Legacy - Mal/Inara - Ch.6
Jun. 25th, 2006 09:52 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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firefly_fanfic
Title: Legacy
Authors:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
druinsanity and bashipforever
Summary: AU Takes place two and a half years after the end of the series. The movie never happened, but if you’ve read the comic book Those Left Behind, it did. Everything Inara has worked for in her life is finally happening but an old friend shows up, making her doubt everything she’s wanted.
Pairing: Mal/Inara
Rating: PG-13 - R
A/N: The title comes from an Emily Dickenson poem. This is a WIP but it is being updated daily so you shouldn’t have to wait for too long for updates.
You left me, sweet, two legacies,-
A legacy of love
A Heavenly Father would content,
Had He the offer of;
You left me boundaries of pain
Capacious as the sea,
Between eternity and time,
Your consciousness and me.
Previous Chapters:
Ch.1 Ch.2 Ch.3 Ch.4 Ch.5
Inara lay in bed fighting sleep, her head on Mal’s shoulder, her fingers gliding over the various cuts, scrapes, bruises, and scars on his upper body. She dipped her head, placing a kiss over a particularly nasty looking bruise just over his heart. A smile curved along her lips and she looked up at him, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “I don’t know about you, but I came up here to look at the stars.” She teased as she sat up, clutching the blanket around her body. She tugged on Mal’s arm, pulling him off of the bed and towards the bridge.
Mal wasn’t sure how something they’d fought against for so long could feel so comfortable. As she led him to the bridge, he tapped her rear playfully and raised an innocent eyebrow when she looked back to him. “Thought we were already seein’ ‘em.” He sat in the chair at the helm and pulled Inara down into his lap again. His arms circled tight around her waist, pulling her back flush against him.
“That’s an entirely different kind of stars. A kind I enjoyed seeing immensely.” Inara told him with a content smile. She settled down into his lap and wrapped the blanket around them both. She laid her head against his shoulder and just stared out at the stars, happy with just the silence for now.
Mal’s arms wrapped around her forced a sigh of perfect contentment to slip from her. He’d never know how truly naked she was with him right now. Her clothes, makeup, and manners were her armor. By sitting here naked with him she was allowing herself to be completely vulnerable. Her eyes drooped sleepily and a lazy smile crossed her lips. “This is perfect.” She murmured.
“Got a hard time believin’ it gets any better than this.” Mal turned his head to press a kiss into Inara’s hair. He drew a deep breath of her and looked back out into the black, nodding. “Perfect.” He agreed, deciding that he could do this for forever and be happy. Once he got her back to Serenity, he would shower her with kisses, slowly breaking down any masks the guild had forced her to wear. He’d make love to her everyday and every chance he got. At least his crew would be happy that they’d quit pretending they didn’t love each other.
Inara drew a needed breath and stared out of the window, almost too content to move. The lazy smile curving her lips got wider as she recognized one of the groups of stars. She pointed it out to Mal.
“That’s Calliope’s Hope.” She said, beginning to recount a story her mother had told her when she was young. “Back when the world was just considering leaving Earth-that-was, there was a girl named Calliope. Her father was a proud Alliance official. Much to his chagrin, she was in love with a young man who was a rabid Independent supporter. Calliope found out she was pregnant and she and her lover were planning to run away together. Her father found out about it and forbade it. The next day he sent her lover on a shuttle to settle one of the first moons. Within three months her lover was dead. Three weeks later, Calliope killed herself. The thing her father didn’t know is that you can’t thwart destiny… no matter how hard you try. Calliope and her lover never got to spend their mortal life together so destiny put them in the stars so that they could live together forever.”
As she spoke, her fingers traced a shape in the air. “See, there are two human heads.” She pointed out pinprick stars. “The brightest star is their heart. They share one. There’s their arms, their legs, and if you fly straight for the heart, you end up on the moon Calliope’s lover died on.” She smiled.
Mal put his gaze in line with Inara’s hand as her fingers traced designs in the sky. “Never heard such stories as that. Sounds like a whole lotta death and dyin’ for supposin’ to be so happy and in love.”
He kissed her bare shoulder and trailed his fingers back through the silky strands of her hair. “Too much for my likin’.”
Inara smiled, leaning back into his touch. “The point is that there are some loves too great to be denied. They’ll always find a way, maybe not here and now, but somewhere, sometime. I think it’s terribly romantic, but if you tell anyone I said that, I’ll deny it.” She teased.
“Secret’s safe with me.” Mal squeezed Inara tighter to him, loving the feel of her bare skin against his. “Nothin’ wrong with likin’ the romantic things though.” He felt as if he could be the most romantic man in the world with Inara by his side. No… romance ain’t that bad. He thought.
Inara’s smile softened, knowing that she could argue that point with him. There was no place for romance in a companion’s life just as there was no place for falling in love but she didn’t want to fight. There’d be time for that later and right now she just wanted to keep this peaceful, perfect feeling. She turned in his arms, a mischievous grin replacing the smile that had just been dancing across her lips. She dipped her head and placed a kiss on his collarbone.
“You know, Zoe and Wash have a thing about doing it on the bridge. I’ve never done that…” She grinned against his skin.
Mal closed his eyes and his head lolled back to give Inara more room as her attentions were on his neck and collarbone. He gave himself freely and completely to her and it felt so nice that he never wanted to stop. One more round and I’m takin’ her back to Serenity where she belongs.
His hands slid down her back as he easily moved her so that she was straddling him in the chair. His hands cupped the curve of her hips and a light moan escaped him before his eyes snapped open. “Wait… Zoe and Wash huhwhat?”
Inara’s head tilted back in a light, playful laugh before she returned to nipping at his neck. “Don’t worry about it…” She whispered over the dark marks she’d left on his skin.
* * *
Inara woke with a soft yawn and a contented feeling washing over her skin. She stretched lazily and then snuggled closer to Mal, her eyes still closed. At some point during the night, they’d made their way back to the bed. Another round of lovemaking had ensued and the entire shuttle smelled of a mixture of Mal, herself, and the love making they’d indulged in over and over.
Something inside of her jolted her awake and she sat up, glancing around the shuttle for a clock. It was six in the morning. She knew that one of the girls would be coming to serve her breakfast in a little while. While the thought of leaving this peaceful place was nauseating, she didn’t want to deal with any more questions or rumors than necessary.
“Mal, wake up Bao Bei.” She whispered, placing a kiss on his collarbone. “I need to get back to the guild house. Priestess Dria will find out I’ve gone and think I’ve been kidnapped. We could have breakfast together.” She slid a finger down the line of his neck to his chest as Mal woke, clearly trying to register what she was telling him. “Have to keep your strength up.” She teased with a grin.
“Can tell the priestess you decided to come with me.” Mal said around a yawn as he looked at the time. He was just coming out of a heavy sleep, the kind he hadn’t had in a long time. “We’ll get back to Serenity. Kaylee’ll be happy to see you. Can already see the smile on that girl’s face.”
Inara hesitated at Mal’s words and the contentment and joy she’d just had bottomed out into despair. How could she not have known? This was Mal, there was no way he would have done this if he hadn’t thought it would be completely. There wasn’t anything but all the way with him. She bit her bottom lip, keeping her head down so that Mal couldn’t see her face for the moment.
“Mal… I thought… I can’t…” She whispered, squeezing her eyes shut almost as if she were anticipating a blow; not a physical one because she knew Mal would never hit her, but a blow nonetheless. And this one would hurt far worse than any physical one ever could.
“I’ve… For two years I’ve done nothing but train for this. In a week they’re holding the coronation to make me House Priestess. The entire guild house is counting on me… the responsibility… I can’t. She shook her head as she stumbled over the words while everything inside of her screamed for her to not say them. All the logical parts of her knew that she had to go back and become the House Priestess. The rest of her wanted to stay here with Mal, in this perfect place forever.
Mal felt every relaxed muscle in his body slowly tense up. The realization that he’d just opened up to Inara in ways that he couldn’t to anyone else and that she wasn’t coming back with him literally knocked the wind out of him. It was more painful an attack than any of the abuses he’d received in an Alliance prison. He felt as though she’d hit him hard and that his heart had just shattered into a million tiny pieces that could never be put back together again. He’d been hurt too many times and not being completely emotionally healed yet from prison, this was a deathblow.
He sat up on the bed and reached for his pants, pulling them on and yanking them up his legs to button them at his waist. He pulled on his shirt and started working the buttons on it. Used me… She used me to get her kicks and now she’s off to that whore house.
“Get out.” He whispered, his hands shaking so badly that even buttoning his shirt was difficult. He couldn’t bring himself to look up to her because he knew he would break just as badly on the outside as his heart just had if he did. Instead, he closed off, put walls up around his emotions, and shook his head. “Get out, ‘Nara.” This time his voice carried more volume with his hurt, pain, and anger. “Goin’ back to my ship.” Stupid… gorram yúchûn for fallin’ for this goushi. Yúchûn for thinkin’ she’d want to come back with me. He cursed himself mentally for his stupidity and the vulnerable place he’d allowed himself to be in. He’d been weak and gullible. Yúchûn…
Hurt raced across her features and for a moment, Inara thought she was going to fall apart right here in front of him. She bit her bottom lip until she tasted blood, forcing herself to focus on that pain rather than the one inside that threatened to hollow her out. Her entire body trembled and she had to stop herself from crying out that she took it back. Everything in her yearned to be back on Serenity like this with him but fear took over, stopping her words.
She got out of the bed, her gaze anywhere but on Mal. If she looked at him she knew she’d shatter. She couldn’t afford that right now. She could feel his eyes on her as she snatched her dress from the floor and put it on. She stumbled, anything but graceful in that moment. The buttons in the back were ripped, making it gape and hang off of her. She crossed the shuttle; her eyes still fixed on the floor and grabbed her cloak from where it lay in a heap on the bridge. She risked a small glance at Mal, not meeting his eyes but looking instead at his chest where he still hadn’t gotten the buttons closed. She had just been lying so contentedly there a few moments ago and then it had all fallen apart.
“This hurts more than you will ever know, Mal.” She slipped out of the door, tears finally breaking free. She knew that by tomorrow it’d be all over Sihnon that the next House Priestess had been seen fleeing the docks in tears and at that moment, she didn’t care.
Mal had to make himself not go out after Inara, hit her on the head, and carry her back to Serenity with force. He didn’t want to be any more the fool than he’d already been. He stopped messing with the buttons on his half buttoned shirt, his trembling hands going to his forehead as tears filled his eyes.
He never cried. Never. But in this moment, maybe it was the fact that he was still weak, still hurting from being beaten so badly, hadn’t dealt with the emotional side of what had happened recently… in this moment tears escaped him, making slow tracks down his cheeks to drip off of his chin. He wasn’t in the middle of a job and no one was around to see them. He had no reason to hold everything together and didn’t have the strength to even if he had one.
The shuttle smelled of Inara and the love they’d just spent hours giving each other. It had been lovemaking on his side. Now he knew better about Inara’s half of the sex. It had been another customer, another roll in the sack to her. His body shook, as the silent tears turned to sobs that escaped him uncontrolled. He’d just let himself have this one moment to break… lose himself here for a little while, and then he’d go back to Serenity where he belonged. He’d been played again… used, and this time by the person who could hurt him the most; the woman he’d given his heart to… Inara.
Authors:
druinsanity and bashipforeverSummary: AU Takes place two and a half years after the end of the series. The movie never happened, but if you’ve read the comic book Those Left Behind, it did. Everything Inara has worked for in her life is finally happening but an old friend shows up, making her doubt everything she’s wanted.
Pairing: Mal/Inara
Rating: PG-13 - R
A/N: The title comes from an Emily Dickenson poem. This is a WIP but it is being updated daily so you shouldn’t have to wait for too long for updates.
You left me, sweet, two legacies,-
A legacy of love
A Heavenly Father would content,
Had He the offer of;
You left me boundaries of pain
Capacious as the sea,
Between eternity and time,
Your consciousness and me.
Previous Chapters:
Ch.1 Ch.2 Ch.3 Ch.4 Ch.5
Inara lay in bed fighting sleep, her head on Mal’s shoulder, her fingers gliding over the various cuts, scrapes, bruises, and scars on his upper body. She dipped her head, placing a kiss over a particularly nasty looking bruise just over his heart. A smile curved along her lips and she looked up at him, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “I don’t know about you, but I came up here to look at the stars.” She teased as she sat up, clutching the blanket around her body. She tugged on Mal’s arm, pulling him off of the bed and towards the bridge.
Mal wasn’t sure how something they’d fought against for so long could feel so comfortable. As she led him to the bridge, he tapped her rear playfully and raised an innocent eyebrow when she looked back to him. “Thought we were already seein’ ‘em.” He sat in the chair at the helm and pulled Inara down into his lap again. His arms circled tight around her waist, pulling her back flush against him.
“That’s an entirely different kind of stars. A kind I enjoyed seeing immensely.” Inara told him with a content smile. She settled down into his lap and wrapped the blanket around them both. She laid her head against his shoulder and just stared out at the stars, happy with just the silence for now.
Mal’s arms wrapped around her forced a sigh of perfect contentment to slip from her. He’d never know how truly naked she was with him right now. Her clothes, makeup, and manners were her armor. By sitting here naked with him she was allowing herself to be completely vulnerable. Her eyes drooped sleepily and a lazy smile crossed her lips. “This is perfect.” She murmured.
“Got a hard time believin’ it gets any better than this.” Mal turned his head to press a kiss into Inara’s hair. He drew a deep breath of her and looked back out into the black, nodding. “Perfect.” He agreed, deciding that he could do this for forever and be happy. Once he got her back to Serenity, he would shower her with kisses, slowly breaking down any masks the guild had forced her to wear. He’d make love to her everyday and every chance he got. At least his crew would be happy that they’d quit pretending they didn’t love each other.
Inara drew a needed breath and stared out of the window, almost too content to move. The lazy smile curving her lips got wider as she recognized one of the groups of stars. She pointed it out to Mal.
“That’s Calliope’s Hope.” She said, beginning to recount a story her mother had told her when she was young. “Back when the world was just considering leaving Earth-that-was, there was a girl named Calliope. Her father was a proud Alliance official. Much to his chagrin, she was in love with a young man who was a rabid Independent supporter. Calliope found out she was pregnant and she and her lover were planning to run away together. Her father found out about it and forbade it. The next day he sent her lover on a shuttle to settle one of the first moons. Within three months her lover was dead. Three weeks later, Calliope killed herself. The thing her father didn’t know is that you can’t thwart destiny… no matter how hard you try. Calliope and her lover never got to spend their mortal life together so destiny put them in the stars so that they could live together forever.”
As she spoke, her fingers traced a shape in the air. “See, there are two human heads.” She pointed out pinprick stars. “The brightest star is their heart. They share one. There’s their arms, their legs, and if you fly straight for the heart, you end up on the moon Calliope’s lover died on.” She smiled.
Mal put his gaze in line with Inara’s hand as her fingers traced designs in the sky. “Never heard such stories as that. Sounds like a whole lotta death and dyin’ for supposin’ to be so happy and in love.”
He kissed her bare shoulder and trailed his fingers back through the silky strands of her hair. “Too much for my likin’.”
Inara smiled, leaning back into his touch. “The point is that there are some loves too great to be denied. They’ll always find a way, maybe not here and now, but somewhere, sometime. I think it’s terribly romantic, but if you tell anyone I said that, I’ll deny it.” She teased.
“Secret’s safe with me.” Mal squeezed Inara tighter to him, loving the feel of her bare skin against his. “Nothin’ wrong with likin’ the romantic things though.” He felt as if he could be the most romantic man in the world with Inara by his side. No… romance ain’t that bad. He thought.
Inara’s smile softened, knowing that she could argue that point with him. There was no place for romance in a companion’s life just as there was no place for falling in love but she didn’t want to fight. There’d be time for that later and right now she just wanted to keep this peaceful, perfect feeling. She turned in his arms, a mischievous grin replacing the smile that had just been dancing across her lips. She dipped her head and placed a kiss on his collarbone.
“You know, Zoe and Wash have a thing about doing it on the bridge. I’ve never done that…” She grinned against his skin.
Mal closed his eyes and his head lolled back to give Inara more room as her attentions were on his neck and collarbone. He gave himself freely and completely to her and it felt so nice that he never wanted to stop. One more round and I’m takin’ her back to Serenity where she belongs.
His hands slid down her back as he easily moved her so that she was straddling him in the chair. His hands cupped the curve of her hips and a light moan escaped him before his eyes snapped open. “Wait… Zoe and Wash huhwhat?”
Inara’s head tilted back in a light, playful laugh before she returned to nipping at his neck. “Don’t worry about it…” She whispered over the dark marks she’d left on his skin.
* * *
Inara woke with a soft yawn and a contented feeling washing over her skin. She stretched lazily and then snuggled closer to Mal, her eyes still closed. At some point during the night, they’d made their way back to the bed. Another round of lovemaking had ensued and the entire shuttle smelled of a mixture of Mal, herself, and the love making they’d indulged in over and over.
Something inside of her jolted her awake and she sat up, glancing around the shuttle for a clock. It was six in the morning. She knew that one of the girls would be coming to serve her breakfast in a little while. While the thought of leaving this peaceful place was nauseating, she didn’t want to deal with any more questions or rumors than necessary.
“Mal, wake up Bao Bei.” She whispered, placing a kiss on his collarbone. “I need to get back to the guild house. Priestess Dria will find out I’ve gone and think I’ve been kidnapped. We could have breakfast together.” She slid a finger down the line of his neck to his chest as Mal woke, clearly trying to register what she was telling him. “Have to keep your strength up.” She teased with a grin.
“Can tell the priestess you decided to come with me.” Mal said around a yawn as he looked at the time. He was just coming out of a heavy sleep, the kind he hadn’t had in a long time. “We’ll get back to Serenity. Kaylee’ll be happy to see you. Can already see the smile on that girl’s face.”
Inara hesitated at Mal’s words and the contentment and joy she’d just had bottomed out into despair. How could she not have known? This was Mal, there was no way he would have done this if he hadn’t thought it would be completely. There wasn’t anything but all the way with him. She bit her bottom lip, keeping her head down so that Mal couldn’t see her face for the moment.
“Mal… I thought… I can’t…” She whispered, squeezing her eyes shut almost as if she were anticipating a blow; not a physical one because she knew Mal would never hit her, but a blow nonetheless. And this one would hurt far worse than any physical one ever could.
“I’ve… For two years I’ve done nothing but train for this. In a week they’re holding the coronation to make me House Priestess. The entire guild house is counting on me… the responsibility… I can’t. She shook her head as she stumbled over the words while everything inside of her screamed for her to not say them. All the logical parts of her knew that she had to go back and become the House Priestess. The rest of her wanted to stay here with Mal, in this perfect place forever.
Mal felt every relaxed muscle in his body slowly tense up. The realization that he’d just opened up to Inara in ways that he couldn’t to anyone else and that she wasn’t coming back with him literally knocked the wind out of him. It was more painful an attack than any of the abuses he’d received in an Alliance prison. He felt as though she’d hit him hard and that his heart had just shattered into a million tiny pieces that could never be put back together again. He’d been hurt too many times and not being completely emotionally healed yet from prison, this was a deathblow.
He sat up on the bed and reached for his pants, pulling them on and yanking them up his legs to button them at his waist. He pulled on his shirt and started working the buttons on it. Used me… She used me to get her kicks and now she’s off to that whore house.
“Get out.” He whispered, his hands shaking so badly that even buttoning his shirt was difficult. He couldn’t bring himself to look up to her because he knew he would break just as badly on the outside as his heart just had if he did. Instead, he closed off, put walls up around his emotions, and shook his head. “Get out, ‘Nara.” This time his voice carried more volume with his hurt, pain, and anger. “Goin’ back to my ship.” Stupid… gorram yúchûn for fallin’ for this goushi. Yúchûn for thinkin’ she’d want to come back with me. He cursed himself mentally for his stupidity and the vulnerable place he’d allowed himself to be in. He’d been weak and gullible. Yúchûn…
Hurt raced across her features and for a moment, Inara thought she was going to fall apart right here in front of him. She bit her bottom lip until she tasted blood, forcing herself to focus on that pain rather than the one inside that threatened to hollow her out. Her entire body trembled and she had to stop herself from crying out that she took it back. Everything in her yearned to be back on Serenity like this with him but fear took over, stopping her words.
She got out of the bed, her gaze anywhere but on Mal. If she looked at him she knew she’d shatter. She couldn’t afford that right now. She could feel his eyes on her as she snatched her dress from the floor and put it on. She stumbled, anything but graceful in that moment. The buttons in the back were ripped, making it gape and hang off of her. She crossed the shuttle; her eyes still fixed on the floor and grabbed her cloak from where it lay in a heap on the bridge. She risked a small glance at Mal, not meeting his eyes but looking instead at his chest where he still hadn’t gotten the buttons closed. She had just been lying so contentedly there a few moments ago and then it had all fallen apart.
“This hurts more than you will ever know, Mal.” She slipped out of the door, tears finally breaking free. She knew that by tomorrow it’d be all over Sihnon that the next House Priestess had been seen fleeing the docks in tears and at that moment, she didn’t care.
Mal had to make himself not go out after Inara, hit her on the head, and carry her back to Serenity with force. He didn’t want to be any more the fool than he’d already been. He stopped messing with the buttons on his half buttoned shirt, his trembling hands going to his forehead as tears filled his eyes.
He never cried. Never. But in this moment, maybe it was the fact that he was still weak, still hurting from being beaten so badly, hadn’t dealt with the emotional side of what had happened recently… in this moment tears escaped him, making slow tracks down his cheeks to drip off of his chin. He wasn’t in the middle of a job and no one was around to see them. He had no reason to hold everything together and didn’t have the strength to even if he had one.
The shuttle smelled of Inara and the love they’d just spent hours giving each other. It had been lovemaking on his side. Now he knew better about Inara’s half of the sex. It had been another customer, another roll in the sack to her. His body shook, as the silent tears turned to sobs that escaped him uncontrolled. He’d just let himself have this one moment to break… lose himself here for a little while, and then he’d go back to Serenity where he belonged. He’d been played again… used, and this time by the person who could hurt him the most; the woman he’d given his heart to… Inara.