The "'Cause of you" kiss

River heard the padding of his boots on the steps to the bridge right after the long strand of Chinese curse words buzzing around in his head.

"How'd it go?" she asked calmly from her place piloting the ship.

"Don't give me that. You know exactly how it went!"

She switched over to autopilot and spun around to face him.

Mal was standing there with a black eye and swollen, bruised lips.

"Your ruttin' brother punched me not once, but twice! Twice," he snapped, holding up two fingers for emphasis.

"I'm sorry."

"I didn't even get the whole gorram thing out 'fore he punched me in the mouth! Then when I did say it he hit me again!"

"What did you say?"

"I said, 'Listen doc, I need to talk to you 'bout me and your sister. We're sorta to'…that's when he hit me and said somethin' like, 'You stupid son of a whore'."

"Then?"

"Then I said that we were together and tried to tell him that it ain't a fling, but he told me to shut up with his fist. See this?" he asked, gesturing to his bruises. "These are all 'cause of you!"

"I told you not to talk to him alone."

"I thought we were two adults that could talk it out civilized-like!"

"Civilized?" she snickered.

"He was the one doin' the punchin', not me! Now I got nobody to patch me up 'cause the doc is the one wantin' to hurt me."

She got up and crossed to him, taking his face in her hands, inspecting the bruising under his eye.

"Just apply a frozen package of protein here," she lightly ran her thumb across the bruise. "And as for these…" she added, trailing her fingertips along his lips.

She kissed him carefully, avoiding causing him anymore pain than he was already in. He didn't much care about the pain—he'd felt worse—so he kissed back harder.

"You know," he muttered after they pulled apart. "That was worth the two punches."

She smiled. "Would it be worth three?"

"Darlin' you're worth more than that."

"Good, because Simon is on his way. He knows you're here and he isn't happy."

"What?"

"GET AWAY FROM MY SISTER!!!" Simon's voice roared.

"Ah gorramit…"

Suggested by TheNowandFutureQueen

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