chair.
“Just couldn’t be bothered to put them on just yet.”
Jayne gave him a weird look, but accepted the explanation anyway as he was now fishing in his pocket for something smiling triumphantly when he pulled it out. It was a music disc.
“What’s that for?” Mal asked him as Jayne handed it over.
“I figure it’s time to get revenge on the Washburns for their wakeup call the other morning.”
Reading the label on the front and recognising it as an old Earth That Was song Mal’s eyebrows shot up, “You do realise, that if we play this, we’ll be officially declaring war on Zoe.”
“I know, but c’mon. It’ll be fun,” Jayne smiled wickedly at him.
Mal agreed, it would be fun to get their own back. Would also be good punishment for the giggle twins as Jayne had taken to calling them.
“Ok, you’re on. I’ll play it in about fifteen minutes instead of the usual wake up call.”
“Oh man, it’s gonna be wild,” Jayne said as he kissed Mal and hopped down the stairs towards the galley to start breakfast.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Wash had been snuggled up close to his wife, in fact he was practically on top of her. So really it was his own fault that when she bolted up right at the sound of music blasting through their bunk that he was accidentally, yet rather forcefully, flung off the bed to land in a heap on the floor.
When the sound of loud screeching guitars hit Simon, he too sat bolt upright, however he had forgotten about the lamp he had left hanging over the bad and promptly smacked his face off of it.
River and Kaylee both woke suddenly at the sound of the loud music, but as it registered what kind of music it was, they both smiled. River was able to find a strange sort of pleasure in rebellious rhythms of the guitars and drums and it was the sort of music that Kaylee liked anyway. In fact she thought it was a shiny way to wake up.
Inara got a fright when the music sounded through her shuttle, but she merely smiled and rolled her eyes. This is probably one of those changes that Mal no doubt forgot to mention to her… or it was Jayne’s influence. Probably the latter.
As the song reached the first chorus, Mal turned in his seat to see Zoe tapping on the glass of the locked door to the bridge with her gun. She was also shouting something at him. But Mal pretended he couldn’t hear her death threats and pointed to his ears to let her know this. So she instead pointed to him and then drew her finger across her throat before turning away. Mal gulped. He really had declared war. He was dreading what she was going to do.
As Zoe finished threatening Mal, she turned to see the rest of the crew come out of their bunks, Wash rubbing his behind, Simon his face and the girls smiling. However it was the voice coming from the galley that they could all hear singing (or screeching to be exact) along to the song that drew her attention. She quickly strode in to find Jayne at the stove dancing and singing like a mad man;
“I kinda hope we get stuck
Nobody gets out alive
She said Ill show you how to fax
In the mailroom, honey
And have you home by five…”
Jayne stopped singing when he noticed everyone in the galley staring at him like he was insane. Even Inara had arrived from the opposite direction had frozen in the doorway and was looking at him like he was one of them magic eye pictures you get a fairs. He just smiled at them all and went back to his dancing whilst he finished off his cooking.
“Well, this is just weird,” Simon said as he took his seat.
The rest of the crew followed suit as they waited for the God-awful song to finish and for breakfast to be served. It was a fairly strange gathering as they were still all wearing their night wear… apart from Jayne and Mal who had just arrived in the kitchen. He danced his way over to Jayne who just smiled at him and gestured for him to start making the coffee.
Once the song was over most of the crew gave a sigh of relief except River and Kaylee who asked Mal if they could be woken with a song everyday.
“Well that just depends on who’s on the am shift mei mei,” Mal smiled at her as he helped Jayne carry the food and coffee over to the table.
“Well I actually thought it was kinda funny,” said Wash as his eyes lit up at all the real food in front of him, courtesy of the previous days shopping trip.
“No you didn’t dear,” Zoe told him as she helped herself to coffee.
“I didn’t?” Zoe just shook her head confirming that they didn’t find it funny, but Wash had a feeling that after seeing Jayne dance she actually did see the humorous side to it.
“So how’s the new bed?” Inara asked Mal, causing Jayne to spurt milk through his nose.
“Um, just fine thanks,” Mal answered distractedly, “You ok?” he asked Jayne once Jayne had sat back up and had wiped his face.
“Yeah, fine,” Jayne said as he tried to hide his embarrassment by shovelling food into his mouth.
The sound of giggling could be heard from the other side of the table. Just as Mal was about to tell the two of them to grow up he realised that it had come from Simon. Slightly taken aback, he just ignored it and went on to eat the brilliant breakfast that Jayne had managed to cook up for them all.
Breakfast was a mostly silent affair as everyone tried to eat as much as they could. Afterwards it was Kaylee and River’s turn to clean up so they left them to it as everyone else went to get dressed. Mal and Jayne returned to the bridge. Once there they burst out laughing.
“What did Zoe say?” Jayne finally asked Mal once he had breath.
“Oh nothin much, just the usual death threats,” Mal told him as he retrieved the disc so that it couldn’t be destroyed. Jayne put it back in his pocket and pulled Mal into his arms.
“You smell good,” he told him.
“I smell like you,” Mal pointed out.
“Like I said, you smell good,” Jayne smiled at him before leaning in for a kiss.
But before he was able to reach his intended destination, they were interrupted by a flash and a wolf whistle. Turning they saw Zoe holding a camera and smiling and Wash beside her wagging his eyebrows at them.
“Really Mal, the amount of times you have told Zoe and I ‘Not on the bridge’…you should be ashamed of yourself,”
As Mal was about to give a snarky answer back, he noticed Jayne blushing before the merc quickly apologised and ran from the bridge. Well he didn’t completely run but he might as well have.
“Was it something I said?” Wash asked.
“No, don’t know what that was about,” Mal told them, “I should go after him,” he added as he went to leave the bridge. But Zoe stopped him.
“He’s not goin anywhere, I want to talk to you about somethin first though.”
“Look if it’s about the song, it was just a joke…”
“It ain’t about the song.”
“Well, what is it then?”
“Yesterday, Jayne started asking me about the late and early shifts that three of us do,” Mal just nodded at he to carry on, “Well, I explained to him how it all came about and he asked why he had never been asked to do one. I said cause it was never his responsibility, but he seems to feel that after being on the crew for over two years that he should be given some of that responsibility.”
“Why didn’t he talk to me about this?”
“I expect it he didn’t want to make you feel anymore uncomfortable than you already were around him.”
“Is he wanting a bigger cut, cause now we got the Doc on board, I don’t think we can afford that.”
“He never said anything about a bigger cut. I honestly don’t know why he suddenly feels this way.”
“Maybe he just wants to feel like a more valued member of the crew,” Wash told them, “Like you know you can trust him with the ship if you have to.”
Mal froze. Did they know about Ariel? They must have figured something out, after all it was Wash who had pulled Jayne out the airlock…”I’ll talk to him, find out if he’s serious or not. If he is, well I guess that means less shifts for all of us.”
“You sure Sir?” Zoe asked him.
“Look Zoe, I trust him. And apparently he trusts me as we spent most last night kissin.”
“Most Sir?”
“The rest was spent sleeping,” he told her innocently as he went to find Jayne.
Mal found Jayne in his…their bunk? He was in the bunk anyway, and he was putting his music disc away and locking it up in that small box he had brought with him.
“Hey, you ok?” Mal asked Jayne as he sat down on the bed next to him.
“Yeah, I just… I wasn’t prepared for the rest of the crew to see us like that y’know?”
“Yeah I do. But ain’t no point in hiding it, they all know it’s goin on anyway thanks to you leavin your mark.”
Jayne just smiled at that, but didn’t say anything. He just remained fiddling with the lock on the box.
“Look, we don’t gotta be all over each other like Wash and Zoe, but you don’t gotta be embarrassed if someone sees us kissin.”
“I know, just gonna take a while to get used to is all.”
They sat in silence for a while before Mal approached the subject of Jayne taking on more responsibility.
“So, Zoe tells me you want more responsibility on the ship. That true?”
Jayne just looked at him for a bit before answering, “When you and Zoe ain’t here, I’m in charge right?”
Mal nodded.
“But I don’t know any of the flight sequences or passwords to release the auto pilot… what am I supposed to do if Wash can’t fly? How am I supposed to get the ship to safety?”
Mal went to answer him, but Jayne interrupted him, he was on a roll and wanted to get it all out whilst he could.
“I could fly this ship near as good as Wash does. Had to fly plenty of other ships I was on, or stole… but every time I see or hear you arguing with Zoe or Wash about them wantin to swap shift or somethin, I just keep thinkin’ how much easier it would be if I could fill in for them or if I was already rota’d onto doin a shift. And every time, it cuts at me a bit cause it reminds me of how much I fucked up and of how much you and everyone else don’t trust me…”
Mal didn’t know what to say. Jayne was staring at his shoes and looked like he was trying his best not cry. Mal took his hand in his and turned his face up so he could look in his eyes.
“Jayne, I trust ya. Wouldn’t let you in my bed if I didn’t, and I certainly wouldn’t let you stand behind me when you got a loaded gun in your hand if I didn’t either. And neither would Zoe. And Wash would definitely complain about your presence around his wife if he didn’t trust you. Fact is, I think he thinks of you as his best friend… And Kaylee, well you’re like another big brother to her. As for the Tams… well I think they’re getting there.”
“You missed out Inara and the Shepard.”
“Well they ain’t exactly crew but I know they trust you. I can tell by the way they act round you. ‘Nara aint the only one that’s good at readin’ body language.”
Jayne gave a small smile and Mal squeezed his hand, before giving him a small kiss.
“You really want to do shifts on the bridge?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Okay, well I guess you better get your ass up to the bridge and let Wash teach you all the sequences and stuff. Then you can have Zoe’s shift tonight. Deal?”
“Deal,” Jayne smiled as he stood up and let Mal lead him up the ladder towards the bridge.
“Oh and one more thing, you ain’t getting a pay rise… can’t afford it.”
“I expected as much.”
~*~*~*~*~*~
Jayne had spent most of the day learning all the different sequences off by heart. Mal wouldn’t let him write them down in case an intruder came upon them so it took a bit longer than usual, but he managed to learn them all just fine and actually impressed Wash with his flying ability when he took off the autopilot.
After dinner Wash went up to make sure that Jayne would be okay with everything,
“If you need anything and don’t want to ask Mal feel free just to COM down to our bunk,” he told Jayne as he handed him a coffee he had brought for him.
“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind,” Jayne said as he took the coffee from Wash.
“But just to make clear, it’s only for tonight. Zoe might kill me if I let you do it whenever you feel like it.”
Laughing, Jayne agreed to his conditions.
“Oh and one more thing,” Wash said as he turned in the exit from the bridge, “No touching the dinos.”
About a half hour later Mal came up to the bridge and sat in the co pilots chair, much the same as Zoe did with Wash and vice versa when they were on lates.
“You don’t need to keep watch over me Mal,” Jayne said as he twirled Wash’s raptor in his hands, deliberately ignoring his last rule.
“I’m not,” Mal said as he thumbed through a gun magazine that he found lying out on his bed, obviously left by Jayne.
“Well what you doin here?”
“Honestly? I’m bored.”
“You’re bored?”
“Yeah, Zoe is off having a night in with Wash, Inara is still trying to re-organise her shuttle and the girls are trying to persuade Simon to let them put make up on him so I was left all on my own with nothin to do.”
Jayne just stared at him in disbelief. “They’re putting make up on Simon… and you just abandoned him to that?”
“Hey, it was everyman for himself. Ain’t my fault he can’t run fast.”
Jayne smiled at that before giving his empty cup to Mal, “Go make yourself useful and make me another cup of coffee. That early mornin shower seems to have taken it out of me.”
Mal rolled his eyes, but took the cup and went to leave the bridge, but just before he did Jayne called him back.
“Will you do me a favour and get the stuff for my lenses and my glasses. My eyes are startin to itch, need to take these gorram things out.”
“Sure where are they?”
“In that locked box… combination is my birth date,” Jayne said smiling knowing that Mal didn’t know when his birthday was, as they had never celebrated it.
“Uh…”
“04 07 76,”
“Year of the dragon!” Mal smiled, realising now why Jayne had a fascination with dragons, “I was born in 78, year of the horse.”
“I know,” Jayne smiled at him once again before he shooed Mal off the bridge to go carry out his errands.
Mal had returned to the bridge pretty promptly with Jayne’s glasses and lens solution and such, but he was itching to go back and study the contents of that box. It was full of letters and trinkets which all looked quite old, like they were from before the War and there was a book of some sort in there too.
So it was when Jayne came down to go to bed that he found Mal sittin in his underwear, crossed legged on the bed, staring at the box in front of him, as if daring it to move.
“What you doin?” He asked as he begun to get undressed.
“Resisting the urge to look through your personal stuff. It’s harder than you’d think.”
“Feel free, if I wanted to keep any of that stuff a secret from you I would never have given you the lock combination.”
Mal frowned at that, never taking his eyes off the box, “Not yet,” he told Jayne who was now sitting beside him on the bed, thoroughly amused at the situation.
“What do you mean not yet?”
“Well if you have any personal secrets in there, I would rather you tell me about them then maybe show me the evidence… it’s what I’d rather do with you.”
“Okay, but it might be a while before I tell you anythin’,” Jayne said as he took the box away and placed it with the rest of his stuff.
Mal turned to look at him now, “You know, you should wear your glasses more often.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, somethin about them makes you look really hot.”
Laughing Jayne crawled under the covers, “Would you believe me if I told you I used to wear them all the time? It was only after I became a mercenary that I got the contacts.”
Mal crawled on top of him so that he was looking down into those big blue eyes, “So you weren’t always a merc then?” he smiled.
“Nope, just as you weren’t always a soldier.”
“Well what did you do?”
“Not yet,” Jayne echoed his words from earlier, “I ain’t ready to tell you yet,” he added as he took his glasses off and turned out the light before pulling Mal down for a searing kiss.
TBC
CHINESE
Ai ya - damn
Diao - penis
Mei mei - little sister