Until Then (Firefly, joss100 prompt #3)
Title: Until Then
Author: callispi
Rating: G
Character(s): Kaylee
Prompt: Set 2, #3: Daydreams
Word Count: 608
Summary: Kaylee dreams patiently.
Kaylee was thirteen years old when she heard an orchestra play for the first time.
An Alliance transport ship had docked a few miles south of Pa’s workshop because of engine troubles, and she had followed Pa to talk to the ship’s captain.
Kaylee’s eyes widened when she saw him. He was young, for a captain. His hair gleamed auburn in the sunlight, and his face was good-looking. He wore a suit so clean and stiff that it looked like it was starched for days. When he saw them, he nodded, all formal-like.
“We had passed by Hera when the asteroid struck and the engines took a turn for the worst. I decided to dock here, just in case there would be further trouble.”
Pa inspected the ship and shook his head. They would need new parts, he said. It would take a few days at the very least to retrieve and install 'em.
“At least you stopped here,” Kaylee piped in when the captain grimaced. “Pa’s the best mechanic on this moon, and I’m sure the folks here would treat you and your crew real nice.”
The captain glanced at Kaylee. Her heart leaped.
As the days passed, Kaylee worked on the ship in hopes that she would catch the captain's attention. He never looked at her again, but she kept her face and nails clean, just in case.
On the third day, the ship's passengers began to wander out to explore the moon. Around noon, after lunch, some of them gathered around a grassy field with violins and violas and other instruments that Kaylee had never seen.
Kaylee didn’t know what to expect. The sounds that she liked best were the deep purrs of a smoothly oiled engine and the clang of metal.
But as soon as the orchestra started playing, Kaylee forgot to breathe.
Each note streamed through the air in gentle hums. The violins reached pitches so shrill that her ears tingled. The air suddenly sweetened, like someone opened a bottle of perfume. Of course, it wasn’t a real orchestra like the fancy ones they had on the core planets, but for Kaylee, it was enough to make her forget about rewiring the core compressor.
After a while, Pa called over to her.
“What’re you doing there with your mouth agapin’ like a fish, girl? There's work to be done.”
Kaylee turned to him and murmured, “The music, Pa. It’s just so pretty.”
Pa snorted. “You ain’t no fancy lady, Kaylee, so don’t go gettin’ uppity on me.”
Kaylee worked hard, and after five more days, she and Pa watched the ship blast off into space from the workshop roof.
Pa was cheerful all throughout dinner. He had gotten paid more than he thought he would, and Mama was good-humoredly trying to get him to buy her a new dress.
Kaylee left to her attic room after cleaning the dishes and locked the door behind her. Instead of the bare, half-lit bulb on her ceiling, she saw a floating chandelier of glittering crystal. She was wearing a frilly pink dress with skirts so wide that when people passed her by, they said, “Pardon me, ma’am” like she was a real proper lady. Quietly, she hummed the song that the orchestra had played so often and twirled around, placing her arms on the shoulders of an imaginary dance partner.
Kaylee was determined to listen to music like that again some day. And when she did, she would have a nice dress, and a man like the captain would stop when he saw her and offer her a dance.
But until then, Kaylee would just dream.
Author: callispi
Rating: G
Character(s): Kaylee
Prompt: Set 2, #3: Daydreams
Word Count: 608
Summary: Kaylee dreams patiently.
Kaylee was thirteen years old when she heard an orchestra play for the first time.
An Alliance transport ship had docked a few miles south of Pa’s workshop because of engine troubles, and she had followed Pa to talk to the ship’s captain.
Kaylee’s eyes widened when she saw him. He was young, for a captain. His hair gleamed auburn in the sunlight, and his face was good-looking. He wore a suit so clean and stiff that it looked like it was starched for days. When he saw them, he nodded, all formal-like.
“We had passed by Hera when the asteroid struck and the engines took a turn for the worst. I decided to dock here, just in case there would be further trouble.”
Pa inspected the ship and shook his head. They would need new parts, he said. It would take a few days at the very least to retrieve and install 'em.
“At least you stopped here,” Kaylee piped in when the captain grimaced. “Pa’s the best mechanic on this moon, and I’m sure the folks here would treat you and your crew real nice.”
The captain glanced at Kaylee. Her heart leaped.
As the days passed, Kaylee worked on the ship in hopes that she would catch the captain's attention. He never looked at her again, but she kept her face and nails clean, just in case.
On the third day, the ship's passengers began to wander out to explore the moon. Around noon, after lunch, some of them gathered around a grassy field with violins and violas and other instruments that Kaylee had never seen.
Kaylee didn’t know what to expect. The sounds that she liked best were the deep purrs of a smoothly oiled engine and the clang of metal.
But as soon as the orchestra started playing, Kaylee forgot to breathe.
Each note streamed through the air in gentle hums. The violins reached pitches so shrill that her ears tingled. The air suddenly sweetened, like someone opened a bottle of perfume. Of course, it wasn’t a real orchestra like the fancy ones they had on the core planets, but for Kaylee, it was enough to make her forget about rewiring the core compressor.
After a while, Pa called over to her.
“What’re you doing there with your mouth agapin’ like a fish, girl? There's work to be done.”
Kaylee turned to him and murmured, “The music, Pa. It’s just so pretty.”
Pa snorted. “You ain’t no fancy lady, Kaylee, so don’t go gettin’ uppity on me.”
Kaylee worked hard, and after five more days, she and Pa watched the ship blast off into space from the workshop roof.
Pa was cheerful all throughout dinner. He had gotten paid more than he thought he would, and Mama was good-humoredly trying to get him to buy her a new dress.
Kaylee left to her attic room after cleaning the dishes and locked the door behind her. Instead of the bare, half-lit bulb on her ceiling, she saw a floating chandelier of glittering crystal. She was wearing a frilly pink dress with skirts so wide that when people passed her by, they said, “Pardon me, ma’am” like she was a real proper lady. Quietly, she hummed the song that the orchestra had played so often and twirled around, placing her arms on the shoulders of an imaginary dance partner.
Kaylee was determined to listen to music like that again some day. And when she did, she would have a nice dress, and a man like the captain would stop when he saw her and offer her a dance.
But until then, Kaylee would just dream.