Star Trek Imagines

[ENT] T'Pol - One In The Same

In life, you weren't exactly what people would call popular. You were more so an outcast, and quite simply, you preferred to be left to your own devices. This became a reoccurring theme through your life, and it wasn't such a bad thing. Through your schooling years at Starfleet and your eventual place in the crew of the Enterprise, you were simply the quiet one who did their job and got on with the day.

That was until T'Pol joined the crew.

Suddenly you were not the quietest, nor the most mysterious; she had taken your place. You caught sight of her in the hallways every now and then, often times you would see her making her way to a table in the mess hall, always alone. To anyone else, it seemed she didn't want the company, but to you, it seemed as though she didn't know how to ask for it. 

Vulcans were not your area of expertise, quite the opposite. You knew they were a proud people who valued logic over emotion, and that made you wonder if the reason she sat alone was simply because it was logical. It made no sense to you, but you wondered nonetheless. T'Pol held herself with an air of grace, even whilst eating, and though you hated being watched yourself, you couldn't help but stare. The calm demeanour she had always transferred to any scenario, and you found yourself wanting to learn more about the woman.

The mess hall was fairly quiet, one or two people dotted around, and you walked in to find T'Pol in her usual space in the corner, silently eating away alone. Grabbing your own food, you made your way to her table and smiled at her, T'Pol now looking at you with one raised eyebrow. She looked very adorable, you thought, but pulled your thoughts back to the present as you hear her voice.

"Do you require help, Ensign?"

"Not at all," you replied, motioning down to the chair in front of her. Never had you been so bold. "May I?" 

Her face seemed slightly annoyed, if Vulcans could express such a thing, but she nodded anyway and allowed you to join her. The first few minutes were silent, the two of you just eating, and you had quickly realised that the Vulcan was not going to be the first to start a conversation.

"So," you began, light-hearted and cheerful. "How was your food?"

"The same as always, Ensign." Her deadpan voice seemed bored, but you persevered. 

"I noticed you never eat meat, are you a vegetarian?"

"By nature, Vulcans do not consume meat, no. We are vegetarians."

"That's really cool, I never knew that" you laughed a little, and for a moment T'Pol's shoulders seemed to relax. 

"You know, I'm also quite a quiet person myself, I never really go out of my way to socialise. I love being on my own so much, I liked to do things by myself. I've never seen anyone like myself before, everyone here is bright and friendly, always talking with each other and spending free days together. I hope this isn't too bold, but I see myself in you a lot, and I was wondering if maybe you would want to get to know each other better? I could use a friend, and I thought maybe you could, too."

T'Pol stared at you, the face she had was unreadable. You thought you had offended her as she sat there for a few moments silently. Sensing the conversation was going nowhere, you sighed. 

"Sorry, I feel like I'm annoying you, I'll leave you be. You just looked lonely is all, I see you sitting here every day on your own and I thought it might be nice to try to get to know you. I'm sorry if I did make you uncomfortable."

You stood, ready to leave, hands on your tray.

"I am not uncomfortable. Stay, please, ensign." T'Pol was looking at you, a sense of hope in her eyes that you wouldn't leave. You sat back down, ready to hear what she was about to say.

"I do sit alone because I believe it is better for me that way. Though, sometimes I do wish I had that company, you are correct. No one on this ship outside of the senior officers has bothered to try and talk to me, you are an exception, Ensign. Thank you for trying, I appreciate it, however different it may look."

You smiled. "That's okay, I'm glad you didn't feel as alone today. My name is Y/N, by the way, if you'd prefer calling me that."

"As am I, Y/N." You liked the way your name sounded from her. "Perhaps we could do this again tomorrow?" T'Pol's voice suggested she was unsure of how you would react, one may even call the tone one of nerves. Still, your head nodded and her face looked relieved.

"We certainly can."

That was the start of something new.