Heya! Can you make a cute short fic with Q? I've been obsessed with him lately, anything should be perfect!
Cultural Differences
Pairing: Q x fem!reader
Fandom: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Words: 2K
Warnings: Hurt/Comfort
Summary: Sometimes it is better to ask for the reason for an extraterrestrial ritual.
Often it is better to do this before the ritual, otherwise you will come back with an omnipotent being as your husband.
A/N: Thank you so much for your request, I really hope you like it. I feel like this is not the best thing I've ever written, because I find Q difficult to write, but I really tried.
Frowning, she stared at him from narrowed eyes as she did her best to remain calm and stop herself from smacking the smug grin off his face:
" I'm sorry, what?"
She truly hoped she had misheard and the all-knowing being/her lover before her, had not said what she thought she had heard.
"I asked when the honeymoon was scheduled to start."
She was pretty sure the confusion on her face was more than evident. "Where the hell did you come up with honeymoon? You do know what that is, don't you?"
Offended, Q pursed his mouth and jumped up, clapping his hands. "Mon amour, you insult me. Of course I know what a honeymoon is. I am Q, I know everything." He stepped towards her, bent down to take her face in his hands, and smiled his most charming smile, which usually made her heart pound, but now more than upset her. "It's a time for a newly married couple, to spend together." He pulled her up an
With great effort, she tried not to let her shudder show and looked up at him sceptically. "Have you not noticed your mistake, O all-knowing Q?" Her voice was mocking, something she would never have dared to do in his presence at the beginning of their acquaintance, for fear of being turned into a frog.
"Maybe I'll have to give you a bit of a jolt: Newly. Married. Only people who have just got married go on honeymoons. We're together, not married, Q."
Now it was up to him to look confused, an expression she rarely saw on his face, and would have more than enjoyed under other circumstances. "We ... are, though?"
"Oh," she laughed out, having to hold onto the top of his uniform to keep from falling. "Oh no, we're not. Believe me, my dear, I would remember such a ceremony."
A frown took up residence on his face and slowly her laughter died away. "But... you said that you ..." Q seemed distracted and instantly she felt bad and took his hand.
"Hey. I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, honey. I didn't mean to say I wouldn't. It's just..."
Q interrupted her. "The ceremony was three hours ago. How can you not remember that?"
"What?" All humour had disappeared and she was back to confusion. "Q three hours ago we were on the planet doing this strange water ritual that the inhabitants insisted on because they believed we were the incarnations of the divine royal pair before the Captain had had a chance to... oh my God."
She stared at him from widened eyes. "Q. Please tell me we didn't get married down there." He fell silent. "Q!"
"You told me not to tell you," he returned, staring at the floor in a huff, his arms crossed in front of his chest and his mouth twisted into a pout.
She was at a loss for words. Of course she loved him, they had been together for years, but this? A wedding? Without even knowing about it?
She sank down on the sofa and lowered her head into her hands. Now even the stupid grin from him, throughout the ceremony made sense, or the surprisingly passionate kiss after it.
For a few minutes Q was actually silent before he spoke up again. "I thought you knew."
His voice was low and he sounded guilty, a register of voice she had never heard on him before. She looked up. "How the hell could I have known about this! It was a first contact mission! I thought it was some kind of welcoming ritual."
"Aren't you the ship's anthropologist?" Gradually she became more agitated and jumped up. "I like to say it again, FIRST CONTACT MISSION!!! We knew nothing about the planet except that it was warp capable, though still believed in the old gods. That was it. How was I supposed to know about this ritual?" Q started to reply, however, she waved it off with a snort. "You can save that." With long strides she walked over to her door.
"Where are you going?"
"To blow off steam," she hissed back, giving him a cold look as he tried to follow her. "Alone."
He stuck his chest out and leaned down to her. "I am a Q. You cannot command me mortal." His words hurt more than she had believed, yet she only jutted her chin. "Stay away from me and leave me alone for this moment so I can think or I swear I will never speak another word to you." She was angry and Q knew it, however he didn't seem to believe her. "You wouldn't be able to bear that. You love me too much for that."
All he earned was another cold stare before she continued her way down the corridor. "Mon amour?"
His call reached her ears before the turbolift doors closed, yet she did not respond. For the moment, she needed her peace. Apparently Q seemed to have realised that too, because contrary to her expectations, he had not followed her into the lift, for which she was grateful to him.
Q had been right.
She would never in her life be able to stand not talking to him again.
Her path led her to the botanical garden and only there, on one of the benches, hidden behind one of the huge rhododendron bushes, did she allow her frustration and fear and all her other feelings to run free and ruffle her hair.
Married! Her! To Q!
She wasn't arrogant enough not to admit that she hadn't imagined it at least once, however, she had usually swept those ideas aside quickly because the idea was ridiculous.
Q, the Q, capricious, omnipotent and as old as time itself, as a husband who dutifully waits at home for his wife to come home, with meals cooked and quarters freshly cleaned? If she hadn't felt so much like crying, she would have laughed.
Just the idea of Q in a relationship was bizarre and she was the other part of that relationship.
"Are you all right?"
Startled, she started up and looked into the questioning and kind face of the android in gold uniform who was looking at her. "You look like you are not well and as a friend, I was wondering if I could offer my help."
A small smile crept onto her lips. Data really was a case in point.
Sighing, she shook her head. "I'm afraid not, my friend. This is a problem between me and Q."
"Ah." Data tilted his head in understanding. "You are experiencing emotional misery due to a problem in your relationship." He settled down on the bench beside her after a moment's consideration. "However, I am sure that you will overcome this crisis, as you did the many crises before it."
She glanced to the side. "I'm not so sure about that. This isn't about a prank being played or the fact that he thinks I'm a little too reckless on missions." She swallowed. "When we were on this planet, before you could bring us up, we had to participate in a ritual that was apparently a wedding ceremony. And he knew, but didn't say anything!"
Date nodded slowly. "And you are upset because you do not want a marriage with him."
"What? No!"
"So you do desire this marriage with him?"
"No!"
Data looked confused. "So you do not wish for marriage, but equally you wish for it."
Again she sighed. "Data, I'm not mad about the wedding itself. I mean, sure I'm a little pissed about that too, but it's much more the fact that he didn't tell me."
"You feel like he took away your choice."
"Maybe."
"Have you talked to him about it?"
She stared at the floor in front of her. "Not really. I rather... well... rushed out of our quarters because I needed time to myself." Data hummed in agreement and rose. "Perhaps you should talk to him about it then. Counselor Troi has explained to me that the key to a good relationship and marriage, is communication."
She winced slightly at the word 'marriage', but still had to smile at the idea that her synthetic friend had received relationship advice from the ship's Counselor. Whatever for.
"Perhaps."
Data nodded goodbye and left her alone. For a few minutes she tried to compose herself before she spoke his name softly, barely audible.
"Q."
Within a split second he appeared in a flash of light before her, on his knees and his hands held into a praying pose. "Mon étoile, please forgive me. I promise you, I really believed you knew." He almost hugged her legs. "Please don't leave me alone. I can't stand this without you. I'm sorry, I really am. Tell me what you want me to do. Whatever you want me to do, I'll do it."
Shocked, she stared down at him. "Q, you haven't been alone for fifteen minutes!"
Q just shook his head. "Fifteen minutes too long." She sighed and gently tugged at his curls to lift his gaze to her. "I want to talk to you. And for that, you need to be calm. Sit down, please." She gestured to the seat next to her where Data had been sitting until just a moment ago and Q complied with her request almost instantly, even seeming nervous by his standards, which made her feel a tiny bit guilty since she had never seen him so upset.
There was silence between them before Q dared to raise his voice. "Are you still angry with me?"
"I don't think so." She shook her head and folded her hands in her lap. "I'm disappointed, though, Q." He let out a small whimper. "That's almost worse."
"Q, I want you to understand that I'm not necessarily upset because we got married. To be honest, it's something I personally wouldn't object to." She reached for his hand and ran her thumb over the back of it. "It's how that bothers me."
"I know you believed I knew. Still, you should have asked me Q, at least to be sure. By not doing so, you took away my chance to make a decision. Not that I would have said 'no' to a wedding," she added quickly when she saw the sad expression on his face. "However, I would have preferred that if we had decided to get married, that it happened with the full and conscious consent of both of us, in the presence of the people we care about. And not on a foreign planet, surrounded by strangers who think we are incarnations of their gods."
Carefully, she pressed a kiss to the back of his hand. "I love you Q, I really do. But you must understand my point of view."
For a few moments Q was silent before he nodded slowly. "I understand you, mon amour. And I'm sorry. I should have asked and made sure you knew what you were getting into. I should have thought about the consequences my actions could bring instead of just thinking about myself and the opportunity I was presented with."
"You should have," she admitted, smiling gently at him.
He smiled slightly sheepishly and she thought she had rarely seen him so shy and vulnerable. "If it makes you feel any better, the Ajghasti ceremony is not legal under Federation law anyway. So strictly speaking, we're not married after all."
Relieved, she exhaled. "Thank heavens for that. I really hadn't wanted to get married like this." Q glanced to the side and she could tell he was trying to mask his hurt, so she leaned closer and rested her head on his shoulder.
"I'd really rather marry you in a decent way, surrounded by friends and family and who knows. Maybe I can get the Captain convinced to perform the ceremony." By now Q was staring at her wide-eyed. "Unless you've had enough of married life after all, after just over three hours of it."
Q jumped up, pulling her with him and twirling her around as a laugh escaped him. "Oh, mon amour, you shouldn't have said that. Now I guarantee you won't get rid of me." Dizzy from the spinning, she clung to his arms and smiled up at him. She was sure the heat had darkened her cheeks, however, her eyes shone with joy where a few minutes ago there had been anger
