"That was beautiful." Uhura opened her eyes to catch Spock staring at her intently. When he remained silent she sat down and asked. "Was that a Vulcan song?"
"Yes."
"Who taught you to play like that?" Uhura's sharp eyes easily noticed the slight almost imperceptible clenching in Spock's jaw. "If it's too personal you don't have to." Uhura bit her lip.
Spock realized his discomforting memories must have manifested physically, he inwardly chastised himself. He decided to answer her, the answer to that specific question was not what bothered him. "My mother taught me as a child. She loved music and she wished to impart the same passion to me."
"Oh." Uhura attempted a smile, hoping to dissipate the awkward feeling that she felt.
"My father wished for me to focus on more beneficial scientific or political pursuits." It was obvious Uhura was curious, Spock thought telling her would be the easiest way to put her at ease.
Uhura liked to read Vulcan but she was still unable to think or act like one. Following normal human protocol she avoided the uncomfortable situation, hoping to save familial revelations for when she wasn't so anxious of her teacher's judgment. "What is the song's name? Did your mother teach you that song?"
In old antiquated Vulcan Spock whispered the name. "In standard it translates roughly to-"
"Think of me." Uhura interrupted.
"Correct." Spock strummed his lyre. "Would you like to warm up your voice now?"
"Yes please."
"I assume you sing and read to the human western music standards?"
Uhura nodded. Spock plucked a middle C.
Uhura's clear voice hit the note perfectly. Spock continued up and down the scale. "Do you need to warm up further?"
Uhura nodded again. "Do, mi, so, mi do..." Spock continued playing all the simple voice warm ups he remembered.
When he figured that Uhura was sufficiently warmed up he asked. "Is there a specific song you would like to practice? I have access to the school music data base as well as my personal store."
"Could you teach me Think of Me?" Uhura asked hopefully.
"I no longer have access to that score, is there another song you would be interested in singing?"
"Oh, uh..." Uhura racked her brain but she couldn't think past her sudden urge to learn the haunting tune.
Spock's chest tightened when he saw Uhura's crestfallen expression. Yet again he found himself feeling emotions he had reserved only for interactions his mother. "I do have the song memorized; I can teach you if you can remember without a score."
"That's perfect, I've always preferred learning by ear!" She tried to stifle the question but her curiosity got the best of her. "Where did you learn the song if you don't have the score?"
Spock suddenly understood what the other instructors meant when they would describe the inexorable urge to sigh when encountering an overly inquisitive student. "As an ambassador my father had access to many private Vulcan archives, all full of ancient art, manuscripts, and music. As his son I was also given a limited amount of privileges, namely access to the less sacred historical pieces. Due to my mixed heritage I found solace from the other students in the private archives. My mother had been giving me private music lessons since I was six, I didn't start to love music until I found this piece hidden in a small clay box. It was faded to near illegibility, it was so old..." Spock's very personal confession sent shivers down Uhura's spine. She shivered as if she was cold even as a warm heady breeze blew by.
Again Spock found himself revealing bits of his private memories to a student he barely knew. He followed her previous protocol and continued with the music to avoid any further confessions. "I will play the voice part melody several times at half the normal tempo. I will continue speeding up the tempo gradually to normal tempo until you get the notes." Uhura nodded. Closing his eyes to play, Spock strummed his lyre with muted passion. Uhura closed her eyes as well, tapping her toes to the beat. Spock played without any breaks, repeating the same melody again and again, faster and faster until he was playing the normal tempo. Spock stopped then looked at Uhura.
"I think I have-" Remembering Spock's aversion for tentative answers, she quickly rephrased. "I know the melody , I am ready for the words now."
"The song is old, the words are in an old antiquated version of Vulcan language. Some of the words barely resemble their present state at all. Their meanings are usually implied by the phrases. If you have any trouble with the pronunciations do not hesitate to ask," Spock said. "Would you prefer if I played the melody as I sing the words or rather just hear me sing the words alone?"
Uhura had assumed that Spock would be reciting the words since he had already taught her the notes, the thought of hearing Spock's singing voice surprised her so much that she just nodded mutely.
Spock didn't understand her response so he decided to wait a minute before asking again.
What did he ask? Uhura thought. The more she tried to gather herself the more she fell apart.
As an avid xenolinguist, Uhura paid attention to a person's voice more than any other aspect, though she did appreciate a nice set of abs. And though her love of the auditory was common knowledge she made sure that no one had an inkling of her thoughts after a lecture with Lieutenant Spock. She hadn't even told her mother that she found Spock's voice to be one of the most sensual sounds she had ever heard, that would be far too awkward. It was something about the deep, rough, yet utterly controlled manner and tone that made Spock so... masculine.
She had enough trouble keeping focused on the subject matter when her grades were on the line, but hearing Spock sing would undoubtedly unravel her. So far the shocking dreamlike state of the past day had been enough to keep her from really losing herself to his voice, but how could she not listen to him if she was to listen to his singing. Uhura found herself desperately hoping that Spock was a horrible singer, then again she didn't.
After three minutes it was obvious Uhura was lost in her thoughts. Spock did not want to say anything that wasn't music related, slightly afraid he was going to disclose more of himself without restraint. Instead he strummed his lyre to get the starting note. He hummed the note and began, he was so familiar with the song that he didn't feel the need to warm up.
Spock's deep bass penetrated Uhura's thoughts, sending her ears into sensory overload. She was instantly snapped out of her reverie and was sucked into the haunting music. Uhura felt her breath hitch as the oppressively masculine voice just washed over her.
Time seemed to slow, the air seemed to still, and the world seemed to hush as he sang. After the first verse Uhura just let herself get lost in the music. The once haunting tune was strengthened anew, now resonating with the power and beauty of ancient Vulcan tongue. The words seemed to dance and play in the air, in an inherent but indefinable logic, a mathematical pattern hidden within the sounds.
When Spock finished, holding the last note a little longer with a passion he couldn't express through his lyre alone, the world came rushing back with merciless speed.
Unable to handle the sudden rush of breath and blood to her head Uhura swooned.
