Girls & Guns
Ain't no need for a speck of a girl like you to learn how to shoot a gun.
Spoilers: None
Rating: PG
Characters: Kaylee, Jayne
Disclaimer: They belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, etc.
Notes: Zandra thought Kaylee and Jayne would be cute. She was right. And Em is a wonderful woman for looking this over before I posted.
They were sitting in the mess, nibbling at some leftover Oaty bars that had been cut into festive shapes, when Kaylee shyly brought up the subject. "I was thinkin', it might be a good idea if I learned how to shoot a gun."
Jayne's head jerked up. "What?"
"Shoot," she repeated, more firmly this time. "I think I should learn how to do it."
"No. Absolutely not."
"Why?" she asked around a mouthful of cookie.
"Ain't no need for a speck of a girl like you to learn how to shoot a gun," he declared.
"Zoe's a girl and she knows how to shoot a gun," Kaylee observed.
"Zoe fought in the war. Ain't no reason you gotta learn to be like her."
She sighed. "It's just a gun."
"It ain't just a gun!"
"But –"
"Gorramit, I said NO," Jayne snarled, as he pushed back his chair and stood menacingly above her. "Now get the thought of shooting right out of your pretty little head and worry about how we're gonna get this ship to the next sector instead."
"Ok," she squeaked, too surprised by his outburst to say anything else.
"Good." He stomped towards the door and flung it open. And then he made a big mistake – he glanced back at her. She looked crushed, liked he'd just broken off a bit of her engine on purpose. "Ah, Kaylee, girl –"
She shrugged, trying to make it seem as if what he'd said was no big deal. "It's ok. Really. Ain't like I'm gonna be leaving Serenity without the protection of the Cap'n anyhow."
He huffed, then turned and headed towards his quarters, where he skulked restlessly for the next hour, wondering how he could make things up to her.
A while later, he appeared at the entrance to the engine room, shuffling nervously from side to side. "Hey Kaylee, you got a minute?"
She looked up from the coil she was tinkering with and nodded warily. "Sure."
"I have something I want you to see."
She got up from her hammock and followed him out into the main bay. "If it's anything to do with twins or buxom madams, you can count me out," she warned him. "I'm not…"
Her voice trailed off as she got a good look at the bay. Jayne had set up a dozen or more crude targets - old cans, paper images of alliance soldiers, and other assorted bits and pieces they'd picked up in their travels.
"You weren't wrong," Jayne said gruffly. "With all the stuff we run into out here in the black – It ain't a bad idea if you learn how to shoot."
Delighted, she stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Jayne."
"Yeah. Don't you be getting sappy about it, though. It ain't like I like you or nothing. I just don't want to have to risk my own neck saving yours the next time we run into some sort of trouble."
She nodded solemnly, but couldn't quite hide the twinkling in her eyes or the wide smile on her face. "Ok."
He took out his gun – not Vera, he'd never share Vera , but a smaller, more serviceable one he kept at the back of his locker -- hefted it in one hand, and angled the handle towards Kaylee. "Now here's how you do it…"
Posted by Cassie on 08:21 PM