diff --git a/src/common/process.rs b/src/common/process.rs
index d9ed536..2bb6bb8 100644
--- a/src/common/process.rs
+++ b/src/common/process.rs
@@ -6,10 +6,19 @@ use std::process::{Command, Stdio};
 ///
 /// The child gets its own session via `setsid(2)` and null stdio, so it
 /// survives the parent exiting and doesn't take a SIGKILL cascade when
-/// pixelpass dies. The `Child` is dropped immediately — `std::process::Child::drop`
-/// does not kill the process on Unix.
+/// pixelpass dies.
+///
+/// A detached reaper thread `wait()`s the child so it doesn't linger as a
+/// `<defunct>` zombie under a long-lived parent — the `--gui` front-end launches
+/// players itself and lives for the whole session, and `std::process::Child`
+/// (unlike tokio's) has no orphan reaping, so simply dropping the handle would
+/// leak a zombie per closed player. If the parent exits while the player is
+/// still up, the reaper thread dies with it but the `setsid`'d player survives
+/// and is reaped by init. (A double-fork would also avoid the zombie, but
+/// `fork(2)` followed by non-trivial work in this multithreaded process is
+/// unsound — the reaper thread is the safe equivalent.)
 pub fn spawn_detached(prog: &str, args: &[&str]) -> io::Result<()> {
-    unsafe {
+    let child = unsafe {
         Command::new(prog)
             .args(args)
             .stdin(Stdio::null())
@@ -19,7 +28,11 @@ pub fn spawn_detached(prog: &str, args: &[&str]) -> io::Result<()> {
                 nix::unistd::setsid().ok();
                 Ok(())
             })
-            .spawn()?;
-    }
+            .spawn()?
+    };
+    std::thread::spawn(move || {
+        let mut child = child;
+        let _ = child.wait();
+    });
     Ok(())
 }
diff --git a/src/host/wayland.rs b/src/host/wayland.rs
index d41092b..f487a11 100644
--- a/src/host/wayland.rs
+++ b/src/host/wayland.rs
@@ -12,8 +12,7 @@ use ashpd::{
     },
 };
 use nix::fcntl::{FcntlArg, FdFlag, fcntl};
-use nix::unistd::close;
-use std::os::fd::{AsFd, IntoRawFd, OwnedFd, RawFd};
+use std::os::fd::{AsFd, AsRawFd, OwnedFd, RawFd};
 
 use super::pipeline::{self, CaptureHandle};
 use super::quality::EffectiveQuality;
@@ -61,11 +60,14 @@ pub async fn start(opts: &HostOpts, quality: &EffectiveQuality) -> Result<Captur
     let pw_fd: OwnedFd = proxy.open_pipe_wire_remote(&session).await?;
     tracing::info!(node_id, width = w, height = h, "portal handshake complete");
     // The fd is CLOEXEC by default; the gst child needs to inherit it across
-    // exec. We then leak it via into_raw_fd so its lifetime spans the spawn,
-    // and close the parent's copy once gst is running (the pipeline's
-    // after_spawn hook below).
+    // exec, so clear CLOEXEC. We keep the OwnedFd alive across the spawn (gst
+    // inherits its own copy at exec) by moving it into the after_spawn hook,
+    // which drops — and so closes — the parent's copy once gst is running. If
+    // pipeline::spawn errors *before* calling the hook (e.g. audio setup or the
+    // gst spawn fails), the unused closure is dropped, dropping the fd just the
+    // same — so the portal fd never leaks on the error path.
     clear_cloexec(&pw_fd)?;
-    let raw_fd: RawFd = pw_fd.into_raw_fd();
+    let raw_fd: RawFd = pw_fd.as_raw_fd();
 
     let source_args = vec![
         "pipewiresrc".to_string(),
@@ -81,7 +83,7 @@ pub async fn start(opts: &HostOpts, quality: &EffectiveQuality) -> Result<Captur
         source_args,
         move || {
             // Parent no longer needs the pipewire fd — gst inherited its own copy.
-            let _ = close(raw_fd);
+            drop(pw_fd);
         },
     )
     .await
diff --git a/src/viewer/mod.rs b/src/viewer/mod.rs
index f6fe7d8..4e9ad00 100644
--- a/src/viewer/mod.rs
+++ b/src/viewer/mod.rs
@@ -71,7 +71,18 @@ pub async fn run(ticket: EndpointTicket, opts: ViewerOpts) -> Result<()> {
             accepted = listener.accept() => {
                 let (tcp, peer) = accepted?;
                 tracing::info!(%peer, "local viewer connected");
-                crate::common::tunnel::bridge(quic_send, quic_recv, tcp).await
+                // Race the bridge against ctrl-c so a disconnect lands promptly
+                // mid-stream (mirrors the host's handle_peer). Without this, the
+                // cancel token is set but nothing checks it once the player has
+                // connected — ctrl-c is ignored until a second press, and a GUI
+                // "Disconnect" only takes effect via the child's SIGKILL backstop.
+                tokio::select! {
+                    res = crate::common::tunnel::bridge(quic_send, quic_recv, tcp) => res,
+                    _ = cancel.cancelled() => {
+                        tracing::info!("ctrl-c received during stream — disconnecting");
+                        Ok(())
+                    }
+                }
             }
             _ = cancel.cancelled() => {
                 tracing::info!("ctrl-c received before local viewer connected");