Even Roses Have Thorns, Chapter Thirty-Two
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Mal and Inara have a moment and River tries to help Simon. Canon pairings. Some fluff, but mostly not. PG-13, but may not deserve it. Longer than usual (4k words).
CATEGORY: FICTION TIMES READ: 3428 RATING: 9.0 (PG13) SERIES: FIREFLY
Even Roses Have Thorns
Chapter Thirty-Two: Primum non nocere (the first thing is to do no harm – from the Hippocratic oath) Part I
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, , , *** *** *** The dull brown dress had been large for her, but Inara merely added some ribbons as make shift ties – when she stepped out of the shuttle in his dress, Mal was pleasantly surprised. He watched her make her way down to the cargo bay with her usual care; she had attached red-brown ribbons not too different from the colour of the bonnet to the upper arms of the dress to shorten the sleeves, and puffed out the extra material over the ribbons in the leg of mutton fashion. Another ribbon wound it’s way around her waist, and the extra material was folded into little gathers and darts. “I shoulda known, Inara, that you could make even that dowdy thing look pretty.” He looked her over critically. “Best fix that bonnet for ya though, ain’t sitting right.” He pulled it forward over her face. “Mal, I can’t see a damn thing like that!” “Well, that’s the way you wear ‘em. Probably meant to be horse blinkers for a woman.” “You’re not serious!” Inara said, though she stood still as Mal continued to make slight adjustments to the bonnet. When he finished, Inara made a backwater style curtsy and smiled at him. “Will I pass?” He shook his head at her fondly. “No, you’ll still stand out, but I could drag you through town backwards on a horse and you’d manage to make it look elegant.” He took her gallantly by the arm and they strolled off of the ship. “Mal, it’s very kind of you, what you’re doing for Ceres.” Mal shook his head again, and spoke seriously “No, it’s not. She’s my prisoner, and it’s my respon
Hopefully the chapter isn't too long for anybody - it's a lot longer than most my other chapters.
Next chapter: Simon's decision.
Still...this was a brilliant chapter! Not sure if I can choose between Inara and Ceres' scene in Inara's shuttle or Aren's "conversation" with Simon about his treatment regime for what was the best part, since both scenes feature spot-on and brilliantly crafted dialogue:D
BEB
Kaylee is going to get herself into a mess of trouble she keeps up with the buy-baby-things line of thinking.
I'm also wondering where you're going with Ceres - I still think the potential is there for future Ceres/Simon, particularly as Jayne and Kaylee are interacting so well - but even if Ceres/Simon isn't in the cards, it'll be interesting to see how she fares on board the ship.
> “Simon’s not heavy. He’s my brother.”
Excellent use of that line (and now I have the song in my head). And so very River.
And, well, despite being a devoted S/K kinda guy, I have to lend an agreement to tkid's opinion. Not necessarily on the Jaylee front, but on the Simon/Ceres front. She has several advantages: she can "read" Simon like River can, making conversation easier; she's more refined than Kaylee is (not as a strike against Kaylee, but more as something Simon might consider "safe", assassin training notwithstanding); and he carries no baggage in his head about her.
Not saying I'd like to see it (poor Kaylee would be crushed - she's already somewhat fragile), but it certainly seems plausible.
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