Summary: Someone does something unexpected. Short little fic; first one posted on this site from me. Basically a single scene I have had bouncing around in my head for a few days.

I don’t own any of these characters. I don’t own anything, actually.

Rated PG-13 just to be safe.

Rising Smoke

The deafening report of a gun rang out; Mal slightly jumped as he prepared for the searing pain that would accompany the bullet entering his body. Nothing happened; silence hung thick on the air. No pain. He let one eye slowly open. Jubel Early stood before him, still. Silent. Mal opened the other eye; Early just stood there, staring off into space, gun still pointed at Mal’s stomach. Then his body tilted, and he fell, almost in slow motion, crumbling like a cheap paper doll. The thud of his lifeless body hitting the deck plating reverberated in the funerary atmosphere of the bridge. Lowering his hands, Mal stared at the figure standing behind the corpse; the person responsible for saving his life by ending Early’s. Incomprehension and shock soon grew in the captain’s chest; his stare was met by the scared yet strong gaze of his savior. She stared back at him, disbelief and shock coursing through her veins as she realized what she had just done. The gun still clasped in her hand, smoke rising from the barrel and clouding up the air between her and Mal. His face changed from one of disbelief to concern; a look that suited him well, but he seldom wore. His gaze shifted; routing through Early’s armor, he retrieved his gun, holstered it. She held onto hers, knuckles white. Still staring ahead, tiny shivers running along her spine. “Mei mei, he’s dead, you can lower the gun now.” Compassion rang through his voice. She heard him. Her hand relaxed; the sound of metal slamming into metal assaulted their ears. A single tear fell from her eye; he pulled her close. His shirt was soon stained with salt water. Her small body shook with sobs. He uttered reassuring words, noises. He held her close. She released everything. Not just what had happened just now, but everything. All the pain and terror she had held bottled up since the first day she had met Jubel Early, in Serenity’s engine room…