Written in April 2006.
Title: Trouble Follows
Author: Settiai
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairing: Hoshi, Malcolm, Trip
Word Count: ~1100 words
Summary: Wherever they go, trouble follows.
"You must be making that up," Malcolm said, raising an eyebrow as he stared at the man sitting across from him.
Trip shook his head and grinned impishly back at him. "Nope, every word of it's true."
"You really set your collie loose in that poor woman's home?" Malcolm asked, shaking his head as an amused smile played at the corners of his mouth. "She must have hated you after that."
"You're right about that," Trip agreed with a laugh. "It took almost an hour's worth of begging to convince her not to call the local sheriff."
He paused for a moment, and his grin quickly twisted into a mischievous smirk. "Her daughter had a different reaction," he added. "I dated Lori for three whole years after that little incident."
Shaking his head, Malcolm settled back in his chair and took another sip of his drink. "You're hopeless."
"Trip!"
Both of them looked up as Hoshi made her way toward them, an amused glint in her eyes as she stopped beside their table. "The captain wants to see you," she said, obviously struggling not to smile.
Trip rolled his eyes as he downed the rest of his coffee. "I thought he'd already left to go down to the planet," he muttered, pulling himself to his feet. "What on earth does he want with me now?"
Hoshi shrugged. "I couldn't say," she replied. "All I know is that he wanted to talk to you before he left."
With a tired sigh, Trip gave them a half-hearted wave before he turned and made his way toward the door. As soon as he disappeared, Hoshi dropped down in the chair he had abandoned and stopped hiding her grin.
"Couldn't say?" Malcolm asked good-naturedly. "Or wouldn't?"
Hoshi winked. "The captain might have mentioned something about letting Trip watch over Porthos for him while he's attending the ceremony," she admitted. "I didn't want to ruin the surprise, though."
Malcolm chortled. "The captain's still a little upset with him, I take it?"
"Just a little," Hoshi agreed, her smile broadening. "But can you blame him? I mean, did you see those flames?"
"This is all your fault!" Malcolm hissed, glaring at Trip. "I swear, if we don't find that dog soon….."
Trip shot him an incredulous look. "My fault?" he repeated. "How could this possibly be my fault?"
Malcolm raised an eyebrow. "Who was it that volunteered to keep an eye on Porthos while the captain was down on the planet?" he asked. "And, more importantly, who was it that told him 'oh, don't worry sir, Malcolm and I will make sure nothing happens to him while you're gone."
At the sound of Malcolm imitating his accent almost perfectly, Trip opened his mouth to reply, but he closed it after a second. "So it might be my fault that you're involved," he admitted with a sheepish grin. "Still, I'll have you know that I didn't exactly volunteer myself. The captain's a little upset about that little fire in his quarters, and this was my punishment."
"Little fire?" Malcolm said with a snort. "Trip, it was an explosion. You crossed two wires that shouldn't be crossed, and his computer exploded."
"Which then led to a little fire," Trip pressed on.
Malcolm gave him an unbelieving look. "A little fire with flames that went from floor to ceiling?"
Trip shot him a dirty look. "Anyone can make a mistake," he mumbled.
"I'm not denying that," Malcolm said dryly. "I'd still like to know why you felt I deserved to be dragged into your little mess, though."
"I'm sorry," Trip said, sounding anything but apologetic. "Really."
"You lost Porthos!" Malcolm said angrily. "And it's going to be on my head just as much as yours, because you told the captain that we would watch him. We, as in you and me. And since he's already mad at you, I'm going to get the brunt of his anger."
Trip glared at him again. "When did the universe start revolving around you?" he snapped.
"Three hours ago," Malcolm shot back, "when you woke me up, announced that you'd lost Porthos, and informed me that, oh by the way, you'd told the captain we'd both be responsible for him."
"I told you that I was sorry," Trip protested. "What else do you wan--"
He stopped abruptly, earning a curious look from his Malcolm. "Did you hear that?" Trip whispered as he quickly moved his gaze over the mess hall. "I would have sworn that I heard something."
Malcolm gave him an exasperated look.
"Looking for something?"
Malcolm and Trip both looked up at the sound of Hoshi's voice, their faces growing red when they saw her peering at them from the doorway with an amused look on her face.
"Well?" she asked.
"Apparently Trip told the captain that we'd both be responsible for watching Porthos," Malcolm said dryly, pulling himself to his feet as he spoke. "Of course, he didn't mention this fact to me until after he'd manage to lose the dog."
She blinked once. "How did you lose Porthos?" she asked Trip, an astonished look on her face. "All you had to do was keep him in your quarters and make sure he had food."
Malcolm let out a dry chuckle. "You're going to love this one."
Trip gave the other man an exasperated look before turning back to Hoshi. "I might have, possibly, forgotten to shut the door behind me."
"How did you manage that?" Hoshi asked, a puzzled look on her face.
Trip merely shrugged, so she turned her attention toward Malcolm. "He was standing in the doorway, flirting with Ensign Rodriguez," he explained. "Apparently neither of them noticed Porthos run out."
A disbelieving look appeared on Hoshi's face. "How can the two of you possibly get into so much trouble without even leaving the ship?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Ask him," Malcolm muttered, shooting a dirty look in Trip's direction. "I was an innocent bystander until he pulled me into the middle of things."
Trip shot the other man an equally dirty look, while Hoshi just laughed. "Come on," she said, shaking her head as she stared toward the door. "Let's get you out of this mess."
The two men shared a confused look, their irritation with each other immediately forgotten. "Uh, Hoshi?" Trip asked hesitantly.
She stopped and turned back toward them. "What?"
Malcolm cleared his throat. "Where exactly are we going?" he asked.
Hoshi's eyes twinkled mischievously. "Oh, didn't I tell you?" she asked lightly. "I found Porthos wandering the halls hours ago. He's been asleep in my quarters the entire time."
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