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Rush had stripped off and fallen into bed a few hours ago. He’d been hoping to stay awake until Belle got back from the planet, but his eyes had become to blurry, and when he’d failed to get the right answer for a basic calculation, he’d admitted defeat and given up.He had trouble sleeping without Belle at the best of times, and it was always worse when she was planet-side. There were far too many things that could go wrong on a new planet. The only method he’d found that let him get any rest was to cuddle into Belle’s pillow. He never slept deeply like this, but at least he was getting some rest.The crackle of the radio woke him from his doze.“We’ve found coffee.”Rush bolted up-right and scrambled from the bed. Not bothering with his underwear, he thrust both legs into his jeans and only slowed down for a second to make sure he didn’t catch himself as he pulled the zip up.“Fuck fuck fuck.”His shirts were a balled-up lump of fabric, and his hurried desperation to get them on was only making matters worse. Swearing again he managed to get the damn things over his head and one arm into the sleeves as he stumbled across the room. He smacked the door release still trying to get his other arm into his shirts. Bare feet slapping against the floor of the corridor Rush ran at top speed towards the gate room.The crew were used to seeing him running down the corridors, most of them just stepped aside and hoped like hell the ship wasn’t about to explode. He did notice a few more confused faces than usual, but that might have had something to do with his half-dressed state. For once he actually regretted choosing such out of the way quarters.“Bollocks.”Someone was kneeling in the middle of the corridor packing up a tool kit.“Duck!”They hunched over and Rush hurdled over them. His knee twinged as he landed reminding him that he was getting a bit old for this sort of malarkey.The away team had returned by the time he made it to the gate room. Panting for breath he dodged around people until he found Belle. She raised an eyebrow at his bare feet.“Is it true?”“I’m ninety per cent sure. I want TJ to double check the readings.”Rush’s face split into a huge grin. Belle’s ninety per cent sure was as good as a perfect one hundred from anyone else. He hugged her close and spun her round in a circle laughing; “Coffee!”Belle gave him a kiss as he set her back on her feet. Her fingers plucked at the label of his shirt which was sitting at the base of his throat; “Inside out and back to front. You were in a hurry.”He pulled her closer and whispered in her ear; “Forgot my underwear too.”She gave his arse a squeeze; “Good job I didn’t find tobacco as well you would have streaked the ship.”He wrinkled his nose at the thought. Enough people had seen him naked when the laundry nanobots striped him bare, then again for a cigarette he probably wouldn’t care. An hour and a half later a properly dressed Rush was sitting in the mess hall drumming his fingers on the table. Next to him Belle’s foot was tapping the same impatient beat. Brody had botched together a grinder for the strangely purple coloured coffee beans which TJ had confirmed were safe to consume and brimming with caffeine. Rivers had roasted them in the oven and was now boiling up some water to make their first pot of what he had already dubbed Purple Bean Brew.The scent of the ground beans reached Rush’s nose and he started drool. He swallowed and wiped a hand over his mouth, just in case he’d slobbered on his chin.Belle gave a little sighing moan that he was more used to hearing from her in more private settings; “That smells like that expensive stuff I got for Christmas.”And he was drooling again, she’d shared that coffee with him, and it had been the best he’d ever tasted. He needed to keep his expectations from getting to high, this stuff could taste worse that the scalding brown water that masqueraded as coffee in the university vending machines.“Surprised there’s not more people waiting. We weren’t the only coffee junkies.”Rivers put two cups down in front of them and began to pour the purple brew; “That’s because everyone is waiting to see what you think of this stuff. And there’s plenty of folk who don’t want to get back on the caffeine pony.”Rush eyed the cup he’d wrapped his hand around. Maybe he should steer clear as well? He glanced at Belle; “What do you think?”She reached for her cup and lifted it to inhale the steam; “I think life it to short and to uncertain not to indulge in something that makes us happy.”He raised his cup to hers; “Cheers.” Rivers watched closely as Belle and Rush took their first sips of Purple Bean Brew. He was braced for the worst, he’d gotten used to extreme reactions to the new foodstuffs they’d discovered on this journey, which is why he was stood far enough back not to get covered if they spat it out. What he’d not been ready for was the orgasmic sighs and groans, or the way all of the tension Rush habitually carried drained out of him. Man looked like he’d melted.“So, how is it?”Rush gave him a huge smile, an honest to God real smile, and held his cup out; “Bloody perfection. Top me up please.”“Okay, good, that’s great.”He topped off both their cups and walked back into the kitchen with a spring in his step. It was rare to get a compliment on his cooking, and even rarer to get one from Rush. Rush leaned over and gave Belle a slow, soft kiss. He could taste the coffee on her lips, and that improved the flavour all the more.“Thank you for finding this sweetheart.”She stroked a finger over his bristled jaw and then booped him on the nose; “This doesn’t mean that you can go back to not sleeping for three days at a time.”He gave her a faux-pout that quickly turned into a devilish grin; “Ah, but with a few cups of this in my system I won’t fall asleep on you so quickly when we go to bed.”There’d been a few occasions where one or both of them had fallen asleep mid-coitus. It should have been embarrassing, but they had laughed about it, and why not? It was bloody ridiculous, like something from a bad rom com. Besides, if they didn’t laugh, they might have ended up arguing, and that wasn’t smart on an enclosed ship. Rush still had a few difficulties with such a positive out-look, but Belle kept him right.Belle shifted her chair, turning so her legs were between his. He spread out a bit more so she could get closer. She took another sip, her eyes smiling at him over the rim of her cup; “If this is going to keep you up for a while then I suggest once we finished our coffee, we head to our quarters and I’ll give you a hand, tucking you in and getting you off to sleep.”Rush hummed deeply and leaned forward. He’d been planning to pull her into his lap, but more people arrived, so he settled for holding her hand instead.“I do love the way you think Doctor French.”