Slim as Dimes By belasera NC-17…ish

Oh, the things you hear in a cracked spaceship…I’m going back to my first love, Jayne/Kaylee, with a smattering of Simon for good luck.

A vague disclaimer is nobody's friend, all recognisable characters belong not to me, but to Joss Whedon and the darlings over at Universal. No money made, no harm meant.

.............................................. The bulkheads were thick, solid like everything else on Serenity. They didn’t wear or crack on their own, took some sort of damage to breech ‘em. Kaylee thought it musta happened before Mal’d bought her, maybe even while she sat derelict. It was nothin’ Mal woulda noticed, took Kaylee a bit to notice it, and she knew Serenity like she knew her own face. Was when Jayne came she noticed. He’d settled in to the bunk next to hers, and she was glad of it truth be told, felt good to know she had a neighbor, even one the Cap’n had thrown her a few warning words about. ‘Fore he’d strolled in Mal had said to her, not lookin’ in her eyes, “Know you like to be friendly, lil Kaylee, and it ain’t on my mind to know nothin’ about that, but this one coming? He ain’t for you.” Kaylee had just shook her head like she couldn’t fathom his meaning, but his warning was more an advertisement to her, made her wonder what about this new recruit he thought she might like. Maybe he was swai, tall and blond, or maybe lookin’ all like smooth chocolate… Jayne wasn’t what she imagined, and she thought maybe Mal didn’t know the first thing about girlfolk when she spied him, draggin’ his duffle and lookin more’n a bit like a bag of dirty laundry himself. Wasn’t ‘til he dropped that bag, wiped his brow and stretched out his shoulders that she’d smiled at him. She’d mind the Captain, sure, as much as she’d ever minded her pa and that was most of the time. She’d mind him on this, even if it was more’n a little lonesome on this boat. When she’d signed on she thought maybe she’d be getting’ to know more people, and much as she loved the one’s she had gotten, it was a job to be always seein’ Wash and Zoe look tussled in the mornin’, or Inara so in control of herself, makin’ a livin’ off the only thing Kaylee missed from back home. She thought it was a mite pitiless for the Captain to outlaw Jayne, but she’d behave. Best she knew how, anyway. That first night he was there was when she found it. Right by her pillow, where the two bulkheads intersected, a crack, slim as dimes, nothin’ to be noticed if there wasn’t nothin’ on the other side. It took her a minute to find it, after she realized she could hear Jayne movin’ around in his room. She turned off her light and a sliver of his shone in. Wasn’t nothin’ to worry about, she figured she’d weld it up tight in the morning, and he’d never even know. But Jayne snored. Not like a trumpet, just soft and steady, like honey on worn wood. Kaylee listened to him sleeping, inches from her own head, let the rhythm match her own just to see if she could. Didn’t take much figurin’ for her to know why she liked that sound. This ship was like the cabinet of the apothecary back home, little compartments all lined up, no one thing leakin’ into another. Kaylee sometimes felt like a little bundle of roots in her compartment, never touching another thing. Hearing a real human breathin’ next to her was like livin’ in the world again, so she let it be. It was just a little crack, couldn’t never do no harm. It’s not even anything she really thought about, ‘til Simon came aboard. Simon was like a Christmas tree, like a thing from a fairy story and he’d a lot of trouble to bring but the Cap’n didn’t warn her off him and that was good enough for Kaylee. It was hard going, though, harder than she’d ever had, and so she tried hard to be patient. Made friends with River, though that ain’t nothin’ hard, tried to show Simon how she cared ‘bout more than just havin’ fun with him, though she wanted that too. Wanted it like nothin’ else. She started thinkin’ about welding that crack again, when she couldn’t stop thinkin’ about Simon, when she was lyin like a spring when she shoulda beeen sleepin’. Thinkin’ ‘bout all the things two bodies like theirs ought to be doin’ to pass the time, lettin' her one do the job of two. She’s heard Jayne, though he can be quiet like mice when he’s takin’ care of business. Kaylee can too, usually, and she’d gotten into a fair dependable routine, just enough to keep herself from goin’ wooly. Always made sure Jayne was sleepin’ before she did, and always made sure she found somethin’ to do away from her bed when she heard him. It was a way to keep private and keep his soft snores, she didn’t want to give up neither. But with Simon around, with the thoughts she was havin’ ‘bout him, she didn’t trust herself to keep as quiet as she needed to. She tried, tried to be quiet but it felt like her head was gonna come off and she bit her lip, breathed hard through her nostrils in a way she imagined was about as unsexy as could be, as she slipped her fingers where they was needed, imagined it was Simon working her over, whispering sweet little words in her ear. She groaned, she knew it was too loud, that if Jayne woke he would hear it but she was so close, had to keep goin’ in the same direction or she’d break wide open and scream. She stuffed her fist in her mouth, bit down as she closed her eyes, saw Simon, heard his breathless moans in her ear, “Yeah, like that…” And she was coming, too fast and too hot, feeling the burn right up to her cheeks as she pushed up, her body an arch from shoulder to heel. “Yeah, oh yes, oh.” “Yeah.” She gave a rough gasp as she fell back to her bed, her body still a bundle of good, good, good, even as her brain caught up with the bad. Wasn’t Simon’s voice had joined hers, wasn’t no imaginary lover. Was Jayne. Silent now, maybe even tryin’ to hide it, but she could hear him panting, could imagine his chest rising and fallin’ as fast as her own. Probably hadn’t meant it, to say nothin’ out loud, or maybe he did. Maybe meant to tease her, knowin’ what she was thinkin’ about. She even let herself hope for a moment that it was only coincidence, he’d just been doin’ the same thing at the same time was all. But Kaylee had to admit that Jayne’s hearin’ was probably better’n hers, probably he’d heard her before and wanted to rile her a bit. No matter the reason, it was as embarrassing as all get out, even more so when she heard him roll over, get settled in with a hearty “Mmmm…” ........................................... More to come, and soon, this one's rollin' like a train...