Title: Fortune favours the bold
Fandom: Firefly
Rating: G
Length: ~1000 words
Content notes: Simon & Kaylee friendship, Simon-centric. Starts with a line of dialogue from 1x05, Safe.
Author notes: Finally taking a favourite of mine for a spin.
Summary: Simon inadvertently insults Kaylee, then makes it up to her by way of introducing her to a new game.



"Lese? Serenity ain't lese."

Kaylee turned away from Simon and left him stranded in the junk shop, his apology leaving his lips but - he felt certain - not reaching her ears. Simon mentally cursed, then moved on. The skill with which he managed to inadvertently insult people wherever he went amounted to a superpower, though he couldn't think of a situation in which it would actually be useful. He sighed, then shrugged - not like he hadn't been through this a hundred times before in his life. He turned to the goods on sale, to see if there was anything there of interest to him.

Perhaps it was out of some twisted awareness of the universe having its eye on him today somehow that Simon picked up a battered-looking game with the title "Fortune favours the bold". Not that he'd ever believed in the saying, or in fortune itself. Too many forces had shaped his life for him to believe he had much say in it.

From the blurb, the game sounded like it involved strategy and forward planning rather than just pure luck of the draw, and Simon thought there might be something appealing about it after all. He opened the box and took out the cards, which were beautifully illustrated. A smile flashed across his face. He paid - too much, he thought, but then that was the way of shops like this - and made his way out. Always keeping an eye on River, he went into three more stores along the road, then decided to call it a day. The stores were crowded full of people and River was starting to get agitated. For one who had been observing her as closely as Simon had over the past month or so, there were clear warning signs. He touched her shoulder and was shocked at how startled she looked when she turned around to him.

"It's okay, River," he said, his eyes trying to lock hers, which looked through him, unfocussed. "I think these crowds are a bit much, too. We're going back to the ship now."

They made their way quickly, Simon elbowing people out of the way with River's hand in his. Once on the ship, River calmed down markedly, although she muttered inaudible words to herself all the way up to her quarters. Simon decided that, for once, drugs weren't necessary, and left for his own quarters once River wasn't muttering any more.
***
At dinner, he found it difficult to meet Kaylee's eyes. Jayne and the captain were talking about something or other, but nothing really registered for Simon. He kept his head down and finished his food before heading back to his quarters to study the game he had bought.

About an hour later, he emerged from his cabin with the game clasped in one hand and followed the snaking gangways down to a door that proclaimed, in flowery script, "Kaylee's Room". He could feel his heart jumping into his throat as he knocked.

"Yeah," said a voice from within, and two seconds later the door was opened by Kaylee, dressed in a tank top and sweater bottoms. When she saw Simon, a grin spread across her face.

"Simon Tam," she drawled. "Ain't we lucky you're still aboard. Sorry you've gotta slum it with us on this piece of garbage."

Simon ran a hand through his hair, searching for purchase but not finding any.

"Look, I... I'm really sorry about earlier, I didn't mean to - and I thought we - I mean, look, I bought this - " he stretched out his hand with the game and nearly hit Kaylee's nose with it - "and I thought maybe you - I mean you and I - we - could - I can teach you how it works, not that I'm an expert -"

Kaylee took the game out of his hand by way of interrupting him.

"Serviceable," she declared and looked back at Simon, who, having been interrupted mid-thought, found he had nothing to reciprocate this assessment with. Kaylee opened the door wider to let him in and Simon followed, somewhat bewildered at how easy this had been after all. Kaylee sat down on her bed and indicated the space opposite her. As Simon lowered himself, she opened the game and took out the cards.
"Them's some pretty cards," she said. She spread them them out in her hand and held them in front of her face like a fan, winking at Simon.

"That looks like something out of Inara's shuttle," Simon said, and Kaylee giggled. She put the cards back with the others and handed them to Simon. "Let's play this game, then," she said. Simon tried to focus very hard on shuffling and then on explaining the rules of the game. As it turned out, it was deceptively simple to learn but winning or indeed being any good at it was something different. Not that Simon much cared either way about winning or losing - he was still too wrapped up in the fact that his apology had been accepted, that they were playing the game at all. Kaylee picked the game up faster than he did, and so managed to beat him soundly the first two rounds.

"This is fun," Kaylee declared with her characteristic grin on her face.

"Yes," Simon replied and watched her shuffle the cards for the third round. He won that one by a margin and to Kaylee's encouraging, "Good one, doctor."

"Not all bad, am I?" he said, half in jest, and checked his watch. "I should get going."

There was, he thought, something of a disappointment in Kaylee's aspect, but it passed so quickly he might as well have been imagining it. "Yeah," Kaylee agreed. "Ship don't run itself."

They carefully packaged the cards back up. "I'll leave it with you," Simon said, and then, suddenly emboldened, "We should play again."

Kaylee nodded as he got up.

"Almost forgot," she said as he was opening the door. He turned around. The look on Kaylee's face was so warm and genuine that his chest constricted a little.

"Thanks for apologising. Appreciate it."

Simon could only nod. Perhaps, he thought as he walked back to his own quarters, fortune did indeed favour the bold - and perhaps it was high time he worked in some way towards making his own fortune in the world.