A/N: So here is a teaser to a much longer story, one I have been working on for a little bit. Thanks to Leaisky for the beta and hilarious conversations about the surprise at the end of the chapter! Don't worry, there is much more to come and longer installments, this is just to get you all started! Comments are welcomed and thoroughly enjoyed!

Disclaimer: Not mine, just writing for fun.

~~ "In here!" Simon motioned for Mal to follow him into the open room he had by chance found as they careened through the labyrinth of hallways in the Grand Markham Hotel. This was supposed to be an easy job, Simon thought to himself as he pushed open the door. He thought back on the one word Mal had used to describe the drop off, Simple. It had simply turned into a disaster. After Jayne had decided to shoot up the place after their fence had tried to weasel out of giving them their fair share of the deal, they had been separated from Jayne and Zoe, Mal shouting out at them to meet up back on the ship. Simon and Mal had gotten lost in the maze of the back streets of Persephone, and after many wrong turns, had found themselves running through the back entrance of the enormous hotel, Mal shouting back at Simon, "Don't worry, it's a short cut!" Unfortunately the short cut had gotten them into even more trouble, as they had stumbled into the back kitchen entrance, knocking over a whole five tiered cart of food. As the trays from the cart splattered to the floor, encircling them in great gobs of broken pastries, the cooks and chef stared in utter shock. Slipping a bit on the gooey mess, Simon pushed Mal forward, calling back to the shocked kitchen staff, "Terribly sorry." After the confectionery fiasco, they had the hotel security staff hot on their heels and it was just their luck that all the back tunnels to the hotel looked like one another. Fearing capture and knowing that they had a better chance if they could get out of the service tunnels, Simon pushed through the double doors they had encountered upon turning left at some point. They exited into a lush hallway, decorated in deep burgundies and gold., the loud echoing of their steps from the hallway cushioned by plush carpeting. Mal looked down the hallway from one side to another and then pointed down the right side, “Uh...this way.” Deciding either way was a toss up, Simon followed Mal, only for him to turn right back around when the security staff had come out a second set of doors, just around the corner. Mal grabbed his arm, turning him with such velocity Simon almost lost his footing. “Wrong way, “Mal conceded as Simon headed up this part of their flight, running past elegantly dressed hotel guests. They were throwing looks of concern at the cream splattered, gun toting pair as they tried to make their way out onto the street. Pushing against a door to escape security, whose numbers had grown since they had run from the kitchen, Simon decided hiding might be a better option than running. He burst through a set of doors, calling out to Mal and motioning for him to follow. Mal rushed in and Simon promptly shut the door before security could get a hold on their position. Suddenly, both men heard a gasp, drawing their attention to the woman who had been sitting at a vanity in the small antechamber that they had stumbled into. Her head was covered by a traditional red wedding veil, a bit translucent, but opaque enough to obscure a good view of her face. The sniffling after her surprised gasp told them that she had been crying. She wore the traditional wedding garb as well, a red cheongsam with gold dragon and phoenix embroidery, her neck dripping with strands of pearls and jade. The veil hung over her immensely coifed hair that had been piled on top of her head, with the wedding crown boasting more jade and pearls that could be barely seen through the fabric. “I am so sorry, miss , we didn’t mean to intrude. Excuse us," Simon apologized as he looked for another way out of the small room. The woman stood up form her chair and lifted her veil slowly, as if in a great state of shock, which she most certainly was. With the veil flung over the top of her crown, Mal got a good look at the girl. She was unquestionably beautiful, with deep dark hair and rich brown eyes, she would have been even more breathtaking if her make up hadn’t been running down the sides of her face and her eyes hadn’t been all puffy from crying. She was so pale that the crying had caused her cheeks to turn a bright ruby red and she had little blotches of pink on her neck that ran into the mandarin collar of her wedding gown. She raised her hands up over her mouth and the one muffled word that was expelled sent Mal into his own state of shock. “Simon!?”

~~

TBC......