The BLTS Archive- Morning Ablutions First in Scenes from A Marriage by Julie Evans (Juli17@aol.com) --- Disclaimer: Star Trek and its characters are the property of Paramount/Viacom. I am borrowing them for fun only, not profit. Archiving: Okay to archive to the ASC, PT Collective website, and the BLTS. All others please ask author for permission. Notes: I decided to write some vignettes dealing with Tom and B'Elanna's adjustments to their wedded state, and include them under one series title, "Scenes From a Marriage." This is the first vignette. I can't say when another idea will strike me, but there will probably be more to follow ;-) Acknowledgement and thanks to Robert Duncan McNeill, whose musical performance at the Galaxy Ball inspired me to change my tune-- literally (at least one of them ;-). song acknowledgements: "That's the Way I Like It" written by H.W. Casey & R. Finch, copyright 1975 by Sherlyn Publishing Co. "Oh, Pretty Woman" written by Roy Orbison & William Dees, copyright 1964 by CBS Records. --- B'Elanna groaned and rolled over. Something was disturbing her sleep, and she didn't appreciate it. It was a very persistent noise, a distant blast of strident harmonics punctuating by a warbling sound that her fuzzy mind was slow to recognize as music and vocal accompaniment. She groaned again and put her pillow over her head, but she could still hear it. And she could just make out words. "--and tell me I'm your lovin' man." She recognized that voice. "Will you give me all your love, and do it, babe, the best you can." Tom was singing. She sat up and focused her bleary eyes. The covers on Tom's side of the bed had been pushed aside into a rumpled heap, and his pillow still bore the imprint where his head had rested last night. "Oh, that's the way, uh huh, uh huh, I like it, uh huh, uh huh." B'Elanna looked at the chronometer on her bedside table. Six twenty- two hours. Great. She rubbed her arms. Besides being rudely awakened so early, the bed was felt cold without Tom's body warmth. "That's the way, uh huh, uh huh, I like it, uh huh, uh huh." B'Elanna sighed and pushed the covers down. There wasn't much point in trying to sleep now. She got up and stalked across the bedroom, prepared to give Tom a piece of her mind. The bathroom door was closed--Tom's effort not to wake her she supposed. It slid open at her approach, and the music blared out loudly. She stepped across the threshold--and then stopped and stared at her husband. He'd started to dress, but hadn't gotten any further than his jockeys and his regulation t-shirt--and his socks. His hair was still spiky from the sonic shower. He was obviously in the middle of brushing his teeth, since he was holding his toothbrush, though his grip was odd. He was holding it like one might hold a microphone. Before she could speak the tempo changed, and he started to sing again. "When I get to be in your arms, when we're all, all alone... when you whisper sweet in my ear, when you turn, turn me on." B'Elanna watched in fascination as Tom belted out the words into the toothbrush, gyrating his hips and moving his body to the beat all the while. Well, she already knew he could dance. And that he had a strong clear tenor. But this early-- "Oh, that's the way, uh huh, uh huh, I like it, uh huh, uh huh." He never took his eyes off the mirror as he sang, as if there was an audience beyond the glass watching him, an audience he was playing to- - "That's the way, uh huh, uh huh, I like it, uh huh, uh huh." He shimmied forward, doing a quick spin and then thrusting his pelvis out-- And at that moment he saw her. He stopped singing, but he kept moving forward as his socks slid on the tile--and slammed right into the sink. "Ouch!" Tom's hand went immediately to the point of impact. Luckily he'd hit the sink just high enough that he hadn't damaged any of his...equipment. B'Elanna managed to suppress her smile. She also ignored the fact that she'd been rather enjoying Tom's performance, and that he'd looked pretty appealing in action. He'd woken her from a sound sleep, after all. She frowned deliberately. "What are you doing?" Tom waved his toothbrush with one hand, while rubbing the sore spot on his lower abdomen with the other. "I was just doing my morning ablutions." B'Elanna looked curiously at his toothbrush. "That was an interesting way to brush your teeth." "Sometimes I like to listen to music while I'm getting ready," Tom said, still looking a little pained. "Listen?" B'Elanna asked dryly, lowering her voice a little since the music was starting to fade out. Tom shrugged. "Sing too." He gave her a nonchalant look. "And throw in a few moves." B'Elanna smirked. "That was a nice move right into the sink." Tom smirked back. "Thanks. It's not part of my usual repertoire, but I'm glad you liked it." B'Elanna moved next to him and picked up her toothbrush. "So, is this a regular habit of yours, Tom?" "When I have an early shift, it helps me wake up," Tom replied as he pressed the toothpaste dispenser for her. "It helped me wake up too," B'Elanna told him pointedly. "But my shift doesn't start until 1000 today, since I have a late meeting with the beta crew." "Right," Tom said. He gave her an apologetic look. "I guess it was a little loud." "Uhh huhh," B'Elanna murmured through the toothbrush in her mouth. She brushed vigorously, then spit into the sink. "I know that you like to sing in the shower..." she gave him a meaningful look. "But I didn't know that you perform in front of the bathroom mirror first thing in the morning." "You didn't?" Tom asked, his brow furrowing. "I guess that's because when we were together in my quarters, you were usually done in the bathroom and out before me in the mornings." That was true. Though she'd spent dozens of nights in his quarters, she did tend to have the earlier shifts, and she'd usually vacated his quarters quickly to get something or other she needed in her own quarters. Even when he'd spent the night in her quarters, she'd often been the first one out. She reached for her washcloth, which was on the opposite side of the sink. Tom didn't move very far to accommodate her, and she had to squeeze between him and edge of the sink. Though it wasn't exactly a painful position, she raised her eyebrows at him. He immediately took advantage and kissed her. "I'm sorry I woke you," he murmured against her lips, the taste of toothpaste mingling between them. "S'okay," she murmured back. She smiled. "I just had no idea you had aspirations to be a--what was it called...ah, yes, a rock star, as well as an ace pilot and a back up doctor." "I only have rock star aspirations in the privacy of our bathroom," Tom told her. Then he grinned. "You know me, I'm just not an exhibitionist by nature." B'Elanna rolled her eyes at that assertion. "Oh, not at all." She twisted around to turn on the cold water. "Well, I guess this is just one of those little things you find out about your mate *after* you're married," she said as she wet the washcloth and pressed it against her face. "Anything other surprises you plan to spring on me?" "I'm sure I'll think of one or two things..." Tom drawled. B'Elanna looked at him and raised her eyebrows at his provocative smile. "Just be careful what you surprise me with before I've had my morning raktajino," she warned him. She dropped the washcloth in the sink and picked up the hand towel. "I'm not always this cheerful in the morning, you know." Tom grinned, unperturbed by her purposeful scowl. "But you are beautiful in the morning," he said, dropping a light kiss on her shoulder. She snorted dubiously, and started to dry her face. "Which reminds me of a particular piece of music..." Tom mused. "Computer, play selection four twelve, and lower the volume by twenty percent." Music with a strong pulsing beat blared out, albeit at a reduced sound level, and B'Elanna looked at Tom over the towel she was still patting against her face. There was a mischievous gleam in his eyes, and he winked at her. She shook her head and moved for the door before he started singing again. "I'm going to go get that raktajino--" "Pretty woman, walking down the street, pretty woman, the kind I'd like to meet..." B'Elanna turned at Tom's crooned words and found his gaze locked on her. He appraised her deliberately and appreciatively with his eyes, and she gave him a warning glare. "Tom--" He started singing again, undeterred. "Pretty woman, I don't believe you, you're not the truth, no one could look as good as you." He slapped his hand over his heart and his eyes widened. "Mercyyy..." B'Elanna rolled her eyes, and then threw her towel at him for good measure as she stepped through the door. He caught it easily before it hit him in the face, grinning unabashedly. She strode out shaking her head, but she also couldn't help the small smile that played around her lips as his words followed her even after the door closed. "Pretty woman, won't you pardon me...pretty woman, I couldn't help but see...pretty woman, you look as lovely as can be..." --- Ten minutes later B'Elanna was comfortably settled on the couch, with her morning cup of raktajino steaming on the coffee table in front of her, and a datapadd displaying the previous evening's engineering logs and status reports in her hand. There had been silence from the bathroom for the past several minutes. She snuggled a little deeper into Tom's blue robe that she'd pulled on to ward off the slight chill of the room. Actually, it was *her* blue robe now. When Tom and she had moved into their shared quarters they'd agreed to make several compromises in their individual living habits. The pressure level on the sonic shower had been reset a little lower than she usually preferred, since Tom's fair skin was more easily abraded than hers was. They'd also agreed to readjust the thermostat to a temperature in-between their individual preferences, a bit higher than he was accustomed to, but a couple of degrees lower than her usual comfort level. She'd exacted a price for that compromise though--Tom's blue flannel robe. He'd offered to replicate her another one exactly like it, but she'd insisted on *this* one. It was soft and comfortably worn in, and it smelled good. She was scanning one of the warp core status reports when she heard Tom come out of the bedroom, and she glanced up as he approached her. His hair was neatly combed, and he was in full uniform now, with every crease perfectly in place. He looked spit and polished, ready to pass the captain's discriminating perusal on the bridge. He stopped beside her, and then picked up her cup of raktajino and took a quick sip. "I can replicate you one of your own," B'Elanna told him dryly. "No time," Tom said as he set the cup back down. "I'll get a cup of coffee on the bridge." He leaned over and rested his hand lightly on her shoulder, and pecked her quickly on the lips. "Gotta go," he murmured. But he didn't rise immediately. Instead he let his hand slip inside the robe and he cupped her breast lightly as he kissed her again, a soft grazing of his lips and tongue over hers. When he would have straightened she closed her hand over his, pressing his hand tighter against her breast, feeling the warmth of his palm through the thin satin of her indigo nightgown. "Maybe you can be just a little late," she suggested, her voice husky. "That's very tempting," Tom murmured against her mouth. "But I don't think the captain would approve of my excuse." Not likely. "I guess you'd better get going then," she said regretfully. "Yeah," he agreed, as he pulled his hand reluctantly away and stood. "Dinner tonight?" "It'll be about twenty thirty hours," she reminded him. "Okay," he said agreeably. "Twenty thirty hours. Then we can celebrate making it through our first week." B'Elanna's lips quirked at his droll tone. "It seemed so much longer," she said, teasing him back. "Endless," Tom drawled in mock agreement. Then he smiled. "See you later." B'Elanna reached for her raktajino as Tom took several steps toward the door. Then he stopped abruptly and turned around so quickly that he startled her. A moment later he was bending over her again, brushing his lips across her cheek. "By the way, I like being married," he whispered softly into her ear. He was up again and at the door before she could do anything more than stare nonplused after him. He threw her one last smile as he slipped out of their quarters. B'Elanna stared at the closed door thoughtfully. A week. They'd been married a week now. And it had hardly seemed endless. It had seemed to go by in a matter of seconds. Of course, their first two days as husband and wife had been spent on the Delta Flyer. She wondered briefly how she would feel the next time she went on an away mission, knowing that virtually everywhere she looked she'd remember how they had made use of almost every surface--decks, chairs, even consoles... No one else but Tom and she would ever know it, but they'd barely left a centimeter of the Flyer untouched by their lovemaking. It wasn't like they'd had a lot of other things to do drifting in space for two days. Or had wanted to do anything else... B'Elanna shifted a little, warmed by that memory in more ways than one. Then she set down her datapadd and picked up her cup of raktajino. She glanced around the room as she sipped it and she felt an odd sensation in her stomach seeing her things and Tom's things intermingled--seeing the evidence of their lives so fully merged now. It still felt strange, though it wasn't an unpleasant sensation at all. She hadn't been sure she would feel any different being married. After all, she and Tom had practically lived together at times, drifting in and out of each other's quarters at will, making themselves at home, and even keeping some of their individual things in each other's closets and drawers. But Tom's quarters had still been his, and her quarters had been hers. There had been a definite and meaningful separation between the two. Being married did feel different. What she saw around her was no longer hers, or his, but "theirs." When they'd moved their things into one shared space five days ago, she'd had a brief sense of apprehension about it. She'd wondered if she'd feel too confined, if she'd miss her privacy, and the refuge of her own quarters. That available retreat was something Tom and she had both clung to and had taken advantage of at times throughout their relationship. It had been a trade off, giving up her own sometimes rigidly protected space in exchange for having someone else here--for having Tom here-- through all the ups and downs, for both the good and the bad. But she didn't regret it. Tom and she belonged to each other now in a way they hadn't before--in a way they hadn't let themselves belong before-- because they'd both held back entrusting that last bit of their hearts to each other. They might both have nowhere to hide anymore, but they had the promise now of each other's unconditional support in return. B'Elanna knew from bitter experience that it really wasn't that simple, and that there were no absolute guarantees, but that wasn't something she'd let herself think about right now. She'd only been married a week, after all. She picked up her datapadd, and as she sipped her raktajino she focused on the one thing she was discovering about marriage so far. Make that two things. Tom liked being married. And she liked it too. --- The End