Coming Home, pt. 1/?
Title: Coming Home, part 1/?
Author: zoewarren
Rating: This part is PG-14, no promises about the rest of the series
Characters: Inara, Mal, crew
Pairing: Mal/Inara
Spoilers/Timeline: post-BDM (spoilers for the movie)
Sequel To: Leave of Absence and Absence Makes the Heart...
Word Count: 1,082
Disclaimer: Joss is boss, I'm just playing
Summary: Inara returns to Serenity after four months at the Training House.
Author's Note:
This is for the folks who asked for more at the end of Leave of Absence. It was enough to get me wondering too. That said, y'all may wish I had left well enough alone. Given how slowly I write, I hate to start posting fics until they're close to done, but I just don't have the patience to wait that long. I can at least promise that part 2 should come fairly soon. And, just so you know, nothing gets me writing faster than a little feedback. So, comments are love - for all of us. This story follows Absence Makes the Heart..., which follows Leave of Absence. Best to begin at the beginning.
Coming Home
The space port on Persephone was loud and crowded. Vendors hawked their wares to the streams of passengers dragging luggage and bags and carts and livestock. Squat vehicles trundled by, piled with crates and containers, belching fumes into the already thick miasma of woodsmoke, dust, and burnt jet fuel.
Inara stood tucked as close as she could get to the large shipping containers in an attempt to keep out of the way. Her bag sat by her feet, even though she knew better than to let go of it among this crowd, because her hands were trembling too badly to maintain her grip.
And when Serenity hove into view overhead, angling in for a delicate landing, the butterflies swelled in her stomach and she thought for one lurching moment she would actually burst into tears.
Serenity was whole.
** **
Kaylee literally ran across the space port to fling her arms around Inara, nearly bowling them both over. Simon and River weren’t far behind. Zoe followed at a more sedate pace, but her smile was wide and welcoming, and her hug was firm and warm. She handed Grace over almost immediately, and Inara couldn’t quite get enough of the warm baby smell of her.
Jayne sauntered up as well, and when the others turned to him expectantly, he offered her an awkward one-armed squeeze.
All of them were talking over one another until Inara couldn’t actually make out any one sentence. But it didn’t matter. There was all the time in the world to catch up. Inara thought she would happily go away again, if this was what it felt like to come home.
Kaylee slung her arm over Inara’s shoulders and River took her by the hand that wasn’t cradling Grace, and they all walked back across the space dock toward Serenity.
Mal was waiting just inside the cargo bay.
** **
He hadn’t intended to come down. He certainly hadn’t intended to wait. There was work needed doing, and it didn’t look like the others were going to be doing it. And yet, here he stood. Feet planted in the cargo bay like he was waiting for them to take root. And his heart was pounding, and he couldn’t quite catch his breath.
He watched her approach, surrounded by the crew. All of them talking, all of them breathing like there was enough air for everyone. He saw the moment she caught sight of him. Saw her smile. And then there was no air at all.
And for one ridiculous moment he imagined charging down the ramp to meet her, imagined throwing his arms around her in the same way Kaylee had. He was overwhelmed with the need to touch her. To hold her and to know she was safe.
And then reality closed around him once again, with a suddenness that ached.
He turned and disappeared into the ship.
** **
Inara watched him go and felt the butterflies turn to lead in her stomach.
Kaylee squeezed Inara’s shoulders. “He’s been like that since you left.”
“Has he.”
Inara shrugged gently away from Kaylee and River, handed Grace back to Zoe, and stalked up the cargo bay ramp after him.
** **
Kaylee looked to Zoe and they both sighed.
“Three days,” said Zoe.
“And then what?”
“And then I lock them in the hold together until they sort things out.”
Kaylee snorted. “Shoulda done that years ago.”
** **
Inara found Mal hiding in the engine room, of all places.
“What’s wrong?”
“Inara.” Mal’s voice was flat and cold. He didn’t turn away from whatever it was he was fiddling with.
“You can’t even say hello?” Inara’s tone took on an edge of its own.
“If it’s a ‘welcome aboard’ you’re looking for, you’d best go find someone else.”
“Well, your manners certainly haven’t improved while I’ve been gone. It’s nice to see that some things never change.”
“Some of us got more important things to worry on than talkin’ fancy.”
“Yes, I’d forgotten it was too much to expect for you to act like a human being.” Inara was somewhat taken aback by the acid tone in her own voice. Excitement had swung to anger, and she wasn’t quite in control.
He turned to face her. His voice was cold, but his eyes burned. “It may be you can’t recall what honest work looks like after all that luxuriating at your whore academy, but the rest of us got crime to do. So you just get your things on board and we’ll be on our way.”
“And how much will the fare for passage be, Captain?”
“You leave, you come back. If you’re gonna act like a passenger, you get treated like one. Not everything on this boat can stop every time you change your mind.”
“Don’t play the idiot with me, Mal. You know exactly why I left.”
“Well, I’m sure after all those clients, we shouldn’t be surprised there ain’t enough on board one small ship to keep you happy.”
She advanced on him, deeper into the engine room, fully intending to slap his face. She was almost as surprised as he was when her hands gripped either side of his head and brought his lips to hers. For a long moment he didn’t respond, and Inara’s heart hammered in her chest until finally, finally, his arms came around her, his hands knotting in the fabric at the small of her back.
And for those few seconds, her homecoming was what it was supposed to be.
And then his hands moved, sliding around to the front to push her away, his palms against her hips.
“No,” was all he said.
He pushed past her and left the engine room.
** **
The door chime took Inara by surprise. She reached for a handkerchief, but she knew she would never be able to hide all trace of her tears in time. She would have to stop crying first, for one.
Inara climbed awkwardly to her feet, trying to force the waver out of her voice. “Just a minute.”
But, the door opened anyway. Watching it in defeat, Inara thought that if it was Mal, she might actually shoot him.
It was Kaylee. She stepped through the door, a sympathetic look already on her face.
“Was he awful?”
Inara sucked in a deep, calming breath, which, to her utter humiliation, hitched on a sob.
“Oh, honey.” Kaylee crossed the room and folded Inara into a hug. And Inara let her. She was too bruised for anything else.
Author: zoewarren
Rating: This part is PG-14, no promises about the rest of the series
Characters: Inara, Mal, crew
Pairing: Mal/Inara
Spoilers/Timeline: post-BDM (spoilers for the movie)
Sequel To: Leave of Absence and Absence Makes the Heart...
Word Count: 1,082
Disclaimer: Joss is boss, I'm just playing
Summary: Inara returns to Serenity after four months at the Training House.
Author's Note:
This is for the folks who asked for more at the end of Leave of Absence. It was enough to get me wondering too. That said, y'all may wish I had left well enough alone. Given how slowly I write, I hate to start posting fics until they're close to done, but I just don't have the patience to wait that long. I can at least promise that part 2 should come fairly soon. And, just so you know, nothing gets me writing faster than a little feedback. So, comments are love - for all of us. This story follows Absence Makes the Heart..., which follows Leave of Absence. Best to begin at the beginning.
Coming Home
The space port on Persephone was loud and crowded. Vendors hawked their wares to the streams of passengers dragging luggage and bags and carts and livestock. Squat vehicles trundled by, piled with crates and containers, belching fumes into the already thick miasma of woodsmoke, dust, and burnt jet fuel.
Inara stood tucked as close as she could get to the large shipping containers in an attempt to keep out of the way. Her bag sat by her feet, even though she knew better than to let go of it among this crowd, because her hands were trembling too badly to maintain her grip.
And when Serenity hove into view overhead, angling in for a delicate landing, the butterflies swelled in her stomach and she thought for one lurching moment she would actually burst into tears.
Serenity was whole.
** **
Kaylee literally ran across the space port to fling her arms around Inara, nearly bowling them both over. Simon and River weren’t far behind. Zoe followed at a more sedate pace, but her smile was wide and welcoming, and her hug was firm and warm. She handed Grace over almost immediately, and Inara couldn’t quite get enough of the warm baby smell of her.
Jayne sauntered up as well, and when the others turned to him expectantly, he offered her an awkward one-armed squeeze.
All of them were talking over one another until Inara couldn’t actually make out any one sentence. But it didn’t matter. There was all the time in the world to catch up. Inara thought she would happily go away again, if this was what it felt like to come home.
Kaylee slung her arm over Inara’s shoulders and River took her by the hand that wasn’t cradling Grace, and they all walked back across the space dock toward Serenity.
Mal was waiting just inside the cargo bay.
** **
He hadn’t intended to come down. He certainly hadn’t intended to wait. There was work needed doing, and it didn’t look like the others were going to be doing it. And yet, here he stood. Feet planted in the cargo bay like he was waiting for them to take root. And his heart was pounding, and he couldn’t quite catch his breath.
He watched her approach, surrounded by the crew. All of them talking, all of them breathing like there was enough air for everyone. He saw the moment she caught sight of him. Saw her smile. And then there was no air at all.
And for one ridiculous moment he imagined charging down the ramp to meet her, imagined throwing his arms around her in the same way Kaylee had. He was overwhelmed with the need to touch her. To hold her and to know she was safe.
And then reality closed around him once again, with a suddenness that ached.
He turned and disappeared into the ship.
** **
Inara watched him go and felt the butterflies turn to lead in her stomach.
Kaylee squeezed Inara’s shoulders. “He’s been like that since you left.”
“Has he.”
Inara shrugged gently away from Kaylee and River, handed Grace back to Zoe, and stalked up the cargo bay ramp after him.
** **
Kaylee looked to Zoe and they both sighed.
“Three days,” said Zoe.
“And then what?”
“And then I lock them in the hold together until they sort things out.”
Kaylee snorted. “Shoulda done that years ago.”
** **
Inara found Mal hiding in the engine room, of all places.
“What’s wrong?”
“Inara.” Mal’s voice was flat and cold. He didn’t turn away from whatever it was he was fiddling with.
“You can’t even say hello?” Inara’s tone took on an edge of its own.
“If it’s a ‘welcome aboard’ you’re looking for, you’d best go find someone else.”
“Well, your manners certainly haven’t improved while I’ve been gone. It’s nice to see that some things never change.”
“Some of us got more important things to worry on than talkin’ fancy.”
“Yes, I’d forgotten it was too much to expect for you to act like a human being.” Inara was somewhat taken aback by the acid tone in her own voice. Excitement had swung to anger, and she wasn’t quite in control.
He turned to face her. His voice was cold, but his eyes burned. “It may be you can’t recall what honest work looks like after all that luxuriating at your whore academy, but the rest of us got crime to do. So you just get your things on board and we’ll be on our way.”
“And how much will the fare for passage be, Captain?”
“You leave, you come back. If you’re gonna act like a passenger, you get treated like one. Not everything on this boat can stop every time you change your mind.”
“Don’t play the idiot with me, Mal. You know exactly why I left.”
“Well, I’m sure after all those clients, we shouldn’t be surprised there ain’t enough on board one small ship to keep you happy.”
She advanced on him, deeper into the engine room, fully intending to slap his face. She was almost as surprised as he was when her hands gripped either side of his head and brought his lips to hers. For a long moment he didn’t respond, and Inara’s heart hammered in her chest until finally, finally, his arms came around her, his hands knotting in the fabric at the small of her back.
And for those few seconds, her homecoming was what it was supposed to be.
And then his hands moved, sliding around to the front to push her away, his palms against her hips.
“No,” was all he said.
He pushed past her and left the engine room.
** **
The door chime took Inara by surprise. She reached for a handkerchief, but she knew she would never be able to hide all trace of her tears in time. She would have to stop crying first, for one.
Inara climbed awkwardly to her feet, trying to force the waver out of her voice. “Just a minute.”
But, the door opened anyway. Watching it in defeat, Inara thought that if it was Mal, she might actually shoot him.
It was Kaylee. She stepped through the door, a sympathetic look already on her face.
“Was he awful?”
Inara sucked in a deep, calming breath, which, to her utter humiliation, hitched on a sob.
“Oh, honey.” Kaylee crossed the room and folded Inara into a hug. And Inara let her. She was too bruised for anything else.