Characters/Pairings: Mal/Inara

Rating: NC-17 (for teh sex)

Spoilers: BDM

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I profit. Woe is me!

Notes: Set a few days (or weeks) after the BDM. Serenity sets down on Sihnon so Inara can take care of some business.

The Bathing-Houses of Sihnon

Mal relaxed into the steaming water with a grateful sigh. The bathwater tingled his skin, just this side of scalding hot, but he didn’t mind one bit. Baths were hard to come by in the black, hot ones even harder. He’d take his pleasure where he could, and a bathing-house on Sihnon was hardly slumming it.

Steam clouded the large, open room, the only sounds the faint splashes Mal himself made as he sunk deeper into the tub. His side ached like hell, a lingering reminder of his tussle with the Operative. Weren’t the first time he’d been stabbed, but it numbered among the most painful. The hot water and relaxing atmosphere of the Sihnon training house were already working their magic, though, and Mal felt the tense muscles in his back start to loosen. He stretched, wincing only a little, and leaned back. Mal closed his eyes and drifted blissfully, slipping off the marble ledge running the length of the bathing pool and allowing his body to drift into deeper waters.

The sound of bare feet padding across the warm tiled floor made him open his eyes. Mal caught a fleeting glimpse of a female figure through the steam, and she’d already disrobed and made her way to the edge of the large rectangular pool before Mal thought to call attention to himself.

“Inara,” he murmured, his voice rough and loose in the heat. “Pleasant surprise.”

She started a little, pursing her lips in annoyance as she gathered her robe up against her body to cover herself a little. “I thought you’d be in the public baths,” she said coolly. “This space is reserved for Companions.”

Mal smiled a little ruefully. “House mistress gave me leave. Nice of her, don’t ya think?” he smirked, swimming away on his back. He hoped he looked relaxed, pleased with th