Chapter Text
Lorca’s Tribble
“Here.”
“What is it?”
A low chuckle as she looks down at the soft fluff in her hands, then back at him.
He is standing close. Deliberately close, with only the bundle of fur between them. But he likes this. Likes the way she looks at him, eyes wide with curiosity. It was the first thing he noticed about her, her eyes. So expressive, even when the rest of her wasn’t. Sometimes, he wonders if she knows just how much she gives away with those soft brown eyes of hers.
“It’s called a tribble.”
A tribble.
She stokes its fur, holding it up to her ear, listening. It gives a soft coo, a little shake. A purr.
He nods in approval. “I think he likes you.”
It gets a smile. One of the prettiest things he’s seen in a long time. Its infections, that smile. Soft, like the skin he wants to touch.
“What’s his name?”
“Merkin.”
A blank look at that one.
“I’m not sure I understand the etymology.”
A low chuckle.
“Does the carpet match the drapes, Burnham?”
“We have neither drapes nor carpet, Captain.”
This time, a real laugh. She’s thoroughly confused, and he loves it. Absolutely loves it, the innocence in her, still. It’s beautiful. It shines. It’s absolutely glorious and it gives him a rare moment of genuine, uncorrupted amusement. She frowns.
“You’re laughing at me.”
“Not in the way you think,” he tells her. “It’s not a bad thing.”
In her arms, another coo, followed by a warm vibration. She holds the animal closer to her chest. He reaches out to touch it, stroke its fur. Tickle it. It trembles in her arms. “Oh!”
Full lips part in an “o” shape. And he wants to kiss them. Trace the outline of them with his tongue. Slip a taste. He can do anything he wants. Have anything he wants. Have anyone he wants.
He wants her.
But he also knows she’s nowhere near ready.
“Consider it a ‘thank you’ gift.”
“For what, captain?”
Ah…captain. He doesn’t want her writhing underneath him, calling him ‘Captain’. What he wants is her writhing underneath him, screaming his name. But…one step at time.
“For getting our spore drive operational. I knew you were special the moment I saw you.”
That makes her look at him, questioningly. He means it. Whatever way she chooses to interpret it. He doesn’t break her gaze and she looks away, out the window, into the twinkling blackness of space.
“It’s beautiful.”
“Indeed it is.”
“I was referring to the the view…sir.”
“That’s what I mean.” But he’s not looking out the window, he’s looking at her.
Another soft coo. In her arms, the tribble purrs still.
“What does it eat?”
“Anything. Here.”
He intentionally reaches around her for a fortune cookie, and holds it out to her. She takes the other end, and they break it. She feeds it to the tribble, and it shakes happily, the sweet sounds filling the room.
He smiles again. “Are you going to read your fortune?”
The paper sticks out of the broken half of the cookie in his fingers and she pulls it out, reading the words. A blush. He can tell. It’s in the slight intake of breath, the dilation of the pupils.
“So, what’s it say? Care to share?” a smirk. She must have got a good one.
“I—I’m not quite…certain of the…context.”
He leans over her shoulder, brushing against her back, reading it aloud.
“You’ll soon get unexpected kisses in unexpected places.”
Her back is to him, giving a lovely view of her neck, Starfleet’s newest uniforms hugging every curve of her body. What he’d like to be doing is running his hands down her sides, holding her hips, pulling her against him. His mind dances with more than a dozen illicit thoughts. He has a ship full of beautiful women, already a few on rotation and yet the one he desires most is right here. Right now.
But she hasn’t graced his bed.
Yet.
Eyes settle on her ass.
He remembers that ass well. Holding it, rubbing it, spreading it, bouncing it…he remembers how she tastes too…If she only knew just how well he knows her…
“I’ve never been kissed before.”
A quiet confession. She’s stroking her new pet, looking down at it. Her reflection so clear through the window. He likes the way they look together. Him behind her. She’s the perfect size, the perfect shape. He knows how she fits against him, is intimately familiar with the way she fits around him as well… but, best to not tell her those things…yet.
It’s a good thing he’s a patient man.
“Maybe one day, you will be,” he tells her, leaning low enough for his breath to tickle her ear.
“Thank you, Captain."
She turns suddenly to face him, looking up. Those dark brown eyes so full. Oh, he loves them…
“For what?”
“For Merkin. It’s an honor to serve under a man like you.”
She’s so sincere it nearly kills him. Makes him feel almost guilty for what he’s going to do.
Steal her.
Take her back with him when he goes. Return her to her rightful place, where she’s always been. By his side.
His wife.
The reason he came here, to find her again.
“Do you want to be kissed?”
Another hitch of breath. She’s so much the same yet opposite as well. His was fire. She’s cool, like snow. Still, it’s there…just below the surface. He knows what she likes, even if she doesn’t.
“I…” hesitation again. She’s caught off guard. It’s endearing really. That he can stump her. Confuse her. Make her uncomfortable. But he would never, ever hurt her.
“Only if you want me to. Only if you say yes.”
Permission.
“That’s not…professional…sir. Or…appropriate. Starfleet regulations…” Stammer now. She’s trying to back out of it.
“I don’t give a damn about Starfleet regulations.”
Teeth nibble on plump lips. He wants to replace them with his own. In her arms, Merkin coos.
Still watching her, he reaches for another cookie and breaks it, feeding the tribble. Another fortune. He extends it to her and she takes it.
“A thrilling night is in your future.”
This time, she reads aloud. He knows this woman. Knows what makes her tick. Knows exactly what to do and say to turn her on. He remembers how it was the first time—watching her open up to him, bloom for him, come apart for him…and he wants to see that and experience that again.
“Only if you want me to,” he tells her, before brushing her arm and leaving the ready room and striding back out onto the bridge.
Eventually, she follows. It’s the end of her shift. The start of his.
She takes Merkin with her, the tribble purring quietly against her chest.
He knows she loves that tribble.
.