A Solitary Curse
Rated: R (Language, Once, In English)
Category: Gen, Double Drabble, Simon Focus, Darker Themes.
Spoilers: None.
Summary: There's Something To Be Said For Being Succinct.
Note: Written in response to the LJ prompt of 'cussing' on ff_friday.
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River was adept in colorful language.
She strung together phrases that brought a touch of crimson to even her hardened captain's cheeks on a regular basis.
Yes, River Tam could cuss like the sailor she was fast becoming, but it didn't take a genius to see that her brother couldn't. Simon had been too long in civilized society to resort to cursing often, and even in situations that should've made any man rip a blue streak in the fabric of space, Simon usually only managed a mild epithet. He sounded like an adolescent trying to bluster his way to fame with the other kids.
And so it was that when a single very grown up word exploded into River's mind as she dozed in the common area, she immediately knew the fate of Simon's patient. The curse dripped with impotence, and it told her that the boy who'd stowed away on Serenity during a recent stop on Boros had succumbed to his illness.
Fuck.
Simon said very little for the next three days, but when Mal put that boy in the ground, he said the same word again.
No one else said anything.
Simon's solitary curse was more than enough.
