Taken Seriously
Length: 502 words, which is pretty short for me. SPOILERS FOR "HEART OF GOLD." I'd suggest that people check out Ana's fic Sturdy, which was part of my inspiration for this.
***
Helen was used to doing `most anything customers wanted her to. Indulge in a little fantasy, get something to eat before or after the sex, talk (which she really liked doing, `cause she was interested in learning about life beyond her planet).
This was the first time she'd had to supply a customer with ammo as he shot at people from the second-story window, though.
At first glance, Jayne was just like other men she had bedded. He wasted no time with preliminaries and let her know exactly what he wanted, and she gave it to him. But during the time in-between sex, when everyone was preparing for Burgess' attack, he included her in the plans. He told her that he'd be taking out men from the upstairs room, and that she would be up there with him. He explained that she would be the only other person in the room, and it would be her job to hand him ammunition as fast as he could use it. He showed her each type of bullet, instructing her to give him the biggest first, until it was all gone. Fascinated, Helen memorized every detail for fear of forgetting something important.
Days of readying the bordello and romping between the sheets passed by quickly, until Helen found herself crouching behind Jayne's huge form as he pointed one of his deadly guns out the window at Burgess' men below. She could hear gunfire and explosions from outside as well as vague shouts, but mostly her ears were filled with the steady bang from Jayne's gun. He dropped the empty, smoking shells, and she handed him the new bullets. She didn't hesitate once, though her hands were shaking a bit.
They continued in this pattern: the bullets exchanged hands, snapclick, bang, bullets dropped, start over. Everything went by so quickly that Helen barely had time to form a real train of thought; that was actually a relief, because she was so nervous. To remain calm, she forced herself to focus on the pattern and nothing else, but at times her thoughts wandered a bit.
If she made him lose precious moments waiting, Jayne could easily get taken down. For days she'd thought over the important duty that he had given her in this fight, but up until now she'd never realized the basics of it: He was trusting her with his life.
It was a hell of a lot more credit than most people gave her. The shaking in her hands stilled somewhat, and she grabbed the next bullet, noting that it was decidedly smaller than the ones they'd started out with. Jayne had gone through a lot of ammo, and from what she could hear outside, it didn't seem to be letting up. She pressed herself more tightly against the wall, making sure her head wasn't near the window, and cradled another bullet between her fingers. If Jayne had such faith in her, then she'd give him the same trust with her own well being.
***
Helen was used to doing `most anything customers wanted her to. Indulge in a little fantasy, get something to eat before or after the sex, talk (which she really liked doing, `cause she was interested in learning about life beyond her planet).
This was the first time she'd had to supply a customer with ammo as he shot at people from the second-story window, though.
At first glance, Jayne was just like other men she had bedded. He wasted no time with preliminaries and let her know exactly what he wanted, and she gave it to him. But during the time in-between sex, when everyone was preparing for Burgess' attack, he included her in the plans. He told her that he'd be taking out men from the upstairs room, and that she would be up there with him. He explained that she would be the only other person in the room, and it would be her job to hand him ammunition as fast as he could use it. He showed her each type of bullet, instructing her to give him the biggest first, until it was all gone. Fascinated, Helen memorized every detail for fear of forgetting something important.
Days of readying the bordello and romping between the sheets passed by quickly, until Helen found herself crouching behind Jayne's huge form as he pointed one of his deadly guns out the window at Burgess' men below. She could hear gunfire and explosions from outside as well as vague shouts, but mostly her ears were filled with the steady bang from Jayne's gun. He dropped the empty, smoking shells, and she handed him the new bullets. She didn't hesitate once, though her hands were shaking a bit.
They continued in this pattern: the bullets exchanged hands, snapclick, bang, bullets dropped, start over. Everything went by so quickly that Helen barely had time to form a real train of thought; that was actually a relief, because she was so nervous. To remain calm, she forced herself to focus on the pattern and nothing else, but at times her thoughts wandered a bit.
If she made him lose precious moments waiting, Jayne could easily get taken down. For days she'd thought over the important duty that he had given her in this fight, but up until now she'd never realized the basics of it: He was trusting her with his life.
It was a hell of a lot more credit than most people gave her. The shaking in her hands stilled somewhat, and she grabbed the next bullet, noting that it was decidedly smaller than the ones they'd started out with. Jayne had gone through a lot of ammo, and from what she could hear outside, it didn't seem to be letting up. She pressed herself more tightly against the wall, making sure her head wasn't near the window, and cradled another bullet between her fingers. If Jayne had such faith in her, then she'd give him the same trust with her own well being.