(no subject)
Title: What The Captain Doesn’t Know Won’t Hurt Him
Prompt #3: Mother
Author: squish
Pairing: Jayne/Kaylee
Rating: G
Word Count: 795
Note: Joint project by myself and
bookaddict43. Click here for the prompt table and previous installments.
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“Kaylee, you in here?” Jayne peered into the engine room, a harried expression on his face.
“Yeah, Jayne, I’m here.” She slid out from under the rear section of the engine, a grease smudge on her cheek and a wrench in her hand. “What d’you need?”
“I can’t find her! I was working out in the cargo bay an’ when I got back to my bunk, she was gone! Just can’t figure it…” He trailed off as he saw her smiling up at him and heard a giggle from the corner behind him.
“Aw, don’t worry, Jayne, Misty’s with us,” Kaylee pointed to the corner where River sat playing with the kitten. “Didn’t want her stayin’ down in your bunk alone all day, so we brought her up here.”
Jayne looked back and forth between them, wondering whether it bothered him more that they’d been in his bunk or that they’d seen him all worried about a little cat. He puffed out his chest to make sure they knew he wasn’t some kind of sissy or nothin’.
“Fathers always worry about their little girls,” River said as she uncurled herself and stood. She pressed the kitten into Jayne’s hands and whispered to him, “Reminds her of her mother.”
Kaylee laughed as she watched River dance out of the room, leaving Jayne looking completely confused holding Misty to his chest.
“Girl just gets crazier every day,” Jayne said. “Thinks the cat reminds you of your ma.”
“Nah, Jayne, she don’t remind me of my momma, just reminds me of bein’ at home with her.” Kaylee sighed a little and turned back to the engine, “Hand me that other wrench, would ya Jayne?”
Jayne handed her the wrench and sat beside her on the floor with Misty to watch her work. He thought the cat would make Kaylee happy enough to burst, but she seemed kinda down.
“You been missin’ home or somethin’?” As he tickled the kitten’s belly, Jayne wondered why he just couldn’t leave well enough alone.
Kaylee didn’t answer right away, but tightened the last bolt and pushed herself up to sit with her back against the engine housing. She reached out and tickled the kitten’s head, getting an affectionate swipe from a gold and black paw.
She smiled, “Just sometimes is all and Misty got me thinking ‘bout it some. It’s summer back home, you know.”
Jayne nodded though, of course, he didn’t know that and he wondered why that was a problem.
“Momma’ll be tendin’ the garden and Daddy will be workin’ on every tiller and baler that’s broke down for over a hundred miles.”
She looked wistfully at Misty and pulled a ball out of her pocket. Jayne recognized it as the one from her set of jacks. She rolled it across the floor and watched as Misty sprung from Jayne’s lap to scamper after it.
“Ow!” Jayne yelled as the kitten’s claws dug into his leg. “Gorram cat!”
Kaylee laughed, “She didn’t hurt you none, Jayne.” He couldn’t help himself, he grinned at her, glad to see her smile again.
“So, what about you, Jayne? You miss home any?” Kaylee asked casually, hoping for once he’d say something more than he usually did.
Jayne watched as Misty batted the ball a few times. Finally, he reached over and grabbed it to roll it across the floor for her. Maybe if he told Kaylee somethin’ about home, she’d think better of him-wouldn’t be thinkin’ he was gonna eat little cats and stuff. He didn’t know why it bothered him so much what Kaylee thought, but it did, more so than the others even.
“I ‘spose sometimes I do. ‘Course I been gone a lot longer from home than you have, so I expect it’s different for you.”
“What do you miss the most about it? Do you miss your cat?” she asked eagerly, surprised that he was finally letting her ask questions.
Jayne chuckled, “Well, that cat’s been gone a long time now. But yeah, I ‘spose I do miss her. She was my ma’s cat, but she was a good mouser that one and she kept Mattie company whenever he was feelin’ poorly.”
Kaylee found herself leaning forward a little and wondering at how much you could learn about someone you’d known for so long just by talking about simple things.
“Her name was Misty, wasn’t it?”
Jayne looked into her eyes and was surprised to find that they were sitting so close together. He swallowed thickly.
“Yep.” That was all he could think to say as he suddenly noticed how good she smelled and how much he wanted to reach up and wipe the grease smudge from her cheek.
“Jayne?” Kaylee’s eyes were wide.
“Yeah.”
“Where’d Misty go?”
***