badinlatin | Mal-Inara, re: the Guild.

Mal-Inara, re: the Guild.

It's been a quiet sort of afternoon, and Mal's putting away the sparse amount of clean laundry of his own he keeps in Inara's shuttle in the locker at the foot of her bed.

Picking up the skeins of yarn on the other side of the shuttle is probably next.

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Inara is sitting on her couch, a book on her lap, turned to the same page that she's been staring at for the past half hour. She looks up as the locker snaps shut, and she gives herself a mental kick.

It's time. Just tell him and get it over with.

"Mal? Come sit down for a minute."

Mal's pretty obedient when he wants to be. He flops at the end of the bed, pulling one bare foot in toward himself to face Inara.

Inara puts the book down next to her, taking care to mark her place carefully before facing him. Avoidance? Never.

"Mal, I'm sure you remember when I contacted the Guild for help finding River and Simon. You might have noticed that I was acting a bit...strange after that conversation."

An eyebrow slowly begins its ascent.

"Think we all were. It wasn't exactly my best week ever either."

She nods. She's having a hard time looking at him.

"In my case, it was because of my conversation with Aluthra. I didn't tell you all of what we discussed."

She takes a breath and continues. "At first, Aluthra didn't think the Guild would agree to help, because they have no connection to the Guild. I'm afraid I lost my temper at that and...I said that they were on my favorite's crew."

She stares at her hands, wondering if Mal will make the connection.

"Well they are," Mal starts, not quite getting it, "Ain't like you lied to the woma---"

Beat.

"Except for the part where Companions don't have crew."

"God. Damnit."

Inara winces. She hesistates, then starts speaking in a rush.

"I'm so sorry, Mal. I was just so tired and worried and when she said they wouldn't help I just got so angry..."

She stops herself, then whispers, "I'm sorry."

Slowly - very slowly - two fingers raise up to massage the oncoming twitch out of the bridge of his nose.

"What happens now?" Almost defeated sounding.

"It depends on what Aluthra is going to do. If she keeps it to herself, nothing. I'll owe her a huge favor." She shakes her head. "But I don't think that that will be the case. As close as we are, she is very high in the Guild. I don't think she'd risk that for anything."

She can't look at Mal. "If she reports me, I'll have to meet with the Guild council. And they'll decide my punishment."

Mal's heart jumps up in his throat, and it's only then that he moves closer to Inara, a hand on each shoulder.

A low voice, "What would they try to do."

The thought of someone else going on trial on this boat...Mal's not exactly interested in seeing it, let's just say.

Still looking down, she shakes her head slightly.

"I'm not sure. They could demote my status, suspend me for a time from having clients..."

Kick me out of the Guild. She can't say aloud her worst fear.

Mal can, but doesn't. He voices a concern of his own.

"They couldn't...force you, to take clients."

A question, even if it doesn't sound that way, and a hand moves lightly from a shoulder to Inara's neck, the pad of his thumb moving in a lazy circle. Hopefully calming.

"I don't know."

She tries to stop herself, but she can't help it when tears start to slip down her cheeks.

The hands behind Inara's neck and on her shoulder pull her closer to Mal. Inara ends up almost in Mal's lap as he wraps his arms behind her back, turning his head inward and almost hiding beneath Inara's dark hair.

"I'm still here," Mal says finally.

Behind Inara's back, Mal's gaze moves to the ring on his left hand, and he works to keep his emotions composed.

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Mal-Inara, re: the Guild.

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