Author: Lady Starblade -- [email protected]
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: T/R
Category: Romance
Spoilers: Nope
Warnings: Written in two hours, per usual.
Archive: Entslash; Anyone else, if ya want it, take it. Just let me know where.
Feedback: <in best Roger Rabbit voice> Pppppleeeease!
Disclaimer: Hahaha.....I don't own 'em, Paramount does. And someone's making a lot of money off of Enterprise, but not me, and not with this fic.
Author's Note: Written in celebration of my email fixing itself. Here lies much schmoop. Don't say I didn't warn ya. A smidgen of my inspiration lies at the end.
Summary: Trip asks a question and Malcolm has an answer.
**
"Why do you love me?"
The question took Malcolm Reed by surprise, and his head jerked up from the computer console to eye the man sprawled on the bed. Trip Tucker had his face pushed against the blanket, one blue eye looking over at him. Trip had come staggering into their shared quarters almost an hour ago, stretched out face first on the bed, and had not said a word since. Malcolm knew his lover well enough to know that something was truly bothering Trip, and not some niggling point. Something had really burrowed into his mind and was tearing at him.
"What brought that on?" Malcolm asked, and the moment the words left his lips, he knew the answer. "Is it because of what happened in Engineering today with Kelly?" Trip's silence served as affirmation.
Gossip traveled quickly on any ship, and Enterprise was no exception. Within two hours, the entire crew had heard some version of the argument in Engineering. From what Malcolm had heard, figured, inferred, and otherwise determined, some basic retro-fitting of phase couplings had turned into a shouting match between Trip and one of his most talented subordinates. Malcolm had been wanting to ask Trip about it, but he knew that pushing the other man was the quickest way to close him up. Malcolm knew that because he was the same way himself.
Leaning back in the chair, Malcolm folded his arms across his chest. "Disagreements happen, Trip. I'm sure she won't hold it against you."
The single eye narrowed, and Trip lifted his head as words, finally given an outlet, began tumbling out. "Malcolm, I tore inta her in front of everybody 'cause she made an adjustment without askin' me first. How stupid is that? I don't even know why I did it. I just started yellin' at her."
Malcolm's first impulse was to rush to his lover and wrap his arms around him, but Trip needed to get it out where it could be dealt with before it ate away at him any longer. Using his best neutral voice, Malcolm continued, "You have been working double shifts the last several days. With no apparent reason, I might add. That's not exactly conductive to a stress free environment."
Now both eyes narrowed. "Hey, you've been puttin' in double time over at the Armory."
"That's because we're refitting all of the torpedoes, remember? And unlike you, I can't seem to trust my subordinates the way you trust yours. One of my faults, I'm afraid."
That brought a half smile to Trip's face. "Ya don't have many."
Malcolm ducked his head as he smiled back. "But you're hardly an objective observer, love."
Trip's eyebrows swooped down as his face twisted. "Yeah, but why do you put up with me? Why do ya put up with a guy that loses his temper like that? Whose ego's so pumped up that he can't take a little change without his approval? Why do you love me?"
Malcolm instantly recognized Trip's self-doubt. He had had his own bouts with it for as long as he could remember. He had almost been expecting this. And he knew how to soothe those fears.
"Well, let's see. I love you because you are a brilliant and skilled engineer. I love you because you are the most loyal and stalwart friend a person could have. I love you because you find laughter and joy in everything. I love you because you are a beautiful man who loves completely with everything he has." Malcolm watched as Trip slowly sat up, his expression changing from one of bitterness to one of wonder. He stood up and slowly paced toward the bed, smiling at the way Trip's eyes followed him.
"I love you because you refused to let me be alone. I love you because you showed me that unconditional love does exist. I love you because you gave back to me so much that I thought I had lost for good. I love you because you move me to heights I never dreamed I could reach. But most of all," Malcolm perched on the edge of the bed and cupped Trip's face with both hands, "I love you because you are a bright soul who makes me complete. You are my friend, my partner, and my love."
"Oh, Mal," Trip whispered, his eyes now shining with unshed tears.
"Shhh..." Starting at the hairline, Malcolm rained soft kisses down Trip's face, pressing his lips against eyes, chin, jaw as his fingers began running through the blond hair. After feathering kisses up Trip's neck, he fastened his mouth to the rapidly drumming pulsepoint.
Trip moaned as he brought his arms up to pull Malcolm tight to him and pull both of them backward onto the bed.
**
"Any doubts now, love?"
Trip hummed muzzily as Malcolm shifted around in his arms to face him fully. "None at all." Trip dipped his head to recapture Malcolm's lips.
After several minutes of lazy exploration, Malcolm leaned away slightly. "I suppose I should ask," he said in a gently teasing voice, "why do you love me?"
A second of silence, then Trip chuckled against his lover's hair. "Uh oh. If you want somethin' as eloquent as what you said, you'll hafta give me a couple of days."
Fingers tracing patterns across a shoulder, Malcolm replied, "As long as it's from the heart, Trip, it doesn't matter to me."
Trip grinned and moved his face down to meet Malcolm's eyes. "Okay. I love you, Malcolm, because of everything you are and everything you make me."
Malcolm grinned back as he nuzzled the side of Trip's face. "That's more than eloquent."
"From the heart, darlin'."
END
**
"It's how you move me
You give me dancing and you make me sing
You move me
Now I'm taking delight in every little thing
How you move me...."
--"You Move Me" by Garth Brooks