The BLTS Archive - Relaxation
second in the The Four Rs series
by ShoSen (shosen@totallykawaii.com)

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"Go ahead, get some rest," Malcolm said as he took the report out of
Trip's hands, "before you take someone's head off."

The engineer seemed to slump, then stood shakily. "Thank you," he
murmured as he patted Malcolm's shoulder on the way by.

"Sweet dreams," he responded, but the blonde was already walking
somewhat unsteadily down the Catwalk towards the Armoury officer's
sleeping area. Shaking his head, Malcolm took the PADD and made his
own way to the engineer's temporary quarters. He put the report down
on a stack of them that were beside the bed and then began to smooth
out the blankets. The aliens were indeed making noise, low chanting
that wasn't quite low enough, but it didn't bother him too much.
Stretching out in the small space, he pulled the blankets around him,
closed his eyes, and was soon asleep.

It was a slight buffeting that caused him to stir later, the ship
being rocked just noticeably by a current Travis had been unable to
avoid completely. His mind felt fuzzy, fogged, which was odd as he
generally woke immediately after something jarred him from his sleep.
Although, turbulence or not, he really didn't feel jarred. Instead, he
felt warm and peaceful, still wrapped in a pleasant sleep-haze and...
something else.

He shifted slightly, breathing deeply as he tried to shake the fog and
figure out what that something was. His eyes refused to open more than
half-way and he looked into the darkness around him seeing odd shapes
and shadows and...

Where was he? This wasn't his bed, it didn't feel right. No, it felt
right, it just didn't feel like his bed. He rolled again, confused,
and the blankets tangled around his legs, he shadows shifting, his
disorientation growing, and his eyes still wouldn't open properly.
There was a shape beside him, shadowed in the darkness and he stopped
twisting for a moment, trying to identify it.

Trip, his sleep-muddled mind informed him, and he remembered, he was
in the engineer's bed, wrapped in his blankets, but... he was supposed
to be alone in them. Only he was glad that he wasn't, and even though
he tried to get his confused mind to care that he was in bed with the
chief engineer, it refused to co-operate, continuing instead to feel
calm, pleased, relaxed, aroused.

Aroused? Now really, that was too much. He reached out, meaning to
wake the engineer, demand an explanation for his comforting presence,
and his hand moved closer to the muscular shoulder and---

He woke completely as the stack of data PADDs scattered across the
floor in a loud clattering cascade. After a frozen moment he realised
that no one was going to complain and sank back into the pillows,
staring at the mess.

He'd been dreaming, and Trip had been here, and... he groaned, turning
to bury his face in the pillow. It smelt like Trip, and it wasn't
helping at all. He shifted uncomfortably, his arm slipping under the
pillow, holding it closer. The calm feeling from the dream began to
return and he snuggled into the pillow before realising what he was
doing and forcing himself to stop. When he found himself repeating the
action only moments later, he gave up the attempt and cuddled the
pillow until the peaceful feeling returned to lead him back into
sleep.

---

continued in the third story in the Four Rs series 'Recuperation'