Rec: Echo the Words to Me by wolfhalls

Title: Echo the Words to Me

Author: wolfhalls

Canon: Star Trek ENT

Pairing: Charles 'Trip' Tucker III/Malcolm Reed

Rating: Explicit [NC-17]

Word Count: 25,723

Summary: It's Malcolm's birthday. He doesn’t know that Trip knows of course, and that hurts. To not even bring it up with the people that you have been serving with for months. To think that they wouldn’t care. Well, Trip does care. In a sudden, dizzying flash of clarity, his caring takes shape. It gains purpose and traction. He watches Malcolm at work, and takes a deep breath. Right now though, there is much to be done. He stands next to Malcolm, shoulder to shoulder and hip to hip, and presses his fingers to the controls. Later on, he watches as Malcolm Reed cuts into a birthday cake and laughs. He watches as he licks icing from his thumb. He wonders. (Or; Falling in love during his first deep space mission wasn't part of the plan. Trip does it anyway.)

Recommendation: This is good stuff. I love their gentle and inexorable slide towards each other, even with a few hiccups along the way. I love that they develop a solid friendship first before starting anything. I appreciated that their past traumas are addressed and not made light of (noncon pregnancy isn't funny) and that they helped work things out together.

Link to the Story on AO3

Recommendation #2,637