Enchanted
"Your eyes whisper: 'Have we met?'
'Cross the room, your silhouette
starts to make its way to me.
The playful conversation starts;
counter all your quick remarks
like passing notes in secrecy.
All I can say is, it was
enchanting to meet you … "
- Taylor Swift
"A common error for a novice player," said Lieutenant Tuvok.
Marayna looked up from her kal-toh board and met the steady, almost hypnotic gaze of his dark eyes. She recognized him as Harry Kim's friend from the day before; the quiet one, who had said "No" every time Harry said "Yes" and frowned disapprovingly at her bathing suit. He was not frowning now; in fact, despite the starched uniform, she had to admit that his smooth, dark, ageless face was strikingly attractive.
"May I … ?"
She watched as he picked up a single rod and repositioned it, causing the whole chaotic jumble to glow bright blue and rearrange itself. A neat double helix became visible on the side of the board facing her.
"How beautiful … "
"Kal-toh is not about beauty," he said. "It is about finding the seeds of order even amidst profound chaos."
Tuvok waved away a holographic hostess offering him a lei, holding up his hand palm-out in a polite, but unmistakable gesture of refusal. Marayna knew that gesture; it was one she had made herself, more times than she could count. No, I don't want to go to that party. No, I don't want a drink. No, I'd prefer to go home and study. That was the moment she knew she had finally met her match.
She was so tired of being Marayna the nebula-keeper, too shy and awkward to speak to anyone but her computer. Tonight she was Marayna the hologram, beautiful, admired, free to tell this fascinating man whatever was on her mind.
"Why didn't you take the lei?" she asked.
"Given the décor," he glanced around at the omnipresent tropical flowers, ferns and palm fronds, "It seems a little excessive."
"I don't believe you," she said, a little giddy at her own boldness. "I think you're trying to isolate yourself and make a public protest at the same time."
"How so?"
"You didn't want to be here in the first place. Being the only one here without a lei allows you to symbolically maintain your solitude. And since everybody can see that you're the only one without a lei, you're letting them know that you'd rather be somewhere else."
Marayna slipped her own pink lei over her head and pointedly placed it on the table, joining him solitude with a smile. For a moment she held her breath, afraid of having missed the mark with her analysis or perhaps even offended him – she never did have an instinct for these things – but he only regarded her with a long, searching gaze.
"Your logic is impeccable," he said - and sat down opposite her.
He had a low, deep voice, somehow precise and sensual at the same time. And yes, that was a compliment for her.
They talked for hours over the kal-toh board, ranging freely from one topic to another: gaming strategy, Vulcan philosophy, literature, horticulture (Tuvok grew orchids on his homeworld). By silent agreement, they refused all offered flower garlands. Time, to use the common phrase, flew by; looking around as she followed Tuvok to the moonlit balcony, Marayna was startled to realize they were the last patrons left. What time was it? How could she not have noticed? And more importantly (considering his professional attention to detail as a security officer) how could Tuvok not have noticed?
Could it be that her conversation, her character, was as fascinating to him as his was to her?
This night was sparkling. The single full moon shone silver in a blue-violet night sky; tiki torches filled the air with smoke and flickering golden light. The scent of falien flowers was rich and spicy in the air; she had to pinch herself, surreptitiously, to remember it was a holographic projection and not a dream.
"All right," she reflected aloud, "Imagine this - that you, with your logic and your reason, are skimming atop endless waves of emotion. You believe you're in control, but you know that control is an illusion … You believe that you understand the depths beneath you … but that, too, is an illusion."
Moving through the lush green growth of the potted plants in the courtyard, she turned to find Tuvok's deep brown eyes riveted to her face.
"I can see why Ensign Kim finds you … compelling," he murmured, in that velvety voice.
They were standing quite close, close enough to touch. She longed for it, so much that her hand moved to touch his chest almost of its own volition.
"I can see why Harry admires and respects you … so do I."
Neither of them spoke; it was a precious silence, somehow fragile, as if the least word or movement would destroy it.
"I must return to my quarters," said Tuvok finally, moving back.
Her hand dropped back to her side. "Please stay … I've never met anyone like you."
It was the riskiest thing she had said all night; she knew quite well how foolish it was to make herself so vulnerable to another person, especially an attractive male. But she meant every word, and she knew deep inside her solitary heart that if any man was worth risking everything for, it was Tuvok.
"I must admit I share that conclusion," he said. "You are a unique individual."
"Come back tomorrow. I'm sure the weather will hold," defusing her plea with a mild joke, as they were both aware that the Paxau Resort did not include any but the sunniest, mildest, and most perfect weather in its programming.
"Perhaps," replied Tuvok.
They said goodnight in quiet, measured tones, like a minor ritual, before he turned and left the holodeck. Marayna closed her eyes and smiled to herself, dizzy with hope and anticipation. Perhaps. Oh, if only he would make up his mind to come!
A mechanical buzz shook her out of her reverie. The courtyard disappeared – he must have ended the program – jolting her harshly back into her physical body and the maintenance station it occupied. She shivered in the comparative cold, squinting as her eyes adjusted from the torches and moonlight to the dim artificial lighting of the console room. Her sigh fell into the empty air.
"Please," she whispered, "Don't be in love with someone else … please don't have somebody waiting for you."
Because if he did, she did not see how she could bear to be alone again.
