It was the quiet that drove her to seek him out, or at least that’s what she told herself. Without the noise of the group the ship moaned and creaked like a lonely old house. She wandered into the kitchen - galley - as Mal called it, to find him boiling water for tea. He leaned back against the counter with crossed arms and smiled warmly, if a little bashfully, at her.

In the weeks since Miranda, their relationship had been quietly growing. They managed to spend some time together each day, but it was hard to have any privacy with the day-to-day activities of Serenity.

“Hey there. Thought maybe you were sleepin’. Had a busy day.”

She returned his shy smile.

“We did; but I find I can’t sleep well unless I know everyone’s on board. It feels so quiet – strange really – without them here.”

“Yeah, I know the feelin’, but they’ll be back soon enough. You’ll have noise aplenty when they board t’morrow. Kaylee’ll fill this whole room up with words ‘bout how shiny everything was, what she ate, and what the Doc said ‘bout every damn thing. Want my advice - enjoy the quiet.”

The warm tone that he used when he spoke of Kaylee took the sting out of his mockery. She knew he’d be hanging on every word that came out of the young mechanic’s mouth along with the rest of them. Knew he’d enjoy her enchantment and excitement over the small town market and festival they’d all been visiting on their two-day layover.

Inara placed a small, clear bowl on the table and sat down; looking over to see what tea Mal had laid out to brew.

“Tea sounds wonderful. Would you mind if I have a cup?”

“Not a bit.” He turned around, busying himself with water and the teapot and cups and tea, fumbling just a little under her gaze.

“Would you like me to prepare it?” she asked, somewhat concerned with what he might do to innocent tea leaves.

“No. No, I’m good. You just sit there and keep me comp’ny.”

“I wasn’t sure you wanted company. If I’m interrupting…”

Her voice trailed off as he brought the tea