Mal-Moiraine.

[bad_in_latin]

[ooc: After this.]

Mal returns to the bar from the garage, head itching and in general looking extremely uncomfortable.

He's still got the pry-bar in one hand when he asks for a room key at the bar.

Comments

[blue_ajah]

She is settled at an out-of-the-way table, but not so far distant that she is unable to observe him; nor could she fail to hear his request.

Moiraine's eyebrows rise.

"Have you taken up residence here, then?"

[bad_in_latin]

Mal jumps.

"What? No, of course not."

Then why do you have a key, Reynolds?

"It's easier to get cleaned up here than at home."

[blue_ajah]

"I see."

Her glance runs over him, taking in his appearance and the pry-bar in his hand.

"You appear to have been busy, indeed."

[bad_in_latin]

"You could say so," Mal nods his head, sending slivers of an iridescent substance to the ground. His hand clenches around the pry-bar to stop himself from scratching.

In a question he never really thought he'd hear himself ask again: "Do you want to come up? I promise I'm more personable when I'm not [disgusting as hell]."

[blue_ajah]

Her eyebrows rise again, but after a second Moiraine nods, accepting his invitation.

"If you wish, yes."

[bad_in_latin]

Mal turns at that, switching the metal rod from his right to left hand during the short trip to the vacant room.

The room itself is nothing much to speak of -- bed, recliner and chair are the main furniture pieces, with a second door beyond to the bathroom.

"I, um."

Mal's brain may have finally caught up to the insinuation of awkwardness inherent to inviting Moiraine upstairs.

"I'll be quick about it."

Quick also applies to how fast he disappears through to the bathroom.

[blue_ajah]

She shakes her head slightly, and a small, amused smile curves her lips.

In passing, Mal had set the pry-bar on the bed; Moiraine retrieves it. Taking a seat in the recliner, she turns it over in her hands, examining it closely and with care.

[bad_in_latin]

Showering itself takes less than five minutes.

Finding a comb takes another couple, then another several pass while Mal tries to make sure he hasn't missed anything.

When he comes back out again, the only true evidence of him having showered is his damp hair - he is still wearing the same clothes, traces of dust and grease evident.

"Anything interesting?" Mal asks warily when he sees Moiraine with the bar.

[blue_ajah]

"It may depend, I suppose."

She looks up at him, her expression serene and revealing nothing of her thoughts.

[bad_in_latin]

It's the kind of answer he's come to expect from Moiraine. When he sits in the chair, Mal feels more on the defensive than he should be.

"I haven't seen you since you got back," Mal leads...anywhere else.

[blue_ajah]

"Dale Cooper was kind enough to offer to arrange a temporary residence for me in Twin Peaks, where I might recover in quiet," she explains. "I have been gone for some days, as a result; it also appears that time between there and here may be altered, as is often the nature of this place."

A pause.

"Then again, since it seems that you have found yourself involved with a project of some sort, it may also be that you have been otherwise occupied on those occasions when I have been at Milliways since my ... return."

[bad_in_latin]

"Just because you have a pry-bar in your hands don't mean you need to use it," Mal returns just as placidly as ever he manages.

[blue_ajah]

Her eyebrows wing upward once again.

"Am I intruding, then?"

[bad_in_latin]

Mal works his jaw for a second.

"Reckon I invited you in."

[blue_ajah]

"You did, yes."

In the beat of silence that follows, the unasked question of why? almost seems to echo from the walls.

Moiraine lifts the metal bar in her hands, considers it for a second, and extends it toward Mal, evidently intending to return it to him.

[bad_in_latin]

Mal hears it, when he takes the bar back.

missed you

"I was concerned for you, when you arrived. I should have inquired after you with someone, but things have been distracting on Serenity lately."

Moiraine would only ask 'why'. "Kaylee and Simon are currently living on Os--elsewhere."