(Untitled)

[corpwashburne]

Zoe's been around. No, really, she has

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[wash_drives]

Lucky day for her, the AWOL husband has removed himself from the engineering alcove!

He snuck up behind her and put his hands over her eyes, "Guess who, bao bei."

sweetheart

[corpwashburne]

Zoe tenses for half a second at the contact, until the familiar voice cuts through it.

"Someone who very nearly got his arms broken for surprising me like that," she teases.

[wash_drives]

He kissed her on the cheek, "Mmm, you're so cute when you're threatening me with physical violence."

[corpwashburne]

She turns around, slipping his arms down to her waist.

"And what about the rest of the time?"

[wash_drives]

"Oh you're cute then, too. And when you're shooting things, and when you're giving orders and when you're not wearing anything..."

[corpwashburne]

Zoe puts two fingers across her husband's mouth.

"Okay, okay, I get the point. I'm starving. You eat yet?"

[wash_drives]

Her husband sighed, "Nope. What would you like to eat? There's..." he looked over at the stockpile of food, "Dehydrated noodles or dehydrated noodles."

[corpwashburne]

"Hmm. Tough choice. I can't decide. Surprise me," she replies, smirking.

[wash_drives]

"Dehydrated noodles it is!" Wash poured some water into a pot and set it over the fire in the grate, "How was your day, baby?"

[corpwashburne]

Zoe drops into a chair, rubbing at the back of her neck.

"Pretty much the same as every other day around here," she says with a touch of bitterness. "Training in the morning, quiet patrol in the afternoon. Noodle dinner that's actually succeeded in making me miss the protein cubes back on the ship. You?"

[wash_drives]

He pulled a chair up across from her and plopped into it, putting his elbows on her knees and his chin in his hands. "Basic matinance around here, fixing up the pipes and such. Kaylee's working on the engine for that ship Mal wanted, but...." Wash looked at Zoe, helplessly. "It's not possible. She doesn't have the stuff and there's no way we'd have enough fuel."

[corpwashburne]

"I'm glad the Cap'n ain't around to hear you say that," she says sadly. "Some days, I think that getting back in the black's all that's keepin' him going. But as long as he ain't here, I don't mind saying that it don't surprise me. The tech level of this place is just too low."

[wash_drives]

"Poor Kaylee's going out of her mind trying to make it work. She knows it's impossible, but it's for Mal so she's going to try her damnedest." Wash shook his head. "She seems happy enough, though. This place isn't so bad, especially with you here... but I do get a mite homesick."

[corpwashburne]

"Kaylee's got a heart on her, that's for sure. Mal gave her a shot, and she figures she owes him. But the strain of it's gonna wear her down."

She sighs.

"Maybe I oughta talk to her."

[wash_drives]

"Dunno how much good it'll do. I mean, who has the heart to tell Mal that there's no way we could ever break atmo? That building a ship's impossible? It might kill him." He leaned forward and kissed Zoe on the forehead, then stood and dumped the noodles into the now-boiling water. "I still can't believe we're all here. What kinda luck is that?"

[corpwashburne]

"Mal's crazy, but he ain't stupid. Well, not overly so. He's gotta know that already. After what that qiángbào hóuzi de vampire put Kaylee through, I think Mal just wanted to give her something to focus on. I don't expect he meant her to take it this seriously."

She crosses the small room and wraps her arms around Wash, laying her head against his back.

"Because you're right. We're all here. We ain't in the black no more, but we're together. That ain't nothing."