Author: Lady Starblade -- [email protected]
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: T/R
Category: Humor & NDP (No Discernable Plot)
Spoilers: Nope
Warnings: Loopy, goopy, and silly
Archive: Entslash; Anyone else, if ya want it, take it. Just let me know where.
Feedback: Yes, please. <Bambi eyes>
Disclaimer: I wish I may, I wish I might, but I don't own Enterprise or its denizens. And while I'm at it, I wish I got paid for this, but I don't.
Author's Note: Styled like the rest of the "Stuck" series. I love writing these things! This was inspired by the weather hereabouts recently....friggin' hot & humid! And me with my AC broken.
Summary: Skivvies, sweat, and short-outs.
**
"Trip, please tell me the temperature controls are fixed."
"Whatsa matter, Mal, don't like the heat?"
Haughty sniff. "I should say not. I prefer more civilized weather. This....this sweatbox is not civilized."
Laughter. "Yeah, but I can't complain 'bout you all stripped down. Bright blue is definitely your color."
"Trip...."
"What?" Silence. "Yeah, it's fixed. It's just gonna take about seven hours to get the entire ship all cooled down again."
Muffled cursing. "I am not a hot-weather person."
"Nah, it ain't all that hot. It's the humidity that'll get ya. It'll get better."
"Not soon enough."
"Anyone ever told you that heat makes ya cranky?"
"Not recently."
"Hey Malcolm, heat makes ya cranky."
Soft counting to ten. "Thank you for that observation, Trip."
"Anytime. But if it's botherin' ya that much, you might be able to get some ice outta Chef. He's been hoarding the stuff, but since we've both been workin' so hard, we can guilt trip 'im."
"That sounds like a workable idea. But which one of us is going to go?"
"Ugh, not me."
"Well, I would rather not."
"Let's flip for it." Clatter of data padds. "Okay, screen side up, you go. Screen side down, I go."
"Trip, this is juvenile."
"Either that or we arm wrestle for it."
Silence. "Flip."
Thud. "Screen's up. Have fun."
"There's a reason I fell in love with you, but at this moment I'm hard pressed to remember it."
"Love ya too, Mal."
Footsteps. Click. Another click. A third click. "Trip?"
"Nope Malcolm, you lost, you gotta do it."
"Trip, the door isn't opening."
"What are you talking about?"
Sigh. "The door is not opening. Not even with the override. It's stuck."
Second set of footsteps. Click. Another click. Click click click click.
"That is not going to help."
Click click click click.
"The clinical definition of insanity is repeating the same action expecting a different outcome."
"Thank you, Doctor Reed."
"Anytime."
"Dammit. The humidity musta shorted something out."
"Marvelous."
**
Zap. "Ouch."
"Don't you think you should leave that alone? You don't have the proper tools here. Engineering said it's temporary."
Grunt. Zap. "Ouch."
"Trip, stop it before you electrocute yourself. Or is being cooped up with me really so unbearable?"
Startled silence. A body sitting up. "Oh Mal, I didn't mean it like that. I just don't like it when something's broken and I can't fix it."
"A noble and necessary quality in an engineer, I would think."
"Yeah, but it ain't helping me now." Sigh. "This thing is solidly stuck. Unless you wanna find something to pry it open with."
"No, thank you."
Clunk of a panel being replaced. "So we wait."
"Trapped inside my quarters with a discouraged, sweaty chief engineer with several hours to while away. Whatever shall I do?"
Repressed laughter. "Hmmm, I don't know. What shall you do?"
"I have an idea."
END