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