Albatross, of the biological family Diomedeidae - Oneshot set in the Coded in Brown 'Verse, written from River's POV (yes, the changes in pronouns/person are intentional). - Fluffy and smutty. Proceed at own risk. - Most definitely M/R.
"Love. You can learn all the math in the 'Verse, but you take a boat in the air that you don't love, she'll shake you off just as sure as a turn of the worlds. Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down, tells you she's hurtin' before she keels. Makes her a home." Quiet comfort follows.
Sleep slips away as I hear a voice calling. River...River!
The cold floors of Serenity hum beneath my feet, and I hear seven beating hearts, six dreaming minds running in pathways of their own. The infirmary door (shudder) is open as I enter, and see the Queen laying helplessly on the bed. A dark cloud surges through my mind before I shake it off and walk to her side; she gasps my name, and I lay a hand upon her forehead, feeling the slight fever; 100.8 degrees, not in the danger zone yet. I catalogue her injuries; healing GI tract, missing pieces, fading light, flickering ember...her pulse is rapid and shallow.
No need to talk out loud. I'm here.
The Queen's inner voice is shaky as she pours out her heart, telling me to win his affection; I hear the sadness she felt, feel it wash over me, wiping away my resentment for her connection with Daddy. I see possibilities in her mind, see the image she has of me and Daddy; not a frater/scion image, but something greater, a unified organism.
She feels her tear ducts produce salty tracks down her cheeks, and sees the Queen's well up, pouring forth in a flood, like the Holy Man's broken book talks of.
The catalysis is cleansing for us both; the Queen is suddenly exhausted as her mind gears down to go to sleep. I feel her pulse slow to a natural rate, her body begin its work of repair, and whisper to her, See you in the morning. Darkness sweeps over her, and I feel a great burden lift from my shoulders.
Sleep has abandoned me as I drift through Serenity's arteries, passing the bunks where dreams float out unabated. A single mind still floats before me, a place of calm darkness where I can rest.
I see him sitting back in Wash's chair, head tilted back and snoring gently, like the former Daddy did at the not-home. The girl is assailed by images as her mind runs down familiar dark tracks, but I vanquish them soon enough and look again at the sleeping man before me; seeing him for the first time as not a father, not a captain, but simply as Mal. I gently climb into his lap, careful not to wake him, and twine my mind around his, shielding him from the nightmares that plague him.
She sleeps like she hasn't in years; warm and safe, she feels enveloped in his presence.
A tapping on her shoulder brings her out of her dream, and she looks up in a panic (ta ma de!) as Simon looks down on her; she sees the smile on his face, and calm returns to me. I slowly get up, uncoiling myself from around my newly found prey, and go down to see the recovering Queen. I hear Simon's familiar tones sooth Mal, and feel him relax. Why the hell is my entire front warm? Feels like somebody slept on me. She grins.
She is on the bridge, flying onwards to the next port of call, when Mal and the Queen have their talk. I feel the surge of anger as Mal feels betrayed, then it calms, finding a new channel; I feel warm, feel the warmth of their familiar love extend over all of Serenity, including us all in its comfort.
She feels Simon's awkwardness as she walks by the infirmary, and enters (shudder), closing the door behind. She walks to the broken Queen's side as she receives the bad news; the Queen puts on a painted face, but she sees beneath, sees the hurt and anger and pain. I sit with her, absorbing her tears and pain, feeling it flow out into Serenity's floor, and travel out to Serenity's heart, blasting out into the Black.
The Broken Queen takes me under her wing. Although still healing, I sit with her every day, as she teaches me what she can about love. The theory, not the practicum. She has to figure that part out for herself, the Queen says.
Once the Queen is mending, walking on her own again, she takes the girl out shopping when dirtside. Cannot seduce wayward captains in ragged old children's dresses and borrowed clothes. She receives lessons in flirting, techniques of conversation, what Mal calls feminine wiles.
When not learning from the healing Queen, she is always nearby Mal, to desensitize him, make him accustomed to her presence, her scent, her occasional touches. She enjoys the flirting. The day I leaned across him to reach the console and brushed against his arm (tingle) with the front of my body, and he didn't jump away, but rather seemed to slowly move into me, I knew he was mine.
She turned to Kaylee next; I wanted Simon's support for the endeavor, or it had a 93.1% chance of ending badly, with gunfire or fists exchanged. Kaylee giggled at the subterfuge, but kept my secret. With her own arts, Kaylee turned Simon to my side over a period of days. Surprisingly easy; no doubt Simon had already suspected something, and she could see that he was a bit surprised that she hadn't made her move yet, but had sought his approval. He fluttered over her with brotherly concern, knowing already that she was set on her course. He sighed, and gave me the requested shot (shudder).
The day I decided to put my plan into action, I nearly lost him.
On our way to a meet, we were stopped by armed men; I was distracted by my newly made storehouse of feelings, and didn't see the danger until almost too late; the leader's second knew Mal, and would kill him.
My hand shot out as the gun drew, and I pulled Mal off the side of the Mule, rolling off together and coming up shooting; in seconds, 5 men lay dead, and we were unharmed, not a common course of events (no more than a 5.2% chance of occurrence).
We locked eyes for a moment, then he pulled me in close and kissed her; she lost herself in the tidal wave.
Dinner was quiet; Mal was pensive, and the girl lost in herself; the others wondered what had happened between the two on the meet. Neither had said much as they got back; the girl only hoped she hadn't made a fool of herself at the meet. Hope I didn't make an ass of myself with Benson she heard.
She met Mal's eyes and smiled, and he grinned back at her, a private grin, just for her.
Dinner was over, and Mal had disappeared into his bunk for the night. Inara took her hand and took her down to the dorms. "You're all over the place, mei mei. What happened?"
"He kissed me." she said dreamily.
Inara hugged her tightly, hoping to hide the pain; I saw regardless. Feeling guilty, I said "I need your help."
"Of course, mei mei."
She walked up through the galley, where the others were passing time; Jayne catcalled, and Zoe whacked the back of his head. "You look very nice, mei mei." Zoe said approvingly. Wash grinned from behind her, where he was getting food.
"Thank you." I smiled warmly. Simon was gawking; "Don't be a boob." I said, smirking at him. Kaylee rushed up, gushing "You look so beautiful! Knock him dead." and winked.
Walking past, I heard Zoe mutter "Pay up, ape man." and heard the clink of platinum being exchanged.
She knocked at the door quietly, and heard the lock disengage. She climbed down the ladder, into the almost total darkness of Mal's bunk. Only the blinking blue light on the wall gave any light to the room. She shut and locked the hatch, and searched in her mind for Mal; she could see the small smile he had on his face, before anything. She opened the robe at the waist, and slid it off her shoulders; it whispered to the floor. "Can I help ya darlin?" she heard. The light beside Mal's bed clicked on, and she heard his breath catch in his throat; his jaw was slack and his eyes were wide.
Inara had teased my hair out, into deeper curls; it was gathered at the nape of my neck and flowed down my back. I had just a little makeup on, enough to accentuate my features but not enough to overwhelm them. A little eyeliner defined my eyes, and bright red lipstick showed my lips.
She wore a tiny crimson satin babydoll, sheer and smooth; it was stitched with tiny representations of dragons, and covered very little indeed.
"I'm here to collect my reward." I whispered, in a whiskey-rough voice.
"Reward?" he stammered.
"For saving your life."
"Hmm. What sorta reward were ya 'spectin'?" he drawled, getting his footing now. Banter, he could do.
"I wasn't specific on the details...but I was wanting you."
He grinned, and stood. He was wearing only sleeping pants and a tshirt; she could see his pulse rate increasing, hear his heartbeat in her mind. He swept a look up and down at her, and stepped closer, running a hand along her chin. Suddenly, she felt swept up, out of control; she had planned and plotted for months, setting this trap, and now felt as though all of the knowledge that Inara had given her was just gone. Just his touch annihilated her faculties, and she realized now just what Inara had meant by it being something she would have to learn for herself.
"You sure 'bout this, bao bei? I'm mighty willin', but I don't do this sorta thing for kicks, only with the women I love." She nodded, not trusting her voice now.
She felt all remaining semblance of control over the situation shatter as he bent down to kiss her, and picked her up as he stood back up, hands on her upper thighs. She twined her legs around his waist, and lost herself in the kiss. He gently set her down on the bed, and maintaining the kiss, lay her back, following her down. He slid down, kissing her neck, collarbone, and chest; he slid the strappy nighty down, playing over her breasts with his lips and tongue and fingers, feeling them tighten. She was swirling with sensation; all of what Inara had told her of didn't even get close to this kind of pleasure.
I watched through hooded eyes as he pulled the nighty all the way off, over my hips and legs, tossing it into a corner. He straightened, and pulled off his shirt, sliding back up my legs to my waist. He teased at my thighs, gently spreading my legs; suddenly he found his target, and all conscious thought was absolutely gone from her mind. She moaned throatily, feeling the pleasure and warmth build; she went over the edge, screaming out, and blacked out for a brief moment. She opened her eyes again, and felt him working his way back up, lips and fingers and hands at work across her body, feeling his work-roughened hands gliding over her smooth skin, leaving tingling swathes across my body.
He kissed me again, (and somehow, I'm still not sure how, he had taken off his sleeping pants,) and entered me in the same instant as he kissed.
Sensation and love overwhelmed her mind, and she gave herself up to the moment, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and gripping tightly, feeling him move inside and around her.
Finally, she felt the warmth of him as he reached his own climax, and reached her own at the same moment, feeling their warmth mingling in her body.
Spent for the moment, she looked at his face, as he lay peacefully over her body, head pillowed on her breasts. He was awake, and examining her face, as though he had never seen it before.
"Again!" she exclaimed happily, and he began laughing; deeper, more joyful laughter than she had ever heard from him. I saw, for a moment, the man he had been before he went off to war, before he lost his faith at Serenity Valley, before he had endured loss and sadness.
"'Parently you ain't read enough about it, little one. Menfolk take a while to get back to-"
"Male refractory period is 15.8 minutes on average." I blurted.
He smirked. "Well, I ain't average, sad to say."
"I'll say you aren't." she said sleepily, smile on her face the brightest he had ever seen.