Artifice Becomes Substance
So...this is a thing that my brain came up with... In my defense, Alexander Enberg plays two very sexy Vulcans.
Cross-posted to AO3 here.
~*~
Taurik (ST:TNG) x Reader
[A/N: Or what happens when you put a Vulcan in a fake dating situation with someone they already have feelings for and have been trying (unsuccessfully) to flirt with for a while.]
Warnings: Fluff, kissing, questionable use of logic to justify a faux dating scenario (blame the Vulcan, not the writer), interspecies friendship becomes interspecies relationship, human/Vulcan relationship, cultural exchange (wink wink nudge nudge), mildly suggestive language, pre-relationship fluff.
~*~
“Why do you remain largely silent when your parents are present, Ensign?” Taurik’s question caught me off guard as he took a seat beside me in Ten Forward. I looked at him over the rim of my Samarian Sunset, but the Vulcan proffered me no more than a curious look.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Forgive my impertinence, but you have never been a very successful liar.” Taurik stated looking as impassive as ever. “The last time they visited, you barely spoke in conversation when they were present, and the same has been true today. Why remain silent when you are quite capable of contributing your thoughts?”
“Sometimes I forget how perceptive you are, Taurik,” I murmured staring at my drink as though it held an answer. “It’s just...well, they’ve never been very accepting when it comes to my decisions. Anything that doesn’t conform with their ideas of what my life should be is instantly wrong to them. The same is true of our conversations. If I try to insert differing opinions or thoughts, they just talk over me anyway, so what’s the point of even attempting to speak up? They’re just going to interrupt me or ignore me, so why bother?”
“You are their daughter. Do they not respect you?” The Vulcan looked thoroughly perplexed.
“I think they still see me as a child who doesn’t know nearly as much as they - the perceived adults - do,” I explained tracing the pad of one of my fingers idly around the rim of my glass.
“You were near the top of our class at Starfleet Academy. You have received commendations and are serving on the Federation’s flagship. I do not understand how they could see you as any less than the accomplished officer that you are,” Taurik stated, but all I could manage was a shrug. “Ashayam, I–”
“There you are. We’ve been looking for you all over this infernal ship. Why you had to join Starfleet in the first place, I’ll never know.” Oh no. The sound of my mother’s voice sent me shrinking in my seat. So much for a few minutes alone with my best friend. Both of Taurik’s hands reached across the table and grasped mine firmly. When my eyes met his, there was, dare I say, an almost mischievous twinkle there to greet me.
What was Taurik doing?
“We were told that yo–oh? Who might this be?” My father asked looking pointedly at the Vulcan who was very obviously holding my hands. Taurik brought my fingers to his lips before releasing them and standing. Offering my parents a traditional Vulcan greeting, Taurik behaved as though they weren’t giving him a once over.
“Sir, Ma’am. It has been a long time, but we have in fact met before. I am Ensign Taurik, though the last time you saw me, I was a Cadet at The Academy,” he informed them as I took a subtle, bracing sip of my Samarian Sunset. “Would you care to join us? We were just discussing our plans for further intimacy later this evening.”
My eyes nearly bugged out of my head, and I barely managed to avoid choking on my drink. Glancing quickly up at my parents, I saw they were faring no better. My mother’s cheeks were burning, and my father looked as though he was going to grind his teeth to dust.
“Taurik, my parents don’t need to hear about that,” I said, and he turned to face me just long enough to toss me a wink.
“My apologies, Ashayam. I simply thought that they would be glad to hear that their daughter’s needs are well met in all areas by her mate.” I bit my tongue hard at the Vulcan’s implication, and my mother cleared her throat.
“W-We didn’t mean to interrupt. We’ll find you later, sweetheart. It was lovely meeting you, Mr. Taurik.” The way she practically fled, dragging my father along with her out of Ten Forward made a giggle burst from between my lips before I could stop it. Taurik resumed his seat once the doors had hissed closed behind them.
“That was extremely presumptuous of me, I apologize. It appeared that the only reason your parents continued to behave disrespectfully toward you was because they felt comfortable doing so. Logic suggested that if I wished to stop them, I simply needed to make them...less comfortable,” he said, and I looked at him with a silly little grin on my face. “As they enjoy belittling you in public, I thought that making them feel foolish would accomplish the task efficiently.”
“Taurik...” I trailed off as I struggled for words. How could I possibly express my gratitude when a ‘thank you’ wasn’t nearly enough? “I-I don’t know what to say.”
“I understand. I deserve your censure for taking such liberties–”
“No! No, you don’t. That’s not at all what I meant,” I said reaching over and placing my hands over his. “I’m trying to thank you, but I don’t think words are adequate. You took a risk to try and help me, and I’m more grateful than I can express.”
“You...are not offended?” The Vulcan sounded astonished even as he turned his hands so that our palms met. Taurik wasn’t usually a very tactile person, and I’d forgotten that for a moment. He didn’t seem to be in any rush to discontinue the contact, though. In fact, he seemed to be encouraging it. His fingers closed gently over mine and he leaned a little closer over the side of the table.
For a moment, and not for the first time, I wondered what it would be like to kiss him, to truly be in a relationship with him. Taurik was my closest friend, but...there had always been a desire for more than friendship on my part. Even now, I was terrified that I might do something to jeopardize our friendship. We’d met back when we were both in The Academy, and we’d gone so far as to make sure we took postings together when we graduated. Suffice it to say that I didn’t think I could take it if I lost his friendship.
“No, I’m not. I promise. I...I should ask, though, wouldn’t your betrothed be angry about this if she found out you were faking a romantic relationship with a non-Vulcan?”
“I no longer have a betrothed to anger. She ended our engagement during the final year of our Academy studies when the revelation of her sexuality rendered our arranged marriage illogical,” Taurik explained in a quiet voice. Vulcans were very private beings. I hadn’t meant to make him reveal something so personal. Hell, we’d been friends for years, so the fact that he’d chosen to hide that from even me proved that it had to be something causing him discomfort. Guilt lanced through me, but before I could express my regret, Taurik’s voice knocked me out of my thoughts. “Ensign, you have no need to apologize. There was no way you could have known. In any case, your thoughts are, as always, loud enough for me to perceive your regret.”
Oh. Oh, right. Touch telepathy was a thing for Vulcans.
“Do not be sorry for that, either. It is...enjoyable to feel your thoughts in such an unguarded manner, as illogical as that may be,” he stated, and I let out a surprised little laugh.
“And here I thought you Vulcans didn’t like chaos.”
Before Taurik could respond, however, the red alert sirens began to blare and the computer called all hands to battle stations. We were both sent sprinting to our stations, all thoughts of mischief and faux relationships forgotten for the moment as we concentrated on our duties.
--
Hours later when the ship was out of danger and my shift had ended, I managed to get to my quarters and steal a moment of quiet in the sonic shower. Scrubbing the day off provided a modicum of peace and helped recenter me after the chaos of the battle. Wrapped in a soft robe, I put my hair up in a clip just in time for the door chime to sound. Tying my robe a little tighter, I called for whoever it was to come in.
A slightly battle-ruffled Vulcan stood just inside my door when I exited my bedroom. Taurik seemingly froze when he saw my state of dress, and his eyes skimmed the length of my body. Although the robe was the only article of clothing I was wearing, everything was covered, and he’d seen me in less when we were in The Academy. I didn’t know what was stunning him so much, but clearly this was a new experience for him.
“Taurik? Is everything alright?” The sound of my voice seemed to shake him out of his reverie.
“I came to make sure you were alright, and to ask if you would like further assistance,” he said taking a few slow steps toward me. Tilting my head curiously, I leaned against the edge of my desk.
“With what?” Instead of answering right away, Taurik walked slowly over to me and stopped only inches from me.
“On the way to my own quarters, I overheard your parents making plans to come to yours and berate you for your lack of availability and choice of partner earlier in Ten Forward. I wondered if you’d like me to be present to...what is the human expression? ‘To take some of the warmth off of you’?” I couldn’t help but giggle a bit at his attempt to use human slang.
“Close. It’s ‘to take the heat off’ of a person,” I clarified, to which he raised an eyebrow. “Taurik, you’ve already done so much for me. I couldn’t possibly ask you to endure more of their unpleasantness.”
“You should know by now that I value our closeness, and that to assist you in such a manner is in no way taxing for me.” Taurik spoke with such ease, as if he was discussing the weather, not talking about whether or not he should continue to pretend to be intimately involved with me. I’d agreed before I’d even realized I’d spoken. “Then it might be advantageous for you to teach me how to kiss you, in case the skill should prove necessary during our deception. I do not wish for my inexperience in human courting practices to compromise you.”
I blinked in surprise at his suggestion.
“You don’t have to do that. I know you’re not too comfortable with touching and being touched on even a platonic level. I can’t imagine kissing would be any more enjoyable, especially considering the physical intimacy involved.” I didn’t want him to feel he had to do anything he wasn’t comfortable with.
“If you were the one teaching me, I do not believe I would feel uncomfortable,” he said catching my hands in his. “I assure you, Ashayam, I am a quick study.”
Feeling a whisper of anticipation fluttering in my chest, I nodded my head in agreement. I’d wanted to know what his lips felt like for so long, but...was it wrong to take advantage of his offer under these circumstances? It would be immoral to take pleasure in something he’d most likely despise, wouldn’t it? Then again, he had been the one to offer, and I’d finally have the answer to a question I’d been asking myself for years–
“Teach me, Ashayam. Please,” the Vulcan murmured looking into my eyes with an intensity I’d never seen from him before. Blinking quietly up at him, I freed one of my hands and reached slowly up to cup Taurik’s cheek.
“There’s no algorithm or formula for kissing, so just close your eyes and do what feels right,” I advised. He agreed closing his eyes, and I leaned carefully up to brush my lips against his. Taurik tensed up, and I paused, pulling back to put a little space between us. When he showed no signs of changing his mind, I kissed him a bit more solidly. After a moment’s hesitation, one of Taurik’s hands rested lightly on my waist.
A flash of thought that wasn’t my own flitted across my consciousness - broken whispers of soft...more...Ashayam.
Touch telepathy indeed. I couldn’t keep from smiling into our kiss. He wanted more? I’d happily give him what he wanted. I moved my lips gently against Taurik’s, deepening the kiss in a manner that I hoped he’d enjoy. When we eventually separated for air, Taurik looked at me through half-closed eyelids, and he gave no indication of a desire to move away from me.
Somewhere in my subconscious, I was vaguely aware that the door chime to my quarters had sounded.
“Enter,” Taurik called in a low, rough voice. If he’d been human, I’d have said that his first kiss had stirred up some emotions. As it was, though, I didn’t get a chance to mull that fact over for long. The door to my quarters hissed open and in walked my parents.
“...all the impertinence. Really, dear, you expect us to believe that Vulcan at lunch was really interested in y–” she broke off when she caught sight of Taurik and how close he was standing to me. “Oh.”
Taurik turned to face them keeping his hand on my waist. He raised one harsh eyebrow as if challenging her to finish her thought. Seeming to think better of her action, she glanced at my father and cleared her throat.
“I...We came here to invite you - er, the two of you - to a late dinner in Ten Forward.” Dinner with my parents was the last thing I wanted, but it was probably only polite of me to accept. I couldn’t possibly expect Taurik to endure such suffering, though.
“It really depends on what you’d like to do, Taurik. I know we had plans,” I murmured.
“I see no reason why our plans cannot be postponed until after we eat, Ashayam,” the Vulcan answered tilting my chin up so I was looking into his eyes. How the hell could I argue when such a handsome Vulcan was being so persuasive?
--
“Does she ever cease talking, Ashayam?” The question in Taurik’s voice floated into my mind, and made me blink in surprise. Schooling my expression, I glanced over at the Vulcan holding my hand and he raised an eyebrow as if to give me a subtle nudge toward answering the question. So, I hadn’t imagined it.
“No, I’m afraid she doesn’t. What does ‘Ashayam’ mean, anyway? I’ve been wanting to ask you that for years.” I projected the thoughts his way, hoping he could hear me. With a gentle squeeze of my fingers, Taurik stole my breath with his answer.
“I would not have asked the question if I would not be able to hear your response. The term means ‘beloved.’” I felt my cheeks start burning at Taurik’s implication.
“Taurik, you’ve been calling me that since we graduated. There’s no way. Are you trying to tell me that you’ve been calling me your beloved all this time?” Trepidation gripped me at the possibility that I’d been unaware of something so significant for such a long time. Had he felt how much I wished that he had meant it? Taurik silently brought my hand to his lips.
“I did, and I have been, although, I fear I have not made my position clear. We must talk when your parents retire to their quarters for the night. I have not been as forthright as I intended to be.” Taurik’s grip on my hand tightened just a little, and I took comfort in the physical contact for the moment.
“Are you even listening to me?” My mother’s voice snapped me back to reality, and I replied with a dutiful ‘yes, mother.’ She began to drone on again, and my thoughts drifted back to the first time I’d ever heard him call me that.
About a week before graduation, I’d caught up to Taurik after class. He’d been chatting with Boothby in the courtyard when I took a seat next to him beneath the shade of the tree they were both sitting under.
“Well, hello there, Cadet. I was beginning to wonder when you were going to show up. You and Mister Stoic here are practically inseparable,” the groundskeeper said with a sly smile. “Taurik was just telling me that you both got assigned to the Enterprise.”
“Yes, sir,” I confirmed giving both my companions a little smile.
“You’ll have to tell Jean-Luc that his old friend Boothby said hello.” Jean-Luc? As in Captain Picard? We’d likely never get the chance to speak with him, but I heard Taurik agreeing to pass the message along.
“How was your final examination, Ashayam? It was temporal mechanics, if memory serves, was it not?” Taurik inquired, and I blinked. He’d never called me that before. It sounded like a Vulcan term, but I didn’t want to make myself seem any more foolish than he probably already thought that I was.
“I think I did alright, but only time will tell, if you’ll pardon the expression,” I answered, and Boothby let out a rough huff of amusement. He’d doubtless heard that before. Taurik merely raised an eyebrow in his usual, sardonic, Vulcan way.
“I’ve got some rose bushes to tend to. I’ll see you kids at graduation,” Boothby said as he drew himself to his feet. “Don’t celebrate too hard, y’hear? And Cadet Taurik...think about what I told you. I may not be a Vulcan, but I am an old man who’s seen his fair share of people. Only a fool would let go of something like that without a fight. So are you a Vulcan or a fool?”
“A Vulcan, sir,” Taurik answered as his cheeks went green, and with an approving nod, Boothby ambled away to attend to his duties.
I had always wondered what that comment had been about, but knowing he’d called me his beloved right in front of Boothby...that changed the way I viewed our friendship’s evolution.
--
Before I knew it, dinner had ended, and my parents were heading back to their quarters, leaving Taurik and I to our own devices. Once we had returned to my quarters, he coaxed me into sitting with him.
“I...thought that given our history together, my intentions would have been obvious given my behavior. As I am not familiar with human mating rituals, I was quite clearly mistaken,” Taurik said looking at me carefully for a reaction. “Over the years of our friendship, I have found you to be singularly diverting. Our hours together have been most enjoyable, and I do not seem to tire of your presence as I do with others. I have been wondering with increasing frequency if you would be interested in altering our relationship from platonic to romantic.”
Was he asking me out?
“Taurik, how long have you felt like this?” I asked as his hands covered mine on my lap.
“The thought first occurred to me briefly several months into our acquaintance and has only gained a stronger foothold since the day my betrothal ended. After which, I attempted to make my feelings known by behaving in a more familiar manner with you than with anyone else. I cannot imagine myself being bonded to anyone but you,” Taurik explained skimming his thumbs over the backs of my hands. “When you kissed me earlier this evening, I found it exceedingly difficult to control my emotions...and, if I may be so bold, your thoughts indicated that you enjoyed it as well.”
“I did,” I admitted barely louder than a breath. “I’d wanted to do that since the day we met.”
“Then would you like to give the new parameters an attempt?” He asked sounding almost hopeful. Biting my lower lip nervously, I nodded my head. With my hands in his grasp, Taurik gently manipulated my fingers until both hands were forming some sort of reciprocal gesture against his. Two fingers were straight and two fingers were bent beneath his. Before I could ask, Taurik touched his forehead to mine and spoke as his two extended fingers caressed mine. “You taught me how humans kiss. This is the Vulcan equivalent.”
Carefully, and a good deal slower, I copied his movements. Somehow this felt even more intimate and meaningful than kissing. After a few long moments, Taurik caught my hands in his and threaded our fingers together. My lips parted to ask if I’d done something wrong with the finger gesture thing, but before I could, he kissed my thoughts away. My heart thudded so loudly in my chest that surely Taurik could hear it.
By the time we separated for air, I was trembling lightly in his grasp. Bracing my hands lightly on his shoulders, I looked up at my Vulcan lover curiously.
“Taurik? What was it that Boothby said to you that day? Not much could have made you blush like that.” Even now, the question brought a flood of bright green to his cheeks.
“He suggested that I...’get a move on’ and ‘snatch you up’ before someone else beat me to it,” he admitted, and I couldn’t stop a surprised laugh. Of course Boothby had seen through him. He’d seen through me easily enough, so why not Taurik too? “Can I assume that I did not wait too long?”
Instead of a vocal answer, I caught his lips in a gentle kiss.
