A/N I have no idea where this one came from. This isn't even my usual ship!
Fear of Flying
"I can heal you with my brain."
River's big brown eyes were solemn; her head tilted. Then she shook it, annoyed with herself. "Not my brain, another body part." Her hand reached out, fingertips brushing his cheek.
Mal tried to smile, though the abrupt swooping sensation in his stomach felt close to nausea. "You got healin' hands, little one?"
The words that had become his code, his inner mantra, swirled through his head: keep things fatherly; remind them both of the age gap; pretend not to understand the subtext.
River's mouth tightened; she shook her head again, this time annoyed with him.
"He wears incomprehension like armour." Her fingertips moved up, her hand threaded through his hair. Instinct kicked in and Mal went to move, words of joking excuse forming on his lips… only to be brought up short by the hand tightening like a vise, just short of pain. If he moved, his scalp would pay for it.
Mal's eyes rolled towards her with alarm. He tried to smile. "Li'l Albatross…"
"Fledglings must fly, lest they become millstones."
In spite of his near-panic, Mal's heart went out to her. "You ain't a millstone, little one."
"I was talking about you." Mal blinked. "He still ruffles his feathers when threatened, but his wings were clipped when he lost Serenity."
Considering they were currently sitting in the cockpit, it didn't take a mind-reading genius to know River was being metaphorical again. Mal scowled. "Serenity is still flyin'!"
She shook her head again. "Falling with style is not flying. He lost so many feathers – valley, Book, Wash, Inara. The flight feathers have re-grown, but he is afraid to notice. Afraid to fly." Her gaze became urgent; her mouth turned pleading. The other hand rose to match its mate at the opposite temple. "I can help you fly."
Mal's heart-rate went up several notches.
"I will make you leave the nest."
She leant forward, breath ghosting over his lips; nerve-endings crackled. Pain or no pain, he went to pull away, but she wouldn't let him. His gaze met hers; his breath caught.
This close he could drown in her eyes; this close he didn't know how to pull away. "You know what the first rule of flying is?" River asked. She yanked his head forward.
Her lips met his…
…and Mal soared.