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Inara had picked the café specifically because of its open air patio and view of the famous pastel neighborhood on Rubicon. She'd booked the reservation for a late lunchtime so that Kaylee wouldn't feel too rushed during her morning engine maintenance, and they'd had a lovely time walking to the café, hand in hand. When she’d learned about the café, Inara was confident that it was a perfect follow up to their first two dates: the night market outing on Beaumonde and the concert they'd managed to find last minute tickets to on Paquin.
She'd confirmed the reservation but maybe she should have confirmed it again or told them that she was a registered Companion (she didn't like to pull that card, but she used it when she had to). Their table had been given to someone else and there was only one other possible time to get a spot for two: five hours later.
Inara's heart sank as they left the restaurant, wandered down an unfamiliar street, and eventually found a sandwich stand, but Kaylee didn't seem fazed.
"You alright?" Kaylee asked as they sat down on a bench in a nearby park to eat. "You're not getting too much sun, are ya? I can scoot over a little."
"No, I'm fine where I am."
"At least it's a nice day out," Kaylee said. "And the sandwiches look really good. I never had this kind of fish before, I don't think."
Inara made a noise she hoped sounded enough like agreement, but Kaylee picked up on her disappointment.
"Aw, 'Nara what's wrong? It ain't that bad."
"I just…I wanted our third date to be more magical," Inara said. Kaylee frowned.
"Third date?"
"Yes?"
"I thought we'd been dating since about when the captain came into the shuttle to yell about me rewirin' the grav thrust," Kaylee said.
"Oh…" It was Inara's turn to frown. "But we had that outing at the night market, after we talked in my shuttle."
"Yeah, after the girlfriend discussion," Kaylee agreed. "I figured we weren't in a rush to get there."
"But the…the physical intimacy…we didn't…"
"I figured it just was on a slow timeline," Kaylee said.
"What about Simon?"
"I mean, I thought about dating him too, but he really doesn't seem interested, does he?"
"But…the overlap—"
"You can date a few people at one time, until you decide you're gonna go steady with just one," Kaylee answered. "And now we're going steady." She shrugged. "It's a good date, Inara. Every date you take me on is a good one." She leaned forwards and Inara did too, expecting a kiss, but Kaylee ducked at the last minute and took a bite out of Inara's sandwich.
"Hey!"
"Oh, did you get liver paté?" Kaylee asked, trying and failing to keep the twist of disgust off her face.
"It's my favorite!" Inara said, managing a laugh.
"I'm not kissing you for the rest of the day," Kaylee joked.
"We'll get jelly drinks on our way back and you'll eat your words."
"Yeah, probably."
"You really don't mind that our plans got ruined?"
"I don't mind at all," Kaylee said, starting to unwrap her own sandwich. "I'm through with all my work and I'm having a meal with my girlfriend. Besides, what are you supposed to do about some restaurant's bad organizational skills?"
“I guess that’s true,” Inara agreed. “And we can always try next time we’re on Rubicon.”
“Exactly. Something to look forward to.”