Spock awoke Thursday morning with Nyota still curled against him, her head on his shoulder, feeling incredibly well rested. He was sure her had slept far later than was normal for him but Nyota has certainly done her best to tire him out the night before. Knowing she was still tired and behind on sleep from her recent studying, Spock climbed out of bed as carefully as possible so as not to wake her.
Standing, he took a moment to take in her largely exposed naked form and revel in the knowledge that the beautiful, smart, talented creature before him was his. As he stepped around his bed he noticed the torn remains of Nyota's uniform from the night before and felt a short flash of pleasure shoot through him.
He pulled out a new pair of boxers and loos-fitting athletic pants before quietly walking out to his bathroom. He attempted to neaten his hair and brush his teeth, feeling a slight chill with his room set to a human-accommodating temperature for Nyota and no shirt on. He considered putting one on before picturing the look Nyota would give him if he were walking around shirtless all morning and decided against it.
Spock checked his clock and saw it was nearly 9:00. Not wanting to spend his limited time with Nyota working, Spock decided to get ahead in his duties for the way now while she slept. After working—reading through journal, reviewing Enterprise construction reports, etc—for approximately two hours, Spock heard Nyota beginning to stir in the other room. He had already realized that they had never gotten the chance to discuss his research into Nyota's possible visit to Vulcan the night before and planned to make that the morning's first priority.
A few moments later Nyota stepped out of his bedroom and moved towards Spock's desk where he was working. She had put on one of his longer athletic shirts and, apparently, nothing else despite having brought a bag of her own clothes to wear.
As she approached him, she moved behind his chair and wrapped her arms around his neck, running her palms down his chest, before planning a soft kiss on his cheek and moving away to take a seat on the couch. She was smiling, apparently pleased at something, and Spock realized his facial expression was a reaction to her touch.
"Good morning, Spock," she said with a smile.
"Good morning, Nyota. Would you like me to get you anything from the replicator?" he responded, rising to order their breakfasts.
"Sure. How about," she paused for a moment to consider, "a plate of bacon and waffles."
"Of course," Spock responded, punching in the directions for her breakfast and his own, Plomeek broth. When the replicator had their food ready he brought their meals to his table as Nyota sauntered over to take her seat. When she had begun cutting into her waffles, Spock decided it was time to present her with his research.
"I have been looking into the logistics of your visiting Vulcan with me over the course of the Semester Break and I believe I have come to the most logical conclusion of how this may be accomplished." Spock paused for a moment to allow her to respond.
Nyota's face lit up and she reached a hand out to his own, her fingertips resting on the backs of his. "Really?" she asked excitedly.
Spock turned his hand over so their fingertips touched. "Really. Would you like me to present you with my findings?"
A small smirk appeared on Nyota's lips. "Yes that would be acceptable," she said in what he decided was meant to be a mocking tone.
"I believe the best time to visit would be shortly after the new Terran year in roughly the middle of the Break. Additionally, it is the equivalent of late fall on Vulcan right now and we would do well to visit closer to winter where the daily temperature would be far lower and more manageable for a human.
"As I understand finances are a concern, I propose that, rather than procure rental lodging, we camp just outside the city of ShiKahr near the L-langon Mountains. From there we would be able to see not only the mountains but travel to other parts of Vulcan you may wish to see. Do you find this acceptable?"
Their fingertips still lightly touching, Spock was able to sense Nyota's feelings as he had told her his plan. She had initially been excited by the whole idea but he felt some sudden sadness take hold of her and saw he face fall slightly when he had finished. "Is something wrong?" he asked.
"No, Spock," she said with a great sigh. "I know it is illogical but I just wish that there was some way I could meet your family while on Vulcan. We're going to be so close but we have to hide instead."
"It is unfortunate we cannot make our relationship know but I thought we had decided this was the best course of action," Spock said, slightly confused.
Nyota reached farther forward and laced their fingers together and Spock felt her thoughts and feelings form more solidly in his mind.
"It is the best course of action but it still makes me sad," she said. And Spock felt her sadness, her wish to tell her friends, her family, his family, everyone. Her disappointment that they would have to hide even on Vulcan where they could be anonymous in so many ways.
Spock was fascinated, they had never communicated their thoughts like this. It was remarkably similar to the way bonded couples could communicate when separated and Spock wondering if this indicated a new depth to their relationship or simply a new discovery of the way physical telepathic contact worked.
Spock, wanting to comfort her, began pushing his feelings of affection towards her through and saw her face change when she received them. She smiled slightly and began sending him the same feelings although somehow more powerfully. Her love, and that was certainly what she thought it was, felt different, lighter and happy. Fascinating.
Spock and Nyota spent the rest of the day together in the heart of the city. Spock did not particularly need anything but knew Nyota wanted to do some shopping and have some general fun wandering the city she had spent so little time exploring. And Spock just wanted to spend time with her.
After showering, separately this time, and getting dressed, Nyota left the apartment and Spock followed her out a few minutes later. They met back up a few blocks from campus and got a cab into the city. Their first stops were a series of clothing stores Nyota wanted to stop in as they walked around. Spock was highly confused by the idea of simply wandering around the city and buying things at random but began to enjoy himself more when Nyota insisted on trying on various outfits for Spock. She seemed to grow more interested in the ridiculous and revealing outfits as they went along.
After a few hours of Nyota shopping and Spock trailing along, content in her happiness alone, they took a break for lunch. Again they simple stopped somewhere Nyota found intriguing as they continued wandering but Spock found himself satisfied with the restaurant's vegetarian options and enjoyed his vegan paella. After lunch, Nyota said she was ready to head back to campus and they hailed another cab to get back.
On the ride back, as Nyota told Spock about her plans with her parents when she is home, his communicator chimed indicating a message. Spock checked it and saw he had a message from Captain Pike asking to meet him for drinks that night, a surprise because Spock had thought him to still be traveling on recruitment tours. Spock did not want to lose a moment of time with Nyota but saw no satisfactory explanation for why he could not meet with him that night. On top of that, Spock had not seen Pike since before Thanksgiving break.
"What is it?" Nyota asked him, noticing his reaction to the message.
"Captain Pike wishes to meet with me tonight for drinks," he replied.
"Oh," Nyota said, a little deflated. "Well that's okay," she continued, looking for a bright side. "I'll just join you after you get back then. You don't usually stay out too late do you?"
"No and that will be acceptable. It is still fairly inconvenient however, I had intended to spend the entire night with you," Spock said, surprisingly playful.
Nyota laughed and laced their fingers together and immediately he felt her pushing her affection towards him again. Interesting. "I'm sure the rest of the night will be enough and tomorrow I was thinking we could stay in, just lounge around your quarters," she smiled in a consciously sexy way and Spock understood she did not just mean watching holovids.
When the cab came to a stop, again one block from campus, they began walking to campus together, professional manner back intact. Spock had not gone on his morning run, something that happened almost every morning after Nyota stayed with him, and Nyota wanted a chance to get in her own daily workout so they separated at the gate and headed to their respective quarters to change and meet back up in the gym.
Following their workouts, not exactly a couple activity, they headed to the Campus Mess Hall for dinner before Spock had to leave to shower and head out to meet Captain Pike.