Ok first things first, this is all done out of the goodness of my heart, I get nothing from this so people cant sue me for using characters that were created by the Joss man. Who for the record is awesome, up there with the greats but I digress.

Second thanks to Washie, thank you soooo much you are my new official goddess of literature. There is a good chance I will name one of my kids or guitars after you (trust me guitars are practically children with me.) you have been so helpful and inspiring.

Third this is my first fic and I’m jittery and very, very nervous so go easy...not that I think you guys won’t…I just hope I’ve done every thing ok. Feed back much appreciated!

She drew the brush smoothly through the soft and now lustrous brown hair settled between her legs. She smoothed out each brush full with a soft even hand, slowly working her way down the head till she reached the bottom. The head moaned and reclined further into her crotch. Inara smiled slightly as the head's hair parted to reveal a smiling, somewhat lost in relaxation Kaylee.

" ‘nara, you think you could give me one of those shoulder rubs you sometimes give Zoë?"

"Sure, if you think you could remove yourself from between my legs long enough for me to get to your shoulders." Inara smiled, Kaylee blushed, looked down, her hair covering her face. Slowly the brunet shuffled forward and hunched over. Inara frowned, Kaylee had seemed a little bit off for her usual self today. Come to think of it, she had been a little edgy around the Companion for a while.

This concerned Inara, she wondered if perhaps something was bothering the perky young mechanic, perhaps something she had said. But that would be strange she loved spending time with younger woman, their silly little rituals such as when she brushed her hair or when Kaylee helped her apply her makeup.

Admittedly the first time Kaylee had offered, Inara had been less than positive, but the tomboy had a good eye for detail and sure new how to make the companion feel special. But recently the younger woman had been noticeably more edgy and even a little evasive at times. Inara pondered this for a time, while she watched Kaylee’s shoulders rise and fall with each breath. Inara rose from the chair and slipped over to her generous bed.

"Kaylee, sweetie, when I give Zoë a shoulder rub its usually up here." Patting the covers.

"O…oh, I don’t wanna be no trouble." Kaylee had gone bright red. "No trouble, this is your relaxation time and I’m happy to." Inara smiled placidly, then reached for a lovely embroidered blanket she had used with the few female clients she had had, folding it nicely and placing it in the proper way on the bed so that half would cover the woman’s front and the other half would be free to cover the lower half of the body to the rear. Kaylee just stood and gaped.

"Oh…you mean, I mean you mean…I …am I to be uh…"

"Kaylee its ok, I’ve seen it all before. But, if you are uncomfortable, I could find another w-"

"Ah no ‘nara I’m just splittin’ hairs." Kaylee smiled the old Kaylee smile Inara was used to. The Companion nodded and moved to make sure her shuttle door was still locked, in case a certain captain were to be eavesdropping. She turned to find the mechanic standing in all but her adorable pink panties, looking a little sheepish, hands clasped over her pert breasts.

Inara stifled a somewhat odd feeling, not embarrassment, seeing a woman in her natural form was nothing new After all she had been one of the highest ranked companions in the house before she had left. She had overseen many pretty young women bathing and engaging in…other activities.

But this, this was something different, this was a growing feeling of just how fond she was of the younger woman…that and just how damn cute and girly such a tomboy could be. She almost giggled, but summoning the training that was so much a part of her every day life, she adopted a posture and tone of voice to put Kaylee at ease.

"Now sweetie just lie down and make yourself comfortable, I will just go and the oils." She walked purposely and gracefully to the cabinet where she kept the oils and perfumes she used, hesitating over which oils to choose. Instinctively she was drawn to some of her most sensual and seductive oils, usually reserved for her more anxious or perhaps highly strung of clients…

or the few woman she etertained. She shook the thought from her head, no she was doing this because Kaylee had been working awfully hard of late, and besides her friend deserved to get pampered, she was such a sweetie. She crept over softly to where Kaylee lay head cocked to one side, placing down the tray on a small table and lighting some incense.. "This what ya’ do for your clients?"

"Hmmm…some, perhaps only the ones who ask, perhaps only the ones who deserve it." She smiled, noting the red hue spread over Kaylee’s face, neck and shoulders, the Companion didn’t think she’d ever seen something so adorable in her whole time as a Companion. She watched as Kaylee turned her head toward the covers trying not to look at Inara.

Inara reached for her oils and began to lather up her soft hands, watching as they glistened in the half-lit room. She slowly and carefully placed her hands on the younger woman’s back, the skin soft and pliable.

Kaylee let out a small moan of pleasure as the lukewarm oil was spread slowly and sensuously over her tired back. She inhaled deeply of the incense and the oils, in her pleasure she vaguely registered the smell of lavender. She loved lavender, had ever since she was a young girl.

"mmmmummmm…euh!" the mechanic mentally kicked herself as to how audible her pleasure was.

"mmmm, I thought you might enjoy the oils…" Inara smiled to herself, as she watched the brown hair collapse over the younger woman’s face, obscuring an adorable expression. She carefully smoothed out the oils all over the woman’s back, inhaling the scent of the incense and the oils, moving slowly, softly all the while listening to the younger woman’s shallow, deep, shallow, deep pattern of breath. Inara started low, pressing her hands to Kaylee's lower back, gently rubbing the two small dimples there, concentrating on the spine, slowly moving outward.

The heat from Kaylee was intense, and Inara found herself bending low over the younger woman’s back as her hands glided over soft, sweet skin. Kaylee had been trying to stifle moans of pleasure, but had slowly but surely failed, little by little letting more sound escape.

Inara kept totally silent , watching Kaylee's back slowly rise and fall with each breath as she inhaled of the scent in the room. It was soothing, nice, but…there was something else. She couldn’t quite tell what it was, perhaps these were old incense, she couldn’t tell.

She hunched over her body, hands moving slowly up the torso till she reached Kaylee's shoulder blades, pressing lightly over them with all four fingers and the thumb of her right hand, massaging the soft tissue. Yet as she continued the motions, her senses were telling her something, but she still couldn’t place it.

Kaylee seemed to become more tense with each passing minute, an odd notion as the point of this was for Kaylee to let go and relax. Inara continue against her better judgment, moving slowly toward the woman’s neck. She moved to push the hair that was obscuring the mechanic's neck, when Kaylee suddenly) tensed. Puzzled, Inara moved her head to within inches of Kaylee's head and whispered in her most soothing tone.

"Bao bei, you seem far more tense than you should be at this level in the massage. Is there anything I can do?" With this she slipped her hand to the base of Kaylee’s neck and stroked softly. Kaylee slowly moved her head, hair parting. As it fell away Inara caught the tell-tale glimpse she had seen so many times in Malcolm’s eyes as they talked. It was tortured, guilty love. Inara mentally slapped herself, hwoon dahn, how could she have been so blind… of course it was all a fay-fay d’pain, she had somehow known all along. It should have been obvious that Kaylee had felt for her this way, she had exhibited all of the classic signs. Yet Inara hadn’t noticed. Hadn’t let herself notice.

For all the years of training at reading others' feelings, she was painfully aware of how bad she was at recognising her own. Her and Mal’s want for each other only to stop themselves before they even tried, and now with young Kaylee. She knew of late her feelings for Mal had been waning, but had not made the connection that they were growing for young Kaylee. Still that wasn’t saying much, she hadn’t even realised that the other smell, mingling with the oils and incense, was arousal. It was Kaylee. With each passing stroke of Inaras soft oil-covered hands, Kaylee had become more and more ready and willing within her core. Sensation building upon sensation, fire growing deeper and more insatiable in its desire for one thing.

Inara.

Inara shivered, feeling her own fire grow and consume more and more of her composure. She held back the tide of burning, forcing it into check, burning it under wall after wall, like the burning pits of Duat in the ancient stories she was told as a child.

Inara suddenly became aware of the pained expression on Kaylee’s upturned face, also noted that her hands had idly been playing with the younger woman’s neck and the base of her hair. She paused.

"Kaylee…I ah…" Inara looked away.

Kaylee turned slightly, covering her chest in the embroidered blankets, she slid her hand up Inara’s arm, searching for some kind of tell-tale expression, about anything. All she wanted was something concrete to grab hold of, anything. Even if the older woman would just give her a platitude about her not being attracted to her, or perhaps say that her being a Companion would never enable this to work out. Hell, even if she said that she loved Mal, not her, but still wanted to be friends with the younger girl.

Inara brought herself back to Kaylee's gaze, the hand sliding farther up Inara's arm, till it reached the low cut top fastened at her right shoulder. Kaylee's hand skipped lightly over the broche fastening it there, reaching the base of Inara's neck. She paused. They both probed the depths of each others' eyes, time slipping away, searching for something, something that just might not be found. Inara almost could not cope with this, her whole world started to fall away like a ruined temple in the wake of annihilation, all the companion training in the world could not have prepared her for this. This was confusing, difficult and she could not see any clear way to avoid the hazards of this, to risk or manage the end of this as she could with a client.

She realized properly just as Kaylee gently pulled her face down to meet the other woman that she was in love.

Kaylee's lips were soft, slightly moist, Inara found this was one of the few details she could register in the chaos of white noise that had become her head. It wasn’t a lengthy kiss, but it seemed to last something like hours in her mind, Kaylee’s tongue flicking softly out of Inara’s hot wet mouth, slipping across the older woman’s teeth, only to slide up slightly and catch Inaras top lip, leaving a trail of warm wetness on the older woman's rosebud lips. Inara pulled back and gasped, Kaylee paused, licking Inara's taste off her own lips, looking at the other woman with eyes that a naughty puppy would give its owner.

"Kay-"

*"Kaylee, I need ya’ in the engine room, darlin, Wash is havin’ some trouble with Serenity"* Mal’s voice cut in perfectly over the intercom. Kaylee looked at Inara, then bundled up the sheet she was wearing and punched the small button next to the intercom.

"Be right there capn."

Inara was still sitting on the side of her bed, stunned into silence. She just idled there and watched Kaylee pull on her shirt, coveralls and boots. She walked over to the door of Inara's shuttle and looked over at her. The Companion was still simply sitting on the side of the bed, eyes glazed over, hands clasped in her lap.

" ‘nara ive gotta go…uh…yeah." She turned and left.

"Oh…kay," the Guild Companion finally choked out too late.