They sat in the farthest seat for a while, having been directed there by the ancient little man Mal had hired to take them home. He had an apparently complicated seating plan that Inara watched him refer to several times, although the light was so dim she couldn’t imagine him making out the writing. Still, he greeted the sparse number of passengers with explicit directions on where each was to ride in the carriage. Others sought out the old driver as well, but not for a ride. Instead, they handed over bulky packages and bags, with slips of paper presumably serving as delivery instructions. Each time, the man ran his thumb over the paper, then stashed it carelessly in his pocket as he hopped up into different benches, stowing his cargo with faithful attention to his plan.

Inara turned to Mal in amusement. "Why does this not surprise me?"

"Care to expound on whatever you find so entertaining?"

She lowered her voice to a teasing whisper and leaned closer. "Of all the ways to get us home, you see fit to pick the most...leisurely conveyance possible. What grudge do you have against the transpo shuttle? We'd be at Serenity in 15 minutes!"

"Transpo's left. You were shopping."

" We were shopping," she admonished lightly, accepting the thermos Mal offered. "But this is nice. Christmasy and...well, this could be quite the romantic gesture for a gentleman looking for something of the sort." Romantic, even with the eccentric little driver packing half the sleigh with cargo.

"That's me, persistently endeavoring for gentlemanhood."

Inara wrapped her hands around the warm container. He’d thought of everything, she realized. She was impressed.

"I - this was a nice idea, the cocoa. I wonder if it’s a local specialty?" Inara winced inwardly as she heard the question she’d just asked. A romantic sleigh ride with the man she’d been in love with for more than a year, and she was speculating on the local cocoa culture?

"Could be, folks in cold climates generally are partial to...cocoa. Because i