by Lara Bee
Lara_Bee@lycos.com
Malcolm Reed walked towards his quarters. Well, to say he walked was
an understatement; it was more a crawling than anything else. It was close
to midnight already, and the ship's armory officer felt beyond tired. In
fact, he felt bone tired, dirty and hungry, and he yearned for a shower,
something to eat and his bed. Malcolm sighed slightly. At this late night
hour he'd manage the first and the last, but no idea of getting food now.
He sighed again. Not that he didn't actually mind, he was accustomed to
working overtime, getting little sleep and even lesser meals. At least
it kept him in shape.
Reed gladly let the door to his cabin swoosh closed behind him, thankful
to be 'home' again. Shower; nice, long, hot shower sounded like heaven
right now.
Something laying on his small table caught his attention, something
that didn't belong here, and Malcolm stepped closer, frowning. It turned
into a warm and surprised smile when he realized.
The small note on the cover written in Trip's handwriting said: 'I
knew you'd be hungry. Enjoy.' When Malcolm lifted it, he found two sandwiches,
one with turkey, one with cheese, with salad and everything. The whole
enchilada, Malcolm mused, astonished about the way Trip had thought about
him. Taking care of him, to be precise. A vacuum flask was standing there,
too, and Malcolm opened it, curious about the contents. He sniffed carefully
and shook his head, grinning. That was Trip Tucker for you, oh yes. Hot
chocolate, and from the smell of it Trip had added just a little bit of
cinnamon.
Malcolm wasn't exactly a fan of hot chocolate, but he liked the way
Trip prepared it, and he knew that Trip had known it would let him drift
into sleep more easily. Malcolm put the flask aside and headed for the
shower. First things first.
After being clean again, Malcolm felt much better, almost human again.
His stomach growled, reminding him there were still things to take care
of. It, for example. And thanks to Trip, it wouldn't be disappointed. A
light midnight snack was exactly what Malcolm needed right now.
Reed sank back into his pillow, stomach filled, and enjoyed his late
night 'drink'. It was an almost perfect ending to a long day, and he felt
sleepy and sated. An almost perfect ending, he mused, something was still
missing…
Well, that could be changed.
Malcolm grabbed a clean uniform slipped into shirt and sweater, and
left his quarters, looking forward to the perfect ending he had in mind.
Malcolm keyed in the door code and slipped cautiously into the dark
quarters. He didn't need to switch on the light, he knew this room by instinct.
And thank goodness its owner knew him by instinct, otherwise he would have
looked into the business end of a phase pistol by now, Reed mused. He slipped
out of his pants and shirt and under the blanket as carefully as he could.
A stirring of the body told him he hadn't been as good as he had intended
to be.
"Mal?" a sleepy voice rasped.
"Hmmm, it's me. Go back to sleep," he whispered.
"Whatcha doin' here?"
"You invited me."
"Ah did?"
"Yep."
"Okay."
An arm came sneaking around his waist, hand laying on his chest, and
Malcolm took the invited hand, entwining his fingers with his lover's.
Soon Trip's steady deep breaths told him that the other man was asleep
again, most certainly without being really awake. Malcolm curled into Trip's
warm and pliant body, sighing in deep content, feeling at home at last.
The perfect ending. He snuggled closer into his lover's embrace and closed
his eyes, dozing off into sleep within a second.