#strange world x reader

[chasingstardustandmoonbeams]

Once More (III)

A/N: I would like to thank Star Trek: Short Treks for giving me permission to have Spock laugh and smile. I did so much research for this, it's not even funny. I must have stared at the Enterprise schematics for a full hour.

Word Count: 4k

Warnings: None (unless you count minimal proof reading)

Masterlist & Playlist

Side by side you walked with Spock through the Enterprise hallways. You weren’t quite sure where you wanted to go, you just knew you’d be damned if you lived through another routine loop again. You chewed on your lip, there were so many endless possibilities in front of you right now. The part that you still had yet to wrap your head around was that none of it mattered. No matter what you did with Spock, you’d simply reset as if none of it ever happened. Just an endless Thursday. Over and over again until the end of time itself. 

At least you weren’t alone. At least you had Spock. Spock who always seemed to escape you and capture you all at once. Trying to figure out Spock was almost as maddening as trying to figure out what was causing the loop. 

“What destination did you have in mind?” Spock asked gently, his gaze on you as he matched your stride. It was so hard for you to imagine how he was feeling. Did he feel helpless like you? Was he anxious about finding a way to end this? 

“Rec room?” You questioned. You weren’t sure why you said it - being on the Enterprise didn’t leave you with very many options. 

“Are you inquiring or stating?” He cocked his head to the side, eyebrow arching. He was teasing you as only Spock knew how. 

You let out a snort, your gaze on Spock as the corner of his mouth twitched. “Stating. Come on, I doubt there’s a crowd. Alpha shift is up and running and beta should be heading to bed soon.“

Spock simply nodded at you following your lead. You both found an empty corner in the rec room. You didn’t miss the odd looks from some of the crew. You understood for the most part. You and Spock weren’t necessarily seen together outside of the odd job or two. Though it wasn’t for lack of trying - at least on the part of Erica andUhura’s. Your two friends often meddle in a way that leaves you more perplexed than you’d like to admit. 

Sitting across from Spock, you anxiously began to drum your fingers. There were too many thoughts racing through your head. You had been trying your best to hold it together. You knew there were at least five loops where you had become a total asshole to everyone around you. Spock, of course, had never wavered. His eyes landed on your hands, his eyebrow raising in question. 

“Are you alright, Lieutenant?” The words left his mouth so softly, that you nearly found yourself crying. It was too much - it was all too much. 

You paused the drumming of your fingers, a beat passed before you let out a humorless laugh. “I’m fine, Spock, really.” The last thing you needed was for Spock to think you couldn’t handle yourself. 

“Fine has variable definitions, Lieutenant. I would not consider fine an acceptable term for our situation.” 

Spock had a way of surprising you. He always had. You ran a hand over your face letting out a breath, “I’m…hanging by a very thin thread,” you sighed. “I need a break. I need to not think about the anomaly or the loop. I want…” your voice drifted. You weren’t sure what you wanted. 

“What do you want, Lieutenant?” Spock had gradually leaned forward, his chest now pressed against the side of the table. 

“I want you to stop calling me, Lieutenant, Spock,” you said, a smile appearing on your face. “I think after everything we’ve been through so far we can dispense with the formalities.”

You watched Spock, there was something there, an emotion at the surface that you couldn’t quite register. 

“That would be acceptable,” he paused, “Y/N”. The corner of his mouth tugged slightly upwards, it would be nearly imperceptible to anyone who was not paying attention. You found yourself wanting nothing more than to emit the response again. 

Smiling as you sat back in your seat, your mind reeling with the thought of knowing more, more about him,  “Can I ask you a question?” 

“Anything.” He said it so simply, so matter of factly that it almost took your breath away. You could almost hear Uhura and Erica muttering about how you and Spock try to talk more. There had been a conspiracy between the two of them that you were never able to get to the bottom of. 

“How do you feel about all of this? I know my emotions are more on the surface, but I can’t -” You hesitated, “This is selfish, but I need to not feel so alone.” 

Spock’s eyes met yours before his gaze drifted. “I am unsure of how to proceed,” he paused, “I worry for the safety of the crew and for you.” 

“Thank you,” you breathed. Spock gave you a simple nod in response. You found yourself leaning forward on the table, arms loosely crossed in front of you. “You know, I really didn’t think you’d agree to playing hooky with me.”

“Playing hooky?” 

“Ditching our jobs to do absolutely nothing meaningful,” you shrugged your shoulders. 

Spock leaned forward slightly across the table, “I do not believe I would categorize our interactions as having no meaning.” 

You made a face to let him know you doubted his meaning, “I’m sure there are at least twenty people you would have rather gotten stuck with than me.”

“On the contrary, while I would rather neither of us be in this situation, I am grateful for your company.” 

Instinct told you to deny, to argue that he would rather be with Chapel, La’an, Una, or Captain Pike. Instead you fought the instinct and gave him a small smile. “I’m glad I’m with you too, Spock.” 

Your answer seemed to satisfy him in some way, “Do you have other suggestions on how to best spend our time?” 

You let out another laugh that left Spock confused, “My plan is to have no plan.” 

“That would be counterintuitive,” he reasoned. 

“Yes, but considering our last twenty odd plans have literally and figuratively blown up in our faces, I think maybe going with the flow might work in our favor.” 

He paused, you could almost see the wheels turning in his head, “That is an acceptable premise.” 

“So-” 

“Lieutenant L/N there you are!” You watched as one of your engineering crew members, Kyle, briskly walked towards you both. 

“You ready to run?” You quickly got up from your seat. 

“Run?” 

“I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to spend the rest of this loop in the brig.” 

“Lieutenant!” 

Spock gently stood up from his seat, pushing in his chair. “What is the destination?” 

Your smile only grew wider, “Just follow me.”

Spock nodded at you. Both of you began your sprint out of the rec room. Faintly, you could hear both of your names being called. You could feel Spock matching your stride beside you. By nature you knew he was faster than you, still, he matched your speed. 

You felt free for the first time in a long while, your smile never leaving your face. You dodged and weaved your way through the sparse crowds in the hallways. You made your way to the turbolift, your own anxiety rising as you made your way inside. 

You looked at Spock now, he gave you a reassuring nod as you both walked into the turbolift. Gently you pressed the handle, “Deck 21.”

“Clarify,” Spock was looking at you in utter confusion. 

“When’s the last time you went bowling?” You leaned against the side of the turbolift. 

“I do not recall utilizing the bowling alley.” 

“Perfect,” you smiled, standing straight as the doors opened. 

Wordlessly, Spock followed you to the bowling alley. Of the six lanes, only one was occupied. There was a small group of ensigns huddled together to the farthest wall. Generic 20th century music echoed through the room. 

You spun to face Spock, “Tell me, Spock, have you ever bowled before?” 

Spock’s gaze flicked between you and the bowling balls. “I cannot say that I have, though I am familiar with the rules.” 

“I’ll go easy on you,” you smirked. You went first, carefully selecting a bowling ball before setting yourself up in front of the lane. You could hear cheers coming from the other side of the room as ensigns began high fiving each other in celebration of their game. 

“Be the ball,” you whispered. 

“I do not understand. How can one be the ball? It is not a sentient being.” 

You let out a sigh, “Figure of speech Spock, now please, shush,” you paused, “I need to focus,” you breathed out before releasing the ball. You watched as the ball rolled nearly perfectly straight down the middle of the lane. You successfully knocked down all of the pins save for one. 

You picked your ball back up and knocked your final pin over. You turned smiling facing Spock. “Your turn,” you encouraged, watching as he tilted his head to the side examining each ball before picking one. 

Spock stood rigid in the center of the lane, he simply stared at the pins in front of him for a minute before he swung his arm back to release the ball. You watched as the ball rolled perfectly down the center before knocking down all of the pins. 

“What? How did you- you’ve never bowled before?” You sat baffled on one of the chairs as Spock walked towards you. 

“I used simple geometry to calculate entry angle and its impact on pin deflection.” 

You stared gaping at him, “Did you,” you blinked, “did you just hustle me, Spock?” 

“I believe that to hustle you I need to have lied about my skills at bowling. As I have never played the game before I would not consider this swindling you.” 

You got up from your chair, grabbing your bowling ball. You turned to look at him, “Just you wait, by loop one hundred, I’ll be taking you for all your money.” 

“I am not sure that would be sufficient time for you to succeed.”

You spinned around to look at him, eyes wide. “Now you’re trash talking me?” You said in disbelief. You nearly found yourself laughing. He was staring at you with the straightest face imaginable, but his eyes, oh his eyes told you a different story. 

“I am simply stating that your current skills would need more practice.” 

“I see,” you bit your lip to hide your grin. “Well, we’ll just have to see about that now, won’t we?” You brought the ball up to your face before swinging it back and bringing it forward. You watched as you got a perfect strike. 

With a bounce in your step you walked directly in front of Spock who sat with his eyebrow raised. You leaned down a bit to better meet his eye level, “Don’t hustle the hustler,” you teased before taking a seat across from him. 

“Indeed,” he replied. He stood walking to retrieve his own ball. You watched as Spock got another perfect strike. “Perhaps we are a better a match than I had anticipated.” 

You found your mouth had gone a bit dry at the thought, “Oh, we’re just getting started,” you said softly before getting your ball. “I will win.” 

“I expect nothing less than your best effort,” he replied. 

On and on you went, one strike after the next. You tried not to let your minder wander, though Spock had a way of distracting you in ways that you weren’t used to. There was one goal and one only, win. Your life was full of nothing but loss lately, but this? This you could win. 

It was the final game, if Spock got another strike it would be a tied game. After he bowled a perfect game you couldn’t see how he wouldn’t get another strike. 

Spock spared you a glance before he let his final ball go. You watched the ball veer left going straight into the gutter. He quickly collected his ball and managed to only knock down five pins.

You jumped up from your seat in disbelief. “Did you just-?”

“I miscalculated the trajectory,” he said simply before sitting down. “I believe your next turn determines the winner.” 

“Spock, I’ve never seen you ever miscalculate anything,” you sputtered. 

“It is illogical to believe I can never make mistakes.” 

You looked at him, trying to find any tell that he was lying. You squinted at him before finally acquiescing. You lined your ball up and watched with bated breath as you got a strike. You screamed jumping up and down. 

“I won! Oh my God, I won!” 

“Well, played,” Spock stood behind you giving you the barest hint of a smile. 

“You totally threw the game so I could win, didn’t you?” 

“I lost fairly,” he stated, “I believe it is time for our midday meal.” 

You sighed, “Yeah, okay.” 

You followed Spock from the turbolift to the mess hall. Both of you walking towards the replicators. You were making your way over to Spock, when you were suddenly yanked backwards. 

“And just where the hell have you been?” 

You stared wide eyed at Erica. Unsure exactly what to say. 

“Engineering has been looking everywhere for you,” she squinted at you, “Well, you and Spock.” You watched as her face went from confusion to questioning to disbelief. “Were you - were you playing hooky with Spock?” 

“Um,” you hesitated. 

“You, you actually got Spock, Vulcan rule follower, Spock to ditch work?” 

“Well…”

“I knew it!” 

“Knew what?” 

“Oh, no, Uhura is going to want to hear this too.” Erica steered you towards a table where Uhura sat sipping her soup. 

“Hey, what’s-” 

“Y/N was playing hooky with Spock,” Erica rushed out. 

Uhura’s eyes went wide. Her gaze drifted behind you and back to your face. “That explains why Spock is just staring over here. He actually looks a bit…well a bit like a kicked puppy. What happened?”

“Nothing, nothing happened. We just…went bowling.” 

“Bowling,” Erica repeated. “Is that a new code for-” 

“No!” You cried out shrinking a bit as you got stares from the crew around you. “We literally were bowling…I won, not that it matters.” 

Erica and Uhura looked at each other before turning back to face you, “What brought this on?” 

“I can’t say,” you mumbled. 

“What do you mean you can’t say?” Erica questioned. 

“I literally can’t say.” 

“We won’t say anything, this is just between us,” Uhura said softly. “It’s just, well, we’ve noticed a bit of a…” 

“Connection,” Erica offered. 

“I was going to go with tension, but that works too.” 

“What are you two on about?” You argued. 

“That’s why we’ve been trying to get you and Spock to hang out more. There are these, I don’t know, lingering looks between the two of you.” 

“What?” You stammered, “There are no lingering looks between Spock and I.” 

“Oh, yes there are,” Erica urged. “So again, what has got the two of you playing hooky?” 

“I can’t,” you insisted. 

“Oh, come on, we’re your best friends.” 

“I can’t-” 

“Just tell us.”

“I really-” 

“Just-” 

You stood up harshly from your seat, “Fine!” You could feel the entire mess hall looking at you. “Spock and I are stuck in a time loop!” 

“What are you-” 

Alarms began to blare throughout the Enterprise. 

“Shit,” you sighed, sitting down and putting your head down on the table. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You knocked on the door timidly. Spock opened the door and looked down at you. 

“Okay,” you sighed, “That one was on me.” 

Spock gave you a look that made you run your hands over your face in frustration. Spock turned to the side allowing you entry into his room. 

“May I inquire as to what prompted you to tell Lieutenant Ortegas and Ensign Uhura about our situation?”

You could feel heat rushing towards you face, you quickly turned away from Spock and looked anywhere but him. 

“Uh,” you started, “They were just asking me a bunch of questions. I got a bit overwhelmed and it kind of just…slipped out.” 

“It slipped out?” 

“Mhmm,” you replied, your eyes locking on the Vulcan lute in the corner. “I didn’t know you played,” you said softly, your eyes finally meeting his. 

“I find it helps me to work through difficult problems,” he stated. 

“Has it helped with figuring out the anomaly?” 

“No, it has not.” 

“Would you…would you play something for me?” You weren’t sure what made you ask. You never in a million years would have just straight asked Spock anything like this, but now - now things were different. At least in the loop. 

He nodded his head before retrieving his lute. Spock took a seat, following his lead you took a seat next to him. You watched as Spock delicately plucked the strings, the sound emitting from the instrument was like nothing you’d ever heard before. 

You weren’t sure how much time had passed, you found that you had completely gotten lost in his playing. When he plucked the final notes, he gently set the instrument aside before meeting your gaze. 

“That was beautiful, Spock, really.” He looked different to you now, calmer, more relaxed than you’d seen him in a while. It was nice, different. This version of Spock was new to you, but you found that he was someone you wanted to see more of. 

He gave you a curt nod, his hands now folded in front of him. “I do not believe everyone would agree with you. I have received a noise complaint before.” 

“What? That’s crazy. Who would do that?” 

“I was not able to procure the identity of the complainant, however, I have my suspicions.” 

You silently nodded chewing on your lip, “So,” you started, “How should we spend today?” 

Spock furrowed his brow, “Are you familiar with the game Yahtzee?” 

You smiled widely, “You could say that.” 

You played with Spock for hours. Laughing as he said would yell out Yahtzee with that emotionless tenor. 

Spock’s eyes met yours as you threw your head back laughing at a passing comment he made about winning. You were doing a victory dance after finally beating him after five rounds of losses.

The sound hit your ears before you could register what was happening, you quickly looked to see Spock laughing, his smile wide as you paused your exaggerated movements. You smiled at him in disbelief. 

He quickly clamped his mouth shut, “My apologies.” 

“Why are you apologizing?” 

Spock seemed to hesitate, “I was advised to ‘keep my freaky to myself’”

“Spock, we are living nothing but freaky now, please don’t hide yourself from me. You and I are all we have.” 

The corner of Spock’s mouth turned upwards to a smile, “Noted.” 

“Do you want to try take two on getting food?” You prompted. 

“That would be acceptable,” Spock said. 

The both of you walked side by side towards the mess hall. Spock all the while discussing with you the probability formula he used to help him with the game. As you walked into the mess hall, you avoided the replicator from yesterday. You watched as Spock used it instead. Erica, instead of you targeted Spock. 

You watched from across the mess hall as Spock no doubt endured the same cross examination you did on the last loop. You watched as his gaze bounced back and forth from Uhura to Erica. Both women fired off one question after the next. 

You heard alarms blaring overhead, a laugh escaping from you. Crew members watched you wearily as you stood up on a table, hands cupped over your mouth to help carry your voice. 

“Looks like this one is on you, Spock,” you laughed, enjoying the embarrassed expression on his face. You could swear you could see his ears tint green from your angle on the table. 

“I’ll see you in a few!” you yelled out before white light enveloped you. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spock met you in front of your own room, you opened the door with a small smile. 

“Do I want to know what they said to get you to spill the beans?” You teased. 

Spock’s gaze drifted down, his hands folding behind his back, “I do not believe that the conversation was relevant.” 

You let out a small laugh, “If you say so.” 

Making your way out of the door, you walked beside Spock through the hallways. You could see Sigala up ahead with your cup of coffee. You took the cup as you passed him without looking, “Thanks Sigala!” You said in passing. 

You sipped on the warm drink as you walked with Spock, both of you held a comfortable silence. You spent the majority of the day with Spock hiding in cargo bays to keep from being questioned. The both of you managed to find the food preparation bay, saving you both from the questioning of Erica and Nyota. 

Time passed around you both slowly, blurring around you until the only thing you could see clearly in front of you was Spock. It was terrifying and comforting and another emotion you couldn’t quite put your finger on - thrilling you almost thought. 

Spock, for his part, had managed to occupy you both with an endless barrage of questioning. Some of it involved your opinions of the mechanics of the warp core, and other questions had you trying to hold back laughter. When Spock had asked if you liked eggplant, you had nearly hit your head against the cargo wall. 

It was easy with Spock. Something you could not have predicted, you found yourself almost oddly grateful with the time with him. 

You both managed to find more food before making your way to the observation deck. You both sat across from each other on the floor of the observation deck. 

“There’s nothing quite like it is there?” You said out loud, your eyes fixed solely on the view in front of you. 

“No, I do not believe there is,” Spock replied. 

You turned to look at Spock, his gaze already on you. 

“How many loops has it been, you think?” You set your dinner aside and gave Spock your full attention. “I feel like I lost track around twenty loops ago.” 

“Eighty-six.” 

Your brow furrowed as you tried to think back on your loops. “Really?” 

“Yes, we attempted to notify Captain Pike and the crew-” 

You silently waved him off, “It’s okay, I’m sorry I asked.” You found yourself slumping against the wall. You were deflating again. 

“You know,” you prompted, “I think this is the farthest we’ve made it without dying.” 

“You are correct,” he agreed. His gaze fixed solely on the view of the stars.

“What are you thinking, Spock?” 

“Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” he paused, “My mother used to read it frequently when I was a child.” 

“It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.” 

“You are familiar with the book?” 

You gave him a soft smile, “A little. I think I read it when I was a kid. I only remember small details here and there. It kind of feels like we traveled down the rabbit hole a bit, doesn’t it?” 

Spock let out a warm hum in response, “I would be inclined to agree with your statement.” 

Alarms began to blare overhead, repeating red alert. 

“Well, I guess that’s it for this loop,” you sighed, scooting your way closer to Spock. You were shoulder to shoulder now. 

Spock turned his head to look at you. You looped your arm through his, your head resting against his shoulder. 

“Spock?” 

“Yes?” 

“I…” you bit your lip, unsure of what you wanted to say. Words clawed their way up your throat, but died on your lips. 

Your vision began to swim with white. You squeezed your eyes shut, holding onto Spock’s arm more firmly. 

I think I’m being to fall in love with you, you thought before you felt the pull in your stomach. The rest of time falling around you.

[gifti3]

So i headcanon that demons (maybe angels too) have more than 1 heart…

Imagine that one day your demon darling invite you to dinner and ofc you agree! So you’re talking with them waiting for ur meal then it arrives. On the plate it’s a cooked DEMON heart and it’s not just any demon heart it’s your demon’s heart. Them smiling and said “do you like it?”

Apparently, demon do that to express love to their mates and it’s also one of the most imtimate ways (in demon’s sense) to show love.

I need more contents of the boys actually being demon 😔

i fuck with this, not gonna lie

the monsterfucker in me is always intrigued by the differences in how a nonhuman would express their love lmao of course most people would be surprised if their demon lover presented them with their second heart but after initial shock and them explaining if you think about it….you cant help but be (strangely?) touched like wow this person really likes me huh (///∇///) so we r pretty much soulmates! presenting one of ur hearts is a pretty big deal just from a logical standpoint, cause u forever nerfed urself for someone

now actually eating the heart is a whole nother question lmaoo

yea you know demons sometimes like to eat each other (and humans sometimes) but humans dont really do that as a casual activity and it usually gets you ostracized lol

u cant help but feel a little bad not eating it though…they cooked their whole second heart, they had it removed from their body which probably wasnt a painless thing to do but for your demon its mainly a way for them to show their devotion more than anything ,,,tho i know some of those brothers were actually expecting you to eat it lol it would be very funny if you both were sitting there after you were like aww thats so sweet and then he was like….well r u gonna eat it? :]

asmo and mammon come to mind first honestly LMAO

asmo is “kind of” intense when it comes to love and the mammon is a tsundere--"well...are you gonna eat it or what?"（//︶^︶）typa deal--so thats why i say that

and then maybe beel and belphie

beel cause i feel like it might go over his head at first (especially since this involves food) but then he'll remember like oh right humans dont eat that my bad

belphie i just think is hopeful you know...if that makes sense, so hes not surprised if you dont wanna eat it but maybe a bit huffy about it

i think satan and lucifer are too smart and like “normal” to actually expect a human to do that

while levi is... levi

hed probably get self conscious and be like well yea of course they wouldnt wanna eat my heart...

and then u gotta really reassure him its not him its you :d

[to-boldly-nope]

Like Crazy (Peck!Spock x Reader)

Plot: just...angsty pining

Words: 566

Warnings: drinking, brief mentions of making out (so slight nsfw), angst, self-angst(?)

A/N: Hey!!! First of all, if you've read that one post about the reason why I stopped writing, I'm here to say everything is still OK between me and my fiance and we plan on getting married in October! Second, it's been a while, like I don't know how long, maybe 2 years? Maybe 3? How's it going! And third, my dad started watching Strange New Worlds and holy shit Ethan Peck is...woah...(in a good way..obv)

Another A/N: If yall see me posting a lot just message me and tell me to get back to my school work because I'm a master procrastinator.

You sit at the bar on the ship, watching as the people party and drink and you do too, well, you drink. You watch as Christine flirt with Spock for the umpteenth time tonight, he looks bored as he makes eye contact with you from across the room. Was he actually uninterested or did he just look like that? You take another shot. 

You see Spock walk up to you and you grimace softly. “Too much Christine?” 

“Indeed,” he simply said. I try to sit up, but I sway softly. Was the ship unbalanced or were you drunk? You couldn’t even tell until Spock’s hands steadied you. His face was blank, but his eyes were concerned. “You’re intoxicated.” 

“I’m not. Why do you care?” 

“You are a valued member of this crew,” he said, his voice deep like always and it sent shivers down your spine. This wasn’t even right. Spock shouldn’t be caught in the middle of whatever was going on. Between you and Christine pining after him, trying to win his affection. You swore that there was something there for you in his eyes. He always had a softer look, a softer voice, a softer touch. You don’t want this to end, but if you kept on being a coward then Christine would win him over first. 

“Right,” you say with an eye roll. 

“I mean it, (Y/N),” he whispered and the shiver returned again. 

~

You don’t remember when you made it into the science lab with Spock. Maybe it was adrenaline or maybe you were drunk, but those thoughts went away as Spock pressed you against the table. 

“Don’t wake me,” you mumbled against his lips. 

“What was that?” Spock asked while pulling away. 

You just shake your head. You were scared of that one wrong thing and you’d wake up from this dream. You’d wake up and Spock would realize that you didn’t deserve any of this and he should be with someone like Christine and not some tough security officer. Someone who matches his intellect and can have conversations and requires logic and not force, but you could do that too. What’s the difference between you and her anyway? You can be logical and intellectual too. You seem to be viewing yourself from outside of your body, like a reflection. You see yourself wrap your legs around his waist as he easily lifts you up on the table, making some of the glasses fall to the floor and shatter. 

You’re afraid that everything will disappear. Maybe he’s just here to help numb the pain, the pining. Maybe he made his choice and decided that he wanted you and not Christine, she was leaving for the Fellowship after all. Maybe this wasn’t a dream after all. 

You let him lean into you, placing kisses against your neck, one of his hands holding your thigh and the other resting on your lower back, holding you up, making sure you don’t touch any of the broken glass. Your hands go towards his uniform shirt, grasping it.

~

You wake up in your bed, the skin on your neck tingling softly from where you dreamed of the kisses and the bites. You take a minute to ground yourself, making sure that you are awake and aware, your fingers slowly touching the tingling skin. 

“Alone again,” you hissed to yourself, wiping away tears, “what’s the point?” 

[elen-aranel]

Helloo~ May I make a Christopher Pike x reader request? It's a month old scuttlebutt, that the captain is involved with you, based solely on misconstrued events (leaving the direction of his quarters early morn in a rumpled uniform, stopping by medbay for a 'shot') Everyone knows that everyone knows, from cadet to captain. Except you don't. And noone has bothered checking. And the captain finds it funny (and you 'apparently' don't mind either as you've not bothered to shoot it down) so any moments you two have in view of others, he gives you a conspirational wink with some flirty banter. You think (hope) he's really flirting and not just being friendly.

Is it a bit much for a request? If so lemme know. Or i can commission? Idk. The idea hit me and it made me giggle with all the ways it could go.

Thank you so much for the request, and for your patience... this took a while! I hope you like the direction I've gone with it <333

Common Knowledge

Pairing: Christopher Pike x F!Reader (no Y/N) Warnings/Notes: Reader wears the dress version of the standard SNW uniform. Food mentions, alcohol mention. WC: 5.8k

It all starts the morning after you spent gamma shift in a Jeffries tube. Well. Several Jeffries tubes, in fact, chasing down an issue with a relay that had blown and taken a bunch of circuitry out with it, including some life support systems.

You’re feeling good, though, as you step out into the corridor on a deck full of crew quarters. Yes, your red uniform dress is creased and you’re in dire need of a shower, but the relay and the burned-out circuitry are replaced, and all systems are back online.

You deserve a water shower, not a sonic one, you tell yourself as you head toward the turbolift, nodding to the occasional officer as you walk by them. You just need to make sure the ops console on the bridge is reading everything correctly, then your duty shift will be done.

“Commander, Lieutenant,” you greet Lieutenant Commander Chin-Riley and Lieutenant Ortegas as you enter the turbolift. Unlike you, they both look fresh and ready to face the day. Number One nods in greeting, but Ortegas looks you up and down quite blatantly, and you find you’re trying to smooth your skirt despite yourself.

“Long night?”

“I—” you start, but before you can reply—

“Computer, hold. Open the doors,” Commander Chin-Riley says, and as you turn, Captain Pike is walking into the lift. And somehow, even though you’ve been on the Enterprise for a while, you’re never not struck by his presence. His broad shoulders. How handsome he is.

“Good morning, Number One, Ortegas. Lieutenant.” He puts an odd weight on your title, even though of course he knows your name, and then your mind goes blank as he winks one of those blue eyes.

“C-captain,” you stutter, well aware of Ortegas trying to stifle a laugh next to you.

“Sleep well?” Una asks, something knowing in her voice, after the captain directs the turbolift to the bridge.

“I’ve had… more restful nights,” he says, and looks at you sideways, doubtless taking in your rumpled dress and less-than-fresh appearance. “Like the lieutenant here, I’d wager,” he adds, and you must have missed a memo somewhere because this ‘lift ride has gotten very weird, very fast.

You decide keeping quiet is your best bet — it’s a short ride, thank goodness.

But you can’t shake the feeling that there are eyes on you as you finish your work on the bridge.

It may have started in a Jeffries tube, but it continues in sickbay.

You appreciate knowing sickbay is there. Doctor M'Benga and Nurse Chapel are skilled at their jobs, and you’ve had cause to be grateful for them when accidents happen, from a pulled muscle during a workout to a painful plasma burn from faulty equipment.

That doesn’t mean you love getting your quarterly check-up and shots. But you decided early on in your career that you weren’t going to be one of those people doctors had to chase for their physicals. Every three months you turn up. You’re due for routine vaccinations against some common alien viruses that human immune systems need reminders about, and your contraceptive shot.

Not that you really need it, of course. You aren’t getting any. The closest you’ve been since you joined the Enterprise was Lieutenant Paulson, a senior engineer who sometimes commands gamma shift when you’re on that rotation. He asked you out to dinner on Starbase 1, and while you like him as a person, you had to decline. You’d known him for a while, and never felt any kind of spark. And there’s been no-one— there’s been almost no-one else on the ship that you’re interested in. But still, you get your shot.

Today your appointment is during your shift. You didn’t want to be interrupted; you’re working on a new scanning device to be used on a planet with an unusual combination of atmosphere and magnetic field, which affects the resolution of normal scanners. So when your reminder went off you kept hold of your PADD, and you carried on entering the design parameters as you walked.

“Woah there,” a voice cuts through the equations you’re focussing on, and you feel hands on your arms, steadying you as you stumble.

As it turns out, walking with a PADD is a mistake.

Especially when you walk straight into the captain in the corridor outside sickbay.

“Captain! I’m so sorry! I—I was— I’ll pay more attention.” You look up, flustered, into his blue eyes, suddenly keenly aware of the bulk of him, of the controlled strength in his hands.  Happily, he seems amused rather than annoyed, that half smile playing about his lips.

“I do admire your... dedication, Lieutenant, but you’re right. Paying attention is a good idea.”

And as the doors to sickbay swish open, letting Chief Kyle and one of your fellow engineers out onto the corridor, you realise the captain hasn’t moved. You’re still in his space, and he’s still holding you.

“Captain, Lieutenant... are you joining us?” Nurse Chapel looks as though she’s suppressing a smile. “You’re, uh... both here for your quarterly shots, right?” she adds, as Pike finally steps back, and you walk with him into sickbay. You nod, mutely.

“Yes. Timed it perfectly this time, didn’t we Lieutenant?” he says, and he grins at you, knowing.

“Sure,” you find yourself saying, sitting down a little abruptly on the biobed Doctor M'Benga indicates. Is Pike… flirting with you? Or just being his usual warm self?

“This shouldn’t take too long. I’m sure you want to get back to your... duties.” M'Benga looks meaningfully at Pike, who shrugs, a picture of innocence.

“Can you blame us?”

You can’t help your smile.

But actually, now you really think about it, maybe you’re wrong.  Maybe it started with the onions.

You have a shift free, moving from nights to days as you do on a semi-regular basis, since some edict came down from Starfleet that people shouldn’t just work nights for health reasons. It doesn’t entirely make sense to you; you’re on a ship, so it’s not like anyone has a real day or night, but being able to socialise with people who are always on alpha is a plus, and you suppose the same rules apply to planetary bases which do have day and night.

The captain has invited you to dinner. That isn’t special, even though you wish it were – he likes to get to know the whole crew in an informal setting, and it’s just your turn. And maybe you over-think it just a little, during the day, planning what to wear to make yourself look pretty but not like you’d tried too hard.

Either way, you are early. You only realise as you press the chime for the door, when it’s too late to back out.

But the captain’s smile is warm and welcoming. “Hi, come in, come in. You any good with a vegetable knife?”

You grin in return, relaxing. “Yes sir. It’s been a little while, but I can chop.”

“Chris. We’re not on the clock right now.”

“Yes, Chris.” You follow him into the kitchen area of his quarters, taking in the fire, the view of a green forest through the windows, all the details that mark the space as his.

“Excellent. That spatial anomaly today— well. I’m playing catch-up here.”

“Oh wow, you really are...” the vegetables are all laid out ready, and there are a lot. But then, you don’t know how many people will be here. “Set me to work. How do you want the carrots?”

Pike’s knives are sharp and well balanced, and it’s easy to chop carrots into even circles, and to dice potatoes into neat cubes. You chat, too, about the food he’s making, and the special unit he had the ship’s botanists set up to let him grow fresh herbs in space.

You’re pretty much on autopilot by the time you get to the onions. You know the technique: you slice them in half through the root, then make sure you don’t cut the root again as you cut from close to the root to the tip, then across into chunks.

“So, there’s something I’m curious about,” you say as you grab the next onion.

“Oh?” Pike pauses for a moment, hand poised over the control for the oven.

“The forest overlay you have for the windows. Is it somewhere special to you? It’s really lovely.” You blink a little as you chop. Perhaps you got a lash or something in your eye.

Pike presses the control on the oven, then turns to look at you. “No, actually it’s—” he frowns. “Wait, are you all right?”

You blink again. “Of course, why wouldn’t I be?” Your brow draws together, and you put your knife down, turning to him a little more.

“Because you’re crying.” He starts towards you.

“Oh, damn.” You can feel it now — that tell-tale sting in your eyes. You look down at your chopping. “The onions. But I was being careful.” You sigh, blink again, and feel a tear roll down your cheek.

“If there are a lot it doesn’t matter how careful you are. I’m sorry, I should have done them.” He reaches past you, and you’re terribly aware of him in your space. He pulls off a piece of kitchen towel.

 “It’s not your fault—” the words die on your lips as he turns to face you, blue eyes filled with concern.

“I’ll just—I don’t want you to use your hands—” and he takes the towel and dabs your face, and you suck a little breath in at his closeness, wondering why it has to be in a circumstance like this, when the door chime goes. “Enter,” he says, distractedly, blotting away one more tear before stepping back. “There. No harm done. But you should wash up. Ah, Spock, perhaps you can take over the chopping.”

You look round to see that Spock, Sam Kirk, Ortegas and Uhura have all walked in, just in time to see you with red eyes from the onions. At least, you think as you wash the onion off your hands, your makeup is waterproof.

Regardless of how things did or did not start, you’re pretty sure the captain only thinks of you as a friend. That this flirting is just a joke between the two of you... even if you wish it were real. Either way, you decide you might as well enjoy it.

You get back to the transport point from your solo hike on Chi Orianis Prime – it’s beautiful, with fluffy peachy-pink grass that’s soft underfoot and smells very slightly citrus-y when you tread on it, interspersed with lavender coloured bushes, with views of blue lakes and red mountains in the distance – right as Pike gets back from his fishing trip. Given how he’s carrying his cooler, it must have been a successful one.

You’re just about to ask him about it when Chapel and Ortegas arrive, with Uhura and La’an in tow, laughing together. They’re wearing t-shirts and shorts and sandals, carrying towels — clearly back from the beach, La’an actually looking like she might have caught the sun a little.

You take a step closer to him.

“Enjoy your trip?” The smile on Erica’s face is just a little too innocent.

“Yes, thank you. Wouldn’t have been the same without the lieutenant here, though.” Pike catches your eye, and you smile back at him, sappy, playing along.

“The captain’s right. We had a good time.”

None of your close friends wanted to go to movie night with you tonight. They’re showing a classic 20th century Earth film, Casablanca, and none of them were interested in seeing something that old. But it seems pretty popular with the rest of the crew when you get there. You pick up some popcorn first, wondering once again whose idea it was to put a Starfleet delta on the containers, and you head to find a seat.

Maybe it was a good thing your friends didn’t come. There aren’t too many spaces left when you go to sit down, but there are a few seats a couple of rows in front of where Spock and Nurse Chapel are sitting together. You settle in, allowing yourself three pieces of popcorn before the lights go down.

And right before they do, Pike slides into the free seat next to you.

“I thought you were going to stand me up,” you tell him, tilting your popcorn container over.

“A gentleman would never,” he replies, and you can hear the smile in his voice as he takes a piece.

The back of the shuttle is open to the bay, and Cadets Novakova and Manuel, on engineering rotation, are standing inside it with you, PADDs in hand. You’ve popped a panel off the inside of the shuttle, and you indicate a junction point.

“So, okay. You want to interplex the circuitry here. What will be the result of that? What are you hoping to achieve?”

“Well, the increased signal strength will improve thruster response time and efficiency.” Manuel says, shrugging his broad shoulders like it’s obvious.

“Yes, and we need better responsiveness for the planet. The atmospheric differentials are almost out of spec.” Novakova nods. “This is the easiest way to achieve that.”

“All right. And looking at the systems in front of you, will there be any other consequences?”

“No, there shouldn’t, it should just—” there’s a pause, then Novakova steps back, playing with a twist of her blonde hair as she considers. “Wait. That pathway, it connects to the impulse engine as well, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, it does, and the boosted signal would go through there too…” Manuel’s fingers fly over his PADD.

They look at each other as the penny drops, and you notice Pike in the bay, listening in. You tilt your head and raise a brow in a silent invitation, but he shakes his head a little, content to observe.

“So if we interplex the circuitry there, we will get an increase in thruster efficiency, but at the expense of introducing instability into the impulse control matrix.” Manuel sighs.

“You’re flying along, minding your business and then boom. Impulse reactor overload.” Novakova winces. “I didn’t see that.”

You nod. “You didn’t. Because neither of you really looked. For what it’s worth, it would probably have worked on the shuttles at the academy. But these are a different model. You have to work with what’s actually in front of you. That’s half the battle.”

“Wise words, Lieutenant.” Pike leans into the back of the shuttle, and you can’t help your smile at the praise as the cadets turn to acknowledge him. “The two of you should take them to heart.”

You're sitting on a bench in the bar, sipping a favourite drink, listening to Ensign Thyra play an Earth guitar but sing a wistful sounding song in her native Andorian, when Lieutenant Ortegas sits down next to you. And then Nurse Chapel sits on your other side.

“So, you and the captain. How’s that going?” Christine’s opening is straight to the point.

You give her a sceptical look. “It... isn’t? Hi to you too, by the way.” You turn to Erica. “To both of you.”

“Oh, come on. You guys are not subtle.” Erica rolls her eyes. “It’s been scuttlebutt for weeks. Me, Number One,” she starts counting off on her fingers, “Christine, Mbenga, Uhura...”

“Sam Kirk,” Christine adds.

“Yes, Sam Kirk, Spock, La’an...”

 “We’ve all seen it. I even heard the cadets talking about it. Everyone knows.”

You shake your head, putting your drink down on the table in front of you. “We’re not... I don’t—” you look from one to the other. “There’s nothing between the captain and me.” You take a breath. “He flirts, sometimes I flirt back, but it’s just a joke.”

“Doesn’t look like a joke to me.” Christine says, her voice soft, almost sympathetic.

Erica shrugs. “It’s okay. You don’t have to admit it, if you guys are keeping things to yourselves... We just wanted you to know that we’re happy for you. Pike should have someone on the ship. And you. You should have someone too.” Her smile as she stands to leave is genuine.

“I—I’m not hiding anything. But thanks, I guess? I appreciate the sentiment.”

Arriving early when the captain invites you to a crew dinner is your habit now. You enjoy helping with prep when you can, and having a quiet moment to chat with Chris.

But this time you use the computer to check that others have arrived before you get there. You try to relax; these are your friends, Chris is your friend, but with what Erica and Christine said… you feel self-conscious. Second guessing everything you do and say.

 You leave as soon as you can without being rude.

You feel a bit self-conscious with work, too, although you try to bury it. Especially with Pike piloting the shuttle for this mission. You’re sitting in your tactical uniform in the back of shuttle Kepler with Spock, Sam Kirk, La’an, and a couple more science officers. You would expect Kirk especially to pass some comment, but even he is quiet, because Zeta Lyrae VI’s wind shear is every bit as bad as science predicted.

A long-range scanning probe identified it as a possible source of dilithium as well as some other useful minerals — visual scan only, though, because the strange magnetic field prevented scanning of the interior. But that’s where the scanner you developed comes in. The visual scan also tagged some potential ruins which Kirk will investigate, and there’s general surveying to do too.

You grit your teeth against the turbulence. You trust that the captain’s piloting skills and the modifications you and the cadets made to the shuttle will see you safely to the ground, but you still feel motion sick. You know, though, there are pattern enhancers in the cargo. Perhaps you’ll be able to beam back up.

The turbulence lessens as you get deeper into the atmosphere, but you’re still very glad when the shuttle touches down. There’s a metallic tang to the air as the shuttle door opens, but it’s cool and refreshing despite that, and you take a deep breath, settling your rolling stomach, before you get to work.

The dawn sky of Zeta Lyrae IV is muted shades of pale blue and grey, warming a little to mauve-pink at the horizon, where the two suns have just risen. Barren-looking plains stretch out in front of you, with a river lazily meandering across, and there are hills leading to mountains not far away to your right. It’s hard to make out, but the lines of dark stones partially embedded in the ground to your left could well be the remains of a wall, and there are other, more defined structures further away in that direction.

“Lieutenant, you have everything you need?”

“Yes sir.” You lift your last case again, the heavy one, and try to keep your face blank at the weight of it. You know you’ll be feeling it tomorrow, but its contents were too large for your backpack. “I’ve identified a site two kilometres away that’s suitable for the scanner base. Enhanced scanning should be online within an hour.”

Pike nods. “Kirk, La’an, you have the ruins. Spock, the science survey is yours.” He turns to you. “Let me help with that.”

“I’m fine, honestly,” you protest as Pike takes the case from you, fingers brushing yours for one tiny electric moment.

“We’ll make quicker time if we share the load. Which I’m sure Spock will appreciate.”

“Aye, sir.”

You notice that there’s no flirtatious comment today.

This planet feels a bit like a dream, with its dead quiet, muted colours, pearly grey sky and the two suns gently highlighting the landscape. The only evidence you can see of the turbulent atmosphere are the occasional blue-green clouds scudding quickly across the sky.

You pick your way through the pathless terrain, looking for any signs of life. While there are scraps of ragged looking vegetation here and there, a lot of it seems dead, and the planet as a whole seems mostly barren.

You don’t make conversation; there’s something about the planet’s quiet and your confused emotions that steals your ability to make small talk, and Pike is quiet too. There’s just the sound of two pairs of boots crunching on the ground.

Until you almost step on a flower: a seven petaled bloom in the shape of a star, pale blue in the middle deepening to grey-purple just at the tips. You pause to get a better look, to see if there are any others like it nearby, but it seems solitary.

“Are you all right, Lieutenant?”

You look up to see Pike has stopped too, mild concern on his face.

“Yes sir, I’m fine.” You straighten up. “I just... this flower is the only one I’ve seen, and I wonder... is it the last gasp of the life that used to live on this planet, or is it a glimpse of hope for the future?”

Pike glances at the flower, but his focus is on you when he speaks. “We’ll likely never know, but I... I choose hope.”

The site you chose from the visual scan is obvious when you get there. You’re at the edge of the hills, and there’s a grey cliff curving round one edge of a flat open area. Geophysics had identified it as a potential location for dilithium, and as you get close you can see veins of the pink crystal running through the rock.

Now you just need to find out how much there is.

With Pike helping it doesn’t take too long to set the scanner up. You start with the base in the case he was carrying, and together you fold it out into a large circle, locking struts and its three legs in place.

You attach the probe that will drill into the soil, the antennas to communicate with the smaller unit near the shuttle and with the Enterprise, and to facilitate scanning in the atmosphere. Finally, you attach the computer from your backpack which is the brains of the system — you can’t help your private smile of satisfaction as it comes online. The shuttle is far enough away that its systems don’t affect the sensitive scans, and when the probe deploys and calibration data flows straight through immediately.

You talk to Commander Pelia and Lieutenant Spock on comms, making adjustments on the fly to the different parameters, optimising the uplink from the scanner and away team’s tricorders to the Enterprise.

Pike checks in with La’an at some point, but next time you look up you see he’s a little way away, tricorder out, following a standard scanning pattern working outward from where you are. You’re a little surprised he didn’t tell you that’s what he was going to do. Then the scanner beeps as the drill returns a result outside expected tolerances, pulling your focus.

It’s easier to get lost in your work than think about him, and for a long while, you do.

“Lieutenant, do you see that?” There’s a note of concern in Pike’s voice, and you follow his gaze to the horizon to your right.

It almost looks like a distant rain shower would on Earth, but there are green lights sparking all through it. Like lightning but less directional. You take a breath, and realise the metallic smell has intensified, to the point you can almost taste it.

“Yes, sir, I do.” You turn and meet Pike’s eyes.

“Plasma storm?”

“Plasma storm.” You redirect your scanner’s gain to maximum in that direction, sacrificing resolution elsewhere.

Pike’s tone is rueful. “Should’ve known when I scanned a burned patch of vegetation. It must have developed quickly.”

“Looks like it’s moving fast, too.”

“I’ll contact the rest of the away team, have them meet us at the shuttle. You start packing.”

“Sir,” you reply, distracted, already deep in the scanner readouts. You vaguely hear Pike calling Spock, then La’an, but you’re focused on one last scan.

“Lieutenant? I gave you an order.”

“Yes sir, you did, but look.” You point to the readout of the storm’s speed on the screen. “Scans show that even if we leave right now, we can’t make it back to the shuttle before the storm hits. We don’t even have time for them to pick us up.”

Pike frowns. “Options?”

“The cliff. There’s a cave system behind it. I don’t think there’s an entrance close enough, but...”

“Phasers? All this dilithium makes it risky.”

“Plasma burns are no fun, sir. I would know.”

He raises a brow. “Sounds like a story for later. All right. Let’s do this.”

You grab your phaser from your holster and dial the power up.

“Fire.”

You focus your beam on the weakest spot, and Pike fires at it too. And... nothing happens, for long enough for a shade of doubt to creep in. Then there’s a sound, a pile of rubble, and a gap. Just large enough for a person.

The cave is dark. It’s big, too, enough that the torches on your vests can’t illuminate the other side from where you are.

The storm is still raging outside, but the sound of it is quiet in here; the narrow space you opened the gap into curved round for a few metres before opening out into the space you’re in.

Now all you can do is sit and wait.

And you’re so aware of Pike, sitting with you.

He’s quiet, and now you come to think of it he has been all day. Definitely no flirting. You try to steal a glance at him, see what he’s thinking, but it’s too dark, and you don’t want to turn to face him.

You cast around for a distraction, and find a piece of dilithium embedded in the rock floor of the cavern next to you. The surface is flat and glassy-smooth, but with a few imperfections, and you like the feel of it under your fingers. In your head you go over the dilithium crystal eigenstates you memorised at the academy in one of your classes in warp field mechanics, and calculate the power output you would need for your phaser to trigger different levels.

“Sir, I’d like to try something, to give us some more light. It’s safe.”

“Sure. Go ahead.”

You adjust your phaser to its second lowest setting, scoot across a little and fire on the dilithium, counting seconds in your head. It starts glowing red immediately, but as you shut the beam off the glow spreads, along one vein, then another, then another, until the whole cavern is lit up like its own galaxy, surrounding you on the floor, the walls, the ceiling.

“Wow, that’s—that’s good work. Thank you.”

There’s something in his expression as he looks at you, the wonder in his eyes melting into a smile, that makes you brave.

“So… I had an—an interesting chat with Chapel and Ortegas the other day.”

“Oh?”

“Apparently the scuttlebutt is that we’re dating... we’ve been dating for a while. They wouldn’t believe me when I told them it wasn’t true.” You stare out across the cavern at all the glimmering lights.

“Oh.” He exhales. “Hah, yeah… I’m, uh, sorry about that? Things… got away from me.” You hear him stir, move into a different position.

You frown. “I don’t understand. What are you sorry for?”

“I’ve always been interested in you. And you’re not the sort of person that’s cowed by rank – Paulson is your superior, in your chain of command, but I was in the bar when he asked you to dinner, and you were so sure of yourself when you rejected him. So that day in the turbolift, Una and Erica jumping to conclusions... Your face was a picture, and I had to take Una’s bait. But by the time she told me there was already a rumour, you were joining in, and I—”

His voice goes quiet, like a confession.

“I couldn’t stop. And that wasn’t fair to you… making you an object of gossip like that.”

“Chris, I—” but now it comes to it, you can’t find the words. How do you tell him that you wouldn’t mind, not at all, if only the gossip were real? “But you did stop. We’ve barely spoken today. Until now.”

“I can read the room. You weren’t up for it the other night. Or today. And… I would never force my attentions where they clearly aren’t wanted.”

“But... they are, Chris. They are wanted.”

The cavern is dead quiet, and you almost wonder if you actually spoke aloud. But the look in Pike’s eyes when you finally turn to meet them—

“Lieutenant Spock to Captain Pike. Come in, please.”

Pike shrugs a little, face apologetic, as he flips open his communicator.

The ride back to the Enterprise is as quiet, and bumpy, as the ride to the planet. Spock and the rest of the away team had sheltered in the shuttle with shields up while the storm passed over them, and when the Enterprise’s scanners had shown that another one was forming, they came to pick you up.

All the equipment you left outside was destroyed.

But you think, as you climb in the shuttle, you catch a glimpse of one of those star-shaped flowers, still intact. Still blooming.

And Pike makes a point to catch your eye as you leave the shuttle bay. It’s subtle, but you recognise the invitation.

You think you can smell food as you press Pike’s door chime, and the scent only gets more appetising as you walk in. The lights are low, apart from the fire burning brightly, and Pike pauses, apron on over his gold uniform, to smile at you as you walk over to the kitchen area.

“You came.”

“Of course.”

He picks a small bottle up, and pours from it into a salad bowl in front of him. “I hope you’re hungry… I may have gone a little overboard on the mac and cheese. I thought we could use a little comfort food after that planet.”

“It smells amazing. Anything I can do to help?”

“It’s almost ready. You could pour the wine?” He indicates to the bottle and two glasses on one end of his L shape table. You uncork the chilled bottle and take care of the drinks while he brings plates, salad, and the macaroni cheese, piping hot and smelling delicious.

Sitting next to Chris, rather than opposite like you might at a restaurant or on the other side of the L as you have when you’ve been to crew meals here, feels so intimate. As he reaches over to get some salad, or you go to pick up your glass to sip some chardonnay, you can’t help but touch. You try not to let being this close to him distract you… as intimate as this is, as hopeful as you are, nothing is settled.

You take a bite of your pasta and sigh. “It’s perfect, Chris. Creamy, the cheese— everything. Perfect comfort food. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” You see him relax a little as you load up another forkful; he cares what you think.

You eat for a while in companionable quiet, then he takes a breath.

“I’m planning on demoting Spock. He has the worst timing.” He quirks one of those half smiles at you, the kind that make you melt a little, but then his expression goes serious.

“My position on this ship… I have to be careful of it. Your training – everyone’s training – tells you to do as I say. So, if I’m… interested… in someone, usually I try to set that aside.” He puts his fork down and shakes his head a little. “Clearly I didn’t do well on that score with you. But… I would have to be sure, before I truly pursue anything, that a person isn’t saying yes because of my rank.”

“I told myself that flirting was just a joke between us. That you don’t get involved with your crew. I want it to be real, but when people assumed that it was… It spooked me for a moment there.” You turn to face him more fully, to look into his eyes.

“I understand what it means for you to be Captain Pike. I understand that the Enterprise comes before me. But I felt that—that pull toward you, long before whatever this was started. It’s not your rank, your position of authority, Chris, it’s you.”

Chris stands from his chair, reaching a hand out to you. You stand and take it, his fingers warm in yours, and let him draw you to him, feeling the press of his body all along yours. You stare into his eyes, and see a wonder there that you’re sure he sees in your eyes too – the knowledge that you can finally have this. But then your eyes drift shut as he kisses you, gently, unhurried, savouring the moment.

You part for just a second, and then it gets passionate as you kiss him back, one hand on his chest, while his other hand finds its way to your lower back, holding you tighter. Your lips part, his tongue finds yours and you taste him, and you can’t get enough.

“So I know your shots are up to date,” Chris says, voice gravelly, when you pause for breath. “Would you like to take this to the bedroom?”

“Yes please.” You don’t care if you sound needy; you just want him. He takes your hand again and leads the way.

You are not quite sure what happened to your dress. You remember Chris helping you take it off last night, but quite how it got this crumpled is a bit of a mystery. You lift it up from the floor, and try to shake it out, not very successfully.

“Breakfast is served,” Chris says, looking fresh and neat in his uniform, not a hair out of place. No evidence to be seen of your activities last night, or how little sleep he may have had. “Oh, did you want a new uniform? I can synthesise one.”

“No need. I’ll have time to change in my quarters before shift.” You pull it on and try to smooth your skirt. “Breakfast?”

“Waffles. And real maple syrup. I know this little farm—”

It isn’t far from Pike’s quarters to the turbolift, and the officers in the corridor nod and smile to you as usual. Until you meet Lieutenant Ortegas.

She looks you up and down, taking in your creased dress with a raised brow and a sly smile. “I saw the duty rosters; I know you’re on alpha today. So… you get lucky last night?”

You try to hide your smile, but you feel too good – you don’t really want to.

“Yes, Erica, I did.”

Everyone will know, but you don’t mind. You and Chris are at the start of something special.

[mitchellnman]

Martin reminds me of him, a little bit. Couldn't say why.

[lamelycool]

Annoy Me

Spock x Reader

A/n: this is my first fanfic so go easy on me. Just thought there needed to be more Spock fics out there! Also this isn't a specific version of Spock I just liked this gif. Also the reader is a wee bit bratty and of a southern persuasion just a warning.

Summary: You can't help but to love hitting on Spock. Much to his annoyance. Anyday now he'll airlock you. And if not him then space hr would surely. But he comes to realize he looks forward to your teasing and even encourages it. The only thing is that it takes you dying for him to realize :(

Warnings: fem reader, angst, fluff, flirting, character death?, blood, injury, drowning, throwing up.

"Whats up hot stuff, what do ya need?" You say laying your pad down with an easy going grin. After all you can't help but to smile, it is a pleasant surprise that is Spock standing in your doorway.

Spock quirks a brow up, "I am neither an item nor is my temperature high." Crossing the threashold he stops about five feet in front of you. Even that is too n close brings butterflies to your belly, jitters to your hands and makes your cheeks feel flush.

"Of course of course. Anyways what's up?" You respond quickly to distract from your flustered feelings.

"I am here to remind you of the away mission scheduled today." He says stoicly, hands pressed firmly behind his back.

"Away mission? Today? I don't remember being told about this..."

"You were messaged about this an hour and fifteen minutes ago." Spock furrows his brow slightly. Had you really been so careless as to not see the message? Or had you read it and forgotten. Spock isn't sure which is more irresponsible. He finds it odd for you to do so. You are normally very hardworking and punctual.

"Oh... I must have over looked it. Not that I'm complaining. I got an excuse to see you." Your eyes scan him from head to toe suggestive yet filled with jest. "After all your company is always more than welcome. Anyways could you summarize the mission for me? Since you're already here and all?"

"It is a standard mission. Simply a small away team to the surface of the planet to gather samples and scout the area."

"Nothings simple or standard when it comes to away missions on the Enterprise... Oh also, who all is on the away team? And more importantly will I have the pleasure of you accompanying?" Oddly enough finding yourself hoping he will be. When had your teases and jokes turned into genuine feelings? You can't help but to wonder...

"Yes I will be on the away team. There will also be two other science officers, three security officers, Dr. McCoy, and yourself. Does that satisfy all of your inquiries?" Spock states with the slightest hint of exasperation.

"Yes it does, thank you very much! You're a lifesaver." You beam at Spock.

"I fail to see how my summarizing of an away mission is saving lives." He dead pans.

He finds himself thinking, ' Why am I dragging this conversation out further? She obviously did not mean her statement in a literal sense. I'm only encouraging her teasing. I must meditate on this later.'

"I look forward to seeing you then." You say genuinely. The only statement you've said so far that wasn't paired with a joke, jest or tease.

Spock responds only with a curtious yet stiff nod. And with arms tucked behind his back he leaves. Leaving only the whoosh of the door behind him.

You breathe easy now that he's gone. Its not that he intimidates you. Well... At least not in a bad way. You just don't know how to behave around him. He makes you forget how to act. Around him you feel like a young dumb girl again.

'Snap out of it, we got a job to do!' You think with a sigh and check your messages. You must prepare for the impromptu away mission.

~•°~•°~•°~•°~•°~•°~•°~•°~•°~•°~•°~•°~•°~•°~•

"How much longer are we going to be scanning this area?" You ask Spock. You guys had been walking around and scanning for hours now. And you were quickly losing patience. How many unique plants could possibly be on this ice chunk of a planet?

"As I said two times previously only a moment longer." Spock sighs out continuing to scan the evergreen plant in front of him. He had long given up on acting like your whining was anything but annoying.

"Pphff it's too cold! Please hurry up before I lose my limbs to frostbite." You plead to him while shivering.

"I assure you that you still have at least 2.34 hours until serious frostbite would be a concern. As well as the fact complaining will not change that you are cold." Spock barely spares you a glance as he continues moving from plant to plant and scanning some rocks.

"Mr. Spockk I know you are a hotty, but how are you not even the least bit cold right now? The temperature on this planet is ridiculous!" You whine arms crossed like a petulant child.

"I never said I was not cold. I simply have control of my body and can handle it. It is an issue of the mind over matter." Spock calmy states and stands brushing the snow off his pants.

"Now come on, let us begin to our rendezvous point." Spock orders you already walking ahead.

"Hey wait up! Not everybody has pretty long legs like you do you know!" You scurry to catch up to him and luckily he is kind enough to slow his gait for you.

"My legs are not long they are proportional to my body." He says ears flush a twinge of green.

After that comment a silence falls between you two. Only the sound of crunching snow and howling wind can be heard. Said wind is whats responsible for the low visability. You have to be careful to watch your step. Because it's nearly impossible to see much further than a couple feet ahead of you. 'This is going to be a long trek back,' you think with a sigh.

~•°~•°~•°~•°~•°~•°~•°~•°~•~°~•°~•°~•°~•°~•°~

You finally reach the point where snow meets ice and sigh out a puff of air. Definitely not looking forward to crossing the frozen sea again. Just looking at it gives you the creeps. Despite the fact the ice is thick you can still see the murky black nothingness of the waters below. There's no telling what lurks beneath either.

You and Spock just began to cross when suddenly, "Hey wait Spock! Look out!" A massive beast akin to apolar bear with a set of knarly horns charges towards Spock. There's no time to grasp for your phaser. So you quickly push Spock out of the way. So that the beast collides with you instead. Once it makes contact it rams its horns deep into your abdomen and whips its head side to side painting the ice red with your blood.

Spock in a daze scrambles to pick up your phaser that had fallen. Fumbling with the settings he changes it from stun to kill. Not sparing a moment he locks on to the beast in a burning rage and pulls the trigger twice. The beams hit the beast and it collapses dead.

"Ensign? Ensign?!" Spock looks around frantically. A chill runs down his spine once he sees a hole in the ice. He rushes to the hole and hits his com badge.

Urgently he speaks, "Bones! There has been an accident. My partner has been hurt and is under the ice we will need immediate medical attention." Spock commands urgently.

"What!? Shes hurt? What do you mean under the ice? Whats going on Spock, what happened?! You green blooded hobgoblin expl-" Spock cuts off his com. He rips off his jacket and dives in the water hoping to find you before it is too late.

He swims down quickly and begins feeling around blindly for you. He searches frantically until his lungs begin to burn begging for air. Only then is when he finally latches on to an arm. Without a second to spare he drags you to the surface with him and heaves you guys back onto the ice.

"Ensign? Can you hear me? Stay with me!" Spock begs brushing your hair out from in front of your face. He lays his head against your chest to hear for a heartbeat. He listens closely for any sign of life. Spock begins to feel sick to his stomach when cannot find any and begins to panic.

"I implore you to please breathe. Please..." He begins cpr while his thoughts race. He cannot simply let you die like this. He cannot.

"Please do not do this. I do not give you permission to die. You should have never been so reckless as to do this! You are human and fragile. It was stupid! I could have taken the damage much easier-" he cuts himself off by giving you mouth to mouth resuscitation.

Not long after he started to try and breathe life into you do you jolt up and twist to the side to spew out dark water. The slightly acid water burns n hurts bout as much as it did when you first gulped it in.

Spock rubs your back through all of it while speaking to you. You can only make out bit and pieces of what he says. Mummurs of reassurance and comfort. And whether it's more for you or him is debatable.

When you are done gagging up water you cough out to him, "if you wwantedd tto kiss mme you coulve jus saidd so." Shivering violently you let out a breathless laugh you say, "II'd ddrown more offten if I knew II'd gget a kiss ffrom yyou. Mmakes it worthh iit."

Spock allows a small laugh of suprise to slip from his lips as he wraps you in his jacket. He begins to massage feeling back into your frozen hands. "No please refrain from doing such a reckless thing. I will kiss you as much as you wish without such an action." He begins to apply pressure to your wound with his unoccupied hand. You wouldn't die today and he'd still have to listen to your teasing and deal with your flirting. But he's grateful and he would have it no other way.

A/n: hope you enjoyed the fic! If you have any suggestions or criticism feel free to leave a comment. I'm very much a noob to fanfic writing especially on tumblr. Thanks for reading!

[unknownfacelessfanfictions]

Living Sanctuary

Hemmer x fem!reader (can be read as romantic, however is more platonic with developing feelings) Words: 2.3K Summary: She never really learned anything about his home. Until one day she did Inspired by this post from @nichestartrekkie0-0 (If fanfics not your thing, just ignore this :)) so please chek out their art it's AMAZING

A drop of sweat ran down her forehead, down her temple, down her cheek and was wiped aside by her sleeve before it could fall to the floor.

Her arms felt heavy, but she didn't dare move them for fear that the objects in them would fall to the ground and shatter. Something she could not afford, after all, Hemmer needed these things. At least she was certain there was no harm in them.

The cooling system was offline and no matter how hard the engineers tried, it wasn't getting any better. In the end, it had turned out to be a fault in the system, which could be rectified by a simple reboot.

The problem: this reboot took several hours.

Hours in which the Enterprise had become uncomfortably warm, at least by her standards. She knew from Spock that he enjoyed the temperature and Uhura also had few problems with the change.

However, apart from the fact that everyone felt temperatures differently, she knew that there was one person who would not like it at all: Hemmer.

Based on what she had heard from some of the junior engineers, Hemmer was in an even worse mood than usual, and the temperature was so bad that M'Benga had sent him to his quarters to rest for fear that the Aenar would suffer heat exhaustion. Something that would be even more fatal for Hemmer's species than for her own. M'Benga had eventually interrupted her, lying panting on the sofa, and asked her to check on the Aenar. After all, they both knew how incredibly stubborn their friend could be.

She had agreed without hesitation. Hemmer might have his rough edges, some of them deadly sharp, but he had a heart of gold and she cared for him deeply.

He was a good friend on whom she had always been able to rely, so she would not let him down now. Even if he was still unaware of his luck.

With her elbow, she managed to press the button next to his door, alerting him that someone wanted to come in. For a few moments she stood in the corridor, people walking past her and looking at her strangely, wondering if he was even there. Perhaps he had thrown caution to the wind and gone back to work?

She immediately shook her head and dismissed the idea. Hemmer might be stubborn from time to time and not listen to advice, and when he did he did so reluctantly, but he was not self-destructive.

If Doctor M'Benga told him that the work posed a risk to his health, he would follow the doctor's instructions, grumpily, but he would do it.

Hemmer didn't give her much time to think about it. The doors opened and she quickly entered to avoid standing around stupidly in the corridor any longer. Inside it was only slightly less stiflingly hot than outside, but it wasn't any hotter either, which she saw as a plus.

She looked around searchingly, but couldn't spot the engineer. "Hemmer?" Carefully setting the items down on the sofa, she decided to take off her uniform jacket.

The top underneath would have to do, otherwise she would suffer from heat exhaustion. "Are you all right? Where are you?"

There was silence for a while and she began to wonder whether the door had opened by chance and he was actually somewhere else, but at that moment Hemmer's muffled voice rang out. "I'm fine."

She wheeled round to the bathroom where his voice had come from and only now did she realise the faint sound of falling water. Of course, she silently scolded herself. When the air was too hot, water was an excellent way to cool off.

With long strides, she walked to the door and stopped so that the opening sensor could not detect her. "May I come in?"

A grunt sounded and she frowned worriedly when an approving grumble came from Hemmer.

"M'Benga asked me to come round," she explained as she stepped into the bathroom. "Besides, I was worried about you, I mean, I'm almost dying in these temperatures, I can hardly imagine that it's pleasant for-" As soon as her gaze fell on Hemmer, she faltered and stopped, stunned by the sight before her.

Hemmer seemed to have noticed, as she fell silence surprised and huffed.

"I know I know, I look like a drowned beaver, or whatever you humans call it. But it's the only way to survive this heat."

She broke out of her stupor long enough to lift the corners of her mouth in slight amusement. "It's 'you look like a drowned rat'. And, that's not what caught me by surprise."

Even if this was of course partly to blame for her sudden hesitation, after all she had never seen her friend in such a position before. He sat on the floor of the shower, clever idea the tiles were also cold, and let the cool water run down his body. Consequently, his hair clung to his face in lengthy strands, while his antennae swayed in a dance-like manner, evading the droplets in a game known only to them. But as already mentioned, it wasn't that which had left her speechless.

It was the sight of Hemmer clad in nothing more than shorts, snugly embracing his well-defined muscles, stretching just halfway up his thighs, which intensified her warmth.

This alone would have been enough to induce a blush, but something else caught her off guard. The tattoos.

Dark blue, almost black, tattoos meandered in wavy patterns across his physique, from his chest to his shoulders to his arms, down to his legs and, she surmised, down to his back. They reminded her somewhat of the traditional tattoos of the Maori or the Polynesians, indigenous peoples of Earth, but at the same time they looked completely different, like two worlds at opposite ends of the galaxy.

Hemmer cleared his throat, apparently waiting for an answer, and she squatted down in front of him to be at eye level with him. It may not have done him much good, but she felt more comfortable not having to stare down at him. "Don't take offence, but I didn't expect to find my best friend naked in his shower."

"I'm not naked," he grumbled and she grinned slightly as he tugged at his trousers like a grumpy child. "Besides, I didn't realise you had tattoos." His antennae went up for a moment before returning to their dance and Hemmer frowned. "No? I thought you knew." She laughed softly as she watched drops of water drip down his cheekbones. "How was I supposed to know? It's not like you're regularly parading around half-naked in front of me."

"Do I hear disappointment?" His voice and his grin were provocative, teasing and elicited a laugh from her. "Definitely not." Still, she couldn't ignore the tingling in her stomach, even if she tried her best.

They were silent for a few moments before Hemmer sighed and gestured for her to come closer. "I can feel the heat radiating off you. What's the point of you falling over on me here?" He did his best to sound disinterested, but she knew him well enough to know that he was genuinely worried about her.

She hesitated for a moment, but decided that modesty really wasn't appropriate at this point, and kicked off her trousers and socks so that she was squatting in front of him in her top and panties. No problem, she thought to herself and shifted her weight onto her knees.

She crawled over to him and let out a low cry of shock as the cold water hit her heated skin. It felt like tiny needles were piercing her skin and she pulled back, however Hemmer didn't seem to let that happen.

He grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her towards him with such force that she bounced against him and only prevented him from headbutting her by resting her hands on his chest. Not that she would have done anything to him.

She would have been the one with the concussion.

The cold water beat down on her mercilessly. She squealed and wriggled on Hemmer's lap, only realising later that she had landed there, but he didn't allow her to escape.

"You're burning up," he murmured and pulled her a little closer to him so that her hot skin was pressed against his pleasantly cool skin. "So stop squirming or I'll tie you up."

"Kinky," she murmured as her body seemed to slowly acclimatise to the difference in temperature. "Keep it down," came the reply and she grinned softly, slowly relaxing. The water felt good.

Gradually, she felt the feeling of stifling warmth disappear and her glowing skin lowered to temperatures that seemed more bearable, judging by the fact that Hemmer was now relaxing beneath her as well, even leaning into her touch.

"Aren't I too warm for you?" He just shook his head before leaning it against the tiled wall behind him, a slight smile on his face. "It's acceptable. Besides, I know my skin is cool enough to give you relief." She snorted at his posturing, but made no move to free herself from her place on his lap.

"Actually, I came to help you with that." He chuckled softly. It was a sound that came from deep in his chest, where she was still resting her hands, deep and real, and she felt warmth spreading through her again, but this time a different kind of warmth.

"I'm used to getting used to this kind of heat. Have you ever been to California? It was just as bad." She nodded, giving in to exhaustion after a while and leaning her head against his shoulder. "You are indeed nice and cool."

Her hands wandered from his chest to his arms when something struck her and made her lift her head. "Wait, are your tattoos prominent?"

Her fingers danced over the patterns of his tattoos, eliciting a shudder from him that she didn't realise, and sure enough, she could tell that the tattoos weren't just ink poked under the skin, but actually stood out with slight bulges.

They were barely noticeable unless you were sitting half-naked on top of each other, though she guessed it was a lot easier for the heightened senses of the Aenar to detect.

"It would be strange any other way," Hemmer returned with amusement, placing a hand on hers and running it along his collarbone. "Considering we Aenar are blind." Heat rose to her face. She had actually forgotten for a moment that Hemmer himself was blind.

" They're beautiful," she murmured softly, fascinated as she continued to run her fingers tentatively over the patterns of his skin. "You are beautiful." Hemmer left it uncommented, but closed his eyes and his antennae followed her movements.

"Do they mean anything?" He nodded slightly and guided her hand to his upper right arm, where a ring wrapped around his bicep. "Every male Aenar gets a tattoo like this when he comes of age. It's a symbol that we're old enough to serve our people and contribute."

Next, he went to some lines that snaked down his neck to his shoulder blades. To reach them, she had to lean so close to him that his hot breath brushed her face. "These lines symbolise my connection to my family. Can you feel the corners where they end?" She breathed in agreement. "Each of those corners represents a member of my family." There were five in total.

Next, their hands travelled together to his thighs. "These tattoos symbolise the balance of our society, our harmony with nature. The Aenar must live in tune with their environment and learn to live with it to prevent the deadly cold from overtaking them. They humble us, in a good way, and remind us of our place in this world, this universe."

Finally, Hemmer brought her hand to his chest, where the lines formed an intricate pattern that she could not describe in words. "These represent my devotion to healing, to repairing. They are not mandatory among the Aenar, but this pattern represents our pacifist representations. They visualise my duty, my morals, my life."

He did not guide her hand further, but did not release it, so that her hands, covered by his, rested on his chest. Her gaze fell on his left forearm, which was the only part of his body, with the exception of his face, that was completely free.

"And what about here? Is there a reason why there are no tattoos here? Or is it some kind of cultural ban on having them there?" Hemmer shook his head, chuckling softly, and carefully clasped his hands with hers, causing her breath to hitch.

"It's not a cultural taboo to have tattoos there, quite the opposite. The tattoos there represent the family you have established. After the wedding, a band of blue colour is applied below the elbow, decorated with small ornaments. For each child born from this marriage, another band is added."

Fascinated, she looked at his arm and, releasing her left hand from his, ran it over his skin, where a marriage bond would probably be visible in the future. "And what if you get divorced? Are these tattoos reversible?"

 "No." Hemmer took her hand in his again and traced invisible patterns on the back of her hand. "However, divorces are very, very rare for us. We choose our partners with great care, nothing less than perfect comes into question."

She slowly raised her eyes and released her hands to continue tracing the patterns on his skin. "So, has anyone caught your eye yet?"

A hint of a smile appeared on his lips and he carefully lifted his hand to brush a wet strand of hair that was stuck to her face behind her ear, where it remained against her cheek.  "Maybe."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

@bigblissandlove1

@akamitrani

@moonlightshaiku

@indignantlemur

[imamotherfuckingstar-lord]

imagine getting spock to relax

The crowd of Klingons gathered around the Vulcan, cheering him on his non-Vulcan ways. You slumped against the canteen, watching as Spock downed a another helping of blood wine. His attempt to partake in the crowd's grunts of celebration made you smile.

Anything Spock did made you smile.

As the crowd died down and everyone began to converse, you pushed away from the bar and walked over to the him. His eyes caught yours and for a brief moment, you thought witness a hint of softness in them.

"Enjoying yourself, Spock?"

"Indeed."

Smiling, you attempted to look into his mug and he quickly went for a refill when your face dropped. He said not a word as you thanked him and gently took the mug from his; fingers touching his, Spock's jawline tensed.

You lifted the mug to cover the smile on your face - the wine was bitter but the after taste was sweet. "Not bad."

"Human's enjoying drinking."

His statement received a nod from you. "You're human too, Spock. You should enjoy yourself."

The Vulcan stood taller and gazed around the crowd before his eyes landed on you; the beating of your heart intensified when he wouldn't look away. When it seemed like he had something important to say, the inner fighting of his human and Vulcan side on full display. Until everything seemed to stop and his facial expression gave away to clarity and resolve.

"I suppose it would be beneficial to partake in human behaviors."

Laughing, you reached a hand to his shoulder and gave it a squeeze, to which his body seemed to relax under. "Believe me, Spock, human's aren't the only ones that enjoy drinking. So, shall we?"

Spock seemed to smile - as much as a Vulcan could smile and motioned to the canteen with his hand. "We shall."

[black-brained]

Here something for ya!!!

[faux-ecrivain]

1950s househusband|Part 1

(Tenth official post)

(Name is Angelo)

(I’m going to try a new approach to this post, tell me how you like it.)

(Also, this character does dress in a feminine manner and here are some links for what I looked at to get inspiration. Explore 1950s Women’s Dresses and Discover Fashion Trends of the Era. And 1950s Fashions - Shoes )

Angelo wouldn’t say his marriage is perfect, because no marriage is perfect, but he went out of his way to make his marriage appear perfect. Which often meant adhering to his spouse’s desire and his spouse has very specific desires, one such desire would be that Angelo must always be dressed as a 1950s housewife (which didn’t really bother him, because women in the 1950s were beautiful, and he liked being beautiful). Another such desire was that he wasn’t to ever go against his spouse’s desires and that he has to behave like the perfect little househusband.

     Now, normally this wasn’t a problem, but his spouse has rather high standards and he finds it difficult to meet all their standards. Of course, his spouse is a forgiving being and, despite the (mental and physical) harm that they may cause him, he knew that his spouse loved him. Although, He often thinks that his spouse should be somewhat more grateful for the meals he cooks and the time he dedicates to keeping the house together, and keeping his appearance neat. (He would very much like to hear at least one thank you or one compliment from them.) But he keeps a positive mindset and a smile on his painted lips (which his spouse so loves). 

     However, his positivity begins to waver the longer his spouse remains ignorant of his desire to be thanked, to be love sand worshipped. He can’t help but be frustrated by his spouse’s cold mentality, he hates the way his spouse refrains from affection and refuses to praise him. It irritates him so and one particular night it irritates him a lot. 

    His spouse had been coming home late recently, smelling of parfumé and with a much to gleeful smile on their face. Angelo knows they’re cheating on him, he’s seen this before and he knows exactly how to deal with it. But his plan is halted when someone new joins the neighborhood, he feels a bit excited when he sees an old corvette pull into the old house across the street. He knows it’s late and that this new neighbor is probably tired, but it’s been so long since he’s seen someone new, and he’s tired of being stuck in the house. So, he decides to slip into something eye catching, just to make a good impression. He got out of his pajamas and slipped on the necessary undergarments before putting on a petticoat, a 1950s pin up dress (one of his favorite, and his spouse’s least favorite, dresses), some stockings (of course) and some 1950s stilettos (just to catch your eye, besides it doesn’t hurt to look good).

     Angelo made sure his makeup was pristine and that his hair was perfect, then he hopped downstairs and put on a coat, some gloves and then began to head over to your house. Although, he pauses and doubles back to grab you a house warming gift (luckily he had baked some cookies earlier today) and then marching across the street. He knocked on your door and straightened the skirt of his dress, he hopes you won’t mind such a late visit. He hears scuffles from your house and can’t help the stunned expression that graces his face when you open the door. Why, he’s never seen such a gorgeous human before!  

(This is just part one, I just want to upload this so I don’t have to worry about posting it tomorrow.)

[chasingstardustandmoonbeams]

Once More Masterlist (In progress)

Description: It was almost maddening. Repeating the same day over and over again. Waking, dying, waking, on and on again until you nearly spiraled. Or at least you would have if it wasn't for him. There was no one you could turn to outside of each other. You had only yourself, him, and the endless loop that trapped you both.

*updated 08/04/24 - on hiatus until I get my life together *

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Because I don’t know when I will update due to work I’ve created a taglist here

[starfleetimagines]

Dating Una Chin-Riley

You’re very close to Pike by proxy. He found out about you and Una when hosting a dinner one night. You and Una were chatting and laughing together all evening, and Pike just watched from his kitchen, curiosity evident on his face. Spock noticed his captain’s expression and asked what he was concerned about. Pike just laughed, added more basil to his pan, and pointed his spoon towards you and Una. “Not concerned,” he said, “just wondering when that happened.” So after everyone else left, Pike held you and Una back and just gave you both a look: faint smile, warm eyes, slight raise of the eyebrow. Una groaned (she knew what that look meant) and asked what gave you away.

Pike doesn’t care about your relationship. He knows it won’t affect either of your jobs, especially with how intense and focused Una is at hers. But he’s very invested, always asking Una how you two are doing and if there are any updates about xyz (e.g., saying you loved each other, moving in, etc.).

You’re also very close to La’an. She’s like your sister, but is also very protective of Una. She’s the first person to find out about you two. Una talked to her about having feelings for you long before anything happened, so it wasn’t a surprise when Una told her she finally asked you out. La’an gave you a talk though, saying if you hurt Una she’d sign you up for hard-core security practice so she had a reason to beat your ass.

She’s very professional around you when on duty, and even off duty if in a public area. She maintains a certain distance between the two of you when you’re working together. In private, though, she’s very nurturing and affectionate. 

She is, in a way, married to her job though. She works hard and she doesn’t take a lot of time off. At the beginning of your relationship it felt like you had to fight for her attention at times. She realized early on though that she’d have to make some sacrifices if she wanted to maintain your relationship. So she tries to make time for you and makes you promise to tell her if she’s too caught up in her work.

After finding out she’s Illyrian, you’d be very curious about that. You want to learn all about her culture and express as much. She’s hesitant at first just out of instinct; she hid her identity for so long, she isn’t used to talking about it. But she slowly opens up and as she talks about Illyrian culture, she finds it easier and more rewarding to do so.

Tag list: @agent-catfish-kenobi @plaguedoctorsnake @shadyfirecollector

[make-me-imagine]

Time to Kill

Request: Jim Kirk + “Cozy Autumn day watching Halloween films”

Requested By: Anonymous

Pairing: Jim Kirk x Gn!Reader (established relationship)

Warnings: None, just some cute autumn fluff.

Words: 632

You smiled with contentment as you finished laying the soft blankets on the bed. Lying down, you checked that the projection screen was set up just right before you dimmed the lights and turned on the fake fire nearby. The windows showed beautiful fall trees swaying in a light rainy breeze, and for a moment, you really did forget you were on Starship deep in space.

Halloween was approaching on Earth, and the whole ship buzzed with ideas of Halloween parties and costume contests. As you traveled to a distant area of space, you had time to kill, so the crew was allowed to do as they pleased.

Time to kill, also meant, the two of you could relax and have a cozy evening all to yourself. Something Jim was more than happy about.

Hearing a buzz at the door, you looked over to see it slide open, revealing Jim, clad in a cozy outfit, holding a tray brimmed with various foods and snacks.

You grinned as you locked eyes and you felt a warmth fill your chest as he walked over to the bed.

"Wow" He smiled as he looked around, noting all of the various changes you had made to give his suite the perfect autumn vibe.

"You like it?" You asked a bit uncertainly.

He smiled at you as he leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead. "I love it, its perfect."

You smiled in relief, before your eyes widened a bit, seeing all of the food he had brought. You recognized old Earth Halloween candy, as well as some of your favorite sweets. There were small cakes, chips and dip, and hot chocolate complete with mini marshmallows.

"And how did I do?" He asked with a smile.

You grinned up at him, "Perfect."

He clapped his hands, "So we ready then?"

You nodded happily as you gingerly moved the tray to the middle of the bed, allowing Jim to climb in next to you. He let out a relaxed sigh as he leaned back.

Looking over his shoulder he quirked his brow. "Where did you get all of these pillows?"

You grinned, "I'm a comfort hoarder, you know this."

He chuckled, "Right."

He reached out his arm as you settled in to lean against him, hot chocolate in hand.

Grabbing a PAD he started to flick through the various movies you had downloaded for the evening.

"Ooh, we have to watch this later." He smiled as he pointed at Beetlejuice.

You nodded, "Of course."

"Hmm, but first." He stopped on a movie in the list and your eyes widened. You had not downloaded that one.

Immediately you shook your head, "Absolutely not."

He scoffed, "Why not? IT's a classic!"

"I don't care if it's a classic, I hate it!"

"Oh come on, it's not that bad!"

"IT is that bad" you chuckled "I watched it as a kid and it gave me nightmares, and it made me hate clowns."

"If we aren't watching IT then we aren't watching Hocus Pocus."

You gasped as you sat up, setting down your hot chocolate before you spilled it. "Those movies are not comparable! And Hocus Pocus is so much better!"

He shook his head stubbornly and you pouted at him, your eyes glaring playfully. He glared back, but you saw his resolve failing as his eyes drifted to the pout on your lips.

He finally let out a sigh and rested his head back. "Fine, we can watch Hocus Pocus, BUT, we have to watch a different horror movie if we can't watch IT."

You thought for a moment before nodding "Okay, fine, but nothing with clowns!"

He chuckled, grabbing you and pulling you back into his chest. He pressed a kiss to your temple "Okay, nothing with clowns."

xx End xx

General Taglist: @criminaly-supernatural, @imaginesfire, @onuen, @rexit-mo, @witchygagirl, @alexxavicry

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[ichayalovesyou]

Cool News Guys

Guess who finally has an AO3 Account?! MEEEEEE!

Am I slowly but surely putting all of my Captain Pike x Reader fics on there? YES!

Would it be awesome if y'all checked it out? ALSO YES!!

BEHOLD :D

All of my Star Trek stuff is under IchayaLovesYou as a pseudonym of my main account! My non-trek (BG3 and WIld WIld West) stuff are under my main account.

[roguelov]

I saw different depictions of Morpheus (or Hypnos) with wings on his face and AAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUGGGGH ༎ຶ⁠‿⁠༎ຶ

What if after some time in a relationship, Dream trusts enough to show this hidden part of him and like imagine he's already gorgeous and this little detail would make him even more wonderful. And you touch the wings so gently and carefully like he's made of porcelain. Also idk what color they would have been, maybe pale white like his skin, or raven black, or dark blue with space undertone...(at this point any color would fit him)

Inhuman Dream is my fav thing and you just unlocked my insanity

Dream’s eyes dropped. He was never embarrassed about this aspect of himself, yet with you? An unusual shyness rose. Some mortals, and some gods, found this side of him as frightening and disgusting.

Wings.

Small soft wings grew from the side of his face, nearly covering his ears. They were dark, midnight black similar to raven feathers. However, the undertones were twinkling nebulas. In the light, blues and purples shone with every twist of his head. They were gorgeous - he was gorgeous.

You gently reached up. Your fingertip barely grazed over the cloud like feathers, but you quickly paused. “Is this okay?” You whispered softly.

Dream nodded. His gaze was still avoiding yours, a glare pinched his eyebrows. A certain tension was wrought into his shoulders.

Carefully, you ran your fingers through the wings. “So soft,” you commented.

Dream glanced up. His eyes searched and searched your face for any disgust or lies, but he saw none. You were utterly fascinated and enthralled with his appearance.

“They’re so beautiful, Dream,” you smiled at him.

His heart flipped.

You leaned forward and softly kissed the spot his wings grew from his face. He nearly melted at the sensation. You cupped his face, gazing lovingly at him.

“You’re beautiful,” you hummed.

Despite his neutral calm expression, his wings ruffled a bit and tucked close to his face. It was clear he was flustered. “Thank you,” he mumbled.

“No, thank you for letting me see you like this.” Your fingers once again ran through the sleek feathers. Dream hummed quietly. “You are just stunning.”

Dream finally smiled, a small sweet one. Why did he ever doubt you? You were stunning, you with such a lovely giving heart.

[unknownfacelessfanfictions]

Warning

Fandom: Star Trek : Strange New Worlds Pairing: Hemmer x Counselor! fem! Reader Words: 3.9K Warnings: A bit of swearing Summary: They had an agreement that everytime Chris sent a very attractive person to the counselor office, he would warn her beforehand. Apparently they have a different understanding of attractive A/N: Don't take this too seriously. Also, I just watched the first three episodes of season 1 so if anything is not fitting with canon, forget it

@bigblissandlove1 I don't know if you have seen Strage New Worlds yet, so I just did it

Chris didn't know why or how he had done it this time, but he had fucked up, which he was more than aware of as he walked down the corridor.

To be honest, he wasn't really used to being ordered to a person, as this was mostly his job. Of course, M'Benga had called him to sickbay several times and a few times he had been called to the engine room, but he had usually known what the problem was.

Now, however, on his way to the counsellor's office, he had no idea what he had done. All he knew was that she had sounded anything but happy with him, which was reason enough to run in the opposite direction and hope that she would not find him.

He stopped in front of her door and took another deep breath before pressing the button and waiting. Moments later, the doors slid aside and Chris hesitantly entered.

She was already waiting for him. Instead of a blue uniform top, she wore a blue uniform jacket over a black top and leaned against her desk with her arms folded and a falsely sweet smile that was enough to send a shiver down his spine.

"You wanted to see me?"

For a long time she remained silent and simply looked at him, which slowly caused him to turn under her gaze.

Sedately, she sat down on the edge of her table and crossed her legs. "Can I ask you something, Christopher?"

Oh he had screwed up so badly. A bead of fear sweat ran down the back of his neck.

'Christopher' was reluctantly used by her, only when she had to lecture him.

Actually he didn't really want to answer her, however he knew he couldn't escape his end.

"Yes?"

She jutted her chin. "You remember that agreement we made years ago in that dodgy bar."

Slowly the nervousness faded and gave way to confusion. Of course he remembered that agreement, after all she had even insisted on writing it down and having them both sign it "Yes."

"Do me a favour and tell me again what it was about."

Chris blushed slightly. He wasn't embarrassed, but they were working and it really didn't belong there.

"Is this really necessary?"

"Christopher."

"Okay." He raised his hands defensively.

"We decided that in case I had a ... slightly late night and showed up late for duty, you would cover for me."

He wasn't particularly proud of having made this agreement and felt bad that they were thus indirectly exploiting her medical authority, however it had been useful to him too many times for the shame to be too great.

"Right." She propped her chin on her hand as her eyes bored into his. "And what was the other part of that deal?"

Chris sighed. "That in case I ever sent a, and I quote, 'to-die-for Adonis-like person' to you, I'd give you advance notice."

"Very well." She regarded him eagle-eyed and stood up slowly, causing him to take a step back. "And tell me, Christopher, have I ever left you hanging? Have I ever failed to keep my end of this bargain?"

Slowly he shook his head. Nervousness had now completely given way to confusion. "Not as far as I know."

Her forced smile disappeared and turned into an angry grimace. "And what, then, gives you the fucking right to not hold up your end?!"

"Woah!" He threw his hands up defensively again. "I don't know what you're talking about! I've always given a warning."

"Except today!"

"Today?"

"Yes, today! The day I wore that crumpled uniform from the back corner of my closet and my hair just looks unwashed and messy."

Chris took a step back. "I think there's been a misunderstanding. I definitely didn't send an Aphrodite or an Adonis to you."

"Of course you did!" Her face darkened with the blood rushing to her face in excitement.

"The only person I sent because he was new was Lieutenant Hemmer. Otherwise I ... oh." He saw her avoid his gaze and a smirk climbed his lips.

"Oh."

"Shut up."

She turned, though it was now up to Chris not to give in.

"Really now? Hemmer? You're not joking, are you?"

"Do I look like I'm joking," she hissed back, causing his grin to grow even wider. He settled down on the couch. "Oh heavens, you're serious." He laughed out. "Who'd have thought our new chief engineer had it in him like that."

Chris bit his tongue to suppress the grin. "I'm afraid you and I have a different picture of Adonis after all, don't we? No offence to the Lieutenant

With a frustrated groan, she dropped down beside him. "I hate you." He put an arm around her shoulder. "No you don't. But really now, all kidding aside, was it that bad? I didn't think Hemmer could do it to you that bad."

There was a reason they had made this agreement. She was, always had been actually, incredibly nervous around people she found attractive.

The more she found herself attracted to them, the worse, which was why Chris had let her know every time there was a possible candidate who might catch her attention, so that her professionalism wouldn't be questioned.

So far, though, it had only really been necessary once, and Chris really hadn't thought Hemmer was her type. Her partners, male, female and everything in between, had so far been ... different.

At least he couldn't remember a single grumpy, sarcastic and slightly cynical partner.

"It hadn't been this bad in a long time." She buried her face in her hands in shame, all anger forgotten. "I'm so incredibly embarrassed, I could die."

Chris patted her back in an attempt to reassure her. "I don't think it was that bad."

"Oh yes it was. It was."

It beeped, signifying that her last "patient" for the day had arrived.

"Come in." She heard the doors open and a person step into her office while she was in the next room trying to move a box to one of the shelves. Her patient before only managed to concentrate when she was playing board games with him, so she was now trying to put them away.

"Doctor?" She smiled when she heard his voice. It was pleasant and very welcome after an hour and a half with the Ensign whose nasal, high-pitched voice had given her a headache.

"Lieutenant Hemmer, isn't it? Side room, I'll be there in a sec." She sounded strained as she pushed the box further up. Footsteps sounded behind her and she could feel the man's presence behind her.

"That is correct. Do you need any assistance?"

She groaned softly, planning to rearrange her storage space on her day off. "That would be nice."

Hemmer stepped behind her so she could feel his warmth radiating through his uniform, and reached over her with his arm, helping her slide the box into the compartment before stepping back to let her have her space.

"Thanks. I really need to reorganise, this is getting really ridiculous..." She broke off as she turned around.

Oh God help her.

She had gathered from the brief information on his file that he was their chief engineer and belonged to the Aenar species and although she hadn't seen many, she was pretty sure it couldn't get any more attractive.

He was slightly taller than her, not by much, and slightly more athletically built than normal, though not nearly as much as Chris. His white hair fell fluffily into his face, causing an urge in her to run her hands through it as his antennae swayed serenely back and forth.

His eyes were milky white, which was impossibly beautiful at that moment, he had a rather dominant jaw and she was sure she could cut herself on his cheekbones if she slid her finger across.

She had a problem. A big, attractive, white problem.

A slight chuckle, much more a breathy laugh, from Hemmer brought her out of her thoughts and she felt her face grow warm.

"I'd recommend it. That, or you stop loading the boxes so much that you can't lift them over your head."

She nodded slightly and held out her hand to him. "I believe you already know my name, Lieutenant. It's a pleasure to meet you."

For a few moments he regarded her outstretched hand and a slight panic spread through her.

Damn it, Aenar didn't shake hands. She had made a complete ass of herself and exposed herself right in front of him. She absolute idiot. She was good for nothing. Nothing!

Hesitantly, she began to withdraw her hand again when Hemmer reached for it. His hand was surprisingly warm and a little rough to the touch, though not uncomfortable under any circumstances and she had to pull herself together not to blush completely.

"Likewise." Was it just her, or had his vocal pitch just gone down a notch? Oh, she was fucked.

Smiling slightly, she looked up at him and although his expression was friendly-neutral, she thought she saw a spark of mischief flit across his face.

She swallowed and gestured to the room behind them. "Shall we sit down? I think this is a bit more comfortable."

Hemmer hummed in agreement, turned and returned to her office. She took a deep breath in and out and closed her eyes for a moment.

She was so going to kill Chris for not giving her a warning.

"Would you like something to drink? Tea? Coffee? Um... water?"

Hemmer, meanwhile, had made himself comfortable on the sofa, crossed his legs and seemed to be looking at her with a mixture of curiosity, amusement and surprise. Or she was imagining it, since he was blind and she was nervous.

"Coffee. Black, please." She nodded, grateful to have something to do, and scurried to the corner of her office where, at her request, a small kitchenette had been installed. "Caffeine this late in the evening?"

"Night shift," he returned and she winced inwardly as the water ran through the coffee filter. "I hope you hadn't gotten up too early for me." She glanced over her shoulder. "Otherwise, you could have asked for another appointment. I'm here to be a conversational partner, not to deprive you of sleep."

Hemmer leaned back a little. "It's not a problem. Otherwise you would have had to get up in the middle of the night. We don't want that either."

She had to turn around to keep from blushing again. This was getting really ridiculous.

"With all due respect, Lieutenant," she said, pouring water into her cup, strictly focused on not burning herself, because that would be just what she needed. "In an emergency, I think a sleep deprived chief engineer is a little more dangerous than a sleep deprived therapist."

The coffee and her tea were ready, so she did her best to set both cups down safely at the small table, but Hemmer seemed to be doing his best to upset her. "You sell yourself too low. I've heard you're a brilliant woman and and I'd really hate to put bags under those eyes."

As soon as his compliment reached her brain, even if it was more quote than compliment, it seemed to short circuit as her right hand, still holding her tea, gave a little jerk and the contents spilled over the edge and landed on the table, as well as her hand.

"Holy shit," she cursed and waved her hand around, her face contorted into a pained grimace.

Hemmer sat up straighter, his antennae straight up in attention. "Doctor, do you need-"

"It's all right," she pressed out between her teeth, trying to smile.

'Stupid handsome Hemmer, why do you have to be so impossibly cute so I make a complete ass of myself.'

"It's alright. Happens all the time." She reached under the table and whipped out a cloth, it really had happened to her before and she was prepared to wipe up the liquid. In mid-motion, however, Hemmer grabbed the cloth. "Let me do that. You need to cool your hand under cold water."

Unfortunately, his hand had grazed hers and, startled by the contact, she had not been prepared for skin-to-skin contact with the handsome man, she took a step back, tripped over the table and fell to the floor with a loud grunt.

"Ohhh," she moaned and held her head, forgetting that her hand had been burned and hissing at the contact between burn blisters and hair.

Instantly Hemmer was at her side, looking at her with concern. At least she thought he did.

"Doctor are you all right?" Fuck, why did his voice have to be so soft if he was concerned?

"I'm fine," she returned again, hoping to at least somewhat still save face, though she knew that was a lie.

Her ankle throbbed, her hand ached and she was pretty sure the room wasn't supposed to be spinning.

"Doctor!"

Her gaze zoomed back to his face, which was so close she could have counted his eyelashes. Now that her view of his eyes was better, she corrected herself from before.

They weren't milky white, no. Much more they reminded her of molten silver, shiny and smooth, soft and hard at the same time.

Like the reflection of a full moon in still waters, mysterious, close and yet at the same time so impossibly distant from her.

She was also pretty sure she might have had a mild concussion.

Above her, she heard Hemer sigh before he took her by the arm and helped her up.

As soon as her left foot touched the ground, however, she gasped and clawed at Hemmer, who, to his credit, took it without pulling a face.

"I think I sprained my ankle."

"Okay." Hemmer tried to sound calm, which made her feel bad. After all, the poor man just wanted to do his job and in order to do that, he had to just hold a brief conversation with a Counselor to begin with.

"I think it's best if we take you to the infirmary first so M'Benga can look at your foot."

She nodded, through clenched teeth. Hemmer carefully put her arm around his shoulder and wrapped his arm around her waist to steady her, making the short walk to the infirmary that seemed so impossibly long to her at that moment.

Silence reigned between them, for which she was very grateful, because the only thing she could focus on was his body pressed tightly against hers, his hair brushing her cheek, his hand holding hers and his arm wrapped around her waist as his other hand dug gently but firmly into her flesh.

To be honest, she was glad she was still breathing when M'Benga and Chapel took her from him, although she instantly felt the loss of Hemmer's body heat.

M'Benga and Chapel moved her to one of the beds and immediately Hemmer appeared behind them to watch them.

Secretly, she found it very touching that he stayed by her side while she was being treated instead of returning to work, though his presence distracted her from answering Chapel's questions.

The latter, however, only acknowledged her embarrassment with a knowing grin and a wiggle of her eyebrows, which made the blood rush to her face again.

"Sprained ankle, second degree burns and a mild concussion," she grinned at her and shook her head. "That's news even to you." Chapel patted her on the shoulder. "Take it a little easier, will you? If the pain gets too bad, come back for more, okay?"

She nodded and Chapel disappeared, leaving her and Hemmer alone.

"I'm sorry," she murmured softly. "This is probably not how you imagined your evening ... or morning, as the case may be."

"A trip to sickbay wasn't on my list, no. However, a little excitement can't hurt."

She smiled weakly at his attempt to cheer her up.

Sweet, dear Hemmer. Too good for this world.

He cleared his throat slightly and glanced to the side as his antennae rippled slightly.

"I'm afraid my shift is about to start and we won't be able to have our conversation today." She nodded in understanding and smiled slightly at him.

"It's understandable. How about this: You didn't really strike me as being unfit for duty, which is why I don't need to have any urgent conversations with you. You work your shift and I'll try to schedule a second appointment as soon as possible, yeah? That probably makes a little more sense, as you've had time to settle in and get to know the rhythm of the ship. If there are any urgent questions: I am always available."

Hemmer raised one of his eye ridges. "Even at night?"

She grinned slightly, relieved to find that she was slowly getting over the fact that she felt very attached to Hemmer. Which professionally was an absolute disaster, however she didn't think about that now.

"If I have to, I'll sit in my office in my pyjamas, completely drowsy, to ease your worries."

"I hope it won't come to that." Hemmer bowed his head slightly. "I wish you a good rest."

"Thank you. You have a pleasant shift." He nodded and left, giving her a glimpse of his back.

Had he had such broad shoulders before or was the uniform just a little small?

Strangely, Hemmer stumbled at that very moment and almost fell down as he left the infirmary.

"You really sprained your ankle and got a concussion yesterday because you found someone attractive? Oh man, I think I'm going to have to look closer when I send someone your way soon."

Groaning, she buried her face in his chest. "Keep it down Chris and rather tell me how I'm ever going to face him again."

"Well you'll have to eventually, after all you still have your talk to do."

Frustrated, she threw a pillow in his face. "No help, Chris!"

He laughed and raised his hands. "You should have just come to the dinners. Hemmer was always there and you didn't even have to talk to him then."

Scowling, she stared at him. "First of all, still no help. Secondly, it's not my fault you always put your dinners when I have appointments."

Chris patted her back. "I don't think it's that bad. I haven't known him long, but I don't think Hemmer would hold it against you. At most he finds it amusing, nothing more. Just talk to him, apologise again. Maybe invite him to dinner."

"Chris!" This time her exclamation was accompanied with laughter as she broke away from him.

"What, you seem to like him more than most. At least you haven't twisted your ankle over any of them."

She crossed her arms in front of her chest. "That would be far too unprofessional. I'm practically the ship's therapist. I'm not allowed to do things like that."

"As long as it stays professional, if it has to."

Chris shrugged before sighing. "Look, I can't tell you what to do because I don't know. However, I do know, for one thing, that Hemmer doesn't think any worse of you for this, and for another, that it's late and you desperately need something to eat. So shoo-' He pulled her up and hustled her towards the door. "Off to the canteen with you."

Sighing, she gave in. "Anything else I should probably know so I don't embarrass myself further in front of him?" Chris thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"No, not that I know of."

~**~

She poked listlessly at her food, resting her head on the back of her hand, when suddenly someone stepped up beside her. "May I join you for a moment?"

Instantly she was awake and shot up at the sound of Hemmer's voice. The latter was standing beside her table, a PADD in his hand, looking at her expectantly:

"Of course, Lieutenant." She pointed to the seat opposite her. "Please, sit down."

He nodded and complied with her request. "Hemmer only, please. We are not on duty." "Likewise."

Hemmer nodded in acknowledgement.

"How are you?"

She felt her face grow warm again and glanced quickly at her plate.

"Better, I don't feel any pain anymore. Thanks, again, for accompanying me yesterday and I guess a 'sorry' would be in order again too."

"It was no problem," Hemmer brushed it off. She looked up and saw that he was looking at her intently. "I'm here for the appointment. My duty roster would allow me to be available from 1800 hours tomorrow."

Disappointment spread through her, which she immediately suppressed.

Of course he's here for the appointment, she scolded herself immediately afterwards. After all, only you are stupid enough to find a person you barely know so fine.

"Of course." Quickly she pulled out her own PADD and studied her appointment book. "That should be fine. How about 1930 hours?" Hemmer considered for a moment before nodding.

For a moment there was silence between the two of them and for a split crazy second, she truly toyed with the idea of humouring Chris and inviting him to dinner, though she immediately suppressed it.

Stay professional, after all, Hemmer shouldn't feel uncomfortable.

He cleared his throat and stood up, which again caused her a little bit of disappointment. "Well then, thank you. Enjoy your meal."

She thanked him and Hemmer turned around, but remained on the spot.

When he still hadn't moved after a few moments, she asked, a little worried.

"Hemmer, are you all right?" He kept his back to her.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

He turned back to her, however his expression did not hint at what he was thinking.

"How familiar are you with Aenar biology?"

She blushed, though this time it was not due to the fact that he was outrageously handsome.

"I'm ashamed to admit it, however, I was never very good at biology."

"Then I assume you are not aware of the fact that Aenar posses telepathic abilities."

All at once everything froze inside her, her movement, her thoughts, everything. "Oh, really?"

Her voice was low and thin and Hemmer just nodded, amusement clear on his features.

"Indeed. You know, normally I can ignore the thought processes of others, however that becomes a little difficult when they are about your own person. So it's fair to say that you weren't the only one who was a little ... distracted last evening."

She wasn't even able to panic.

"Oh."

"Mhhh." He nodded and leaned towards her a little, a small smile on his face and god did he have a pretty smile. Which automatically widened as he caught her train of thought. "It is not my intention, but you humans are very... loud in that way."

She slowly closed her eyes in shame and braced herself for him to reject her, however this never came.

Briefly, his hand brushed hers and she snapped her eyes open, only to see him straighten.

"I think it's really honourable that you want to remain professional, but ... I wouldn't mind dinner." He turned, but still paused. "By the way ... 'molten silver' and 'reflection of a moon' are really nice descriptions that no one has ever used for me. Thank you."

She stared after him as he left the canteen, the food and everything around her forgotten.

Telepath. He was a bloody telepath and had caught every embarrassing thought she had had about him. She closed her eyes.

She wasn't sure what had just happened, but she knew one thing.

She would fucking kill Chris.