![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cloudy_ficTitle: Protection of the Mistletoe
Author: CloudyJenn
Fandom: Enterprise
Pairings: T'Pol/Tucker, Archer/Reed
Rating: PG
Beta: Jessica
Disclaimer: These characters belong to Paramount. I am making no profit from this fanfiction.
Warnings: Fluff
Summary: T'Pol learns about mistletoe
Author's Notes: This is mostly T/T'P with a side dash of A/R. Enjoy!
When T'Pol arrived at the officer's lounge, she was surprised to find the automatic doors standing wide open. She frowned slightly. It was unfortunate for this particular lounge to experience a malfunction tonight. Ensigns Sato and Cutler had been decorating it since the day before. They would not have had the chance to switch to another one on short notice.
Still, as T'Pol had learned all too well in the last five years, humans were quite capable of dealing with less than ideal situations. With that in mind, she stepped through the door and pushed the malfunction out of her mind. Her quick eyes took in the changes to the lounge. A large tree placed between two of the rectangular windows dominated the room. It was decorated with a myriad of ornaments T'Pol knew had been both gathered and recently produced by the crew as well as strings of multi-colored lights and a large star at the top. The star reminded her of recent heated discussions between Commander Tucker and Captain Archer over whether a star or an angel should adorn the tree. She was not surprised to see that Archer had won the argument.
Other decorations graced the room, from red and green ribbons to gold bells to branches of a dark green plant called "holly". T'Pol found them to be pleasantly understated, a welcome change from the explosion of disorganized colors that had filled the same room last year when Commander Tucker and Lt. Reed had been in charge of the decorations.
Speaking of Commander Tucker…He was standing beside a long table filled with refreshments, talking animatedly to Ensign Sato, one hand holding a glass of punch and waving it through the air. T'Pol almost smiled, but not quite. Seeing Trip like this always brought a prickle of surprise to her mind. Surprise that she should have found a partner in such a lively and talkative human.
Ensign Sato looked to her as she approached, a warm smile on her own face and Trip turned, his eyes lighting up.
"Hey, you're here!" he exclaimed, holding out an arm to indicate she should join them. "You want some punch?"
"No, thank you," she replied pleasantly. There had been a time when T'Pol would have felt irrational guilt at not feeling comfortable allowing Trip to welcome her with a kiss or an embrace, but time and many discussions on the issue had finally relieved her of it. Trip had assured her many times that what he received from their relationship far outstripped anything he lost from not experiencing open affection.
"Ya sure? It's really good this year," he enthused, taking another sip from the light orange beverage. T'Pol had tried the punch the year before, at the first Christmas party she'd attended during her tour of duty on Enterprise. Having not expected the frothy liquid to contain alcohol, she'd very nearly choked and spit it out. She was not eager to repeat the experience.
"I'm certain."
His teasing smile told T'Pol he was thinking of the previous year as well. She resolved to ignore it, except to enjoy being able to amuse Trip in some manner.
"Has the door malfunctioned?" she asked, turning back to see more crew wandering into the lounge, Captain Archer among them. He smiled at them, but did not come closer, choosing instead to hover near the door. It was only then that she noticed a sprig of a small green planting hanging over the door on the inside of the lounge. T'Pol raised an eyebrow at it.
"Nah. I fixed it to stay open for the mistletoe."
"Mistletoe," she repeated slowly. The word was familiar, but she could not place its significance. She'd researched the customs and traditions relating to Christmas, but perhaps not as thoroughly as she should have.
Ensign Sato grinned. "The little plant above the door," she explained, pointing to it. Before she could continue, Ensign Mayweather walked up to her right, a large red and white hat perched atop his head. Sato laughed as he came to a stop beside her and handed her a small wrapped box.
"What? Don't like my hat?" he asked, pretending offense. This, T'Pol was familiar with, although she was at a loss to really understand it. The religious overtones of the holiday made sense to her. Santa Claus did not. However, it seemed to matter very little to her human companions and so she let it go.
"No, I love it," Sato countered happily. "If you'll excuse me, Commanders, I'm going to find a quiet corner and open my present. Have fun!"
Ensign Mayweather echoed her sentiment and the two friends walked away, chatting and smiling. Another thing T'Pol did not quite understand was how most of her colleagues seemed to become happy all at once at this time of year. It was to varying degrees, of course, and she’d noticed that some became less happy than usual, but for the most part, a pervading sense of joy underlined this time of year, to the point that T'Pol could not ignore it had she wished to. Trip had explained to her that it had to do with good memories and the very point of the holiday, whether one was religious or not, to enjoy friends and family. Theoretically, it made sense. But in practice, it was almost disconcerting.
Still, she would not change it if she could. It was much easier to work with people who were determined to be in a good mood.
"What is the point of mistletoe?" she asked, picking up the thread of their previous conversation.
"People hang it over doors and it's supposed to be that when you stand under it, someone hasta kiss you," he answered, his eyes on the mistletoe and a faint smile on his face.
"You are forced to kiss someone?" she asked skeptically. That did not seem like a very pleasing custom.
"Well, it's not like someone holds a pistol to your head," he said with a laugh. "But people'll probably tease ya until you do. It’s not real common nowadays, but my parents always had some. Not that Dad needed an excuse to kiss Mama, but he liked catching her under the thing a lot anyway. It's just for fun."
"I see." It certainly didn't sound fun. "There wasn't any at last year's party," she noted.
Trip nodded. "Yeah, it was Jon's idea. I think he's hoping to snag a kiss from a certain someone, if you catch my drift."
She did. Captain Archer and Lt. Reed had begun a romantic relationship several months ago and T'Pol could tell by the way Archer had been smiling non-stop since then that he was very pleased with it. It did not surprise her that he would wish to invoke a custom with romantic overtones. And yet, something about it did not add up.
"I was under the impression that Lt. Reed was not comfortable with physical displays of affection in public." While it probably shouldn't matter, his reticence had been a source of comfort to T'Pol. It was pleasing to know she was not alone in her opinion on the matter.
"Yeah, but mistletoe's different," he said before taking another sip of the punch. T'Pol unconsciously raised an eyebrow.
"I don't see how."
Trip started to answer, but paused, his eyes going back to the door. "Just watch."
She looked back to see Lt. Reed walking through the door. Archer jumped into his path, catching his arm and exchanging words with him while pointing to the small plant. Instead of the shying away she'd expected, a grin broke out on Reed's face and he allowed his partner to plant an enthusiastic kiss on his lips. His face flushed red, but other than that, T'Pol saw no signs of protest. The two men then walked off, hand in hand, talking to one another as if it hadn't happened at all and T'Pol saw that no one else was giving them a second glance. She turned back to Trip, nonplussed.
"I don't understand."
"It's just a weird tradition, T'Pol. I don't think it's supposed to make sense. People expect people to kiss under it. Malcolm knows nobody’s going to think less of him for kissin' his man in front of them. Hell, like I said, they'd probably tease him until he did. It's better to just kiss and get it over with than bring that on himself."
"So, if it were not for the mistletoe, he would not have done it."
Trip shrugged. "Probably not. Or maybe so. I dunno. Maybe he's getting into the Christmas spirit."
The Christmas spirit. T'Pol didn't think she was capable of it. "If you say so," she finally said reluctantly. Trip laughed and placed his hand lightly on her back to steer her towards the end of the table where plates of food lay out.
"I do say so. Now help me pick something to eat."
T'Pol knew he could make his own choices, but she also knew he liked hearing her opinion on things, so they spent the next few moments picking out his meal and then hers while moving on to other subjects. One of them was Christmas presents. T'Pol had agreed to exchange gifts with him that year and still wasn't sure what to get for him. It did not help that he kept evading the topic, telling her he wanted to see what she'd choose for him. In return, she'd threatened to give him the complete works of Surak, which just seemed to amuse him more than anything.
The conversation continued as they chose seats near the tree and sat to eat their food, T'Pol equipped with a fork Trip put aside especially for her, knowing she did not like touching her food. While she carefully ate small cubes of cheese, she found her eyes once again drawn to the mistletoe and could not stop her eyebrows from rising in surprise when she saw Archer kiss Sato on the lips.
"The Captain is kissing Ensign Sato," she told him, managing to keep her surprise out of her tone, despite noticing that Lt. Reed stood nearby watching them and laughing. "Doesn't it bother Lt. Reed?"
Trip shook his head, swallowing a large mouthful of cream puff with some difficulty. "No," he finally choked. "It's not like that. Everyone kisses everyone. It's not supposed to be really intimate."
Something resembling alarm entered her mind. "I thought it was only for partners." The thought of kissing someone that wasn't Trip for any reason did not sit well with her. Especially in front of the entire crew.
"Nope. S'for everyone." He gave her a shrewd look. "You'll be safe if you just stay away from it. 'Sides, I'm pretty sure people'd make an exception for you."
She nodded, relieved. She appreciated that her fellow crewmembers did not expect her to take part in activities they knew would make her uncomfortable. Despite Trip's earlier words, she considered a kiss to be very intimate. It wasn't appropriate to display intimacy publicly.
"And anyway, I want you to save up all your kisses for me." He leaned in very slightly. "I'll be wanting to use them later."
The brief glance she gave him in return was the only indication she allowed herself that she too was very much looking forward to that time. "I'll be sure to stay away from the mistletoe in that case," she said quietly, returning to her food. She felt him shift beside her and knew there was most likely a large grin on his face. Sometimes she appreciated how predictable her partner was.
The rest of the evening passed pleasantly. Once they’d finished eating, they stood and milled around the room, talking to their colleagues as friends. Music played in the background, all manner of religious and secular holiday songs T'Pol was only beginning to learn. At one point, a song entitled "Jingle Bells" began to play and T'Pol was forced to retreat into the crowds with Dr. Phlox in order to avoid hearing her mate singing the tune at the top of his lungs right into her ear. Several of the crew approached her to ask if she wanted anything for the holiday and while she very much appreciated them including her in their traditions, she told them politely it was unnecessary. The only reason she'd agreed to celebrate it with Trip was because of their relationship. She did not wish for others to feel obligated to bestow gifts upon her as well. And it seemed like they understood, or at least T'Pol didn't percieve that any offense was taken.
During all of this, T'Pol made sure to keep her eye on the mistletoe, curiosity about the custom keeping her interested in the crew's interactions under the plant. All night long, couples drifted in and out from under the mistletoe, the kisses ranging from mere pecks to long heated kisses that slightly embarrassed her. Amazement flared in her mind as she saw people who were not otherwise very friendly kiss each other, as half of established couples kissed other people and as people that Trip had told her liked each other, but had not admitted to it kissed each other. Apparently, this mistletoe was a very powerful symbol.
"Trip?" T'Pol asked him as the evening wore down. They were once again seated on one of the couches, Trip's face flushed with happiness and not a little of the orange punch.
"Yeah?"
"I have been watching the mistletoe this evening and I can't help, but notice that that is the fifth time that Captain Archer has 'caught' Lt. Reed under it."
Trip turned his gaze on the lip-locked couple, one eye shut as he studied them. "Yeah. I guess, you know...they like kissing."
That was obvious. It was strange to see them this way, now that T'Pol thought about it. She had known, of course, when the relationship had started, Captain Archer being unable to keep it from either herself or Trip, but she'd never once given thought to their intimate activities. Seeing them wrapped up in each other, now oblivious to anyone else in the room was odd, though she was pleased they were happy with one another.
Something occurred to her and she fixed Trip with a thoughtful look. "Is it possible that Lt. Reed wished to be caught under the mistletoe?"
Trip chuckled. "They're dating, T'Pol. I think that means Malcolm likes to kiss him."
"That's not what I meant," she said, resisting the urge to poke him in the side. "I meant, is it possible that Lt. Reed is using the mistletoe as an excuse to touch Captain Archer openly without fearing making himself or others uncomfortable?"
He nodded slowly, apparently giving it some deal of thought. "You know, I think maybe you could be right about that. Malcolm's all about rules and regulations, but I know he's got to want to show people Jon belongs to him. That's just human nature."
Human nature. Intellectually, T'Pol knew that every race in the universe was complex and that misunderstanding could easily result when two of those races interacted with one another. But she could not help feeling, perhaps illogically, that humans were even more complex than usual. Everyone in the crew by now knew that Archer and Reed were dating exclusively and yet, Reed was willing to put aside his personal rules for one evening in order to make certain of that. It was perplexing.
"I had not doubted the issue, myself," she commented, making Trip smile and lean more closely against her.
"No one doubts. He just wants sometimes for people to see evidence. Nothing huge, you know, just a little thing." He nodded towards them and T'Pol saw that they were no longer kissing or hugging, just standing close and talking quietly. "Just a little thing."
T'Pol wondered if Trip were speaking only for Lt. Reed or for himself as well. Their discussions on open affection remained in her mind, clearly indicating Trip's desire to ensure her comfort. But, as a human, he must feel the same urges as Lt. Reed and Captain Archer. She said nothing for a long while, just sat next to Trip and contemplated the topic.
Eventually, Trip stood and stretched, looking down at her with a soft smile on his face and held out his hand. "I'm getting tired, babe. You wanna get out of here?"
"Yes." She stood as well, keeping the amusement at her latest nickname off her face and took his hand. They'd agreed that this was not an unacceptable form of physical contact and she found she enjoyed feeling their bond come alive at the touch, even in public. They walked around the room, saying goodbye to the few partygoers remaining, including Archer and Reed who sat hidden at the back of the room fighting over the last of the chocolate cake. As they left them and approached the front of the room, the mistletoe hanging at a jaunty angle above the door frame, T'Pol realized she knew exactly what to give Trip for Christmas.
"Trip," she said, stopping and tugging on his hand until he'd walked back into the room a little, giving her a confused look.
"What?"
Taking a deep breath, she moved closer to him and allowed a faint smile to grow on her lips. "Merry Christmas," she said, remembering the proper phrase at the last moment and leaning up to give him a chaste kiss on the mouth. She felt him stiffen with surprise briefly before relaxing into the kiss, sliding an arm around her waist to prolong their contact. The bond thrummed gently with his pleasure at her touch and she returned the sentiment, knowing that she was safe in this situation, the mistletoe providing an excellent way to maneuver around the rules.
He broke away from the kiss before she did, telling her that he was still thinking of her comfort and she felt a surge of appreciation for him. He smiled at her, wonder and love lighting his eyes. "Thank you," he murmured, pulling her into a quick hug before releasing her. A strange expression came over his face then, a mixture of amusement and annoyance. She turned and saw that the remaining partygoers were staring openmouthed at them.
"I thought you said it was expected for people to kiss under the mistletoe," she accused lightly, turning back to him. He held up his hands and laughed.
"I guess you know, like I said, making an exception for you."
Typical, T'Pol thought to herself, and then shrugged off any potential embarrassment. It was too late to take it back and as she took his hand to lead him away to her quarters, it occurred to her that it did not matter what anyone thought about them.
She had the protection of the mistletoe.
END
Author: CloudyJenn
Fandom: Enterprise
Pairings: T'Pol/Tucker, Archer/Reed
Rating: PG
Beta: Jessica
Disclaimer: These characters belong to Paramount. I am making no profit from this fanfiction.
Warnings: Fluff
Summary: T'Pol learns about mistletoe
Author's Notes: This is mostly T/T'P with a side dash of A/R. Enjoy!
When T'Pol arrived at the officer's lounge, she was surprised to find the automatic doors standing wide open. She frowned slightly. It was unfortunate for this particular lounge to experience a malfunction tonight. Ensigns Sato and Cutler had been decorating it since the day before. They would not have had the chance to switch to another one on short notice.
Still, as T'Pol had learned all too well in the last five years, humans were quite capable of dealing with less than ideal situations. With that in mind, she stepped through the door and pushed the malfunction out of her mind. Her quick eyes took in the changes to the lounge. A large tree placed between two of the rectangular windows dominated the room. It was decorated with a myriad of ornaments T'Pol knew had been both gathered and recently produced by the crew as well as strings of multi-colored lights and a large star at the top. The star reminded her of recent heated discussions between Commander Tucker and Captain Archer over whether a star or an angel should adorn the tree. She was not surprised to see that Archer had won the argument.
Other decorations graced the room, from red and green ribbons to gold bells to branches of a dark green plant called "holly". T'Pol found them to be pleasantly understated, a welcome change from the explosion of disorganized colors that had filled the same room last year when Commander Tucker and Lt. Reed had been in charge of the decorations.
Speaking of Commander Tucker…He was standing beside a long table filled with refreshments, talking animatedly to Ensign Sato, one hand holding a glass of punch and waving it through the air. T'Pol almost smiled, but not quite. Seeing Trip like this always brought a prickle of surprise to her mind. Surprise that she should have found a partner in such a lively and talkative human.
Ensign Sato looked to her as she approached, a warm smile on her own face and Trip turned, his eyes lighting up.
"Hey, you're here!" he exclaimed, holding out an arm to indicate she should join them. "You want some punch?"
"No, thank you," she replied pleasantly. There had been a time when T'Pol would have felt irrational guilt at not feeling comfortable allowing Trip to welcome her with a kiss or an embrace, but time and many discussions on the issue had finally relieved her of it. Trip had assured her many times that what he received from their relationship far outstripped anything he lost from not experiencing open affection.
"Ya sure? It's really good this year," he enthused, taking another sip from the light orange beverage. T'Pol had tried the punch the year before, at the first Christmas party she'd attended during her tour of duty on Enterprise. Having not expected the frothy liquid to contain alcohol, she'd very nearly choked and spit it out. She was not eager to repeat the experience.
"I'm certain."
His teasing smile told T'Pol he was thinking of the previous year as well. She resolved to ignore it, except to enjoy being able to amuse Trip in some manner.
"Has the door malfunctioned?" she asked, turning back to see more crew wandering into the lounge, Captain Archer among them. He smiled at them, but did not come closer, choosing instead to hover near the door. It was only then that she noticed a sprig of a small green planting hanging over the door on the inside of the lounge. T'Pol raised an eyebrow at it.
"Nah. I fixed it to stay open for the mistletoe."
"Mistletoe," she repeated slowly. The word was familiar, but she could not place its significance. She'd researched the customs and traditions relating to Christmas, but perhaps not as thoroughly as she should have.
Ensign Sato grinned. "The little plant above the door," she explained, pointing to it. Before she could continue, Ensign Mayweather walked up to her right, a large red and white hat perched atop his head. Sato laughed as he came to a stop beside her and handed her a small wrapped box.
"What? Don't like my hat?" he asked, pretending offense. This, T'Pol was familiar with, although she was at a loss to really understand it. The religious overtones of the holiday made sense to her. Santa Claus did not. However, it seemed to matter very little to her human companions and so she let it go.
"No, I love it," Sato countered happily. "If you'll excuse me, Commanders, I'm going to find a quiet corner and open my present. Have fun!"
Ensign Mayweather echoed her sentiment and the two friends walked away, chatting and smiling. Another thing T'Pol did not quite understand was how most of her colleagues seemed to become happy all at once at this time of year. It was to varying degrees, of course, and she’d noticed that some became less happy than usual, but for the most part, a pervading sense of joy underlined this time of year, to the point that T'Pol could not ignore it had she wished to. Trip had explained to her that it had to do with good memories and the very point of the holiday, whether one was religious or not, to enjoy friends and family. Theoretically, it made sense. But in practice, it was almost disconcerting.
Still, she would not change it if she could. It was much easier to work with people who were determined to be in a good mood.
"What is the point of mistletoe?" she asked, picking up the thread of their previous conversation.
"People hang it over doors and it's supposed to be that when you stand under it, someone hasta kiss you," he answered, his eyes on the mistletoe and a faint smile on his face.
"You are forced to kiss someone?" she asked skeptically. That did not seem like a very pleasing custom.
"Well, it's not like someone holds a pistol to your head," he said with a laugh. "But people'll probably tease ya until you do. It’s not real common nowadays, but my parents always had some. Not that Dad needed an excuse to kiss Mama, but he liked catching her under the thing a lot anyway. It's just for fun."
"I see." It certainly didn't sound fun. "There wasn't any at last year's party," she noted.
Trip nodded. "Yeah, it was Jon's idea. I think he's hoping to snag a kiss from a certain someone, if you catch my drift."
She did. Captain Archer and Lt. Reed had begun a romantic relationship several months ago and T'Pol could tell by the way Archer had been smiling non-stop since then that he was very pleased with it. It did not surprise her that he would wish to invoke a custom with romantic overtones. And yet, something about it did not add up.
"I was under the impression that Lt. Reed was not comfortable with physical displays of affection in public." While it probably shouldn't matter, his reticence had been a source of comfort to T'Pol. It was pleasing to know she was not alone in her opinion on the matter.
"Yeah, but mistletoe's different," he said before taking another sip of the punch. T'Pol unconsciously raised an eyebrow.
"I don't see how."
Trip started to answer, but paused, his eyes going back to the door. "Just watch."
She looked back to see Lt. Reed walking through the door. Archer jumped into his path, catching his arm and exchanging words with him while pointing to the small plant. Instead of the shying away she'd expected, a grin broke out on Reed's face and he allowed his partner to plant an enthusiastic kiss on his lips. His face flushed red, but other than that, T'Pol saw no signs of protest. The two men then walked off, hand in hand, talking to one another as if it hadn't happened at all and T'Pol saw that no one else was giving them a second glance. She turned back to Trip, nonplussed.
"I don't understand."
"It's just a weird tradition, T'Pol. I don't think it's supposed to make sense. People expect people to kiss under it. Malcolm knows nobody’s going to think less of him for kissin' his man in front of them. Hell, like I said, they'd probably tease him until he did. It's better to just kiss and get it over with than bring that on himself."
"So, if it were not for the mistletoe, he would not have done it."
Trip shrugged. "Probably not. Or maybe so. I dunno. Maybe he's getting into the Christmas spirit."
The Christmas spirit. T'Pol didn't think she was capable of it. "If you say so," she finally said reluctantly. Trip laughed and placed his hand lightly on her back to steer her towards the end of the table where plates of food lay out.
"I do say so. Now help me pick something to eat."
T'Pol knew he could make his own choices, but she also knew he liked hearing her opinion on things, so they spent the next few moments picking out his meal and then hers while moving on to other subjects. One of them was Christmas presents. T'Pol had agreed to exchange gifts with him that year and still wasn't sure what to get for him. It did not help that he kept evading the topic, telling her he wanted to see what she'd choose for him. In return, she'd threatened to give him the complete works of Surak, which just seemed to amuse him more than anything.
The conversation continued as they chose seats near the tree and sat to eat their food, T'Pol equipped with a fork Trip put aside especially for her, knowing she did not like touching her food. While she carefully ate small cubes of cheese, she found her eyes once again drawn to the mistletoe and could not stop her eyebrows from rising in surprise when she saw Archer kiss Sato on the lips.
"The Captain is kissing Ensign Sato," she told him, managing to keep her surprise out of her tone, despite noticing that Lt. Reed stood nearby watching them and laughing. "Doesn't it bother Lt. Reed?"
Trip shook his head, swallowing a large mouthful of cream puff with some difficulty. "No," he finally choked. "It's not like that. Everyone kisses everyone. It's not supposed to be really intimate."
Something resembling alarm entered her mind. "I thought it was only for partners." The thought of kissing someone that wasn't Trip for any reason did not sit well with her. Especially in front of the entire crew.
"Nope. S'for everyone." He gave her a shrewd look. "You'll be safe if you just stay away from it. 'Sides, I'm pretty sure people'd make an exception for you."
She nodded, relieved. She appreciated that her fellow crewmembers did not expect her to take part in activities they knew would make her uncomfortable. Despite Trip's earlier words, she considered a kiss to be very intimate. It wasn't appropriate to display intimacy publicly.
"And anyway, I want you to save up all your kisses for me." He leaned in very slightly. "I'll be wanting to use them later."
The brief glance she gave him in return was the only indication she allowed herself that she too was very much looking forward to that time. "I'll be sure to stay away from the mistletoe in that case," she said quietly, returning to her food. She felt him shift beside her and knew there was most likely a large grin on his face. Sometimes she appreciated how predictable her partner was.
The rest of the evening passed pleasantly. Once they’d finished eating, they stood and milled around the room, talking to their colleagues as friends. Music played in the background, all manner of religious and secular holiday songs T'Pol was only beginning to learn. At one point, a song entitled "Jingle Bells" began to play and T'Pol was forced to retreat into the crowds with Dr. Phlox in order to avoid hearing her mate singing the tune at the top of his lungs right into her ear. Several of the crew approached her to ask if she wanted anything for the holiday and while she very much appreciated them including her in their traditions, she told them politely it was unnecessary. The only reason she'd agreed to celebrate it with Trip was because of their relationship. She did not wish for others to feel obligated to bestow gifts upon her as well. And it seemed like they understood, or at least T'Pol didn't percieve that any offense was taken.
During all of this, T'Pol made sure to keep her eye on the mistletoe, curiosity about the custom keeping her interested in the crew's interactions under the plant. All night long, couples drifted in and out from under the mistletoe, the kisses ranging from mere pecks to long heated kisses that slightly embarrassed her. Amazement flared in her mind as she saw people who were not otherwise very friendly kiss each other, as half of established couples kissed other people and as people that Trip had told her liked each other, but had not admitted to it kissed each other. Apparently, this mistletoe was a very powerful symbol.
"Trip?" T'Pol asked him as the evening wore down. They were once again seated on one of the couches, Trip's face flushed with happiness and not a little of the orange punch.
"Yeah?"
"I have been watching the mistletoe this evening and I can't help, but notice that that is the fifth time that Captain Archer has 'caught' Lt. Reed under it."
Trip turned his gaze on the lip-locked couple, one eye shut as he studied them. "Yeah. I guess, you know...they like kissing."
That was obvious. It was strange to see them this way, now that T'Pol thought about it. She had known, of course, when the relationship had started, Captain Archer being unable to keep it from either herself or Trip, but she'd never once given thought to their intimate activities. Seeing them wrapped up in each other, now oblivious to anyone else in the room was odd, though she was pleased they were happy with one another.
Something occurred to her and she fixed Trip with a thoughtful look. "Is it possible that Lt. Reed wished to be caught under the mistletoe?"
Trip chuckled. "They're dating, T'Pol. I think that means Malcolm likes to kiss him."
"That's not what I meant," she said, resisting the urge to poke him in the side. "I meant, is it possible that Lt. Reed is using the mistletoe as an excuse to touch Captain Archer openly without fearing making himself or others uncomfortable?"
He nodded slowly, apparently giving it some deal of thought. "You know, I think maybe you could be right about that. Malcolm's all about rules and regulations, but I know he's got to want to show people Jon belongs to him. That's just human nature."
Human nature. Intellectually, T'Pol knew that every race in the universe was complex and that misunderstanding could easily result when two of those races interacted with one another. But she could not help feeling, perhaps illogically, that humans were even more complex than usual. Everyone in the crew by now knew that Archer and Reed were dating exclusively and yet, Reed was willing to put aside his personal rules for one evening in order to make certain of that. It was perplexing.
"I had not doubted the issue, myself," she commented, making Trip smile and lean more closely against her.
"No one doubts. He just wants sometimes for people to see evidence. Nothing huge, you know, just a little thing." He nodded towards them and T'Pol saw that they were no longer kissing or hugging, just standing close and talking quietly. "Just a little thing."
T'Pol wondered if Trip were speaking only for Lt. Reed or for himself as well. Their discussions on open affection remained in her mind, clearly indicating Trip's desire to ensure her comfort. But, as a human, he must feel the same urges as Lt. Reed and Captain Archer. She said nothing for a long while, just sat next to Trip and contemplated the topic.
Eventually, Trip stood and stretched, looking down at her with a soft smile on his face and held out his hand. "I'm getting tired, babe. You wanna get out of here?"
"Yes." She stood as well, keeping the amusement at her latest nickname off her face and took his hand. They'd agreed that this was not an unacceptable form of physical contact and she found she enjoyed feeling their bond come alive at the touch, even in public. They walked around the room, saying goodbye to the few partygoers remaining, including Archer and Reed who sat hidden at the back of the room fighting over the last of the chocolate cake. As they left them and approached the front of the room, the mistletoe hanging at a jaunty angle above the door frame, T'Pol realized she knew exactly what to give Trip for Christmas.
"Trip," she said, stopping and tugging on his hand until he'd walked back into the room a little, giving her a confused look.
"What?"
Taking a deep breath, she moved closer to him and allowed a faint smile to grow on her lips. "Merry Christmas," she said, remembering the proper phrase at the last moment and leaning up to give him a chaste kiss on the mouth. She felt him stiffen with surprise briefly before relaxing into the kiss, sliding an arm around her waist to prolong their contact. The bond thrummed gently with his pleasure at her touch and she returned the sentiment, knowing that she was safe in this situation, the mistletoe providing an excellent way to maneuver around the rules.
He broke away from the kiss before she did, telling her that he was still thinking of her comfort and she felt a surge of appreciation for him. He smiled at her, wonder and love lighting his eyes. "Thank you," he murmured, pulling her into a quick hug before releasing her. A strange expression came over his face then, a mixture of amusement and annoyance. She turned and saw that the remaining partygoers were staring openmouthed at them.
"I thought you said it was expected for people to kiss under the mistletoe," she accused lightly, turning back to him. He held up his hands and laughed.
"I guess you know, like I said, making an exception for you."
Typical, T'Pol thought to herself, and then shrugged off any potential embarrassment. It was too late to take it back and as she took his hand to lead him away to her quarters, it occurred to her that it did not matter what anyone thought about them.
She had the protection of the mistletoe.
END
no subject
Date: 2006-12-11 04:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-12 06:54 am (UTC)Jenn