Firefly ficlet: Incense

[sophinisba]

ETA: Read the remix by emmademarais: Incense (The Honey Remix). /ETA

Okay, I said I'd post this as soon as my friend got back from vacation, and she posted a little while ago, so:

Here is my Firefly ficlet (set of five drabbles) for my RL friend gamerchick, who knows a hundred times more about Firefly than I do and who thinks fanfic is silly.

*is not intimidated in the least*

She asked for Jayne-centric and/or Kaylee/Inara. What I've done is a bit of gapfiller for "Out of Gas," in which Book, Jayne, Kaylee, and Inara spend several hours together on a shuttle, and the only thing we find out about how it went is that Jayne thought it smelled funny. Unbetaed because not enough of my friends are into Firefly.



***
Inara's too busy to fly the shuttle, and she'd rather lock it on autopilot than let Jayne near the controls. Busy taking care of Kaylee, who was already starting to lose it back on the ship, before Mal decided there was nothing they could do, and sent them off to die screaming through space in opposite directions while he died gasping in Serenity.

The doctor's in the other shuttle, the one that smells normal, and the only supplies here are teas and oils and burning sticks. Book's busy praying, and Jayne's stuck outside Inara's bunk -- bedroom, place of work -- listening.
***
"Kaylee, honey, you need to listen to me. This isn't the end, do you understand? We'll go back to the ship as soon as the Captain sends the call. And Serenity's gonna need you, and so is Mal, so you need to be strong for them, and I need you to be strong right now. I made you some tea, can you drink this for me?"

"That's good, sweetie, now smell the incense. What does that smell like?"

Jayne can barely hear: "Like your place."

"Good. You're safe in my place. Now taste this, and tell me what you taste."
***
Can't be kissing, even though that's what it sounds like, and that's sure as hell what Jayne's picturing in his head. But whores don't just do that for fun, and Kaylee doesn't have the coin. Inara's probably got some real chocolates stowed away, that she wouldn't think to share with the rest of them, and that's what's making Kaylee make them noises. But he doesn't mind pretending kisses and more, especially if he's gonna die today. No bunk of his own to go to, no privacy at all, but Jayne doesn't really mind taking hold of himself where he's standing.
***
Jayne hears the call come in, even though he's pretty caught up in the noises coming from the other side of the door. Before he knows it Book is standing there beside him pounding on that door, ignoring Jayne and his frantic efforts to cover up what he's been doing. Still no word from Serenity, but the message from the other shuttle is Zoe's awake and ready to murder whoever's idea it was to abandon captain and ship. No use telling her it was Mal's idea, 'cause she really just means she's ready to murder Jayne, Simon, and probably Wash.
***
Then Inara's talking to Wash, and Book's acting like there's a reason for him to be there too. Only thing keeping Jayne from going in to Kaylee is that god-awful smell, and he's survived worse. When Inara drug her in there she was numb, silent, staring off into space. When he sees her again she's smiling like... well, like Kaylee.

"Save any of them chocolates for the rest of us?"

"What are you talking about, Jayne?"

"Nothing, not talking sense. Must be the air in here. What were you girls gettin' up to though?"

She shrugs. "You know, girl stuff."