Legacy - Mal/Inara - Ch.13/14

[druinsanity.livejournal.com]

Title: Legacy
Authors: 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 Ch.6 Ch.7 Ch.8 Ch.9 Ch.10 Ch.11 Ch.12



Mal drew a deep breath of flowers and a small, lazy, unguarded grin spread over his lips. He was in that place between sleep and awake when he'd had yet to put up the walls and barriers and shield for the day. He pulled Inara closer to him, perfectly content. They were on Serenity. It was still hard to believe that he had her here with him.

He kissed her bare shoulder and whispered against her skin, knowing she was asleep. "Love you so much... don't ever leave me."

He kissed her shoulder again then pushed her hair away from her neck with his fingertips. Leaning up on an elbow, he kissed her neck, jaw line, cheek, and then turned her lips to his so that he could wake her with a kiss.

Inara woke to a place that was more blissful than her dreams. She twined one leg around Mal's and snaked her arm over his shoulder, pulling him deeper into the kiss. Her eyes were still closed when she whispered against his lips, "If I open my eyes are you gonna go away?" she asked sleepily. Her voice was unguarded without the annunciation and crispness it carried in her waking hours. They'd never actually been able to wake up leisurely together. He'd always had to sneak off or she had. If this was real, she wanted to take her time waking up.

Mal shook his head, reaching up to run his thumb lightly over one eyebrow and then the other. "I'll be here." He whispered.

Inara opened her eyes slowly, the smile on her lips growing. "There you are," she whispered and reached up to run a finger down the bridge of his nose then across his lips. She ran her hand down the curve of his neck, his shoulder and down his side, bringing it to rest at the scar between his ribs. "I could get used to this. In fact, if I start waking up like this, I could turn into a morning person."

Mal kissed at Inara's fingertips as they glided over his lips. "And I could be coerced into stayin' in bed a bit longer with the way you're touchin' me."

“Is that a fact," Inara grinned, dipping her head and nibbling at his shoulder. She slid her hand back up to his shoulder, pushing him gently over onto his back. She straddled him, sitting on top of him. "Now if I'm doing the 'coercing' wrong...let me know," she whispered as she bent over him, dipping her head to kiss his neck.

“Mmmm-no." Mal moaned as his entire body came awake from Inara's attentions. "Think you're right good at it, bao bei."

*

"That was much better than a cup of tea," Inara grinned as she drew patterns on Mal's chest with her finger. She looked up at him, resting the point of her chin on his chest. "I left a trunk here last time...there were some candles, incense, a couple of dresses...things like that. Any chance you found it? I'd rather wear something a bit more casual to move in and I can't exactly go naked," she smiled at him.

Mal nodded and pointed to one of the small compartments at the back of the shuttle. "In there... didn't look in it." He lied.

Inara's brows arched upward slightly. "You didn't?" She asked, slightly disappointed that he hadn't. "I mean it would have been fine if you had. It was just odds and ends. I'd almost completely forgotten about it." That was a lie. She’d left the trunk on purpose, hoping that Mal would find it and come after her. It hadn’t worked out quite as she intended at the time. She got out of bed, pulling the blanket with her and wrapping it around her body. She walked over to the compartment, dragging the blanket behind her.

Mal rolled onto his side and followed Inara's movements with his gaze. "Well, might've taken a peek or two..."

Inara laughed at the comment. "A peek or two huh?" she grinned and looked over her shoulder at him. She knelt in front of the trunk and opened it, taking out a black and gold dress. A smile slipped across her face when she found a bar of jasmine soap wrapped in brown paper. It was a little dry but it would do. She gathered the dress and the soap up and stood, turning toward Mal. "I'm going to bathe and get dressed then we'll go down for breakfast before we go get my things."

"Aye Capt'n." Mal mock saluted in her direction, then watched her fill the water basin and set the sponge in it. He stood, not caring that he was naked and went to stand behind her. "Ain't needin' help with that, are you?" He asked, reaching around her from behind and lifting the sponge out of the water basin. He ran it over her shoulder blades and leaned down to kiss the back of her neck.

"Mmmm, come to think of it I might," Inara answered as she dipped her head and arched her back. She glanced over her shoulder and gave him a cat ate the canary grin. "Of course you'll have to bathe too."

Mal smirked lightly. "Ain't bathin' with no girl smellin' soap."

"Oh Bao Bei I hate to tell you this, but you smell like me anyway," Inara smiled at him as he ran the sponge over her back. She turned to face him, her arms wrapping around his neck, her body coming flush with his. "But we'll use your soap if you want," she whispered then leaned in and kissed him.

"Well now I ain't mindin' smellin' like you if it ain't on purpose." Mal said lightly, running the sponge over her neck, shoulders, and sides. "Tryin' not to miss any spots." He teased, moving the sponge lower and then kneeling to wash her legs. When he stood back up, he was wearing a small grin

Inara couldn't help laughing. She took the sponge from Mal, took his soap from the sink, lathering up the sponge. She started at his toes, working her way up his legs. "I've got to return the favor then," she told him, a smile on her lips.

Mal inhaled a long deep breath as Inara drew the sponge over his legs and up his body. "Conjure S'only fair."

"Exactly," Inara purred, getting to her feet and kissing him on the mouth. She pushed him toward the bed, dropping the sponge somewhere along the way. So much for a bath...

*

Mal set the shuttle down on the landing dock for the guild house. His stomach was flipping all over the place and his nerves were frazzled. He didn’t want to be here and Jayne had been chattering about the 'whores' all of the way here.

They stepped out of the shuttle and immediately Mal reached for Inara's hand, squeezing it a little too tight as they started for the guild house. "Jayne, just remember to be keepin' your mouth shut."

Inara squeezed Mal's hand in return, giving him a soft smile as they approached the house. She had an idea of how nervous he was. In truth, the possibility of seeing Dria again worried her. Dria could be intimidating when she chose to be.

Sheydra was the first to greet them even before they reached the porch. "Inara!" she exclaimed in a half whispered, urgent tone. "We thought we'd never see you again, Meimei. Dria was so angry last night I thought she was going to have a heart attack, particularly when rumors got around as to why you'd left. The whole place was in quite an uproar."

Sheydra looked up at Mal and smiled, extending her hand. "I'm Sheydra, a friend of Inara's. You must be Captain Reynolds." She looked over his shoulder at Jayne, Zoe, Wash and Kaylee. "And I'm guessing this is your crew."

Mal only let go of Inara's hand to shake Sheydra's in greeting. "Captain Reynolds. S’Zoe, Jayne, Wash, and Kaylee." He pointed at each of his crew respectively then immediately took Inara's hand again. "Here to get 'Nara's things and we'll be out of your hair."

Sheydra's eyebrows arched high in surprise for a moment as she turned to look at Inara, then a smile spread across her face. "It's about time," she told Inara in a soft voice. "Of course we're going to miss you terribly." She walked over to Kaylee and hugged her. "And we'll miss seeing you too. Perhaps you and Inara can return for a girl's weekend sometime."

Kaylee beamed at the attention. "That'd be shiny. Bound to have a job in this area eventually."

Sheydra then turned to Mal, her smile still firmly in place. "And it is a pleasure to meet you. Come on, you might as well get started. Most of the house is in class right now so you won't get much interference. Although I can't promise Priestess Dria won't stop in at some point." She turned and led the way through the guild house to Inara's room.

"That mean we ain't gonna get to see the whores?" Jayne asked as they walked down the hallway. Inara looked over her shoulder and shot him a dirty look.

"The term is companion," she told him for the dozenth time.

Jayne scowled and held his tongue just barely in check.

"I'm taking over your classes so make sure you come by and tell the girls goodbye," Sheydra told Inara in parting. She hugged her briefly and then started back down the hall. She paused next to Jayne and smiled mischievously at him. "And who says you haven't gotten to see any companions. What do you think I am?" she winked at him then went on down the hallway.

Jayne watched Sheydra disappear down the hall and into a room then turned to the others sputtering. "She ain't a...I mean she don't look like..."

Inara just smirked. "The term is companion." She opened the door to her room and stepped inside, standing in the middle for a moment, considering what she wanted to take.

"I want the table. I'll strip the bed linens. That trunk over there, the nightstands, and the cabinet. We'll have to get the couch I want to take out of storage. This one is staying," she directed before going over to the wardrobe. She opened it and started putting dresses in a trunk.

Mal walked into the room and looked around it, a little uncomfortable at the memories it still held and at being here at all. He went to the table and started to lift it.

"Capt'n, Simon told me not to let you lift heavy things all by your lonesome." Kaylee said meekly.

Jayne grunted and lifted the other end of the table, helping Mal carry it out.

"Ain't an invalid." Mal said over his shoulder to Kaylee.

Zoe and Wash picked up a cabinet and took it out the door toward the shuttle.

"No...but you ain't been eatin' an' sleepin' 'nough either," Kaylee said with a sigh. "Want some help packin' up?" she asked as she turned to Inara.

Inara watched as Mal and Jayne moved the table outside toward the shuttle with a soft sigh. "Maybe I can get him to rest a little once we're back onboard Serenity," Inara smiled at Kaylee. "If you want to finish putting these dresses in the trunk I'll start putting some of the other things away. Thank you."

Inara stripped the bed of its linens and folded them up, putting them in a trunk. She started picking up the small knick knacks around the room, incense burners, candles, statues and books. They all went into another trunk.

Mal, Jayne, Zoe and Wash traversed in and out of the room, picking up various bits of furniture or trunks and hauling them off.

"All I'm sayin' is if they ain't whores then why're they gettin' paid for... you know." Jayne said as they came back into Inara's room after another load.

"Jayne, I'm done trying to explain anything to the eternal mystery that is your brain." Wash said aggravated as he lifted another trunk with Zoë’s help.

Jayne grunted as he lifted a trunk on his own and followed out after them. "Just sayin'..."

Mal sat down at the foot of the mattress and looked over to where Inara and Kaylee piled dresses into a trunk. He was already worn out and just needed to sit for a few minutes.

"You alright Capt'n?" Kaylee asked, folding another silky dress.

Mal nodded slightly. "Shiny."

Concern raced across Inara's features when Mal sat down. She got a glass out of one of the trunks that hadn't been hauled off yet and filled it up with water from the bathroom. She took it over to Mal and handed it to him. "Drink some of that," she said as she leaned over and placed a kiss on his head. "Then just rest and delegate. I think we agreed on a plan like that last night," she winked at him.

"We gonna have to watch you two be all mushy and that kind of goushi?" Jayne asked with a grumble as he picked up another trunk and started to take it outside. "Don't know what's worse. Watchin' you fight all the gorram time or watchin' you smooch," he muttered as he walked out the door.

"Well I'm in favor of the smoochin'," Kaylee grinned.

Mal looked up to Inara for a moment, and then took a sip of the water. He was ready to get out of here and back to Serenity. He'd been ready since they'd left the ship. "Lot of stuff for one shuttle."

"It seemed like less when I was moving it in," Inara admitted. She glanced around the room as Kaylee shut the trunk with the dresses in it. "I think that's the last trunk though."

She directed Zoe and Wash to the storage building to get the couch and the few things she had in there, mostly things from her shuttle she couldn't bear to use here.

"I'm gonna go say bye to some of the girls," Kaylee said as she bounded out of the room.

Inara leaned over and kissed Mal on the lips, letting it linger just a little while before pulling away. "I'm going to go say goodbye to the girls in my class. Will you come with me?"

Mal nodded, thinking he'd stay out in the hallway while she went to say her goodbyes. There was no way he was letting her out of his sight here. He stood up and took her hand in his. "I'll come."

Inara tugged him up from the bed, lacing her fingers with his and led him out of the room, down the hall. She peeked in through the window of the door, a smile spreading on her face as one of the girls saw her and waved. She waggled her fingers at the girl then pushed the door open, still holding Mal's hand as she stepped inside the room.

Mal was already in the room, a dozen pairs of eyes on him before he realized it. He pulled back gently, starting back out of the room

The whispers started in one corner of the room until they were a dull roar within seconds. Inara just shook her head slightly and laughed then looked at Mal. "Oh no. You're not getting out of this," she grinned at him.

Hands shot up in the air but they didn't wait to be called upon. The questions came rapid fire.

"Is that your pirate?"

"Are you really married to him?"

"Is it because you're pregnant?"

"Is that why you're leaving?"

The girls started directing questions at Mal before long, just as rapid fire and just as awkwardly, although they didn't seem awkward or bashful in asking them.

"Are you her pirate?"

"Do you really run from the Alliance?"

"Did you really save Mistress Inara from a fate worse than death?"

"Was that before or after you made love in the temple?"

"Do you love Mistress Inara?"

Mal listened to the bombardment of questions and narrowed his eyes at one question. He shook his head with a sarcastic smirk. "Don't run from Alliance..." He said defiantly. A hush fell over the room the moment he spoke as every girl listened intently to what he had to say. He'd never had such an impressionable audience and he wasn't going to waste it. "Just don't listen to what they're tellin' me to do either." He added with a half grin.

One of the older women in the room cleared her throat at that comment and Mal shrugged lightly. "S'true. Alliance never did anybody any good, not even this... place." His voice was full of conviction that had been lacking for months.

He looked back to the girls. "M'her pirate and I'm lovin' her." He winked at the girls, a saucy grin curved on his lips. Their reactions were exactly what he had wanted them to be, smiles and giggles full of the possibilities of 'what could be.' No, this opportunity had not been wasted. "Now if I saved her from a fate worse than death, that you'll have to be askin' her."

"Many times over," Inara smiled at Mal, answering the question about saving her. She couldn't help smiling at the way Mal handled the room full of girls. He had every single one of them eating out of his hand, not that she was surprised. When he wanted to be, Mal could be very charming.

"Alright, I think that's enough questions for Captain Reynolds today," she said while the girls were reasonably quiet. "Now come here and say goodbye to me." She stepped closer to the center of the room.

Within moments Inara was swarmed by twelve year olds, all chattering at her, hugging her. Inara spoke to each one of them, saying something before she ran her hand over their hair, smiled and placed a kiss on their foreheads.

Mal crossed his arms over his chest and stood back, watching as the girls said their goodbyes. Even more, he watched as Inara said goodbye. It was obvious that she cared for these kids. Not takin' all of these girls away from here on my boat. He quickly told himself to not even think about it. The guild house might not be the best environment for these girls in his opinion but a transport ship specializing in hauling questionable cargo and harboring two fugitives wasn’t either.

"I hope my pirate is as handsome as you."

One of the girls said to him, pulling him out of his thoughts. Mal grinned lightly and shook his head. "He'll be better lookin' than me."

The girl considered him for a moment, her head slightly tilted. "Maybe..." the girl agreed uncertainly. "In pirate stories, the pirates always call the women wenches. If you're a pirate, does that make Mistress Inara a wench?"

Other girls started to drift over to Mal, emboldened by the first one. One of them smacked the girl who'd asked about the wench in the back of the head. "Wench is a bad word, like whore. Mistress Inara isn't a whore."

The girl stuck her tongue out and rubbed the back of her head. "I know she's not but if he's a pirate..." the girl trailed off.

Another girl rolled her eyes, much more 'grown up' than the other one. "Don't be ridiculous. Didn't you hear him say he loves her? He's probably going to marry her. If they aren't married already," the girls gaze slid to Mal.

"Ain't married... yet." Mal said with a small grin. "And 'Nara ain't a wench... she's just mine." He added.

”That's so romantic," one of the girls swooned and giggled.

"When you've finished saying goodbye to Mistress Inara, you can go out in the garden for the rest of the hour," Sheydra said loudly. It did little to break up the small gaggle surrounding Mal, but a few of them did slip out into the garden.

As the last girl said goodbye, Inara glanced over to where Mal was with the girls, surprised by how well he seemed to be holding his own. She hesitated a moment, watching him and it occurred to her what an amazing father he would make one of these days.

Sheydra stepped in to save Mal from the gaggle of giggling almost teenage girls. "Leave Captain Reynolds alone and go out into the garden before I decide to give you all lines for homework," she shooed at the girls with a laugh. They scattered like leaves blown to the wind. She shook her head as they scattered. "They mean well, they're just teenage girls obsessed with love and everything it entails. And this, Captain Reynolds, is the most romantic thing to happen in the guild house since before I was here."

After a moment Inara decided to interrupt. She slipped her hand in his. "Sheydra, if you're telling Mal all my bad habits I'll think up something horrendous to repay you," she teased the slightly older woman.

Mal was confused by everyone here thinking this was so romantic. He was taking Inara home with him where she belonged... nothing more. He squeezed Inara's hand. "Already know your bad habits." He said jokingly.

Inara stuck her tongue out at Mal and then smiled. She hugged Sheydra with her free arm and then pulled back. "And you send me a wav every now then. There's no reason you have to act like a stranger," she told her.

"I will," Sheydra promised. "Take care of her, Captain Reynolds. She's very special."

Inara smiled and turned to Mal. "Ready to go home?" she asked.

They were interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat. Inara tensed up at the sound. "Priestess Dria," she siad, even before turning toward the door where Dria stood.

"Captain Reynolds. Inara," Dria nodded toward them. "You left me in quite a lurch last night."

"I needed to be somewhere else," Inara answered, squeezing Mal's hand tightly. Regardless of the fact that she was certain about where she wanted to be now and what she wanted to do with her life, Dria still intimidated her. Guilt piled upon her shoulders born from a lifetime of being told that she was responsible to the guild.

"Something you could have decided weeks earlier, even months or years," Dria reminded her.

Inara took a deep breath and dipped her head. "Yes...and I'm sorry I didn't make the decision sooner," she said in a half whisper. Her confidence disappeared the moment Dria walked in the room.

Mal's eyes narrowed at Dria. It infuriated him the way Inara seemed to shy away from this woman. "Way I see it, any lurch you was left in last night is your own doin'. You called me here. Wouldn't have been here otherwise." He put an arm around Inara's shoulders. "'Nara's got a mind of her own and a right pretty one at that. She can be doin' whatever she wants without your pushin' her one way or the other."

His gaze shifted to Inara. "And you got no reason to be apologizin' to her. She done you wrong not the other way around. She's owin' you more than one sorry." He didn't really care that Dria had wronged him also. She'd hurt Inara and somehow still had the power to make her feel guilty.

Inara gathered confidence from Mal's proximity and his belief in her. Dria arched an eyebrow at Mal. "I've apologized for my part in this disaster." She turned to Inara, eyes raking her up and down. Inara held her head up, her back stiffened so that she stood ramrod straight. Within seconds she was the picture of cool and calm. The only betrayal of her nerves was her vice grip on Mal's hand.

"Come on. Let's go home," Inara told Mal as she started out of the room, her hand still squeezing Mal's. Dria kept her place in the door way, making Inara brush past her as she went out the door.

Mal brushed past Dria's shoulder lightly with his own and then gave her a cocky grin as he pulled Inara to a stop. "Ain't such a disaster... 'Pends on which point of view you're lookin' at it from. Right pretty from where I stand." He turned and started off down the hallway with Inara then, not even bothering to look back.

Jayne and Zoe were just finishing loading the couch when Mal and Inara walked into the clearing the shuttle waited in. Kaylee was already inside, having said her goodbyes. The rest of them loaded up, Jayne complaining about not spending more time with the 'companions'. Inara reluctantly let go of Mal's hand when they walked into the shuttle. "Thank you for all the help," she told Zoe, Wash, Jayne and Kaylee.

"Just better be gettin' a good job with lots of coin soon, is all." Jayne said gruffly, sinking down onto the couch.

Kaylee beamed a smile excitedly at Inara. "Goin' back home. Nice to visit places but goin' home is always better."

"They should put that on a greeting card." Wash joked.

Mal sat in the bridge of the shuttle with Zoe and lifted off into the air. "Nothin' like goin back to Serenity." He said calmly, perfectly content.

Kaylee took Inara's hand and squeezed it. "Nothin' like family."