Tea & Vulcans
Author: T'Riva
Pairing: Sa/himself, K/himself, K/Sa?
Acknowledgements: I would like to thank Selek for the fabulous beta read.
Disclaimer: Paramount owns these guys, I just take them out to play and don't get paid.
Summary: A young Sarek is inadvertently visited by Captain Kirk, who 'in almost a different reality' considers satisfying his curiosity about the more vulnerable and less-wizened ambassador.
Constructive criticism ALWAYS welcome!
Chapter 1
Captain Kirk sat at the sun-dappled café among the twists and turns of fickle breezes just outside the United Federation of Planets complex. He sipped a "house-special" guava-pomegranate margarita as a cover when he noticed Ambassador Sarek at a nearby table. He felt shock and amusement roil through him and realized that he was transfixed by this young version of the ambassador who had likely just been posted to Earth, years from being Spock's father, not yet even Amanda's husband; a free agent on his new sojourn to Earth, likely full of wonder and contradiction to the wide-eyed, young Vulcan.
He sat among a group of the younger diplomats, as if in between classes at a university, exchanging the latest. He looked relaxed and absorbed in all that went on around him, not yet the taut, eminent, and well-recognized politico.
Kirk caught his attention. Sarek stared at him, curiosity apparent. A softer, more open expression, but the same well-trimmed, though somewhat thinner, physique and glittering eyes he remembered clearly upon their meeting on the journey to Babel. His looks, charm and bearing reminding Kirk of the young Cary Grant he'd seen on board during the last "Big E Movie Night." Kirk wasn't supposed to run into him, but pinpointing events in the time portal was never perfectly accurate. It turned out he had almost a day to kill, and now an overwhelming desire at least to meet this interesting man at a more vulnerable and less-wizened age.
Kirk's visit was merely an 'audit' anyway, to compare to previous recordings after an accidental transfer by a time portal tech of necessary supplies here instead of almost twenty years later. A 'stop and go', which should have given him an interesting 5-10 hour contemporary history lesson, but would now stretch overnight.
Kirk sighed, but smiled at his newfound opportunity to satisfy his curiosity. Ambassador Sarek was a difficult man to garner for personal study. Kirk had always been a history buff, and this man 'created' history, but his more personal side, what few knew or understood, was what intrigued Kirk, and Sarek had a very private nature.
The Vulcan looked so fresh-faced, appearing far younger than even Kirk himself -gleaming, wavy jet-black hair and a thinner, more angular face than he remembered, reminding Kirk of the faces of male models used to sell expensive clothing and hair products on the vid. The humor that the Vulcan held a tight rein on later in life danced in his eyes and touched on his lips with some frequency.
From the expressions and relaxed postures about him, he appeared to fit in among this diverse group, and the constant interactions showed he was well received though Kirk knew he couldn't have been on Earth long. Kirk remembered Spock saying that his father had always been quite popular, no matter the species he interacted with. Kirk imagined it must have always been a frustration to Spock, who had difficulty making friends, even socializing in general.
Kirk saw the confidence, almost verve in Sarek. It was clear he wanted to experience this world and these people with the same thirst that must have brought his son into the stars twenty years later. Sarek, by his sheer desire to experience all around him, made you want to approach and feel his enthusiasm. He saw quickly what Amanda fell in love with even without the proof of his devotion, integrity, and passion for justice.
He was amused to see Sarek drinking what appeared to be a Long Island Iced Tea by the signature umbrella and half slice of orange adorning it. He wondered if the Vulcan realized the ingredients, or at least the effects, of sugar on his Vulcan system yet. He hoped so. Vulcans were an extremely curious species, so much so that it commonly got them into trouble. Early on, there was likely little information to direct Vulcans, and few warnings to follow. Sarek had been one of the first to interact so freely and over such lengthy periods.
He'd once heard from an old emergency room doctor friend that when a Vulcan arrived, it was usually for doing something he should've realized he shouldn't have, like consuming something warned about. He remembered Amanda's stories of her husband trying every type of non-meat food about him, and suffering often when too curious for his own good. Kirk had to wonder if Sarek had been the inadvertent guinea pig for much of the research that spawned the long lists of warnings for Vulcans.
Most of the younger diplomats around their table left, leaving only Sarek and two other important-looking men in their mid and late thirties. They both seemed fascinated with Sarek and the three talked on. Kirk moved to a closer table, too curious about the conversation, as well as for possible hints for redirecting Sarek into his own company.
"So, how's the wife taking the move to Earth, Sarek?" the older of the two asked.
Sarek looked taken aback momentarily, but recovered quickly with the slightest of smiles, almost as if the human had been dissembling, which Kirk thought curious. "I am unmarried," he said. His strong Vulcan accent took Kirk by surprise, after hearing the ambassador speak so often in well-publicized speeches and at conferences, in the much-noted beautiful, rich baritone so articulately in Federation Standard, he had somehow thought the ambassador always spoke that way, though with a little thought, that made little sense as it wasn't his native language. Kirk found he had to concentrate a little harder to decipher exactly what Sarek was saying.
The two other men exchanged long, meaningful glances and seemed to appraise Sarek more closely with tweaks of smiles themselves.
"I've never met an unmarried Vulcan," the older man said. "I had thought you folk were born that way-two by two, as they say."
Sarek looked amused at that. "I am the first un…married Vulcan my government has allowed to come to Earth." Kirk realized that Sarek had almost said 'unbonded', and remembered the expectation of T'Pau in those early years, in fact for long after, that as little information as possible be imparted about their home planet. Kirk had learned later that Sarek had been vehemently against that policy, and that it had done exactly as Sarek argued it would-caused the Vulcans to be distanced and to appear as far more alien and untrustworthy in those early days.
The younger of the two men, who had yet to speak since Kirk had moved closer said, "Well you'll certainly be popular," as he obviously surveyed Sarek's body and face, grinning.
Sarek looked vaguely confused.
Kirk frowned at the implication. Both men leaned closer to Sarek and smiled at each other. A certain gleam in their eyes made clear their intentions. To Kirk, at least. Sarek looked oblivious of the sudden change in the mood at the table, almost lost in thought.
Kirk realized that Sarek's line of sight had been intercepted by a tight bottom and length of bare thigh under a very short skirt for a beautiful, young woman settling into the next table. He noticed Sarek seemed to drink in the view before caught by the woman, who laughed and smiled, obviously enjoying the ambassador's indiscretion. Sarek appeared to blush and suppress an obvious smile and cleared his throat. She sat and twisted in the seat to offer up even more thigh and tossed her hair back before winking at Sarek. He pulled his attention from her, refocusing on his companions.
The older man of the two waved at a passing waiter. "Another drink for the new ambassador over here!" He turned back to Sarek. "So how did one so young get this plum of a post? What are you, twenty-five?" Kirk had to wonder if the average Vulcan life-span of 250 years was not yet common knowledge, and that Vulcans thereby aged much more slowly than humans.
Sarek stiffened and his eyes glazed. He looked as if he were having difficulty with the answer, if not the question, and instead downed the rest of the potent beverage. Kirk struggled to remember why Sarek would've been so suddenly uncomfortable, and realized, with a sick feeling that he did know.
The younger man piped up, saving Sarek some misery, "God, Jenner, how could you forget, the previous Vulcan ambassador was assassinated—Skon-that was his name. Seemed pleasant enough, but one of the muckety-mucks we could never get near."
His heart leapt to his throat. By their only vaguely sad reactions, Kirk realized that they'd no idea that Skon was Sarek's father. Hell, he hadn't known until he researched Spock's family just after the bomb was dropped that the Ambassador Sarek and Lady Amanda, themselves, were Spock's parents.
Kirk had always been aware of the masterful Vulcan Ambassador and his beautiful wife so full of grace always on the vid, had once seen them, in person, stepping from a limousine when Christmas shopping in downtown San Francisco when he was a young lieutenant. But he had little reason before to watch vid reports of much beyond the general sweep of the political arena that might involve the ships he served on, and of course…
And here he blushed and felt guilty, to watch some of the outrageous hype about the couple and then family, gawking at the little Vulcan often carried and later led about by one the parents, shielded from the cameras as best they could before he seemed to disappear altogether. Vulcans' obsession for privacy, in general, led to a mystery of family connection where relations were concerned. Spock's family, in particular, seemed almost religiously devoted to such seclusion as to be almost clandestine in their daily life. It fascinated Kirk that he had not even connected the little Vulcan being carried and tugged about on the vid with the lanky science officer who became his second-in-command and closest friend not long after.
Kirk had to wonder if it was because of their elite status as descendants of Surak, their influence on Vulcan as leading clan under the matriarch T'Pau, or Sarek's and later Spock's notoriety-Sarek for cementing the Federation by drawing in so many important planets; solidifying it as a whole with vast reforms allowing for fair representation and a multi-race perspective instead of the biased human-only view that engendered resentment and misunderstanding. Then he also married a human, creating the first Vulcan/Human marriage, spawning fireworks of both romantic support and protest across the Federation.
And the notoriety for Spock, burgeoned for his accomplishments in Starfleet as the first Vulcan, as well as part of the best command team in the history of the Federation, but also because he had been the first Vulcan/Human hybrid. It must have been a constant fight to feel some semblance of normalcy-like growing up in a royal family.
It was Kirk's years with Spock that taught him to understand and even to read other Vulcans better than most ever thought possible. Other than the healers, Spock was actually harder to read than most. Spock's traces of emotion were slight compared to what Sarek presented. Kirk was astonished, that he could read this Vulcan so easily, but then as he began to think back, Sarek had always seemed much more emotional than Spock, which seemed quite ironic with Spock's insecurity at not being full Vulcan and Sarek's disappointments throughout their lives at Spock's not following the 'Vulcan Way.'
Sarek had always seemed moody, with his much-noted volatile temper, his disappointment with Spock seeming to boil off of him in waves and his love for Amanda shining like a beacon whenever he looked upon her.
Sarek stared at the now-empty glass, the grief in his eyes apparent even to Kirk at the next table. He doubted the other two men noticed, especially when they were honed in on Sarek's body and the possibilities for such.
The waiter approached with another round, and the men snatched Sarek's empty from his hand and slipped another into the frozen grasp. His eyes had not strayed, even though the focus of his stare had been discarded and replaced.
"Drink up, my raven-haired prodigy. Not many days cut short by administrative strikes!" Sarek grimaced at the reminder of the loss of most of the workday; his seeming minimal impact lessened even more. He had arrived that morning to find no support staff and decided he could manage, until he was asked to leave the building as even the environmental and security staffs were leaving for the day to prompt the Federation to improve the benefits package up for renewal. Sarek thought it illogical that all sides couldn't simply discuss and compromise without such unnecessary sabotage creating inefficiency.
Sarek downed much of the glass, as requested, with hardly a thought at compliance to something so unnecessary. They had come here for refreshment, but the caffeine in what must be non-herbal tea was dehydrating him it seemed, almost to the point of dizziness. He was finding his controls faltering also, though he had meditated that morning, even eaten a meal just the night before. He was having difficulty suppressing the grief at his father's unnecessary death that seemed so in line with this lost day. How would he survive so much pointless waste? How did humans bear such day to day?
He was beginning to feel despair edging into his conscious thought, imagining what his father would have said, what T'Pau might say should he accomplish little due to such inefficiency. This human government was incomprehensible. For every small accomplishment, he met with several worse failures. His father once said that the important element was connecting to your compatriots, aligning for more power. That in order to connect and align, one had to understand by close contact. He almost smiled; if his father could see him now.
He wondered if his father sought such diversion as recreation, but some of the elder human diplomats made clear that to only work would alienate him, that he had to rest and recreate, especially with others he needed to "get to know". It seemed only logical. But he found another "need" began to intrude. His mind sought another refuge. Since all else seemed ineffectual at this time anyway, perhaps this avenue might help to allow him some alleviation of his distress…
Kirk wondered if Sarek drank the Long Island Iced Tea down so abruptly to avoid the discussion that had so easily and unpredictably sliced without thought or intent. The men talked on, including Sarek in the conversation by gesture and looks but they didn't appear to notice his sudden distance.
Kirk couldn't help but notice their new interest in Sarek since he had mentioned his marital status, and their plying him with drinks and innuendo which he doubted Sarek even understood. He soon looked glassy-eyed and the other two men seemed too aware of his every move and the effect of the drinks on him. They were already hailing the waiter for another drink for Sarek though he was barely halfway through at least his third. Who knows how many he had had before Kirk arrived.
Kirk was sure they would hail for another, and another, if necessary, to get what they wanted of Sarek. It brought to mind the possibility that Sarek was a virgin, in fact perhaps was supposed to be for his first marriage. If he could be completely naïve in that regard. The equivalent of some innocent, sheltered and inexperienced 16-year-old girl allowed into a bar with a fake ID for the first time, and the audience of much older, more experienced males ready to indoctrinate her in the back seat of their aircars.
Kirk stepped away and circled around, appearing to run up, out of breath. "Ambassador Sarek? Sir, I've a message from the president." He looked officious and ignored the frowns of the other two. Sarek looked vaguely confused and stared at Kirk. Kirk was sure Sarek knew something Kirk couldn't even guess at that would blow his cover so he only gave the Vulcan an imploring stare and tilted his head toward an empty table further away.
The men glared at Kirk with suspicion. "Don't be too long," the older said casually. "That one's been around the block a few times." In so many ways that was ironic, but none of which he could clarify to them. Besides, he wasn't any older than those two, as a military man, he just had more mileage on 'rough terrain' though was likely in better shape!
Sarek seemed to understand that it was at least part ruse, but appeared to play along, stepping away from the two men who eyed Kirk with obvious irritation. Kirk noticed they watched Sarek's retreating form hungrily, reminding Kirk of just how young and possibly naïve Sarek was, at least with humans. He vowed to take another look at this more vulnerable, and yes, very attractive young Vulcan, before slamming the door on what might be done about it, at least for curiosity's sake. He found his mind trying to decide if this Vulcan's youthful inexperience and naïveté now, or his older version's edge, power and streaks of gray were more appealing…it was difficult to say, but he had to admit that knowing the imposing male he would become made this youthful Sarek even sexier.
He hastily reoriented his ever-present tendency at sexual predation. This was Spock's father, after all. Would be rather…as soon as he got around to the young, pretty little Amanda he'd seen holos of at Spock's home, he grinned lewdly for a stolen moment. But, on Sarek, such naiveté was temptingly inviting, as if suddenly the door had swung wide open, for an appetizer at least.
Kirk shook the idea from his head. It was just that this man would be so imposing when next they met, so in control and unapproachable that made the possibility so intriguing. Or perhaps it was that they were both so far from where they would be then, in the future, that made it seem less risky, less immoral or unethical to take advantage of the opportunity.
He drew the youthful ambassador to a table out of earshot where they sat. Kirk noticed that Sarek bumped into the back of the chair, along with his somewhat graceless movements. No doubt the drinks were starting to catch up with him. Sarek looked curious and a little suspicious himself, but there was something else Kirk couldn't identify in how Sarek appraised him. Kirk decided on being mostly honest. "I don't have a message from the president."
Sarek's expression didn't change, "That was quite evident. You failed to follow protocol for such. I am surprised my…acquaintances…didn't object to your assertion." He did not expand on this, to Kirk's irritation. "Perhaps they think you know me better than you do and require confirmation before they proceed," Sarek mused.
Kirk was distracted by Sarek's still strong accent as well as his less stern, almost casual, manner, but smiled charmingly as he was in the habit of doing to get past the rough spots and redirect others, before he realized who he was trying to distract. Surprisingly, it worked even on Sarek, as Sarek's slightly suspicious glint softened and his lips quirked. Kirk ignored the expression on Sarek that might be construed as invitation on a human. Surely, he was imagining it. "Sir…" He was not quite sure how to begin.
Sarek waited expectantly, but his eyes glimmered with amusement. He shifted his chair closer to Kirk, closer than Kirk had ever been to Sarek and realized he could smell the Vulcan's very slight, pleasant spicy scent with the slightest touch of musk, see the exact shade of maple brown?...no they were actually a dark forest green…funny he had never noticed they weren't brown, had assumed, in fact, that all Vulcan's had brown eyes. Those full lips appeared very soft before he caught himself and cleared his head.
Captain James Tiberius Kirk was a rampant heterosexual, for God's sake! While he recognized Sarek was attractive, very attractive in fact, he never imagined he might be attracted to him sexually. The idea of seduction and his possible success, should the ambassador have any such leanings, had been an amusement, a momentary power play. The previous unapproachable man he remembered contrasted with the same Vulcan's now sudden vulnerability had teased Kirk with forbidden fruit.
But something about Sarek himself was affecting Kirk. It almost seemed as if the Vulcan was oozing pheromones and teasing Kirk with his movements and expressions. And why was he sitting so close that even Kirk was tempted to back up, or to reach for that face, that thigh. He felt his breathing accelerate and realized that Sarek was staring at him. Jesus, that stare warmed him where no man's had before.
"Have I wandered into what is known as a 'pick-up joint'? Sarek asked.
Kirk laughed at that, so maybe he wasn't so naïve. "So you knew what they were up to all along?"
"I am a touch telepath. They made clear their intentions, if not by their frequent touches, then by their lustful thoughts and images that were difficult to ignore. It acted as an interesting study of Human sexual practices, as well as an inventory of their expectations and preferences. Very intriguing."
Kirk glanced back, a little befuddled by Sarek's ease at discussing the topic of sex with a complete stranger. The two men were watching Sarek like hawks watching a confused mouse for which direction it might scamper. It was hard to imagine the Sarek he knew as vulnerable in any way, but he was as yet ignorant and inexperienced of so much of Earth. Did sexually frustrated Vulcan males prey on the young, naïve, and vulnerable as Human males too often did? He doubted it.
Sarek caught Kirk's eye with an unwavering stare and a slight smile that surprised him. Was Sarek coming on to him? He swallowed and thought how bizarre his next meeting with the Vulcan ambassador of his time would be. "You did not merely interrupt to enlighten me to what was clear when the older man put his hand upon my thigh? If so, the other table is starting to sound more…appetizing."
Kirk's eyebrows rose and his mind fogged at the concept of Sarek involving himself with these men, even after it was clear what they wanted of him-likely with a mental video of their fantasy liaison they had no idea Sarek picked up on. It reminded him of something he'd heard McCoy say, that full Vulcans became sexually mature sometime near their early 60's, exactly about Sarek's age now, he realized. He wondered if it came on with a bang as a young human male's did, when almost all thought turned to sex.
Sarek cocked his head so like Spock so often did that it threw Kirk momentarily and he had to stifle a grin. Sarek cocked an eyebrow like Spock now. Kirk had to stomp on his foot to avoid the levity that would dampen his warning.
Sarek continued, "From the surprise apparent on your face I would presume you didn't approach me with similar intent?" He appeared disappointed and obviously wasn't concerned that Kirk would notice. Perhaps he hoped Kirk would divest him of his concern and offer the same sport as the others were seeking. He noticed Sarek's thigh shift closer, his arms now rested on the table-closer to Kirk. He wanted Kirk to touch him, he realized as his heart started to pump more noticeably in his chest. Sarek hoped for the same x-rated inventory of Kirk's fantasy liaison with him, perhaps was hinting that he was quite interested in some mutually beneficial activities.
End of Chapter One (Chapter Two coming soon!)
