Fic: Prodigal Son 14/?
FIC: Prodigal Son 14/?
Author: Ann
Fandom: Firefly
Pairing/character: Mal/Simon
Warnings: Post movie by several years
Rating (This chapter): PG
Chapter summary: There was a touch of sarcasm to Simon’s words, even if Mal could feel him tensing . He pressed his leg closer to the Simon‘s, offering him that small bit of reassurance. Simon was getting stiffer and more uptight the longer they stayed here, starting to sound more like the man Mal had once assumed him to be than the one he knew he was
Thanks to lvs2read for the great beta
Part of a Roundrobin fic. Organisational Post for previous chapters.
Translations in mouse over. Sorry for the massive crosspost, trying to get peeps wanting to write in the comm again. Click on alienatingfolks to see the comm or on the banner Vae made a while ago which is at the bottom of this fic-under the cut.
“Gorramn it Mal! Why'd you have to get all noble and dumb? Makes the rest of us look bad an’ we still gotta come drag your sorry pigu-, and the doc’s, out of it. Qingwa cào de liúmáng-”
Jayne wasn't a man to keep waiting and Mal had every sympathy with him for getting a mite tetchy when it came to being on worlds like this. They tended to rub him the wrong way too. Just as the two fine people in front of him were. He pressed the communicator's button, cutting Jayne off mid-curse.
"Spoke to you afore about civility, Jayne." His tone was measured and, as he caught the displeasure on the elder Tam's face, he offered Simon's father a slightly sardonic grin. "Keep it sweet, Jayne, can't say there's friendly ears about."
"Well…great." Jayne's words were a moment in coming, hurried when they were and Mal had no doubt there was some cursing going on the other end of the comm. His crew was all kinds of cunning and they never could just leave them, even if they didn't have the first clue just what was befalling Simon and himself. Mal wasn't sure that didn't worry him a touch right then as he watched Gabriel Tam shoot his lover a look of disgust, lips pressed together tightly keeping words at bay, before he was ired up enough to let them come out.
"Who was that, Simon? " Regan was doing the talking now, instead, keeping her gaze firmly on her son and ignoring Mal, which suited him fine. The less he had to talk to them, the less he felt like shooting them. He’d said all he needed to, as far as he could see they were done here. Wasn’t worth holding company with those who didn’t deserve it.
"A friend." Simon answered simply, hands in his lap now, back straight as he looked at his parents. "Much as I've enjoyed our conversation, I think we should be going. Though I'm glad to see you're both looking so...well."
There was a touch of sarcasm to Simon’s words, even if Mal could feel him tensing . He pressed his leg closer to the Simon‘s, offering him that small bit of reassurance. Simon was getting stiffer and more uptight the longer they stayed here, starting to sound more like the man Mal had once assumed him to be than the one he knew he was. His Simon. Serenity's Simon.
Mal wanted off this world.
"We're not finished here." There was a warning in Gabriel's tone that had Mal looking sharply at him, seeing the spark that flashed furious for a moment despite the man's cold exterior. Something was off, something weren't quite right. Hell none of this was as he'd rightly know, just that something was a mite more unsettling right that moment.
"I think we are. I think we were finished a long time ago-father." There was a slight mocking tone to that last word, which sent a flush of smug pride through Mal, making his lips twitch in a more genuine smile than before.
"Don't be a fool. Do you really think we'd stop looking for you? That the Alliance would?" Gabriel was mirroring Simon's movements now, crossing his arms in the familiar way Simon often did, though his voice wasn't anything like Simon's- even when Simon was doctoring. Gabriel's was taking on a lecturing tone, patronizing one, that set Mal on edge. "Do you have any concept of the trouble we've had? The house raided, the rumors about you. About River and us?"
"You gave up on us." Simon appeared calm, but Mal could see the slight ripple of tension, barest flicker to Simon's eyes and twitch of his fingers that always told him when the man was nervous or worried. Likely was that his parents couldn't see it, didn't know their own son well enough. But Mal did. "You knew something was wrong, but you preferred to avoid that truth. To pretend that what her letters said, what I told you she'd asked for, was nothing more than a contrived fallacy from my imagination."
Mal wanted to say something and had to clench his teeth together hard, feeling an urge to grasp the both of them and shake them 'til they saw what they'd given up. What they'd lost, and he and his had had the luck to find. But he’d said his piece and Simon was needing this. Needing to have his say and speak for both himself and River.
"It nearly killed your grandmother." Regan's small interjection was the one to get an actual obvious physical response from Simon, Mal felt him start, body clenching at the unfair words, ones he didn't doubt would be affecting Simon. He pressed his leg all the closer to Simon's, hearing the slight betrayed tremor that Simon couldn't shake-did always wear his heart on his sleeve- but that evened out as the doctor kept talking, voice quiet but not cowed.
"I think perhaps you should ask nai nai, what exactly broke her heart. I'm sure you'll find her answer very different from your own." Simon shook his head, tired by both the conversation and his parent’s presence. "Please, stop the car." He looked at Mal, hands unfurling from the knot in his lap, sliding one towards Mal's and twining their fingers together.
"Best be getting back." Mal was in agreement with Simon’s unspoken words, glad for the motion. His free hand moved to the side of the limo's inside door, running it along as he searched for the buttons to open it. Not feeling all that inclined to jump out yet, but he frowned when he found…nothing. Eyes moving to the window, he felt a churning in his belly, a coolness settling over him and bringing back the unease.
"Tell me where my daughter is."
“No.” Simon shrugged, slight smile to his lips as he shook his head, feeling more sure than Mal was at that moment
“Don’t be a fool, Simon.”
Mal’s eyes were at the window again, though his free hand was clenched in his lap, itching to use it on Gabriel as Regan lent forward to touch Simon’s knee, almost touching his own.
“You’re ill, Simon, please. We can help you. Just tell us where River is and everything can go back to the way it was. We miss you. We hoped for so much for you, for River. I had even hoped you would’ve made me a nai nai myself by now.” She paused for a moment, drawing her fingers back from Simon as he stared at her incredulously. “We can still have that, though. Your father knows people, he can fix this, we can fix both of you
Regan was sincere, which was all the more sickening to Mal. The woman was feng le herself; living in some delusion that things could be righted so easy when she wasn’t even willing to accept she was one of them who’d done some of the wronging. Blaming her kids, an illness, gorramn only knew what else-most likely him, given the look she’d just thrown him. Everything except herself and her husband.
A husband who was keeping silent, holding a cold, calculated look in his eyes that told Mal that Gabriel Tam was under no illusions whatsoever.
“Fix us?” Simon’s voice was hoarse, disbelieving, “After everything that’s happened, everything the Alliance did to River, you still want to change her. To fix her? Māde! When will you see she’d not broken?”
“Simon.” Mal’s hand was at his holster, not grabbing for his gun, just a reassuring touch as he glanced away from the window. Away from the sure sign of the Tam’s second betrayal, the lights and bustle of Capital City drawing closer, the limo taking them somewhere Mal wasn’t keen on going. Or Simon being taken to, either. “Ain’t exactly circling the block anymore.”
Author: Ann
Fandom: Firefly
Pairing/character: Mal/Simon
Warnings: Post movie by several years
Rating (This chapter): PG
Chapter summary: There was a touch of sarcasm to Simon’s words, even if Mal could feel him tensing . He pressed his leg closer to the Simon‘s, offering him that small bit of reassurance. Simon was getting stiffer and more uptight the longer they stayed here, starting to sound more like the man Mal had once assumed him to be than the one he knew he was
Thanks to lvs2read for the great beta
Part of a Roundrobin fic. Organisational Post for previous chapters.
Translations in mouse over. Sorry for the massive crosspost, trying to get peeps wanting to write in the comm again. Click on alienatingfolks to see the comm or on the banner Vae made a while ago which is at the bottom of this fic-under the cut.
“Gorramn it Mal! Why'd you have to get all noble and dumb? Makes the rest of us look bad an’ we still gotta come drag your sorry pigu-, and the doc’s, out of it. Qingwa cào de liúmáng-”
Jayne wasn't a man to keep waiting and Mal had every sympathy with him for getting a mite tetchy when it came to being on worlds like this. They tended to rub him the wrong way too. Just as the two fine people in front of him were. He pressed the communicator's button, cutting Jayne off mid-curse.
"Spoke to you afore about civility, Jayne." His tone was measured and, as he caught the displeasure on the elder Tam's face, he offered Simon's father a slightly sardonic grin. "Keep it sweet, Jayne, can't say there's friendly ears about."
"Well…great." Jayne's words were a moment in coming, hurried when they were and Mal had no doubt there was some cursing going on the other end of the comm. His crew was all kinds of cunning and they never could just leave them, even if they didn't have the first clue just what was befalling Simon and himself. Mal wasn't sure that didn't worry him a touch right then as he watched Gabriel Tam shoot his lover a look of disgust, lips pressed together tightly keeping words at bay, before he was ired up enough to let them come out.
"Who was that, Simon? " Regan was doing the talking now, instead, keeping her gaze firmly on her son and ignoring Mal, which suited him fine. The less he had to talk to them, the less he felt like shooting them. He’d said all he needed to, as far as he could see they were done here. Wasn’t worth holding company with those who didn’t deserve it.
"A friend." Simon answered simply, hands in his lap now, back straight as he looked at his parents. "Much as I've enjoyed our conversation, I think we should be going. Though I'm glad to see you're both looking so...well."
There was a touch of sarcasm to Simon’s words, even if Mal could feel him tensing . He pressed his leg closer to the Simon‘s, offering him that small bit of reassurance. Simon was getting stiffer and more uptight the longer they stayed here, starting to sound more like the man Mal had once assumed him to be than the one he knew he was. His Simon. Serenity's Simon.
Mal wanted off this world.
"We're not finished here." There was a warning in Gabriel's tone that had Mal looking sharply at him, seeing the spark that flashed furious for a moment despite the man's cold exterior. Something was off, something weren't quite right. Hell none of this was as he'd rightly know, just that something was a mite more unsettling right that moment.
"I think we are. I think we were finished a long time ago-father." There was a slight mocking tone to that last word, which sent a flush of smug pride through Mal, making his lips twitch in a more genuine smile than before.
"Don't be a fool. Do you really think we'd stop looking for you? That the Alliance would?" Gabriel was mirroring Simon's movements now, crossing his arms in the familiar way Simon often did, though his voice wasn't anything like Simon's- even when Simon was doctoring. Gabriel's was taking on a lecturing tone, patronizing one, that set Mal on edge. "Do you have any concept of the trouble we've had? The house raided, the rumors about you. About River and us?"
"You gave up on us." Simon appeared calm, but Mal could see the slight ripple of tension, barest flicker to Simon's eyes and twitch of his fingers that always told him when the man was nervous or worried. Likely was that his parents couldn't see it, didn't know their own son well enough. But Mal did. "You knew something was wrong, but you preferred to avoid that truth. To pretend that what her letters said, what I told you she'd asked for, was nothing more than a contrived fallacy from my imagination."
Mal wanted to say something and had to clench his teeth together hard, feeling an urge to grasp the both of them and shake them 'til they saw what they'd given up. What they'd lost, and he and his had had the luck to find. But he’d said his piece and Simon was needing this. Needing to have his say and speak for both himself and River.
"It nearly killed your grandmother." Regan's small interjection was the one to get an actual obvious physical response from Simon, Mal felt him start, body clenching at the unfair words, ones he didn't doubt would be affecting Simon. He pressed his leg all the closer to Simon's, hearing the slight betrayed tremor that Simon couldn't shake-did always wear his heart on his sleeve- but that evened out as the doctor kept talking, voice quiet but not cowed.
"I think perhaps you should ask nai nai, what exactly broke her heart. I'm sure you'll find her answer very different from your own." Simon shook his head, tired by both the conversation and his parent’s presence. "Please, stop the car." He looked at Mal, hands unfurling from the knot in his lap, sliding one towards Mal's and twining their fingers together.
"Best be getting back." Mal was in agreement with Simon’s unspoken words, glad for the motion. His free hand moved to the side of the limo's inside door, running it along as he searched for the buttons to open it. Not feeling all that inclined to jump out yet, but he frowned when he found…nothing. Eyes moving to the window, he felt a churning in his belly, a coolness settling over him and bringing back the unease.
"Tell me where my daughter is."
“No.” Simon shrugged, slight smile to his lips as he shook his head, feeling more sure than Mal was at that moment
“Don’t be a fool, Simon.”
Mal’s eyes were at the window again, though his free hand was clenched in his lap, itching to use it on Gabriel as Regan lent forward to touch Simon’s knee, almost touching his own.
“You’re ill, Simon, please. We can help you. Just tell us where River is and everything can go back to the way it was. We miss you. We hoped for so much for you, for River. I had even hoped you would’ve made me a nai nai myself by now.” She paused for a moment, drawing her fingers back from Simon as he stared at her incredulously. “We can still have that, though. Your father knows people, he can fix this, we can fix both of you
Regan was sincere, which was all the more sickening to Mal. The woman was feng le herself; living in some delusion that things could be righted so easy when she wasn’t even willing to accept she was one of them who’d done some of the wronging. Blaming her kids, an illness, gorramn only knew what else-most likely him, given the look she’d just thrown him. Everything except herself and her husband.
A husband who was keeping silent, holding a cold, calculated look in his eyes that told Mal that Gabriel Tam was under no illusions whatsoever.
“Fix us?” Simon’s voice was hoarse, disbelieving, “After everything that’s happened, everything the Alliance did to River, you still want to change her. To fix her? Māde! When will you see she’d not broken?”
“Simon.” Mal’s hand was at his holster, not grabbing for his gun, just a reassuring touch as he glanced away from the window. Away from the sure sign of the Tam’s second betrayal, the lights and bustle of Capital City drawing closer, the limo taking them somewhere Mal wasn’t keen on going. Or Simon being taken to, either. “Ain’t exactly circling the block anymore.”