Hello. Iverik here. Just a reminder: This story uses characters created by someone other than me.
Facing the Black
"You what?" Inara stared. Kaylee's face turned as red as the unfortunate flower.
"Apparently, on Osiris, this flower is used for proposals when a girl proposes to a feller..." Kaylee faltered. There was a pause. "Couldya help me?"
"You haven't told Simon about the misunderstanding yet, have you."
"No."
"He's going to hear about it. If you don't tell him, River will I'm sure," Inara said. Kaylee groaned. "Sorry meimei," Inara said sympathetically.
"How do I tell 'im?" Kaylee groaned.
"Well... only you can answer that, Kaylee. And we need to get off this frequency before a warship homes in on it."
"Oh, right." Kaylee started- for a few hours she'd forgotten about the war entirely.
"Good luck, mei-mei," Inara said- and the wave ended.
Kaylee sat staring into space, her mind a turbulent mess. More and more of what Simon had said last night was making sense now. It should have been obvious. Ah, if only she had looked up the meaning of the flower before hand!
Maybe she still would have given it to him. After all, he was handsome, and a gentleman. When he didn't put his foot in his mouth anyway. Look at how he loved his sister.
How would he react when he learned that he had been proposed to by accident? Would he be angry? Would he-? Could they-?
Simon was on cloud nine. He hadn't realize Kaylee was that crazy about him. For the first time since his exile, Simon felt like singing. He didn't notice the dark look on River's face. Perhaps, he thought, one of the passenger compartments could be converted into a nice home for them. River was getting better and more in control of herself. Maybe she could take Kaylee's old bunk? The rest of the crew would be right there. Wait- did Kaylee want to move? Maybe he should check.
River tagged along. Every once and a while, she paused, staring at something only she could see. She shivered and ducked her head, proceeding warily. Simon was unfamiliar with this behavior. he wouldn't have understood what it meant even if he had had eyes for anything but Kaylee.
"Hey..." He almost stopped awkwardly at the doorway but he caught himself. He hugged her instead. She hugged him back, but she seemed far away. He paused. "Is something wrong?"
"Well... I don't know." Kaylee hesitated, trying to find the right words.
"She proposed to you by accident," River said impatiently, "but she doesn't want to go back to the way things were- and we're running out of time." She hopped from one foot to the other, glancing off into nothing as if she saw danger approaching.
"Kaylee?"
Kaylee's face turned bright red. "It's true," she admitted. She hesitated, scrambling for words. Simon was backing away, his face falling. The words weren't coming. Ta ma de, this was his role! What did she normally want Simon to do in this situation?
She kissed him.
"Very sweet," said River, "but we're on the clock here..."
"Mmm?" Backing out of the kiss, Kaylee and Simon stared at each other. River edged towards the ship's controls. "Well, I don't have a ring or anything..." Simon hesitated... "but..."
There was an awful screech. The lights went out. River screamed in terror and anger. Kaylee ran to the controls. A quick look, and she brought a little power back- just enough to get the sensors back. Just enough to see the autodemarch ship closing in on them. There was a flash- and Kaylee's world turned to black.