Fic: Passengers
Title: Passengers
Genre: AU, Crossover Sailor Moon/Firefly
A/N: For my dear friend elvisvf101 . This is not the plot bunny we spoke of, but something I wrote because you are a nice lad and because it was your birthday. Of course, you might wind up hating me FOREVER because I am butchering your baby. And because your baby is set in space, I’m submitting this for the “In Space” prompt at sm_monthly . May include Firefly spoilers up to and including episode 12. Seriously, El, don’t hate me.
** Passenger One **
“I got a town named after me, you know,” he says and swaggers, throwing her a bold look over his broad shoulder. Mina sighs. She should probably feign some interest. “Oh, really? That’s quite something.” “Yeah,” Jayne says, sounds impressed with himself, and swaggers even more. “I’m something of a local hero. Saviour.” He turns around, and Mina almost walks right smack into him. “Messiah,” he adds, and she can’t shake the feeling that he heard someone else use the word and now proudly remembers it. Men, she thinks. They’re all like dogs, waiting to be petted and praised.
“Here we are.” He pulls at something, and the dirty metal wall reveals a small tunnel going downwards. “Thanks.” Jayne drapes himself over the entrance, all broad frame and muscled arms and manly sweat and a grand total of five and a half brain cells.
He gives her a once-over and again, his eyes linger on her tits. It’s only the third time in the twenty minutes since she boarded the ship. Why couldn’t the nice uptight doctor guide her to her cabin? Much more her type, Mina thinks and sighs. “Well,” she says, “Mr. Jayne-” “Pretty lady like you can call me Jayne,” he says and leans closer. Mina wrinkles her nose. Manly sweat indeed. “Jayne. Thank you for guiding me to my cabin. That would be all for now.”
Jayne frowns, waiting for the invitation that’s not going to come and then the Captain walks by, chuckling to himself. He slaps Jayne on the shoulder. “Come on, Messiah, Kaylee needs your help in the engine room.”
**Passenger Two**
They are sitting in the small kitchen, and even for the Serenity, the group is highly unlikely. A companion, a Shepherd, and a warrior princess. “I understand why this ship is called Serenity,” Mars whispers, and runs a hand over the chipped surface of the kitchen table. She smiles, and she is not a woman who is prone to smiling. Actually, she hasn’t smiled in years. Not since the battle that cost her her lover and her liege.
Inara reaches for the teapot and fills the three small, colourful glasses. Quite a lot of sugar is added, and when she stirs the beverages with a little silver spoon, she nods. “It becomes home so soon, doesn’t it?”
“That it does indeed,” Book admits, and reaches for his glass. Mars doesn’t touch hers: her hand is still stroking the table, stroking the ship. Home, she thinks, and closes her eyes, the image of Jadeite burning brightly in her mind.
**Passengers Three and Four**
“Newlyweds?” Wash asks, and his pale brows rise all the way up. Mal crosses his arms in front of his chest. “Wash, they could be talking donkeys for all I care. As long as they are paying talking donkeys, they can come on board.”
“Yeah, but, I mean: why would you want to spend your honeymoon travelling through the backwaters on a Firefly? We’re not exactly a cruise ship.”
“Do you have a point or are you just trying to annoy me?”
Inara floats in and there is a fine smile tugging at her lips. “Of course Mal here would know all about the honeymoon allure of the Serenity.”
“Do we have to talk about this again? I was drugged! And before the drugging, I was drinking! That marriage was an accident.”
Wash laughs, and toys with the Tyrannosaurus Rex. Honeymoon on Serenity. People are getting crazier with every passing day.
** Passenger Five **
Zoe shakes the petite woman’s hand. “I hope you had a pleasant trip. Sorry for the detour.” The woman blushes, a deep crimson. It makes her look much younger than her medical training indicates. She mumbles something, bobs her head, and then she is gone. Zoe watches her walk away, bag clutched to her chest, eyes on the ground. Poor thing.
Once the blue hair and the thin shoulders are no longer visible, Zoe sighs and walks back into the ship. Mal and Jayne are playing ping pong in the cargo bay, using one of the larger crates as a table.
“You two should be ashamed of yourself.”
Mal has the decency to look contrite (even though that never lasts), but Jayne frowns. “Not our fault the goods were on the nude planet.”
** Passenger Six **
Kaylee bats her lashes, and Simon feels a very un-Simon-like desire to put his fist through a wall. Of course, all the walls are metal, and his fist would break, and not in an easy, but in a complicated fracture, and setting one of those, especially on himself, would be rather difficult, but when the passenger leans towards Kaylee and brushes a little oil stain off her cheek, Simon thinks of punching the guy instead.
Only that said guy is as tall and strong and stupid as Jayne, and thus probably very likely of hitting him back, and even though Simon does not know much about women, he knows that lying on the floor while his opponent is standing without a scratch won’t exactly serve to impress Kaylee.
Noel and Kaylee begin to talk about the new port compression coil, and Kaylee gets that look in her eyes, the one she always has when someone appreciates Serenity. If the guy now whips out some fresh fruit, she’d probably let him put a ring on her finger.
Noel’s travels with them for fourteen days, and he spends most of them with Kaylee. Eventually (finally, Simon thinks) he leaves the ship at St. Albans, but not before kissing Kaylee on the cheek and shaking his head at Simon as he walks off the cargo deck.
River then sneaks up next to her brother, giggling. “My brother is an idiot,” she sing-songs, and turns to Kaylee, who has walked up to them. The mechanic slings an arm around River and gives Simon a long look. “Yes, he is,” she says.
** Passengers Three and Four, Again **
Inara and Kaylee are sitting on the few steps leading down from the bridge area. They can hear Mal shouting in the dining room. Jayne walks up them, scratching himself behind the ear and then sniffing his hand. “Captain’s pretty damn mad, Inara.”
“Mal is always mad, Jayne. It’s just showing more today.”
Kaylee sighs. “But Inara didn’t know she was a companion.” Inara closes her eyes. This day is giving her a migraine. “The problem is that I did know.”
They hear something slamming, and then Mal charges towards them. His face is red, and he looks ready to explode. Towering over Inara, he fumes in a quiet and dangerous way. Jayne immediately takes off. Not his battle, no point sticking around.
“She’s pregnant. A pregnant companion, running away from her customer, with his baby under her heart, but secretly married to his butler.”
“It’s a bit more complicated than that, Mal.”
“Oh, really? Enlighten me. Because to me, it sounds as if legally, she’s a thief because the child is the property of the customer-” “Client,” Kaylee interjects, and meets Mal’s eyes. He huffs. “Oh, sorry, I forgot I have to be politically correct around whores.”
A frown settles on Kaylee’s pretty face. “No need to be rude. Can’t we just help them?”
“Help- … Help them? Kaylee, they are fugitives, it’s bad enough that we shipped them around on their honeymoon. Helping them means hiding them.”
“We don’t have to hide them on the ship, we can take them somewhere remote.”
Inara reaches for Kaylee’s hand and presses it. She steels herself. “Mal, I’m going to pay for their fare, and whatever costs arise on the journey. If you have to bribe someone to turn a blind eye, do it. I’ll pay. Please.”
He holds her gaze for a minute, frowns, and turns on the spot, muttering “stupid women, stupid whores” as walks away.
“That means yes,” Kaylee whispers, and Inara’s shoulders finally relax.
***
They take them to the Triumph Settlers. Mal’s mood is spectacularly bad throughout the entire journey, and Wash’s constant quips about how much he must miss Saffron really don’t help, but what can you do. Things are the way they are.
The woman tries to help by taking on everyone’s chores, but companions are not exactly trained in menial work, so whatever food she prepares tastes more or less the way Jayne smells. Her husband joins Simon in the infirmary, and between the two of them, there is suddenly a real and fierce hope that River can be cured. The companion’s mate wasn’t always a butler.
He was a healer first.
When the crew is back up in the sky, and the couple is safely hidden in the tiny settlement, among kind people with no interest in the complex rules of companionship, Mal walks into Inara’s shuttle, unannounced. “Did you know that her name was Serenity?” he asks, and Inara leans back on the couch, crosses her legs and smiles. “That’s what made you help them, isn’t it? Oh Mal, who would have thought you to be so sentimental.”
There are many things he could say in response. But Captain Mal Reynolds is not a fool, and Inara Serra is a companion, and really, neither would run away from everything they hold dear just to be- well, whatever. And it’s not as if Endymion’s and Serenity’s story has anything to do with them, now is it? So he squares his shoulders, and smirks. “Well, I reckon I am.”
***
The End
Genre: AU, Crossover Sailor Moon/Firefly
A/N: For my dear friend elvisvf101 . This is not the plot bunny we spoke of, but something I wrote because you are a nice lad and because it was your birthday. Of course, you might wind up hating me FOREVER because I am butchering your baby. And because your baby is set in space, I’m submitting this for the “In Space” prompt at sm_monthly . May include Firefly spoilers up to and including episode 12. Seriously, El, don’t hate me.
** Passenger One **
“I got a town named after me, you know,” he says and swaggers, throwing her a bold look over his broad shoulder. Mina sighs. She should probably feign some interest. “Oh, really? That’s quite something.” “Yeah,” Jayne says, sounds impressed with himself, and swaggers even more. “I’m something of a local hero. Saviour.” He turns around, and Mina almost walks right smack into him. “Messiah,” he adds, and she can’t shake the feeling that he heard someone else use the word and now proudly remembers it. Men, she thinks. They’re all like dogs, waiting to be petted and praised.
“Here we are.” He pulls at something, and the dirty metal wall reveals a small tunnel going downwards. “Thanks.” Jayne drapes himself over the entrance, all broad frame and muscled arms and manly sweat and a grand total of five and a half brain cells.
He gives her a once-over and again, his eyes linger on her tits. It’s only the third time in the twenty minutes since she boarded the ship. Why couldn’t the nice uptight doctor guide her to her cabin? Much more her type, Mina thinks and sighs. “Well,” she says, “Mr. Jayne-” “Pretty lady like you can call me Jayne,” he says and leans closer. Mina wrinkles her nose. Manly sweat indeed. “Jayne. Thank you for guiding me to my cabin. That would be all for now.”
Jayne frowns, waiting for the invitation that’s not going to come and then the Captain walks by, chuckling to himself. He slaps Jayne on the shoulder. “Come on, Messiah, Kaylee needs your help in the engine room.”
**Passenger Two**
They are sitting in the small kitchen, and even for the Serenity, the group is highly unlikely. A companion, a Shepherd, and a warrior princess. “I understand why this ship is called Serenity,” Mars whispers, and runs a hand over the chipped surface of the kitchen table. She smiles, and she is not a woman who is prone to smiling. Actually, she hasn’t smiled in years. Not since the battle that cost her her lover and her liege.
Inara reaches for the teapot and fills the three small, colourful glasses. Quite a lot of sugar is added, and when she stirs the beverages with a little silver spoon, she nods. “It becomes home so soon, doesn’t it?”
“That it does indeed,” Book admits, and reaches for his glass. Mars doesn’t touch hers: her hand is still stroking the table, stroking the ship. Home, she thinks, and closes her eyes, the image of Jadeite burning brightly in her mind.
**Passengers Three and Four**
“Newlyweds?” Wash asks, and his pale brows rise all the way up. Mal crosses his arms in front of his chest. “Wash, they could be talking donkeys for all I care. As long as they are paying talking donkeys, they can come on board.”
“Yeah, but, I mean: why would you want to spend your honeymoon travelling through the backwaters on a Firefly? We’re not exactly a cruise ship.”
“Do you have a point or are you just trying to annoy me?”
Inara floats in and there is a fine smile tugging at her lips. “Of course Mal here would know all about the honeymoon allure of the Serenity.”
“Do we have to talk about this again? I was drugged! And before the drugging, I was drinking! That marriage was an accident.”
Wash laughs, and toys with the Tyrannosaurus Rex. Honeymoon on Serenity. People are getting crazier with every passing day.
** Passenger Five **
Zoe shakes the petite woman’s hand. “I hope you had a pleasant trip. Sorry for the detour.” The woman blushes, a deep crimson. It makes her look much younger than her medical training indicates. She mumbles something, bobs her head, and then she is gone. Zoe watches her walk away, bag clutched to her chest, eyes on the ground. Poor thing.
Once the blue hair and the thin shoulders are no longer visible, Zoe sighs and walks back into the ship. Mal and Jayne are playing ping pong in the cargo bay, using one of the larger crates as a table.
“You two should be ashamed of yourself.”
Mal has the decency to look contrite (even though that never lasts), but Jayne frowns. “Not our fault the goods were on the nude planet.”
** Passenger Six **
Kaylee bats her lashes, and Simon feels a very un-Simon-like desire to put his fist through a wall. Of course, all the walls are metal, and his fist would break, and not in an easy, but in a complicated fracture, and setting one of those, especially on himself, would be rather difficult, but when the passenger leans towards Kaylee and brushes a little oil stain off her cheek, Simon thinks of punching the guy instead.
Only that said guy is as tall and strong and stupid as Jayne, and thus probably very likely of hitting him back, and even though Simon does not know much about women, he knows that lying on the floor while his opponent is standing without a scratch won’t exactly serve to impress Kaylee.
Noel and Kaylee begin to talk about the new port compression coil, and Kaylee gets that look in her eyes, the one she always has when someone appreciates Serenity. If the guy now whips out some fresh fruit, she’d probably let him put a ring on her finger.
Noel’s travels with them for fourteen days, and he spends most of them with Kaylee. Eventually (finally, Simon thinks) he leaves the ship at St. Albans, but not before kissing Kaylee on the cheek and shaking his head at Simon as he walks off the cargo deck.
River then sneaks up next to her brother, giggling. “My brother is an idiot,” she sing-songs, and turns to Kaylee, who has walked up to them. The mechanic slings an arm around River and gives Simon a long look. “Yes, he is,” she says.
** Passengers Three and Four, Again **
Inara and Kaylee are sitting on the few steps leading down from the bridge area. They can hear Mal shouting in the dining room. Jayne walks up them, scratching himself behind the ear and then sniffing his hand. “Captain’s pretty damn mad, Inara.”
“Mal is always mad, Jayne. It’s just showing more today.”
Kaylee sighs. “But Inara didn’t know she was a companion.” Inara closes her eyes. This day is giving her a migraine. “The problem is that I did know.”
They hear something slamming, and then Mal charges towards them. His face is red, and he looks ready to explode. Towering over Inara, he fumes in a quiet and dangerous way. Jayne immediately takes off. Not his battle, no point sticking around.
“She’s pregnant. A pregnant companion, running away from her customer, with his baby under her heart, but secretly married to his butler.”
“It’s a bit more complicated than that, Mal.”
“Oh, really? Enlighten me. Because to me, it sounds as if legally, she’s a thief because the child is the property of the customer-” “Client,” Kaylee interjects, and meets Mal’s eyes. He huffs. “Oh, sorry, I forgot I have to be politically correct around whores.”
A frown settles on Kaylee’s pretty face. “No need to be rude. Can’t we just help them?”
“Help- … Help them? Kaylee, they are fugitives, it’s bad enough that we shipped them around on their honeymoon. Helping them means hiding them.”
“We don’t have to hide them on the ship, we can take them somewhere remote.”
Inara reaches for Kaylee’s hand and presses it. She steels herself. “Mal, I’m going to pay for their fare, and whatever costs arise on the journey. If you have to bribe someone to turn a blind eye, do it. I’ll pay. Please.”
He holds her gaze for a minute, frowns, and turns on the spot, muttering “stupid women, stupid whores” as walks away.
“That means yes,” Kaylee whispers, and Inara’s shoulders finally relax.
***
They take them to the Triumph Settlers. Mal’s mood is spectacularly bad throughout the entire journey, and Wash’s constant quips about how much he must miss Saffron really don’t help, but what can you do. Things are the way they are.
The woman tries to help by taking on everyone’s chores, but companions are not exactly trained in menial work, so whatever food she prepares tastes more or less the way Jayne smells. Her husband joins Simon in the infirmary, and between the two of them, there is suddenly a real and fierce hope that River can be cured. The companion’s mate wasn’t always a butler.
He was a healer first.
When the crew is back up in the sky, and the couple is safely hidden in the tiny settlement, among kind people with no interest in the complex rules of companionship, Mal walks into Inara’s shuttle, unannounced. “Did you know that her name was Serenity?” he asks, and Inara leans back on the couch, crosses her legs and smiles. “That’s what made you help them, isn’t it? Oh Mal, who would have thought you to be so sentimental.”
There are many things he could say in response. But Captain Mal Reynolds is not a fool, and Inara Serra is a companion, and really, neither would run away from everything they hold dear just to be- well, whatever. And it’s not as if Endymion’s and Serenity’s story has anything to do with them, now is it? So he squares his shoulders, and smirks. “Well, I reckon I am.”
***
The End