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Mal was in a foul mood.
He couldn’t even tell anyone what he was so angry about, because he honestly didn’t know. He was walking under a black cloud and everyone around him was at risk of feeling his temper.
Inara had refused to come out of her shuttle until he learned to be civil again.
Wash had locked the cockpit to keep him out, which hadn’t helped his mood at all.
Zoe was fingering her mare’s leg, which let Mal know that she was seriously considering shooting him if he didn’t snap out of it soon.
Jayne was staying as far away from him as he could get and still be on board.
Shepherd Book kept his head down and purposely hid his bible if they were in the same room together.
Simon kept to the infirmary, but that wasn’t unusual. Him ducking his head every time Mal passed by the window was.
River floated around the ship like she usually did, blithely ignoring what she didn’t want to see.
Mal met River on the catwalk above the cargo hold and scowled her. She was laying spread eagle on the grate in front of the steps, blocking his route. Her eyes were closed and she was humming to herself.
“Li’l Albatross, you need to move. Someone’ll step on you if you don’t.”
River opened one eye and looked at him. She flinched, shut her eye again, and then clamped her hands over her ears.
Mal sighed and squatted down. He gently touched River’s shoulder. “Hey, mei mei. I know I’m not the best company right now. Don’t rightly know what’s got me so twisted up. I don’t mean to be leaking my problems to you.”
River curled into a ball on her side, facing him, and cautiously opened her eyes again. “Go see Kaylee,” she muttered.
One of his eyebrows rose. “Now, why would I want to do that? She’s the only one on this boat I ain’t pissed off today and that’s just ‘cause I haven’t seen her.”
“Been in the black too long. Need to see the sun,” River said softly.
Mal started to huff, but then he thought about it. It had been a while since they’d made landfall.
“Think you might be right. But shouldn’t I go talk to Wash and have him set course for somewhere peaceful?”
“Not until you see Kaylee,” she said firmly.
“Alright, River. I’ll go see Kaylee. You gonna let me pass?”
River rolled her eyes and sat up, scooting away from the top of the stairs.
Mal groaned as he stood up, his knees aching in protest. “Thank you.”
“Welcome. You owe me a lemonade.”
Mal’s lips twitched, feeling a little more settled than he had been. “Sure thing, mei mei.”
He left River on the catwalk and made his way down to the engine room. Kaylee was tinkering with a motivator when he knocked on the bulkhead. She looked up at smiled at him. “Hey, Cap’n! What can I do ya for?”
Mal felt more of his formless anger drain away in the face of her cheerfulness. Maybe River had been right. There was nothing in the ‘verse quite like Kaylee’s smile. There were times it was brighter than when the sun shined. “Just wanted to see a little bit of sunshine for a minute.”
Her smile faded a little bit in confusion. “You okay, Cap’n?”
“I’ve managed to piss just about everybody on this boat off today. River thinks we’ve been in the black too long and I’m startin’ to think she’s right. I think we’re due for some downtime. Make a list of any supplies or parts you think we need. We’ll head to Persephone. I’ll plan for three days or so, but we might stay longer. Have to see how it goes.”
Kaylee bounced up from her seat with a delighted grin. She hastily wiped her hands on a dirty rag and then she threw her arms around Mal. “Xièxiè, Cap’n! That sounds like a fine idea.”
Mal stiffened at first and then he sighed and relaxed, feeling the last of his bad mood let go, and hugged his mechanic back. He owed River a whole pitcher of lemonade. Maybe some ice cream, too.
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