Chapter 40: Swim
A/N: Hi romulanlover, thanks a bunch for your comment, and I love your insightful remark about Asha's book and how her readers will react. She is particularly nervous about how her loved ones will react, as their approval is usually considered to be very important and their disapproval can be particularly crushing (haven't we all been there?) :-D
Ayala Karangalan, hi there, always wonderful to read you! It's getting very difficult for Asha because of her interactions with both Thorek and Vreenak, and the taboo in Romulan society where loving or courting two people at the same time is concerned. I researched attitudes towards love triangles and gender roles in the Star Trek universe (take the Denobulans, Trills or J'naii, for instance). Since some of Romulan culture is based on Roman culture, I had a look at that, too. Lots of food for thought and writing! :-D And I'm so happy you love Mirek!
Vocab lesson: "ri'hwathech" means "queen".
Asha and Thorek were given the very same room they had occupied last year, either due to sheer coincidence or because of the glowing feedback they had left for the staff of the residence. Both had fond recollections of the location. Asha walked to the tree in the middle of their room and inspected it.
"It seems to have grown a lot since we last saw it," she remarked, touching its trailing flower stems. Thorek watched her. So much had changed since they had last been in Mirek.
Asha was wearing her hair cropped to her jaw in a bob and she now sported side-swept bangs. Rareek the hairdresser had done a fine job, and Asha loved it, stating that it was the perfect blend between a Human and Romulan hairstyle. It wouldn't be long until she would be able to apply for full Romulan citizenship, and if her book was a success, it would boost the chances of her application being accepted. Her friendship with a former employee of the Tal Shiar wouldn't hurt, either – if she took advantage of the connection she shared with Vreenak, of course. However, Asha strongly disapproved of such a thing and was very cross when Thorek had suggested it.
"Friendship is not made for exploitation!" she had pointed out.
"You can ask for favours in a friendship," he had insisted.
"There's a point when a favour turns into exploitation. Besides, I want to get my full citizenship on my own merit. I'm not saying this because I'm Human and not Romulan enough, but simply because it goes against my principles and values."
"Well, you are certainly as proud as a Romulan."
"That I am," she had agreed, and they had dropped the topic.
They unpacked their luggage and when they went to the pool to bathe, Thorek picked up one of the bottles standing in a row near the pool.
"One of your favourite scents, e'lev. I would wake up in the morning and smell this when you were having a bath."
Asha took the bottle and breathed in its perfume. Then she picked up another jar and she smiled, her eyes sparkling with mischief.
"This is what you put into the water the day we first removed our clothes in front of each other."
"Yes, and you said you were shy about your body, and still you went down the stairs confidently as a ri'hwathech, golden and bright like the sun of Romulus, if I may make an attempt at poetry. Is it any wonder that the Senator is captivated by you?" He took her hands in his and kissed them.
"He can hardly be captivated by me," she said jokingly. "Besides, he has never seen me naked."
"He might one day."
"Thorek! Why must you say such things? And over here, where you and I truly married each other? It saddens me."
Thorek wrapped his arms around her.
"I don't wish to grieve you, Ashaya. I want to encourage you to…" he paused.
Asha looked earnestly into his eyes. "Please tell me."
"What I suggested long ago. To explore love with another mate. I am Romulan, and I know that the Senator is courting you as discreetly as possible. And I know you, Asha. You blush and fidget when you mention him."
"It would feel like sanctified infidelity," she protested.
Thorek smiled and kissed away the tears that were running down her cheeks.
"Don't break your heart over this, e'lev. I was in a similar arrangement many years ago. It was very fulfilling for all three of us, but unacceptable in Romulan society."
"Precisely. Socially unacceptable. But you accept it?"
"Yes. Especially because the circumstances of our marriage were different. With Vreenak, you can choose despite the restrictions his political position places on him."
"But no one forced me to love you," she retorted.
"Nor did you choose it consciously."
Asha considered. "What happens if a married Romulan falls in love and their spouse is less tolerant?"
"No doubt a blood feud between clans would follow. In our case, neither of us has got a clan on Romulus."
"But Vreenak has a family. His contact with them may be sporadic, but he still has a family."
"That is true."
"You and I are a clan."
"That is also true. Still, think about what I said. My suggestion is logical." A humorous note crept into his voice as he referred to his part-Vulcan genes.
She nodded and hugged him firmly. "But this place is only for the two of us. I don't want any other Romulan in this space. This is where we truly got to know each other as spouses."
She stepped back from him and undid her dress. He stripped, too, and knelt down before her, seeking her sex with his mouth.
They made love in the pool and again in their bed. Afterwards, Asha played lazily with the sheets.
"The pattern is different," she said. Then she stretched and stroked his face. "I love how you don't have any hang-ups about sexuality."
"Romulans usually don't. Romulan children are taught about the facts of life and different forms of sexuality quite early. The actual practice thereof comes with its own codes and rules."
Asha nodded. "Yes, from what I have seen, marriage and children before the age of forty in Romulans are frowned upon."
"Indeed. Given our lifespan, we are like Human teenagers before the age of forty."
"Probably less insane," she joked.
Lilou was installed in Kihika and Vereth's quarters and Galan was sent shopping for food and the famous spiced wines of Mirek.
Asha thoroughly enjoyed her three weeks in Mirek, going on solo, couple and group excursions, wildlife-watching, learning the art of garland-making and working at her job in the evening.
Vekal was able to talk her into swimming in one of Mirek's several lakes. Asha had hated swimming and group sports back on Earth. She had been fifteen the last time she had swum, and that had been at school. During the last years of school, students had been able to choose their sports, and Asha had been delighted to drop the dreaded chore of swimming. When it came to team sports in the water, no one had wanted to pick her. She remembered sitting on the bench in her swimming costume, watching people join their respective teams until she was sitting all alone, ashamed and humiliated. The teacher would assign her to a team, and she would be received with scowls and long faces.
Swimming in Mirek when she truly wanted to was completely different. Vekal wanted to teach her how to swim on her back, something she was afraid of.
"I'll drown!" she protested.
"Now, paenhe, do you really think I would let such a thing happen? Your husband would not allow me to leave Mirek alive, and neither would my wife."
Her new lessons required shopping for swimwear. Kihika's wife Vereth, Christine and Thorek decided to join in the fun, Thorek murmuring discreetly that he knew best what Asha's body looked like and thus what suited her.
Some costumes were emblazoned with showy Romulan raptor patterns.
"Ideal for your Senator friend," Christine whispered to Asha, nodding at a particularly garish example. Asha clapped one hand in front of her mouth and choked down a guffaw.
After browsing carefully, she chose two costumes while her friends argued and disagreed with each other loudly about which outfit would suit her best.
"This one is preferable," Thorek said.
"That grey spartan thing? It's too uptight!" Christine shook her head in horror.
"This one, then," Vereth said.
"It reveals more than it covers," Thorek remarked, staring at the scoop back and deep-cut v-front.
"Jealous about a prospective string of admirers following Asha around?" Christine asked gleefully. Thorek glared at her. Vereth grinned.
"I agree with Thorek," Asha said. "My, uhm, assets would probably tumble out of the front and back. This would suit you better than me, Vereth. How about these two?"
One costume was green with touches of sequins and a sensibly cut scoop back. The other was silvery grey with broad ornate straps.
Her choices met with approval, and she was all set with her first Romulan swimwear.
Vekal was a patient teacher and an excellent swimmer like most Romulans. He had a lean wiry physique, again typical of Romulans working in the military domain. He demonstrated the backstroke to her and swam back until he was next to her. Asha swallowed.
"Have you got a kickboard?"
"A what?"
"A board to hold onto. On Earth, beginners are sometimes given a board which holds up the swimmer."
"There is no need of a board," Vekal said. "We don't use any boards to master swimming."
"Oh. I'm going to drown, then."
"That kind of mindset will stand in the way of what you want to achieve," Vekal told her sternly, the military man coming out in him. "Unless you are not interested in mastering the backstroke?"
"Of course I am, otherwise I wouldn't have gone shopping for swimwear and I most certainly wouldn't be standing here with you in this lake."
"You arrived on Romulus with two options, Asha. Sink or swim. You chose the latter. Which will you choose now?"
"The latter, of course."
Her first tries resulted in spluttering, kicking and profanity. Finally, when she lay on her back, her arms over her head, Vekal held her wrists and she went through the motions with her legs. After an exhausting afternoon, Asha was able to master the backstroke, though she scrunched up her face as if she was, as Vekal put it, trying to force a bowel movement.
"Your husband is a great teacher, but by the four elements, he's a taskmaster," she told Christine later.
"Don't I know," Christine purred, throwing a sultry gaze in the direction of her husband, who was walking around the garden with Thorek.
"Christine!" Asha giggled. "You're so frisky!"
"We're in Mirek. This is the place to let our hair down," Christine replied, sipping at a glass of spiced wine.
Throughout her holidays, Asha never once forgot about Merken tr'Vreenak. She messaged him twice a week and watched the news for reports about his campaign tours. He messaged back and expressed his approval of her swimming lessons. His tone was neutral and formal, much like the polished exterior he presented to the public. In his last message, he added: "In the hopes that you treated the spiced wines of Mirek with caution, I look forward to your return to the capital. Jolan'tru and jolan'tru - farewell and welcome."
Asha also remained in touch with Rhian. Their graphic designer Karina was adding the finishing touches to the illustrations for the book, and Asha was very eager to see them when she returned to Romulus. But most of all, she was eager to see Vreenak again. It was true that absence made the heart grow fonder, for she missed him and their discussions about the many topics they enjoyed talking about. However, it was also with a pang of sadness that she started packing and said goodbye to the beautiful city of Mirek.
"Let's make this a tradition," Thorek comforted her, "and spend three weeks in Mirek every year."
Asha hugged him, and he stroked her hair; and although their days and nights in Mirek had been lovely, she had felt Vreenak stray into their space, his presence made all the more conspicuous by his absence. She wondered if it was precisely her refusal to engage in more than friendship with Vreenak which was causing this effect, and if Thorek didn't have a point after all when he suggested that she become physically intimate with Vreenak. Sooner or later, she would have to talk with both Thorek and Vreenak about the situation, and it would have to be a thorough conversation. For now, however, she wanted to focus on her book and flying her family, friends and Lilou back to Romulus in the flitter.
Finally, the day to leave Mirek arrived. With a deep breath, Asha stepped aboard the flitter. Everyone else was already inside, waiting for takeoff. Asha sat down, turned on the necessary controls, checked the stabilisers and requested clearance for departure. After receiving the appropriate signal, she took off, circled over the colourful fields in farewell and headed for the Apnex Sea, back to Romulus, back to her home and book waiting, and back to Merken tr'Vreenak.
