badinlatin | Mal-Inara, "Burning Temple" sequence.

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inara

Mal-Inara, "Burning Temple" sequence.

[OOC: After this.]

Shortly after greeting the audience at the end of the ceremony, Aluthra leads Mal and Inara both through the back doorway of the altar room, pulling back two very heavy curtains to a very unassuming door. Eyeing Aluthra with more than a little surprise, she simply smiles again and lets the drapes close after she walks back out again.

Mal opens the door - this one having an actual doorknob connected to it - to a heavily candlelit bedchamber, complete with fresh fruit across one table and a canopied bed in the center. Giving Inara a heavy-lidded smirk, Mal picks her up by her waist and kisses her as he had wanted to all throughout the ceremony.

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Inara kisses him back with just as much feeling. She reluctantly breaks the kiss and leans back to look at him properly.

"You were amazing, ài rén. You did almost everything perfectly...though you did almost give it away with the bracelet." She kisses him again thoroughly. "That's your punishment."

"Don't think you would've liked it too much if I were completely perfect, y'know?"
O trespass sweetly urged
Breaking off to glance again around the room, Mal shrugs off his heavy blue robe, leaving him in a loose shirt and pants.
Give me my sin again

Inara just looks at him for a moment, shaking her head slightly.
Can't believe it happened...

"Mal." She speaks softly, getting his attention as her hand drifts to the neckline of her dress. "I have something for you."

This does quiet Mal for a moment, and he waits for Inara to continue, arms still loosely around her.

She pulls out a fine chain from her dress. Hanging from it is the cross Mal gave her and next to it is a simple gold ring. Engraved on the inside is the chinese symbol for serenity. She looks up to see his reaction.

His reaction, for the folks watching at home, is something akin to almost-teary awe.

The first words said are about the cross, though. "I had wondered what you did with that," he breathes for a moment, then upon more closely inspecting the ring on the chain, Mal looks again to Inara quizzically.

Without disturbing Mal's arms around her, she reaches up and unfastens the necklace from around her neck. She slides the ring off and refastens the necklace with the cross remaining on it, gleaming against her dress. She smiles and holds the ring up for him to see.

"I believe this is the appropriate accessory for a man in your position. Bar helped me with it."

"You, uh. Did a good job."

Man in my position

He's still looking at the ring on her hand with a wide contented smile.

"Thank you."

She reaches behind her and pulls his left hand out and in front of her. She slips the ring onto the correct finger and smiles.

The ring is unexpectedly heavy object on his hand, and entirely welcome.

His newly-decorated hand pulls down the shoulders of Inara's opened robes, letting them pool in his other hand at her waist. These are promptly flung aside with some force into a low bedstand nearby, tottering a few short candlesticks precariously. None of them fall, though one does look in danger of doing so.

Inara steps into Mal, reaching up to his shirt and begins to undo the buttons, leaning up to kiss him as the shirt slips open. She steps out of her shoes and kicks them away. Unfortunately, one of them manages to hit the tottering candle squarely on its base, knocking it over. Somehow, neither of them notices.

The candle lands at the base of a heavy burgundy velvet curtain, and the tassels smoulder, then catch flame.

Mal's a little busy at the moment loosing Inara's hair - she always uses these gorram complicated pins - to turn around.

Inara's eyes are closed, savoring the feeling of Mal's hands on her and the feeling of his skin under hers. She thinks the rising temperature in the room is do to this, rather than the spreading flames.

The flame has traveled quickly up the curtain, and jumped a foot or so to the gauzy canopied bed curtain.

The burning smell is the incense, Mal.

Inara is about to unzip Mal's pants when the flickering against her eyelids and the burning smell begin sending warning signals into her brain. Her eyes fly open and she gasps when she sees the fire spreading around them.

Mal stops only when Inara does.

He looks up.

"Fire!" Mal pulls Inara to her feet, away from the flames. Flailingly, for lack of a better adverb, Mal grabs a comforter from the bed to attempt and smother the flames.

Inara runs over to the side of the door and pushes away the wall covering, revealing a series of buttons. She pushes one and water begins cascading from the ceiling, quickly dousing the flames.

...and dousing Mal, too.

For a long moment, Mal doesn't move - he just stands there soaking wet, shoulders drooped in a 'Why me?' manner.

Inara flings her wet hair out of her eyes as she looks around to make sure all the flames are out. As she does, she catches sight of Mal looking like a drowned rat. His dejected look is just too much for her and she starts to laugh.

Turning, "You think this is funny, do ya?"

She gasps out, "Yes, actually, I do" as she continues to laugh.

Mal lets out a rather exasperated sigh, dropping his arms against his now drenched pants, making an awkward squishing sound.

As he squeaks closer to Inara, Mal hears rapid footsteps coming toward the room.

Aluthra is standing at the doorway with a face rather reading to Mal as 'This must be what going mad feels like.'

Mal proffers a deep bow.

"Mistress, Inara was just explaining to me how necessary fire extinguishing apparatus is for safe sexual practice. Right Inara?"

Inara's laughter stops as soon as she sees Aluthra's face. She just gapes at Mal, with no idea how to explain herself or Mal's comment to Aluthra.

Aluthra's mouth draws tighter to not let out the smile that threatened to reveal itself.

"I see. Well."

A long pause.

Mal, standing from the bow, "Anyone have a towel?"

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Mal-Inara, "Burning Temple" sequence.

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