Trekkies in Love (A Star Trek RPF Fanfic)
Title: Trekkies in Love
Author: therumjournals
Fandom: Star Trek RPF
Pairing: Chris/Zach
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 6,900
Description: LtCmdrZach and jtk1980 meet up at a Star Trek convention in 1997.
Warnings: awkward teenage sex, ‘90s references
A/N: This was inspired and heavily influenced by the amazing documentary Trekkies, which everyone needs to watch immediately.
A/N2: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ASHLEYJ28!!! THIS ONE IS FOR YOU. OBVIOUSLY.
THANK YOU FOR BEING BORN SO I COULD WRITE THIS!!
Zach shifted his bag onto his shoulder as he approached the front desk.
“Hi, I have a reservation. Zachary Quinto.” The keyboard clicked as the hotel clerk checked him in. “Um, can you tell me if jtk1980 has checked in yet?”
She raised an eyebrow at him.
“He’s supposed to be my roommate?”
She checked the monitor and shook her head. “No one else has checked into the room yet,” she told him. Zach nodded, relieved, as she handed him the key. At least now he’d have time to change.
**
Zach heard a knock on the door and took one last look in the mirror before he went to answer it. He paused with his hand on the doorknob, took a deep breath, and opened the door.
He’d known jtk1980 had been working on the Kirk costume from Mirror, Mirror. And he knew from a conversation on AOL Instant Messenger that his real name was Chris and that he was from Southern California. But when he opened the door, he almost thought for a second that it was Captain James T. Kirk standing there in the hallway, smirking at him. He managed to shake off the illusion as the kid gave him a little salute. “Lieutenant-Commander.”
Zach stood up a little straighter and held up a hand in the Vulcan salute. “And you must be jtk1980.”
“Yep. You can call me Chris though. I, uh, I like your ears.” He reached a hand out tentatively. “Do you mind?”
Zach shook his head and turned a little so Chris could touch. They were synthetic, of course, and he couldn’t feel the finger that Chris was tracing across the pointed tip, but that didn’t stop Zach from shivering a little just the same.
“Wow,” Chris said. “Realistic.”
Zach grinned. And to think he’d actually wondered whether they’d be worth the $500. Best money he ever spent.
Zach stepped back and gestured for Chris to step inside. “Welcome to our quarters,” he said.
Chris chuckled and glanced around, dropping his bag onto one of the beds. “Awesome.” He turned around and gave Zach a significant look. “So. What do you think?” He spread his arms.
Zach’s eyes traveled over the gold vest and sash, took in the details, the fringe and the insignia on his chest. “It’s amazing,” he said, finally. “I can’t believe you made that yourself.”
Chris grinned. “My mom bought me a sewing machine,” he said, blushing.
“The sash is perfect,” Zach said, stepping forward and taking the end of it in his hand, examining the fabric. “Although…this part here is a little darker in the actual episode.”
Chris sighed and shook his head. “I know. Dammit! I told my mom we had to go back to the fabric store again, but she said it was too late and I had to work with what I had. Dammit!”
“It’s okay,” Zach reassured him. “It doesn’t interfere with the overall look. It’s great, really. I’m sure no one will notice.”
“You noticed.”
“I have an eye for detail,” Zach said, feeling his face flush. He stared at the carpet as an awkward beat passed.
“Have you been down to the floor yet?” Chris asked.
“No.” Zach looked up again, excited. “Had to get ready. You want to go down?”
“Yeah,” Chris said. “I’m dying to get my hands on a schedule.”
Zach picked up a stack of papers from the desk. “Printed this off the internet before I came,” he said with a grin.
Chris reached for it, then hesitated. “Can I…”
“Sure.” Zach handed him the stack and picked up a shopping bag, and they headed out of the room.
Chris barely looked up from the schedule as they took the elevator down and walked through the lobby. Zach had marked it up with circles and asterisks indicating which panels he was planning to go to and which vendors he wanted to visit.
“Dude, you’re not going to the Klingon weaponry workshop? Are you crazy?”
“It’s at the same time as Advanced Vulcan,” Zach said, as though it were obvious. “I can’t believe they’re having those two at the same time. Honestly, that’s why I think this isn’t one of the better cons. Poor planning.”
Chris shook his head in envy. “Man, this is, like, your tenth convention or something, right?”
“Fourteenth,” Zach said proudly.
“Wow. It’s only my second.”
Zach patted him kindly on the shoulder. “You’ll get there. How old are you again?”
“Seventeen. How old were you when you went to your first convention?”
“I went with my brother when I was 14. So you’ve got a few years to catch up.”
“Damn. Guess I’m a late bloomer.” He shook his head wistfully and looked back down at the schedule. “How about I go to the weaponry thing and then I can tell you about it and you can tell me about the Vulcan one?”
“Yeah, okay. Maximize our reach. Good plan.”
They collected their badges and stepped onto the vendor floor. Chris’s mouth dropped and he stood for a moment in awe, but Zach walked quickly ahead, on a mission. Chris jogged a few steps to catch up.
“Where are you going?”
Zach lifted the shopping bag. “I’ve got a couple trades set up. Gotta stop by a couple vendors.”
“Oh. Um. Mind if I come with?”
“No, of course not.”
They approached a table covered with comic books and prop replicas for sale. A guy with long hair and glasses sat behind the table, looking up as Zach approached.
“Are you GornAddict35?” Zach asked. The man nodded slowly. “I’m Lieutenant Commander Zach? You emailed me about a trade?” The man nodded again, and turned around to pull out a cardboard box, overflowing with action figures still in their original packaging. Zach smiled fiendishly and pulled a boxed Gorn figure out of the top of his shopping bag.
Chris gasped and grabbed him by the arm, dragged him a few feet from the table. “Are you crazy,” he hissed. “Please tell me you are not trading that! Those are totally rare!”
Zach rolled his eyes. “I’ve got three more of these at home. Trust me, I’m getting the better end of this deal.” Chris looked skeptical. “Just trust me.”
**
“Dude,” Chris said, as they walked away from the table, “I can’t believe he just traded you a limited edition Picard and the Voyage Home collection for that piece of shit Gorn!” He was practically leaping with excitement, and Zach was grinning smugly.
“I told you to trust me, didn’t I? Now, how much time do we have until the DS9 panel?”
Chris checked his Star Trek watch. “Thirty minutes.”
“Wanna get some food?”
The cashier at McDonalds raised an eyebrow at them and snapped her gum as they ordered. “What are you guys, like, Trekkies or something?” she asked.
“Trekkers,” Chris and Zach corrected, and they glanced at each other, smiling in solidarity.
The cashier shrugged. “Whatever.”
“So,” Zach asked, as they took their trays and sat down at a small table by the window. “Do you have a girlfriend?”
Chris snorted, nearly choking on his milkshake. “What do you think?”
Zach shrugged as he played with a fry. “I don’t know.”
“No. Not that I really want one, anyway,” Chris said. Zach looked at him, waiting. “Like I mean there was this one girl at school that talked to me sometimes. And she invited me over to her house to watch TNG. And during a commercial I was telling her about how I had done this whole graph to try to figure out the stardates and stuff and she seemed really bored. So then I asked her what she thought about Picard’s style of leadership versus Kirk’s and she told me she’s never even seen The Original Series, and she just watches TNG because she thinks Wesley is cute, and I was like ‘oh my god, do not talk to me, please’. You know?”
Zach was cracking up into his cheeseburger and shaking his head. “That’s messed up.”
“I know, right! So, I’ve like given up on girls or whatever.”
“Oh my god, was that the night you posted that rant in the forum about how you can’t wait until it’s the future where people care more about leadership ability and loyalty than about physical appearance?”
Chris blushed. “Uh, yeah. You read that?”
“’course,” Zach said. “I thought…actually…never mind.”
“What?”
Zach shook his head. “Nothing. I just…well, I kinda thought you posted that because you were ugly or something.” He caught Chris’s eye. “But you’re totally not.”
Chris blushed even harder. “Oh. Uh. Thanks?” He glanced at his watch. “We should probably get back if we want good seats.”
“Yeah.”
**
“Goddammit!”
“What?”
Zach leaned away from the wall and counted the people in front of them in line. “We’re, like, 50th in line. And there are only 30 seats in the front row. I swore this would be the year I’d sit first row at the Shatner panel.”
“Well, second row can’t be that bad,” Chris tried.
“Second row is fine for Deep Space Nine. But this is Shatner! Don’t you want him to see your costume? I mean, come on.”
Zach had a point. Chris leaned forward and counted them again. “We’re 45th and 46th,” he said. “That means we only have to beat like 15 people to the front. We can just run up there.” He gave Zach a once over. “You can run fast, right? You look athletic.”
Zach rolled his eyes, but his scowl faded slowly. “Yeah, okay.”
“You play any sports?”
“Track,” Zach said.
“See! I knew you could run!”
Zach shrugged modestly. “What about you?”
“Um…chess club?”
Zach grinned.
“What?”
“Nothing. Just, you really are Kirk, aren’t you?”
Chris was about to say something in response when he felt Zach’s hand squeezing his fingers, hard. He glanced at Zach out of the corner of his eye, but he was staring straight ahead out at the convention floor. “Oh. My. God. Chris. Look. There he is. Oh my god. Leonard Nimoy.”
Chris squinted. Zach was right, there he was, the man himself, walking across the floor surrounded by a team of handlers. His heart pounded in his chest. He glanced down involuntarily to where Zach’s hand was still squeezing his.
“Sorry,” Zach said, pulling his hand away. “I just…I can’t believe this, the Nimoy panel isn’t until tomorrow.”
Zach’s excitement was contagious, and Chris felt himself shaking with anticipation. “Maybe he’s going to be like a surprise guest or something,” he whispered to Zach.
“Chris. We have to get to the front row.”
**
“Oh my god,” Zach said as they followed the crush of people out of the auditorium. “That was insane, Chris, that was….that was like the best experience I’ve ever had, ever!” He turned toward Chris with a serious expression on his face. “You are so lucky. I can’t believe this is only your second con.”
Chris was literally clutching his hands to his chest. “This is the best day of my life. Oh my god, I almost peed myself when Shatner pointed to me!”
“I can’t believe he talked about Mirror, Mirror for like ten minutes.”
“I know! And then when Leonard Nimoy asked why you didn’t have a goatee, oh man, that was epic.”
“I know,” Zach squeaked, and he did a little jump in the air as they made their way over to a bench.
They sat for a while, recounting the total awesomeness of the panel, going over every detail so they would remember, and looking up only when they noticed someone approaching.
“Excuse me,” said the guy, smiling nervously. Chris thought he looked like a total dork. He flashed them the Vulcan salute and they returned the gesture. “Are you, um, are you Lieutenant Commander Zach?”
Zach nodded.
“Oh, cool. I love your posts. I’m resistanceisfeudal, by the way.”
Zach smiled tolerantly.
“Who are you?” he asked, looking at Chris.
“I’m jtk1980.”
“Oh wow. You posted that graph of all the stardates!”
“Yeah, that was me.”
“Wow. I feel like I’m meeting celebrities or something.” When Zach and Chris didn’t say anything, he continued. “Anyway, um, my friend over there, T’Pete-“ he gestured to a friend in science blues whose ears were disproportionate and nowhere near as good as Zach’s, “he’s having a party tonight in his hotel room, and we just wanted to let you know. Like, if you guys wanted to come by, that would be awesome. It’s in room 315. There might even be some girls there!”
Zach glanced at Chris, who had a somewhat panicked expression on his face, then back up at the guy. “Thanks, man. I think we’re gonna just chill tonight, but thanks anyway for the invitation.”
“Oh okay. Well, if you change your mind, you should definitely stop by. It was nice to meet you and stuff.” He backed away a few steps before turning and walking back to join his friends.
Chris looked relieved, but he turned to Zach, saying “You didn’t have to say that. I mean, if you want to go…”
Zach shook his head. “Nah. Believe me, girls aren’t that big of a draw for me either.”
Chris opened his mouth and shut it, furrowing his brow. “Oh. Okay.”
“You wanna head up to the room? If we get room service, we can eat while we watch a couple of the TOS episodes I taped.”
“That would be most logical,” Chris agreed.
**
“What the hell, T’Pring,” Chris yelled at the TV, or tried to through a mouth full of cheeseburger. He chewed, taking a sip of Surge to swallow it down. “She’s such a bitch.”
“Seriously,” Zach agreed, dipping a fry in ketchup. “You know what I always wonder during this episode,” he started, pointing the fry at Chris, “is whether Kirk really-“
He was cut off by Chris cursing and jumping off the bed.
“What’s wrong?”
“You got ketchup on my shirt!”
“Oh no!” Zach got up quickly to follow him into the bathroom, where Chris was dabbing frantically at his golden tunic. “Shit, I knew we should have changed before we ate dinner! Here-“ He grabbed the washcloth from Chris’s hand and held it under the cold water. “Don’t scrub at it, you’ll just rub it in…you have to soak it up, like this,” he said, pressing the wash cloth to the stain. He pulled it away and they both looked in dismay at the dark smear that remained.
Chris pulled away and tugged the shirt off over his head. “Fill up the bathtub,” he said. “I’ll try soaking it.”
“Alright.” Zach turned the faucet on cold and they watched quietly as the tub filled.
“I hate you so much right now,” Chris said, but there was no malice in his voice.
“No you don’t,” Zach said with a smile.
“Yes I do. I hate you and I hate your stupid ears. How would you like it if I got ketchup on your ears, huh? And are you planning to wear those things all night or what?”
“Hell no,” Zach said. He’d kind of forgotten he was wearing them. “I have to take them off so they don’t get wrinkled.” He walked over to the mirror as Chris chuckled behind him. Zach ran the warm water and started wetting the ears, slowly peeling them from his skin.
“Be careful,” Chris warned, watching.
“I know. I need to wear these to the panel tomorrow.”
“Yeah, or else how will Leonard Nimoy recognize you?”
“I know!” Zach caught a glimpse of Chris in the mirror, his eyes twinkling. “Oh. Were you kidding?”
Chris shrugged and looked down. “You should definitely wear the ears tomorrow. ‘Specially since I can’t wear the shirt,” he said mournfully.
“I’m really, really sorry, Chris,” Zach said, pulling the second ear off and setting it down carefully on the counter. “I feel really bad about that.”
“You should,” Chris said, leaning down to submerse his tunic carefully in the tub of water. Zach watched him as he bent over, but he was still caught off guard when Chris turned around swiftly and splashed a handful of water towards Zach’s face.
“Ahhh!! Fucker!!”
Chris laughed and splashed him again, this time soaking his t-shirt.
“Quit it, you little-“ Zach rushed forward and pulled Chris’s wrist from the water, reaching down to try to splash Chris. He managed to dunk his hand in and brought it up to swipe the cold water across Chris’s bare chest. Chris shivered and Zach realized he was still gripping him by the wrist, but he didn’t let go. Their eyes met, and Zach leaned forward impulsively to kiss him on the corner of his mouth. He only just felt the touch of Chris’s skin against his lips before Chris recoiled, pulling away so fast that he slammed his head against the doorframe.
“Ow, fuck,” he grunted, and he slid down to the floor, clutching the back of his head.
Zach’s heart was pounding as fear and regret washed over him. He slid to his knees a few feet away from Chris. “Chris, I’m sorry. I’m sorry, man. Shit.”
Chris drew his knees up and buried his face in his arms.
“I shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry. Chris?”
Chris shook his head, winced. “S’okay,” he mumbled.
“Do you want me to leave?”
Chris didn’t say anything for a minute, just took a few deep breaths. Zach recognized the sound and knew that Chris was trying not to cry. He looked around, not sure if he should stay or go. He startled when he realized that Chris was saying something to him. “So, are you, like…gay?” His voice cracked on the last word.
Zach bit his lip. “I. Um. I mean. If I was…would you, like, hate me?”
Chris shook his head, his face still buried in his arms. “I already thought, maybe…because of that thing you said, about girls.”
“Oh. Right.” Zach felt that hot, nervous embarrassment that he’d become so familiar with over the past couple years creeping through him. “Well, yeah. I’m gay. I think.”
“You think?”
“I mean, it’s not like I ever really kissed anyone.”
Chris looked up from his arms, squinting his eyes against the light. “Anyone?”
“Not really. I mean, one time this guy kind of kissed me at a party, but I didn’t want to and it was awkward…um…kinda like what happened just now. Oh god, I’m sorry, Chris.”
Chris shook his head. “It’s okay. I don’t…I don’t hate you or anything.”
Zach nodded slowly. “I’m glad.” He watched as Chris took a deep breath, staring at a point somewhere over Zach’s shoulder.
“I think…I might be gay, too,” Chris said.
Zach raised an eyebrow in surprise. “What, ’cause of the whole not liking girls thing?”
“No,” Chris said, and he had to swallow a couple times before he got the next part out. “I kind of have…I, like…I’ve always had a kind of a crush on Kirk, okay?”
Zach put a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing. He wasn’t laughing at Chris, really he wasn’t. Just… “Chris. Everyone has a crush on Kirk.”
Chris met his eyes again, his mouth finally starting to quirk up in a little smile. “Shut up.”
“I’m not saying you’re not gay. I’m just saying…you need something else to judge by.”
Chris thought about it for a second. “What about the fact that I sewed myself a sparkly golden tunic?” he asked.
Zach chuckled. “Okay, yeah. Maybe.” He stood up. “I’m gonna try to get some sleep.” He paused in the doorway. “How’s your head?”
“Hurts like a motherfucker.”
“Are we…okay?”
Chris nodded. “Yeah. I’ll see you in the morning.”
He pressed his face back into his arms as Zach closed the door quietly behind him.
**
When Zach woke up, the room was dark except for a light coming from the other bed. He pushed himself up on his elbows to see Chris sitting up against his headboard, immersed in his Nintendo Gameboy.
“You’re still up?”
Chris shrugged, not looking up from the screen. “Couldn’t sleep.”
Zach wondered if he’d had anything to do with that. He sat up in the bed, crossing his legs. Chris had changed into flannel pajama pants and a black Star Fleet Academy t-shirt. “Nice shirt.”
“Thanks.”
“What’re you playing?”
“Beyond the Nexus.”
Zach nodded knowingly. “It only took me like ten hours to beat that,” he bragged.
Chris rolled his eyes. “I’ve beaten it like twelve times. I’m just trying to get a higher score.”
Zach stood up and walked over to the bed. “Mind if I watch?”
Chris shrugged, but he scooted over so Zach had a pillow to lean back against. He leaned close to Chris to stare at the tiny screen. He watched quietly for a few minutes as Chris annihilated the Klingon armada.
“Nice,” Zach commented.
Chris glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. “You breathe loud.”
“Sorry.”
Chris’s thumbs were flying over the controls and he sat up in excitement. Zach leaned over, trying to see the screen until Chris cursed and dropped the Gameboy onto the bed. “Fuck. I lost.”
“Aw, man.”
“You distracted me,” Chris said, nudging him in the arm.
“I just thought I’d make it a little more challenging for you, Mr. ‘I Beat the Game 90,000 Times’ or whatever.”
“Shut up,” Chris said, but he was smiling.
Zach looked over at his bed, then back at the TV. “If you can't sleep, you wanna to watch the rest of the episode?”
“Okay.”
Zach scrambled to the end of the bed, slid the tape into the VCR, and pressed play. He scooted back until he could lean against the headboard again, shifting to get comfortable with his legs bent in front of him, mirroring Chris’s position. They sat in the darkness as the tape picked up where they’d left off.
Zach was only half watching, the rest of his attention focused on Chris sitting beside him, so close he could feel the heat from his body radiating along his side. He relaxed a little, and his leg bumped against Chris’s, and neither of them pulled away. Zach swallowed and stared at the TV, barely seeing. Thank god he had this episode memorized. He felt Chris’s knuckle brush against the back of his hand and stilled, not daring to look down. It took him a few seconds to confirm that the touch wasn’t accidental, that Chris was deliberately running the back of a finger across Zach’s hand, though Zach could see that he was staring straight ahead. Excitement warred with nerves in Zach’s chest. He shifted slightly, turned his hand and closed it around Chris’s fingers. He heard Chris’s breath hitch, felt him change his grip so his hand rested loosely in Zach’s. Chris’s palm was damp and Zach’s wrist was at an awkward angle, but his heart was racing a thousand miles a minute and he wasn’t about to let go. They sat like that for a few minutes, and Zach was paying so much attention to rubbing his thumb over the back of Chris’s hand that he didn’t even notice that the episode was coming to an end. Well, not the end, actually, because he knew the tape cut off two minutes before the episode finished. He cursed internally as he heard the whirr of the VCR and the tape cut off, the TV screen going black and plunging them into darkness.
The room was silent except for their breathing, neither of them wanting to be the first to break the spell. Finally, Zach spoke. “Um. I have another tape. We could watch some more. If you want,” he said, cringing at the halting nervousness in his voice. He was still holding Chris’s hand.
“Okay,” Chris said. He slid his hand out of Zach’s and Zach felt a powerful wave of regret wash over him. Dammit. He’d ruined it, fuck, why did he have to go and say something? He made himself move, away from Chris, off the bed to rummage into his bag for the other tape, then back over to the TV. He changed the tape, pressed play, and climbed back onto the bed next to Chris, leaving space between them. The opening credits came on, blaring loudly. Zach winced.
“Shit, sorry, the sound’s really messed up on this one.” He looked for the remote, saw it on the pillow behind Chris and reached an arm around him to grab it. He turned the volume down, but left his arm where it was, stretched across Chris’s back. He dropped the remote and let his fingers brush against Chris’s side. Zach thought for a second that Chris was going to pull away, but instead he shifted even closer, pressing their sides together, and Zach tightened his grip, curling his fingers against Chris’s t-shirt. He’d stopped pretending to watch TV, his gaze drawn to Chris’s mouth as his tongue darted out to lick his lips. Chris turned to look at him, and as they leaned imperceptibly toward each other, Zach wondered if he should close his eyes. He didn’t want to, but he couldn’t stop himself, and his eyelids fluttered shut as they kissed, a chaste, dry brush of their lips, once, twice. Chris parted his lips, and Zach pulled back a little, swallowing hard.
“Wait,” he whispered.
“What?”
“I thought you liked Kirk,” he teased.
“Zach,” Chris whispered, and he wasn’t teasing, he was pleading, and it sent a shiver of unfamiliar desire down Zach’s spine. This time, the kiss was warm and wet as they pressed their open mouths together. A scrape of teeth and Zach tilted his head, there, that was better, and then they were thrusting their tongues wildly into each others’ mouths. Zach was afraid he might be drooling, so he pressed closer, sealing their lips together and Chris made a pleased sound in the back of his throat. They pulled apart, kissed again with closed lips, but it wasn’t enough, and they opened their mouths again. Zach was a little worried that he hadn’t breathed in a while, but he didn’t want to move, he wanted to do this, to explore Chris’s mouth forever.
Chris slid his hand down to clutch at the side of Zach’s t-shirt, and Zach was suddenly aware of the proximity of Chris’s arm to the erection tenting his sweatpants. He blinked dizzily, shifted his hips a little and pulled away. “Do you, uh,” he started to ask, stopped, started again. “Do you want to-“ he was pretty sure he couldn’t say it- “to touch me?” he finished in a faltering whisper.
He felt Chris go still, could actually hear him lick his lips as he processed what Zach had said. “Uh. I’ve never…I mean, I don’t know how…”
Zach wasn’t sure if it was bravery or desperation that was making him so bold, but he sat up a little in the darkness and continued. “Just…like you touch yourself,” he whispered, maneuvering himself to sit between Chris’s legs, leaning back against his chest. “God,” he said, pushing the elastic of his sweatpants down and wrapping a hand around his throbbing cock. “Oh god, shit-“ Something occurred to him and he twisted around to look at Chris. “You do touch yourself, right?” he asked seriously.
Chris chuckled nervously. “Um yeah. No duh.”
“Okay.” Zach leaned forward to kiss him, then twisted back around, pressing back against him, resting his head on Chris’s shoulder.
Chris shifted so he could look down the flat plane of Zach’s chest and stomach, wishing for a second that they’d taken their shirts off. He let his gaze wander further, to where Zach had shoved his sweatpants down, and finally he made himself look at Zach’s dick, hard and leaking onto his t-shirt. Chris ran a hand down Zach’s torso, stroked his fingers along Zach’s stomach, taking his time, putting off the moment…
Zach took Chris’s hand, gently, and moved it down over his cock, wrapping their fingers together around his length. He stroked once, then again, then he arched his back against Chris and moaned. Chris shook off Zach’s hand so he could do it himself, jerking Zach a little faster, a little harder, like he did to himself late at night.
Zach was twitching against him, groaning, mumbling “Fuck, feels so good, god, so much better, Chris, oh my god.”
Chris tipped his head forward, kissed Zach on his sweat-damp neck, licked at his neck and his ear. Zach said “faster,” and Chris complied and a few strokes later Zach made a strangled sound in the back of his throat and spurted hotly across his shirt. Chris squeezed at his shaft and the last drops of come slid down over his hand before he finally pulled away, wiping Zach’s jizz on the bedspread. Zach lay against him, catching his breath, then he turned around, smiled, and lunged for Chris, capturing his lips in a sloppy, grateful kiss.
When he pulled away, he glanced down at Chris’s crotch, reached out tentatively to press his palm against the line of Chris’s cock. Chris moaned, loudly, and Zach looked up at him in surprise.
“Sorry,” Chris panted. “Just…I’ve had a boner for like the past three hours and…yeah.”
Zach smiled up at him, shifting so he was between Chris’s legs on his stomach, propped on his elbows. He ran a finger along Chris’s waistband, then he slowly slid it down, exposing Chris’s swollen erection. Zach licked his lips and leaned down to touch his tongue to the smooth, hot skin.
“What - Zach - Jesus -“ Chris stammered. Zach licked at him wetly, dragging the surface of his tongue up and down the shaft. “God, Zach,” Chris said, unable to keep his lip from curling a little in disgust. “You want to do that?”
Zach nodded intently and closed his lips around the head of Chris’s cock. Chris gasped above him as he sucked tentatively, tasting Chris on his tongue, salty and viscous. He tried to figure out what to do with his teeth, experimented with taking Chris a little farther into his mouth, wondered if he should do something else with his tongue. He sucked a little harder and Chris yelped, “Shit, Zach, get off, get off,” and Zach pulled away as Chris came, reaching down to jerk himself in quick, short strokes as his cock pulsed and streams of liquid splashed across his stomach.
“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god,” Chris was mumbling as he collapsed sideways across the pillows, his eyes squeezed shut.
Zach scooted over on his elbows. “Was that okay?”
“Oh my god, Zach,” Chris said, groping blindly for him, pulling him into a tangled hug and panting against his chest. “’Was that okay’, are you kidding me, that was….that was…”
“Gay?”
Chris laughed despite himself, but he’d finally recovered normal breathing patterns. “Well, yeah, but also…just, like…god, it just felt so good, like, like…like I don’t even know. Just, so good.” He opened his eyes to look at Zach. “Um. Did you…like that?”
Zach nodded fervently. “You should try it some time,” he said, smiling. Chris giggled and shifted into a more comfortable position. Zach thought he should probably get up, go back to his own bed. He didn’t want things to be weird, but it was nice to have Chris’s arm around his waist and to hear the little sleepy sounds Chris was making, so he closed his eyes and stayed.
They woke up a few hours later, lying side by side, not touching. Chris raised his head sleepily to look at the clock. “Ugh,” he groaned. “5:30. Too early. Go back to sleep.” He grabbed for Zach’s arm and pulled it over himself like a blanket. Zach scooted closer and tried to close his eyes, but his heart was pounding, and it was a while before he could fall back asleep.
**
Chris was in the shower when he heard Zach knock on the bathroom door.
“What?” he yelled.
“Can I come in? I need to put my ears on.”
Chris thought it was probably weird to let your roommate come into the bathroom while you’re in the shower, but then again it was probably weird to jerk your roommate off and then sleep in the same bed with him, so why not.
“Okay.”
Zach was still in there when he finished rinsing off. “Um. Can you hand me a towel?”
Zach handed him a towel over the top of the shower, and he wrapped it tightly around his waist before he stepped out. Zach was looking intently in the mirror, and Chris watched as he smoothed down the edges of the prosthetic ear. He caught Chris’s eye in the mirror as he finished. “What do you think?”
He saw Chris take a step toward him, and he turned, and then Chris’s mouth was pressed against his. Zach remembered to tilt his head just in time, as they parted their lips and slammed their tongues frantically together. Their soft moans mingled with the wet smacking sounds of the uncoordinated kiss, and they careened around the bathroom until Chris was pressed back against the counter.
“Zach,” Chris panted, pulling away. “We have to…the panel…oh fuck,” he said, as Zach wrapped a fist around his achingly hard cock, stroking him roughly. “Do you want me to,” he started, but then Zach was pushing his own pants down and he let go of Chris to pump at his own dick. Chris felt the edge of the counter digging into his back, but he ignored it and reached down to grab himself, his eyes never leaving Zach’s fist as it flew over his length. Zach was watching as well, stepping closer so their fists were side by side, the head of his cock almost pressed against Chris’s stomach. They were both panting now, grunting softly, blinking sweat out of their eyes. Chris got there first, jerking his hips and whimpering as he came against Zach’s skin. Zach felt the hot spurt across his stomach and he latched his lips onto Chris’s neck to muffle his shout as his climax overtook him. They sagged against the counter for a few minutes, recovering, then stood awkwardly in the middle of the bathroom, refusing to meet each others’ eyes. Finally, Chris let his eyes travel up Zach’s chest.
“Shit.”
“What?”
“Your ear got bent,” he said, reaching out to poke at the slightly creased tip.
Zach bit his lip and stared at Chris’s neck. “Um. I think I gave you a hickey.”
Chris’s eyes widened and he turned around to look in the mirror. A purplish bruise had formed where Zach had sucked at his neck in the heat of the moment. “Shit.”
“Sorry.”
“It’s okay. Um. Do you think we’ll still make it to the workshops?” he asked.
Zach swallowed, shrugged. “I kinda don’t care right now,” he confessed. “I’d be fine with staying here and doing…that…all day.”
Chris blushed, too, and smiled, but he shook his head. “No way. You have to show off your Vulcan language skills. And we have to see Nimoy.”
Zach nodded. “Okay. You’re right.” He caught a glimpse of Chris’s tunic hanging over the towel rack, still dripping from the night before. “Um. What are you going to wear?”
**
Chris had come prepared with another gold shirt, just in case. “I didn’t make this one,” he said sadly, “it’s just a Halloween costume, but I’ll have to make do.”
Zach gave him an appraising look. “You still look like him,” he confirmed.
Chris blushed again as he followed Zach out of the room.
**
Back at the convention, they remembered why they were there in the first place and tried to fit in everything they hadn’t gotten to the day before. In between panels and autographs, Zach finished his trades and Chris spent his allowance on comics and Kirk-related paraphernalia as they sucked down Cokes to make up for their lack of sleep the previous night. When they finally had a moment to relax, they flopped down on a bench in the convention hall and set their bags down on the floor.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, until Zach glanced down in surprise as Chris put a hand on his thigh.
Chris looked at him shyly, questioning, and Zach gave him a smile and set his hand down on top of Chris’s. He glanced around to see if anyone was looking at them. No one was, but there was a group of women standing in a nearby corner, giggling as they pored over what looked like hand-drawn pictures. Zach had a sudden realization and he turned to Chris with a mischievous grin. “Hey, Chris.”
“What?”
“Have you ever heard of fanfiction?”
“What, like where people write about Star Trek characters but they make up their own stories?”
Zach nodded. “Uh huh. Yeah. But did you know that a bunch of those stories involve Kirk and Spock fucking and stuff?”
Chris’s eyes widened in surprise. “What?! Ew! I mean…” he trailed off as he actually considered it, looked down at Zach’s hand on his, and blushed.
Zach leaned toward him with a conspiratorial whisper. “I have an idea.”
**
“Wow,” Chris said, as they took the elevator back up to their hotel room. “I can’t believe that just happened.”
“I know,” Zach laughed. “Those ladies were waaaaay to excited to watch us kiss. And to take pictures.”
Chris shook his head. “No, I mean…well, yeah, but I mean, I can’t believe I did that.”
Zach cocked his head. “What?”
“Kissed you. In front of people. I think my life may have changed a little this weekend.”
“Yeah,” Zach chuckled in agreement. “I know what you mean.”
When they got back to the room, Chris changed out of his gold shirt while Zach went into the bathroom to take his ears off for the final time. He came out and sat cross legged on the bed beside Chris. “You hungry?”
Chris shrugged, then nodded. “But…do you want to get room service again?” he asked hopefully.
“Yeah, okay.” Zach said, but he didn’t make a move to grab the menu. He sat quietly for a few seconds, picking at the bedspread. “So…what time is your aunt picking you up tomorrow?” he asked softly.
“Nine.”
“Damn.” Zach felt his stomach clenching up, his mouth turning down at the corners. Altogether an unpleasant feeling, he decided. He sucked in a breath. “So, I wanted to ask you something…” He waited for Chris’s reassurance.
“Okay…”
“Would you want to, like, be my boyfriend?” Zach asked, and it took every bit of his willpower to make himself look up to meet Chris’s eyes.
Chris laughed in surprise. “You can’t be serious.”
Zach’s face fell.
“I mean, yeah, but,” Chris was still laughing, nervously now, “God, my mom would kill me!”
“It’s okay,” Zach said quickly. “You know what, don’t worry about it.”
“No, no, I mean, Zach, look. Look at me,” he said, gripping Zach’s chin and tilting his head up to look at him. “Zach, I…shit, it would be awesome to be your boyfriend. Like, really awesome. I just, you know-“ he said, squinting in thought. “I’m in high school still, and it’s not like I could just go on dates with you and stuff. And you don’t live anywhere near me!”
“I know,” Zach said defiantly, pulling away. He looked down, picking at his cuticles. “Just, maybe we could be, like, internet boyfriends? And I could call you sometimes. And didn’t you say you thought your parents would let you go to the convention in San Diego?”
“Yeah…” Chris said slowly.
“I just mean, like, if someone asked me if I had a boyfriend, I could tell them yeah, you know?”
Chris swallowed and tried to hold back the grin that was unexpectedly taking over his face. He nodded. “Yeah, okay. Yeah. I’d like that.”
Zach smiled shyly and slid across the bed toward Chris. They wrapped their arms around each other and kissed for a little while, less desperate now, but with a tinge of sadness.
“I’m gonna miss you,” Chris said, his voice muffled against Zach’s shoulder.
“Yeah, me too.”
“I wish we could stay here another day.”
“Yeah.” Zach rubbed his hand across Chris’s back as an unexpected ache settled in his chest.
“You know what we could do though?” Chris asked. He looked at Zach, blue eyes twinkling.
“What’s that?”
Chris leaned forward to touch his lips to Zach’s in a gentle kiss. “We could try to stay up all night,” he said. He reached up to play with the hair at the back of Zach’s neck. “What do you say to that?”
“I say-“ Zach pressed another kiss against Chris’s lips “-make it so.”
(Sequel: Trekkies in Love, CONtinued)
Author: therumjournals
Fandom: Star Trek RPF
Pairing: Chris/Zach
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 6,900
Description: LtCmdrZach and jtk1980 meet up at a Star Trek convention in 1997.
Warnings: awkward teenage sex, ‘90s references
A/N: This was inspired and heavily influenced by the amazing documentary Trekkies, which everyone needs to watch immediately.
A/N2: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ASHLEYJ28!!! THIS ONE IS FOR YOU. OBVIOUSLY.
THANK YOU FOR BEING BORN SO I COULD WRITE THIS!!
Zach shifted his bag onto his shoulder as he approached the front desk.
“Hi, I have a reservation. Zachary Quinto.” The keyboard clicked as the hotel clerk checked him in. “Um, can you tell me if jtk1980 has checked in yet?”
She raised an eyebrow at him.
“He’s supposed to be my roommate?”
She checked the monitor and shook her head. “No one else has checked into the room yet,” she told him. Zach nodded, relieved, as she handed him the key. At least now he’d have time to change.
**
Zach heard a knock on the door and took one last look in the mirror before he went to answer it. He paused with his hand on the doorknob, took a deep breath, and opened the door.
He’d known jtk1980 had been working on the Kirk costume from Mirror, Mirror. And he knew from a conversation on AOL Instant Messenger that his real name was Chris and that he was from Southern California. But when he opened the door, he almost thought for a second that it was Captain James T. Kirk standing there in the hallway, smirking at him. He managed to shake off the illusion as the kid gave him a little salute. “Lieutenant-Commander.”
Zach stood up a little straighter and held up a hand in the Vulcan salute. “And you must be jtk1980.”
“Yep. You can call me Chris though. I, uh, I like your ears.” He reached a hand out tentatively. “Do you mind?”
Zach shook his head and turned a little so Chris could touch. They were synthetic, of course, and he couldn’t feel the finger that Chris was tracing across the pointed tip, but that didn’t stop Zach from shivering a little just the same.
“Wow,” Chris said. “Realistic.”
Zach grinned. And to think he’d actually wondered whether they’d be worth the $500. Best money he ever spent.
Zach stepped back and gestured for Chris to step inside. “Welcome to our quarters,” he said.
Chris chuckled and glanced around, dropping his bag onto one of the beds. “Awesome.” He turned around and gave Zach a significant look. “So. What do you think?” He spread his arms.
Zach’s eyes traveled over the gold vest and sash, took in the details, the fringe and the insignia on his chest. “It’s amazing,” he said, finally. “I can’t believe you made that yourself.”
Chris grinned. “My mom bought me a sewing machine,” he said, blushing.
“The sash is perfect,” Zach said, stepping forward and taking the end of it in his hand, examining the fabric. “Although…this part here is a little darker in the actual episode.”
Chris sighed and shook his head. “I know. Dammit! I told my mom we had to go back to the fabric store again, but she said it was too late and I had to work with what I had. Dammit!”
“It’s okay,” Zach reassured him. “It doesn’t interfere with the overall look. It’s great, really. I’m sure no one will notice.”
“You noticed.”
“I have an eye for detail,” Zach said, feeling his face flush. He stared at the carpet as an awkward beat passed.
“Have you been down to the floor yet?” Chris asked.
“No.” Zach looked up again, excited. “Had to get ready. You want to go down?”
“Yeah,” Chris said. “I’m dying to get my hands on a schedule.”
Zach picked up a stack of papers from the desk. “Printed this off the internet before I came,” he said with a grin.
Chris reached for it, then hesitated. “Can I…”
“Sure.” Zach handed him the stack and picked up a shopping bag, and they headed out of the room.
Chris barely looked up from the schedule as they took the elevator down and walked through the lobby. Zach had marked it up with circles and asterisks indicating which panels he was planning to go to and which vendors he wanted to visit.
“Dude, you’re not going to the Klingon weaponry workshop? Are you crazy?”
“It’s at the same time as Advanced Vulcan,” Zach said, as though it were obvious. “I can’t believe they’re having those two at the same time. Honestly, that’s why I think this isn’t one of the better cons. Poor planning.”
Chris shook his head in envy. “Man, this is, like, your tenth convention or something, right?”
“Fourteenth,” Zach said proudly.
“Wow. It’s only my second.”
Zach patted him kindly on the shoulder. “You’ll get there. How old are you again?”
“Seventeen. How old were you when you went to your first convention?”
“I went with my brother when I was 14. So you’ve got a few years to catch up.”
“Damn. Guess I’m a late bloomer.” He shook his head wistfully and looked back down at the schedule. “How about I go to the weaponry thing and then I can tell you about it and you can tell me about the Vulcan one?”
“Yeah, okay. Maximize our reach. Good plan.”
They collected their badges and stepped onto the vendor floor. Chris’s mouth dropped and he stood for a moment in awe, but Zach walked quickly ahead, on a mission. Chris jogged a few steps to catch up.
“Where are you going?”
Zach lifted the shopping bag. “I’ve got a couple trades set up. Gotta stop by a couple vendors.”
“Oh. Um. Mind if I come with?”
“No, of course not.”
They approached a table covered with comic books and prop replicas for sale. A guy with long hair and glasses sat behind the table, looking up as Zach approached.
“Are you GornAddict35?” Zach asked. The man nodded slowly. “I’m Lieutenant Commander Zach? You emailed me about a trade?” The man nodded again, and turned around to pull out a cardboard box, overflowing with action figures still in their original packaging. Zach smiled fiendishly and pulled a boxed Gorn figure out of the top of his shopping bag.
Chris gasped and grabbed him by the arm, dragged him a few feet from the table. “Are you crazy,” he hissed. “Please tell me you are not trading that! Those are totally rare!”
Zach rolled his eyes. “I’ve got three more of these at home. Trust me, I’m getting the better end of this deal.” Chris looked skeptical. “Just trust me.”
**
“Dude,” Chris said, as they walked away from the table, “I can’t believe he just traded you a limited edition Picard and the Voyage Home collection for that piece of shit Gorn!” He was practically leaping with excitement, and Zach was grinning smugly.
“I told you to trust me, didn’t I? Now, how much time do we have until the DS9 panel?”
Chris checked his Star Trek watch. “Thirty minutes.”
“Wanna get some food?”
The cashier at McDonalds raised an eyebrow at them and snapped her gum as they ordered. “What are you guys, like, Trekkies or something?” she asked.
“Trekkers,” Chris and Zach corrected, and they glanced at each other, smiling in solidarity.
The cashier shrugged. “Whatever.”
“So,” Zach asked, as they took their trays and sat down at a small table by the window. “Do you have a girlfriend?”
Chris snorted, nearly choking on his milkshake. “What do you think?”
Zach shrugged as he played with a fry. “I don’t know.”
“No. Not that I really want one, anyway,” Chris said. Zach looked at him, waiting. “Like I mean there was this one girl at school that talked to me sometimes. And she invited me over to her house to watch TNG. And during a commercial I was telling her about how I had done this whole graph to try to figure out the stardates and stuff and she seemed really bored. So then I asked her what she thought about Picard’s style of leadership versus Kirk’s and she told me she’s never even seen The Original Series, and she just watches TNG because she thinks Wesley is cute, and I was like ‘oh my god, do not talk to me, please’. You know?”
Zach was cracking up into his cheeseburger and shaking his head. “That’s messed up.”
“I know, right! So, I’ve like given up on girls or whatever.”
“Oh my god, was that the night you posted that rant in the forum about how you can’t wait until it’s the future where people care more about leadership ability and loyalty than about physical appearance?”
Chris blushed. “Uh, yeah. You read that?”
“’course,” Zach said. “I thought…actually…never mind.”
“What?”
Zach shook his head. “Nothing. I just…well, I kinda thought you posted that because you were ugly or something.” He caught Chris’s eye. “But you’re totally not.”
Chris blushed even harder. “Oh. Uh. Thanks?” He glanced at his watch. “We should probably get back if we want good seats.”
“Yeah.”
**
“Goddammit!”
“What?”
Zach leaned away from the wall and counted the people in front of them in line. “We’re, like, 50th in line. And there are only 30 seats in the front row. I swore this would be the year I’d sit first row at the Shatner panel.”
“Well, second row can’t be that bad,” Chris tried.
“Second row is fine for Deep Space Nine. But this is Shatner! Don’t you want him to see your costume? I mean, come on.”
Zach had a point. Chris leaned forward and counted them again. “We’re 45th and 46th,” he said. “That means we only have to beat like 15 people to the front. We can just run up there.” He gave Zach a once over. “You can run fast, right? You look athletic.”
Zach rolled his eyes, but his scowl faded slowly. “Yeah, okay.”
“You play any sports?”
“Track,” Zach said.
“See! I knew you could run!”
Zach shrugged modestly. “What about you?”
“Um…chess club?”
Zach grinned.
“What?”
“Nothing. Just, you really are Kirk, aren’t you?”
Chris was about to say something in response when he felt Zach’s hand squeezing his fingers, hard. He glanced at Zach out of the corner of his eye, but he was staring straight ahead out at the convention floor. “Oh. My. God. Chris. Look. There he is. Oh my god. Leonard Nimoy.”
Chris squinted. Zach was right, there he was, the man himself, walking across the floor surrounded by a team of handlers. His heart pounded in his chest. He glanced down involuntarily to where Zach’s hand was still squeezing his.
“Sorry,” Zach said, pulling his hand away. “I just…I can’t believe this, the Nimoy panel isn’t until tomorrow.”
Zach’s excitement was contagious, and Chris felt himself shaking with anticipation. “Maybe he’s going to be like a surprise guest or something,” he whispered to Zach.
“Chris. We have to get to the front row.”
**
“Oh my god,” Zach said as they followed the crush of people out of the auditorium. “That was insane, Chris, that was….that was like the best experience I’ve ever had, ever!” He turned toward Chris with a serious expression on his face. “You are so lucky. I can’t believe this is only your second con.”
Chris was literally clutching his hands to his chest. “This is the best day of my life. Oh my god, I almost peed myself when Shatner pointed to me!”
“I can’t believe he talked about Mirror, Mirror for like ten minutes.”
“I know! And then when Leonard Nimoy asked why you didn’t have a goatee, oh man, that was epic.”
“I know,” Zach squeaked, and he did a little jump in the air as they made their way over to a bench.
They sat for a while, recounting the total awesomeness of the panel, going over every detail so they would remember, and looking up only when they noticed someone approaching.
“Excuse me,” said the guy, smiling nervously. Chris thought he looked like a total dork. He flashed them the Vulcan salute and they returned the gesture. “Are you, um, are you Lieutenant Commander Zach?”
Zach nodded.
“Oh, cool. I love your posts. I’m resistanceisfeudal, by the way.”
Zach smiled tolerantly.
“Who are you?” he asked, looking at Chris.
“I’m jtk1980.”
“Oh wow. You posted that graph of all the stardates!”
“Yeah, that was me.”
“Wow. I feel like I’m meeting celebrities or something.” When Zach and Chris didn’t say anything, he continued. “Anyway, um, my friend over there, T’Pete-“ he gestured to a friend in science blues whose ears were disproportionate and nowhere near as good as Zach’s, “he’s having a party tonight in his hotel room, and we just wanted to let you know. Like, if you guys wanted to come by, that would be awesome. It’s in room 315. There might even be some girls there!”
Zach glanced at Chris, who had a somewhat panicked expression on his face, then back up at the guy. “Thanks, man. I think we’re gonna just chill tonight, but thanks anyway for the invitation.”
“Oh okay. Well, if you change your mind, you should definitely stop by. It was nice to meet you and stuff.” He backed away a few steps before turning and walking back to join his friends.
Chris looked relieved, but he turned to Zach, saying “You didn’t have to say that. I mean, if you want to go…”
Zach shook his head. “Nah. Believe me, girls aren’t that big of a draw for me either.”
Chris opened his mouth and shut it, furrowing his brow. “Oh. Okay.”
“You wanna head up to the room? If we get room service, we can eat while we watch a couple of the TOS episodes I taped.”
“That would be most logical,” Chris agreed.
**
“What the hell, T’Pring,” Chris yelled at the TV, or tried to through a mouth full of cheeseburger. He chewed, taking a sip of Surge to swallow it down. “She’s such a bitch.”
“Seriously,” Zach agreed, dipping a fry in ketchup. “You know what I always wonder during this episode,” he started, pointing the fry at Chris, “is whether Kirk really-“
He was cut off by Chris cursing and jumping off the bed.
“What’s wrong?”
“You got ketchup on my shirt!”
“Oh no!” Zach got up quickly to follow him into the bathroom, where Chris was dabbing frantically at his golden tunic. “Shit, I knew we should have changed before we ate dinner! Here-“ He grabbed the washcloth from Chris’s hand and held it under the cold water. “Don’t scrub at it, you’ll just rub it in…you have to soak it up, like this,” he said, pressing the wash cloth to the stain. He pulled it away and they both looked in dismay at the dark smear that remained.
Chris pulled away and tugged the shirt off over his head. “Fill up the bathtub,” he said. “I’ll try soaking it.”
“Alright.” Zach turned the faucet on cold and they watched quietly as the tub filled.
“I hate you so much right now,” Chris said, but there was no malice in his voice.
“No you don’t,” Zach said with a smile.
“Yes I do. I hate you and I hate your stupid ears. How would you like it if I got ketchup on your ears, huh? And are you planning to wear those things all night or what?”
“Hell no,” Zach said. He’d kind of forgotten he was wearing them. “I have to take them off so they don’t get wrinkled.” He walked over to the mirror as Chris chuckled behind him. Zach ran the warm water and started wetting the ears, slowly peeling them from his skin.
“Be careful,” Chris warned, watching.
“I know. I need to wear these to the panel tomorrow.”
“Yeah, or else how will Leonard Nimoy recognize you?”
“I know!” Zach caught a glimpse of Chris in the mirror, his eyes twinkling. “Oh. Were you kidding?”
Chris shrugged and looked down. “You should definitely wear the ears tomorrow. ‘Specially since I can’t wear the shirt,” he said mournfully.
“I’m really, really sorry, Chris,” Zach said, pulling the second ear off and setting it down carefully on the counter. “I feel really bad about that.”
“You should,” Chris said, leaning down to submerse his tunic carefully in the tub of water. Zach watched him as he bent over, but he was still caught off guard when Chris turned around swiftly and splashed a handful of water towards Zach’s face.
“Ahhh!! Fucker!!”
Chris laughed and splashed him again, this time soaking his t-shirt.
“Quit it, you little-“ Zach rushed forward and pulled Chris’s wrist from the water, reaching down to try to splash Chris. He managed to dunk his hand in and brought it up to swipe the cold water across Chris’s bare chest. Chris shivered and Zach realized he was still gripping him by the wrist, but he didn’t let go. Their eyes met, and Zach leaned forward impulsively to kiss him on the corner of his mouth. He only just felt the touch of Chris’s skin against his lips before Chris recoiled, pulling away so fast that he slammed his head against the doorframe.
“Ow, fuck,” he grunted, and he slid down to the floor, clutching the back of his head.
Zach’s heart was pounding as fear and regret washed over him. He slid to his knees a few feet away from Chris. “Chris, I’m sorry. I’m sorry, man. Shit.”
Chris drew his knees up and buried his face in his arms.
“I shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry. Chris?”
Chris shook his head, winced. “S’okay,” he mumbled.
“Do you want me to leave?”
Chris didn’t say anything for a minute, just took a few deep breaths. Zach recognized the sound and knew that Chris was trying not to cry. He looked around, not sure if he should stay or go. He startled when he realized that Chris was saying something to him. “So, are you, like…gay?” His voice cracked on the last word.
Zach bit his lip. “I. Um. I mean. If I was…would you, like, hate me?”
Chris shook his head, his face still buried in his arms. “I already thought, maybe…because of that thing you said, about girls.”
“Oh. Right.” Zach felt that hot, nervous embarrassment that he’d become so familiar with over the past couple years creeping through him. “Well, yeah. I’m gay. I think.”
“You think?”
“I mean, it’s not like I ever really kissed anyone.”
Chris looked up from his arms, squinting his eyes against the light. “Anyone?”
“Not really. I mean, one time this guy kind of kissed me at a party, but I didn’t want to and it was awkward…um…kinda like what happened just now. Oh god, I’m sorry, Chris.”
Chris shook his head. “It’s okay. I don’t…I don’t hate you or anything.”
Zach nodded slowly. “I’m glad.” He watched as Chris took a deep breath, staring at a point somewhere over Zach’s shoulder.
“I think…I might be gay, too,” Chris said.
Zach raised an eyebrow in surprise. “What, ’cause of the whole not liking girls thing?”
“No,” Chris said, and he had to swallow a couple times before he got the next part out. “I kind of have…I, like…I’ve always had a kind of a crush on Kirk, okay?”
Zach put a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing. He wasn’t laughing at Chris, really he wasn’t. Just… “Chris. Everyone has a crush on Kirk.”
Chris met his eyes again, his mouth finally starting to quirk up in a little smile. “Shut up.”
“I’m not saying you’re not gay. I’m just saying…you need something else to judge by.”
Chris thought about it for a second. “What about the fact that I sewed myself a sparkly golden tunic?” he asked.
Zach chuckled. “Okay, yeah. Maybe.” He stood up. “I’m gonna try to get some sleep.” He paused in the doorway. “How’s your head?”
“Hurts like a motherfucker.”
“Are we…okay?”
Chris nodded. “Yeah. I’ll see you in the morning.”
He pressed his face back into his arms as Zach closed the door quietly behind him.
**
When Zach woke up, the room was dark except for a light coming from the other bed. He pushed himself up on his elbows to see Chris sitting up against his headboard, immersed in his Nintendo Gameboy.
“You’re still up?”
Chris shrugged, not looking up from the screen. “Couldn’t sleep.”
Zach wondered if he’d had anything to do with that. He sat up in the bed, crossing his legs. Chris had changed into flannel pajama pants and a black Star Fleet Academy t-shirt. “Nice shirt.”
“Thanks.”
“What’re you playing?”
“Beyond the Nexus.”
Zach nodded knowingly. “It only took me like ten hours to beat that,” he bragged.
Chris rolled his eyes. “I’ve beaten it like twelve times. I’m just trying to get a higher score.”
Zach stood up and walked over to the bed. “Mind if I watch?”
Chris shrugged, but he scooted over so Zach had a pillow to lean back against. He leaned close to Chris to stare at the tiny screen. He watched quietly for a few minutes as Chris annihilated the Klingon armada.
“Nice,” Zach commented.
Chris glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. “You breathe loud.”
“Sorry.”
Chris’s thumbs were flying over the controls and he sat up in excitement. Zach leaned over, trying to see the screen until Chris cursed and dropped the Gameboy onto the bed. “Fuck. I lost.”
“Aw, man.”
“You distracted me,” Chris said, nudging him in the arm.
“I just thought I’d make it a little more challenging for you, Mr. ‘I Beat the Game 90,000 Times’ or whatever.”
“Shut up,” Chris said, but he was smiling.
Zach looked over at his bed, then back at the TV. “If you can't sleep, you wanna to watch the rest of the episode?”
“Okay.”
Zach scrambled to the end of the bed, slid the tape into the VCR, and pressed play. He scooted back until he could lean against the headboard again, shifting to get comfortable with his legs bent in front of him, mirroring Chris’s position. They sat in the darkness as the tape picked up where they’d left off.
Zach was only half watching, the rest of his attention focused on Chris sitting beside him, so close he could feel the heat from his body radiating along his side. He relaxed a little, and his leg bumped against Chris’s, and neither of them pulled away. Zach swallowed and stared at the TV, barely seeing. Thank god he had this episode memorized. He felt Chris’s knuckle brush against the back of his hand and stilled, not daring to look down. It took him a few seconds to confirm that the touch wasn’t accidental, that Chris was deliberately running the back of a finger across Zach’s hand, though Zach could see that he was staring straight ahead. Excitement warred with nerves in Zach’s chest. He shifted slightly, turned his hand and closed it around Chris’s fingers. He heard Chris’s breath hitch, felt him change his grip so his hand rested loosely in Zach’s. Chris’s palm was damp and Zach’s wrist was at an awkward angle, but his heart was racing a thousand miles a minute and he wasn’t about to let go. They sat like that for a few minutes, and Zach was paying so much attention to rubbing his thumb over the back of Chris’s hand that he didn’t even notice that the episode was coming to an end. Well, not the end, actually, because he knew the tape cut off two minutes before the episode finished. He cursed internally as he heard the whirr of the VCR and the tape cut off, the TV screen going black and plunging them into darkness.
The room was silent except for their breathing, neither of them wanting to be the first to break the spell. Finally, Zach spoke. “Um. I have another tape. We could watch some more. If you want,” he said, cringing at the halting nervousness in his voice. He was still holding Chris’s hand.
“Okay,” Chris said. He slid his hand out of Zach’s and Zach felt a powerful wave of regret wash over him. Dammit. He’d ruined it, fuck, why did he have to go and say something? He made himself move, away from Chris, off the bed to rummage into his bag for the other tape, then back over to the TV. He changed the tape, pressed play, and climbed back onto the bed next to Chris, leaving space between them. The opening credits came on, blaring loudly. Zach winced.
“Shit, sorry, the sound’s really messed up on this one.” He looked for the remote, saw it on the pillow behind Chris and reached an arm around him to grab it. He turned the volume down, but left his arm where it was, stretched across Chris’s back. He dropped the remote and let his fingers brush against Chris’s side. Zach thought for a second that Chris was going to pull away, but instead he shifted even closer, pressing their sides together, and Zach tightened his grip, curling his fingers against Chris’s t-shirt. He’d stopped pretending to watch TV, his gaze drawn to Chris’s mouth as his tongue darted out to lick his lips. Chris turned to look at him, and as they leaned imperceptibly toward each other, Zach wondered if he should close his eyes. He didn’t want to, but he couldn’t stop himself, and his eyelids fluttered shut as they kissed, a chaste, dry brush of their lips, once, twice. Chris parted his lips, and Zach pulled back a little, swallowing hard.
“Wait,” he whispered.
“What?”
“I thought you liked Kirk,” he teased.
“Zach,” Chris whispered, and he wasn’t teasing, he was pleading, and it sent a shiver of unfamiliar desire down Zach’s spine. This time, the kiss was warm and wet as they pressed their open mouths together. A scrape of teeth and Zach tilted his head, there, that was better, and then they were thrusting their tongues wildly into each others’ mouths. Zach was afraid he might be drooling, so he pressed closer, sealing their lips together and Chris made a pleased sound in the back of his throat. They pulled apart, kissed again with closed lips, but it wasn’t enough, and they opened their mouths again. Zach was a little worried that he hadn’t breathed in a while, but he didn’t want to move, he wanted to do this, to explore Chris’s mouth forever.
Chris slid his hand down to clutch at the side of Zach’s t-shirt, and Zach was suddenly aware of the proximity of Chris’s arm to the erection tenting his sweatpants. He blinked dizzily, shifted his hips a little and pulled away. “Do you, uh,” he started to ask, stopped, started again. “Do you want to-“ he was pretty sure he couldn’t say it- “to touch me?” he finished in a faltering whisper.
He felt Chris go still, could actually hear him lick his lips as he processed what Zach had said. “Uh. I’ve never…I mean, I don’t know how…”
Zach wasn’t sure if it was bravery or desperation that was making him so bold, but he sat up a little in the darkness and continued. “Just…like you touch yourself,” he whispered, maneuvering himself to sit between Chris’s legs, leaning back against his chest. “God,” he said, pushing the elastic of his sweatpants down and wrapping a hand around his throbbing cock. “Oh god, shit-“ Something occurred to him and he twisted around to look at Chris. “You do touch yourself, right?” he asked seriously.
Chris chuckled nervously. “Um yeah. No duh.”
“Okay.” Zach leaned forward to kiss him, then twisted back around, pressing back against him, resting his head on Chris’s shoulder.
Chris shifted so he could look down the flat plane of Zach’s chest and stomach, wishing for a second that they’d taken their shirts off. He let his gaze wander further, to where Zach had shoved his sweatpants down, and finally he made himself look at Zach’s dick, hard and leaking onto his t-shirt. Chris ran a hand down Zach’s torso, stroked his fingers along Zach’s stomach, taking his time, putting off the moment…
Zach took Chris’s hand, gently, and moved it down over his cock, wrapping their fingers together around his length. He stroked once, then again, then he arched his back against Chris and moaned. Chris shook off Zach’s hand so he could do it himself, jerking Zach a little faster, a little harder, like he did to himself late at night.
Zach was twitching against him, groaning, mumbling “Fuck, feels so good, god, so much better, Chris, oh my god.”
Chris tipped his head forward, kissed Zach on his sweat-damp neck, licked at his neck and his ear. Zach said “faster,” and Chris complied and a few strokes later Zach made a strangled sound in the back of his throat and spurted hotly across his shirt. Chris squeezed at his shaft and the last drops of come slid down over his hand before he finally pulled away, wiping Zach’s jizz on the bedspread. Zach lay against him, catching his breath, then he turned around, smiled, and lunged for Chris, capturing his lips in a sloppy, grateful kiss.
When he pulled away, he glanced down at Chris’s crotch, reached out tentatively to press his palm against the line of Chris’s cock. Chris moaned, loudly, and Zach looked up at him in surprise.
“Sorry,” Chris panted. “Just…I’ve had a boner for like the past three hours and…yeah.”
Zach smiled up at him, shifting so he was between Chris’s legs on his stomach, propped on his elbows. He ran a finger along Chris’s waistband, then he slowly slid it down, exposing Chris’s swollen erection. Zach licked his lips and leaned down to touch his tongue to the smooth, hot skin.
“What - Zach - Jesus -“ Chris stammered. Zach licked at him wetly, dragging the surface of his tongue up and down the shaft. “God, Zach,” Chris said, unable to keep his lip from curling a little in disgust. “You want to do that?”
Zach nodded intently and closed his lips around the head of Chris’s cock. Chris gasped above him as he sucked tentatively, tasting Chris on his tongue, salty and viscous. He tried to figure out what to do with his teeth, experimented with taking Chris a little farther into his mouth, wondered if he should do something else with his tongue. He sucked a little harder and Chris yelped, “Shit, Zach, get off, get off,” and Zach pulled away as Chris came, reaching down to jerk himself in quick, short strokes as his cock pulsed and streams of liquid splashed across his stomach.
“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god,” Chris was mumbling as he collapsed sideways across the pillows, his eyes squeezed shut.
Zach scooted over on his elbows. “Was that okay?”
“Oh my god, Zach,” Chris said, groping blindly for him, pulling him into a tangled hug and panting against his chest. “’Was that okay’, are you kidding me, that was….that was…”
“Gay?”
Chris laughed despite himself, but he’d finally recovered normal breathing patterns. “Well, yeah, but also…just, like…god, it just felt so good, like, like…like I don’t even know. Just, so good.” He opened his eyes to look at Zach. “Um. Did you…like that?”
Zach nodded fervently. “You should try it some time,” he said, smiling. Chris giggled and shifted into a more comfortable position. Zach thought he should probably get up, go back to his own bed. He didn’t want things to be weird, but it was nice to have Chris’s arm around his waist and to hear the little sleepy sounds Chris was making, so he closed his eyes and stayed.
They woke up a few hours later, lying side by side, not touching. Chris raised his head sleepily to look at the clock. “Ugh,” he groaned. “5:30. Too early. Go back to sleep.” He grabbed for Zach’s arm and pulled it over himself like a blanket. Zach scooted closer and tried to close his eyes, but his heart was pounding, and it was a while before he could fall back asleep.
**
Chris was in the shower when he heard Zach knock on the bathroom door.
“What?” he yelled.
“Can I come in? I need to put my ears on.”
Chris thought it was probably weird to let your roommate come into the bathroom while you’re in the shower, but then again it was probably weird to jerk your roommate off and then sleep in the same bed with him, so why not.
“Okay.”
Zach was still in there when he finished rinsing off. “Um. Can you hand me a towel?”
Zach handed him a towel over the top of the shower, and he wrapped it tightly around his waist before he stepped out. Zach was looking intently in the mirror, and Chris watched as he smoothed down the edges of the prosthetic ear. He caught Chris’s eye in the mirror as he finished. “What do you think?”
He saw Chris take a step toward him, and he turned, and then Chris’s mouth was pressed against his. Zach remembered to tilt his head just in time, as they parted their lips and slammed their tongues frantically together. Their soft moans mingled with the wet smacking sounds of the uncoordinated kiss, and they careened around the bathroom until Chris was pressed back against the counter.
“Zach,” Chris panted, pulling away. “We have to…the panel…oh fuck,” he said, as Zach wrapped a fist around his achingly hard cock, stroking him roughly. “Do you want me to,” he started, but then Zach was pushing his own pants down and he let go of Chris to pump at his own dick. Chris felt the edge of the counter digging into his back, but he ignored it and reached down to grab himself, his eyes never leaving Zach’s fist as it flew over his length. Zach was watching as well, stepping closer so their fists were side by side, the head of his cock almost pressed against Chris’s stomach. They were both panting now, grunting softly, blinking sweat out of their eyes. Chris got there first, jerking his hips and whimpering as he came against Zach’s skin. Zach felt the hot spurt across his stomach and he latched his lips onto Chris’s neck to muffle his shout as his climax overtook him. They sagged against the counter for a few minutes, recovering, then stood awkwardly in the middle of the bathroom, refusing to meet each others’ eyes. Finally, Chris let his eyes travel up Zach’s chest.
“Shit.”
“What?”
“Your ear got bent,” he said, reaching out to poke at the slightly creased tip.
Zach bit his lip and stared at Chris’s neck. “Um. I think I gave you a hickey.”
Chris’s eyes widened and he turned around to look in the mirror. A purplish bruise had formed where Zach had sucked at his neck in the heat of the moment. “Shit.”
“Sorry.”
“It’s okay. Um. Do you think we’ll still make it to the workshops?” he asked.
Zach swallowed, shrugged. “I kinda don’t care right now,” he confessed. “I’d be fine with staying here and doing…that…all day.”
Chris blushed, too, and smiled, but he shook his head. “No way. You have to show off your Vulcan language skills. And we have to see Nimoy.”
Zach nodded. “Okay. You’re right.” He caught a glimpse of Chris’s tunic hanging over the towel rack, still dripping from the night before. “Um. What are you going to wear?”
**
Chris had come prepared with another gold shirt, just in case. “I didn’t make this one,” he said sadly, “it’s just a Halloween costume, but I’ll have to make do.”
Zach gave him an appraising look. “You still look like him,” he confirmed.
Chris blushed again as he followed Zach out of the room.
**
Back at the convention, they remembered why they were there in the first place and tried to fit in everything they hadn’t gotten to the day before. In between panels and autographs, Zach finished his trades and Chris spent his allowance on comics and Kirk-related paraphernalia as they sucked down Cokes to make up for their lack of sleep the previous night. When they finally had a moment to relax, they flopped down on a bench in the convention hall and set their bags down on the floor.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, until Zach glanced down in surprise as Chris put a hand on his thigh.
Chris looked at him shyly, questioning, and Zach gave him a smile and set his hand down on top of Chris’s. He glanced around to see if anyone was looking at them. No one was, but there was a group of women standing in a nearby corner, giggling as they pored over what looked like hand-drawn pictures. Zach had a sudden realization and he turned to Chris with a mischievous grin. “Hey, Chris.”
“What?”
“Have you ever heard of fanfiction?”
“What, like where people write about Star Trek characters but they make up their own stories?”
Zach nodded. “Uh huh. Yeah. But did you know that a bunch of those stories involve Kirk and Spock fucking and stuff?”
Chris’s eyes widened in surprise. “What?! Ew! I mean…” he trailed off as he actually considered it, looked down at Zach’s hand on his, and blushed.
Zach leaned toward him with a conspiratorial whisper. “I have an idea.”
**
“Wow,” Chris said, as they took the elevator back up to their hotel room. “I can’t believe that just happened.”
“I know,” Zach laughed. “Those ladies were waaaaay to excited to watch us kiss. And to take pictures.”
Chris shook his head. “No, I mean…well, yeah, but I mean, I can’t believe I did that.”
Zach cocked his head. “What?”
“Kissed you. In front of people. I think my life may have changed a little this weekend.”
“Yeah,” Zach chuckled in agreement. “I know what you mean.”
When they got back to the room, Chris changed out of his gold shirt while Zach went into the bathroom to take his ears off for the final time. He came out and sat cross legged on the bed beside Chris. “You hungry?”
Chris shrugged, then nodded. “But…do you want to get room service again?” he asked hopefully.
“Yeah, okay.” Zach said, but he didn’t make a move to grab the menu. He sat quietly for a few seconds, picking at the bedspread. “So…what time is your aunt picking you up tomorrow?” he asked softly.
“Nine.”
“Damn.” Zach felt his stomach clenching up, his mouth turning down at the corners. Altogether an unpleasant feeling, he decided. He sucked in a breath. “So, I wanted to ask you something…” He waited for Chris’s reassurance.
“Okay…”
“Would you want to, like, be my boyfriend?” Zach asked, and it took every bit of his willpower to make himself look up to meet Chris’s eyes.
Chris laughed in surprise. “You can’t be serious.”
Zach’s face fell.
“I mean, yeah, but,” Chris was still laughing, nervously now, “God, my mom would kill me!”
“It’s okay,” Zach said quickly. “You know what, don’t worry about it.”
“No, no, I mean, Zach, look. Look at me,” he said, gripping Zach’s chin and tilting his head up to look at him. “Zach, I…shit, it would be awesome to be your boyfriend. Like, really awesome. I just, you know-“ he said, squinting in thought. “I’m in high school still, and it’s not like I could just go on dates with you and stuff. And you don’t live anywhere near me!”
“I know,” Zach said defiantly, pulling away. He looked down, picking at his cuticles. “Just, maybe we could be, like, internet boyfriends? And I could call you sometimes. And didn’t you say you thought your parents would let you go to the convention in San Diego?”
“Yeah…” Chris said slowly.
“I just mean, like, if someone asked me if I had a boyfriend, I could tell them yeah, you know?”
Chris swallowed and tried to hold back the grin that was unexpectedly taking over his face. He nodded. “Yeah, okay. Yeah. I’d like that.”
Zach smiled shyly and slid across the bed toward Chris. They wrapped their arms around each other and kissed for a little while, less desperate now, but with a tinge of sadness.
“I’m gonna miss you,” Chris said, his voice muffled against Zach’s shoulder.
“Yeah, me too.”
“I wish we could stay here another day.”
“Yeah.” Zach rubbed his hand across Chris’s back as an unexpected ache settled in his chest.
“You know what we could do though?” Chris asked. He looked at Zach, blue eyes twinkling.
“What’s that?”
Chris leaned forward to touch his lips to Zach’s in a gentle kiss. “We could try to stay up all night,” he said. He reached up to play with the hair at the back of Zach’s neck. “What do you say to that?”
“I say-“ Zach pressed another kiss against Chris’s lips “-make it so.”
(Sequel: Trekkies in Love, CONtinued)