Title: Fascination

Fandom: Firefly/Stargate Atlantis

Pairing: Kaylee/Carson

Rating: G

Spoilers: None

Word Count: 372

Notes: For medie’s drabble-a-thon. Prompt, Kaylee/Carson, fascination.

Carson knows that this – whatever it is, if it’s even anything at all – is a Very Bad Idea. He should not be spending as much time as he is with Kaylee, and he definitely shouldn’t be enjoying it so much. He certainly shouldn’t be thinking the kind of thoughts that he’s thinking, and if the smiles she’s giving him indicate that she’s thinking the exact same thoughts, then he should run far, far away.

For one thing, from the looks that Mal Reynolds has taken to shooting his way, Carson gets the impression that the captain wouldn’t be best pleased with any relationship developing between them. And speaking of shooting, Jayne seems very interested in introducing Carson to Vera, telling him all about the gun’s capacity to hurt, maim, kill or a combination of all three. Not to mention that Mal’s glare is only outstripped by Simon’s, and the medic is skilled enough to kill him and make it look like an accident.

Besides, even without that unholy trinity, it remains a Very Bad Idea.

She’s too young, for one thing. For another, she’s only passing through, a traveller out of time and she’ll go back when she can – where would that leave him?

It’s a Very Bad Idea, but Carson still finds himself going out of his way to find Kaylee, talk to her, bring her for walks through the city, showing her the Ancient technology. He still has dinners with her, listens to her talk about all the things she’s seen on Serenity, even sits in the engine room with her as she fixes something or other. She did tell him what she was doing, but he didn’t understand a word of it, just enjoyed listening to her.

Because she’s not like anyone he’s ever met before… someone who can exhibit such childlike wonder and enthusiasm one minute, then look at him with a soul and eyes older than time the next. He wants to find out what makes her laugh, what makes her smile, wants to see her do both a hell of a lot more than he has done already.

He finds her fascinating, and no matter what the consequences might be, he can’t walk away from her.