009 愛 Audio
[The audio starts and the sound of the market can be heard in the background. Then there's a rustle and then a soft sigh.]
I just wanted to let you all know that I'm back. I've actually been back for a couple of hours, but I wanted to get resettled. [And get as use to the fact that she was back in the Underworld as she could. There's a pause ( Read more... )
I just wanted to let you all know that I'm back. I've actually been back for a couple of hours, but I wanted to get resettled. [And get as use to the fact that she was back in the Underworld as she could. There's a pause ( Read more... )
He only tried to reach Inara earlier just to make sure she was doing okay. Not to talk about anything serious. However he had been unable to get a hold of her, hadn't seen her on the contact list, and suddenly felt his heart sink just a little. If she was gone then, well, that was good for her. Good for them both, really. He wouldn't need to have an awkward conversation and she would be better off. Hopefully ( ... )
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She'd even been mad. She'd been so much when she'd been gone and when things were just beginning to settle and the grieving process beginning - here she was again. It didn't seem like she'd been gone very long - if her half packed apartment was any indication. But Mei-Lein was still a kitten, looked no different from the last time she'd seen her, and seemed to be relatively happy.
Breathing out, she shifted the things she'd bought in the market in her arms, her forehead furrowing a bit as she slowly made her way back to the apartment. Things had changed, she felt she had even changed, for better or worse, she wasn't sure. But there it was. She was tired, so tired of bad things constantly happening. She didn't think it was much to ask for a ( ... )
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Inara?
[Yes, this place did have a sick sense of humour. And before any other thought came to him he noticed her bruised cheek. It didn't look too fresh, but it was pretty goddamn noticeable. He approached her, getting a better look at it the closer he got.]
My God, what happened to you?
[He reaches out to touch her cheek. But it wasn't just her cheek- something else didn't seem right at all.]
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A fight, but it's really nothing.
[Her lips pressed together for a moment and then she finally looked at him.]
What are you doing here?
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Instead he slowly retracted his hand while attempting not to look a bit hurt at her avoidance.]
I was- [and suddenly he felt awkward-] Ah, I was stopping by to check on you. It's been a while and I wanted to make sure everything was okay.
[Then he pointed at her cheek.]
...Guess they weren't okay.
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All that awkwardness seemed to be there still. Not surprising at all. It seemed her lot in life to have awkward relationships with men.
But even though she'd been gone and time had passed for her, it stung a little to think that he might not have even noticed she'd been gone.]
Yes, it certainly has been a while. About seven months worth of a while for me.
[She shrugged her shoulders a bit, shifting the things in her arms.]
It's nothing, really.
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Seven months? No, it couldn't have been more than a couple of days.
[Which he didn't want to admit that he kept track of his contact list, at least certain people on it anyway, and he had noticed she was there one day and gone the next.]
So, just like Elena and I, you got sent home and now you're back with... a huge time difference in-between what you and everyone else remembers.
[And not that she seemed particularly overwhelmed with what she was carrying, but he felt like he was keeping her from going inside her place. He nods at the bag she is holding--]
Can I get that for you?
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[A smile had begun to form on her lips when she'd started speaking, but it had faded by the time she finished. That last month though.... Book and Wash and finding out about what had happened on Miranda. Zoe, Simon, Kaylee and Mal all injured.
She shook her head, clearing her thoughts. That was all over and she was stuck yet again in the Underworld.]
Ah, yes. Just like that.
[She looked down at the bag and after a brief hesitation nodded and held it out to him.]
Thank you.
[She nodded again and once he'd taken the bag, she stepped past him and unlocked the door to her apartment, stepped in and quickly leaned over, swooping up the white kitten before she could escape.]
Don't mind the mess, I was packing before I left.
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Packing? Getting tired of this cozy abode? Least it's in decent shape.
[Her place looked better compared to where he used to stay. And then he remembered something. When he had gotten back from his trip home he had scanned the network to check up on Inara and Sully, and he had found that video of her kissing that guy Elena knows. Mal, or whatever. That was an image of something that happened where she was from, yet she never even mentioned him.
She could be moving in with him. Clearly something was going on between those two- the video showed as much and Drake was something of an expert on repressed emotions, or feelings for someone. He had done that dance with Elena for a while.
So he looked around the place, at the boxes lying about, and remarked casually--]
Did, ah... anything eventful happen? Life changing? Maybe you got a boyfriend... [he trails off]
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[Her gaze shot right to him, and her eyebrows lifted.] A boyfriend? [And she couldn't help but laugh at that. Where had he even gotten that sort of idea? She moved to the couch and placed the kitten on one of the throw pillows.]
No, nothing like that at all. I finally left Serenity and returned to Shinon. I taught at the training house, well, I did until circumstances put me right back on Serenity.
[And it was all true. Inara had no idea what there was going on between her and Mal. There were looks, stupid rescue operations. But the words that were sometimes shared between them, just made her wonder because... She just didn't know.]
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He had been a little hurt when he saw that video. Jealous. Even though he had a wife and it had been a year for him, it was merely left over emotions that he felt for their short time together. That even if there was something between them she couldn't be as fully committed because she always had feelings for someone else.]
Why's that so funny? C'mon. Pretty girl like you- I bet guys are lining up just to ask you out. [and he stopped in front of her, placing his hands on his hips] Or they would, but you have someone else in mind.
[And despite how he felt, or would have felt, he appeared perfectly fine. Not a hint of any of his mind's jumbled thoughts coming through in what was a gentle expression on his face. Friendly smile, teasing tone.]Like ( ... )
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And then the color drained from her face. He thought there was something going on between her and Mal? Granted, she honestly had NO idea what sort of relationship she had with Mal... But to have Nate questioning her about it sort of irked her.
When she'd last been there he, Nathan Drake, had seemed to be purposely avoiding her, and now? Now he was asking her about Mal?
Her lips pressed together and her eyes narrowed a bit.]
I don't even know where you'd get such an idea. There's nothing going on between me and Mal. I don't even know if I'd call us friends. Crew members maybe.
Though, I truly don't see how any of this is any of your business. Are we even friends enough for you to proach this sort of subject? Because if I'm remembering correctly, you didn't bother talking to me for a couple of weeks before I left and friends don't do that to eachother.
[Her eyes narrow a little more and she stepped in a bit closer to him, her ( ... )
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His jaw clenched as she continued, wind completely taken out of his sails. He hadn't meant anything offensive, he was teasing, but apparently she was sensitive about the whole thing. Something he would point out as being damning evidence, but clearly he wasn't allowed to.
Bit by bit he swallowed and repressed the hurt he felt at this moment, not wanting to appear weak or desperate. And when she was finished, when she asked her question, he merely shrugged his shoulders, lips pressed tight, and a rather casual expression was on his face before he replied with biting sarcasm--]
No reason. Apparently we're not close enough for that discussion.
[But even though his expression was blank his eyes told a different story. There was pain in them. And it wasn't just ( ... )
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Yet here he was and they'd been talking for less than five minutes and he was already spinning her around and working her up.
Her gaze dropped and she really felt as though he'd smacked her right in the face with his words.]
You're so incredibly clueless. [Her words are soft and really no more than a whisper. But it was true. Clueless. How could the men she knew just all seem to fall into that category? Had she done something some where, some time that these men just seemed to be there?
She shook her head, but refused to lift her gaze to meet his.]
Obviously there needs to be more space, so go. Go away, Nate.
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He knew if he walked out that door it was over. He couldn't handle being tossed aside, abandoned by people he cared about. It was never something he could handle and that fear was always with him. That fear was why he was always the first to leave. But this time Inara was doing it first, much like she had before. All it did was rekindle his fears.
Bitterness, now, was in his tone. The pain a little more evident.]
So that's it, huh? You're done with me?
[He glanced at the door then back at her.]
I'm not a mind reader, Inara. If I'm clueless it's because you aren't telling me everything.
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She squeezed her eyes shut, wishing the floor would just split apart and swallow her. Or that he had just walked away. But he was stubborn, and had to push.]
It's not like that.
[She reached up, rubbing her forehead for a moment before she finally lifted her gaze to meet his.]
Fine.
You realize you're the only person I've ever told about me being ill? Why do you think that is? I could have very easily blown you off, and yet I told you. I've offered you comfort, opened my home to you, I've been there for you.
[She exhaled slowly before continuing.]
I shouldn't have let you so close, I should have known better. But I was, I'm not even sure what I was thinking. That I could possibly be- [Her shoulders sagged a bit.] I don't know. And then you were gone... And, then back and you couldn't even talk to me ( ... )
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