(Untitled)

[crazyspacegirl]

River was pretty excited to be putting the final touches on her little dance studio. It was just a hut, right off the path not too far from Serenity, but it was everything she needed and all hers. She had offered to teach ballet as part of the school's curriculum, believing that the island could only benefit from some proper culture, but she

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[tightpantscapn]

Now, Mal knew he ought t' leave River t' her own devices, what with a new dance studio t' be gettin' t'gether n' all. She would be her own capt'n, o' a sort, n' he ought t' give her space t' do jus' that.

Only Mal couldn't keep 'way on 'ccount o' his curiosity. Simon Chicago boundin' by his side, Mal headed up the path t' where River's new studio was. The pair o' 'em stood in the doorway, watchin' as River spun 'bout, all flashes n' blurs o' pink with her dark hair flyin' 'round her. Mal smiled.

Simon Chicago barked.

[crazyspacegirl]

River knew that bark as well as she knew her own voice. It didn't alarm her, but it did bring her back to the present.

"Just a minute," she said, not opening her eyes. She liked the world she was in too much to leave it just yet. In her mind, Simon Chicago was far in the future, a good thing to come. She just didn't want to remember all the bad things that had to happen before she got to the part of her life where he was waiting.

[tightpantscapn]

Mal gave River that minute n' then some, knowin' when t' not be 'n interruptin' fool. Simon Chicago must've sense it, too. He got right down on his haunches 'side Mal, waitin' real patient-like for the 'ttention he wanted.

"Got all the time y' want," he commented, takin' in the graceful way she held her form.

[crazyspacegirl]

River knew that voice even better than she knew the familiar bark of her dog, and she didn't mind remembering all the things between then and now so much, remembering that they had brought her to him in the end.

She opened one eye, squinting at the reflection of man and dog behind her in the mirror, and then opened the other as she lowered her arms back down to her sides. "Thank you. I think that'll do for now. Did you come for a lesson?" she asked, laugh in her voice. "Take those ballet lessons you must have had in your youth back up again?"

[tightpantscapn]

Mal met her gaze in the mirror, but not after snortin' n' rollin' his eyes. "Y' got me. That's 'xactly why I came down here. Got m' dancin' shoes in m' back pocket n' I'm ready t' recapture the glory days o' m' youth."

[crazyspacegirl]

"Well, you came to the right place." River crossed the room, deciding to take him at his word no matter how sure she was he was joking. That would teach him to tease her about something as serious as dancing. "Come in and take a look. I'm sure this is at least as good as any studio you've ever seen. But you can't walk in here with those boots on. You'll ruin my fancy new floor."

[tightpantscapn]

He looked down at his boots n' then o'er t' River, a most dubious 'xpression on his face. "Y' mean t' say I've got t' take off these here boots 'fore I can walk on your floor?" A brow arched. "Sure y' ain't got a death wish? M' feet might smell somethin' powerful ugly; stink this place up."

[crazyspacegirl]

"Just wait until I've got a bunch of dancers in there really working up a sweat," said River with no small amount of glee. "One pair of captain boots is nothing. Dance is a lot more beautiful when you only see it from the outside. And anyway," she added, "I've been living with your smelly old boots for a long time now. If they haven't run me off yet, I don't think it's going to happen."