Mal-

She was beautiful, no doubt. All the women around him seemed to be. First his mother, then his first crushes, then Zoe, Kaylee, Inara, River, his wife/not his wife, and of course his ship. She was prettiest of all and he loved her best.

His harem, all of them. Or was he theirs? He certainly didn’t posess any of them. Well technically Serenity was his, but she really owned him when you got right down to it. He was hers. She kept him alive, kept him moving on day by day. He would never give up on her and she would never give him up.

He couldn’t imagine life without her. Didn’t want to remember it. She was what kept his family together. All she asked was to be tended and fed and she’d give him her all. That’s all you could ask of anyone really.

He knew they’d all leave him one by one, those women. Eventually he’d be alone with his memories and his ship. She’d stay with him until one or the other passed away into the void. Constant to the end. Beautiful, beautiful Serenity.

Simon-

Just because he understood a thing didn’t mean he couldn’t still marvel at it. The way an arch of bone created the curve of a cheek, how a certain group of muscles contracting in unison made that radiant smile. The way skin enveloped all of it, protecting and yielding information through the nerves embedded in it. How a cocktail of chemicals could produce a unique scent he could pick out of a room, and how another mix could elicit a response in her that left her glowing and sleepy.

He was most pleased with himself when he helped her find that place. Years of study did not teach him what instinct already knew, but it did give him an advantage in bringing about the desired response.

He loved to make her smile, and cry out, and watch her sleep. Even covered in engine grease she had bedazzled him with that smile, drawn him in with her wide open ways. He had left behind a lifetime of learning, only to find a life.

Zoe-

Gone, Gone, Gone

Life before the War

Gone away gone.

Gone was the War

All gone.

Now her man, too

Gone. Gone. Gone.

Life moves, things change

Everything goes away gone.

Love, friendships. Pain.

All gone away someday.

Gone, Gone, Gone.

Jayne-

Mom didn’t want him to leave.

Money was tight and he ate too much.

Time to be a man and feed the family.

Never had much use for schooling.

Felt better with a gun in his hands.

Good money to be made that way.

Keep ‘em fed and warm, every little helps.

He wrote her regular when there was money to send back.

Not so much when there wasn’t.

She wanted to know when he was coming back.

Settling down, having kids.

Didn’t seem much point in it.

He’d just have to leave again to feed ‘em all.

Another day meant another coin meant another day for someone else.

Maybe someday.

Probably not.

River-

Bodies in motion

Calculus in action

The sway of a hip

The trajectory of a bullet

The arc of blood.

Oh, give her the dance

Not the death.

Sweet pleasureable motion.

Give her logic

Give her love

Give her rythm and sensory input

But not too much.

It was all too much

Everything at once

Escape

Perform

Escape

Dance

The dance was escape

Motion

Body in motion.

Kaylee-

Strawberries

Strawberries and Simon

Strawberries and Simon and Serenity

Strawberries and Simon and Serenity and Sex

All her favorite things started with one letter

S, S, S, S, sssssss

Silly Simon, strawberries and sex,

Serenity.

Inara-

Did she want him because she wanted him?

Or was it because she would not let herself have him.

It amounted to the same thing.

Desire.

She was its Mistress, she would not let it master her.

Too long in this place, too long.

Attachments lead to desire.

Familiarity does not always breed contempt.

Though there was a little of both involved in this instance.

She would not let herself have him so she could not stop wanting him.

Desire to departure.