Best Birthday Ever Title: Best Birthday Ever Author:ladytalon1 Fandom: Firefly! Pairing: Simon/Jayne *boggle* Rating: PG-15 Disclaimer: Not mine, not making any $$ Word Count: 771 A/N: For the Birthday ficathon at fireflyholidays. Maybe I'll get round to actually writing The Smut for these two...but don't hold your breath ;)
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It’s been a long year since his last birthday, but Simon has the feeling that this one won’t be any better. Something is going to devastatingly wrong – he wouldn’t put it past the Alliance to finally catch up with him today. Once again, he sits down to dinner with the rest of Serenity’s crew and is treated to a lump of chocolate-flavored protein that resembles an actual cake that much more than last year’s. Kaylee beams around the table as the others - well, mainly just Jayne - make sounds of greedy appreciation, and she focuses on him. “So, you gonna make a wish an’ blow the candles out?”
Simon’s eyes are drawn to the other side of the table, where Jayne hunches in his seat with his gaze securely fastened on the cake with its honest-to-god real chocolate cream frosting. The merc’s hands are planted on the table and his fingers flex in much the same fashion as a cat ready to pounce on its prey. One of those hands starts sneaking across the table in an effort to swipe some frosting, but Mal’s way ahead of the big man and slaps Jayne’s hand away. The merc snatches his hand back with a scowl and for a moment looks so much like a child told ‘no’ that Simon can’t help but smile at him.
Jayne looks back at him plaintively. “You gonna make that gorram wish before we all die of old age?” The blue eyes drift back to the cake, and the young doctor’s gaze is drawn to the way the merc nearly starts drooling as Simon takes his time to think of what he would wish for. Jayne wets his lips with the tip of his tongue and Simon unconsciously mimics the gesture as his eyes drift down to Jayne’s biceps, not realizing that the other man is very much aware of what he’s doing. Clearing his throat, Simon averts his eyes, makes his wish, and leans forward to blow out the candles.
When the cake has been reduced to a tiny pile of crumbs, Jayne licks his fingers and announces that he’ll be in his bunk after aiming a salacious wink in Simon’s general direction. The doctor is nonplussed and offers to clean up, but Kaylee giggles for some reason and waves him away. “You just go on to bed, me an’ River got it covered.”
Drifting off to his cabin, Simon is surprised to see a piece of paper propped up on the bed and his eyebrows nearly climb up to his hairline when he realizes that it’s a crudely drawn map of Serenity with arrows leading the way to a large X. Even knowing it’s probably a mistake, Simon can’t resist the temptation of following the map’s directions until he’s standing in front of the bunk hatch directly across from Kaylee’s. He takes a deep breath and climbs down the ladder, wondering what nonsense Jayne has in store for him this time – the last time he was in the mercenary’s bunk was a moment in time he’d prefer to forget as soon as possible, involving vaccine and a rather smelly bag shoved over his head. That’s the last time I ever do Mal a favor… “Jayne?” Simon calls cautiously. If it turns out to be another prank, he can always say he’s looking for the set of scalpels that went missing last week.
He nearly swallows his tongue when he turns to see the big man sprawled out across his bed, completely nude.
“What took ya?”
“I-I-I, uh, um, well…” Simon isn’t sure where to look as the merc starts to fondle himself in a leisurely manner. “There was a map,” he blurted out.
“Made it easy enough to follow – even that moonbrained sister of your’n couldda found her way down here.”
Simon can’t help staring at the slow movement of Jayne’s right hand. “But, why…?”
Jayne favors him with a look that makes him feel remarkably idiotic. “’S your birthday, ain’t it?”
“Yes,” he replies warily.
“And you made a wish, didn’t ya?”
“Well…” The doctor blushes to recount the exact details of that wish. “…yes.”
“Aw, you’re blushin’! Ain’t that sweet.”
Simon feels his face heat up even more. “I’m not blushing.”
“Sure you ain’t. You gonna come get your birthday present, or what? Didn’t get nothin’ else for ya back on Beaumond so I’ll just hafta do,” the merc advises him.
Simon turns just long enough to lock the bunk hatch and returns his eyes to Jayne’s magnificently nude body. It’ll do just fine. “This is way better than my last birthday.”