BLUE SUN ROOM FAN FICTION - GENERAL

SOFI

The Art of Stealing: Act III
Thursday, April 27, 2006

final installment of episode! lots of fun wash/zoe and mal/inara goodness! also a bit of kaylee being cute, jayne being crude and river being crazy. if you havn't read the others you should... theyre wacky fun i promise!! well...


CATEGORY: FICTION    TIMES READ: 2880    RATING: 9    SERIES: FIREFLY

Zoë stopped and turned slowly, trying to remain calm. “Yes?” It felt as though her heart had stopped beating.

The receptionist’s hand rested gently on his gun. He surveyed Zoë slowly. “You were quick.”

Zoë stared at him. Fight or flight? “I have to be somewhere,” she replied flatly.

“Ok.” Did she catch a glimpse of disbelief in his eye? “You forgot your radio.”

Zoë almost sighed in relief. Her heart began to beat again. She stepped forwards and took the device from his sweaty hands. “Thank you.”

“You’re not from here.” He was being blunt, staring at her as though he knew something wasn’t quite right.

Zoë began to feel uneasy. “No. I’m afraid I really have to leave now. Goodbye.”

The guard looked at her curiously but she turned on her heel, striding towards the exit. As she began to push the door open an alarm pierced through the gallery. Fight or flight? The receptionist jumped up, slinging out his gun.

Zoë bolted.

~

The whole crew stood regarding the painting pensively. It was propped up on a chair in the kitchen.

Kaylee was the first to break the silence. “It’s awful small ain’t it…”

“You sure you got the right one?” Jayne asked. Mal and Zoë glared at him. “I’m just sayin’! Don’t look nothin’ special.”

“He has a point…” Wash was faintly nervous that he agreed.

“It’s the right one,” Zoë said with finality.

“’Sides, I sure as hell ain’t goin’ back to get another,” Mal thought aloud.

There was another silence.

“Well, it’s kinda nice.” Kaylee smiled brightly. “Looks like… it was painted with real passion.”

“Looks like it was painted with my ass,” Jayne muttered.

“And you would know how that would look because…” Inara said, a smirk spreading over her face.

Mal looked annoyed. “If you don’t want your share of the money this paintin’ gets us, that’s fine.”

Jayne spluttered in reply.

“From what I gather, this painting will get us a fair amount of money,” Book interrupted.

“That it will!” Mal replied proudly. “An’ the deal’s solid.”

“Then I think that deserves some kind of celebration, don’t you agree?”

Kaylee clasped her hands together in delight. “A party?”

“Oh, I don’t know preacher,” Mal said reluctantly, “I’m not sure I’m suitably dressed.”

~

The painting had been removed to somewhere that there was no possibility of it getting damaged and the crew sat around the table eating and drinking, both in excess. Except Zoë.

“And then he just stared up at him an’ said, ‘I understand, Sir’!” The room erupted with laughter and Mal took another swig off his drink.

“No!” Kaylee objected, tears in her eyes, “No way, Cap’ain. I don’t believe it!”

“It’s true! Zoë, ain’t it true as daylight?” He turned to her for backup and she nodded, causing another wave of laughter. “Here, Zoë have a drink.”

“No, I’m fine,” she said quietly. Wash squeezed her hand under the table.

Mal lifted the jug, sake spilling over the edges. “Oh, come on!”

“No, really!” She violently pulled away her mug.

Jayne smirked. “What are you, pregnant?”

She reacted a second too late, her denial too faulting to be genuine.

Kaylee gasped, bringing her hands to her mouth. “You got pregnant?”

Zoë looked to Wash for help but he shrugged, smiling.

“What?” Mal spluttered, “How?”

Well,” Wash grinned, “When two people love each other very much, they have a special kind of hug…”

Everyone giggled and Mal glared at him dangerously.

“Congratulations, Zoë,” Inara said.

“Yes, congratulations,” Simon agreed.

“Hey! Don’t I get any congratulations? I have my part in this too you know…” Wash protested.

Jayne leered. “Or at least that’s what you hope…”

Wash threw him a sulky look and Zoë put her arm around him comfortingly. “Actually, I’m not sure yet, but it’s looking likely.”

“She has dark hair, shines like gold. On her fifth birthday she wants a bike, on her fifteenth she wants a ship. She doesn’t know yet, but she will.” Everyone stared at River, slightly unnerved, but she just smiled serenely.

Wash was the first to start laughing and everyone gradually joined in, laughing at nothing but everything and because they had too much alcohol in their blood… Mal was silent.

~

Mal stood in the dark, staring at the stars who winked knowingly at him. Inara softly approached him.

“Are you upset?”

“Wah!” He spun around, shame burning in his face seeing it was her. “You do sneak about, don’t you?”

Inara smiled slightly. They stood in silence for a moment before she repeated her question quietly.

“About what?”

“The baby.”

“Oh.” Mal thought about it. He wasn’t sure. He wasn’t sure if he should be upset, or was allowed to be upset. And if he was upset, why? “I’m not sure.” He answered truthfully. “Can Serenity have a baby onboard?”

“Mal, Serenity isn’t having the baby, Zoë is. I really think she needs your support for this.”

“Don’t try ‘n tell me what Zoë needs. ‘Sides, she wouldn’t listen to me if I was upset.”

“I’m not trying to -” Inara began, but Mal cut across her.

“I was wondering do you never want this, a family? I mean, can people in your line of work just give it up? Surely there comes a time when you’re old and your looks have faded. What do you do then? Is your job truly your life?”

Inara wouldn’t look him in the eye. “Mal, we’re not talking about me.”

“Why don’t we talk about you, just this once,” Mal said, drink slurring his mind, making his tongue honest. “I want to know about you. What do you want? Don’t you want to have a life?”

She couldn't believe this. More than a year of skirting around each other, saying things we both knew were lies and now this, why? “I have a life! What do I have that you have not? I have money, a great deal more than you could hope to! I have this ship; I have the people on it. I don’t have to have a husband, a child to be happy. I have everything I could want!”

“Everything?” He touched her arm gently, his fingers feeling the gentle warmth of her skin.

Inara stepped backwards sharply, shivers running up her spine. She longed to touch him. She long to with every fibre of her being. To feel his lips against hers, his breath on her skin… “Mal, don’t.”

He looked at her, his eyes openly passionate. “Inara…”

She turned swiftly and left him in the darkness. It wasn’t fair on either of them. She knew deep down in her heart that it could never and would never work, but then why couldn’t she let go?

~

Wash pulled Zoë towards him, pressing himself against her, his lips clasping her in a passionate embrace.

“Are you drunk, Husband?” she asked, as they broke apart, smiling despite herself.

He didn’t answer, just pushed her down onto the bed, kissing her lips, her cheeks, her neck, anywhere his lips could find. Zoë gave herself up willingly, allowing him to rip her shirt off. As Zoë’s hands found the zip of his jumpsuit, Wash suddenly paused. “Do you think she’ll mind?”

She?” Zoë asked, grinning.

Wash shrugged best he could in his awkward position. “River said… she wants a ship!” He grinned. “My baby’s going to be a pilot!”

Zoë commenced unzipping his jumpsuit. “I’m sure she’d want you to enjoy yourself before I get too big.”

“Too big? Honey, I’d want to sexify you even if you were as big as a moon.”

“We’ll see,” Zoë said sceptically, unsure if this was a compliment.

“Yes,” Wash grinned, kissing her again, “Yes, we will.”

~

Serenity slipped silently through space, smiling to herself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

hope you enjoyed! i enjoyed writing it. thinking of doing more episodes. do you think i should..? i quite fancy meeting wash n zoe's baby =D

COMMENTS

Thursday, April 27, 2006 7:35 AM

BLUEEYEDBRIGADIER


Well hell...this was a fun chapter;)

I really loved the last bit with Zoe and Wash macking...especially Wash's comment of “Too big? Honey, I’d want to sexify you even if you were as big as moon"...totally Wash and totally true:)

Mal and Inara....damn it...why can't these two repose to Inara's shuttle one night...and have a truth-laden yelling match? Just let it all out in the open so things can be fixed and they can get to the sexin'...cuz Lord knows they need it:(

BEB

Thursday, April 27, 2006 10:12 AM

ELOISA


I agree with BEB, Wash is dead on. Mal, too. Good stuff.

Sunday, July 2, 2006 5:05 AM

BELLONA


“Looks like it was painted with my ass,” Jayne muttered.
“And you would know how that would look because…”
that is so completely the type of exchange inara and jayne would have, very jossian.

b


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