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C'est pour nous deux, Pt 4

Author - Aquila
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C’est pour nous deux, la lune qui danse

By Aquila

Part Four

(Loose translation of the title: It is for we two, the moon dances.)

Note on title: Two lines from Se Rêver, full lyrics can be found at www.brunopelletier.com – once there, click on discographie.
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the obsessive/compulsive behaviour.
Summary: A sequel to No More Blackened Catfish or Pecan Pie

==

“Dang, T’Pol,” he slapped his thigh, “I thought that you had never played Go.”

He drained the last drop of wine from his glass, lowering it to watch her face over the rim. Her complexion was rosy with wine and candle glow. There was no evidence of the frenzy that had pushed her to perform uncharacteristically intimate acts.

“I never said that I had not played the game.”

He reviewed the remark that she had made when he set out the board, “Go is a game of strategy, is it not, Trip?”

“You suckered me. I haven’t experience competition as fierce as that since…” A frown escaped. “Since the Cogenitor beat me.”

“You have a formidable reputation as an opponent,” she wanted to comfort him, but did not trust her ability to control her reaction to his emotions. “The crew speaks of your skill with awe.”

“You’re using a trowel, darlin’.”

The endearment brought an awkward pause that Trip covered by packing the game away.

“We should talk, Trip.” The use of his nickname made him regard her with apprehension.

“Has Phlox found the right dose for you?” He had to know.

“No,” she stated baldly. “However, the Captain has eased my restrictions. I must remain on B Deck within the officers’ sleeping section. I am allowed one visitor at a time in my quarters. I may visit others, but only if invited.”

“That explains Hayes,” he remarked under his breath.

“You did not know?” T’Pol would never admit surprise, but Trip knew that she was.

“Nope,” he shrugged, “I slept for twelve hours. I awoke, ordered a meal and invited you to join me. Never even opened my mail, so I had no idea your restrictions had been eased when I invited you to join me.”

In unison they looked toward his computer terminal. The red mail light was flashing. Trip collected the game, walking it the short distance to the computer. He slid the box into a drawer then pressed the screen.

“Yep,” he turned back to T’Pol, “There it is. Re: The Confinement of Sub-commander T’Pol.”

Trip strode back to where his guest was seated. He scooped up the pillow on which he had been sitting and plopped it beside T’Pol. She did not move, although when he sat he was so close that their elbows touched.

“Is my virtue at risk?” he swallowed the endearment that seemed to come of its own accord.

“You have many virtues, Trip, to which one do you refer?”

“Are you flirtin’ with me, darlin’?”

He turned slightly to watch her face, which remained passive although he could have sworn there was a twinkle in her eye. He settled his back against the bunk behind them, before slipping an arm around the Vulcan’s shoulder. He pulled her back so that she leaned against his ribcage in the crook of his arm. His long legs stretched out in front. She brought her knees up, leaning them against his thigh. She rested her head against his shoulder.

“So tell me about ma many virtues,” he requested. The words were puffs of air against her forehead.

She surprised him by stating, “Your first virtue is your wisdom.”

“You’ve called me rash, impulsive and exasperating, but never wise. Have I missed something?”

She snuggled closer. “By allowing Major Hayes and I to collaborate at a distance during my confinement, I was able to expend some of my excess energy.”

“Is that what they call lust on Vulcan?” He hugged her and placed a kiss on her head.

“Would you prefer that I list your shortcomings?” She pulled away from him slightly.

“Ouch,” he winced and pulled her close one more time. “You still haven’t explained how you are maintaining your equilibrium without Phlox’s potion.”

“Meditation assists me now that I have an outlet for the excess.”

She slipped an arm around his back to rest her hand on his hip. Her action brought her body in closer contact with his.

“Is Hayes still trying to prove that he is the man for you?”

To Trip it seemed surreal to be discussing Hayes’ intentions while she was snuggled up against his body. He could not imagine how T’Pol felt about the situation.

“Major Hayes visited me after having received a significant dose of what you call Phlox’s potion.”

“I see” nodded Trip, “Testing the efficacy of the medicine, was he? Putting himself in harm’s way in the grand tradition of the MACO?”

“Must you mock?”

T’Pol adjusted her position so that her legs stretched over and across Trip’s thighs. She pulled her arm out from behind his back. He lowered his arm so that it rested at her waist to accommodate the change.

“I am not mocking him, just questioning the sincerity of his advances toward you,” was the stern reply.

“Do you not also question the sincerity of my advances toward you?” T’Pol hit him with a verbal broadside.

They had reached the crux of the conversation. To maintain control for himself as much as T’Pol, he wrapped his arms around her. She rested her head on his chest and waited for his reply.

“Honey, we’ve been acting like a pair of hounds in heat off and on since we met.” He nuzzled her hair. “That was long before we felt the effects of the Expanse. So I didn’t doubt your interest, just the intensity of it.”

“You dare to compare our squabbling and bickering to sexual desire?” T’Pol was stunned by his perspective.

“We were expendin’ our excess energy, darlin’. With every display of fireworks.” He risked it all. “Do you have as much fun expending energy with Hayes as you do with me?”

T’Pol sat up. “Fun?” She swatted his arm. “You call your tiresome teasing and constant baiting fun?”

“So you did enjoy it!” He whooped. “I knew it!”

==

The doorbell awakened them. They had fallen asleep in each other’s arms after a long session of teasing and talking.

“Just a minute.” Trip scrambled to his feet.

The door slid open to reveal a steward pushing a trolley. “Oh there you are Sub-commander. I have your breakfast tray as well the Commander’s.”

“Thank you, son.” Trip distracted the too curious crewman. “Just leave the cart, I’ll serve.”

“Yes sir…of course Commander.” The door slid shut cutting off the steward’s view of the interior of Trip’s quarters and a sleepy-eyed T’Pol.

“Why don’t ya take a shower, while I set the food out?” suggested Trip as naturally as if they awakened together every morning. “There’s a clean robe hanging on the back of the bathroom door you can use. You’ll find a towel under the basin.”

Chef had included a small vase with a fresh flower on T’Pol’s tray, so Trip set it on the trolley, which he used as their breakfast table. He pushed it closer to the bunk, which would be a seat. He moved his desk chair to the other side of the cart to become the second seat. He stopped for a moment to listen to the sound of the running water, but when his thoughts began to conjure unsettling images, he returned his attention to the task at hand.

When she returned smelling of herbal shampoo and Starfleet issue soap, she found him holding the chair for her. He placed a peck on her cheek when she was firmly settled.

“I’ve shared breakfast with you in the Captain’s mess, but never in an informal setting like this one,” he reminded her. “Are you a don’t-talk-to-me-in the morning-woman or a what-are-your-plans-for-the-day-dear woman?”

“Must I be either one?”

When Trip stopped laughing he excused himself, “I’ll take a quick shower. Sip your juice while you’re waiting.”

==

As he stood before the small mirror shaving, he had a towel wrapped around his waist and one draped around his neck. His reflection brought back memories of the night that Hayes discovered them in a compromising situation.

He wondered if this moment of innocent domesticity was ill conceived. He used the mirror to scan the room for something other than a towel to wear. T’Pol had the only robe he owned. On the floor were the clothes in which he had slept. His clean clothes were stored in the sleeping area. Come on, Tucker, he admonished, she’s seen you naked and aroused for Cochrane’s sake. Why are you being such a prude now? He slapped his freshly shaven cheek. You can’t possibly believe that the mere sight of your naked chest is going to send her into paroxysms of lust? Idiot! He wiped the residue of the shaving cream from his face with the towel then returned to the sleeping area.

T’Pol had turned at the sound of the bathroom door to look in his direction. The action had caused her robe to separate, revealing her long shapely legs. The neckline bulged, revealing her décolletage. He paused to capture the scene in his mind for all time. Her posture – that was it – she was no longer the stiff, forbidding observer from the Vulcan High Command. This morning she was a female in the company of a male she desired if the looks she were shooting him meant what he thought they did.

At that precise moment of revelation the main door to his cabin slid open, “Good morning, Trip, I just saw the steward, he said you were up….”

Archer’s voice faded as he took in the tableaux - Trip standing near the doorway to his bathroom, wearing a pair of towels – T’Pol seated a galley trolley wearing a robe that Archer took to be Trip’s, enough skin exposed to confirm that she was naked underneath it. There was an uncharacteristic softness to her. He looked again at the Chief Engineer.

“Mornin’ Cap’n.” Trip held either end of the towel that was draped around his neck, “Care to join us for breakfast?”

End of Part Four



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Half a dozen of you have made comments

Oh, poor Trip. How he has to deal with the fact that his best friend think's he caught Tucker with his hands in the cookie jar. The man's never gonna get a break at this rate.

Stupid Archer! He always shows up when its the least convenient. And hasn't he ever heard of a doorbell? (or the 2150's equivalent)

Loving this story, can't wait for the next post!

Excellent! Is anyone else irritated at the Captain thinking he can just walk in unannounced whenever he likes? It would be kind of good manners if he knocked. I thought Trip's recovery was really good, I would not have known what in the world to say. Lovely, can't wait for the next part! Keep up the brilliant work, Ali D :~)

Oh man! Continue this baby quick!

Doesn't *anybody* knock first on this ship???? LOL!

As one who is married to a partner who has made it his life's work to tease and bait me,I know all about the fireworks and that pesky ol' excess energy........nice to see one half of this partnership admitting what the past two years were all about!

Wow!! Just love it! I love the T'Pol, Trip, Hayes dynamic.