Title: Twilight
Author: T'eyla
AN: Thanks to lieutenants-lady (told ya, I'm gonna update daily ;) ), Gabi2305 (was glaubst du, wie lang ich an diese 450 Wörter hingearbeitet habe? Mindestens... 5 Minuten? -g-), Andrea (here comes...), KaliedescopeCat (I like T/R as well -shake hands- ;) ), Exploded Pen (thank you :) ) and ana (bright and early? Uh... I'm not a person for bright and early... but here's the update anyway ;) ) for reviewing. Have fun reading Chapter 2 and don't forget to review! :)
Verse I/Chorus
Trip operated the helm's control of shuttlepod one, telling it to run a standard pre-flight check, under his breath singing an old song he'd known when he'd been much younger and that for some reason he'd remembered that morning.
I never thought a first time love would ever last,
How could a kiss like that knock me flat on my ass?
The burning bed, the roses dead, and now I'm dancing with myself...
The last note he didn't quite catch, the effect making him wince, and Trip fell silent, leaving the tune to play on in his head. Turning, he climbed out the shuttle's hatch and stretched. According to his wristwatch it was just 1000 hours, and when a second later the door swished open, Trip smiled.
Sharp as always, he thought.
"Mornin' Malcolm," he said and grabbed the suitcase with equipment that had been standing next to the shuttle. "All ready to go?"
Malcolm whose attention was focused on some padd he was holding in his hand didn't look up. "Ah... yes," he said a little absentmindedly. "In a minute."
"Whatcha got there?" Trip asked, shoving the equipment case through the shuttle's hatch. When Malcolm didn't answer, Trip turned his head to see the lieutenant staring in concentration down at the small display. He smiled a little to himself.
"You with me this mornin'?" he asked, climbing into the shuttle. When he was in, he turned around and saw Malcolm finally raise his eyes.
"Sorry," the Lieutenant said and came over, tucking the padd in his pocket. Trip took a step backwards as Malcolm first let his eyes wander over the shuttle's interior in a quick scanning manner and then looked up at Trip. "We got everything?"
"Yup. Climbin' gear, water bags, scanners, flashlights..."
"Phase pistols?"
"Phase pistols," Trip confirmed, smiling a little. "An' everythin' else. Will you get in now?"
Malcolm let his right eyebrow twitch a little and flashed his economical smile. "Someone's eager to get off the ship, I believe," he said and climbed in as well. As he closed the hatch, Trip sat down in the pilot's chair, aware that his face was probably showing a pretty goofy smile but not caring. He would never have told anyone, but when he was with Malcolm, he felt like smiling like that all the time. That and the feeling of being at ease he experienced when Malcolm was around told him that there must be a little more to his feelings for Malcolm than plain friendship, but he didn't think he wanted to admit that, not to himself and certainly not to anyone else. He figured that if he were to do that, then he'd have to act on these feelings in some way, and that could only lead to disaster.
That didn't mean that he didn't allow himself to enjoy the time he could spend with Malcolm, he savoured every minute as a precious gift from whoever controlled these sorts of events - God, Satan, Cupid. Today, he and Malcolm were off to gather some rock samples for T'Pol. She had registered some rare type of rock in one of the lower stratums which were accessible only by climbing down into the lower parts of the planet's widespread cave system. Remembering his and Malcolm's last encounter with climbing adventures, Trip at first had had a few doubts, but Jon had assured him that the climbing didn't compare in any way to the steep precipices they'd been forced to tackle when they'd rescued those Denobulan geologists. Well, maybe rescued was the wrong word. Dragged them out of the caves by their stubborn behinds. Whatever.
A low cough returned Trip's attention to reality, and he realized that Malcolm was standing right behind him.
"Now, are we going to get flying any time soon, or have you changed your mind?"
"Sorry," Trip said, "guess my thoughts been wanderin'." He flicked the switch that would open a comm channel to the bridge thinking with a touch of sarcasm that if he and Malcolm kept displaying that kind of attentive behaviour, this away mission was bound to be a complete success. "Tucker to bridge, we're all ready to launch."
"You're all clear to," came Jon's voice from the comm. "Have fun."
"Sure will."
The pod shook as the docking arm pushed it through the opening hangar doors, then the clamps unlocked and Trip took over navigation.
Yeah 'cause I'm missing you,
Just like you want me to,
You made me trip into the grind
Now I can't get you off of my mind
"What's that strange sound?" Malcolm asked, and Trip realized that he'd been humming that tune again. He smiled.
"Jus' me."
"Oh."
They didn't talk much on their way down to the surface, but that was alright with Trip. People wouldn't have thought, but he appreciated silence. Especially this kind.
TBC...
Please let me know what you think!