Zoe's Other Husband
A/N: This was written as a treat for Chocolate Box Round 1 on AO3 for jedibuttercup under the prompt theme of Zoe and her two husbands with the quote "The chain of wedlock is so heavy that it takes two to carry it – and sometimes three."
If you had asked Wash before he signed on to be the pilot of an old Firefly that wasn't even air-worthy at the time if he had a type, he'd have said no. If you'd asked him the moment after he was introduced to the ship's first mate, he'd have said he had a type and her name was Zoe.
It took him quite a while to convince Zoe that he was her type, but it was absolutely worth the investment. At least, that's how he'd felt at first. Except there was one tiny giant stomping storm cloud of a problem. His name was Mal, and none of Zoe's decisions ever seemed to get made before she consulted with him. Before he and Zoe were together, he and Mal got along just fine. The man could be companionable as anything when he wanted to, and he trusted in Wash's skills without question. Having been dismissed for his sometimes goofy demeanor before, that went a fair way to winning the pilot's positive regard.
Still, the more solid his personal relationship with Zoe got, the more it irritated Wash and made him jealous there was still always someone else in her thoughts. The two of them pledged their love in marriage and it didn't change that she she still turned to him first. Wash felt like the second husband in his own marriage, and he just didn't get why she couldn't let Mal go.
Just when Wash finally got to the point where he refused to take it anymore and was ready to start putting out ultimatums, Adelei Niska happened. Suddenly, Wash had his eyes opened to a lot of things. First, torture was actually way less fun than it looked, and it had never looked particularly fun. Mostly, though, he suddenly understood in his guts what it meant to go through an experience you couldn't put into words after. He came out understanding a lot more about both Mal and Mal & Zoe. When Zoe had told him he didn't want to understand her bond to Mal in the privacy of their bunk, he'd never believed her. Now, as much as he loved his wife, he was glad he'd never understand their war stories, and even glad that she had someone there who would. He never thought he'd be grateful for Mal understanding her better than he did in any sense.
More than that though, he understood there was an even deeper similarity binding them together. On the surface, the two of them could come across very different, her being a woman of such few words and willing to find the compromise and Mal always talking and talking until he made a decision he'd die before he'd yield on. Under all the wrapping, though, they were almost mirrors. His Zoe was a stoic warrior woman who didn't let anyone in easy, but under it all felt so deeply she'd do whatever she had to for those she cared about. He loved her for that, and now, he could see the same things in Mal. The crazy bastard had said whatever it took, drawn as much of Niska's attention onto himself as possible – and the whole time he'd known he was stalling so that Zoe could come in and rescue Wash.
Wash hadn't really ever understood Zoe's loyalty to Mal and the seemingly misplaced unwavering faith she had in the man. After leaving that space station, he not only understood it, he just might be sharing it going forward.