He sat in the bathtub until he heard her drift off to sleep, the levered himself out as quietly as he could, moving to stand behind the screen just in case she was a light sleeper. He moved the screen towards the other bed and threw a towel across it, sprawling out to let himself air-dry, a luxury he'd not had in five years of warfare. Lying back, he kept the cigar going as long as he could, too comfortable to move.
She yawned, slowly stretching as she woke, the older bed creaking as her weight shifted.
He was drifting quietly, the alcohol he'd drunk adding what felt like a pink tinge, the cigar long smoked. He felt the tension of weeks easing a little; he resented that a mite, but couldn't summon the energy to fight it. Sleep was enticingly close, and it had been a long time since he'd slept normally...
She slowly got up, readjusting the towel before venturing over to pick up a bottle of wine, the smell of a fine cigar drifting on the air. "Frakkin hell... there better be another one of those...
He found himself dozing, making odd, quiet little snores, the room smelling familiar and warm. That had been the first food he'd kept down in several days, and it was a reassuring, soporific mass inside him.
Kara turned, moving back towards the bed, the brat in her tempted to peek around the screen. She settled for sitting on her bed, tossing ice cubes over the screen.
The first ice cube that landed on him seemed like a distraction. The second landed somewhere much more sensitive, and brought him up bellowing from the bed like a trapped bull. "Hwoon dahn!" he roared, convinced for a second he was under attack by something.
She laughed raucously. "Thought you were watchin the door" She teased.
He was about to go storming through the gorram screen at her until he realized he'd fallen asleep not wearing his pants... which was how she'd managed to get him in the first place. Snatching the towel off the bed, he wrapped it tightly around his waist, giving her an evil look as he stalked towards the remains of the dinner. "Just for that, I'm taking the other cigar and leaving you the spinach."
"Like hell..." she made for the tray where the cigar rested, resorting to yanking the towel loose to buy time as they both closed in on the prize.
"Wuh de tyen ah", Mal couldn't help but gasp as Kara dropped the towel, all thoughts of the cigar forgotten until she'd seized both the prize and her towel back. "Damn it woman, you cheated!"
She gave him a wink, sticking the cigar in her mouth "All's fair in wine and cigars"
"Really? Well, we'll just see about that, missy..." He stalked back to the dinner plates, expression intent. It had been a long time, and the room was warm... that meant that the ice buckets the liquor had arrived in were half liquid, half ice... and still cold.
It only took a second for her to register that he was going for the pail full of iced water. "Oh... y... you wouldn't." she backed up, eyes sparkling with mischief.
She let out a shriek of laughter and turned to put as much distance between herself and the oncoming onslaught of icewater that the small room would allow. For the first time in more months than she cared to admit, she was actually just living in the moment and enjoying it. Her biggest concern being what she could use as retaliation. "Gotta catch me first!" She gave him a playful wink and made her way to the far side of the screen.
Well, Mal wasn't feelin' exactly subtle after the ice cube onslaught, so he worked his way slowly around the screen, keeping a careful eye on her as she moved to keep it between them. Of course, if she'd not been watching him so closely... she'd have noticed when the bath was directly behind her. He stepped quickly forward, causing her to trip backwards into the bath ... and then promptly dumped the ice water in on top of her.
Chuckling like the devil, he couldn't help commenting as she thrashed around "Now, you can keep that cigar... I think you'll need it to warm up a mite." He felt better than he had in weeks... or at least, until she worked out how to get revenge on him, he mused.
She hit the water with a shriek that only intensified as the frigid water doused her head. How she managed to keep the cigar in her hand mostly dry she didn't know... it was a skill she wasn't about to question.
A dozen possible retaliations raced in her mind as she moved to get up, first eyeing the as yet uneaten dessert, eyed the pepper shaker and had a momentary flashback to an academy prank, then moved to stand up.
However she was so preoccupied it didn't occur to her that the tuck knot in the towel would not withstand the extra weight of the water as she did so.
Mal suddenly found he was getting an eyeful of extremely wet and naked blonde womanhood as the towel collapsed, and found himself going bright red. "Mother of god", he muttered turning around quickly to try and avoid gaping like a teenager. For months, he'd shared trenches and foxholes with women with no problems at all, but there was definitely somethin' more womanly about the woman behind him.
It was at that point that Kara came to decide that a flustered Malcom Reynolds was quite an adorable sight. Lords but that was way too easy of a way to get him back for the icy deluge. She stepped out of the tub, picking up another towel and securing it around her once more.
She slowly sauntered over, stretching out on her bed, striking a match against the floor to light her cigar. Let him wonder just what she may plan for retaliation. Sometimes the anticipation was worse than the actual execution.
Well, if she was goin' to be wanderin' round like, best he make sure that he kept himself out of temptations way. After all, he'd only known her a few hours, and it wouldn't take much for her to get the wrong idea.
Feeling more than a little embarrassed, he stalked over to where his laundered clothes had been piled up, snatched up enough to cover him to the waist and righted the screen so that he could at least dress that far before sprawling back on his bed. "You ought to get those bruises checked, case you've got a cracked rib or somesuch." That was better... focus on injuries, on being the responsible sergeant.
Of course, the bruises were on her ribs, which were... with a muttered groan, he stuck both hands behind his head and started running through the field manual on stripping and cleaning your average rifle inside his head.
She smiled to herself, getting up and walking over to where her clothes were neatly folded, bringing them back over towards the bed, deciding to forego further torment she moved behind the screen to pull on her unders and one shirt, leaving the rest folded by the bed while she lay back and enjoyed the cigar.
"Know there's at least one cracked, though that was from last week..." She looked at her hands. "Think I got a chunk of one of those idiot's teeth in my knuckle though."
He chuckled a little, stretching to feel the bedsprings moving under his back. "See, that's the problem with punching people in the mouth. Go for the nose next time, or the eyebrow. Puts them down for the count, hurts like hell, and much less chance of you needin' to go see a dentist afterwards. Or you can just shoot 'em, that works too."
That rib could be a problem, if'n she was goin' to keep scrapping with people. "How'd you bust the rib? Said you'd been here three weeks. You been out pickin' fights for fun, or somesuch?"
"I've actually managed to mostly avoid fights, been workin odd jobs. Cracked the rib when my little bird decided to crash into the surface of this rock."
"Well, if your rib's been cracked three weeks, not much you can do but let if finish healing. You may want to avoid helpin' out any more strangers, though. Only get's you in trouble." He pushed off from the floor with his feet, moving himself further up the bed.
The room smelled a little close; warm, still a little steamy from the two baths, and filled with the soft smells of the cigar he'd smoked, the cigar she was currently smoking judging by the column of smoke wafting up to the ceiling, the food and the faint smell of damp wool. Seemed a little like home, what he could remember it. First time in a while he'd thought of that; he'd not thought of much recently, besides where he could get his next drink, push away the faces of those dead in the Valley. Especially Zoe ... woman'd followed him everywhere, finally dying next to him in the last gorram attack on the valley, cut down by a skiff that wasn't even piloted by a human being.
He found his mood starting to darken, and forced himself to back away. He went back to watching the trail of smoke from the other side of the room, curling up softly.
"What're you plannin' on doing? You can't stay on Ariel forever. Plenty of rim worlds are looking for new colonists, new workers and suchlike. Worlds that ain't barely been touched by the Alliance." He found himself thinking of that cocky grin, she'd given him. He'd be willin' to bet that she'd taste like a cigar now, all rich and smoky, soft and warm. Definitely better than thinking of the Valley... and probably better for him than the booze, at least until he imploded again.
She got up from where she had been stretched out, walking around the screen to sit on the edge of his bed. "Honestly, I really don't know. Blackbird will never fly again and I was born to fly... If I had the money I would just buy a ship and just fly..." She blew a plume of smoke up into the air, then turned to look at him, really looking him over with an appraciative gaze.
He heard her walk around the room, and half expected a bowl of warm dessert to land on him from on high, but instead she came and sat on his bed, legs looking bare under her shirt from what he could see.
Just fly? There was a nice image to think of. He was planet-bound himself, a ground-pounder through and through... but he could see the appeal in being able to just get up and fly, leave everythin' behind; pain, enemies ... the Alliance.
She was giving him a definite look. What sort of look, he wasn't too sure of, but it made him a little nervous. He covered by reaching out to snag the cigar from between her fingers, thumb tapping against the end that wasn't glowing before putting it to his mouth and drawing in a mouthful of smoke that he let out in a long, steady stream of smoke before offering the cigar back to her.
"Flyin' sounds pretty good. Better than sittin' round, waiting for the Alliance to come along and give us all regulations up the pigu, turning us all into little ordered machines in their world. If you've gotta have a dream... you could do a lot worse."
She took the cigar and took a long draw, blowing out smoke rings. "We could go fly together... leave the ground behind. Its the one thing they can't frak up... no matter what anyone does, cant take the sky"
He looked up at her, the cigar moving back and forth from her lips as she drew on it, the red tip glowing almost as much as her expression when she spoke of flying. "Just take off... Both of us just vanish into the black?"
He rubbed his hands slowly against the back of his head, the fingers knitted together. "Where would we get the money for a ship? I ain't got nothin' but what's left in that wallet I lifted."
It was a nice dream though. Find a small ship ... not a shuttle, a ship. Something a little roomy... maybe get a small crew, find some work. There was always plenty of work out on the rim, planets too remote for much traffic. He smiled, a little sadly. A nice dream ... just not a possible one.
Her eyes had a far off dreamy look to them, dreamy yet determined. "We'll think of something... I have a feeling together we could be unstoppable..."
He snorted a little. "Unstoppable? Darlin', you may be a knockout, but I'm pretty much wo cao. Ain't no good for nuthin' but drinkin' and dyin'... and I ain't even managed the dyin' yet. He closed his eyes, welcoming the images of fire and loss that swept in behind his eyelids. They tasted like ashes and vinegar, reminded him how little he was worth.
"We're not that different Mal... Been said there's no one so free as one who has nothing to lose. It's true. Dogfight after dogfight you go out, watchin the kid you pinned wings on just last week get split in two by a raider, a nuke take out a vet thats been flying for years. War is one hell of a bitch to be married to... But you and I... someone out there thinks we deserve a second chance." She snagged the bottle from beside the bed, drinking down a healthy swallow, coughing a little as the alcohol stung the back of her throat. "I've always lived dangerous... should have been dead a dozen times over by now. Asked myself why I survived and they didn't time and time again... never did figure out why. Then realized one day that you have to keep goin on, keep making the most if for no other reason than to honor those who didn't get that chance. They fought and died cause they believed... fought to give everyone else a chance..." her voice was starting to waver, the emotion seeping through before she took a final draw off the stogie and set it in the tin ashtray, chasing the smoke with another healthy swallow of whiskey.
"We're alive Mal.. we just gotta remember how to live..."
"Someone out there?" His laugh was harsh, bitter. "Ain't no room for God in the foxholes ... he don't exist no more. It's all just dumb luck .. or someone tryin' to screw you over again."
He wanted to just stop where he was, just deflate like a character on one of those kid's 'toons, but he couldn't even work up the effort for that. "Loads of kids deserved to be alive... kids with bright, burnin' futures. People of worth. And yet they all bit it one way or t'other, out in the dirt and the go se and the blood. And here I am, still here. What's so great about living, darlin'? Ain't nothin' but a world of hurt out there, and I'm done with it."
"You really think that little of the ones who fought beside you? They gave their life cause they believed in what they were fighting for, and I think at one time you did too... Only difference is you managed to dodge just one more bullet... You give up now.. its just a dishonor to their memory. Me... I'm gonna live... cause each day I do its one more kid that didn't die in vain." She tossed back another drink and slowly got up, walking to where the rest of her clothes were folded on the chair, pulling them on.
"Never said it was the Gods you had to believe in... just have to believe in something, or someone." She tugged on her flight suit, fastening the holster around her waist to hold the suit at her hips, without pulling the top half on. She reached around and unfastened the chain from her neck, slipping off one of the tags before refastening it. She walked over to where he lay and pressed the tag into his palm. "you need someone to believe in you too... no idea why but I do... guess its an old soldier's sense or something frakked like that. I'm coming back, that tag means I will. You keep it safe for me, I'm gonna go do some scrounging..." With that she leaned in and just barely kissed him before turning and walking towards the door.
He sat up as she walked towards the door, hand moving onto his thigh as he looked down at the strange tag she'd given him. Hexagonal, with some sort of crest on it, and her name and number.
He reached down and picked the bottle up, swigging heavily before lowering it, resting it against his other thigh, both hands in sight. He heard her start on the door handle, and thought about the brief instant in which she touched him.
She still had faith, despite what she'd seen. He couldn't feel anything in him any longer like that; just gaping, open holes where bits of him had been.
"Kara Thrace." He called out softly, waiting for the sound of her opening the door to stop. "I never left a one of them behind whilst they were still alive. I don't leave my people alone in front of the enemy. If you're goin'..."
He clenched his hand over the tag, feeling the dull edges cut into his palm as he set the bottle on the floor. "If you're goin' out, I'm goin' with you."
She turned, smiling at him, a sparkle in her eye. "Good to know you got my back... and I'll have yours. We made a pretty good team back there, and I think we could both do a lot worse than teaming up together." She began to walk back towards him, lightly biting her lip as she did. She gave him a cocky smile. "You might want to get dressed before venturing out though... unless you have other things in mind...." She said with a playful wink.
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