Lt. Inabnet's Quarters Makeover

"What did you say to him that required a written apology?" T'Pren asked instead of answering, suddenly feeling awfully ridiculous in her new dress with her hair all fancified.

"I might have lost my temper," he said, finding himself guilty enough that he didn't actually want to repeat what he had said to Pren.

It took some very impressive feats of will power to keep the half-Vulcan from asking when and why Rai lost his temper with the Bajoran prostitute. She dragged her bare toes through the moss on the floor and looked down rather than at the Captain, carefully filing away any feelings of jealousy or fear in the hopes that he wouldn't notice them. She really should have stayed in her normal clothes and not dressed up.

Her cheeks were very, very green. "Well," she said finally, taking a deep breath, "apparently Da-an is enjoying his company."

"Excellent, I set the two of them up. I might have been, less than diplomatic in my teasing of him. It escalated, I lost my temper, I'm a cad." He assured her.

With the jealousy tucked away, T'Pren only blushed a little when she replied frankly, "I know you're a cad. I'm just trying to determine how much of one." But she smiled at him, so apparently it was okay.

He gently placed his hands on her shoulders. "You look stunning in that dress."

So charming, this Captain. T'Pren's face lit up even as she tried to pretend she was still not completely sold on Rai's cad levels and she leveled a pleased but knowing look at him right before she brushed her lips against his. "I don't mind, you know," she decided sincerely. "You're a Betazoid. Just don't let me find out from someone else. Okay?"

He traced a finger across her delicate collar bones. "There's nothing to know right now, but if there ever is, you'll be the first to know," he said. He pressed his lips to her bare shoulder, over the strap of her dress.

T'Pren's whole body tingled pleasantly at Rai's touch, and when he kissed her shoulder and turned her head toward him to kiss the top of his ear. "Do you really like the dress?" she wondered, failing to hold back a particularly delighted smile.

"You look exquisite," he whispered into her ear. "Have you always had it?" he asked, kissing a trail down her jaw, to the pulse of her neck.

What was the question? T'Pren was getting distracted. She let her eyes close so that she could exist in the sensations of Rai's touch. One of her hands, in Vulcan form, slid down his arm to the back of his hand.

"Mm," she said by way of denial. "Lorelei helped me pick it out. Yesterday."

"She has a good eye," he said, wrapping his arms around her waist. "The lavender brings out the green tones in your skin," he said, and he brushed the delicate strap off of her shoulder.

"I take it you're not hungry anymore?" T'Pren asked with contented amusement, clearly more than willing to forego dinner in favor of dessert. She slid her own arms under Rai's to draw little shapes with her fingers on his back through his uniform, but otherwise let the Captain take the lead.

"There was food?" he murmured against her lips. "I seem to be a little pre-occupied."

"Mm," T'Pren said again, this time in agreement. "You seem to be wearing clothing." She immediately sought to rectify this issue, starting with the top to his uniform.

Rai wiggled out of his uniform top and trousers before he slipped the other delicate dress strap off of her shoulder, letting the diaphanous lavender material pool around her small, pale ankles.

"All that work with my hair and the dress," T'Pren sighed overdramatically as she stepped over her dress and put her body mere centimeters from his, "and I could have just answered the door naked."

"You can't go wrong with a classic," Rai smiled at her through another kiss. "I do like the dress," he said, hooking her leg around his waist to hold her body flush against his own.

And just like that, T'Pren's body went from very-pleasantly-warm-and-tingly to fiery-and-ready-to-go. Her cheeks flushed green as the blood in her body reorganized according to a brand new set of priorities. Priority 1: getting Darren inside her. She pressed against him with heated urgency and bit at his bottom lip, pulling on it gently. "We should really test out the new moss carpeting," she suggested with playful casualness.

"I couldn't agree more," he said, lowering her entangled body to the lush moss on the floor.

[OOC: Ftb for hot empath sex hurr]

When it was all over, Pren and Rai found themselves in much the same tangle of limbs that they had every other time. Or they would once they separated. For now, the Betazoid was collapsed on top of the half-Vulcan and neither bothered to even try to attempt to move while they caught their breath. T'Pren couldn't even muster the strength to move her fingers through Rai's hair, so they lay in it limply.

She stared up at the floral ceiling, smiling blissfully. It wasn't until a good five to ten minutes later that she announced to the room, "I'm going to have to give Da-an a thank you present."

"They're magic-- and that magic is science," he said, sighing happily. He picked small green buds and bits of moss out of Pren's hair. "I don't understand why the Federation hasn't been more effective in preserving their species."

"The Federation is squeamish about genetics," T'Pren replied frankly. She smiled her pleasure at Rai for his attentions and finally found the energy to rub his scalp lazily. "There was such an uproar when I applied to the Academy until we could prove I wasn't altered."

"I know, but think of what someone like Da-an could do for a drought-parched planet like Bajor," he said. "They could return Bajor to it's pre-occupation state. The benefits outweigh the risks."

"Mm," T'Pren agreed thoughtfully, smoothing Rai's hair from his face. "My dad used to say that Starfleet believes in risk. The Federation believes in comfort." After a moment, she added, "That's a large part of why he resigned his commission. The Federation wasn't willing to let him do the work he wanted to do for people."