Author's Note: This is a companion piece to "i heave a sigh of pain" and is similarly titled from "Flower" by Liz Phair.
every time you pass me by
Cadet Uhura's work declines.
In conference, he explains errors she would never have made before. Her eyes rake across his body. He hears her heartbeat accelerate.
Spock considers that she might be seducing him. His blood thrums; a thrill runs, electric, down his spine.
This reaction is inappropriate.
He cannot divine her motivations. She is a woman of integrity—her ability to excel, without question. He is not desirable enough to warrant such behavior on his own merits.
She enters; he averts his eyes from her swaying hips. She sits and slides her assignment towards him.
Her fingertips brush his.