PART 1

Furtive movement in his quarters awakened Jonathan Archer, despite his body's satiated state. Normally the Starfleet captain would have been alarmed at the stealthy rustling, but his subconscious had already labeled the perpetrator as a friend. As a result, the still-groggy man simply lifted his head instead of launching a defensive attack.

"Malcolm?" He called softly. The familiar whistle sound of Trip's snore assured him of Tucker's continued presence in his bed. That meant that his other lover, Lieutenant Reed, had to be the restless one.

The noise immediately stopped and in the silence, John could hear—barely—the other man's sigh.

"I'm sorry, John, I didn't mean to wake you," Reed whispered as he approached the bed.

The room was dark enough that Archer couldn't see Malcolm until he was right next to him. At that point, the sleepy captain recognized the nature of the sounds that had awakened him. Malcolm had been getting dressed.

"You're not staying?" Archer asked. He was careful to keep his voice soft in consideration of the third man snuggled next to him.

There was a hesitation, then his question was answered. "No, I thought it best if I go."

Archer cursed the lack of light, the darkness made it impossible to read the younger man's expression. "Are you sure?"

This time the answer was even more tentative. "Yes, I'm afraid so. I have some tasks I left unfinished in the armory…" Malcolm's voice trailed off as he remembered who he was speaking to, not just his lover, but his captain.

"Okay," Jonathan didn't call Reed on his fabricated excuse. He was worried that, in their enthusiasm, he and Trip might have pushed the younger man into something he wasn't ready for. "Just remember, we're here. All right? This wasn't a one night thing, I think I can speak for Trip on that."

Malcolm had opened the door by the time Archer finished speaking and his body was silhouetted by the light coming from the corridor. The captain could see him hesitate, then nod once curtly before turning and leaving. John's sigh of disappointment was lost in the whooshing sound of the door's closing.

"Well, damn, that could have gone better."

Archer turned, not at all surprised at Tucker's comment. He'd heard the change in the other man's breathing and realized that Trip hadn't slept through the entire conversation. "How much of that did you catch?"

"Most of it," Trip admitted, propping himself up on one arm and yawning mightily. "That man has entirely too much experience in sneakin' out of bedrooms."

Jonathan flopped back onto the bed. "Makes you wonder, doesn't it? What kind of relationships he's had before."

Tucker laid his hand flat on the older man's furry chest. "Mal's a big boy, John. You can't take care of everybody, not all the time."

Archer captured the engineer's hand, using his grip to pull the non-resistant man closer until Tucker was half-laying across him. "I know, I know, you're right," he admitted, absently kissing the top of Trip's head, " but still…It's almost like he's built this wall of ice around himself, to keep people from getting too close."

Trip snuggled in to his lover's warm body. On again/off again lovers for years, this was the first they'd gotten together since coming aboard the Enterprise and he'd missed the intimacy. "No problem. Me and you, we'll just get ol' Malcolm to thaw out. The way he caught fire tonight, shouldn't be too hard."

Jonathan smiled at the younger man's sleepy enthusiasm but was still doubtful. "We'll have to be careful, though. If you try to thaw meat out too fast, it spoils."

Trip grinned, leveraging himself up until his chin was propped on Archer's shoulder. "Cap'n, I'm shocked. Did I just hear you compare our lover to a slab of meat?"

John kissed the tip of Tucker's upturned nose. "You know what I mean."

"Yeah, I s'ppose I do at that," The engineer admitted. "But whatever Malcolm's problem is, we're not gonna solve it tonight. Best get some sleep."

"Yes, sir," Archer responded flippantly, acknowledging the younger man's practicality as well as his bossiness. After all, the captain conceded to himself, Malcolm Reed's wall of ice hadn't been built in a day. As much as he'd like to break through it one fell swoop, it was more likely to require some chipping away…and that meant time.

Wrapping himself firmly around Trip, Jonathan settled down for the reset of the night. Something told him he was going to need his rest.

***

Malcolm didn't know if it was a blessing or a curse to find the Enterprise's small workout area empty. Given that he was essentially the head of the ship's security detail, his practice drills tended to attract more scrutiny than most and having an audience was not something that he relished. On the other hand, having another crew member present would have been helpful if the two men he was trying to avoid happened by the gymnasium. It was funny, the Enterprise seemed so large most of the time, the shining jewel in Earth's fledgling fleet of starships. Until, that was, you tried to circumvent someone and then it seemed very tiny indeed.

The lieutenant set his gear down with a mental groan and resolutely began his preparatory set of stretches. Too many people had seen him make his way here—for him to leave so soon would seem odd at best. For better or worse, he was committed to his chosen course and he would just hope that he managed to get through his routine undisturbed.

He had barely started, however, when his luck ran out. The door opened and Trip Tucker walked in. The commander was also dressed for workout, the loose sweatpants not showing his athletic figure off to its full advantage. Reed remembered the feel of Tucker's powerful body pressed up close to his and blushed furiously when Trip nodded at him in greeting, embarrassed at having been caught staring.

Malcolm flinched at the other man's silent welcome but held his ground. He wasn't proud of walking out on his lovers earlier in the week but had felt it was necessary—for all three of them. Since then, he'd done his best to avoid Archer and Tucker, taking advantage of their integrity and unwillingness to pull rank and force the issue. He spent as little time in public areas when off duty as he could get away with, bolting his meals in the mess or skipping them altogether. He'd almost given in a time or two when he saw the hurt in Jonathan's eyes but solved that particular temptation by avoiding the captain's gaze whenever possible. Trip had been more direct, but Reed found that surrounding himself with other members of the crew forestalled the engineer's attempts to corner him for conversation.

Despite the success of his avoidance tactics, however, Malcolm couldn't deny his own body's needs. The tension was getting to him and even as he banished the memories of his liaison with Archer and Tucker to the further corners of his mind, they reasserted themselves at odd moments. In his dreams…watching Jonathan stalk across the bridge…eyeing Tucker's upturned bottom as the engineer bent to fix some equipment malfunction. It was these wanton thoughts that had driven the armory officer out of his quarters in order to seek the physical release of exercise. Now, he was tormented further, the mirrored walls of the gym showing how Tucker's stretches pulled the soft knit fabric of his pants taut over the firm globes of his buttocks.

Trip seemed oblivious to the emotional turmoil going on with the armory officer. He completed his limbering moves and then very casually asked, "Need a sparring partner?"

Malcolm wanted to say no with every fiber of his being. Unfortunately, he remembered that Tucker had attended one of the self defense refresher courses that the captain had suggested he teach. The same lecture where he'd made a point of repeatedly mentioning that sparring with a partner made for a far superior practice session than a solo one. The current circumstances seemed a little contrived for Trip's offer to be taken at face value, but Reed didn't use that as an excuse. He'd done his best to avoid his lovers, but now that one of them had managed to beard him in his den, he felt honor bound to follow it through.

Instead of refusing the other man, he nodded his head, gesturing for Trip to join him on the mat. "Standard defense moves?" The lieutenant suggested, glad that his voice remained steady.

"Whatever suits your fancy," Trip agreed and gave the hand signal that indicated that he was ready to begin.

The two men circled, each waiting for the other to make the first move. Reed broke first, goaded by the other man's aura of confidence. In a flurry of motion, he struck out at the engineer, his momentum carrying both of them across the mat. Tucker countered the blows, winded but holding his own.

When they broke apart, Trip considered his partner with admiration. "I forgot how fast you are," he complimented the younger man. Then he added, in a deceptively friendly voice, "almost as fast as when you skedaddled out of the bedroom the other night."

Malcolm bit his lip, then took a deep breath before responding. "I know how it looks, but truly I had your—and Jonathan's—best interests at heart."

"Why don't you let Jonathan and I decide what our best interests are," Tucker interrupted, moving forward to launch his own physical attack. Reed parried automatically, listening to the flow of words that continued despite his opponent's exertions. "You know what I think? I think you got frightened and that's why you walked out. You're running scared, Mal."

Reed shoved his sparring partner away with more force than he intended, throwing Tucker to the floor. "I am not afraid." He panted, then snarled, "and don't call me Mal."

Tucker lounged on the mat, arms pillowed behind his head, grinning from ear to ear. "Make me," he challenged the Englishman, pleased that he'd managed to prick the other man's fabled reserve.

Days of sublimated guilt and pent-up emotion took their toll. Reed lost the finesse that years of training had brought him and hurled himself at the prone man. The two of them grappled on the floor, rolling so that first one and then the other was on top. After several minutes of silent scuffling, their wrestling took on a new intensity, as they began to instinctively react to the sensations caused by their bodies writhing against one another.

Finally, Malcolm ended up on top for the final time. He stopped fighting, his eyes drinking in the sight of a flushed Trip Tucker splayed out beneath him. Without thinking about it, Reed bent in for a kiss, remembering only at the absolute last minute why it was a very bad idea. Telling his body to behave, he started to get off his partner.

Tucker hid his disappointment at Malcolm's withdrawal, moving quickly to wrap his legs around the retreating man. "Oh, no, not this time you don't." He lifted his pelvis to rub against Reed's, both men's breath catching as their cloth-bound erections rubbed together. "Feel that, Malcolm? When you forget to think about it, you know this is right. Forget your head and listen to your heart for a change."

Reed closed his eyes and shook his head, biting his lip to silence the moan of pleasure that wanted to escape in response to Tucker's continued undulations. "No, we *have* to think about it, Trip. There's too much at stake." "All right," the engineer reluctantly agreed, letting the other man go. "But let's at least talk about it. Me, I can shrug it off, but Johnny…he carries the world on his shoulders. The cap'n's an old softie, he thinks he has to solve everybody's problems. He deserves a better explanation."

"That sounds reasonable," Malcolm concurred. His body was stiff with reluctance but he forced himself to get up anyway. Not that he was eager for a sit-down discussion with Archer and Tucker, but he would agreed to anything if it meant he could escape the temptation that Tucker currently offered.

"Good," Trip said. "Meet us in the officers' mess tonight. That way we can talk about it in private." The commander watched as Reed nodded curtly, gathered his towel, and left. Then, once he was alone in the room, Tucker sighed and let his head hit the mat with a muffled thump. He may have told Reed that Archer was the softie, but the truth was, he was every bit as worried about the lieutenant as the captain was.

"Okay, John," he said, even though the man he was addressing wasn't there to hear his comments. "I've talked him into coming. Now all you've got to do is convince him to stay."

***

Malcolm was half-expecting to find the officers' mess bathed in candlelight and other romantic trappings. Instead, a very common sight greeted him as he entered. Archer was tasting the liquid in his glass while the ever-curious Trip inspected what was under the covered serving tray. Both men looked up to greet him and he was hard-pressed not to surge forward in response to the warm welcome.

"Malcolm," Jonathan said, putting his glass down and walking over to usher him in. "I'm glad you decided to come. I know that this isn't easy for you." The captain wrapped an arm around Reed's shoulders, his easy manner making the gesture friendly rather than sensual.

As Jonathan guided the nervous lieutenant to the table, Tucker surreptitiously moved to the door, punching several buttons, locking the mechanism and insuring their complete privacy. Only then did the commander join the other two.

Reed turned down Archer's offer of food but did accept a glass of water. "I don't think I could eat right now," he admitted after taking a big gulp. "If you don't mind, I'd rather get this over with."

Jonathan smiled, his expression affable but tight. "You make this sound like an ordeal. It's not meant to be that way."

"No, just a friendly conversation between partners," Tucker added.

"Look, Trip was partially right before," Malcolm said, ignoring their attempts to soothe him. "I was—and am—afraid. I've not had much success at sustained relationships."

"And it was easier to leave us than wait for us to leave you," Jonathan supplied for him, his smile turning more genuine as Malcolm looked at him in surprise. "Hey, I've not always been the suave and sophisticated captain you see before you. I've been dumped a time or two myself. I know how it feels, but I also know that's not going to happen with us."

"Damn straight it's not," Tucker murmured.

Reed suddenly found the liquid in his glass fascinating as he retreated by staring down into his cup's depths, not sure how to handle being tag-teamed by two very persuasive men. Then, he sighed and looked up. "You keep wondering why I don't like being called Mal," he opened, shooting Trip a quick glance and then beginning his explanation without waiting for a response. "My grandfather was an armory officer for the Royal Navy, I grew up listening to battle tactics as bedtime stories. Strategy always came easy to me. So, when I was a cadet in Starfleet, I tested out of the rudimentary classes and was bumped up to work with the older students. Even so, it never occurred to me why a senior cadet would be working at what was still a lower classman level. If it had, I would have realized that he had actually been held back."

"You tutored him," Archer filled in when Reed hesitated.

Malcolm nodded and continued. "I'd always been somewhat solitary, was never really all that close with anyone in my family, not after my grandfather died. So, when this senior student began paying—special—attention to me, I was flattered." The Englishman's lips twisted in a parody of a smile. "I fancied myself in love with him and he with me." Reed blushed and then admitted, "He was my first lover, of a sort. I should have wondered why he was content to have me bring him to satisfaction orally, but never wanted intercourse…or to touch me with anything but his hands."

"Let me guess," Tucker said, eyes flashing with anger. "When he passed the class, he dumped you like a hot potato."

Reed finished the water in his glass with one long drink, wiping his mouth as if removing a nasty taste. "Yes. Mal was his pet name for me and, it's childish I suppose, but I've had an aversion to it ever since."

"I don't think it's childish at all," Archer said, shooting Trip a look that clearly indicated that if the engineer was ever insensitive enough to use the nickname again, that Reed wouldn't be the only one voicing a protest. "He hurt you pretty badly."

Malcolm shrugged. "I got over it. I've had a long string of lovers since, all of them female. None of them serious."

"So what's the paragon of virtue's name?" Tucker asked, still fixated on the story of Malcolm's first lover. "The one that let you think he was in love with you, all so he could use you as a crutch to get through a tough class?"

"Why?" Reed seemed confused by the question. "What does it matter?"

Trip squared his jaw belligerently. "I just think somebody ought to have a talk with him, about behavior befittin' an officer, that's all."

Malcolm shook his head. "It's not important, not anymore." When Tucker opened his mouth to protest, he held up his hand as if to ward off the other man's words. "I know I'm not as confident as you and John when it comes to relationships, but I'm no fragile creature that has to be protected either." The lieutenant tilted his head as he considered Trip. "Not unless you want us to look up some of your former romantic partners and chastise them for hurting you? No? I didn't think so."

Thinking of how Tucker had recently been upset by the way a woman named Natalie had broken up with him long distance, Archer wasn't quite so cavalier about the subject, but kept his mouth shut about it. That could wait for another day's conversation. Instead, he brought the conversation back to something Malcolm had said to open up the current discussion. "You said that Trip was *partially* right about being afraid. What's the other part?" "The two of you are the most senior human officers on board the ship," Reed replied. When they looked at him blankly, he explained. "How will our liaison look to the rest of the crew? What will they think?"

Jonathan reached for Malcolm's hand. "It's not the twentieth century anymore, Malcolm. No one's going to pay any attention to our relationship and if they do, I'd hope they'd think the same thing that everyone did when Travis and Hoshi got together. Something along the lines of 'good for them, hope it works out.'"

Reed looked hopeful but still worried. "You really think so? You don't think that the crew would see a three-sided relationship as…frivolous? I don't want to do anything that has the potential for undermining the crew's respect, particularly for you, Jonathan."

Trip snorted. "Underminin' the crew's respect? Are you kiddin'? If anything, this will be good for his reputation, that it takes *two* young studs to keep up with him."

"I don't know about that, Trip," Jonathan temporized, eyes twinkling at the easy banter, "but it will help with that whole 'lover in every port' cliche. No one will be thinking I'm looking at any buff aliens when they know I've got the two of you every night."

Reed looked from one American to the other in amazement. "You're insane, the both of you."

"But you love us anyway?" Tucker asked hopefully. Archer didn't add anything verbally but his eyes all but begged Malcolm to agree.

PART 2

The Englishman found himself giving in without even the pretense of a fight. "Yes, I do." As he internalized the deep truth of the statement, he repeated it. "Yes, I do."

Jonathan got up from his chair, pulling the lieutenant to his feet as well. Wrapping his arms around the armory officer, Archer pulled him in for a kiss. "No more running?"

"No more running," Malcolm agreed, returning the kiss enthusiastically.

Trip came around the table and wormed his way into the embrace. "An' if any questions come up, we work on them together, right?"

"Right," his lovers chorused in response.

The three men stood together, foreheads bumping together, trading gentle kisses in the starlight. Eventually, their bodies' needs asserted themselves and the kisses became more urgent, the embraces tighter.

Jonathan finally pulled away with a gasp and motioned towards their waiting dinner. "You know what the best thing about roast beef is?" The two younger men just looked at him longingly and he answered his own question. "It tastes every bit as good cold."

"John," Trip said with a grin, "are you sayin' you're not hungry for meat?"

Archer growled, "You know what I mean," diving in to erase that smile with a kiss.

Reed laughed at their antics, grabbing the older men by the hand and tugging them towards the door. He'd only gone a step or two, however, before they drew him back. "What? I thought you wanted…" The lieutenant broke off with a moan as Tucker's lips fastened themselves to his neck. "What we want," Jonathan stated, since Trip's mouth was otherwise occupied, "is right in this room."

"You can't be serious," Malcolm protested. "In public? Anyone could walk in."

Tucker lifted his head. "This ain't 'xactly public, Malcolm. Both doors are locked and no one's gonna get in without both John and my security codes." He grinned wickedly. "Didn't you sign up on the Enterprise 'cause you craved adventure? Now's your chance."

Reed snorted. "Somehow, I think this is hardly what Starfleet had in mind, when they promised the opportunity to explore new territory."

Archer kneaded Malcolm's ass through the cloth of his jumpsuit. "They should have," He bent to whisper in the shorter man's ear. "They'd double the number of enlistees if they'd put your and Trip's picture on a recruitment poster."

The combination of Jonathan's firm grip on his bottom and his warm breath tickling his ear, not to mention Tucker's renewed nibbling on his neck, dispelled whatever protests Reed might have had about the propriety of the locale. "All right…on one condition…I get to participate more this time."

Jonathan laughed softly. "If memory serves me right, you were the primary precipitant last time."

"The two of you did all the work," Malcolm disagreed. "I want to be more hands-on this time."

"Shoot, you won't get an argument from me," Tucker said, leaning back against the table. "Suddenly, I feel downright lazy."

Archer chuckled again and bent to whisper in Malcolm's ear. "Trip's hoping to be the center of attention tonight, if you get my drift."

Malcolm grinned and kissed the taller man, murmuring, "And I'll be happy to oblige him," before turning and pressing himself against Tucker.

In their initial encounter, Reed had lost all track of where their clothing went, it just seemed to magically disappear. Not so this time. As Archer carefully removed the plates and utensils from the table (it was one thing to dare to have sex in a semi-public spot, but quite another to risk damaging any of Chef's gear) Malcolm reverently kissed his way down Trip's torso as he unzipped the engineer's jumpsuit. Each inch of skin was lovingly laved as it was revealed, his rosy nipples receiving the extra attention they deserved.

When Jonathan joined the younger men, he was gathered into their embrace, his clothing soon going the way of the other American's. As Malcolm knelt to help the other two untangle their feet from their uniforms, he looked up, breath catching in wonder at the sight of his lovers kissing.

Archer noticed his awestruck expression. "Something wrong, Malcolm?" he asked, wrapping one hand around the back of the kneeling man's head.

"No," Reed assured him. "It's just seeing you both like that…you're like a couple of bookends." Trip and Archer looked at each other, bemused, then turned back to their mate with identical quizzical expressions. The lieutenant hastened to explain. "You're both so similar. You're alike in build and coloring…you're both charismatic…born leaders…warm, friendly…beautiful. Golden, inside and out." He laughed softly. "For the life of me, I can't imagine why you'd want a whey-faced, awkward, repressed ass like me."

As one, Archer and Tucker bent, each man grabbing an arm and helping Malcolm to his feet.

"Trip and I may have some superficial similarities," Jonathan said, after kissing Malcolm firmly, "but you're every bit as worthy of being in this relationship as we are."

Tucker waited impatiently until Archer was done kissing their lover, then pulled him into his embrace. "Yeah, what he said." He kissed Reed roughly before smacking him once lightly on the butt. "Now, what you said about yourself, that was *my* lover you were dissin', so I'd be careful what you say there, mister." Realizing that his hand had felt cloth, Trip looked over at Jonathan. "He's still got his clothes on, cap'n. That's just not right."

"We'll have to do something about that," Archer responded with a smile. He grabbed Malcolm from Tucker and kissed him quickly as he pulled down the zipper to his jumpsuit. Then, spinning the lieutenant, he propelled him gently towards Trip. The engineer quickly caught the gist of the game, also kissing Reed, then shoving his uniform partially off his shoulder before turning him and thrusting him back towards Jonathan. The two men kept it up until Malcolm was just as nude as they were, breathless and a bit dizzy from the manner in which he'd been stripped.

"Hey," Reed protested as he leaned up against the table to catch his breath, "I thought you were going to let me do some of the work this time."

"Sorry about that," Archer apologized, not sounding the least bit repentant.

"Yeah, we kind of got carried away," Trip chimed in.

"All right," Malcolm said, moving away from the table and pushing them towards it. When his lovers were seated on the table's sturdy surface, he continued, "but now it's time for you to sit back and let *me* get carried away."

With that, the armory officer slid down their bodies, his tongue darting out to make random little licks of their sweaty skin. When he was again on his knees, there were two hard cocks bobbing conveniently at eye level. Reed took his lovers firmly in hand and brought their erections together in a single grip, making it easier to lick and nibble at each sensitive tip before his lips moved on to stroke and kiss at their entire length.

The senior officers found it hard to sit still and squirmed on the table, trying to find a position that would give Malcolm as much access to their cocks as possible. Any hand that snuck down in an attempt to direct his attention was quickly batted away, it being difficult enough for Reed to divide his attention between the two sizeable erections. Instead, denied that outlet, Archer and Tucker turned to one another, kissing and stroking each other while Malcolm's dark head bobbed up and down as he did double duty down below on simultaneous blowjobs.

Under most circumstances, Trip would have been more than satisfied to let Reed's activities reach the natural conclusion, but he'd been dreaming of something else for days. "Don't take this the wrong way, Malcolm, but you gotta stop."

With a last slurp, Malcolm pulled away from his lovers' groins, cupping one set of testicles in each hand as he looked up at the other men. "Stop? Why?"

"Aw, hell," Tucker grated out, "'Cause I want to be rode hard an' put away wet, that's why."

Archer translated for him. "Center of attention, remember? I think Trip wants to be in the middle tonight."

Reed blushed and stood up. "Oh, right. So, what do we do?" Malcolm's singular encounter with anal sex had been just a few days before, with Trip and Jonathan. Even though he'd enjoyed that experience immensely, he was still a little unsure of how to initiate it.

"An engineer is always prepared," Trip crowed, diving down to grab his discarded jumpsuit. After rifling around in a pocked, he retrieved a tube and brandished it at the other two. "Okay, Jonathan, up you go." The Southerner patted the table top, clearly indicating where he wanted Archer positioned.

"Is he always this bossy?" Reed whispered hoarsely, having every intention of being overheard.

Jonathan just grinned. "Sometimes," he admitted before hopping onto the table as instructed. "But it's usually worth it."

Tucker pretended to scowl. "Only 'usually'? You'll be eatin' those words before the night's finished, I guarantee you." The mock challenge in the engineer's voice was in direct contrast to the gentle way he helped the taller may lie down and get comfortable. Once Archer was situated to Trip's satisfaction, on his back with legs wide apart and knees bent, Tucker crooked a finger at his remaining lover. "C'mere, Malcolm, I want to show you somethin'." Too impatient to wait, Tucker was already squeezing out a generous dollop of gel from the tube he'd grabbed.

Reed approached where Tucker stood, positioned between Jonathan's splayed legs. "John's going to be on the bottom?" The armory officer looked confused. "But he's the…I mean, I thought…"

Trip dropped his playful expression and took Malcolm's bewilderment seriously. "You thought that since John's the captain, he'd be the top all the time?"

Reed nodded mutely at the engineer's question, but it was Archer that answered him. "It doesn't work that way, Malcolm. It's not about power or anything like that, it's just about making each other feel good. " The older man looked lovingly at Tucker. "And, trust me, having Trip inside you makes you feel damn good."

"Thanks, John," Tucker responded, bending to kiss the inside of Archer's thigh. "Now, speaking of being inside somebody, come over here and pay attention, Malcolm."

Even as he moved to obey, the Englishman had one more question. "I thought you wanted to be in the middle tonight, Trip?"

Tucker wrapped him in a one-armed hug, "Who says I'm not gonna be?" As the implications of that statement occurred to Malcolm, his eyes widened with desire. Trip chuckled at his younger lover's reaction. "Yeah, that's the idea—Jonathan was the first man inside of you and I'm gonna be the first man that you're inside. That's why I'm having you watch now, so you know what to do."

The engineer wiggled his lube-coated finger. "First thing you do, is make sure you've got plenty of slippery stuff. When in doubt, double what you'll think you need. Then, you sort of get your partner used to the idea." Trip's hands started rubbing at Jonathan's ass, massaging and kneading the firm cheeks. Malcolm watched avidly as the commander played with Archer's butt. The lubricated finger tickled the expanse of Archer's crease, eventually finding its way deeper to stroke the outside of Jonathan's puckered entrance. The captain hissed at the sensation, but the ecstatic look on his face and the way he stretched his legs further apart assured the armory officer that the feeling was a welcome one.

"Then, real careful-like, you insert a finger." It was hard to tell which of the three men was breathing more harshly as Tucker teased his finger into Archer's tight opening. "You don't just poke it in, take your time." Looking up at Jonathan's face, Trip reached around and stroked his erection a couple of times. "Doin' okay, John?"

"More," the captain replied succinctly, sweat running down his face.

"Yes sir," Tucker laughed. He reluctantly removed his hand from Archer's cock, reaching for the tube of lubricant. Withdrawing his finger, he was about to apply more of the gel on a second digit when he changed his mind.

"Gimme your hand," Tucker instructed Malcolm. When the younger man complied, he squirted the slippery salve on one of Reed's fingers instead. "Now you try."

Hesitantly, Malcolm reached for Archer. He was eager to experience this special connection himself, but couldn't help but worry that he'd hurt his lover. With Tucker's encouragement, however, he guided his finger to the appropriate spot and gently slid in.

Both Jonathan and Malcolm groaned aloud at the sensation, the captain's voice a lower bass tone vibrating under Reed's moaned exclamation.

"My God," the lieutenant whispered reverently. "It's so tight! And hot!"

Tucker kissed the side of Reed's neck, before moving a few paces away to latch on to Jonathan's mouth. When he pulled away from Archer, he whispered, "You okay, John?"

"Never better, but hurry it along, okay?"

Trip patted him on the stomach and moved back to join Malcolm. Renewing the lubricant on his own finger, he worked until it joined Reed's as it was buried in their lover's rectum. "How's that?"

"Enough—now!"

Tucker knew that tone of voice from old. It meant that Archer had received more than enough preparation and was reaching the end of his endurance. "Okay, Malcolm, now this is the most important part." Having removed both of their fingers, he slathered a generous portion of lubricant on his own hard and ready cock. "Just go real slow and wiggle a bit, until you convince the muscle to loosen." Putting action to words, he pulled Jonathan to the edge of the table and braced the taller man's legs on each corner, widening the captain to the maximum. Then, placing the tip of his penis at the entrance to the older man's body, he gently pushed and wormed his way until the mushroom-shaped head popped in. Both of the Americans groaned.

Malcolm stroked Jonathan's nearest leg lovingly, well remembering the burning sensation from their previous lovemaking session. "Does it feel good?" The lieutenant knew the answer, but wanted to feel more part of the process.

"No, it feels wonderful," Jonathan managed to respond. The captain was gripping both sides of the table, not daring to touch the erection that jutted proudly out from his prone body. He wanted this encounter to last and, as much as his cock begged for attention, touching it would bring him to completion much too soon.

Trip figured he'd given Archer enough time to adjust and continued his narrated penetration. "Once your lover's used to havin' somethin' big in there," he managed to pant out, "Then you just slide in a bit at a time until you can't go any farther." Suiting action to words, the Southerner was soon buried balls-deep inside the captain.

Tucker leaned forward the same time as Archer did, the two men meeting in the middle for an cumbersome—but rewarding—kiss. When they'd disengaged, Trip swivelled as much as his position would allow and addressed his younger lover.

"Okay, Malcolm, your turn. Hop on."

Reed had started to stroke his own erection, but was so surprised that he stopped. "Excuse me?"

Jonathan started to laugh, the sound a little breathless given he was being impaled, but genuine nonetheless. "'Hop on,' Trip? How romantic."

"I'll write you both a sonnet later," Tucker snapped. His voice was strained from the effort of giving instructions while he made love. His every instinct was to thrust and to thrust hard, but he was determined to have his chance at the middle. "Right now, though, Malcolm's got to join the party or he won't get a chance to dance, if you know what I mean."

"All right," Malcolm said, as he reached for the lubricant.

Tucker saw that the armory officer was moving to slick his fingers first as he'd been instructed and interrupted him. "You can skip the preliminary part with me this time, I took care of that before."

Reed reached for Trip's ass, his questing fingers quickly verifying the engineer's claim that he was already greased and stretched. "Awfully sure of yourself, weren't you?" He teased as he instead applied the gel to his impatient penis. The Englishman was eager for his first topping experience but was a little worried too and trying to hide it. The last thing he would want to do would be to hurt Trip and he was concerned that his inexperience might cause that to happen.

"Don't worry," Tucker reassured him, almost as though he'd been reading his mind. "I'll let you know if anything goes wrong."

Malcolm positioned himself behind the straining couple, only to realize that Trip had miscalculated one logistical detail. "Oh, bloody hell."

"What?" Archer and Tucker asked, in perfect synchronization.

Reed rested his head on Trip's sweating back. "I'm too short." His two lovers' horrified silence galvanized the armory officer to do some quick thinking. "Wait a minute, I've got an idea."

"I'm not sure I *can* wait," Archer moaned, hips twitching as his body began to assert its need to rut against the cock inside it.

A grating sound was heard as Reed pulled a chair over. Kneeling on it gave him the height he needed to reach Tucker's sweet spot. Taking a deep breath and reminding himself that slow and gentle was the way to go, Malcolm positioned himself at Trip's entrance and slowly thrust inside. Once the tip was sheathed, he stopped, overcome at the sensation enveloping him. "Dear God," he exclaimed, voice cracking with emotion. "Was I this tight?"

"Tighter," Jonathan claimed, being the only one in the room who had the personal experience to make a comparison. Then, he added in a plaintive tone, "Can we move now?"

"More, Malcolm," Trip encouraged their inexperienced partner. "All the way in now, slow and steady."

Reed obeyed, sliding forward inside his partner until he was fully buried and his balls hung snug against Tucker's ass. "That's it, Trip. All the way there."

"Yes, you certainly are," Tucker assured him, flexing his ass muscles and smiling at the gasp it provoked from the man inside him. "How's it feel?"

"Heavenly," Malcolm sighed.

"Damn right, but jus' wait, you haven't felt nothin' yet," The engineered thrust his hips forward slowly, careful not to throw the man behind him off balance. Archer moaned in relief at the motion, arching his back and pressing his buttocks down to deepen the penetration. Tucker bit his lip at the way the older man's heat engulfed him, while all the time, Reed's cock plumbed his depths, opening him wide and simultaneously filling him.

Malcolm echoed the other man's motion and soon the two men were moving in counterpoint. Tucker would lunge forward into Jonathan, then ram himself back onto Malcolm, relishing the sensation of taking and being taken at the same time. Archer looked up at the man penetrating him, enjoying the look of intense pleasure on Trip's face almost as much as he reveled in the sensation of the hard length inside him. Beyond Tucker, he could see Reed's expression, the Englishman biting his lip as he concentrated on riding the engineer's body. Eager to have some sort of connection with the third man, Jonathan reached with both hands towards Malcolm, his longer reach enabling the two men to briefly clasp hands around Tucker's thrusting body.

Given that he was receiving double stimulation, it wasn't surprising that Trip was the first one to reach completion. "Son of a bit-…" The engineered gasped, arms moving frantically to shove Jonathan's legs as far apart as possible, breaking his lovers' handhold and spreading the older man wide. The Southerner's hips beat almost brutally down on Archer as he orgasmed, meanwhile his greedy ass clamped down jealously on Malcolm as the younger man drove inside him.

"Ahhh," Reed cried out as he felt Trip's body contract around him, following his lover into sensation. All the armory officer could do was to hold onto Tucker's hips and ride the waves of pleasure out, feeling the additional warmth as his seed bathed the inside of Trip's rectum.

Through eyes slitted with passion, Jonathan watched the two younger men in the throws of orgasm. Being a bit older, he had marginally better mastery over his body's reactions. Only marginally, though, because as Malcolm fell against Trip and Trip collapsed down on top of him, he too lost control. The domino action trapped Jonathan's needy erection between their sweat- slick skin and he also came, reaching up to pull Tucker and Reed even more firmly down on top of him as his cock bathed them all.

As they came back to their senses, the three men found that they had automatically rearranged themselves so that Jonathan wasn't at the bottom of the pile. The captain ended up in the middle of the table, with Trip and Malcolm to either side. They stroked one another and murmured indistinct endearments as full awareness slowly returned.

Several minutes later, the replete atmosphere was broken when Reed sighed and tentatively asked. "I hate to say this, but I think we should move. Won't the table break?"

Archer barely had the energy to respond. "Who cares?"

"I'm the engineer," Tucker answered sleepily, "I've seen the specs. This table could hold half a dozen men and not break. I say we stay put, for oh, three, four years."

Jonathan nuzzled at Trip's hair lovingly before turning to bestow a kiss on the top of Reed's head. Seeing the lieutenant look up at him, he quietly asked, "Will you stay? No more running?"

Malcolm considered the question then shook his head. Smiling, he reached up to trail a finger along Jonathan's lips. "No more running."

Archer opened his mouth to respond, but Trip beat him to it. "Good," the engineer said defiantly, "'Cause, after tonight, if you'd tried, we'd've hunted you down like a dog." Tucker shot Jonathan a sheepish look. "No offense to Porthos."

"None taken," Jonathan assured him. The captain was about to add another comment when he was interrupted by the loud growling of Trip's stomach.

"What?" The commander protested when his two lovers started to chuckle. "I've been a busy boy tonight. Worked up quite an appetite." Tucker moved as to get off the table and head towards the food. "What was it you were sayin' about roast beef bein' better cold?"

Jonathan grabbed Trip and pulled him back into their embrace. "I would have thought you'd had quite enough meat tonight."

"Very funny," Tucker said, pretending to be irritated but kissing the captain anyway.

"Something tells me," Malcolm added slyly, "that Sub-Commander T'Pol's not going to have much success converting any of us to vegetarianism."

"That's a bet I won't take," Archer responded, glad to see no hesitation in the lieutenant's eyes.

"Damn straight!" Trip added, snuggling further into the other two, making the circle complete.