Handle With care

Author: hisgoodgirl

Rating: PG-15, adult references.

Characters: Jayne, Kaylee

Setting: On Serenity, pre-series

Disclaimer: All belongs to Joss. I got nada.

Word Count: 1,176

A/N: Cross-posted from my LiveJournal. Reader comments are very much appreciated.

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HANDLE WITH CARE

Once Serenity has cleared Juno’s turbulent atmo and is headed out for Three Hills, Wash places the ship on autopilot and everyone turns in for some hard-earned shut-eye. Everyone except Jayne, who can’t settle in until his weapons are cleaned and ready for their next call. It’s an old habit that has served the big mercenary well through the years.

Jayne loads a battered canvas bag with the things he needs: rags and swabs and gun oil, wire brushes for removing old gunpowder residue and his whet stone. He slings it over his shoulder, leaving his hands free to help him climb the rungs of his ladder. He stands for a moment in the passageway, listening to the familiar creaks and whispers of Serenity, then turns and heads for the ship’s common area. Moving quietly, he sets down the bag and takes out an old towel that he spreads across one end of the big oak dining table. Satisfied with his workspace, he draws his side arm and lays it on the towel before heading into the galley.

He’s powerful thirsty so he fills his blue and white enameled cup two-thirds full of Kaylee’s homebrewed hooch before carrying it back to the table. A woman who can fix things and make booze on top of looking pretty damn cute – there’s something to be said for that, he concludes, realizing that he’s increasingly attracted to the young mechanic, not that much is likely to happen. Mal’s made it abundantly clear the girl is off limits. What a waste , Jayne thinks, as he takes a swig.

He smiles fondly down at his pistol. She’s saved his life many a time. He drags the lamp nearer to his work before sitting down in Mal’s