tanteiotaku | Ten-forward PL

Ten-forward PL

Shotaro had been minding his own business on the couch in his quarters. He had a book in his hand, reading of the adventures of Dixon Hill. He'd specifically asked the replicator to recreate the original print edition for him, instead of just finding it in the ship's database. It feels more real this way. And those PADDs get heavy after a while.

Well, reading was what he had been intending to do, but he had actually fallen asleep. He'd been using his hat to block the room light from his line of vision, but when his head slumped from dozing off, it slipped down over his face. It wasn't any kind of commentary on the book, but rather he was probably still sleeping off the effects of getting the wind beaten out of you by an angry guy with a wrinkled forehead.

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There was no easy way to do this, but it had to be done. Philip took a deep breath and stepped into Shotaro's quarters, Mick following behind at his heels.

He smiled fondly when he saw that Shotaro was asleep. He almost didn't want to wake him up when he was like this.

Mick didn't care. He jumped up on Shotaro's lap and mrrred.

He roused a bit when Mick hopped in his lap. He reached down to pet him, and blinked up at Philip. "Eh? Oh, hey partner." He yawned. Probably some coffee was in order. Unfortunately, he was now purralyzed. He glanced toward the replicator and then down at Mick.

Ah, Shotaro wanted some coffee. Philip knew what that yawn meant. He went over to the replicator to get him a cup of his favorite.

"There's something we need to discuss," he said. but he didn't elaborate.

Shotaro smiled when he went to get the coffee but it faded a bit when Philip opened up that way. That was never good. "What is it?"

He set the coffee down and took a seat next to Shotaro. "I have been... offered the chance to return home," he said slowly. "I would be lying if I said I didn't miss Fuuto."

He missed it very much, at this point, or he wouldn't even be considering the possibility.

"And we can't trust that the time discrepancy that allows our absence to go unnoticed will last forever," he continued. "However..."

No, he didn't like how this conversation was headed. But he had to have it, regardless. He swallowed against the bundle of emotions that began to come up from his gut. Not now. "The chance to go home? By Q?" Why the hell would he ever do someone that favor?

Philip nodded. "I do not understand his reasoning. For us humans it's probably impossible to understand." He wanted to hold Shotaro's hand or do something, but he felt bad enough just for even considering this.

"I've considered all the options. Even if I don't accept the offer, I may still be returned home regardless through Q's capriciousness. I... at least wanted to talk to you first, either way."

Well, he was at least glad he wasn't leaving by surprise. That would be worse. But still, he wasn't ready for this. He scrubbed at the hair behind an ear.

His jaw worked for a moment. All at the same time, he was happy Philip had the opportunity, jealous that he himself hadn't, shocked by the suddenness but on top of it all, he just didn't want to see him go. Sure the circumstances were different from the last time. But he had only barely had him back longer than he had been gone.

And then there was the variable of how things had... developed between them. Unconsciously, he held on a bit more firmly to Mick.

Shotaro was taking this about as well as Philip had expected him to. He looked down at his lap helplessly for a moment before he continued to speak.

"Of course it won't be forever. You know how Q is. You may be returned home, or I may be brought back here." He spoke quickly, like the words would disappear if he kept them bottled up for too long. "I don't like this, Shotaro, but..."

Eventually, he nodded. "Yeah," he said. His voice sounded a little thick. He cleared his throat to try to sound more normal. "Yeah, I know. It makes sense to do this. Even I can't deny that." And once Philip had made his decision, he had to respect that.

This was just like when he was going to run away with Wakana, really. He was just going to be a lot further than a train ride away.

"If you've decided, then it's not my place to say anything about it," he said, but he didn't quite make eye contact when he did. Just because it was true, it didn't mean he had to like it.

Of course Shotaro would be supportive, even though Philip knew he must be hurting inside. Finally he mustered the courage to reach over and take his hand.

He didn't have anything else to say.

Shotaro eagerly accepted his hand, and gave it a good squeeze. Mick stood up and made his way over to his upset human's lap. He didn't mind Shotaro, but Philip was his priority.

But there was a question he couldn't ignore. "What about the me that's there?"

Philip fluffed Mick's fur. "If my understanding is correct, I'll be returned to the exact moment I left. Either you won't be there, or you'll also be returned to that moment at some point in your subjective future." His eyes lit up briefly. "If you'd like, I can draw a diagram."

He waved a hand. "I think that'll only give me a bigger headache," he said, with a small smile on his face.

"What are you going to take back with you?" There were some logistics to be worried about here, what with the Drivers and all.

That was the question, wasn't it?

"I believe Mick would be happier at home. I should be able to replicate the Lost Driver given some time, so I'll let you keep it."

It was probably closer to Philip being happier with Mick at home. "Yeah, I think so. He probably misses grass." Or a good breeze.

"So, when are you going?" His breath caught after asking that question and he cleared his throat again.

"Tomorrow." He thought, anyway. Q had been vague. As usual.

Philip squeezed Shotaro's hand and scooted closer to him, feeling a little better now that they'd talked. "It's not the same as before," he tried to reassure him. "We will see each other again."

He nodded. "Yeah, I know. It's still like... trying to be okay with losing half of myself." And his throat was getting thick again, and he had to try once again to clear it. He was really trying not to cry.

Philip nodded. He could understand that. If the timeline didn't sync up, if he had to wait for Shotaro... that was going to hurt. On the other hand, it would be only fair.

He set Mick down, ignoring the annoyed cat grumble, so he could wrap his arms around Shotaro's shoulders and press their lips together.

Shotaro was only happy to accept those kisses, and he grabbed hold of the front of Philip's shirt as the distance closed. If this was going to be the last time he was going to be able to do this for a while, he was going to enjoy it.

When two people were as close to one another as Philip and Shotaro were, words weren't entirely necessary. But just sitting there in silence was unsatisfying, so kissing would have to do. And Philip quite enjoyed kissing his partner.

He deepened the kiss rapidly, poking his tongue into Shotaro's mouth and burying his fingers in his hair.

Shotaro leaned forward to press Philip against the arm of the couch they were sharing. He wrapped one arm around his waist to give him some support, but he decided he was going to show Philip how he felt, and not waste time again.

Philip let out a muffled groan. It wasn't hard to discern Shotaro's intentions, and he knew the basics of sexual intercourse, but he'd never done an in-depth lookup on the subject. He almost wanted to pull away so he could do that. But he realized he didn't have the time for that. They had to make the most out of every moment they had together.

This was going to be awkward, then. But if there was anybody he was all right with doing this with sans-lookup, it was Shotaro.

He loosened Shotaro's tie and unbuttoned his shirt.

He released Philip's mouth and kissed his way down Philip's jaw and neck, and around to his ear. If, along the way, he left marks, that would just be a bonus. He nibbled a bit at Philip's ear, but not hard enough to hurt him.

He shrugged out of his vest, and let it tumble to the floor with a thud from all the equipment in his pockets.

He let out a pleased sound, practically melting against Shotaro's chest. The sound of the thud on the floor jolted him back into reality, though. He got to his feet and tugged on Shotaro's hand.

"We should move to the bedroom," he said. But first he kicked off his boots and pulled off one of his socks. As they passed by the replicator, he said, "Computer, I need a roll of duct tape."

"Eh?" It took him a moment to bring his brain back around to something other than Philip. He did let his partner up, and watched him go over to the replicator. "What are you doing?" he asked, a little breathlessly. He did start tugging his own shoes off. Now was as good a time as any.

Duct tape in hand, Philip pulled off a piece and proudly stuck his sock to Shotaro's bedroom door.

Shotaro just shouted when he saw the result. "What the hell?!" He got up and went over to it. But unfortunately, he knew just what Philip was up to here. Accordingly, his face was bright red, and not just from shouting.

Philip laughed. He took Shotaro's hand again and tugged him through the door. Amy Pond couldn't complain about having no warning.

He let himself be tugged through the door. He was going to catch hell for this, he knew it. But first...

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Ten-forward PL

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Fade to Black here, smut continues in linked thread