l o o k . s u r p r i s e . o n . o n e . a n o t h e r

Look surprise on one another
[by victoria p.]

Rating: Adult

Summary: "Ain't no shame in it," she says. "Could maybe help us both sleep a little easier."

Spoilers: vague ones for the movie

Notes: I blame Flora, thunderemerald, and a very funny typo for this story, which was meant to be funny also, and ended up... not. I don't know where my funny went, actually. If you see it, send it home. I miss it. Also? Kaylee's voice is *hard*.

Title from Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Sonnets from the Portuguese ii.

Date: January 13, 2006

Kaylee ain't slept alone since Miranda, but things with Simon have been a mite rocky recently, and she didn't feel comfortable insisting on sharing his room when Inara offered to let them spend the night at the training house.

It's strange trying to sleep without the hum of Serenity's engines to lull her, and without the heat and solid strength of Simon's body next to hers. She don't like what she sees in the darkness when she closes her eyes, and the unfamiliar shadows when she opens them ain't comforting either.

There's a breeze making the curtains flutter like ghosts in the darkness of the room. It smells of cherry blossoms and grass after the rain, and Kaylee closes her eyes, breathes it in, but even that don't make her feel safe the way Serenity does, though it's a definite improvement over the smell of Jayne's dirty laundry that lingers sometimes in the ship's recycled air.

She slides her feet into the slippers that came with the room, pulls the silk robe on and ties the sash in a tight bow around her waist; the silk is cool and slippery against her skin, and it makes her shiver in ways that have nothing to do with the temperature.

She was watching when the girl led them to their rooms -- she knows the captain is next door, and she's pretty sure he's alone. They wouldn't be dropping Inara off here to stay if she and the captain had worked it out.

He'd told Kaylee, after their run-in with Early, that she could always come see him, daytime or night, if she needed something. He'd squeezed her fingers and dropped a kiss on her hair and she'd thought for one long minute that her heart would break for him, even more than for herself or River.

There's a strip of yellow light visible beneath his door, but she hesitates, listening. She can't hear anything, and stifles a giggle thinking about how they probably soundproof all the rooms here, given what must go on behind closed doors in a house full of Companions. The doorknob turns easily -- there are no locks in this place, and she don't mind it, but she's surprised the captain didn't rig something up. Unless he was hoping for company. Well, even if he weren't, he's getting some tonight. The door swings open smoothly and she's about to say something when she looks at the bed.

The captain is sprawled out on the red and gold comforter, hand curled around his cock, stroking fast.

She considers turning around and walking right back out again, but it ain't like he didn't see her naked and sweaty the first time they ever met, so she closes the door quietly and, prompted by some imp of mischief, says, "Need a hand with that, Cap'n?"

"Ai ya!" He rolls over on his side, curling up as if she ain't already got an eyeful (and as if she ain't seen it all before anyway). "Kaylee! What the gorram hell are you doing?"

She shrugs and walks toward the bed. "Can't sleep." She sits down next to him, puts a hand on his shoulder, a little surprised at her own boldness, but things are different here, like they're outside time or inside a story or something, and what happens here don't have to mean anything when they get back to real life. His skin is warm under her fingers, his muscles tense. She slides her hand down over his chest, enjoying his soft gasp at the touch. "Ain't no shame in it," she says when he grabs her wrist. "Could maybe help us both sleep a little easier."

"What makes you think I'm having trouble sleeping?"

"You always have trouble sleeping, Cap'n." She lies down behind him, fitting her body to his, and slides her hand over his hip. He shivers, but doesn't pull away.

"What about Simon?"

"What about him?"

"Why ain't he helping you with your sleeping troubles? And what would he say about you helping me with mine?"

She runs her fingers over his belly, enjoying the way his body responds. "I think the days of sharing my sleeping troubles with Simon are coming to a close," she says, pressing her cheek to his shoulder. It's the first time she's said it out loud, and it hurts, but not as much as she thought it would. "So it ain't his business what I do. 'Sides, I'm just helping out a friend in need."

"A friend in need."

It ain't a question, but she hums in agreement, slides her hand down to wrap around his still-hard cock, liking the weight and heat of it against her palm. "All that quality trim and you don't get a taste," she says, quoting Jayne's exasperated grumbles when he got a look at Inara's girls. "Like to drive a man mad." He doesn't laugh. She closes her eyes and swallows hard. "You can pretend I'm Inara if you like."

He grabs her hand again and rolls to face her, eyes dark and nostrils flared in anger. "That what you're doing? Pretending I'm Simon under your hand?" His voice is low and hard.

She holds his gaze, not scared, not of him, not like this. "No." It's the truth and she needs him to believe it.

"Then why'd you think I would?"

Her mouth quirks into a rueful half-smile. "Men are different."

"I ain't men." He lets her hand go, pushes her hair behind her ear, and runs his other hand over her side, her hip, her thigh. He hooks his hand behind her knee and pulls her leg over his; now she can feel him against her nethers, heat on heat. "I'm me."

"Okay," she says, breathless, and what was a mischievous impulse has turned into something else, rising hot and slow beneath her skin. "Cap'n." She takes a deep breath. "Mal."

"Kaylee." He smiles round her name.

She leans in and kisses him then, tasting the fine plum wine they drank after dinner, feeling the rough brush of his stubble against her lips, her cheek. The kiss is fierce and hot, and she's so focused on it that she squeaks in surprise when he grabs her ass and rolls them over so he's on top, lying between her legs.

"This okay?" He brushes at her hair again, thumb lingering on her cheek. "Or do you want--" She pulls him down into another kiss, thrusting her hips up against his in answer.

He makes quick work of her clothes, callused hands firm on her body, knowing their business. The silk robe is both warm and cool under her back, and Mal is all heat and need as he pushes inside her. She wraps her legs around his hips, her arms around his neck.

He swallows hard when she tightens around him, then brushes his nose against hers, drops soft kisses on her lips. "I never thought--"

"I know. I--" She had, when she first signed on to his crew, but she knows he never did, and maybe never will again. "This don't have to be-- It's okay."

"Wo de ma, Kaylee, it's a damn sight better than okay."

"Yes, sir." Her giggles are cut short by a gasp when he reaches down and touches her clit, and then she don't have any breath for talking, can only move with him like some kind of perfect engine built to touch the stars.

Pleasure's rising in her, and she tries to hold onto it, make it last, loving the feel of him inside her and around her, his hands on her body, his lips on her skin, and his tongue in her mouth.

"Mal," she says, and again, "Mal." It's the only thing she has breath for, and she don't think she needs to say anything more. She loves that moment right before, when it feels like the whole 'verse is holding its breath, ready to explode inside her, and then it does, pleasure pulsing through her in waves.

She rides it out, clutching at him like he's the only thing keeping her from floating away. He comes with a low moan, his mouth against her ear, his weight anchoring her to the world, and collapses on top of her when he's spent, his hands smoothing over her shoulders, her breasts.

"'Bout time you paid 'em some attention," she whispers, and he laughs, presses his face against her chest so she can feel it, too, from her heart to her toes.

"Think you can sleep now?" he asks after they clean up a bit and turn out the lights.

She nods, yawning, then curls into him, her head beneath his chin. She listens as his breathing evens out, his heartbeat slows, and while it ain't the hum of Serenity's engines, it's as near as she can find, and it's okay.

end

***

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