The Lesson - Chapter 2 - What Now?
The kiss was short and gentle, and Malcolm hardly dared breathe as their lips touched. They parted slightly - just enough to look into each other's faces in amazement. It seemed that both had been caught off guard by the encounter, and words were clearly not going to come easily to either of them.
Trip's lips moved slightly, as though he were trying to speak, but no words came out. Malcolm looked down, tearing his gaze away from the eyes before him, then coughed, releasing Tucker from his grasp and taking an awkward step backwards.
He coughed again.
"Commander … I …er … " he stalled, not able to meet the other's eyes, " … I … erm … think we should get back to this … should try to get this panel fixed."
Tucker nodded, slowly and silently, but making no move.
Flushing red, Reed turned and hurried back into the shuttlecraft. He sat at the controls, busying himself uselessly until he heard Tucker step quietly in behind him.
"Maybe there's some problem with the power routing that we've missed," he said, loudly, without looking behind him. "We should check the circuits to find out if there's a leak somewhere."
Trip's voice cracked for a moment, then became more confident as he matched the Lieutenant's pretence that nothing was amiss.
"Yeah … I ah … Yeah, you're right. I'll start with the coupling into the controls circuits. You monitor the power levels."
From behind him, Malcolm could hear the engineer noisily removing panel covers. For several minutes, they worked as though nothing had happened between them, their voices were strangely loud, as though in compensation for the fact that neither wanted to speak at all.
"What's the readin' now?"
"Seven point three … point eight … eight point four..."
"Any change? … How 'bout now?"
"Nothing happening here. I can't work out why the power's not up."
Forcing his thoughts onto the work gave Malcolm a sudden idea. He stood up and stepped towards the panel they had originally been using - still open from before they … from when they had left it earlier.
"Why don't we try switching to the secondary bus …" he began, reaching for the panel.
At the same time, Tucker had had the same thought, and had turned towards the panel. "How 'bout trying the secondary …"
They spoke the words together, and found themselves facing each other in the confined space of the shuttlecraft.
"About what …," Malcolm began.
"Look … " said Trip.
Both stopped, then started again, speaking together once more. Finally Reed took the lead.
"About earlier, Commander," he said, nervously, "I don't know what happened."
"Yeah," nodded Trip. "I agree … let's jus' forget whatever happened."
Malcolm started in surprise. It wasn't exactly what he had meant to say, but heard himself agree eagerly.
"Absolutely. It would be silly to spoil a friendship. Not that I don't also respect the fact that you're a Commander, of course … I didn't mean … " He was babbling, and he knew it. "I just meant … Let's forget it."
Tucker gave him a clearly forced smile. "Yeah … forget it. Look, I think I'd better be leavin'. Had a long shift, and I don' think we're gettin' anywhere with this power problem." He half turned then glanced back. "G'night, Malcolm," he said, before spinning quickly and exiting the shuttlecraft, leaving Reed standing alone and confused.
Alone in his quarters, Tucker lay on his bed, staring at the bulkhead above him.
What the hell had happened that evening? One minute he'd been talking with Malcolm perfectly normally about women and dating, and the next they'd been kissing! What on Earth could have possessed him to offer to teach him to dance? They'd been so close … holding each other … and it had felt so … He couldn't describe it.
Had Malcolm kissed him, or had he kissed Malcolm?
Goddamn it!
In his mind, he had replayed that moment over and over since it had happened. The warm breath on his lips. The skip of a heartbeat. It had been a moment of perfection and terror mingled so closely that they couldn't be separated. But all he could think of now was getting that moment back again … reliving it in real life, and not just in his mind.
No!
This was Malcolm Reed. His best friend!
No! No! No!
He had to talk to him.
Swinging his legs off the bed and standing, he rushed for the door at the very moment the chime sounded. His stomach knotted tightly as he tapped the control to open the door.
His eyes confirmed what his heart already knew. Malcolm stood in the doorway, his face serious and his eyes mirroring Trip's own confusion and uncertainty.
"Trip. We have to talk."
Author's Note: Last updated 2003-02-23
