Hi. This is my first Firefly fic so please keep that in mind and be kind...hopefully you like it; just a short one shot.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She noticed him. She didn't think that he knew. Hell, she supposed that no one had cottoned on – yet. It was only a matter of time. On a boat with only the limited amount of people like they had, sooner or later everyone knew everyone else's business. She was not the type to keep her feelings hidden well.

She wasn't quite sure when it first began, really. A tender brush of fingers when handing something off. A few words carried through the air like a song. Tense moments made a bit lighter by good company.

His strong commanding presence was one of the first draws, she guessed. His cocky smirk added certain charm. That lopsided smile that covered his features – yes, that was a definite asset. She loved calling him "Cap'n". He seemed to like hearing it, as well. Zoe almost always said "Sir" but to her, he was affectionately her Captain. Or Captain Dummy Head when the time called for it.

Maybe it was because he was one of the first people to really believe in her. Though, the conditions of their first introduction were quite embarrassing, he never seemed to look down on her for it. In fact, she was completely stunned when he actually offered her a job, right there on the spot. He was a smart man and he knew what he was doing. She was eternally grateful, though.

There was also the time when they attended that fancy shin dig together. Sure, it was business related; and she suspected that he also wanted to check up on Inara. Still, he was quite the gentleman with her. Oh, and letting her get that pink cupcake gown...he's a nice man. Warm fuzzies shot through her at the memory.

Perhaps, part of the infatuation was spurned by Serenity herself. Kaylee loved that old girl. So did Mal. She always said that she knew he must be a good man from the start, seeing as how he had sense enough to take the old firefly.

His eyes. They held so much hurt and anguish. They also held a great capacity for kindness and heroics. Most importantly, she saw love there. Love for his crew, love for his boat, love for doing the honourable thing. Sounds a bit strange, seeing as how their work isn't exactly all above board. He's quite a contradiction in terms, really. One of the intriguing things about him.

She figured she should just try to forget about the entire silly situation. After all, he would never look at her like that. Inara, yes, but her? Not a chance. She was just 'Greasy Kaylee' after all. Inara had beautiful silken gowns and manicured manners...she had old beat up overalls and a knack for mechanics. Not quite the type that gets all of the guy's hearts a flutterin.

Not that she had ever really tried to get his attention in that way, exactly. She had spent so much time fruitlessly mooning after him. It gets taxing after awhile, setting your sights on someone that you have very little or no hope of catching. When the Doc came aboard she thought that perhaps he could help her over her unrequited object of affection. Simon was often sweet to her, he was young and handsome in a pasty sort of way. He was intelligent and taught her all sorts of strange and wonderful new things...but he wasn't Mal.

And he didn't have those damn sexy suspenders! She didn't know what it was about those seemingly insignificant pieces of cloth simply used to hold up your britches. It was just something about the way that he wore them. It screamed sexuality to her – well, just about anything about Mal did did that. She blushed merely thinking about him and was startled out of her skin when his voice broke into her daydreaming.

"So, how's two of my favourite gals doin?"

She looked down, not turning around to face him. She was trying to hide the deep scarlet that had inflamed her cheeks. "Oh, just fine, Cap'n."

He cocked his head to the side, studying her with an amused grin. "Ya look you have some sort of juicy secret, Kaylee girl..."

She slowly turned to face him, cursing the ever present blush that she knew was still betraying her. "No secret. Just zonin' out with Serenity."

He gave her a disbelieving smirk but dropped the subject. "Well, we're fixin' on eating, just thought I'd come see if you were ready to join us."

"That's right nice of you, Cap'n."

He shrugged, still smiling. "Well, it ain't as fun without ya there." Mal winked at her, causing the flush to rise from her toes to her ears.

"In that case, I'll join you." She returned his beam and the two left the engine room. Maybe, he'll notice me after all, she mused to herself hopefully.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reviews would be most appreciated...I can't help it – I'm a Mal/Kaylee junkie. I think that they would be awfully sweet together! Heehee. I know that this was short and sugary sweet but ah well. Hopefully you enjoyed it.