Firefly - Jayne/Simon, Mal/Saffron, Kaylee/Inara, River, Zoë
It takes another two weeks of convalescence, but the vax patches do their job, and the people of New Eritrea start to recover. The crew help as much as they can. Jayne is more quiet than usual. Simon doesn’t push him on it. but there’s no hiding the nightmares. It’s all well and good when you can blow up a bad guy and swoop in with a cure, but there’s no fix for those graves.
Mal is kinder than Simon expected. He takes Jayne for workouts, lets him exorcise the guilt in sweat and bruises, the language he’s comfortable with.
***
At night, Simon tries on the same language, letting Jayne lay him down and take him apart. It feels so good to surrender control, to let go for a change. Jayne seems to relish taking charge, massaging Simon’s muscles until all the tension has leeched away, and then taking him carefully, thoroughly apart.
Simon gives in to the strangely heady joy of surrender, the subtle power of allowing someone else to share his body. Jayne’s hands travel all over him as they fuck; he whispers endearments, tells Simon he’s strong and infuriating and beautiful, tells him how much he’s wanted.
***
Inara takes Kaylee swimming to a lake in the woods. She smiles at Kaylee’s exuberant exclamations about just how green everything is, how much water there is and how good it feels on her skin. She lets Kaylee drag her into the lake, shows her how to dive, and watches, amused, as Kaylee turns into a fish within minutes.
They dive over and over again, kissing underwater, entwining, moving together, and come up gasping, with algae in their wet hair. Watching Kaylee’s incandescently happy face, Inara clings to the now. This day, this lake, this girl are all that matters.
***
Mal and Saffron sit on a roof overlooking the sea. Her hair is growing longer; the breeze hides her expression from Mal, but he can’t help stealing glances. For one thing because she’s just too damn lovely not to look at. For another…
“You miss it?” he asks, aiming for casual. Not quite hitting it, dammit. He gestures at the blue glitter to hide it. “Being out there, travelling? Conning the pants off anyone you meet?”
She grins; shrugs a bit. “Sometimes. But I’m travelling now.”
“Ain’t the same, though, is it?”
She rolls her eyes. “Don’t have to be.”
***
River’s curled in the pilot seat. Serenity’s handling most things on her own right now, but it’s one of her favourite places.
Tonight, she’s not alone.
“Used to stay here at night,” Zoë says. “Just Wash, me, and the black.” Just a fact, no reminiscence audible in her voice, but River appreciates it for what it is.
“It’s more than black out there. It’s all out there – suns, planets, space dust. It’s too far away to see, is all. But it’s got colours running through it, like opal veins.”
“Hm. Suppose that’s kinda nice.”
They travel on, in companionable silence.
~fin~
[IF I SO MUCH AS TRY TO DO ANYTHING LONGER THAN A TRIPLE NEXT YEAR, LIL, I DEMAND THAT YOU HIT ME. OMG.