don’t know what to do anymore

I’ve lost the only love worth fighting for

I’ll drown in my tear storming sea

that would show you,

that would make you hurt like me

Inara Serra stood facing Mal on the catwalk over the cargo bay, knowing what he was trying to say to her now, in the long hours after leaving behind the Heart of Gold. And she was damned if she would let him. Her finely honed control, her peace of mind had been so deeply shaken, she finally acknowledged the truth that had been building, ever since her reaction to Saffron. She had to leave, as soon as possible. She had to save what was left of herself, get away and rebuild before the fire of this man melted her completely. “There's something - there's something I should've done a long while ago. And I'm sorry, for both of us, that it took me this long. I'm leaving.”

all the same,

I don’t want mud-slinging games

it’s just a shame

to let you walk away

Malcolm Reynolds watched her walking away from him, towards her shuttle…his shuttle really. She was just a tenant after all. He could find another tenant. ‘Yeah,’ he thought. ‘And if you believe that pile of go se, I have some nice beach front property on Haven I could sell you.’ The lingering scent of her perfume, jasmine with a tinge of spice, suddenly left him with the powerful urge for some rot-gut wine from Kaylee's still. He figured if he drank enough, maybe he wouldn’t feel so much like he was gut shot.

is there a chance,

a fragment of light

at the end of the tunnel,

a reason to fight

is there a chance

you may change your mind

or are we ashes and wine?

Malcolm Reynolds took to sitting up nights on the bridge, far enough away from shuttle two that he couldn’t hear the tiny chorus of destruction when Inara left the door open, as she began to dismantle her things. The sound of her tea set being carefully wrapped in linen. The light crack of a throw from the couch having the wrinkles snapped out before being folded into a box. The creak of the hooks holding the