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Newly graduated Ensign Jean-Luc Picard surveyed the lounge area of the apartment he shared with his three friends and sighed. Empty glasses that hadn’t been put back in the reclimaor, empty bottles of whatever contraband booze Jack had managed to procure, dirty dishes....and drunk classmates passed out on every chair, and even some on the floor. Jack had retreated to the bedroom he shared with Beverly a while ago, and Walker was staggering around trying to clean up part of the mess. Jean-Luc shot him a wry smile.
“We might as well wait until tomorrow, Wal. Get some of these guys,” he toed at their friend Corey, who was slumped on the floor, “to help. After all, they helped make the mess.” Walker tossed the glasses in his hands into the reclimator and grinned. “I like the way your mind works, Johnny. See you in the morning. Oh, Beverly said she managed to get us anti-hangover hyposprays and she left one in your bathroom for you.”
“Ah, that woman is a goddess.”
“Isn’t she just? Shame she’s with Jack.” Walker shot Jean-Luc a knowing grin and Jean-Luc pretended to ignore it. It wasn’t a secret between the two of them that he, too, had feelings for the flame-haired doctoral candidate....his best friend had just asked her out first. Not wanting to get between them, Jean-Luc sat on his feelings. He and Beverly had developed a strong friendship instead, and one that he was grateful to have, even if she did try to set him up with her friends occasionally with disastrous results.
He slumped his way to his bedroom and headed straight for his bathroom where there was a hypospray on the counter. Scrawled in lipstick on his mirror was: to prevent a hangover. Love, Bev. She had punctuated the words with a lip print. He shook his head at her antics and chuckled as he applied the hypospray to his neck and felt the cooling relief flush through him.
He re-entered his bedroom and scowled seeing a lump under his covers. “Whoever is in my bed, get out. You can find a place on the floor or go home.” An auburn head popped up.
“It’s me.” Jean-Luc gave his best friend a smile.
“So I see. Why are you in my bed and not yours?” Beverly sat up and made a face. “Jack gets handsy when he’s drunk. I couldn’t handle it anymore. I hope you don’t mind.” He waved his hand.
“By all means, I’ll sleep in the chair.” Beverly tossed her head and laughed.
“I won’t bite....much,” she winked. “And I know you won’t try anything.” Jean-Luc glanced over at her and flushed. “Uh...Bev?” He made a motion across his own chest and Beverly blushed, tugging up her camisole to cover her exposed breasts.
“Oops. Uhm, can I borrow a T-shirt?”
“Sure, help yourself.” Beverly moved to swing her legs out from the bed and blushed again. “Uhm...and some bottoms?” He raised his eyebrows at his best friend.
“Are you naked in my bed?” Beverly shook her head with a grin. “Noooo. Not...not entirely. I mean, I have panties on....” He groaned.
“They’re in the same drawer as the T-shirts. I’ll go change in the bathroom, let me know when I can come back in.”
“Thanks, you’re the best!”
“Hmm,” was his only reply as he grabbed his own pyjamas and went back into his bathroom. He splashed some cold water on his face and looked at himself in the mirror, giving himself a silent pep talk. She’s your best friend and she’s in your bed because she didn’t want to get groped by her boyfriend. You need to behave. No touching, even if she probably smells lovely. In fact, stay as far against the edge of the bed as you can! Don’t even think about her lying next to you! He nodded at his reflection, agreeing with his inner monologue.
“You can come back out now!” He hastily changed into his own pyjama pants, drank a glass of water, and walked back into his bedroom. Beverly was already under the covers. “Nice and cosy in here!”
He rolled his eyes, but got in on the other side of the bed and reached to turn off the light. In the silence, he could hear his heart beating and he hoped she couldn’t detect it. He heard the rustling of the sheets and felt the mattress shift and then there was a head on his shoulder, and an arm flung around his chest.
“Beverly?”
She leaned up and kissed his cheek. “I just wanted to cuddle. Is that alright?” Jean-Luc brought his arm around her waist and he blushed when his fingers touched her bare skin where the shirt had ridden up.
“S...sure,” Jean-Luc said, barely finding his voice. “But...won’t Jack be upset?”
“I told him I was sleeping in your room tonight. He knows I like to cuddle. Besides, I’m mad at him.”
“What else did he do?”
“You didn’t see him kissing Miranda?” Jean-Luc’s eyes went wide. Jack...kissed another girl?
“Miranda...she’s the one you tried to set me up with a few months ago?” He felt Beverly nod against his shoulder. “That’s the one. And she didn’t seem to care that she was snogging my boyfriend! Oh, but then! Then the ass decided to ask me if I’d have a threesome with him and Miranda!”
“I thought you said he was getting handsy with you in bed? I’m confused.”
“He did. I’m getting there.” Beverly sat up and Jean-Luc followed, propping himself up against the headboard and turning towards Beverly. She raked her fingers through her hair, agitated. “So, I went to bed and told him to do whatever he wanted to do, but he wasn’t doing it with me. Then he came to bed and tried to have it on with me. I could smell Miranda’s cheap perfume all over him. I’m sure he slept with her. He definitely smelled like he had.”
“Uhm, but where? If you were in your room...” Beverly shrugged. “I dunno. The closet? The balcony? But I smelled sex on him!” She rested her head against his shoulder again, and he wrapped an arm around her to comfort her, he hoped.
“Bev, I’m sure he didn’t. Why would he when he’s with you?” In his head, Jean-Luc was berating his other best friend and calling him every rude name in multiple languages. How could he possibly cheat on Beverly....and practically in front of her, too. He tried to keep his face neutral so Beverly wouldn’t see how angry he was at her boyfriend.
“I don’t know. But when he tried to have it on with me I told him no and that I was going to go sleep in your room. He didn’t follow me when I threw back on my clothes. Jean-Luc?” Beverly threaded their fingers together and turned into his shoulder so he wouldn’t see her tear filled eyes. “I don’t know if I can forgive him.”
Jean-Luc kissed the top of her head. Inwardly, he sighed. He needed to be her best friend, and he hated having to defend Jack. He’d much rather tell her to write him off. “You’ll talk to him when you’re both sober. I’m sure he didn’t sleep with Miranda.”
“Maybe. But he made out with her!” Beverly turned her head towards his face. “Can I kiss you?”
“Uhm....”
“I mean, if my boyfriend is going to go around kissing other girls when he’s drunk, I should be able to kiss other boys, right?” Jean-Luc rolled his eyes.
“We’re sober right now. You gave me a hypospray to cure me, and I’m sure you had one too.” Beverly flung a leg over him and climbed into his lap. Jean-Luc closed his eyes and willed himself not to move an inch. Beverly leaned in and kissed him, gently at first and then when he smiled against her lips and wrapped his arms around her waist, she deepened the kiss. His fingers found the bottom of her borrowed shirt and his hands were soon roaming up and down her warm back. She moaned into his lips and ground her hips against his, making him groan.
He rested his forehead against hers. “That was some kiss, Bev.”
“You’re a good kisser. And I know you’re good in bed, too.” He looked at her incredulously. “And how exactly do you know?”
“Girls talk. I hear things.”
“I see.” Beverly leaned in and kissed him again. “Want to sleep with me?”
“We are sleeping together. Or rather, we should be sleeping.” Beverly rolled her eyes. “You know what I meant. Sex. Make love. Do the nasty. The dance with no pants. The shimmy with a willy. Dip the wick. Put the-“
“I get the point.”
“Sooo....” Beverly looked hopeful at her best friend. Truthfully, she was attracted to the man and possibly more so than she was to her own boyfriend. It’s just Jack had asked her out and she did like him, so she continued to date him and later agreed to move in with him. And she didn’t know how Jean-Luc felt about her since he never said anything to her, but if his reaction to her kiss was anything to go by....
“Beverly, sweetheart, I don’t think it’s a good idea.” Beverly frowned.
“Why not?”
“Well...one, you’re still dating Jack. Two, you only want to sleep with me because you’re mad at Jack.”
“That’s not true!” He raised his eyebrows. “I’ve been wanting to....I mean....I like you, Jean-Luc.”
“I like you too, Bev. You’re my best friend. Course I like you.” She shook her head. Wow, the man really is totally clueless. “No, Jean-Luc. I like you as more than a friend.”
“Oh. But....what about Jack?” Beverly shifted her legs and Jean-Luc clasped her around her waist on his lap before she responded. “I...I mean, I like Jack, but I’m not in love with him or anything.”
“I...I see. Beverly, I like you too,” her face lit up and she leaned in to kiss him again and he held up his hand. “But.” She frowned.
“Of course, there’s a but.” He cupped her cheek gently. “Sweetheart, I just don’t want you to regret anything.”
“But I wouldn’t!” Beverly moved to take off the T-shirt she was wearing and Jean-Luc stilled her hands.
“Bev, do me a favour? Let’s wait. Talk to Jack in the morning. Then, if you still want to be with me and you’ve broken up with Jack....you know where I am.”
“I guess that’s fair.” She kissed him again. “Can I still sleep here?”
“Of course you can. Come on, let’s get some sleep. We might want to get up before Walker. Who knows what he’ll think.” Jean-Luc lowered them back down and Beverly rested her head against his shoulder once more. She kissed his cheek. “Goodnight, Jean-Luc.”
“Night, Beverly.”
###
Beverly stretched when she woke up and smiled. “Best sleep I’ve had in a while. I felt....relaxed.”
“Mm, good.” Jean-Luc rose from the bed and headed for the food slot. “Coffee?”
“Yes, please. Thank goodness the hypospray worked. I don’t have a hangover at all.” He grinned and passed her a cup before sitting down on the chair by his bed. It was piled with a cadet uniform, a new uniform, and a pair of boxers, but he didn’t mind. He glanced at Beverly on his bed. “Do you remember last night?” She nodded.
“You want me to talk to Jack before we do anything else.” He nodded. “I can’t in good conscious sleep with you and have you cheat on Jack, even if he cheated on you.” Beverly slowly nodded before taking a sip of her coffee.
“I guess I understand. But...I’m spending tonight here, too.”
“You are?”
“Mm-hmm. I’m going to break up with Jack and get my stuff from our room. I bet he won’t even realise I want to be with you. He’ll probably just think I’m staying in your room.”
“You are, are you?” He grinned at his best friend, and soon-to-be girlfriend. “I guess I could handle that. I’ll have to do some cleaning up....I’m leaving for France in two weeks though. I suppose you could come along if you’d like.” Beverly’s eyes lit up.
“As your girlfriend...or friend?” Jean-Luc reached his hand out to her and gave her hand a squeeze when she grasped it.
“I would like very much to call you my girlfriend....but not while Jack still thinks you’re his.” She squeezed his hand back before he rose from his chair. “Do you need to shower?”
“You can go first.”
“Thanks.” Jean-Luc gathered his clothing and headed for the bathroom with a smile on his face. Beverly liked him. Beverly wanted to be with him. He felt bad for Jack, but not enough to tell Beverly she shouldn’t break up with him.
Jean-Luc was partway through his shower when he felt a pinch on his rear. “Beverly!”
“How did you know it was me? It could have been Walker...” Jean-Luc rolled his eyes. “Doubtful. Can I help you, or?”
“Just came in to admire the view. You have a really nice arse.” He could hear the playfulness in her voice and he rejoiced. He decided to one up her and slowly turned around. Beverly’s jaw dropped.
“Like what you see?”
“Um....yes.” Beverly started backing towards the doorway. “Where are you going?”
“If I stay, I’ll do something we’re not quite ready for.”
Jean-Luc whistled a happy tune as he finished his shower.
###
Jean-Luc had exited his room after his shower to give Beverly some privacy to get dressed. Walker was awake and working on waking their friends scattered around the room. Jean-Luc pulled Walker to one side. “Beverly slept in my room last night.” Walker raised his eyebrows and started to speak. Jean-Luc held up his hand. “We didn’t. I mean, I wanted to...she wanted to, but we didn’t. She stayed in my room because she was mad at Jack. Please don’t make a big deal when she comes out of my room.”
Walker nodded at his friend. “No problem. My lips are sealed. Let’s get some of these idiots awake.”
Walker and Jean-Luc were going around the room, rousing their friends when Beverly slipped out of Jean-Luc’s bedroom and joined them in picking up some of the trash. Her bedroom door was still closed, and while Beverly knew what she wanted to do, she didn’t want to fight with him in front of all of the guests.
She was tossing yet another empty bottle into the reclimator when her bedroom door finally opened. She glanced up and dropped the bottle she was holding, shattering it and sending glass shards all over the small kitchen. Jack had not exited their bedroom alone.
“Bev, sweetheart, you’re bleeding.” Jean-Luc glanced down at her bare feet and gently lifted her and sat her on the counter. He leaned in close and whispered in her ear, “Are you ok?”
She swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded before quietly speaking. “I guess that answers that.”
“Hmm. I think you cut your foot. Let me grab a regen and you can fix the cuts while I clean up the glass.”
“Thanks,” she sent Jean-Luc a tiny smile and he patted her leg and gave her knee a squeeze. He did not want to be Jack later, that was for sure. He soon returned with the dermol regenerator and glanced at her feet again. “Shoes?”
“Check by the door. I usually have a pair or two over there.” He nodded and soon returned with a pair of sandals. “Pretty sure these are yours. Too small to be anyone else’s who lives here.” Beverly laughed. “Could be one of our guests, but yeah, those are mine.” Jean-Luc busied himself cleaning up the glass bottle and snuck looks over to Jack who was kissing Miranda goodbye by the front door. What a moron. Did he not even notice Beverly was over here injured? He clenched his fist around a piece of glass. “Ow!” Beverly peered down at him from the counter she was still sitting on.
“You ok?”
“Yeah, just cut my hand picking up some of the glass,” he rose and Beverly held out her hand for his. “Let me see.” Beverly ran the regenerator over his hand and dropped a kiss on it. “All fixed.” He grinned and leaned into her ear. “Does this mean I should be kissing your toes right now?” She snorted with laughter and that finally drew Jack’s attention. He sauntered over to the kitchen.
“Hey babe, what’s so funny?” He leaned in to kiss her, but she turned her head away and he kissed somewhere around her ear.
“Nothing. We need to talk.” She sent a glare in his direction.
“Now?”
“After everyone leaves is fine.” Jean-Luc grabbed the dermol regenerator and began to finish healing up the cuts on her feet. Jack glanced at her feet.
“What happened?”
“Dropped a bottle. I’m fine.” She reached down and touched her foot. “On the other hand....Jean-Luc, can you get me some tweezers? I think there’s a piece of glass stuck in my foot.”
“Sure, Bev.” Jean-Luc shot her a concerned look, but she sent him a smile. Jack rounded on her.
“So, let’s talk now.”
“Well, I was thinking after the guests had left, but fine. You want to talk now. We’ll talk. What the hell was Miranda doing in my bed last night?”
“Your bed?” She glared. “Fine, our bed.”
“Well, you left, didn’t you. Told me to do whatever I wanted.” Beverly rolled her eyes.
“Yeah. Because I didn’t want to sleep in the same bed as you last night because I was mad! You kissed another woman right in front of me! And then asked me to have a threesome with you and her! Then you came to my bed reeking of her perfume. Of course I was going to be mad at you! So what happened? How long did it take after I left before you invited her in? Thirty seconds? You disgust me, Jack Crusher. We’re through!” Beverly’s rant had caught the attention of some of the overnight guests and Walker did his best to keep them from watching the argument.
“Fine! I expect you better leave then, since this is my apartment!” Beverly laughed. “I’m on the lease too, mister. I’ll be staying in Jean-Luc’s room.” Jack snorted.
“Well, at least I know you won’t be having sex. It’s not like Johnny is interested in you like that. He probably thinks you’re his sister. Whatever. Have fun with him or something.” Jack turned to walk away and called over his shoulder. “Be out of my bedroom by this evening!”
“Oh, I plan on it!” Beverly shouted back. She swiped at her face where tears had started to pool. She wasn’t so much upset over breaking up with Jack as she was with the whole situation. Jean-Luc hurried back over and gave her a hug. “I heard everything he said. Are you sure you’re alright?”
She nodded. He held up the tweezers. “Found them. Want me to do it for you?” She nodded and Jean-Luc dragged a chair over to the counter and sat down. “Ok, give me your foot.” He gently tugged at the piece of glass and Beverly whimpered. “Shhh, it’ll be out in a minute.” He glanced around and saw no one was paying attention to them so he dropped a tiny kiss on her foot. “This foot will be perfect and dancing again in no time.” She smiled.
“That’s good, I was planning on practicing this afternoon en pointe.” Jean-Luc extracted the glass, ran the dermol regen over the spot, then rubbed her foot gently. “Have I ever told you how beautiful it is to watch you dance?” She blushed.
“No. I just thought you came to my recitals to humour me.”
“I was always fascinated. Can I come with you and watch you practice?” She nodded. “If you promise not to distract me.” Beverly put her sandals on and Jean-Luc helped her off the counter.
“Give me a half hour to clean up my room and then I’ll help you move your things.” She nodded.
“I might as well pack everything into my footlocker and only leave out what I’ll need the next few weeks. If I go with you to France before you leave for your assignment, my new apartment will be ready by then.” She frowned. “One month. I get to have one month with you. Life’s not fair.” He chucked her on the chin gently.
“And my shore leaves. I’ll spend every one of them with you. We can talk every day. We’ll make it work.”
“Yeah,” Beverly fell silent for a moment before leaning over and kissing his cheek. “I’ll start packing my things while you clean your room.”
“Yes Ma’am!” He mock saluted her and Walker watched their interactions with a smile. Finally. They both deserve happiness together.
###FIN###