It was one of those shore leaves that was too short to really do some actual kicking back and relaxing, but it was long enough to unwind in other ways. And none of them meant a hotel room, a Do Not Disturb sign and room service. Trip Tucker grinned as he walked through the streets and alleys of the capital of the planet, enjoying the freedom, the lack of responsibility for a whole damn ship and her engine, and the simple pleasure of having his lover at his side. No hiding, no following regulations, no uniforms.

No ranks.

Not that it had bothered them in the past, but aboard Enterprise, on duty, there were no private moments like these. Well, Malcolm wasn't into holding hands in public and Trip hadn't expected it either. But it was simply having the man at his side, being able to touch him without thinking about what he was doing where, and stealing little kisses here or there that made this day special.

N'gebo was a sprawling city twice the size of New York with skyscrapers that would make the old founding fathers of skyscraperhood weep in adoration. The towers, columns and oddly shaped constructions made for an impressive skyline and the sunlight caught the millions of windows, reflecting it, creating wonderful patterns and displays.

"I heard the diorama shows at the Museum of Natural Arts are impressive," Malcolm remarked as they consulted their map to check where they were.

"Sittin' down sounds nice just about now."

Reed chuckled. "Getting old?"

"Mah feet are killin' me, if ya hafta know," Tucker drawled, accent thickening.

"You are getting old, hm?"

Trip feigned an attack and Malcolm moved back, effectively trapping himself against the river embankment wall. Tucker pressed himself briefly against his lover, stealing a kiss. None of the other tourists or natives bothered. The Ganan were a multicultural people, openly inviting whoever wanted to visit, and there wasn't a grain of prejudice to be found so far.

"C'mon," Trip murmured. "Let's see the show."

*

The room grew dark and Malcolm leaned back against the jeans clad legs of his lover, sighing in content. It felt so good to be just himself. No rank, no responsibility, no one who knew them. Just two men enjoying the sights.

Rows of benches lined the theater. It was bowl-shaped, the benches rising on an incline like an amphitheater, and the two Humans had settled down in one of the back rows, with Trip on the last bench, back against the wall. Malcolm had chosen to be in front of him. He felt Trip's hands on his shoulder and wasn't able to suppress the small shudder that innocent little gesture awoke. Due to different shifts they hadn't been able to spend much quality time together in the last weeks, so now all Malcolm wanted was to enjoy the visit to N'gebo with his lover, see some sights and afterwards—well, that would be seen.

It wasn't that much later Malcolm realized that something in Trip's touch had subtly changed. The hands were no longer resting motionlessly on his shoulders but were kneading the muscles slightly, thumbs caressing the exposed skin of his neck ever so gently in a featherlike touch. Trip had parted his legs and Malcolm had slipped between them, resting now comfortably against his lover's stomach, which gave him the opportunity to notice the smallest change in Trip's breathing. Right now it had increased slightly, every breath teasing his earlobe. The small movement of Trip's thumbs hadn't changed, the tiny friction against the oversensitive skin of his neck making Malcolm shudder involuntarily, and he noticed absentmindedly the odd way his pants seemed to shrink. He was glad that he had decided to wear a loose sweater all of a sudden. It felt like a light tickle, combined with a mild itch and the firm strokes of strong fingers. Oh Lord…

A part of his mind wanted nothing more than to grab Trip Tucker, whirl him around and kiss him senseless before—well. Another part just kept him sitting there, leaning against the man he loved more than life itself and enjoying the little display of affection. Besides, Trip had looked forward to the show, and he didn't want to spoil his lover's fun.

Malcolm inhaled sharply when the tantalizing strokes elicited another shudder of pleasure, leaning even closer against his lover.

Close, Malcolm mused, show long forgotten. They were together for about three years now, and he felt close to Trip. Hell, he was close to Trip. The only person he finally had gotten close to. It was a precious gift, something he treasured and knew the value of. It was priceless.

Malcolm reached up and took one of Trip's hand, placing a small kiss on the palm and letting it slip into his sweater. He felt Trip gasp silently himself, but he didn't withdraw. Tucker's finger barely moved, fingertips gently caressing the soft skin of Malcolm's chest, and Reed let his head sink back against the other man's chest, closing his eyes. If it was up to him, this moment would never end. Besides, he would get real problems as soon as it did. Moving would probably cause deep embarrassment. Trip nuzzled at his ear and a light kiss was placed on his temple. Maybe ending this moment wasn't such a bad idea after all? They could certainly move this to a more intimate place and do—well, more intimate things. Malcolm stirred a little at that thought, trying to adjust himself without being too obvious.

"Mal?" Trip's softly whispered question pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"How long do you intend to stay here?"

Malcolm looked around, confused, only to notice that except for them the room was already empty.

The embarrassment doubled and he heard Tucker's slight chuckle.

"Uh…" he stammered.

Trip chuckled softly, but didn't move, only increased the soft seductive movement of his fingertips, hand slipping even deeper into Malcolm's shirt.

"I for my part have some plans for the rest of the night. How 'bout you? Care to join me?" he teased.

"Trip?"

"Hm?"

"You know I love you?"

"Love you, too," Trip replied hoarsely, nipping at his neck. The teeth scraping over his skin had Malcolm jump and bite back a moan.

"Trip?" he managed.

"What?" came the seductive whisper.

"If you don't stop right now…"

"Then what?" Another nip.

"I'll never manage to get up without…"

Trip stopped for a second and chuckled again before slowly removing his hand, placing another soft kiss on Malcolm's neck. "Couldn't have that, love."

Reed felt a tremor race through him, yearning for the hand to return. But he knew he would lose it completely if Trip touched him again. The engineer got up and bent over, pressing a kiss against Malcolm's lips, then held out one hand. Reed took it, letting himself get pulled up, right against the taller man.

"Trip," he gasped, the movement of pants against his arousal painfully erotic.

"Yes?" Tucker breathed, arms wrapped around him.

Malcolm shuddered, screwing his eyes shut. "Need to leave."

"My thought's exactly."

The walked out of the theater and Reed clenched his jaw as the too tight pants gave him more than just a passing problem. He breathed a sigh of relief when they finally managed to hail a cab. Trip's hand settling on his thigh and stroking it gently didn't help ease the tension, but the stimuli weren't as bad as the neck rub.

"Home?" Tucker asked softly.

"Definitely."

He gave Malcolm's leg another squeeze and it earned him a half-hearted glare. Malcolm was really suffering here and Trip had no intention to ease it just yet.

"Then let's go home."