Moving Forwards

Mal's POV

When Mal was certain that Inara was busy playing cards in the mess with Kaylee, he snuck into her shuttle, hands shoved deep in his pockets. His fingers clasped the miniature teddy bear he'd found planet side on their last stopover and he wore a thoughtful expression caught somewhere between contentedness and disbelief.

He had no idea what he was doing, to be perfectly honest. He knew that he had immediately thought of Inara when he'd spotted the soft toy and that he had bought it in the spur of the moment. He knew he planned on giving the thing to her.

He just couldn't figure out the why.

After attempting to find a suitable reason behind it, he gave up and went about placing the bear on Inara's dresser.

He stared at it for a moment.

Silky brown with chocolate eyes (buttons), the teddy bear stood almost as high as his index finger. It must have taken a good long while to make it and a lot more patience, a hell of a lot.

The bear seemed to disappear among the presents Inara's clients had given her.

Mal narrowed his eyes and retrieved it.

Glancing around the shuttle, he searched for somewhere else to put it, somewhere away from the other gifts bestowed upon Inara, upon the Companion. His eyes came to rest on the small table by the end of the bed. It was empty, but for a sheet of unused parchment, a pen and an inkwell. Perfect.

He sat the bear atop of the table and as an afterthought picked up the pen, dipped it in the ink and scratched three x's over the paper. Standing back, he admired his handiwork.

Shiny.

He grinned to himself.

Sweeping his gaze once more around the shuttle, he nodded once, turned and left.

Inara's POV

Mal had been acting strangely ever since the last stop planet side. He had been constantly fidgeting and it hadn't escaped Inara's attention that he'd begun to avoid eye contact with her more than usual.

Something was definitely going on with him. She was sure of it.

When, in the middle of a game of cards with Kaylee, he shot her a peculiar look and hurried off, she excused herself and followed, ensuring that she remained far enough behind that he wouldn't notice: at least until she'd figured out what was happening and how to confront him about it.

The last place she expected him to go was her shuttle. Her shuttle. She almost yelled at him then and there but stopped herself just in time and instead made her way quietly to the shuttle door, peering in to watch him.

He was standing by the dresser by this point and seemed almost hesitant and a mite conflicted about something.

Inara narrowed her eyes and ran her tongue across her lips.

What was he doing?!

A few seconds later, she got her answer.

Mal placed something on her dresser.

She watched as he studied it for a while and then moved it over to the table she used to write at. His back blocked her view and she cursed inwardly, wishing he'd move just that little bit further to the side to give her a better view.

In good time, he stood, doing just that.

Inara felt the corners of her mouth twitch up at what she saw.

The hardened criminal, Malcolm Reynolds, had just placed a teddy bear in her shuttle.

Before Mal could catch her watching – an event she was certain would be most awkward for both of them – she headed back to Kaylee, smiling and hopeful that the gift he'd bestowed upon her was the beginning of something more.

fin.