Important – If you are offended by sexual situations please don't read – skip to next chapter – this time I will post two chapters at one time . . . basically I am establishing that Commander Tucker and Lieutenant Reed are a committed, loving couple – perhaps a bit different, but difference is the 'spice of life' . . .

I did 'tone this down' from previous posting on another site per this site's restrictions – and the title which is from a work by J. S. Bach refers to friendly relations in both universes – although 'friendly' doesn't mean 'not fraught with angst' . . .

Enterprise – Commander Tucker's quarters

Malcolm had picked up the food from the Mess Hall, something that he knew Trip would enjoy eating – boneless pork ribs with gravy and rice, 'mexi-corn', and fresh-made rolls was the menu for diner, with vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup on pound cake for desert. And when his love was sated from all this good food, the 'tactical man' would slowly, oh so slowly, entice his prey into his 'web', into deeper and deeper passion . . .

He rang the doorbell to Trip's cabin, and was greeted by the engineer, who immediately smelled the food, and said, "What do you have there? Smells good!" Malcolm walked past Trip giving him a kiss as he passed, setting the meal down on the desk where he divided up the food, knowing how the two of them preferred the individual dishes.

He divided up the pork equally and left the 'corn' for Trip to take as much as he wanted. As much as he liked the taste of the maize with the little peppers, digestion was a problem, so Malcolm usually didn't eat much of it. The lieutenant did like the taste of the pound cake so that he usually had more of it than Trip, who was more interested in the vanilla ice cream and the chocolate syrup.

They made 'small talk' (well, engineering 'small talk') during dinner, and Trip savored the taste of a cup of coffee with his desert. Malcolm made a pretense of getting up to stretch and just happened to position himself so that he could kiss his love's cheek, reaching down to stroke the man's chest through the material of his T-shirt. Tucker inhaled and stated, with a grin, "Somebody's horny!" His mouth was immediately covered by a kiss from the lieutenant. Leaving the last bit of ice cream abandoned, the commander broke the kiss of his randy darlin', "How about we get ready for bed?"

This was of course Malcolm's ultimate plan because now he could 'observe' Trip's disrobing, an action that he knew his love found exciting – the act of being 'watched' . . . (they had tried the reverse several times – not as successful as the dark-haired man would flush red with embarrassment while the more excitable Southerner could hardly keep his hands off his 'project' . . .)

Trip began to strip slowly allowing Malcolm full view of him stretching, pulling, and crossing his arms while removing his outer clothes. Stood in his underwear facing Malcolm, leaving his darlin' to imagine what was 'hidden' beneath the cloth. Suddenly his underwear was discarded, and the 'show' began . . .

He would stroke himself, seemingly without obvious pattern, and 'watch' his 'watcher' – until he knew Malcolm was ready, so ready for the next part that nothing would deter him in his quest. (It often happened during the course of his assigned duty as an officer, that Malcolm Reed would 'multitask' – literally have a number of things on his mind – this sexual activity was a tremendous release for the man, to have your entire mind focused on that one point of existence. There is a freedom, a glorious freedom in knowing that all your world is reduced to that one possibility, and that you will respond with all your being . . .)

Actions were thus engendered – but then one time Trip had made the mistake of asking his lover what he thought about while thus 'engaged' – the man replied automatically, "I am occupied . . ." Trip's response, "Jeez, you sound so cold – are you thinking about blowing things up? Firing torpedoes? You seem so cold-blooded . . ."

Trip had barely got the words out before Malcolm, clearly upset, said, "Don't ever say that! I feel like everyone else does!" It was terribly hurtful, and all of Trip's renowned glibness was needed to get past that potential 'relationship-ending' gaffe. (He could not know that Malcolm's own mother had described him as 'cold-blooded' even at age seven, because he thought about the consequences of his actions, and didn't immediately react like she expected.)

It must be said that while Trip could be more passionate in some ways, Malcolm was more persistent and rarely took, "I'm too tired" at face value – a situation that the Southerner found 'instructive' as he didn't realize that some parts of his body were so sensitive . . . There was very little that his darlin' wouldn't do in order to excite his lover . . .

At any rate the activity that Reed and Tucker engaged in the evening before the mission to the derelict vessel was theirs alone to share, not something to be broadcast all over the Enterprise . . .