Tag: Firefly.Serenity: River/Jayne: NC-17
Title: Tag
Author: Moi
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: River/Jayne
Fandom: Firefly
Summary: "I only grab you this hard because I want your heart to wear my fingerprints."
Word Count: 4,900
Warnings: Violence (lots of that), Sex, Violent Sex, Unbeta'd
A/N: I can't say that I don't know where this came from. I know exactly where, HERE, I'm just not sure why I was so driven to write it.
Please feel free to leave comments on anything or any corrections. This is only me second Rayne fic and probably the longest one I've written in two and a half years.
The girl is still crazy.
Jayne can’t help but wonder how he gets himself into these situations. Today she had dropped down off the ceiling, got both legs ‘round his neck and tried to drop him without him putting up a fight. “Too easy, girl.” He grunts.
“Man, should give in.” She pants back, torso contorting to keep her grip as he pries her off, drops her to the floor and swings one heavy fist toward the side of her head. He smirks as she dodges in a roll, jumps quickly to her feet and dives back at him, all in one fluid motion.
He had just wanted a snack. Still it had been her turn for almost two days and he had to expect her to strike soon. They hadn’t been alone much. He’s learned that’s how they play this game. Try not to be alone and then the other can’t strike ya. If he didn’t know where River was then he tried not to go anywhere without using the good old fashioned buddy system. That was the only way to keep safe.
They’ve been playing this game for months. He can remember the first time she forced Mal to take her on a job.
“She will come with.”
“Like hell she will.” Mal had brushed her off. “I need you here flying this boat, Albatross.”
River just pulled herself up into the mule and looked down at them seriously. “Zoe may not partake in any more heists. Poses risk for fetal development.”
The first mate had snapped, shrieking how River had no right to tell anyone that and by the time they figured out that the girl was talking ‘bout Zoe bein’ knocked up the whole thing was too much of a mess to sort out and Mal told Zoe to stay behind for not tellin’ him.
Zoe hadn’t been on many jobs since. Nothing dangerous at least. Little boy that smiles like his daddy and likes to teethe on plastic dinosaurs was born fifteen months ago and by the time he was born River was already working her way into Jayne’s routine.
“That all ya got?” He’s got her pinned up against a shelf in the pantry. She reaches to grab a heavy can off the shelf to swing at him and he twists her hands down and into her stomach. Lifting her off her feet he spins them away from the shelf.
Somehow she manages to turn the tables on him again. One skinny leg wrapped around his thick one. He loses his balance and has to let her go to keep from fallin’. “There is a plan. Do not worry.”
“Teach me.” She whispers, watching him take apart the little gun that he had grabbed off a guy that had tried to shoot at them when his boss didn’t want to pay Mal.
He looks up confused.
“All the little pieces. She sees them but does not know how they fit together. A puzzle she cannot solve. Teach her the solution.”
He’d watched her shoot and knew that she could hit her target every time but Mal had never let her keep the guns on her person after they was finished. The captain still worried that they wouldn’t be safe just in case she lost it ‘gain. “Ya want me to go teachin’ ya?”
“Yes pleased. They never taught her.”
It was unspoken who they were and he felt a bit of left over guilty from Ariel. He didn’t have names for the parts, though somehow she did but together they got the gun polished and back together. She was a quick learner. After they did a job or some nights when they were out in the black and all the chores were done they’d sit down at the kitchen table and take all Jayne’s equipment apart and put it back together.
“OOUF!” She’s jabbed him in the rib that was still healing. “Little bitch!”
She smiles simply and sits happily astride his hips, both of them on the floor. “Say it.”
“Ain’t gonna.”
“I need to hear you say it.”
She hovers her hand over the old injury and he winces before she’s even made contact. “Fine. Yer match.”
“Tag.” River grins and flips her sweaty hair out of her face. “You are still favoring your right leg. You need to work on that.”
“No one else knows ‘bout that but ya.”
“If I can tell, anyone else can.”
Though he can understand her mostly now, it’s only after a fight or a fit that she speaks with “me” and “I”. He wonders how many people have really heard her say it in the almost two years that they’ve been playing their game of cat and mouse. She says it’s something about the chemicals in her brain and them makin’ her think clearer or somethin’. Most times when they get back to the ship she’s calmed herself to start talkin’ like a nut ‘gain. In these moments though she’s as clear as can be.
When she had first suggested that they play tag, he hadn’t been expecting this. This weren’t the game her and Kaylee played. The rules were simple. One would stalk the other, waiting for the perfect time to strike and then when they were alone they would fight. The fights were usually short but it kept them on their toes. Made them see the sharp outlines of everything as they waited for the other to attack. It kept them both in shape and ready to defend the ship when it was needed. They moved flawlessly on jobs, predicting the movements and signaling almost without looking at each other.
At first they had even managed to keep it hidden from most of the crew but it got harder and harder to explain how they both kept gettin’ hurt even when they hadn’t had a job in a few weeks.
“Do you think Mal would mind if I grabbed a shower quickly?”
“Only if you let me join.” Jayne smirked. “We’ve got plenty of water right now. Filled up back at the Companion House. Mal’s in too good a mood right now to care ‘bout folk wastin’ water.”
Inara had finally quit, switching from her role of companion to a lesser role as mediator and therapist. It doesn’t pay as well and it doesn’t give them as many options but it made Mal happy and she hadn’t really been taking clients recently anyway.
River laughs as his crude humor. There’s somehow nothing he can say that will shock her. She bends to pick up a box of gruel that they had knocked off a shelf and he smacks her ass. Hard. Faster than he can see she’s spun around and pressed a foot to his throat. “Behave.”
“Always do, River-girl.” The wink makes her shake her head and he raises his hands in defense. “Go grab a shower. I’ll clean-up here.”
“Really?”
“Just don’t use all the hot water.”
---
“River!” Kaylee’s voice in concerned. “What happened?”
“She doesn’t know what you mean.”
“You’re bleedin’.”
River reaches up to her forehead and her fingers come back wet. Jayne had caught her napping in one of her hidey holes and dragged her out by her ankle. Somewhere in the fight she must have knocked her head. “It is fine. She does not require medical attention. Very little blood.“ She knows she’s a mess. That tomorrow she’ll have a black eye but she doesn’t care.
“At least let Simon look at it.”
“Nothing more than a scratch. She’ll be fine.”
Simon would only cause trouble. He begs her to stop fighting with Jayne. Kaylee looks like she’s going to cry sometimes when they both stumble in laughing, covered in sweat and bruises and blood and dirt. Mal wants to be sure that they don’t break the ship. Inara is just plain confused. Zoe is the only one who doesn’t seem to mind.
“Let them fight.” She says. “We all gotta burn off steam on this place, somehow.”
“I just wish you’d be careful.”
“They are always careful.”
“You up to watching Little Wash?” Kaylee asks, sighing and changing the subject. "Simon’s got me going to another appointment for the baby.” She pats her stomach. “And ‘Nara and I want Zoe to get off Serenity a bit by herself. Her and Mal are going to take her shopping and to lunch.”
“That would be fine. Just let her shower and change first.” River hadn’t known what to do when Noah had been born but she quickly got just as used to carrying the baby around in the sling, changing diapers and making bottles as everyone else.
After her shower she goes down to Zoe’s bunk and fetches the baby and some of his things to bring to her own room. She spends time making peek-a-boo faces and singing silly songs that she creates from nonsense rhymes. At first River doesn’t register the knock. Then it’s louder. “Yes?”
“Hey.” Jayne pushes the door open. “Can I come in?”
“Enter.”
“Babysittin’ the little one? Mal told me off for ‘causing trouble last night so he told me I’m not allowed to leave the boat today. Thought I’d come see what ya two was up to.” He drops to the floor, stretching out across the carpet. Part of him seems out of place next to the little curly haired boy. He’s too huge in the small space and scruffy and he’s still got scratch marks on his neck. Resting on one arm he stacks blocks for Noah to knock down.
“Didn’t Captain leave chores for you to do?” She questions finally after endless minutes of light banter.
“Done ‘em. Got bored.”
They care for the toddler using the same rhythm they use for fighting. Noah sways between them, still unsteady on his feet sometimes, and they call to him back and forth. The baby giggles as he lands in one of Jayne’s big hands when he stumbles. He knows he will never land on the ground. There’s a difference here from Jayne fighting. His gentle side comes out. Blowing raspberries at the baby, he doesn’t seem like a warrior.
Slowly Noah grows tired and River goes to fetch a bottle from the kitchen, leaving the boys alone in her room. She comes back to Jayne having dimmed the lights, kicked his boots off and made himself comfortable on her bed, the little one cuddled into one massive shoulder. Settling a blanket over the boy, she passes Jayne the bottle and crawls in beside them. Without thinking River pulls one of his feet into her lap and begins to rub as he feeds the baby. Noah’s eyes begin to droop almost at the same time as Jayne’s do. When he sits the bottle down and shifts around so all three of them can lay together on the bed that really should be too small, River begins to feel her own eyes close.
---
Jayne hears her just before he sees her. “River-girl this ain’t fair.” He’s barely out of the shower, just his unders on and water still caught in his hair. There’s barely even a chance to dry himself.
“All is fair. He was allowed to put on the undergarments. The ancient Greeks on Earth-That-Was used to perform their athletics in the nude.”
So that’s how they’re playing today. Fighting like gladiators. He reaches out and pops the button at the top of her dress. “Ya’d better take something off then. Even the playing field.”
She shakes her head and dances away from his fingers. He lunges and tears at the thin fabric. Together they roll back and forth switching with who’s on top until he gets the material over her head. Clutching it in one hand, he holds it out of her grasp and her at bay with the other.
River seems to consider the situation for a second before pinching a nipple, hard, and then throwing herself backward as he grabs at his own chest. She’s standing over him and he’s got to even the playing field. Kicking out one of her legs so she drops to her knees, he heaves himself up. There ain’t no way she can win this one. He’s got her the last two times. Both stand panting in the bathroom, eyeing and circling. He throws a soap bottle at her and then throws himself at her, dragging her screaming to the floor.
“Shut yer mouth, girl. Gonna get the whole ship in here.”
“They’re all gone.” She sings grinning and contorting below him. “Cats are away and the little mice play.”
“Yer crazy.”
“I am not.” River thrashes.
There’s water on the floor from where he stepped out of the shower and walked around before starting to dry himself. They’re both rolling in little puddles, his hands tugging at her hair and hips and shoulders and her trying to throw him off with just as much passion. Sliding his hand down to stop her from kneeing him in ol’ John Thomas, he’s suddenly remembering the first time he seen her dress herself in clothes she bought with her own coin. Not that she doesn’t look alright in the other clothes but she’s got better taste than that.
Mal told her after the first coupla trips that she needed to get clothes that didn’t get in the way and make her look like someone’s child. At first she’d borrowed old stuff of Zoe’s and sometimes Kaylee’s but most of the time they were too big for her and she ended up altering them. Finally one day she’d stomped off on her own determined to buy herself something now that she had some credits saved up. If Jayne knew where she found the pants he would have gone back and made her buy a second pair. They were tight, soft brown leather and laced up the side. She’s wearing them with a holster on each hip. Somehow she’s managed to steal Mal’s coat.
Captain seems to have similar ideas. “Is that my coat, little witch? ‘Cause I sure don’t remember giving you permission to start wearing my clothes.”
“She procured a similar article of clothing at a second hand shop for a small fee.”
“Well I’ll be.”
“It is a remote moon. You need not worry that she will get herself shot over the fabric colour. Also she enjoys how it matches the pants.”
Kaylee was gleeful over the whole thing. “Aw, ain’t that sweet, Cap. River’s gone and got herself a shiny coat just like you’ve got. She’s rivaling you for your title of Captain Tight Pants too.”
“Mei-mei, are you sure you want to go out in that? Those pants cannot be comfortable.”
“Look pretty comfortable to me.” Jayne mused and they did. There was nothing better than the feel of soft leather so long as it was made right and those sure were. Simon gave him a long hard look that said, please stop talking ya fool.
“She could buy him a pair if he would like.” River looked at him seriously with wide eyes.
“Hell no. Ain’t my style. Look better on a bitty thing like ya.” The merc leered for the Doc’s sake, just to see if he could get the small man riled up a bit. “‘Course they’d look much better off of ya.” Doc glared at him fierce. “Ya know, on the floor of my bunk.”
“You crude Neanderthal!” He wailed. “Why must you always find the most inappropriate things to say at the most inopportune moments.”
“Guess I’m just clever like that.”
Simon stormed off toward the infirmary where he’d probably sort through things and Kaylee shook her head before following him.
“Mustn’t tease Simon. He’s a boob with no sense of humor.” River had slid up beside him.
“Not my fault you dress like yer waiting to get yerself groped.”
She turned and wiggled her ass at him as she climbed into the mule. He had paid for the teasin’ after when she had nearly strangled him with those leather covered thighs as she swung out at him from behind the cargo they had just stored. Not because she had been offended but because he made Simon lecture her.
All he can think about is the muscles closed around his neck and the salty smell of sweat and leather. He had barely even considered things like that as she tended to know ‘xactly what he was thinkin’ and it made him nervous to see her raise her eyebrows when he was havin’ dirty thoughts. Now though that’s all he can think about as he’s got a mostly naked River twisting around like some kind of snake against his hip.
She freezes, eyes wide and he leers at her. Flipping them over. Pressing his hips and the beginnings of hardness into the apex of her thighs, he stares straight into her eyes and gives the tiniest of thrusts. River goes immediately stiff and still with shock.
“Tag, yer it.” He murmured before dragging his body up off the floor and going to take care of things in his bunk.
---
River has been waiting anxiously for three days now. Jayne has barely looked her though she knows he’s doing it on purpose. It wouldn’t be right for her to peek into his mind but she needs to know if there was anything to what had happened in the shower. Though he had often thought dirty things about every last woman on Serenity he had never attempted to act on any of them.
Was this some new kind of tactic to confuse her and make her lose? Was he considering taking things further than that? Was he simply being Jayne and taking advantage of the situation? Was she completely over analyzing things?
Was she willing to let things play out as they might?
She wanted him to just jump her already. They had never let the other wait this long before. It wasn’t fair. Cruel to tease when she knew he had to act eventually. If he was not able to attack, was this to mean she was the winner of their games? Did it mean he did not wish to play any longer? But no, she could feel him waiting. Coiled and ready to spring as she was. It was his turn to make the first move though.
That was how she began walking Serenity at night. It was dark with the cycle on night and the lights dimmed to conserve power. She fiddles with the controls to correct a slight mistake that Mal has made and then wanders down to the bay where she crawls in and among the crates. Back and forth she walks fully dressed in another pair of tight pants she’s picked up from somewhere, though these ones are not the leather ones she’s been dreaming about. She cannot bring herself to put those ones on. So full of energy and want as they are. It’s the second night she’s done this. And he’s nowhere to be seen.
She considers waking him up. Dropping something down his hatch or smashing it with his fist to startle him into action. She considers crawling through his vents and rattling until he stirs and looks for the source. She considers setting fire to his bed.
Waiting this long is torture.
Finally after her fifth loop around the catwalks she wanders over to the spare shuttle to lock herself up for the night and watch something on the Cortex. Barely to the door, she smells him. Cigar smoke and gun oil, though he’s not supposed to smoke on board. He grabs her before River is properly ready. Here he is and in the one moment she hasn’t been prepared all night.
They struggle for a few minutes but her attempts are half-hearted. “Yer makin’ this too easy.” He whines. She bites his forearm. Jayne groans. “You little….” He doesn’t finish as she kicks him in the stomach, then the knee, just enough to get him away from her, nothing to do serious damage. He reaches for her out of instinct. Throwing his full weight against her so she lands harshly against the wall, he presses his front against her. She whimpers without meaning to and his eyes go black.
Suddenly this is her game.
Panting heavily she wiggles, first one way then the other. Jayne’s eyes are wide and the thoughts flashing through his mind are crude. River smiles and parts her lips. “Jayne.” She whispers. “Please!”
He’s on her in less than a second. If you can’t beat them, arouse them. Stubble against her neck where he’s nipping and sucking, there are sure to be marks that she’ll have to cover for fear of explaining them after. She works her hands quickly, untucking his shirt and clawing at the exposed skin. One hand undoes his belt buckle while the other searches. Her hand closes around something hard and she grabs his face with her other hand pulling it up to her own. Both of them making happy noises, she smashes her soft lips down on to his dry ones. For a moment they pause, just like that, until slowly his own lips start to respond. She grinds her hips into his, his tongue coming out to meet hers. Jayne is so much fire right now. River can feel the burning and pooling and when she thinks she’s finally gotten him distracted enough, she pulls the knife out of his pants and presses it into his rib cage, the icy metal on his pounding heart.
“Tag.”
---
He don’t know what game they’re playing any more. It’s gone from fighting to foreplay. Who can get the other hotter before calling tag and pinning them into a situation that they had said meant the other one won. It’s exhausting. He’s got sore arms from masturbatin’ every single night. Sometimes they barely make it a day without one of them throwing the other one down and rubbing and touching. He doesn’t kiss ‘em on the lips but he’s makin’ exceptions right here and now. Anything to try and shock her into giving him an advantage when she can hear him screaming all the thoughts of what they could do in his head.
It’s been a week and a half and they’re finally landing planet side and the first thing he wants to do is get to a bar. It’s her turn and he doesn’t know when or what to expect. She’s had his John Thomas right at the back of her throat before pulling back and calling tag. He’s had two fingers in her with her juices running down his wrist and thumbing her clit before leaning in close to her ear, whispering “yer it.”
At this rate one of them is going to kill the other. Not only have they been getting more sexual, they’ve been getting more aggressive. He’s got bite marks from ear to ear. She’s got his fingers imprinted in purple and gold on her arms and a thin line where he had pressed his knife against her ribs and she had grabbed his cock before he could finish it ,makin’ him slip. He’s torn two dresses to shreds. She cut one of his shirts in half.
He doesn’t know if he’s going or cumming.
He takes off before the engines are even cooled. It’s almost sunset and he’s had two drinks before the sun properly goes down. There’s whores here but he’s not looking at them. River has somehow followed him through the crowds of people and is wearing those leather pants and the brown coat. Underneath her shirt is blood red. The lights are low and on the dance floor he’d much rather her strike than move that way. If she doesn’t strike soon he’s going to go after her himself. Turns can go straight to special hell, because she’s legal and hot and he doesn’t care how furious Simon is going to be or that Mal’s going to space him.
Across the crowd she finally catches his eye and walks.
He throws the coin down on the counter, tipping the bartender a lot more than he deserves. Outside he doesn’t know where she’s gone. He cuts across the lot to take a short cut back to the ship. He could go any direction and he knows she’ll find him. In a darkened corner, just out of sight from the entrance of the bar and anyone passing by, she grabs him. Claws out, she’s draggin’ him into the dark. She’s got the barrel of one of her tiny pistols pressed into his temple. Everything he’s every done, flashes behind his eyes as she drags it down to his chest, his sternum, the fingers on her left hand stroking where she knows the scar is from where she sliced him all those years ago.
“Take them off.” She has him unbuckle his own pants, but slides him out herself and attacks once more. He’s not sure if she’s actually used something to set him on fire but everything she does is a mixture of pleasure and pain. Even as his hips buck and his cock slides against the back of her throat she doesn’t take the gun off of him. He drags her to standing-up roughly. Tearing at the laces and leather so he can get to her. Drags it down her legs and tosses them to the ground hauling her up so she’s flush against him and he slams her against the brick side of the building. He’s fitting his hands perfectly into the bruises on her hips and thrusting harshly.
It’s quick and dirty, back alley sex. He kisses her, all teeth and splitting her lip in the process. As she thrashes, he works the gun out of her fingers, cocks it and points it to the side of her head. Then he thrusts his tongue into her mouth. Sucking fiercely on the intrusion she keens and her walls close around him in a vice grip. He drops the gun so he doesn’t pull the trigger accidentally as he pistons into her and explodes.
“River-girl,” he chokes out. “Which one of us won that one?”
They go to a bath house that Jayne knows about to wash off. He pays for privacy and no questions asked and River thanks him for that. With the fragrant perfume of hot water and steam they slowly strip down and lay their weapons aside. They take turns washing the sweat, blood and sex off each other. Licking and kissing at the broken skin and swollen places. The second time is slower, hands asking forgiveness for the pain they’ve causes. Lips making silent promises.
There’s no going back now.
When they finally return to the ship River can feel Simon’s anxiety from a block away. His panic over his baby sister not coming home until dawn. Worry that she’s somehow been attacked and dragged away by who knows who. By the time they get to the ship and he spots them she prepared for his reaction. Fury. He screams and shouts looking over the pair covered in cuts and bruises, love bites and actual bites. Mal’s got his gun cocked. Jayne’s strung ready to fight. They’re all snarling, Mal and Simon accusing and Jayne trying to protect her even though it looks like he’s beaten her senseless. No one let’s her tell her own story. On the ramp to the bay Kaylee is sobbing, while Inara holds her. Zoe is nowhere to be seen.
“Stop!”
Everyone freezes and turns to look at River.
“Let me speak.”
“Little Albatross I don’t think you’re in a good place to speak right now. It looks like someone dragged you behind Serenity while you were being chased by wild beasts.”
“None of you get to decide. It’s not your choice. It’s mine and Jayne’s. The two of us. Together. Either you get that or we get off here.” She looks to Jayne for confirmation and he nods his head.
“Why?” Kaylee sniffles.
“Because he makes me feel. He let’s me being both girl and weapon. He doesn’t care that I could kill him with my brain if I wanted to.”
“Don’t make no sense.”
Inara looks on sadly and she looks as if she wants to join the mechanic in crying. “You don’t need to do this, River. If he’s force you…”
“He hasn’t forced me in anyway. We work together. I chose. He chose.”
Simon is silent for the first time in fifteen minutes. An idea is beginning to form, “River, you’re speaking in first person.”
“I know. Jayne helps me be me again. I need this. I need him.”
“And you? You’ve beaten her. I can't even tell from here what possible damage you've done. What do you have to say for yourself?”
Jayne looks River’s brother dead on. “If it’s what she wants then I’d do it all over again.” They’re half exhausted, supporting each other but standing straight as one. We.
Simon can’t wrap his head around it. He can see the passion coming off of them in waves. Something has changed in their game of cat and mouse. “Go inside. Get some sleep. We’ll talk when you get up.”
And when they do wake -up Simon will confront them again. He will make Jayne swear up and down over his intentions and that he promises to only treat River in a way she wants to be treated.
Tag.
Author: Moi
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: River/Jayne
Fandom: Firefly
Summary: "I only grab you this hard because I want your heart to wear my fingerprints."
Word Count: 4,900
Warnings: Violence (lots of that), Sex, Violent Sex, Unbeta'd
A/N: I can't say that I don't know where this came from. I know exactly where, HERE, I'm just not sure why I was so driven to write it.
Please feel free to leave comments on anything or any corrections. This is only me second Rayne fic and probably the longest one I've written in two and a half years.
The girl is still crazy.
Jayne can’t help but wonder how he gets himself into these situations. Today she had dropped down off the ceiling, got both legs ‘round his neck and tried to drop him without him putting up a fight. “Too easy, girl.” He grunts.
“Man, should give in.” She pants back, torso contorting to keep her grip as he pries her off, drops her to the floor and swings one heavy fist toward the side of her head. He smirks as she dodges in a roll, jumps quickly to her feet and dives back at him, all in one fluid motion.
He had just wanted a snack. Still it had been her turn for almost two days and he had to expect her to strike soon. They hadn’t been alone much. He’s learned that’s how they play this game. Try not to be alone and then the other can’t strike ya. If he didn’t know where River was then he tried not to go anywhere without using the good old fashioned buddy system. That was the only way to keep safe.
They’ve been playing this game for months. He can remember the first time she forced Mal to take her on a job.
“She will come with.”
“Like hell she will.” Mal had brushed her off. “I need you here flying this boat, Albatross.”
River just pulled herself up into the mule and looked down at them seriously. “Zoe may not partake in any more heists. Poses risk for fetal development.”
The first mate had snapped, shrieking how River had no right to tell anyone that and by the time they figured out that the girl was talking ‘bout Zoe bein’ knocked up the whole thing was too much of a mess to sort out and Mal told Zoe to stay behind for not tellin’ him.
Zoe hadn’t been on many jobs since. Nothing dangerous at least. Little boy that smiles like his daddy and likes to teethe on plastic dinosaurs was born fifteen months ago and by the time he was born River was already working her way into Jayne’s routine.
“That all ya got?” He’s got her pinned up against a shelf in the pantry. She reaches to grab a heavy can off the shelf to swing at him and he twists her hands down and into her stomach. Lifting her off her feet he spins them away from the shelf.
Somehow she manages to turn the tables on him again. One skinny leg wrapped around his thick one. He loses his balance and has to let her go to keep from fallin’. “There is a plan. Do not worry.”
“Teach me.” She whispers, watching him take apart the little gun that he had grabbed off a guy that had tried to shoot at them when his boss didn’t want to pay Mal.
He looks up confused.
“All the little pieces. She sees them but does not know how they fit together. A puzzle she cannot solve. Teach her the solution.”
He’d watched her shoot and knew that she could hit her target every time but Mal had never let her keep the guns on her person after they was finished. The captain still worried that they wouldn’t be safe just in case she lost it ‘gain. “Ya want me to go teachin’ ya?”
“Yes pleased. They never taught her.”
It was unspoken who they were and he felt a bit of left over guilty from Ariel. He didn’t have names for the parts, though somehow she did but together they got the gun polished and back together. She was a quick learner. After they did a job or some nights when they were out in the black and all the chores were done they’d sit down at the kitchen table and take all Jayne’s equipment apart and put it back together.
“OOUF!” She’s jabbed him in the rib that was still healing. “Little bitch!”
She smiles simply and sits happily astride his hips, both of them on the floor. “Say it.”
“Ain’t gonna.”
“I need to hear you say it.”
She hovers her hand over the old injury and he winces before she’s even made contact. “Fine. Yer match.”
“Tag.” River grins and flips her sweaty hair out of her face. “You are still favoring your right leg. You need to work on that.”
“No one else knows ‘bout that but ya.”
“If I can tell, anyone else can.”
Though he can understand her mostly now, it’s only after a fight or a fit that she speaks with “me” and “I”. He wonders how many people have really heard her say it in the almost two years that they’ve been playing their game of cat and mouse. She says it’s something about the chemicals in her brain and them makin’ her think clearer or somethin’. Most times when they get back to the ship she’s calmed herself to start talkin’ like a nut ‘gain. In these moments though she’s as clear as can be.
When she had first suggested that they play tag, he hadn’t been expecting this. This weren’t the game her and Kaylee played. The rules were simple. One would stalk the other, waiting for the perfect time to strike and then when they were alone they would fight. The fights were usually short but it kept them on their toes. Made them see the sharp outlines of everything as they waited for the other to attack. It kept them both in shape and ready to defend the ship when it was needed. They moved flawlessly on jobs, predicting the movements and signaling almost without looking at each other.
At first they had even managed to keep it hidden from most of the crew but it got harder and harder to explain how they both kept gettin’ hurt even when they hadn’t had a job in a few weeks.
“Do you think Mal would mind if I grabbed a shower quickly?”
“Only if you let me join.” Jayne smirked. “We’ve got plenty of water right now. Filled up back at the Companion House. Mal’s in too good a mood right now to care ‘bout folk wastin’ water.”
Inara had finally quit, switching from her role of companion to a lesser role as mediator and therapist. It doesn’t pay as well and it doesn’t give them as many options but it made Mal happy and she hadn’t really been taking clients recently anyway.
River laughs as his crude humor. There’s somehow nothing he can say that will shock her. She bends to pick up a box of gruel that they had knocked off a shelf and he smacks her ass. Hard. Faster than he can see she’s spun around and pressed a foot to his throat. “Behave.”
“Always do, River-girl.” The wink makes her shake her head and he raises his hands in defense. “Go grab a shower. I’ll clean-up here.”
“Really?”
“Just don’t use all the hot water.”
---
“River!” Kaylee’s voice in concerned. “What happened?”
“She doesn’t know what you mean.”
“You’re bleedin’.”
River reaches up to her forehead and her fingers come back wet. Jayne had caught her napping in one of her hidey holes and dragged her out by her ankle. Somewhere in the fight she must have knocked her head. “It is fine. She does not require medical attention. Very little blood.“ She knows she’s a mess. That tomorrow she’ll have a black eye but she doesn’t care.
“At least let Simon look at it.”
“Nothing more than a scratch. She’ll be fine.”
Simon would only cause trouble. He begs her to stop fighting with Jayne. Kaylee looks like she’s going to cry sometimes when they both stumble in laughing, covered in sweat and bruises and blood and dirt. Mal wants to be sure that they don’t break the ship. Inara is just plain confused. Zoe is the only one who doesn’t seem to mind.
“Let them fight.” She says. “We all gotta burn off steam on this place, somehow.”
“I just wish you’d be careful.”
“They are always careful.”
“You up to watching Little Wash?” Kaylee asks, sighing and changing the subject. "Simon’s got me going to another appointment for the baby.” She pats her stomach. “And ‘Nara and I want Zoe to get off Serenity a bit by herself. Her and Mal are going to take her shopping and to lunch.”
“That would be fine. Just let her shower and change first.” River hadn’t known what to do when Noah had been born but she quickly got just as used to carrying the baby around in the sling, changing diapers and making bottles as everyone else.
After her shower she goes down to Zoe’s bunk and fetches the baby and some of his things to bring to her own room. She spends time making peek-a-boo faces and singing silly songs that she creates from nonsense rhymes. At first River doesn’t register the knock. Then it’s louder. “Yes?”
“Hey.” Jayne pushes the door open. “Can I come in?”
“Enter.”
“Babysittin’ the little one? Mal told me off for ‘causing trouble last night so he told me I’m not allowed to leave the boat today. Thought I’d come see what ya two was up to.” He drops to the floor, stretching out across the carpet. Part of him seems out of place next to the little curly haired boy. He’s too huge in the small space and scruffy and he’s still got scratch marks on his neck. Resting on one arm he stacks blocks for Noah to knock down.
“Didn’t Captain leave chores for you to do?” She questions finally after endless minutes of light banter.
“Done ‘em. Got bored.”
They care for the toddler using the same rhythm they use for fighting. Noah sways between them, still unsteady on his feet sometimes, and they call to him back and forth. The baby giggles as he lands in one of Jayne’s big hands when he stumbles. He knows he will never land on the ground. There’s a difference here from Jayne fighting. His gentle side comes out. Blowing raspberries at the baby, he doesn’t seem like a warrior.
Slowly Noah grows tired and River goes to fetch a bottle from the kitchen, leaving the boys alone in her room. She comes back to Jayne having dimmed the lights, kicked his boots off and made himself comfortable on her bed, the little one cuddled into one massive shoulder. Settling a blanket over the boy, she passes Jayne the bottle and crawls in beside them. Without thinking River pulls one of his feet into her lap and begins to rub as he feeds the baby. Noah’s eyes begin to droop almost at the same time as Jayne’s do. When he sits the bottle down and shifts around so all three of them can lay together on the bed that really should be too small, River begins to feel her own eyes close.
---
Jayne hears her just before he sees her. “River-girl this ain’t fair.” He’s barely out of the shower, just his unders on and water still caught in his hair. There’s barely even a chance to dry himself.
“All is fair. He was allowed to put on the undergarments. The ancient Greeks on Earth-That-Was used to perform their athletics in the nude.”
So that’s how they’re playing today. Fighting like gladiators. He reaches out and pops the button at the top of her dress. “Ya’d better take something off then. Even the playing field.”
She shakes her head and dances away from his fingers. He lunges and tears at the thin fabric. Together they roll back and forth switching with who’s on top until he gets the material over her head. Clutching it in one hand, he holds it out of her grasp and her at bay with the other.
River seems to consider the situation for a second before pinching a nipple, hard, and then throwing herself backward as he grabs at his own chest. She’s standing over him and he’s got to even the playing field. Kicking out one of her legs so she drops to her knees, he heaves himself up. There ain’t no way she can win this one. He’s got her the last two times. Both stand panting in the bathroom, eyeing and circling. He throws a soap bottle at her and then throws himself at her, dragging her screaming to the floor.
“Shut yer mouth, girl. Gonna get the whole ship in here.”
“They’re all gone.” She sings grinning and contorting below him. “Cats are away and the little mice play.”
“Yer crazy.”
“I am not.” River thrashes.
There’s water on the floor from where he stepped out of the shower and walked around before starting to dry himself. They’re both rolling in little puddles, his hands tugging at her hair and hips and shoulders and her trying to throw him off with just as much passion. Sliding his hand down to stop her from kneeing him in ol’ John Thomas, he’s suddenly remembering the first time he seen her dress herself in clothes she bought with her own coin. Not that she doesn’t look alright in the other clothes but she’s got better taste than that.
Mal told her after the first coupla trips that she needed to get clothes that didn’t get in the way and make her look like someone’s child. At first she’d borrowed old stuff of Zoe’s and sometimes Kaylee’s but most of the time they were too big for her and she ended up altering them. Finally one day she’d stomped off on her own determined to buy herself something now that she had some credits saved up. If Jayne knew where she found the pants he would have gone back and made her buy a second pair. They were tight, soft brown leather and laced up the side. She’s wearing them with a holster on each hip. Somehow she’s managed to steal Mal’s coat.
Captain seems to have similar ideas. “Is that my coat, little witch? ‘Cause I sure don’t remember giving you permission to start wearing my clothes.”
“She procured a similar article of clothing at a second hand shop for a small fee.”
“Well I’ll be.”
“It is a remote moon. You need not worry that she will get herself shot over the fabric colour. Also she enjoys how it matches the pants.”
Kaylee was gleeful over the whole thing. “Aw, ain’t that sweet, Cap. River’s gone and got herself a shiny coat just like you’ve got. She’s rivaling you for your title of Captain Tight Pants too.”
“Mei-mei, are you sure you want to go out in that? Those pants cannot be comfortable.”
“Look pretty comfortable to me.” Jayne mused and they did. There was nothing better than the feel of soft leather so long as it was made right and those sure were. Simon gave him a long hard look that said, please stop talking ya fool.
“She could buy him a pair if he would like.” River looked at him seriously with wide eyes.
“Hell no. Ain’t my style. Look better on a bitty thing like ya.” The merc leered for the Doc’s sake, just to see if he could get the small man riled up a bit. “‘Course they’d look much better off of ya.” Doc glared at him fierce. “Ya know, on the floor of my bunk.”
“You crude Neanderthal!” He wailed. “Why must you always find the most inappropriate things to say at the most inopportune moments.”
“Guess I’m just clever like that.”
Simon stormed off toward the infirmary where he’d probably sort through things and Kaylee shook her head before following him.
“Mustn’t tease Simon. He’s a boob with no sense of humor.” River had slid up beside him.
“Not my fault you dress like yer waiting to get yerself groped.”
She turned and wiggled her ass at him as she climbed into the mule. He had paid for the teasin’ after when she had nearly strangled him with those leather covered thighs as she swung out at him from behind the cargo they had just stored. Not because she had been offended but because he made Simon lecture her.
All he can think about is the muscles closed around his neck and the salty smell of sweat and leather. He had barely even considered things like that as she tended to know ‘xactly what he was thinkin’ and it made him nervous to see her raise her eyebrows when he was havin’ dirty thoughts. Now though that’s all he can think about as he’s got a mostly naked River twisting around like some kind of snake against his hip.
She freezes, eyes wide and he leers at her. Flipping them over. Pressing his hips and the beginnings of hardness into the apex of her thighs, he stares straight into her eyes and gives the tiniest of thrusts. River goes immediately stiff and still with shock.
“Tag, yer it.” He murmured before dragging his body up off the floor and going to take care of things in his bunk.
---
River has been waiting anxiously for three days now. Jayne has barely looked her though she knows he’s doing it on purpose. It wouldn’t be right for her to peek into his mind but she needs to know if there was anything to what had happened in the shower. Though he had often thought dirty things about every last woman on Serenity he had never attempted to act on any of them.
Was this some new kind of tactic to confuse her and make her lose? Was he considering taking things further than that? Was he simply being Jayne and taking advantage of the situation? Was she completely over analyzing things?
Was she willing to let things play out as they might?
She wanted him to just jump her already. They had never let the other wait this long before. It wasn’t fair. Cruel to tease when she knew he had to act eventually. If he was not able to attack, was this to mean she was the winner of their games? Did it mean he did not wish to play any longer? But no, she could feel him waiting. Coiled and ready to spring as she was. It was his turn to make the first move though.
That was how she began walking Serenity at night. It was dark with the cycle on night and the lights dimmed to conserve power. She fiddles with the controls to correct a slight mistake that Mal has made and then wanders down to the bay where she crawls in and among the crates. Back and forth she walks fully dressed in another pair of tight pants she’s picked up from somewhere, though these ones are not the leather ones she’s been dreaming about. She cannot bring herself to put those ones on. So full of energy and want as they are. It’s the second night she’s done this. And he’s nowhere to be seen.
She considers waking him up. Dropping something down his hatch or smashing it with his fist to startle him into action. She considers crawling through his vents and rattling until he stirs and looks for the source. She considers setting fire to his bed.
Waiting this long is torture.
Finally after her fifth loop around the catwalks she wanders over to the spare shuttle to lock herself up for the night and watch something on the Cortex. Barely to the door, she smells him. Cigar smoke and gun oil, though he’s not supposed to smoke on board. He grabs her before River is properly ready. Here he is and in the one moment she hasn’t been prepared all night.
They struggle for a few minutes but her attempts are half-hearted. “Yer makin’ this too easy.” He whines. She bites his forearm. Jayne groans. “You little….” He doesn’t finish as she kicks him in the stomach, then the knee, just enough to get him away from her, nothing to do serious damage. He reaches for her out of instinct. Throwing his full weight against her so she lands harshly against the wall, he presses his front against her. She whimpers without meaning to and his eyes go black.
Suddenly this is her game.
Panting heavily she wiggles, first one way then the other. Jayne’s eyes are wide and the thoughts flashing through his mind are crude. River smiles and parts her lips. “Jayne.” She whispers. “Please!”
He’s on her in less than a second. If you can’t beat them, arouse them. Stubble against her neck where he’s nipping and sucking, there are sure to be marks that she’ll have to cover for fear of explaining them after. She works her hands quickly, untucking his shirt and clawing at the exposed skin. One hand undoes his belt buckle while the other searches. Her hand closes around something hard and she grabs his face with her other hand pulling it up to her own. Both of them making happy noises, she smashes her soft lips down on to his dry ones. For a moment they pause, just like that, until slowly his own lips start to respond. She grinds her hips into his, his tongue coming out to meet hers. Jayne is so much fire right now. River can feel the burning and pooling and when she thinks she’s finally gotten him distracted enough, she pulls the knife out of his pants and presses it into his rib cage, the icy metal on his pounding heart.
“Tag.”
---
He don’t know what game they’re playing any more. It’s gone from fighting to foreplay. Who can get the other hotter before calling tag and pinning them into a situation that they had said meant the other one won. It’s exhausting. He’s got sore arms from masturbatin’ every single night. Sometimes they barely make it a day without one of them throwing the other one down and rubbing and touching. He doesn’t kiss ‘em on the lips but he’s makin’ exceptions right here and now. Anything to try and shock her into giving him an advantage when she can hear him screaming all the thoughts of what they could do in his head.
It’s been a week and a half and they’re finally landing planet side and the first thing he wants to do is get to a bar. It’s her turn and he doesn’t know when or what to expect. She’s had his John Thomas right at the back of her throat before pulling back and calling tag. He’s had two fingers in her with her juices running down his wrist and thumbing her clit before leaning in close to her ear, whispering “yer it.”
At this rate one of them is going to kill the other. Not only have they been getting more sexual, they’ve been getting more aggressive. He’s got bite marks from ear to ear. She’s got his fingers imprinted in purple and gold on her arms and a thin line where he had pressed his knife against her ribs and she had grabbed his cock before he could finish it ,makin’ him slip. He’s torn two dresses to shreds. She cut one of his shirts in half.
He doesn’t know if he’s going or cumming.
He takes off before the engines are even cooled. It’s almost sunset and he’s had two drinks before the sun properly goes down. There’s whores here but he’s not looking at them. River has somehow followed him through the crowds of people and is wearing those leather pants and the brown coat. Underneath her shirt is blood red. The lights are low and on the dance floor he’d much rather her strike than move that way. If she doesn’t strike soon he’s going to go after her himself. Turns can go straight to special hell, because she’s legal and hot and he doesn’t care how furious Simon is going to be or that Mal’s going to space him.
Across the crowd she finally catches his eye and walks.
He throws the coin down on the counter, tipping the bartender a lot more than he deserves. Outside he doesn’t know where she’s gone. He cuts across the lot to take a short cut back to the ship. He could go any direction and he knows she’ll find him. In a darkened corner, just out of sight from the entrance of the bar and anyone passing by, she grabs him. Claws out, she’s draggin’ him into the dark. She’s got the barrel of one of her tiny pistols pressed into his temple. Everything he’s every done, flashes behind his eyes as she drags it down to his chest, his sternum, the fingers on her left hand stroking where she knows the scar is from where she sliced him all those years ago.
“Take them off.” She has him unbuckle his own pants, but slides him out herself and attacks once more. He’s not sure if she’s actually used something to set him on fire but everything she does is a mixture of pleasure and pain. Even as his hips buck and his cock slides against the back of her throat she doesn’t take the gun off of him. He drags her to standing-up roughly. Tearing at the laces and leather so he can get to her. Drags it down her legs and tosses them to the ground hauling her up so she’s flush against him and he slams her against the brick side of the building. He’s fitting his hands perfectly into the bruises on her hips and thrusting harshly.
It’s quick and dirty, back alley sex. He kisses her, all teeth and splitting her lip in the process. As she thrashes, he works the gun out of her fingers, cocks it and points it to the side of her head. Then he thrusts his tongue into her mouth. Sucking fiercely on the intrusion she keens and her walls close around him in a vice grip. He drops the gun so he doesn’t pull the trigger accidentally as he pistons into her and explodes.
“River-girl,” he chokes out. “Which one of us won that one?”
They go to a bath house that Jayne knows about to wash off. He pays for privacy and no questions asked and River thanks him for that. With the fragrant perfume of hot water and steam they slowly strip down and lay their weapons aside. They take turns washing the sweat, blood and sex off each other. Licking and kissing at the broken skin and swollen places. The second time is slower, hands asking forgiveness for the pain they’ve causes. Lips making silent promises.
There’s no going back now.
When they finally return to the ship River can feel Simon’s anxiety from a block away. His panic over his baby sister not coming home until dawn. Worry that she’s somehow been attacked and dragged away by who knows who. By the time they get to the ship and he spots them she prepared for his reaction. Fury. He screams and shouts looking over the pair covered in cuts and bruises, love bites and actual bites. Mal’s got his gun cocked. Jayne’s strung ready to fight. They’re all snarling, Mal and Simon accusing and Jayne trying to protect her even though it looks like he’s beaten her senseless. No one let’s her tell her own story. On the ramp to the bay Kaylee is sobbing, while Inara holds her. Zoe is nowhere to be seen.
“Stop!”
Everyone freezes and turns to look at River.
“Let me speak.”
“Little Albatross I don’t think you’re in a good place to speak right now. It looks like someone dragged you behind Serenity while you were being chased by wild beasts.”
“None of you get to decide. It’s not your choice. It’s mine and Jayne’s. The two of us. Together. Either you get that or we get off here.” She looks to Jayne for confirmation and he nods his head.
“Why?” Kaylee sniffles.
“Because he makes me feel. He let’s me being both girl and weapon. He doesn’t care that I could kill him with my brain if I wanted to.”
“Don’t make no sense.”
Inara looks on sadly and she looks as if she wants to join the mechanic in crying. “You don’t need to do this, River. If he’s force you…”
“He hasn’t forced me in anyway. We work together. I chose. He chose.”
Simon is silent for the first time in fifteen minutes. An idea is beginning to form, “River, you’re speaking in first person.”
“I know. Jayne helps me be me again. I need this. I need him.”
“And you? You’ve beaten her. I can't even tell from here what possible damage you've done. What do you have to say for yourself?”
Jayne looks River’s brother dead on. “If it’s what she wants then I’d do it all over again.” They’re half exhausted, supporting each other but standing straight as one. We.
Simon can’t wrap his head around it. He can see the passion coming off of them in waves. Something has changed in their game of cat and mouse. “Go inside. Get some sleep. We’ll talk when you get up.”
And when they do wake -up Simon will confront them again. He will make Jayne swear up and down over his intentions and that he promises to only treat River in a way she wants to be treated.
Tag.