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Malcolm woke slowly, feeling himself on the very edge of his bed. Most unusual; normally he stayed near the middle of the mattress. Then again, normally he was alone in his bed. These circumstances, however, were infinitely more acceptable. He looked down, pleased, at who he was holding onto as though his life depended on it.
A deliciously warm, delightfully soft Hoshi Sato.
Originally falling asleep as the little spoon, she’d turned in the night, wrapping her own arms around him, her face pressed to his chest, one leg draped over his hip, as though she was making sure no one could take him from her. Her hair had dried awry; he smoothed it down, smiling as he thought back over the events of the past few hours.
They’d spent the entire morning in bed, waking only to use the facilities; Malcolm had even had a spare, unopened toothbrush for Hoshi to use. They’d showered together, enjoying each other again—and again, and again, once they were back in the bedroom—making up for lost time, Hoshi had said, and Malcolm couldn’t find it in himself to disagree. At one point he’d wondered aloud if they were moving too fast, and Hoshi had outright snorted.
“Malcolm, we’ve been friends for how long now?” She’d been lying across his chest at the time, tracing patterns across his shoulders and collarbones, her face washed free of kohl and lip stain and any other make-up. The raised eyebrow she sent his way made him chuckle.
“Point. It has been a couple of years, I admit.”
“So you know me pretty well, and I know you. Not everything—gods, please not—but we know enough about each other to know what wouldn’t work for either of us, don’t we? We know each other’s values, reading preferences, what makes the other tick…”
“I know you get a little frown when you’re just about to attack during a sparring session, and to start worrying during a first contact when your voice gets really preternaturally calm and you give me that sideways look. And you really hate cardio, and Trip’s movie choices. And you love adding chopped peanuts to almost all your noodle dishes, even if they’re not part of the recipe.” Hoshi giggled at that, dropping a kiss on his chest.
“Right, and you prefer fewer people, quiet times, a place to escape when you’re overwhelmed; and when you go preternaturally calm it’s already way too late; but when your voice drops deep and your eyes narrow, it’s best for anyone in the vicinity to back away.” Malcolm blinked, about to refute Hoshi’s words, but she was already continuing. “You like your peanut butter to be just a little warm so it spreads easier when you put it on your pancakes. And when you think no one’s watching, you sneak a little maple syrup into it, too. Or honey, depending on what Chef’s put out.”
He laughed ruefully. “Uh-oh, my secret’s out. You’re quite the silent observer, aren’t you?” He shifted under Hoshi, running his fingers through her hair and down across her shoulders and back, enjoying the way she closed her eyes and wriggled with pleasure.
“I like watching people,” she resumed after a while. “I don’t mind engaging with them, especially new cultures; I wouldn’t be much of a communications officer if I did mind. But in my downtime, I prefer spending most of my time with my little group of friends, with occasional forays toward other groups. And as for watching people, growing up I spent so much time on my own or with tutors that I learned to make up little stories in my head, especially about what they might be doing.”
“And what little story did you make up about my enjoyment of a sweet touch to my peanut butter?”
She shrugged, her attention seemingly entirely focused on the finger that was tracing spirals on his right pectoral. She didn’t see the fond look he directed her way, but again leaned into the calloused hand he ran down her spine, sighing with pleasure. “Nothing. I just like watching you.”
Malcolm felt a pleased flutter in his belly at the thought of Hoshi’s eyes on him, of being watched with no malicious intent.
“It can be a little difficult sometimes, though,” she murmured.
“Oh?”
“I can’t really settle into my day until I’ve looked up and seen you there, behind your station. Which I confess makes it difficult when you start your day in the Armoury, but generally you come up for the morning briefing and I can get my Malcolm fix.”
He gave a shout of laughter. “Malcolm fix?”
Hoshi flushed at his laugh, burying her face in his chest and nodding shame-facedly. “Sorry, I know it’s childish.” Her voice was muffled by talking into his skin, and he felt the heat of her cheek where she was blushing.
“Hey.” He coaxed her to lift her head, though she wouldn’t meet his eyes. “I’m sorry I laughed. I wasn’t laughing at you. I was just surprised that someone would be that invested in me that seeing me—or not—could make or break their day.”
A frown creased Hoshi’s brow and she smacked the flat of her hand onto his chest, lightly, but enough to make her displeasure clear. “You’d better not be dissing yourself in front of me, mister.” The flush had disappeared; Hoshi’s voice was fierce, her eyes combative. “I know your worth, even if you might not. And I’m not the only one. We all know just how much we owe you for keeping us safe all these years and in all the situations in which we’ve found ourselves. The crew appreciates you and all you do for us, even if you think you’re just doing your job.” She tapped one forefinger on his chest, still frowning. “And they know—we know—that you’re invested in us as people, not just crewmates. Even if you try to hide it.”
He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say a word, Hoshi interrupted. “And don’t act surprised. Who quietly arranged a sub-space call way back in our first year so Fuller could contact his daughter for her birthday? Who gave up their personal time to coach Janelle’s sister through her security assessment for her promotion test? Who called in a favour with Hydroponics and sent anonymous flowers to Jane Taylor and Valentina Naiman after they were dumped by their respective others back on Earth? And all the other little things you’ve done? You wouldn’t have done any of that if you weren’t invested in us.”
Malcolm was surprised—and mildly horrified—that she knew so much about his clandestine work at making the crew’s lives just that little better. “You knew?”
Now Hoshi looked smug. “I’m not the communications officer for nothing.”
“Who else knows?”
“Two of those had to be routed through me, but apart from the people for whom you’ve done things - or rather, those who were supposed to know? Just me. The favours you called in, well, they weren’t exactly spread around. Although I suspect the captain has an idea.”
“Oh.” He considered that, a little uneasily as he considered what had happened not too long ago. “Well, as long as no one thinks I’m boasting about doing things.”
“You’re not talking about them, so why would anyone? If someone else happened to find out things and share them, that would hardly be on you.”
“I would hope no one would spread around the details, to be honest. I’d rather remain in the background; better that way.”
“Why?” Hoshi shifted so she could see his face better.
“I just prefer to not be in the limelight. No one needs to know what I’m doing. Besides, I don’t want anyone to shout ‘favouritism’.”
“But what if someone else gets the credit for what you’ve done?”
Malcolm shrugged. “That’s okay. I’m not doing any of it for the credit. In fact, I wasn’t expecting anyone to know. You won’t tell, will you?” He looked at her seriously, and Hoshi felt her determination weakening. She wanted the crew to know what he did for them, but obviously he felt very different.
“Well … I promise I won’t simply blab and tell everyone.” He nodded, looking relieved. “But Malcolm—if I hear someone being given credit or worse, taking credit for something I know you’ve done, I can’t promise that I won’t set the record straight. It’s only fair.”
Malcolm sighed, and lifted her hand to his lips, kissing the tips of her fingers. “I suppose I can’t argue with that, given that fairness is so important to both of us. But just don’t seek out opportunities to tell, will you?”
“Alright, I won’t.” Hoshi winked, and he chuckled, a fond look coming over his face.
“That wink. You know, as much as you look out for me on the bridge, if I haven’t seen much of you during the day, I look out for you and see if you’ll send me that wink. Then I know you’ve said hello and all’s well.”
“It is well, if I’ve seen you.”
“Well, and why do you think I go through my whole routine at my console at the start of shift?”
“To check your settings in case Gamma shift changed anything.”
“That’s very true. But it also gives me a chance to wait for you to look up and nod at me. Then I can settle in.” Hoshi looked at him in surprise, a soft smile spreading across her face.
“Really?”
He nodded. “Really.” She’d fairly beamed at that, leaning up to plant a kiss on his lips before resuming her chest examination.
Not long after that he’d felt it was only fair for him to conduct an extremely thorough chest examination of his own. No wonder her hair had dried awry. Malcolm smiled at the thought, dropping a kiss on Hoshi’s forehead and feeling her shift, sighing, her muscles tightening as she slowly came to full wakefulness.
Her eyes opened and looked directly into his; he watched her expression brighten at the sight of him. His heart clenched. Not only had he never expected to find a family like the one he had here on Enterprise, but he’d never expected to find someone so pleased to wake up beside him. Not even his partners in his previous relationships had shown such unalloyed joy at sight of him.
“Hey,” she said softly, her hand coming up to cup his jaw, thumb stroking his cheek.
“Hey back.”
She leaned forward to kiss him gently and bump her nose into his, smiling. Then, realising that he was on the very edge of the bed, she tugged at his shoulder and rolled onto her back, pulling him over her. Leaning on his elbows, Malcolm took in the sight of a sleep-flushed Hoshi Sato in his bed, her dark hair spread across his pillow, creamy-gold skin soft against his, her own gaze drinking in his features as she bit her lip adorably.
For her part, Hoshi looked up at that much-beloved face, all angles and sharpness, those silver-sage eyes intent on hers, and watched his expression go from welcoming to wondering. One thumb trailed over his brow, gently smoothing out the little frown she saw gathering there.
“Is something bothering you, Malcolm?” Her voice was gentle, encouraging. Malcolm swallowed again.
“I just—I know we talked earlier, but—I never expected this. Why me? Why now?”
She heard the uncertainty in his voice as sudden vulnerability wracked him, and reached up with both hands to draw his head down to hers so she could kiss each corner of his mouth and along the line of his lips, murmuring reassurance in a low voice until she felt his muscles relax. Then she pushed with one hip until he took the hint and turned, drawing her with him, so that they ended up on their sides.
She hadn’t released his face, and now stroked his jaw with her thumbs, gazing into his eyes.
“Why not you? You’re my best friend, Malcolm, and I don’t mean the way you and Trip are to each other. Our friends are our friends, and they’re essential to us, but you … well, you understand me like no one else does, and I like to think I understand you, too. Especially given the similarities in our upbringing.”
She rubbed her nose against his in the gesture he was quickly coming to adore, and held him close as she murmured against his ear.
“Why now? Because it’s been two years, and we mesh, Malcolm.” She drew back enough to see his eyes and regarded him seriously, dark eyes earnest. “You’re the most important person in my life. As much as you never had a best friend before Trip, neither did I—at least until you and Travis. And my friendship with him is entirely different, we're a fantastic triumvirate, but as friends only. With you and I ... I couldn’t take the chance that something might happen and you’d never know that my feelings for you had moved beyond friendship.”
The corner of his mouth quirked into that crooked smile she cherished. “Even though I’m a neurotic mess?”
At that, she grinned and bumped noses again. “You’re my neurotic mess, and don’t you forget it. And—” she leaned forward and kissed his eyelids so they both slid shut, then his cheeks, his nose, and finally laid a chaste peck on his lips “—if you need daily reminders, I’m more than happy to oblige.”
“I do feel like I’m forgetting something…” The crooked smile was accompanied by a wink, and Hoshi couldn’t help chuckling into Malcolm’s mouth as she laid another kiss on him, making him grin in return and tug her closer with his hand wide over her lower spine. He wasn’t quite sure why this somewhat inept kiss, with them laughing and teeth bumping awkwardly, was one of the best experiences of his life, but he wasn’t about to question the way the sound of Hoshi’s laughter made him feel lighter and less burdened.
The next moment their stomachs rumbled in chorus, and they both collapsed in giggles until their eyes streamed and they were gasping for breath.
“Lunch?” Hoshi said eventually, wiping at her wet eyes.
“Definitely.” Malcolm rubbed his eyes with the heels of both hands. “As I recall, the birthday boy gets the first slice of pineapple cake. Chef promised. And,” he kissed the tip of her nose, “I bet the birthday boy can show a little favouritism and make sure his best girl gets the second slice.”
Hoshi grinned. “You’re on.”
Since she had no intention of traversing the ship in her belly-dancing outfit, she had to make do. Dressed in Malcolm's smallest clothing, another blue shirt hanging loosely on her frame - his shoulders were far broader than hers - Hoshi walked into the mess hall with her fingers firmly entwined with his. From the corner, Travis and Trip gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up, but refrained from drawing attention to the notoriously private security chief. Janelle and Esk were about to cheer, but saw Hoshi's frown, and contented themselves with particularly smug grins.
The linguist looked at her paramour and winked. "I hear pineapple cake calling your name."
Malcolm grinned. "Lead on, bintang. I'll follow my lodestar wherever you lead me."