Merry (belated) Christmas to Chris, from your Whedon Secret Santa! Â Sorry this took so long, but hereâs some Kaylee + Inara bonding.
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It was a relatively legal mission for Serenity- transporting four crates of climbing harnesses, from a decent seller and everything (it was just the buyer who was missing some papers). Â Because of that, it wasnât really an emergency when the ship had trouble launching after theyâd loaded up- it just made Mal snappy. Â Heâd barked at Kaylee to fix it, which was what led to her and Inara spending the afternoon in the engine room; Kaylee to do her job, and Inara because she was annoyed with Malâs attitude.
âAll the parts in this section are ancient,â Kaylee said crossly. Â âI keep tellinâ the captain, and he still ainât listening. Â These all need replacinâ. Â Of course Serenityâs havinâ trouble, it ainât her fault.â
âOf course.â
Inara watched the younger woman fiddling with the engine for a few minutes, speculating.
âWhy donât we head into town for a bit, see if thereâs some place to buy what you need,â she suggested finally.
Kaylee looked up from her work, then, and grinned. Â âThatâs a great idea, âNara.â
Ten minutes later, after Inara had curtly informed Mal that Serenity wasnât going anywhere without Kayleeâs engine parts, the two women were well into the center of the bustling town they were marooned in. Â Their mission quickly turned into an outing as they passed a line of shops and restaurants, all trying to catch the eyes of passerby.
âFree sample?â a woman in front of one of the restaurants offered, holding out a tray of green-ish crackers and a bright green paste.
âOoh, wasabi,â Inara said, taking one of the crackers.
âOur custom recipe,â the woman replied, clearly pleased to have caught their attention.
âWhatâs wasabi?â Kaylee asked, interested. Â The saleswoman eagerly placed a dollop of it on a cracker and offered it to her. Â Kaylee took it.
âAh, Kaylee, itâs a little-â
âMmmph!â Kaylee choked, eyes starting to water before Inara could finish her warning.
â-spicy.â
Kaylee frantically waved her hand in front of her face, and Inara had to bite her lip to keep from giggling at her as she finally swallowed the bite sheâd taken.
âWould you like some water?â the saleswoman offered, holding a paper cup out, clearly pre-prepared for such occurrences.
Kaylee grabbed it, then turned and stalked away. Â Inara muttered a thank you to the woman and quickly followed.
âMei-mei, donât be upset,â she said placatingly. Â âThatâs what everyone does the first time they try wasabi, trust me.â
âYouâre laughinâ at me!â
âSorry.â
The mechanic glared at her friend for another long moment, but when Inara couldnât keep her straight face any longer, Kaylee started chuckling, too, and they were still laughing as they made their way down the street to try and find the engine parts.













