Actions

Work Header

Rating:
Archive Warning:
Category:
Fandoms:
Relationships:
Characters:
Additional Tags:
Language:
English
Stats:
Published:
2024-08-19
Updated:
2025-09-29
Words:
39,360
Chapters:
22/?
Comments:
57
Kudos:
115
Bookmarks:
6
Hits:
2,395

Someone to Lose

Summary:

It's been more than a month since the Enterprise has entered the Delphic Expanse in search of the Xindi, and Malcolm's as frustrated as the rest of the crew at their lack of progress. He tries to be a good friend for Trip, even though it's getting harder and harder to not be anything more than that. Perhaps he can just accept that they'll dance around each other, missing hints and making eye contact, but a man as popular and attractive as the chief engineer would never actually want to hook up with Malcolm, let alone date him, right?

Right?

Chapters are set between various Season 3 episodes, starting before and during S3E02 (Anomaly).

Notes:

Hello! I've been working on this one on and off for a year or so but never bothered to post it. I have at least 12 chapters completed so far but the overall fic isn't done or fully planned so I'll probably post them gradually to give me more time to write the rest.

The whole piece was inspired by a scene from S3E02 (Anomaly—the one where the Enterprise gets robbed of their supplies in the Expanse and first discovers the spheres) that felt like it could've been where a Malcolm/Trip arc began if the show had actually gone in that direction. The dialogue and directions in that scene (the focus of Chapter 4) are taken directly from the episode, but I've extended it on both sides and used that as a catalyst moment for the rest of the fic. Anyway, my goal here is keeping things as realistic as possible from a show perspective, so, here's my attempt!

Chapter 1: Prologue

Summary:

Even now, buried somewhere in his hypoxic memories, Malcolm remembers what Trip had said, if only subconsciously.
From S01E16 (Shuttlepod One).

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

[ • • • ]

“We have 40 hours of air left. What do you expect me to do, plan my wedding?”

“I’m confident there’ll be a Charles Tucker IV one day.”

“Then maybe it’s your wedding we should be planning. That’s assuming we can find you a bride in the next day and a half. Any suggestions?”

“There was a little bar in Mill Valley where all the Starfleet trainees used to go.”

“The 602 Club.”

“You know it?”

“I was there more times than I can remember.”

“I met the man of my dreams my first night there. He was the one, no doubt about it. We had it all figured out. Where we’d live, how many kids we’d have… Ah, Robby, whatever happened to ya.”

“Robby? You don’t mean the waiter Robby?”

“You knew Robby?”

“I knew him more times than I can remember.”

“Ouch.”

“Seems we have more in common than we thought.”

[ • • • ]

Notes:

Robby is just a gender-swapped version of Ruby, the actual ENT waitress that gets a few mentions. I thought this might be the way that Malcolm would, in passing, find out that Trip wasn't just interested in women.
Bolded dialogue is Malcolm's.