Malcolm Reed walked towards his quarters. Well, to say he walked was an understatement; it was more a crawling than anything else. It was close to midnight already, and the ship's armory officer felt beyond tired. In fact, he felt bone tired, dirty and hungry, and he yearned for a shower, something to eat and his bed. Malcolm sighed slightly. At this late night hour he'd manage the first and the last, but no idea of getting food now. He sighed again. Not that he didn't actually mind, he was accustomed to working overtime, getting little sleep and even lesser meals. At least it kept him in shape.

Reed gladly let the door to his cabin swoosh closed behind him, thankful to be 'home' again. Shower; nice, long, hot shower sounded like heaven right now. Something laying on his small table caught his attention, something that didn't belong here, and Malcolm stepped closer, frowning. It turned into a warm and surprised smile when he realized.

The small note on the cover written in Trip's handwriting said: 'I knew you'd be hungry. Enjoy.' When Malcolm lifted it, he found two sandwiches, one with turkey, one with cheese, with salad and everything. The whole enchilada, Malcolm mused, astonished about the way Trip had thought about him. Taking care of him, to be precise. A vacuum flask was standing there, too, and Malcolm opened it, curious about the contents. He sniffed carefully and shook his head, grinning. That was Trip Tucker for you, oh yes. Hot chocolate, and from the smell of it Trip had added just a little bit of cinnamon.

Malcolm wasn't exactly a fan of hot chocolate, but he liked the way Trip prepared it, and he knew that Trip had known it would let him drift into sleep more easily. Malcolm put the flask aside and headed for the shower. First things first.

After being clean again, Malcolm felt much better, almost human again. His stomach growled, reminding him there were still things to take care of. It, for example. And thanks to Trip, it wouldn't be disappointed. A light midnight snack was exactly what Malcolm needed right now.

Reed sank back into his pillow, stomach filled, and enjoyed his late night 'drink'. It was an almost perfect ending to a long day, and he felt sleepy and sated. An almost perfect ending, he mused, something was still missing…

Well, that could be changed.

Malcolm grabbed a clean uniform slipped into shirt and sweater, and left his quarters, looking forward to the perfect ending he had in mind.

Malcolm keyed in the door code and slipped cautiously into the dark quarters. He didn't need to switch on the light, he knew this room by instinct. And thank goodness its owner knew him by instinct, otherwise he would have looked into the business end of a phase pistol by now, Reed mused. He slipped out of his pants and shirt and under the blanket as carefully as he could. A stirring of the body told him he hadn't been as good as he had intended to be.

"Mal?" a sleepy voice rasped.

"Hmmm, it's me. Go back to sleep," he whispered.

"Whatcha doin' here?"

"You invited me."

"Ah did?"

"Yep."

"Okay."

An arm came sneaking around his waist, hand laying on his chest, and Malcolm took the invited hand, entwining his fingers with his lover's. Soon Trip's steady deep breaths told him that the other man was asleep again, most certainly without being really awake. Malcolm curled into Trip's warm and pliant body, sighing in deep content, feeling at home at last. The perfect ending. He snuggled closer into his lover's embrace and closed his eyes, dozing offf into sleep within a second.