Title: A Smuggler & A Gentleman

Timeline: post-Firefly (with some alternations)

Rating: G (so far)

Disclaimer: I Own Nothing

Pairing: Mal and Inara

Author's Notes: This is my first serial fanfiction. Be gentle with me.

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“Let me get this straight. Inara. You asking me to be your date?”

“Yes, Mal. I am.”

“You want me to be your date to your Companion Ball?”

Inara sighed deeply. “Yes.”

What she thought would have been easy was turning into a complete disaster. They were on their way to Beaumont, a planet considered part of The Core, and the man she had made plans with to attend Sherborne Ball had to cancel at the last minute. As a member of the Guild, she was obligated to attend this year and by an escort of her choosing. It was an event dedicated to Companions, so asking Mal had been a last case scenario.

“Why in the *insert Chinese curse words* would you even think of asking me?”

“You were my last choice,” she answered reluctantly.

Mal on the other hand didn’t look the least bit offended by her explanation. “I’m finding it a little hard to believe that you’d have a hard time asking someone to go with you.”

“This isn’t like the Ball in Persephone, Mal.”

“Let me see: Dancing. Formal wear. Curtseying. Bad conversation.” He checked off each word simultaneously with his fingers. “Possibly a duel or two. Tell me again how this isn’t a Ball?”

“The Sherborne Ball is extremely exclusive to Companions. One half of every couple you see and meet is a Companion. It is not the sort of place to bring a client, and seeing that you’re not a client, and that previous experience tells me that you are no stranger to these kinds of—” she paused, thinking of the right word to use, “events, I was hoping you would do me the favor of coming with me.”

Mal crossed his arms. “Now there’s something.”

“I’m serious, Mal.”

“That still doesn’t explain to me anything. You’re smart and you’re beautiful. You can ask any man on any planet and they’ll say yes without a second thought.”

Inara nearly blu