The Logical Thing to Do
Author: Joanna Bordelon
Email: sandsofvulcan@yahoo.com
Series: TOS
Rating: PG-13 (Pon Farr)
Character Code: S/Saa
Summary: Sometimes denial is not the logical thing to do.
Disclaimer: Star Trek is copyrighted by Paramount/Viacom. I do not own any of their characters.
Archive: Fine, but let me know where.
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"There is a storm coming up," Spock said with a slight frown, looking into the distant desert.
Spock ducked back into the shelter in the rocks, that they were sharing. Time together was infrequent now during his work on reunification and Saavik's career in Starfleet. He felt Saavik tug at his leg and allowed himself to be pulled down onto the sand.
"We are staying here?," he asked.
"It would seem the logical thing to do," responded Saavik distractedly.
Spock looked at the cause of her distraction. For some reason her distraction irritated him. "Saavik, I brought you here to experience the desert. Come and see the storm front."
Saavik removed the small personal speakers form her ears and climbed back up onto the rocks with him. The sky was a dusky pink and it silhouetted Spock's body as the wind whipped his robes close to his form. He turned to her and reached to pull her hood over her face as his was.
"You will get sand in your hair."
"You brought me here to experience the desert," she teased. He loved it here. She knew. He had spoken many times of the solitude and beauty here in the Shas-a-shar. This time he had not come alone. She wanted this to be special for him. She reminded herself of the teachings. "Wide experience increases wisdom, provided the experience is not sought purely for the stimulation of sensation." She wondered what Surak would think of her plan.
Spock shifted uncomfortably in the wind. She guided him back into the shelter.
"You are well?" she asked.
"I am."
Saavik placed the speakers back into her ears and settled, eyes closed, against the cool rock wall. Spock watched her, relaxing peacefully.
"You are missing the sound of the wind."
"And some experiences cannot be ignored, Adun." It was true. The wind whipped past the edges of the rock shelter and little eddies of sand stirred there.
She looked so at peace that Spock found himself imitating her posture, and himself leaned back into the rocks. The cool of them was comforting. He closed his eyes and heard the steady rhythms emanating from her speakers. Slowly it began to grate on him, though it shouldn't have. The sound did not belong here in his desert. This attitude disturbed him and he meditated on it momentarily. Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations, he reminded himself. Saavik will experience this crossing in her own way.
Still the steady boom-boom from Saavik's direction was unavoidable.
"It is too loud, Aduna."
"Listen with me," she offered, placing another set of the small speakers in his ears. Spock listened silently for a while and then a phrase in the music caused both eyebrows to shoot up.
"Where did you get this?"
"Off the nets."
"Saavik, I hardly think it is what Surak had in mind when he said 'May we, together, become greater than the sum of both of us.'"
"Listen," growled Saavik. Spock recognized the tone and acquiesced, leaning back again. Soon he dozed fitfully. Saavik rose and prepared for the sleep period. It was actually day. They lived backwards in the desert, traveling at night. She unrolled their blankets; his light and silken, her course and thick. The storm was bearing down on them and the light was fading, blacked out by the swirling, whipping sand.
Spock shifted in his sleep, brushing back his robes. Saavik reached for them and began to pull them back from him. "No," he said pulling them tighter.
"Allow it," argued Saavik. "You are hot." Spock opened his eyes slightly. It was true. Even in the shelter of the rocks with the wind cooling the atmosphere, he was too warm. He lifted one shoulder and them another to allow her to pull the robes down around his back., then he closed his eyes once more.
I was misjudged this experience, he thought. The music swelled in his ears and he enjoyed it.
Saavik pulled the root they had gathered earlier from the bag and began to prepare it as Spock had showed her. She took a vial of spice from her pocket and set the root aside to marinate. Spock, still relaxing against the cool of the wall, opened his eyes and watched her. He caught his breath at the sight of her. She too had removed her outer garments and wore only a silken tunic underneath. He closed his eyes.
Seek the peace this experience offers, he reminded himself. He had found it difficult to relax lately. The constant stress of the reunification movement; the refusal of all but a handful on Vulcan to become involved, and her so far away. Far enough that they could share no more than their bond. Never and always touching and touched, he reminded himself of the ancient words and opened his eyes again to find her regarding him. She is beautiful.
The wind howled loudly then across the shelter of the doorway and Spock shivered. Saavik raised an eyebrow.
"The time has come?," she asked. He had not mentioned it, but, of course, she felt it too. She always seemed to acknowledge it before him.
"I had thought it would wait... until we enjoyed the desert together. You know how my time affects me." She did. He hated the time of mating and madness, except that she was with him. He hated the loss of control.
"There are many ways to enjoy the desert," she offered. "Allow me to teach you." She reached for the root and held it to his mouth. He bit into it, his eyes widening.
"It is the Romulan spice I asked you to bring me. Did you not sample it yourself?"
"Your experiences are very different from mine, as are your tastes," he said. "I enjoy them."
She removed his tunic and pushed him back onto her course blanket. She had chosen it for him. It was standard Starfleet issue and she found it incredibly scratchy. He shifted uncomfortably and struggled to rise. She pushed him back.
"Saavik, this covering is irritating to my skin, it is acerbating my condition. Allow me to rise," his voice rose in irritation. The feel of the blanket against his skin was almost unbearable. Instead of giving in to him, she reached for the music controls. The beat changed. She held her fore and middle fingers to his mouth, "Shh... listen."
The words of the song were few and chanted over and over. The sum of our differences, the song repeated. The modern instruments intertwining with a soft background of the ancient bells that every Vulcan knew as part of the bonding ceremony. The bells that rang in frequencies specifically tuned to the Vulcan ear. Frequencies designed to enhance experience. A reverberation, reminiscent of a gong, merged into the music now.
Spock flushed green. Her fingers still rested on his lips.
"The time is upon us. It is the logical thing to do," she whispered.
Saavik's Song
It would seem the logical thing to do
Wide experience increases wisdom
And some experiences cannot be ignored
Listen with me
May we, together, become greater than the sum of both of us
Allow it
Seek the peace this experience offers
Never and always touching and touched
The time has come
There are many ways to enjoy the desert
Allow me to teach you
Your experiences are very different from mine
The sum of our differences enhance experience
The time is upon us. It is the logical thing to do.