Chapter Text
There was just something unexpected in the way he threw himself in for the hug. Something filled with longing, and maybe a little touch starvation. Its hard to go without even the simplest of touch for long, and it had been months since he'd seen let alone touched anyone. Not a solitary handshake, nor a single touch of fingertips since you had set down and left him with nothing more than happy thoughts.
One week quarantine followed by a month of isolation on the steppes of northern territories had sucked away his boundaries, denuded him of the ability to judge personal space, and as a result, he stood there, breathing deeply into my throat. The ragged ebb and flow of barely contained sobs misting against my skin.
“I swear to Dìqiú shàng suǒyǒu de shénlíng you don't hurry up an close that hatch, Cap'n gonna have stern words with you.” My voice felt thick as the syrup you pour on pancakes, catching a little towards the end as I felt him nuzzle his chapped lips against me. Damn I missed this oaf.
“Damn cold out there, colder 'n the black and twice as much to kill ya. Coulda warned a fella he could loose his manhood in a summer storm gorramit.”
I couldnt help but smile, summer storm indeed. “Jayne, did I, or did I not tell you that even the hottest of summers out here are colder than the mid winter back on Boros?” Pulling away from his still shaky grasp I hit the button to close the hatch. “'Sides which, Cap'n wants us back in the air asap, somethin' about wanting to get a drink with all the new shiny we got on this trip.”
This trip, being my second outing with the crew of Serenity, had gone off with fewer hitches and flaws than the Cap'n had forseen, mostly due to the fact that we had whittled the number of active members down to three; The Captain, The Mechanic and Myself. Hiding the rest of the crew had been difficult to say the least, but I knew that it would pay off in the end.
Very few people knew of the tiny valley where I stashed our mercenary, mostly because of the extreme temperatures, partly because of the treacherous terrain. Anything bigger than a small shuttle and the vibrations would cause an avalanche, anything smaller and you would be either flipped by the constant winds or frozen to the seat if you approached by land. All in all a great hiding spot for our Muscle until the heat died down (pun intended).
The late summer storms were worse this year than the last ten combined, making extraction more difficult than expected. Jayne looked like a stiff breeze would lay him out flat, and the cold could make even the sweetest of temperaments foul, knowing our ornery sumbitch of a mercenary, I was going to get a tongue lashing later. Too Bad, So Sad. He was the best suited to the tiny frozen settlement, and the others were hidden in places they would best fit into.
“Get to your bunk, warm up and meet us in the mess for chow. Kaylee and I whipped up something with actual food in it!”
Making my way back to the cockpit I passed Kaylee, smiling slyly I nudged her gently to make my way passed her in the gangway, “Next stop, Doc and Mei Mei. Strap in for a short hard burn. I should have us there in next to no time.” The light flush across Kaylee's cheeks is about as adorable as a new born kitten.