Commander Tucker (helluvaengineer) wrote in toboldlyrpg, @ 2017-07-01 22:57:00 |
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Entry tags: | ! enterprise, - crew quarters, ^ log, t'pol | star trek: enterprise, trip tucker | star trek: enterprise |
Trip Tucker & T'Pol [Backdated] T'Pol's Arrival T'Pol's Quarters Kissing, Implied sexytimes, death TALK COMPLETE |
Being on the future Enterprise was something else. There were decades of technology to get caught up on, which was proving an exciting challenge, but it was also a kind of surreal experience, with all the improvements and changes. There was also the fact that he wasn’t chief engineer, here, which might have been the hardest thing to adjust yo out of everything. Still, it was hardly the worst experience with time travel he’d had and he was settling in alright. It was nice having Malcolm around, as much as the man could get on his nerves at times. Seeing Hoshi and T’Pol pop up was even better. He couldn’t help hoping some of the others would come through, too, Captain Archer, especially. It didn’t take him long to track down T’Pol’s quarters and his hand hovered over the button on the wall for just a moment before pressing it, waiting for her acknowledgement before he’d step inside. T’Pol had been surprised enough to find herself in the future, on a future Enterprise no less, but nothing could have prepared her for the shock of discovering Trip was here. Trip was alive and well and the emotion inside her upon that discovery would not be suppressed. It was almost overwhelming the intense relief and happiness which had run through her. The moment the chime on her door went she answered it and let him in immediately. “Trip” she said upon seeing him, unable to stop the small smile appearing on her face at seeing him there in front of her. “Hey, you.” Trip gave T’Pol a lopsided grin that grew at the smile on her face. “See, you are happy to see me,” he teased her as he stepped inside. Her quarters looked a lot like his and completely different from the ones they'd had on their Enterprise. All the difference were something he was still getting used to. “How long have I been [...] gone?” he asked her. He'd read the history on his PADD. He knew he hadn't survived the night he'd arrived here in his own time. Malcolm was before all that had happened, but it was obvious it was something T’Pol had lived through. Seeing that familiar smile even T’Pol couldn’t deny the pang that went through her, she had thought never to see that smile again and now here they were. “Perhaps I am” she allowed, giving in a little knowing that he knew she was no matter what she claimed. “Not long. I was packing up your things before I arrived here” she told him, it had affected her deeply. It had been the closest she had ever come to expressing emotion through tears as humans did so often. Obviously her time among them had affected her. Packing his things. Trip swallowed back a lump in his throat at her words and tried to think of something to say. What did you say in a situation like this? “Hope there wasn't anything too embarrassing in there,” he quipped, even as he moved closer to her. She might not wear her emotions as obviously as most humans, but he knew they were there. He remembered their conversation in the shuttlepod not long before those events, he knew how close they were even as friends and he knew how his death would have affected her, because it would have been the same for him had their roles been reversed. “I'm sorry,” he said after a beat, standing so close that he could easily reach out and touch her if he wanted. Something held him back. Maybe it was the 6 years that had passed since they'd stopped being involved romantically, maybe it was something else, but it gave him pause. Trip had always known her more than anybody else, more than she knew herself at times, which had been the cause of much annoyance. While their physical and romantic relationship had ended their friendship had continued and losing him had been like a physical blow to her. Made worse with the realisation that her feelings for him had not dimmed in the years since their personal relationship had finished. She opened her mouth to tell him it was not something he needed to apologise for but his sudden proximity stopped her and instead she found herself moving closer and pressing her lips to his. As had happened before it seemed her body had decided things instead of her brain but for now she went with it. It wasn't the first time T’Pol had unexpectedly kissed him in the middle of a conversation, but this time was no less surprising than the others. Despite that, it only took Trip a very brief moment to sink into the embrace, sliding an arm around her waist to pull her close as he returned the kiss. In that moment, it didn't exactly feel like it had been six years since their last kiss. At the same time, it did feel like it had been a while. It was like coming home after a long journey. Somehow, this intimacy with T’Pol managed to make him simultaneously feel like every nerve of his body was on fire and feel completely at peace. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed that feeling until that moment. When he pulled away what felt like several moments later, Trip’s breathing was ragged and his thoughts jumbled. He didn't know what it meant. He didn't know what he wanted it to mean or maybe he just didn't want to admit it. When he finally found his voice to speak, one word came out in a rough whisper. “T’Pol.” It definitely seemed to be a thing with her, there generally tended not to be any warning before she kissed him. Mostly, perhaps, because she wasn’t sure exactly what to say so taking action made much more sense to her. And to Trip too it seemed since he had responded quickly, much to her relief. Similar things were running through T’Pol’s mind, how could this feel so right after so long? There were a million reasons why they wouldn’t work, shouldn’t work but they did. In almost every way they fit together well and it was reassuring as well as a little startling to realise that hadn’t changed in the years they had been apart. “I missed you” she admitted somewhat awkwardly, as was her way when she was talking about feelings only this time it was made even more awkward by the fact that she had just kissed him. She’d said those words in the shuttlepod, more or less and he’d realized maybe he did miss her, too. It was something he tried not to think about too much. Mostly, he thought he’d moved on, but standing here with her now, he wasn’t so sure. “I’m having a real hard time remembering why exactly it was we broke up at the moment,” he murmured, maintaining a closeness to her, at least as much as he could get away with. That was probably a bad idea; it was hard to think rationally when they were standing this near one another. T’Pol knew she had not moved on, no matter how she acted to the contrary. Trip had gotten under her skin and in her mind far more than he ever should have, yet she found it was more of a comfort than anything else. Especially now that he was here and unharmed. “After everything with Terra Prime it seemed the most logical course of action” T’Pol said though she didn’t sound entirely convinced and she didn’t move away either. Which in itself said far more than her words. “Logic had nothing to do with it,” Trip countered, shaking his head. He noticed that she hadn’t stepped back from him and took that as a sign that she didn’t buy that excuse anymore than he did. They’d both been hurt in their own ways by losing their child. It hadn’t mattered that it had been a clone. Trip had loved her from the moment he learned of her existence and he was sure T’Pol had felt the same way. It hadn’t been easy to deal with and he suspected it was what had pushed them apart, but it wasn’t because of any logic, no matter what she tried to claim. If anything it had been the opposite of logic, relying on each other to get through their loss would have been a far more sensible course of action but that had not been what they had done. They had instead distanced themselves from each other until they had reached a point they couldn’t find their way back. “Losing her was more difficult than I had anticipated” she finally admitted, especially since it had been avoidable. If not for a badly done job she would have been as healthy and happy as any other child. It had been that which T’Pol had struggled with the most. Trip wasn’t good with loss. He’d been hard to deal with after the Xindi attack on Earth destroyed his home, killed his sister and it seemed he hadn’t learned any better to process grief. He’d pushed T’Pol away as much as she’d kept her distance. There wasn’t anyone to blame, really, but he knew their growing apart had been at least somewhat her fault. “Are you saying you want to try again?” he asked her. It wasn’t going to do them any good to dissect the cause of their breakup. Neither of them could change what had happened. They could only decide what to do with their future, now that he actually had one. They were equally to blame, they’d both handled everything badly and the end result had been what it had been. But perhaps here they could change that, or at least give themselves a chance. “I would not be averse to that, if it is something you would want” T’Pol replied, watching closely for Trip’s reaction. “Would not be averse,” he repeated, rolling his eyes. “What do you want, T’Pol?” It was maybe a little mean, but he wanted her to admit she wanted to be with him. The more she tried to use logic, the more he wanted to get her to cop to an emotion. T’Pol gave him her version of a frustrated look, she used to give him it a lot when he pushed her into admitting her emotions. But she replied, even if she had been hopeful that he'd let her get away with it, “I want to try again” she told him. “Good,” he said, satisfied with her admission, “because that’s what I want, too.” He pulled her close then, leaning down to kiss her again, only this time he had no intention of pulling away anytime soon. |