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Peja's Wonderful World of Makebelieve Import
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Published:
2020-11-04
Completed:
2006-06-14
Words:
13,173
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5/5
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20
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2,313

Tema Adah

Summary:

Tema Adah is a young Bajoran writer who moves to the station. She meets Dukat, and they get ‘involved’. She starts talking with Garak, while Dukat is off station, and they start getting romantic. When Dukat returns, she and Garak continue meeting in secret, until Dukat walks in on them.

Notes:

(See the end of the work for notes.)

Chapter 1: Chapter One

Chapter Text

Author: Bekah Merryman
Fandom: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Pairing: Tema Adah (mine), Garak (canon) and Dukat (canon)
Status: First Draft
Series/Sequel: None
Disclaimers: All belongs to Gene Roddenberry.
Reviews: Perfectly Welcome

I was trying to resist the urge to hit myself in the head with the PADD I was working on, suffering from writer's block, once again. I sensed someone behind me, but I ignored the sensation. Being in the replimat had advantages and drawbacks. I could draw inspiration from the surrounding people, but there were some who, when they saw a young Bajoran woman sitting alone, would try to talk to her. This was the type of person I feared was behind me.
Finally, I turned and looked up into the blue eyes and gently smiling face of the local Cardassian tailor.
"Good afternoon," he said, walking around so he was facing me. "May I?" He asked, indicating the chair across from me. I put the PADD down and nodded, grateful for the interruption.
"How long have you been on the station? I don't believe I have seen you here before," he said, keeping eye contact and never wavering.
"I've only been here about a week. I came here from Bajor, obviously," I said, gesturing at the ridges on my nose. "I'm trying to finish a story, I thought a different setting would help, but I'm still stuck." I could tell that my frusteration was seeping into my voice.
The Cardassian smiled.
"My name is Garak. Welcome to Deep Space Nine," Garak said with an expansive gesture as he sat back in the chair.
"I'm Tema Adah. Thanks for the welcome, Garak." I ran my left hand through my long black hair. I took a lock, parted it into thirds and began braiding it, lost in thought.
I realized what I was doing and brought my mind back to the present. Garak was staring at me, head slightly to the left, studying me.
I dropped the lock of hair and he smiled.
"What?"
"Nothing, it's just, you looked so deep in thought there for a moment."
I nodded and touched the PADD with my index finger. Silence reigned for a moment.
"Well," Garak said, lifting himself out of the chair. "I hope to see you around the station, Tema Adah." He inclined his head, turned and was gone.
I shook my head and turned back a few pages in my story and read the words I had memorized days before.
I drank the last of my tea, snatched up my PADD and went back to my quarters to be frusterated in a different setting.
***
About a week later, I was past my block and having lunch with an old friend of my sister's, by the name of Kira Nerys. We were talking about how things were going between the Federation and Bajor when she stopped in mid-sentence and swore under her breath, looking over my right shoulder.
I started to turn to see what could illicit such a reaction from her when she put a hand on my arm.
"Don't turn," she whispered. "Maybe he won't notice me."
"Who?" I was genuinely curious. If only half of the stories my sister told me were true, Kira was not one to be easily agitated like this.
She turned her dark eyes back to me and gave me an ironic half-smile.
"Dukat," she said softly, but the venom still came through.
I had, of course, heard of Gul Dukat. Mostly in either hushed or angrily raised voices. To me, the idea of a man who could engender such opposing reactions was intellctually intriguing. And, after seeing some old vids, he interested me even more, but in a much more aesthetic way. His voice was so commanding, his eyes drew one in, even when watching a copy of a copy of a vid.
I wanted to turn and see this man in person. Luckily, I didn't have to work too hard to resist the urge as a few moments later, I heard approaching footsteps from behind. Given the exasperated expression on Kira's face, I assumed it was Dukat. My writer's mind went into warp, trying to concoct a past between the two. I suspected, however, that the truth was more interesting than any fiction I could develop.
"Hello, Major," came the immediatly recognizable voice of Gul Dukat. From the expression in Kira's eyes, it could have been the screams of a tortured and dying animal, not the well-modulated voice that met my ears.
I looked up at the owner of the voice. He wasn't paticularly tall, but he was well-built and had a very confident, almost regal bearing about him. His eyes were as sharp as his features. They were dark, but I couldn't tell if they were truly black or a dark blue.
His eyes settled on Kira and they seemed to drink in the sight. I felt a twinge of something - jealousy? - but quickly buried it. The effort was successful until the dark eyes switched to me. The appraisal was in itself cold, but I thought I saw a glimmer of the approval I had seen when he was watching Kira.
With his eyes still trained on me, he spoke in that resolve-shattering voice to Kira.
"Why, Major, who is your friend? I don't believe I have met her before," and without further warning or hesitation, he picked up my hand and raised it to his lips. His hands were surprisingly warm and not as rough as I had expected. The contact of his lips on my hand just about sent me into orbit, however. I felt as though all thought had halted, and yet the part of my mind reserved for fantasy went crazy.
While he made this gesture, Kira was doing the introductions through clenched teeth.
"Tema Adah, meet Gul Dukat. Dukat, this is Tema Adah, the younger sister of one of the women in my resistance cell." Kira was glaring between me and Dukat, apparently not being able to decide who deserved the most blame for this turn of events.
Dukat pulled out the third chair at our table and sat down. Kira rose almost immediatly.
"I have to go," she said brusquely. "I'm on duty in a few minutes. Tema. Dukat." With curt nods to each of us, she stalked off. Dukat watched her leave, then looked back to me. I felt a thrill when we locked eyes.
"Well, Tema, what brings you to the station?"
"I'm a writer. I came here to get a new perspective." Now with the full attention of Gul Dukat, I felt like I was flying, but also felt scared out of my mind.
He smiled. There had never been a picture or a vid of him smiling. It was just as intoxicating as his voice or eyes.
"What are you working on? Is there anything I could help with? You know, I used to run this place, back when it was Terok Nor."
"I think I heard that somewhere," I said, before I could stop myself. I expected him to become angry, but he started laughing.
"I like you," he said, laughing. "Tell me, Tema Adah, would you like to come to dinner in my quarters tonight?" His eyes blazed as they bore into mine.
My mind whirled. After knowing him for less than five minutes, the Gul Dukat was asking me to dinner in his quarters? My parents would kill me, I thought, a small voice in my mind laughing hysterically.
"Yes, of-of course," I said in a voice that wasn't mine.
"Wonderful! Shall we say, 1900?" I nodded, still dumbstruck. "I look forward to it," he said, kissing my hand again as he swept away down the Promenade as though he owned the place. Well, I reminded myself, he had, at one point.
I sat, staring at the table for a few moments. I forced myself to return to the present. I got up and I soon found myself in Garak's shop.
"Ah, Tema," came the ever-cheerful tailor's voice from behind one of the displays.
"Hello, Garak," I replied, glad to notice my normal voice had returned.
"So, what are you looking for? Or is this a social visit," he asked, coming out from behind the display, brushing his hands before taking one of mine in both of his.
"I need a new dress," I said, my disbelief apparent in my voice. "Ah, a new dress. What sort of new dress?" His clear blue eyes gazed at me, interested but aloof. I could never tell if he was teasing me or not.
"I..think I have a date tonight." The words rolled off my tongue easily.
"Well, then, come with me," he said, gesturing. "This is a new style, made of Tholian silk on the bodice and something the Humans call 'crushed velvet' for the skirt itself. I think the color would bring out your eyes," as he was speaking, he was appraising me, but in a kind way.
The dress was beautiful. The bodice was simple, sleeveless and soft to the touch, shimmering to the eyes. The skirt was made of a material that had a soft shimmer to it, and was soft, but in an almost furry way. The color was a rich, deep green. Garak was right, it was almost the same shade as my eyes.
I looked up at Garak.
"I'll take it."
"Wonderful!" His eyes lit up. "So, tell me," he asked as he carefully folded and packaged the dress. "Who is this date with? Anyone I know?"
"I don't know about that," I said, mostly to buy time. For some reason I didn't want him to know that I was going on a date with Gul Dukat. "He's not here very often," I said honestly. "I'm not sure how serious it's going to be. Yet, there's something about him," I trailed off, surprised at the honesty of the words coming out of my mouth.
Garak smiled.
"Well, here you are. And, Tema," he said as he handed me the dress. "Good luck. I hope you're very happy."
"Thanks, Garak. I'll let you know," I gave him a smile and swept out of the shop.
I went back to my quarters and lit my meditation candle. I settled back on my ankles and cleared my mind. My breathing automatically regulated, and soon I felt I was outside myself.
It seemed only a few minutes when the computer chimed that an hour had passed, my usual self-imposed limit for meditation. I had been meditating since I was a child. I tried to do it at least once a day. Since imposing the time restriction, I had found my creative moods lasted longer and were clearer.
I stretched and carefully rose to my feet. I had also discovered that if I wasn't careful, I ran the risk of falling over, and even alone, that was embarassing. I grabbed the dress and laid it out on my bed. I gazed at it for a moment and went in to take a shower. When I came out and dried my hair, I took about ten minutes to carefully comb it out. When it was done, I considered what to do with it. I often felt like I wanted to do something with it, but I never knew quite what.
I always enjoyed having long hair, but didn't do much with it. I considered myself in the mirror from different angles, and looked at the dress, hoping for inspiration. The silk had braided bands of color in it, so I decided to put braids in my hair.
I took the top third of my hair and parted it into about eight parts, and divided each of those in turn into thirds. When I was done with the eight seperate braids, I brought them all together at the nape of my neck, taking a length of green ribbon and trying it around the braids.
I slipped into the dress and stood before the mirror. I grinned at myself. The color of the dress really did bring out my eyes. I put a little gloss on my lips, but that was all I bothered with for cosmetics.
I glanced at the time on my console. It was about 1830, and I had located Dukat's quarters, they were about 10 minutes away by foot, and I wanted to have the time to consider how to act and react to Dukat.
***
I stood before the doors to Dukat's quarters. I took a deep breath and tried to slow the raucous beating of my heart. Without thinking about it, I hit the button and heard the chime on the other side. A few moments passed and I fidgeted, wondering if I had been played as a fool.
Finally, as I was half-turned to leave, the doors slid open. I turned and faced the deeply glowing eyes of Gul Dukat. After a purely involuntary intake of breath, I smiled and allowed myself to be gallantly ushered inside.
The quarters were larger than my own, but about as sparsly decorated and furnished. Off to the left hand side of the large main room was a long table set for two, with a vast selection of food.
Dukat took my hand and kissed it, like he had done earlier in the day. He looked deep in my eyes, then held me at arms length and examined my dress.
"Well, this is a vision of beauty. Tholian silk, yes?" His fingers traced the neckline of the bodice. I felt a sinking in my stomach and at the same time, a giddy lightness in my chest. His eyes met mine again and seemed to hold them captive as he spoke again.
"So soft to the touch," he said in little more than a whisper, yet his powerful voice seemed to fill the room. As he spoke, his fingers traced the curve of my jawline and tilted my chin up. For one terrifyingly thrilling moment, I thought he was going to kiss me. He smiled and turned away from me.
I tried to cover the momentary vertigo from the whirling haze of feelings reigning inside of me. A small part of me wanted to turn and run back to my quarters, but the majority vote was to stay. I wanted to feel this, to feel him, even if only for a moment.
"Here," he said, turning back to me with an ornate glass in each hand and offering one to me. "To an interesting evening," he toasted, those intense eyes boring into mine again. I smiled, and took a sip.
"Spring wine?" I asked, surprised.
He flashed a momentary bright smile.
"Yes, one of the things I miss from Bajor." He rolled the glass between his hands, gazing at its contents, seemingly in deep thought. He raised his eyes back to me. I watched him, intrigued. I wasn't sure if the apparent regret evident on his face was true or an act, but at the moment, it didn't matter.
I took another drink. The wine was wonderfully sweet, and seemed to warm me from the inside.
"So, I told you what I was doing on the station, but you haven't told me why you are here," I said, settling on one end of the short couch Dukat indicated.
He chuckled as he sat down, taking another drink of the wine. He sat the glass on the table and faced me.
"Ah, now, that's a long and complicated story, one that is far too boring to get into at the moment," he said offhandedly. "Is it not enough," he said, dropping his voice to that whisper that filled the room, "that I am here?"
Suddenly he was right next to me. He put a hand on the back of my neck, and drew me closer to him. I had that sinking/soaring feeling again and could not catch my breath. The skin on my neck that was in contact with his hand felt like it was on fire.
"Yes," I whispered, marveling that I could think, let alone speak with his eyes gazing into mine from about an inch away. A slight smile tugged at his lips.
"Good," he murmured. With one swift movement, he crossed the short distance between us and kissed me.
I was stunned. For half a second, I was frozen in place. Then, my brain caught up with what my body was feeling. I returned the kiss, and Dukat responded with intensity. I lost all sense of time passing, the only things I was aware of were Dukat and the vivid feelings of elation and deep desire coursing through my body.
I was pressed against him, reveling in the sensation of a strong body against mine. I had been kissed before, but nothing that made me feel like this.
Dukat pulled away, but his eyes never left mine.
"What do you say," he said, "we forget about dinner?" He ran a hand down my back as we stood.
I followed him into the bedroom. He sat me down on the edge, took my face into his hands and kissed me deeply. I closed my eyes and sank into him, into the kiss. I allowed him to push me down onto the bed.
Dukat pushed off the bed and began to undress.
I sat for a moment, stunned at the turn of events. Now I knew my family would kill me, if they ever found out about this. Yet, when Dukat turned his gaze to me, crossed the room and brought the straps of my dress down and kissed down my neck and shoulders, all thoughts of my family and the obligations that went with disappeared.
***
Hours later, I woke from a deep, dreamless sleep and rolled over on my side. Involuntarially, I jumped back, grabbing the blankets around my naked body.
Memories of the night before came back to me. The pure physical passion, the way the lightest touch from Dukat made me feel like I was burning up from the inside out. How, when he looked in my eyes or spoke my name, I felt like I was the only woman in the galaxy and he was the only man.
I relaxed my death grip on the blankets and watched Dukat sleep, wondering in passing how many other women had been in this position. I mentally shrugged it off, pretending for the moment that his past didn't matter, that the fact that he had bee, and possibly still remained, the personification of evil for other Bajorans, including my own family, didn't matter to me.
He stirred and opened his eyes. When they found me lying next to him, he smiled.
"Good morning," he said, stroking my face with his fingers. I leaned over and kissed him. He returned the kiss, putting his hands on the back of my head and pushing me against him. He chuckled and pulled away.
"Ah, time, what an inconvenience," he whispered, kissing my cheek as he got to his feet and began getting dressed.
"You never did tell me what you're doing on the station," I said, sitting up and stretching.
Dukat smiled. "Well, now, we didn't do much talking last night, did we?" When I didn't reply, save for an appreciative chuckle, he sat on the bed next to me.
"Well, I can't say much about it right now. All I can say is that, unfotunatly, my work requires me to leave tomorrow morning. I will be returning periodically, and while I am here and not attending to my usual duties, I will be at your service. Now, I am sorry, but I do have to go," he said, and with another brief but deep kiss, he swept from the room. I heard the doors slide closed in the other room and there was silence.
I got dressed and slunk out of Dukat's quarters, half hoping that I wouldn't be seen, half hoping I would be. When I got back to my own quarters, I found a message from my sister waiting. I ignored it, wanting to have my wits more about me. Kenara always seemed to see right through me.