Well, I guess y'all like this, since I see it getting hits and alerts. So here we go with chapter 3.
BTW, this chapter uses another song by The Airborne Toxic Event, called "Half of Something Else". It seemed to fit these two.
Mal stared at Inara for a long moment, not quite believing his ears. 'I must be pretty gorram drunk' he thought to himself. He studied her face, trying to get past her Companion training to see what she really felt. "Shuh-MUH?"He finally said. She smiled softly at him. "I said, I want you. Mal, I shouldn't have ever left." She spoke softly, and he had to lean closer to catch everything. As he took in her words, he caught a whiff of her perfume, and everything came rushing back to him. Without meaning to, he let out a soft moan. He righted himself abruptly, trying to maintain control over himself in his inebriated state.
"Don't play round with me 'Nara. I'm not in the mood for any of your Companion games. Don't make me believe somethin' that's not real." He told her sharply, trying to not get his hopes up. He couldn't take it if she did this to him again; got him all wrapped up in a lovely dream just to waken him by making him live the nightmare of life without her. She shook her head, reaching out a hand to touch his shoulder, trying to bridge the space between them. "Mal, I'm not playing a game here. I've been hurting ever since I left you, left Serenity. I was happy with you, and I shouldn't have run." He looked at her with pain, and yes hope, in his blue eyes. "Then why did you leave me?" he almost shouted.
Inara's lips began trembling at his words. She decided she was done with being nice and subtle. "Because you made me feel! I couldn't ignore my feelings like I've been trained to do. I was falling in love with you, and I couldn't stop it! And I was afraid! I've never been out of control, Mal. And falling in love with you made me lose control, and feel, and I didn't want to see it in your eyes when you were through with me. I couldn't take that. So I left first. But that hurt too! What am I supposed to do now?" The tears she had been trying to hold back finally began falling. Her shoulders shook and she stood there, finally baring her feelings to him. And she felt the weight that had been pressing down on her soul lift, lighten.
He stood in shock, knowing that he couldn't be drunk enough to imagine her yelling at him that way. Mal knew she never lost control like that. And to know that he was the cause of it, well honestly a very small part of him felt pretty proud of the fact that he could make a trained Companion lose control and fall in love. He finally registered that she had stopped yelling and was waiting on a response. "'Nara, I never wanted to hurt you. I'd have never left you. Do you know what kind of mess I've been the last few months? You left me swingin. All I wanted-" he choked up here and tried to clear his throat, "All I wanted was to be with you. That day you left was the worst day of my life, and you know I've had some bad ones." They both chuckled at this, which eased the knot of tension that had formed.
Mal kept talking. "You made me feel too, 'Nara. I was feelin it too. And I never wanted it to end." Then he groaned out "Ah, hell with it" and pulled her close for a rough kiss.
On the night that we met
You told me you wanted
Something more from me
And it was all that I could do
I remember your face, like a child
The way that you blushed
The way that you smiled
And now it's all that I can do
And I wake up feeling new
There's so much more I never knew
The kiss felt like it lasted for days. Inara felt herself relaxing in his arms, as if she was home. Running her fingers through his hair only seemed to intensify his need for her, and he pulled her even closer. As the finally broke apart, Mal laid his forehead against hers. "You know we'll never have it easy. I'm gonna tick you off, and you're going to make me wish I'd never come into the black." She chuckled softly and nodded. "But you know we wouldn't have it any other way. We don't know how to do easy, Mal. That's not our way."
Don't take it so hard;
We did what we could
There were no easy answers
To be understood
It was all that we could do
We're the only ones who knew
Now all I think about is you
The way that you screamed
The way that you cried
The way that you wipe your eyes
And fall against my side
The way that you told
Told me I was wrong
And the way that you'd sing
When you'd hear a song
And the way that you answered
When you knew I was gone
Jayne and Zoe had been trying to tell everyone what had happened while they were out. Kaylee was wanting to go find the Captain and Inara, "just to make sure they're okay" she said, although everyone knew she really just wanted to know what was happening. River sat and smiled. She could tell everything was right again, but she didn't want to ruin the happy ending. Finally, they heard Inara's musical laugh as they walked into the ship, Inara holding Mal up and laughing at his exaggerated stories of the jobs they'd done since she had been gone. They ran and looked down at them from the catwalk. Kaylee shrieked out "Are you really back 'Nara?" She looked up at her friend and smiled. "Yes, Mei mei, I'm home." With that, everyone made their way down to hug her, and Inara smiled as she heard the joyous voices of her friends. She really was home.
Later that night, as they lay together in Mal's bunk, she looked at him as he stretched. "Mal, you know I mean to stay now. I'm not ever going to run again. And I'm not going back to being a Companion." Mal's eyes widened at this last statement. He knew what he was getting into with her, and he had promised himself he wasn't going to push her on it. "You really would give that up for me?" he whispered. She nodded and smiled. "Yes Mal, I'm yours completely." He kissed her fervently, and then whispered "You better remember that, 'cause I'm yours too."
Now I know that I'm blind
And that you're all I see
And yeah I know it's not clever
But I just want you with me
I'm only half of something else
I'm only half of something else
I'm only half of something else
And that's a wrap! I hope all you readers have enjoyed this. If you did, please hit that little blue button. You could even just leave a smiley face if you don't want to type out a note. Just let me know what you thought.