Take My Love
Author's Note: This a little vignette about how Inara feels about her unexpected encounter with Mal on Heart of Gold after his night with Nandi. I wrote two versions and wasn't sure which one I wanted to post, so I hope you enjoy them both.
"I can't say I'm entirely okay. I'm a little appalled at her taste." Inara lied. She brushed past him casually, escaping the awkward tension that had filled the hall and headed towards her room.
Mal stood there, left alone. He hadn't expected to bump into the situation he had just encountered. Coming out of Nandi's room, his shirt open and hair ruffled, and then seeing Inara before him. He had expected her to yell. Or maybe even run. But she didn't. She just stood there, slightly amused at his pitiful excuses and the way he had fumbled with the buttons of his shirt. She had told him she was glad he had done what he did. Not to be embarrassed. She even had the nerve to say he was distasteful.
He buttoned his shirt properly and headed for his own room. He was partly disappointed at her seemingly serene attitude. Secretly he had hoped for her to lose all composure, say how she felt. But... maybe she had.
Inara closed the door behind her. She leaned against the wall, trying to catch the breath that seemed to have left her body. Tears spilled down her cheeks. Why did she feel like this? Her emotions were getting the best of her. But how? She was trained to prevent that. Pretend nothing bothered her. Just liked she pretended her heart didn't flutter and stomach didn't tighten every time she saw Mal.
But now her heart felt torn. Ripped from her very chest and stomped on. Before she knew it her knees buckled and she slid down the wall. Her entire body trembled as her diaphragm heaved up and down, causing her to sob rapidly. She tried to stop. Tried to go back to pretending. But she couldn't. The sobs kept coming and all she could do was bring her knees close to her chest and let her emotions finally run their course
She didn't hear the door creak open or the light, bootless steps that made their way toward her. The young girl knelt to her knees and watched curiously as the Companion emptied herself of tears.
Inara looked up and met the raven-like eyes of River. She quickly wiped her eyes with her sleeve and smiled.
"The captain betrayed your heart. Took another into his bed." River said, starring past Inara, reading her deepest secrets.
Inara's smile uncurled as fresh tears formed around the rims of her eyes. She nodded, not knowing why of all people she was confessing to a seventeen- year-old child who wasn't quite right in the mind. She buried her face back into her knees. "He'll bed a whore who once was a Companion, but not a companion that's not a whore." She mumbled.
River smiled sympathetically, wrapped her arms around the form in front of her and gave her a light kiss on the head. "He's sorry."
Author's Note: This a little vignette about how Inara feels about her unexpected encounter with Mal on Heart of Gold after his night with Nandi. I wrote two versions and wasn't sure which one I wanted to post, so I hope you enjoy them both.
"I can't say I'm entirely okay. I'm a little appalled at her taste." Inara lied. She brushed past him casually, escaping the awkward tension that had filled the hall and headed towards her room.
Mal stood there, left alone. He hadn't expected to bump into the situation he had just encountered. Coming out of Nandi's room, his shirt open and hair ruffled, and then seeing Inara before him. He had expected her to yell. Or maybe even run. But she didn't. She just stood there, slightly amused at his pitiful excuses and the way he had fumbled with the buttons of his shirt. She had told him she was glad he had done what he did. Not to be embarrassed. She even had the nerve to say he was distasteful.
He buttoned his shirt properly and headed for his own room. He was partly disappointed at her seemingly serene attitude. Secretly he had hoped for her to lose all composure, say how she felt. But... maybe she had.
Inara closed the door behind her. She leaned against the wall, trying to catch the breath that seemed to have left her body. Tears spilled down her cheeks. Why did she feel like this? Her emotions were getting the best of her. But how? She was trained to prevent that. Pretend nothing bothered her. Just liked she pretended her heart didn't flutter and stomach didn't tighten every time she saw Mal.
But now her heart felt torn. Ripped from her very chest and stomped on. Before she knew it her knees buckled and she slid down the wall. Her entire body trembled as her diaphragm heaved up and down, causing her to sob rapidly. She tried to stop. Tried to go back to pretending. But she couldn't. The sobs kept coming and all she could do was bring her knees close to her chest and let her emotions finally run their course
She didn't hear the door creak open or the light, bootless steps that made their way toward her. The young girl knelt to her knees and watched curiously as the Companion emptied herself of tears.
Inara looked up and met the raven-like eyes of River. She quickly wiped her eyes with her sleeve and smiled.
"The captain betrayed your heart. Took another into his bed." River said, starring past Inara, reading her deepest secrets.
Inara's smile uncurled as fresh tears formed around the rims of her eyes. She nodded, not knowing why of all people she was confessing to a seventeen- year-old child who wasn't quite right in the mind. She buried her face back into her knees. "He'll bed a whore who once was a Companion, but not a companion that's not a whore." She mumbled.
River smiled sympathetically, wrapped her arms around the form in front of her and gave her a light kiss on the head. "He's sorry."