Bedlam: Part 12A

By Kaynara

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It’s Joss’s verse--I just borrow it. Sorry, Joss, know you like to write season finales yourself....

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Three days. How had three days and--Mal looked at his watch--thirteen hours become his cutoff point? Hell, was a time he’d gone almost three years, not that he liked to admit it in particular. But now, after just three days, he was well on the way to losing his mind. He had a pretty sneaking suspicion this was all her fault. Girl had to bounce around in those little outfits. Breathy baby-doll tops and those pants--oh, wo de ma, those gorram pants. She was killing him with white denim.

From his seat at the table, he watched her sidle up to the counter, pour water over ice. She stretched up on tip toes, reached for something on a high shelf. He was staring at her ass. Dammit, Kaylee had seen him starin’. Now she was giggling into her potatoes, and he was on the verge of embarrassing his own self if he tried to stand.

Tian de ma, he wasn’t gonna make it through the night. Worst of it was they weren’t even arguin’. Not like he’d asked and she’d refused. Matter of it was, he hadn’t asked, hadn’t even gone to her shuttle. Hell, they were bein’ downright civil, friendly even, jokin’ around, teasin’ each other in that way they had. They just weren’t bein’ friendly in the pelvic sense. Didn’t help him bein’ surrounded by hormones on parade. Just across the table, Kaylee and the doc was practically sittin’ on each other. River wasn’t much better, always tryin’ to be near Jayne when her brother weren’t around. Inara seemed unperturbed, said River was just learnin’. Blossoming, she’d said. That what they call it nowadays? Mal had asked, watching River stick her hand in Jayne’s back pocket, grab his wooly hat and run away giggling. As for Jayne...well, Jayne was always hungry and horny. But he was still a mite scared of the little albatross. That was something.

“Well.” Mal pounded a hand on the table. “Gots to check some things with the, uh, e