Characters: Mal, Inara
Summary: Title says it all. Pre-Serenity, but no particular episode.
1. People like Inara is what makes 'shiny', people like Kaylee's favorite word. Mal watches the light reflect off Inara's lips and her fancy clothes, and he mistrusts her sparkling. Nothing sparkles in the Black 'cept for stars and danger.
2. She ain't crew and it makes him so gorram mad. Inara can leave when she likes; ain't nothing holding her to Serenity but a business transaction, and Mal's made some bad ones before. Don't ever do business that you can't get out of, and here's one that's got him by the balls.
3. They can both see the divide clearly: she's Core-planet-born; Alliance supporter. He fought Independent and will die in his brown coat. He'll give her all the freedoms she wants because that's his way. She talks about the right and wrong, how she misses the museums and parks. She's got nothin' nice to say about backwater moons, and those are his whole life.
4. She doesn't look at him like Zoe looks at Wash. She looks at him like Jayne looks at Vera.
5. Kaylee jumps when he says 'boo', Zoe obeys him in most things, even River minds him when she's not accidentally trying to kill 'em all, but Inara fights him and walks away in her silks and lace.
6. When he's drunk, really really drunk, on the knife-edge of crazy, Mal thinks it's a go-se joke that after all this time his body is winning a battle with his mind, when it ain't never let him down before. He'd gladly give it free, but she rents his heart on a month-by-month basis.
7. Mal wonders why his love-drunk self can't see calling her a whore is no more right than when he's sober. Happen he's made a habit that he can't break.
8. He looks at her white skin and soft hands, and thinks of Nandi. He coulda loved Inara in a backwater brothel, where it was honest. Who do they think they're kidding with 'Companion'?
9. She could make him so unbelievably happy, like bubbles of love were rising in his chest and popping out with every breath. Mal knows all about the dangers of hope, and believing in salvation.
10. In the middle of one of their fights, it all boils down to this:
"It may surprise you to know that Companions do fall in love."
"Huh. And then what? Does it feel different from whoring?"
She ain't never gonna give him an answer to satisfy him.