"These Things Never Go Easy" by live_brave (PG-13)
Fic for April 7
Title: These Things Never Go Easy
Author/Artist:
live_brave
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Hints of Mal/Inara angst
Prompt: Firefly AU
Warnings: None
Spoilers: None for SGA. Through the movie for Firefly.
Author’s Note:This was not at all what I had planned on, and I feel a little bad that the story centers a little more on Firefly than SGA but that's just how the story came out. I actually started about five different drafts before settling on this one. Those included one about how the various SGA members joined up as well as a sort of day-in-the-life fic. At least one of those will appear soon as well. :)
Summary: Mal and the crew of Serenity take on two new passengers.
Captain Malcolm Reynolds stood just inside the cargo bay of his ship watching the activity of the loading docks on Apollidon. He wiped away an errant bead of sweat as it trickled down his temple. Even in the shade it was sweltering, the air humid and thick with dust, smoke, and noise.
He watched several of his crew members as they made their way through the crowds, each intent on his or her respective errands, then he realized he was missing a few. He did a quick tally on his fingers then stuck his head outside to find his errant mechanic and their new pilot lounging on folding chairs in the shade of Serenity. (He had been their pilot for almost four months, but Mal instinctively knew that John Sheppard would forever be ‘the new pilot’ in his mind.)
“What in the sphincter of Hell are you two doin’?” he asked, taking a step onto the ramp.
Kaylee glanced up at him, a sunny smile on her face. The rhythmic motion of her fan never faltered as she said, “Gettin' a breeze, Captain. It’s too hot to be on Serenity when she ain’t runnin’.”
John Sheppard (the new pilot) leaned closer to Kaylee, trying to snatch some of the breeze from her fan. “And it’s sure as di yú too hot to be out there,” he said, gesturing to the scene before them with an expression of lazy amusement. Mal had noticed that John tempered almost every emotion with lazy amusement.
“Well, I ain’t paying you two to sit on your duffs having a tea party."
"There's tea?" John asked, raising his eyebrows.
Mal gave him a blank look then turned to Kaylee. “Don’t you have work to do? Some repair that’s callin’ your name?”
“Nah, Captain. Serenity’s shiny. Besides, we want to be here to greet our passengers when they arrive.”
“Passenger,” Mal corrected her, holding up one index finger. “Singular.”
Kaylee and John exchanged glances - hers worried, his still amused - then looked back at Mal.
Realization dawned like a winter sun rise, casting a cold light on the facts before him. “She didn’t,” he said, his tone a step closer to pleading than he liked.
“I did.”
Mal turned to find Inara just behind him, looking cool and collected despite the heat. “I seem to recall that I said, ‘no’.”
Inara walked out onto the ramp to face him. “It’s a job, Mal. You’re going to turn down a job because she’s not your type of people?”
Annoyance bubbled up. “My, that’s the closest you’ve gotten all week to calling me a thief. Quite the accomplishment.”
Mal had never believed that a person’s eyes could flash with anger before he’d met Inara. He’d seen it happen when he goaded her just so and something in her eyes flared red-hot. He was ashamed to admit that he liked seeing it and occasionally needled her just for that reaction. It meant that she was more than the elegant mask she pretended to be. When he saw that flare it made him think that maybe, just maybe, he wasn’t crazy for thinking they might work.
“And I’m happy to see you refrained from calling me a whore,” Inara said coolly. “We’re all progressing, it seems.”
“I don’t rightly care who she is or what she is,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest. “I care that she wants me to drop her on a moon that’s all too deep in Alliance territory. A hostile and highly unstable Alliance, I might add. I ain’t goin’ toe to toe with the Devil if I don’t have to.”
“Mal, you’re one of the few that will venture anywhere near the Core. We’re already going to Osiris to drop off the professor. Highgate is hardly out of the way.”
“It’s closer to Londinium than I’m willin’ to go.” Mal lowered his voice and took a step closer to her. “I ain’t puttin’ anybody at risk if I don’t have to.”
“Teyla offered to pay you twice what you normally ask.” Inara saw his expression and sighed. “It’s a job, Mal. One we can hardly afford to turn down.”
Mal knew it was true which made him feel worse about the whole situation. Since the signal had gone out to every corner of the known universe, life had become less stable. He’d never thought it could be possible but there it was. Somehow he thought that he had expected a seamless transition from Alliance back to Independent. Then he remembered the first transition which made him wonder when he had become so naïve.
A slowly crumbling Alliance had meant a mad rush as more settlers escaped to the border planets, putting a strain on already limited resources. What little assistance the Alliance once offered had all but vanished. Worlds held on to their supplies, not willing to part with what they had in order to find a better price elsewhere. And Mal knew that things weren’t likely to improve anytime soon. They had stayed afloat so far by ferrying passengers but only just. With several extra mouths to feed he needed all the work he could find if he didn’t want to resort to more drastic measures.
Mal realized that Inara had said ‘we’ and wondered when this had became a ‘we’ sort of situation. He was oddly pleased and concerned that it had.
“We’ll see,” he said. Somewhere behind him, he heard John say to Kaylee, “I love a moderately happy ending.”
~~~
Jayne and their latest mercenary recruit, Ronon Dex, arrived an hour later with the first of their passengers in tow.
“I’m gonna kill him ‘fore we’re even in the gorram air,” Jayne growled as he stalked passed Mal.
“What happened?” Mal asked.
Ronon jerked a thumb at their passenger. “The little professor never shuts up.”
Mal glanced over to where Zoe was trying to pacify Dr. Rodney McKay about the handling of his possessions.
“Hey, hey, hey,” the man yelled at John who had gotten up to help unload the mule. “Yú shì huán bào de fei fei. Be careful with that!” He rounded on Ronon. “Put that down! That equipment is worth more than you’ve seen in a lifetime, Sasquatch.”
“You want to unload it yourself?” Ronon offered, holding out a box to the man. “Be my guest.”
There was a moment of stunned silence before Dr. McKay said, “No, just…be careful.”
Ronon smirked, heaved a box on his shoulder, and trudged up the ramp.
“Dr. McKay.” Mal came forward then, sticking out his hand. “I’m Malcolm Reynolds, the captain of Serenity.”
Dr. McKay shook it, a distracted expression on his face. “Yes, yes.” He gazed into the bowls of the ship. “You don’t think he’s going to drop that on purpose, do you?”
From across the ramp, John’s cough sounded suspiciously like a laugh, and Mal said, “I’d be more than a mite surprised if he didn’t.” He decided the look of abject horror on Dr. McKay’s face was worth twice his weight in gold.
~~~
Teyla Emmagen’s arrival was in sharp contrast to Dr. McKay’s. She was prompt, courteous, and insisted that she does not need any help with her trunk.
Everyone had turned up to see Inara’s longtime friend arrive, although the more well-mannered ones (Simon, for instance) did so under the guise of ‘I just happened to be in the cargo bay to help stow the supplies’. Those with social graces only slightly better than a baboon’s (namely Jayne) made no effort to hide their stares. The rest of the crew stood around in various tableaus of ‘inconspicuous curiosity’.
Inara came forward to greet Teyla with a warm smile and kisses on both cheeks. Mal swore he heard wistful sighs from most of the collective audience.
“Teyla Emmagen, may I introduce Captain Malcolm Reynolds,” Inara said with an elegant gesture in his direction.
Teyla nodded regally. “Thank you, Captain, for agreeing to supply me with passage.”
Mal spared a glance at Inara then said, “ ‘t weren’t out of our way.”
Teyla’s lips quirked before she schooled her expression. “Well, regardless, you have my thanks.” She pulled a suede pouch out of a pocket and handed it to him. “I believe this was the fare that was agreed upon.”
Mal stared at the pouch in his hand for a moment then handed it back to her. “We get paid when the job’s done. That’s the deal.”
Teyla raised an eyebrow and Mal wondered if Companion’s were supposed to be intimidating.
“Very well,” she agreed.
Mal smiled congenially, and after introducing everyone he motioned to his crew. “Help the lady stow her things.”
As the others moved to follow his order, Zoe came down the stairs. She headed for him, a dark look on her face. “The professor’s making noise about when we’re gonna leave. Can I shoot him now?”
“Not ‘till we get paid.” To John he said, “I want to be in the air inside of an hour.”
John gave him a half-salute before throwing a cocky grin Teyla’s way and trudging up the stairs to the bridge. Mal wanted to warn him about getting involved with a Companion, but he knew there were just some lessons that had to be learned on one’s own.
“Ain’t whores supposed to have more frippery than can fit in one trunk?” Jayne asked as he moved to pick up the item in question.
Above, sitting on the catwalk with River, Kaylee gasped, “Jayne!”
Mal turned, but before he could react Teyla had Jayne on his back, one slippered heel pressed gently against his throat.
“Jayne, what’ve I told you about talkin’?” Mal said.
There was a gurgling noise from Jayne that Mal took as an apology.
Teyla looked down at Jayne. “I am not a Companion, Mr. Cobb, nor have I ever been one. But I have worked for the Guild for many years and do not appreciate that word being used in my presence.” Teyla lifted her foot from Jayne’s throat. “Forgive me, Captain.”
“Nothin’ to forgive,” Mal said. “The man insulted you, you defended yourself. I’ve got no qualms ‘bout that.”
Zoe grinned at him and motioned for Teyla to follow her to the passenger dorms. As Teyla walked away, Jayne propped himself up on his elbows and gently massaged his throat.
“Works for them?” he croaked. “As what, a ninja?”
“Close,” Inara said. “She’s the self-defense teacher at the Erlitou House.”
“You didn’t say anything,” Mal said to her.
“And miss that scene?” Inara favored him with a smug smile then followed the two women out.
“I like her,” River announced as though that should settle things once and for all.
“You would,” Jayne muttered, climbing to his feet. He grabbed hold of the trunk and made his way out of the cargo bay as well.
Mal watched them go, his arms crossed defensively over his chest.
“It’s always fun havin’ new faces onboard,” Kaylee remarked to River as the two girls wandered out, no longer content now that the show had presumably ended (Mal fervently hoped that it had ended and he wouldn’t find Jayne with any missing limbs later).
“Yeah, as fun as a barrel of space-monkeys,” Mal muttered to himself. He tried to ignore the nagging feeling that things weren’t going to go as smoothly as he’d hoped.
“Captain? We’re ready to go,” John’s voice came over the comm.
Mal sighed then nodded and hit the comm. “Take us out into the world, John.”
~fin~
Chinese translations:
di yú = hell
Yú shì huán bào fei fei = I’m surrounded by baboons.
Title: These Things Never Go Easy
Author/Artist:
live_brave
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Hints of Mal/Inara angst
Prompt: Firefly AU
Warnings: None
Spoilers: None for SGA. Through the movie for Firefly.
Author’s Note:This was not at all what I had planned on, and I feel a little bad that the story centers a little more on Firefly than SGA but that's just how the story came out. I actually started about five different drafts before settling on this one. Those included one about how the various SGA members joined up as well as a sort of day-in-the-life fic. At least one of those will appear soon as well. :)
Summary: Mal and the crew of Serenity take on two new passengers.
Captain Malcolm Reynolds stood just inside the cargo bay of his ship watching the activity of the loading docks on Apollidon. He wiped away an errant bead of sweat as it trickled down his temple. Even in the shade it was sweltering, the air humid and thick with dust, smoke, and noise.
He watched several of his crew members as they made their way through the crowds, each intent on his or her respective errands, then he realized he was missing a few. He did a quick tally on his fingers then stuck his head outside to find his errant mechanic and their new pilot lounging on folding chairs in the shade of Serenity. (He had been their pilot for almost four months, but Mal instinctively knew that John Sheppard would forever be ‘the new pilot’ in his mind.)
“What in the sphincter of Hell are you two doin’?” he asked, taking a step onto the ramp.
Kaylee glanced up at him, a sunny smile on her face. The rhythmic motion of her fan never faltered as she said, “Gettin' a breeze, Captain. It’s too hot to be on Serenity when she ain’t runnin’.”
John Sheppard (the new pilot) leaned closer to Kaylee, trying to snatch some of the breeze from her fan. “And it’s sure as di yú too hot to be out there,” he said, gesturing to the scene before them with an expression of lazy amusement. Mal had noticed that John tempered almost every emotion with lazy amusement.
“Well, I ain’t paying you two to sit on your duffs having a tea party."
"There's tea?" John asked, raising his eyebrows.
Mal gave him a blank look then turned to Kaylee. “Don’t you have work to do? Some repair that’s callin’ your name?”
“Nah, Captain. Serenity’s shiny. Besides, we want to be here to greet our passengers when they arrive.”
“Passenger,” Mal corrected her, holding up one index finger. “Singular.”
Kaylee and John exchanged glances - hers worried, his still amused - then looked back at Mal.
Realization dawned like a winter sun rise, casting a cold light on the facts before him. “She didn’t,” he said, his tone a step closer to pleading than he liked.
“I did.”
Mal turned to find Inara just behind him, looking cool and collected despite the heat. “I seem to recall that I said, ‘no’.”
Inara walked out onto the ramp to face him. “It’s a job, Mal. You’re going to turn down a job because she’s not your type of people?”
Annoyance bubbled up. “My, that’s the closest you’ve gotten all week to calling me a thief. Quite the accomplishment.”
Mal had never believed that a person’s eyes could flash with anger before he’d met Inara. He’d seen it happen when he goaded her just so and something in her eyes flared red-hot. He was ashamed to admit that he liked seeing it and occasionally needled her just for that reaction. It meant that she was more than the elegant mask she pretended to be. When he saw that flare it made him think that maybe, just maybe, he wasn’t crazy for thinking they might work.
“And I’m happy to see you refrained from calling me a whore,” Inara said coolly. “We’re all progressing, it seems.”
“I don’t rightly care who she is or what she is,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest. “I care that she wants me to drop her on a moon that’s all too deep in Alliance territory. A hostile and highly unstable Alliance, I might add. I ain’t goin’ toe to toe with the Devil if I don’t have to.”
“Mal, you’re one of the few that will venture anywhere near the Core. We’re already going to Osiris to drop off the professor. Highgate is hardly out of the way.”
“It’s closer to Londinium than I’m willin’ to go.” Mal lowered his voice and took a step closer to her. “I ain’t puttin’ anybody at risk if I don’t have to.”
“Teyla offered to pay you twice what you normally ask.” Inara saw his expression and sighed. “It’s a job, Mal. One we can hardly afford to turn down.”
Mal knew it was true which made him feel worse about the whole situation. Since the signal had gone out to every corner of the known universe, life had become less stable. He’d never thought it could be possible but there it was. Somehow he thought that he had expected a seamless transition from Alliance back to Independent. Then he remembered the first transition which made him wonder when he had become so naïve.
A slowly crumbling Alliance had meant a mad rush as more settlers escaped to the border planets, putting a strain on already limited resources. What little assistance the Alliance once offered had all but vanished. Worlds held on to their supplies, not willing to part with what they had in order to find a better price elsewhere. And Mal knew that things weren’t likely to improve anytime soon. They had stayed afloat so far by ferrying passengers but only just. With several extra mouths to feed he needed all the work he could find if he didn’t want to resort to more drastic measures.
Mal realized that Inara had said ‘we’ and wondered when this had became a ‘we’ sort of situation. He was oddly pleased and concerned that it had.
“We’ll see,” he said. Somewhere behind him, he heard John say to Kaylee, “I love a moderately happy ending.”
~~~
Jayne and their latest mercenary recruit, Ronon Dex, arrived an hour later with the first of their passengers in tow.
“I’m gonna kill him ‘fore we’re even in the gorram air,” Jayne growled as he stalked passed Mal.
“What happened?” Mal asked.
Ronon jerked a thumb at their passenger. “The little professor never shuts up.”
Mal glanced over to where Zoe was trying to pacify Dr. Rodney McKay about the handling of his possessions.
“Hey, hey, hey,” the man yelled at John who had gotten up to help unload the mule. “Yú shì huán bào de fei fei. Be careful with that!” He rounded on Ronon. “Put that down! That equipment is worth more than you’ve seen in a lifetime, Sasquatch.”
“You want to unload it yourself?” Ronon offered, holding out a box to the man. “Be my guest.”
There was a moment of stunned silence before Dr. McKay said, “No, just…be careful.”
Ronon smirked, heaved a box on his shoulder, and trudged up the ramp.
“Dr. McKay.” Mal came forward then, sticking out his hand. “I’m Malcolm Reynolds, the captain of Serenity.”
Dr. McKay shook it, a distracted expression on his face. “Yes, yes.” He gazed into the bowls of the ship. “You don’t think he’s going to drop that on purpose, do you?”
From across the ramp, John’s cough sounded suspiciously like a laugh, and Mal said, “I’d be more than a mite surprised if he didn’t.” He decided the look of abject horror on Dr. McKay’s face was worth twice his weight in gold.
~~~
Teyla Emmagen’s arrival was in sharp contrast to Dr. McKay’s. She was prompt, courteous, and insisted that she does not need any help with her trunk.
Everyone had turned up to see Inara’s longtime friend arrive, although the more well-mannered ones (Simon, for instance) did so under the guise of ‘I just happened to be in the cargo bay to help stow the supplies’. Those with social graces only slightly better than a baboon’s (namely Jayne) made no effort to hide their stares. The rest of the crew stood around in various tableaus of ‘inconspicuous curiosity’.
Inara came forward to greet Teyla with a warm smile and kisses on both cheeks. Mal swore he heard wistful sighs from most of the collective audience.
“Teyla Emmagen, may I introduce Captain Malcolm Reynolds,” Inara said with an elegant gesture in his direction.
Teyla nodded regally. “Thank you, Captain, for agreeing to supply me with passage.”
Mal spared a glance at Inara then said, “ ‘t weren’t out of our way.”
Teyla’s lips quirked before she schooled her expression. “Well, regardless, you have my thanks.” She pulled a suede pouch out of a pocket and handed it to him. “I believe this was the fare that was agreed upon.”
Mal stared at the pouch in his hand for a moment then handed it back to her. “We get paid when the job’s done. That’s the deal.”
Teyla raised an eyebrow and Mal wondered if Companion’s were supposed to be intimidating.
“Very well,” she agreed.
Mal smiled congenially, and after introducing everyone he motioned to his crew. “Help the lady stow her things.”
As the others moved to follow his order, Zoe came down the stairs. She headed for him, a dark look on her face. “The professor’s making noise about when we’re gonna leave. Can I shoot him now?”
“Not ‘till we get paid.” To John he said, “I want to be in the air inside of an hour.”
John gave him a half-salute before throwing a cocky grin Teyla’s way and trudging up the stairs to the bridge. Mal wanted to warn him about getting involved with a Companion, but he knew there were just some lessons that had to be learned on one’s own.
“Ain’t whores supposed to have more frippery than can fit in one trunk?” Jayne asked as he moved to pick up the item in question.
Above, sitting on the catwalk with River, Kaylee gasped, “Jayne!”
Mal turned, but before he could react Teyla had Jayne on his back, one slippered heel pressed gently against his throat.
“Jayne, what’ve I told you about talkin’?” Mal said.
There was a gurgling noise from Jayne that Mal took as an apology.
Teyla looked down at Jayne. “I am not a Companion, Mr. Cobb, nor have I ever been one. But I have worked for the Guild for many years and do not appreciate that word being used in my presence.” Teyla lifted her foot from Jayne’s throat. “Forgive me, Captain.”
“Nothin’ to forgive,” Mal said. “The man insulted you, you defended yourself. I’ve got no qualms ‘bout that.”
Zoe grinned at him and motioned for Teyla to follow her to the passenger dorms. As Teyla walked away, Jayne propped himself up on his elbows and gently massaged his throat.
“Works for them?” he croaked. “As what, a ninja?”
“Close,” Inara said. “She’s the self-defense teacher at the Erlitou House.”
“You didn’t say anything,” Mal said to her.
“And miss that scene?” Inara favored him with a smug smile then followed the two women out.
“I like her,” River announced as though that should settle things once and for all.
“You would,” Jayne muttered, climbing to his feet. He grabbed hold of the trunk and made his way out of the cargo bay as well.
Mal watched them go, his arms crossed defensively over his chest.
“It’s always fun havin’ new faces onboard,” Kaylee remarked to River as the two girls wandered out, no longer content now that the show had presumably ended (Mal fervently hoped that it had ended and he wouldn’t find Jayne with any missing limbs later).
“Yeah, as fun as a barrel of space-monkeys,” Mal muttered to himself. He tried to ignore the nagging feeling that things weren’t going to go as smoothly as he’d hoped.
“Captain? We’re ready to go,” John’s voice came over the comm.
Mal sighed then nodded and hit the comm. “Take us out into the world, John.”
~fin~
Chinese translations:
di yú = hell
Yú shì huán bào fei fei = I’m surrounded by baboons.