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