(no subject)
Title: Threads
Genre: Firefly/Serenity post movie
Pairing: Mal/River, part 14 of a series
a/n: the rest are here:http://www.livejournal.com/tools/memories.bml?user=tesla321&keyword=Firefly/Serenity&filter=all
"I don't know what's more frightening," Mal said. "Zoe pregnant or Kaylee not in love." He latched the air-lock, and brushed his hands.
"Either is a variable set on a fairly predictable course," River told him. "Besides, it was your idea to start with."
"Yeah, I know," Mal said. "Now all you need to do is to put Inara together with your brother and we'll all be paired off. Oh God I didn't mean to say that."
"I don't think he can afford her," River said, loftily.
Mal just stared her down. "Don't even," he said.
They were going through a rough patch of sky now, the two of them, even though things were outwardly the best they'd been on Serenity. There was something in Mal that made him destructive, made him push people away at the very same time he wanted to keep them close and safe. He worried that he couldn't keep any of them safe, let alone her. His worry made him sour.
Usually, River's difficult moods didn't coincide with his, but even though she understood Mal's worries, understanding didn't give her any patience.
"I'll do what I think's best," she said now.
"Why should you be different from everyone else on this boat?" Mal asked rhetorically. "I'm ordering you not to hire Inara's time for your brother! She wouldn't do it anyway, since he's crew!"
"Don't you order me around," she said.
"You're crew, too," he said, evenly.
"Yes, sir," she said, and brushed past him. "Guess I'll go to the bridge and get her ready to get out of atmo, then, sir." She ran up the stairs.
Zoe fell in beside her, on the passageway to the bridge. "He ordered me not to marry Wash," she commented.
"Mal's such a bully sometimes," River muttered.
"Yes, I know," Zoe said. "It's because he's the captain."
"Yes, I know," River repeated. "I'm going to take her out of atmo now."
"Good," Zoe said. She managed to say a whole lot with just her uninflected voice.
Once on track to Persephone, River went to her own bunk to check on some calculations and monitor the Cortex. She wished she had known Mr. Universe; she thought that it was a pity that his little planet was just a graveyard. He had the right idea, monitoring the signals like that. And if he had done it, someone else was doing it, too.
She wondered what kind of modifications he would have eventually made to his Bot, and if he actually thought he could dump a spark of life-force into her, just like the old stories. Robots becoming human; robots wanting to become human. It was one of the things she used to think about, years ago. Before. She leaned forward, and started tapping the screen, intent.
:
"Hey," Simon called from the hatch opening. "You missed dinner."
"Oh, shit," River said. "I got interested in Cortexing."
He stepped down into her bunk. "I thought you'd had a fight with Mal?"
"No," she said, surprised. "Why would you think that?"
"He was very silent at dinner," Simon said. He crossed his arms. "I love what you've done to the place."
"You just think girls should have bunks like Kaylee's," she said.
"No, and I have to tell you, Zoe's place is more comfortable-looking."
"She and Mal bought the furnishings for the guest dorm," River said, not paying attention. "Zoe grew up on a ship, her family are traders. She knows how to make a bunk snug." She tapped her stylus on the screen. "We should have taken more of Mr. Universe's gear."
"Oh, no, we took as much as the ship can hold," Simon said. "Besides, and I can't believe I'm even saying this, I thought you had moved into Mal's?"
"Overflow," River said. "This is where I keep my work. Like Kaylee's work bench. My research. There's no space for it at home." She pulled a fruit bar out of her pocket and began unwrapping it.
"We have real fruit in the galley," Simon said.
Reluctantly, River saved her equations. She took a bite from the bar. "Brother of mine, what is it that you want to talk to me about?"
"I'm breaking up with Kaylee, and I don't know how to talk to her about it," he confessed.
For a moment, River thought he was playing a prank on her, but he was patently honest.
"I could...talk to her," River said. "Or, of course, Mal could talk to her."
"No, no," Simon said, his eyes widening. "I want you to keep Mal from hitting me---last time I hit him, my knuckles were sore. He has a face like a--a--bulkhead."
"Oh," River said, solemnly.
::
Mal had, apparently, had clean-up this evening, because he came down the ladder with his shirt-front soaked. River looked up from bed-making.
"Did the water pressure of the spray malfunction?" she asked.
"I had a mite of trouble with the spray," Mal said, very much on his dignity. He got his thumbs under his suspenders, let them slide off his shoulders, and yanked his long shirt-tails out of his pants. "Wait, those are--what are those?"
"New sheets," River said. "Fresh-laundered, too."
Mal turned away and finished undressing. "This mean I can't wear my boots to bed?"
River resisted the urge to bounce a tea-mug off his cranium. Or to let tears well up in her eyes: that would be over-kill. "Boots are fine," she said, her voice coming out like Zoe's, just as infuriatingly calm. "If your feet are cold."
She pulled her sweater and dress off with one tug.
"So, we're not fighting?" Mal asked. "You didn't miss dinner because you were mad?" He turned around just as she slid between the sheets. "Whoa. Naked girl in my bed? That sight never gets less good."
"Except for Saffron," River said.
"Hey, you--you don't know anything about that! We kept y'all away from her."
"I know she came down here and got in your bed. Naked and articulate, I think you said? And I never understood why you came back naked, that time."
"Yes, all true," Mal said, hopping on one foot then the other as he took off his boots and pants. "But she was a liar, remember? Liar. Thief." He slapped at the dimmer switch, and then fairly leapt into bed. "I was victimized." He pulled the quilt over them.
"Hi," River said to him, as they lay nose to nose. She smiled and put her fingertips against his cheekbone.
"Hey there, little one," Mal said. "Can we skip the fighting and just have the forgiveness sex?" He turned his head and nipped at her finger.
"Yes," River said. "Besides, we don't fight. We argue. "
He huffed a laugh. "Which is just fighting with words."
"Which doesn't require a blood transfusion afterwards," she said.
His large hand came up to cover hers. "Kiss me, sweetheart," he said, his eyes crinkling. And why that particular arrangement of creases on this particular man's face made River hot and cold all over, she didn't know. It was an intangible. No other face in the 'verse elucidated that response in her.
What she said was, "You're the captain."
"Good that you remember that now and then," he said. He blinked, and she heard, or felt, the weight of his bad memories, just as solid as his breadth and weight in her arms.
"I wish I could know what you went through" Mal said. "Like you know all about me." His smile faded a little, and he traced a line down her forehead, over the spots where the doctors had put the needles into her head.
"When we were children, Simon and I played at war," River said. "I pretended that I was the brave Alliance commander fighting the Independents. That was before I knew about them, inside and out."
"I played at soldierin', too," Mal said. "Enjoyed it, up until the last. Don't feel bad about taking the only side you knew about."
"If they ever do anything else to us, I'll kill them all," River said.
Mal's smile came back, broader. "That's my girl," he said. "Now kiss me."
She did.
Genre: Firefly/Serenity post movie
Pairing: Mal/River, part 14 of a series
a/n: the rest are here:http://www.livejournal.com/tools/memories.bml?user=tesla321&keyword=Firefly/Serenity&filter=all
"I don't know what's more frightening," Mal said. "Zoe pregnant or Kaylee not in love." He latched the air-lock, and brushed his hands.
"Either is a variable set on a fairly predictable course," River told him. "Besides, it was your idea to start with."
"Yeah, I know," Mal said. "Now all you need to do is to put Inara together with your brother and we'll all be paired off. Oh God I didn't mean to say that."
"I don't think he can afford her," River said, loftily.
Mal just stared her down. "Don't even," he said.
They were going through a rough patch of sky now, the two of them, even though things were outwardly the best they'd been on Serenity. There was something in Mal that made him destructive, made him push people away at the very same time he wanted to keep them close and safe. He worried that he couldn't keep any of them safe, let alone her. His worry made him sour.
Usually, River's difficult moods didn't coincide with his, but even though she understood Mal's worries, understanding didn't give her any patience.
"I'll do what I think's best," she said now.
"Why should you be different from everyone else on this boat?" Mal asked rhetorically. "I'm ordering you not to hire Inara's time for your brother! She wouldn't do it anyway, since he's crew!"
"Don't you order me around," she said.
"You're crew, too," he said, evenly.
"Yes, sir," she said, and brushed past him. "Guess I'll go to the bridge and get her ready to get out of atmo, then, sir." She ran up the stairs.
Zoe fell in beside her, on the passageway to the bridge. "He ordered me not to marry Wash," she commented.
"Mal's such a bully sometimes," River muttered.
"Yes, I know," Zoe said. "It's because he's the captain."
"Yes, I know," River repeated. "I'm going to take her out of atmo now."
"Good," Zoe said. She managed to say a whole lot with just her uninflected voice.
Once on track to Persephone, River went to her own bunk to check on some calculations and monitor the Cortex. She wished she had known Mr. Universe; she thought that it was a pity that his little planet was just a graveyard. He had the right idea, monitoring the signals like that. And if he had done it, someone else was doing it, too.
She wondered what kind of modifications he would have eventually made to his Bot, and if he actually thought he could dump a spark of life-force into her, just like the old stories. Robots becoming human; robots wanting to become human. It was one of the things she used to think about, years ago. Before. She leaned forward, and started tapping the screen, intent.
:
"Hey," Simon called from the hatch opening. "You missed dinner."
"Oh, shit," River said. "I got interested in Cortexing."
He stepped down into her bunk. "I thought you'd had a fight with Mal?"
"No," she said, surprised. "Why would you think that?"
"He was very silent at dinner," Simon said. He crossed his arms. "I love what you've done to the place."
"You just think girls should have bunks like Kaylee's," she said.
"No, and I have to tell you, Zoe's place is more comfortable-looking."
"She and Mal bought the furnishings for the guest dorm," River said, not paying attention. "Zoe grew up on a ship, her family are traders. She knows how to make a bunk snug." She tapped her stylus on the screen. "We should have taken more of Mr. Universe's gear."
"Oh, no, we took as much as the ship can hold," Simon said. "Besides, and I can't believe I'm even saying this, I thought you had moved into Mal's?"
"Overflow," River said. "This is where I keep my work. Like Kaylee's work bench. My research. There's no space for it at home." She pulled a fruit bar out of her pocket and began unwrapping it.
"We have real fruit in the galley," Simon said.
Reluctantly, River saved her equations. She took a bite from the bar. "Brother of mine, what is it that you want to talk to me about?"
"I'm breaking up with Kaylee, and I don't know how to talk to her about it," he confessed.
For a moment, River thought he was playing a prank on her, but he was patently honest.
"I could...talk to her," River said. "Or, of course, Mal could talk to her."
"No, no," Simon said, his eyes widening. "I want you to keep Mal from hitting me---last time I hit him, my knuckles were sore. He has a face like a--a--bulkhead."
"Oh," River said, solemnly.
::
Mal had, apparently, had clean-up this evening, because he came down the ladder with his shirt-front soaked. River looked up from bed-making.
"Did the water pressure of the spray malfunction?" she asked.
"I had a mite of trouble with the spray," Mal said, very much on his dignity. He got his thumbs under his suspenders, let them slide off his shoulders, and yanked his long shirt-tails out of his pants. "Wait, those are--what are those?"
"New sheets," River said. "Fresh-laundered, too."
Mal turned away and finished undressing. "This mean I can't wear my boots to bed?"
River resisted the urge to bounce a tea-mug off his cranium. Or to let tears well up in her eyes: that would be over-kill. "Boots are fine," she said, her voice coming out like Zoe's, just as infuriatingly calm. "If your feet are cold."
She pulled her sweater and dress off with one tug.
"So, we're not fighting?" Mal asked. "You didn't miss dinner because you were mad?" He turned around just as she slid between the sheets. "Whoa. Naked girl in my bed? That sight never gets less good."
"Except for Saffron," River said.
"Hey, you--you don't know anything about that! We kept y'all away from her."
"I know she came down here and got in your bed. Naked and articulate, I think you said? And I never understood why you came back naked, that time."
"Yes, all true," Mal said, hopping on one foot then the other as he took off his boots and pants. "But she was a liar, remember? Liar. Thief." He slapped at the dimmer switch, and then fairly leapt into bed. "I was victimized." He pulled the quilt over them.
"Hi," River said to him, as they lay nose to nose. She smiled and put her fingertips against his cheekbone.
"Hey there, little one," Mal said. "Can we skip the fighting and just have the forgiveness sex?" He turned his head and nipped at her finger.
"Yes," River said. "Besides, we don't fight. We argue. "
He huffed a laugh. "Which is just fighting with words."
"Which doesn't require a blood transfusion afterwards," she said.
His large hand came up to cover hers. "Kiss me, sweetheart," he said, his eyes crinkling. And why that particular arrangement of creases on this particular man's face made River hot and cold all over, she didn't know. It was an intangible. No other face in the 'verse elucidated that response in her.
What she said was, "You're the captain."
"Good that you remember that now and then," he said. He blinked, and she heard, or felt, the weight of his bad memories, just as solid as his breadth and weight in her arms.
"I wish I could know what you went through" Mal said. "Like you know all about me." His smile faded a little, and he traced a line down her forehead, over the spots where the doctors had put the needles into her head.
"When we were children, Simon and I played at war," River said. "I pretended that I was the brave Alliance commander fighting the Independents. That was before I knew about them, inside and out."
"I played at soldierin', too," Mal said. "Enjoyed it, up until the last. Don't feel bad about taking the only side you knew about."
"If they ever do anything else to us, I'll kill them all," River said.
Mal's smile came back, broader. "That's my girl," he said. "Now kiss me."
She did.