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When; Early Evening
Rating; R (Priestly has a bit of a mouth on him)
Characters; Inara

onlyfell and Priestly

notverypriestly
Summary; Priestly stops by to have tea with Inara
Log;

Inara had just finished serving tea for one client when the hostess informed her that she had another waiting in one of the tea rooms. She expected it to be Priestly as he had said he was going to stop by. She'd only been working at the tea room a week or so but enjoyed it thus far. Between that and meeting her end of her agreement with Chuck, she was busy but that was precisely how Inara liked it. She was kept from lingering too long over her longing for Serenity and it's crew.

Inara smoothed her hair back, making sure that stray strands had not escaped the chopsticks she'd twisted it up into and then ran her hands over the black silk kimono she was wearing. Once she was certain she was impeccable, she stepped into the tea room, her smile widening as she saw it was indeed Priestly. She half bowed to him then moved to sit down at the table across from him.

"Priestly, it is a pleasure to finally see you."

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Review the situation: Priestly had been sitting comfortably, waiting to meet a woman that shouldn't have given him the time of day in a shirt that was worn specifically to insult. (http://i38.tinypic.com/2dbjjpv.gif)

Despite the fact that Inara was much more impressive in person, Priestly did manage to stand up as she entered, and didn't sit back down until she was seated. He even smiled and didn't stare. His fortune ended there.

"Inara, hi. You saw me, right? We did the video -- you mean in person, right." He made a face at himself that was clearly a kick in the pants before clearing his throat and unconsciously sitting up a little straighter. "You too. You're tall."

Smooth, Priestly, you're a regular Bogart.

Perhaps if Priestly were having tea with a different sort of woman, the shirt would offend however, Inara's response was simply "Why must they be awkward?" she asked with a nod to his shirt. She smiled at him mischievously and listened to his slight ramble. Whether it sounded arrogant or otherwise, she was used to men reacting nervously in her presence at least at first.

"I suppose I am rather. However, you are a bit taller and you're not wearing the platform slippers I've got on." She pulled aside the edge of her kimono to show the square, wooden slippers traditionally worn by geisha.

She made it easy for him to recover when she didn't react to his initial fumbling. Priestly was used to funny looks and giggles. Inara never even blinked twice at his hair!

"Ooh," he exclaimed, and even though he knew she wouldn't get the reference, he couldn't help himself. "Do you write a lot of Memoirs?"

Priestly wasn't the oddest thing she'd ever seen. Granted the way he looked wasn't common in her world but she'd seen him on video and she was expecting the brightly colored mohawk.

She furrowed her brow for a split second before she smoothed her complexion out. "Pardon?"

He chuckled and waved his hand in the air. "Nevermind, it's not important." To give him a moment, Priestly grabbed the glass of water before him and took a sip, then another. After he'd gulped down about half the glass, he smiled and set it down again.

"So. Tea, huh? That's pretty cool. I mean, it's not my thing but tea's tasty. And green tea's all good for you and shit. Heard it can prevent cancer," Priestly rambled on conversationally. He figured that she hadn't been insulted by his appearance or the things he said, he was pretty much in the clear. It was kind of rare that someone let him be the way he was, and he was going to take advantage of it.

Ironic he should mention that it prevented cancer as she was currently dying from it. Granted her cancer was a special, rare strain caused by the very vaccine that was to prevent one from getting cancer. Inara liked Priestly. He was interesting, amusing and he was a bit of a puzzle. There was just a hint that he wasn't everything that he wished people to perceive he was. Inara liked puzzles and mysteries and figuring people out.

Besides, he was adorably nervous around her.

"Green tea is my favorite but as you've seen I enjoy Earl Grey from time to time. And speaking of tea, I should go get a service," she got to her feet gracefully and left the room. She was only gone a moment when she returned with a tea tray. It was assembled with a tea pot, cups, saucers, cream, lemon and sugar. She placed it on the table and sat down again.

"I took the liberty of assuming you wished me to have tea with you as opposed to merely serving you."

Priestly grinned when she returned with the tray, and it widened when she sat down again. He loved talking to people, and Inara was no exception. He'd never really had contact with someone so worldly, and he wanted to take advantage of the chance to do it. It also didn't hurt that he felt remarkably comfortable around her.

"Thanks, I was hoping to hang out. Learn a little Chinese, you know. The usual," he replied. "We're gonna do that awkward small talk bullshit though, aren't we?"

The hint of a smile crooked the corner of Inara's lips. It was almost a smirk but entirely bemused. She arched an eyebrow at him and started to pour tea into his cup.

"We don't have to if you'd rather we skipped the small talk. What else would you rather discuss and what would you like to learn to say in Chinese. Although I speak Mandarin and I understand there are other dialects. It's merely the prevailing one in my world."

He felt odd being served. Priestly was used to doing the serving, but Inara seemed too take charge for him to feel comfortable just taking over. "Well, first of all, I'm glad you aren't an alien, or an alien's butt monkey. Secondly, I totally wanna swear in Mandarin, I'm not gonna lie." He wanted to ask what she meant by 'her world,' but he qualified that as small talk, so he concentrated on the tea pouring while thinking of something that actually had merit to say.

Once she was finished, he pulled the cup toward him, his pinky daintily lifted and begin to put other ingredients in it. "Also, you should know that I'm fucking grateful that you don't stare at me like I'm a freak. ...Does that count as small talk?"

Inara smiled at Priestly's ramble. It was adorable and oddly comforting. He reminded her a bit of Kaylee--perpetually cheerful and talking, humming, etc just to fill space.

"Ching-wah TSAO duh liou mahng," she filled in the space. That mischievous, teasing smile still on her lips. "Frog humping son of a bitch. The Chinese have more creative swears than we do."

At his last comment, the smile disappeared. She gave him a long look, obviously studying him but not particularly staring. The smile returned slowly after a brief moment. She finished pouring the tea and carefully put the pot down. "I suppose I don't stare at your as if you're a freak because I don't particularly consider you a freak. You're a very nice man, Priestly. You're entertaining and interesting. I don't see how your wardrobe choices negate that." She took a sip of her tea. "Indeed, I believe it does count."

She paused a moment then continued. "I'm a bit fascinated with your tattoos. They're uncommon in the circles I tend to gravitate. Does that count as small talk?"

Priestly burst into laughter, sending a face that clearly said 'what the fuck' Inara's way. It was a mixture of the unbelievability of her actually swearing and the translated curse itself. "Are you shitting me? That is the best thing ever!"

He quieted when she did and shrugged. "Guess I'm the judgmental jerk now, figuring you for an uppity sort of woman." Priestly liked the irony there, that while he was the one always claiming not to judge people based on their looks, here he was, unconsciously doing it. It was good, though. Inara made him think. He chuckled wryly; he'd also wanted to stay away from small talk, and here they were. "I think it does, but at least we're not driveling on about weather, pets or children."

Priestly cocked his head and smiled, then, examining his own decorated arms. "Most people have great stories behind theirs. I mean, yeah, there are a couple high-tats here but mostly they're just ink in my skin. They're frowned upon in the circles I used to gravitate as well, so it's probably me post-rebelling against those ching way sow doo--" Priestly gave up trying to remember the phrase, laughing. "Of bitches."

She wasn't half as sheltered as her mannerisms and appearance would lead someone to believe. Inara didn't often swear but it was necessary in order to actually teach him to swear in Mandarin.

She arched an eyebrow and half smiled at him. "You're hardly the first and I doubt you'll be the last. I'm grateful for the aversion to those topics as I don't care much about the weather and I've neither children nor pets. It forces me to reminisce about things I've no experience with."

To be perfectly honest, she did consider Jayne something of a pet. The kind you lock outside and hope runs away.

"Ching-wah TSAO duh liou mahng," she repeated the words for him. "May I?" she asked, her hand hovering over a tattoo on his arm as she asked permission to run her fingers over the design.

His eyes widened a fraction of a second before Priestly forced himself to nod like someone cooler than he would. While she examined the art, he attempted to repeat the phonetics again. He stopped mid-attempt to mouth them before finally accomplishing a version he thought sufficient.

"Well, I guess if I hear it enough I'll pick it up." It was his way of saying he wanted to hang out with Inara again. With the hand attached to the arm she wasn't currently inspecting, he lifted his cup and took a small sip, testing the heat. Once he determined it wasn't going to burn the ever living fuck out of his mouth, he gulped a little more. Tasty.

But saying that was useless. This woman totally already knew her tea was tasty. He was going to start testing what was and wasn't appropriate to talk about around her now. Boundaries were something he liked to make sure he tried to push, and so far she'd had few. "One time I got arrested for public nudity."

Inara ran her fingertips over the ink on his arm, tilting her head as she studied it. "The best way to learn a language is immersion." That was her way of saying he could hang out with her regularly if he liked. "Although I'll have to add in a few more expletives than I usually use."

His experiment would be an interesting one because the nature of Inara's job required her boundaries to be relatively flexible and broader than most people's. She tucked her bottom lip between her teeth a moment as she looked up to him, a smile finally teasing it's way to the corners of her lips.

"A dare, public sex or both?"

"Explete away, it'll be a nice exercise for you, too," he pointed out, as if he was helping her out immensely.

He was lucky, in that sense, then. Priestly had wanted to make a good impression from the start, make sure that Inara would continue talking to him at all - now that she was, he needed to know just what not to say. Her response surprised him less than it probably should have; in person her confidence and comfort in her skin amplified her personality. It made it easier to relate and predict her reactions. He still laughed, though, because now he was going to have to own up to the fact that his arrest was not as seedy as all that.

"A kilt, actually. I figured if you're gonna wear it, do it right." A light blush crept up his cheeks. "Just...make sure not to do it on a windy day is all."

"How so?" Inara asked curiously. She ceased her exploration of the tattoos on his arm and picked up her tea to take a sip. He had other tattoos but it would require a much more invasive exploration and she wasn't certain he was ready for that.

She had to laugh at the kilt story and the adorable way he blushed. "Bring the kilt to me. I'll sew weights into the hem. It's how I keep from committing the same faux paus on a regular basis," she told him with that naughty grin. Yes she was flirting with him. It was fun and she figured it couldn't hurt his ego any. He radiated insecurity in his desperation to cover it up.

"You totally don't cuss enough." He had a theory, of course. "You repress that shit and you start getting edgy. Then one day? Boosh! You explode from it all, you just go bonkers." True facts.

Priestly grinned wide, his eyebrows shooting up to his hair line. "Okay, see, now that's just unfair because you're totally not going to go into detail for me." Her prowess was not diminished in The City apparently, as her insight to Priestly's ego worked like a charm. He might still be blushing, but he was also feeling just fine pushing this line further. "I don't think you would be arrested for my crime. Hell, you could probably walk around in the buff and people would applaud!"

Inara arched an eyebrow at Priestly's theory. There was something to it but she hardly thought it was a danger she was in. "And if I don't often get angry enough to repress anything?"

She laughed at his idea. "I wouldn't expect applause," she teased him. "And I'm not certain what I'm to elaborate on. My dresses have weights sewn in the hems so that they don't blow up and run the risk of indecent exposure. Many of my gowns don't allow for extra layers. It ruins the line of the drape."

Priestly mimicked the eyebrow, disbelieving that she never got angry. "Then I was right the first time. Alien."

He narrowed his eyes now, skeptical about her claims once more. Girls didn't go commando. They couldn't, not with all their girl parts doing mysterious and girl part like things. "No way. You're saying?" His eyes drifted away past Inara's face and he couldn't help the grin that spread over his face. He was going to have a problem walking if he mulled over the subject too long.

Inara laughed softly and shook her head. "I get angry but not often. I've learned how to control my temper quite well."

She smirked at his inference and the way his gaze drifts. "Depending upon the clothing I'm attired in you've got the proper concept."

As far as whether she was attired in the proper clothing right now or not, she'd let him make that decision.

"Yeah? Me too. I control it by having little spaz fits throughout the day. Keeps it from building up and scares people I don't like away." He grinned, and while some people might think he was joking, Priestly was very much not.

He continued smiling and shook his head. Priestly looked at Inara as if he was suspicious of her, though not necessarily in a bad way. She was one of those awesome chicks; the ones that didn't squeal over taboo conversations but wasn't all butch about them either. She wasn't challenging but she wasn't boring. "I gotcha. Sometimes when I wear my pencil skirt, there's just no way I can also do panties with it."

"I meditate a great deal," she admitted. "I can see how the spaz fits would be effective. Particularly in keeping people you don't like away. So should I expect a spaz fit at any time or are they more controlled than that?" She was teasing but she was curious as well.

Not challenging and yet not boring was what the guild specialized in. Men wanted both in general. Because of her profession, she didn't even consider nudity and sex taboo conversations. Granted she wasn't likely to have them in some circles but she would rarely if ever shy away from them should they come up. "Really? I find it has more to do with the fabric," she joked with him. "Do you prefer a thong or bikini?"

He was cool with the teasing, it was something that was a little comforting and put him at ease. "Maybe. They're more sporadic, you know? Right now I'm not feeling any aggro vibes, so you're good. Does meditation really work? I always fall asleep when I try."

Priestly laughed at her jest, but didn't answer. He couldn't help himself because of his train of thought, and ended up asking her a question he realized might be too much, even for him, but he asked it in as light hearted a manner as he could manage. "Okay you're way too awesome. What's the catch, here? Are you gonna like, bite off my head and lay eggs in my corpse or something?"

"You're doing it wrong then," Inara teased him back. "Come meditate with me some time. I'll teach you how."

The question made her give him a confused look, tilting her head slightly as she tried to work through the pop culture references she didn't get and find the meat of the question. It was apparent when she figured it out because she smiled slightly.

"I might ask for your soul," she joked. "There's no catch, Priestly." She struggled with the idea of being more honest with him finally deciding to let the armor crack a bit. "Appearances are often deceiving. You should know that. If you'd like for me to have a flaw...stick around a little while. I'm certain you'll find one or two."

Or many, many more but she wasn't feeling that confessional today.

Priestly delivered just a wink back. He wouldn't get slapped for it or ignored, Inara would get it and that made it kind of awesome.

He chuckled at her request for his soul and rather than making a comment about most women taking that naturally, he just sighed while trying to organize his words. "It's not that I'd like for you to have one. Flaws are essential to who we are as individuals, aren't they? I mean, where's the variety if everyone's perfect or awesome? People try to look for the perfect everything, the brand spanking new things that are shiny and sparkly. To be honest, I'd rather have something that's a little worn in. Something that's proven to be durable."

Small talk officially averted!

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