Disclaimer: Do I look like my name is Joss?

Rating: R

Pairing: Mal/Inara

Timeline: At the end of BDM and after, no spoilers though.

Magic Beta Lady: IWencheslas

Becoming ‘Nara

By

Lattelady6

The Companion archives carefully tracked all of the Guild’s members. On the almost unheard of occasion that one of them strayed, there was always an inquiry. That was the case with Miss Inara Serra. Though the archivist only posted a short note, the young ladies who’d had the pleasure of being her students for one summer at the only Training House on the Rim knew there was much more to it, than the Guild would ever admit.

They had all heard the delicious rumors of Miss Inara and her year spent on the ship owned by a pirate Captain. They’d been present the day he’d slipped into the House, fought a representative of Parliament, and carried her off, never to be seen again in polite society.

Over time the stories grew to legend proportion. No one ever spoke of the driving force behind Inara’s choice to follow a man, like Malcolm Reynolds into a battle she was unlikely to survive. Nor did they mention the strength of will it took for them to bury their dead and rebuild their lives, out of the ashes of that battle. Not even in the highest circles of the Guild was it whispered that a love existed strong enough to dissolve the tight control of a Companion and resurrect the lost soul of an ex-soldier.

Only two people in the ‘verse knew the real story and even they weren’t sure how it had all began, but the turning points were burned into their memories forever.

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1. First Cut Is The Hardest

The first time they made love it was more like fighting. Inara had only herself to blame. She’d returned to Serenity less than forty minutes earlier. Mal was bitter and angry, already resenting that he’d brought her back. She should have been smart and not continued their argument from the lounge, by following him into the cargo bay, but she was worried