Gigi Sinclair

Jon visited, and Trip waited for him. It was the way they'd always done things, ever since they'd launched, even though Jon's quarters were bigger. Not to mention his bed. At first, Trip had wondered if Jon had issues about doing it in front of the dog, but then he remembered all the times Porthos had wandered in on them back home. On one memorable occasion, he'd even tried to participate, and Trip had learned there was a reason why cold-dog's-nose-on-horny-bare-ass hadn't been included in the Karma Sutra.

Whatever Jon's reasons, tonight, Trip waited longer than usual. Just as he was starting to wonder if he should break with tradition and go to Jon's cabin, the door opened.

Jon didn't say anything. Instead, he came over to the bed and put his arms around Trip. Trip hugged back, holding Jon tightly. After a minute or so, he felt Jon's arms loosen, and Trip kissed him on the cheek before letting go.

"You OK?"

"I will be." Jon smiled sadly. "How about you?"

Trip shrugged. Despite what Starfleet Command thought, he was capable of discretion. Sometimes. "A.G. was a good man." Trip was pleased with that. Nice, safe, neutral. Discreet.

Jon wasn't fooled for a minute. "Come on, Trip. I know you weren't exactly the best of friends."

"Because he was always a prick to me." Trip admitted, before he remembered he was being discreet. Well, he sighed, too late now. And it wasn't like it was anything Jon didn't already know. "I was jealous of him, and he knew it."

"Oh, Trip." Jon was suddenly serious. For a second, Trip worried that he'd said the wrong thing after all. The worry subsided a bit when Jon brought up a hand to stroke Trip's cheek with his thumb. "A.G. had me for two months. You've had me for ten years, and with any luck, you'll have me for thirty or forty more. I love you. You're the only person I've ever loved, and it started back when you first showed up and gave the Vulcans hell. So there's no reason to be jealous of my dead ex, OK?" The smile came back as Jon nudged Trip's thigh with his knee. "Besides, you should be grateful to him. He was the one who convinced me I could balance work and pleasure. And you're very, very good at both."

Jon wasn't into mushy stuff. Well-rounded or not, you didn't get to be captain of the 'Enterprise' by leaving love notes in people's gym lockers and presenting them with dozens of long-stemmed roses in Club 602. Trip understood that. But the general lack of mush made occasional speeches like these even harder to deal with.

Swallowing hard, Trip looked away and did what he always did when he didn't know what to do. He made a joke.

"I didn't mean that, I meant you were always takin' him places you wouldn't take me. That first flight. The showdown with Forrest. Hell, the two of you even went tomcatting 'round Vegas that time and left me at home washin' the coffee mugs and baby-sittin' the commodores. And now you're doin' the same thing with T'Pol…"

Jon cut him off with a kiss, the only way Trip didn't mind being interrupted. And he was too dazed to object when Jon continued the interruption verbally. "Weren't you listening? You are," another, quick kiss for emphasis, "Important. I want to keep you safe."

Trip recovered the power of speech. "Safe from hookers and nickel slots?"

Jon laughed for the first time since Forrest had broken the news, and it was the most wonderful thing Trip had heard for a very long while. "Next time, Trip. I promise."

"Yeah, well." Trip crossed his arms over his chest, to cover the fact he was sighing with relief. "I sure hope so." He looked at Jon, trying to read the signals. Trip knew how tough it could be when you heard a good friend and ex-lover had kicked the bucket. He didn't know if Jon would be in the mood for anything more than cuddling and reminiscing and, really, that was fine with him. Jon had just given him enough mush to keep him emotionally satisfied for a few weeks, at least. And physically…well, Trip decided, that was why the good lord had blessed him with opposable thumbs.

But he didn't have to resort to that, thank God. Although, Trip reminded himself, he would have been glad to if it had been what Jon wanted. Which it clearly wasn't (thank God) because Jon kissed him again, this time with purpose. A purpose Trip was happy to throw his support behind.

Or underneath, as the case may be. He ran his hands under Jon's T-shirt and Jon got to work on Trip's buttons, repeating: "I promise. I'm really looking forward to seeing the Tucker-Archer nebula."

"That's nothin'. A.G. got a nebula." Trip smiled against Jon's shoulder as his lover gave up on the buttons and decided to rip the shirt off instead. Which was fine. It wasn't one of Trip's favourites, anyway. "I was hopin' for a Minshara class planet, at least."

Jon stopped undressing him just long enough to plant another kiss on his lips and murmur: "Trip, you can have the whole damn universe."