A/N: Happy Holidays everyone!
Chronicles of a Teenage Relationship
U.S.S. Enterprise, 2281.65, 2128 hours. He relaxed on the sofa with his feet on the coffee table and Tabby nestled io the crook of his arm, her cast arm propped up beside her with several pillows. Still worried about her Se'tak had been by her side pretty much since she left Sickbay. Tonight they sat in her darkened living room watching the latest re-make of "An Affair to Remember" for the third time; not his type of movie but then again, this wasn't for him. Fighting back a yawn he looked down at his girlfriend and kissed the crown of messy blond hair. "Hey."
She looked up at him, her smile tight and eyes moist; she always shed a few tears just before the ruined reunion. "Hey."
"You feeling alright?"
"Uh huh."
"You sure I can't get you anything?"
Tabitha's smile turned mischievous as her gaze darted to the empty bowl of ice cream beside his feet. "A little more cookie dough ice cream, maybe?"
He tried to scowl but she looked too cute and he just couldn't follow through with it. Slowly extricating himself from her embrace Se'tak took the bowl and walked over to the replicators in the kitchen. "You know, all this ice cream is…"
"…just what the doctor ordered!" she laughingly finished for him.
It was a half-truth—her father had ordered her on a soft food diet while she was on the heavy pain meds. He strolled back over to the sofa and spooned a little bit of dessert into her mouth. "Soft foods isn't just a synonym for ice cream, you know."
She looked a little downcast as she swallowed. "I know."
"It also means this great little Vulcan pudding recipe I know Mama has that tastes like peanut butter cookies…" They both laughed and Tabby launched a retaliatory tickle attack.
U.S.S. Enterprise, 2281.77, 0219 hours. There it was again—that odd, little, insistent chirping sound that was ruining his good night's sleep. Se'tak slammed a hand down indiscriminately on his nightstand in hopes of turning whatever it was off.
Chirp, chirp. Chirp, Chirp.
Slap!
Chirp, chirp. Chirp, chirp.
SLAP!
The last blow hit something sharp and jerked him awake. "Dammit!" Sitting upright in bed Se'tak looked around and found his personal comm. He yanked it open. "WHAT?!"
"Se'tak?"
Tabby. She sounded scared and his anger vanished. "Tabs? Everything ok? Why're you calling so late?"
On the other end of the line he heard her suck in a quick breath. "I'm sorry, it's stupid, I shouldn't have woken you…"
"It's ok, I'm up, what's wrong?"
"I…I had a bad dream," she quietly admitted.
A bad dream? She was waking him up all over a bad dream? What was he even supposed to say to that? "Oh. Well…it wasn't real and it's over now, so you can…"
"You got sucked out of the ship."
"Huh?"
Tabitha's voice sounded as if she was on the verge of tears. "It was awful! The ship was under attack and we were running down a corridor in E deck. You were ahead of me when a phaser blast tore through the wall and I watched you get sucked out into the black and there was nothing I could do! You were gone!"
Well that was disconcerting. A cold trill ran up his spine at the very idea. They both knew it was a possibility that something like that could happen to them but neither one of them ever actually thought it would.
"Hey now," he finally said, "It's alright, really. I'm ok, and I'm not going anywhere, you hear me?"
She hiccupped. "Yeah. I guess I…I guess I just needed to hear your voice, to prove to myself it wasn't real, you know? Sorry for being so dumb."
"Don't apologize, you weren't being dumb," he said as soothingly as he could. "Look, I'd be freaked out too if I had that dream, but you just have to remember that it wasn't real, ok?"
Tabby heaved a big, cleansing sigh. "Ok." She made a little kissing sound into the comm. "Good night."
"Night." Se'tak set the comm back down and lay back in his bed staring up at the ceiling. He knew Tabitha didn't mean to but now all he could think about was getting sucked out an airlock.
He didn't get a wink of sleep the whole rest of the night.
U.S.S. Enterprise, 2281.91, 2214 hours. His parents gave him the run of the house that night for his sixteenth birthday party and Aaron took full advantage by cramming every single shipboard friend he had into his living room. The music was pulsing, the soda was flowing, and everyone was having a good time.
Tilk made his way through the throngs while shoveling huge bites of cake into his mouth. "Awesome party."
Aaron grinned; it was pretty sweet. "Thanks."
"Question though: is there anybody you didn't invite? There's like a million people here!"
His cheeks burned. "Well I didn't want to be rude…" Tilk just laughed loud and long while he let the thought trail off. He started taking a good look around the room again though and realized several people were missing. He knew Valerie had already left—after he and Robin broke up Val was civil to him at least but she still didn't stay long—but they couldn't all have fled, not without saying good-bye. "Wait here a sec, will you? I'm just going to go check up on something."
Aaron took off down the hall where a few revelers were gathered, leaning against the walls and talking in small groups. He smiled and shook a few hands, hugged a few people, and moved on. The bathroom was occupied (which was to be expected) so he moved on to his parent's room, as it was expressly off limits and his folks would kill him if they found out anything happened there. But the room was empty and all was good. He checked his bedroom too, for good measure, and Aaron was happy to find it was unoccupied as well.
He was headed back to the living room when he realized he forgot to check the office. If it weren't for that nagging feeling in the back of his head he would've just let it go but instead he doubled back and palmed the door controls. As the pneumatics opened two people flew apart.
"Seriously you guys?! SERIOUSLY?!" he yelled at the pair. "You couldn't keep your damn hands off each other for ONE NIGHT?!"
Tabitha turned her back on him and straightened her blouse while Se'tak tried to smooth down his hair. "Sorry man, we uh…we kind of got carried away."
"No shit, you think?!" Pissed, Aaron stormed out. Distantly he heard Tabby wish him a Happy Birthday as he headed back out to join the party.
U.S.S. Enterprise, 2281.108, 1535 hours. It was rare that he had an afternoon off so he headed back to his quarters to study. He'd be eligible to take the written portion of the junior pilot's licensing exam soon and he wanted to make sure he knew that manual backwards and forwards.
"Hey 'Tak, wait up!" He dutifully paused and turned to see Tabby jogging down the hall toward him, her school PADDS clutched to her chest, and tried not to roll his eyes. He really needed to study and while he liked spending a lot of time with her she was kind of distracting. She came over and snaked an arm through his, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Well I know you're free and I know I'm free—so why don't we go be free, you know, together?" she said, waggling her eyebrows suggestively and squeezing his arm for emphasis.
He slowly extricated himself from her grip. "I wish I could, Tabs, but I really need to study."
Without warning she pulled the PADD he'd been reading out of his hands and looked it over. "This again? Come on, you can study later, let's go do something fun…"
Her whining set his teeth on edge and he snatched the PADD back from her. "Maybe later," he replied before hurrying on his way.
U.S.S. Enterprise, 2281.119, 2216 hours. Se'tak didn't know what to think—and with summer break fast approaching he knew he had to figure things out and fast.
Trouble was he was screwed no matter what he did.
He liked Tabitha, he really did, but lately the things she did that he used to find sweet were getting really annoying…like how she sat beside him at lunch and freely swapped food from his plate onto hers and vice versa. Or how she wanted to watch the same five rom-coms again and again but couldn't stand to watch even one of his favorite action flicks.
Or how she wanted to spend every waking minute of every single day practically attached to his hip.
Se'tak knew that last issue was his own fault; after she broke her arm he practically waited on her hand and foot and catered to her every whim—but after the cast came off he thought they'd each relax a little and have their own personal space again. The fact that Tabby was so clingy worried him because he began to suspect that she liked him more than he liked her.
She might even—GULP!—love him.
He really wasn't sure if he loved her yet, not like that at any rate, and if he didn't he didn't want to lead her on.
But then there were the things about Tabitha that he liked a whole lot and which made this situation all the more confusing. First, she was really considerate, always looking out for him and all their friends and doing little things to make everyone feel good; like that time he had a cold and she brought him a copy of that 'Apocalypto' video game he'd been dying to get his hands on. Second, she was really pretty, and not in a fake way like some of the other girls. Tabby was naturally pretty and he liked that.
Third—and maybe this should've been first—she was a really good kisser; like REALLY good. Just thinking about holding her and making out with her like they did the other night was getting him all hot and bothered...
...and totally distracting him from his point.
Damn was he ever in trouble!
After battling with himself all day Se'tak decided it was best to try asking Mama for her advice. It'd be the most awkward conversation in the history of conversations (and he was already squirming a little inside at the thought) but he needed somebody's help and she was the best person to turn to. He found her in the office, swiveling idly in the chair in front of the comm.
"Mama?"
"Hmm?" She turned around and seemed to look past him for a second before reclaiming her focus. "What is it, baby?"
He took a large gulp of air. "Do you have a minute?" he asked, gesturing at the blank comm. screen.
She smiled. "Of course." Mama made a motion for him to pull up the other chair and he dragged it over to sit beside her. "I'm just waiting for your sister's class to get out so I can call her." Se'tak frowned. There'd been a lot of calls back and forth to New Vulcan lately; he didn't know what was going on but he knew whatever it was concerned T'Alora. The question was on the tip of his tongue but Mama shook her head no. Guess he'd have to find out later. She re-directed the conversation back to him. "So what's on your mind?"
He stared down at the rug and glanced up at her through his bangs. "It's about Tabitha."
"Mhmm. I was wondering why you've been dodging her lately."
"Has it been that obvious?" he asked guiltily.
"No, not exactly," she replied, a small smile on her face, "But I'm your mother so I know what to look for."
He grinned and chucked his head back down, continuing his study of the floor. "The truth is I just don't know what to do. I like her but sometimes I feel suffocated by her and then when I think I'm going to lose it she goes and does something unexpected and…"
"And she's making your head spin."
He leapt out of his chair from the sheer force of her understanding. "YES! Yes, that's it exactly!"
"Well, do you want to break up with her?"
She asked him the question so casually he did a double take, almost as if she didn't have as much a stake in his decision as he did. "I don't know," Se'tak replied feebly, "I don't think so…I mean, I've thought about it, but then I think about how everyone else is going to react if it happens and, I mean, Mama we live on the freaking Enterprise! Everybody gossips about everybody and if we break up that's all they're going to talk about! Not to mention Tabby and I see each other every single day whether we're dating or not and I'm just so confused and—!"
"Se'tak." Mama placed her hand on his arm, reassuring him, and waited until he calmed down. "I know it seems daunting right now but just take it one step at a time. Now forget about what everyone else will think and tell me what you think is best for you two. Do you want to stay together or don't you?"
"I…" he stopped short. What did he want? At the end of the day was he happier with Tabby or without her? "I want us to stay together."
"Ok then." Mama squeezed his arm and let go while flashing him a smile. "My advice would be to go and talk to her. Tabitha's a smart girl but she's young and in love and she probably senses you're pulling away from her, which may be why she's trying extra hard to keep you. Maybe if you clear the air then things will get better again between you two." He leaned back in his chair and took a deep cleansing breath as all the tension drained out of him. "Feeling better?"
Se'tak rubbed his face with both hands. "Loads. You have no idea…"
"Oh I think I have some idea." His head shot up and he looked to her as she laughed. "What? I was fifteen once too, or have you forgotten?" As she spoke she glanced at the chronometer behind him and her laughter ebbed. "You all set here, or was there something else you wanted to ask me?"
He got up and gave her a hug. "No, Mama, I'm good. Thanks."
"Anytime, baby, anytime."
The next day he and Tabitha had a good, long talk. It wasn't easy and she didn't always like to hear what he had to say but by the end they agreed to give each other a bit more personal time and space. Having been honest in sharing his concerns with her Se'tak instantly felt better, like a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
U.S.S. Enterprise, 2281.126, 1509 hours. He found her in the library that Thursday afternoon, hanging out at a table with Val and Robin and gossiping as they did their homework. The minute they spotted him their chatter stopped and they bent their heads to their PADDs.
Se'tak pulled up a chair and straddled it so his head rested on the back. "Hey Tabs."
She lifted her head up and pushed the hair out of her eyes as if she hadn't even seen him come over. "Oh. Hey Se'tak." Tabitha went back to her pre-calc.
"So I was wondering…" he leaned over and pulled something out of his bag.
"Uh huh…"
"…if you would like to go to the movies with me tomorrow night?"
She set her stylus down and let out a soft little huff. "I really don't know if that's…" she stopped and stared dumbstruck at the rose he held out to her.
Se'tak flashed her his mega-watt smile. "Please? I'd really like to take you."
Her face turned red and she turned to the twins who were giggling like the little love-struck schoolgirls they were. She took the rose and brought it up to her nose for a good whiff, batting her eyes in a manner that always made him want to kiss the breath out of her. "Ok," she said softly.
"Pick you up at 7?"
"I'll be waiting."
Unable to resist, Se'tak grinned and leaned over for a quick kiss good-bye before swaggering on out of the library.