Maybe
**
He tells himself a thousand times that this is wrong. Wrong. She's a whore, simple as that, no need to care this much: ain't war, ain't nothing like that.

Tells himself that a thousand time and a thousand times it don't do him a lick of good.

She told him (one night. dangling feet over the cargo bay.) that she worked for unification: didn't matter that it was wrong. All calm like and prim, she was drinking her coffee, pinkie all up like nothing was wrong at all. 'Course everything was wrong with that and she found that out when he got up with out a word. He wasn't going to try and tell her that every thing she was/had been/will be weren't ever going to be right.

She's a whore and that's what he knows -what he wants to know more than anything because if he can draw that line in the sand and will himself not to cross it maybe-

Maybe he can sleep through nights without the profile of a hip between him and candle-light: sleep through nights without plush tips of fingers and an agonizingly silk-smooth thigh.

Inara probably knows his inner demons, probably has them all mapped out in the palm of her hand; she don't mention the war again, don't mention that such a clear line dug in the sand don't work for Simon or River. Little rivulets of tears and those two slip through while she's on the other side.

Mal don't like that she can know so much about all sorts of things: aint' right but he's not sure it ain't wrong either. Broods over this over coffee over the cargo bay. Says she's sorry by bringing an extra cup but he's not ready to forgive and neither of them can forget. "Ain't right," He mutters, pushing past her. Coffee splashes against silk and the intake of breath is all but toeing the line.

She's muttering outbounder curses under her breath, trying to wipe off the coffee that's seared her hand. She doesn't see Mal stop in the doorway, doesn't see the sudden flicker of something in his eyes. She doesn't get a chance to see anything because by the time her hand is dry, the doorway is empty and she tries to get back to her room without crying.

**