The mess hall was decorated in Red, Pink and white, and most of the off-duty crew were there. The Valentine's Day party was a big success, and the crew were letting their hair down after a tough couple of months. Someone had spiked the punch, and as a result, the crew were more relaxed than usual. It also meant that many were behaving like teenagers. Of course the three biggest 'teenagers' of the lot were Commander 'Trip' Tucker, Ensign Hoshi Sato, and Ensign Travis Mayweather. They were currently standing in the corner giggling like naughty schoolkids. None of them were actually drunk, but the alcohol they had already consumed caused their guards to lower. Their current task was trying to pair off all the people in the room. Some of their suggestions were silly... hence the giggling, but others were more serious.

When the trio's glance fell on Lieutenant Malcolm Reed, Trip sighed loudly, which caught the attention of Hoshi and Travis.
"Is there something you haven't told us Trip?" Hoshi asked curiously.
"What? Can't a guy sigh for no reason?" Trip countered.
"No... come on... 'fess up. Do you have a jones for the Lieutenant?" Travis asked.
"Well he is damned cute... and that accent should be classed as a deadly weapon... makes me melt every time."
"Woo-hoo Trip is in lurve," Hoshi sing-songed.
"But it's hopeless... He's straight," Trip complained.
"I don't think so... He is partial to the occasional male, or so I've heard," Travis whispered conspiratorially.
"Where did you hear that?" Trip was shocked.
"Just around..."
"You're in with a chance then Trip." Hoshi nudged him.
"I don't think so... Even if he does like men, he obviously doesn't like me as anything other than a friend," Trip Protested.
"How do you know that? You know Malcolm never lets anything slip when it comes to feelings," Travis pointed out.
"Yeah... you never know unless you try," Hoshi encouraged.
"No... I can't," Trip protested more.
"There's no such word as can't... you can do anything you want to do," Travis chimed in.
"Oh gawd you sound like my mother!" Trip interjected. Hoshi and Travis just giggled again.
"I dare you to go over and kiss Malcolm," Hoshi said forcefully.
"That's not fair... He'll kill me... I mean he is trained to kill with his bare hands," Trip whinged.
"Chicken Commander?" Travis asked.
"Bloody hell yes... This is Malcolm we're talkin' about..."
"Well, I still dare you... You have to go over to Malcolm and kiss him or else we will announce to the whole ship that you are a chicken," Hoshi stubbornly stated.
Trip looked back and forth between Travis and Hoshi and could see that both of them were going to hold to their promise. He felt himself give in and could see the triumph on their faces as they knew they had won.
"Okay... but I still don't think he will appreciate this." Trip squared his shoulders and started off to meet his fate.
"It was nice knowing you," Travis said as Trip walked off.

Trip was scared as he approached Malcolm, so he picked up another drink for Dutch courage. He quickly sculled the drink and walked over to the Armoury officer before he could change his mind.

Malcolm watched as Trip walked over towards him. He had been watching the group in the corner for a while now and knew that they were up to something. He didn't know what, but there had been a lot of giggling going on. Now Trip was heading in his direction with a determined look on his face and he felt as though he should move away. The Commander had obviously been put up to something by the others, and it was obvious that it involved him. //Wonder what he is going to try and get me involved in this time? I should learn to have more willpower when it comes to him... Can't help it though... He is gorgeous, and I have always been a sucker for gorgeous blondes!//

Trip was now standing in front of Malcolm, and the Armoury Officer could now see the fear in the Chief Engineer's eyes.
//What the hell? Why is Trip scared of me?//
"Uhh... Malcolm... Please don't hurt me for this, but this is something I have wanted to do for a long time..."
"Wha..." Malcolm started to say but was quickly cut off when Trip suddenly pulled him in for a kiss. At first he was stunned and just stood there as Trip kissed him, but then his hormones kicked in and he started kissing back. Trip groaned, and Malcolm took the opportunity to slide his tongue into the mouth attached to his. The first touch of tongue against tongue caused both men to moan and the last vestiges of conscious thought disappeared. Both men pulled the other in closer so that they were now plastered together. The kiss was deep, and seemed to go on forever. Both men had forgotten that anyone else existed... which meant that the sudden shock of cold water brought them back to the present rather unpleasantly. They reluctantly pulled away from each other to look into the grinning faces of Hoshi, Travis, and Captain Archer... The latter of whom was holding a bucket that had previously held said cold water!

"What d'ya go an do that for Cap'n?" Trip demanded while making sure that he did not lose his grip on Malcolm. He knew that the other man would be embarrassed and would want to slip away, but he was not letting him go now. They had a lot to discuss, and hopefully many more kisses to share!
"You seemed to have forgotten that the rest of us were here and I was just making sure that I didn't have to arrest you both for lewd behaviour... That and the fact that you both seemed to be a little overheated and needed cooling down." The Captain answered with a straight face. Trip could see Malcolm blush beside him and he threw a look at the Captain that promised retribution at a later date.
"C'mon Malcolm. I wanna get out of these wet clothes, and I think we have a lot to discuss." He glared at the other three when they giggled at his words, but didn't say anything. He pulled Malcolm out of the mess hall, and tried to ignore the comments that were being thrown their way as they passed various crewmembers.

Once they reached the safety of Trip's quarters, Trip finally faced Malcolm.
"Mal... You're not mad at me are you?" Trip questioned hesitantly.
"No I'm not mad at you... Embarrassed as all hell, but not mad." Malcolm coloured again as he thought back to the display they had put on in the mess hall.
"Gawd I love it when you go all red... Just wanna kiss ya so bad."
"Well why don't you then..." That was all the invitation that Trip needed.

Trip and Malcolm arrived in the mess hall for breakfast wearing identical goofy grins and holding hands. Everyone stopped to stare as they made their way over to the food, and pretended not to watch as the two men proceeded to feed each other breakfast. They had seen Commander Trip Tucker all silly before, but no one could believe that this was the same Lt Malcolm Reed. The armoury officer did not make goo-goo eyes with anyone... Especially in a public place. They all just hoped that the two men would get over this stage fairly quickly, as it was rather sickeningly sweet.
From their own position in the corner, Hoshi and Travis congratulated each other on their matchmaking skills... Maybe this would be the start of a whole new hobby!