When he returned home from school his parents were sitting at the table.
He didn't even have to see the look on his mother's face to know something was terribly wrong. His father never sat at the table unless he had to eat and a quick sniff told him nothing had recently been cooked or consumed.
His mother looked like she had when she sat shiva for her deceased relatives, puffy eyed and morose. Had someone died again?
Spock put down his backpack, his eyes never leaving his parents as if they might disappear if he did. "What has happened?"
His father slowly turned to face him and opened his mouth. When nothing came forth Spock felt his chest constrict.
What was so awful? He must know. "Father?"
His mother answered for him and took hold of his father's hand. "Sybok is missing."
Spock felt his confusion roll through him and threaten to contort his face. "Missing? How?"
By then his father had regained some of his composure and finally spoke. "We have been unable to locate him for sometime now. I believed him to be living by himself on the outskirts of Ara'Kahr but grew concerned when I had not heard from him in the last 6 months. My brother visited his dominicle and found it vacant. The home comm had been fitted with an auto response generator to any incoming missives. The programming had stalled as the comm requested a new mainframe for processing the coding. When checked, it appears to have stopped working around the time I stopped hearing from him."
Spock stood in the foyer, turning over the information for hints as to the cause of Sybok's actions. A thought came to him that he did not hear his father mention. "Did you not reach him through your bond?"
It was a well known practice on Vulcan to exchange thoughts, feelings or relay messages if an emergency arose. Their family was particularly strong in this regard as those in their lineage were strong telepaths.
His father gave a single shake of his head and inclined his gaze towards the table top. "All efforts to do so were unsuccessful. Sybok is as psionically gifted as I am if not more so. It would not be unreasonable to assume that he has blocked me from doing so."
Spock straightened as he realized what else his father was saying. Sybok was either purposefully avoiding them or he was unable to do so. The only way that could happen was if he was in a comatose state or-
His body trembled and he cleared the tightness in his throat with a quiet cough. "I see. May I be excused?"
"Spock-" his mother started.
"-Of course. We shall be here if you should need us," his father said cutting her off. She scowled at him and snatched her hand away from where he had been holding it and shook her head at him. "Sarek! I would appreciate it if you wouldn't just cut me off. Our son is missing."
"And our other is grieving. He will come back Amanda. Give him-"
Spock left out the backdoor and trailed into the Vulcan domicile replica. The fit was tighter now but he managed all the same. Tucking himself into a corner Spock folded his arms on top of his knees and rested his head on his forearms.
He didn't know where to start with Sybok's disappearance. True they had grown more and more distant as they progressed in age but there was more to it. His brother had certainly had a difficult time growing up under Sarek's headship.
His father was quite traditional. Most people assumed otherwise with his choice of wife and career but Spock had experienced his parenting firsthand.
Every rite and ceremony sacred to his father's people was observed religiously and without question. Needless to say he was particularly sensitive on certain orthodox points, least of which were bonding and the practice of Surak's tenants.
In his father's eyes it seemed they were all found to be lacking. Sybok wasn't Vulcan enough and Michael was too much. Spock had been in a hellish limbo of sorts between the two as he strove like any child to make his parents proud.
In an effort to do what he thought was best for them, Sarek had steadily driven them away with his own anxiety-riddled image of how their lives should be.
Spock didn't believe for one second that any of them would question their father's love and devotion, merely his means of expressing it. Spock loved both his parents but he had hurt them too. He never meant to, but summers away on Vulcan where he was subjected to the begrudging presence of his bondmate weren't helping. And still he forged ahead as if T'Pring were enraptured with him.
Spock knew otherwise. The Vulcaness did not care for him but she cared about tradition. She was drawn to another despite their bond and their parents agreement. Instead of feeling betrayed or cuckolded, he empathized.
A small knock on the replica house stirred him. He blinked at the light pouring in through the small window and he noticed the difference in its angle and color. He must have dozed off. The knock came again and Spock sat up higher against the wall. "You may enter."
He smelled her before he saw her body creep inside, peering around to find him. Once her eyes landed on him Nyota smiled at him gently. "It's smaller than I remembered."
"I concur," he said, with a limp half-smile. Nyota caught the gesture before he could correct it and frowned. "You alright, Spock?"
"No."
He shuddered and closed his eyes. Soft, cool arms went around his bent legs, hugging them tightly. Her cheek came down onto his forearm beside his head feeling for all the world softer than anything he could readily recall. He gradually opened his eyes to see her studying him with an unhappy face. "What happened? Your mom called me over here saying that you were upset."
Spock thought back to when he had left the house and how distressed his mother had been. She had the luxury of showing it, not that he really wanted to. Having the option to do so still felt nice. "My brother is missing."
She sat up and sadly removed her arms from around him. Spock hadn't know how nice it had been to be embraced until she let him go. "Oh my God, Spock! What happened? Did the police call you guys? Holy shit!"
The embrace he craved was recreated in a full blown hug as she took his crouching form into her thin arms. "I'm so sorry. I am so so sorry. That's horrible."
Spock took a breath and steadied himself against the mental onslaught of her grief as she touched him. "What is is. We will either find him or not. No one has been able to find him or reach his mind."
"Reach his mind? What do you mean?"
"Telepathically we can search, find and communicate with one another. Most Vulcan families can and do, though the frequency in which they do so is case by case."
Nyota quietly sat back on her hunches. Spock could see her mind working over the information by the way she nibbled at her bottom lip. "I thought Vulcans were touch telepaths?"
She said this hesitantly but Spock was uncertain as to why. Perhaps she worried that he had read her mind without permission? He licked his lips and formed the best answer he could. "We are. We can only do this with family members because there are bonds between us. They are mental links that connect our minds together should we need each other."
Nyota nodded slowly and considered his answer. "Oh! So that's where the bondmates thing comes from. Your parents are linked together like that?"
"Precisely. Parents are linked to their children as well as a means of welfare and location should the need arise."
Nyota's gaze flickered from his hands to the space between him back to his face. Why was she looking him over? Whatever it was, she did not say as she continued along her line of questioning. "So this bond thing is why your dad is extra upset?"
"He is not upset. Disappointed perhaps but not sad. He is Vulcan."
Nyota shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. "I dunno. Your mom is in their hugging him and he's leaning on her as he talks to her."
Like they had been doing, Spock thought curiously. Had Nyota hugged him earlier because she wished to or was she mirroring the actions of his mother as she comforted his father? He didn't know if he'd favor either answer.
He leaned his head back along the wall and peered at her through sleepy eyes. "Perhaps he is. He does not- cannot show it. He informed me that he can't sense Sybok through the bond and that worries him because all other means of contacting him are moot."
Nyota twisted her lips with a grunt. "I see. So your dad can't find him. Can you? Are you bonded to him too?"
He took a deep breath and held it. " Siblings are. I do not desire to."
"What? Really? Why?"
Feeling free to do so in Nyota's presence, Spock rubbed his face inside of his hands and sighed. "I am apprehensive about the outcome."
"How so? Don't you want to see your brother?"
"Yes. But I am not so sure that he wants to see me. Or can."
Nyota grew quiet as she read between the lines he drew and nodded with a quiet exhale. "I'm sorry."
"What is is," he repeated, at a loss for words. Nyota drew up beside him and leaned onto his arm. The fall had seen him growing another 3 inches in height to the point where her head was no longer at his shoulder. He simultaneously despised and relished the feeling of being taller than his peers. The sensation he got being taller than Nyota however was quite different and not one he pondered consciously.
They sat quietly inside the domicile until Sarek fetched them for dinner. Nyota joined them and Spock was grateful for it. His mother had always been cheered by her presence and today she needed that.
"Spock, your father and I are going to Vulcan to see what we can do for Sybok. I've already called the Uhuras and if you need them they're more than willing to take you in until we return."
He nodded and looked at Nyota. "Thank you. I should be fine here alone but I would enjoy taking my meals with you all."
"Of course!" she chimed. "You can come over even if it's just for a snack. Baba's been experimenting with making ice cream. I think you'd be amused by some of the flavors," she added, twirling her fork into her noodles.
"I would be willing to try anything."
She grinned and went back to eating her food. She missed the face he made afterwards, but his mother didn't. Nor did his father miss the accompanying emotions in the bond between them.
They looked at each other but nothing was said. They had already said their piece. Spock and Nyota, however, were just about to start.
— party night
"Just go in, get the cheapest beer you can find and get out of there once you pay for it. Okay?"
"Right."
Kirk smiled at him, transferred the money to his account and watched Spock get out of the car. They were two blocks away from the convenience store furthest from their school, right on the edge of Annandale.
They planned to use Spock to acquire the alcohol as he had no impediments to doing so. It was commonly known that alcohol was processed quicker in Vulcan metabolisms and usually flushed out before the effects of it were felt and with his 'older age' in Vulcan years he was able to legally purchase it. But they didn't want the store clerk to see possible minors with him, hence the two blocks away.
Spock took in his appearance as he passed by a glass storefront. Kirk and McCoy had dressed him for the occasion and were very happy with the end result, conspiratorialy mumbling something about him not looking like a 40 year old virgin. Spock didn't see anything special about a black t-shirt and jeans. As it was, both were ill fitting with the shirt too tight across his chest and his jeans nearly exposing the waistband of his underwear.
He looked in style they said and would be sure to draw the right type of attention. He didn't have to ask them what they meant. Kirk had long ago informed him of what he had been missing when he didn't accompany him to these 'gatherings'.
"It's the best! I mean what more could you want? There's friends, there's girls, there's music and now, there's a little buzz action too," he said, hinting at the alcohol.
"I am not so sure if I will enjoy the activities or be able to engage in them."
Kirk had waved him off and grabbed him by the shoulders. "When you go to a party, Spock, you do what makes you happy. You don't have to dance if everyone else is dancing. You don't have to sing along. Hell, you don't even have to chit chat. But you do have to have fun."
McCoy had hummed in agreement as he searched his closet for a robe. "And why wouldn't you have fun? Your friends are gonna be there. Even your girlfriend."
"Uhura is not my girlfriend."
Kirk snickered while McCoy shot him a sly smile. "I didn't say anything about Uhura being your girlfriend."
Spock was flustered as he struggled to explain himself which only made them laugh louder.
Kirk clapped him on the back and turned him towards the mirror. "C'mon. You're going. You're usually out on Vulcan when all the good parties are happening. You're lucky that Sulu's parents are out for the week. And stop frowning! You look like an old college student."
Spock sighed in defeat. All of it was true. His reflection was undeniably stern as he took in the sight of himself with the gray wool cap slouched over his head. The tips of his ears were highlighted as they sat flush against the edge of the cap.
That had been the mirror. His appearance in the store's glass was different. He couldn't recognize himself. He was no longer the lanky preteen with crooked canines and a retainer but a teen on the cusp of young adulthood. While heavily muscled his body looked more define. The cheeks he bore in childhood had thinned out into something much sharper. He was growing and he approved of the direction.
He nodded to himself before walking through the store's doors and going straight to the back cold cases.
Color drinks masquerading in black, silver and bright bold prints touted names that said nothing about what they were. In fact, some were just downright pitiful. He huffed in frustration as he looked for which was the most appealing and selected two cases of something with a mountain rendered in the background.
The clerk didn't even look up when he placed them down on the counter, only put down his PADD and turned to the register. "Is that it?"
"Excuse me?"
The clerk looked at him then, with exhaustion clear on his face. "The beer, is that all you want or do you want anything out of the case?"
Spock glanced back behind him and blushed at the contents. Vape pens, lottery chips and condoms lined the back wall in a neat display of sin. Spock shook his head and cleared his throat. "Nothing else, thank you."
The clerk sighed and rung up the beer. Spock looked down at the candy on the racks below and gave into a spontaneous compulsion. " Actually...this as well."
He snatched up a relatively simple chocolate bar and plopped it on top of one of the cases. The clerk added it on without a second look and gave him the total.
Spock pressed his thumb to the PayPADD and sighed in relief as the purchase cleared with its approval. He was worried about the chocolate but no item was flagged. He stuffed the chocolate into his front pocket and took one case of beer into each hand.
Spock left out feeling more giddy and roguish than he thought the chocolate could make him feel. No police assailed him nor did any people give him any dubious looks. He was one of them. Anybody. Someone important or nobody to trouble over. He was his own version of infinite diversity in infinite combinations.
Kirk turned on his headlights as soon as he spotted him and took off driving as soon as he closed the door to the car. Spock hurried to get his seat belt on while Kirk and McCoy praised him.
The rest of the drive was composed of the two other boys fighting over musical selections on the car's radio. They tried to rope Spock into being the tie breaker but soon gave up when he admitted he would prefer silence.
What felt like hours only took 23 minutes to get to the Sulu residence. It was a large but simple craftsman house like every other one in the neighborhood. The only distinguishing features were its sage plank wood siding and it's ornate landscaping. Kirk parked a few cars back and waited as the rest of them piled out of the car.
Spock could hear the barest hints of music as they approached the door but Kirk and McCoy didn't mention it until they were coming up the porch steps.
"I love that song," Kirk chimed, signalling the doorbell. He wiggled his hips to the beat between him and McCoy until Janice opened the door. Rand welcomed them with an exaggerated yell and hurried them in. "C'mon. The sound dampers only work when the door is closed. Last thing I want is to get busted by Sulu's snooty ass neighbors."
Kirk scoffed and planted a quick kiss on her cheek as he cleared the foyer moving towards the kitchen. "If they can hear any of this from a mile away then we might deserve it."
McCoy shook his head and followed him in. "They're not that far away. It's just the plots are bigger out here in McLean."
Spock had to agree on both counts though. The houses out this way were massive with a logic he had yet to see. When they were driving in he spied no less than fifteen olympic size swimming pools, 3 tennis courts and an actual horse stable. "It appears that intergalactic surgeons are paid quite handsomely."
Sulu's chuckle tickled his ears before he appeared around the corner. "You could say that Spock. Anyone having to deal with paperwork, bodies or politics can be found residing here. Our neighbors on either side of us are lawyers and the ones directly across the street are royalty on Betazed."
He took the beer from Spock's hands and nodded the trio over towards the right. "Everyone else is on the patio in the backyard or in the living room."
Once the word spread about their beer run however, Spock saw no need to move as everyone sought them out. Everyone seemed surprised to see him there but genuinely happy about his presence. Christine was especially eager to press this point.
"I wouldn't have thought for a second that you'd actually be here if someone had told me but it's so stellar you're here."
"I could hazard as to why."
She giggled and touched his arm. Spock looked at her hand and she leisurely drew it away. "Oh Spock. You want to go swimming?"
"I did not bring a bathing suit," he replied, curious that they should want to go swimming so late. It was early fall but much too cold for his tastes to be wet and outside.
She pouted with a hmph and reclaimed a hold of his arm. "Well then let's go with the others and dance! Most of us are out of the patio."
Spock was ready to decline once more but McCoy was hooking one arm around Christine's waist and walking with her. "Lead the way, Chapel. Let's see what you got."
Kirk was no help to him either as he tailed them with a beer in each hand. "PaarrrrTaaaay!"
They entered the patio to a chorus of cheers and dancing bodies. Nyota was among them, winding her hips and moving her arms in a way he couldn't help but find alluring. She smiled at him as the other boys went and joined in. Hendroff sneered at him but made no move or comment.
Spock blinked at them and found himself a seat in the corner. Christine waved at him from the makeshift dance floor and called him over. Declining to do so only had the rest of the group either cheering for him to come over or booing that he wasn't being a good sport.
Caught in peer-pressure limbo, Spock wracked his brain with what to do. He did not want to dance; he hadn't truly ever tried. He felt drinking any of the beers would be a waste and the idea of small talk with the others in the house that were a year under him was not appealing.
He was just about to leave when Nyota shimmied over to him. Spock watched her as she twirled and rocked to the beat, amazed by her grace.
"Let me see you hand," she shouted over the music, reaching out to him. He stared back at her hand before extending his own. Curiously she flipped his palm up and walked her fingers across it. The tips glittered with polish as they moved and slowly skimmed the surface of his skin. Tiny sparks of elation pricked his skin as he felt her excitement with the party. Her blood was pumping, her mood light and her body was moving at its full expression as she sang along.
He had heard the beat but in the touch of her fingers he felt it. The bass drove the rhythm and controlled the speed in which she moved while the lyrics directed the movements she took. As he sat watching her move around him, their connection allowed him to feel the cheerful awe of dancing together to a late summer hit. It was indescribably sublime. She had been clever to think of such an exchange.
Spock felt his heart pick up speed when the tempo increased without the bass present. Nyota's dance felt like a living thing as she followed the song's crescendo. Her soft, long tresses flowed over her with each shake of her head.
The rest of her wound herself around like a snake accentuating parts of her he thought better to leave alone. If she sensed any of his hesitation she ignored it and bopped around as another tune emerged.
Spock's focus went from her dance form to her hand. He didn't think of the consequences, just curled his hand and slid his fingers across her own. She paused mid-sway and brought her other hand to her mouth.
He could feel her mind puzzling over the sensation, as if she had imagined it. He brushed her fingers again and this time felt her respond with a shiver. She touched her lips again and swallowed. "Spock?"
"Spock!"
They both jerked their gaze away from each other and found Christine racing towards them. She stumbled to a stop and held Nyota's shoulder with a loud, ear-splitting laugh. "I'm gonna cut in and show you how a dance is done. C'mere Spock!"
Nyota stepped back as Christine went forward and sat down onto Spock's lap with a thud. Spock grit his teeth as her hips collided with his groin and shot Nyota look for help. She shrugged her shoulders and winked at him as Chapel begin her interpretation of what was suppose to be a lap dance.
Spock found it to be very aggressive and tactile. Kirk and the others gathered round to cheer her on. Spock sat on his hands and grit his teeth as he waited for the song to be over. As soon as the music faded Spock shot out of his seat. Christine stumbled forward and turned around with a scowl. "Hey! You could warn somebody before you stand up! I wasn't even done yet-"
A burst of laughter cut off her tirade. Spock looked from her to the others to see them doubled over while holding their middles.
Christine wrinkled her nose and shook her head. "What the hell guys?"
Janice wiped a tear from her face and pointed with her other hand towards Chapel. "Dude your dress ...it looks like you shit yourself!"
Spock glanced down as she twisted the fabric to get a better look. There along the right side was a large brown stain blotching out the blue and yellow stripes of her dress.
Immediately Spock looked down to see that his jeans were ruined as well. The candy bar. He had forgotten it in his pocket. Christine must have burst the wrapper open when she first sat down on him and further spread it between them when she wiggled on his lap.
Christine stormed off none too happy while the others continued to laugh at them.
Nyota left soon after to go to her house for a sleepover and Spock stayed the night to avoid coming home smelling like chocolate.
Sulu showed him the clothes refresher and gave him a spare pair of pants to wear around the house.
He was just fishing out his comm when a message came through.
Did you kiss me?
It was Nyota, probably looking for him to explain the sensation of their fingers as he rubbed them together. He stared down at the blue screen contemplating his reply. How he answered would change everything between them. What he had yet to tell her about his life and culture would also change their dynamic.
Spock swallowed at the knot in his throat and sighed. He shut the comm, pocketed it and rejoined the others.
Spock soon figured out why as she resumed dancing with their hands still touching.