Later that night, Simon and Kaylee were relaxing together in Kaylee’s bunk before heading off to bed. Simon was sitting on Kaylee’s bed and brushing her hair while she sat on the floor in front of him, looking the picture of serene and peaceful. Simon however merely looked distracted and kept staring at the walls with a faraway look on his face. After a bit of time, Kaylee pulled her head away from Simon’s brush and turned to look at her lover.

“Is there something bothering you Simon?”

“Huh? What? Oh, no, nothing’s bothering me bao bei. Why would you think that?”

“Well it’s just that you been combing the same patch of hair for the past couple minutes without moving at all,” said Kaylee, her eyes narrowing.

“Oh, was I? Sorry, I didn’t notice,” said Simon, still staring at the wall.

“Simon, my eyes are down here.”

“Huh?”

Kaylee groaned and got to her feet, standing right in front of Simon and took his face between both her hands, forcing his gaze at her.

“Okay, look, I can tell somethin’s botherin you so ya might as well just come right out and say it ‘less you want to be sleeping alone tonight.”

“Honestly Kaylee, what do you think is on my mind right now? Obviously my mind is on what happened between River and the captain earlier today.” Simon said bitterly, forcing Kaylee’s hands off his face. He stood up himself and started pacing back and forth around the room, hand plastered to his forehead as he tried to make sense of what happened.

“I just don’t get it at all,” he said finally. “I mean, what does River see in him? The man is a bitter, sarcastic, cocky, self-absorbed thief.”

“Whoa, hey, that wasn’t at all nice mister,” Kaylee said icily, standing in Simon’s path with her arms folded over her chest. Simon, all too used to pissing off Kaylee by saying things without thinking, quickly tried to rebound.

“Okay, I didn’t mean that exactly like it sounded. It’s just that I’m not entirely sure that the captain would be a suitable mate for River.”

“Oh, and why exactly ain’t he, Simon? Because he’s not some big, pompous, over-stuffed dandy from the Core? Or maybe it’s because he doesn’t have enough money? Is that it?” Kaylee said heatedly, slowly backing Simon up against the wall and not in the way Simon liked her to.

“No, that’s not it at all.”

“Well let me tell you something Simon Tam, I think that the captain is just about the best person River could have found to want to be with.”

This last comment stunned Simon and he got a similar look to the one he had when he walked in on River and Mal in the infirmary.

“You actually think he’s the best she can do? Are you for real?”

“You’re gorram right I’m for real Simon. The captain is one of the sweetest men I’ve ever met in the ‘verse. He cares so much about this ship and everything that goes along with it, including you. He risks everything, even his own life for us. And I know that if he and River do start seeing each other, he’ll do the same for her. Hell, he already has risked everything for her back with the whole Miranda deal.”

“If he and River start seeing each other? Do you really think I’m going to let that happen?”

“Oh yes you are Simon. Because River’s right, you can’t keep a leash on her for her entire life. She’s almost eighteen and she needs to be allowed to grow up and experience life without her big brother staring down over her shoulder like a shadow. You can do all the complaining and forbidding you like but they’re going to see each other Simon, and you can’t do a thing about it.”

Simon closed his eyes painfully at the thought, knowing that Kaylee was right and that River would go to any lengths to get what she desired. Simon felt his legs start to give out and slowly slid down the wall until he was sitting on the floor at Kaylee’s feet. Feeling guilty about snapping at Simon, Kaylee sat down next to him and wrapped her arms around him.

“She’s just a kid. She’s gonna get hurt,” whispered Simon as a tear fell from his eye.

“Maybe she will. But you have to let her find out for herself. You need to let her experience this on her own.”

Simon merely nodded and nuzzled himself closer to Kaylee, sobbing quietly into her arm while she held onto him and stroked his hair. Suddenly Simon sprung to his feet, horror etched on his face as he shook his head in disbelievement.

“Simon, is something wrong?”

“No, no, please don’t tell me it’s actually tomorrow,” Simon muttered frantically to himself.

“What? What’s tomorrow Simon? What’s wrong?”

Simon slowly turned to Kaylee with his lip quivering in disbelief.

“River’s 18th birthday, it’s tomorrow.”

Kaylee, not quite following her boyfriend’s train of thought, slowly said, “So? I mean, that’s shiny and all that tomorrow’s her birthday but why are you looking all scared like that?”

“She’ll be 18, she’ll be legally old to consent to anything,” Simon moaned painfully. “And if I know my sister like I think I do, she won’t wait for Mal to make a move on that fact.”

********************************************************

Meanwhile, Mal was sitting alone in his bunk, having been deemed able to be released from the infirmary earlier by Simon. Mal was thankful for that as after what had happened with River, Mal didn’t feel to comfortable about letting Simon treat him. So as soon as he was deemed medically fit, Mal jumped out of the bed and headed for his bunk. He’d spent the rest of the day alone thinking about River and what she said.

He was still a bit amazed that his dreams basically came true out of nowhere. River had professed her love for him and appeared to desperately want a relationship with him. So now Mal merely had to decide if he was going to take the girl up on her offer. And while his heart was screaming, “Yes! Do it,” at the top of it’s voice, his brain could not ignore his point about her deserving better. Plus he was haunted by Shepherd Book’s voice in his head, repeating, “The Special Hell,” over and over. After thinking on it all day, Mal finally decided he needed some rest and got ready for bed.

Just as he started drifting off to sleep, there was a sudden bang at the entrance to his bunk. Mal sat up slowly and looked to the entrance to see River’s bare feet descending the ladder into his bunk. She finished climbing down and stood at the foot of the ladder and Mal’s eyes got as large as stars when he saw what she was wearing. River was dressed up in a beautiful red dress that hugged her body and accentuated the few curves she had. It was cut just above her knee and the back was cut all the way down to the small of River’s back. Mal just gazed at her in astonishment, unable to believe how beautiful she looked while she smiled sultrily at him, intently studying his body, which was only covered by a pair of cotton, sleep pants.

“That’s, um...that’s a dress I haven’t ever seen you in before.”

“Inara gave it to me. Said I should wear it when I’m with someone who’s very special to me,” said River as she took a step towards Mal.

The thought of Inara hit Mal like a brick to the head and all thoughts of how beautiful River looked were immediately replaced by thoughts of the former resident Companion of the ship. River sensed his thoughts and her face fell.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have mentioned that. I know you still have feelings for her.”

“No, I’m the one who should be apologizing. I mean there’s a stunningly beautiful girl standing in my room and I’ve got my mind on someone else who I can’t have.”

“I understand. You liked Inara for a really long time and it’s hard to give her up so quickly. I should probably go, I really shouldn’t be here right now.”

“No wait,” Mal said quickly, striding over to River and placing his hands on her shoulders as she started to climb back up the ladder. River looked up at him, her eyes starting to fill with tears. “Listen, I’ve been giving a lot of thought about what you said today like you asked me to. And I’m not going to let you go too. I passed up an opportunity with Inara and let her go even though I wanted her. I don’t want to let another chance like this slip through my hands. I want to take a chance on this with--”

Mal didn’t get any more words out due to River suddenly throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him hard. Mal was stunned for a brief second but quickly joined her in the kiss, burying his hands in her dark hair as his passion flowed from him like a dam bursting. River’s tongue requested access to Mal’s mouth and he allowed it entrance, meeting her tongue with his. River’s kisses were rough from lack of experience but there was intense passion buried in her kisses that Mal could not get enough of. Slowly, River started backing Mal across the room towards his bed, keeping her lips firmly locked against his the entire way.

But as he sat down on his bed and River followed by straddling his waist, his head started thinking about Book’s words again, constantly chanting “The Special Hell” at him as his hands roamed across River’s body. River stopped kissing him and smiled at him in a rather bemused fashion.

“I can understand Inara’s dress making you think of her Mal, but kissing me makes you think about the Shepherd? Thought you said you weren’t sly,” River said coyly. Mal rolled his eyes and sat back further on the bed.

“Listen, what you’re doing is giving me all kinds of amazing thoughts but some of them ain’t entirely appropriate for a seventeen-year-old girl. I know that what you’re doing feels really damn good and that I’d love to do more with you but I think it’s best we wait a bit until you’re of legal age, dong ma?”

Instead of tearing up like Mal expected her to, River got a rather mischievous glint in her eye and she quickly got up from on top of Mal and strode over to his Cortex screen and started fiddling with it. Soon, a digital clock readout appeared on the screen with the time showing 12:17 am.

“Well, it’s a good thing that I’m not a 17-year-old then, isn’t it?”

“Excuse me?”

“Look at the time.”

“Yeah, it’s awful late. What’s your point?” Mal asked, clearly not getting any of this.

“Happy birthday to me,” River sang quietly, shutting off the Cortex and walking over to the ladder of Mal’s bunk, closing it and pushing the button for it to lock before turning back to Mal.

“Happy birthday to me,” she continued, walking slowly back to Mal and peeling off the dress as she went, leaving her standing naked in front of Mal, who gazed at her body, slowly starting to realize what was going on. River reached out with her finger and brushed it across Mal’s cheek and he reached up to grab her hand to hold it there as he looked lovingly into her eyes.

“Happy birthday, dear River,” Mal sang to her, taking in every inch of her beautiful body, wanting desperately to be able to explore all of it. River straddled him once more and traced her fingers over the scar on his shoulder before gently running her hands over the other scars he had gotten due to his lifestyle choices. Mal involuntarily winced every time her fingers brushed across his old wounds but didn’t make her stop, her touch too soft and gentle to want to stop. River finished her examination of his scars and moved in to kiss him again.

“Happy birthday to me...” she whispered an inch from Mal’s face before pressing her lips against his once more. Mal leaned back to lie down on his bed and took River with him until the newly legal teen was lying on top of him. Mal’s hands ran all over River’s bare skin as he kissed her, going down the length of her back then back up her sides. He then let one hand trail back down River’s body and wrapped it around River’s buttock, drawing a low moan from River into their kiss. Mal kneaded her muscular backside and gently pushed down on it, forcing River’s hips deeper into his own. River could feel Mal’s erect cock pressing against her groin and she ground her hips seductively down onto Mal’s stiff erection. Mal felt River rub against him and stopped kissing her to gaze intently into her sparkling eyes.

“Are you sure this is what you want xin gan? Do you really want me to take you here, tonight?” Mal asked softly.

“I have no doubt in my mind that’s what I want. It’s what I’ve wanted for months now and tonight seems like the perfect night. On the day I legally become a woman, I want you to symbolically make me one as well Malcolm Reynolds. Will you do this for me?”

“Yes River, I will.”

River responded to this by bending down and resuming her deep kiss with Mal. Mal wrapped his arms around River and guided her down onto his bed so they were both lying on their sides while they passionately kissed. Even though he knew she could hear what he was thinking, Mal had to wonder where River had become so talented at kissing, especially knowing her strict, busy upbringing. River heard him wonder it but was too engulfed by passion and lust to want to stop and try to give him an explanation.

Mal detached himself from River’s mouth and kissed his way down her jaw to her neck, which he kissed with great intensity, drawing small whimpers from his pilot. Growing bolder, Mal locked his mouth around the side of River’s neck and gently bit down on it, causing River to cry out with pleasure. As he gnawed on the side of her neck, Mal’s hands were busy at work. He entwined his left in River’s long brown hair, rubbing her scalp while his right hand roamed all over her body. His hand settled on her breast and closed around the small mound of flesh as River continued to moan out from what her captain was doing to her.

After a few moments, Mal removed his hand from her breast and replaced it with his mouth. River let out a long moan as she arched herself further against Mal’s mouth, forcing more of her breast into him. Mal took his time with her, savoring every inch of her skin as his tongue flicked across her chest. River’s vision started to cloud over a bit as the dim lights of Mal’s bunk started to bleed together as she further let herself get lost in the ecstasy Mal was giving her. Meanwhile, Mal’s hand crept slowly down River’s muscular stomach and continued down the inside of her thigh.

“Oh. Oh, yes, please. Please, Mal,” River gasped as his hand traced back slowly up her leg. Deciding not to wait for Mal’s hand to get back to where she desired, River thrust her groin down onto Mal’s hand, causing Mal to chuckle a bit against her breast.

“Don’t you fret none little Albatross. I’m getting there. Just be patient and enjoy yourself. I know what I’m doing here.” Mal said softly, smiling warmly at her. River shivered a bit and nodded, allowing herself to relax in the captain’s arms. Mal’s hand took in its new surroundings and gently ran his fingers through her wiry pubic hair while River started to breathe heavier from his touch. Without giving any warning, Mal’s forefinger smoothly slid down between her lips and ran the calloused finger across River’s clitoris, causing the teen to suddenly jerk and go rigid as if she’d been electrocuted.

“Oh, wuh de tyen ah Mal,” River groaned out loudly as his finger brushed against the tender bundle of nerves once more. Mal kept sliding his finger further down until it curled up inside of her, causing more moans and gasping from River. He didn’t give her clit much time to recover though as he gently pressed his thumb down on it and started softly circling it on top of her pleasure center while his finger slowly stroked its way around deep inside of her. River bit down on her lip and closed her eyes tight, squirming under Mal’s surprisingly delicate touch. And as she writhed next to him, Mal looked down on her and felt his heart swell.

“Maybe this old heart’s still got some love in it,” Mal thought to himself as he watched his beautiful, young pilot’s reactions from what he was doing to her. River heard him and suddenly lurched up and kissed him harder than Mal had been kissed in ages, maybe ever before in his life. But as she kissed him, Mal pressed down harder on her clit and River moaned out loudly, breaking contact from Mal’s lips and causing her to lie back again.

“I can’t wait any longer, I need to feel you inside of me,” muttered River softly. Mal drew a deep breath to reassure himself that this was the right thing to do and merely nodded at River, who undid the drawstring of his sleep pants and slid them off of him. Mal’s erection sprang into view and River’s eyes widened at the sight of it. Slowly, she reached out to touch it and wrapped a small hand around his shaft, near the top of his head. Mal could not suppress a guttural, primal moan of his own as River’s silky smooth hand came into contact with his sensitive flesh.

River slowly started to gently stroke her hand up and down Mal’s warm, pulsing cock as she nuzzled her head against his chest, hearing his heart hammer harder and harder against his chest. Mal lost control for a moment and started moving his hips in time with River’s hand before getting a hold of himself and placing his hand over hers to stop her.

“That feels incredible bao bei but you need to stop or I’m not going to last long enough to get inside of you.” Mal managed to gasp out.

“I’m ready for you,” she breathed.

Mal slowly pulled his hand out of River’s slit, which by now was covered in her sticky, slick juices and positioned himself in-between her muscular legs. He looked down into her eyes for a moment where they merely stared intensely at each other before Mal inched his hips forward slowly and the head of his cock pressed its way inside of her. River gripped the sheets of Mal’s bed tightly as slowly more and more of his thick member inched its way deeper inside of her. Eventually, he got all the way inside of her and stopped for a moment again, trying his hardest to make this one perfect moment last forever. Mal had been involved in his fair share of sexual exploits through the years but he could not remember any of them feeling better or more right than what he felt right now.

“Please keep going. Don’t stop now,” cried out River desperately, enjoying the feeling herself but wanting more. Mal responded but leaning down and kissing her hungrily, which she reciprocated as the lust in both of them reached a fever pitch. Slowly, Mal started to thrust in and out of River while she instinctively moved back against his movements. They both began panting for breath as if they were both drowning as sweat glistened on both their flushed bodies.

“Oh, River, that’s my girl,” grunted Mal as he started to thrust faster against her while she merely cried out sharp staccatos of joy. Remembering something she had accidentally walked in on Simon and Kaylee doing, River raised her legs and pinned them up on top of Mal’s shoulders, wrapping them around the back of his neck. The increased pressure caused an even louder outburst of cries from the young pilot and grabbed on tight to Mal’s hand.

“Ta mah duh! Oh god, that’s wonderful captain!” she cried out. Mal could only grunt a response as he was too focused on his release to be able to speak. He could feel his orgasm starting to bubble inside of him as he thrust himself in and out of River’s tight hole. River’s cries became higher and higher in pitch before she screamed out as her orgasm crashed over her like a tsunami. River went rigid as she contracted tight against Mal’s cock over and over again as it relentlessly pounded within her. Mal watched River’s face while she came and briefly thought about how that was one of the most beautiful sights in the ‘verse before his own orgasm flared over him and he let out a mighty groan as he drove as deep into River as he could while he erupted inside of her, sending his semen flowing down deep into her waiting cavity.

River felt Mal’s cum splashing into her and it caused her to seize up again as another powerful orgasm ripped over her and left her breathless and temporarily paralyzed from the sheer intensity. Slowly Mal collapsed down on top of her, his cock slipping out as he did and he pressed his face against her neck while he desperately gasped for air. The two just laid against each other naked and sweating for a few minutes, neither able to move due to their massive orgasms as their heart rates and breathing slowly returned to normal. Eventually, Mal found enough brainpower to allow him to wrap his arms around River and hug her tight against him. She looked up at him with her eyes shining and smiled at him.

“I love you Mal. Thank you. Thank you so much for that,” she whispered as she curled up against him.

“I love you too River,” he murmured thickly.

River let out a small sob of relief because she could feel that he really did love her. Mal pulled his blanket up over the two of them and gently kissed her on the forehead before he laid back and started to drift off. As River closed her eyes, she couldn’t help thinking to herself that even though it had only lasted for about an hour so far, this was beyond any doubt her best birthday ever. Soon, Mal’s light snoring and the sound of his heartbeat soothed her to sleep, happier than she ever thought possible.

**********

TRANSLATIONS: -bao bei: sweetheart -wuh de tyen ah: Holy mother of god -ta ma duh: Fuck me blind