.

Kaylee was lying with her back towards him, their bodies pressed against each other and the hot, firm evidence of the nature of his dream wedged tightly between them. His first instinct was to tear himself away from her and leap out of the bed, but fortunately his soldierly stealth kicked in before he could. The only way he was getting out of this with honour and dignity, assuming she was still asleep and had no idea of his...condition, was to extricate himself as carefully as possible so as not to risk waking her. He eased his hips backwards, then drew his arm out from under her as gently as he could, praying all the while that she wouldn't wake up (not that praying ever helped him much before, but it seemed the thing to do).

Once he was standing next to the bed and Kaylee still hadn't stirred, he allowed himself a sigh of relief. He shot a brief scowl in the direction of the manparts that had betrayed him, then grabbed a towel and slunk off to the shower.

At breakfast Mal eyed Kaylee covertly over his bowl of steaming, mushy protein (kind of like porridge, but really not), looking for a sign that she was aware of his indiscretion. He could detect no signs of uncomfortableness from her, nor any traces of an 'I know something I shouldn't' smirk, so he figured his secret was safe. He was just grateful there was no chance of it happening again.

Not long after midday they set down on Persephone. Every member of the crew burst out of the chilly cargo hold into the dry, dusty heat of Eavesdown Docks ― weather they would likely have cursed on any other day. Within a few hours of Mal doing the deal for the part they needed, Kaylee had Serenity's insides warming up nicely. Wash gratefully shed his cable-knit sweater, Jayne put away his beanie and Kaylee returned his fluffy socks.

They all sat down to a hearty dinner supplemented with fresh produce Wash and Zoe had picked up from the markets, then each crew member turned in for the night. Mal headed to his bunk alone, but as he prepared for bed his mind strayed to thoughts of his little mechanic. He knew she was only metres away from him, in her own bunk on the other side of the wall. At every sound, he turned to see if it was his hatch door opening. Then every time he realised he was looking for her, waiting for her, he chastised himself. She ain't coming, put it out of your gorram head.

But his bed was entirely too empty without her now. He lay there, hands folded behind his head, staring at the ceiling and waiting for sleep.

It was some time after midnight when Mal heard the hatch to his bunk creak quietly open. He sat up quickly ― could be an intruder, he told himself ― and watched as Kaylee descended the ladder. Unlike the last few nights, when she had been bundled in her warmest clothes, tonight she was in her normal sleeping gear ― little faded pink shorts and a white singlet. The threadbare top left little to the imagination as to what it contained. His heart rate hitched up a few notches as he wrenched his eyes back to her face.

"Hey, Cap'n," she called softly. "Did I wake you?"

He shook his head, not quite trusting himself to speak.

"I was havin' trouble sleepin' too. Guess I got used to havin' someone next to me, you know?"

She crept closer to the bed and gestured to the space beside him. "Do you think maybe I could...?"

He opened his mouth in anticipation of some articulate and compelling excuse as to why she couldn't, but his brain never delivered the goods. Either she took his silence as consent, or she was never really asking in the first place, because she went ahead and slipped in beside him.

He was sleeping in only his shorts, so this time there was a whole lot more flesh on flesh than there had been previously. His breath quickened. She ducked in under his arm, using his shoulder as a pillow, and rested a hand on his chest. Mal fancied he could feel her heart thumping in the place where her soft breasts pressed against his side. She began to trace a pattern on the bare skin of his chest with her fingertips. He had to put a stop to this.

"Kaylee, girl―" he began, trying to frame a coherent argument as to why they shouldn't be more than just captain and mechanic, although strangely, all those very good reasons were quickly slipping out of reach. What was it he always said about ship-board romances?

"Save it, Cap'n," she interrupted, "'Cause I'm pretty sure you want this as much as I do," she said with a knowing grin.

Gorramit! Mal groaned inwardly. So she had been awake this morning. But his embarrassment was quickly pushed aside by disbelief as she shifted herself to sit on top of him.

"An' I know you think it's your job to protect me and take care a' me and the like," she continued, "But, well, this is just another way a' doin' that."

Mal made one last desperate attempt. "But, I...you...complicated ―"

"Seems real simple to me, Cap'n," she said, managing to bite her lower lip and smile at the same time. Renci de Fozu, if she wasn't the cutest thing in the 'verse.

Mal puffed out a sigh of defeat that made her grin in triumph. She leaned forward and placed a kiss on her captain's lips. Mal gave himself up to her tender advances, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close as he kissed her back.

It was a shiny thing to have someone to keep you warm in the black.

Chinese translations

Renci de Fozu – Merciful Buddha

A/N: Reviews and constructive criticism are very gratefully received!