WHO: Maia Sparks and Wyatt Wentworth (+ Inara Serra and Malcolm Reynolds) WHEN: Early afternoon of November 9 WHERE: Their room in a hotel in Lakeland, FL SUMMARY: While prepping for Maia to meet her birth mother, she and Wyatt find out that they're sharing dreams. WARNINGS: Just, you know, all the UST
Though it was still a couple of hours before Maia would need to descend to the first floor of the hotel and nervously sit in the restaurant, she could feel the mask that she had been wearing quite successfully begin to slip. The nerves wouldn't simply begin as she waited for her biological mother to arrive. No, they had been constant and churning within her for far longer, becoming something especially heavy when this trip down the coast had changed from an idea with potential to a date that was circled on her calendar. Once it had become something real, Maia had begun to find herself consciously schooling her features and catching herself when her mind would wander. This wasn't a worry that she could settle onto Kylie, nor did she want her parents or brothers to have more concern than they already did.
And so, Maia had just acted as though this was business as usual. Simply a conversation between, well… a child meeting her biological mother for the first time.
The mask really was beginning to slip, though. It wasn't much of a surprise to Maia. Though one could say that it was simply due to the minutes ticking away, she knew it wasn't that. Maia was particularly skillful at hiding her emotions when she wanted to -- except for when she was with Wyatt. Even during the years of their rollercoaster of a relationship, he had always been the person that could make her relax without her even realizing it; her brothers were a close second, but Wyatt had burrowed her way into her mind and heart that she'd often found irritating in their more difficult periods.
This wasn't a difficult period, though. Rather than irritated, Maia found his presence to be just what she'd needed. He calmed her, made her feel safe without even having to do anything at all. Even before he'd volunteered to come with her, she had known that Wyatt was who she'd wanted by her side for this, even if she hadn't known if it was fair to ask. Now that they were here, she was very glad he had nudged her into asking.
Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, Maia gave her reflection one more once over before striding into the rest of the hotel room. She had already gone through three outfits (she had packed far more than was necessary, given how brief this trip was going to be) trying to decide what was best for meeting one's biological mother. Having decided on keeping her hair down and donning a simple white sundress that was more suited for the Florida weather than the fall that Virginia was giving up on and didn't feel like something she would wear to an event or a business meeting, she cleared her throat to get Wyatt's attention, then twirled once.
"How's this?" she asked, smoothing her hands over the skirt of the dress once before looking to Wyatt for his opinion. "Look okay?"
Wyatt had been doing is level-best to stay a calming influence for Maia. He knew what this trip meant to her and was grateful when she had asked him along. While he understood all too well what a capable and strong person she was, he’d never have wanted her to be doing something like this on her own. Whatever their current status was, he’d always want to make things easier on her if he could. So he’d hold her hand and keep her distracted, and watch her change her outfit as many times as she needed to.
His gaze softened as he turned to look at her. “You look beautiful. How do you feel?”
Maia tried to ignore the way her heart both seemed to squeeze and melt at his response. She wasn't unused to Wyatt telling her that she was pretty or beautiful, both in and out of a relationship. That didn't mean that it kept her from feeling the way her emotions spiked at the compliment. Normally she might have partaken in some good, old-fashioned overthinking, but her mind was too busy over-thinking everything else ahead of her.
"I feel… okay," she replied, because it wasn't necessarily a lie. Her hands came together in front of her, letting her wring them nervously. "Worried, too. Going through several worst case scenarios in my mind. But, you know, otherwise okay."
He watched her carefully as he listened, taking in both the things she said and all the tell tale gestures and body language he’d grown to know so well in all their years with one another. He briefly wondered if she even realized she was wringing her hands like that. He rubbed his own hands on the thighs of his jeans before he stood up from where he’d been sitting on the bed.
Without thinking, Wyatt took a few purposeful strides and was standing in front of her. He put his rough, weathered hands on top of hers and held them reassuringly. “I wish I could tell you not to worry, and that everything will be fine.” He held her gaze for a long moment, his thumb absently rubbing soft, comforting circles on the back of her hand. “What I can say though, is that whatever happens, I’m here with you. And there’s someone else here with us too.”
Wyatt gave her hand a squeeze before letting one of his hands release hers and go to his back pocket. When it reappeared, he held a delicate cloth drawstring bag.. He held it out to her wordlessly.
Maia indeed hadn't realized that she'd been nervously wringing her hands until Wyatt's stilled them. She found herself immediately beginning to calm, that peace that seemed to be unique to him settling around her. How, she had found herself wondering more and more, could someone that she'd had some truly epic arguments with bring such stillness, she would never know. (Then again, those arguments had become few and far between, so maybe she ought not to have been surprised.)
She took in Wyatt's words and watched as he retrieved the cloth bag. Brow furrowing in confused curiosity, she took it as he offered it out to her.
"What's this?" Maia asked, even as she eased the bag open and let the silver locket slide out into her open palm. She let out a soft gasp of surprise, turning it over in her hand. Her eyes darted up to Wyatt for a brief moment, then back to the piece of jewelry. "Wyatt, it's beautiful."
He had to admit, if only to himself, that his stomach gave a small flutter of nerves as he waited to see her reaction to the necklace. It had been a long time since he’d given her a gift like this one. He knew they probably weren’t fully back into a place where this sort of thing was really acceptable. But he wasn’t blind to the fact that they also seemed to be moving back in that direction again, and well, this was an unusual situation. Besides, rules were meant to be broken on occasion.
A smile warmed his face and he let out a breath of relief when it became clear she liked his present. He stepped in close once more and leaned in to open the locket charm up for her. Secured safely inside was a picture of Kylie. “So she can be here with you too.”
She could feel every part of her melt as he showed her what the charm held. Their relationship history might have been a rollercoaster, but their daughter had been a constant between them. Seeing Wyatt with Kylie and knowing just how much he loved and dedicated so much of himself to her -- well, it might have been the thing that Maia loved most about him.
"There's our girl." Maia's voice was laced with unspoken emotion and she didn't even try to hide it. She appreciated the gift more than she could have said; for as much as she knew Kylie couldn't have been there with them, having a piece of her so close meant a lot.
Gingerly closing the locket, she held it out to Wyatt and asked before turning, "Will you help me put it on?"
Like there was any chance he’d say ‘No’ to that. “Of course.” He took the necklace back and moved to stand behind her. Once upon a time, Wyatt would have fumbled and stumbled his way through putting the necklace on for her, but not these days. He was a single father, after all. One with a daughter who absolutely loved wearing jewelry. Kylie had taught him well how to help when it came to necklaces and bracelets.
He unhooked the clasp and gently draped the chain around her neck. Movements of a dance they both knew by heart, he leaned in close as she pulled her hair aside for him. Her skin was smooth and warm and extremely distracting as he hooked the necklace back together once more. As it settled there, he felt an almost irresistible urge to lean in and press a kiss into the curve of her neck. His hands moved lightly to rest on her shoulders. That shock of contact between them jolted Wyatt into a memory that wasn’t his own.
”A real beauty, ain’t she? Yes sir. I’ll tell you what. You buy this ship, and treat her proper...she’ll be with you for the rest of your life.”
---
With Zoe at his side, Mal gleefully pushed open the doors to his new ship, eager to show her off. Zoe’d been at his side through thick and thin. Dodging the reach of the alliance and staying a step ahead. With a ship, though, they could be truly free. He felt it in the deepest parts of his heart. He hadn’t believed in anything so deeply since before the end of the war.
“Well?” He’d said to Zoe after allowing her a minute to take it all in.
“You paid money for this, sir? On purpose?”
His brow furrowed as Zoe called his new ship a piece of fèihuà. He moved further into the hull, trying to make her see what he did. What this could be.
“Okay, she won’t be winning any beauty contests anytime soon, but she is solid. A ship like this’ll be with you till the day you die.”
“...Because it’s a death trap.”
“That’s...you are very much lacking in imagination. Try to see past what she is, and onto what she can be.”
“What’s that sir?”
“Freedom, is what.”
“I meant what’s that?” Zoe nodded toward a dead something or other on the floor in front of their boots.
“Oh, yeah. Just step around that. I think something must have been living in here.” Looking past the carcass on the floor, Mal could only see possibilities with this ship. His eyes practically shone with it. “I tell you, Zoe. We get a mechanic, get her up and running again. Hire a good pilot, maybe a cook...live like real people. A small crew, thems that feel the need to be free, take jobs as they come, ain’t never have to be under the heel of nobody ever again.”
He could see he was getting through to her now, that smile turning up the corners of her lips as she began to see what he saw.
“No matter how long the arm of the Alliance might get, we’ll just get ourselves a little further.”
“Get her running again,” Zoe nodded, and Mal knew he’d won her over.
“Yeah.”
“So not running now?”
“Not so much. But she will.” He grinned and led his soon to be first mate further into their new home. “I already know what I’m gonna call her. Got a name all picked out.”
Despite herself, Maia found herself closing her eyes as she lifted her hair away from her neck, giving Wyatt the room needed to secure the necklace. It wasn't as though it was the first time in a long time he'd been this close to her; she had nodded off and used his shoulder as a pillow halfway through their plane ride down the coast, after all. And yet, this was different. There was a certain sort of intimacy in the proximity and gesture, her heart seeming to squeeze in her chest in a not at all unfamiliar way. She had felt them coming to loop around toward an on-again phase of their relationship in the last couple of months and her spiking emotions seemed to point toward that even more.
As Maia felt the necklace fall into place, she lifted her free hand to trace gingerly over the locket. In the same moment, she felt Wyatt's hands come to rest on her shoulders -- and then she was suddenly as far away from their hotel room as possible.
"Well, here she is."
Inara stepped through the entry to the shuttle that she was hoping to rent, Captain Reynolds just behind her. Her eyes took in the details of the space, her mind working to see it for what it could be, rather than what it was in that moment.
"Nice, ain't she?"
"Smallish," Inara replied, because that much was true.
"Well, not overly. How much room do you really need for what you do anyway?"
Deciding not to address that particular comment, Inara let the captain continue on as he mentioned the other interested parties, perhaps simple truth or potentially also an observation made in the hopes that it might lead to making a faster decision. Instead, she diverted the conversation, asking about the details of the shuttle, the mechanical workings that she would need to know. There was no need to further consider, after all, if it wouldn't fit for what she needed.
"She's space-worthy," the captain said, "just like the rest of Serenity is."
Inara smiled indulgently at his tone, turning and standing to continue her exploration. "No need to sound so defensive, Captain. I prefer something with a few miles on it." She paused a moment, looking around the shuttle once more before deciding that perhaps it was best to give him all the facts to consider upfront, too. "Were we to enter this arrangement, Captain Reynolds, there are a few things I would require from you -- the foremost being complete autonomy. This shuttle would be my home. No crew member, including yourself, would be allowed entrance without my express invitation."
"You'd get your privacy."
"And just so we're clear," she continued, "under no circumstances will I be servicing you or anyone who is under your employ."
"I'll post a sign."
Inara smiled once more. "That won't be necessary." She started to walk through the shuttle once more, the captain following as she went on, "The other thing I would insist upon is some measure of assurance that when I make an appointment with a client I'm in a position to keep that appointment. So far as assurances are possible on a vessel of this type."
"That's an awful lot of caveats and addendums there, miss."
"As I stated, I just want to be clear."
"Well, I'll be sure to take all that into consideration while I review the applications."
This time, Inara went beyond a smile, laughter lacing her words. "Don't be ridiculous. You're gonna rent this shuttle to me."
"Am I?"
"Yes," Inara confirmed. "And for one quarter less than your asking price."
"Is that a fact?"
"It is."
"And you figure you'll be getting this discount why, exactly?"
"You want me." Inara paused, taking a small step in toward the captain before adding, "You want me on your ship."
"Do I?"
"Yes. Because I can bring something that your surveyor or any of the other fish you might have on line can't -- a certain respectability."
"Respecta -- "
"And based on what little I've seen of your operation, I suspect that's something you could use." It was more straightforward than Inara might have been with some, but she had sized Captain Malcolm Reynolds up the moment she'd introduced herself. This, she thought, was more likely to convince him of renting the shuttle to her than any other kinder, more soft approach, even if she might have offended him a bit. (He would get over it, she suspected.)
Inara turned away once more, considering the shuttle as the captain spoke up. "Fine. Let me ask you this. If you're so respectable, why are you even here? I mean, I've heard tell of fancy ladies such as yourself shipping out with big luxury liners and the like, but a registered Companion on a boat like this? What are you running from?"
"I'm not running from anything." The response was quick and immediate, close enough to the truth.
"If it's Alliance trouble you got, you might want to consider another ship. Some on board here fought for the independents."
"The Alliance has no quarrel with me," Inara said dismissively. "I supported unification."
"Did ya?" The captain paused just a moment before adding, "Well, I don't suppose you're the only whore that did."
No surprise registered on Inara's expression at the insult. She was far too used to it. And yet, she still replied, "Oh, one further addendum. That's the last time you get to call me 'whore'."
Inara turned to leave, but it didn't keep her from hearing the captain's reply. "Absolutely. Never again."
As suddenly as the memory had taken ahold of him, so it faded away, and Wyatt found himself - his real self- once more in a moderately sized hotel room in Florida. His hands were still resting on Maia’s shoulders. He released a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding in and stepped back.
He wasn’t one for many words on a regular basis, and the memory had left him even more speechless than usual. He ran his fingers through his hair and then down to rest at his hip. It took him a moment to realize he’d been searching for the comforting weight of a holster with a gun to be resting there.
He backed up and sat down on the edge of the bed again. He said only a single word, “Serenity.”
Before the memory had seized her mind, Maia had been so in tune to Wyatt that she would have absolutely noticed the very moment he left her space. After, though, she found herself so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't actually notice that he'd moved at all until he spoke that word.
Serenity. It had been the name of the ship whose shuttle Inara had been so sure she was going to be renting. That realization seemed to snap her completely back to reality, letting her focus on where she was, who she was with, and how it almost definitely had to be coincidence that Wyatt had chosen that very moment to say that word. It had to be. Right?
Maia turned quickly, looking right at Wyatt. Her fingers were still slowly tracing over the locket. Quietly, she asked, needing that confirmation, "What did you just say?"
He was still half in a daze when she asked the question. It took him another moment to try and shake off the memory, to be fully present once more. He was Wyatt, not Mal.
“Serenity,” he repeated. “Named after the Battle of Serenity Valley. She’s a ship. Firefly-class transport ship.” Why was he saying all this? Maia was going to think he’d lost his gorram mind.
All thoughts of Florida and why they were there were gone as Maia simply stood and stared at Wyatt. She had only just started to get used to the idea of having the dreams that everyone else had been riddled with in their town. It hadn't even begun to cross her mind that she might be sharing the dreams with someone, let alone for that someone be Wyatt.
And yet, somehow that seemed to be exactly what was happening.
Maia swallowed, still not looking away from him. "A ship. Firefly class. With -- with two shuttles, right? Captained by Malcolm Reynolds?"
Of all the responses he could have guessed she might come back with, never in a hundred years would Wyatt have seen that one coming. His eyes widened with surprise and he nodded. Without thinking any further, he was back up off the bed and moved close to Maia once more. If she knew Serenity and Mal, then he wasn’t completely alone in this. That realization sent a wave of emotion crashing through him. The whole situation was still new and terrifying, but if there was anyone who could make it seem less overwhelming, it was her. He wanted to hold and kiss her, to run his hand through her hair and feel the warmth of her skin. He settled for holding her hands in his own again. “You know her too.”
As soon as Wyatt had taken her hands, Maia's fingers moved to wrap tighter around his own. Her heart was racing and for once she had a valid excuse, rather than simply relying on denial to convince herself that it wasn't his proximity that was making it happen. She swallowed once, looking up to him in a mixture of surprise and relief. "I -- yes. Yes, I do." She blinked rapidly, breaking her gaze as the memory washed over her. "I was going to rent one of the shuttles. All of the traveling that the crew did. It was good for my... work."
Not wanting to elaborate too much on that, at least not in that moment, Maia looked up to meet Wyatt's eyes again. "We're sharing dreams." Again, she felt her heart flutter, working overtime in her chest. Now that the initial shock had begun to ebb, it seemed so obvious, as though of course she would share dreams with Wyatt. They had already done so much else together -- why wouldn't they do this, too?
So she wasn’t dreaming of Zoe, then. When she’d first recognized Serenity, Wyatt had wondered. He was grateful, though. While there was no one Mal trusted more implicitly than Zoe Alleyne, Wyatt didn’t want Maia experiencing those sorts of dreams. The war and battles- he wanted to protect her from that.
“We’re sharing dreams,” he echoed, giving her hands an extra firm squeeze. “I’m...I’ve been dreaming about Malcolm...Mal. Just now, after I’d helped you with the locket, I got another one. I had just bought Serenity. Hadn’t got her fixed up, yet, but already had plans to get her skyworthy. And had been giving some thought to renting out the shuttles.”
"I just had one, too," Maia replied, her mind whirring with the implications of what he'd just said. Her own memory had included Malcolm Reynolds, of course. There had been a give and take between them, even in that first meeting, that she had to admit felt undoubtedly familiar. She wasn't sure if she was only thinking that now with the knowledge of Wyatt dreaming about the man, but she didn't think she was wrong.
"I'm dreaming about Inara Serra." Maia hesitated, thinking back on the couple of dreams she'd gotten before she added, "She's a registered companion. That's why she wanted to rent the shuttle, so she'd be able to travel for appointments with her clients a bit easier. In what I just saw, he was showing her the shuttle and they were discussing terms."
The name she gave didn’t register any sort of recognition to him, which came as a slight bit of disappointment. Until he quickly reminded himself that she said she’d been looking to rent a shuttle. So likely someone that Mal just hadn’t met yet. Those thoughts were quickly railroaded by her next statement, however. Companion. She was a Companion. Mal never much cared for Companions. Not that he had much against them, either. They just weren’t ever in the same sphere as him. Companions catered to the rich, of which he never would be. But the thought of his Maia being tied to that occupation stirred up all manner of uncomfortable feelings in his chest. Wyatt Wentworth had never been subtle about his jealousy when it came to Maia being with others, and it appeared that was going to extend toward her dream-self as well. His muscles tensed and his jaw tightened. He’d been on the verge of saying something snarky before he stopped himself. Maia was about to meet her birth mother for the first time, and this would be the worst possible time for him to pick a fight with her. He was here to help her, not make things worse.
He consciously unclenched his jaw and relaxed his muscles, then proceeded to give her a smile. “She as hard-nosed as you when it comes to discussing the details?”
Despite the nature of their relationship over the years, Maia knew that she knew Wyatt. Even during their off periods or when they'd have an explosive argument that resulted in the silent treatment from one or both of them, she knew him. She was pretty certain that she didn't know anyone better, not even her brothers. And so, she could sense a subtle shift in him, though she could also sense when he'd let that tension go. Whether he was dismissing it or holding onto it for later, she didn't know, but she was happy to instead focus on his smile and the question that came with it -- so much so that she found herself lifting one of her hands from his, just to brush an affectionate touch across his cheek. It was more familiar than she normally allowed herself, but this felt like a special circumstance.
"Absolutely," Maia replied, smiling herself. "Maybe even a little more. If he lets her rent the shuttle, which she seemed incredibly certain that he was going to, they will make quite the pair, based off the conversation I saw. They are pretty well matched when it comes to snark and arguments." Familiar, indeed.
His eyes dropped closed for a moment as she touched his cheek. It was a brief moment- over far too quickly for his liking, but he relished it all the same.
“Sounds familiar.”
They stood there silently for a long moment, just adjusting to this new development and all the emotions that came along with it. Wyatt wouldn’t be surprised if it provided a complication or two, but that was a problem for another day. He leaned in and kissed Maia lightly on the cheek.
“I think it’s about time to go.”
As Wyatt had done just a moment before when Maia's fingers touched his cheek, her own eyes closed as he kissed hers. She felt her heart squeeze in her chest and there was a very real temptation that she had to make herself ignore and dismiss to just turn her head and kiss the man. Instead, before he had a chance to straighten up and pull away from her, Maia lifted her arms to circle them around his neck, holding him close in an embrace.
"I think so," she murmured in response, the anxiety that she'd felt about going downstairs and meeting her biological mother returning to mix with all of the feelings that had come with the revelation of these shared memories. Both were overwhelming, but there would never be any denying that having him there -- and having him close -- helped.
After a moment, Maia pulled away, her hands squeezing his shoulders once, and managed a small smile up at Wyatt. There were a lot of things that she could say in that moment, all of which, she assumed, would make her some varying degree of emotional. The memories were still on her mind and obviously that would end up being discussed in the future. In the end, she just settled with, "Thank you for being here."
He shouldn’t have been surprised by the hug, considering how much the both of them had been pushing against careful boundaries since this trip started. Whatever surprise he did feel, though, was quickly replaced by a myriad of other emotions. He wrapped his arms around her securely and held her steady until she was ready to pull away.
When she thanked him, he smiled back gently. “Wouldn’t have missed it.”