Tommy had given it to her, looking at her solemnly and saying 'Cause you disappeared all the snot in my head.'. She had thanked him just as solemnly while trying to suppress a laugh. It had gone onto her desk without getting a second thought until her shift was over. If asked, even by herself, she wouldn't have been able to explain why she had made a special trip to her office just to get the thing before heading to her quarters. It was pretty silly after all.
*You've got to find a decent hobby,* she told herself as she sat playing with it on the couch that night. Certainly she was well beyond the age for this to hold any interest for her. She continued playing with it all the same. In fact she was so distracted squinting at the little triangle she didn't really notice the door chime or her own voice saying, "Come in" to whoever was on the other side.
"Beverly?"
She jumped, quickly slipping the object behind her back and looked up at him, startled.
"What a...what have you got there?" Jean-Luc asked, leaning a bit as if to see around her.
Beverly instantly looked rather embarrassed, slanting her eyes away from him and towards the ground like a child with her hand caught in the cookie jar. She might as well of just held up a brightly painted sign the moment he walked in reading 'I'm trying to hide something!!'. "O um...." She took it out from where she'd hoped he hadn't seen her put it and holding it against her stomach, shielding it with her hand, she mumbled, "It's a...mageighbal," clearing her throat a little in the middle.
"A what?" he asked, now leaning over her and sounding thoroughly amused. He reached down and pulled her fingers out so that the object rolled onto her palm into full view. An eyebrow rose.
Being sure to sigh loudly with annoyance first Beverly replied, "It's a Magic Eight Ball."
"A Magic Eight Ball?"
She thought the interested tone of his voice was oddly sincere considering they were talking about an obviously childish toy, but it did make her feel slightly less embarrassed. So with this bit of new found confidence she said, "You know, you ask it a yes or no question and when you turn it over the answer appears in the little window."
Jean-Luc looked at it, eyebrows raised and mouth turned down slightly, as if impressed. He took it out of her hand and placed it in his own, holding it out in front of him. "Has the good doctor gone completely mad?" he asked it with mock graveness.
Beverly's eyes flew sharply to him and her mouth opened but before she could say anything he turned the black plastic ball over and read out loud from the little triangle floating in the murky blue water. "It is decidedly so," he said and laughed, greatly amused.
Beverly jumped up from the couch trying to snatch it away from him.
"Oh no you don't," he said moving it out of her reach, "there's a few more things I'd like to ask it." He paused as if giving his next question great consideration and then asked, "Was Beverly passing notes again in study hall?" before breaking out in another round of laughter.
Beverly clenched her fists at her sides and stamped a foot which only caused Jean-Luc to laugh all that much harder. "That isn't funny!" She snatched the toy out of his hands and glared at him. "So much for the understanding of friends."
Jean-Luc chuckled a few more times before getting himself under control, a grin still stuck to his lips. Beverly continued to glare. "I'm sorry Beverly," he forced the grin away and reached to touch her arm "but you have to admit, it is rather humorous."
Beverly pulled away from him. "It was a gift from a patient," she stated defensively, "I was only..."
"You were only playing with it," he filled in for her, that ridiculous grin of his returning.
She made a sound of disgust deciding he was enjoying this far to much and dropped back down on the couch. "You shouldn't laugh at other peoples expense," she said in a hurt tone laying the guilt on thick.
The grin disappeared, replaced by the guilty expression she was hoping for. "I'm sorry," he repeated.
Satisfied, Beverly held up the ball for him to see. "You know it's not as silly as it sounds," she said, "it did after all have some pretty accurate things to say about you."
"You asked it about me?" He took a seat in the chair across from her arching his eyebrow in that way he has. This was really getting interesting.
Beverly smiled to herself. "Mm hmm."
"And what did you ask it?"
"If you're really the pompous ass you appear to be." Jean-Luc gave her a stern look which she ignored. "And you know what it's reply was? 'Without a doubt'." She ginned smugly across the coffee table at him.
"All right," he conceded, "I guess I deserved that." There was something about her teasing that he had always enjoyed even when it should have annoyed him. She always made it seem somehow sensual in a way he didn't understand.
"Yes, you did." Her smugness changed to something he couldn't quite put his finger on.
"So what did you really ask it?"
She sighed looking at the toy in her hand. "Oh, you know, the usual...should I go to Risa for my shore leave...will I ever get my reports done..." she paused and looked playfully at Jean-Luc a smile pulling itself across her lips, "is there a torrid love affair in my near future....".
She was teasing him again. She'd been doing that even more than usual the past few days leaving him feeling perpetually aroused. Jean-Luc stared back at her while his mind argued with itself over whether she was just innocently joking or if there was more to it. The gleam in her eyes certainly didn't look innocent, and she really had been hinting around a lot lately. He swallowed hard. "Really? What...what did it umm...have to say about that?"
Her playful smile broadened. Torture is oh so fun. "Well," she said drawing it out just to make him suffer, "it's answer was rather interesting..." Beverly looked down at the ball turning it around in her hands. She knew perfectly well what her teasing did to him, and one of these days he'd get the hint.
Jean-Luc's eyes followed hers settling on her slender fingers. There was something about the smoothness of her skin, the elegance of her hands, the grace and tender firmness with which she handled the toy that was about to cause his body to give physical evidence of his interest in her answer. Or maybe it was just all the teasing she'd been doing or the thought that she really meant something by it. He forced his eyes away from her to the tips of his boots and again swallowed hard repeating 'She's only tying to punish you for teasing her' over and over again to himself.
"You see," she lifted her eyes to his down-turned face, "it said 'signs point to yes'." She waited as his eyes slowly rose. "But that can't be right..." She met his gaze. "Can it?"
Jean-Luc blinked several times. A clamor started in the back of his mind as a million little voices screamed yes!! YES!!!, but none of them made it far enough to the front of his mind to be spoken. He merely sat blinking at her as a flush began creeping up the back of his neck.
Beverly smiled openly not even bothering to try and hide her obvious enjoyment of teasing him. "I think," she said, "perhaps you ought to ask it." She held the black ball out to him on her open palm.
He simply stared at it afraid that if he touched her it would all be over. She would see right through him. But he supposed she did that already.
Beverly shook her hand a little encouraging him to take the toy. Jean-Luc licked his lips and focused on the white circle with the black eight in the middle at the top of the ball to keep from putting too much into her teasing. Tentatively he reached for it being careful not to touch her, but as he lifted it from her palm her hand made a sudden movement, brushing against his. Jean-Luc stopped instantly, his eyes widening slightly. He then pulled the ball quickly too him and shifted uncomfortably as that physical evidence he was afraid of began to make itself known. He thought perhaps he saw Beverly glance down and quickly crossed his legs.
"Well?" she said, "Aren't you going to ask it?" She was using that tone that always made him want to scream with exquisite agony. Such splendid torture.
He cleared his throat refusing to look at her and held the ball out before them on his palm hoping she didn't notice the little tremble that slipped through his hand. It couldn't hurt to play along... "Is Beverly Crusher in for a torrid love affair in the near future?" he asked the Magic Eight Ball tying to sound as playful and nonchalant as Beverly had. Finally managing to look up at her he turned the ball over.
Beverly locked her eyes to his as she reached out and took hold of his wrist pulling his hand closer. After a moment she leaned in close and peered down at the floating triangle, still holding his wrist. Jean-Luc stared up at the ceiling a moment and took a long deep breath before leaning in close as well. 'Better not tell you now' was hovering in the little round window. For a moment Jean-Luc actually had the absurd thought that the thing was mocking him, toying with him as if it knew that he was now aroused as hell.
Beverly was smiling at him across the few millimeters that separated them. "What do you suppose that means Jean-Luc?" she asked teasingly. This time he was sure she glanced down at his obvious interest in their little game. She shifted even closer, her cheek brushing his, and whispered in his ear "I think we could find out the answer to that question for ourselves if we try."
He had gone completely still again, his mind not being entirely able to wrap itself around the idea that she wasn't just playing anymore. So she had been leading up to something the past few days after all. He felt her cheek brush his again and closed his eyes reveling in the sensation of it when suddenly her lips were on his. The Magic Eight Ball fell from his hand, bounced off the table, and rolled across the floor. Jean-Luc was too busy responding to her kiss to notice it. Her mouth pleaded with his for a moment before his lips parted and allowed her to start the pilgrimage they had waited so long for.
Gently he pulled her to him across the table and onto his lap leaning back into his overstuffed chair. She came willingly. Several minutes later Beverly pulled back and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Do you think that answers your question?" she asked smiling seductively.
His hands slipped around her waist as he stared at her in awe. All he could do was nod.
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
That night she lay awake reveling in the feel of his weight in the bed beside her, in the feel his arms around her and his chest against her back. Everything had happened so fast and so unexpectedly she hadn't given herself time to think, which was probably for the better. But now as she stared off into the dark that officious voice in her mind that had kept her away from him for so long had it's chance to speak up. *Do you think that was really the right thing to do?* it asked in an accusing you-should-feel-guilty-for-not-consulting-me-first voice *Perhaps we should ask the magic ball that.* But this time Beverly wasn't listening. The feel of Jean-Luc's chest rising and falling against her was lulling her to sleep, and she didn't need to ask a Magic Eight Ball to know that the answer was yes.
~finis~
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since Dec. 7th