Mal leaned against the railing of the catwalk as he watched Buffy, she was practicing a form of Tai C'hai with her hair pulled back in a bun and her clothes fit like a second layer of skin; it was all Mal could do to keep his eyes from roaming her small muscular body. She had been with them for a little over a week now and they still had no idea where to start looking for her sister. Book explained to everyone what Buffy's destiny was, much to everyone's disbelief. It explained how she could throw Mal across a room with very little effort and how fast the drug that kept her immobile wore off; still Mal, along with everyone else found it difficult to believe what they were told. Buffy impressed them by lifting objects that no ordinary person could even wish to budge, bending pipes as if they were card board and she even threatened to prove how fast she could heal, that's where Mal drew the line. Everyone agreed to at least try and accept who she was and what she could do and that was all Buffy could ask for.
She explained how she had gotten there and how her sister was taken and Book offered to help her out by looking up information, it was a bit comforting how much he reminded Buffy of Giles; giving her a piece of home she never thought she'd see again.
Mal watched as the fingers on her right hand overlapped the ones on her left, her arms slowly lifting over her head as she bent sideways, only to do it again on the other side. Standing straight, she lowered her hands to her legs, separating them and lifting them from her sides to meet back up again above her head. With her hands still above her head, she took a step forward and stretched her leg muscles; bending backwards she rested her hands on the cold floor below and lifted her legs in the air, sending her into a handstand only to quickly swing her legs forward, ending in a standing position.
Mal stared in awe as Buffy switched from Tai C'hai to fighting the air, sending punches and kicks in different directions while adding special touches of flips and jumps. He was finding it difficult to believe she was a 'Slayer'; he had heard stories when he was a child, but that's all they were, at least that's what he thought. Everyone called the Slayer a myth, something to scare children into coming home before the sun went down; it wasn't true.
Mal quickly stood up straight when one of Buffy's punches came in contact with Jayne's face, sending the mercenary spinning before hitting the ground.
Buffy clasped her hands over her mouth and her eyes grew wide at what she had done before kneeling next to the merc.
"I'm so sorry, usually I can sense when someone's near. I guess I just got into it," Buffy rambled as she helped the big man to his feet.
"Yeah well, I could take ya in a fair fight," Jayne mumbled as he held a hand to his now bloody lip.
"Oh, sparring? I haven't done that in awhile," Buffy said excitedly, "come on, let's go." She bounced on the balls of her feet with her fists in the air.
"You ain't sparring with anyone, especially Jayne," Mal interrupted as he galloped down the stairs to meet them on the main floor of the bay.
"You afraid I'll get hurt, Captain?" Buffy asked with an amused look on her face. Over the past few days she and the captain had become good friends and it touched Buffy how protective he was of her, even if it was annoying at times.
"Actually, I'm more concerned about him," Mal replied as he gestured to Jayne with a tilt of his head.
"Hey, I could take her," Mal just nodded at Jayne before turning to head to the galley with Jayne right behind him, "I could ya know."
Buffy just smiled as she watched their retreating forms as she stretched out her sore muscles, she was beginning to feel restless in the small ship. She was itching for some action and training just wasn't cutting it for her and she planned on sneaking off the ship on their next stop so she could patrol for something. She wasn't sure if demons and vampires existed five hundred years in the future, but there was only one way to find out.
The cargo bay doors opened and Buffy watched as Mal, Jayne, and Zoë walked out onto the planet, what it was called she couldn't remember. Just as the doors started to close, Buffy quickly snuck out on the dust covered ground. She gawked at how much it resembled earth, a desert on earth, but earth nonetheless.
The sun was going down so Buffy wandered the streets of the small western town, watching as various people walked in and out of the tiny stores or taverns as she was becoming impatient with the lack of demon slayage being done until she noticed a small graveyard not too far off.
"My kind of place," Buffy said to herself as she headed in that direction.
She walked through the dark cemetery as she watched and listened for any signs of the demons that surely lurked there. Sitting on a tombstone, she rested her chin in the palm of her hand as she wiggled the recently whittled stake in the other; humming an unknown tune as she waited.
Squinting her eyes at movement in the shadows, she leaped off the tombstone and ran towards the figure, tackling it to the ground when it retreated from her. Quickly jumping to her feet, she stood in her fighting stance as she waited for her enemy to do the same. Smiling at the sound of a growl rising from the creature's throat and the fangs it showed her, she spun quickly; landing her foot square in the side of it's face.
Growling in response, the vampire threw a punch at her face, only to hit dead air as Buffy easily dodged the blow. She returned the gesture by bringing her fist to the vampire's nose, causing it to crack and bleed; the pain only dazed the vampire for a second before he attacked again by kicking his foot into Buffy's stomach, sending the slayer a few feet from her prey and landing against a tombstone in the process.
She slowly sat up into a crouched position as the pain flowed through her, she watched as the vampire lunged at her; tackling her to the ground. She kicked him off her easily, sending him flying over her head. Buffy kicked her feet in the air and pushed the rest of her body off the ground, landing gracefully on her feet. She spun around to come just inches from the vampire's face, his breath smelt old and foul and she had to choke back the vile that screamed to rise from her stomach.
"Oh, ever hear of a tic-tac?" She asked, her Slayer wit finally coming out.
He only growled his response before bringing a fist to come in contact with her face, Buffy blocked his punch with her arm and spun around so her back faced him before flipping him over her shoulder, sending him flying to the ground. With his arm still in her hand, she slowly walked to where he could see her and knelt down beside him; resting her arm that held the stake on her knee and smiled down at her prey.
"You know who I am?" She asked her voice low and husky.
"The slayer," the vampire hissed.
"Don't you know it," Buffy replied before plunging the stake into his heart, she quickly stood up before any of the dust particles could reach her throat. She always hated it when that stuff got in her nose and mouth, it always took forever to get the smell and taste out no matter what she did.
Buffy rushed back to Serenity, certain Mal was back from his drop off and she had a feeling he wouldn't be too happy about her wandering off without them knowing, especially without him knowing. Her suspicions were confirmed when the ship came into view and Mal was outside pacing, yelling at his crew for allowing her to wander off.
"Hey, what's with the shouting match," Buffy nonchalantly asked, not aware of the condition her clothes were in or how messy her hair was. Everyone stared at her with confusion on their faces as they looked her up and down.
"Gorram woman, what the hell happened," Mal asked as he wore anger on his face, not matching that of the confused faces.
"Huh," Buffy then looked down at the dirt ridden clothes and the holes that had been created from her little battle; she also saw some blood in some spots; which came as no surprise to her. That sort of thing usually happened when being thrown into a tombstone and scratched by a vampire with long nails.
"Oh, guess he did more damage to me than I thought," Buffy responded with a shrug of her shoulders.
"More dama… what the hell have you been doin'!" Mal exclaimed as he felt his anger rise.
Buffy shrugged her shoulders, stuck her bottom lip out slightly and arched her eyebrows before responding, "Patrolling… slaying… ya know, my duty."
"No, not while on my ship," Mal ordered as he pointed a finger at her.
"And you're gonna stop me… how," Buffy replied, slightly amused by his response.
"Look. My ship. My rules. Dong ma?"
"Dogma? Oh yeah, I saw that movie, funny as hell," Buffy replied with an innocent smile.
"Wha… no, you are not to leave my boat unless I say," Mal was having problems keeping up with the blonde before him who stood straight and held her hands behind her back in an attempt to mock him, which worked he hated to admit.
"May I be excused now, Dad," Buffy asked with a small smile on her face.
Mal just glared at her while clenching his jaw and she ran into the ship while giggling, she loved to give the Captain a hard time; yep she would admit it, she was flirting with him. Her feelings for him were growing, but she knew she had to keep that to herself and always to herself. There was no use getting attached when it wasn't certain she was there permanently and she wasn't going to risk getting hurt or hurting him; she just couldn't bare the thought.
Buffy heard a knock on her door and she quickly pulled her robe up, ignoring the pain it caused but before she could completely cover herself up, Mal walked in and saw the dark bruises on her back.
"Buffy…" Mal walked towards her but she quickly turned to face him.
"Don't worry about it, Cap'n. It'll be gone by morning."
"I just wanted to make sure you were alright," Mal replied as he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"I appreciate the gesture, but it'll take a lot more than a measly vampire and a tombstone to take me down," Buffy replied with a genuine smile.
"It still don't make me worry less," Mal replied, brushing a lock of hair from her face.
"Mal, don't," Buffy started when she saw the passion flicker through his eyes and before she could say anything else she found his lips on hers and her arms around his neck. The kiss between them was intense, an intensity she had never felt before; not even with Angel.
With a flash of realization at what was happening, she pulled away from him while shaking her head, "I'm sorry, Mal. I can't… I just can't."
"You're right, I shouldn't have done that. Ship board romances complicate things…" Mal trailed off as he found himself lost in her green depths.
"No, Mal, that's not it… I just… can't," Buffy couldn't find a way to explain herself, no matter how hard she tried.
They stared at each other in silence as Mal rested his hands on her shoulders; he wanted so much to take her into his arms and kiss her with all he had, but he only did the one thing he always did by ignoring his heart and listening to his head. So with a small smile sent her way and a slight head nod, he turned and walked out of her room; leaving Buffy to stare after him.
TBC