You Stand Out

Fandoms: Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Firefly

Prompt: #001 Beginnings

Notes: Written for 10 per genre

"Do I know you?" Buffy Summers watched the man to her left curiously. He had been staring at her for several minutes now. The man shot her a lopsided grin, shaking his head in response.

"Nope. I've never seen you before, so I imagine you don't know me," he replied smugly.

"Oh," Buffy shrugged to herself and turned to go, brushing the encounter off as nothing more than a guy with a disturbing staring complex. The man cleared his throat suddenly as she was leaving, and Buffy paused. She didn't turn around.

"It's Mal. Malcolm Reynolds." The man reached his hand out in a gesture of welcome. Buffy turned to face him, looked him over sceptically and sensing no danger, reluctantly shook his hand.

"Do you mind me asking why you were staring at me?" Buffy asked, not caring how forthcoming the question was or could be interpreted as.

Mal shrugged carelessly. "Ask away," he told her with yet another annoying grin.

Buffy stared intensely at him. "So?"

"Yeah?"

Buffy glared at him. He grinned back, teasingly.

"Why were you staring at me?"

"You stand out."

"Right." Buffy shot Mal a disbelieving look and turned away.

Mal called out one last thing before she disappeared. "Nice to meet you!"

Buffy turned back for a moment and shot him a glare before leaving.