Wakeup Call
by Lianne BurwellNovember 1998
Another morning in the Delta Quadrant, just like all the others before it. Then again... maybe not.
Tom groaned and rolled over in the bed. The alarm would be going off at any minute, but he was too comfortable to leave the cocoon of blankets. Warm and comfy and... naked?
Tom frowned, his eyes still shut. He‘d put on his pajamas the night before. He clearly remembered taking them out of the drawer and putting them on. He usually slept like a log, so it wasn‘t likely that he‘d managed to kick them off in the night. Besides, the blankets were too tidy for that.
Then he heard a groan. A masculine groan. Someone else‘s groan. This was not a good thing.
Tom turned towards the groan and opened his eyes.
"Aaaaaahhhh!!!!!"
Tom jumped backwards, as did the other man.
"Chakotay, what are you doing here?!"
The other man looked around. "I think that‘s my question, Paris. These are my quarters, after all."
Looking around the room, slightly wild-eyed, Tom realized that the man was right. Well, he had to take it on faith that this was Chakotay‘s bedroom, but it certainly wasn‘t his. Tom‘s brain quickly ran over the events of the evening before, but could find no explanation. He had been drunk, and he clearly remembered going to his own quarters, putting on his pajamas and going to bed.
"How did I get here?" he said, almost in a wail.
"Good question," the Commander replied. "If this is some sort of a joke, Paris..."
"Computer, what time did I arrive in Chakotay‘s quarters," Tom called out, ignoring the possible rant that was forming.
"0237," was the calm reply.
"What time did I leave my quarters?"
"0237." The same time? It took at least three minutes to get from his quarters to Chakotay‘s, Tom knew. This was not good.
"How did I get here?"
"Unknown." Definitely not good.
Tom looked at Chakotay, and the Commander looked back at him.
"Ummm... Can I borrow a toothbrush?"
* * * * *
At the start of the Alpha shift, the Captain always had a briefing with her command staff. Tom was only half-listening this morning. All his thoughts were focused on what had apparently happened overnight. He‘d had to use the replicators in Chakotay‘s quarters to replicate a uniform, since he didn‘t have anything to wear on the trip back to his own quarters. The last thing he needed was for the rumor mill to see him coming out of the Commander‘s quarters wearing something that belonged to the other man. Not to mention the fact that anything of the Commander‘s would be both too short and broad for him.
Of course, coming out of Chakotay‘s quarters properly dressed probably wasn‘t a much better option. He could have called for a site-to-site transport, but that really would have gotten the rumor mill churning. All in all, it was a no-win situation.
"Does anyone else have something to bring up?" The Captain asked, pulling Tom‘s attention back to the briefing.
"I do," Chakotay said, glancing over at Tom. Tom closed his eyes and prayed for an alien attack or something else to save him from the embarrassment about to descend on him. "Lieutenant Paris was in my bed this morning."
The Captain grinned. "Congratulations, Chakotay. But I don‘t see that this needs to be part of the briefing."
Tom groaned. She thought that... "Captain, I wasn‘t there when I went to sleep! I went to bed in my own bed and woke up in Chakotay‘s."
"Maybe you wanted to be there so badly that you sleep-walked your way there," B‘Elanna suggested, her grin echoed by Harry‘s. Both of them ignored the glare that Tom shot their way. Chakotay ignored the whole interchange.
"According to the computer, Tom disappeared from his quarters and appeared in mine instantly. The computer can‘t explain why, though. There were no unusual energies and there‘s no record of a transport at that time."
The Captain frowned thoughtfully. "Well, no one was harmed, so I‘m inclined not to worry too much. Maybe someone is playing a joke on the two of you and just did a good job of fixing the transporters logs."
"Maybe," Chakotay said, but Tom wasn‘t so sure.
* * * * *
The next morning, Tom woke just before the alarm. He was warm and comfy and... yes, he was wearing his pajamas. One eye opened and verified that he was in his own quarters. That was a relief.
Hmmm... Oh yes. He was so warm. So comfortable. So...
So not alone. Someone else was there. Someone snoring softly. Someone curled up behind him, arms wrapped around him. Someone... Tom looked over his shoulder.
"Aaaaaahhhh!!!!!"
Tom jumped out of bed, as did a very startled Chakotay. A very startled and very naked Chakotay. A very buff Chakotay. A very...
Tom shook off the distraction, dragging his eyes up to look above the man‘s neck.
"Shit!"
Tom started laughing, the sound only slightly tinged with hysteria.
They‘d both said it at the exact same time.
"Shall I replicate you a uniform, Commander?" he asked, still laughing.
The man just glared at him before heading for the bathroom.
Wow. Who would have guessed that the man was hiding that body under his uniform? Tom wiped the mental drool off his chin and started getting dressed.
* * * * *
"Any other business to report?" the Captain asked at the end of the morning briefing. Her eyes darted back and forth between Tom and Chakotay. Tom shook his head.
"I woke up in my own bed this morning," he said with a grin. She almost looked disappointed.
Chakotay heaved a deep sigh. "And so did I. Wake up in his bed, that it."
His timing was perfect, too. The Captain was just taking a sip of her coffee, and promptly snorted it across the tabletop. Tuvok looked down at the splatter marks across his uniform top, unperturbed in the way only a Vulcan could be under the circumstances.
Harry and B‘Elanna were practically falling off their chairs laughing.
Tom glared at them suspiciously. "If I find out that either of you..."
"Tom," Harry said in a wounded tone. "How could you think that?"
"Because I know you," Tom shot back. Harry grinned.
"True," he admitted. "But I promise, I have nothing to do with this."
"Me neither," B‘Elanna said, trying to sober up. She wasn‘t very successful.
The Captain wasn‘t laughing anymore. "All right, people. I want to know who‘s doing this. It might be amusing, but it isn‘t safe. If someone is playing with the transporters and the computers, I want it stopped. If it isn‘t someone playing with the transporters, then I want to know who and how and why. Give me answers, folks."
Everyone was sober now.
* * * * *
The next morning Tom woke up and sighed in resignation. He was definitely naked and he was willing to bet that it wasn‘t his bed. On the other hand it was kind of nice being cuddled like an over-sized teddy bear.
"Chakotay?"
"Hmmm?"
The Commander didn‘t seem ready to wake up, so Tom decided to enjoy it while it lasted. Oh yeah, it had been a long time since he‘d shared a bed with someone. In fact, the only thing he missed more than the early morning cuddles was the early morning sex.
Whoops. Wrong thing to be thinking about, he realized as a certain part of him decided to wake up. It wasn‘t helped by the memory of seeing Chakotay in the all-together the morning before.
Now, letting Chakotay know what he was ‚up‘ to was probably a very bad idea, so Tom decided that discretion was the better part of valor. He managed to ease his way out of the bed without waking Chakotay up. The older man just rolled over into the space Tom had occupied and cuddled his pillow. Tom grinned at how sweet the guy looked in his nightshirt, then beat a hasty retreat to the bathroom.
After a cold shower—and a jerk session when the cold shower failed to have the desired effect—later, Tom headed back to the main room, a towel wrapped around his waist. Chakotay was awake and holding out a newly-replicated uniform in Tom‘s size.
"You know," Chakotay said, stopping as he headed for the bathroom. "Maybe I should drop a uniform off at your place later. Just in case."
Tom blinked, realizing how sensible that sounded. "Sure. Maybe I should do the same."
"Okay." They stared at each other, both turning a little pink and unsure of what else to say.
"Ummm... I‘ll see you later, Commander," Tom finally said, breaking the silence. Then he made his escape before he embarrassed himself again.
* * * * *
After that, mornings fell into a pattern. Every night they fell asleep in their own beds. Every morning they woke up together. They had tried everything to stop it, but nothing had worked.
First the Captain had tried scanning their quarters. The computer never registered anything, except that the shift had occurred.
Then she tried shielding their quarters. No good. By this point, they had both started leaving not just uniforms, but toiletries as well in each other‘s quarters.
They tried staying awake, but sooner or later they both fell asleep and it happened. They did figure out that it didn‘t happen while they were awake, though.
They even tried spending the night in sickbay, under the Doctor‘s watchful eye. Unfortunately, the Doctor had finally turned away to work on reports. The next morning they woke up in Tom‘s quarters, both naked. Their pajamas were left behind on the diagnostic beds in sickbay. By now, the Captain was getting really pissed off.
Naturally, by now the entire ship knew about it. The reactions ranged from quiet grins to ribald jokes. Tom was beginning to think that he was going to have a permanent blush. And the speculations! Everyone had an idea about what was going on, and each was wilder than the last.
The most popular theory—and the most likely—was that Q was behind this. The Captain had even called out, demanding that he show himself. No answer. Strangely, Tuvok didn‘t think it was Q. As he pointed out, the entity had never been shy about claiming credit for some trick or feat. Unfortunately, that argument made too much sense.
So, they were no closer to finding out who was behind this than they‘d been before.
But Tom didn‘t really mind. He was getting used to waking up with Chakotay curled around him. The man certainly knew how to cuddle. Okay, so he was taking more cold showers than usual, but it was worth it.
However, if something didn‘t happen soon he was going to snap. He could just see it now. One of these days, he was going to wake up, turn over and jump the man‘s bones. Or Chakotay could jump him. It didn‘t matter to him. He was easy.
In a manner of speaking, that is.
* * * * *
Tom grinned as he beat Harry for the third time that evening. With a resigned sigh, Harry headed to the bar to order the next round of drinks.
"Well, the stress certainly hasn‘t dulled your pool skill," he said, coming back with the synthol beer.
"What stress?"
"Doesn‘t it bother you? Waking up with the Commander every morning, I mean."
Tom frowned. "No. In fact, I‘m getting used to it." Tom‘s frown deepened at the resulting grin on Harry‘s face. "What?"
"Nothing," Harry said, plastering on an innocent expression that Tom didn‘t buy for a second. Admitting that he liked waking up with Chakotay obviously would not be a good idea. "Another game?"
"Nah," Tom said, after draining his glass. "It‘s been a long day. I‘m going to head to bed."
"Whose turn?" Tom blinked in confusion, then realized what Harry was asking.
"His."
As he headed for the door, Chakotay and the Captain entered Sandrine‘s.
"Good night, Captain," he said as he passed them. "See you later, Commander." He grinned at the faint blush on the other man‘s face as he headed for his quarters. Behind him, he could hear snickers from everyone within ear-shot of his comment.
And was that a smile on the big man‘s face?
* * * * *
Tom looked at his pajamas drawer, trying to decide what to wear. His usual flannels? Or maybe something a little... skimpier. Maybe nothing at all!
What a wimp, he told himself, pulling out his usual flannel pjs. Then he tossed the top back into the drawer with a grin. Why not live a little? Who knows, he might get lucky. Boy, he‘d like to get lucky.
He was climbing into bed when the door chimed. Tom briefly considered not answering it, but knew that his curiosity would plague him if he didn‘t.
The door opened to reveal Chakotay standing in the hall holding a bag. He also looked rather uncomfortable. "Commander?"
"Lieutenant. May I come in?" Tom stood back and let the other man in. "I thought... well, since I‘m going to end up here anyway, maybe if I start hear, I‘ll get to keep some clothes on."
Tom choked back a snicker. "Good idea. It‘s worth a try."
Chakotay went into the bathroom and came out a couple minutes later wearing the same nightshirt that he‘d had on every time that Tom had woken up in his bed. Tom was already under the covers, and carefully ignoring the dip of the mattress as Chakotay climbed in next to him.
Tom closed his eyes and tried to will himself to sleep, despite the highly distracting presence of Chakotay at his back. This wasn‘t going to be easy. On the other hand, Chakotay didn‘t seem to have a problem with it. Within a few minutes, the man was snoring lightly. Tom sighed. This was definitely not going to be easy.
A few minutes after that, Tom nearly jumped out of his skin. Chakotay had thrown an arm over him and was now cuddling him for all he was worth. This was not conducive to sleep.
On the other hand, he might as well enjoy it while he could. Tom twisted around so that he was facing Chakotay and cuddled him right back.
* * * * *
Waking the next morning was leisurely. The alarm hadn‘t gone off, and he was very comfortable.
As he shook off the residual drowsiness, he realized two things. First off, he was very aroused. Secondly... Chakotay was nuzzling one of his nipples.
Tom froze and opened his eyes. He was lying on his back, looking up at the ceiling, with Chakotay draped over him like he was some sort of pillow. And Chakotay was definitely nuzzling at his nipple. He also was still asleep.
Tom breathing started to accelerate, and he held perfectly still. What the hell was he supposed to do? Besides enjoy, that was.
Then it stopped. Tom looked down and saw that the Commander was now awake. He was looking at Tom with a speculative look on his face. Tom held his breath, wondering if he was going to end up on the man‘s shit-list again. Of course, what he would really like was...
Chakotay grinned, then went back to his nuzzling. This time, though, it was deliberate and obviously intended to arouse. And if it weren‘t, the hand that slipped into Tom‘s pajama bottoms to grasp his erection definitely was.
"Oh, yeah..." Tom moaned. He closed his eyes and let Chakotay do what he wanted.
The nuzzling had escalated to sucking, and the hand was doing delightfully wicked things to his cock. Slow strokes, from base to crown, with only light pressure made him gasp. A firmer grip on his balls, rolling them back and forth, like those damn ringing balls of Harry‘s, had him moaning. A caress of his scrotum had him groaning.
Damn, the man was good at that.
And he didn‘t seem inclined to hurry, either. He pushed Tom to the brink of orgasm, then kept pulling back at the last minute, holding Tom on the edge, but not letting him go over. Finally, Tom gave up on pride and started begging.
"Cha-kohhhh-tay! Please, stop teasing."
"If you insist, Flyboy," came the chucked reply. Then the grip tightened on Tom‘s cock, this time pumping faster and harder until he came, making a mess of the pajama bottoms that he was still wearing.
Tom lay there gasping, while Chakotay chuckled. "You‘d think that you enjoyed that, Lieutenant," he said. Tom started to bristle before he realized that the tone was amused, not sarcastic. He flipped over on top of the other man and pulled the night shirt up. My, my, my, he thought to himself. This Commander didn‘t wear anything under his nightshirt. All the better to...
"I‘ll show you how much I enjoyed it," Tom said, the bent his head to suck the Commander‘s little Commander in.
Oh, yeah, he was definitely enjoying this.
* * * * *
Tom ran his fingers through his hair, checking his reflection to make sure that he looked okay. Well, other than the grin that wouldn‘t go away, he looked the same as usual.
He looked up as Chakotay came out of the bedroom, tugging his uniform into place. The man had a smile plastered all over his face too.
"So, Commander. Your place tonight?"
Chakotay‘s grin widened, making his dimples even deeper. "I‘m looking forward to it," he said, then swiftly kissed Tom. Tom was tempted to try going for seconds, but they didn‘t really have time before they had to be on the bridge. Later.
Yeah, he thought as they headed out the door. Another morning in the Delta Quadrant, just like all the others before it.
Or at least just like all the ones to come, he hoped.
* * * * *
Kes smiled at the two men as they left Tom‘s quarters. She had known that they would be good together.
She wanted Tom to be happy. He‘d been so good to her and Neelix when they‘d joined the crew. Even when he and Neelix had been going through that silly jealousy thing, he‘d still been there for them.
But he was also lonely, and she wanted to help him with that. It was so obvious that he and Chakotay should be together. She‘d known that from the start. Unfortunately, they‘d both been too dense to notice the subtle clues she threw their way. Finally, she‘d given up on subtle and gone to blatant, impossible to ignore and very unsubtle.
Well, it had worked, she thought with quiet pride.
That just left dear, sweet Neelix. His only attempt to date after she‘d left had been sabotaged when the young woman had been killed. He hadn‘t tried again.
He needed someone. Someone to look after, to protect. The way he‘d protected her. He deserved it.
Maybe Geron...
THE END