Fic: Learning to Fly, for Vialethe
Written for the 2012 Fandom Stocking, for 
vialethe Happy Holidays!
Title: Learning to Fly
Characters: Wash, River
Rating: G
Summary: River and Wash bond.
Disclaimer: Wash, River, and any other people or places mentioned in this unofficial fanwork are property of Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. Not mine.
A/N: My first Firefly fanfic, so I hope the characterization is satisfactory. Happy holidays!
Learning to Fly
“What does this do?” River asked, completely shattering Wash’s concentration. He’d nearly broken his record for balancing two toy dinosaurs on his forehead at once, but he’d twitched violently when River appeared out of nowhere.
“Gaah! Don’t do that!” Wash cried in surprise. “I startle easily!”
River just blinked at him, completely unphased, and pointed insistently at the shuttle release button.
“It, uh, it launches Inara’s shuttle. Can I ask why you’re asking?”
River ignored him, turning once more to survey the impressive dashboard of blinking lights and excitingly colored buttons. “What does this one do?”
“That engages our secondary engine. Again, may I ask why?”
Once more, Wash was soundly ignored. He coped with it. Being ignored wasn’t exactly a new experience for him. But, while River lacked answers, she certainly had an excess of questions for him. So, Wash explained to River the buttons and levers responsible for sending a distress signal, opening the roof port, turning of the ship’s intercom, heating the bridge, the secondary steering mechanism, and so on and so forth.
When River finally ran out of questions, Wash turned to gaze at her expectantly. “Anything else you feel the burning need to ask? Because, really, I’m here to help.”
River smiled blandly at him before plopping down in the empty co-pilot seat and strapping herself in. She flicked a couple of buttons, too quickly for him to see which ones, then swiveled her chair towards the radar screen to check their flight path.
“Our destination is Eris-4,” River stated instead of really asking, tracing a finger along the radar screen.
“Uh, yes,” Wash replied hesitantly, reaching for the intercom microphone. It might be time for Simon to find a new babysitter for River, preferably one who wasn’t flying a spaceship at the moment. “We’re dropping off cargo. Wind up toys and ammunition. Hours of fun for kids and mercenaries, the world around.”
“Very good,” River nodded seriously, before her face broke out into a huge grin. It was the happiest Wash had ever seen her, even after flying with her for months.
“I’m like a leaf on the wind,” River murmured happily, and Wash put down the microphone.
“Say, River. You ever flown a spaceship before?” Wash asked on a whim, smiling a little himself. She shook her head, and he gave her an encouraging smile. “Want to learn?”
River cocked her head to the side consideringly and stared at Wash in concentration for a few long moments. “Yes.”
“Alright then,” Wash began, handing her one of his two model dinosaurs. If he could share the bridge, he could share his dinosaurs. But he was keeping the T-Rex. Symbolic gestures were all well and good, but not enough to convince him to give up his favourite dino.
“What you’ve got to know first, before any of that fancy steering stuff, is that the first rule of flying is love. Love’s what keeps you flying, instead of crashing into a world and suffering the fiery death that tends to follow shipwrecks.”
River nodded seriously, one hand curling protectively around the secondary steering mechanism, and Wash knew he’d made a good choice. River Tam would make a damn good co-pilot.
fin.
vialethe Happy Holidays!
Title: Learning to Fly
Characters: Wash, River
Rating: G
Summary: River and Wash bond.
Disclaimer: Wash, River, and any other people or places mentioned in this unofficial fanwork are property of Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. Not mine.
A/N: My first Firefly fanfic, so I hope the characterization is satisfactory. Happy holidays!
Learning to Fly
“What does this do?” River asked, completely shattering Wash’s concentration. He’d nearly broken his record for balancing two toy dinosaurs on his forehead at once, but he’d twitched violently when River appeared out of nowhere.
“Gaah! Don’t do that!” Wash cried in surprise. “I startle easily!”
River just blinked at him, completely unphased, and pointed insistently at the shuttle release button.
“It, uh, it launches Inara’s shuttle. Can I ask why you’re asking?”
River ignored him, turning once more to survey the impressive dashboard of blinking lights and excitingly colored buttons. “What does this one do?”
“That engages our secondary engine. Again, may I ask why?”
Once more, Wash was soundly ignored. He coped with it. Being ignored wasn’t exactly a new experience for him. But, while River lacked answers, she certainly had an excess of questions for him. So, Wash explained to River the buttons and levers responsible for sending a distress signal, opening the roof port, turning of the ship’s intercom, heating the bridge, the secondary steering mechanism, and so on and so forth.
When River finally ran out of questions, Wash turned to gaze at her expectantly. “Anything else you feel the burning need to ask? Because, really, I’m here to help.”
River smiled blandly at him before plopping down in the empty co-pilot seat and strapping herself in. She flicked a couple of buttons, too quickly for him to see which ones, then swiveled her chair towards the radar screen to check their flight path.
“Our destination is Eris-4,” River stated instead of really asking, tracing a finger along the radar screen.
“Uh, yes,” Wash replied hesitantly, reaching for the intercom microphone. It might be time for Simon to find a new babysitter for River, preferably one who wasn’t flying a spaceship at the moment. “We’re dropping off cargo. Wind up toys and ammunition. Hours of fun for kids and mercenaries, the world around.”
“Very good,” River nodded seriously, before her face broke out into a huge grin. It was the happiest Wash had ever seen her, even after flying with her for months.
“I’m like a leaf on the wind,” River murmured happily, and Wash put down the microphone.
“Say, River. You ever flown a spaceship before?” Wash asked on a whim, smiling a little himself. She shook her head, and he gave her an encouraging smile. “Want to learn?”
River cocked her head to the side consideringly and stared at Wash in concentration for a few long moments. “Yes.”
“Alright then,” Wash began, handing her one of his two model dinosaurs. If he could share the bridge, he could share his dinosaurs. But he was keeping the T-Rex. Symbolic gestures were all well and good, but not enough to convince him to give up his favourite dino.
“What you’ve got to know first, before any of that fancy steering stuff, is that the first rule of flying is love. Love’s what keeps you flying, instead of crashing into a world and suffering the fiery death that tends to follow shipwrecks.”
River nodded seriously, one hand curling protectively around the secondary steering mechanism, and Wash knew he’d made a good choice. River Tam would make a damn good co-pilot.
fin.