"Sir, I'm sleeping." Zoë grumbled as she heard Mal's voice over the intercom.
"I realize that Zoë, and frankly, I don't care. Cockpit, please."
Zoë groaned as she pulled herself out of bed and pulled on her work pants. Eyes still full of dew, Zoë dragged her feet up to the helm, where she found Mal looking out the window towards the empty, danger-free sky.
"Mmm… stars. Quite dangerous, I hear." Zoë commented sarcastically, stretching her arms above her head.
But Mal didn't respond; instead, without a word, he marched out of the cockpit.
Zoë turned around, ready to walk right out behind him, suspecting that this was just another one of his pay-back ideas for her agreeing to be with Wash.
But she was stopped before even taking a single step when he called over his shoulder: "Don't you even think about leavin'."
Zoë, confused and tired as she was, plopped herself down in the chair next to the console. She smiled at the comfort of the seat, worn in by Wash. Getting cozied up, she shut her eyes, enjoying the smell of him.
Zoë had just started dozing off when she jumped at static over the intercom. Looking out the window, she could suddenly see one of Serenity's shuttles, about 50 meters out.
"Kaylee, is that you?" She asked over the intercom, and was replied by a voice she did not expect.
"Hi, honey!"
"Wash! What are you doing?" She said in a scolding tone, thrusting a hand toward the shuttle, even though she knew he couldn't see her.
"Just wanted to make sure you were there. One sec!"
As the voice on the other end went silent, Zoë leaned on the console, staring at the lone object in the vast space. What could her man be up to?
She watched as the shuttle turned to her far left, and suddenly, a pale smoke seemed to come out of the engine.
Panic struck her. "Wash! Baby, get out of there! Somethin's on fire!"
"Calm down, lambie-toes, it's fine."
Zoë just stared in disbelief as Wash began to steer the machine, all the time the pale blue haze pouring out. She started to notice that the haze didn't vanish, but left a trail behind the tiny ship.
When a straight, vertical line was drawn, suddenly the haze stopped. Wash steered the shuttle a foot to the right, and it started again, drawing another vertical line.
Wash continued, and Zoë continued to stare, for about 5 minutes, until finally she could see what he was doing.
When the shuttle finally stopped spewing blue haze and started approaching Serenity, Zoë was wide eyed, hand covering her mouth.
Amidst the shower of stars in the endless black sky, the blue haze lingered.
I LOVE YOU
"I love you, baby…" Wash muttered over the intercom, but no response came. Zoë had already left the cockpit.
Worried that she was having second thoughts, Wash quickly boarded the shuttle into Serenity, ready to run to the helm and beg Zoë not to leave him (on his knees, if he must). But when he thrust open the door, already in mid-run, he was forced to stop.
Zoë was standing directly outside the shuttle door, and without waiting one moment to let him say anything, she grabbed his face and pressed her big, beautiful, smiling lips against his.
Wash smiled underneath their kisses, and only pulled away to wipe a stray tear from Zoë's cheek (the only one that escaped).
"You liked it, then?" He asked, laughing. Zoë let out what was almost a growl as she continued to kiss him. "I love you! I love you, you stupid, stupid man!" She whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Good…" Wash said, relieved. "Because I figured I'd need some good material to bribe myself into your bed, after making you wait for 3 months…"
Zoë looked up at him, disbelief written all over her face. "You mean – "
"Oh, I mean!" He exclaimed, before picking her up, wrapping her legs around his waist, and walking them down to her bunk.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Sorry it took me so long to update, people. I've been feeling under the weather, so movement was not too easy. But here is another chapter! Cheesy, I know. What can I say? It's a weakness. Hope you enjoyed it, and at least one more chapter should be up by the end of the weekend. Thanks for the reviews!