December 31, 2011

[crazyspacegirl]

There was no way that Zoe was going to be able to stay awake until midnight, but River did take her on an early trip to the party at the compound, so as not to miss out on the New Year's Eve festivities entirely. She'd brought home a lot of plates of food and bottles of drinks, both alcoholic and non; since, if past events could tell the future,

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[mademighty]

It's later when Mal arrives back at Serenity. He's had his fill of brandy that he hasn't seen since before the Operative and he's a little unsteady on his feet but he'll fly true. Home, rumpled but safe, he leans one shoulder against the door frame and watches her.

"So this is New Year," he says.

[crazyspacegirl]

"Happens even here. Bet you didn't expect this year to end up here, back when it started." River had, more or less, last New Year when she'd been with a man who looked the same as the one in front of her now, even if the way he looked at her was entirely different; she just hadn't expected to have had to spend most of the year without any Captain at all. "Did you have fun?"

She was content with the pile of books and snacks that she'd been spending her own evening with, but he did look like he'd had the more interesting time.

[mademighty]

"Didn't exactly conjure all of this, no. Doesn't mean I'm not grateful."

He closes his eyes until the room stops swimming and then he nods. He walks closer to her, collapsing into a chair that seems awful convenient, right then.

"I did. I had a whole pile of fun and then I came home."

[crazyspacegirl]

"Me, too. Grateful, I mean. Even if it's not like I expected." River munched a small sandwich from the tray on the table beside her and watched him thoughtfully. "Was this an entirely liquid pile of fun, or did you get something to eat?"

She might not be married to him anymore, making any consequences of the nature of his fun not so much her problem, but she didn't like to watch people suffer when it could be avoided.