Firefly, Inara/River, bruises
Simon burst into Inara's shuttle, looking about to explode. And then he did. "River has bruises!"
Inara set down her tea kettle and folded her hands in her lap. "I wouldn't know anything about that," she lied with a placating smile.
"Harder. Harder. Harder," River chanted, flexing her muscles to get Inara to hold her down harder.
Simon nearly went through the roof. "Bullshit!" he swore uncharacteristically. "She refuses to sit down, do you know that?"
"I was not aware, no," Inara replied calmly, the truth this time.
"Hit me," River said, flipping up her dress.
"I'm not going to hit you," Inara said with a soft laugh, shaking her head.
"You know what I mean," River said flatly.
Inara crawled closer on the bed, leaning down to breathe in River's ear. "What do you mean?"
"Spank me."
"No, I suppose you wouldn't be aware, would you?" Simon said bitterly. "You do what you please and send her on her way. You don't have to see the marks you leave."
"Me?" Inara laughed, putting a hand to her chest in a graceful gesture of condescension. "I am a gentle creature, Simon." This was mostly true. River brought out her wild side.
Fingers curled around River's throat, hard enough to leave prints behind as Inara tempered her breath. "Come for me," the companion whispered, releasing her in more ways than one.
River gasped, arching off the bed, her skin clammy and her blood on fire. Her throat pulsed from the rough treatment as she came in Inara's mouth.
"Yes, you," Simon practically growled, unable to remember a time when his anger seethed like this for a crew member.
Inara had finally had enough, and she stood, squaring off with the doctor. "You are no longer your sister's keeper," she said, her voice sharp with quiet authority. "And if you have a problem with that, you'll need to speak with River. You'd understand her better if you stopped trying to 'fix' her and just listened. She's not broken, Simon. You're the last person on the ship left to realize it."
"Simon says I'm broken."
"Do you feel broken?"
"No. I don't want people to be afraid to break me."
Inara smiled, stepping closer to River. "Is that why you've come to me?"
"You're not afraid."
"No, I'm not afraid," Inara agreed.
"I want to be free."
"I can't set you free, little one... only you can do that."
River grinned impishly. "Already did. I'm here."
Inara slowly realized that River wasn't upset at all, and the conversation was the girl's clever way of moving past the social boundaries that constantly surrounded them both. "You've come here because you desire my services," she said, her voice gaining a hardened edge.
"No," River said simply. "I desire you. One and the same but not the same. Not a companion, just a girl. Touch me."
And Inara did.
