Spock and Alex's relationship moves off in a different direction. Could you ever doubt it?
Major mush alert.
I do not own Star Trek.
Different, yet so similar part 21
The party started breaking up into the early morning hours. Sarek gathered his family and took the embassy issued transport back home. Alex and Spock sat in the far back seat, Alex nestled against Spock's shoulder, happy but tired. When they reached home, Sarek and Amanda bid the younger couple good night. Alex hugged her hostess tightly, thanking her for the dress and the encouragement. She could not love this woman more had she been her own mother.
Spock said good night to Alex, saying that they would do something very inelegant tomorrow, to make up for tonight, and went to his own room.
Later, as Alex undressed, she thought back to the evening, listening to alien music, meeting various diplomats from other worlds. She was even able to introduce herself and Spock to the Star Fleet officers. They were very impressed when they found out the two were cadets, and offered them encouragement for their second year.
Alex slipped on her shortie nightgown. After she had washed up, she stretched out on the bed, sighing with pleasure. It felt good just to lie down. She closed her eyes, humming a tune that popped into her mind. She thought it may have been one of the Andorian numbers. She'd left her light on, running the evening's memories in her mind like an entertainment. When she opened her eyes, she almost screamed. Spock was standing there at the foot of her bed. She put her hand to her chest. "You startled me, Spock! Is anything wrong? Please, quit skulking around and sit down." She sat up, patting the bed.
He moved next to her, not saying anything at first. Then he spoke. "I am sorry if I am disturbing you, Alex. I saw the light on and thought you were awake."
"I am awake. What's up?" She noticed that he was dressed only in a pair of lightweight pants, corded at the waist, and no top. His broad shoulders, smooth chest, and tightly muscular arms were bare. At the academy he'd always worn a full set of Vulcan style pajamas. On second thought, probably because their room was too cool for him, she thought.
"Alex, it has never been our way to keep things from one another." Spock seemed hesitant to speak.
Alex nodded in agreement. "No, it hasn't."
"Tonight, when we were at the embassy, or perhaps even before, I realized how important you are to me. And tonight, if I may say, you were more captivating than usual. We have always gotten along, even after initial reservations..."
"Wait! You had reservations? Hm, I wasn't aware of that. Do go on." Alex resisted the desire to cross her arms and frown.
"They proved meaningless. However, I now find myself in the dilemma of being attracted to you more than ever. This could, indeed, prove to be a problem when we return to the academy."
No longer resisting her first inclination, she crossed her arms, asking him, "So what do you want to do? Just stay friends? Move out of our quarters? Find another roommate?"
"I have another request to make of you, if you will allow it. Let us bring our minds together again, as we did when you were feeling so depressed." He turned to face her, giving her a better view of his desirable body, and he was talking about joining minds, she mused.
"The mind-meld. Why, Spock?" Now she was curious about this request of his.
Spock sat on the edge of her bed. "Alex, when Vulcan children have their mates chosen for them, they are bonded ritually one to the other, by a telepathic bond, the mind-meld. That way, at the proper time, the couple will instinctively be drawn together. My bond with T'Pring was broken when she no longer wanted to be my mate. I would like to initiate such a bond with you. It's not exactly marriage, so you don't have to give me that look." He noticed the wide eyes and open mouth.
To say Alex was shocked was an understatement, but in truth, the idea was not abhorrent to her. They had already shared their thoughts with one another, but that bond was not so deep. Was he suggesting something more permanent? At the proper time, the couple will instinctively be drawn together. Alex looked at the Vulcan sitting on her bedside. She traveled over his features, the dark brown eyes, the pointed ears, that full bottom lip that begged to be nibbled on. She could appreciate the masculine form before her, and still wonder at the parts she couldn't see. But what exactly was he asking of her?"Spock, are you sure?"
"You have indicated to me your feelings, and I have reciprocated in the human fashion. It would only deepen our relationship to make it formal in the Vulcan fashion." His free hand reached up to push a strand of hair from her face. "It is logical, Alex."
Alex felt like her heart was going to burst from her chest. Was that how love felt? Of course she loved him. Just do it, girl, she told herself. "Yes, Spock, I agree. It is logical. But is that reason enough? We have our careers, our families to consider. Do we know each other well enough to form such a commitment?"
"Are you forgetting, that Vulcans rarely spend time with those they ultimately marry? We, on the other hand, have been together for the past year. I am aware of the human propensity toward long relationships that may or may not end up in marriage. But it is different on Vulcan, Alex. We mate first, then form a bond later."
"And if it doesn't work out?" Alex wanted to know how Vulcans handled things like divorce. She'd only read about it when it occurred during the Pon Farr mating ritual, not when a couple wanted to dissolve their relationship after years of marriage.
Spock's face wore the slightest of smiles. "Do you doubt we would last?"
Alex saw the man who sat next to her, imagining a life that could be. The year they'd been together was amongst the happiest in her life. The academy, being with Spock, meeting his family. She answered him simply, "No, I have no doubt. None at all."
She searched his eyes, and seeing what she needed to know, said, "I suppose we can figure out the consequences later. So, what do we do?"
He took her hand, led her off the bed and onto the floor. "Kneel here." He waited for her to position herself on the floor, and then joined her, kneeling opposite.
"Wait," she said. "Let me show you my feelings in the human fashion one more time." Alex leaned forward, placing her hands on Spock's thighs. Tilting her head, she kissed him. She moved her hands up to wrap her arms around his neck, pressing her upper body against him. "I love you," she whispered. Then she moved back to her kneeling position.
Spock regarded Alex with a tender look, then brushed her hair away her face. He told her to close her eyes and placed his fingers on the side of her temple, as he'd done months ago in the garden.
Alex felt him enter her mind, tentative at first, then more demanding. His thoughts swirled around hers, as he created the bond, a link that would make them one, mentally. Since Alex was not Vulcan, she was not able to produce the bond. It was up to Spock to complete the ritual on his own.
Alex, it is I, Spock. Lower your guard. Join your thoughts to mine. Be one with me.
Spock, I take your thoughts and give you mine. We are one.
The pure emotions, undeterred by outside influence, flowed through them both. Alex could almost feel herself becoming physically aroused, so strong was the power of Spock's unspoken love for her. But now she felt that love. Accepted it. Cherished it.
For the next few minutes, they stayed kneeling, sharing thoughts and emotions freely. Spock now knew the totality of Alex's feelings for him. Alex knew that logic was just the basis for the Vulcan psyche. Their emotions went deep, but were kept hidden after centuries of belief, training, and society's pressures. Both were equally affected by the emotions of the other.
Spock was loathe to break the meld, but the bond had been made. He moved up to the upper layers of Alex's thoughts, until he had released himself from them. He opened his eyes and slowly removed his fingers from her face.
Alex opened her own eyes, and took a deep breath, exhaling sharply. She felt something that helped calm her. It was Spock, or rather the remnant of his thoughts. Words echoed in her mind. Never and always, touching and touched. But they weren't her words.
So this is how it would be from now on, she marveled.
Spock stood and taking Alex's hand, lifted her from the floor. "I had better go. We will talk more tomorrow. Sleep well, Alex."
He returned to his own room, leaving Alex to think about what had occurred tonight. It was unexpected. But Alex smiled when she realized that it was possible that they could actually marry someday. What would her parents say? What would HIS parents say?
Alex lay down and tried to fall asleep, but she couldn't. Her mind was a whirl of thoughts, her body still tingled from the emotions she had shared with Spock. This would never do. She rose from her bed, and leaving her room, tiptoed across the hall to Spock's room. She opened his door and stepped into the darkness, shutting the door quietly behind her. Her eyes adjusted to the dark, and she was able to see where his bed sat. She went over to the side he was lying on, and looked down at the sleeping Vulcan. Alex was used to seeing Spock asleep at night, but this time it was different. She bent down and whispered, "Spock, are you awake?"
It was a moment before he responded. "I believe it is apparent that I am now," he jested. " Is there something you wished to discuss, Alex?"
"Yes, there is, as a matter of fact. You come into my room, ask me to bond with you mentally, which, of course, affects me physically, and then you leave me in that state. Not nice, my friend. I think we should go back to showing our feelings the human way."
He propped himself on his elbows. "What are you proposing?"
Alex walked around to the other side of the bed, and lay down on it. Propped on one elbow, she looked at Spock, whose expression betrayed his surprise. "I think that since we've bonded mentally, we should bond....physically," she said.
He turned his head and looked down at her, eyebrow raised. "I would be agreeable to that, Alex. But I feel I must tell you that I have not yet experienced my first Pon Farr."
Alex realized at that moment, that Spock was telling her something she should have already known. This Vulcan, whom she loved and wanted to be with, was a virgin!