Work Text:
"It needs to be secure," River said as she slipped what felt like the seven hundredth pin into the slicked back bun she'd twisted Inara's hair into.
"I've done plenty of secure hairstyles before, River," Inara reminded her. "The last thing a lady wants is for her chignon to come undone during a dinner party."
"And what are you doing at a dinner party?" River asked. "Whipping your head around? Gentle elegant nodding doesn't require a lot of pins." She wiggled two more sturdy metal hairpins into her creation. "What I'm doing will stay in for thirty two fouetté turns," River informed her seriously. "And then an encore of another thirty two."
"What about a day out at the junkyard?" Inara teased, and River nodded.
"That too."
River added three more pins before she was satisfied, and Inara was certain she'd used most of the box.
"How's that feel?"
Inara shook her head from side to side and absolutely nothing shifted.
"You deliver on your promises."
"Does it hurt very much?" River wondered.
"Just a little, but nothing I can't handle."
River nodded her approval and then turned and suddenly started opening Inara's dresser drawers.
"River, please don't—"
"I'm just getting a scarf," she said. "One of the modal ones." She reemerged with a long dark gray rectangle of fabric that Inara considered more of a utility shawl than a fashion statement. It was good for dusty mule or hovercraft rides, a little bit of warmth on a spring walk, or to bring along if there was a chance she'd be visiting a house of worship that asked women to cover their heads. River laid the center of the scarf at the top of Inara's head and then aligned it so it was draped from the nape of her neck over her face before folding back the excess and wrapping the two loose ends around Inara's head, tucking the edges of the scarf into the folds.
"Okay," Inara said with a nod. "Good call."
"It looks good," River decided. "If you do it with a silk scarf and pull a curl or two out I think it would be cute for date night." She considered her words for another moment. "But it also looks good for date early afternoon right now."
"It isn't really a date," Inara told her.
"No one ever considers anything a date," River told her. "Once, Simon went out to see a play with someone he'd been seeing for two months and had brought home for dinner and he told me it wasn't really a date. You're going out to spend quality time alone with your girlfriend—"
"We haven't had the girlfriend talk yet."
"Okay, whatever. Better get your coveralls on," River said in a distinctly defeated tone. "Before Kaylee has to leave."
The idea to surprise Kaylee by spontaneously joining her on her shopping trip to her favorite junkyard wasn't really in Inara's comfort zone. The last time she'd been near any sort of machinery outside at all she'd been more interested in flexing her favorite black two-piece and veil on whatever-her-name-was and had grit her teeth around the dirt and grime and stench that had come with the trash container. The outfit had gone straight to the cleaners, dropped off as they passed Dyton and its tiny Companion house, and Inara hadn't thought much more of it. Machines and the entire business of touching them was Kaylee's world and Inara had been happy to watch her move in it.
But she wanted to make the effort. Machines were Kaylee's life; her passion and what kept her fed and clothed (and what kept her family back home from worrying about the bills), and now that Inara was trying to be a bigger part of Kaylee's life, she knew it would be worth the trouble to learn more and get a closer view. After all, Kaylee slipped into Inara's world now and then, dressed in satin gowns from Inara's extensive closet and beaming at events. Why shouldn't Inara pop into the heavy canvas coveralls that filled Kaylee's own closet?
River had been the one to retrieve the coveralls, having gone along with Inara's whole plan to surprise Kaylee even though it was a little silly. She'd asked to borrow a boiler suit and Kaylee had offered her long sleeve gray one, which was more than perfect. Inara shimmied out of her robe and readjusted her top. She'd picked one of her plain cropped compression tanks that she wore for her calisthenics and yoga sessions each morning and River nodded when she saw it.
"Everything needs to be practical," she agreed, and shook the wrinkles out of the coveralls as best she could. Inara thought River might hand it to her to put on, but instead she held the legs of the jumpsuit open at the perfect angle for Inara to step in and then slid the sleeves over Inara's arms with a fluid certainty that reminded Inara vividly of the junior Companions who often helped their seniors with dressing for very formal events. It felt like she'd practiced, but it was more likely she was just a natural at it. As Inara did the snaps up the front, River rolled back Inara's sleeves so the cuffs weren't so loose on her and adjusted her headscarf, then waited while Inara put on her most practical shoes, which were the leather equestrian boots she'd bought specifically for when her single client on Kerry invited her out riding.
Once she was done, River circled around and inspected her handiwork.
"What's the verdict, judge?"
"Secure hairstyle, fully covered so your hair won't get dirty or snag on anything, comfortable and functional undergarments, full coverage workwear, closed toe shoes with a good tread. You're cleared for the work site, ma'am." She then proudly handed Inara a pair of enormous black leather gloves.
"River."
"You need to keep your hands clean and protected."
"River, these are Mal's."
"Yep."
"Okay, so I can't wear them in a junkyard and you need to give them back before he notices they’re missing."
"Fine. You're no fun."
"I'll find something else," Inara assured her. "Maybe Kaylee has some I can borrow."
River suddenly grinned and saluted her.
"My work here is done. Have fun out there!"
As they left Inara's shuttle, River slipped off to places unknown and Inara made her way down to the cargo bay where Kaylee and Wash were tucking the heavy duty canvas totes under the mule seats in anticipation of a good haul of ship parts. Inara moseyed up until she was just behind Kaylee.
"Kaylee, what do you think of my outfit?" Inara asked.
Kaylee turned and Inara felt a thrill sweep through her as Kaylee's mild interest turned into an expression that Inara usually associated with the news that there would be the budget for fresh fruit from the most recent job.
"You look great!" She said. ""Oh…River said she wanted to borrow the coveralls," Kaylee said.
"I asked her to sneak them for me," Inara admitted. "I wanted to surprise you."
"Surprise me?"
"Well, you know…I dress you up all the time in things from my closet, I figured…I ought to sort of walk a mile in your shoes. Come with you to the junkyard."
"You're coming with!?"
"If that's alright, I'd like to," Inara said. "I'm going to need gloves, though." Kaylee nodded excitedly.
"More than alright, and I've got a spare pair in the toolbox. Oh, I'm so glad you want to come with me! I love this place, they got everything you could ever think of, and on the way back we can stop at Juanita's Food Stand, right Wash?"
"Hey, I never say no to a stop there."
Kaylee beamed the whole time they were finishing up prepping the mule, her eyes raking over Inara in a giddy sort of way that was half practically childlike excitement over having Inara come along for the day's work and half a sort of heated gaze that had Inara looking forwards to having Kaylee peel the coveralls off of her later.