"A strong relationship requires choosing to love each other, even in those moments when you struggle to like each other"

'There's no way that rumors are true' thought Ensign Garcia. She had joined the crew of the Enterprise only two weeks earlier, but she had heard the rumors from the moment her foot touched the deck. It was although the rumor floated through the air, taking on a life of its own, touching each and every person who encountered the Enterprise. They said that they had never seen two people who so made for each other than those two. She just didn't see it. In the few times she had seen the pair, they were arguing. In fact, she had never seen them getting along, let along what she would call 'in love'. 'There had never been a pair more different from each other', she murmured to herself, watching the pair from across the dining hall. While they sat next at the same table, they did not speak. T'Pol held her cup of tea tightly, and from what Garcia could see, Tucker's back was ramrod straight, in not what she would call an open, happy, posture. "People watching?" A voice said suddenly behind her, causing her to jump. A familiar voice chuckled, and Lieutenant Sato sat down across from her. Garcia blushed, quickly looking away from the commanders.

"Yes, ma'am." She said quietly. 'Well, that couldn't be anymore embarrassing', she thought, focusing on the table in front of her. If only there was a tablecloth for her to fiddle with.

"It's okay, I do it too. I've just learned how to be more subtle." Sato said, chuckling. Garcia looked up, meeting Sato's mirth-filled eyes. "Who were you watching anyway?" Sato asked, looking over her shoulder, "The commanders?" The young ensign blushed again. It was one thing to ponder these thoughts in the privacy of her own brain, let alone share it with a commanding officer. This was an admission that could get her in trouble; she did not want to see what would happen if Commander T'Pol found out. The blush was apparently all the lieutenant needed to see. She leaned in to whisper "it's okay, we all do it. They're hard to figure out." Garcia let out a breath.

"You have no idea" She breathed, then covered her mouth. Had she really just said that out loud? She felt like crawling under the table. Lieutenant Sato relaxed, leaning back in her seat, arms crossed in front of her.

"What exactly are you trying to figure out?" Taking her cue from the lieutenant, Garcia leaned in, whispering

"Well, you know, the rumors of their relationship. I just… don't see it. I have never seen them get along. Their arguments are legendary." Sato nodded.

"Their arguments are… intense. But on the flip side, I have never seen two people who can bring out the best in each other like those two can." Garcia squinted at the assertion, Sato waved her hand dismissively: "Just, believe me. You've only been here two weeks, wait until you've seen them in action." Garcia shook her head, moving her gaze back to the pair, who were still not looking at each other. She wasn't sure what Sato was talking about, because she had never seen two people who hated each other more.

XX

'Well, here goes nothing', Garcia thought, adjusting her bag over her shoulder. This wasn't her first away mission as an ensign, but it was her first with both of the commanders. She was shaking on the inside. After her conversation with Lieutenant Sato, she remembered the keen hearing of Vulcans. Which meant, in her eyes, that Commander T'Pol probably heard everything she and the lieutenant had said. She blushed just thinking about it. Now, here she was, trudging behind the commanders. Commander Tucker looked over his shoulder, smiling lopsided at her,

"Ensign, ya don't have to be scared of us, big, bad, commanders. Come on and catch up." Commander T'Pol looked at him sharply.

"Respect for one's commanding officers should be encouraged." She said coolly. Tucker rolled his eyes at Garcia, motioning for her to catch up. She took a deep breath, and jogged lightly to catch up right behind the commanders. T'Pol was looking down at her tricorder, her brow slightly furrowed. Tucker was looking around at their surroundings.

"Never get used to it, do ya" His voice jarred Garcia out of her reverie of wondering if T'Pol could hear her heart beating against her ribcage.

"Sorry, sir?" She asked, feeling her cheeks warm from the bottom up. Tucker smiled kindly, motioning to the alien vegetation around them.

"This. Being on an alien planet. Being surrounded by plants and animals that we never knew existed before. Makes ya realize just how big the universe is, and just how tiny were are compared to it." The group came to a gentle halt, T'Pol putting her tricorder to her side. She looked around their surroundings quickly.

"Indeed. Discovering new species is gratifying. Especially once we are able to scientifically examine the specimens." She then picked up her tricorder again, and began walking. Tucker waited until she had walked a few paces, before leaning over to whisper to Garcia,

"She says gratifying, I say awe-striking." He rolled his eyes again, then began to trudge behind T'Pol. Garcia took her time, taking in her surroundings. She had never thought about it before. Was she already becoming numb to being on alien worlds? Was she taking for granted what so many generations had prayed for, thought impossible?

Tucker was right though; being on alien worlds did make one feel sublime. T'Pol was right too, it was immensely gratifying to have some understanding in what they had discovered. Garcia realized with a jolt that she had fallen far behind the pair, and as she jogged to catch up, she couldn't help wondering if the commanders were two sides of the same coin.

From that day forward, Garcia couldn't help noticing when the commanders played off of each other. It was as though seeing the pair together in action had sparked a part of her brain that had previously been turned off. She now saw the subtle clues the couple gave off. The way T'Pol would tilt her head ever so slightly when the commander said something humorous; or the way Tucker would lean in over T'Pol while she was at her console, his hand brushing down her arm as he leaned over her. Garcia wondered how she had missed it…

… and now she remembered. The commanders were yelling at each other on the bridge. The rest of the crew were standing idly by, terrified on one hand, and highly amused on the other. Garcia was torn between the two feelings, while also throwing in a touch of curiosity. She had no idea what the pair was even arguing about, but it was intense. Just when she thought she had seen every shade of red possible, Tucker's face proved her wrong. His hands were firmly on his hips, only raising one hand to make a strong point, and then placing them firmly on his hips again. T'Pol had an air of calmness, but her anger was obvious. Garcia had heard that Vulcans were hard to read, but T'Pol appeared to be an open book to Tucker. He seemed to be able to place the jabs right where it hurt the most. Although T'Pol said nothing, she turned suddenly, and marched off the bridge, the doors whooshing closed behind her. Garcia chanced a look at Tucker quickly; his hands were still on his hips, but not as firmly, and he was looking up at the ceiling, in a way that could Garcia could only describe as defeated. She didn't understand. He had won whatever this argument was, and yet he looked like he had lost. She also didn't quite understand how two people who could be in perfect balance, could also be unbalanced in so many ways.

To her surprise, that answer came from the mouth of T'Pol. Not in so many words, but in a way that only a Vulcan could describe love. It happened after a strong disagreement between the commanders, where they came to a conclusion that was better than either of their ideas. After Tucker left, the captain remarked, "you know, even though you two fight like cats and dogs, I have never quite seen officers who work so well together." T'Pol looked up, her eyes wide.

"Captain, although Commander Tucker and I disagree about many things, I still appreciate his input. Even in times when I disagree greatly." Archer raised his eyebrows at this suggestion.

"You're telling me that even when he's yelling in your face, you appreciate his opinions?"

"Not in the moment, but in what I believe the humans call 'grand scheme of things', yes."

Tucker said it in plainer terms, months later, when Garcia happened to be working with him in engineering. "I don't know, what would love be if it was perfect all the time, ya know?" Garcia paused in the process of leaning down to grab equipment, and turned towards the commander. She hesitated, then said,

"What do you mean, sir? I thought the adage was that true love meant never having to say you're sorry." Tucker belly-laughed at the notion.

"Love means always saying ya are sorry, even if you struggle to say it." He paused, then continued "ya can love someone with all of your being, and still not like each other sometimes." He paused again, burrowing his eyebrows in the middle. "True love is not a feeling; it is a choice that a person has to make every single day. That's what I mean when I said a perfect love would be boring." Tucker zoned out for a minute, when Lieutenant Reed's voice suddenly called out,

"Not getting all sentimental and mushy on that poor ensign are you, commander?" Tucker rolled his eyes at Garcia, and moved to interact with the lieutenant.

And finally, she got it. They were perfect, and not perfect. They were balanced and unbalanced. They were from two different species, two entirely different worlds. And yet, with all their differences and arguments, they were two magnets that were drawn together, even with the most resistance the universe could place on them. Tucker had said it was a choice every day, and yet, she felt that part of it was choosing to love, and part of it was being irresistibly, irrevocably in love.

From the twinkle in Tucker's eye when T'Pol's voice came over the comm, Garcia bet that it was both for the most unusual pair she had even known, and smiled to herself when heard T'Pol confirm that Tucker was on the way, just a few short moments after calling for him to come to the bridge.