Squeaky

It was just after beginning of shift, and the mess hall was nearly deserted. Ensign Elizabeth Cutler stood in front of the juice dispenser, an empty glass in her hand. She frowned as she contemplated her choices and decided on the orange juice. She kept the small frown on her face as she placed the full glass on her tray and moved it along the counter towards the hot food.

"You're up bright and early today, Ensign."

Liz jumped at the sound of the voice, nearly upsetting the glass of orange juice on her tray. She turned towards the speaker. "Malcolm!" she said, "didn't your mother ever teach you it's rude to sneak up on people?"

Lieutenant Malcolm Reed ignored Liz's statement and took two danishes out of the dispenser and placed it on his tray. He flashed Liz one of his rare smiles. "Beautiful morning isn't it?" He said. He began whistling quietly as he filled his cup with boiling water and selected a tea bag.

Liz looked at him over her shoulder as she moved her tray towards the counter for some eggs. She raised her eyebrows at Malcolm. "You had a good night."

Malcolm snickered. "You could say that," he said. He started whistling again. Liz shot him a pointed look. Malcolm smiled again. He didn't stop whistling.

They moved their trays along the rail together, Liz noticing that Malcolm was placing two of everything on his tray. Malcolm's whistling was beginning to really irritate her. She grit her teeth and tried to be polite when she received a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon from the steward. Breakfast now assembled, she brushed by Malcolm as he received a plate of pancakes, and took a seat at a nearby table. Malcolm took the seat opposite her. He was still whistling. She glared at him. "The mess hall's nearly empty, Lieutenant." She snapped. "Surely you can find another place to sit?" Malcolm eyed her, pulled his chair closer and began spreading peanut butter on his pancakes. "Ug." Liz said, "How can you eat that?"

"My, my." Malcolm said, his tone sardonic. "What's got you so pissy this morning?" He put the tea bag in his cup. "Wish I had a pot for this." He muttered.

"Well, what's made you so fluffy?" She countered, crossing her arms.

"Fluffy?" He said. He raised one eyebrow.

"You know, "Liz said and waved one had dismissively, "bright-eyed and fluffy-tailed."

"You mean `bushy-tailed,'" Malcolm corrected, "not `fluffy'."

"Whatever." Liz replied. She glared at him.

He looked at her, his eyes narrowed, and then appeared to come to some sort of a decision. "Because you are so obviously in a foul mood," Malcolm said, pausing to remove his tea bag from the cup, "I will ignore the fact that you called me `fluffy.' Now," he continued, "would you care to tell me what is bothering you, or would you rather continue to spit nails at me?" He took a sip of tea, looking at her over the rim of the cup.

Liz suddenly felt very weary, and a bit ashamed of the way she had been treating her friend. "I'm sorry Malcolm," she muttered and leaned her head against her hand. He looked at her questioningly and Liz avoided his gaze. "Look," she said finally, "I don't want to talk about it."

Malcolm gave her a sidelong glance. "You're sure?"

"Yes!" Liz said. She sighed and played with her eggs. Malcolm took a bite of his pancake-and-peanut-butter concoction, continuing to look at her. "No, really. I don't want to talk about it." Liz said again. Malcolm chewed, never taking his gaze from her face. He took another bite.

"You haven't touched your eggs." He said.

"Shouldn't you be with Commander Tucker?" Liz snapped.

"He fell back asleep before I left." Malcolm replied, cutting and eating another bite, "I'll bring him breakfast in a bit." He continued looking at her.

"Would you quit staring at me?" Liz said. Malcolm raised his eyebrows. Liz sighed. "It's a long story." She said, "You wouldn't want to hear it."

"Try me." Malcolm replied. He put down his knife and fork and leaned towards her.

"Hoshi and I had sex last night." Liz blurted. She felt a rush of heat to her face.

"That's brilliant! You've been wanting that for months!" Malcolm said, breaking into a smile. He noted the dark look on Liz's face and his smile changed to an expression of concern. "What happened?"

"Nothing happened." Liz mumbled. "I just woke up, is all."

"I don't understand." Malcolm said slowly. "You had great sex with Hoshi," he paused while Liz confirmed that statement with a small nod, "Slept in the same bed with her, and then you just," His face held a look of puzzlement, "-woke up? Forgive me Liz, but whatever is the problem?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Liz said. She looked at her plate. Through her lashes, she saw Malcolm eat another piece of pancake. He was staring at her again. "You never give up, do you?" She said, a challenge in her voice. She leaned back in her chair, arms crossed.

"Relentless!" Malcolm grinned. His eyes crinkled.

Liz sighed, her angry posture crumbling as her shoulders slumped and she looked down at her hands. "I just didn't want to face Hoshi when she woke up."

Malcolm was incredulous. "Why not?"

"We were drunk!" Liz said, glaring at Malcolm.

Malcolm put down his fork and knife. "Oh, now I understand." He said, and crossed his arms. "You're a coward."

"What?" Liz nearly shrieked, a crewmember passing by their table turned to look at her. She glared at him, he turned away. Lowering her voice, she hissed at Malcolm "you have no right to say that!"

"The evidence is clear, Ensign." He said. "You left a situation that your feared might be uncomfortable. That," he paused for emphasis, "- is cowardice."

"What was I meant to do?" Liz wailed, "Hoshi would've woken up and—"

"-perhaps kissed you good morning." Malcolm interrupted.

"-Screamed in horror." Liz continued. "I thought it would be much better if I spared us both the embarrassment." "Or the potential for a relationship as well?" Malcolm said, his tone sharp. "I cannot believe how disrespectfully you have treated a woman you consider a friend."

"I was trying to spare her—"

"-spare her?" Malcolm spat, "you were trying to spare yourself!" He stopped and took a deep breath. "Liz," he said, more gently, "You are far too fine a person to do this to yourself, or Hoshi. How do you think she'll feel when she wakes up and her bed is empty?"

Liz bit her lip. "I didn't think of that."

Malcolm smiled at Liz and picked up his fork and knife again. "That's why I'm here," he said, "to remind you of these important things. He turned back to his pancakes. "You'd best hurry Ensign, I believe Hoshi is an early riser."

Liz nearly ran out of the mess hall.

***

Liz stood in front of Hoshi's quarters. She wiped her palms down the front of her jeans and licked her lips. Her heart was pounding. Damn you, Malcolm! she thought. She wiped her palms again, and took a short breath. Swallowing hard, she rang the door chime. She heard a muffled "just a second" from behind the door, and then it slid open with a soft whooshing sound.

Ensign Hoshi Sato was standing bent over beside her bed, clearly in the process of making it. She was wearing a jogging suit in a dark peach colour and her hair was up in a loose bun. She straightened when she saw Liz. "Oh, it's you." She said. She crossed her arms.

Liz paused a second, then stepped into the room. She put one hand out towards the other woman. "Hoshi," she said, "let me explain—"

"—I didn't expect you to come back." Hoshi said. She glared at Liz, and Liz cringed to see Hoshi's eyes were red-rimed like she had been crying. "Do you know how awful, how humiliating it is to wake up and be alone," Hoshi said, hurt evident in her voice, "and not know why the other person left?"

"Hoshi," Liz started, she took a step towards her, "Hoshi I never meant—"

"-How could you do that?" Hoshi continued, swiping angrily at one eye with the side of her hand, "I thought we were friends, Liz." Her voice shook a little.

"Hoshi," Liz said again, "I shouldn't have left." She looked beseechingly at Hoshi, "I know that."

"So?" Hoshi said crossly.

Liz stepped closer until she was standing in front of the other woman. She reached out a hand to caress her face, but Hoshi jerked her head away. "Look," Liz said, "I shouldn't have left." She paused, and sought Hoshi's gaze with her own. Hoshi looked at her briefly, but then looked off to the side. "I'm really sorry," Liz continued, "I was scared."

Hoshi turned her gaze back to Liz, her face disbelieving, "Scared of what?"

"Of you. Your reaction."

"My reaction?" Hoshi scoffed. "What did you think I was going to do? Scream: "What the fuck, there's a naked woman in my bed? Call security?"

Liz smiled slightly at Hoshi's statement. "Maybe." She looked down at her shoes, gently scuffing at the carpet. "Maybe just regret that I was there."

"Regret…?" Hoshi rolled her eyes, "Liz," She sighed, "I'm a grown woman. I knew what I was doing."

"We were really drunk." Liz said, glancing up at Hoshi.

"Not as drunk as Tucker and Reed."

Liz smirked faintly. "What if you had changed your mind?"

"What if you had?" Hoshi said, "I was willing to face the possibility."

Liz felt herself blush. "I didn't want to lose you." She said, forcing herself to not look away from Hoshi's eyes, "You—" she swallowed, "really matter to me. A lot."

Hoshi smiled, a true smile that lit her face and reflected in her eyes. "You matter to me, too, Liz." She said. She put one hand on Liz's arm. Liz reached out and gently stroked Hoshi's face. Hoshi closed her eyes and leaned her cheek into the caress. She opened her eyes and placed her other hand on Liz's other arm. "Liz, it took me forever to realize how much you meant to me." Hoshi said, "And when I figured that out last night, it was—" she searched for the right words, "-one of the best moments of my life." She looked into Liz's eyes, "but this morning, when I woke up, and you were gone, I thought that I had made a terrible mistake. I thought I had been horribly wrong about how you felt. It was awful."

"That's exactly what I was afraid of!" Liz exclaimed, "That you would wake up and realize you had made a terrible mistake! I just couldn't bear the thought of you…" Swallowing hard, she let the sentence die off. "I'm sorry." She said, her voice thick with emotion.

"Oh Liz," Hoshi breathed and pulled her in close. They held each other for a long time. Liz started to rub Hoshi's back, and then let her hands slide up and under the hem of Hoshi's shirt to contact Hoshi's smooth skin. Liz noted there was no bra to interrupt her movements. She stepped back a little, giving herself more space to bring her hands up to cup Hoshi's breasts. Hoshi moaned softly and pressed herself forward into Liz's palms, leaning her cheek against Liz's. Liz stroked Hoshi's nipples with the tips of her fingers, and tweaked them gently between her finger and thumb. She could hear Hoshi's breath catch in her throat and she tweaked her nipples again.

Hoshi moved her head back, and they began to kiss. Soft tender kisses that quickly became harder and more demanding. Liz felt her own nipples tighten as their kissing grew more intense. In one fluid movement, she whipped Hoshi's shirt off over her head, causing Hoshi's makeshift bun to come undone, and her thick black hair to cascade over her shoulders. Liz pushed Hoshi gently onto the bed, and as soon as the other woman was lying down, she pulled off her jogging pants.

"I like the way you dress on your days off!" Liz said. Hoshi wore no underwear.

Hoshi laughed, then her eyes grew seductive. "C'mere." She breathed, and held out a hand to Liz.

Liz quickly stripped out of her black t-shirt and blue jeans, hopping on one foot for a second while she took off her panties. She unhooked her bra and let it fall to the deck. Hoshi eyed her appreciatively.

"You look even better when I'm sober!" She said, and laughed again.

Liz climbed onto the bed, stretching herself out beside Hoshi. They began kissing again, their hands stroking and caressing each other's bodies. Liz felt moisture begin to collect between her legs. Curious, she slipped a finger between Hoshi's labia and was pleased to feel her corresponding slickness. Hoshi groaned against her mouth. Liz moved her hand further between Hoshi's legs, letting her palm rest against the folds. She began to rub her hand back and forth. Hoshi groaned again and began to grind her hips against Liz's palm, her legs spreading wider.

"You like that, do you?" Liz said, a wicked grin on her face. Hoshi just nodded, her lip between her teeth, her eyes closed. Gently, Liz slid one finger up inside Hoshi, feeling her clitoris jump as her finger was encircled by warm, slippery wetness. She began moving her finger up and down, rubbing the tip against the wall of Hoshi's vagina. Hoshi moaned louder, thrusting her hips against Liz's hand. Liz slid a second finger inside Hoshi.

Hoshi pressed her head back against the pillow, her arms above her, pushing hard against the bulkhead. "Oh God, Liz!" She cried. Liz spread her two fingers wider inside Hoshi, and began to stroke between her labia with the pad of her thumb in the same rhythm as her fingers. She leaned her head on her other hand, watching Hoshi react. Hoshi's eyes were squeezed shut, her mouth open as if she were in pain. Her legs were open, hips tilted upwards to allow Liz as much access as possible. Hoshi's toes were fanned out. Her nipples two hard points. Liz had never seen anything so arousing. Suddenly, Hoshi cried out, back arched, her internal muscles clenching and unclenching around Liz's fingers. Liz continued to stroke her, watching Hoshi shudder with the power of her orgasm. When Hoshi's body began to still, Liz stopped, and gently withdrew her fingers. Her own sex throbbed with need.

Hoshi swallowed. "That was amazing." She croaked, she smiled up at Liz. "You knew exactly where to touch me."

Liz smirked. "Yep."

Hoshi raised herself up on one elbow and looked seductively at Liz. "Let's see if I can return the favour." She said, sensuously dragging her free hand down Liz's side to the junction between her legs. Liz closed her eyes and lay back.

***

They were snuggled up together in Hoshi's bed, naked except for the blanket covering their cooling bodies. Hoshi was resting her head on Liz's chest, Liz's breast pillowing her cheek. Liz was stroking Hoshi's hair in long, relaxing movements.

"Hoshi?" Liz asked.

"Hmmm?" Hoshi replied, not opening her eyes.

"Why Trip?" Liz said. "I mean," She continued, "he doesn't really seem like your type."

"I don't know about that." Hoshi said, eyes still closed. "He's funny, smart, doesn't always think before he acts…" She cracked one eye open to peer at Liz. "Reminds me of you." Liz smacked her lightly on the arm. "Plus, I like blonds." She closed her eye again.

Liz laughed softly, then frowned slightly as another thought struck her. "Hoshi?" She asked again.

"Yes?" Hoshi answered. She snuggled in closer to Liz.

"What did you mean last night when you said that Malcolm was right?"

"What?" Hoshi asked.

"You know." Liz said, "Right before you kissed me?"

"Oh." Hoshi said, "I remember."

"Well?" Liz prompted.

"I said `Malcolm was right' because he said that I had other options besides Trip." Hoshi sighed contentedly. "And I realized," she continued, "that I had been blind to the best option of all." Hoshi turned her head slightly and planted a small kiss on Liz's breast, then settled back into her previous position.

"Oh." Liz said simply.

"Malcolm's usually right." Hoshi said.

"That used to piss me off." Liz said. "But it doesn't anymore." She smiled, realizing that was true.

"How'd he and Trip make out?" Hoshi asked.

"Good." Liz answered. She idly stroked Hoshi's shoulder with her thumb. Hoshi made a sound indicating she was pleased. They both lay quietly for a while.

"I could get used to this." Hoshi finally said. Wrapping her arm tighter around Liz.

Liz bent her neck a bit and kissed the top of Hoshi's head. "Me too." She replied. "Me too."