Title : Shades of Something New

Disclaimer : Firefly does not belong to me.

Summary : Short (and I mean short ) look (more like a glimpse ) at Mal and Inara pre-series.

Word Count : 771

Rating: PG, for very workplace appropriate!

A/N : For some reason, I wish there was more pre-series Mal/Inara out there. I envision this taking place about a month after Inara has come onboard, but it could take place at any point pre- Serenity (pilot).

***

It hasn’t escaped Mal’s notice that he’s the only one who has a problem with Inara. She gets along fine with Zoe and Wash, and is near chummy with Kaylee. Well. It’s nice for his crew. Seem to like being around that sort of finery. Still, he figures, long as she’s staying with them, it can’t hurt to try and be pleasant.

He decides not to dwell on the way he has compulsively- obsessively arranged his day so that he just-so-happens to be walking by her shuttle at the precise moment that she docks back with the ship.

When she steps out, he carefully screws up his expression so as to look surprised. “Back so soon?”

“Mal,” she says, eyeing him wearily. “Hi.”

He sets down the crate he’s carrying, yelping a little in pain, because the thing is really too damn heavy to be taken up the catwalk. “Uh—engine part,” he explains.

She looks baffled. “I see.”

“Putting it here for storage,” he adds.

She nods. “Well—I should…”

She turns to go down the catwalk, which is simply not fair, given the amount of time he’s spent preparing for this moment. Something about Inara and her trade is almost more distracting than any impending threat posed by the Alliance. Leaves him all itchy inside, and makes him say and do stupid things. Like haul engine parts up catwalks. Or rent the shuttle to her in the first place.

He goes after her, blocking her way down the catwalk. “So. How was work?”

Not the best question he could ask. Her eyes narrow, her gaze making him feel about two feet high. “How