disturbinglynic

Title: Southern Comfort
Fandom: Star Trek ENT
Pairing: Tucker/Reed
Rating: PG
Word Count: 919
Warnings: None
Summary: Malcolm gets sick and Trip takes care of him.
Disclaimer: If I owned them then I wouldn't have to play with them in stories.
A/N: First Tucker/Reed. Another for non-classic trek day :)

Of all things he could possibly get, he had the common cold. He would wonder if anyone still even got colds, but since apparently he did, it seemed ridiculous to wonder.

Except, he really didn’t have much else to do, now did he? He was stuck in his quarters until the damn thing had run its course. He was wondering what exactly he would do to fill the time besides sleep, when his door swished open.

Trip Tucker. Of course. The man knew no boundaries. He seemed to think it was his right as one of Malcolm’s closest friends to just waltz right in whenever he wanted to, no matter how many times Malcolm tried to tell him otherwise.

To be perfectly honest, Malcolm, for once, was very grateful for that fact. Trip could prove to be very entertaining company.

“How ya feelin’ there Malcolm?” Malcolm just grumbled something at him, not wanting to use his throat, which was raw, and not wanting to make it too easy for Trip. He loved giving that man a hard time.

“Well, I brought you some homemade chicken soup. Figured it would help make you feel better. It’s my mom’s recipe. Always made me feel better.” Malcolm gratefully took the bowl and dug in eagerly. He would never admit it to Trip, but he loved that man’s cooking. As a matter of fact, he had become very fond of southern cooking since he had become friends with Trip.

He spared a glance over at Trip, who had taken to making himself cozy at Malcolm’s desk. He saw Malcolm looking at him and shot him one of his infamous grins. He grinned at Malcolm like he knew that Malcolm loved his cooking. Or maybe, he grinned at Malcolm because he knew what else Malcolm was hiding from him.

The soup had definitely done what Trip had intended. He was feeling better, and his throat was definitely not as raw.

“Thanks for the soup Trip. It definitely helped.”

“Anytime Malcolm.” He was still grinning at him.

“Bloody hell Trip. Do you ever stop grinning like a mad man?”

“Aw, come on Malcolm. You need someone to balance out that pessimism in your life.”

“I’m not pessimistic, I’m just realistic.”

“Sure you are Malcolm.” Why, he wondered, did he bother putting up with Trip? The man was a pain, and yet, Malcolm, against his better judgment, had fallen for him. Somewhere during all of the arguing, a friendship had formed, and somewhere during all of that, Malcolm had come to the conclusion that he wanted more.

“So, are you planning on annoying me for the rest of the day?”

“You’re breaking my heart Malcolm. I bring you homemade chicken soup, and come here to take care of you, and you accuse me of being annoying.” Malcolm happened to turn and look at him just then. He was pouting at him. Trip was actually pouting at him, and it was way more appealing than it should be. The next thing he knew, Trip had plopped down on the too small bed next to him.

“See Trip, you are annoying me. I’m laying here, trying to rest, and now you’re taking up all of my space.” Trip’s only reply was to shift even closer and grin at him. That damn grin.

“So, what’s your plan then?”

“Well, I could tell you stories about some of the more interesting women that I’ve been with.” An eyebrow waggle followed that comment.

“Lovely.”

“Well, then what do you want to do?”

“I want to sleep.”

“Well nobody’s stopping you.”

“I think the extra body in the bed is stopping me.”

“Now you’re just nitpicking. I’m not in the way.”

“Just because you don’t think you’re in the way, doesn’t mean you’re not in the way. You are, in fact, in the way.”

“Malcolm, just shut up and get some sleep. I’ll be here if you need anything.” With that, Trip proceeded to close his eyes and shift into a comfortable sleeping position himself. Malcolm opened his mouth to reply, but thought better of it. He didn’t have the energy to argue with Trip, and he knew from experience that they could go on for a while.

Besides, it wasn’t as if he really had a problem with Trip being on the bed with him. The warm body pressed next to his was having a soporific effect on him, and he felt himself drift off into unconsciousness.

***************

When Malcolm woke up, he found himself unable to move. He smiled when he realized that in his sleep, Trip had wrapped himself completely around Malcolm. Malcolm dared not move. He didn’t want to wake Trip.

He lay like that for a few minutes before he felt Trip stir. He had figured that Trip would pull away, but Trip must not have realized that Malcolm was awake, because he felt fingertips lightly running along his chest.

His breath hitched, and the fingers stopped moving. Trip looked up at him.

“Sorry,” he muttered, and started to pull away. Malcolm grabbed him and pulled him in for a kiss instead. When they pulled apart, Trip was grinning at him again, but this time, the grin wasn’t so annoying.

“Why Malcolm, I thought you were sick.”

“I am. That’s all you’re getting until I feel better.” Trip’s laughter rang out across the room, and he laid back down against Malcolm.

“Guess I better make myself comfortable then. I plan on being here when you feel better.”