Title: Mistletoe

Rating: PGish for some kissin'. Yup, see the title.

Characters: Kacey Washburn! lol... Actually, the whole crew, PCs, Ally, etc. But Kacey's the main person.

Pairings: Canon pairings apply, but there's really only Z/W... I think my world is falling apart.

Summary: Another PC fic, 17 years post-BDM AU. Christmas, Serenity-style, through her oldest child's eyes.

Disclaimer: Most of the characters (sans PCs and Ally) aren't mine, nor are the Christmas songs referenced.

For newbies: Brother, Shadow, Mei-Mei, Mischief, Pirate Children, Mistletoe, Hell-Raising, Tough, Echo (?)

Author's Note: Merry Christmas!

Part 2 ‘The incident’, as it will be known one day in the future, starts before dinner, December 22nd, three days from Christmas. There’s mistletoe everywhere. Mal has been whining about it ever since he had a near disaster with Jayne before breakfast this morning. Most of the crew knows to avoid walking together under doorways and the like if they don’t want to kiss the person next to them, but a few interesting match-ups have occurred over the past twenty-four hours. Serra has continued with her penchant for constant Christmas carols and dances around the table as she sets it with her brother, obviously fully recovered from yesterday’s candy-cane overdose. Abe doesn’t join in with the dancing this time, but he grins at his little sister as her boundless energy bubbles over, occasionally adding a “rumpapumpum” on her command. Ally and Inara are in the kitchen, putting the final touches on a fine meal of processed protein. Mal comes, purposefully alone, into the kitchen, grousing (less convincingly every day) about the choice of soundtrack. In reaction to his complaints, Serra merely spins more, extra flourish on the placement of each utensil. Mal shakes his head and grabs some plates from Abe, helping his children lay out the table. As dinner-time approaches, Kacey comes up from the common room just as Lolly is making her way from the engine room. Thinking nothing of it at the time, he greets her warmly and points out a streak of grease on her cheek, which she removes with a smile and a cheerful thank you. They enter the dining area at the same moment, through the same door. Maybe if the captain hadn’t helped Abe and Serra with the table, the girl would’ve been too distracted with both her dancing and her chore to notice and things would’ve passed without incident. Maybe if Kacey had studied in his room instead of by the infirmary. Maybe if something had gone wrong in the engine room. But none of those things happened, and a very amused Serra pauses in her bouncing long enough to view their entrance. “Mistletoe!” she cries, mischievous grin in place. Kacey groans. “C’mon, Mei-Mei, I’m hungry.” “Hey, you know the rules.” “Are you saying you don’t want to kiss me, Kacey?” Lolly teases, leaning up to kiss his cheek playfully. “That’s cheating,” Serra sings over her shoulder. “Mei-Mei, leave them alone,” Inara admonishes from the kitchen. “Oh, no,” Mal objects. “You’d’ve let her enforce it if Jayne and I’d walked in together this morning. C’mon, lil’ Washburn, plant one on ‘er.” “Don’t be a chicken, Kace,” Abe calls, grinning. Kacey wants to remind his “cousin” that he is still taller and heavier than Abe and his lanky, fourteen-year-old frame. Lolly rolls her eyes and takes matters into her own hands, grabbing Kacey’s shoulders and pulling him down for a quick, mostly chaste kiss. Which was… nice. Really nice. Whoa! What?! Kacey jumps back, thankful that his coffee complexion hides most of his blush, and hurries to take his seat. Serra’s giving them a round of applause, mischief bright in her eyes, though she quiets when her mother comes up behind her and whispers in her ear. Looping her arms up and around Inara’s neck, Serra gives her a hug and kisses her cheek after whispering back. Kacey hazards a glance at Lolly and sees she is looking a little off balance, too. The rest of the crew files into the kitchen and sits down as Mal commands Serra to turn off the music for the duration of dinner. With a sigh, Serra picks herself up out of her seat and does as she’s told. With thirteen people at the table, no one notices if Kacey is a little quieter than usual.

***

Serra and Abram are wrestling again; he’s much bigger than she is, but she certainly holds her own. He’s not sure what started it this time, though he’s pretty sure they each make things up just to scuffle, a silent agreement to fight and not be bitter afterwards. They’re never bitter afterwards. That part Kacey doesn’t understand; he and Abe used to go at it as kids, but only when they were really angry, and they tended to stay a little angry until a couple days later. It’s not the only thing about those two that Kacey doesn’t understand. Still, watching them go at it in the cargo bay is better than being left to his own thoughts, so he watches disinterestedly as his “cousins” try unsuccessfully to keep each other pinned. It won’t last long, he knows. Just until Ally or Inara comes along; both of their Core-born ladies have zero-tolerance for scuffling among the children. They’ll be broken up, probably sent to their rooms, but they’ll probably be grinning the whole time. They’re a little strange. They break themselves up this time, dissolving into laughter as they collapse on the ground. “Ha!” Abe says, breathless. “You owe me a candy cane.” “Bubba,” Serra giggles back. “I ate all of my candy canes last night, remember?” “Mei-Mei!” Abe objects as Serra dissolves further into her giggles. Taking the distraction, Kacey calls down: “Did you make a bet you couldn’t make good on, Mei-Mei?” “No!” Serra calls back, trying to compose herself, “I thought I was gonna win.” They begin to bicker again, and Kacey sighs, bored with it. “Hey, Kace,” a new voice says beside him. “Lolly!” he says, sounding way more surprised than he should and fumbling with his hands on the railing to catch himself from falling over. “Smooth move, Kacey!” Abe teases from below. Serra seems to add something, too, but her voice is muffled by the headlock Abe has put her in. She laughs. It’s a pretty thing; he’s always liked her laugh, and the way her light blue eyes are always soft with happiness and tenderness, the way she is always mothering their little group. They were a family, all thirteen members of Serenity’s crew, which is why this sudden rush of more-than-brotherly affection for Leila Lee Tam is most unexpected. She’s very pretty. He’s always known that objectively; all of the women on Serenity are nice to look at, ranging from Aunt Inara’s exquisiteness that kicks you in the gut to Aunt River’s natural grace to Aunt Kaylee’s warm smile. Lolly is a combination of Kaylee and River, a dancer’s body, thick auburn waves, and her daddy’s baby blues. She applies her inherent grace to fixing Serenity’s heart and learning to patch up the crew’s hurts at her father’s side. The three older children onboard have always had a close bond, but Kacey feels he is a little closer to Lolly than Abram, who can sometimes be too wrapped up in either his own mind or his beloved baby sister, who needs much looking after. At times, he would even go far as to consider her his sister. Which is more than a mite disturbing at the moment. But they aren’t related, and he can’t deny that he’s a seventeen-year-old male who spends a fair amount of time in the Black, and Lolly is more than a little attractive. “You awake in there?” Lolly asking, chuckling nervously. “Oh, I, uh…” “How very eloquent of you,” she teases. “Yeah,” Kacey says, grinning and releasing a deep breath. “Ally’s very proud of my progress. Elocution is so my forte.” “Well, at least you know some big words.” “My fine Core education.” “Sacrilege for the son of a staunch Browncoat.” He smiles in return and meets her eyes. It’s a mistake. He doesn’t note that Abe and Serra have been especially quiet for the last few minutes, which he usually would know doesn’t bode well for anyone. He hears a giggle over his head and finds Serra perched on Abe’s shoulders, holding a sprig of mistletoe over their heads, wide grin in place. “That’s cheating,” Lolly tells them, laughing brightly. “Yeah, yeah. Kiss ‘er already,” Abe grins. “You’re not gonna let everyone think you’re a chicken, are you, Kacey?” “What are you talking about?” Lolly asks. “Well, he didn’t kiss you, you kissed him. That makes him a chicken,” Serra explains. “You’re gonna make her think she’s not pretty, Kacey. I’d kiss you, Leila Lee.” “Me too,” Abe teases as Serra leans down, puckering up. Lolly laughs, stands on her tiptoes, and kisses their little Mei-Mei. “My turn!” Abe jokes, sending an unexpected bang of jealousy through Kacey. Lolly smiles and brushes a very chaste kiss against handsome Abe’s lips. He smiles and gives her a brotherly hug. “Abe and Mei-Mei,” Aunt Inara calls from the shuttle door. “Come here, please.” Serra and Abe groan a little about being taken away from all of the fun, but like the gorramn puppies they often are when it comes to their mama, they bound off to join her, leaving Kacey and Lolly alone. “So…” Kacey says, hands in his pockets. Lolly laughs. “You don’t have to kiss me, Kacey. They’re just being silly, as usual.” He takes this as a challenge and kisses her, hard, hands drifting to her hips. They break away, both breathless and confused. “What was that?” he asks, more of himself than of her. “I don’t know!” Lolly cries back, face flushed prettily. Gorrammit, that’s what got him here in the first place. Kacey takes a few breaths, trying to calm himself. “Maybe… maybe we should talk about this somewhere that doesn’t hold the possibility of uncomfortable interruption,” Lolly says. Kacey weighs that in his mind. On one side, that’s a very good idea. Gossip travels faster than light on this ship. On the other hand, that’s an absolutely terrible idea. No chance of interruption? “Where?” She grabs his hand and yanks him after her, pulling him into the unoccupied shuttle and scrambling the lock after them. Absolutely terrible idea, Kacey groans inwardly.

***

“Have you seen Lolly?” Simon asks of the dark-haired pair lounging on the catwalk, talking in conspiratorial whispers. River and Serra are on their bellies, playing cards leisurely. “I can’t find Kacey, either,” Zoe says, coming down from the cockpit. “Shuttle,” River says over her shoulder, before turning to the Mei-Mei. “I saw that, Sister.” Serra sticks out her tongue and replaces the stolen card. “Inara’s shuttle?” Zoe asks. “Naw,” Serra giggles, laying down a pair. “The other one.” “What in the ‘verse are they doing in the extra shuttle?” Simon wonders. “Kissing,” Serra says nonchalantly. “What?!” Simon explodes, letting loose some Mandarin before stomping towards the shuttle door. He bangs on the sealed door. “Leila Lee Tam, get out here, now! You, too, Washburn.” Zoe is close behind him, though she can’t keep the grin off of her face, hiding it instead behind her hand. River and Serra have leapt to their feet, following the ruckus. “What the guay is all this racket about?” Mal asks as he and Wash come down from the kitchen. “Your son is defiling my daughter!” “Whoa, what?” Mal and Wash look at each other, then to Simon. “Which son?” “Ours, dear,” Zoe says, trying not to laugh. She knocks on the door. “Kacey, baby, come on out. Uncle Simon’s not going to kill either of you.” She gives a pointed look to the fuming father, while Mal starts to snicker. “It’s not funny,” Simon says, adamant. “What if it were Serra in there?” “Well, considering she’s nine, I think that would be a little gross,” Wash says, grinning widely. “And we would have to get Kacey some help. This is different.” Serra makes a face. “It’s still kinda unnatural.” River laughs, hugging Serra to her side. “They’re too embarrassed to come out,” River says. “Only kissed a little, then talked. Decided they were better as siblings.” “Ew.” “Shush, Mei-Mei,” Mal admonishes, calming his laughter. “Go on to your mama.” “But Daddy…” “Get. Time for bed, dong ma?” “Fine,” Serra huffs, “I’ll go get ready.” She moves slowly towards the other shuttle, one eye and ear trained on the scene behind her. Mal moves over to the shuttle door, knocking gently. River stands beside her brother, hand on his arm. “Kacey, Lolly. We’ve got the crazy dad under control. Aunt River’s got ‘em. Come on out now.” “Too embarrassed,” River reiterates. “What’s everyone gathered ‘round for?” Kaylee asks, coming from the engine room. “Kissing,” Serra calls back, almost to the shuttle. “Bed!” Mal cries, exasperated. “What?” Kaylee asks. “Kacey and Lolly have locked themselves in the shuttle,” Wash says, dissolving into laughter. Zoe smacks him lightly. “Kacey, Lolly… The dads are going to go far away now. Aunt River is going to take them down to the infirmary and keep them there.” “No way,” Simon says. “Yes way,” River says. “Come along, Simon.” “It’s for the best, sweetie,” Kaylee assures him immediately understanding at least the nature of the problem. “She doesn’t wanna see her daddy right now. And remember we love Kacey and don’t want to kill him.” Simon gives in with a sigh under Kaylee’s advice and River’s threat, following River and Wash down to the infirmary. “You, too, Cap’n,” Kaylee says, sternly, pushing him towards his shuttle. “Go be with your family.” “Takin’ away all the fun, lil’ Kaylee,” Mal huffs much like Serra, but follows directions and crosses to the other shuttle. As the door slides open and then shut, he can be heard shooing Serra away from the door. “It’s just me an’ Zoe, guys,” Kaylee says warmly. “Come on out now. We won’t laugh.” “Hey, what’s goin’ on down ‘ere?” “Go away, Jayne!” Kaylee scolds, sending the merc back up the way he came, hands raised in the air to prove his innocence. Zoe, who has finally controlled her laughter, calls into the shuttle. “’Longer you’re in there, guys, ‘worse it’s gonna be. Get out here.” The door slides open slowly, revealing the lobster red pair in the door. “Aw,” Kaylee clucks, circling an arm around her daughter’s shoulders and drawing her off towards the engine room to talk. “’Least now your skin’s got some holiday cheer.” “So,” Zoe says, grinning, to her son once the Tam ladies have disappeared. “Kissin’?” Kacey groans and throws his head back against the bulkhead.

el fin