[FM] 51 - Holiday Shopping
“C’mon, Cap’n...you gotta get her *something!*”
“I ain’t gotta get her a gorram thing.” Mal insisted tersely, scowling hard at the small stall if brick-a-brac that he’d allowed Kaylee to drag him to. The bright balls and festive branches of plant life that were meant to symbolize the boughs of evergreen that used to mark the holiday in ages past on Earth-That-Was only served to make him moodier. “Told you before, I ain’t fixed to celebrate this ruttin’ load of go se. I just came here to find a contact and get us work.”
“But it’s Yule! Ya can’t not celebrate Yule, Cap’n! Everybody loves Yule...all the good food, and the decorations, and the carols...y’know River actually *knows* some ancient Yule carols? She’s gonna teach us some and everything...”
“Okay, if I buy a trinket or two, will ya stop tryin’ to infect me with yer holiday spirit?” he finally huffed.
Kaylee’s only answer was an enthusiastic nod as she linked her arm through his and hauled him further into the stall before assaulting him with a cheery tirade on the pros and cons of the shop’s offerings...mostly cheap jewelry, useless little glitzy pots and boxes for Buddha knew what, and a few vials of smelly looking oils and perfumes that he was careful to steer clear of.
And, in spite of himself, Mal found that the whole shopping experience weren’t near so bad as he’d thought it might turn out to be...then again, it usually wasn’t when Kaylee dragged him along. She easily upgraded even the most monotonous, evil task from ‘rotten’ to ‘not so rotten after all.’ If nothing else, she was having quite a ball choosing her Yule gifts for Inara and River as he watched her locate an ornately decorated little handheld abacus for River and a stack of incense sticks for Inara that she tried to wave under Mal’s nose, making him cough.
He found the damn things because they nearly stabbed his gorram hand clean through as he bumped back against a table to avoid falling after Kaylee’s enthusiastic scent assault. Looking down, he found his fingers curled around a set of what looked like funny-shaped chopsticks, but Mal knew better...he’d seen pins like that in Inara’s hair once or twice.
“Ooooh, Cap’n...ain’t those pretty? Look at all the sparkles!”
Mal had them in his hand, running a finger over the glossy ebony laquer of the pins, ending in a teardrop shape that held a blood red stone on each one...synthetic, and fairly cheap, he’d wager, yet still a pretty bauble all the same. Turning the pins in his hands, he tested and tapped them experimentally...good craftsmanship, too. He’d be humped if he gave her something like to break right away...
Gave her something...ai ya ta ma de, was he really thinkin’ on that?
Still, he could almost see that ebony against her dark curls, those phony red jewels glittering in a nest of midnight silk...hell, she might even like them.
Glancing up at Kaylee, he knew right off the bat that he was licked.
“Happy Yule, Cap’n.” she beamed, leaning against him as he pulled out his money satchel.
Mal just sighed, nodding to the shopkeeper and gesturing with the pins for a price, leaning back into Kaylee just a little in silent affection. “Yeah, yeah...just don’t expect me to wrap ‘em.”
Muse: Malcolm Reynolds
Fandom: Firefly/Serenity
Words: 578
“I ain’t gotta get her a gorram thing.” Mal insisted tersely, scowling hard at the small stall if brick-a-brac that he’d allowed Kaylee to drag him to. The bright balls and festive branches of plant life that were meant to symbolize the boughs of evergreen that used to mark the holiday in ages past on Earth-That-Was only served to make him moodier. “Told you before, I ain’t fixed to celebrate this ruttin’ load of go se. I just came here to find a contact and get us work.”
“But it’s Yule! Ya can’t not celebrate Yule, Cap’n! Everybody loves Yule...all the good food, and the decorations, and the carols...y’know River actually *knows* some ancient Yule carols? She’s gonna teach us some and everything...”
“Okay, if I buy a trinket or two, will ya stop tryin’ to infect me with yer holiday spirit?” he finally huffed.
Kaylee’s only answer was an enthusiastic nod as she linked her arm through his and hauled him further into the stall before assaulting him with a cheery tirade on the pros and cons of the shop’s offerings...mostly cheap jewelry, useless little glitzy pots and boxes for Buddha knew what, and a few vials of smelly looking oils and perfumes that he was careful to steer clear of.
And, in spite of himself, Mal found that the whole shopping experience weren’t near so bad as he’d thought it might turn out to be...then again, it usually wasn’t when Kaylee dragged him along. She easily upgraded even the most monotonous, evil task from ‘rotten’ to ‘not so rotten after all.’ If nothing else, she was having quite a ball choosing her Yule gifts for Inara and River as he watched her locate an ornately decorated little handheld abacus for River and a stack of incense sticks for Inara that she tried to wave under Mal’s nose, making him cough.
He found the damn things because they nearly stabbed his gorram hand clean through as he bumped back against a table to avoid falling after Kaylee’s enthusiastic scent assault. Looking down, he found his fingers curled around a set of what looked like funny-shaped chopsticks, but Mal knew better...he’d seen pins like that in Inara’s hair once or twice.
“Ooooh, Cap’n...ain’t those pretty? Look at all the sparkles!”
Mal had them in his hand, running a finger over the glossy ebony laquer of the pins, ending in a teardrop shape that held a blood red stone on each one...synthetic, and fairly cheap, he’d wager, yet still a pretty bauble all the same. Turning the pins in his hands, he tested and tapped them experimentally...good craftsmanship, too. He’d be humped if he gave her something like to break right away...
Gave her something...ai ya ta ma de, was he really thinkin’ on that?
Still, he could almost see that ebony against her dark curls, those phony red jewels glittering in a nest of midnight silk...hell, she might even like them.
Glancing up at Kaylee, he knew right off the bat that he was licked.
“Happy Yule, Cap’n.” she beamed, leaning against him as he pulled out his money satchel.
Mal just sighed, nodding to the shopkeeper and gesturing with the pins for a price, leaning back into Kaylee just a little in silent affection. “Yeah, yeah...just don’t expect me to wrap ‘em.”
Muse: Malcolm Reynolds
Fandom: Firefly/Serenity
Words: 578