Mal listened to the salesman burbling on about the single-chamber rocket ship he was trying to sell. Oh, it looked pretty ... it just didn't feel right. An older ship was what they'd agreed on; a ship with space, with room to breathe ... with character. This wasn't it.
She looked the rocket over once, wrinkling her nose. She ignored the sales man and began to wander around the shipyard. There were ships of all shapes and sizes.
He watched Kara moving round the yard, poking around freely whilst he distracted the large, cigar-smoking seller. He didn't realise that he was idly moving, keeping her in sight, until the seller started going on about how a ship like this would last him a lifetime if properly looked after.
She looked from ship to ship, nothing catching her eye, until she spotted one off by itself. She hadn't seen one like it in years; even then they were few and far between. She shook her head. It couldn't be; it must just be similar. The ships she was familiar with were colonial design. But... gods she was damned close.
Kara was standing on a section of hull plating, one leg raised up to lean on, looking at a ship with a completely rapt expression. Looking across to where she was staring ... well, he could see a ship. An old ship ... bluff, squat, and yet somehow ... organic looking. Like a ship that had evolved through careful tending, rather than just being hammered together.
She slowly walked over, taking in every detail of the ship, lords... she was old, but you could tell from looking at her that someone had loved her once... she was lonely though...
A firefly. A gorram firefly, and in one piece by the looks of her. He walked over, ignoring the seller, moving quickly through the field of scrap and debris to stand next to Kara.
"She's beautiful Mal... I haven’t seen one like her since I was a kid..."
"A firefly. Old, old ships... built to last. Built to fly..." Just like you, he had to fight the urge to say. They'd made no promises, kept everything carefully casual. He kept slamming down that part of him that started thoughts beginning with 'but maybe when we're alone in space...'
"Born to fly... I can relate to that..." She gave him a brilliant smile and an almost appraising look. Lords but she wanted to just reach out and take his hand... but that was a line she wasn’t willing to cross... casual frakking was one thing, but holding hands... that was a little too close for comfort...
He still didn't understand her. He knew she was keeping him sane ... every time he started to fall back into old habits, start dwelling on the Valley, she found him and pulled him out again. He knew that when they were together, there was always a current between them ... one that often resulted in them naked and gasping away at each other. He didn't know if that was all it was... and didn't want to risk losing something so good. "We should buy her. I don't care what he wants; that ship says home, to me."
"I agree... she's perfect... needs a little TLC, but she's frakkin perfect
"Let's go argue with the head honcho, buy us a ship." That was safer ground. Keep things on that amiable, partner-like basis.
She nodded, reaching over and giving him a playful jab in the shoulder. "best plan I've heard all day..." well other than the plan that had them waking up before the suns rose, warm, naked in one another's arms.... she shook her head a little to clear her thoughts, thinking of that now was not going to get them a ship bought.
He grinned at her as she jabbed at him, putting a hand playfully over his heart as if she'd mortally wounded him with her blow. Then, he reached out to hook one arm around her waist, tugging her off the sheet of scrap bulkhead before setting her back down on the ground. "Well, I'm a big fan of plans..."
She instinctively put her arms around his neck as he tugged her down, a gentle smile briefly settling on her lips before she pulled back. "Then... lets go buy us a ship...."
He grinned, having seen Kara go to work on a number of merchants the last few weeks. He wasn't the only one she could render speechless... "He don't stand a chance, I'm thinkin'."
She grinned, sauntering over to the fat man with the cigar, chatting him up like she was as interested in him as she was in the ship. Half an hour later, they had a sweet deal, a ship, money in their pockets, and Kara even managed to get the cigar.
"How can you stand to smoke that? It smells worse than he did." Mal started tugging on the rusted hatch that led into their new ship.
She laughed "I've had worse..." She was bouncing on the balls of her feet while he pulled the hatch open. If the cigar smelled bad, the smell from inside the ship could only be described as gods awful. But it was theirs.... Gods did it ever feel odd thinking of it as "theirs"? Well it was, but not in the sense her mind automatically wandered to. Gods what was she doing thinking like that... “Needs a little work..."
He backed away from the hatch a little, letting the fumes dissipate, before walking inside. This was their new ship ... and didn't that open a can of worms. Two drifters, one spaceship. "I think something may have been livin' in here, a while." Just like they would be, soon...
She looked around, stepping carefully. "Several something’s... by the look of it... He's gonna have her hauled to a dock for us, so we can get her ready to fly again...
He moved around the main cargo space, poking around in corners quietly. Interesting... someone'd already put in little smugglers holes in several places he'd thought to look. This was definitely a ship with a past. "Kara, I think this here ship's had a bit of a naughty past... just like us."
She gave him a grin. "If she's got a past, then she needs a future, and I think we're the two to give it to her...
Looking up at the metal walkways running round the hold, he had to wonder how many sets of feet had stomped their way up and down this old girl. "Think she'll take to us? Lady like this is like to be a mite choosy."
"I think we'll get on just fine... let’s go take us a look at the bridge..."
"We're going to need an engineer, whatever else happens. We're going to need work, too..." He pulled himself quickly up the first set of stairs, idly wondering how she could somehow fill an empty cargo hold all on her own.
She followed him up the stairs, not even trying to hide the fact she was enjoying her view. "We can do this; hell you and I can do this, you know why?"
He paused at the top of the flight, turning round to grab her hands and pull her up the last couple of steps. "Because we ... are just so damned pretty."
"Too damned pretty for words..."
"Especially you." He ducked forward and kissed her quickly, lips brushing softly along hers, before turning and walking up in what he guessed was the most likely set of stairs for the bridge.
"Sweet talker...” she smiled, following him, without realizing she brought her fingertips up to brush over her lips in a soft smile. Lords it was the little things like that.... Damn Kara, get a grip....
He found himself in what looked like a galley, and a pretty well cared for one. The hatches at both ends were sealed, and it looked as if the previous owners had mothballed the place pretty well. "We put a table in here, a few chairs ... we got ourselves a mess hall..."
"Now we just need someone who can cook..."
"You mean you can't? Damn, darlin' ... you'll just have to fly this boat and help me shoot the bad guys instead then." He grinned broadly at her; this entire ship echoed the word home over and over, and it was like he was walking through his own personal present.
"Now, that I can do..."
Hmm... Sounds to me like we may have to have a discussion about who's gonna be captain on this boat..." He shot her a cocky grin, and strode over to open the far hatch.
She smirked at him, giving him a playful wink "I look forward to it..." She stepped past him and started down the corridor that led up to the bridge. "Gods she's beautiful."
Opening a few of the hatches to reveal what looked like a good six or eight sets of quarters, he found himself hurrying up to the nose of the ship as Kara called out. He walked in through the almost circular hatch ... and stopped dead.
She heard him come in and turned to smile at him. "Isn’t she beautiful?"
Looking straight at her, he spoke without thinking. "Yes, she is...” then he coloured slightly, and turned to look out the window. "Two decent sized consoles..." He moved to duck his head underneath the nearest one. "Don't look to badly chewed up, neither."
She blushed instantly, turning to follow him, kneeling down. "Shouldn't take much to get the controls operational...
"We're going to need to get a lot of work done to get her space worthy... but damn me if she don't feel like a scrapper." He turned to find her kneeling next to him, eyes shadowed under the darkness of the console. "Think you can fly something with no weapons?"
"I can fly anything with wings..." she grinned "And a few things without..."
"Mmmm." He really should stop just staring at her. There was work needed doing, and crossing that friends with benefits line could spoil what they had before this ship had even got off the ground. "I want to name the ship."
She grinned at him. "Have something in mind?
"I do ... although I'm not sure as you'd much like it."
"Try me..."
He'd spent a lot of time thinking about this ... too much blood had passed without being honoured. "The Serenity."
She took a chance and took his hand. "I think its perfect..." Many nights they'd lain awake, holding each other for comfort as they bared the demons of their pasts.
Her hand holding his, he could remember all the nights they'd held each other long past midnight, talking out the things that haunted him. She knew more of him than anyone did; more than that, she always gave him what he seemed to need. She understood when he woke up sweating in the dark, death behind his eyes; she held him when he couldn't breathe, loved him when he needed to feel alive. This was going to be their home now ... and when it was up in the air, and they were free of the earth ... well, maybe he could do something about making that a permanent arrangement.
Without thinking she slipped her arm around his waist and turned to stare out the main view window. The much larger ship that would transport them to their mooring hovered overhead. "Looks like our ride is here..."
He levered himself up from under the console, keeping her arm around him. "Good job we closed the main cargo hatch, then. Even better that you talked that cigar-chomping tub of guts down enough that we could afford a basic refit. All's we need is a crew and a job, and we're shiny."
"I like the sounds of that..." She leaned against him "Now. Where would we go about finding those?
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