Title: A Second Round of Goodbyes
Word Count: 802, according to MSWord
Genre: General
Rating: PG
Fandom: Firefly/Serenity
Pairing/Character: Mal/Inara
Summary: If they would just get over themselves, they might realize that they would never have to say "goodbye."
Author's Notes: The specific timeline for this piece is based on the Firefly Timeline by Edgar Governo, which places the events of "Objects in Space" in late May of 2518 and the events of the BDM in early August of the same year. I picked "Juno" as the name for the world where Inara was living with the other Companions in the movie. This plot is probably long since cliché, but I'm not well read in the Firefly fandom and this is my first adventure in writing in it. Happy reading!
Malcolm Reynolds leaned against the catwalk railing of the empty cargo bay, eyes averted downward. His gaze travelled past the toes of his scuffed boots and through the open grate to the floor of the bay below. There was nothing note-worthy down there, but he knew that if he looked her in the eye, he would lose what little composure he had managed to construct.
Inara Serra stood facing him, her back straightened regally and her face a stoic mask. She stared straight into his face, the weight of her glare challenging him to look into her eyes. Her slender hands were still and they gracefully held her shawl around her pale shoulders. The only tell of her crumbling equanimity was the slight tension of her jaw as she choked back the tears building in the corner of her eyes.
Both were grateful that the rest of the small crew had left them alone to say their private goodbyes, such as they were. Even Jayne could have felt the tension between the Captain
and the Companion. Simon could have left the scalpels in the infirmary and cut the air cleanly with a dull butter knife from the kitchen.
Neither could escape the comparison of this scene to one that had occurred in the same spot just six months before. She had not needed much time at all after departing Mr. Universe's ruined complex to remember why she had left in the first place. Those same reasons were driving her away again.
"Mal, I—"
"I suppose you'll be needing a hand to carry your stuff to the training house."
Inara blinked, hurt yet unsurprised at his brusque words. "Yes, I suppose so."
"I'll send Jayne and Simon along to help. I have to finish plotting our course back to Persephone."
Her eyes narrowed as she fought to keep her voice civil. "Thank you."
Inara clenched her jaw again, determined not to give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry over him. His stubbornness became her focus and her anger over it tamed the pain. This man, out of all the men she had known and ever been involved with, would not be her undoing. Inara squared her shoulders.
"Listen, Mal, I—"
"Inara, stop," he interrupted again. He turned to face her, eyes still on the grate of the catwalk's floor. He was determined not to look at her, because once his eyes met hers, his own resolve would crumble to the ground. "I like simple, so let's not make this particular goodbye more complicated than it needs to be."
Inara nodded, fighting to keep the façade of stoicism intact. She tried to convince herself yet again that she imagined all of the signals he sent. All of the glances, all of the private smiles, all of the intentional touches were just figments of her imagination. He was a cold unfeeling bastard and she would not give him the satisfaction of seeing her break.
"Then allow me to thank you, Captain Reynolds," she said in the most professional manner she could muster, "for your hospitality over the past few months and for diverting your course to bring me back to Juno."
Mal opened his mouth as if to speak but was cut short by the intercom.
"Captain," said River, "we're coming up on the planet. We'll be in atmo in fifteen minutes." The intercom clicked back off as suddenly as it had sounded.
Mal gave an annoyed sigh as he glared at the com panel, though the interruption had not been wholly unwelcome.
At least it gives me the excuse to escape.
"Well, I have captainy things to do, so—"
"Of course," said Inara as she fought to keep the edge in her voice from betraying her. "Don't let me keep you."
"Goodbye, Inara."
He finally raised his eyes to meet hers, brown clashing with brown in a concentrated battle to maintain control over the words they each wanted to say, needed to say, but were both too afraid to utter. Time seemed to stand still as the unspoken hung in the air.
"Don't forget about me," said Inara.
Mal swallowed the bitterness in his throat. A single tear finally rolled down Inara's cheek, breaking free from the control she had fought to maintain. He hated himself as he clenched his fist at his side, refusing to allow himself the luxury of even the brief contact to brush the tear away.
"I don't think that's possible," he replied, his jaw softening slightly. "I'll send Simon and Jayne up to the shuttle for your stuff."
She nodded again and he turned on his heel and retreated to the cockpit. Inara walked numbly to the nearest stairwell. As she sat, the tears began to fall freely as she cried over what should have been.