#firefly fluff

   Dinosaurs in space. You suppose you've dreamed of weirder but when a T-Rex in a spacesuit came at you you'd decided it was time to wake up and stay up. So here you were now, feet kicked up on the dashboard beside the plastic mini monstrosity that had decided to terrorize you. You hadn't questioned the little knick-knacks when you'd agreed to pilot this Firefly, there were a number of things you hadn't questioned like the fact there was some interesting to say in the least patchwork on this chair, patchwork that might've hinted to what kind of nightmare had actually happened here. But there was a sadness around the cockpit and no matter your curiosity you knew it was best to not ask. Plus Zoe scared you a little bit too much to ask, she already didn't seem to like you as a pilot as nothing you did seemed to impress her and Gorram had you tried to impress her to get on some good footing but so far it seemed like you were on your knees. “Do you even have teeth?” You wondered out loud.    You leaned forward and for the first time actually touched the hard plastic figurine to inspect it, it was worn down and the paint flecked off of it and as for the teeth your nightmares told you to be afraid of? Fused together. This T-rex couldn't have eaten you if it wanted too, couldn't even take off a toe. You stretched your arm out and the picture of a dinosaur in space was kind of funny especially as your tired eyes focused on the T-rex and the space behind it became blurry. “Ya, having fun?”    If this chair wasn't attached to the ground you're sure you would've taken it with you to the ground but with the limited amount of motion you just managed to flail like an idiot in front of the Captain. “It fell. I wasn't touching it.” You let out.    You felt caught, like a child with their hand in their parents wallet. A small chuckle let you know however that you weren't. “It's fine, space is yours now anyhow.” He shrugged.    The words didn't have any malice but they didn't feel honest and even if they were you'd never throw out these toys. You got ahold of yourself and put the T-Rex back near its Stegosaurus friend before looking over at Mal and to your surprise he had two cups in his hands. “Double fisting some caffeine?” You teased.    “Funny.” He remarked as he came over and offered a cup out to you. "Saw you was up, figured you'd want a cup.”    “Oh.” That was awful nice, wow. “Thank you.” You said taking it.    You expected him to leave since that's what everyone does, you'd pretty much had the cockpit to yourself since you'd signed onto the crew but instead he went over to the other seat and sat down with a sigh. He leaned back into the seat and the way he stared around at his ship was with contentment, free hand giving the arm of the chair a pat. There had always been something sort of heartwarming about the way Mal treated the ship, it was almost like he was giving her moral support and you'd be damned if there hadn't been times where it'd felt like that really was the only thing holding her together. “What? I got something in my hair?”     You were brought out of your thought. “Huh?”    “You were starin’.” He let you know.    “Was not.” You insisted, heart pumping at the idea of being caught gawking.    “Your eyes just stuck?” He teased.    “I was...” You paused and you swore steam was about to come out of your ears you were thinking so hard to come up with something plausible. Shit, shit, shit--maybe? No--Got it! “I was just making sure I wasn't dreaming, don't usually have anyone up here with me.”    Got it? Really? You got nothing. You couldn't even smile at your own garbage excuse as all you got with a small shrug and nod from Mal before he looked away from you. Was it possible to dig yourself a hole while in space? It seemed like against all odds it was. You took a deep breath and focused yourself on the coffee in your hand, you couldn't say anything dumb if your mouth was full so you took a sip. The warmth helped to eat away your nerves and the taste distracted your mind. “I get it right? I've seen you have coffee once and I tried to replicate the way you desecrate it with sugar.” He joked.    “One, ouch. Two, sugar brings out the notes in coffee. And three, yes you got it spot on, shiny.” You admitted almost defeatedly at the end.    “That might pass as a reason for that much sugar if this was actual coffee, the only notes in instant is dirt.” He jokingly scoffed.    “I'm a pilot, I don't like dirt. Gotta drown out that taste somehow.” You joined in teasing yourself.    It earned you a smile that you couldn't help but to return. Mal's smile was weathered but Gorram if it wasn't contagious. This time however you made sure not to stare too long and got yourself to look out the front instead at the stars that the ship swam through. “Anything worrying gotcha up?” He asked.    It was nice to him to check, as far as Captains you've piloted for so far Mal had been the most caring, still rough around the edges but it wasn't all he was made of unlike some of the Fèihuà Captains you'd crewed with. “Dinosaurs.” You admitted sheepishly.    “Dinosaurs?” He checked.    “Dinosaurs in space.” You clarified as if that made it make more sense.    “Suppose I've heard weirder before.” He shrugged with a chuckle. “’Least with you it ain't some kind of poetry I gotta unwind.” He remarked.    You knew he was talking about River, sometimes what she said was easy to understand and other times it felt like you were trying to solve the Da Vinci Code. “You don't know that, I could be talking metaphorically about the ancient dangers of space.” You tease.    He chuckled as he looked over at you, eyes crinkling at the corners with joy that some might consider unnatural this early in the morning. “Oh yeah? Enlighten me to these ancient dangers then.” He challenged quirking up an eyebrow.    Your brain practically whirred trying to think. “You know I just don't know if it's possible to bring you to my level of enlightenment over the complex subject that dinosaurs in space.” You settled on, nodding every time your mind came up with the next part of the sentence to make it comprehensible.    You accented your brilliant statement with a loud sip of coffee. “One can only dream of such enlightenment.” He settled on.    “It was actually a dream that led me to this enlightenment.” You let him know.    He looked at the plastic toys. “They are a might frightening, certainly turn the legs to jelly.” He teased.    You let out a small laugh and even though it was teasing you enjoyed it, it was lighthearted. “What about you, anything got you up? Metaphoric ancient dangers or otherwise?” He pauses at the question before letting out a small exasperated sigh and shrug, his free hand opening and closing to accompany the shrug. “Come on I told you about my fear of space dinosaurs I think you can tell me about whatever is running through that pretty head of yours.” You insisted trying to keep the lighthearted tone going.    He scoffed with a smile. “Pretty head of mine? Ugh, you're our pilot so tell me you don't need glasses.” He scoffed.    “Don't ‘ugh’ me.” You chided, copying his dissatisfied noise. “My eyesight is perfectly fine.” You insisted.    He rolled his eyes and shook his head a little but you could've sworn you saw the tips of his ears and cheeks tinge with a little bit of red. You had to take another sip of your coffee to hide your grin over that. “Beg to differ.” He settled on.    “Then beg.” You quickly quipped.    You almost spat out your coffee in glee of his reaction. You managed to choke down the liquid in your mouth before falling into a fit of giggles at the look of astonishment on his face. Even he had a good laugh at it once the shock had subsided. “That's good, I'll have to remember that.” He chuckled before calming himself down to take a sip of his coffee.    You nodded along in agreement before taking a sip of your own coffee only to be greeted by a whole lot less liquid than you expected. You stared down into your cup to find it now barren expect for the small flower Kaylee had probably painted on the bottom staring up at you. It was just a pretty little daisy that had no business being as cute as it was, speaking of pretty things having no business being a cute as they were you brought your attention back over Mal. He still looked amused as a small smile kept the corners of his mouth turned up.     “Glad to hear you've come to your senses and agree with me.” You let him know.    “I didn't say that.” He insisted.    “I certainly don't hear any of that begging.” You remarked.    He looked over at you a little unimpressed but his smile was still there so you just smiled bigger, practically daring him to do it and he knew it. He silently conceded with a small head shake before taking the last sip of his own coffee and he too seemed to stare down at the little flower in the bottom of the cup for a moment. He took a deep breath as he got up. “You finished?” He asked before heading towards the door.    “Yes, unless you're offering a second cup?” You cheekily asked.    “Oh, now I see, you were just buttering me up.” He accused with a smirk.    “Only if it worked.” You agreed offering your cup out.    He let out a small amused breath before taking the cup out of your hand which only made you smile more. “Be a waste of perfectly good sugar if you didn't have another cup since there's so much left in here.” He reasoned before heading out.    “Whatever you convince your pretty head of.” You nearly sang.    You heard him chuckle as he made his way down the steps and you smiled to yourself as you looked out vastness of space, a vastness you'd gotten used to over the years. You gave a pat to the dashboard of Serenity as a thank you to her for letting you on to enjoy the vastness of space with this crew. --- ~Admin Coral 🍒 Buy Me A Coffee? --- Note: Fèihuà 废话 roughly translates into bullshit in Chinese. 

I do!