Hi folks. It's been a while since I've posted. Life and such. I started this fic over a year ago but haven't been able to post until now because of reasons. I have rescued it dusted it off and am writing like a crazy person because I have never quite gotten over this story. Updates will be as frequent as I can manage but I apologize in advance that it may not be quick as I know you'd like...I have to factor in work etc but rest assured new chapters will follow soon. For now, I hope you enjoy. I would like to dedicate this to LambsEar in homage of her upcoming baby bearing. Much love to her! Peace and Long Life, PQ xxx
Nyota is listening to music and spinning on her tip toes in Spock's kitchen when he finds her, oblivious to his presence as she hums along. He watches her for a moment as she stretches an elegant leg behind her in a ballet pose, her hands gripping the handles of the cabinets on the wall as she glances across the shelves in search of the tea. She jumps when she sees him, putting her hand to her chest and taking a melodramatic gasp of breath.
"Oh you scared me," she chuckles, pulling her earphones out. Spock watches her with a mild expression as she sets down the tea leaves and turns to get a cup off the drainer. "You want a cup?" He nods and steps closer.
"I have been thinking," he tells her in a low, soft voice.
"Hmm mmm," she chirps, glancing up at him through the hair that hangs across her face.
"Would you come to Vulcan with me?" Nyota freezes for a moment, spoon hovering above the tea caddy. "There are many things I would like to show you." Nyota blinks and a bashful smile spreads across her face.
"I...I would love to."
It takes some planning and Nyota suspects, some finagling on Spock's part but several weeks later they are on a shuttle on their way through the atmosphere. The journey itself takes no time at all at warp but going through security at the orbital hub above the Earth takes forever. It doesn't help that Spock is also transporting a large box and that the box is going to Shi-Kahr while they are going to Vulcana Regar and the Human at the desk is a particularly dense specimen of his race. Spock has an itinerary planned for their visit, all the things he wants to show her. They're starting in Vulcana Regar and making their way to Shi-Kahr via Gol.
She's excited.
Nyota has been to Vulcan before, years ago when she was at school but the trip was highly structured and quite restrictive and her Vulcan was bad in those days. This time she's fluent, she's got her own personal tour guide and she won't be staying in sterile air conditioned accommodations but real Vulcan homes, as a Vulcan would. On the transport Spock presses a hypo to her neck and she dips her head in embarrassment, the only Human in a carriage full of Vulcans. She feels the gravity the minute they step into the hub over Vulcan and she tries not to let it show how totally weird it feels. In the shuttle on the way down to the planet Spock quietly presents her with a gift of some quite stylish and expensive looking sunglasses. Nyota tries not to smile as she accepts them but then the smile fades a little when she remembers how much she's going to stick out in a crowd when she's wearing them.
"The radiation from the sun will damage your eyes," Spock reminds her gently. "Although it will be dark when we arrive." She nods, tucks them into her pocket and brushes her fingers over her hair to make sure her ears are hidden while reminding herself to not emote too much. She's on Vulcan now. As it turns out most Vulcans in this region are so dark they are almost purple but Nyota still feels self conscious about her stubby round ears and her gently sloping brows even though with her hood up, she's virtually indistinguishable from a Vulcan. Nyota knows it's going to be hot because Spock warned her that they happen to have come at the hottest time of the year, that it couldn't be helped. She hasn't noticed yet because they're underground and it's air conditioned although it's cooled to Vulcan comfort and it still feels like Nairobi on a sunny day but that's fine by her, she likes it that way. Spock carries their cases and she trails along beside him, distracted by absolutely everything even though so far there really hasn't been that much to see. They are going to take the subterranean transit because he says it is logical although she suspects it's because she commented previously that she thinks public transport is the best way to see a city. The car is fairly empty when the get on at the shuttleport but as it moves through the city it gets fuller and fuller and fuller and even though the sun hasn't been down that long, it seems that Vulcana Regar comes alive at night.
They are greeted at their destination by Varel, who is Spock's cousin three times removed on his paternal grandmother's side and he looks nothing like Spock. His skin is dark and his face is wizened, his salt and pepper hair cropped close against his head and exaggerating his pointed ears. Vulcans are apparently genealogy nerds and if you have family somewhere you don't stay in a hotel and Nyota thinks this is great because Varel's house is like nothing she's ever seen.
"Welcome to my home," Varel intones. Nyota bows and makes the appropriate gestures of greeting, grateful that etiquette dictates her silence and thinking that perhaps it's actually quite a good idea. Why provoke an emotional response from people in a situation like this? Why not just spare the bullshit and say nothing? Varel however immediately confounds her expectations because while he's reserved and unexpressive he's not cold like all the stereotypes of their race. His movements are easy, louche even as he leads them down the stairs into a cool dark cave and into a dim passage in the rock.
They are sharing a room and Nyota is surprised although she's not entirely sure why she should be because Spock held her hand in public and she knows what that means on Vulcan even if she doesn't mention it. It's lovely, sparsely decorated but cosy, the walls curving softly into one another. The bed is carved out of the red rock of the desert and there are no windows but then she remembers that this is a subterranean cave and that they are deep beneath the surface. Spock places a gentle hand on her shoulder and tells her to rest. She takes a deep breath, feeling a bit strange from the thin dry air she finds herself breathing.
"Are you unwell?" Spock asks, gently clasping her shoulders and peering into her eyes. He's checking her pupils and a moment later his hands slide down to squeeze her wrist. Nyota rolls her eyes a little, feeling her pulse flutter against his fingertip.
"I'm fine, really," she assures him. "I'm just...excited." Spock nods gently and when she looks in his eyes they seem somehow blacker and more alien than usual.
Spock hustles her into a side chamber where there is a basin and a jug of water waiting for them. After a quick wash, they change and emerge to find Varel in the kitchen making tea and when they enter he bows slowly to Nyota before offering her a glass which she accepts with a bow of her own. She feels his eyes on her as she sips it, flushing a little under his appraisal. The tea is unbelievably sour but it must have something going for it because she feels instantly more awake. Varel tells her he is preparing a meal and would they like to join him and asks her if she cooks. Nyota replies that she does and when she offers to help he accepts. Spock sits quietly, sipping tea and watching them with twinkling eyes.
Cooking is interesting, Varel is so precise in his movements and when the dish is finally presented it's so simple and elegant it's almost zen. The food is tasty, not at all like she expected from hydroponically grown proteins, it's spicy and sour and she feels like it's cooling her down from the inside out. Varel is reserved as she expected him to be and she makes an effort to be on her best behaviour. It's worth it because she thinks he melts a little in her company and he asks her all sorts of questions about her work and her family while Spock observes with silent pride. Varel goes on to say that his daughter lives in Shi-Kahr and his son is currently in the Forge pursuing the Kolinar. Varel himself is a chemical mineralogist and explains that is the main industry of this region although there are also several highly regarded academic institutions in the province. Nyota nods and gives him her full attention because it is fascinating to talk to a Vulcan, a real, normal Vulcan and he's not at all like the stereotypes. He's gentle, quiet but not snooty or condescending and when he asks her about Human customs he isn't judgemental in the least.
After the meal, Varel explains he must return to work and with a brief farewell disappears through the door. When he's gone Nyota turns to Spock and gives him a little smile, squeezing her hand as she speaks.
"He's really nice," she says shyly. Spock does not smile but he nods in agreement.
"We are not well acquainted but I must concur," he replies. Nyota blinks and stares at an engraving in the wall as she takes in what he's said. Spock barely knows this man to whom he is apparently related and yet he's welcomed them into his home as though he's not put out in the least and what is more surprising to her is that somehow, she doesn't feel awkward at all. She feels a little more awkward a minute later however when Spock takes her hand and leads her back towards the bedroom.
"We should meditate," he tells her and Nyota furrows her brow. She can't meditate, she wants to go out and explore, she can't help it, she's Human. Spock hustles her towards the bed and when he pushes, she flops limply against the mattress. She's embarrassed because she knows what Vulcans say about Humans, how they are slaves to their emotions, how they indulge their animal passions and she doesn't want Varel to think the same about her.
Spock is undeterred and reminds her that she is Human. She bites her lip and tries to be quiet but he makes it difficult.
Afterwards, Nyota lies on the bed neither asleep nor awake and the only sound she can hear is her own breath and the thrum of her heartbeat in her ear. When she finally opens her eyes she turns her head to see Spock sitting in meditation pose across the room and he's so still it's like he's part of the rock. She watches him for a long time without moving.