First off, I would just like to say that I'm new to writing FireFly. This is the first fic I ever attempted with this world so please try and be patient with me. Also, speaking of patience, I'm a serious writer and it might take me a while for some updates. This isn't the only story I have going right now, I'm writing 3 soon to be 4 others at the moment. Plus, when I write a chapter I try to make sure I'm as happy with it as I can be so that might be another thing that takes me a little while.
I will act with this story as I have with all of my other. If I get 1 positive review, I will continue to write and post it. If I don't get any, then I'll just write it for my own fun and because I can. Since I'm new to this, please review and let me know if I completely screwed up. I know this isn't a very fun chapter, it's sort of a filler, but it's need. Next one will be better, I promise. Thanks!
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Inara walked out of The House Madrassa wearing a simple pink, silk nightgown. But since it was on Inara, it automatically looked more than simple. It looked complex and beautiful. The real amazing thing about that gown though was that it was real silk, not the fake stuff some tried to by in stores. It was nothing but the best for the companions, especially the ones who were so high in ranking that they stayed at the House Madrassa. True, there wasn't a real ranking for companions but there were few who were more desired and more respected than others. Inara was one of those few.
Sihnon had whether much like Earth-That-Was had. It was just as the sun was rising and the air had a moistness to it that it usually didn't have. It was a touch colder at that time as well which was why Inara was covering her arms with a silk robe that matched the nightgown perfectly. Inara looked out, away from her balcony and she could see the sun rising in the east. It really was a beautiful sight. And it was a sight she had missed. There was nothing like a Sihnon sunrise no matter what the stories said. She could spend years in space and she would still value the sunrises that she saw on that planet.
Inara didn't know how long she had been standing on her balcony but before she knew it, she was being joined by another companion from the house. It wasn't just any companion though. It was Keira. She was one of Inara's closest friends and went through training with her. They had grown very attached. Keira welcomed Inara back with opened arms and was overjoyed when she heard Inara would be visiting.
Keira wore a gown and robe very similar to Inara's only hers was blue. She was someone someone who could look so plain and so beautiful depending on what mood she was. Keira was a beauty, no one could doubt that, but it wasn't always a natural beauty like Inara's. For Keira to look as beautiful as Inara did, she had to spend hours of prepping. Her hair was a simple brown; it was dark and had hints of auburn to it but it was still a simple brown. But her eyes, oh, Keira's eyes were really the thing one noticed. She had dark, blue hues that stood out no matter how much Keira would try to hide them.
"Your up early," Keira commented to Inara.
"Yes," Inara answered with a small smile. "I couldn't sleep and then I saw the sunrise and couldn't resist watching it."
"There's nothing quite like a Sihnon sunrise, is there?"
"No where in the 'verse is there a site that matches this," Inara said with a smile but a sad one.
Inara thought about how true that statement was. And if there were any companion to know the real truth to that statement, it was Inara. No one had explored as deeply as she had and no one had ever spent so much time on a FireFly. Inara was odd at times but she was still respected among companions. The fact that she knew so much about the outer worlds was something that made her an icon to the companions in training.
"I missed it here," Inara said.
"Yet you rarely come here now," Keira added.
"Can we please not have this discussion again, Keira? I would appreciate it if you were just glad about the times I am here."
"I am very glad when you're here. But even you have to admit that it's only for a period of time. You're never going to stay here like you initially planned."
"I can't stay here, Keira, you know that. It's too constricting," Inara said.
"Since when is a companion's life too constricting for you, Inara?" Keira asked. "You could have been head priestess and you decided to leave. Why?"
"Why did you?" Inara asked and looked at her old friend. "You were offered head priestess when Charie said she wanted to step down and you refused her offer. Why?"
"Because that role is too constricting," Keira answered with a small grin.
Inara couldn't help but smile. If there was one thing someone could pick out about there friendship was that they knew how to make each other smile. It didn't matter the situation they were in, they knew how to help each other. It was rare to find someone who could be called a true friend but those two had found it in each other and they were both very grateful for it.
"So, how long until you leave us and go back to your girls?" Keira asked, sobering up a bit.
"Keira," Inara started, sort of at a loss for words.
"I'm not upset. It's inevitable. Those girls look up to you too much for you not to go back. I understand."
"I'll probably be leaving in a couple of weeks."
"And how long are you going to be staying there for?" Keira asked.
"I don't understand," Inara said and truly didn't understand what Keira meant by her question.
"You've had a taste of the 'verse, Inara," Keira explained. "It's only so long before you're going to be wanting to get back to it. I can only imagine everything you got to experience."
Keira would never admit it, at least not out loud, but she envied the fact that Inara had gotten to wonder the 'verse while she was stuck on the central planets working the same type of folk. She was one who liked to be more free than the central planets allowed.
"I've heard some of the stories the girls tell and they're wonderful," Keira finished.
"Oh, you mean about my torrid affairs with a pirate," Inara added in a mocking tone.
"No. I don't mean the stories the girls made up. I mean the real things that you told them had actually happened. It's sounds so interesting out there."
"It was. But then I missed it here. I realized I had to come home," Inara said.
Inara was lying through her teeth and she knew it. Her mind told her that she mad made the right choice when she left Serenity but her heart was the one who was screaming at her for running away. Running away from so many things. She was growing too close to everything and she was growing attached to it. And she wasn't just growing attached to the life but to those who lived it. The captain first and fore most. She was running mostly from her feelings for him.
She thought if she would get away from him than those feelings would go away too. But she was wrong. Her feelings for Mal never really went away. Neither did her feelings for anyone else aboard that ship or anything else on it. She missed her shuttle; she missed keeping Kaylee out of trouble; she missed fighting with Mal and she even missed listening to River's incoherent rambling sometimes. But she most of all missed the freedom she had out there. The guild rules applied still and she still had her job but knowing that she was out there all alone, just her, the crew and that space gave her complete freedom and she missed that.
"I do miss it out there occasionally though," Inara admitted.
"So go back to it," Keira said with simplicity. "I would."
"Well, then your welcome to the shuttle I used to rent."
"I'll keep that in mind," Keira said with a smile. "But I was being serious. Go back if you miss it so much."
"I can't just go back, Keira. I have a life here now," Inara contradicted.
"Your life here doesn't mean a gorram thing if you're missing your life out there."
Keira gave Inara and knowing smile yet a very serious look before she turned and left Inara alone. She did what she was known to do, talk to someone and then leave them with a final remark from her. And it usually wasn't ever a sarcastic or rude remark, it was a knowing and insightful remark. Keira could be rude, sarcastic and could talk just like the people out on the edges of the 'verse if she needed to be but she wasn't the type to do it often. It just wasn't who she was.
Inara watched Kiera as she walked up and turned back to the sunrise. She meant to watch the rest of it but it wasn't long before she found her eyes moving from that sunrise and out to the rest of the sky. She missed being out there. She had a longing feeling inside of here that she, for the most part, fought off. But there was only so long a person could fight a feeling before the shields came crashing down.
7 Months Later
Mal and Inara were walking through the dining area of Serenity. Actually it was more Mal was walking away and Inara was walking after him.
Keira had sent her a wave asking about the shuttle situation. She had come to the conclusion that wanted to see the 'verse like Inara had. She actually did take Inara up on that offer. But it turned out that Inara had already taken her shuttle back so Keira was thinking about the second shuttle on Serenity. Mal was not willing to give that one up though.
"I ain't likin' the idea," Mal said after Inara had asked. "I don't like the idea of someone I don't know aboard my ship while we got two fugitives on board."
"Mal, she's a dear friend of mine," Inara replied. "I trust her."
"Just 'cause she's a friend of yours don't mean she's a friend of mine."
"Mal."
"Look, Inara, I get she's your friend. And I know your back to givin' your rent for the shuttle and all that but this is still my boat and I say what goes. We ain't takin' another person on board."
"Why not?" Inara asked.
"'Cause we have two people on this boat who are wanted by all kinds of nasty that are willing to pay lots of money to have 'em back," Mal answered and continued to walk.
"She's a companion. She doesn't need ransom money."
"I don't got a care what she needs. Besides, I can't rent out my second shuttle."
"For how much she's willing to pay, you can. Her rates are very steep, she can pay whatever you ask."
"I said no," Mal stated and turned back to her. "Why we still talkin' about this?"
"Because you're not listening to me," Inara said forcefully.
"Oh, I was listenin'. I just wasn't hearing nothing I liked. I ain't having another companion on board. Have a hard enough time dealin' with one of ya. Think I want another?"
Inara was almost hurt by Mal's last words. He made her sound like an object and not just her, he made companions sound like objects; just something men had to deal with. It's true, Mal always looked down upon Inara's work but that didn't give him the right to say things like that. But who was Inara kidding? Mal said what he wanted. It didn't matter if he had the right to say them or not.
Inara let out a huff and crossed her arms over her chest. She was fighting not to pout and she looked angry and upset at Mal. What else was new? It wasn't long before the pair were joined by Zoe who had heard Mal's last words. Inara turned on her heel and walked away from Mal. She couldn't deal with the captain at that moment.
"What'd I say?" Mal said, sounding lost and turned to Zoe.
"Sir, if there's one thing I learned in the many years of knowin' you is you don't get women," Zoe said simply.
"Well, no, but…Wait. What'd I say?"
"You insulted her."
"Feel to elaborate here?"
"You said you don't want another of her and, to her, that means you don't want her here," Zoe tried to explain.
Mal was slightly confused by what Zoe had said but at the same time, it had made complete sense to him. He didn't mean it to come out like that though. Far from it, actually. He wanted Inara there, more than he would care to admit, but he couldn't deny that she complicated things for him. On too many levels. Plus, it didn't help that the last friend of Inara's he met had died and that he had bedded her. Him and Inara's friends just didn't mix. Or they mixed too well. One of the two. Either way, it complicated things and he didn't need anymore complications.
"Don't think on it too hard, Sir," Zoe said. "You'll just end up hurtin' your brain."
"How come you understood it and I didn't?" Mal asked.
"'Cause I'm a woman."
"That's right. Forget that sometimes."
"Thanks, Captain," Zoe said dryly.
Mal gave one of his innocent looks and Zoe shook her head with an eye roll. True, Zoe wasn't the most feminist of the bunch but she was still a woman and understood them well enough to at least attempt to translate things to the Captain. It didn't always work out so well though. Mal was still confused nine out of ten times.
"It don't matter what she says to me, we ain't havin' another person on my boat," Mal stated simply and started walking towards the bridge again. "We got enough folk on this boat as it is and we don't need another. Especially when we have.."
Mal wasn't sure really what he was going to say but it didn't matter. Before he had the chance to get it words out, he walked in the bridge and had to duck to stop himself from getting hit with some kind of tool. He didn't know which kind. That wasn't his worry, his worry was why were there tools being thrown around on the brige?
"No, River, I needed that. I have to rewire this to the," Kaylee was saying.
"No. The rewiring is pointless," River stated. "It would only over power the primary controls and it would make it easier for the main power to crash."
"What? No it wouldn't. I was rewiring so.."
"No!" River said and took the wrench Kaylee had grabbed and threw it across the bridge, which caused another tool to almost hit Mal.
"Woa!" He finally yelled. "No more throwing wrenches around on bridge. Could break something."
"Anything that could be broken by a wrench doesn't deserve to be called valuable equipment. If it was really needed it would have more adequate protection."
"Not necessarily," Zoe said. "If something got hit hard enough, we could be flyin' blind for a few hours. It would knock out the screens."
"See? No more throwin'!" Mal said to River.
River muttered something in Chinese but Mal didn't take the time to figure out what she said. Before Mal could even think about what River said, Kaylee emerged from under the control panel covered in some engine grease from before. She wore her normal smile when she appeared and turned to Mal instantly.
"Is it true that we're gonna have another pretty on board?" She asked. "Another companion."
"Boy, rumors travel fast," Mal said. "No, we ain't havin' another companion on board. I told Inara no."
"But why?"
"'Cause we don't need someone else while we got two fugies with us."
"That ain't a good excuse, Cap't," Kaylee said and stood up from the ground. "She don't need no money."
"You've been talkin' with Inara too much," Mal said to Kaylee.
Mal walked over to the pilot's seat and sat down for a moment while he checked to make sure they were still on course. They were supposed to be on Paquin in 2 days. He set the course the day before but he wanted to make sure they stayed under everyone's heads so he was checking every few hours to make sure. He didn't want any Alliance troubles.
"It'd be fun to have another Companion on board," Kaylee said.
"What?" Mal asked and looked at her. "No, it wouldn't."
"You're just sayin' that."
"No, I ain't. I don't want another Companion on my boat."
"Shouldn't we get any say in it though?"
"I'm the Captain, Kaylee. I say what goes," Mal stated firmly.
"You're no fun," Kaylee said.
"Oh, I'm plenty fun, I just don't want another Companion on my boat."
Mal got out of the chair and walked out of the bridge again. Kaylee decided to follow him though. Zoe stayed in the bridge and so did River but Kaylee was chasing after Mal, trying to convince him to allow Keira to rent out the second shuttle. Mal wasn't hearing any of it though.
"I said no," Mal stated. "No means no."
Mal was walking into the dining room as he said his words and he found Jayne there.
"What you sayin' no to?" He asked.
"Nothing," Mal replied.
"Inara's got a friend wantin' to rent the second shuttle and Captain don't want 'em," Kaylee answered.
"Why you sayin' no?" Jayne asked Mal.
"Why does it matter? I say no and that's it. No more arguin', I ain't discussin' it," Mal said and walked away again.
That time, he wasn't followed and he was very thankful for it. He didn't like that everyone was bothering him about it. It wasn't what he needed and it sure as hell wasn't what he wanted.
Mal walked back the way he came and went down to his bunk. He needed to be alone and that was the only place he think of where he knew he wouldn't be bothered. He needed to get away from everyone bothering him about Inara's request. True it was really only Inara and Kaylee who were bothering him about it but that was two people too many. He was the Captain, he said what went and he said no. That should have been it.
He couldn't deny that the payment sounded real nice to his ears though. The crew hasn't had a decent job in a while and he really needed that rent money. Maybe he could…no. Mal didn't want another companion on his ship. The one he had there was complicating enough. She fogged things up for him, made him feel. He didn't need that in stereo. But he knew it wasn't that Inara was a companion that was making things with her so complicated. It was his feelings towards her that did it, not his feelings towards her job. He needed to face the fact that he needed the money.
The excuse he had been giving about Simon and River still played out though. He had two fugitives on that boat. What if the money the government was offering for them was too much for her to pass up? He knew she didn't need the money but still. Inara trusted this girl though. Maybe she really was trustworthy. Inara wasn't an idiot and she didn't trust fools. Mal had to take that into account.
If he agreed to it though it would be because he needed the money to keep them in the air. Fuel wasn't cheap and neither were some of the parts that they occasionally needed. Mal regretted even thinking about allowing another companion on his ship and renting out his second shuttle but he needed it. More than he cared to let known.
Mal let a deep sigh leave his lips as he walked back out of his bunk. He might as well tell Inara that he more or less gave up the fight. He needed the rent money. Besides, having another companion on board shouldn't be that bad, right? He could handle Inara well enough. Granted he didn't always handle her being on board particularly well but he handled it.
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Mal walked into Inara's shuttle without knocking as usual. He heard her give a frustrated sigh at it but he didn't really take notice of it. What he was going to tell her was difficult enough for him without adding in the fact that Inara could easily say 'told ya so'. She wasn't the type to do that.
"What do you need?" Inara asked, sounded irritated.
"Hey, I ain't here to fight," Mal said defensively.
"Then why are you here?"
"You can wave your friend back, tell her I said…"
"Tell her you said no. I got it," Inara almost snapped.
"No. Tell her I said I'll rent the second shuttle," Mal said, trying very hard to ignore Inara's tone. "Tell her the price and all. I'm chargin' her as much as I charge you."
"Are you serious?" Inara asked as if she didn't believe it.
"Yeah. I came to facts and I need her right now. The rent money will help out with the ship that definitely needs it."
"Okay, I'll wave her now then."
Mal nodded and turned to leave. He came there and said what he needed to say so there was no further reason for him to stay.
"Mal," Inara called after him and he turned back to face her. "Thank you."
"This was a business decision, Inara," Mal said. "No need to thank me."
Mal turned and left Inara's shuttle.
Inara was happy to hear that Mal finally agreed with the idea. It would be comforting to have another companion on the ship. Sometimes, she felt so out of place there. But with another person in her position, she was hoping that would change. Maybe she could finally feel at home on Serenity. The ship was her home but so was the companion training house and so was House Madrassa. With Keira on board, she would have a mix of them and she thought that would be refreshing.