Getting to Know You
Chapter Eleven : Oh, What a Night
Uhura
She stood in front of her closet, trying to decide what to wear to the Xenolinguistics Department Christmas party. She might have to actually go shopping. She pulled out one dress, looked it over, then tossed it on the bed. Out came another one - no, that certainly would not do. She rummaged around, not finding anything that suited her. As she came to end of her closet selection without being able to settle on anything, she heaved a deep sigh.
Gaila looked up from where she lounged on the other bed, reading. "What are you sighing about, now, Ny? And why are you throwing clothes all around? Is there something coming up you haven't told me about? Maybe something to do with that sexy Vulcan instructor you brought to Thanksgiving dinner?" Gaila grinned at her friend, hoping for tidbits.
Nyota grimaced. "In the first place, I didn't BRING him, I just invited him. Everyone was inviting people that didn't have anywhere else to go for Thanksgiving." She huffed a bit, then flung herself down on her bed, on top of the clothes she had left there. "I don't have anything to wear!"
Gaila looked at the clothes tossed haphazardly all over Nyota's side of the room. And then at the ones left in the close. "Girl, you've got plenty of clothes. And you can always borrow stuff from me. Wait, you mean you don't have something special for some event coming up, don't you? SHOPPING TIME! Get dressed and let's go." She didn't even stop to ask what the event was in her eagerness to go try on clothes, one of her favorite pastimes.
Nyota looked at her friend, all excited over the prospect of wandering through every shop in the mall, trying on dress after dress. She sighed. She was just not the shopper that Gaila was. But Gaila had such a wonderful sense of color and style - every time she went shopping with her, she wound up with things that just looked stunning on her - like that outfit she had worn to the Halloween street party. She got up off her bed and threw on jeans and tee. "Come on, let's go then."
***
The two young women roamed through the mall, looking in shop windows. Finally Gaila's curiosity got the better of her. "Are you ever going to tell me what kind of clothing we're looking for and where you're going to wear it?"
"I need a really smashing dress for the Xenolinguistics Department Christmas party." Nyota glanced sideways at her smirking friend. "Don't say a word! I just need it - I need to look really nice."
"Nice and sexy!" Gaila's smirk was wider, if that was possible. "Wait, will he even be there? I mean, from what I hear, he never goes to stuff like that." There was no need to name him, they both knew who the subject of discussion was. His appearance at the Thanksgiving dinner had been enough to tell Gaila that there was something unusual going on, even if she wasn't sure that either of the parties concerned were aware of it.
"Department head orders - all instructors, staff, and cadets majoring in Xenolinguistics MUST attend!" Nyota looked smug. "He has to come - no choice. And I have to look really, really good."
Gleefully, Gaila mentally rubbed her hands together. Oh, her friend would look good all right, she would see to that.
***
Several hours later, after trying on dozens of dresses, Nyota still had not found anything that pleased her. There was something wrong with everything she looked at. She was getting tired and discouraged. Shopping was beginning to be not fun anymore. She was thinking of telling Gaila that she would just give up and wear one of the dresses she already had, when she spotted something out of the corner of her eye. Turning suddenly around, she stared at the window on the opposite side of the mall corridor. "GAILA! LOOK AT THAT!"
Gaila turned around to see what Nyota was excited about. Oh, yes! That was the PERFECT dress! "Let's get in there and get that lovely thing on you right now!"
In short order Nyota was standing in front of the triple mirrors, twisting and turning, looking at her self in the absolutely perfect dress. Not too daring, not too bright, just absolutely perfect in every way. Her smile was absolutely dazzling.
Gaila admired her friend. Nyota was going to knock his socks off. She was going to knock the socks off every male of every species that turned up at that party. Gaila herself would see to hair, cosmetics, jewelry, shoes, every little detail to be sure that dress was shown off to perfection. Oh, yes, Nyota was going to have a GOOD time at that party! And about time, too.
Spock
He would have to go. It was a direct order. In the privacy of his quarters, he heaved a sigh. It was such a terrible waste of time. Furthermore, he would not be allowed to wear his uniform. Captain Pike had been in his office when he received the 'order' for the Christmas party and had been quite firm with him. Yes, he had to go, and No, he could not go in uniform. Formal civilian clothes were required. He could see no reason why his formal uniform was not sufficient. But Captain Pike was doing him an enormous favor in an area where he had no influence and he would comply with his instructions in return. He was certainly relieved that he had followed those instructions in regard to his dress for that Thanksgiving dinner - no one else had been in uniform and he would have been very much out-of-place if he had shown up in his.
He opened his closet and looked through it in despair. He did not own a formal suit. Slacks, yes, many sweaters, a number of different styles of shirts, but no suit. He would have to go shopping. This was not an activity which he enjoyed - especially when it came to shopping for clothing. And from previous trips to purchase specific items of casual clothing, he knew that he would most likely need to be measured so that the garments could be properly tailored. He greatly disliked feeling strange hands on his body, especially in some of the places where they needed to measure. There was no way to get out of it, though, and the sooner he got it over with, the better. He turned away from the closet and headed out the door towards the mall.
***
He found the shop where he had previously purchased civilian clothing. There was quite a selection of suits and shirts in the window. The mannequins were arranged with wine glasses and party decorations as though they were celebrating. Perhaps many people purchased this type of clothing at this time of year. Going inside, he found the salesman who had assisted him in the past and conveyed his requirements. In short order, he was surrounded by the salesman's offerings. He considered them carefully. For some reason, he found that he desired to look especially attractive for this occasion. She was a Xenolinguistics major, so she would be there. He would have an opportunity to wish her a Merry Christmas before she left to visit with her parents. Most illogical thoughts. But oddly comforting.
He stood in the small dressing area in his underwear and tolerated the salesman measuring his body so that the black suit would fit him perfectly. He left the shop with a package containing the dazzling white shirt with the small pleats in the front, the onyx cufflinks, and the black bow tie. He had never worn a bow tie before and was not at all sure about such an odd piece of attire, but had been assured that it was correct for the 'complete look'. He would go back to his quarters and search for visual confirmation, using his computer.
As he left the shop, his eyes fell on the shop across the wide aisle. He spotted two familiar faces there and stopped. They were obviously trying on dresses. He moved slightly to the side, so that he did not block the entrance to the shop and stood quietly watching. For some reason, she did not seem happy with the clothing she wore, although his heart rate had increased 2.35 percent seeing her in that red dress. The green one had been even more stimulating. Then she came out of the dressing area and turned in front of the mirrors in a black dress that appeared to be sprayed onto her body. He felt very ... Warm. This was a very new feeling. He was not entirely sure what was causing it. She returned to the dressing area and came out in jeans. The two young women turned towards the front of shop, talking together. Quickly he turned and strode out of the mall. It would not do for her to think that he was watching her.
***
He showered, dried off, shaved, combed his hair carefully. He put on clean underwear, black socks, the new white shirt. This was the first time he had ever worn cuff-links. He had practiced putting them in the strange cuffs of this shirt, but found that doing it while actually wearing the shirt was much more awkward. The new black dress slacks with the satin stripe up the side came next. Then the strange tie. He had also practiced the correct way to knot that strange piece of clothing, standing in front of his mirror and glancing repeatedly at the visual instructions on his computer screen. Last came the fitted black jacket with the curved velvet lapels. He straightened the jacket, buttoned the two buttons, and looked at himself in the full-length mirror. A stranger stared back. Astonished, he stared at the elegant man in the mirror. He had never thought of himself in that manner, but in the searching he had done in order to determine the appropriate clothing to purchase, he had repeatedly found that description for the men who most closely matched what he had been assured was the correct 'look'. While it was highly illogical to be impressed by one's own physical appearance, he could not help but feel that he would make a suitable appearance tonight. Retrieving his coat from the closet, he left his quarters for the room reserved for the Xenolinguistics Department Christmas party.
Uhura
She was so nervous. And so glad that Gaila was helping her prepare. Left on her own, she felt sure she would have chickened out. She had showered, washed her hair, plucked her eyebrows, painted her finger and toe nails. Gaila had fixed her hair, piling it up in some kind of complicated twists with strands of glittery little stones woven in. Little curls hung down beside her cheeks. Now her friend was putting makeup on her as she sat here in her new underwear, bought specifically for this event. Gaila said sexy lace underwear always made you feel better, even when you were the only one who knew it was there. The black lace just made her feel exposed. Maybe the effect only worked after you were fully dressed. But Gaila said she could not wear her normal white cotton standard issue. Gaila stepped back and let her look in the mirror. Oh, my! That wasn't what she had expected at all. True to her word, her friend had enhanced. There was no other word for it. She didn't look like she had any makeup on at all. Was that really her?
Gaila was there with shimmery black hose and those spike heel shoes with all the little straps, urging her into them. Next came the new dress. It was so gorgeous, she was just in love with the dress just hanging there on the closet door. With Gaila's help, the dress went on without smudging makeup or mussing hair. Gaila zipped up the back and turned her towards the full-length mirror on the bathroom door. OH MY GOD! She looked back at her image - she felt like she could have walked off the page of a fashion magazine. She gasped aloud and Gaila laughed at her.
"You look so good, girl! You're going to knock them all down - you will be lucky to get back to the dorm in one piece." Gaila smirked at her from over her shoulder. "Think he will ever be able to forget seeing you in this outfit?"
In a slight daze, she gathered up her coat and headed across the campus.
****
When she got to the designated ballroom, she handed her coat over to the attendant at the door and walked hesitantly over to the entrance to the main room. She stood there in the doorway for a moment, eyes scanning the room. When she got to the far wall, on the left side, she found him. She inhaled sharply at the sight of the elegant, handsome Vulcan in his black clothing. So tall and muscularly slender, his legs so long they took her breath away. My God, surely he knew how HOT he was! How could he not know the effect he must be having on all the women in the room. As she watched with her eyes glued to him, he left the small group of instructors with whom he had been talking and crossed the room to stand in front of her. He just stood there, looking into her eyes while she melted inside.
Spock
When he arrived at the place where the party was being held, he turned in his coat and entered the ballroom. His eyes swept the room. She was not there. Inside he panicked a bit. No, it was just early. Not everyone was as punctual as he was, but she had seemed to be. She was seldom even a minute late to class or their conversational practice. But she would be there, he would just have to wait. Seeing some colleagues across the room, he walked in their direction, prepared to engage in 'small talk'.
He stood patiently, discussing whatever subject the others found interesting, his eyes continually straying to the entrance to the room. When she did appear there, he was stunned. Her hair was not in its customary high fall, but curled and twisted and strung with what appeared to be small lights. She had long strands of twinkling stones hanging from both earlobes. Another strand of twinkling stones graced her long, lovely neck. The neckline of her deep ruby red velvet dress curved just below her collarbones. The long sleeves clung to her arms, ending in points across the backs of her hands. The dress clung to her curves, molding her breasts and hips and then flared out in heavy folds, almost to mid calf. Her remainder of her slender legs were enclosed in filmy black lace stockings and shoes with extremely high heels. She was the most exquisite being that he had ever seen - it was impossible to take his eyes off of her. Without a word to the instructors he had been talking to, he crossed the room to stand before her. Unable to find any words, he stood there, lost in her eyes.
He was jarred out of his adoration by the loud exclamation of the department head. "Well, don't just stand there, kiss her, man!" His head jerked around to find his superior officer pointing to something hanging above his head in the center of the doorway. He lifted his eyes to find a ball of some plant material with white berries, tied up with red ribbon, hanging there. He turned his face back to her, puzzlement plain upon it.
She looked slightly flushed, although with her skin tone, it was difficult to tell. However, her skin temperature had increased 1.5 degrees. She hesitated, then spoke softly "It's mistletoe, Commander. A custom this time of year. When you stand under the mistletoe, it's customary to offer a kiss to the person with you. I.... I didn't realize it was there."
"This is customary? A part of the normal Christmas celebrations?" His voice seemed very low to him, uncustomarily husky.
"I.. Yes. Yes, it is." She was looking straight into his eyes.
He bent his head slightly. His breath fell on her face. Her eyes were huge. He closed the last few millimeters and bushed her lips softly with his. Her eyes fluttered softly shut and a tiny sigh escaped, so softly that only he could hear. His heart rate increased 10.17 percent. His temperature raised by 3.5 degrees. He slowly straightened up and watched her eyes slowly open again. They were so deep, so liquid. He felt that he could stand there looking at her forever.
"Well, well, now you need to move out of the way and give the rest of us a chance."
Ignoring the man at his side trying to take his place, he gently took her arm in his hand and led her off across the room to stand near the curtained windows, ignoring everyone and everything else in the room.
Uhura
When his lips brushed hers, she was totally shocked.Never in her wildest dreams had she expected that this would happen tonight. It was only a light brush, but she could feel it clear to her toes. She opened her eyes to see that he was still watching her, his eyes so deep and simmering. When the obnoxious department head tried to elbow him out of the way, he simply took her arm in his and led her off across the room. Nothing else seemed to exist except the two of them standing there quietly, looking into each other's eyes. She had no idea how long they stood there, unmoving, not speaking, just being.
Eventually, she heard the announcement that the food was being served. She moistened her dry lips. Maybe they ought to go get in line with everyone else. That would be less conspicuous than continuing to stand here alone. But she didn't seem to be able to get any words out.
"Cadet" His voice was very soft. "Do you think we ought to join the line? We do not have to, but perhaps..." his voice trailed off.
"I think we really ought to." Somehow she managed to get the words out. "People will talk if we just continue to stand here. That... That would not be good."
He nodded. He turned toward to food table and clasped his hands behind his back. She led the way across the room and stood there in line, his warmth close at her back. She was going to buy Gaila anything she wanted!
They filled small plates with dainty tidbits of food, joined their colleagues in conversation while they nibbled on them, commented on the music, tried to avoid looking directly at each other. It was very difficult. Eventually, the evening came to a close.
"Cadet, it is very dark outside. I will escort you to your quarters."
Oh, yes, please! And be very, very slow about it.