Five Things That Never Happened To Malcolm Reynolds
1) Alliance recruiters weren't exactly welcome when they came. Mal ignored them as well as anyone else, for a time, but eventually, he let curiosity get the better of him, and he let a man buy him a drink.
He got his uniform the next day.
2) He didn't feel the bullet when it came. Didn't feel much of anything; the 82nd weren't coming, and that was about all he had room for.
Beside him, Bendis didn't blink as he fell.
3) Sometimes, he wondered what would have happened if he hadn't been injured in the war. If he still had two good legs, and no Alliance pension for fighting against them. Wondered if he'd have kept in touch with Zoe; if he'd be happy, if he'd be married, if he'd still be fighting. But only sometimes.
4) "Still don't reckon it was right," Zoe said, some time later. "Leavin' them there on the planet like that."
Mal shrugged. He didn't quite meet her eyes as he spoke. "Girl was a liability," he said. "Got no reason to get the Alliance on our backs."
He didn't have to look at her to see her expression. "Even so."
5) "Wait."
Even saying that much was enough, and he didn't have it in him to say more. So he didn't speak; but when he pulled back, arms still gripping her, her lips were flushed red, and he thought, for once, he had managed to surprise her.
After a minute, she smiled, and he found himself echoing her expression. She ran a hand up his arm, and she didn't have to say she was staying.
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1) Alliance recruiters weren't exactly welcome when they came. Mal ignored them as well as anyone else, for a time, but eventually, he let curiosity get the better of him, and he let a man buy him a drink.
He got his uniform the next day.
2) He didn't feel the bullet when it came. Didn't feel much of anything; the 82nd weren't coming, and that was about all he had room for.
Beside him, Bendis didn't blink as he fell.
3) Sometimes, he wondered what would have happened if he hadn't been injured in the war. If he still had two good legs, and no Alliance pension for fighting against them. Wondered if he'd have kept in touch with Zoe; if he'd be happy, if he'd be married, if he'd still be fighting. But only sometimes.
4) "Still don't reckon it was right," Zoe said, some time later. "Leavin' them there on the planet like that."
Mal shrugged. He didn't quite meet her eyes as he spoke. "Girl was a liability," he said. "Got no reason to get the Alliance on our backs."
He didn't have to look at her to see her expression. "Even so."
5) "Wait."
Even saying that much was enough, and he didn't have it in him to say more. So he didn't speak; but when he pulled back, arms still gripping her, her lips were flushed red, and he thought, for once, he had managed to surprise her.
After a minute, she smiled, and he found himself echoing her expression. She ran a hand up his arm, and she didn't have to say she was staying.