Title: A Ribbon at a Time

Author: Sullen Siren (adena(at)direcway(dot)com)

Summary: "He didn't know nothing about women. But she was a nice girl. Been a long time since anyone called him sweet who wasn't his mama."

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: I own nothing of worth. Please don’t sue. Firefly and all related characters are the property of Mutant Enemy, Joss Whedon, the Evil Fox Corporation, and so on. Definitely not mine. I'm just playing with their toys a bit.

Feedback: Loved and worshipped and greatly appreciated.

Note: Dedicated to tygress, who asked for Jayne to worship Kaylee from afar. This is close as I could get. Title is taken from the Dickinson poem "I'll tell you how the sun Rose."

I. Introductions

He notices it when they first take him aboard the hunk of sky-junk they call a ship. Not that his last was any better, but they was good on their word. Had his own bunk and everything, and the company could be worse. Could be better too, since the only piece of tail he could get near were married and likely to rip his heart out if he so much as gave her a nice swat on the ass. Which were a shame. Zoe had the kind of ass Jayne could watch for hours.

He didn't watch so much now, 'course. His fingers still hadn't healed from last time she'd caught him. Had almost been worth it though.

So Zoe was off limits, and Jayne wasn't used to not having regular stops at whorehouses cross the 'verse. Man's got urges, after all. Which was probably why it irked him so much that he was obviously being kept away from the only other female-type ship-board.

They weren't even subtle about steering him away from that mechanic girl. She weren't his type at all. Jayne liked his women with meat and hips and breasts big enough to bury your face in. But she were fem