Mal looked scathingly on the two that lay draped all over eachother in their respective bunks. Oh, yes, and the fact that they were both naked except for the thin blanket covering them had absolutely nothing to do with his venting. And the stars were really just Gods' nightlights. "Gorramit, you two! I try to run a ruttin' ship here, and ya'll go on and rutt about like there's no tomorrow!! I mean, come on!!! Its bad enough, Doc, that you're sis is still all crazy; and, Kaylee, I can personally see that the engine is starting to go on the fritz. When I am the one to see it first, you've obviously not been there to see it to begin with!!! Bad enough that you decided to bed; but must it stop my ship from flyin'? Xiao tian de, how many times must I say it? Work first, play later. Dong ma?" Kaylee hung her head a bit in shame; everything he had said was true. "Sorry, Cap'n. I'll fix th' engine." She slowly dragged herself out of the bed, letting Mal turn away. Simon sighed, then went about getting dressed as well. Mal had stopped them pre-... well, pre-sexin', so they could afford to wait. Out of his perephial, Mal saw Inara coming at him, a look of anger barely concealed beneath her false porcelain mask of a face. "Mal," she hissed at him. "You had no right to tell them that!! Why must you be so harsh on them?" "If I ain't harsh, 'Nara, then Serenity suffers for it. Serenity keens and no one answers, well then... we're all in a bit of a bind, dong ma?" "But, still... Mal, they're only young and in love once..." Mal looked strangely at her, so much so that she took a step back. Then, he exploded at her. "In love?!!? Gorramit, what right do you have to speak to ME about 'Love'? You are a fucking whore!!! You do not love, you please some folk who's Daddy has got deep enough pockets. You have never loved anyone in the 'Verse. Bedded a good portion of the richer ones, but never, never did it but once cuz you loved them. You lie to them; you give them an illusion that they bought. What they have, sure; that may well be love. You? The exact opposite. Exact." He stomped his foot, glaring at her. It softened when he saw the tears that rimmed her eyes. It broke completly at her next sentence. "Besides you?" She stalked off, head held high... but with shoulders sagging. More than anything, she looked exhausted. "'Nara..." Kaylee came out, fully dressed in her coveralls (but minus the shoes). She looked from Mal to the retreating figure of the Companion. "Fei fei de pigu!!!" She took off at a run after her freind. Simon came out after her, shrugging on a shirt. He stood for a second, glaring at the captain. Then, he, too, followed after Inara.. Mal sighed, defeated. At that moment, River poked her head in. "Boob," was all she said before leaving. But the silence still spoke volumes. *** "'Nara, don't mind the Cap'n! He's just-" The Companion waved her off. "No, Mei-mei. Mal isn't lieing at all. He was... he is right..." The normally unflappable mechanic was fast losing hope of cheering up her friend, as she had done for her so many times before. "Maybe... maybe if... no, no. He was right. I never knew what it was... and I never will." "Please, 'Nara," pleaded the mechanic. "Don'-" Again, that fine, elegant hand silenced her mid-sentence. "Bu, Mei-mei. Bu. I've already lost too much to this place." The words fell on the mechanic and kneeled like a death ring from a clear bell. The bell that sealed away doom and hope and light. *** "Was I wrong?" That was the one phrase that was tenetavily muttered from him, over and over again, softer and louder. Those three words. They permeated his very mind and soul, calling coyfully at him until it was all that he could think of. Was I wrong to say that? No matter how many times he went over it in his head, the answer always came back the same. No. He shook his head. The door opened, but he didn't turn to the figure that came in. Didn't need to. "Too late. Last batter up; last swing, last miss. Lost the game. Crowd boos at you, the team hates you; you let them down. Was it worth it?" No. But River was already gone. *** The clear skies of Ariel- wasn't that the biggest lie in the 'Verse? Even without the storm clouds overhead; the sky was usually streaked with humongous gashes of oily cloud cover from the factories that pockmarked the vast planet. A single, lonely figure trudged its way through the bustling crowd of drones and no ones. All dressed up, like a doll that the rich played wth almost exclusively. What a lie. But, still; those words had jarred her soul. guess I was wrong, then. I guess you were. She had waited for an answer, there. For ten minutes they had just stood there on the docks, neither daring to meet the other eyes. A game they both knew by heart, now. It still ended in a tie. The exact thing that neither of them had wanted. Exact.

A.N.- P.s.- look up "Swing Life Away", by Rise Against. It basicly DEFINES M/I