How the Party Really Went

by bixbythemartian

Summary:

Kaylee attends an exceedingly formal shindig in a large, pink, frothy dress. She makes a few new friends.

Notes:

This is the fault of Ana Mardoll and everyone else on twitter who completely and totally egged me on when I started talking about this. The blame lays there. (This is the result of several people collectively mooning about how we all feel like Shindig should have gone another way, that Joss doesn't know how girls are jerks to one another and girls do. I got started and couldn't stop.) This is unedited, seat of the pants kind of writing here, all mistakes are mine.

Chapter 1: Like a Mule in Clogs

Summary:

A mild concern about the flammability of one's crinoline

Notes:

I'm not sure it's going to be three chapters, that's just my best guess.

Here's the thing. Kaylee may not be good at the girly stuff, being relatively new to some of the more... frilly stuff available around the 'verse. But she can compare materials like nobody's business.

She walked in on Mal's arm, into a big fancy formal party, with people dancing and eating and drinking and laughing and talking, and she has a moment of feeling wonderful. She fell in love with the dress, and wearing it made her feel so beautiful and adult. Putting her makeup on and putting her hair up made her feel like a woman.

But she has eyes, dammit. She saw, not too long in (after her first dance and drink) that she was surrounded by richer colors, richer fabrics, more adult hairstyles. These are women who do not do their own hair, and those dresses have dense, sumptuous looking fabrics. Some in jewel tones, some in earth tones. She stands out, and she knows it. But there's nothing to be done about it now, and the pink dress is frilly and it's still fun to spin in, so she puts those concerns aside. She's here to have fun and look pretty, that's all, and she can do both even if her dress style is a little... well, Kaylee. She shook her hair back over her shoulder, and turned to greet the very nice young man who came up and commented on her, uh, lovely dress. She ignored the backhanded compliment, because he was somewhat cute, and let him offer her a chance to dance.

***

Constalia was leaning against a pillar, practicing her 'I'm not bored I'm just too superior to enjoy your company' look, the look that works best on the kind of men that come to these sorts of things (most of whom are hoping that a quick dance and a compliment will mean something else in private, not understanding that the young men who do get away with that sort of thing often have more to offer than a sticky and awkward fumble under a crinoline that keeps hitting you in the face) and Julya was next to her, fanning them both. It was absolutely the frock that arrested both of their attention- gauzy and soft at a distance, it made the wearer look like a frothy cupcake. Connie didn't recognize the dress by the maker (she knew most of the makers on the planet). "Do you know that frock?" she asked Julya.

"No."

There was an awkward moment as the woman stood alone, drinking wine and wincing to herself, privately, before receiving the attention of one of the ranging, randy jackals that tended to hover around, looking for a girl who went weak in the knees for compliments. She received the attention with relative savoir faire, it seemed, and Connie tracked them as they danced.

"What do you think? Would Lily know her?"

"Lily wouldn't know a pig if it kissed her and called her sweetie," Connie said. "I know Daddy said some tickets got lost in the shuffle, perhaps they were auctioned off. That happens, sometimes."

"Mm. I do like the colors of that dress, in honesty. There's something off about it, but the colors are wonderful. And that's a, hm, daringly large crinoline."

"It's economic, too, I'm sure," she said. "But I'm seriously concerned, they stopped making them that size due to the fire hazards. Do you think she knows?"

"She must be from off world, perhaps the dress came with her."

"Mm."

The young woman said something to the young man that made him go a little white, and she released his hands and went to go get another drink. Her cheeks were pink, and Connie could guess that he'd been a bit improper and she'd cut him down. He wandered off to find easier prey, it seemed, and she went over to hover by the fireplace. She looked a little frustrated, but once again put a big smile on, and it seemed genuine.

Connie and Julya glanced at each other and then started that direction. There was no exaggeration, a crinoline of that size really was a fire hazard. And no matter how new to the planet she was or unfamiliar she was, there was nothing that sweet-looking young woman could have possibly done her entire life to deserve to go up in the kind of conflagration that could ensue.

It took a few minutes. They had to stop and exchange pleasantries, and by the time they got to the young woman, she was surrounded by some of the older gentlemen at the party. There was a nasty kind of energy to the crowd, and without hesitation, Connie started elbowing her way in. "Excuse me, oh I'm so sorry, excuse me," she sing-songed, and delivered a sharp elbow to a particularly skinny gentleman who was saying something that sounded rude, although she didn't understand much of the context of it. By the time they got their eyes back on the young woman by the fireplace, still not on fire, she had a dreadful fixed grin on her face and anger glittering in her eyes.

"Darling! I've been looking everywhere for you," Julya announced, sweeping up and gathering the young woman's arm. "There are simply so many more people you must meet. Gentlemen, you must excuse us, we must steal her away." Julya was gorgeous and large, tall and wide-hipped, and she was capable of clearing enough space on her own without Connie's help.

Connie still managed to put her heel directly on the toe of someone who clearly intended to follow them. "Oh, I beg your pardon!" she said, hurrying after Julya and the young woman and not meaning her apology one little bit.

Julya fetched them up near Victoirianne, who was lounging on a couch, but got up quickly when she saw how red faced the young woman was. She was, in fact, close to tears. Victoirianne was an empathetic thing, and she made the young woman sit down and gave her a brief hug before running off to find some water. Victoirianne was young and coltish still, and would much rather be climbing trees than wearing dresses, and was always pleased with a chance to dash around like a country cousin. It made her mother furious, of course, but that was the point, wasn't it?

"I think I drank too much too quickly," the young woman said, fanning herself with a hand.

Julya sat next to her and started fanning her with her beautiful wooden fan, an arm firmly around her shoulders. "Now, we've all been there, haven't we?"

Connie agreed. "Especially when you're in a new place, it's easy to let something like that happened."

"Is it that obvious?" the young woman asked, her grin wry. She closed her eyes and let the fan cool her a bit.

"I go to every party like this on the planet, Daddy insists," Connie said. "It's not obvious unless you know absolutely everybody and then some, and it's always a thrill to meet someone new. I have to say what really brought you to our attention- and I hope you understand that I mean no disrespect here- but those types of crinolines, well, they really are last season. Because a few girls... well, they're very flammable. Then you went to stand by the fireplace, so you can see why we were concerned."

"Oh, yeah, I noticed that when I bought it," she said, smiling. "Don't worry. I work on a space ship, I can fireproof most things. I fixed it, I could put OUT a fire with this."

"Can you, now?" Connie asked.

She nodded. "Yup. Trust me, I know a fire hazard when I see one. I don't get many chances to wear dresses like this, there's not a lot of space to move about on a ship..." she trailed off, looking down. "I know it's not quite as fine as what you've got, but it's the nicest dress I've ever had."

"It really is lovely, it's incredibly sweet and I can see now that it matches you perfectly," Connie said, which was apparently the right thing to say because the young lady lit up like a firework.

"What do you do?" Julya asked.

"Oh, I'm a mechanic, I work on the engine and, well, anything else that needs fixing. That's what they were on about. They thought I didn't know my stuff. They were nice about it at first, I thought, but then they started..." she seemed to not know how to explain it. 

"Boys always think they should know about stuff like that, even if they don't, and feel intimidated when someone steps into their territory," Connie sniffed. "Don't worry about them, they've had their fun and they'll go back to brandy and cigars shortly, I assure you."

She winced. "I didn't, you know, cause a big scene, did I?"

"Not at all, nobody noticed," Connie said. "I will say, I think it must have been the heat, but it looks a bit like your makeup got a bit messed up, but we can fix that."

"Oh." She looked down. "I left... I left my makeup on the ship."

"Oh, that is not a problem, I assure you. Victoirianne, will you see if Illyana is busy?" Connie asked. "She'll know where to meet us."

***

Kaylee found herself nodding and smiling. Connie and Julya introduced themselves after Kaylee blurted her name out,. Connie was wearing all golds and bronzes, and had wonderful deep copper hair, and dark brown eyes that seemed luminous. Julya was tall and broad shouldered and broad hipped, very pale and in a deep scarlet, and her lipstick was set to match.

They ended up trooping off to what Connie delicately referred to as 'the facilities', at least partially because Kaylee had to pee but also apparently the mysterous Illyana would meet them there. Everyone seemed very impressed that her skirt was separate from her top, and Connie said it was so practical of her to have leggings on underneath the skirt. "Much faster than wearing layers and layers."

"Cooler, too," Julya said. "I will have to tell my dressmaker about it. You need to tell us how you fireproofed your crinoline, by the way. We will absolutely bring them back that big if we can guarantee we won't die."

"Oh yeah, it's real easy, there's actually a product for it. It's mostly marketed for, you know, fabrics on ships. I use it on my coveralls because engines sometimes throw sparks, and you don't want a fire in the engine room, especially if it's you. It's meant for clothes, it does kind of make the clothes a little stiff, but I was more worried with..." she almost quailed again, still feeling a little like a mule in clogs. "With the soft and ruffles on the dress? But you guys are wearing heavier fabrics, so it really shouldn't be noticeable."

"It's not noticeable on yours," Connie said, running her hand over the lace skirt. "I think the heavy brocades were also a reaction to the fire, you know, issue. We'd go back to lighter stuff if we could. Honestly, your dress is lovely. We'd all love to be wearing it."

Kaylee felt her cheeks heat up. "I thought maybe I looked, you know, really..."

"You stand out, that's all. And it's not a bad thing. Oh, good, Illyana. We have a minor makeup emergency. This is Kaylee."

Illyana squealed and gripped her hands tightly. Illyana was small and plump, with white blonde hair, violet eyes, and a deep plum dress with a complicated top. "You have such a wonderful complexion, my dear, you must tell me what you do to keep your skin looking so good." 

"I just try to keep it moisturized-"

"Later. Close your eyes and lift your chin up." Illyana pulled an impressively large bag from the depths of her skirt. "Connie, we need Lily. She's losing curl, and Lily has that cream stuff, you know?"

"D'ya think..." Kaylee opened her eyes and looked around. She could probably ask these young women, who seemed so intent on helping. "I'm not very good with hair. D'ya think anybody knows how to do something, you know, a little more... adult?"

"Absolutely," Connie said, grinning. "Victoirianne?"

"I'm on it!" Victoirianne dashed back out of the restroom, pelting off. 

Chapter 2: Glitter and Fans

Lily arrived with a sweep of emerald skirts, peacock feathers sprouting from her black hair.

Lily was very good at looking majestic and priggish. Her nose naturally seemed turned up, and she was tall and willowy and beautiful in a distant, icy way. It changed when she smiled, genuine warmth bled into her face then, but she made an effort not to smile at these sorts of parties.

She had an absolute preference when it came to the 'opposite sex' and that preference was 'no'.

Lily was not particularly stuck up or snobbish or distant, in actuality. She loved her friends dearly and was willing to do anything for them. But she had issues in public, with anxiety and things like that, and she dealt by being icy and regal and snobbish and untouchable. She was also somewhat faceblind, and while she could tell young girls women by their preferred hair and dress styles and could generally tell people with one hair color apart from another, it meant that she struggled with telling the men apart, who tended to come off as samey, occasionally even uniform. 

She'd been working at this so long (she was, of their set, the oldest by a year or so, and her coming out party had been younger than usual) that she had perfected it. She was impossible to insult because she didn't care what people thought of her (she actively worked at not caring) and enjoyed pretending obliviousness to even obvious insults until the other party gave up or started screaming (a useful skill that Connie had never mastered). She could come off as a little blunt, but Connie felt like Kaylee would be great at handling that. 

She squinted at Kaylee. “I don't know you.” She sounded dead certain, unusual for her.

Kaylee tiddled her fingers, but didn't say anything for the moment as Illyana was carefully working on her lipstick. 

"You haven't met," Connie said, confirming it for Lily. "This is Kaylee, she's a new guest and wondered if there was anything you could do about her hair, when Illyana's tender ministrations are done."

"Of course," Lily said. She, too, fetched a a bag from deep within her skirts. "It's a pleasure to meet you," she added, but in a very distant and distracted way. Lily started digging things out of her bag, and one of those things was a tragically broken peacock feather fan that Kaylee reached out to snag. Lily let it pass without comment, everybody wanted to look at that fan, it was gorgeous even if it was broken, and continued to line up products and tools on the counter, next to the makeup. 

Kaylee opened the fan, clearly trying not to frown, and noticed the broken bit.

Without a word her hand plunged into her bag and she pulled out a tool that Connie didn't recognize, a screwdriver and a couple of bits and bobs. It took her maybe a moment or two to pop out the broken part of the fan, and then she used the tool Connie didn't recognize and the bits and bobs to stamp on the end of the fan, where the blades came together. She tapped Lily on the elbow with the fan who took it back and dropped it in her bag without noticing.

"What?" Connie asked.

"The grommet was broken, that's all. I had a couple on me in case my crinoline popped. Easy peasy." 

"Wait, what?" Lily asked. She dug the fan out and opened it up. "Oh my goodness! Thank you!"

Kaylee waved a hand. "Nothin to it. Anybody else have a busted fan? I think I over-prepared with grommets, wouldn't be much to fix and I like to keep my hands busy."

It wasn't long before Kaylee (makeup mostly done, though Connie suspected a final dusting of some kind of glitter was in the offing, after her hair was finished) had a lap full of fans and was happily repairing them. One she delicately set aside- it was Victoirianne's, and the young woman admitted she'd fallen on it, though if Connie's memory is correct she fell on it out of a tree, and it clearly needed more than just a replacement grommet and perhaps a little lubricating oil. Kaylee was also carefully explaining what she was doing, where to get the tools and their approximate expense, which was very useful information to have.

When it became clear that some of the fans mismatched with the black grommets, Victoirianne was tasked with finding enough nail lacquer to alter that particular state. Nail lacquer was the thing Victoirianne was best at, having an extremely steady hand, and her nails were always perfect, so she was the person to assign to that particular exercise. Kaylee was apologetic that she hadn't brought a variety of grommets, but that was (of course) hand waved off. She'd easily solved a problem they'd all struggled with, and it was such a simple fix now that it wasn't worth worrying about. 

Victoirianne's fan was the last to be repaired, and some of it was done with delicate gold wire. It was a white lacy fan, and the gold wire actually seemed to accentuate the delicacy of the fan.

As soon as Victoirianne selected a soft pink to cover the black grommet for that particular fan, Connie knew what was going to happen, but didn't comment.

Kaylee's hair had turned into a tumbling ribbon bundle of curls. Connie had missed how it happened, so fascinated by the precision and casual competence of Kaylee's work on the fans. She hadn't even really struggled with the most difficult fan, she just saved it for last because she needed more space to work with it, so she got the rest of the more easy fixes out of her lap first. 

Victoirianne had laid all the fans out to dry, and selected hers and passed it over to Kaylee. "You should have this," she said. 

"Oh, I couldn't, y'all have already-"

"Don't be silly, knowing how to fix them is way more valuable than a fan I never particularly liked in the first place. Plus it goes with your dress much better than mine, and will help you keep yourself cool," Victoirianne told her. "Borrow it, at the very least."

"Alright, but I'm giving it back later," Kaylee said. 

***

Kaylee had managed to delay re-emerging into the party (she was a little nervous) by asking about specific products used on her face.

Unfortunately most of them were out of her normal price range, but apparently when her bag was out several had been slipped into it. Two lipsticks, at least, and some nail lacquer, some eyeshadow, several little samples of hair products, and a little pot of the glitter that Illyana had unrepentantly sprinkled all over her face and hair.

There had been some vocal objections from the group about the glitter, but most of them were joking. Mostly along the lines of "Illyana, no, it gets everywhere!"

Illyana had ignored them and Kaylee had to admit that she looked a lot more like a fairy tale princess than she had (oops) an hour ago. (Also, whether or not it got everywhere, she could admit in her soul that she just... loved glitter.)

It was about time that everyone started grumbling about rejoining the party when an older woman burst into the restroom, and pointed a fan at Connie. "There you are!"

"Oh, Mama, I'm sorry, Kaylee needed some help and the time just flew by!"

Connie's mama shot her a very distracted look, and then the woman shook her head. "That's fine, of course, but I need to go help your brother. Can you take over?"

"Yes, of course, Mama," Connie said. "Is he alright?"

"Just worn out from coming down earlier, I think, and probably a bit upset. He just needs some company for a while. Half an hour, maybe a little longer?"

Connie nodded.

Connie's mama gave Kaylee another, equally distracted look. "You look lovely, child, and you're of course welcome to stay for afters, I'll meet you properly later but I really must dash," Connie's mama said, and pecked Connie's cheek before turning around and leaving.

"My brother had an accident in a flyer, and his recovery has been slow," Connie said, her voice a little distant.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Kaylee said.

"Julya, will you make sure she's looked after until Mama comes back?"

"Of course," Julya said. "Go on, we'll go and mingle as we're supposed to."

"I know I can count on you to help me keep things smooth," Connie said, pulling in a deep breath and then re-emerging.

Everyone else started filtering out slowly, and Kaylee hated to admit it, but she felt confused, like she'd missed something.

"I'm sorry, what's going on?" Kaylee asked Julya.

"Connie's Daddy is throwing this party, right?"

Kaylee nodded. She hadn't been sure, but was willing to take it as read. 

"That means her Daddy and Mama are host and hostess." Julya took her arm and drew her out of the facilities. "It's actually a job, okay?"

"Okay."

"The hostess is the most important role. She keeps things running smoothly. Stops arguments before they start, or making sure they do start, if it's that kind of party. The host intervenes only after something has gotten out of hand, and sometimes sort of... if it's someone, especially someone like Connie's Daddy who's pretty powerful and has pretty straight morals, intervenes just by being a threat in the background."

"What kind of party would you want fighting at?" Kaylee was trying to wrap her mind around it.

"Political gatherings, mostly. Oh, or if you're trying to get someone unbearably nasty kicked out of the circle but you don't have enough visible, social reason to do so," Julya said. 

"Okay, the political thing kinda makes sense, but why can't you just kick someone out? Or, I mean, my Daddy would just punch someone like that."

"Because a lot of these people aren't actually friends."

Kaylee frowned at that. "I thought..."

"Most of us girls are, of course, and a lot of the boys are, because we've been doing these parties so long it's a situation where we either become friends or enemies. But when you're dealing with people who could be one or the other- and that's what a lot of the, you know, the older people are doing- there's some unspoken rules. There has to be a visible social breech of manners and good sense in order to formally eject someone and ensure they won't be at future gatherings."

"That just doesn't make sense to me."

"I know you're in a different, um, lifestyle and industry, but surely you have unpleasant business connections you simply must deal with, right?"

Kaylee thought about it, thought about some of the more unpleasant people they sometimes had to deal with to make money, and Mal's complete lack of patience for it while still going along with it. There were normally threats of physical violence. "Okay, yeah."

"A lot of money can potentially change hands at events like these. Ostensibly this party was for Connie's brother returning from the hospital. But he's not well enough to really circulate, and doesn't enjoy parties anyway. It's really about a money deal that Connie's Daddy is hoping to broker between his business partner and my father's second cousin, who don't really hate each other, but they don't really like each other, either. It's a polite reason for them to meet informally and discuss possibilities, without the pressure of an actual business meeting."

Kaylee nodded.

"If people came to these events feeling like they could just be thrown out for simply being disliked, these kinds of parties would collapse. Nobody would come. And they're sort of, you know, it's... it's just how things are structured, here, I guess. I like dressing up and looking pretty, of course, but I hate hostessing. Connie's better at it than I am, and of course her Mama is the best there's ever been. This isn't really for play, though, or for just dressing up and having fun. It's part of our work. It's how people here make money and business connections."

 "I have to say, I kind of prefer the honesty of a sleazy bar and a right hook."

"Illyana's the only one of us who can get away with that, sadly." Julya really did sound mournful about that.

"Why's that?"

"Nobody wants to believe that someone who looks like the world's most adorable steamed dumpling is capable of throwing a grown man out of a window."

That made Kaylee snicker. "Has that happened?"

"Twice," Julya said. She waved her fan. "But that's a story for afters." 

"Fair enough," Kaylee said, trying to wrap her mind around this. "This isn't a fighting party, though, is it?"

"It's not supposed to be. Connie'll be back in a bit." She seemed to think for a minute. "Oh! Let me introduce you to Yan, he must be here by now. He's not particularly fond of these parties, so he always arrives late, but he does love to dance. And he can teach you how to do the more complicated ones without it looking like he's teaching you. He's really good." She was scanning the crowd. "Oh, but, just so you are aware, he generally prefers... he's the kind of man who prefers the company of men."

Kaylee blinked at that.

"In the bedroom."

"Oh."

"He'll act very flirty but that's just, you know, a show. Don't get your hopes up, that's all. He's... very good looking, so I'm just..."

"No, thank you for telling me!" Kaylee said. "Is he the very handsome fellow in white?"

"No, that's Atherton, and your best bet is to avoid him entirely. Fortunately he hates Yan, who's the much more handsome fellow in black by the fireplace."

"Oh. Oh!" She spotted the man in question, who was very tall and broad shouldered and had blonde hair and a gentle smile. 

"Don't worry, he'll love you. And he's good at mechanics and stuff, so you won't intimidate him about knowing how engines work, and he understands how much work goes into getting made up for dos like this. He's really great, we all love him to bits."

"Well then you better introduce me," Kaylee said, grinning up at her.

Julya patted her hand and they swept off. 

Notes:

I know I'm leaning way back on Kaylee's usual accent a bit. Watsonian reasoning- she's unconsciously trying to blend into a social situation that's a little out of her wheelhouse. Doylist reasoning- it's been long enough since I watched Firefly that I don't feel comfortable trying to mimic the accent and style of speech, which is fairly distinct. I'd have to do a rewatch to feel comfortable with nailing it.

And if I get sucked into a rewatch this whole thing will get delayed more than I'm comfortable with.

While originally I thought there was going to be no real plot other than "Kaylee has fun and makes girly friends" I reread some episode recaps of Shindig and decided that I was gonna tackle a little bit of plot. I kind of want to write fics for the whole series, expanding and altering and tweaking stuff and I guess I'm just gonna start here and go out from here in both directions. Why not? Anyway I'm thinking probably four chapters and an epilogue. Obviously there is going to be an extremely girly after party where the gloves come off, as it were.

(There will be a delay after I finish this fic for rewatching so I can better remember character voices, accent, so on.)

Chapter 3: How to Get Rid of a Class A Jerk (Through Manipulation)

Summary:

Atherton is awful and literally nobody likes him.

Notes:

I just want to note that this fic is going to (hopefully) be part of an extended fic line of stories about Serenity in a slightly AU fix it kind of way. I'm starting a third of the way through the series because I have never in my life done things the easy way.

Ever.

Anyway I have kind of a vague idea of themes for the rest of the thing and it does sliiiiightly change characterization, I don't think it'll impact this fic very much (anything that does will be subtextual). But I do wanna say this about the changes, as it may impact here (and to be clear going outward what my feelings on the matter are).

Mal has no problem with sex workers or sex work in this universe. He thinks they're fine, hard-working folk, the lot of 'em. They do the kind of work lots of others won't do, and he respects the heck outta that.

He does have a problem with Inara because in his experience Companion is just a fancy word for spy, and he doesn't trust her allegiances or motives. He also doesn't really trust his feelings towards her (Companions are known for being manipulators in this sense). So there is that 'maybe they're in love maybe they hate each other maybe it's maybelline' dynamic but for different and less soul-destroying reasons. (And reasons that, to me, make more sense for Mal's characterization, which is kinda bumpy in the show tbh.)

Connie did the circuit for about 40 minutes while Kaylee danced. Connie checked on her visually, regularly. Kaylee is not the kind of person who can lie with her face, and she was clearly having a great time with Yan (really the only reason she was worried is if nobody had told her that Yan was only going to play at being interested, but Julya had to have been the ones who introduced them and Julya wouldn't forget something that important.) 

There was plenty for her to do. Interrupting several fights before they got out of hand. Making sure people had enough access to refreshments, especially by the dance floor (nobody wanted to deal with someone fainting due to dehydration). When one of the violinist had a string snap, she made sure someone found a replacement so he could replace his string during the next music break, and provided him with plasters and ointment so he could bandage the slight wound it caused when the string snapped across his hand.

(He was doing well with a tightly wrapped handkerchief but she wouldn't let it be said that the poor man had to do without, just like she would not ask him to stop playing when he was clearly determined to go on doing so.)

Atherton was, as usual, with a Companion. One he regularly hired, she believed, Connie was certain she'd seen the woman once or twice before. She tried not to pay him too much attention, men like that never took it the right way.

It was kind of a shame he protected himself in this way. Companions were experts at de-escalating tricky social situations, and Atherton was pretty good at not letting her get alone or near the women in Persephone's high society for long enough for them to convey what they knew of him. And, anyway, most Companions wouldn't do that without good reason. It would probably take some sort of slideshow presentation.

It was, therefore, very interesting to see Kaylee meet the Companion's eyes and wave. Like they knew each other? And then they mouthed compliments at each other from across the dance floor. Connie made note of it, and moved on.

Mama finally came back. "I'm sorry. Thank you for handling things while I was out, dear."

"You're welcome."

Mama gave her a quick hug. "Go on back to your friends, darling. I'll take things for the rest of the night."

"Are you sure? I know..."

"No, no, it's fine."

She gave Mama a Look.

"If I get tired, I'll let you know, sweetheart. Go have fun."

"Alright, Mama," she said. She wasn't convinced, but Mama was one of the most stubborn people she knew, so if she said she was alright and didn't want help she would absolutely refuse to accept help. 

So off she went, to find Julya and see if anything noteworthy had happened. She managed to catch Kaylee taking a breather. "Having fun?" she asked.

"Yan is great!" she replied. "Your ma okay?"

"I think so. My brother's infirmity has been... especially taxing for her."

Kaylee nodded like she understood. "That kind of thing can be hard on a family," she said. "If you need to spell her again..."

"I'll check in with her later, don't worry," Connie said. "I have a question, and I know I may be stepping out of bounds, but it seemed to me like you perhaps knew the Companion that is accompanying Atherton Wing?" 

Kaylee frowned, and turned. "How many Companions are here?"

"Just one, that I know of."

"Oh, yeah, I know Inara. She's part of my crew."

"What purpose..." Connie shook her head. "Nevermind, it's not my business."

"Oh well I don't know why she's hanging with us but Cap says that having a Companion aboard makes us seem more respectable. I think she just wants to be more, you know, mobile I guess, see the 'verse. Even fancy Companions gotta get itchy feet, sometimes."

"They must," Connie said. "Do you suppose you could find a few minutes to introduce us? It would be unbearably rude to impose on her company, I know, but I've always been fascinated by the lifestyle of Companions."

Kaylee glanced to where Inara was. "Yeah. Plus, what's rude for you isn't rude for a closer friend, right?"

"Exactly."

"Sure, no problem." Kaylee downed the rest of her drink, passed the empty glass off to Julya, and went to interrupt the Companion in what looked like a somewhat intense conversation. It was difficult to say exactly which words passed, but Kaylee was just a bundle of excited energy. It looked something like she was saying 'I've made so many friends and they're just dying to meet you, come say hi and you can come right back.' The Companion, for her part, laughing, allowed herself to be pulled along and waved at Atherton. 

"Inara, this is Julya and Connie, they've been showing me how things work around here. Julya, Connie, this is Inara." 

"I've seen you ladies around at some of the other balls I've been to, here," Inara said, a serene smile and offered a handshake, encapsulating Connie's hand with both of her own. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I'm so glad you've made friends with Kaylee." Her smile seemed to be really genuine.

"We've honestly been dying to meet you for a while, we knew you were friends with Atherton..."

"I understand he's perhaps not the most well-liked man in the scene," Inara said. "But he's always been courteous with me." A warning, perhaps, or simply an explanation. Her serene smile remained in place. 

"You can leave," Connie said. "You are sideways to the scene here. His polite and courteous behavior extends only so far as it benefits him, and no further. He has a cruel temper and by this point there's not a single brothel or escort service on the planet that will admit him. No doting father would allow his daughter in that man's company. He's the broken stair in the scene."

"That's certainly new information to me." Inara did not allow her facial expression to waver.

Kaylee had at some point raised her fan to hide her face behind it, while Lily (who had approached) was whispering in her ear, perhaps translating the scene to be more forthcoming to her. Her mouth, what Connie could see of it, was twisted in distaste.

"Of course, you would have no way of knowing. He's been very careful to ensure you don't find out, not until he feels like you are within his control, will he let himself slip. We've seen this happen before."

"Truly?"

"Yes. We've been concerned for you."

"Hm," she said, thinking. Inara glanced at Kaylee. "I have to go use the facilities. Will you see if you can find Mal for me? I'll need to speak with him, but I'm not in a hurry."

"Sure."

"I'll think on what you've said, and once again I'm delighted to meet you. I don't think Kaylee could have better friends." Inara smiled again, and after a quick peck on Kaylee's cheek, went off. Probably to excuse herself to the facilities to Atherton.

"Mal?" Connie asked.

"Captain," Kaylee said, snapping her fan shut, and putting it away. "She's decided to help ya."

"You're certain?"

"Mmmhmm. She'd have asked me to go with her if she wanted to keep me out of trouble. If she wants me to get Mal, she's startin trouble."

"Oh." Connie had to think it over. "Will he be amenable to helping?"

"I don't think he'll mind. He's gotta be gettin bored. Last I saw him, he wasn't gettin anywhere on what he came to do." She shrugged. "Don't worry, Inara's good people. I'll be back!"

Chapter 4: Fix the Missing Stair

Summary:

Atherton is sorted. Out a window.

Notes:

We just got a new puppy. Which is great! He's very sweet. He's also a dog infant, a tiny dumb dog baby. And he needs a lot of minding. So updates may be later than originally predicted, through the end of this fic. Hopefully after my firefly rewatch and resumption of the series will also coincide with him being less of a dog infant, but updates may be spotty. Life, you know.

Also, I'd like to point out that I'm extremely ill and feverish, I finished this because it gave me something fun to do instead of focus on being sick but if I made a whopper in this one it's totally because of my fevered brain.

Probably.

Anyway, one more chapter after this, mostly epilogue.

Connie spent enough time calming down people after the furor to be certain. 

From the point of view of most of the guests, nobody is quite sure what Atherton Wing said to make the Companion burst into tears. 

But that was clearly the start of the whole thing, everyone says. He said something loud enough to be sure he was inciting something, but indistinct enough that nobody knew what it was, and then she burst into tears. The women around Wing gasped, and someone fainted.

Security rushed in and a man nearby grabbed Wing by the collar, and started hustling him towards the exit, security converging on them. Then, a fight broke out, Wing swinging wildly at the man in the brown coat and security. The fight that occurred was difficult for most onlookers to follow, but it looked like even alone, Wing was holding his own, until one of the young ladies, trying to dodge him, actually ran smack into him, and she went flying. She started crying, and that was when the fellow in the brown coat scruffed him, spun him in a circle, and hurled him at the nearest window. It was open to catch the cool night air, fortunately for Wing, but landing face first in Mama's prize rosebush had been unfortunate for him. The thorns were small but difficult to disengage. A doctor had been summoned. 

It was fortunate that most of them had no idea what he had said because, in fact, he had said absolutely nothing tear-worthy. Inara had later told them that he'd been pretty awful to her earlier in the night, but she'd swallowed and was going to finish her contracted service and then blacklist him for herself.

Now he would be blacklisted from Companions as a whole, and she was going to take the (in her own words) very petty step of forwarding that name to the brothels, the escort services, and any and all such places on all of the planets in the system, not just on Persephone. 

Connie was definitely pleased with the arrangement.

"If it had just been bad behavior with me, you understand, there just would have been a note in his file." Inara was relaxing on a series of cushions, brushing Kaylee's hair out carefully. Kaylee had her eyes shut and was about as relaxed as a human can get and still remain conscious. "For the next Companion to watch out for. Just in case it was bad chemistry. That sort of thing does happen, from time to time, you understand. But finding out that it was a pattern of bad behavior- in fact, I should suggest we start pulling the blacklisted client lists from planets and cross-checking them with our own client lists, just to put notes in the file regarding this kind of misunderstanding happening in the future."

"Will everyone else comply? I understand that there a sort of..." Connie searched for a polite way to put it. 

"Competitiveness? Yes," Inara said. "I believe so, it's not unprecedented, if we get a bad feeling about someone we can generally do that. That's about the safety of our work, not about who gets whom as a client. If we offer to share our relevant blacklisted clients, it should go smoothly enough. It should be standard procedure, and I'll suggest that." 

"Makes sense to me," Kaylee said, somehow capable of forming consonants, though only barely.

"Did Mal get what he was after? I never found out what he was doing here."

"I think so." Kaylee yawned, and stretched. "I saw him talking to Connie's Daddy, who seemed to be viewing him pretty favorably after all that fuss."

"I think he's wanted to do that to Atherton for years. Seeing it happen was probably better, because Daddy would have tried to avoid the damned rose bush." Mama had wailed about that a little, but the rosebush was pretty resilient and would be back in shape in time to do the next show. 

"I should go down and see, if I didn't make any money tonight someone should be," Inara said. "You okay if I leave you with your friends a bit?"

"Mmmhmm." Kaylee sat up. "Is Victoirianne okay? I thought I saw the doctor lookin her over."

"She ended up with a broken rib, they have to check and make sure it's not going to do any damage to her lungs and wrap it, then she'll be up. Fortunately there's a medical wing on the house, it shouldn't take too long," Connie said.

"She hit Atherton really hard," Inara said.

"If her Mama was any kind of sensible, she'd let Victoirianne play football or something. She likes being physical, and there's nothing wrong with being a tomboy in this day and age," Connie said.

"It was personal," Lily said. "Something to do with her older sister, I think. Also I think she broke the rib falling out of a tree three days ago, hitting him just aggravated it." 

Inara kissed Kaylee on the forehead and got up to leave. "I'll be back later, stay out of trouble while I'm gone," she said.

"Inara you start more trouble than anybody I know!" Kaylee hollered after her.

"That's not even remotely true, we live on the same ship with the same people," Inara responded, and then she was gone.

***

Inara found Mal laughing heartily with Connie's Daddy, a man whose name she'd unfortunately managed not to catch. The party was still in the latest of it's stages- almost winding up, but with a few people still trailing around, trying to find out what happened earlier, and pretending to be shocked and horrified that Atherton could be as awful as everyone seemingly already knew that he was.

"There's the young lady. I hope you've recovered from what that beastly man said to you," Connie's Daddy said.

"Oh, well, you know I feel bad that such a fuss was made..." Playing humble was something she was good at, though she noticed a twitch to Mal's mouth that she didn't like. "But yes, your daughter has been a wonderful little hostess, and all her friends, really made me feel so much better."

"She takes after her mother, and her mother's the best hostess on the planet," he said, beaming with pride. "I was just finished conducting a spot of business with this bright young man here, his quick thinking saved my security services considerable embarrassment."

"Men like Atherton brag all the time about how good they are at fighting and it's almost never true, it's somewhat shocking to find that he actually was able to hold his own," she said. "I'm sure you've heard that sort of, um, talk from people who clearly can't support it," she said.

"Oh yes, the young pups brag up and down, as if they'd ever been in a real fight. Security is also somewhat more used to people going without a fuss. The good Captain here has suggested some training programs I can implement in case something bad happened. It's not their fault, of course, the internal security wasn't expecting a fight like that, but you never know what's going to happen and I'd rather my men be more prepared."

"Do you mind if I borrow the Captain for a moment? I'd like to thank him for his quick thinking. When men suddenly get like that..."

"Of course. Don't forget to see me later for that brandy and that cigar I owe you, hm?" the old man asked.

"I never forget that sort of thing, sir," Mal said, a smile made easy by the truth behind it. He let Inara take his arm and lead him to one of the windows to look out- unfortunately, not on the poor rose bush that had to be transplanted and somewhat damaged to remove a very unhappy young man. "Everything alright?" he asked, his voice low.

"Kaylee wanted me to make sure you were successful your purpose today."

"Oh, that. Yeah, I'm the hero of the day, nothing's too good for me, got another tip on some cargo too, though I'll have to come back and wait so Badger doesn't catch on. It's not time sensitive, fortunately, and I get the feeling Kaylee made some friends so she'll be happy to see the place again at some point."

"How long can we delay leaving?" Inara asked.

"Weeeelll a day or two. You have any reason to stick around?"

"Not for me," she said. "You're right, she has made friends. A type she doesn't really have, girls her own age. It's important for her to establish these connections fully. A day or so means they're more likely to keep in touch, I think."

Mal nodded. "You're the expert. They're good kids, right? I don't want her associatin with riff-raff."

"Other than yourself?" Inara asked, amused.

"Well," he said, which was not really an answer.

"They're fine," she said. "Working in a system that's difficult to manage, and trying to make it better. Most of that whole set up was them, you know."

"Oh, so they're the right kind of trouble-makers," he said.

"Yes."

"Well, then, if it's for Kaylee," he said, shrugging, seeming indifferent. "You think she'll appreciate it?"

"I think she's going to get six new dresses," Inara said.

"She doesn't have that kind of storage space," Mal said, sounding grumpy but she could see the twitch to his lip.

"Oh, I don't mind sharing mine," Inara said, her tone arch. "Go get your brandy and tell Badger we're waiting on an engine part or something. I'm going to go see what this famous girl's afterparty is all about."

"Better you than me," Mal snorted.

"I think we're all in agreement on that," Inara said, and she kissed his cheek and left him at the window.

Notes:

my original plan was to actually talk the whole thing through, with them setting Atherton up to fail and how they did it and the minor logistics of making sure everyone was in the right spot and it was so, so boring. Also they had to actually interact with him in the text, and ew. Every time I tried I spaced out, and couldn't make myself bear down and do it because... puppy.

Anyway, he's best served as a punch line.

But if you were disappointed because this was a bit short, here's some info for you.

While the scene was planned out mostly, they didn't actually plan for Atherton to have been such a handy veteran of bar fights. This is why Victoirianne got involved. She essentially ran really hard into him, kneed him in the unmentionables, and then flung herself into the the drinks table dramatically. She did this scream-cry thing which she knows is really annoying and so awful and painful sounding that almost nobody knows that it's fake. (Her big sister does, but that's it.)

It was great, she hit Atherton, and she made a huge mess and nobody could yell at her about it, but it did mean that she graduated up from cracked into broken ribs.

In her view? Totally worth it.

(Also, Victoirianne's mother sues Atherton for the medical cost plus emotional damages, and used the money to put Victoirianne into some form of self-defense classes, which teach Victoirianne, among other things, how to fall properly. She never stops falling out of trees, but she quits hurting herself so badly when doing so.)

Chapter 5: Epilogue

Summary:

It's a lot of ridiculous fluff to no end, tbh.

Notes:

I want to apologize for the extreme lateness of this. I was having a period of time where I was just tired all the time, and then I flipped my truck over on the ice with my roommate's kid and the baby puppy inside. Everybody is fine, bumps and bruises and I was the most banged up (given the choice of targets, I'm fine with being the most hurt out of everybody), but it shot my concentration to shit for a while. Also there was a period of five days where I could barely move. Walking the dog was torture, getting up to go to the bathroom was a nightmare, et cetera. It was just bruises but the bruises ran deep. I hung upside down in a pickup truck for a couple of minutes, walking away from that is a good thing, but it sure left its mark on me.

Anyway, I'm gonna finish this up and start my Firefly rewatch as I slowly work on the rest of the series. I will add them in chronological order to my timeline, which may not necessarily be the timeline that the show goes by. I think I am going to add Serenity as well, but that really depends on how I handle the Reaver situation, which I have not settled on as yet. I think this may be the opening fic, before they actually meet Simon and River, because it makes more sense to me that way. I'm not certain.

Absolutely everyone had changed into comfortable long soft dresses, even Inara, who had been invited to this particular after party. They were just on the edge of pajamas, Kaylee was informed. Hers was borrowed, naturally, and very comfortable, and quite pink.

And there was a lot of chatter, mostly about hair and makeup. She was getting tips of all kinds, fast enough that she was having trouble tracking, and she finally just ended up trying to pick out things she thought she could practically do and storing that in her memory for later. Other stuff was a little advanced for her, but she thought she could manage the eyeshadow thing they were talking about, and lipstick gets easier with practice. 

Everyone was taking turns brushing each other's hair out, which seemed somehow sinfully decadent. Nobody's was as silky-smooth as it looked, because of the products in it, but a brush and a soft touch generally got it to unknot and fall. Some of them had some weird kinks in their hair because of the style they were wearing. Kaylee's was more curly than usual, and she was told it would be a few washes before the curl came all the way out. Something about the curl-tightening cream (which she gained a sample of). 

Inara, too, was sharing some tips. Mostly about guys and how to smoothly brush them off without harming egos, useful to them later in life although at this point in their lives, nobody really cares that much about that. 

It was very pleasant, they were drinking some warm and spiced drink that went down smooth and made her feel warm all the way from the tips of her toes to the roots of her hair. There was lots of laughing and the threat of a hangover was far from Kaylee's mind.

(Though not Inara's, who made everyone drink water and handed around pills that she said helped with this sort of thing.)

Kaylee ended up being gifted several dresses that 'nobody can wear anymore, honestly, but they're so pretty it's a shame to just get rid of them, also they suit you better anyway, you had better take them'. She tried to demur about storage space, but Inara stepped in and promised she'd set some room aside in her shuttle so Kaylee could keep them with her. Which meant Kaylee's objections fell apart. They were clearly lovingly stored, but also clearly hadn't been worn in a while. "They're seasons out of date, here," she was told. "But it matters less when you have such a nomadic lifestyle. And honestly I hate the 'season' thing anyway, it's just how things are done here. We're working on it. Being able to bring back those big skirts is a good step in that direction. How did you fireproof that, again?"

Kaylee doesn't remember much after they started asking her about her life. At some point she must have fallen asleep, possibly mid-sentence.

 

***

 

Kaylee had put everything away on the ship, and Connie and Julya and Victoirianne were waiting for her. There were hugs all around. "You have our commcodes?" Victoirianne asked again.

"Yep. I put 'em someplace safe and programmed them into the computer so I won't lose 'em. Don't worry."

"Now, you send us letters. We'll send you letters and if you tell us where you going, we'll try to send you care packages," Connie said.

"You don't have to do that."

"We know," Julya said. Her voice was firm. "We don't. We want to, Kaylee, because you're our friend and we won't get to see you much, after this. You have to tell us about your adventures, and we'll tell you about ours." She held out her arms and wrapped Kaylee up in one of her very comforting hugs. "We have the money to send you stuff and we want to do it, that's all the reason we need, dearling."

Kaylee sniffed into Julya's shoulder. "Thank you," she said, her voice sounding thick. "I- thank you."

"It's what friends do," Julya said. "Now, we're gonna miss the hell out of you, so you make sure you write us as often as possible."

"Sometimes it takes a while for even the written stuff to travel." 

"That's okay. And if you're coming back, you give us a little warning and we'll throw you the best damned party anybody has ever seen, okay?"

Kaylee laughed.

"I'm being serious, here. We'll make it a fairy princess party, and you will be the chief fairy princess. Only a very few boys will be allowed, if they're polite and good dancers."

Kaylee was still laughing. "Okay, I promise, I'll give you warning if we head back this way. I think we're supposed to, Mal says he has more business back this way."

"Good," Julya said. "We'll start planning outfits. Don't worry about yours, we'll cover that."

"Do you know my size?"

"Sweetheart, we sized you by looking at you. I guarantee those dresses will fit. Trust me, we know," Connie said.

"Right, of course," Kaylee said.

"It's one of Connie's hidden skills," Victoirianne said. "She can dress anybody. Don't even fret."

"Kaylee! Come on! We've got to get moving!" Mal hollered from the ship. Then he saw the girls. "I'm sorry, but we really do need to go. I've delayed about as long as I can. Say goodbye to your friends. We'll be back, I promise."

Kaylee nodded, taking the promise as read. "He doesn't break promises," she said. "We'll be back. So this isn't good bye. This is fare well."

There was nothing to do for that but for hugs all around, last second reminders to write, and then she was up the ramp and it was lifting. The girls backed up and watched the ship rise and fly away. Julya sniffed deeply. "We need to fix things," she said.

"I know," Connie said. "It's going to take a while."

"She's got her job," Victoirianne said, her voice firm. "We have ours."

"Come on, we need to talk to the dress makers," Connie said, and looped her arms through Victoirianne's and Julya's. "We have a party to plan. Can't disappoint Kaylee." They watched the ship wink out, glittering in the sun and then gone. 

"She'll be back," Victoirianne said, mostly to herself, and they turned and headed back into town. 

They did have a lot to do, a lot of things to fix, and a party to plan, after all.

***

Kaylee relaxed in her bunk for a while, glad she'd decided to hang the dress in her room, where she could see it. It was more than just an object of her affection, it was a link to memories of people she'd never knew she'd needed in her life. She supposed that's what friends were. 

And she needed some time alone. Leaving them had been both happy and sad. Happy that she had people she regretted leaving behind, sad because she would miss them, and chances to see them would be few and far between. 

Sometimes, she thought, you meet people and it was like you'd always known them. Like they'd always been part of your life. She'd never been great at making friends with other girls her age and then to suddenly be adopted by a whole herd of them was disorienting, but it was so perfectly right. Like she'd been waiting for them, like there was a neat hole in her heart and they fit there exactly. 

Inara stopped in her room. "Doing okay?"

"Yeah."

"I know it's hard to leave them, but I'm glad you made some friends."

Kaylee smiled. "Me too."

"We're about to pick up our cargo, do you want to go see?"

"Yeah, I do. Did you ever find out what it was?" 

"You're gonna love it," was all Inara said. "Also, we're going to need your help. Some of them need to be bottle fed, still."

"...what?" Kaylee was up and on her feet. 

***

Dear Everybody-

You'll never guess what the load we had to shift was! It's amazing, it's about 60 goats. Some of them are babies! Baby goats (they're called kids) are extremely cute, much cuter than you would possibly think. When they're real little they have little swirls where their horns will come in, and you can feel the tiny nubs. They are also extremely soft and friendly! 

Goats are also kind of trouble makers, but fortunately there's not much in the cargo hold that they can get hold of. Jayne (he's one of our shipmates) had to move some stuff around. There's also all kinds of nooks and crannies for them to get into and I have to go get 'em back out. Little escape artists, the lot of em.

They're honestly pretty friendly. Jayne thinks their eyes are shifty, but honestly, they're just stubborn and curious. I like them so much!

I have to bottle feed some of the babies, but honestly, I like doing it. Better than having to milk the two or three that are putting off milk at the moment, Zoe does that because she is tall and strong and takes backtalk from nobody, not even ungulates.

We've got plenty of formula, which means we get to drink FRESH MILK the whole journey. I know it doesn't sound like much, but believe me, most of what we eat out here is protein paste. Fresh milk is amazing. We're experimenting with making cheese. Well, Mal is, he's not great at cooking but he does apparently know some things about cheese making. Which goes to show, even when you think you know somebody, sometimes they have secret skills. Cheese making! I never would have guessed. 

I miss you all so much. I'll send you more soon. 

Love! 

Kaylee

PS: Here is a picture of one of the babies in pajamas. The ship is a bit too chilly for the little babies!

 

Notes:

.....and, that's it for this! I wanna thank everybody for reading this little fic and encouraging me to do this. I have really enjoyed writing this and plan on writing more for the future. It may not go super quickly, things at work have gotten... stressful... but I promise I will work on it. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

(The goat pic is a screencap hosted on MSNBC and it's from this extremely adorable youtube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RN50R3gycgo, I felt like it was appropriate to add baby goats in. Why goats instead of cows? Because I wanted to. The wood in the background is from all the crates, and the light is artificial daylight they set up so the baby goats don't lose their sense of day and night. The goat is blurry because the best way to get still pictures of any infant animal is when they are asleep. Kaylee has sixty unusable photos of blurry colorful blobs and this one. BABY GOATS.)

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of Letters From Persephone