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comment_fic's "Firefly, Mal/Serenity, goodnight ritual"
Kaylee was more visible in her show of affection toward "her girl", but at night, when the rest if the crew was asleep, Mal had his moment alone with the old ship. Walking along the catwalks in the cargo bay, before going to the floor to secure what crates they might be hauling. Then walking the hallways and companionways, listening to the night sounds -- River babbling in her sleep, Simon murmuring a reassurance to her; Jayne snoring noisily; Book praying, as he sometimes did in the middle of the night; Wash and Zoe laughing or bickering or doing other things Mal didn't want to think about. He paused in the hallway leading to Inara's shuttle, whether her shuttle was in or not, pretending he wasn't wondering what she was doing or who was doing what to her, pretending he didn't mind any of it.
Then pacing to the engine room, pausing to listen to them hum and watching them turn over, like listening to a child or a lover breathing as they slept. Sometimes he found Kaylee snoozing in a hammock there. Sometimes he picked her up and brought her to her bunk, but sometimes she left her there: she slept in the engine room at times when the engine was acting up, like a mom sleeping inept the same room with a sick kid.
Finally, he headed to his own cabin, to record a log of the day before crashing for the night. But before he did so, he sometimes reached out to touch the wall gently, as if caressing his girl, thanking her for keeping them aloft...
comment_fic's "Firefly, Mal/Serenity, goodnight ritual"Kaylee was more visible in her show of affection toward "her girl", but at night, when the rest if the crew was asleep, Mal had his moment alone with the old ship. Walking along the catwalks in the cargo bay, before going to the floor to secure what crates they might be hauling. Then walking the hallways and companionways, listening to the night sounds -- River babbling in her sleep, Simon murmuring a reassurance to her; Jayne snoring noisily; Book praying, as he sometimes did in the middle of the night; Wash and Zoe laughing or bickering or doing other things Mal didn't want to think about. He paused in the hallway leading to Inara's shuttle, whether her shuttle was in or not, pretending he wasn't wondering what she was doing or who was doing what to her, pretending he didn't mind any of it.
Then pacing to the engine room, pausing to listen to them hum and watching them turn over, like listening to a child or a lover breathing as they slept. Sometimes he found Kaylee snoozing in a hammock there. Sometimes he picked her up and brought her to her bunk, but sometimes she left her there: she slept in the engine room at times when the engine was acting up, like a mom sleeping inept the same room with a sick kid.
Finally, he headed to his own cabin, to record a log of the day before crashing for the night. But before he did so, he sometimes reached out to touch the wall gently, as if caressing his girl, thanking her for keeping them aloft...