"Spock! Wait please!" Uhura dashed down the steps of the Academy, quite skillfully considering the boots she was wearing. Spock turned, his face holding its usual blank expression, and waited patiently for her to reach him. When she reached him, they started a brisk walk towards the housing quarters.

"How may I assist you Uhura?"

"That was a very good lecture you gave today on the planet Ardana."

"Thank you Uhura."

"I just had a few questions on the language variations between the Troglyte classes, if you don't mind discussing it." They had reached the building and were riding up the elevator to a floor Uhura had never been on.

"Of course. I am free at the moment if you wish to discuss the matter further." He slid a key card into the door and gestured for her to enter. He had learned enough from a human mother to understand the manners that accompanied human women. Uhura gave him an odd expression but nodded and entered his quarters anyway.

"May I offer you something to drink? Tea or water?" Uhura looked surprised by the offer. Every time she spoke to him, something new about him threw her.

"Tea would be lovely, thank you." She stood awkwardly in the middle of his quarters, taking in her surroundings. The walls were bare save for one small photo my the door. In it, a short and kind looking woman sat smiling at the side of her son, a much younger Spock. Spock had his arm gently around her shoulder, and while he was not smiling, his face was light and his eyes turned upward.

"My mother," said a voice behind her. She turned around to find him surprisingly close. He offered her a warm mug of tea, the mug as beige and plain as his apartment.

"Your…human mother," she ventured cautiously.

"Yes," he replied, unashamed, almost apathetically. "That was taken at the end of my primary schooling. Graduation, I believe it's called here."

"She must have been very proud."

"She said as much, yes." He looked at ease in the apartment, sitting straight on a plush chair in the corner of the living room. He motioned for her to sit.

"Do you mind me asking a personal question?" she asked, her expression uneasy.

"Of course," he replied, barely giving much thought to the question. Of all the students he had taught in his few years at the academy, there were few he found as bright as Uhura. He also found her presence oddly comforting. On any normal person, that comfort would have raised an alarm, but some part of him, the Vulcan part, buried his natural response.

"It's just…why did you end up coming to Star Fleet? I've researched the Vulcan people and it appears that the majority of your people choose to stay on planet. Those that do leave choose much more scientific careers, not exactly leaning towards military peace keeping operations." She said it all quickly, almost in one breath. She knew he would answer, of course he would answer, but there was something about the human race that shied away from digging to deep for emotions, despite peoples' tendency to wear them on their sleeves.

Spock was quite for a moment. He sipped his tea and drew his eyebrows together as though he were carefully formulating an answer. After a moment, he spoke.

"I suppose the human part of me had something to do with it, more so than I would care to admit. The Vulcan half of me, my father's half, always leaned towards the craving for knowledge, logic, and understanding. My human side, my mother's side, believed in doing what would bring me the greater amount of satisfaction and pride. Pride is something my people have quite a bit of, though few would admit it," he added, almost smiling. " I had been accepted into both Star Fleet and the Academy of Science, a very prestigious school on Vulcan. It was brought to my attention that despite my perfect record and exceptional intelligence, I would always be considered an anomaly. Everything that I would accomplish would be in spite of who I was, not because of it. I realized I could gain a greater sense of satisfaction, not by spending my life trying to prove myself to others, but to myself. So I joined Star Fleet. Here I could challenge myself to be the best, not of any species or half species, but of an entire organization. My mother and father remain on Vulcan even today, though I still call it my home." He finished speaking.

Uhura was astonished. She had barely expected an answer, let along one so…thorough. She didn't know if his answer had come from a desire to answer questions, or if he meant to share its meaning with her. They were sorry for a moment.

"I'm sorry you had to choose. To leave your home behind."

"I'm not. I have accomplished great things here, and will accomplish many more. It was a wise choice."

"Thank you for sharing it with me. It hardly relates to Ardana, but still."

"Ah yea, Ardana. What was it you had wished to ask me?" He barely noted the shift in subjects, or her show of gratitude. She smiled at him anyway and began her questions.

Many hours later, when it had long been dark outside, Uhura still sat on his couch. The conversation had twisted and turned, going from Ardana to a number of other planets, dipping into the story of her own upbringing, back to Spock's childhood, and going through their future hopes in the Academy. It wasn't until well past midnight that Uhura noted the time.

"Oh God, I'm sorry I kept you up so late."

Spock rose with her, a strange expression on his face.

"Please do not worry. It's no trouble. I enjoyed talking with you actually. While I have been welcomed at the Academy, one can not say I fit exactly." He walked her towards the door.

"You belong here more than most of the humans do," she said softly. "And only you get to decide where you fit." She was about to turn towards the door when she paused. She seemed to argue something in her mind, decide, and turn back towards Spock. She stretched up, placed one hand on his cheek, and placed a light kiss on the opposite one. She pulled back slightly and looked into his eyes. The expression on them was unfathomable. Sometimes you could say you see a battle going on in a person's mind; Spock was having a war. His mouth opened slightly, but no words came out. It didn't matter, because a few seconds later, Uhura's lips covered his. The were warm and dry on his, moving slightly, pressing lightly. For what seemed like an eternity, he simply stood there, unable to move. But then his right arm moved gently behind her waist, and his hand went to the small of her back. They didn't pull her in, but the didn't push her away either. Another hand rested gently along her neck, one finger tracing small circle on the back of it. His lips slowly began to respond, mirroring her movements. Her tongue traced his upper lip and he opened his mouth slightly and pulled in her breath. Abruptly, he pulled back. He was breathing heavily, as was she. This was the closest she had ever seen him to being anything less than perfectly calm.

"That was…unwise," he breathed, still only a foot from her. "You are a student. I am a teacher and soon to be commander. This is unethical, and should not continue." He said the words without any conviction, simply stating them in an obligatory way. She stepped forward to fill the gap between them. He looked up into his eyes and for once it was his turn to be confused by what was going through her mind.

"If you want me to leave, just say so." With that she leaned forwards that final inch and kissed him again. He was not so slow to respond this time. His hand went back to the small of her back, though this time it did pull her further towards him. His other hands pushed its way through her hair, pulling through it and pushing her face harder towards his. Something inside of him seemed to have snapped, or at least changed. He had only ever been with one other female throughout his existence, a Vulcan girl. It had been an experiment of sorts. He had held the simple curiosity of a female body, and she had held the curiosity of a half-human body. It had been simple sex, hardly life changing for either of them. But this was different. So rare was it that something so deeply shifted the emotions of a Vulcan, enough for them to have an outward show of emotion, that when such a shift did occur, something actually changed within them. He pulled back slightly, breathing heavy, and leaned his forehead against hers.

"I take it you don't want me to leave then?" she asked, a small smile on her face.

"No," he said, almost a growl, though not quite. He pulled her towards the bedroom. He wasn't well acquainted with how quickly human women moved, or if anything he was doing fit her standards and love making, but she wasn't raising any objections. He pulled her down on the beige bed .Surprise, surprise she thought, referring to the color of the bed. That was the last coherent thought she had for a few minutes. It was like he was everywhere at once. His lips trailed along the cheek, down her neck, and across her collar bone. His hand tentatively played along the hem of her shirt. She pressed herself into him, giving him a fairly non verbal go-ahead. His hand slid up her shirt and cupped her breast. She gasped and for a moment he feared he had done something wrong, touched something he shouldn't have. But then she gave another groan, pressed into him once more. He continued he motions, kneading her with both his tongue and hand.

There was no more war going on in his head. His human half, and his lower half, wanted her, needed her. He wasn't stopping now. For weeks something had been forming in his mind, his own personal little monster. It perked up every time she was around, and reminded him of her when she wasn't. Right now, the monster was taking over, and he was gladly allowing it. She was struggling to pull off his shirt and he paused for a moment to allow her to do so. He took another moment to review hers, and after she shed her skirt, he allowed his eyes to take in her near naked body.

"Are you sure?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. She looked into his eyes, and nodded. Within a second his mouth was back on hers. His hand grabbed her thigh and hitched it up, and then it trailed down into her panties. She was soon making little gasps, and electricity shot from every point their skin met. As she tried to control her breathing, she pulled back slightly.

"Now," she breathed into his pointy ear, placing a small; kiss on it. His breathing was equally heavy.

"Are you safe?" he asked. She whispered a small "Yes," thankful he had asked. He did not hesitate any longer. With one thrust, he was in her, each of them gasping at the sensation. For almost a full minute, neither moved, relishing the feel of the other. After a minute had passed, Spock pulled back, almost completely out, and then slid back in. His eyes stayed on hers the entire time. Soon his thrusts became quicker, harder. He was trying to be gentle, knowing how much stronger he was than her. But she was holding her own, meeting each of his thrusts with one of her own. There was a fire growing inside of her, and she knew she was close. She came with a mind blowing force, and she cried out his name. As she was slowly coming back to earth he found his own release, a long groan escaping his mouth. He buried his face into her neck, sucking on a sensitive spot just below her jaw line. He stayed inside of her for a few moments, holding on to each other tightly. After a few minutes they unwound themselves, and fell on to his sheets, both satisfied, surprised, and slightly confused.

"What was that?" asked Uhura, deciding to break the silence. She turned to her side, draped an arm across his chest, and curled into him.

"I am afraid I have no idea," he replied, his eyes glued to the ceiling. But his arm wrapped it's way beneath her.

"Should I go? Do you want me to leave, and pretend this didn't happen?" she asked, pulling away slightly.

"Perhaps that would be best," he said, almost to himself. But when she went to pull away more, his arm held her firmly locked in place.

"Perhaps you should go," he said, turning his head to face hers, "But that does not mean I want you to."

She smiled up towards him and laid her head on his chest.

"Thank you for saying that," she said, knowing how difficult such a display of emotions was for him.

"Thank you for staying," he whispered back, finally realizing that he felt like her fit here, right next to her.