August 28: Man of Honor [Firefly]
Title: Man of Honor
Author: Jedi Buttercup
Rating: T/PG-13
Crossover: Firefly/Serenity
Spoilers: Post-series for B:tVS; post-Serenity
Notes: Following yesterday's addition to the Ancient Slayer 'verse; yep, I think this is definitely going to be a "five POVs" type collection. I'll probably group them under a header like "Creatures of Extraordinary Grace" when I repost them elsewhere. :)
Summary: Whatever happened next, Mal had already known there'd be no more slipping about on the raggedy edge. 500 words.
I could have left her there, Mal remembered, horrified, as he watched his mother comfort his-- what even was the word for their relation? Great-niece? The time bomb; the albatross; the wounded young woman he'd been unable to fully cut loose from the start, despite all the trouble she'd brought to his ship. River had nearly died half a hundred times since her brother brought her aboard, even before the Operative had started hunting them. Knowing she was family didn't so much change things as give them more resonance; added a weight of destiny to their history that he'd thought left far behind him with the faith of his childhood.
But that had been before a dying preacher clapped bloody hands to his face and told him to believe; before River stared into his eyes with corpses strewn around her feet, waiting for his signal to fight on; before his aunt and mother walked back into his life years after their funeral. Whatever happened next, he'd already known there'd be no more slipping about on the raggedy edge. But he'd surely thought they'd have a little more time before the next fight caught up to them.
Inara's hand squeezed his shoulder; he turned his head, not even sure what to say. After all the ups and downs, after cutting each other to the bone on their own mis-expectations before finally reaching an understanding, he'd been hoping for a dram of peace while they worked out the next steps to their dance; this surely didn't qualify.
"Don't give me that look," she said firmly, dark eyes full of sympathy. Months ago, he might have assumed she was trying to manage him, but paradoxically, coming to the grips with the fact that River was also-- but not just-- a weapon had settled something in the back of his mind regarding Inara. She was the woman he loved; and also-- but not just-- a Companion. "I'm not leaving."
"You sure?" Mal had to ask. "If Ma's here after all this time-- if it's aught to do with River--"
"An Operative found me once already," she replied, giving him a fondly chiding look. "Do you really think I'll be safer out of your presence?"
She did have a point there. He pressed a thankful kiss to her cheek, then stood, meeting Zoë's gaze. His second nodded; that settled, he strode around the table to where Simon stood with his sister, both staring at the woman who'd asked them to call her Buffy.
"So. Speaking of regrets," he prodded. "You were gonna tell us why you're really here."
His mother looked up, eyes sparking with determination. "Well, I was planning to hang around for the Alliance's next attack. But if River says they haven't stopped... well, it's been a while since I blew up a school."
Somebody has to speak for these people, he remembered himself saying.
"All right then," Mal decided, the corner of his mouth curling. "I guess we're gonna misbehave. Again."
-x-
Author: Jedi Buttercup
Rating: T/PG-13
Crossover: Firefly/Serenity
Spoilers: Post-series for B:tVS; post-Serenity
Notes: Following yesterday's addition to the Ancient Slayer 'verse; yep, I think this is definitely going to be a "five POVs" type collection. I'll probably group them under a header like "Creatures of Extraordinary Grace" when I repost them elsewhere. :)
Summary: Whatever happened next, Mal had already known there'd be no more slipping about on the raggedy edge. 500 words.
I could have left her there, Mal remembered, horrified, as he watched his mother comfort his-- what even was the word for their relation? Great-niece? The time bomb; the albatross; the wounded young woman he'd been unable to fully cut loose from the start, despite all the trouble she'd brought to his ship. River had nearly died half a hundred times since her brother brought her aboard, even before the Operative had started hunting them. Knowing she was family didn't so much change things as give them more resonance; added a weight of destiny to their history that he'd thought left far behind him with the faith of his childhood.
But that had been before a dying preacher clapped bloody hands to his face and told him to believe; before River stared into his eyes with corpses strewn around her feet, waiting for his signal to fight on; before his aunt and mother walked back into his life years after their funeral. Whatever happened next, he'd already known there'd be no more slipping about on the raggedy edge. But he'd surely thought they'd have a little more time before the next fight caught up to them.
Inara's hand squeezed his shoulder; he turned his head, not even sure what to say. After all the ups and downs, after cutting each other to the bone on their own mis-expectations before finally reaching an understanding, he'd been hoping for a dram of peace while they worked out the next steps to their dance; this surely didn't qualify.
"Don't give me that look," she said firmly, dark eyes full of sympathy. Months ago, he might have assumed she was trying to manage him, but paradoxically, coming to the grips with the fact that River was also-- but not just-- a weapon had settled something in the back of his mind regarding Inara. She was the woman he loved; and also-- but not just-- a Companion. "I'm not leaving."
"You sure?" Mal had to ask. "If Ma's here after all this time-- if it's aught to do with River--"
"An Operative found me once already," she replied, giving him a fondly chiding look. "Do you really think I'll be safer out of your presence?"
She did have a point there. He pressed a thankful kiss to her cheek, then stood, meeting Zoë's gaze. His second nodded; that settled, he strode around the table to where Simon stood with his sister, both staring at the woman who'd asked them to call her Buffy.
"So. Speaking of regrets," he prodded. "You were gonna tell us why you're really here."
His mother looked up, eyes sparking with determination. "Well, I was planning to hang around for the Alliance's next attack. But if River says they haven't stopped... well, it's been a while since I blew up a school."
Somebody has to speak for these people, he remembered himself saying.
"All right then," Mal decided, the corner of his mouth curling. "I guess we're gonna misbehave. Again."
-x-