A/N—Thanks for the review Denisud. Warning...sappy romance ending ahead!
Pacing outside the mess hall, Malcolm waited for Hoshi to arrive. His heart sank as she rounded the corner and frowned at him. This was a mistake. He really should leave well enough alone. Her defensive stance alone would make a lesser man run.
"Lieutenant, may I have a word with you, please?"
Hoshi turned to Ensign Cutler and excused herself.
"Certainly," she replied coolly, puzzled when he took her by her arm, and dragged her down the hall to a small, secluded alcove that doubled as an observation point. What the hell was he up to?
An awkward silence stretched between them, and Hoshi stood in front of him shifting irritably from foot to foot. "Well?" she asked impatiently. She had missed dinner last night and her stomach growled.
Malcolm walked over to the glass portal, looking out and ignoring her. A war waged within him. If he touched her again, there would be no turning back.
"Lieutenant Commander, was there something you wanted to talk to me about?" she questioned again.
Malcolm still couldn't speak and nodded his head negatively.
"Well, then I'm going to head back to breakfast," replied Hoshi, disappointed when he said nothing. The least he could do was fight with her. That was better than ignoring her.
It was like watching a movie as he grabbed her hand and spun her around into his chest. He didn't know if it was all the foolish romance movies his sister sighed over when he was a little boy or raw desperation, but he kissed her. Desperation pounded in his heart. What if this was some sick joke? What if she despised him, and he had just slipped his tongue past her open, seeking mouth? Was that her groaning or him?
He groaned louder as he felt her hands grab his buttocks and pull him closer. If it weren't for the fact that anybody could walk past at that point, he would have taken her standing right there, the memories of their intimate time together branding his soul.
It was as though time stood still as they continued to explore one another, remembering. He held onto her and urged her closer, her wrapping one of her legs around him and running her foot up and down the back of his calf.
Sanity and propriety finally reasserted itself and he gently broke away from their reunion kiss, raining small ones across her cheekbone, then down her neck, wanting to tell her what a fool he had been, yet unable to find the words.
Unable to get enough of her, Malcolm moved the Henley out of his way to explore her neck. The cooing sounds she made excited him further and he burned to have her. A shuffling sound tore him away from her – his mind playing tricks on him that somebody was coming.
He held her back to his front and turned them toward the window, trying to protect both of them from prying eyes, but nobody showed up. He could see her confused, yet excited look in the reflection of the window and he knew then she still had feelings for him.
"Have dinner with me tonight," he suggested as though no time apart had transpired between them.
"Why should I?" Hoshi asked softly, knowing it was too late to refuse him, yet wanting to make him squirm.
Slowly moving her hair away from her neck and placing a gentle kiss on the slope of the exposed skin, he murmured, "I'll pick you up at 1900 hours."
The date was set and he walked away with a smile on his face, but a feeling of dread in his gut.
Hoshi stared after him, trying to shake the dreamlike effect from her desire-muddled mind.
--
Normally she despised double shifts, but she was relieved to have pulled this one – the last of her penance from the formal reprimand on her service record. Technically, the reprimand should have been canceled out by the commendation, but the intrepid tactical officer wasn't going to let it slide.
How could she pass up his dinner invitation? She had a bone to pick with him, after all.
Staring at him across the table in his quarters, she picked at her food, her courage wavering as too many questions stirred in her mind. After the kiss at breakfast this morning, Hoshi had thought of little else all day long. Sitting across from him in such an intimate setting, she pinched herself underneath the table and wondered when he was going to say it was all some elaborate mistake and boot her out the door. Better yet, when was she going to wake up from this pipe dream?
Malcolm had said very little, which led her to feel more unease, and dinner had run late for he had forgotten about her double shift.
Setting his fork down, his cerulean eyes stared into her russet ones.
Hoshi looked away. "What do you want?" The question held months of pain and a day's worth of tortured guesses.
Malcolm barely kept from cringing. He had to give her that much – she was still as straightforward as ever.
Scraping his chair back, he stood, walked over and pulled her seat out. At least, he tried to pull her seat out.
Seeing him coming toward her, Hoshi had grabbed the table, refusing to move.
He smiled. "That's okay, luv. I like a good challenge," he breathed against the nape of her neck as he moved her hair to one side.
She jumped up and moved around the table, somehow believing the object would dissuade him. "What do you want?" she repeated softly.
"You," he replied softly, leaning over the table and trying to kiss her. It was barely a breadth of a whisper against her lips.
"For how long?" she whispered, closing her eyes and praying she never woke up.
Her question shook him and he moved around the table to embrace her. "I'm sorry," he murmured against her hair, feeling her stiffen in his arms. Too much time passed for them to just pick up where they left off, and he was acutely aware of her reluctance.
"I don't know who you are anymore."
Unable to argue with her Vulcan-like logic, he sighed. "That's fair enough."
Malcolm ran a frustrated hand through his hair and backed away. She knew him, yet she only knew the confused amnesiac he had once been. As much as he wanted her, he couldn't let his baser needs get in the way. In the very least, he owed her an explanation.
"After...after my escape... No, no. I need to back up," he stammered.
Hoshi stared at him and leaned against the wall for support.
"When I was with Mukai, I gained most of my memories back," Malcolm stated, pausing. "Before I could tell anyone, Admiral Forrest recalled me."
Transfixed and hoping she would finally get the answers she sought from him, Hoshi nodded for him to continue.
"There are some things I'll never be able to tell you...about my past...some things about the present, but I meant what I said when I left you the first time."
Crossing her arms over her chest, Hoshi frowned as Malcolm denied her full disclosure even now.
He could see she wasn't buying his declaration and jumped across the room, startling her. "I said I would love you, no matter what," he rasped huskily, grabbing her upper arms.
She didn't reply, unable as his words excited her.
"After the investigation, all I wanted to do was come back to you," Malcolm murmured, shaking her slightly. "I – I had to be sure. I have too many enemies...enemies, who would harm anyone I cared for. After the assassination attempt – "
His words were lost as her lips covered his, coaxing his open. Pulling away, she kissed his cheek gently. "I can take care of myself, you stupid git."
"That's Lieutenant Commander git," Malcolm chuckled and pressed kisses her forehead.
"Don't remind me," she retorted. "My service record may never recover."
He smiled, nuzzling her cheek, then groaned as her hands roamed over his backside, drawing him closer. Her intimate overture wasn't lost on him, yet he pulled away reluctantly. "As much as I would enjoy stripping you naked and burying myself inside you, I think we should slow down."
Before she could start to pull away, he continued, "You said it yourself. You don't know who I am any more than I know about you. Besides, I want to get to know the woman I'm going to allow such intimate liberties with my body."
Epilogue –
"You!"
Everybody in the armory jumped.
"You! You! You – " Hoshi stammered angrily as she stepped through the hatch.
She was hardly ever at a loss for words, but this seemed to be one of those rare occasions when her extensive vocabulary failed her. Malcolm shuddered, yet made no move toward her.
They had only been back for a day and had just finished up his report on their latest away mission. In that report, he cited a formal reprimand against Hoshi for ignoring away team security protocols. Luckily, it was only a minor infraction and no one had been hurt.
He stared coolly at his "girlfriend," wondering when she was finally going to come up with some words to verbalize her outrage.
Grabbing her arm, Malcolm steered her back into the corridor and started to explain as calmly as he could. "Just because we are dating doesn't excuse you from stomping all over established security protocols."
"I – " Hoshi started to say something, but was silenced with his finger over her lips.
"How would it look if I started showing your preferential treatment?" he reasoned calmly. "I don't mind the rumors. Hell, I just heard a rumor that you're pregnant, and we haven't even slept together, yet. I know they bother you, luv, and – "
"When are we going to sleep with one another?" she asked impishly, her anger over the reprimand on her record forgotten. "Because I have needs and –"
Silencing her with a quick, harsh kiss, Malcolm pulled away and smiled. He loved everything about her. Over the past several weeks they had gotten to know one another quite well, but had yet to consummate their newfound love for another. She was brash and got a kick out of ruffling his reserved nature. "I'll take care of your needs tonight," he growled hoarsely and walked back into the armory.
She smiled knowingly and made her way to the bridge, hoping he wasn't bluffing her.
--
His intentions to only deepen their kiss, and then go home frustrated were blown apart as her hands slipped underneath his shirt and touched his muscled flank and finally his chest.
His hands mimicked hers as they slipped underneath her shirt and against her ... lace bra? "Lace bras aren't regulation?" he thought out loud, and flicked his tongue against the gentle slope of her neck.
Hoshi retorted a husky enticement, "And I have the lace panties to match my non-regulation bra."
She lifted her arms as Malcolm lifted her blouse from her head.
A red lace bra greeted him, and he could hardly contain the chuckle that escaped. "Is this what you're wearing underneath your uniform all the time, Lieutenant?"
Her gasped response resounded throughout the room as his teeth nipped at the aroused peaks through the lace. "Yessss!"
As much as he enjoyed the sight, he wanted to see the beauty under the lace. He made quick work of the clasp and growled deep in his throat as the lace fell away. Ravenously, he feasted on her breasts, alternating between the two and seeking more.
Her skirt fell next as his hands and lips made their way down her stomach, kneeling before her.
The raspy quality of his voice betrayed the urgency of his need. "Stunning."
Hoshi smirked at the reference, giggling. "Even now, you're thinking about your phase pistols. A girl could get a complex."
It took him a minute to figure the meaning of the reference through the desire-induced haze, and he laughed too. "Stun setting."
He hugged her warm, firm stomach to the side of his face and listened to her laughter, loving her more than he thought possible. His hands slid lower, cupping her bare buttocks and they groaned in passionate discovery as he discovered she was wearing a t-back.
She yelped as he nipped at the lace that covered her feminine secrets. Then she sighed as he gently pushed her onto her bunk, his fingers scraping underneath the material and pulling it down her legs.
Hoshi opened herself to him in earnest. "Please, Malcolm," she begged.
He pulled away from her for a sliver of an instant and tore his shirt off of his body. Still kneeling in front of her like a pagan worshipper, he let his breath dance across her hip, followed by his lips.
She squirmed underneath his touch, her breath coming in short, succinct pants.
Only thinking of her want and need, Hoshi opened herself to him further, trying to coax him to her core.
He needed no coaxing and he smiled as she thrust her hips up to meet his kiss.
Hoshi came undone in his arms, writhing beneath him and begging for more, which he bestowed readily.
He flicked his tongue quickly and steadily against her and backed off every time the keening noises she made signaled her near the edge of release. After the third time, she kicked at his shoulder and begged for more.
Malcolm stood and kicked the rest of his clothing off, kneeled between her legs, and kissing her deeply.
She groaned and thrust her tongue into his mouth, proclaiming what she wanted from him without words.
He needed no further urgings and lunged into her, with an anguished cry.
The pace he set was agonizingly slow and deep. He watched as she closed her eyes and bit her lip, the expression of the "little death" contorting her features.
The tremor of his release scorched him to his soul and he couldn't contain his words. "Iloveyoumarryme!"
Hoshi collapsed on his chest, exhaustion overcoming her and murmured tiredly, "I love you too. I'll think about it."
FIN
Pacing outside the mess hall, Malcolm waited for Hoshi to arrive. His heart sank as she rounded the corner and frowned at him. This was a mistake. He really should leave well enough alone. Her defensive stance alone would make a lesser man run.
"Lieutenant, may I have a word with you, please?"
Hoshi turned to Ensign Cutler and excused herself.
"Certainly," she replied coolly, puzzled when he took her by her arm, and dragged her down the hall to a small, secluded alcove that doubled as an observation point. What the hell was he up to?
An awkward silence stretched between them, and Hoshi stood in front of him shifting irritably from foot to foot. "Well?" she asked impatiently. She had missed dinner last night and her stomach growled.
Malcolm walked over to the glass portal, looking out and ignoring her. A war waged within him. If he touched her again, there would be no turning back.
"Lieutenant Commander, was there something you wanted to talk to me about?" she questioned again.
Malcolm still couldn't speak and nodded his head negatively.
"Well, then I'm going to head back to breakfast," replied Hoshi, disappointed when he said nothing. The least he could do was fight with her. That was better than ignoring her.
It was like watching a movie as he grabbed her hand and spun her around into his chest. He didn't know if it was all the foolish romance movies his sister sighed over when he was a little boy or raw desperation, but he kissed her. Desperation pounded in his heart. What if this was some sick joke? What if she despised him, and he had just slipped his tongue past her open, seeking mouth? Was that her groaning or him?
He groaned louder as he felt her hands grab his buttocks and pull him closer. If it weren't for the fact that anybody could walk past at that point, he would have taken her standing right there, the memories of their intimate time together branding his soul.
It was as though time stood still as they continued to explore one another, remembering. He held onto her and urged her closer, her wrapping one of her legs around him and running her foot up and down the back of his calf.
Sanity and propriety finally reasserted itself and he gently broke away from their reunion kiss, raining small ones across her cheekbone, then down her neck, wanting to tell her what a fool he had been, yet unable to find the words.
Unable to get enough of her, Malcolm moved the Henley out of his way to explore her neck. The cooing sounds she made excited him further and he burned to have her. A shuffling sound tore him away from her – his mind playing tricks on him that somebody was coming.
He held her back to his front and turned them toward the window, trying to protect both of them from prying eyes, but nobody showed up. He could see her confused, yet excited look in the reflection of the window and he knew then she still had feelings for him.
"Have dinner with me tonight," he suggested as though no time apart had transpired between them.
"Why should I?" Hoshi asked softly, knowing it was too late to refuse him, yet wanting to make him squirm.
Slowly moving her hair away from her neck and placing a gentle kiss on the slope of the exposed skin, he murmured, "I'll pick you up at 1900 hours."
The date was set and he walked away with a smile on his face, but a feeling of dread in his gut.
Hoshi stared after him, trying to shake the dreamlike effect from her desire-muddled mind.
--
Normally she despised double shifts, but she was relieved to have pulled this one – the last of her penance from the formal reprimand on her service record. Technically, the reprimand should have been canceled out by the commendation, but the intrepid tactical officer wasn't going to let it slide.
How could she pass up his dinner invitation? She had a bone to pick with him, after all.
Staring at him across the table in his quarters, she picked at her food, her courage wavering as too many questions stirred in her mind. After the kiss at breakfast this morning, Hoshi had thought of little else all day long. Sitting across from him in such an intimate setting, she pinched herself underneath the table and wondered when he was going to say it was all some elaborate mistake and boot her out the door. Better yet, when was she going to wake up from this pipe dream?
Malcolm had said very little, which led her to feel more unease, and dinner had run late for he had forgotten about her double shift.
Setting his fork down, his cerulean eyes stared into her russet ones.
Hoshi looked away. "What do you want?" The question held months of pain and a day's worth of tortured guesses.
Malcolm barely kept from cringing. He had to give her that much – she was still as straightforward as ever.
Scraping his chair back, he stood, walked over and pulled her seat out. At least, he tried to pull her seat out.
Seeing him coming toward her, Hoshi had grabbed the table, refusing to move.
He smiled. "That's okay, luv. I like a good challenge," he breathed against the nape of her neck as he moved her hair to one side.
She jumped up and moved around the table, somehow believing the object would dissuade him. "What do you want?" she repeated softly.
"You," he replied softly, leaning over the table and trying to kiss her. It was barely a breadth of a whisper against her lips.
"For how long?" she whispered, closing her eyes and praying she never woke up.
Her question shook him and he moved around the table to embrace her. "I'm sorry," he murmured against her hair, feeling her stiffen in his arms. Too much time passed for them to just pick up where they left off, and he was acutely aware of her reluctance.
"I don't know who you are anymore."
Unable to argue with her Vulcan-like logic, he sighed. "That's fair enough."
Malcolm ran a frustrated hand through his hair and backed away. She knew him, yet she only knew the confused amnesiac he had once been. As much as he wanted her, he couldn't let his baser needs get in the way. In the very least, he owed her an explanation.
"After...after my escape... No, no. I need to back up," he stammered.
Hoshi stared at him and leaned against the wall for support.
"When I was with Mukai, I gained most of my memories back," Malcolm stated, pausing. "Before I could tell anyone, Admiral Forrest recalled me."
Transfixed and hoping she would finally get the answers she sought from him, Hoshi nodded for him to continue.
"There are some things I'll never be able to tell you...about my past...some things about the present, but I meant what I said when I left you the first time."
Crossing her arms over her chest, Hoshi frowned as Malcolm denied her full disclosure even now.
He could see she wasn't buying his declaration and jumped across the room, startling her. "I said I would love you, no matter what," he rasped huskily, grabbing her upper arms.
She didn't reply, unable as his words excited her.
"After the investigation, all I wanted to do was come back to you," Malcolm murmured, shaking her slightly. "I – I had to be sure. I have too many enemies...enemies, who would harm anyone I cared for. After the assassination attempt – "
His words were lost as her lips covered his, coaxing his open. Pulling away, she kissed his cheek gently. "I can take care of myself, you stupid git."
"That's Lieutenant Commander git," Malcolm chuckled and pressed kisses her forehead.
"Don't remind me," she retorted. "My service record may never recover."
He smiled, nuzzling her cheek, then groaned as her hands roamed over his backside, drawing him closer. Her intimate overture wasn't lost on him, yet he pulled away reluctantly. "As much as I would enjoy stripping you naked and burying myself inside you, I think we should slow down."
Before she could start to pull away, he continued, "You said it yourself. You don't know who I am any more than I know about you. Besides, I want to get to know the woman I'm going to allow such intimate liberties with my body."
Epilogue –
"You!"
Everybody in the armory jumped.
"You! You! You – " Hoshi stammered angrily as she stepped through the hatch.
She was hardly ever at a loss for words, but this seemed to be one of those rare occasions when her extensive vocabulary failed her. Malcolm shuddered, yet made no move toward her.
They had only been back for a day and had just finished up his report on their latest away mission. In that report, he cited a formal reprimand against Hoshi for ignoring away team security protocols. Luckily, it was only a minor infraction and no one had been hurt.
He stared coolly at his "girlfriend," wondering when she was finally going to come up with some words to verbalize her outrage.
Grabbing her arm, Malcolm steered her back into the corridor and started to explain as calmly as he could. "Just because we are dating doesn't excuse you from stomping all over established security protocols."
"I – " Hoshi started to say something, but was silenced with his finger over her lips.
"How would it look if I started showing your preferential treatment?" he reasoned calmly. "I don't mind the rumors. Hell, I just heard a rumor that you're pregnant, and we haven't even slept together, yet. I know they bother you, luv, and – "
"When are we going to sleep with one another?" she asked impishly, her anger over the reprimand on her record forgotten. "Because I have needs and –"
Silencing her with a quick, harsh kiss, Malcolm pulled away and smiled. He loved everything about her. Over the past several weeks they had gotten to know one another quite well, but had yet to consummate their newfound love for another. She was brash and got a kick out of ruffling his reserved nature. "I'll take care of your needs tonight," he growled hoarsely and walked back into the armory.
She smiled knowingly and made her way to the bridge, hoping he wasn't bluffing her.
--
His intentions to only deepen their kiss, and then go home frustrated were blown apart as her hands slipped underneath his shirt and touched his muscled flank and finally his chest.
His hands mimicked hers as they slipped underneath her shirt and against her ... lace bra? "Lace bras aren't regulation?" he thought out loud, and flicked his tongue against the gentle slope of her neck.
Hoshi retorted a husky enticement, "And I have the lace panties to match my non-regulation bra."
She lifted her arms as Malcolm lifted her blouse from her head.
A red lace bra greeted him, and he could hardly contain the chuckle that escaped. "Is this what you're wearing underneath your uniform all the time, Lieutenant?"
Her gasped response resounded throughout the room as his teeth nipped at the aroused peaks through the lace. "Yessss!"
As much as he enjoyed the sight, he wanted to see the beauty under the lace. He made quick work of the clasp and growled deep in his throat as the lace fell away. Ravenously, he feasted on her breasts, alternating between the two and seeking more.
Her skirt fell next as his hands and lips made their way down her stomach, kneeling before her.
The raspy quality of his voice betrayed the urgency of his need. "Stunning."
Hoshi smirked at the reference, giggling. "Even now, you're thinking about your phase pistols. A girl could get a complex."
It took him a minute to figure the meaning of the reference through the desire-induced haze, and he laughed too. "Stun setting."
He hugged her warm, firm stomach to the side of his face and listened to her laughter, loving her more than he thought possible. His hands slid lower, cupping her bare buttocks and they groaned in passionate discovery as he discovered she was wearing a t-back.
She yelped as he nipped at the lace that covered her feminine secrets. Then she sighed as he gently pushed her onto her bunk, his fingers scraping underneath the material and pulling it down her legs.
Hoshi opened herself to him in earnest. "Please, Malcolm," she begged.
He pulled away from her for a sliver of an instant and tore his shirt off of his body. Still kneeling in front of her like a pagan worshipper, he let his breath dance across her hip, followed by his lips.
She squirmed underneath his touch, her breath coming in short, succinct pants.
Only thinking of her want and need, Hoshi opened herself to him further, trying to coax him to her core.
He needed no coaxing and he smiled as she thrust her hips up to meet his kiss.
Hoshi came undone in his arms, writhing beneath him and begging for more, which he bestowed readily.
He flicked his tongue quickly and steadily against her and backed off every time the keening noises she made signaled her near the edge of release. After the third time, she kicked at his shoulder and begged for more.
Malcolm stood and kicked the rest of his clothing off, kneeled between her legs, and kissing her deeply.
She groaned and thrust her tongue into his mouth, proclaiming what she wanted from him without words.
He needed no further urgings and lunged into her, with an anguished cry.
The pace he set was agonizingly slow and deep. He watched as she closed her eyes and bit her lip, the expression of the "little death" contorting her features.
The tremor of his release scorched him to his soul and he couldn't contain his words. "Iloveyoumarryme!"
Hoshi collapsed on his chest, exhaustion overcoming her and murmured tiredly, "I love you too. I'll think about it."
FIN