Work Text:
You followed Lieutenant Dax through the station from the docking bay where your transport ship had stopped to what she called the promenade. It was an area filled with bustling activity; shops and restaurants lined the communal areas, and people of all different species walked past you as you followed the science officer.
You were newly transferred to Deep Space Nine. Dax requested to have extra hands from Starfleet to help her with some of her Gamma Quadrant studies. Working under someone as skilled as her would be an honor, and her whole person intrigued you to no end. It would be exciting to work with someone as unique as her with her several past Trill lives. She must be full of such wisdom.
You were a promising officer, if a bit young. You were in your 20s and have been out of the academy for a while, but you haven’t had any notably exciting assignments yet. You had been promoted to Lieutenant from Ensign a few months ago, and you were more than ready to take on more responsibility.
Since Dax was your immediate superior, and head of the science department on Deep Space Nine regardless, she offered to show you around the station a little and buy you lunch to help you settle in. It was a relief to meet another woman in the sciences, and even more that she was friendly to a new face. At least 6 or 7 lifetimes hadn’t made her bitter.
“Let’s eat here,” Lieutenant Dax inclined her head to a rather busy establishment that you recognized as some kind of bar and restaurant.
“Sure,” you agreed. Not like you knew of anyplace else on this station.
Stepping into the restaurant, you realized it wasn’t as busy as you thought, it was just noisy. There were some kind of gambling tables in the back that were occupied by a few people. You imagine it would be even busier later in the day. Luckily, the bar and restaurant area wasn’t too crowded that you couldn’t find a spot to sit, and you sat down next to Dax.
A waiter dropped off menus to your table before you were even settled down. You looked up to see if you could catch a glimpse of the waiter to ask for water, but they were already gone. Looking around the restaurant, you caught sight of the man behind the bar as his laughter filled the room, laughing at some joke a tall, bald Lurian told him.
Your breath caught in your throat and any thoughts of lunch were out of your mind as you watched the man- a Ferengi- behind the bar. You watched his hands as he popped seals off of bottles and mixed drinks like it was second nature, passing them to his waiters without missing a beat of the conversation with the Lurian. The Ferengi licked his lips and smiled to someone else passing by as they took a drink from him, and your eyes zeroed in on his sharp, pointed teeth. Oh, you wondered how they would feel against your neck, if he would be gentle enough only to let them prick you slightly.
“Lieutenant?”
Your head snapped back to Dax with wide eyes, unable to hide your expression of being caught. You had completely forgotten she was right next to you.
“Sorry, I was lost in thought. Did you say something?” you asked.
Dax followed where your gaze had been and shot a knowingly look over at the bartender. She turned back to you with a smirk.
“I was asking what your poison is.”
“Poison?”
“Drink preference?”
“Oh,” you replied dumbly. “Right, of course. Um, I like, um… iced drinks, anything sweet.”
Dax nodded and called over a waiter, ordering a couple of drinks you didn’t quite catch the name of. You’d probably get used to the cuisine here soon, after living on the station for a while, and learn to pronounce the food and drinks around.
“Oh, and have Quark deliver our drinks,” Dax added. “I think my friend here would like to meet him.”
“Who’s- What?” you stammered, watching the waiter nod and walk away before you could protest.
You glanced at Dax, who only smirked, and then panickedly looked around the room. Your eyes spotted a huge sign— “Quark’s Bar, Grill, Gaming House and Holosuite Arcade”. So Quark was the owner. Well, whoever he was, he forgot the Oxford Comma in his sign, and you felt the immediate urge to tell him when he got here.
“Have you ever met a Ferengi?” Dax asked, setting down her menu and crossing her arms to lean on the table.
“Not really,” you answered. “Just in passing, on stations and such. I haven’t left Earth much,” you admitted.
“Oh. Well, they’re very entertaining and good company once you get to know them. But never trust them unless they make a deal with you, they always honor a good deal.”
“Uh… okay.”
Why was she telling you about-
“Jadzia! It’s always good to see a friendly face in here every now and then,” a confident, slightly lispy voice called as a man approached your table with your drinks.
You glanced up to greet him and instead froze, staring dumbly with your mouth agape as you came to face the Ferengi you had been staring at behind the bar earlier. He was even more attractive in person. He had dark maroon eyeshadow around his eyes that made them pop beautifully, and the detail on his suit was stunning. You couldn’t form words as Dax greeted him beside you.
“Good to see you too, Quark,” she greeted warmly.
Quark. Fuck.
“Don’t Huu-mons know it’s rude to stare?” Quark whispered to Dax, just loud enough for you to hear. Shit. “You Starfleet types, you’d think you’d get used to different species by now.”
“Oh, no, she’s just shy,” Dax excused you, shooting you a slightly concerned look when she saw you were still frozen.
“...Right.”
“You’re sign’s missing a comma,” you blurted out stupidly, your brain finally catching up to the fact that you were supposed to join the conversation, but said the wrong thing. “I mean hihellonicetomeetyou,” you rushed out, looking down at the table to break your stare and fumbling with something, anything, that you could find on the table to occupy yourself, sorting and resorting to the silverware you found there. Your face felt incredibly hot, and you knew you undoubtedly made a huge fool of yourself.
“Huh,” Quark clicked his tongue. “I guess it is missing a comma, by Huu-mon standards.”
Your shoulders relaxed slightly.
“Ah, but it's too expensive to replace, it works just fine the way it is.”
You looked up again, glancing at the sign and then back at the Ferengi. He made eye contact with you and you looked away immediately, cursing yourself. You didn’t want to seem rude, but looking into his eyes made your heart nearly explode in your chest.
“You could- um, you could always just paint in a little comma,” you suggested, swallowing to try and clear your throat. You felt like you were choking. “Just, y’know, copy the other ones, and sneak it in, I’m sure no one will notice.”
“Maybe.” Quark shrugged, and he finally set your drinks down on the table between you and Dax. He seemed to know which one was meant for Dax, she must be a regular here. “But I usually don’t take business advice from Huu-mons.”
“O- Oh.” You deflated a bit. Yeah, duh. What did you know about business? Nothing. You were just embarrassing yourself.
“Where did you get this officer? She’s so… quiet,” Quark commented as he leaned against the table to talk to Dax, like you weren’t even there. You felt stupid.
“I told you, she’s just shy.” Dax shrugged her shoulders. Then, she got an idea, and glanced at you smugly before leaning in to whisper to Quark, loud enough for you to hear still to tease you. “It’s because she thinks you’re hot.”
Quark broke out in loud laughter that had heads turning towards your table from around the bar. He smacked the surface of your table as he nearly doubled over with laughter.
“A Huu-mon? Find me hot?” he roared with laughter. “I’ve never heard of anything so stupid!”
Your chest tightened again, and this time you couldn’t breathe. You wanted to run, but there was nowhere to run to. You didn’t even know where your quarters were assigned to yet. You tried to take a deep breath, but you choked on it, and you ducked your head to cover your face with your arms before anyone could see you cry, but of course they would know thanks to the pitiful sounds escaping you as your shoulders shook.
“What’d I do?” Quark’s laughter cut off immediately as he panicked, crossing the table to hover his hands over you with uncertainty.
“I wasn’t making a joke, Quark, I was serious!” Dax called from across the table. “Well, I was trying to tease, but my words were true! She’s been staring at you since we got here.”
“You sure it wasn’t in disgust?”
“Quark!”
“Alright, alright!”
You felt a hand land on your shoulder and you peeked out from under your arms to see Quark at your side, awkwardly trying to fix the situation.
“Uh… there, there,” he started nervously. “It’s alright! I’m very flattered. Any Ferengi would be flattered to attract a, uh- nice, beautiful young female-” he looked up and caught Dax’s eye, and something in it made him lick his lips anxiously before he continued.
“Woman. A beautiful young woman,” he finished, nodding to you.
You sniffed pathetically and hid your face again. It felt like he was just letting you down gently or out of pity now.
Quark’s hand slid down your shoulder and arm, brushing your leg as it lowered. It made you look up again, but he was no longer standing there.
“Please.”
You looked down at his voice, seeing Quark kneeling before you with his hands up, wrists together as he looked up at you.
“Forgive me. No hard feelings, yeah? I didn’t mean to ridicule your attraction. That’s the last thing I want to do. You seem nice, yeah? Let me take you to dinner. Tonight, my quarters?”
Your mouth fell open at the change of events. One, the sight of Quark on his knees did something to you you didn’t want to think too hard about, but it caused a warmth in your stomach. Two, he was inviting you to dinner? Did that mean you had a chance? Even after making stupid comments and crying in front of him?
“I- yeah,” you agreed softly.
“Yes?” Quark repeated, brightening up in surprise at your acceptance. “Wonderful! I’ll make sure you have my address before you leave here today.”
He stood up so fast you nearly jumped in your chair, but he steadied you with a hand on your shoulder.
“Here,” he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to you. “Chin up, yeah? Let me see a smile.”
You shot him a small, shy smile that had him grinning with full teeth.
“There you are. See, Dax, no harm done. I’ve got business to finish up before tonight now, if you’ll excuse me, ladies.” Quark nodded to you both before he returned to the bar.
You sighed heavily the moment he was gone, feeling the tightness in your chest start to loosen.
“That wasn’t so bad,” Dax commented.
“That was awful!” You turned to her. “That was horrible! I cried in front of him! I made a stupid fool of myself.”
“But you still got the date.” She grinned, picking up her glass and taking a sip. “Speaking of which, there are a few things I better tell you about Ferengi before you go…”
—
You were wearing your only nice, non-uniform clothes that evening as you tried to find Quark’s quarters. He had left you a time and his address with your check when you and Dax finished lunch, and now all you had to do was find him. You had his handkerchief sanitized and in your sidebag so you could return it as well. You never knew a Ferengi to give anyone anything for free, and he probably wants it back as soon as possible. Dax had encouraged you to read up on Ferengi culture while you settled into your new quarters, and now you felt a little better about walking into this… date.
You found his quarters, thankfully, and pressed the buzzer next to the door after a moment, hoping it worked. The Cardassian architecture of the station threw you for a loop at first, and it would probably also take some getting used to. You felt like a fish suddenly transplanted from a little tank to a big pond.
The door slid open and Quark was standing there, still dressed in the same beautiful outfit you met him in earlier, but he had taken off the jacket for a more casual look. The absence of shoulderpads made him look smaller, but you didn’t mind one bit.
“Hi,” you croaked, shooting him a nervous smile. God, you felt so stupid and silly, but Quark stepped back to let you in.
“Welcome on in, my dear,” he greeted. “Take off your shoes, I don’t know where they’ve been.”
“Oh, yeah, of course,” you agreed softly, toeing off your shoes carefully and leaving them by the door. You pretended not to hear the door lock as Quark pressed a button on the wall.
“Oh! I brought your, uh, handkerchief back,” you remembered, pulling it out of your bag where you had folded it neatly, leaving your bag by the door as you handed it to him. “It’s, um, washed and everything, it’s not gross, I promise.”
“Oh.” Quark looked surprised as he reached out and took the piece of cloth from you, looking it over. “That’s polite of you.”
“Yeah, yeah, I didn’t want to forget about it or anything.” You shrugged, feeling anxious with his focus on you again. “Thank you. For letting me borrow it, I mean.”
“I’m used to Huu-mons being entitled,” he snorted. “I half expected to never see this again.” Quark chuckled and set the handkerchief on a small table.
“Hey, um,” you started, getting a small burst of confidence. Well, you had to keep going now, you had his attention. “Could you not do that?”
“Hm?”
“Make negative assumptions about me,” you clarified, looking away as you fidgeted with your hands. “I… I know I’m shy, and awkward, and… kinda stupid sometimes.” You shrugged. “But I do, um, actually want to… try? And it’s harder if you’re…”
“Ah,” Quark realized, nodding his head. “My mistake.” He put his hand over his heart sincerely, and it reassured you.
“Anyway.” Quark clasped his hands together. “Onto dinner, shall we?”
You followed Quark across his quarters to a small table he had set up with food, drink, and even candles. The sight of the candles warmed your heart, the idea that he put effort into this. Quark picked up a bottle of- wine, maybe?- and popped open the top, pouring a couple glasses while you took in the scene. Your eyes zeroed in on the way his hands held the bottle and glasses, taking in that his nails were stylishly painted a light purple and were healthily trimmed.
“So, Dax said you find me hot?” he asked while his back was turned to you, and you nearly choked on nothing, quickly looking away in case he had eyes in the back of his head and would catch you staring.
“I mean, um.” You cleared your throat, coughing a little. “Maybe I wouldn’t have put it so boldly…”
“It’s alright. Like I said, I’m flattered.”
Quark turned back to you with both glasses, handing you one which you took instantly, trying not to shake when your fingers brushed his. You felt like a pervert.
“You’re not just saying that?” you asked, nervously tapping your index finger on the glass. “If you’re going to reject me, do it now before I get attached.”
“Reject you?” he gasped softly. “No! No Ferengi in his right mind would ever turn down an opportunity.” He lifted his glass to his mouth to take a drink.
“For sex?” you blurted out.
Quark choked on his drink, pulling the glass away as he sputtered and coughed until he could breathe again.
“Not what I meant to say!” you added quickly. “Oh my gosh, I am so stupid sometimes! I’m sorry!” You set a hand on his back as he coughed, rubbing gently.
“It’s fine,” he wheezed. “I’m fine. I mean, sex is a bonus.” he cleared his throat. “If that’s what you’re after.”
“No! I mean, not that I wouldn’t- Oh, gosh, I’m fucking this up, I’m sorry,” you sighed, shaking your head. “Gosh, you’re very handsome, it turns me stupid, and- yeah, that’s all I’m going to say.”
“Alright, alright, let’s settle down.” Quark set a hand on your arm and you tried not to vibrate with excitement. “Let’s just start with dinner, and see where that takes us.”
“Yeah,” you agreed, nodding your head and finally sitting down at the table he had set up.
He had arranged it so his chair was next to yours instead of across from. You wondered if that’s how Ferengi like to eat compared to Humans, or if it was just his personal preference. Quark sat down next to you and pulled covers off of the food he had prepared, and you saw two very different dishes on the table. The plate in front of you had a steak with greens and potatoes, and Quark’s plate had something… alive.
“What’s that?” you whispered.
“Hm? Oh, Ferengi food, you wouldn’t like it,” he dismissed. “Tube grubs and gree worms. Have to watch out for the worms, they have razor-sharp teeth and bite back,” he laughed, disturbing the plate by picking up one of the little critters between his fingers and eating it… raw. Alive.
“Oh.” You looked back down at your plate, seeing no bugs present. “Thank you for, uh… getting me something different.”
“I hope you like it, it’s what I see Huu-mons ordering from my bar nowadays, so I figured it would be good.”
“It’s fine.” You picked up your fork and nudged your food while Quark ate beside you. You kept glancing at him, but you weren’t trying to be rude. It was all just so different and fascinating.
“I was hoping we would be eating the same thing,” you confessed suddenly, so quietly that a Human might not have heard you, but a Ferengi would.
“Hm? Why’s that?” Quark licked his fingers and then wiped them on a napkin.
“It just feels more social,” you replied. You bit your lip before going on, deciding to bite the phaser blast. “And… I read that Ferengi often have their female counterparts chew their food for them?”
Quark glanced away, licking his lips nervously before he reached for his glass and took a drink before answering you. You realized then that you hadn’t tried yours yet, so you copied him by taking a sip from your own. It was sweet, like the drink you had at lunch. Maybe he remembered.
“Ferengi females pre-chew food for the males, yeah,” he confirmed, looking down at his wiggling plate again.
“Is that reserved for family? Or, uh, wives or something?”
“Not explicitly. Why do you ask?”
“Well, I thought, maybe…” You picked at your food again, pushing it around the plate with your fork as you worked up the nerve to speak your mind. “Maybe you’d ask me to… y’know. I mentally prepared myself before coming here just in case, heh.”
“Does that mean… you were willing to try?” Quark perked up a little, staring at you in awe.
“Yeah! I mean, to respect your culture, and all- I’m sure you’ve had to adapt to Starfleet’s a lot since we got here, I figured it might be fair.” Your gaze dropped to his plate, and you swallowed nervously. “But, um… your food is… alive… I’m sorry, that’s rude-”
“Many species don’t eat live food,” he reassured you with a hand on your arm. “But if you really want to, I can eat something else you can chew for me.”
Quark sounded so excited, you couldn’t decline.
“Yeah! Yeah, that works.”
Quark clapped his hands together and went over to the replicator, ordering something else. He ordered baked fish, and it made you wonder- are Ferengi carnivores? Maybe. He certainly had the teeth of one.
He returned to the table and placed the plate of fish between you, which was nice and fresh from the replicator. Well, as fresh as replicated food was, really.
“I haven’t had a woman pre-chew my food since I moved out of my mother’s house,” he muttered excitedly. When you shot him a look, he quickly added: “Twenty-something years ago, I assure you.”
“Oh, I wasn’t judging, sorry.” You shook your head, picking up a knife and fork.
Quark scooted his chair closer to yours, if that was possible, and set a hand on your thigh as he watched you cut up the fish. You felt very warm suddenly, but you tried your best to ignore it and focus on your task.
“So… do I… baby-bird this thing?”
“Hm?”
“You know, how mother birds… feed their young…”
“...by spitting it directly into their mouths?” he finished for you, shifting in his chair. You’ve never seen a man so horny up close. “That’d be sexy, go ahead,” he agreed quickly.
You giggled, feeling his hand slid to your inner thigh to hold you closer as you stabbed a piece of fish and brought it to your lips. You blew on it to make sure it was cool, and then you pulled it off the fork between your teeth and began to chew. After a few moments, instead of swallowing, you leaned forward, and Quark met you halfway.
Quark was a sight to admire as he closed his eyes and parted his mouth, his tongue slightly out like he was going in for a kiss. In a way, that’s almost what this was.
You closed your mouth over his and pushed the chewed fish from your mouth into his with your tongue, and he licked into your mouth to receive it. You hovered nearby as he swallowed, and he let out a little gasp afterwards that nearly had you clenching your thighs together, if his hand wasn’t right there.
Quark chased your lips when you tried to lean back, and he kissed you. Softly, slowly, like he was savoring you. You dropped the fork and moved your hand to cradle his cheek, reciprocating earnestly. His hand squeezed your thigh while his free one grabbed your wrist, guiding your hand from his cheek to his massive ear. You took the hint and tried to recall what you remember reading about erogenous zones on a Ferengi’s ear, and caressed his lobe gently while pressing certain areas with your thumb as you kissed.
Quark gasped against your lips and nearly fell into you, but you wrapped an arm around him to hold him steady.
“We aren’t gonna make it through dinner at this point,” he moaned.
“I shouldn’t do anything on an empty stomach,” you confessed, sliding your hand off his ear to hold his shoulder.
“Raincheck?” he asked hopefully.
“Of course.”
You turned back to the table and cut off a piece of your steak before it got cold. You took a couple bites of your meal before you took another bite of fish, leaning forward and spitting it into Quark’s mouth again to feed him. His hand remained glued to your thigh, his thumb caressing where your skirt ended the whole meal as you took turns between bites of your own dinner and feeding Quark.
After both meals were eaten and you each had a glass or two of wine, you were feeling pleasantly full and content. Quark suggested you move to his couch, and you were in agreement as he led the way. The moment you sat down, Quark was right next to you, his hand back on your thigh as he leaned in.
“So, uh… how are we feeling?” he asked, drumming his fingers against your leg as he bit his bottom lip, searching your eyes for consent.
Oh hell yeah, you were feeling great.
“Sit on me,” you whispered without much thought, the alcohol giving you a boost of confidence.
You were grateful for it when Quark eagerly climbed over you and sat down in your lap, facing you. You wrapped your arms around his beautiful waist- he was so beautiful, so perfect, so holdable. Breedable, if you had been born with the right equipment. Oh well.
“Can I touch you?” you asked, sliding your hands along Quark’s back as he whined in your lap. “Can I kiss you?”
“Anything you want,” he whispered, leaning in to press his forehead against yours.
You reciprocated the action, pressing back against his forehead and nuzzling your nose across his, pleased when he smiled at the action. He closed his eyes and leaned in again, and you mirrored him as you closed the distance and brought him into another kiss.
Quark climbed further into your lap, and you slid a hand to his ass to keep him from falling off. He moaned into your mouth when you touched him and only kissed you with more excitement. That’s what this was; exciting, quick, and fun.
You turned and fell onto your back on the couch, dragging Quark on top of you. You ran your hands along his body, thrilled at the chance to explore it with his permission. You ran your fingers down his back and ass, and along his thighs as he started to grind gently against your hip.
“Gosh, this is fun,” you whispered against his lips, letting out a breathless chuckle. “Is this what people do?”
“What do you mean?” Quark asked, kissing along your jaw bone to where your ear met the side of your head.
“This is my first date,” you confessed.
“Your first-”
Quark pulled back, looking up at you in surprise. Then he grinned, raising one hand to touch his own ear, running his finger along the edge.
“Well, then… color me honored,” he whispered, looking you over. “But I would have chosen a more romantic setting, had I known.”
“There’s always next time,” you reasoned, running your hands down his chest.
“Next time?” he asked hopefully.
“Well, yeah, I mean… I’m having fun.” You shrugged. “I’d love to do this again. And I’m sure you have much more to teach me about Ferengi, don’t you?” You reached up, gently grabbing his ear.
“Ah- Ah, yes,” he moaned, closing his eyes at the touch. “I can… I can teach you…”
“Let’s keep going with lesson number one, then.”
You cupped Quark’s face and pulled him back in, continuing the kiss as you toppled over on the couch, Quark falling on top of you as you continued your passionate exchange into the night.