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Chapter Text

The woman in front of him was a picture of misery so vivid that Taurik was starting to think he was making her problems worse instead of better.

“You look uncomfortable,” he said, breaking the heavy silence. Sito flinched at the sound of his voice, then sighed, opening her eyes and letting her hands drop to the floor behind her. As she leaned back, her shirt rode up around her midriff revealing the small notch of a bellybutton. Taurik only let his eyes dwell there for a moment before returning his gaze to her miserable expression.

When Sam had introduced him to Sito Jaxa, a cadet a year ahead of them at the academy, Taurik had been confident in his ability to help the Bajoran whose inability to sleep had progressed to such a degree that she had visible muscle tremors and been signed off from her classes by a doctor. Surely, if her insomnia was being caused by psychological problems, as the doctor believed, and not a physical malady, then guided meditation should have been sufficient to locate the source of her discomfort and resolve it. 

Alas, they’d been at this for weeks, with this current session having lasted over an hour, and she was no closer to a remedy than when they’d started.

“I’m sorry, Taurik. I really am. I swear I’m trying to relax and empty my mind but it's just not working today.”

“I believe you. Perhaps we should try a different approach.”

Sito closed her eyes again, squeezing them shut so hard her nose scrunched, adding a few more ridges to those at the bridge. Her frustration was palpable.

Taurik had heard about the death of her classmate, but unlike his roommate, Sam, he preferred to shun the gossip that percolated around the academy. Even so, during their time together he had learned more than he felt he should. Out of respect for her privacy, he kept himself as shielded as possible, and instructed her on how to prevent intrusive thoughts, but guided meditation required some degree of mental closeness. 

Despite all his precautions, he’d tasted her guilt and shame; her grief. But the darkness of her emotions was tempered by her resolve. The man who died had been her friend, and while it was a tragedy, she was determined to make what amends she could. There was nothing Taurik could fault in that, and he found himself increasingly more determined to help her the longer he spent in her company. 

“This is pointless,” Sito sighed. “I’m going to get kicked out.”

“It does not need to come to that. All problems have a remedy. You have exhausted the over-the-counter relaxants?”

“Like I said, all the ones tested and proven suitable for Bajoran biology, yes,” Sito said with a rueful smile. “The unpleasant reality of being in one of the first waves of recruits of my species is that they’re still figuring a lot of stuff when it comes to my biology. Most of the sleep aides the humans take run the risk of depressing my respiratory system too much and Bajoran ones simply aren't available here. That’s why I went to Doctor Lyons, but the best advice she could give me was to find a Vulcan.”

Sito huffed, stretching out her legs in front of her and massaging her sore thighs. Sitting crosslegged for prolonged periods of time was not something she’d ever had to do before and her legs protested their mistreatment.

“What was it Doctor Lyons said exactly?” Taurik asked, a prickle of suspicion in the back of his mind.

“She said that if none of the prescribed medications were working for me, the best thing I could do is find a Vulcan and convince them to help me. If nothing else, it’d loosen me up.”

“Ah,” Taurik said, his gaze flicking away. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something else then closed it, tilting his head first one way, then the other.

Humans were inclined to make ribald jokes and use thinly veiled sexual references to defuse tension, but a doctor wouldn’t… would they?

“What?” Sito asked, watching the subtle display of emotion rippling across his normally placid features.

“I suspect she was referring not to meditation techniques, nor even telepathic ones, but… biological ones.”

“Biological means?” Sito asked, furrowing her brow. “What does that mean?”

Taurik once again opened and closed his mouth without saying anything. Sito wasn’t the best at reading Sam’s Vulcan friend, but she was beginning to suspect he was uncomfortable. 

“Listen, you’ve already done your best. I really appreciate the help you’ve given me. I don’t want to take up any more of your time. I mean, you’ve exams coming up as well… I’ll have to find some other way.”

“It would seem you are running out of time. Exams start in six weeks,” Taurik said, not trying to be unkind but registering the flash of pain on her face anyway. There was no point hiding the reality of her situation. If she didn’t start sleeping soon, she wouldn’t even be allowed to sit her exams. Not to mention the impact this would have on her grades.

“Well I don’t know what else to do, Taurik. I’d do anything at this point. I’ve even thought about shooting myself with a phaser.”

“Where would you get a phaser?” He asked.

“That’s the only reason I’ve not done it yet.” Sito laughed self-consciously, getting to her feet and pacing around his and Sam’s shared room. She set her hands in the small of her back, massaging in small circles. “I’m so tired. I just want to sleep.”

Taurik once again opened his mouth but found the words wouldn’t quite come. He cleared his throat, a gesture so surprising from a Vulcan it drew Sito’s attention back to where he sat crosslegged on the floor.

“There is… an alternative method we could try. However I am unfamiliar with the social mores of your people and I am concerned that suggesting it may be committing a social faux pas.”

“Taurik, I am beyond desperate. I will do literally anything.”

“You may not be willing to do this,” Taurik said slowly, then decided the choice was really up to her. “I suspect Doctor Lyons was implying that you should have sex with a Vulcan male.”

Sito stopped pacing, her hands still braced on the small of her back and her gaze on the tiny window that looked out at another bank of student accommodation.

“I’m sorry, what?” She asked without looking at him.

“Vulcan semen contains a hormone, which — in most humanoid species — affects the pituitary axis in such a way as to cause drowsiness if not unconsciousness.”

Sito turned her head to stare at him with wide eyes.

“You expect me to believe that if I let you cum in me, I’ll fall asleep?” She asked, her tone flat. Taurik felt like he’d wandered into a minefield but the only way out of it was sticking to the facts.

“Vulcan is a hostile world where resources cannot be squandered. Vulcan males evolved a number of methods to ensure successful breeding when a mate is located. This is one such evolutionary adaptation designed to keep females compliant and present for multiple rounds of insemination.”

“Multiple rounds,” she repeated, her cheeks flushing pink. She was looking everywhere except at him now.

“Vulcans tend to mate in repeated sessions over the course of hours,” Taurik explained, hoping that was helpful.

“Hours,” Sito repeated, sounding breathless. Her cheeks were very pink now.

“Would you like me to bring up a medical article on Vulcan seminal fluid?” Taurik offered, wondering if she thought he was perhaps lying to trick her into bed. He had seen cadets of other races apply such tactics but hoped the Vulcan reputation for honesty would incline her to trust him. He got up and strode to his bunk, fetching his padd from where he’d stashed it beneath his pillow.

“I believe you, I just… I can’t ask you to… you know… have sex with me just so I can sleep.” Her voice dipped almost to a whisper as she said the word sex, as if she was imparting a secret even though it was he that suggested it to her. “That’s… well that’s not fair, is it? It’s like… like I was blackmailing you or something?” Sito came to stand beside him. He sat on the edge of his bed and she followed, sitting beside him at a respectable distance.

“I am not… unamenable to the idea of mating with you,” he said, feeling his lok twinge in his sheathe as a sudden vivid image of Sito writhing beneath him slipped out from his subconscious. He buried it immediately.

“Though, that said, while I do wish to help, you’ll forgive me if I don’t necessarily want to be… endured.” He winced as he spoke, a surprising show of feeling which he couldn’t quite suppress. He saw Sito’s gaze soften as she registered the reaction.

“I don’t think that would be our problem. You’re one of the most handsome men I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Taurik blinked at her, caught off guard by the sentiment. For a moment, he didn’t seem to know what to say, then he landed on: “Thank you.” After a beat he continued. “You are also most pleasing. Aesthetically speaking.”

Sito chuckled. “You could just tell me I’m pretty.”

“You’re more than pretty,” Taurik said and was gratified to see her flush at the praise. 

“Well then, feel free to tell me I’m beautiful,” she teased, smiling up at him from under long lashes and leaning her body ever-so-slightly towards him.

“You’re very beautiful,” Taurik breathed, and closed the gap between them.

This was outside his area of expertise, so he was relieved when Sito took the initiative, her hands coming up to cradle his face and her lips moving confidently against his. They stayed like this for a while, lips moving gently against each other's, then her tongue darted out to trace the seam of his lips and, more boldly, press inside his mouth.

Nothing could have prepared him for the biological differences between a Vulcan and a Bajoran. Her tongue wasn’t rough, but soft, and her mouth was indescribably warm and moist. When her tongue twined with his, she moaned and he felt the vibrations of it through their shared connection.

Instinct supplanted lived experience and he reached for her, encircling her waist with his hands and pushing her back against his pillows.

“So you are amenable to trying?” He asked, trying to keep the hopeful note out of his voice.

“Well, it can’t hurt, right?” Sito said with a bashful smile. Her cheeks were turning a most appealing shade of pink.

“I promise I will be as gentle as I can, but Vulcan males evolved for vigorous breeding.”

Sito exhaled harshly, her smile becoming broader and more mischievous.

“I already said yes, you don’t need to convince me twice,” she half-laughed. Taurik raised an eyebrow at her but she slipped a hand around the back of his neck, pulling his face back down towards her.

“I’m saying you don’t need to threaten me with a good time, Taurik. I want you too.” Then her overwhelmingly soft lips were back on his.

This, Taurik thought, would be the most savage test of his self-control he’d ever undertaken.

He’d never been so eager to test it in his life.

*

Sito wasn’t going to pretend she knew Taurik well, but in all her dealings with him he’d come across as earnest, honest, and confident. Though he was perfectly capable of the occasional witty observation or dry remark, he didn’t strike her as a kidder.

If Taurik said that him barebacking her would resolve her insomnia, it was very likely it would.

Even so… this was madness. But her protests didn’t seem to phase him at all, and his admission that the most unpalatable thing for him was the idea that she might not enjoy sleeping with him, melted away much of her concern.

But it couldn’t actually work… could it?

One minute they were sitting on the bed, the awkwardness mounting, then Taurik was calling her beautiful and leaning towards her.

Then she was kissing Taurik.

No. Taurik was kissing her!

Any argument she might have made dissolved at the sensation of his lips on hers. His tongue was oddly rough and his mouth cool, and when she touched his tongue with hers he moaned and the sound shot heat straight into her belly.

Everything he said only made her warm to him more, and as she finally told him she wanted him, she did something she’d been dying to do since the day she’d met him and tunnelled one of her hands into his hair as she pulled him in for another kiss.

Oh, it was like silk. The dark strands slipped between her fingers like the threads of heaven and when she made a fist, tugging it lightly, she felt Taurik growl into her mouth. Smiling, Sito pulled back and watched him with heavy-lidded eyes.

“Oh, like that did you?”

“Yes. Do it again,” Taurik said, and occupied her mouth once more, pressing her down into the mattress. His body was deceptively heavy, and the strength in his arms as he embraced her thrilled her. His uniform, it seemed, hid much and she was eager to uncover it.

The discovery that he enjoyed it when she pulled his hair spurred her on to drag her nails down the nape of his neck. She felt his whole body shudder and heard his breath hitch, then he was rolling his hips against her and… oh! There was something very firm pressing against her groin now.

To Sito’s frustration, her nervousness reasserted itself as Taurik removed his weight from her body and reached for the fastenings on his uniform. The electrostatic seam came apart with only the lightest brush of his fingers, revealing a thick undershirt, but watching Taurik undress was like watching someone unstack a matryoshka doll. Every time he removed a layer, it simply revealed a thinner layer underneath.

“Taim ar do shon go leir,” she whispered to herself in Bajoran, trying to calm her nerves as he pulled the final vest over his head, but she shouldn’t have underestimated Vulcan hearing.

“Is something wrong? Do you want me to stop?” Taurik asked, peering at her with such earnest intensity that lying didn’t even occur to her.

“It’s a Bajoran ritual saying,” she said sheepishly. “It's a bit long when translated into Federation Standard but it means something like… I open my body to you and gratefully receive you. It felt appropriate.”

She left out the part where this was usually recited at the conclusion of a wedding. If she was lucky, he would never find out, as she did not want to have to coax her Vulcan fuckbuddy out of a tree over a mistaken belief she tried to marry him.

Taurik appeared to mull her explanation over for a moment and then nodded. “That seems appropriate, given the circumstances.”

It was the playful little tilt of his head as he said it that made her laugh, and just like that, the awkwardness was gone again.

It just felt so good to relax for once, to let herself touch and be touched. She hadn’t realised how deeply isolated and alone she’d felt since the accident, and she reflected that it was probably deeply ironic that the person curing her touched starved state was a Vulcan, but all those jumbling, noisy thoughts were reduced to pleasant static when Taurik once more covered her body with his now naked torso, and set his lips against her neck.

“Oh, Taurik,” she moaned, tipping her head back. At the encouragement, he moved slightly lower, nipping down her throat as he pushed her bra straps off her shoulders. His hands were gentle, though the texture of his skin was strangely dry and rough, and everywhere he touched she felt a slight hum as if his body held a faint electrical charge. 

Anxiety melted away in the face of a building need.

Sito buried her hands in the silk of his hair as he kissed lower, sucking in a shaking breath as his lips trailed over the swell of her breast. He pulled her bra over her head and off her arms, setting it neatly to one side of his pillow, then paused to stare at her. Though his eyes were so dark it was sometimes hard to tell where the iris ended and the pupil began, her brain registered the sheer blackness of a predator’s focus and sent a lick of fear through her.

Strangely, the fear only seemed to heighten her own awareness of her body. Nerve endings that had succumbed to the numbness of exhaustion, depression, and neglect sparked to life, her skin seeming to tingle and her heart racing so hard she felt sure her pulse must be visible.

Prophets, why did he have to be so beautiful? His arms were thick and well defined, his forearms as darkly furred as his broad chest, though the hair narrowed to a single line as it approached his navel. The top of his uniform pants gaped open, revealing more dark hair above where his pants strained around his erection.

She wanted him so bad she couldn’t even think straight.

“Lay back,” Taurik said, his tone as calm and level as it ever was, but his already deep voice was now like gravel shifting on the ocean floor. Sito shivered and did as she was told, hooking her thumbs into the waistband of her half-off jumpsuit and easing it over her hips. Taurik’s gaze dipped to watch as her pale skin was revealed, though he stayed kneeling beside her, his hands hanging loosely by his sides. 

It was a vulnerable feeling, being naked in front of Taurik like this, especially when his face betrayed nothing of his thoughts.

“Do you require preparation?" He asked gravely, and Sito giggled. "That was not a joke."

"I didn't think it was,” she said, biting her lip. “Typically, I would, but honestly I’m pretty turned on.”

"May I... may I look at you?"

"You're looking at me now," she teased, knowing what he meant but wanting to hear the ridiculous way he'd undoubtedly phrase it.

"I mean, may I look at your kotik,” he asked, then added hopefully. “And touch you?”

“You’ll have to touch me if you want to proceed,” she teased and felt a little thrill of amusement when his brows twitched together.

“Sito,” he said, a hint of vexation in his tone. She beamed at him and all was apparently forgiven in an instant. He gave her what could only be called a peck on her lips, then shifted from kneeling alongside her to kneeling between her legs.

Sito had to calm her breathing as he settled his broad, rough palms on her knees and simply pushed. She was completely open to him now, his dark gaze singularly focused on her most intimate of places.

“Pink,” he breathed. It was a ridiculous thing to say. Of course it was pink, she was red-blooded, but the idea that he might not have considered this part of her before made her suddenly deeply ashamed. What the heck was she doing?

Unthinkingly, she slipped a hand between her legs, her fingers blocking her wet slit from view. Taurik’s hand shot out, grabbing her wrist in a move that seemed to surprise them both. His dark eyes flicked to hers, pinning her with the intensity of his gaze.

“Don’t,” he said softly. “Don’t hide yourself from me.”

He released her wrist and Sito withdrew her hand. Mollified, Taurik returned his hands to her knees, rubbing his palms down her thighs as he lowered himself to regard her closer. Sito’s nervousness saw her try to close her legs but Taurik’s hands stopped her, and her strength was no match for his. The knowledge he could do as he pleased and she would not be able to stop him sent a dark thrill through her and she felt a little trickle of her arousal escape.

Suddenly his fingers were brushing through her folds, gathering up her wetness, and her hips hitched up off the bed.

“Your smell is strong here,” Taurik said and Sito flushed.

“You have to qualify if that’s a good thing or bad thing because that’s the kind of statement which can freak a girl out.”

“It is deeply arousing,” Taurik rumbled and Sito relaxed, at least until his fingers returned to their exploring. She couldn’t bring herself to look at him, forcing herself to lie back and stare at the blank white ceiling above his bed. Her breathing was a laboured sound filling the room as his index traced the outside of her entrance curiously, then wandered up to the double, v-shaped ridges just above it.

Sito keened as his fingers passed over the sensitive nerve endings and Taurik redoubled his efforts there, the pad of his finger spanning both ridges as he traced their shape lightly.

“You like this?”

“Yes,” Sito panted. “Yes, very much. Harder.”

He pressed down more firmly, dragging his finger up then down and she keened again, wriggling her hips. He grew a little rougher, now massaging the sensitive ridges with two fingers that he moved back and forth faster and faster.

Taurik was a sensory overload. Not only were his strong fingers particularly adept at this, his rough skin combined with the strange tingling sensation his touch left in its wake, was driving her crazy.

To her great shame, he had her panting and writhing with minimal effort and Sito found her heels scrabbling in the sheets for purchase as she tried to push her hips more firmly against his fingers. A pressure was building behind her navel, a tingling growing from the soles of her feet up her legs and into her lower back. He was going to make her cum.

Suddenly his fingers were gone and Sito cried out, sitting up to see why he’d stopped.

Taurik’s hair was slightly dishevelled, and it could have been her imagination but he seemed to be breathing a little fast. His hands were on his waistband and in one movement he had his pants around his knees.

“Oh,” Sito gasped as his lok sprang free, but if Taurik was self-conscious he didn’t let it show. Not that he had anything to be self-conscious about.

His lok was a deep emerald at the tip though it faded to a more copper colour at the base. The whole thing was pleasingly thick and while the flared head at the top of his lok was expected, the second flared ridge below was not and it was even wider than the first. Sito’s heart rate quickened at the thought of him inside her, stretching her over his thick, eager lok. The one reassuring thing she noted was that his lok already shone like it was covered in oil, the lights of the room highlighting every vein and delicious looking bump, and she distantly remembered reading that Vulcan males self-lubricated. As she watched, a fat drop of liquid appeared at the tip and hung like an enticing dew drop before weeping onto the sheets between her legs and she felt her own body clench in response, briefly wondering what he'd taste like.

“I wish to have you now,” he said, and it was frustrating how level his still voice was.

“If you’re still sure —” Sito began but Taurik, for the first time, displayed impatience.

“I am,” he said quickly, and then his hand was on her thigh, steadying himself as his other hand guided the glistening tip of his lok against her. He ran its fat head between her folds, nudging her soft parting with each pass, spreading more and more of their mutual excitement between them.

Then he was pushing, pushing, pushing. She waited for pain but it never came, only a profound and alien sensation of fullness as the first ridge breached her, spreading her tight, slick walls, only to be followed by the second stiff ridge. She dug her nails into his shoulders as he pressed it in, the stretch as delicious as she’d anticipated, leaving her on the brink of too much but not tipping her over it. The bite of her nails Taurik only took as encouragement to continue, pressing ever deeper until he felt the resistance of her deepest place and the warmth of her thighs against his hips.

Sito keened softly against him as he rolled his hips against the firm barrier of her depths.

They lay together for a moment, bodies pressed as close as two peoples could be, Sito languishing in delight at the way he stretched her while Taurik fought against the urge to rut into her liquid pressure and heat. Every quiver of her tender muscles around him was the most delicious torture imaginable.

I’ll go mad. The thought bubbled up inside Sito from somewhere, and she wondered if it had been an accidental broadcast from Taurik. His eyes were closed in concentration, his slanted brows furrowed.

Sito’s gentle hands cupped his face, bringing his attention back to her.

She wondered if he could feel her emotions, entwined as deeply as they were. Did he know how good he was making her feel? How overwhelmingly grateful she was that he was trying to help her? How, at this point, she didn’t even care if it helped or not because he just felt so unbelievably good inside of her?

“Please,” she panted, clinging to him with a desperate need from which only the strength of his arms anchored her. He started to move, so gently at first it felt like teasing and she nipped at his lips in reproach. He moved harder then, faster, driving into her until it felt like he was pushing all coherent thought out of her.

All Sito could do was push back against him, trying to meet his thrusts with sloppy, artless raises of her own hips. Her higher brain function gone, only incoherent need left in its place. 

A terrible empty yearning was opening up inside her, so savage and dark and deep she almost didn’t understand what was happening until a hot burst of pleasure radiated out from her core and she cried out in surprise. His thrusts became harder then, and her body met them eagerly, the two of them falling into sync. With her body charged with the aftershocks of her release, she felt like she could take anything he cared to give and she spread her legs wider, tipping back her head, submitting to him completely.

He certainly had no compunction about taking what she offered.

Their joining was as elegant as it was bittersweet. Taurik’s stamina was faultless and everything about his body thrilled her to her core. The only problem was, at no point did he give any indication he was enjoying himself. His face remained a neutral mask of tranquillity throughout. He made no noises, save for his harsh breaths, which in turn made Sito self-conscious of the moans and cries he was eliciting from her.

He felt good, he felt better than good, but did he enjoy her?

It was for the best, she supposed. She wasn’t liable to fall in love with him if he fucked her like a corpse attached to a piston.

Her only warning that he was getting close was a sudden change in the energy that fizzed along his skin and a slight glaze to his eyes. Then he exhaled, one long, shaky breath, and she felt warmth surge inside her. He dropped his head to her shoulder, seemingly content to remain inside her, and to her surprise she felt him continuing to twitch, the warmth becoming a pressure as he filled her far more than she expected. She groaned in pleasure at the surprise, her thighs tightening against his sides, and for a moment she thought she felt a flicker of amusement that wasn’t her own.

He wasn’t going to win any passionate love making awards but he delivered what he’d promised with a much needed orgasm to boot. She felt boneless from the deep, thorough fucking, and a warm, soothing sensation started to spread throughout her body. It was almost a numbness that spread from her stomach out along her limbs, drawing pleasurable tingles in its wake.

She almost couldn't believe it. It was working.

“Taurik,” she sighed, running her fingers through his silky hair as she felt her eyelids start to flutter shut. “Perfect.”

Taurik pulled himself up, taking his delicious weight off her, and as the yawning void of sleep finally pulled her under, she thought he almost looked like he was smiling.

Almost.

Chapter Text

Vorik hoisted both of his bags and disembarked the shuttle. As soon as all passengers cleared the platform, they were herded through a gloomy wet San Francisco afternoon into the arrivals terminal. Vorik spotted his brother immediately, standing near the back of the room in his Starfleet cadet uniform, but found himself hesitating to approach.

Even from a distance, Vorik noted his brother had lost weight, though by contrast his shoulders seemed broader. His hair was cut more square than he’d ever worn it back home, making his face seem angular and gaunt. Even the way he held himself seemed different, looser, and was it a trick of the light or was Taurik somehow taller?

For so much of their lives, they’d never been apart for more than a day or two, and looking into one another’s face was like looking into a mirror. Now, they’d been apart for three hundred and sixty three standard Earth days and more than time separated them.

A shiny, golden delta did.

Though Vorik’s mind was churning, Taurik seemed to feel no such hesitation. The moment he saw his brother, he strode towards him and raised his hand. The brothers pressed palms briefly, and just like that, their fraternal tel flared back to life and Vorik’s hesitation eased.

He was still Taurik; still his brother, and he was glad Vorik was here.

“Your trip was uneventful?” Taurik asked, taking one of the bags from Vorik.

“Yes. Thank you for meeting me here.”

“Gratitude is unnecessary,” Taurik replied, leading the way through the automatic doors and into the street. He walked with a brisk pace and Vorik easily fell into step beside him. The brothers walked in silence through neighbourhoods that were a hodgepodge of eras and styles, passing businesses that catered to Terrans and non-Terrans alike, until they reached an area where the buildings were taller, more modern, and more uniform in style. These Vorik recognised from the brochure. The grounds of Starfleet Academy.

“These are the dormitory buildings where Sam and I reside. Your building will not be accessible until the term officially starts in two days but it is in the next block over. The building with the red trim.” Taurik gestured and Vorik glanced in the direction, spotting a near identical looking building with a red trim instead of a green one.

“I generally sleep between 1am and 5am, so you may utilise the bed before or after that time. There is not enough space for us both to share.”

“I surmised from your previous messages. May we go inside?”

“We may.”

After that it was a simple matter of dropping off his bags. The tour consisted of Taurik pointing out which bed was his and the door to the refresher, then the two men toured the campus, breaking for a small meal at the canteen, the protocols of which Taurik explained. Vorik noticed his brother inclining his head to a number of people in uniform and wondered if his social circles would also expand so prolifically while he was here.

Taurik had always been the more social of the two, and Vorik had simply followed where his brother led. When Taurik had secured early admission to Starfleet Academy, it had on some level pained Vorik. To not only be separated from his brother, but to be separated by a lack of ability, was a double blow.

He let nothing of his thoughts show now as he finished off a pre-prepared meal of what Taurik called ‘Spaghetti á la Vulcan’.

“They attempt to approximate other species' cuisines using native plants,” Taurik explained.

“And what, precisely, is this meant to approximate?”

“I am unsure, but it is palatable.”

After the meal, Vorik and Taurik were forced to part ways as Taurik headed to an engineering practical, and Vorik retraced his way to the dorms alone.

There was a time when distance wouldn’t have dulled their connection, but a year on different planets had weakened their tel so that every step carried his brother away from him both physically and mentally. Back in the room, Vorik found himself sitting on Taurik’s bed and staring at the empty bunk opposite as he concentrated on the distant presence at the back of his mind.

It was at least something after a year of nothing.

Vorik closed his eyes and hung his head, clasping his hands between his knees and letting his thoughts turn inwards.

What was he doing here?

Starfleet was Taurik’s dream, not his. Ever since the recruiters had come to their school, Taurik’s impressive academic record and innovative research projects attracting their attention, Taurik’s mind had been in the stars. That he’d developed those projects with Vorik was immaterial to Starfleet in light of Vorik’s far more modest academic achievements. They had wanted Taurik. They didn’t need Vorik.

Vorik had spent the last year struggling to get his grades up, attending cram schools at night in an attempt to block out the sucking void at the back of his mind where his brother had once been, and spending his weekends neglecting the family business in favour of experimental projects that might catch a Starfleet recruiter’s eye. He’d never wanted anything other than to be by his brother’s side but the reality that Taurik might be going somewhere he couldn’t follow weighed on him. He’d expected the feeling to disappear once he reached Earth, but if anything his unease had only increased at seeing how at ease Taurik was here.

A single thought had been percolating through his mind the entire voyage from Raal to San Francisco, despite his attempts to suppress it, and the thought surfaced again now: Maybe Taurik would be better off without him…

Vorik was pulled from his musings by the sound of the door whoosing open. A dark haired human strode in sporting a padd in each hand. He startled when he saw Vorik sitting on the bed, his furrowed brow smoothing and a smile lighting up his face.

“Hey! You must be the brother! Vorik, right?” The human casually tossed both the padds like they were frisbees onto his own bed and strode towards Vorik who rose in response. He started to stick his hand out in the human gesture they called a handshake, but snatched back his hand half way, instead spreading his fingers into an approximation of the ta’al, though he had to stick his first two fingers forwards slightly to make it work.

“Dif-tor hay smoosma,” he said confidently, despite butchering the phrase to the point Vorik found it hard to understand. “I’m working on the hand bit still.”

“Sochya eh Dif,” Vorik replied more smoothly, raising his hand in an effortless salute. The human beamed. “If you require the room, kindly let me know and I will vacate it.”

“Are you kidding?” The human said brightly. “I’ve been dying to meet you. Not literally, of course, in case you’re not used to human hyperbole. I’m Sam, by the way.”

“I surmised,” Vorik said.

“T talks about you all the time. Way he tells it, in his oh so logical and stoic way of his, is you’re some kind of mechanical genius. Is it true you found a junked up old flitter in the desert and you were able to reverse engineer the propulsion matrix to create, like, a sorta maglev? Which you used to carry huge magnetic geodes home?”

“Yes.”

Sam burst out laughing as if Vorik had said something funny.

That had been a long time ago now, and Vorik did not think decoupling a repulsor array and welding it onto a sheet of metal was a particularly interesting piece of engineering. Flitters, especially old two-man models, had removable power banks, and a repulsor array lifting a weight one third that of the flitter required significantly less power, especially when Vorik had forgone any kind of navigational equipment in favour of tying his robe through a hole he’d cut into the frame and simply pulling the floating array along.

His mother had been displeased that he’d damaged his robe and burned his arms under the desert sun, but the revelation that the rocks were mildly radioactive had ensured he’d not been allowed any unsupervised trips into the desert again until he was almost an adult.

“Well you’re going to fit in around here. Sometimes I think all engineers are completely nuts.”

“Nuts?” Vorik repeated, his brows twitching. He was finding Sam’s casual way of talking difficult to follow.

“Cuckoo, bananas, coco loco. You know, playing a few cards short of a full deck.”

“You think I am mentally unwell?” Vorik asked and Sam laughed again.

“I’m just yanking your chain. That means I’m being playful in an attempt to initiate the human ritual of male bonding.”

Vorik’s eyebrows shot up and Sam made a pained expression.

“Man I don’t learn, do I? Look, forget everything I just said. I’ll try to be a bit more literal with you until your brother catches you up on the lingo. I’m… look. Taurik is like my best friend, and I hope you and I can become friends too.”

Vorik nodded. “I look forward to deepening our acquaintance.”

“Don’t worry, I’m going to take care of you just like I did your bro. I’ll show you around all the fun parts of town. If you’re more daring than Taurik, I’ll even introduce you to some girls, though in his defence he’s a truly exceptional wingman. Girls go nuts for Vulcans around here, dude. I think it’s mostly the ones who have emotionally distant fathers but hey, we all have to come from somewhere, right?”

Though charmed by the human’s overtures of friendship, Vorik had no idea what Sam was talking about so he just stared at him, waiting for something he could conceivably respond to to come out of the human’s mouth.

“Oh, shit, I gotta run. Word on the street is Ol’ Scotty cooked up some kind of surprise tactical manoeuvring exam for tomorrow so I convinced Grasha at the arcade to let me and some of the boys use the flight sims in the back to practise against Cardassian tactical engrams. It’s either gonna be them or Romulans in the exams, I think. I hope it’s not Romulans, I can’t stand them. Uh— like… in a military sense, I mean. You know what I mean. Anyway, it was a pleasure meeting you, V. We’ll catch up later, alright?”

Who Scotty, Grasha, or the boys were was not explained before the ever-grinning whirlwind that was Sam gathered up a bag by the desk and vanished back into the corridor. Vorik stared at the closed door for several moments, turning the conversation over in his head.

Humans were… well he would require time to get used to them. However, he had drawn one salient point away from the conversation with Sam… Taurik had told his friends about him.

Of course he knew his brother hadn’t simply forgotten about him, but Sam had been well disposed towards him in a way that seemed to suggest Taurik had been complementary. Had he spoken of him often, he wondered?

Vorik lay down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. He slotted his hands behind his head and closed his eyes, reaching out through his tel to his brother’s distant presence. He got a slightly irritated shove back and unobserved in the dim lights of the room, Vorik allowed himself a little smile.

Could he make it work here, he wondered? Could he find a space for himself like Taurik had? Would he even acquire an enthusiastic human companion like Sam? Vorik had often heard disparaging remarks about the human propensity for attachment and their almost obsessive behaviour regarding Vulcan ears, but if Taurik found Sam objectionable he’d have raised it with Vorik before now surely?

Vorik was pulled from his musings by the sound of a buzzer. The door buzzer, he realised belatedly.

“Open,” he called, expecting Taurik, but a purple-skinned Axanar stepped into the room, squinting its vertical slitted eyes in the gloom. Vorik knew little about the Axanar, but just from observing its behaviour he could tell it found the heat and dimness of the room not to its liking.

“I was sent to retrieve you by Sam,” it said, a deep voice inclining Vorik to suspect it was a male. Though, applying Vulcan cultural norms to an alien seemed an illogical approach.

“For what purpose?” Vorik asked.

“Cadet Vizhar returned from his spawn leave and brought a crate of Saurian Brandy with him. He’s raffling off bottles in the rec room. Sam said you might be interested in coming along.”

Vorik hesitated. Sam certainly moved quickly. He’d been out of the room for less than ten minutes and already he was making an effort to assist Vorik in expanding his social circles. Then again, perhaps this was Sam’s subtle way of introducing Vorik to the human custom of gift giving. While gift giving was highly ritualised in all cultures, Vorik had extensively researched humans and knew presenting one with a bottle of alcohol was appropriate and likely to win favour, especially if you were infringing on their personal space for any duration of time.

Yes. This was an excellent opportunity to develop both his relationship with his brother’s roommate and fellow Starfleet cadets.

“I would be pleased to join you. My name is Vorik,” Vorik said, raising his hand in the ta’al. The Axanar raised its hand with splayed fingers, making only the most half-hearted attempt at replicating the gesture.

“Pistrumakas,” the Axanar replied. “Do not shorten it.”

Vorik followed his new acquaintance to a large communal area at the end of the hall where a group of people had already gathered. Pink-cheeked humans and Zaldans, blue-skinned Andorians and Bolians, and hirsute Tellarites and Caitans all mingled easily together. There were so many people, so many overlapping voices, loud and chaotic, that it took Vorik a moment to realise the Axanar beside him was talking into his communicator.

“Yeah. In the rec room… yeah… with Sam’s Vulcan… yeah, it’s about to start…” Pistrumakas closed his commline.

Had he already forgotten Vorik’s name? Vorik knew most species did not have the same perfect recall as Vulcans, but he wondered if it was common to be referred to by your species rather than who you were in Starfleet? It seemed unlikely…

There was an exchange of credits and tickets were obtained, then Vorik found himself abandoned while Pistrumakas wandered off to talk to a group of Zaldan cadets he seemed to already be familiar with.

As the raffle began, Vorik observed quietly. Cadets, even those of different species, stood close together, frequently touching and varying their facial expressions. The novelty of witnessing such social interactions kept Vorik’s attention, despite his discomfort with the general chaos and noise of his surroundings.

It wasn’t as if he’d never met a non-Vulcan before — he had often accompanied his mother on digs as a child — but he guessed people moderated their behaviour when Vulcans were the majority in a way they didn’t when Vulcans were in the minority. In fact, Vorik idly noted he was the only Vulcan in the room.

There were so many new species, so many new faces and customs and mannerisms. He’d been on the planet for only a few hours and already he felt overwhelmed.

Movement out of the corner of his eye drew his attention, and Vorik saw a slender, blonde Bajoran woman enter the room with a small group of cadets. She looked around, her mannerisms oddly skittish, until her gaze landed on him and she smiled, her shoulders dropping in apparent relief.

The noise level in the room spiked again as someone’s number was called out and they moved to claim their bottle, but Vorik ignored the event, watching the woman thread through the crowd towards him.

“There you are,” she said, beaming at him as she came to stand in front of him.

“You were looking for me?” Vorik asked and the woman nodded, continuing to smile gently at him.

“Sam mentioned that Cadet Vizhar might be doing a raffle. I don’t drink alcohol but I know Sam loves Saurian brandy so I figured if I win a bottle, I can give it to him as a thanks for setting this up.” She gestured between them and Vorik blinked at her.

What was… this? Unless… Had Sam sent her here looking for him? He had mentioned he was willing to introduce Vorik to women, with a promise that women were partial to associating with Vulcans — not that Vorik had quite followed Sam’s reasoning about that having something to do with their fathers — but if that was what was happening here then Sam Lavelle had a level of efficiency to rival even the most accomplished of Vulcan matchmakers.

“I was thinking along the same lines,” he said.

“Well, why don’t we pool resources and double our chances of making Sam happy then?” She scrunched her nose at him, briefly leaving his side to purchase her tickets. When she returned, the first thing she did was smile at him again.

Vorik found himself staring at her, noting the way her smile caused the skin around her eyes to crease, and the ridges on her nose to bunch in a manner that was — to him — unusual but not unappealing. However, when her gaze flicked behind him, her smile faltered a little.

Vorik followed her gaze and found one of the Zaldan cadets Pistrumakas was talking to was now staring at them, his eyes trained on Sito. Sito’s evident unease only increased as the man approached.

“Hey, aren’t you that girl—”

“Hi!” She interrupted brightly, though it didn’t take Vulcan-levels of observation to register her jovial expression was now forced. “I’m Sito, Sito Jaxa. It’s nice to meet you.”

She extended a hand across Vorik towards Pistrumakas' friend who glanced at it but didn’t take it.

“I know who you are,” the Zaldan sneered, flashing his sharp tricuspids at her. Vorik felt his hackles instinctually raise at such a brazen and aggressive challenge.

The girl, Sito, pulled her hand back to her chest, a blush rising to her cheeks as she trained her polite gaze on the ground between them.

“Come on, Vulcan,” the Zaldan said, already turning his back on Sito and moving back towards his group. "You can hang with us."

Perhaps there was subtext here he was missing, but Vorik knew what manners looked like, and he could not approve of the Zaldan’s.

“She’s here to see me,” Vorik replied firmly and man’s eyes narrowed even further. He continued staring at Vorik for several seconds but Vorik met his gaze impassively. The Zaldan snorted and turned away, seemingly done with them both.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Sito said quietly.

“He was being rude,” Vorik replied.

“I’m okay, really. That happens… a lot,” she said sadly. “I probably shouldn’t have come up here. I just wanted to say hi.”

“Hello,” Vorik said and felt relieved when she smiled again, even if it was a much smaller one accompanied by a shy glance.

“Would you prefer to continue our conversation in private?” He asked, feeling a thrill of satisfaction when her small smile became a big one. If nothing else, this social encounter was at least going well.

“We can leave separately…” she began, another shadow of doubt flickering across her face and dimming the smile he was trying to keep on her face. Well, that wouldn’t do.

“Unnecessary,” Vorik said quickly. “Lead the way.”

“Let’s use my quarters. This place is too loud,” she said and Vorik followed her out of the rec room.

They walked a short distance then traversed a sky tunnel into an adjoining building, leaving the ruckus of the raffle far behind them. There were cadets lounging about in the shared spaces here, but their uniforms identified them as third year cadets and their behaviour was appropriately more subdued and professional. Vorik examined them as he passed, noting that most were human, but spotting a Benzite, several Rigellians, and most curiously, an Antedean wearing a pressurised suit.

“Here we are,” Sito said, tapping a code into the panel by her door. Vorik followed her in, noting her room was a clone of his brother’s, save for the fact one side of the room was notably barren of personal possessions. Sito, it seemed, didn’t have a roommate which struck him as curious given how it was stressed space was at a premium in the student dorms.

“It will be easier to converse here,” Vorik observed, unsure of where to sit given the only chairs in the room were parked underneath the twin desks by the window. Not that she had yet invited him to sit. He was unsure of the social protocols so he turned back to Sito to patiently await instructions.

“Thanks again for sticking up for me with that Zaldan. I know he’s one of Pistrumakas’ friends but Zaldans can be… a little intimidating. Their society is very rigid so people like me… people who have made mistakes… we’re seen as… less.”

“I would not have let him harm you.”

“I believe you,” she said softly, taking a step towards him, and another one of those smiles made Vorik stand straighter. He was getting very fond of the sight of her smiles.

It occurred to Vorik at this point that he hadn’t properly introduced himself, so he began to raise his hand in the ta’al but his words of formal introduction caught in his throat as she reached between them and embraced him so firmly that her soft breasts compressed against his chest. The sensation was… not unpleasant.

“By the way, can I just say that you look gorgeous?”

Vorik’s mouth opened and closed without any sound coming out.

“Is that a traditional Vulcan robe? The craftsmanship is exquisite,” she continued, leaning back just enough that she was able to run her fingers along the embroidery at his neck. Vorik stiffened at the casual contact. However, he was aware not all cultures viewed physical touch with the same level of taboo as Vulcans so he forced himself not to step away or remove her hand.

She was a friend of Sam’s, if not Taurik’s, and they were becoming acquainted with one another. For all he knew, this level of touch was completely appropriate between Bajorans.

“My father is a tailor—” Vorik began and Sito smiled up at him again, arresting his train of thought. Why did he find it so difficult to think when she was smiling at him? It made no sense!

“Really? So he made this for you?”

“No, he taught me how to embroider. This is my own work.”

“Wow,” she breathed. “That’s incredible. You’re a man of many talents.”

Vorik blinked, preparing a humble response to be paired with a proper introduction, but whatever he was about to say was cut off by the warm, soft press of her lips against his as she twined her arms around his shoulders.

“I’m so sorry,” she breathed as soon as she broke the contact, her hands stroking down the back of his head, ruffling the short hair at the nape of his neck in a way that sent shocks of pleasure down his spine. “You look so good I just couldn’t help myself.”

While Vorik couldn’t profess to know a lot about Bajoran culture, he was fairly certain touching lips was considered an intimacy and not something casually shared between new acquaintances. What was going on here?

“I just wanted to thank you again for what you did back there. You really didn’t have to. Also, I know this is probably a bit sooner than you expected, but if you’re free then I could really use your help.”

A bit soon!? They’d just met and she was kissing him! Surely she wasn’t that grateful he had reprimanded Pistrumakas’ friend…

Vorik seized onto the one part of the conversation that made sense.

“Help with what?” He asked.

“Vulcans,” she huffed good naturedly. “Do you want me to beg, is that it? Or maybe barter? That’s not very gentlemanly of you.”

Her smile was very appealing, her good humour putting him a little more at ease. She didn’t seem upset or worried, and it wasn’t like he didn’t like what was happening, he just wished it made a little more sense.

“I apologise. I am not very practised in these kinds of interactions,” he said, taking a step back and breaking her embrace. “I’m afraid you will need to explain.”

Sito laughed and slipped off her jacket. Her undershirt was short-sleeved and tight, and not only did it allow Vorik to discern the shape of her undergarments, he also saw the twin bumps of stiff nipples that he found quite difficult to look away from. However, before he could really appreciate the view, she grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head.

Vorik’s brain short circuited. The ability to speak, which was something he’d taken for granted his whole life, was suddenly outside of his reach. Sito didn’t seem perturbed, taking his silence for agreement as she pushed him back towards the bed. When his knees hit the frame, she shoved him and he tumbled onto the sheets, his lok everting so suddenly at her assertiveness it made him gasp.

“I hope this is alright,” she said, seemingly self-conscious at the noise.

“I am just a little… surprised,” Vorik managed to force out. “I wasn’t expecting this.”

“I’m so sorry, I’ve been a little presumptuous, haven’t I? Are you busy or is it okay if we have sex now?”

“Sex?” Vorik repeated. “You want to have sex with me now?”

“Believe me, the last thing I want to do is to make you feel used or like some kind of sex object, but I have a practical flight exam first thing tomorrow morning on the simulator, and I haven’t been able to sleep much the last few days. I could really use a dose of that wonderful sleep serum you’ve got.”

“Sleep serum?” He repeated.

“Oh don’t chastise me for my improper use of terminology!” She laughed, coming to straddle his lap. When her warm crotch came in contact with his everted lok, Vorik had to fight another gasp. “It is my hope that we can copulate to a successful conclusion as I am exhausted and nothing remedies insomnia better than a deep, warm dose of Vulcan seminal fluid. Happy?”

An unfortunately imprecise understanding of what was happening hit Vorik.

That she wished to have sex with him in order to induce sleep due to some kind of insomnia was obvious. Where his logic broke down was how he fit together the other pieces of the puzzle.

His assumption was that his whereabouts had been conveyed to her by Sam. Sam who, presumably, knew she was in search of a Vulcan mate and who knew he was a newly arrived and unattached Vulcan. She had sought Vorik out and, when she was in need, he had defended her, thus proving himself to be a strong and reliable mate.

That she had found him in Taurik’s dormitory, wearing Taurik’s face, and that this woman had greeted him with a shocking amount of familiarity, didn’t factor into his equations at all. After all, between Vulcans — a race of psionically sensitive telepaths — there could never have been any confusion between him and Taurik.

“Is now a bad time?” She asked, biting her lip in a way that was strangely appealing to him. Some of Vorik’s timidness disappeared and he allowed his hands to come up to frame her waist.

“My schedule for the day is clear. I am happy to be of service if I am appealing to you.”

“Oh you’re very appealing,” she cooed, giving him another one of those brilliant smiles he enjoyed so much. “Thank you. You have no idea how grateful I am.”

SHE was grateful? Vorik was in awe at the turn of events, but before he could voice his own appreciation, Sito’s lips sipped lightly against his and Vorik felt the tug of her smile followed by the soft, wet flick of her tongue. It was an exceedingly novel sensation, and he let out a shuddering breath as he pressed his mouth more firmly against hers. His clumsy attempt at returning the kiss earned him a chuckle and he belatedly realised his sexual inexperience was likely a problem. He needed to ask more questions.

Reluctantly, Vorik broke the fumbling kiss.

“Wait. Are there any parameters we should discuss ahead of time?” Vorik asked, feeling a nervous flutter in his stomach.

“Parameters?” She asked, reaching behind herself to undo the clasps on her bra.

“Anything I should be mindful of, refrain from touching or doing, a preference you would like to share?”

She looked thoughtful for a moment.

“I… I don’t know. I guess I haven’t really thought about it. I mean, I guess we’d just… you know… I’d lie back and you’d… do your thing…”

“Understood,” he said with a curt nod, not wanting to reveal his inexperience and potentially dissuade her from taking him as a mate. He was confident he understood enough about the mechanics of sex to bring this to a successful conclusion. He could hopefully intuit the rest as he went.

He started to lean forward, trying to reinitiate the kissing process, but Sito drew back, eyeing him sceptically.

“Do you want to try something else?” She asked. “I don’t want you getting bored of this.”

“I strongly suspect I will not.”

She giggled but it didn’t sound mocking, and he noted her posture relaxing. Excellent.

“I was simply curious if there was anything I could do to make this more pleasant for you.”

Sito tipped her head to one side, but Vorik got the impression her silence was thoughtful more than reproachful. After a moment she reached out and gently stroked his cheek, her gaze soft, and he shivered at the feather-light touch of her fingers when they skimmed over his psi-points.

“You know, I’m really glad you’re starting to relax around me. It means a lot to me that you’re being so open and I’m really thrilled you’re into experimenting a bit more.”

Vorik started to formulate a response but she chose that moment to remove her bra and anything he might have been about to say was suddenly very unimportant. Her skin was very pale and her nipples very… pink.

“May I touch you?” He asked, already reaching for her, and she laughed.

“I’d encourage it!”

He stretched out an eager hand, but paused at the last moment, his palm hovering just above the swell of her breast.

“If you wish to stop, or discuss this further before we proceed, you need only let me know.”

Sito gave him a fond look and trailed her fingers through his hair in a gesture that felt both startlingly intimate and stunningly affectionate. It took an exertion of will on his part not to nuzzle into the touch like a sehlat pup.

“I trust you.”

“I have done very little to earn that trust,” Vorik sighed, but before he could say anything more, he felt her warm hand grasping his and guiding it to her breast.

“Then earn it now,” she whispered. “Be gentle with me. Make me feel good.”

The moment the soft flesh touched his palm an awareness of her flared in his mind. She ached for him and all of Vorik’s reluctance vanished.

“Like this,” she said, her voice breathy as she guided his thumb and forefinger to his nipple. “Roll it like that. Don’t pinch too hard, but be firm. Tug it. Like that. Yes.”

Vorik brought up his other hand, repeating the gesture on her other breast, and Sito tipped her head back, her hands covering his but not attempting to guide his movements. After a few moments of enjoying his attention, she reached up and began to pull pins from her hair, shaking the golden tresses loose.

When she opened her eyes and saw Vorik’s expression she openly laughed, but he could feel her delight through their touch and he revelled in it.

“Something you wanna say to me, hot stuff?” She asked, grinning at him wickedly.

“You are as radiant as a sun goddess,” Vorik breathed and Sito surged forward, digging her hands into his hair and holding him in place for a deep, passionate kiss. Vorik groaned, his hips starting to thrust up against her, the bunching fabric of his robes only serving to frustrate him.

Sito apparently shared his frustration as she scrambled off his lap, tugging her uniform pants down.

“Come on then,” she laughed. “Or do robes traditionally stay on during sex?”

“They do not,” Vorik said, disrobing in record time and not caring that the discarded clothing was left in a rumpled pile by the bed.

He expected some kind of pause here to allow them to regard each other’s naked forms and familiarise themselves with each other's biologies, but Sito simply crawled into his lap, pushing him back onto the sheets as she ran her hands up his chest and resumed kissing him.

Vorik wrapped his arms around her, splaying his hands across her back and waist, feeling the bones and muscles shift beneath her skin. The intimacy was stunning. To hold someone in his arms like this was beyond anything he could have imagined but after he had mapped the topography of her body, paying special attention to the delightful give of her pert ass underneath his palms, he became frustrated by the restrictions of Sito laying atop him. He wanted to see more of her, touch more of her.

Vorik broke the kiss and pushed her up into a kneeling position.

“Lay back,” he commanded and Sito scrambled backwards towards her pillow, setting herself down with her legs spread invitingly.

Vorik repressed a shiver at her eager obedience.

Her skin was luminous, the broadness of her hips and the thickness of her thighs inviting his hands to explore them. She welcomed his touch, arching and writhing beneath him, her own hands kneading her breasts when he abandoned them to trace gentle trails over the soft swell of her stomach. Her stomach muscles jumped at his feathery touch, and she chastised him when he repeated a movement that made her whole body jerk.

When she pushed his head lower down, the scent of her filled his nose and Vorik felt his discipline starting to erode. The feel of her silken thighs as he ran his hands down them, forcing her to spread herself open for his perusal, was a temptation to madness. But not as much of a temptation as when he drew his fingers down her soft pink lips, parting them with a gentle, wet sound and revealing her glistening depths.

“Exquisite,” he intoned, and the word dripped like warm honey on her beleaguered soul. She whimpered, raising her hips and he needed no further invitation.

He slipped his middle and ring finger inside of her and they both groaned. Nothing could have prepared him for the way she felt, the sensitive nerve endings in his fingertips exalting in the velvety, warm, wet depths that hugged him tightly. He twisted his hand slightly, wiggling his fingers experimentally until he found pressing two fingers up towards her navel caused a surge of sympathetic pleasure to explode through their shared connection.

With a little more experimentation, he found he could easily massage her plush walls while using his palm to grind against her clitoral ridges, and that this caused her to buck and twist and moan uncontrollably. It wasn’t long before his hand was soaked to the wrist by her arousal and he could feel a growing tension in her body that was coaxing long dormant instincts to override his discipline.

It was too much, but eager for more, Vorik added a third finger and began thrusting. It was harder to get the stimulation he wanted on his fingerpads like this, but the wet noises were causing all sorts of interesting things to happen in his brain as her whimpers made her sound like prey.

His lok was actively throbbing now and fully unsheathed. He shuffled closer on his knees until it was bobbing above her stomach and took a strange satisfaction in watching droplets of his own lubrication splatter against her skin, little dew drops trailing down over her heaving stomach as she panted on his fingertips.

When he inserted a fourth finger, twisting his hand slightly as he worked it in and out of her, she whimpered and began moving her hips as if she was trying to fuck his hand deeper. The sensory overload of having four of his fingers inside her made it hard to think. He wanted to chase this feeling more but he needed to gratify his mate…

The widest part of his hand met the resistance of her entrance and she gasped, her hands flying to his shoulders.

“You can’t put your whole hand in!” She squealed. “Are you crazy? You’ll break me!”

Vorik came back to his senses and pulled his hand free with an obscenely wet sucking sound. He blinked at her, briefly glancing at his glistening fingers. They were dripping all the way to his knuckles and her scent was overpowering.

He suddenly had the powerful urge to lick his fingers but even in his fevered state, that felt a little too obscene.

“Apologies,” he panted. “Having my fingers inside you like that was a little… overwhelming.”

Sito smiled at him. He was getting very fond of her smiles, but he was familiar enough with her now to note something different about this one.

“So you’re saying you liked to do it as much as I liked having it done?” She purred. “Something to do with your telepathy?”

“Yes,” he breathed. “To both enquiries.”

“Give me your other hand, I want to try something.”

Vorik obediently extended his left hand to her, and she sat up, grasping his palm and extending his index and middle finger towards her as if she was searching for an ozh’esta. Rather than pair their fingers, however, she playfully licked their tips. Vorik’s eyes widened.

All he could do was stare as Sito slipped the two digits into her mouth, sliding her tongue down his fingers until they were near the back of her throat and the tip of her tongue flicked the joint where his palm began. When she drew back, she applied suction, running her tongue between the two fingers then swirling around each of his fingertips.

Belatedly, Vorik realised he was panting open-mouthed and shut his mouth with a click of his teeth. He was too afraid she’d stop to do or say anything, watching her lave his fingers until she extended his ring and pinky and started giving them the same treatment.

There was a time for control, and there was a time for instinct, and instinct won out. Vorik groaned, tipping his head back as the hand still slick with Sito’s juices wandered down his body. He ran his fingers around the edge of his sheathe before grasping his lok and starting to pump it in time with Sito’s sucking.

When she noticed what he was doing, she groaned then pulled off his fingers with a loud pop.

“Prophets be good. Just fuck me already.”

Vorik was too caught up in the roiling dark impulses of his most base instincts to construct a verbal response. He reached down to grasp Sito by the hips but rather than draw her onto his dripping, aching lok immediately he simply let it drag heavily through her folds. She whined at him, which caused more interesting short circuits in his brain.

He knew what he had to do.

“Get on your knees,” he growled, aiding her in flipping over and hauling her ass up into the air until she was perfectly positioned for him. Sito barely had time to get her knees under herself before he drove his hips forward. The thrust dropped her to her elbows, her fingers fisting the sheets as she cried out.

It was nothing like he expected and his hoarse voice joined hers as her slick heat sucked him in all the way to his hilt. He bowed over her body, his heavy breaths panting against her neck as he tried to scrape back some measure of control.

It was impossible. She was so soft!

Everything Vorik thought he was died in that moment. Logic crumbled. Discipline shattered. Primitive biological need swelled inside of him until it consumed every rational thought in favour of the almost frantic need to move.

His body began to thrust entirely of its own accord, hips frantically pumping into her molten depths. His instincts roared at him to pin her in place so he did, using his weight to keep her trapped beneath him, his elbows braced on either side of her body as he ground his lok into her.

Sito gave no sign of discomfort, keening and panting beneath him. The way he had mounted her forced her legs a little too wide to properly hold her weight, so they flexed uselessly against the mattress, her toes scrabbling for purchase in the sheets, but every time she managed to raise herself even slightly he forced her back down with another deep, merciless thrust.

Their bodies rocked together, locked in the mindless rut of heat and friction. Nothing could have prepared him for how good this would feel, her body tensing and gripping him, her desire and satisfaction sizzling across her skin into the very depths of his soul.

"Listen to your little whimpers," Vorik growled, for once not caring at how laboured and strained his voice was. “You are so desperate for my lok.”

“Yes,” she keened, squeezing him even harder. Vorik groaned.

“Had I known the pleasure of your kotik I never would have hesitated to claim you.”

Sito’s hands pushed along the sheet, her fingers finding his and twining with them. It was too intimate a gesture. Too adoring. Vorik dropped his forehead against the back of her neck, licking the salt from her sweat dappled skin.

He could feel a pressure blooming somewhere between them, a tension that tightened and tightened like the coiling of a spring. Sito was beyond coherent noises now, gasping and whimpering as the pressure built and built and built until finally…

Vorik shouted, going rigid inside her as a roaring white surge of emotion pushed through him. He forgot how to breathe, his diaphragm tightening almost painfully as Sito clenched and tensed around his lok, her hips bucking weakly against his, a gush of fluid wetting his thighs.

“What was that?” He gasped. “I… I have never felt anything like it—”

Understanding sluggishly rose. When she’d orgasmed, he’d felt it, and not just physically. Their fingers were entwined, his lok buried deep inside her, and while their minds were not connected in the traditional sense, there was no shielding himself from her when so much of them was joined.

“Incredible. You’re incredible, Sito. More!” He tried to resume thrusting but Sito twisted, shoving at his shoulder. It was hard to dislodge a heavy Vulcan enough to get onto her back, but Vorik had enough presence of mind to obey his mate’s wishes, even though the heavy drag of his lok leaving her made them both whine.

She ran her hands over his forehead and through his hair, smoothing the damp strands back.

“Do I not please you, my mate?” He asked softly.

“I want to see you,” she panted. “I want to watch you as you… you want to keep going, right?”

“Oh yes,” he purred. “I am not done with you yet.”

His low voice sent desire pooling in her stomach once more, and she kissed him as he stretched his body over hers. She reached between them, positioning him, and he knew she could feel his amusement at her eagerness, but as soon as he was where she wanted him, he made it clear the time for talking was over.

Vorik pinned her arms above her head and drove himself into her as deep as he could go. Her body put up no resistance, her legs weakly gripping his sides and the wet slap of their bodies muted only by their own cries of ecstasy.

After all they had done, every nerve ending in his body was overwrought. He hung on the precipice for too long, pleasure starting to tip over into pain, the all consuming need blotting out all but his most base instincts.

He wanted to finish — wanted to spill himself inside his mate — but this was not how he had envisaged this coming to pass…

“Adun,” Vorik choked out, his face somehow flushing even more green. “Call me adun. Please.”

“Adun,” Sito moaned and Vorik’s thrusts got harder.

“Again,” he groaned against her throat, his hips bucking hard enough that she inched up the bed. He grabbed her to stop her moving and all Sito could do was throw her arms around his shoulders, holding on for dear life as he lost control.

“Adun,” she moaned again, setting her lips against his ear. Vorik squeezed his eyes shut, his grip on her hips painful.

“Again,” he commanded, his voice strained, sounding almost pained.

“Please, adun, please. Please fill me.”

Vorik let out a strangled sound and the next thing she knew, his mouth was fastened on her neck and she felt him biting down, the sharp scrape of his teeth contrasted by the hard pull as he sucked.

Sito tangled her fingers in his hair to give herself the illusion she could control the feral Vulcan, but he quickly regained his senses, releasing his bite and licking the indentations of his teeth tenderly. The rasp of his rough, cat-like tongue felt indescribably good and she curled her toes, moaning at the combined sensations of his tongue lapping at her skin while his lok twitched inside her, the warm press of his cum making her feel lewdly full.

Only once the little shocks and jolts of pleasure had subsided, their ragged breathing slowing to something more normal, did Sito find her voice.

“Nothing makes me feel the way you do,” she sighed, feeling the now familiar warm tingle spreading through her body. “You’re perfect.”

Atop her, Vorik began to purr and she shivered. When he rolled onto his back he pulled her with him, settling her on his chest with his lok still notched inside her.

“You are losing consciousness,” Vorik noted, skimming his hands up and down her back. She wanted to stay awake, she wanted to stay present with him and enjoy the afterglow, but already her eyelids were drooping.

“Mmm,” she hummed, settling her head against his chest. “I like this noise. It’s so soothing. I didn’t know you could purr.”

“I have not done so in years,” Vorik said. “But I am deeply content with you in my arms, and cannot think of any reason to stop.”

“Don’t even try,” she mumbled, closing her eyes. “I find something new to like about you every time I look.”

Her approval reignited his desires and Vorik started to thrust shallowly into her slack body. Sito’s eyes shot open again.

“Hey now! You can’t keep going while I’m asleep.”

“But you are so pleasing wrapped around my lok,” he said, licking her lips playfully. “I wish to keep you there.”

“You want me to lok warm you as you sleep?” She asked, almost laughing as she struggled to keep her eyes open.

Lok warm? That was a new and interesting term, though he supposed it was not inaccurate. His lok was already warmed from their coupling but keeping it inside her would maintain the temperature.

“Do you object? I will refrain from releasing in you again if I must, but I enjoy the feel of you and do not wish to withdraw.”

“You can’t have sex with me in my sleep,” she chastised, trying to be stern but his soft thrusts were only accentuating the already fuzzy-headed feeling she had from being filled with his cum. It didn’t help that everywhere he trailed his hands she could feel the tingling echoes of his pleasure. She didn’t want to deny him anything when he could make her feel this good.

“Why not?” He asked, continuing to thrust and relishing the way she tightened around him and moaned. “You clearly like it.”

He allowed his lok head to exit her just enough that only the tip was still notched at her hole, then he thrust in shallowly, enjoying the feel of the tight ring of muscle squeezing over his double ridges.

“It’s not polite,” she moaned, her eyes sliding shut. “Oh those ridges will be the death of me. You feel sooo gooood.”

“Are you sure I cannot continue?” He teased. He could feel her muscles quivering and the telltale pressure building as her climax approached so he reached between them, finding the v-shaped ridges by her entrance. Her moaning grew louder, her hands clenching at his chest as her eyes slid shut.

Her thoughts felt too fuzzy to read so he reached up with his free hand and pulled open one of her eyelids. Her pupil dilated, but her gaze was unfocused. She moaned weakly and tightened around him.

“Still with me?”

“Don’t stop,” she panted. “I’m gonna. I’m gonna…”

He pressed harder with his middle and index finger as if initiating an ozh’esta with her sensitive clitoral ridges. Her pleasure poured through their shared connection and he moved his hand faster as he continued to ease his lok head in and out of her delightfully tight hole. It didn’t take long before he felt her clench down around him and a trickle fluid gushed free around where they were joined. The noise that came out of her was like something a deep sea creature might make, rather than a cry of ecstasy from a beautiful woman, then she slumped over his chest fully unconscious.

Vorik pulled her other eyelid up, but while her pupil reacted to the light, he could see no one was home.

He could have kept going. She didn’t weigh much, and it would be a trivial matter to reposition them so that he could bounce her on his lap, but she had expressed that that was not her preference so he withdrew.

What an exceptional mate she was. Sito had defied all his expectations for how pleasing a mating could be. How easily she came around his lok. How eagerly she praised it!

The more he thought about their coupling, the more Vorik’s purring intensified. The noise might have been a cause for embarrassment in other situations, as purring was considered a lack of control, but with no one around to hear it, he made no effort to stop it. Plus, his mate had enjoyed hearing it, so maybe he could purr just for her.

When she awoke, he would ask her to mate again. He suspected that, time permitting, she would be amenable.

Would this become a regular occurrence? He hoped so.

The fact he had been worried about fitting in at Starfleet Academy and making connections with other cadets felt foolish now. Not only had he connected with someone, he had mated with her to both of their satisfactions. Bajorans were a fascinating species and he hoped to learn much from his new friend…

Evidently, their activities had not only rendered Sito sleepy, but Vorik as well, as the next thing he knew he was blinking sleep out of his eyes as a number of chimes disturbed him. In his arms, Sito stirred, her hand brushing through the fine down on his chest as she nuzzled into his shoulder.

“Noooo,” she moaned weakly. “It can’t be morning already.”

“It is 6:00 hours,” Vorik said. “Would you like me to silence the alarms?”

In lieu of a proper response, Sito groaned and rolled away from him, pulling her pillow over her head. Vorik took that as a yes and reached over his head to the shelf behind them, tapping the chrono. Silence reigned for exactly 60 seconds before the chimes started again.

“Is one alarm normally insufficient?”

“I have both trouble sleeping and trouble getting out of bed. Go figure,” Sito groaned, this time getting up to shut the chrono off herself.

Though his memory was impeccable and he would have had no difficulty summoning to mind the image of her naked body, seeing her without the covering of the blanket brought a fresh flush of arousal and he propped himself up on one elbow, reaching out to brush his fingers against the inviting curve of her waist.

“Don’t even think about it, mister,” she said, shoving his hand away, though her playful smile told him she didn’t really mind.

“If you wish to return to sleep, I can assist with that,” he said, reaching for her again which elicited a most pleasing giggle.

“Believe me. I’d let you keep me in this bed all day if I could, but I have a fleet logistics class in like thirty minutes and it’s in the Kirk building across campus. Admiral Shara’lassar is known for dropping hints in the last class before exams so I really can’t miss it.”

Given that she was on the inside of the bed, she had to clamber over Vorik to get out, and he took the opportunity to test the pleasing yield of her behind and sneak a quick kiss against the side of her neck before she gigglingly shoved him away again and abandoned him to use the bathroom.

Vorik lay back, tucking his hands behind his head as he heard the sound of the sonic shower powering up. He wasn’t quite sure what to do with himself. What did one do post-coitus with a woman who wasn’t your wife?

What, for that matter, did you do with a woman who was your wife? Would he be expected to provide her with food? She had somewhere she needed to be… should he escort her? What was the correct way to exchange contact information in order to secure future interaction?

It occurred to him that in his eagerness, he had forgone a lot of the preliminary relationship building that an intimate relationship would normally require. In fact, thinking back on it, he wasn’t sure he had even told her his name…

That didn’t bode well for the continuation of their sexual relations. If he was as interchangeable as a medication, then he was disposable. In fact, her lack of hesitation and curiosity as to the particulars of his biology led him to believe that he was not her first Vulcan lover. However, he found himself determined to remain her sole lover while they were both in attendance of the academy, at least.

They would need to discuss this once she emerged.

When Sito came out of the bathroom she was partially dressed, a pair of grey regulation underwear and sports bra somehow proving just as enticing as her naked body. Vorik rolled onto his side and propped his head up on his fist, watching as she began applying a cream to her face and neck.

“I noticed you do not have a roommate,” Vorik said and saw a flicker of disquiet in Sito’s expression.

“Yeah. My original roomie, Joanna, requested a transfer after the accident and her replacement lasted all of two weeks before she petitioned the Academy to have me removed.”

“Why?” Vorik asked. Sito didn’t answer immediately, she set the cream down and moved to the bed, sitting near him as she pulled on a pair of clean socks.

“I guess she didn’t believe I deserve to be here because of what I did after the accident,” Sito said quietly. “To be honest with you, I’m not sure I deserve to be here sometimes.”

“I understand,” Vorik said gently, covering her hand with his own.

“Do you?” She scoffed, still not looking at him.

“There are many expectations placed on Starfleet cadets. We can only trust that the people deciding admittance to these programs know what is required of us and that they would not have selected us if we did not have the best chance of living up to that requirement. That you were accepted and are still here, regardless of any perceived shortcomings or mistakes, shows that they continue to believe you have what it takes to represent Starfleet.”

“You know, that’s actually the first time someone’s said something to me that felt remotely reassuring.” She smiled but it was forced and didn’t last.

Sito hung her head, her lips turning down at the edges. “Nothing ever goes as I expect it to. Not back on Bajor and not here. Every time I catch a break I barely have time to appreciate it before something new goes wrong and just… spoils everything that came before.”

Vorik could feel her sorrow bubbling up past the warm afterglow they’d been sharing and felt compelled to reach out and stroke her cheek gently. Her skin was soft and warm beneath his palm, and he felt a thrill of gratification when her eyes flicked to his and she smiled gently. He couldn't even begin to calculate the probability of meeting someone so quickly that he connected with so deeply, but he found himself suddenly and keenly invested in safeguarding her wellbeing.  

“I suppose I’m just waiting for things to go wrong with you too. You’re too much like a gift from the prophets to be something I can keep for any length of time.”

“I do not know that I can claim to be a gift from any higher being, but for what it’s worth, I was about to request we exchange personal details so that we can arrange further encounters of this nature… assuming you’d be amenable, of course.”

Sito laughed, giving his hand a squeeze, a little flash of delight transferring to him through her fingertips.

“Amenable,” she huffed, standing up and returning to her desk. She gathered up some pins and a brush and moved to a mirror hanging by the bed. “As if you’re not the best thing that’s happened to me since I came to the academy.”

“You were hardly a passive participant. We excelled through our combined efforts.”

“I suppose the value of teamwork is one of the lessons they’re trying to teach us here,” Sito grinned. “Thank you for being such an attentive study partner these last few weeks.”

Vorik’s eyebrow twitched, a strange sinking feeling suddenly filling his stomach. An unpleasant question skirted around the edges of his mind, but before he could even formulate the best way to ask, Sito finally turned her attention the mirror and noticed the series of bright purple bruises he’d sucked into her neck and shoulder.

“Taurik!” She shrieked, covering her mouth to stifle her shocked giggle as she examined herself. “Did you read a book on Terran vampires and think it was a manual!?”

Vorik felt like someone had thrown a bucket of ice water on him as he sat bolt upright in the bed, the blanket falling down his body to pool in his lap. Vorik realised belatedly, though it should have perhaps been obvious, that this woman thought he was his brother.

Which meant…

Oh no. Oh no!

“I’m not really mad,” she said, smiling as she moved back towards him, stroking his cheeks with her hands as she placed a gentle kiss on the tip of his nose. “I don’t know what got into you last night, but I loved it. Far be it from me to stroke your ego but that was the best sex I’ve ever had in my life.”

Vorik’s heart was hammering in his side, an icy prickle breaking out over his skin. Suddenly, a lot of slightly incongruous behaviour was thrown into sharp relief. She’d not come to the party looking for him, she’d come looking for Taurik. Sam hadn’t sent her to the party looking for him, he’d set her up with his brother. That was why she hadn’t asked his name or expected a proper introduction, she thought she already knew who he was!

He needed to fix this. He needed to tell her he wasn’t who she thought he was.

“I think there’s been a misunderstanding,” he began but his voice stuttered to silence as she waited patiently for him to continue. He couldn’t think of a way of phrasing the truth that wouldn’t make it seem like he had deliberately deceived her. The best route was honesty…

“I am not—”

“Ugh, the time!” She said suddenly, pulling away from him. She pulled on her uniform jacket. “I’m sorry, Taurik, but I have to go.”

“Sito, I really think we should speak before you depart—”

She muffled him with a soft kiss.

“You’re not upset with me, are you? I know I showed up unannounced and all but jumped you when we got here but last night was amazing, right?”

“I am not upset. Last night was… extremely enjoyable, however I’m not—”

“Good.” She silenced him with another quick peck against his lips. “We can meet up later if you like but I really have to go. Help yourself to the shower.”

Then she was out the door. Vorik stared at it for a long time after she’d left.

What was he supposed to do in this social situation? His schooling had not remotely prepared him for a series of events like this.

If Sito had copulated with him under the mistaken belief that he was his brother, then it was likely she would feel upset — maybe even betrayed — once she learned the truth. It had not been his intention to mislead her, and by her own admission she had found the event pleasing, but he felt these distinctions might not be sufficient to mitigate the misdeed.

He’d also need to tell his brother… but would Taurik be equally upset with him? The thought sent dread pooling into his stomach; a sensation just as novel as the far more pleasant ones of the night before.

If Taurik and this woman were mates… Taurik would be more than upset with him. His brother wouldn’t challenge him… would he? No. They were two bodies but of one katra. Surely if Vorik simply explained he would understand…

He needed to figure out how to fix this… He needed to find his brother!

Chapter Text

Sito hummed happily as she strolled through the quad on her way to the cafeteria. It had been a long morning but not only had she aced her tactical manoeuvring exam, it had practically been easy.

Her focus had never been better. Hell, she’d never felt better!

It was hard to tell whether it was the sleep or the orgasms, but Taurik had certainly delivered the full package last night. Not that she was complaining.

Prior to last night, she and Taurik had had sex three times over the last seven weeks, as their sessions generally gave her about three or four nights of perfect sleep before the fitfulness slowly crept back. Every time followed the same basic format. They disrobed in silence then Taurik kissed her while methodically preparing her with his hand, and once he’d made her cum once — something embarrassingly easy for a touch telepath to do — he braced himself over her and pumped into her noiselessly until he came.

It wasn’t bad, and she liked that he always remained with her until she woke up. In fact, if she was being honest, waking up with Taurik’s arms wrapped around her, his face buried in her hair, was perhaps the part of their joining she enjoyed most because it felt the most tender.

This time though… it was like he was a different person.

He’d been eager — a little too eager maybe — to explore her. The little lunatic had tried to slip his whole hand inside her, the memory of which caused her to shiver as she wove through the crowd. She really hoped there weren’t any Betazoids around…

He’d talked to her throughout the sex; that rich, caramel voice of his dripping filth into her ear. Oh that boy could dirty talk when he wanted to. She’d be replaying him growling about how she was desperate for his lok every time she slipped a hand between her legs for weeks. And what had been with that little encore performance when he’d basically told her he wanted to fuck her in her sleep and used those clever little telepathic fingers of his to get her off again while she was still dripping his own spend.

Her core clenched. Prophets, she wanted to see him again and soon.

“You’re looking chipper,” a gardener said, looking up from where he was pruning a rosebush with a riot of yellow blooms.

“I’m just having a good day,” she replied sunnily, unable to keep the smile from her face. The man smiled back, then held out a long-stemmed yellow rose that he had been stripping the thorns off of.

“Let me make it a little better then.”

Sito smiled all the way to the canteen, twirling the rose between her fingers. There wasn’t much of a scent, but it was pretty and she knew roses were emblematic of romance in human culture, which suited her mood just fine. Plus, the yellow reminded her of her future uniform… and Taurik’s…

Oh no, she wasn’t going to let her mind wander there after one extra enthusiastic romp in the sack. He was just helping her out. If he’d gotten over his shyness to do so with a bit more visible passion, well then, mores the better. It didn’t mean a thing.

Sito’s musings were cut short as she entered the canteen and spotted a familiar dark head on the other side of the room. There was no mistaking a Vulcan with the stiff way they held themselves, but she could definitely pick her Vulcan out of a crowd. Taurik was here.

No, Sito, she warned herself. None of this my Vulcan stuff. He’s just a buddy helping you out. He literally can’t catch feelings so don’t you dare.

She kept an eye vaguely on him as she queued for food, hoping he wouldn’t leave before she got it. He had seemed like he wanted to talk as she was rushing out the door that morning, and fear had gripped her that he was hoping to call off their arrangement early.

She’d replayed the evening in her head for the duration of her walk to class, and she didn’t think she had said or done anything that might have upset him, but the fact she’d broken their unspoken agreement and shown up outside of a scheduled time had maybe been a misstep. She should have messaged before just turning up, but the exam was looming and in the moment, practical concerns had outweighed emotional ones.

Now that she was free from exam worries, the fear came racing back. He had been acting a little strangely…

No, she wasn’t doing this. It was exhausting constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop, for things to go wrong… she was just going to talk to him instead of letting her thoughts spiral and consume her like they’d been doing for the last few months since the accident.

Once she retrieved her pumpkin soup and ciabatta, she headed towards Taurik who was now sitting in a booth. The back of a dark haired head with a distinctive bowl cut told her he was talking to another Vulcan so she hesitated… No, he’d wanted to talk to her. She had a legitimate reason to approach him outside of one of their scheduled appointments.

Sito crossed the cafeteria until she drew close enough to Taurik to catch sight of the other man in the booth. The moment she registered his face, she froze.

Sitting across from Taurik… was Taurik.

“Hey,” she said, her tone betraying her confusion. When she looked at Taurik, or at least the man she thought was Taurik, a flicker of unease passed across his features.

“Good afternoon, Sito,” the man sitting across from him said. “Would you like to join us?”

Sito’s eyes moved from one Vulcan to the other then back again. She pressed her lips into a thin line, panic bubbling up in her chest. When she didn’t move, Taurik’s brow furrowed.

“Ah, I understand the confusion. May I formally introduce my twin brother, Vorik. Vorik, this is Sito Jaxa,” Taurik said, gesturing to the man she had first thought was Taurik and then to her.

Taurik was a twin. Taurik was a twin!? But she didn’t… she couldn’t have… but he had been so different in bed… and he had seemed initially so confused by her advances…

“We’ve met,” Vorik said, confirming her worst fears, and mortification overwhelmed her.

“By the prophets,” she breathed. “By the prophets! I didn’t… I can’t… I am so sorry. I am SO sorry. I’msosososorry!”

“It is I who should apologise to you,” Vorik said quickly, holding up a hand in a placating gesture. “It did not occur to me until after the fact that you might have an arrangement with my brother so I believed we were operating in good faith.”

“You’re not angry?” She asked, then almost kicked herself for the stupid question.

Vorik gestured to the seat beside him, shuffling in further to the booth to make room for her.

Sito didn’t want to sit. She wanted to flee the canteen, book a flight back to Bajor, and change her name. That, however, might be an overreaction so instead she took a seat and set her tray on the table.

Taurik looked between them, his expression neutral, though Sito registered the slight narrowing of his eyes as something very close to displeased.

“So this is why you asked me if I had chosen a mate here at the Academy,” Taurik said slowly. “And why you were concerned I would be displeased with you.”

Vorik nodded, casting a slightly uncertain look at Sito.

“Would you care to elaborate on the exact nature of what happened?” Taurik asked, turning his attention fully back to Vorik. Taurik rarely wore what she’d call a friendly expression, but his eyes were hard now, and there was a set to his shoulders that made Sito’s occupation-attuned senses prickle uneasily.

“We had sex,” Vorik said, without any preamble or hint of shame. Sito didn’t know why she was surprised. Ask a Vulcan a question and they just give you the answer.

“I inferred,” Taurik said flatly, continuing to stare at his brother. Sito tried to make herself relax, but Taurik’s displeasure was difficult to ignore, even though it appeared to be directly solely at his brother and not at her. “I want an accounting for how it came to be that you took my place.”

Uh oh. Sito’s unease escalated into a full on Red Alert. She needed to fix this…

“It’s my fault, not his,” Sito said, embarrassed at the fact she couldn’t meet Taurik’s eyes when he turned his attention back to her. “I thought he was you. I… I went to that stupid raffle that Vizhar did and I saw him and I thought he was you so I never bothered to introduce myself but pretty much as soon as I got there, one of Pistrumakas’ cronies got in my face and Vorik stepped in to make him back off. We left after that and pretty much as soon as we got to my room… I… well you’ve never been one for extended discussion or prevarication, Taurik, so I just… jumped him.”

“And you are… well?” Taurik asked, his tone with her more gentle than it had been with his brother, his eyes sweeping up and down Sito’s body as if looking for signs of physical injury.

“I would not harm her!” Vorik protested but his brother pointedly ignored him.

“Oh, no. I’m completely fine, Taurik,” Sito said quickly. “He was… well I was about to say he was a gentleman but…” Gentlemen didn’t try to fist you and hold you hostage on the brink of consciousness by working you towards a second orgasm while you were getting stoned on their semen.

“Anyway, you really can’t blame him,” she finished lamely instead.

“I disagree. It is proper protocol to introduce yourself to a new acquaintance,” Taurik pressed. “Why did you not?”

Vorik shifted in his seat uncomfortably.

“I had met with Sam earlier in the day and he conveyed to me that he was eager to assist me in expanding my social circle, much as he did for you.” He nodded his head towards Taurik. “However he also stated that he would introduce me to women who were… in his words… nuts for Vulcans. Though I would like to clarify, this was not a request I made of him, but something he offered unprompted.”

Taurik nodded as if this was unsurprising. Sito, however, did not take the news as equanimously as Taurik.

“Wait,” She said slowly. “You thought I was… what… some kind of Vulcanophile?”

Vorik had the good grace to look slightly sheepish.

“Yes.”

“And that I was just… what? So overcome with lust at the mere sight of you that I threw myself at you like some kind of… some kind of…”

“Yes,” Vorik said, a little quieter.

Sito stared at him in mild horror, the reality of what had occurred the night before slowly sinking in.

“By the prophets, I can’t deal with you two. You two are insane, you know that right?”

When twin eyebrows raised at her declaration she shook her head in bewilderment.

“How could you not tell me you were a twin?” She asked, stabbing her finger at Taurik. “And how could you not ask questions when a woman throws herself into your arms like that?”

“I found myself struck with a sudden lack of curiosity in the moment, I confess.”

Sito’s eyebrow twitched, followed by the corner of her mouth, then she couldn’t hold back the laughter anymore. She covered her mouth with one hand, turning her body away, but there was no hiding her giggles. She didn’t know what else to do. Her laughter bubbled up a little hysterically and quickly got out of control. This situation was just too insane! What must he have thought? She hadn’t even introduced herself and she’d climbed into his lap and begged him to cum in her!

“May I ask how this arrangement came about?” Vorik asked, ignoring Sito and turning back to his brother.

“Sito has chronic insomnia,” Taurik began. “It has been plaguing her since the death of a fellow classmate during a training exercise. She was at risk of being discharged from Starfleet Academy on medical grounds so Sam introduced us in the hopes I could assist her using meditative techniques. When those failed, I suggested mating as a method of inducing sleep.”

“And you didn’t try anything else beforehand?” Vorik asked, a slightly judgemental raise of an eyebrow, which seemed rich given how enthusiastic he’d been to flip Sito onto her stomach and absolutely plough her from behind the moment she offered herself up.

“Sito exhausted all other avenues available to her prior to consulting with me,” Taurik said firmly. “Pharmaceutical, therapeutic, and holistic. The issue had become time sensitive. We were a few weeks out from exams and Sito’s inability to sleep was affecting her memory and concentration. She was at risk of losing her place at the academy.”

“So the semen was a last resort,” Vorik mused.

Sito snorted again, humming against her hand. The Vulcans continued as if she wasn’t there.

“And this arrangement has been ongoing for some time?” Vorik asked.

“For the last seven weeks,” Taurik said. “We meet fortnightly, assuming this mishap has not altered our agreement.”

Sito was too bamboozled by the fact he was calling her sleeping with his brother a mishap to register the second part of what he said.

“So this is a medical arrangement,” Vorik said slowly. “And this is satisfactory for you?” Vorik turned his head to regard Sito who hummed in amusement and didn’t answer, because she didn’t trust herself not to just start laughing again. Unfortunately, that gave Taurik an opening.

“I am capable of ensuring a partner's satisfaction,” Taurik said, his eyes narrowing. “And I perform the correct duties of a mate, guarding her in her sleep and caring for her when she awakens.”

“Okay,” Sito said quickly, clearing her throat. “I’m not sure that’s what he meant and I think he knows enough either way. This is… wow. This is not how I saw my day going…”

She looked between them slowly, but they stared back at her impassively. Though she could tell Taurik was not… thrilled… neither one of them seemed particularly… distressed.

“Are you guys really telling me that neither one of you has a problem with the fact the other person is sleeping with me? No?”

“Sleeping… present tense? You wish to continue the arrangement?” Taurik asked, and maybe she imagined it, but she felt there was a slight edge of eagerness in his voice.

“That is your question? Not, ‘how could you not tell it was my brother, Sito?’ or ‘how are you going to make this up to me?”

“Make…up?” Vorik asked, shooting his brother a quizzical look. “What does this mean?”

“She thinks I want recompense. I do not. Vorik and I are physically very similar, and you did not know that I have an identical sibling. How the misunderstanding occurred is obvious. There is nothing to… make up for.”

“I should be the one to apologise,” Vorik said carefully. “My lack of due diligence is more to blame than your actions. I do not wish to ruin the best thing that happened to you since you came here.”

Taurik turned suddenly towards his brother.

“She said I was the best thing that happened to her?”

“She did.” Vorik turned back to Sito. “This doesn’t have to be one of those things that goes wrong for you,” he said gently. Sito hadn't expected this turn in the conversation and found her amusement dissipating fast.

“I don’t want your pity,” she said, hating how tight her voice sounded.

“You do not have it,” Vorik said. “I was quite surprised when you expressed gratitude to me for my assistance, and had you not immediately revealed your breasts to me I may have been able to appropriately express my own gratitude to you for introducing me to the pleasures of intimate relations.”

Sito blinked at him again, her overwrought brain pushing through the new information like molasses.

“Wait… are you telling me I’m the first person you ever had sex with?”

“Yes, and I could not have hoped for a more patient or appreciative partner.”

Sito blinked at him slowly, then turned to Taurik.

“Taurik… before… were you…”

“I had not engaged in such activities prior to our coupling, if that is what you are attempting to ask.”

“Wait, so, neither of you had ever slept with a woman before me?” Sito asked. Both Taurik and Vorik shook their heads. “Well why didn’t you tell me?”

“The mechanics were not unknown to me,” Taurik said. “Did it matter?”

“Of course it matters. I would have… I don’t know… made it better for you.”

Taurik’s eyebrows rocketed into his hairline. “It was… quite good.”

“Yes but it was mechanical. Unromantic. I could have done more to make it special for you.”

“Sito, Vulcans have near perfect memory recall. Every sigh I drew from you, every pass of your lips over mine, every scratch of your nails down my back, is forever burned into my memory. I was not seeking some performance. That we were able to come together and give each other pleasure was deeply gratifying to me. I have reconsidered the moment many times, and I would not change a second. You are a generous and affectionate bedmate and I felt both appreciated and satisfied during our coupling.”

“Only you could make that word soup sound romantic,” Sito sighed, reaching across the table. To her surprise, Taurik’s hand met hers, their fingers interlacing. Not to be outdone, Vorik gathered up her spare hand in two of his, and warmth seemed to travel from where they touched up her arms to fill her chest. Who knew that holding hands with a Vulcan was like the equivalent of a warm, cosy, under-blanket snuggle?

“Truthfully, our encounter far exceeded my expectations,” Vorik added, somewhat less tactfully. “Your endurance is exceptional and the differences in our biology are most complementary.”

“Differences?” Sito asked with a small smile.

“You are very soft and warm,” he clarified. “Very soft.” He added in a deeper tone which she thought might be his attempt at being seductive.

“I take it soft is good,” Sito laughed.

“Soft is very good,” Taurik rumbled.

“What am I supposed to do with you two?” Sito laughed,

Taurik and Vorik shared a look and, once again, Sito got the vague impression something was being communicated without words.

In tandem, they started moving their fingers against her hand, Taurik’s thumb tracing little circles at the base of hers and Vorik’s fingers stroking the back of her hand, trailing down the backs of her fingers. The warmth in her chest blossomed and started to spread to other parts of her, but they gave her little time to wonder if they were somehow doing it on purpose.

“There may be times where you require assistance but due to scheduling, one of us may be unavailable. It is logical that the other is then chosen to assist,” Taurik said suddenly.

“Logical,” she huffed. “Sure. That’s one way to look at it.”

“You disagree?” Taurik asked, tilting his head and giving her a deceptively innocent look.

“Are you really suggesting that you guys take turns?”

It was getting a little hard to think with the way they were stroking her hands, pleasant little shocks and tingles firing off in parts of her that should not strictly be connected to her hands. They were sheltered in the booth but still in public. While hand holding was completely normal in Bajoran culture, the fact Vorik and Taurik were doing this with her, here and now, felt… significant.

“Do you have a specific preference for which one of us continues to assist you with this malady?” Taurik asked and she couldn’t hide her grin. How could he be so casual about this? Unfortunately, her pause gave Vorik space to answer for her.

“Evidently, I performed more satisfactorily than you, so I suspect she would prefer to continue the arrangement with me… so long as she knows I am amenable to the fact.”

Taurik’s eyebrow twitched and he turned his head towards his brother. “Excuse me?”

“Did I misunderstand your statements, Cadet Jaxa?” Vorik asked formally. If he was feeling smug, she couldn’t tell, and Taurik’s face was similarly blank. “Did you not say, ‘that was the best sex I’ve ever had in my life’? Which, to me, is indicative that you preferred my methods—”

“If you are displeased with my methods, you should have stated so,” Taurik said, still staring at his brother, and Jaxa saw a muscle in his jaw twitch. Oh no. Despite their assertion that her sleeping with both of them was fine, she could see trouble brewing now.

Sito tried to tug her hand back but Taurik and Vorik both gripped her slightly tighter. Evidently, she wasn’t going anywhere.

“There’s nothing wrong with your methods—“ Sito began but Vorik, with the eagerness of a younger brother who had finally found something he was better at, cut across her.

“But you found my performance more pleasurable.”

Sito ignored the throb between her legs that his words elicited and opened her mouth to reply, but Taurik got there first.

“She didn’t come to me for pleasure,” Taurik protested. “She came to me for semen.”

“Which I am also capable of providing for her,” Vorik parried and Sito wondered if she was going mad. How were they so casual about this?

“If you wish to continue your association, perhaps in pursuit of improving—“ Vorik continued and Taurik visibly rankled at his brother’s words, straightening and narrowing his eyes.

“Improving,” he repeated, his tone sharp enough to cut.

Sito didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. This situation was beyond absurd.

“There is an alternative,” Vorik said innocently, tipping his head to one side.

“I suppose there is,” Taurik rumbled, tilting his head the other way.

A strange silence descended on the table and both Vulcans turned to her.

“What, are you suggesting you both take me at the same time?” Sito joked, unsure whether the sudden prickle of emotion she was feeling was panic or excitement. They couldn’t be suggesting… they wouldn’t suggest… would they?

Her Vulcans blinked in sync but gave no other indication of their thoughts.

“That was a joke,” she clarified.

“Yet there is merit to your suggestion,” Taurik said. “If you are amenable, Vorik.”

“Perhaps I could assist in instructing you,” Vorik said in a manner which was almost lofty.

“Perhaps not,” Taurik deadpanned.

“Then why even suggest it?” Vorik asked.

“It is likely Sito will build a tolerance to the mating hormone over time and will need larger doses to achieve the same effect…”

“She is not there yet, so are you proposing this as a future hypothetical?”

“There are… other benefits,” Taurik said, his dark gaze returning to Sito and falling to her pink lips.

It was hard to think. Too hard to think. Sito knew she needed to get her hands away from these two Vulcans but Taurik was pressing his thumb into her palm and Vorik was stroking the underside of her arm with his fingers, and her whole body felt electrified and charged in a way that made it difficult not to squirm in her seat.

“Explain,” Vorik said.

“I have given some thought as to avenues of sexual interest I wish to explore if my services are no longer required to be merely functional. I am curious about the softness of Sito’s mouth and how it might feel,” Taurik continued, giving a polite raise of his eyebrows as if he was considering and discussing a particularly intriguing engineering issue.

“Feel,” Sito gasped. “As in, on your… lok?” Her voice dipped on the word lok as if she was some blushing virgin and not a woman that had both of these men hammering her cervix into a mattress at various points throughout the month.

“Yes. If we are both present, you can attend to her pleasure while I experiment and vice versa,” he said to Vorik.

“Both?” Sito choked but she was being ignored now.

“Is that an act Bajorans commonly perform with their mates?” Vorik asked, turning politely to his brother.

“This is a sex act humans perform. Sam described it to me, and I inadvertently witnessed it in progress when I did not notice the magnet he placed on the outside of the door after returning home from study hall one day.”

“Are you expected to… fill the mouth?” Vorik asked, a slight olive blush suffusing his cheeks. His fingers were stroking her hand and arm more firmly now, little sparks of excitement tickling along her skin.

“Do you mean ejaculate? Yes, I believe it is considered polite for it to be swallowed, which should suit Sito’s requirements just as efficaciously as the more usual method. However, if it does not, you will still be present to provide the usual dose.”

“Fascinating,” Vorik said with a nod, his gaze now on the middle distance. “May I also try this at a later date?” He turned to Sito expectantly.

They were so polite. It was driving her crazy! Who asked for a blowjob like they were asking for a bite of cake? How was she supposed to talk to these two insane idiots?

“Is it even safe?” She asked. “I mean, if you… uh—”

“Inseminate you orally,” Taurik provided helpfully, his massage on her palm becoming even firmer. Sito resisted the urge to squeeze her eyes shut.

“—too frequently, I mean. Could I… I don’t know... slip into a coma?”

“I doubt it. However, if you wish to consult with your physician we are happy to wait.”

She couldn’t even imagine that conversation, not that she wanted to. It was probably fine. She’d gotten screened by a medic after her and Taurik’s first encounter and she’d been fine…

“I don’t think that will be necessary,” she said, feeling strangely outside her own body as she stared at the two Vulcans who might as well have been discussing the weather.

“Then you are amenable?” Vorik asked, his hand squeezing hers slightly, a spark of eagerness lighting up between them.

“You know what? Life’s short. Why not?”

Evidently, there was no time like the present. They released her hands and rose in tandem, shepherding her out of the booth, her lunch forgotten, and walked either side of her at a brisk pace all the way back to Taurik’s apartment.

The twins were less restrained than she could have ever imagined, falling upon her almost as soon as they were in the room. Taurik grabbed her by the thigh and hiked one of her legs around his waist as he moved her back towards the bed, his mouth insistent on hers as if to make up for his passionless kisses the last time. Vorik was behind her, his hands making short work of her uniform jacket and delving under her shirt to palm at her breasts as his teeth found her ear.

Sito giggled at his playful nip and he gave her breasts a harder squeeze in response. Vorik’s hands began to move lower and she gasped at the play of his rough palms over her taut stomach. The way Vulcan skin seemed to hum and spark as if a current was running through it was addictive, and through the contact she could feel her own arousal mounting as she got vague impressions of his own.

Telepaths. What a sensory delight!

“You marked her,” Taurik said suddenly, his eyebrows shooting up and his thumb running over a dark bruise on her neck that Vorik had left the previous night. “You should not be so undisciplined, sekai.”

Vorik locked eyes with his brother as he brushed his lips along the long column of her neck, finding a spot where her pulse was thrumming powerfully before parting his lips and biting down. Sito cried out when he began to suck, the act sending a shock of pleasure down from her neck to between her legs, but Taurik misconstrued the noise.

“Stop biting her,” he commanded, reaching forward as if to yank Vorik’s head away. Vorik, for his part, seemed untroubled, smoothly moving his head back out of his brother’s reach.

“This doesn’t concern you,” he mumbled, then darted in to claim another pale expanse of shoulder. “She likes it.”

“Do you want me to stop him?” Taurik asked and Sito laughed, tipping her head back and pulling him to the other side of her neck.

“You could join in, Taurik.”

To her great delight, Taurik made a strangled noise that could have been anything from frustration to delight, then his fang-like canines were scraping along the cord of her neck; nipping once, twice, then on the third pass finding an area he liked and sinking in.

“By the Prophets!” Sito cried as he applied pressure, her body arching between them. A few seconds passed like eternities as the twins sucked marks into her skin, Vorik on one side, Taurik on the other.

It was a sensory delight, the pinch of their teeth as they held her in place, the rough passes of their cat-like tongues, the soothing pull of their mouths as they sucked their possession into her skin. She felt like she was melting between them, then Taurik released her, licking his lips.

“Noisy, isn’t she?” He said.

“I like her noises,” Vorik mumbled, releasing his own bite, and Sito felt herself flush with affection. She turned her face towards Vorik and caught his lips in an artless kiss whose passioned intent more than made up for its technical failing.

“Her shirt,” Taurik said, forcing Vorik to relinquish the kiss and step back. Taurik pulled her undershirt over her head and tossed it onto the chair behind him in an uncharacteristic display of slovenly behaviour. Rather than immediately remove her bra, he ran a finger along the edge where it met her skin sending goosebumps racing along her chest.

“There’s a catch at the back—” Vorik began.

“I am familiar with this garment,” Taurik interrupted, pulling her against him and peering over her shoulder as his hands made quick work of her bra clasp.

If there was one benefit of a Vulcan lover, it was that they kept their quarters hotter than normal, so Sito barely shivered as they stripped her to the waist.

“You’re overdressed,” she gasped, tugging at the front of his uniform jacket but Taurik simply caught her hands.

“There’ll be time for that,” he promised, pressing a kiss against her knuckles. The romance of the situation was spoiled somewhat when Vorik’s hands once again reappeared, smoothing up her ribs and over her breasts, those clever, rough fingers of his finding her nipples.

Not that she minded. Vorik, it seemed, had paid attention last night and he had her keening and writhing in record time while Taurik watched her face, her hands still clasped in his. The steady thrum of his touch changed pitch, and when Sito opened her eyes, she found his dark gaze intent on her, his lips parted and breath ragged as he drank in her pleasure through their touch.

Vorik kissed his way across her shoulder blades, finally releasing one of her breasts to trail his fingers down her body and delve his hand under the waistband of uniform pants. Almost hesitatingly, Taurik released one of her hands and reached out to touch her bare breast, circling her nipple with a thumb then copying what he’d seen his brother do.

When it didn’t elicit quite the same reaction, Taurik dipped his head and caught her nipple in his mouth. At the first pass he just tugged it with his lips, but when that didn’t cause a big enough response, she felt his teeth nip lightly followed by the rasp of his tongue.

She cried out, fisting a hand in his hair.

“Another tip from Sam?” Vorik asked sourly, but Taurik had been taught it was rude to speak with his mouth full so he didn’t respond.

Vorik stepped back, taking the opportunity to slip out of his tunic and pants. He caught Taurik’s eye as he came up for air and indicated the bed with a jut of his chin. Taurik needed no further prompting, picking Sito up effortlessly and tossing her onto the bed.

Sito squeaked as she landed but before she could complain too much, Vorik returned to cover her with his body, his mouth finding hers and the texture of his rough tongue having lost none of its novelty.

A tug at her feet told her what Taurik was up to as she was stripped of her boots. A moment later, Taurik put that infamous Vulcan dexterity and strength to good use, stripping her uniform pants and underwear off in one fluid movement. Where he tossed them, she didn’t see, as before she could react, Vorik — who had been nuzzling his way across her cheek to her neck, giving her a few experimental nips — latched onto his favourite spot and sucked so hard it made her cry out, digging her heels into the bed at the sudden sharp string.

Vorik pulled back, a self satisfied look on his face as he gazed down at her, his lips glistening darkly and slightly swollen. Though she couldn’t see the spot he’d been abusing, she bet it was coming up in another nice dark bruise. There’d be no low cut tops for her in the near future.

The bed dipped as Taurik lay along side her, and when she turned she found Taurik had already undressed.

“No fair,” Sito giggled, splaying her hands across his furred chest.

“Efficient,” Taurik countered.

“You two got to undress me!”

Though she could feel his pulse thrumming steadily under her palms, it had a distant, thready quality that still felt profoundly strange. It was one thing knowing a Vulcan’s heart was in his side and beat twice as fast as hers, it was quite another feeling it.

“This is crazy, you know that right?” She said softly.

Taurik tucked a lock of hair that had been worked loose by his rough handling behind her ear, letting his finger trail lightly over her temple and down her jaw in an affectionate gesture that made her heart skip.

“I disagree,” he replied, his deep voice gentle. “This meets all of our needs and wants efficiently, making it the best course of action.”

It was hard to tell when Taurik was joking, but she was pretty sure that the way his eyes narrowed slightly was an indication he was trying to be funny.

“We can stop any time you like,” he added.

“But our preference would be to proceed,” Vorik chimed in.

Taurik ignored his brother, giving her that soft expression she so liked.

“And you’re sure you’re okay with this?” She whispered, and she saw a mischievous glint enter his eye.

“We are used to sharing.”

Sito had no response to that so she just laughed and buried her face in his chest, the fine hairs tickling her lips. Taurik shuffled onto his back and pulled her on top of him, tipping her face back up to him with a finger under her chin. His kiss was gentle, a soft movement of his lips against hers, then he was grabbing her chin and turning her head for Vorik to swoop in for a deeper kiss of his own.

Taurik was more civilised than Vorik when it came to lovemaking. Vorik openly craved pleasure and was happy to chase it, thrusting his tongue into her mouth and sucking at hers in a way that made her feel a little filthy in the best possible way.

She and Taurik had sex. Vorik fucked her.

As if reading her thoughts — and perhaps he was — Vorik ran his hands over her hips and ass until they were framing her pussy. With her knees spread wide from straddling Taurik’s hips, she was embarrassingly open to him and he took full advantage, parting her folds with his thumbs then circling her entrance with a single finger until he was sure she was slick enough. Just as before, he slid his middle finger inside her first before adding his ring finger. Sito moaned into Taurik’s mouth, drawing his attention. The Vulcan broke the kiss, blinking as he focused his attention on what Vorik was up to.

“What are you doing?” Taurik asked, suddenly pushing himself up on one elbow.

“Have you not tried this yet?” Vorik asked, his voice laced with a smug undertone.

Taurik shook his head, watching as Vorik worked his fingers inside her, stroking her upper walls. Sito tried to restrain her voice but it was impossible when Vorik made her feel so good.

“Put your fingers in her mouth,” Vorik commanded and Taurik’s eyebrows shot up.

“What?”

“Trust me. Do it.”

Taurik shot her a quizzical look but Sito grinned, taking his hand and extending two fingers like she had with Vorik the night before.

“Now, Sito, suck them like you will his lok,” Vorik ordered.

Last night, Sito had learned what made Vorik’s toes curl and she applied that hard won knowledge now, feeling a surge of pleasure when Taurik’s near-perfect control shattered and his mouth dropped open into a perfect O as soon as she sucked his fingers into her mouth.

Finally, she thought, swirling her tongue around his fingertips. Taurik’s breath hitched as his hips jerked forward, his lok leaving a gooey trail across her stomach as he started to hump against her.

Sito was giddy with pleasure. Taurik pumped his fingers into her mouth while Vorik pumped his into her pussy, working her inexorably towards what was sure to be a mind-blowing orgasm. Just as she could feel a tightening in her lower stomach, her walls fluttering around Vorik’s hand, he pulled his fingers free.

“Let him go,” Vorik commanded and Sito drew off the fingers with a final scrape of her teeth that actually saw Taurik gasping. She turned to Vorik to admonish him but Taurik beat her to it.

“Why make her stop?” Taurik asked, his breathing laboured.

“Here. Touch her here.” Vorik swiped his fingers messily through her dripping lower lips. Taurik understood immediately, swallowing thickly and reaching for her.

“Inside?” He asked, his voice almost a whisper.

“It’s where you put your lok, isn’t it?” Vorik asked haughtily, and not for the first time, Sito marvelled at how different the twins were. Vorik was a mouthy little brat… and she loved it.

“Two fingers,” Vorik ordered and she felt Taurik’s index and middle finger circling her hole.

“Are you sure—”

“Now. She’s ready for it.”

Taurik pushed in, sinking his thick, calloused fingers as deep as they could go, and he groaned, his eyes fluttering shut at the way her plush walls gripped and twitched around his intrusion.

Once again, his touch telepathy provided him all the tools he needed to figure out how best to please her, and he soon began to stroke her in a way that had Sito writhing on his fingers, shocks and tingles of pleasure racing through every nerve ending.

Vorik wasn’t idle, reaching around her hip so his clever fingers could find her clitoral ridges. As Taurik finger-fucked her, Vorik stroked her into an aching, needy mess. That pervasive pleasing hum of a telepath’s touch telling her her Vulcans were near delirious with their own enjoyment, enjoying her just as much as she was enjoying them. Sito felt like her brain had abandoned her, leaving her dumb and needy; good for nothing but moaning herself stupid on their fingers.

There was too much stimulation. Her brain felt like she was suffering some kind of core meltdown. There were too many hands on her body. Fingers in her mouth, on her breasts, between her legs, loks pressing against her, smearing her body with their slick and their scent.

Pleasure coiled, her muscles tightening, her nerve endings singing.

It was too much. Too much! Too good!

As she came both Vulcans audibly groaned, dropping their foreheads against her damp skin as they drank in her pleasure through their fingertips. They continued to stroke and ease her through the aftershocks of her body’s climax until Sito sobbed, pushing their hands away when the sensations became too much. As always, they obeyed without complaint.

“You are exceptional,” Vorik murmured, bringing his hand up so she could see the tips of his fingers glistening with her wetness. Then, while maintaining eye contact, he licked them clean.

For reasons Sito would never have been able to articulate, the sight made her clench and whine for more. Despite the two of them working her over, turning her into a twitching, sticky mess, they had only succeeded in stoking her appetite. She felt like a starving woman, eager for more of them, desperate to give as much she received, and she didn’t have to wait long.

They were done playing with her.

Taurik grabbed her shoulders pushed her down his body. His lok was unsheathed and glistening, heavy drops of his own lubrication rolling over the double ridges to soak the dense hair at its base. Her mouth watered at the sight and she licked her lips, eager to taste him.

Taurik gripped the base to steady it for her, the sight of his large hand wrapped around his shining emerald lok dazzlingly arousing. He tapped the head of his lok impatiently against her mouth, bidding her to open up for him and she did, letting him trace the slippery head of his lok over her lips.

As if to prevent her forgetting about him, Vorik’s hand landed heavily on her backside, almost a slap. Sito raised her hips, wiggling her ass invitingly for him, before turning back to Taurik and giving his head a teasing little kitten lick as she waited for Vorik to take what he’d been offered.

Though she’d expected Vorik to enter her quickly, he seemed very content just to run his hands over her body, stroking up the planes of her back then down over the soft swell of her stomach. He pressed gentle kisses against her shoulder as he rubbed his lok between her folds, in no hurry to do anything other than tease her and make a mess of her, it seemed. 

Vulcans smelled great. It wasn’t something she had noticed before she’d gotten more… closely acquainted with them, but Taurik and Vorik both had a dry almost nutty smell to their skin. The nutty scent was stronger now that she was so close to an unsheathed lok and she briefly wondered if it was coming from the lubricant smeared up and down it.

Only one way to find out.

She licked Taurik root to tip, the glistening fluid gathering on her tongue, and Taurik almost arched up off the bed. She swallowed, humming thoughtfully.

“Wow,” she sighed, wrapping her hand around his and going back in for another lick, letting her tongue trace the edge of his second ridge.

“What?” Taurik panted, unable to tear his eyes away from her.

“You better make sure no one else finds out about how good Vulcans taste or there isn’t a Vulcan cadet who will graduate without getting sexually harassed by his classmates.”

“If you enjoy the taste then please resume,” Taurik said, his voice breathy.

“You almost sound impatient,” she teased and Taurik shot her a look of pure exasperation. Sito laughed then ran her tongue up his shaft again, swirling it around the head before taking him into her mouth and swallowing him as deep as she dared.

Taurik cried out as she sucked, dragging her tongue up the base of his shaft and hollowing her cheeks.

“Did you hurt him?” Vorik asked, stopping what he was doing to peer over her shoulder at his brother. Sito began to pull off to respond.

“Don’t stop!” Taurik gasped, his hands flying to the back of Sito’s head.

“Evidently not.” Vorik returned to licking the back of her neck, his lok nudging even more insistently between her folds. Her thighs were practically dripping with their joint excitement, but he seemed completely content teasing her with messy passes of his lok and in no hurry to give her what she wanted.

Though her senses were full of Taurik, the taste of him, the smell of him, the smooth glide of his lok through her lips, she ached for Vorik. She tried to communicate by pressing back against his lok the next time it passed through her folds, but Vorik simply shifted back in response.

She felt a spark of amusement from somewhere distant as Vorik seemed to want to make a game of it, rubbing himself tantalisingly close to her entrance only to pull away when she tried to push back against him.

Sito worked Taurik’s lok with her mouth and hand, her fingers gooey and mouth full of his delicious almond taste, but she was starting to get annoyed. Why wouldn’t Vorik fill her already?

She held herself still for the next few passes until he got bold and teased her hole directly with the flared head of his lok, circling it and rubbing up and down over her sensitive clitoral ridges. Even when he started to shallowly press against her entrance, not even going so deep that the first ridge breeched her, she forced herself to remain perfectly still.

If he pulled away again, she thought she might embarrass herself with her pleading for him to fuck her.

Then, with a sudden jolt of clarity, she realised he was teasing her because he wanted her to beg. He wanted Taurik to hear her ask him to proceed. The idiots were competing! That was what all the biting and marking had been about, the humping their messy loks against her, Vorik’s commanding attitude.

Idiots!

Her lapse in attention caused her teeth to scrape against Taurik’s second ridge.

“Would you stop toying with her already!” Taurik snapped, and she knew she wasn’t imagining his irritation nor the pleased little thrill she felt from Vorik.

“If I must,” Vorik said and thrust forward to his hilt in one smooth motion.

She moaned, anything coherent she might have said garbled around Taurik’s lok. She was drenched from her earlier orgasm and her body accepted Vorik's thickness easily. He filled her so deliciously, the head of his lok bottoming out inside her on the first thrust.

It took a moment for the three of them to find their rhythm. Taurik tangled his hands in her hair, though he seemed content to just keep his grip tight and let her dictate the tempo, while Vorik held her firmly by the hips and rolled into her in an almost maddening slow and steady rhythm. It was the closest to paradise she’d ever come.

Enclosed in the warm embrace of her Vulcans, Sito admitted to herself that she finally felt happy. Why was it so much easier to let go when she was with them? To just be in the moment and enjoy herself for once without second guessing everything? The answer came to her immediately. Because she trusted them.

Her Vulcans thrived on her pleasure and basked in her praises, utterly content just to be with her. There was no question of where she belonged when it came to them, because as far as they were concerned, she belonged with them. They wore their affection openly, if you knew where to look, and she was having incredible amounts of fun uncovering the depths of their hunger.

With Taurik controlling her upper half and Vorik controlling her lower half, she was able to just let go of the tension in her body and relax into the pleasure.

Idly she wondered how far down her throat Taurik could go.

As soon as the thought passed through her mind, Taurik gasped and with his grip on her hair he pulled her off him. The look in his eyes was unlike anything she’d ever seen on him before; his pupils blown black, his mouth open and panting, and his cheeks flushed a deep shade of green.

Feral. He looked feral.

“Move her to the table,” Taurik commanded and Vorik blinked at him in confusion for only a moment before obeying, slipping out of her without complaint. Sito was not consulted, two sets of strong hands sliding under her shoulders and hips to move her from the wall-inset bed to the coffee table at the centre of the room.

They acted like she weighed nothing as they set her down, Taurik at her head and Vorik standing between her agape legs. Her head was partially hanging off the end of the table, but Taurik reached down to support it with his hands, his glistening lok hanging above her nose.

“I am going to touch your mind lightly to make a suggestion to your autonomous functions. Is that acceptable?”

Sito was still disoriented by the sudden loss of two loks and the relocation. She nodded, even though she wasn’t sure what she was agreeing to, but it quickly became apparent when Taurik’s fingers ghosted over her cheeks and she felt her whole body relax as if she’d submerged into a warm bath.

His broad palms covered her cheeks, the caress almost reassuring until she felt him insert his thumbs into her mouth, slotting them between her molars.

“I am going to resume using your mouth now,” Taurik said, his voice rough. “If it becomes too much, I will likely sense it, but tap my leg if you wish me to stop. Nod if you understand.”

Sito nodded, which felt strange when he was cradling her head and had his fingers in her mouth.

“Good girl,” Taurik said and Sito involuntarily clenched around nothing. Why wasn’t Vorik back inside her yet?

With Taurik holding her head, she couldn’t look down to where Vorik was, but she raised her hand towards him and was relieved when she felt him thread his fingers with hers. As before, his skin tingled and she felt his arousal, eagerness, and adoration wash through her at his touch.

She relaxed in earnest and felt a few drops of Taurik’s natural lubricant drip onto her lips as he guided the head of his lok into her mouth. He worked his dual-ridges back and forth over her tongue and she lapped at him eagerly, swirling her tongue around his head and attempting to suck, but it was hard to make a seal when his thumbs were also in her mouth.

It soon became apparent why he was holding her in this strange way when he began to ease his lok further into her mouth. Sito felt a quick jab of panic as she realised his intent but he caressed behind her ears with his fingertips in a soothing fashion as the head of his lok brushed the back of her throat.

She expected him to retreat and begin to thrust but he didn’t.

“Regard her throat,” Taurik breathed as he eased his hips forward and Sito heard Vorik’s breath hitch. She couldn’t think about him though, as the first of Taurik’s ridges passed the tight ring of muscle at the back of her throat.

Taurik was suppressing her gag reflex somehow, but that didn’t stop her swallowing compulsively as the slick, gooey lok greased her throat with its excitement. The second ridge lodged against the back of her throat and she heard Taurik shh her when she whimpered, adjusting his thumbs to force her jaw wider as if that was the problem.

“You can do it,” he rumbled and then he was pushing again. Sito felt so full, she was sure Taurik would damage her if he forced himself any deeper, but she couldn’t stop her reflex to swallow and with the next mouthful she sucked the head of his lok into her throat.

Taurik groaned like he was dying.

“Incredible,” Vorik breathed and she felt fingers touch the base of her throat. Vorik’s fingers crept higher and she felt him trace the outline of the bulge in her throat, a frisson of discomfort following the gesture, but she couldn’t whimper. She couldn’t make any noise with Taurik this deep inside her, blocking her airways.

Taurik held himself still for what felt like an eternity, enjoying the convulsing of her muscles around his intrusion, then he gently withdrew until his lok was resting against her tongue once more.

“Breathe,” he commanded and Sito swallowed the mouthful of saliva and slick before taking a deep rattling breath. Taurik waited until she’d taken a few then she felt him start to press forward again. Obediently, she went slack, and this time his lok slid down her throat with more ease and he began to pump with a slow, shallow, almost gentle rhythm, caressing her cheeks as he withdrew every few thrusts to encourage her to take a breath.

No longer content just to watch, Vorik took up his position between her open legs, running his rough palms down the outside of her thighs as she brought her legs up around him. She felt him nudge against her opening but couldn’t bring herself to focus on what he was doing when her access to breathing was being controlled by a lok.

When he forced her to part around his thick, ridged lok once more, her toes curled. It was too much, being taken like this from both ends. Her eyes closed, her body completely under the control of the two Vulcans as they used her like a toy between them.

Sito’s brain seemed to just collapse in on itself, all higher thought getting washed away leaving only instinct and sensation. She heard Taurik and Vorik both groan in tandem, but she wasn’t sure why. Could they feel her submission to them? Did they like it?

She did. For the first time in a long time, Sito felt unburdened. Free.

Then they were both moving, falling into a steady rhythm that seemed designed to drive her mad. She coasted on it. No thoughts in her head, only the wave crashes and starbursts of indescribable fullness and pleasure.

When Vorik shifted his hips, his ridges began to stroke more firmly against the sensitive swell of her upper wall and she moaned. Taurik froze for half a heartbeat, breaking his rhythm.

“Mmm, that’s good,” Taurik groaned. “Make her moan again.”

Vorik complied eagerly, peppering her chest with kisses and bites as his hands kept her hips steady for his deep, filling thrusts. His sharp teeth found a nipple as one of his hands wandered between their bodies to thumb at her ridges.

Lok in her throat or not, Sito couldn’t stay still or quiet, writhing and moaning incoherently as tears tracked their way over her temples and slick-thickened drool dribbled from the corners of her mouth.

Sito thought she might die if this kept up. She was strangely alright with that. 

She had no idea how much time passed. There was no time, no reality, nothing other than the feel of the Vulcans and their ceaseless penetration. Then she felt Taurik’s hands start to tremble.

“I can’t…” Taurik breathed harshly and she felt that telltale shift in his tingle where his hands rested on her cheeks. Sito reached up, covering his hands with hers, and sent him a thought so brutal and salacious that he actually gasped.

“No!” He panted, but his body betrayed him, and he started moving his hips faster, throat fucking her with an almost reckless abandon. She reached up, resting her hands upside down on his hips but making no effort to stop him as he thrust a third, fourth, fifth time, the tingle turning into an almost burn of overstimulation. His muscles jerked under her hands and then he cried out obscenely loud, his hoarse voice filling the room as his whole body went rigid.

He had wanted to retreat but she held his hips as hard as she could. She couldn’t have kept him there if he really wanted to remove himself, but her permission was all he needed to drive as deep as he could into her throat, his groin squishing her nose, then she was swallowing down what felt like an endless torrent of cum. His lok just kept twitching and pulsing in her mouth, and unable to breathe, she had no choice but to keep drinking as desperately as she could.

Taurik had enough self control to withdraw slowly, his ridges dragging along her tongue and palate as he painted the inside of her mouth with the last few spurts of his orgasm. Sito swallowed them then gasped for air, her eyes still screwed shut.

She would have struggled to tell up from down, left from right in that moment, but suddenly Vorik was there, pulling her into his arms and gathering her close. His arms wrapped around her, safe and comforting as he licked the tears from her cheeks with his coarse, alien tongue. Sito clung to him, too overstimulated to do anything other than hold on.

“You are incredible,” Vorik whispered into her ear as he bounced her. “Such a perfect mate. So good to us. We would do anything for you.”

Sito couldn’t think, couldn’t speak. All she could do was mewl as Vorik continued to rut into her while whispering comforting, adoring things into her ear. His hands trailed up and down her back, his lips caressed the shell of an ear then trailed down the tender column of her throat, but always it was accompanied by the impossible stretch and fullness of his thrusts.

Sito wasn’t sure where she ended and he began anymore.

When she felt the tingle from his body start to shift she wanted to cry in relief. Vorik groaned, his thrusts speeding up slightly as he resumed licking her face. She hadn’t realised she was crying until the second pass of his rough tongue.

“Endure,” he moaned. “Endure a little longer for me, ashayam.”

He dropped his head to her shoulder and she braced herself for what she knew was coming next. Vorik opened his mouth, running it wetly along the curve of her shoulder until he found that tender junction between her shoulder and neck.

He bit down as he came and Sito screamed as she came with him, the force of their combined orgasms surging through her so powerfully that she passed clean out.

*

As Sito remerged from the depth of morpheus, she first became aware of the fact she was uncomfortably warm and sweating. She then became aware of twin weights across her hips and ribs, an unusual thrumming sensation against her back and leg, and a deep rumbling noise.

When she opened her eyes, she saw a head of black hair resting contentedly against her breasts. Slowly, the sensations resolved themselves with the pictures her sleepy brain was sending her, and she realised she was sandwiched between Vorik and Taurik. Taurik was behind her, one arm wrapped around her middle and his chin resting against the crown of her head. It was him the rumbling was coming from.

Taurik was snoring.

Vorik’s face was buried almost worryingly between her breasts, him having scooted further down the bed, but she was half draped across him and could feel his heart racing against her thigh and the occasional wet pass of his breath against her skin so she was confident he wasn’t suffocating.

Sito couldn’t help herself, she reached up and stoked her fingers through his soft hair. He didn’t stir immediately, but on the second pass her thumb grazed the curved point of his beautiful ear and his eyes popped open. She almost giggled when a second set of almost-transparent eyelids slid back after the first, revealing the lovely dark eyes she was so fond of.

There was no sleepy smile from him, but she felt a flush of warmth through her body the moment his eyes focused on her, and knew it had come from him. Unfortunately, a sleepy cuddly morning seemed to be the furthest thing from Vorik’s mind as he buried his face back between her breasts and began to purr, lapping at her sensitive skin. Sito felt a little jolt of arousal, and abruptly, Taurik’s snores stopped and she felt an inquisitive little flex of his hips against her ass.

“No way,” she croaked, taking a handful of Vorik’s hair and tugging him away from her breast. “You two really did a number on me last night.”

Her throat ached. All of her ached, but her throat felt… well, like it had been used, and the memory of what they’d done last night coursed through her tired, bruised body, sending prickles of pleasure racing down between her legs.

Now both the Vulcans were purring.

“Stop that,” she huffed, fighting down her own amusement. “I need time to recover.”

They didn’t stop purring, but they did start to behave themselves. She felt Taurik nuzzle into her hair and Vorik sighed, nuzzling under her chin, and the most profound sense of peace she’d ever felt settled over her.

“Let us take care of you,” Vorik murmured.

“Are you hungry? We can provide food,” Taurik added.

“Are you sore? Roll over, I can knead out your muscles.”

Sito tried to laugh but her sore throat made the sound into more of a swamp-creature croak.

“She requires a drink,” Vorik said and Taurik disappeared from behind her. The moment she lost his heat she missed it but Vorik was eager to wrap his arms around her, pulling her more firmly against him.

“How do you feel?” He asked.

“Sore, but happy.”

“That is… a satisfactory state?” Vorik asked and Sito dropped her face towards him, touching the tip of his nose with hers. His eyebrows shot up but he nudged her back gently with his own nose, understanding the affectionate gesture for what it was.

“Here,” Taurik said, announcing his return a short time later. Vorik reluctantly released her and Sito pulled herself into a sitting position. Though the bed was barely large enough for two people, Taurik slid back in beside her, and she ended up sandwiched between them and cradling a pretty cup filled with sweet smelling tea.

“It is therislor. I have been researching Bajoran cuisine and noted it had been observed that the therislor commonly served in Shi’Kahr resembles a popular Bajoran melon in taste.”

“Why were you researching Bajoran cuisine?” Sito asked and Taurik gave her a look which might have been construed as bashful.

For her, was the obvious answer. He’d been doing it for her. Sito smiled again, trying to hide it behind her teacup as she sipped. The liquid was warm but not hot, slightly thicker than expected, and he was absolutely correct about the flavour profile. The sip was soothing to her battered throat and filled her with a sense of warm nostalgia. However, as the fog of sleep slowly lifted and she became more aware of her body, she came to a bizarre realisation. There was none of the itchy, grotty, unwashed feeling that normally accompanied waking up after an impassioned romp with ridiculously wet Vulcans.

“I’m going to ask a weird question,” Sito said slowly, lifting the blanket and peeking down at her body. “Did you… wash me?”

“We had… made something of a mess…” Taurik said carefully. “We felt it was polite.”

“I don’t even want to know…” Sito sighed, trying not to imagine Taurik carrying her unconscious cum-streaked body into the sonic over his shoulder.

“I used a cloth and some water,” Taurik said. “You should still take a sonic before you leave or other Vulcans will be able to detect the scent of mating on you.”

The scent of mating, now there was a phrase.

An easy silence descended. Vorik settled in beside her, content to remain warm under the blanket and doze. Taurik sat up, a tea of his own cradled in one hand, though it was a darker red and had an earthier smell than what she was drinking. He’d brought nothing for Vorik. She was just considering what her plan for the day would be when Vorik finally sat up and decided to join in the conversation.

“Are the exams starting in two weeks for you as well as for my brother?” Vorik asked, and a cold lance of anxiety spoiled her otherwise perfect morning.

“They stagger exam starts,” Sito explained. “Final years have already finished their exams and have mostly shipped out, third years are in the middle of theirs, second years like me will start next week and first years like Taurik will have theirs the week after.”

“And you will be allowed sit them? Vorik asked.

“I have my medical assessment this afternoon, actually. They decide then if I can continue or not.”

Sito tried to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach, taking another sip of the warm, sweet tea.

“They will decide you can,” Taurik said confidently. “You’ve already successfully sat several practical exams as part of your continuing assessments. You have proven you are capable.”

“I hope you’re right,” Sito said sadly.

“He often is,” Vorik said, with a sigh a touch too-weary to be polite. Taurik ignored his brother.

“Honestly, Taurik, I owe you a huge debt. I don’t think I would have been able to do most of my practicals the last few weeks if it wasn’t for you.”

“It was my pleasure,” he said, his tone believably neutral though she snorted at his joke nonetheless.

“On that topic, I would like to again reiterate that I am in favour of this continuing for the duration of our time together at the academy. Irrespective of your rest needs, this is simply enjoyable,” Vorik said and Sito laughed, the laugh immediately turning into a cough. How was she going to explain her hoarse voice to classmates? Bajoran flu? Bajoran flu.

“I might ask that we keep the sex marathons to a once a week thing. I’m not sure I can take something like that on the regular.”

“You can, you are exceptionally talented and resilient in bed,” Vorik said confidently. “But you can dictate the schedule at your own pleasure. As your mate, I live to serve you.”

Sito laughed again, covering her mouth. Why were Vulcans like this?

“I also come to serve,” Taurik said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and pulling her against him.

“You sure do.” Sito smirked and got a reproachful look from Taurik who was familiar enough with Terran vernacular to appreciate the double entendre.

“You two really are the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” she sighed, running an affectionate hand down Vorik’s cheek as she covered one of Taurik’s hands with hers and squeezed.

“I believe I can return the sentiment,” Vorik rumbled. “Though my assessment is admittedly bias.”

“In our joining I have found gratification and contentment in a way I previously could only aspire to,” Taurik said, which she assumed was a more poetic agreement with his brother’s blunt statement. But as always, her happiness was chased with something a little more sour.

“That said… it might be better if we kept this arrangement between us,” Sito said. “I am not very popular on campus and—”

“I will not do anything that has the potential to be interpreted as shame at our association,” Taurik said firmly, using his finger to raise her chin so that she was looking into his eyes. “If you do not wish for our relationship to be advertised due to its casual nature and the social mores of your people around such relationships, I will respect that. However, I will not do so because you feel I will receive social reproach for caring about you.”

“But I—”

“But nothing. There will come a point where we will need to terminate this relationship, either due to reassignment or… biological pressures…” Taurik began.

“Biological pressures?” Sito interrupted.

“When Vorik and I reach a certain age, we will be compelled to telepathically bond a mate. To take a wife,” Taurik explained. “Since you are not Vulcan, or interested in forming a permanent association with either of us, we will need to return home to Vulcan to do so. This association must end at that time.”

“But that is many years from now,” Vorik said, pressing a kiss against her shoulder. “You will have peaceful sleep until then.”

“Vorik,” Taurik sighed, but rather than continue his lecture, he simply dropped his head to her other shoulder and kissed her too.

“Understood,” Sito said. “I’m glad we’re all on the same page about this.”

“Then the association is to continue but be kept discreet?” Vorik asked.

“Yes,” Taurik replied. “But if confronted directly, I will not deny it. I am honoured to be your mate, Sito. Even temporarily.”

“As am I,” Vorik said.

If she cried in front of them she’d never forgive herself, so Sito squeezed her eyes shut for a moment then gave them the most brilliant smile she could summon.

“You guys are the best friends a girl could ask for.” She kissed each in turn and returned to cuddling, enjoying the twin vibrations of their sudden purrs. She was on the verge of falling back asleep, so lulled to peace by their warmth and content noises, when both Vulcans suddenly startled like dogs a second before Sito heard the door lock mechanism disengage.

“Oh what the FU—”

Sam was home.

Chapter Text

Later that day

“Well these results are promising. Your cortisol levels are way down, your blood pressure is normal, and all inflammatory markers are back to within normal parameters. As far as I’m concerned, you’re medically fit to sit your final exams.” Doctor Lyons smiled pleasantly at Sito from behind her desk. “I take it you were able to find something that helped with the insomnia?”

Sito blushed furiously, avoiding eye contact and nodding. She was wearing her highest necked sweater and praying the Doctor didn’t ask her to take it off.

“Uh, yeah. I took your advice. A friend of a friend is a Vulcan and he agreed to help me out.”

“Wonderful! Vulcan neuropressure is amazing, isn’t it?” Doctor Lyons said, already turning away to peck at her terminal. “A few touches and they can turn your spine into jelly, regulate your hormones, and promote tissue healing. A fascinating people with fascinating medical practices.”

“Neuropressure?” Sito repeated, her eyes widening.

“Mmm. I recommend it to a lot of my patients who suffer from anxiety and sleeplessness. There’s a few clinics in town, but it’s good you were able to find a friend to help out. It’s more comfy that way, I think, and with these numbers I see no reason to keep you on medical watch.”

“That’s… great…” Sito said slowly.

“Hmm, that’s odd though. It looks like you have some slight swelling in your oropharynx… and you do seem to have had some kind of histamine response. Have you ingested or come into contact with any foreign substances?”

“Foreign substances? Hmm… no,” she lied, clutching the neck of her sweater a little tighter.

NEUROPRESSURE!?