Carving Out a Future

By: Dreamfall

Summary: Her crew doesn't know that Serenity's new passenger, a carpenter with an 'unusual upbringing', is a relic from the past. Xander says he's not looking for trouble. But, then, neither are they. Not usually, leastways. It just always comes calling anyway. Gen. Canon couples mentioned, but definitely not the focus of the story.

Written for: NaNoWriMo and TTH100: Xander/Firefly

TTH100 prompt: 083-Picture

Rating: FR13/PG13/T

Disclaimer: I own neither Firefly nor BtVS.

Spoilers: Takes place post Season 7 for Buffy, and post-Objects in Space (and post the comic books, for that matter), but pre-Serenity for Firefly.

Author's Note: This is the story I started in November for NaNoWriMo. I'm thirty or so chapters into it, but since there's going to be at least one hundred chapters (since it's for tth100), they're mostly pretty short. If you're coming from this from my HP fanfics-- it's very different. Way less dark. It's also an incredibly fun story to write, and I do intend to continue with it to its conclusion. And no, it's not taking any real time away from Cat, now that I'm not working obsessively on it, like I was in November. I'll be posting every couple/few days at least till I'm caught up with my livejournal (username dreamfall(underscore)nnwm). Hope you enjoy!

Review Response: Responses to any reviews will be posted in the same livejournal as my other review responses-- username dreamfall(underscore)ff.

Chapter Eight
Dinner with the Crew

Xander followed Mal into the dining room and found the others already arrayed about a long scarred wooden table. It was a nice piece, well made of good quality wood, but had clearly seen better days. It was badly scarred in places, and at least one leg looked like it wouldn't be standing straight any more at all if not bolted to the floor. Mal moved to the head, sat down, and started dishing up a plate of food, so Xander drew himself away from his inspection of the table and over to the empty spot between Kaylee and Zoë, settling himself down, moving a bit carefully in an attempt to not mess up his bandages.

Kaylee grinned a greeting at him. "Hey, Xander, did you find your room okay?"

Mal snorted from the end of the table. "I was showing him where it was, Kaylee, think I'm gonna get lost on my own ship?"

She laughed and shrugged. "Either way. We don't have a whole lot of options for food, but we've got protein in a variety of colors and flavors!"

"Or at least colors," Wash interjected. "I think the flavors are just for helping kids learn make-believe."

"Woulda been a bit different if th'Shepherd was still here," she added, forlornly.

"Well, he ain't," Mal said, a touch of harshness in his voice suggesting that this was a subject Xander wanted no part in any time soon.

"Thanks," Xander said, not responding to the undercurrent as he served himself from a couple different bowls. He'd had similar fare on quite a few other ships and was more or less used to it, though it would never be a favorite with him.

"If I might ask," Simon said uncertainly. "How did you recognize River and myself? Are there -- I mean-- are our faces becoming well-known?"

"Not really," he answered, setting down his fork as he turned to the doctor. "On Persephone there was a bounty hunter hanging around one of the ships I was thinking about leaving on. He was showing a couple pictures around, asking if anyone recognized you. To be honest, neither of you look all that much like the pictures, but, like I said, River's eyes are pretty distinctive."

The girl turned a wide smile on him. "Not so much as yours!"

He laughed. "True enough, these days at least."

"So why do they not match, if it wasn't the doctor's fault?" Kaylee asked excitedly. "Since you don't gotta rush away for a bit, now."

He shrugged. "It's not really that interesting a story. When I was in high school I got --" he paused for split second, substituting the familiar lie for the truth. Usually it didn't take a thought, but for some reason he'd almost said 'possessed by a hyena.' Recovering, he finished smoothly, "sick for a while. Did something to my blood, according to the doctor, and the eye which started out matching perfectly changed a bit over the first week I had it. It doesn't bother me -- I'm just glad to have depth perception again. Mismatching is no big deal." Nobody seemed to notice the pause except River, who offered him a secretive smile, which, for an instant, looked like a feral baring of teeth before returning to a cheerful smile.

"Oh," Kaylee said, studying his eyes for a long moment.

"I've never heard of a sickness that had that effect," Simon said ...thoughtfully. "What was it?"

"Strange strain of a flu, is what they thought at the time. It never felt like that big a deal. When the eye thing happened, they did some more tests to figure out the details, and apparently there was a bit more to it, but I honestly don't remember the jargon. They said it wasn't likely to have any negative effects, and I stopped listening."

"Best thing to do with doctors," the captain agreed, shooting a look at Simon, who glared back.

Xander chuckled. "I tend to do it with experts of any sort -- I don't understand the bits they love to go on about, so they talk, I let it go, and everyone ends up happy."

"Have you always been a carpenter?" Zoë asked, eyes surprisingly sharp.

"Well, not always. It's not like it was a family tradition or anything, but I got into it pretty early on. I spent a few years looking for something I was good at before stumbling across construction. And then I got more interested in working with wood specifically."

"Reason I ask is that Jayne, here, was pretty impressed with how you handled yourself the other day. I don't much think of tradesmen when I figure who's gonna impress Jayne."

"Well, having a profession doesn't mean that nobody ever causes you any trouble," he offered. "Back in high school I got picked on a bit. Learned how to fight in self defense, though I still lose more than I win. Mostly I just try to stay out of trouble."

"Bully's musta been some different in your school," Jayne muttered.

"And you do that by helping out strangers who got themselves attacked three-to-one?" Kaylee asked doubtfully. "Sounds t'me like yer bein' a bit modest there, hero."

He flinched, then smiled, hoping nobody had noticed it. Mal and Zoë definitely had, he could tell by the sharpening of their gazes, but the others maybe not. "I'm no hero," he said. "I just don't like seeing people getting attacked like that. I was glad to help out. Besides, it was kinda fun fighting a couple people who weren't a helluvalot stronger and faster than me. At least up until the bullet bit. That? Not so much of the fun."

Mal studied him for a long moment. "You may not be Jayne, here, but you don't seem a man who most would be all that much stronger and faster than. There a reason those you've had run-ins with were?"

Mentally kicking himself for the slip, Xander shook his head. "Just lucky, I guess. I'm used to being the underdog." He took another bite of food, and offered, "Hey, I think the red-brown really does have a bit of a meaty taste to it."

"Ooh, Kaylee, you found a man with some imagination," Wash said mock-excitedly. "Good for you!"

She grinned back at him. "Maybe he'll play dinosaurs with you, Wash. 'Sides, the protein's not all that bad. I found some chocolate-flavored a bit ago that really is chocolatey!"

"And how come we haven't had a chance to try it?" the captain asked.

She looked over at him guiltily. "I mighta ate it all. But I'll find some more!" she promised.

"You'd best! Especially after them strawberries you already took -- those were to pay for passage, and shoulda been divided up amongst the crew, Kaywinnit Lee!"

She hung her head guiltily. "But, cap'n, they were strawberries," she pleaded. "You can't, you just can't expect me to give 'em away!"

Xander shook his head, backing her up. "Nobody could ask it of you. In fact, doing anything else would have been morally wrong -- giving fresh strawberries to people who couldn't begin to appreciate them as much as you did..."

Kaylee nodded so hard her curls bounced. "Yeah! They would've just swallowed them without even noticing, most like!"

"Here now," Mal said sternly, a hint of a twinkle in his eye as he glared at Xander. "No giving her excuses! She's gotta own up to the evil of her behavior!"

Glad that he wasn't the subject of conversation any more, Xander allowed himself to fade back into the background, only occasionally adding to the conversation and mostly not paid much attention by the crew. Zoë was the exception, he noticed. She kept watching him. River, too, periodically looked over to give him knowing looks, but he had the impression that for all that the others took what she said seriously when they knew what she was saying, the other times, when she said things that didn't quite make sense to them, they didn't try too hard to make themselves believe, so he didn't worry too much about what she saw. Nothing she could say about him that he'd prefer not said would be interpreted by the others as true. So he just sat back and enjoyed the company, if not the meal.