Chapter 2 – “Whiskers on kittens”

The sounds of children laughing and people chattering reaching them almost as soon as they exited Serenity. The town was filled with happy citizens and people flocked the streets swapping smiles and enjoying themselves.

Inara and Mal strolled through the town, a comfortable silence between them. Their arms were no longer linked, as both had almost immediately realized the possible implications. Still, the loss of the closeness and Mal’s warmth had left Inara feeling empty and the thoughts running through her mind were making her head spin.

Where were the feelings suddenly coming from? Okay, that wasn’t completely true. This wasn’t exactly a new development. Inara had felt these feelings before but she had thought that she had buried them so deep inside of her that she was free of them. Obviously this was not the case.

Pushing her thoughts aside, Inara began to concentrate on the sights around her. It was rare for her to come into a town such as this one. Usually she would be with a client, and so usually did not visit the worlds which Serenity landed on. This moon a cheerful place, and people happily went about their business.

A few people had stared to see a companion in their midst but most appeared to be taking it in their stride, giving her friendly smiles as she walked past. Inara was glad however that she had decided to dress down a bit today, which helped her to blend in more. She did not want to be “Companion Serra” today; she just wanted to be “Inara”. She had a whole day off, with a Captain, for whom she was having fuzzy feelings towards and she planned to make the most of it, and have some fun.

Pausing outside of a shop filled with beautiful hand-sewn dresses, Inara gazed longingly inside, fingering one of the dresses which were on display outside the store. Sighing she resumed walking, making her way towards the next store. Mal noticing her gazing at the dress spoke up.

“Inara, wait.” She paused mid-step to glance back at him. “What are you d