Chapter 16
“We were wondering where you two had gone, and so we came to find you. Sorry we interrupted your moment.” said Trip, not even trying to hide his bitterness and fury. “I’m suddenly not feeling very jolly, so I think I’ll just go back to Enterprise. Thanks for dinner Shran.” Trip grabbed his coat and stormed out of the house.
“Trip!” T'Pol didn’t even stop to think. She just hurried after Trip, knowing that she had to rectify this. “Trip wait!”
Trip didn’t reply, preferring to continue on towards the platform that would bring him to the surface. T'Pol picked up the pace and managed to catch him by the elbow, bringing him to a halt.
“What do you want Commander?” Trip’s voice was flat, underneath which lay a layer of bitterness.
“I wish to speak with you about what you just saw.
“You know, I really don’t feel like getting a play by play of how you two started making out, so if you’ll excuse me.” Trip tried to pull away but T'Pol held tight and, since Vulcans were stronger than humans, he was forced to stay. “T'Pol I really don’t want to talk to you right now.”
“I understand that you are angry-”
“Angry? Hell yeah I’m angry! After everything that’s happened between us, you just up and make out with Shran. You know T'Pol, I don’t know how Vulcans do things, but humans don’t appreciate being played around with.”
“I am not trying to ‘play around’ with you Trip.”
“You marry another guy after inviting me to Vulcan to meet your mother. Then, after you get divorced, and you basically ignore me, or at least refuse to treat me as anything more than a co-worker, I try to move on with my life by transferring to Columbia. But you didn’t approve of that, so you decide to play hockey with my tonsils in order to get me to come back, but when I do, we’re right back to the co-worker treatment. And then after-” Trip grimaced, and swallowed hard, “-after Elizabeth… I mean… I just… I just don’t know what to do anymore T'Pol. But I refuse to be played. You may be able to repress your emotions, but I can’t, and quite frankly, they’re too bruised to take any more. So why don’t you go back to Shran and raise Soval like the perfect little family and leave me alone?”
“I will not go back to Shran, we are not in a relationship.”
“Yeah, the kissing indicated otherwise.” snorted Trip.
“We are not in a relationship.” T'Pol’s tone and her grip became firmer, “What you saw… was the results of confusion.”
“Confusion?”
“I have been… confused about whether or not I have been attracted to Shran. And I believe he is much the same. The kiss was an attempt to understand what was… between us.”
“Sure looked like it helped make things very clear.”
“It did, but not in the way you believe.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. I did not… feel anything when I kissed Shran. I believe it is to do with the bond forming between us and Soval that has been confusing us.”
“So what’s all that mean to me?”
“Trip, I… care a great deal for you, but it has been difficult to accept this, and with the issues between us, such as Koss and Elizabeth, I was unsure how to proceed, or what to do. However when you left Enterprise, I… longed for your presence.”
Trip shifted where he stood and T'Pol let go of his elbow, certain he would not try to leave just then.
“I am sorry that I have upset you so and I am sorry to have confused you, but I was as confused as you were. It is illogical that I should miss you, and yet I did when you left. And it was not logical that I behave as I did when we… copulated that night in the Expanse. I do not know why I so lost control of my emotions.” T'Pol knew why she had lost control, but she was not prepared to tell Trip. Not yet. “Everything about what is between us defies logic, yet I cannot ignore it. I have tried. I have tried to remain logical, but I have failed. And the distress caused by Elizabeth’s death only made things more difficult.”
“You should have talked to me.” Trip’s voice was quiet.
“Vulcans do not speak of feelings. We must suppress them, it is our way and everything between us goes against that.”
“Look T'Pol, I respect that your people are different to mine, and that you do things a different way. But I’m not gonna be a sucker taken along for the ride.”
“I am sorry Trip, and I understand that. However…” T'Pol looked around, unsure how to proceed.
“However what?”
“However, if you would accept, I would like to participate in and pursue a relationship with you. I understand if you don’t accept.”
“Answer me this first, what kind of feelings do you have for Shran?”
“I believe we are becoming… friends, and that we must attempt to remain that way for the sake of our son, but I do not have the kind of feelings for him that I do for you.”
“Ok… so… what if I say no?”
“I will respect your wishes, and I apologise if I have made things awkward between us.”
“And if I say yes?”
“I… I am not sure what you mean.”
“Well, what’ll happen if I say yes?”
“I would assume we would attempt to… become more intimate with one another.” T'Pol was struggling for words, as she had no real idea how to answer the question.
“So what your trying to say is, you don’t love Shran, and you have feelings for me.”
“As illogical as it is, yes.”
“And you want us to be together?”
“Yes.” There was a definite note of determination in her voice. Trip nodded and a small smile was spreading his lips.
“Ok then.”
“You agree?”
“Yeah, I agree.”
They stared at each other for a moment before Trip chuckled, saying, “If this was a movie, this would be the time when we’d-”
T'Pol hooked a hand around the back of Trip’s neck and pulled him down to her lips. His were warm against hers and a strange tingle went up T'Pol’s spine as one of his hands went to her waist.
As they parted, Trip was grinning. “-kiss.” He finished.
“We should return to the house, the other’s will wonder where we’ve gone.”
“Let’s walk around first, they won’t die without us in the next twenty minutes.”
“That sounds… pleasant.”
Shran watched T'Pol run after Trip feeling rather like he’d been hit in the face. Oh, not about T'Pol leaving, he was actually relieved, since it seemed to indicate that T'Pol hadn’t felt any more in the kiss than he had, or probably less, given her species. Yet he couldn’t explain what he was feeling or why he was feeling it. Then he looked at Telev, who was staring at the ground like a kicked wumvin. Ah, that was why.
Shran wanted to say something to the other man, but he found the words caught in his throat. Turning away, Shran walked out into the small back garden of his childhood home. The garden was nothing spectacular, just a lot of blue grass, with forgotten, overgrown and dead flowerbeds. His oldest brother, Trenach, had always been the one to tend to the garden. After he’d died, the garden had been neglected. No one else had quite the skill with plant life that Tren had had.
Shran could remember being in the hospital, after he’d been foolish enough to chase after an ice bore and fall into a nest and get third degree burns over half his body, and struggling to even stand. He’d been five and terrified. Tren had come to see him one day, a few weeks after the accident and had given him an unopened trigal flower. The flowers had seven long petals and it glowed when it flowered. They were a very beautiful flower, highly prized on Andoria, not because of their rarity, you could get them anywhere on Andoria, but because they were so beautiful.
Shran hadn’t quite understood why Trenach had given him a trigal flower that hadn’t blossomed, but had done as his big brother had told him and taken care of it as best he could, with his physiotherapist Talla helping him. As Shran had worked to relearn how to walk again, the flower had grown and on the day he’d managed to walk across a hall on his own, the flower had blossomed. Shran had understood his brother’s point then.
‘What would you think of all this big brother? You’d probably be laughing at how silly we’ve all been.’
“Going to hide from the others for a while?” asked Telev as he followed Shran out, his voice an attempt to sound light. Shran looked over his shoulder at Telev.
“Thinking about it.”
Telev chuckled, “Fair enough.” He shifted where he stood, looking uncomfortable and resentful. “Look, I just wanted to say… if you want to be with T'Pol… then I’ll… try to be all right with it.” The grimace was audible in Telev’s voice. He was almost choking on the words.
“I don’t want to be with T'Pol.” said Shran without turning around.
“Oh merciful spirits thank you.” said Telev, sounding very relieved. “I’m not used to you liking them. Bedding one would have been too much for me to handle.”
“I don’t plan on doing anything of the kind with a Vulcan. I’d prefer someone who was of my own kind.”
“Really?” Telev’s voice had perked up at once.
“I just… don’t get why it’s taken me so long to realise that I don’t want T'Pol in that way. I’m usually good at knowing what I want.”
“True, very true.” Telev came closer, standing so their shoulders were touching. Shran gave him a curious look, and Telev smirked a little in response. “But then again you haven’t had a child in the middle of it all.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Ever consider that you felt obligated to be with T'Pol because she’s Soval’s mother and that’s how things work for Andorians?”
“Honestly? It did not.” Shran frowned, his arms folded across his chest. Telev chuckled and pushed his face against Shran’s shoulder, the tips of his antennas brushing against Shran’s neck. Shran closed his eyes for a moment, savouring the touch. Sparks seemed to fly through his spine and made his antennas stand on end. Damn Telev and his seductive ways.
“Well maybe you should consider it. I mean, how likely is it that you felt honour bound to be attracted to T'Pol because she’s the mother of your child and among Andorians, unless a neuter adopts a child, which, as we both know, is rare, children are only part of married couples. Ever think that because it’s a rule of nature you felt you had to be with her?”
“No. But it does make sense… I guess.”
Telev raised his head, smiling a little, “Are you scared Thy’lek?”
“Of what?” Shran managed to sound offended.
“Of finding someone else now that Talas is no longer alive? I know you loved her very much.”
Shran’s antennas wilted, “I’m not afraid of it. Imperial Guardsmen don’t let fear cloud their judgement. I’m… I’m just a little lost. We were planning on marrying, that’s how strong it was between us.”
Telev’s antennas stiffened in surprise and then fell in sadness. “You never told me that.”
“I didn’t even tell Sen. Lissiel knows, but she guessed it and I was too tired at the time to deny it.”
“So… what are you lost about? You thought you had found the lifemate for you and now don’t know how to bring yourself to start searching again?”
“That sounds… yes.” Shran hung his head, feeling embarrassed that Telev was able to see through him. Telev reached out and put a curled finger under Shran’s chin, making him look up at him.
“Don’t feel embarrassed. I know that feeling. Quite well.”
“You lost someone you would have bonded with?”
“Yes.”
“You never told me that. Who was it?”
“You know him quite well.” said Telev, his cheeks flushing a little. Shran frowned in confusion and he looked away, trying to recall someone he knew that Telev could have been that close to. Telev’s eyes widened in surprise and then they rolled, “I’m talking about you, you fool!” he said, laughing at the look on Shran’s face. “Honestly, how did you not get that straight away?”
“You… we… um…” Shran grimaced. He hated it when he had to fumble for words, but it was a skill Telev had been practising for many, many years doing to him. “I didn’t realise you thought we might… I mean, you never told me or made me think, any of the times we were together.”
“It was just this one time when we were together.” Telev let his hand drop and he began to fiddle with Shran’s sleeve, preferring to look at it rather than him, going coy.
“Which time?” Shran couldn’t help but grin. He and Telev had been together so many times it was hard to keep track of when they did what in which time. Telev smiled, his dark eyes twinkling at him.
“The second time we were together. When you had finished Imperial Academy.”
“When I started my Guardsmanship?” Shran’s eyes were wide. “Telev we were barely out of childhood. I was 22 and you were 20! And that was when I was-” Shran stopped, looking at Telev, feeling sad as Telev looked up at him under lowered eyelids, shy. “Oh.”
Telev nodded, “Yes. Oh.”
“I’m sorry Telev.”
“It’s not your fault you got taken prisoner by the Vulcans for five years.”
“I didn’t realise you… felt that strongly for me.”
“I didn’t either until you disappeared. Then I remember wondering what life would be like if you hadn’t joined the Guard, if you’d gone into music like your parents thought you should-”
“And you thought I should.” reminded Shran, smiling a little.
“Well… you were good at it! But, anyway, I just wondered what would have happened if you hadn’t joined and I realised that I was wondering what it would have been like if we’d… bonded.” Telev looked very embarrassed, which was a look most people thought made him look very sweet. Having been stuck with that word himself when he was a child –being the youngest was such a nightmare when it came to shaking words like that- Shran never said it, even though he agreed. He reached out and touched Telev’s shoulder, squeezing it.
“It wouldn’t have been a good time for either of us… but the fact that you wondered about it… means a lot to me Telev.”
“Don’t get all soft on me.” Telev joked, even as his hand moved down Shran’s arm and his fingers started brushing against Shran's. Shran smiled.
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”
They stood in silence for a few minutes, just their fingers touching each other’s, eyes wandering around the garden. It had a spectacular view of the city, going almost all the way through it, and down to the park. Telev was the first to snap.
“Damn it Thy'lek! If you don’t start kissing me right now I’m going to kick you!”
Shran smirked to himself, he’d been waiting for that, and, without further delay, he kissed Telev, nipping his lips as he did. Telev responded at once, grabbing onto the back of Shran’s head and pulling him closer. Shran chuckled and bit down on Telev’s lower lip. Telev groaned and bit back. Shran pushed him back until he hit the wall of the house, chuckling again at the grunt of surprise Telev let slip. Their antennas scooped against each other and Shran put his arms around Telev’s slim waist.
Telev smelled like warmth, sweet warmth, with a male muskiness underneath. He was lithe, but strong and held onto Shran tight as they devoured each other’s mouths, biting and kissing with fervour. Shran had missed this, had missed the fire they had between them, which, even after so much time, had never gone out, like their feelings.
Just as Telev began to tug at Shran’s new shirt, trying to get it off, they were interrupted.
“As happy as I am to see you two at it again, and as reluctant as I am to break up the reunion, I’m going to have to order you two back to the table.”
Shran pulled away to meet Melani’s eyes as she laughed at them. Telev pouted and put his arms around Shran’s neck, letting his antennas rub against Shran’s.
“You have very bad timing Lady.” Telev said.
“Oh I know Telev, but that’s why I’m like a grandmother to the five of them, I always interrupt the fun parts. Now come inside and help your poor Tellerite. He’s loosing his argument with Th’nack.”
“Well we can’t have that, can we?” smirked Shran. “Let’s go save the pig.”
“Probably for the best, we wouldn’t want him to start an interplanetary incident over it.”
“Exactly. It would render all my hard work pointless.”
Telev rested his head on Shran’s shoulder as they walked into the house, his antennas brushing against Shran’s cheek and neck. Shran smiled a little to himself as they went into the dinning room where Gral was arguing, quite loudly, with his grandfather, putting an arm around Telev’s shoulders.
“What’s going on here?” called Shran. Everyone looked at him, and his grandparents and Ghee took one look at the way he and Telev were standing together and their lips spread into huge knowing grins. Lissiel looked surprised, but then she smirked and winked at Telev who smiled.
“Your grandfather is an idiot!” squealed Gral.
“Really? Well, you know what humans say. Takes one to know one.” smirked Shran, sitting down in his original seat, while Telev took T'Pol’s empty one. Gral grunted and said,
“What does that say about you if you were able to spot it too?”
“Oh my, is this going to be one of those you’re-a-bigger-idiot-than-I-am games? Because if it is, then Archer should be involved, after all, I’m sure he’ll be declared the biggest of all the idiots.” sneered Lissiel.
“Quite right! What’s wrong with you Archer?” demanded Narion, dandling Soval on his knee, “My granddaughter is a wonderful example of Andorian womanhood, and you reject her? There must be something wrong with you.”
Archer flushed, but he spoke with confidence, “I assure you, what I said, wasn’t what I meant. Lissiel’s probably the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, and given present company, that’s saying a lot. But humans, if they really feel attracted to someone, don’t just hop into bed with each other. We go on dates.”
Never let it be said that Jonathon Archer couldn’t string a few impressive sentences together under pressure.
“Dates?”
“Go to dinner at a restaurant, see a movie, spend time with each other, get to know each other, before we sleep together. It makes the experience much more enjoyable, because it’s a matter of emotions, as well as physical attraction.”
“Well why didn’t you just say that?” demanded Lissiel. “Why did you call it all a mistake and didn’t elaborate?”
“Because I was hung over and exhausted with no memory of what had happened last night. I wasn’t in the best condition to make myself comprehensible. I am sorry if I upset you Lissiel, and I’d like to make it up to you, if you’ll allow me. I’ll find out what would be a good time on Andoria and take you out, so we can get to know one another.”
Lissiel sat there, her arms across her chest, giving him a narrow-eyed look, as if trying to see whether he was lying. Archer stared back, silently glad that all those times of having such staring contests with Shran had prepared him for this encounter. He hadn’t felt like this for a long time, and he was hopeful that he would be able to forge a relationship with Lissiel. It might only be brief, but Archer knew it would be interesting and he wanted to learn all he could about Lissiel.
“Alright, fine. But you’d better make it good.” smirked Lissiel, relaxing her shoulders. Archer grinned like a Cheshire cat. Ghee furrowed his brow,
“Is everyone at this dinner pairing off?”
“Yup!” grinned Narion holding up Soval, who was clutching onto a new stuffed toy wumvin. “Even the baby’s found a partner.”
Shran laughed and took his son from his grandsire. Soval smiled up at him, kicking his legs out and he was set in his papa’s lap. “Did you get that for him? You’re already spoiling him grandsire.”
“A child needs a toy to take to bed. I seem to recall yours Thy'lek. What was he called again? Fuzzy?”
Shran flushed, while Gral let out a snort, “No grandsire. That was Senkrad’s.”
“It was Speckle grandsire, remember?” smirked Lissiel.
“He was not called Speckle either! Would you stop telling people that Lis!” Shran shook his head.
“So what was he called then?”
Everyone was watching Shran with large grins. Shran sank in his seat and muttered, going navy with embarrassment,
“Furball.”
Gral broke into squeals of laughter, while Ghee guffawed, looking charmed. Shran looked close to rolling his eyes but Telev’s hand on his knee made him forget his annoyance at once.
“Whatever happened to your stuffed toy Lissiel? I seem to recall you carried it everywhere for a while and then he vanished.”
“Oh… I don’t remember.” Lissiel waved her hand in the air, dismissing the question.
“Not true. You tore him to bits because you weren’t allowed any dessert after our parents found out what you did to me and Senkrad.”
“Oh, let it go Thy'lek. It happens to the best of us.” Lissiel rolled her eyes at her brother and Archer’s mouth went rather dry at the movement.
“An older sister tying and gagging you and stuffing you under her bed and forgetting she’d done it happens to the best of us? I don’t think so!” spluttered Shran. Gral sniggered,
“My love, aren’t you glad we came along now? How often do you get to hear this sort of juicy blackmail?”
“I must admit you have a point husband.” smirked Hege.
“Now Soval’s got two toys. He’s got a stuffed sehlat as well. From his original parents.”
“T'Pol mentioned that.” Shran nodded his head. Telev looked a little jealous at the mention of the Vulcan woman and Shran found his hand and squeezed it in reassurance.
“Where is T'Pol? And Trip? Are they in the main room?”
‘How to put this?’ wondered Shran, before speaking,
“They… had a disagreement and I think they went outside to discuss it in private. I’m sure they’ll be back soon enough.”
“Well since Trip’s seat is free…” Lissiel got out of her chair and took possession of Trip’s beside Archer, who flushed like a schoolboy as she smiled at him in that sensuous way Shran knew well meant Lissiel would not be alone in her bed tonight. With the way Telev was staring at him and had his hand on his knee, something told Shran he wouldn’t be either.
“Thy'lek? Where will we be staying tonight?” asked Th’nack.
“You and grandmamma can take Tren’s old room, Senkrad cleared it out for you. Grandsire, grandmother, you’ll be taking our parents old room, and Lady, Old Man, you’ll get the guest bedroom.”
“Sounds good to me!” cheered Ghee. His weathered cheeks were flushed near navy and he was swaying a little in his seat. Shran noted the three empty bottles in front of the Old Man and groaned. Knowing Ghee and Melani after they’d had a lot of drink, no one would be getting any sleep that night… that is, if they had planned to get any.
“Ghee, I gotta ask!” Apparently Ghee wasn’t the only one who’d had a little too much. “What do you do for a living that’s given you such amazing biceps?”
“Well Jon, I’m head of a mining company. It’s hauling huge chunks of ice and rock around that’ll give you these sorts of muscles.” Ghee flexed his arms exaggeratedly, earning laughter from everyone. “Interested?”
“Thanks, but I think I’ll stick to exploring.”
“Exploring! Now that’s the sort of thing we Imperial Guardsmen did on our down time. Exploring was our holiday! And here you pink-skins are doing it for a living. It’s madness!”
“Exploring can be fun grandsire. Don’t you remember Ulo’polis?”
“Ah, Ulo’polis. Who could forget?”
“What’s Ulo’polis?” asked Archer.
“Not what. Who. He’s a nebula. Or at least, he looks like a nebula, but he’s really an intelligent creature. We’ve managed to work out a translator with him, so we can communicate with him. It’s like having a conversation with a fat five year old.” chuckled Shran, bouncing Soval on his knee. This made Soval giggle and coo.
“A talking nebula, now that has to be one of the strangest things I’ve ever heard of.”
“Well it’s true. Maybe you could ask for the co-ordinates so you could meet him.”
“I think I will.”
“Bah! Such a lazy species!” grunted Narion, although he was smiling, which told that he meant no harm.
“With all due respect sir, we haven’t been doing much exploring as of late. It’s been catastrophe after catastrophe, alien attack after alien attack. We’ve seen quite a lot of action out there.”
“Hm, I doubt it.”
“Oh stop.” Ghee whacked Narion across the antennas, shaking his head. “You’re the one these youths get their stubborn streak from.”
“No, that was my wife.”
“No, it was my husband.” said Tenal.
“No it was you Tenal.” smiled Th'nack
“Basically you’re all very stubborn and we didn’t stand a chance.” summarised Shran, rolling his eyes at Archer who laughed. Gral snorted.
“Sounds about right. Although your smirk came from Narion. There’s no mistaking that.”
“Absolutely!” agreed Aresa, her hand high on Narion’s thigh. Narion was grinning with self-pride. “That smirk’s unmistakeable.”
Shran and Lissiel rolled their eyes again.
There was a knock at the door. Lissiel went to get it since Shran had Soval on his lap. They heard her open the door and laugh,
“We were going to send a search party out to find you soon.”
“We were not long gone.” said T'Pol. “I apologise if it caused upset.”
“Take a joke Vulcan. They are rare from me to you.” sneered Lissiel, as she, T'Pol and Trip entered the room.
It was easy to tell that something had happened between them, although what was anyone’s guess since T'Pol’s face was as stoic as ever. Yet there was a sparkle in her eye and Trip was grinning to himself, looking much lighter than when he’d arrived earlier. Shran smirked to himself. That hadn’t taken as long as he’d expected. He shared a grin with Telev, who smirked back knowingly.
“You’re just in time Commanders! We were about to demand some entertainment from our youngest grandson.” said Tenal, turning her gaze to Shran who stiffened, looking very suspicious. “I think we should be favoured with some music, don’t you agree Th'nack?”
“Oh absolutely my love. I can’t think of a better way to end the night.” agreed Th'nack. It was obvious where Shran got his mischievous grin, because it was shining on the older Andorian’s face.
“No chance! I cooked. No way am I singing now. I’m too tired.” protested Shran.
“What? After all those lessons I gave you in music, you’ll refuse an eager audience.” barked Ghee.
“Absolutely.” Shran didn’t bat an eyelid at the question. Ghee narrowed his eyes at him, as if contemplating a way to convince Shran to do as he was bid. “I’m not singing! I’ll play for Lissiel, but I’m not singing. I’m too tired, my voice will be a mess.”
“Wait! When did I get dragged into this?” Lissiel sat up straight.
“Just now.” said Shran without looking away from Ghee. “Lissiel can sing and I’ll play for her, but I’m not singing. I flat out refuse to.”
“Oh stop putting up a fuss boy. Get your backside into that music room and play and sing for us.” ordered Ghee, pointing out of the dining room.
“But-”
“Go!” cried all six elders. Shran grumbled and stood up, passing Soval into Telev’s arms. Telev didn’t blink and he settled Soval into his grip. Soval’s antennas brushed against his shoulders, and the baby giggled. Telev grinned down at him, getting to his feet and following Shran out of the room, followed by the others.
They entered the music/painting room. It smelled like paint, and echoed a little. The walls were covered in relief’s, of space battles, ice climbers hauling themselves up cliffs, politicians giving speeches and people working in labs or hospitals.
Hanging from the walls was an array of musical instruments, some clearly alien, and some very dusty from lack of use.
“Don’t you ever clean these Thy'lek?” demanded Ghee, swiping at dust. Shran rolled his eyes and muttered something about ‘being busy’ but the rest was unintelligible. In the far corner of the room was an instrument that resembled a metal grand piano, although maybe a little smaller than that. Shran was testing it, head inclined to the instrument as he listened. Then he sat down and glared up at them,
“I hate you for this.”
“We’ll live.” smirked Ghee, “Now play something cheery. Nothing sad!”
“All right! All right!” Shran shook his head and began to play. The music was fast, with a strong beat and Ghee let out a whoop of delight at the sound. Shran rolled his eyes and began to sing.
Shran’s voice surprised Archer, Trip and Gral. He was actually pretty good. And his fingers flew over the keys of the instrument, which gave off a sound like a cross between a piano and a guitar. Ghee couldn’t resist joining in for the choruses, beating his hands on the wall, and stamping his feet to add to the lively song. Telev bobbed to the beat, swaying Soval from side to side, earning chuckles from the child. Th'nack and Tenal started dancing, and Aresa put her arms around her husband, scooping her antennas against Narion’s. When it ended, far too soon to the listeners, they applauded. Shran got to his feet and walked away from the instrument, indicating he had no intentions for an encore. He was smirking with pride though.
“Not bad Andorian. Not bad.” said Gral, “Although what you Andorians call music, the rest of us call noise.”
“Humph! What would a Tellerite know of music?” sneered Narion.
“Don’t you dare start another pissing contest.” warned Lissiel, raising a warning finger. Narion looked startled at his granddaughter’s tone, then rolled his eyes and muttered something about ‘genetic’. Lissiel smirked and then gave Archer a look that made his libido sit up and take interest. “Are you musical Archer?”
“I’m afraid not Lissiel. I’ve been called tone deaf more than once.”
“What a shame.”
“Still maybe your brother would favour us with another song. Stevie Wonder would be extremely appropriate tonight.”
“Which song?” asked Shran, smirking as Archer blinked in surprise. “I downloaded loads of your earth music from Enterprise’s database. I have to say you have weird styles. Although rap is very intriguing.”
“Rap? Rap’s just talking to a fast beat and being insulting. Now country music! There’s something decent.” said Trip smiling. Shran shook his head.
“Too… I can’t think of an appropriate word for it.”
“Cornball?” offered Archer with a cheeky grin.
“That sounds right even though I’ve no idea what it means.”
“Oh says the man who listens to Abba!” Trip narrowed his eyes at Archer.
“Abba is timeless.”
“More like tune-less.”
“Gentlemen. Lets not get carried away. We all know human music is inferior to Andorian music in everyway anyway so what does it matter?”
Archer rolled his eyes at Shran who smirked back, taking Soval from Telev. Telev sidled up against Shran and rested his head on Shran’s shoulder. T'Pol’s eyebrow twitched in surprise.
“What time is it?” grunted Gral.
“2520 hours.”
“Getting late.” said Trip, “And I’m still beat from last night… whatever we did.”
“Nothing too bad Trip, don’t worry.” said Shran smirking.
“Yes. At least you didn’t end up running through the city naked like most of the people in this room.”
“Ah! Good times!” smiled Aresa, looking away into space as she no doubt recalled the incidents.
“I’m glad I don’t remember mine.” said Telev, “I somehow ended up up a tree in the park, arms and legs wrapped around a branch, completely naked with Thy'lek and our friends taking pictures and laughing their asses off.”
“Well it was funny. You were also singing for a good part of the time and while you may look good Telev, you’re tone deaf, and even worse when you're drunk.” Shran was chuckling.
“Hmph!” Telev tried to look annoyed but Shran whispered something in his ear and he seemed to melt and a smile spread over his face like butter.
“They’re at it again.” sighed Lissiel in Archer’s ear. “It’s always the same. Only I think this time it’ll last. Thy'lek and Telev were made for each other.”
“They do seem to… compliment each other.” Archer wasn’t sure what else he could say. Obviously he had no issue with two males in love, but he wasn’t sure what to make of this development in what he was beginning to call, ‘The Ultimate Alien Soap Opera’. It had definitely come out of left field for him.
“They’re a good match. Drink pink-skin?” Lissiel put her hand on his arm for a moment. Archer instantly gave her his full attention, following her out of the room and into the main room. Lissiel pulled out another bottle of Andorian Ale.
“You must have an unlimited supply.”
“May as well for the amount we have.” Lissiel smirked, pouring some out for the both of them. “Now that we’re away from my meddling grandparents and sibling, perhaps you could tell me what you intend to do now honestly.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, are you attracted to me and do you want to try to have a relationship with me?”
“A definite yes to both. But not just a physical one. I’d like to get to know you, to spend time with you.”
“So it’s also emotional.” Lissiel’s eyes narrowed, as if she wasn’t sure if she could trust him.
“I’d like that very much. I don’t need to know you well to know you're beautiful, intelligent, sharp and kind, but I’d like to know more than that. I’d like to know you.”
Lissiel stared at him, then said, “Thy'lek told me you were soft, he wasn’t wrong. However… I suppose that’ll be a change of pace for me.” And her antennas reached out towards him in a gesture of openness. Archer smiled at her and then leaned forward, intending on kissing her.
“Ah!” he yelped when Lissiel bit hard on his lower bit when he made contact, drawing blood. “What the-” Lissiel kissed him hard, gripping the front of his uniform so he went nowhere. When she finally released him, Archer staggered backwards, looking stunned. “Wow.” He blurted. Lissiel smirked.
“Andorian women are far more aggressive than males, and humans, and since you don’t remember last night at all… do you think you can handle me sober?”
“I can try.”
“Good pink-skin.”
Lissiel grabbed his uniform again and dragged him into her room, hurling a ‘Goodnight’ to the music room. Archer wasn’t able to get a coherent word out the rest of the night.
“I think that’s the sign that we must all go to bed.”
“Bed sounds good.” said Ghee, twirling Melani’s hair around his fingers, a hungry look in his eyes. Shran’s antennas were scooping against Telev’s and Telev had possessive arms around him. Soval was asleep in his father’s arms, his hands clutching the stuffed wumvin he’d been given tight. Narion and Aresa were already edging for the door. Gral and Hege were eyeing all the Andorians with uneasy looks.
“This room stinks of lust.” said Gral in an undertone. T'Pol agreed wholeheartedly, the hunger and lust was almost tangible.
“We should be getting back to the ship.” she said to Trip who nodded, smiling at her. “What about Soval?”
“He can stay here in the playroom, we’ve got a crib in there. No point in waking him now.”
“Agreed.” T'Pol was slightly relieved, as she wished to speak more with Trip and Soval’s crib in her quarters would make that difficult. Still, she touched her son’s back, drinking him in as she had before, before she and Trip left the house.
“Think the kid’s gonna be traumatised by what’s gonna happen in that house tonight.”
“I have learned that Soval sleeps and does not wake until he is hungry. I doubt he will even notice.”
Trip chuckled, “Lucky kid.”
“Agreed.”