"No."
"Babe –"
"No."
"Malcolm –"
"This is not happening –"
"I'm putting it on –"
"This is stu-"
"It going on –"
"I don't want to –"
"We are watching –"
"No –"
"We are watching –"
"Over my dead body –"
"We are watching My Little Pony, and you are going to like it!"
Matthew raise his voice above Malcolm's, trying to fight back a laugh.
Malcolm glared at him out of the corner of his eye, attempting to stifle his own laughter. "I can't believe I'm dating a Brony."
"Would this have been a deal breaker?" Matthew asked, as he brought up the first episode of the cartoon on Malcolm's laptop and hit play.
"You are lucky I slept with you first; before I found out you're a Brony. Very lucky. It's all I'm saying."
Matthew thought back to that night; they hadn't slept together since, though they'd come close a few times. Malcolm was a lot more comfortable with his body now than when they'd first got together, but he was still very unsure of himself. He also had a tendency to just agree to whatever Matthew suggested, if Matthew himself seemed like he was getting a little bit too animated; it was a habit he'd developed thanks to his Uncle Archie, and he was working hard on breaking it. Matthew sometimes had to go out of his way to make him feel secure, and it was a little tiring at times but they were working on it. It didn't bug Matthew when he knew that it was because he was overreacting, or getting a little too snippy, he was doing a lot better on that front now anyways, but Malcolm often didn't recognise when Matthew was annoyed at something else and not him. And Matthew was working on not pulling a disappearing act when he felt like things were too much – or, at least just telling Malcolm he needed to take a breather and have some space. It did feel like an uphill battle at times.
But it was so worth it.
Matthew had never felt so understood in a relationship, or more in sync with anyone he'd ever been with; Malcolm had told him last week that he'd never felt safer or happier with himself. They both understood needing therapy and were more than happy to help the other one use the tools that Phlox was recommending. They just got each other, in a way that neither could really describe.
Of course, it had been rough at times, especially finding out that Malcolm had been involved in that super shady Starfleet Intelligence organisation; Matthew hadn't known how to react to that. But he'd listened to Malcolm's explanation, and after thinking it over came to forgive him for betraying Phlox like he had. If the Doctor was happy enough to forgive him afterwards, Matthew came to the conclusion that he could as well. Malcolm had gotten out as soon as he could, he was loyal to Enterprise and Captain Archer; he had been so confused for those few days, and so hurt, but as Malcolm was standing in front of him, pleading with him to understand, he came to realise that things weren't so black and white. Following orders wasn't so black and white, and it had been one of the main reasons that Malcolm spoke up when he disagreed with something he was being ordered to do.
It was also the moment that Matthew realised that he loved him.
He loved him, and had told him. His heart skipped a beat when Malcolm said that he loved him too. They were already planning on visiting Matthew's family when they returned to Earth in a couple of weeks to see the treaty signing. Matthew was very nervous about that – he hadn't told his family that'd started drinking again, and he wasn't planning on telling them. But he'd have Malcolm with him; he knew he'd be fine.
Matthew started dancing and singing along to the opening theme of My Little Pony, to Malcolm's annoyance. He grinned cheekily at him, nudging him as he danced; Malcolm just groaned and rolled his eyes. They watched the first episode, Malcolm leaning back against Matthew as they lay on his bed, in the exact same positions as when they'd first watched Band of Brothers together. He had his arms tightly wrapped around the pineapple shaped pillow Matthew had given him for his birthday. As the credits rolled, Malcolm craned his neck to look up at Matthew, smiling softly, his eyes flicking to his lips. Matthew gently kissed him, with Malcolm shifting so that he could lie on top of him. The laptop lay to the side, forgotten.
They didn't watch the second episode.