Just a little M/I fluff with some S/K thrown in for good measure. This is going to only be 2 chapters long *hopefully* Written for my friend. Jordanna and her fanfic challenge to me.

Just a little too late…..

Inara sat in her sumptuous room. Alternating between smiling and frowning at two little piece's of paper that she held in her hand. These two little pieces of paper could start so much trouble if she went ahead with her plan. But how could she resist? She’d been over this debate with her mind for over a week and still hadn’t reached a final decision. But time was starting to run out for her.

The papers had been given as a gift from her latest client once she mentioned that she hadn’t been to any plays or opera's in quite a while and missed culture, now that she was out in the black so often and spent so little time planet side. Then, since receiving them, she’d been through so many scenarios in her mind of what could play out. To hell with it. She’d give them out. It was now or never. And she could either act on her very first instincts or let the moment fade away and spend the next few months living with the regret and could-have-been situations. She’s never been a fan of regrets. Not since……her eyes fade into a wistful stare and then just as suddenly everything snaps into crystal clear clarity.

Her dilemma solved at last and her mind once more peaceful. She stood decisively and makes her way to the kitchen where everyone should be having supper. Her beautiful dress swirling around her, the ornate slipper’s on her feet making not even a whisper of sound. And a small smile fixed on her painted lips while her eyes danced to a merriment the rest of her body doesn’t echo.

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In the kitchen Mal is sullenly chewing his portion of the protein meal set before him. The ship was heading for a port near Persephony to unload his latest smuggling job. And the cargo in question was another