Chakotay groaned as he hauled Tom out of the tub. He was too old
for this shit.
The muscles in his lower back gripped as he pulled Tom against
his chest and staggered towards the door. The pilot was much
easier to carry over the shoulder than like this, but the thought
of heaving him up any higher was too much to contemplate.
He looked down to see the younger man's eyes wide open and
staring up at him. "I thought you were asleep," he grunted,
worrying that he was going to drop the infuriating man in his
arms before he could make it to the bed.
Tom said nothing, continuing to stare up at him, and Chakotay
flushed, knowing that his face was red with exertion and beads of
perspiration were forming on his forehead.
Four more steps and he'd be at the bed. Three more. Oh Shit!
Two more... AHHH!!!!! Crying out in agony, as a spasm tore
through his lower back, Chakotay dropped his troublesome burden
with a resounding thud.
Tom yelled painfully as his ass hit the floor and then he found
himself falling backwards, hitting the back of his skull on the
edge of the bed.
Dazed and groggy he lay there, Chakotay leaning against the bed
above him.
**********
B'Elanna sat up from the couch she was trying to sleep on and
cursed loudly. What the hell were they doing next door? Trying
to kill each other?
It wouldn't surprise her. As soon as she'd heard of the pairing
she'd known sparks would eventually fly.
There had been some sort of screaming earlier on before the
Vidian attack, but as she'd run out to investigate she'd seen
Tuvok entering their quarters, so had decided to leave it to him.
Throwing the blanket off angrily, she marched to the door. She
was going to have it out with them this time. It was 4.00 in
the goddamn morning. Maybe *they* didn't need to sleep, but
*she* did. If they hadn't already killed each other, she'd take
great pleasure in doing it for them.
**********
Tuvok met her outside in the corridor. "It sounds as if Mr.
Paris is having another nightmare."
"Aren't you going to go in?"
"Commander Chakotay did not appreciate my intervention last
time."
A loud shriek could be heard from behind the doors and then a pain-filled
moan.
"That's it. I'm going in."
"Perhaps you should wait out here while I investigate," Tuvok suggested.
"Both men appear to sleep in the nude."
"I've seen naked men before, Tuvok. Especially those two."
Ignoring Tuvok's raised eyebrow she overrode the lock and
charged into the first officer's quarters.
Another moan came from the direction of the bedroom and she came
to an abrupt halt, grabbing Tuvok's arm to stop him from crossing
over there. "We may have misread the situation."
"Indeed?"
"I don't think Tom's having a nightmare, Tuvok," she whispered.
"I think they're having sex."
"Sex?"
"Yeah, you know. Screwing, humping, banging..."
"Lieutenant, I know what sex is. I sounded incredulous at the suggestion
because I do not believe the sounds we have heard are
of a sexual nature."
"I'm not so sure."
"Whoever the hell it is that's out there, will you come in here
and give me a fucking hand?" someone called out, their voice
muffled with pain.
They raced forward to stop suddenly in the doorway. Chakotay was
stark naked, leaning against the bed, an equally naked Tom Paris sprawled at
his feet.
"I can't move," Chakotay rasped out. "And Tom's hurt."
**********
"I've never been so embarrassed in my whole fucking life," Tom
yelled adjusting the robe around him and tying the belt tighter.
"And, now that I think about it, fucking insulted either."
"Tom, please calm down. You'll have B'Elanna and Tuvok back in
here if you don't."
The Doctor had been and gone, repairing both Tom's head and
Chakotay's back. The two men had been subjected to one
humiliating question after the other, as the Doctor probed and
poked everything in sight deeming it necessary after discovering
the bloodied towels in the bathroom.
Tuvok and B'Elanna had remained standing in the bedroom doorway, watching
the whole proceedings, with Harry peering over their
shoulders and four or five other crewmembers who just happened to
be passing by and wondered if anybody needed any help.
Tom paced back and forth in his fury, while Chakotay, dressed in
his sleep shorts, sat quietly on the bed, watching him. He
actually looked a lot calmer than he felt, the last half hour
being one of the most embarrassing of his life, also.
"I'm not that fucking heavy," Tom shouted suddenly.
"I didn't say you were. I think I just lifted you once too
often."
"Why did you anyway? I thought you must have decided to leave
me in the bathroom for the rest of the night."
"At the time, I did, but I couldn't sleep knowing you were in
there."
"You felt guilty."
"I did not feel guilty. I just decided I'd sleep better if you
weren't in there."
"Well, you could have just unlocked the door and yelled out,
'you're free'. You didn't have to carry me out of there."
"Well, you didn't have to let me."
"I was too shocked to stop you."
"Shut up and go to sleep. We have exactly three hours before
we're back on duty again."
"I may as well stay up."
"You'll keep me awake. Just get in here and shut up."
At the look of hesitation on Tom's face, Chakotay ground his
teeth together. "Don't worry. I won't touch you. Prick teasers
are a huge turn off."
"Damn it, you asshole. I'm not a prick tease."
"Tom, get into bed and shut up. That's a direct order."
Pulling the robe tightly around his chin, Tom stiffly climbed
in under the covers. "Just make sure you stay on your own side,"
he warned sulkily.
Chakotay ground his teeth once more and then shut his eyes. It
wasn't long before his breathing evened out and he fell fast
asleep.
Tom rolled over and thumped the pillow, and then rolled over
again. His robe rode up his back and he tried to pull it down
again. He turned over again and started to choke - the robe
vicious in its attack. The damn thing had no give, whatsoever.
Loosening the chokehold around his neck, he lay still and tried
to sleep.
Ten minutes later he was still wide awake, staring into the
darkness. He was hot and sweaty, the robe far too uncomfortable
to sleep in. Rolling over to face Chakotay and almost strangling himself in
the process, he checked to make sure the Commander was
asleep.
Yes, definitely. Sitting up carefully, he unbelted the offensive
robe and threw it to the floor. With a relieved sigh he snuggled
back down, his back to the Commander, and was asleep in moments.
**********
Chakotay rolled over onto his back and in seconds felt the
familiar tickle of hair under his nostrils. His nose twitched,
but it wasn't enough to wake him up.
There was a comfortable weight across his chest and he put his
arm across it and held it close. Something was lying on his
thigh and in his sleep his leg twitched. Whatever it was didn't
move and, slightly annoyed, Chakotay reached down to flick it
away.
It was all soft and squishy and Chakotay decided to pick it up.
To his surprise it started to grow bigger in his hand, the
softness firming up quickly.
Chakotay opened his eyes swiftly.