Look out my dudes, this one is ganna be a long one. I couldn't help myself. I got waaaay into this one. I have a feeling you Sulu fans will get a kick out of this one. Get comf and enjoy ;)

As dresses went, you were pretty impressed with yours, save for the whole corset thing. You tried not to focus on the fact you couldn't breathe as you danced around the extravagantly decorated ball room, hand in hand with your away-mission partner and superior officer, Hikaru Sulu.

When you accepted the role of Sulu's partner to help stop a king from being assassinated you didn't think it would include dancing, proper English, and the knowledge of knowing when to use a dinner fork and dessert fork.

Beautiful classical music from a live orchestra filled the room, making it easy to forget the whole reason you were here and actually enjoy yourself. You smiled at a passing couple as Sulu maneuvered you expertly around the dance floor and its other occupants. You turned your gaze to him, suppressing the butterflies that seemed to have a bad habit of showing up every time to saw the officer in his regimentals. Uniforms from the 18th century definitely made the 24th century look almost pathetic. Almost. Sulu spun you around with a swell in the music, making you smile.

"When did you learn to dance?"

"Around the same time I learned how to eat with Royals in a 18th-century setting."

You smiled discreetly, looking around the ball room, taking note of a few suspiciously dressed guests. "I expect nothing less from a man coming out of the womb with a foil attached to his hand."

Sulu chuckled. "Shhh, your words will shock the other dancers."

You rolled your eyes. "Which words?"

"You are a woman, the fact you know what a foil is would shock anyone who over heard us."

You bit your lip as you tried to keep back a giggle. "And "womb" is acceptable?"

Sulu gave an overly dramatic face of agreement. "Ah well, you do have a womb. Though acknowledging its existence may cause a woman or two to faint."

A giggle escaped but you covered it up with a dainty clear of the throat. Before you could make a joke about nobility ignoring the birth aspect of life, you spotted two men in the corner whispering and looking over to the King. King Raspa sat on a throne as he oversaw the dancing. The queen sat to his right, his son on the left. You could have sworn you saw those two men whispering before. It was like déjà vu. You didn't want to cause a scene but anything concerning the King's safety was worth checking out.

You leaned into Sulu, tapping his shoulder lightly as your hand rested upon it. "I believe we have company." He spun you around delicately and you pressed your knee into his leg to keep him from moving the two of you further from the suspicious men. "There, three o'clock, black robes."

Sulu heeded your discreet directions and scoffed. "You'd think they would pick less conspicuous clothing." He continued the routine, moving the two of you to the wall closest to the suspicious guests. He looked down at you and gave you a roguish grin. "Pity we can't dance any longer."

The music was coming to an end and the other dancers were finishing up their practice steps when you spotted your men in question move to the back of the room.

"Speak for yourself, my friend," you nodded to the back of the room where they were now conversing by a table of refreshments, "I am having difficulty breathing."

The song ended and everyone bowed to their partners then turned to thank the orchestra with clapping. You and Sulu did the same before you took his arm and he gently took you to the side of the room.

"Would you care for a refreshment?" He did look really good in his uniform.

You gave him a side glance and small smile. "Oh yes, sir, I thank you kindly."

Sulu bowed his head minimally and smirked. "Allow me to escort you there since you are unable to do so yourself. I shall even pour you a glass to save you from over exertion."

You tightened your grasp on his arm, biting back a laugh. "Careful, someone may over hear you and accuse you of being sweet on me."

"I would no sooner start a revolution than entertain such a thought."

The two of you bit back giggles as you drew closer to the refreshment table. The two men dressed in black, upon closer examination, looked to be apart of a navy of their own, but one there of you had not recognized.

Sulu handed you a drink and took one for himself, walking the two of you to stand by a beautiful plant that served as a perfect divider to stand behind to overhear their conversation. Another dance had started so it was easy to talk without the need of whispering, therefore listening was as easy as standing there, sipping your drink.

"Tonight. Precisely as we planned. If the imp of a coward refuses to go through with this then I'll do it myself," one of them said, his voice sounding agitated.

"Calm yourself, Jerome. Baxter will come and with the others as he promised. He's here for a cut of the reward, just like you. I am here to make sure you don't act irrationally, not be your reassuring mother." The second voice just sounded annoyed.

You and Sulu shared a small smile at his retort.

The first man growled. "I would rather you be looking out for anyone trying to get in our way. This doesn't have to get messy."

The second man chuckled. "Except it will."

"Shut your mouth. Just stick to the plan and we will be free men by midnight."

"That is if you don't learn patience and take matters into your own hands."

The first man spun on his partner, the sound of rustling clothes indicating a slight shove. "That's what we are doing Cartus, we are taking matters into our own hands and helping this country and its people become free."

Voices started to fill the room as the song came to an end. The second man shushed the first one as more people started showing up at the refreshment table, making the two men stop talking and move on. But you two got the information you needed.

You raised your brow to Sulu. "Unless gentlemen of the royal court started using contractions, how did two commoners get into a ball like this?"

Sulu shrugged as he finished his glass. "Probably the same we did. Lying. But to pull this off before midnight is going to cut our observation time in half. We need to make a plan and strike before they do."

You nodded. "Just as I was starting to enjoy myself."

Sulu smirked with a wink. "You and I both."

The two of you peeked around the plant and watched as the two men left the ball room, a third man joining them.

"That must be Baxtor," Sulu whispered.

You reached over and tapped his arm to draw his attention to the front of the room. "Look, it's the Royals Waltz."

You looked to Sulu and he had a contemplating look scrawled on his face. But before you could ask what he was thinking he took your hand in his and lead you out from behind the plant, startling a few guests. He ignored them as he continued to lead you to the back of the room and out the ballroom doors the other three men had just used moments ago.

You tugged on his hand, stopping him just past the doors. "What is it?"

He nodded to a swinging door off to the side. "That way leads to the kitchens."

Your eyes widened at his implication. "They are going to try to poison him."

"Or sedate him so he can't fight back."

You looked back into the ballroom where the King danced marvelously with his wife. You shook your head slightly. "How are we going to tell him he can't eat anything? He's the king."

"And I'm his flagship's Master of Navigation. Perhaps I warn him about an illness sweeping the through the servants as told by my esteemed wife."

You rolled your eyes at your role in this charade, ignoring the leap your heart made at being called his wife (even if it was for pretend). "Whom was told by my lady's maid." You bit your cheek. "That just might work." You turned to him, placing a hand on his arm. "But what of the group of men coming? If the third man is Baxtor, who we assume to be, then that would mean his group is already here."

But before Sulu could reply, three deep voices traveled through the hall indicating their impending arrival back to the ballroom. Suddenly you felt yourself being pulled to the side and pressed against the wall. Sulu placed a hand on your hip as the other braced against the wall by your head while he hovered over you. You couldn't even let out a squeak of surprise before you felt warm lips pressed to your own.

Sulu tasted like the wine you just had with a hint of something else sweet you couldn't place. Your eyes quickly closed with content as you found yourself kissing him back, your hands reaching up to grasp the front of his dark blue officer's coat. Sulu deepened the kiss for nearly not long enough before pulling away.

You stood there in utter shock and bliss as he looked around making sure the coast was clear. When he turned back to you, you blinked yourself back to reality. Clearing your throat and standing up straight you gave him a critical look.

"Next time you want to pretend to accost your pretend wife, let me know."

Sulu chuckled as he took your hand and tucked in his arm, reaching up to tuck a fallen lock of hair out of your face. He leaned forward as he lead you back into the ballroom where the Royal Waltz had finished.

"Who said I was pretending?"

Your jaw dropped slightly and those stupid butterflies returned. But you did nothing about them as you both came up to the King.

Sulu stood tall, looking the King in the eyes. "Sire, I thank you for our invitation to your ball but I have some news in which you would be wise to heed."

The king looked almost offended. Rolling your eyes, you came to the dumb navigator's rescue. Bowing, you turned to the Queen and complimented her dress and fine choice in decorations. Appeased, the Queen whispered something to the King and he stood, taking Sulu's hand.

"It seems my wife is keen I listen. Please, enlighten me."

You stayed back, sitting with the Queen as she sat and enjoyed the dancing. Her son looked utterly bored. Poor kid. The Queen turned to you and started up a conversation. All the while you did your best to keep an eye on the guests and the three black outfitted men strolling around the room like they owned the place.

The Queen's kind voice soon faded out as you noticed more and more black clad men joining the dancing. In the back corner, you could see the leader, Jerome, staring angerly at Sulu and the King. Something didn't feel right.

"Lady Sulu, are you at all well? I fear you haven't heard a thing I was just saying."

You didn't tear your eyes away from Jerome as he nodded to someone and then all the men in black suddenly reached for something in their long regal coats. Your eyes widened.

Swords.

You shot up, turning to the Queen. "I'm sorry my lady but you may want to look away." You turned to the young prince, his eyes wide with what you assumed was surprise. It didn't take a genius to see something was happening. "Take care of your mother, don't let anyone near her."

You didn't stay around too long to see his response as cries of surprise and fear from the guest's filled the room. The black coats were all sneering, brandishing their swords. You quickly hopped off the royal stage and started to mess with your dress. You bent over, stretched your arms and pulled at the hems to pop the seams. Quickly you pulled the skirt of your dress under and through your legs, tying it off at your sides making a sort of last second pair of pants.

"(Y/N)!"

You heard Sulu call your name and you looked up, taking notice of the sword flying toward you. With practiced ease, you plucked it out of the air, holding it securely in your hand as you took on a raging man who held his sword up as if to cut you down. With quick movements you sidestepped then lunged, sticking him through right under his left arm. You moved on to the next brute before the first one fell to the ground, lifeless.

Dodging, blocking and parrying brought you to Sulu's side. He smiled at you as he fell a man, his eyes alight with excitement.

"Now are you enjoying yourself?" He called out.

You blocked off a blow, sending the man stumbling off before he could try to hit you again. "Oh yes. Nothing like a fight to boost the spirits."

There was a lull in the fighting and the orchestra decided to start playing a fast paced rendition of a theatrical piece. You turned to Sulu and he just shrugged. He positioned himself so you were back to back.

With apparent glee, he called over his shoulder to you, "Let's make 'em dance!"

And that's what you did. A few scrapes and close calls didn't stop you from taking down every opponent that dared face you. It almost felt like they never stopped coming. Baxtor must have had a lot of men. A cry from the Queen alerted you to one trying to get to them. Letting your instincts take over you reached down and unsheathed a knife strapped to your thigh, twisting your body over your shoulder and tossing it just as he raised his sword to strike. The knife lodged itself in the back of his head, his body collapsing to the ground in a dead heap.

You rolled your eyes at how much of a scaredy-cat these royals and their guards were.

Before the song ended, you both cleared the room of all standing black clothed enemies, save for Jerome who laid kneeling with two swords pointed to his neck. Nearly all the guests had fled, the King and Queen huddled with their only guards atop the Royal stage. Their son sat on the edge of his seat, a wide smile and glittering eyes leaving him the only one enjoying the party at the moment. How ironic.

"Gotcha," you smiled at the sneering leader.

Sulu nodded for the King's men to take him away as others started clearing the room of the fallen bodies. You dropped your sword and doubled over, leaning your hands on your knees as you tried to catch your breath. Stupid corset. You heard Sulu as he picked up your sword, sheathing both of them on either side of him. He reached over, gently pulling you up to look at him. He wiped some blood off your cheek and smiled.

"Good job."

You both started walking out of the ballroom and out into the hall like before. "Yeah well, I'd like to see you dance in a corset, let alone fight in one."

Sulu chuckled as he pulled you into his arms, pressing a light kiss on your temple. "Let's get back."

You leaned on him heavily as you continued to gain your breath back. "Yeah, I'm done with this pretend stuff."

Ignoring the others in the room, he reached behind you and tore off the backing of your dress, including your corset, effectively making you take a gasping breath in. He returned his arm around your waist. "Not all of it was pretend."

You looked to him, taking deep breaths. "So you've said before."

He winked then kissed you lightly just as the lights of the transporter beamed you back to the ship, Sulu's hands on your hips and a smile on your lips.