A/N: Just a quick little thing to tide you guys over. This is merely speculation on the classic F/P origin tale. Denobulans are one of my favorite alien races, and it's no secret to anyone that reads Intertwining Destinies that I have a soft spot for Feezal in particular.

Denobulans do have a mating cycle as they do a hibernation period, usually lasting at least a week and diminishing in urgency with age. The women are the sexual aggressors, as you can deduce from what I've written here. I lifted inspiration from a few lines of dialogue in Stigma, in which Phlox and Feezal are discussing matters back home. I believe that they may have crossed paths initially some time before 2140, meaning that they were professionals, but quite young at that. Anything else you recognize, I don't own.

Thank you as always to BonesBird for her invaluable beta services. This work is rated T for innuendo and safety, and is completed as published. Prepare for unbridled FWP...that is, Fluff Without Plot.

Denobulan for Desperate

She was making eyes at him. There was no mistaking it.

The woman sitting across the bar from him was attractive by anyone's standards, what with her wavy blonde locks and trim build. She was dressed provocatively, but not ostentatiously, in a curve hugging violet sheath that left little to the imagination. Her cranial ridges were impossibly high, drawing attention away from her enormous blue eyes and delicate pout. And now, as she slid off of her stool and began to wander in his direction, he found himself thinking that she would be an excellent candidate for this evening's fling.

Out of all the night clubs in the Kaybin District, she had chosen that one, and of all the men studying her from across the way, she had chosen him.

A pointed glance and a dismissive wave of a hand sent his neighbor fleeing. The temptress gracefully assumed position beside him, offering a disarming smile that could have easily rivaled his own…on any other day of the year.

He shifted uncomfortably under her discerning gaze, and was distinctly aware of how much he was perspiring. This typically was not his way, to pick up a potential mate in an illicit manner, but he had few options remaining. He had only one wife and only one co-husband to speak of, both of whom were away on business. Atara and Lenir could care for each other, but as for him…?

He should have seen it coming. During the sweltering evenings that preceded the start of his people's mating season, he had seen a steady stream of patients seeking his expertise on injuries they had sustained during amorous activities. Their mating time often swept through like an epidemic, affecting only a handful of individuals, who aroused the interest of their primary spouses, their co-partners, and so on. Soon, every citizen above a certain age was otherwise occupied, and it was a wonder that the good people of Denobula could get anything done during those gadabout summer weeks.

Before he could wager a comment to break the ice, she leaned in to nuzzle his cheek, one of the more intimate displays of affection permitted in public. Breaking away almost instantly, she had to shout to be heard over the pounding music. "I'm Feezal."

"Phlox," he replied, offering her a sip of his beverage. She accepted, took a long, slow drag, never breaking eye contact with her unwitting prey.

"Phlox," she repeated, swallowing thickly. "You'll be taking me home tonight."

He was a taken aback by her forwardness, and a little amused. But it was his people's way to play a little coy, at first refusing a female's advances before invariably giving in. "What makes you think I'm about to do that?" He scoffed.

"Because you're desperate," she licked her lips, "and so am I."

There were no falsehoods spoken there. Kicking back from the bar with renewed enthusiasm, he soon found himself in no mood to resist this woman's romantic overtures.

"Let's get out of here."

-0-

A short week later, the physician found himself striding down the halls of one of the hospital's many research institutes, reaping the benefits of a surge of youthful energy and also feeling acutely pleased with himself.

Four lovers in seven days. It was a fond tradition of the Denobulans to take a mate for each evening of their fever, but he had never been one to adhere to convention. He had even returned to work on the final day, only to return to his flat in the company of a certain beguiling colleague.

Leeza was a promising neurosurgeon new to the practice, having taken a second career after a prior venture into business had fallen short of expectations. She had sought his counsel in identifying some of the bacteria collected from the brain stem of a recently deceased specimen of a Kriosian primate. They stood in silence for a few moments, the woman studying how he adjusted the coarse focuses on the microscope, before she had wagered to make a particularly potent innuendo about his treatment of fine equipment. And the rest, as they say, made for an entertaining evening.

Several hundred yards down the hall, he observed his supervisor, a flamboyant internist named Groznik, engrossed in conversation with a woman he could only see in profile. He spoke rather animatedly, pointing and making various hand gestures to emphasize his point. His accomplice nodded, pausing briefly to scribble down a few notes on her data PADD. She laughed suddenly, tossing her head back in a display of her unsuppressed mirth.

Phlox's breath caught in his throat when he finally realized who it was. The woman from the bar, now dressed for work and sporting a starched lab coat, was here!

He had nearly been stricken melancholy when he woke up and discovered that she was nowhere to be found. Sure, it was to be expected that she had more pressing matters to attend to, but…what was it that a monogamous species would have done? Phlox had almost considered tracking her down, asking friends who he knew had been circuiting the bars that evening if they had come across a mesmerizing, tow haired siren with a melodious voice and a tendency to swing her hips when she walked. It was true that of all the lovers he had taken during his mating cycle, she was the one that had stuck in his mind.

Perhaps he could sneak past the conversing twosome without attracting their attention. Flattening his back to the wall, he sucked in his gut and crept toward the next hall junction.

His escape attempt was cut short when his supervisor caught a glimpse of him through his peripheral vision. "Phlox! Welcome back!"

He froze, screwing his eyes shut and taking a deep, cleansing breath. "Hello, sir. It's good to be back."

Groznik beamed, a twinkle in his eye as if he was in on the joke. "You'll be pleased to know that you didn't miss much during your leave of absence. We do, however, have a new colleague in the quantum optics department—"

"Dr. Feezal," he interrupted, affording a glance in her direction. Clearly, the woman was enjoying his discomfort. "Yes, we've met."

"Have you, now?" The older gentleman examined the way he shifted uncomfortably, and the manner in which his female companion smirked with satisfaction.

"Indeed we have," Feezal edged closer to him, finally stopping a bit closer than what was considered appropriate. "Dr. Phlox is the reason why I was late to my orientation last weekend, although, I assure you, what we were engaged in very much warranted my tardiness."

He was agape. His people were typically open with their romantic endeavors, but Feezal had pretty much just bragged of his prowess to the very man who could terminate his employment for fraternization at any moment.

He was relieved when Groznik found her comment amusing, his jovial laughter echoing off the walls of the corridor. "Well, Phlox, I suspected that you had a particular softness for intelligent women, especially because our very own Dr. Leeza boasted of your talents in the board meeting this morning to anyone within earshot."

That was it. That was the comment that would be the death of him. Out of the corner of his eye, he observed Feezal huff with disdain. Denobulan women were notoriously territorial, and clearly she was no exception.

Noticing that a queer sort of awkward silence had descended on the group, the elder physician sought to remedy the situation. Clapping his hands together, he quipped, "So, Phlox, when should I expect the invitation to your second nuptials?"

Feezal tittered at that, although even to Phlox her merriment sounded forced. "That seems a little drastic, Dr. Groznik, when he has plenty of time to consider more attractive options."

The double meaning was clearly not lost on him. Suddenly, the older man seemed to get the hint. "I wouldn't concern yourself with Leeza, my dear boy. I believe she might already have three husbands." Nodding slightly to his colleagues, he swiftly took his leave.

The pair stood still in laden silence for a few moments before Feezal spoke up. "You'll be escorting me to my office now."

Phlox dipped his head in submission and in the time honored way of the men of his race. When a woman spoke with such conviction and domineering spirit, who was he to question her?

"It really is quite a coincidence," he marveled quietly, once the two had made some progress through the labyrinthine halls of the research institute.

"I wouldn't wager to call it that," Feezal paused to allow him to catch up with her. They now walked abreast, as equals in every way.

"What might we call it, then?" He was curious. She made quick work of the locking mechanism affixed to her office door, before beckoning him to follow her inside.

Once the egress had slid shut behind them, the woman stood on her toes to press her cheek to his, their breath intermingling for a precious few seconds. Stepping back, she allowed him to take stock of his surroundings. The chamber was mostly bare, save for a thick wooden desk shoved into the corner of the room, weighed down with unpacked storage receptacles. Yet, she appeared to light up the room, causing him to smile blithely and unconsciously step closer.

"I think it might be destiny."

The End