At the Top of the World

At the Top of the World

By: Angel

Rating: G

Disclaimer: Paramount owns Enterprise, and all its wonderful characters.

Summary: A (hopefully) cute piece of fluffy goodness.

Timeframe: Follows the triumphant return of Enterprise to Earth after the Xindi Conflict.

^^^^^^

The unusual couple strolled carelessly through the crowd. His light green shirt a perfect compliment to the khaki shorts that showed off his powerful legs. He smiled incessantly with the silliest of grins. She moved with a grace and self-confidence very few people know. Ironic, considering she was in extreme doubt of herself on this particular day.

“I still can’t believe ya’ actually wore that!” he smiled appraisingly at her while taking in her soft blue tank top and simple cotton shorts. He openly admired her well-sculpted legs for a moment. “Ya’ should wear shorts more often, or at least a skirt. It isn’t logical to deprive the rest of us the view!”

Her eyebrow flew up under her short bangs as she silently scolded him. “That would not be possible, Commander. I don’t believe either of those items is approved Starfleet regulation dress code.” She decided to change the subject away from the area of her discomfort in an attempt to ease her self-consciousness. “Where are we heading?”

If possible, his smile grew even broader. She wondered idly if he was receiving lessons from the doctor. “To that!” He pointed over the heads of several people to the visible portion of a large circular structure. “It’s called a Ferris Wheel. You’ve never been on anythin’ like it!”

T’Pol nearly sighed in exasperation. “That is what the Captain said just before he insisted I ride the roller coaster with him. It was not a pleasant experience.”

Now Trip laughed heartily. He grabbed her hand with familiarity. He’d already pulled her about ten yards before he realized that she hadn’t even feigned indignation at his physical touch. Despite her lack of protest, he suddenly felt very aware of her hand enclosed in his as his heart rate increased slightly. His fingers released hers quickly, but he continued to smile as he led her through the throng toward their goal.

The normally confident Vulcan woman was at a loss. Not only was she dressed in this ridiculous Earth attire, simply because Ensign Sato had mentioned that Earth males liked to “see a little skin once in awhile,” but now Commander Tucker had released her hand for no apparent reason. When he had suggested they attend this carnival together, she had pointed out that all of the Enterprise personnel were going to be there so how would they not be together? He had shaken his head repeatedly. All he said was, “Never mind, T’Pol.” However, she recalled the look of sadness that crossed his handsome features.

Now as they stood in line for the Ferris wheel, she pondered the day so far. They had spent most of it together, only separating briefly when the Captain insisted she ride this or that with him. Perhaps, this was what the Commander had meant by ‘together’. If so, did that constitute what humans call ‘a date’? Had he been asking her on a date? Had she refused him? Since it seemed that they were on one anyway, what did that mean?

She had been so lost in thought that she had failed to notice it was now their turn to ride. Commander Tucker’s hand was in the small of her back, gently guiding her forward to the car. She sat and after the engineer had joined her, the attendant closed the bar across their laps.

As the spindly contraption began to turn along its axis, Trip faced her. “Well, what do ya’ think?”

“I do not understand. Its only purpose is to go in a circle?”

He grinned like a schoolboy. “Yeah.”

“Tell me, Commander…”

Trip interrupted her. “Geez, T’Pol, we’re about as off-duty as ya’ can get. Will ya’ please call me somethin’ else?” He looked over at her again. She, however, was distracted. They were cresting the top of the circle right then and the view was magnificent. As the arc began to descend, carrying them with it, she returned her attention to her partner.

“That was…quite pleasant;” she paused for a moment before adding, “Trip.”

His blush ran quickly over his face before receding down his neck again. In a soft voice, he responded, “It’s not over.”

No one else would have seen the look of surprise and anticipation that washed over her. “We get to go around a few more times,” he answered the unasked question.

They sat in silence for the next several minutes. Subconsciously, he placed his arm over her shoulders and drew her nearer. By the third rotation, her head rested against his chest, all of her previous doubts and concerns abated. Soon, however, she noticed the frequent stops they had begun making and logically deduced that their ride was almost done.

They were nearing the top again, for the last time. Trip realized the moment was now or never, so he turned his body to face her. He brushed his fingers lightly along her temple and back over the delicate tip of her ear. “T’Pol? There’s somethin’ I’ve been wantin’ to do for a while now. Considerin’ our past and all, it may seem silly to ya’, but, well, may I kiss ya’?”

In reply, she simply leaned forward into his space. Her hand circled around to the back of his neck and caressed the soft hairs there. He closed his eyes and sighed. “This will be very complicated, Trip.” Her voice was a whisper.

“I know, but nothin’ worth havin’ is easy.” They felt the car move around them, but all that mattered now was each other. Together they leaned in and his lips found hers. The kiss was soft, almost demure, but it held the promise of things to come.

As their mouths separated, they shared a look around. They were at the top of the wheel again. “Now I know how it feels to be on top of the world,” he said quietly.

“It is breathtaking,” she agreed.

The End

Notes: I hope you liked it. This was actually inspired by the song, “Palisades Park”. I can’t remember the artist, I wanna say Freddy Cannon, but I’m not sure. At any rate, I don’t own the song either. And for the record, I really don’t like Ferris wheels, but I love roller coasters!

Back to Fan Fiction Main Menu

Have a comment to make about this story? Do so in the Trip Fan Fiction forum at the HoTBBS!

A whole mess of folks have made comments

awwwww bless that was luverly :)
tell you what though i would have liked to have seen the photo of t'pol on the rollercoaster rides!! interesting

This was nice, I have that sweet, touched smile on my face at the moment...lovely!

you've been writing the sweetest little stories! thank you and good job. please write more!

That was really sweet. Thanks! Made my morning pleasant.

That was nice. :-)))

awww i liiiiiike that one

awwwwwwww!!!! How cute!!!!!

That was beautiful! Do we get a sequal?

That was beautiful! Do we get a sequal?

Very nice 'fluff' and cute.

i agree!!! very lovely!!!! t'pol sure is a lucky girl!!!

Excellent! This was beautifully written and I could *so* see it happening like this. *Sigh*. Thanks, Ali D :~)

Awwww! (how cliche, it seems!)This is great! I love fluff!

Hey guys! Thanks for all the great comments! Question: I received a review on another site to this story that our fave couple was out of character. Thoughts? Opinions? I try to keep them as true as I can, so I'd like to know if others out there share this feeling. Thanks!

What do they mean "out-of-character?" It was OOC for T'Pol to take Trellium D and OOC for Trip to become involved with her. So what was THAT comment all about? I disagree. I thought it was in character. Trip and T'Pol are up to trying new and different things--especially T'Pol.

>This was actually inspired by the >song, “Palisades Park”. I can’t remember the >artist, I wanna say Freddy Cannon, but I’m not >sure.

Say, "Freddy Cannon".

Nice little tale.

Fluffy goodness! T'Pol was insecure about showing skin. I guess she doesn't realize just how much those cat suits show off.

I for one like a little fluff now and then! And as for them being out of character - I'm glad to see them relaxing and enjoying themselves for a change!

I think this was the perfect little story to read before bed. Now off to have sweet, sweet dreams about my favorite engineer!! Sweet, you know - like chocolate sauce and whipped cream and....

Oh, sorry, forgot where I was there for a minute!!! :)

Thankyou,an enjoyable and satisfying story.I do apprieciate the sweet,sexy and short stories.Iam not having a whinge but the novels that some authors write are to full on (far far to much) so thanks heaps and Hoo-roo.

very nice and sweet and I finally got to read this! ;)

Out of character for whom!!?? Certainly not for us devoted Trip and T'Polers. Your story had me hanging on a bubble of good feeling right up there along with our atypical twosome. Please favor us with more fic.

Great little story. I was in the mood for some fluffy goodness. :) I thought the characterization was just fine. I could hear the dialogue in their voices. I may have had a hard time picturing T'Pol in shorts but I got over it. ;)

This line killed me: “I do not understand. Its only purpose is to go in a circle?” I could so hear her saying that. LMAO! :)

boushh

aw what a warm fuzzy story, i liked it :)

... and if they had half your writing ability, they'd be qualified to complain! For the purposes of this story, the characters are yours and go where you lead them. I think it was lovely.

Wonderful! I am working on a post-Home fic on Earth and this was quite inspiring, but I will take care not to copy ;)