ℬeneath the 𝒲illow

captain archer had the role of tactical officer narrowed down to just a handful of people. malcolm knew you’d be a great officer for the job - tough, intelligent, and honorable. still, he wanted it, too. more than anything. he’s not sure where the competitiveness came in - somewhere between passing by each other after the initial interviews and the field tests.

and when malcolm was chosen, he was a little ashamed at how good it felt. giving a tight nod and handshake to captain archer, then grinning when his peers gathered around to congratulate him. all except you, who only really dipped your head and walked off without a word. despite having been given a respectable role on malcolm’s security team, it wasn’t the tactical officer.

the first month or so was a bumpy ride for the both of you. malcolm, professional as ever, tried his best to be a fair commanding officer to those beneath him - especially you. but try as he might, there was a lot of friction. you’d think he was bossy, uptight, and snotty. he’d see you as disobedient and unprofessional. you would question his orders on occasion, thinking your ideas were better. malcolm developed a nasty habit of automatically shooting your suggestions down.

tensions ultimately boiled over to a verbal argument over the smallest thing - the placement of the phase pistols. whether or not they should be close to the door or beside the rifles or across from the flashbangs or whatever petty excuse one could find to keep yelling at the other. word eventually got back to captain archer through the lens of gossip. his solution to the tension was very inline for him - cooperating through force. sending you and malcolm on an away mission together for bonding time.

no amount of excuses or malcolm’s attempts at a doctor’s note would make it go away. so, on the next M-class planet enterprise came across, the both of you were paired up. sent to protect some of the xenobotanists to collect plant samples. very few words were spoken. malcolm kept his head on a swivel, forcing him to focus on work and not how well you seem to be getting on with one of the scientists.

nobody on enterprise could have predicted how quickly the weather took a turn for the worse. the sky grew a little cloudy, and before long, the wind itself seemed to be trying to flatten everything in its path. malcolm led the way back to the shuttlepod while you brought up the rear to help stragglers. everything was happening so fast - the shuttlepod was right there, malcolm was urging everyone inside, you blindly shove someone toward him, malcolm yells out your name, something hits your head, and everything is dark.

waking up in sickbay, it’s a surprise to find malcolm already there. he’s talking with phlox, and your head is still reeling from what must have been a nasty concussion. but then, as you’re sitting up, he’s there. hands in fists at his side, a stern knit of his brow, a rod in his spine - all normal malcolmisms. until he speaks, and you can’t recall ever hearing his voice so unsteady.

from that day on, things are…better? you and malcolm aren’t outwardly hostile anymore. he seems more willing to hear you out, and you fall into line a little easier. but to go on and call him your friend was still a reach. friends usually hang out and talk and laugh. you and malcolm have only had a single meal together once, and travis was there. you barely speak outside of your shifts. the closest you came to laughing together was because trip said something stupid that one time.

so it surprises you when, one day, malcolm approaches you in the armory. it’s late, every one else is off shift. it has been almost a month since the away mission accident, and he finally tells you how glad he was that you made it out. and then you guys just. talk. talk about your work on the enterprise, which of the crewmen might deserve a promotion, and how sorry malcolm was for ever making you feel like weren’t as good just because he was chosen as tactical officer.

of course, that means you have to apologize for being a little rebel. you couldn’t just let malcolm be the only one to apologize. that night, after a little more talking and even a laugh or two, you invite malcolm to movie night. he wasn’t planning on going, but the next day, he asked commander tucker which film will be playing.

movie night turned into late night chats in the mess hall afterward. those turned into malcolm walking you to your cabin. the moments spent lingering in the doorway grew longer and longer until you’re inviting him inside one night. you don’t even remember the excuse you thought up that successfully tricked malcolm into actually coming in, but the passionate way he was kissing you made you realize you didn’t even need to trick him at all. 

he spent the night in your quarters, and in the morning, he was stressing out in the way only malcolm can. talking about fraternization and breaking protocol and stuff like that. not even the way your fingers glided over his skin really made malcolm feel better. not until your lips found his again, and it was suddenly a lot easier to forget about protocol for the moment.

gossip spreads so quickly. trip is the first to find out somehow, and he’s genuinely happy for you. travis and hoshi approach him next, grinning and asking for details about how it happened. t’pol was surprised - she was still under the impression you both hated each other, and lamented that she evidently had much to learn about human relationships.