An Unexpected Attraction - Part 8
See Part 1 for heading/disclaimer information.
*Travis*
I can't put
my finger on it, but there's been something odd about Lieutenant Reed lately.
At first I'd thought he was just really embarrassed about his naked transporter
ride and all the subsequent comments and jokes about his uniform flying off,
but I don't think that's it.
It started
before that, after that night when he and the Commander and I got piss drunk
and jerked off together. He was so tense and distracted for a while after
that, and people started to notice. I was just getting ready to try and talk
to him, when he showed up on the bridge one morning wearing his familiar
semi-cheerful smirk, cracking jokes with Hoshi and me and generally acting like
his usual self again.
But ever
since we met the Lev a few weeks ago, he's been acting distracted again. Even
the Captain's wondered if the lieutenant was still affected by his allergic
encounter with them, but Phlox says physically he's fine now. He isolated
himself in the armory for awhile, telling anyone who asked that he was
investigating adapting the Lev shield technology for our use. He's stopped the
hermit routine now, but there's something different about him, he seems softer,
not as stand-offish as he used to. Not that I'm about to walk over and ask him
why he's being so nice lately, I like my face right where it is. Maybe I
should ask Hoshi if she's heard anything.
***
*Trip*
I'd been
sitting alone in the captain's quarters for a few minutes, waiting for him to
join me. Finally the door slid open and he stalked in. He looked a little
stressed.
"Sorry
I'm late, Trip."
"That's
okay, Cap'n." I paused, then looked down. "I was just getting
lucky."
Jon stared
at me, bug-eyed, for a moment, then noticed what I was gesturing at. Porthos
is an affectionate little pup, I'll give him that. But the romantic attraction
my leg seems to hold for him is beyond me. I'd pushed him off several times
already, but he was back for more, humping my knee with all his beagle might.
"Oh
Christ, I'm sorry." He swatted at the dog's rump, then shoved him off to
the side.
"Bad
dog, bad Porthos." He looked at me sheepishly.
"Sorry
about that, Trip. I don't know what's gotten into him lately." Jon gave
the little dog one more dose of evil-eye, then sat down and gave his attention
to me. "What's up?"
I'd asked
to see him. Once it became clear to me that Malcolm and I weren't going to be
just a one-time thing, I'd decided that, for good or bad, the captain of the
ship probably needed to know that we were keeping company. And my friend, Jon,
well I guess I kinda wanted him to tell me I wasn't insane to be doing this.
Problem was, I didn't know how to start, and once it was out, I didn't know
what I'd do if either one of them thought it was a really bad idea.
"I'm
not really sure how to say this, Jon." I'd decided to start with my
friend, and let the captain get the drift on his own.
"Well,
that's a first," Jon said with a grin. "Let me write this down on my
calendar."
"Very
funny. What I'm trying, badly, to say here is...is that I'm seeing someone. Sort
of." I stuttered it out, finally.
"Oh?"
A bigger grin. "On the ship, you mean?" I nodded. "Well?"
He lifted his brows at me. "Who's the lucky lady?"
I licked my
suddenly dry lips. "Well, to tell you the truth, Jon...itsnotawoman."
It takes Jon a minute to decipher what I said, then his brows *really* went
up.
"Oooooh."
He looked at me speculatively for a long moment. "I see." Another
pause. "How many guesses do I get?"
"Huh?"
I was still spiking over actually getting the words out and I wasn't focusing
on his response yet.
"Your
new...friend. You planning to tell me who or do I have to guess?"
"Oh.
Uh...it's Malcolm."
There's
that bug-eyed look again. I had the image of Malcolm humping my leg as Porthos
had been doing flash through my mind and I started to laugh. Jon looked hurt.
"Don't
tease me like that, Trip. Seriously, who is it?" Oh God, he thought I
was laughing at him.
"No
joke, Jon. Malcolm and me are..." Yeah, Trip, what *are* you? Fuck
buddies? Good friends who *really* like each other? Lovers? What? I snapped
back to attention, Jon was still waiting.
"We're
sorta seeing each other. Off duty," I specified.
Jon was
silent. He considered this. He looked up at me and smiled.
"Right,
I can see that." He paused, then gave me an evil grin. "I guess you
*are* getting lucky, at that."
Okay, he
just waggled his eyebrows at me. He was good with this. I let out the breath
I hadn't realized I was holding and relaxed.
"Oh
yeah, you could say that."
"This
story I have *got* to hear." Jon grabbed a couple of beers from his
mini-fridge and handed me one. "Start talking."
***
*Jon*
I'll admit
I was pretty shocked when Trip first told me that he and Malcolm were seeing
each other. I could tell he was worried about how I'd react, both as his
captain and his friend. Frankly, his friend was delighted that he'd finally
found someone, I know how lonely it can get on this ship. And his captain,
well, I'm not the captain for nothing.
This is my
ship and I'm damned if I'll let some small-minded Starfleet desk-jockeys
micro-manage my crew. The regulations on interpersonal relations are
deliberately vague for precisely this reason. If I thought for an instant that
either of them was using their personal relationship for manipulation, I'd
squash it immediately. I think Trip knew that, and I'm proud that he still
came to me, instead of keeping to his usual 'ask forgiveness, not permission'
routine.
And now,
watching them together, I'm ashamed I didn't see it for myself. They're good
together. I don't even know if they realize it themselves, how perfectly they
complement each other. Trip has taken on some of Malcolm's discipline and
responsibility, while Malcolm has relaxed his spit & polish persona enough
that I don't feel like I'll cut myself if I touch him anymore. They practically
glow when they're together. I'm almost jealous.
***
*Trip*
I'm
screwed. And I don't just mean literally, either. The more time I spend with
Malcolm, the more time I want to spend with him. And not just in bed. He
fascinates me. Now that I've gotten him to start opening up, I'm constantly
amazed by him.
I know it's
a cliché, but in Malcolm's case, still waters really do run deep. For all his
tough, blow-it-up-first, ask-questions-later face he wears in public, the man
is a complete softy inside. Maybe that's why he developed that impervious
outer shell in the first place, to protect the beautiful soul hiding inside.
He writes
poetry. I would never have guessed it, but it's amazing stuff. He's one of
the most intelligent people I've ever had the privilege to know, probably all
the reading he does. We've actually spent entire evenings discussing certain
books or authors, and I've enjoyed it so much I told him he should start a book
group on Enterprise, said he could call it Malcolm's Reeding Circle. Well, *I*
thought it was funny.
But even
with all the talking and sharing we've been doing, neither of us has brought up
the subject of the actual nature of our relationship. I know that Malcolm
initiated it as pretty much a sexual experiment, but it's grown so much beyond
that. I can't believe he doesn't feel the same way, but every time I get my
courage up to tell him I want more, to ask him if he wants the same thing, it's
like he takes this emotional step backwards, away from me, and I end up just
keeping quiet.
It's
frustrating. I know he's worried about the crew finding out, we're still real
careful about being seen going into each other's quarters or being affectionate
in public. And he doesn't know I spoke to Jon, it's sort of my guilty little
secret because I didn't ask him about it first. Being with Malcolm is just so amazing,
I'm scared to death of losing what I have by asking for more than he's willing
to offer.