Mal dressed with extra care, making sure his shirt had no bullet holes and his pants were neatly pressed. He was almost embarrassed by how eager he was to escort Inara into the small town on Highgate. There wasn’t much to recommend the little settlement, but the day was fine and Mal had an unusual desire to see Inara in the light of a bright sun.

Inara, for her part, was looking at herself critically in the full length mirror of her shuttle, having chosen to spend the night away from Mal’s bunk so that she could genuinely rest up for the day he had planned for them. The rest of the crew had already left for their various destinations, relieved to be dirtside again after a long stint in the Black. So, Inara had no one to ask about the change of attire she was wearing. She wished for a moment that she had talked to Kaylee before she left.

Biting her lip nervously, she smoothed the fabric of her new pants, wondering what Mal would think of them. Since she was no longer a Companion, she had sold most of her finer clothes, having no use for them on Serenity. But pants were still a novelty to her and she wasn’t quite sure if she liked the look of them on her hips.

Mal’s knock on her shuttle door made her smile. She found it more than a little strange that he should have learned to knock only now, when they were sharing a bed almost every night, but she certainly had no intention to stop him from doing so. “Ching jin,” she called out in musical tones.

Mal entered, and she was struck by how swai he looked, his boots polished to a fine sheen and his clothes pressed so neatly. “Why, Captain Reynolds,” she said, lowering her lashes seductively, “Don’t you look handsome this morning?”

Mal bowed gracefully, not at all in the mocking way he used to do. “Why, thank you, Miss Serra,” he replied formally. Eyeing her shape in the form-fitting pants she wore, he whistled softly. “You’re quite a picture yourself.”

Inara ran her hand along the side of the pants, smoothing out a small wrinkle. “You th