To Paint
We all know Kaylee painted those flowers all over the galley.
Mal and Kaylee. Not as a pairing.
Prompt: colourful.G. 372 words.
The scratching, scraping sound echoed through the walls of the grounded ship. Mal, having thought he was the only one aboard, was concerned. The others had left. This was the first planet they'd successfully landed on since they'd gathered up pretty much all the crew they'd need. Something could have got on the ship; Mal, knowing his luck, wouldn't be surprised. He would, however, be mighty pissed off.
But it wasn't some evil little thief. There was no beggar scratching through his possessions in search of the value that just wasn't there. There was no intruder.
There was just a slightly messy mechanic and paint can.
"What is going on?" asked the Captain, stepping into the galley and looking around. No damage done; she hadn't started painting yet, luckily. She was straining to open a gummed-up lid to get to the green paint inside, to no avail. So concentrated on her job was she that she didn't notice Mal until he had stepped up close to her and was speaking again. "Paint? What you paintin'?"
"The beams, Cap'n," she chirruped. She put the paintbrush down, with which she was attempting to lever the lid open. "Thought we could spice the place up a bit. Get it some colour. Some green today, 'nother colour next time I get somethin' spare to touch it up and this place'd be shiny."
"You're not paintin' my ship."
"Well, no. Not all of your ship. Just this bit," she said. Her eyes were upturned and she was smiling, looking as charming as she could manage. The sparkle in her eye amused Mal, but he kept his stern face.
"No."
"But Cap'n..."
"I said no," he insisted. She looked crestfallen, her smile fading. That was only joined by confusion when a smirk slid over Mal's face. "You ain't paintin' Serenity. Not without supervision. Now, how 'bout we go find the others and maybe go about looking for some other colours? I got some spare money."
Kaylee stood up straight away, her knees red from the floor. "Are you serious?" she asked, excitement in her tone.
When he confirmed that he was, in fact, deadly serious, she grinned and took his hand to drag him happily off the ship.