Categories > TV > Firefly
Everything's too loud, too bright. Cacophony. Even he's loud, so she pushes herself back on his mattress. Not enough room for two, really, but she's small. Little Mouse.
Her back touches wall, and she lines up without thinking, back touching just where his does on the nights when he sleeps alone. Like touching him, separated only by time. The wall remembers.
She's better now, thoughts lining up one after the other. Good little soldiers, and the thought makes her lock up another scream in her throat so her ghuh-ghuh doesn't wake up. One of them called her that.
But that's why she's in Simon's bed, she reminds herself. Reminder that they're gone, just him. Just him and her in all the 'verse. Not true, that. A wish. Him and her and they could restart the whole human race and make it all right.
No. Reasons for that. Incest taboo. Homozygosity. She knows. The Shepherd's Bible is all wrong. Genetic disaster.
Unfair, when there's only one person in the 'verse who wants her anymore, and he's sleeping inches away from her to keep her from having to be alone, and he loves her and she loves him and it's okay even though she's broken.
Tried to close her eyes, tried to dream, but there's too much noise and it pulls open her eyelids. Instead, she watches him. He has dreams about Kaylee. Hands, grease-smudged, and she watches his body and sees where those hands go, and hers are moving just above each place, not quite touching, but she could...
But that would be bad. Wasn't invited, mustn't be rude. Manners. Codes of behavior which enable human interaction to proceed smoothly in social groups. You don't touch unless asked, and from the way his body shifts slightly as he dreams, he's asking, but not for her.
She could wake him up. Wake him with a kiss, like in the stories. But the princess is broken. Defective. Even after her prince saved her. Brothers can't be princes like in fairy tales. She has to remember that. Maybe she's still asleep, still dreaming. Maybe this is a fairy tale, like the old, old ones from Earth-That-Was, where the endings aren't happy.
She leans forward, just a little, puts her lips to his, slightly parted in sleep, like he's expecting it.
But neither of them wake up.
Her back touches wall, and she lines up without thinking, back touching just where his does on the nights when he sleeps alone. Like touching him, separated only by time. The wall remembers.
She's better now, thoughts lining up one after the other. Good little soldiers, and the thought makes her lock up another scream in her throat so her ghuh-ghuh doesn't wake up. One of them called her that.
But that's why she's in Simon's bed, she reminds herself. Reminder that they're gone, just him. Just him and her in all the 'verse. Not true, that. A wish. Him and her and they could restart the whole human race and make it all right.
No. Reasons for that. Incest taboo. Homozygosity. She knows. The Shepherd's Bible is all wrong. Genetic disaster.
Unfair, when there's only one person in the 'verse who wants her anymore, and he's sleeping inches away from her to keep her from having to be alone, and he loves her and she loves him and it's okay even though she's broken.
Tried to close her eyes, tried to dream, but there's too much noise and it pulls open her eyelids. Instead, she watches him. He has dreams about Kaylee. Hands, grease-smudged, and she watches his body and sees where those hands go, and hers are moving just above each place, not quite touching, but she could...
But that would be bad. Wasn't invited, mustn't be rude. Manners. Codes of behavior which enable human interaction to proceed smoothly in social groups. You don't touch unless asked, and from the way his body shifts slightly as he dreams, he's asking, but not for her.
She could wake him up. Wake him with a kiss, like in the stories. But the princess is broken. Defective. Even after her prince saved her. Brothers can't be princes like in fairy tales. She has to remember that. Maybe she's still asleep, still dreaming. Maybe this is a fairy tale, like the old, old ones from Earth-That-Was, where the endings aren't happy.
She leans forward, just a little, puts her lips to his, slightly parted in sleep, like he's expecting it.
But neither of them wake up.
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