#Sakkath x Reader

[deepspacedukat]

Veiled Interludes

This is just a random plot bunny. I'll get back to my wips and requests after this, I promise. 💖 In the meantime, this is set way before ST:TNG S3E23 "Sarek" - maybe 4-5 years prior. Tbh, I didn't think it through that far. Blame "The Meeting on the Turret Stairs" for this, because although I've seen that painting many times, it gave me many intense feelings early yesterday morning.

Cross-posted to AO3 here.

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Sakkath (ST:TNG) x Reader

[A/N: This is just fluff. Allusions to intimacy, but nothing graphic or explicit.]

Warnings: Interspecies flirting, Human/Vulcan flirting, fluff, interspecies kissing, sneaky relationship, they're both v professional but also v in love, Sakkath drinks his respect women juice daily, idk man this just came to me.

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Sakkath's eyes found her immediately when he entered the conference room. He'd seen her so many times before during diplomatic functions or around their offices, and every time he couldn't help but marvel at her. Even from across the room, she was extraordinary - she always was, but tonight she was even more exceptional than usual. The way her dress dripped from her frame, modest and elegant in the traditional Vulcan style despite their current locale, filled his head with plentiful improper thoughts.

They'd known each other across a number of years thanks to their occupations. Where he was Ambassador Sarek's personal assistant, she was the same for Ambassador Lojal. Owing to their friendship, the two diplomats often worked closely, so their PA's naturally grew to know each other, as well. Sakkath had been intrigued by Lojal's assistant the moment he laid eyes on her, but even he didn't know what that curiosity would evolve into when he initially greeted her.

Outwardly, they were the picture of professionalism - a Vulcan and a Human who worked well together when their jobs required it - but those observations didn't begin to scratch the surface of the relationship that Sakkath and his Human counterpart had developed.

Even across the conference room when her eyes met his, Sakkath felt his inner beast perking up. They had seen each other only three days prior, but they'd barely had the chance to speak. Managing a single stolen ozh'esta, they'd been forced to part without so much as an inquiry into each other's health. Tonight, however, both the Ambassadors would be busy mingling, and the two assistants would be free to do as they pleased.

As soon as it was socially acceptable, he excused himself and slipped away from Ambassador Sarek's side. Glancing quickly over the crowd, he spotted her by one of the floor-to-ceiling windows looking out over the vastness of one of Earth's oceans. Snagging two drinks from a passing waiter, Sakkath made his way over to her, handing her the drink without a word and taking his place beside her like a silent sentinel.

That was what he'd been for her since shortly after their acquaintance began, after all. He noticed early on that she was so often spoken over or interrupted that she'd simply cease speaking or find reasons to extricate herself from conversations, especially at events like this. The first time, he'd thought it was a fluke - an accident perpetrated by those who were not paying enough attention to social cues to realize they'd been impolite - but as that occurrence repeated itself over and over, Sakkath grew increasingly troubled and protective over her.

She was intelligent and insightful. Could nobody but himself see that she would not have spoken if she hadn't something valuable to contribute? He wanted to take her into his arms and show her that she was not as invisible as perhaps she believed herself to be, but that would not have been proper in such a public setting.

Instead, Sakkath had followed her when she broke away from the group, standing silently by her side. All too often, she was forced to listen to others without being afforded the same courtesy in return. Thus, even when she looked curiously over at him that first night, he merely gave her a respectful nod of his head.

During subsequent encounters, he'd made certain to take up a position near her and keep her company, wanting to show her that he was not simply socializing with her in order to make her listen to him ramble. Once, he was even so bold as to call a Bolian ambassador out for speaking over her. The gruff diplomat had been irritated that a mere personal assistant would speak to him that way, but the beautiful blush that had colored his lady's cheeks had made his actions worth it. When they'd walked away to a quiet corner that night, she'd laid a hand carefully on the sleeve of his tunic and thanked him with an earnestness that almost alarmed him. Had nobody ever stood up for her before?

That had been the first night she'd spoken to him about anything outside of their work. It was also the first time that he'd stated outright that he enjoyed hearing her speak.

Their relationship had developed naturally over the months that passed, settling into a balanced, yet surreptitious set of romantic rendezvous ranging from the brief clasping of hands in back stairwells, to abbreviated embraces between meetings, to passionate, intimate assignations in empty conference rooms. He'd even been so bold as to don a hooded cape and visit her quarters when both their Ambassadors had been sent to the same set of negotiations a few months back.

Neither Sakkath nor his lover had ever once truly risked their positions by displaying their affections in public. Oh, it wasn't that their relationship would be forbidden - on the contrary, there were no regulations against interoffice romances - however, publicly unprofessional behavior was certainly grounds for disciplinary censure, and he would never risk sullying her reputation with his own indiscretions.

That was why tonight, though the beast of his emotions roared in his chest for him to tug her out of the room and utterly fuse his scent with hers, he refrained. Watching her take a sip from the glass he'd obtained for her instead, they looked out the window together at the rippling water.

"This is my first time on your planet in many years, t'sai. I find the view quite a bit more...stimulating than I did before," he said quietly, hoping that she knew - she had to know - that he wasn't referring exclusively to the starlight reflecting off the ocean's gently cresting waves. The soft, inconspicuous brush of her fingers against the back of his hand made his breath hitch.

"I'm glad you're enjoying your time here, osu," she said before lowering her voice to just above a whisper. "You look very distinguished tonight, Sakkath."

"I had hoped my choice of outfit would be aesthetically agreeable to you, ashaya, but you should know that you are infinitely more pleasing to look at," he replied brushing his hand against hers a bit more firmly. All of his emotions beat at the barrier of his control at once, and, taking a chance, he whispered the one thing he'd longed to since he entered the conference room. "You have stolen my logic from me. I wish nothing more fervently than to have you alone in my arms..."

He knew he shouldn't be speaking like this in public, even though he was being quiet enough that only she could hear him, but he could help it. Sakkath ached for her as he'd done for no one else. He knew that she'd never heard him be so open when they were anywhere other than safely tucked away in each others' arms.

"Sakkath?" She breathed, looking at him with wide eyes. "Are you alright?"

"No, I am not. I find myself...unsettled when I am away from you. Every moment we spend parted is...I can think of no descriptor more applicable than 'torture.' If you wish me to stop, to keep our relationship to our current parameters, then I shall silence myself," he promised. Sakkath hadn't planned to admit any of this today, but he meant it all the same. "However, you should know that there is no other who has laid claim to my heart as you have. I...wish to be yours. Entirely."

As he spoke, his heart hammered away in his side, and as he fell silent again, he looked over at the woman he loved. Foremost in his mind was the day prior to their first tryst.

Sakkath had been accompanying Ambassador Sarek to a turbolift in the embassy on Vulcan. As they approached, however, the door slid open to reveal Lojal and his own assistant. Her eyes met Sakkath's, and without so much as a word passing their lips, they each took up positions behind their superiors. As they passed each other, she silently caught his hand, but before she could let go, Sakkath lifted her wrist to his mouth, pressing a delicate, sensual kiss above her fluttering pulse.

She swore later that he'd looked as though he'd wanted to eat her, and he promised with every fiber of his being that if the Ambassadors had been absent, he would've knelt before her and done just that.

He felt the same hunger now, even as he awaited her decision.

"Sakkath..." she breathed, and heat rose to the Vulcan's cheeks as he realized the next words out of her mouth would either shatter his heart or make him whole for the first time in his life.

--

Ambassadors Sarek and Lojal spoke quietly from their place near the back of the room, trading stories and staunchly avoiding most of the more unpleasant diplomats for as long as they could. When a familiar pair by one of the large windows caught Sarek's eye, he pointed them out to his colleague.

"I believe he will ask her tonight," Lojal said to his friend, elevating his chin with a hint of pride. Sarek lifted an eyebrow and glanced at him, not with reproach but with curiosity. The two men had been watching their personal assistants dance around each other for so long, attempting to be discreet about their obviously growing romantic relationship. The pair had conducted this conversation many times, but it was usually Sarek who predicted the impending approach of the inevitable question, not Lojal.

"What makes you believe that tonight will be any different than the others?" Sarek had been married twice, both times to Human women. He knew their appeal and how easily they could drive even the most controlled Vulcan to madness, yet he could sense no noticeable increase in such madness in his assistant tonight. He had no reason to suspect that Sakkath was close to his breaking point, so why did Lojal sound so certain?

"It is logical," Lojal said almost smugly before taking a sip of water from his glass. At Sarek's bewildered expression, he explained himself further. "Observe the drink in his hand. Vulcan port. Normally, Sakkath is too professional to even consider imbibing at an official event, however, with such a task before him, he obviously wishes for some 'liquid courage' as the Humans would say. In addition, he has purchased a new tunic for tonight - note the slight stiffness in the fabric from its lack of wear. Even if he was not aware of the significance of his own choices, he is attempting to prove himself a worthy potential mate."

Sarek nodded his head quietly. That was all quite correct, and he had to admit that those observations were, in fact, logical.

"You are quite correct, however, that does not mean that she will accept his adva–" The Ambassador broke off when Lojal's assistant grabbed Sakkath's hand and led him through one of the doors at the side of the room with a shy, joyful smile on her lips. A vibrant green blush colored her companion's cheeks as he allowed himself to quite happily be led away into the moonlit garden maze. "...I stand corrected."

Lojal hummed quietly, and after a moment's lapsed silence, a thought occurred.

"Perhaps we should suggest that they both take some leave time," Sarek suggested, and Lojal nodded his head.

"I have already taken the liberty of offering my assistant leave. Logic would suggest that she will likely ask Sakkath to join her during their liaison tonight," the Ambassador murmured to Sarek.

"I will, then, anticipate Sakkath's absence," he muttered, but he stared pensively at the doorway through which they'd exited. "They seem well-suited. She will be patient with him."

"And he will be devoted to her," Lojal added setting his now-empty glass aside. "It seems as though we shall be feigning even more meetings, and you would be wise to prepare yourself for a few less-than-subtle questions about romantic relationships with Humans."

"Indeed. We will both be inconvenienced," Sarek murmured thoughtfully, "but such a love as theirs is worth the sacrifice."

~*~*~

Vulcan Words:

t'sai = my lady

osu = sir

ashaya = darling

ozh'esta = finger smooch

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