by Macx and Lara Bee
It was one of those shore leaves that was too short to really do some
actual kicking back and relaxing, but it was long enough to unwind in other
ways. And none of them meant a hotel room, a Do Not Disturb sign and room
service. Trip Tucker grinned as he walked through the streets and alleys
of the capital of the planet, enjoying the freedom, the lack of responsibility
for a whole damn ship and her engine, and the simple pleasure of having
his lover at his side. No hiding, no following regulations, no uniforms.
No ranks.
Not that it had bothered them in the past, but aboard Enterprise, on
duty, there were no private moments like these. Well, Malcolm wasn't into
holding hands in public and Trip hadn't expected it either. But it was
simply having the man at his side, being able to touch him without thinking
about what he was doing where, and stealing little kisses here or there
that made this day special.
N'gebo was a sprawling city twice the size of New York with skyscrapers
that would make the old founding fathers of skyscraperhood weep in adoration.
The towers, columns and oddly shaped constructions made for an impressive
skyline and the sunlight caught the millions of windows, reflecting it,
creating wonderful patterns and displays.
"I heard the diorama shows at the Museum of Natural Arts are impressive,"
Malcolm remarked as they consulted their map to check where they were.
"Sittin' down sounds nice just about now."
Reed chuckled. "Getting old?"
"Mah feet are killin' me, if ya hafta know," Tucker drawled, accent
thickening.
"You are getting old, hm?"
Trip feigned an attack and Malcolm moved back, effectively trapping
himself against the river embankment wall. Tucker pressed himself briefly
against his lover, stealing a kiss. None of the other tourists or natives
bothered. The Ganan were a multicultural people, openly inviting whoever
wanted to visit, and there wasn't a grain of prejudice to be found so far.
"C'mon," Trip murmured. "Let's see the show."
*
The room grew dark and Malcolm leaned back against the jeans clad legs
of his lover, sighing in content. It felt so good to be just himself. No
rank, no responsibility, no one who knew them. Just two men enjoying the
sights.
Rows of benches lined the theater. It was bowl-shaped, the benches
rising on an incline like an amphitheater, and the two Humans had settled
down in one of the back rows, with Trip on the last bench, back against
the wall. Malcolm had chosen to be in front of him. He felt Trip's hands
on his shoulder and wasn't able to suppress the small shudder that innocent
little gesture awoke. Due to different shifts they hadn't been able to
spend much quality time together in the last weeks, so now all Malcolm
wanted was to enjoy the visit to N'gebo with his lover, see some sights
and afterwards - well, that would be seen.
It wasn't that much later Malcolm realized that something in Trip's
touch had subtly changed. The hands were no longer resting motionlessly
on his shoulders but were kneading the muscles slightly, thumbs caressing
the exposed skin of his neck ever so gently in a featherlike touch. Trip
had parted his legs and Malcolm had slipped between them, resting now comfortably
against his lover's stomach, which gave him the opportunity to notice the
smallest change in Trip's breathing. Right now it had increased slightly,
every breath teasing his earlobe. The small movement of Trip's thumbs hadn't
changed, the tiny friction against the oversensitive skin of his neck making
Malcolm shudder involuntarily, and he noticed absentmindedly the odd way
his pants seemed to shrink. He was glad that he had decided to wear a loose
sweater all of a sudden. It felt like a light tickle, combined with a mild
itch and the firm strokes of strong fingers. Oh Lord....
A part of his mind wanted nothing more than to grab Trip Tucker, whirl
him around and kiss him senseless before - well. Another part just kept
him sitting there, leaning against the man he loved more than life itself
and enjoying the little display of affection. Besides, Trip had looked
forward to the show, and he didn't want to spoil his lover's fun.
Malcolm inhaled sharply when the tantalizing strokes elicited another
shudder of pleasure, leaning even closer against his lover.
Close, Malcolm mused, show long forgotten. They were together for about
three years now, and he felt close to Trip. Hell, he was close to Trip.
The only person he finally had gotten close to. It was a precious gift,
something he treasured and knew the value of. It was priceless.
Malcolm reached up and took one of Trip's hand, placing a small kiss
on the palm and letting it slip into his sweater. He felt Trip gasp silently
himself, but he didn't withdraw. Tucker's finger barely moved, fingertips
gently caressing the soft skin of Malcolm's chest, and Reed let his head
sink back against the other man's chest, closing his eyes. If it was up
to him, this moment would never end. Besides, he would get real problems
as soon as it did. Moving would probably cause deep embarrassment. Trip
nuzzled at his ear and a light kiss was placed on his temple. Maybe ending
this moment wasn't such a bad idea after all? They could certainly move
this to a more intimate place and do - well, more intimate things. Malcolm
stirred a little at that thought, trying to adjust himself without being
too obvious.
"Mal?" Trip's softly whispered question pulled him out of his thoughts.
"Hmm?"
"How long do you intend to stay here?"
Malcolm looked around, confused, only to notice that except for them
the room was already empty.
The embarrassment doubled and he heard Tucker's slight chuckle.
"Uh... " he stammered.
Trip chuckled softly, but didn't move, only increased the soft seductive
movement of his fingertips, hand slipping even deeper into Malcolm's shirt.
"I for my part have some plans for the rest of the night. How 'bout
you? Care to join me?" he teased.
"Trip?"
"Hm?"
"You know I love you?"
"Love you, too," Trip replied hoarsely, nipping at his neck. The teeth
scraping over his skin had Malcolm jump and bite back a moan.
"Trip?" he managed.
"What?" came the seductive whisper.
"If you don't stop right now ..."
"Then what?" Another nip.
"I'll never manage to get up without ...."
Trip stopped for a second and chuckled again before slowly removing
his hand, placing another soft kiss on Malcolm's neck. "Couldn't have that,
love."
Reed felt a tremor race through him, yearning for the hand to return.
But he knew he would lose it completely if Trip touched him again. The
engineer got up and bent over, pressing a kiss against Malcolm's lips,
then held out one hand. Reed took it, letting himself get pulled up, right
against the taller man.
"Trip," he gasped, the movement of pants against his arousal painfully
erotic.
"Yes?" Tucker breathed, arms wrapped around him.
Malcolm shuddered, screwing his eyes shut. "Need to leave."
"My thought's exactly."
The walked out of the theater and Reed clenched his jaw as the too
tight pants gave him more than just a passing problem. He breathed a sigh
of relief when they finally managed to hail a cab. Trip's hand settling
on his thigh and stroking it gently didn't help ease the tension, but the
stimuli weren't as bad as the neck rub.
"Home?" Tucker asked softly.
"Definitely."
He gave Malcolm's leg another squeeze and it earned him a half-hearted
glare. Malcolm was really suffering here and Trip had no intention to ease
it just yet.
"Then let's go home."