Chapter Text
Chris and Ash had dinner in Chris’ quarters that night. Ash set his plate on the table by their feet and then leaned back into the couch with a long sigh. He shuffled down and over until he was curled into Chris’ side with his head on his shoulder. Chris dropped a kiss to his hair.
“So Nhan and I had an interesting conversation,” Ash remarked.
“Oh?” Chris hummed as he managed to collect the last of the pine nuts from his plate onto his fork.
“I thought she was going to give me the shovel talk,” Ash laughed. “I really did, despite what she said to you.” He wiggled further into the cushion and knocked their feet together on the coffee table. “She gave me this long stare and then said, ‘You’re good for him, y’know that?’ Out of nowhere. Shocked the hell out of me.”
Chris pushed his plate onto the table and then turned to properly pull Ash into his arms. “I’d like to say I’m surprised, but I’m not. She’s had my back for longer than I care to remember. She wouldn’t say that to you unless she meant it.”
Ash tilted his head up to kiss the underside of Chris’ jaw. “Yeah, I sensed that from her. Was just surprising is all. When thinking about who we might tell, she was definitely at the bottom of my list. She’s protective of you, of the whole ship, and I’m kind of the resident black sheep if you haven’t noticed.”
“Not the resident black sheep, just the resident black badge,” Chris retorted, earning a groan from Ash.
“You’re ridiculous,” he said, poking Chris in the ribs.
“Yeah,” Chris laughed, “but you love me anyway.”
Ash rolled his head to look up at him and Chris felt the air leave his lungs as a slow smile spread over Ash’s face, warm and easy, just for him.
“Yeah,” Ash hummed, “I love you.”
Well, Chris just had to lean down and kiss him for that.
When he pulled back, he sighed. “I’m sorry about how everyone found out today. I know it wasn’t what you wanted or what we’d talked about.”
Ash slung an arm over his waist. “It’s alright, really. Everyone knows, no one gave me — or us — shit, and it all turned out okay. Better than I could have hoped for, honestly.” He ran his fingers idly over the hem of Chris’ sweater. “It didn’t go according to plan, but it all worked out okay.”
“Welcome to life on the Discovery,” Chris replied before letting out a yawn.
“Yeah, but at least it’s our life together,” Ash said as he pulled the nearby blanket up over both of them.
Once it was draped around them, Chris buried his face in Ash’s hair, smiling. His heart felt full and he knew Ash could feel the grin. “Yeah,” he whispered, both of them edging toward sleep, “yeah, it is.”