Title: Ocean Front Property
Fandom: Firefly
Summary: Inara's leaving again, but Mal's gonna stop her.
Rating: PG
Pairings/Characters: Mal/Inara
Length: 500 words
Genres: romance/fluff
A/N: Totally and completely inspired by my new obsession with the old George Strait song "Ocean Front Property", which is so Mal/Inara, it's not even funny. :)
Ocean Front Property
(Mal/Inara)
Inara stood still as she prepared to leave Serenity—permanently, she swore—for a second time. She called up the mask that she'd worn that first time, once again sweeping her broken and still breaking heart beneath it.
She'd already hugged everybody and said her goodbyes. Except for Mal. She left him out as he stood sulkily and fidgety behind the rest of his crew, refusing to look up at Inara. She pretended his behavior didn't affect her. Just like she pretended he wasn't the reason she was leaving again.
Clearing her throat, she nodded firmly. "Good-bye, everyone," she said again.
With that, she picked up her suitcase and turned away.
One step. Two. Three. Four. She could do this. She swore she could. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. No, she couldn't. She couldn't do this. Nine… Ten…
There were rapid footfalls behind her—the sound of somebody running—and somewhere in her mind, she recognized the sound of his boots.
But her feet kept moving. Eleven. Twelve.
He grabbed her empty hand, forcing her to stop. "'Nara, stop." He muttered something to himself, and she only caught part of what he said: something about swearing not to let her leave again. "Don't go." She almost missed those words too.
She looked down at his hand, wrapped around hers. "Mal," she responded sharply, "don't stop me." Her voice dropped to a faint whisper. "Nothing's changed. We're still the same. You'll—" She cut herself off sharply and dropped her eyes to the ground.
With a finger, Mal tilted her head back up and forced her to look at him. "Be better off without you?" he finished. "Be able to go on?" He grinned crookedly. "'Nara, if you'll buy that, then I've got some ocean front property on Earth-that-was that I'd like to sell you." His hand dropped from her chin to wrap possessively around her back and bring her closer to him.
Inara blinked, surprised at Mal's sudden courage. She'd often thought about how things would finally break between them, but this wasn't something she'd imagined. But she certainly wasn't complaining and didn't try and squirm away.
"Hell, if you're that gullible, I'll sell you the whole gorram planet," Mal growled. "Perfect place to run away to."
"Well, sir," she responded, grinning back at him, "I'm sorry, but I'm not going to buy that anymore. Besides, I think I'm quite satisfied with where I'm living now."
END
I don't worship the ground you walk on
I never have and that's a fact
I swear I won't follow or try to find you
'Cause I don't love you, and if you'll buy that,
I've got some ocean front property in Arizona,
From my front porch you can see the sea.
I've got some ocean front property in Arizona,
And if you'll buy that, I'll throw the Golden Gate in free
-"Ocean Front Property" by George Strait
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