Work Text:
Hail hit bar.
“We will be gone for a couple of hours” Amanda said, slicking back her jet-black hair into a bun at the nape of her neck “Surely you two can be trusted not to set the house on fire while your father and I attend a lecture at the University?”
Fourteen-year-old Spock and Michael stood in the living room observing their mother.
“While it would be possible to set the house ablaze, I trust that you are aware that we are not obsessed with arson.” Michael stated stoically.
Her eyes shifted to her son who stood perfectly upright beside his sister, “Do you agree?” she asked him.
“I do.” he replied flatly.
Amanda placed the handheld mirror on the coffee table in front of her and rose to her feet. Dressed in a long, elegant green dress that hugged her figure perfectly she made her way with the children through the corridor to the main door where Sarek was waiting. She collected her PADD and voice communicator and slipped them in her small handheld bag.
“Call us if you need anything. There’s Plomeek soup in the fridge if you get hungry, and Kaasa juice on the second shelf.”
“We are aware of the contents of the refrigeration unit, Mother” Spock said stoically.
“Come, Amanda. I believe the children can be trusted unattended for three hours and thirty minutes.”
Amanda did not know why, but she had an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach. She shrugged it off, hugged both of her children, even though they both had severe aversions to physical contact, and slipped out the door with Sarek.
When the two children were left alone in the big estate, they could not help but stand there at the doorway for a moment in silence. Spock turned around and began to walk to the staircase.
“Where are you going?” Michael asked.
“To my room.” Spock said stoically
She knew she should probably follow and attend to her studies, but there was something in her that did not want to. She looked at her brother who was now halfway up the stairs.
“We should do something fun!” she said suddenly, “Now that mother and father are gone, of course.”
He would have rather spent the time reading the doctrines of law in his room, and for a moment he thought of continuing to walk up the stairs without saying anything, but even he could not repress the human curiosity that ran through him at that point.
“Do you wish to play chess?” he asked.
“No.” she answered, wrapping her arms behind her back.
His brow rose in confusion, “Do you wish to play checkers, Kal-toh, or Vulcan Chess?”
“No, no, and no. Follow me, brother.” she replied.
And without saying another word she walked right to the kitchen. There was something in Spock that told him that he should not follow and to just go upstairs, but his feet carried him down the stairs, following his sister into the kitchen where he found her squatting in front of a cabinet.
“What are you doing?” he asked flatly.
She opened the cabinet and at first Spock did not know what the multitude of bottles were. It was not until Michael pulled out a clear bottle of vanilla vodka that a sudden wave of nervousness ran through him.
“You suggest that we engage in drinking alcohol?”
“I have been curious.” Michael said, “Just one drink, and look, there’s chocolate liquor in here.”
“We are not of age.” Spock countered, his hands behind his back. “Mother and Father will know when the volume of the bottles is even slightly less than their original state.”
“Mother and Father won’t know. We can fill them back up with water.”
“Why do you wish to feel the effects of ethanol?”
“Amanda says that it makes you feel light, warm and happy. I do not understand how something can make you feel that way.”
Even Spock could not deny she had a point.
“Understandable.” he responded.
“So, will you have a drink with me?” she asked. She took out the chocolate liquor and rose to her feet placing the vanilla vodka and chocolate liquor on the counter.
“Sarek has the ingredients for an espresso martini, and it looks like Amanda has some leftover espresso from this morning. Would you like one?”
He was tempted even though everything in his logical side was saying not to.
“I will try one.” he said.
Amanda:
It was a long lecture, but I was happy it was finally over and that I could get home and kick off these stilettoes. He wrapped his arm around my back as we made our way up the pathway
“Thank you for coming.” I smiled. “I know you probably had other things to do, I hope you’re not too far behind in your work.”
“Attending to your needs is far more important than any duty bestowed upon me.”
I smiled as he stopped and held his forefingers out to me, which I accepted. I sighed longingly and turned towards the house eyeing it from top to bottom,
“Well, it’s nice to see our home is not up in flames, let’s see about the inside.”
“I am sure the children were on their best behaviour while we were away.”
Walking up the steps we arrived at the main door, I wrapped my hand around the doorknob and opened the door.
“Oh my god, Spock!” I heard Michael shout, “It’s small, and green!”
“It’s not that small!” Spock shouted.
There was something about his voice that caused my stomach to fill with dread.
I lifted up my dress and ran down the corridor into the main room, where I was shocked to find Spock pouring the bottle of chocolate liquor over a green cocktail in a small martini class, and Michael holding a half-empty bottle of vanilla vodka.
She was smiling, laughing. I had not seen her smile or laugh in years and Spock… he was smiling. It was the most beautiful smile I had ever seen. For a moment, I felt my heart warm from the sight but then it hit me. They were drinking. They were drinking. They were drunk. They were DRUNK!?
“What the hell is going on!?” I yelled.
“What is the meaning of this?!” Sarek’s voice was the loudest I have heard in years.
“We wanted to see what it was all about.” Spock slurred.
“What what was all about?!” I yelled.
“Drinking!” Michael laughed. “You are right, it does make you laugh and feel warm!”
“It was Michael’s idea.” Spock said, downing the martini glass of green and brown liquid. “Holy shit, that’s niiiiceeee!”
I was fuming. Angry. What the hell were they doing? Is this really what became of them after leaving them alone for a mere three hours!?
I looked at Sarek. He was angry, despite his calm composure. I could feel it through our bond. When Michael stood with the bottle of vodka, I thought for sure I was going to lunge at her, take the vodka away from her and start yelling but what I did was quite the opposite.
“Okay, you’ve had enough.” I said, “Give me the vodka.”
“No, Mum! Just a little more!”
“No.” I said sternly. “Give it to me. Now.” I took the vodka from her and immediately turned to Spock who started to reach for the chocolate liquor. “Nope.” I took it from him before he could take it. “You both are cut off.”
Michael was laughing and without saying anything reached for Spock and without warning they started to dance. It reminded me of sixteen years ago, when Sarek got drunk off my white chocolate mocha and started dancing in my living room. Except this time it was my children. They were laughing and dancing in the middle of the living room.
I handed the alcohol to Sarek, who I quickly ushered away when I felt his anger rising. “Go put these away, I’ll take care of this.”
He was fuming, but reluctantly turned around. “I will be back.” he said stoically.
Spock twirled Michael and Michael twirled Spock. “This feels so good!” Michael said, shaking her hips from side to side.
“I agree.” Spock said, mimicking her movements.
The more I stood there and watched them dance, the harder I found it to control my laughter. I started to calm down when I came to the realization that my children were drunk, that it was already done, and what use would it be to be mad right now? As I watched them for five more minutes, Sarek joined my side once again.
“Wait for it.” I told Sarek lightly, “The euphoria will wear off soon.”
“You suggest that our children will react the same as you when consuming inhibitive substances.”
Within a couple of minutes, I was proved correct when their movements slowed down and the happy expressions on their faces dropped. It seemed like no time at all before I was practically dragging Michael into the bathroom and positioned her over the toilet as she began to gag.
“I’m dying.” Michael groaned between heaving.
“You’re not dying.” I said, rubbing her back gently, “You’re just drunk.”
Michael vomited for fifteen more minutes before falling asleep in our en suite bathroom. After covering her up with a blanket and dimming down the lights, I joined Spock and Sarek in the bathroom by the kitchen where Sarek stood just over the threshold, watching Spock vomit into the toilet. Crossing my arms, I leaned against the doorway and said to Sarek,
“I think they’ve learned their lesson.”
I walked over to Spock, bent down behind him, and caressed his back gently as he began to heave violently into the toilet.
“I have reached… the end of… my life.” he managed in between heaves.
A statement which caused me to almost burst out in laughter.
“No, you haven’t.” I told him, rubbing his shoulders gently. “You’re just drunk. You’ll likely feel horrendous in the morning but come Tuesday you will feel better.”
“You both will still attend tomorrow’s lessons,” Sarek said flatly, “regardless of your physical state in the morning.”
That, however, was yet to be decided.
~*The End*~