So here's another Mal/Inara tale. I'm using a song by The Airborne Toxic Event called Sometime Around Midnight (Thus the name of the story).
Takes place after BDM, so be aware that there may be slight spoilers.
I don't own the lyrics, I darn sure don't own anything of "Firefly", cause if I did it would still be on.
It was another day aboard Serenity. River was taking off after a job that the entire crew agreed had come off well. Zoe even had cracked a few jokes as they loaded up and left, rubbing her rounded belly almost cheerfully. As they discussed the day's events, Kaylee hoped that it was a sign that perhaps things were going to be looking up. She was about to whisper that to Simon when she caught a glimpse of Mal's face and she bit her words off. She saw clearly on his face that, even with the good job, he was hurting bad and it wasn't a hurt that the good doc could fix for him.
Mal patted Zoe on the shoulder and told her to handle things for awhile. She nodded grimly. She hated seeing her captain and friend so torn up. She watched him as he walked to his bunk, sighing and rubbing her back. "Little one," she whispered down toward her tummy "We gotta break him out of this."
It had all started about four months after Miranda. Everyone had been able to tell that in the last few weeks, Inara and the captain had finally stopped circling each other, stopped fighting the obvious attraction. The light in her eyes and the good humor in his voice made life aboard Serenity pleasant and helped with healing the crew. But all of that changed one morning as they had sat docked on Persephone. Everyone was awakened by Mal yelling for Inara as he ran through the ship. But she was gone. The only thing she left was a note with two words written in her dainty script: "I'm sorry"
In the months since then, Mal had withdrawn into himself more and more. No one could get anywhere with him. Zoe had slowly taken over command in everything but name. He could manage to pull it together enough for jobs, but as soon as the job was done, so was he.
So now here they were, heading back to Persephone. Zoe and Jayne discussed it and decided that, whether he liked it or not, the captain was going out with them once they landed. "Night out with us 'll do him some good." Jayne muttered under his breath. Zoe agreed. After they bought some supplies, everyone could use some time out and about. So after the supplies were loaded onto the ship, and Simon, Kaylee, and River had decided on their plans, they all went their way.
And it starts
Sometime around midnight
Or at least that's when you lose yourself
For a minute or two
At first, it seemed like it was working. Even though Zoe couldn't drink, and Mal spent the first hour staring into his drink and sulking, eventually they all relaxed and started laughing and joking with each other like old times. Zoe even could have sworn she saw that familiar twinkle starting to come back into Mal's eyes. But then he froze, and she followed his gaze to see the couple that just walked in the door.
As you stand
Under the bar lights
And the band plays some song about forgetting yourself for a while
And the piano's this melancholy soundtrack to her smile
And that white dress she's wearing, you haven't seen her
For a while
Mal's heart thudded as he watched her gliding in on the man's arm. He had just started to relax, started to breathe easy. He had known, of course, that there was a chance he'd see her around on this planet. But he had hoped that just maybe the odds were she wouldn't be in a place like this. Evidently odds were not on his side. "Oh, juh jen sh guh kwai luh duh jean jan." he muttered as he quickly downed his drink. He debated on what to do when he felt every hair on the back of his neck stand.
But you know
That she's watching
She's laughing, she's turning
She's holding her tonic like a cross
The room suddenly spinning, she walks up and asks how you are
So you can smell her perfume
You can see her lying naked in your arms
As she wandered over, her eyes cautiously lit up. She chatted lightly with Zoe, wanting all the details on how the pregnancy was progressing. She teased Jayne about the latest hat from his mother. And she avoided anything but the lightest and most general conversation with Mal, mostly about how Kaylee and Simon were doing, and how River was still River. Mal preferred to stay rather silent, but his eyes hungrily took in every detail of her, so as to torture himself better.
And so there's a change
In your emotions
And all of these memories come rushing like feral waves to your mind
Of the curl of your bodies, like two perfect circles entwined
And you feel hopeless, and homeless, and lost in the haze of the wine
He watched her as she walked back to her… well, whatever he was. But his mind wasn't there anymore. It was reliving every moment of the best weeks of his life. Mal kept telling himself that it was bound to end eventually. There really wasn't any logical way he could expect a beautiful Companion like Inara to waste her time on an old hwoon dahn like him. Still didn't make it hurt any less that morning he had woken up to a room that somehow lost all its warmth when she had left. Mal quickly told Jayne to get more drinks. Jayne bolted up; glad to get away from the uncomfortable aura around the table that even he couldn't miss. Zoe watched him, knowing that any attempts to comfort him would do about as much good as any that had been tried with her those first weeks after Miranda.
And she leaves
With someone you don't know
But she makes sure you saw her, she looks right at you and bolts
As she walks out the door
Your blood boiling, your stomach in ropes
And then your friends say "What is it? You look like you've seen a ghost."
He couldn't help himself. He watched her every move as they left. Somehow it registered that, since he'd never see her again, he'd better soak up every image of her he could. Inara turned once right before the door. Mal thought ironically that her Companion training served her well. He couldn't tell what she was thinking when their eyes locked, but he knew she could read him like a book. She always could read him. Zoe cut a sharp look at Jayne before he could make some dumb comment. Jayne nodded gruffly and turned his attention to his drink. Not much he could do about the whole gorram situation anyway. Might as well enjoy his drink. Zoe saw Mal's face drain of any color as Inara finally walked out. 'So much for getting him out to enjoy himself' she thought as he stood abruptly.
And you walk
Under the streetlights
And you're too drunk to notice that everyone's staring at you
You don't care what you look like
The world is falling around you
Mal threw down some coin for his drinks and stumbled outside. The cool night air hit his face as he trembled, leaning up against a light post. Ignoring the curious glances from people walking by, he finally allowed the tears that he had held back for months to trail down his face. She was the only one who could twist him up and spin him about this way. And, not for the first time, he wondered what he was supposed to do now that he didn't have her to light his way.
He stumbled through the street, wiping furiously at the tears, ordering himself to stop. But as he made his way back to Serenity he couldn't help but whisper the name that would haunt him the rest of his days. Then he stopped in the almost empty street and yelled her name to the sky as if he was begging the 'verse for an answer. "INARA!"
You just have to see her
You just have to see her
You just have to see her
You just have to see her
You just have to see her
You know that she'll break you in two
So, I have an idea for a second chapter to this, but I want to hear from you all first. Liked it? Hated it? Need to see it finished? Let me know. Hit that review button.