Only So Long
Monday, May 17, 2010
He watched for as long as he could.
CATEGORY: FICTION TIMES READ: 3694 RATING: 10.0 (G) SERIES: FIREFLY
Only So Long
by 2x2
Rating: PG
Word Count: Approx. 161
Spoilers: Allusions to Inara's secret.
Characters/Pairing: Mal/Inara
Notes: Written for my A to Z Drabble Meme, for the prompt E for Explanation (or Exhaustion/Exhausted) – Firefly, Mal/Inara , once again for the lovely GillianRose. (I'm posting all of these drabbles if that hasn't become apparent. ;o)
He watched for as long as he could.
It was hard, but he’d held back, physically restraining himself for far longer than he’d thought himself capable, knowing that any approach would be refused and unappreciated. But he could watch for only so long, pretend for only so long that he didn’t know every step was taking its toll, every action wearing her down, bringing her closer and closer to exhaustion. He could ignore for only so long the pain he saw in her eyes, growing clearer every day.
And so today, when she stumbled and he couldn’t just watch any longer, when he caught her with an arm around her waist, he didn’t care that she mightn’t want his help, didn’t care that she mightn’t want to acknowledge that she needed help.
But when she looked to him without asking for an explanation, and he saw the gratitude in her eyes, he cared.
He was never more afraid in his life.
Poor Inara. Again. Poor girl gets beaten up by everyone. Fans, haters, clients, fate, Joss.
Guess it's part of why we care about her. Catharsis, maybe. Or hope, despite the long odds. The strength of character allows someone to endure, that she had even before the reveal, in her dealings with Mal.
And yet here he catches her. She must be glad to the bottom of her soul for that. And as afraid as him.
Very in character, by the way, she's a proud lady and it would take a lot before she accepted help.
Mal cares more for Inara than even he knows; this will be equally hard on him.
Where's Simon?
Yeah, poor Inara. We do love to put the characters we love through hell, don't we? Though I don't usually kill them off at least...
Oh, and Simon's around, but Inara's given him strict instructions not to say or do a thing that would give her away, especially in front of Mal. But Mal ain't stupid.
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