So I totally lied and I had a lot of TUp inspiration tonight. Right - this thing is pretty much all about sex but there's only one bit that like actually happens. So yeah. Again not really M worthy cause I can't write smut to save my life. I own nothing!

They had an arrangement. When the lights went out and they were alone, tangled together underneath the Commander's thin sheets, she let down her guard and allowed him to release all the pent-up emotions he'd been feeling for her since the day they met. In the morning, they ignored that it ever happened. They were Commander Up and Lieutenant Taz. The toughest son-of-a-bitch duo the Galactic League had ever seen. They were best friends, inseparable, but that was it. No one else on the squad guessed anything ever came of the long, lustful looks their Commander sent their Lieutenant or the quick, fleeting glances she sent him back.

They lay together in a post-sex haze, sweaty and still out of breath; her back was pushed entirely against his chest while his arm draped itself around her. Her position was defensive, despite allowing him as close as he was, she still wouldn't turn around to face him, wouldn't even talk to him. Because she heard what he whispered towards the end, even if he was certain her scream had drowned him out. He couldn't deny it; he'd seen the shocked look in her eyes as they flew open. It was like an unspoken rule between them, say anything at all. Just don't say that.

"Taz…" He whispered his voice still hoarse.

"Don't talk. Not tonight." She practically hissed back, her voice angry and hurt.

"But-"

"Don't."

He did the only thing that he knew would be allowed; he shifted so he could pull her on her back and slid his hand down between her legs. She relented and sighed whilst closing her eyes tightly, she couldn't deny that she liked the feeling of his hands on her. But that didn't mean she had to acknowledge him.

He sighed when he saw her tightly clamped eyes but increased the pace anyway; he enjoyed the sound of her rapid, unsteady breathing. A moan escaped her lips before she could stop herself, and she whispered his name.

Afterwards, she lay panting, covered in a thin layer of sweat as he watched her, stroking her stomach, watching the muscles contract. He didn't say a word, knowing that if they were to talk at all tonight, she would have to say the first word.

He had a horrible suspicion that what he said had ruined everything. But they were just words, right? How could they ruin what had taken weeks, months, years to build? Surely she knew anyway.

He watched her chest rise and fall as her breathing returned to normal. She opened her mouth to speak, "So…" She trailed off, brow crumpling in confusion as she tried to sort out her words, "You love me." It was supposed to be a question but it sounded more like a statement, as if she'd known all along.

"Yes." He whispered, terrified he would say too much and she would condemn them to silence again.

"Oh. Why?" He pulled himself on top of her, kissing down her neck, gathering her in his arms and holding her close,

"The same reason you love me." He whispered in her ear. Then they both froze. The second the words left his mouth, he knew they were the wrong thing to say.

And then she was pushing him off her, holding back tears and climbing out of his bed. Not even caring she wasn't wearing a stitch, she made a beeline for the door. But before she could even walk two steps, he was off the bed, grabbing her from behind and gathering her in his arms,

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. No more words, I won't say a thing. Not tonight." He planted a trail of kisses into her hair, down her neck, on her cheek, everywhere his lips could reach.

She pulled away and started hastily shoving on her underwear, "No, how can I keep doing this? Keep coming to your room every night, knowing what you feel? What we do… Up, it doesn't mean anything. It's just… a way to relieve the stress."

He felt his entire body go cold and his stomach drop to his feet, "What?" Even his voice sounded void of emotion.

"I'm sorry. I have to go." She began picking up her clothes that had been thrown across the room earlier in the night.

He strode over to where she was standing and began pleading, "No, no. Don't go. Please, stay with me tonight. We don't have to talk. We don't even have to do anything. Just please don't leave me like this. Come back to bed, just lie down. Please. I won't say anything else."

Surprisingly, she allowed him to pull her back to the bed and lie down with him. She argued with herself it was just because she was tired. She lay on her side, facing away from him as she felt him settle back under the covers.

Hesitantly, he lifted his arm and wrapped it around her waist, pulling her closer to him, just like he had earlier in the night. She accepted but didn't make an effort to speak to him.

He had ruined everything after all. Well, he thought, in for a penny, in for a pound.

"You can't tell me you didn't know."

She shifted in his arms, deliberately ignoring him, "Up. Callar."

"No, I won't." He pulled her back around so she was facing him and held her in place, "You're telling me you've come to my room every night and not known how I felt?"

"You said you wouldn't talk again."

"Yeah, well I lied, answer me."

"Up, it's just sex."

He growled and fell back against the pillows, "Taz, we need to talk about this, like adults."

She rolled her eyes and muttered sarcastically, "Yeah, Up, because I actually have heard that a lot of children have fuck-buddies."

He ignored her comment and yelled, "Stop treating me like I'm just anybody! I'm your best friend, Taz, or have you forgotten that? I'm not just some 'fuck-buddy', you can't treat me like we haven't spent practically every second of the last 10 years together! I'm in love with you, why can't you just accept that and admit you love me back?"

"What makes you think I love you, ese?"

"Can you honestly look me in the eyes and tell me you don't?"

She averted her gaze and stared at the wall, "No." She whispered, so softly he was sure he imagined it.

"So why is it so hard for you?"

"You know why, Up! Emotions, love, it makes you weak!"

"To anyone else, I understand, but Taz, this is me you're talking to, I've seen you at your weakest, your most vulnerable and I just want you. All of you. But I can't do that until you tell me how much you care."

"Up…" She whispered, moving his hands away from her stomach, sitting up and putting her head in her hands, "Why are you making me do this?"

"Because I know you want to be with me too, you're just too scared."

Her eyes shot open, "I don't get scared."

He smiled, knowing he'd hit his mark, "I think you do. That's why you come to my bed every night and leave before morning because you're scared of what people will think. That's why you get angry with I compliment you because you're scared of what we feel for each other. That's why-"

"I LOVE YOU! Okay? Te amo."

He smiled and sat up behind her, kissing her neck and shoulders, "Now, was that really too hard?"

"Shut up, ese."

He chuckled before returning his attentions to her neck and working his way up to her ear, he muttered, "Be with me tomorrow."

She frowned, "I'm with you every night, Up."

"No, I mean, on the Starship. Leave the room with me tomorrow. It doesn't have to be a big deal, just act like every other couple of the ship does." He felt her breath catch and her heart race, "Yes, Miss Lopez we're a couple."

"Do I have any say in the matter?" She muttered, turning her head to look at him.

He laughed and bit down on her shoulder, her eyes fluttered shut, "Is that a yes?"

"Si, mi amor."

He grinned, "I love you."

She turned around and pushed him slowly back to the bed before kissing him. Taking a deep breath she looked him in the eyes, "And I love you too."