The Two Big Ones

Chapter Five - Alone at Last

The Uhura Residence, Africa, Earth

June 2263

Nyota

At last it was the two of them, alone together. The drums were finally silent. The house was silent. They sat, leaning against the headboard of the bed, curled around each other, talking softly.

And they finally had the chance to remove the two identical rings and show each other what was inscribed inside. And then they looked at each other, first with astonishment, then with laughter and love, for inside the two rings was the same phrase - in Vulcan in one, and Kiswahili in the other - We Are One.

He leaned over her, cupping the side of her face in his hand. "Do you truly feel married, now, beloved? Has there been enough ritual and ceremony for you? Have you satisfied everyone connected with us?" He let his amusement with her flow through.

"Are you asking me if there have FINALLY been enough weddings?" She smiled at him. "Oh, yes, I do believe that now we have been married in every possible way. There is no escape for you now - I have you forever."

"But you already did. There was no reason..." His words died as her lips met his. And through their bond he felt her response.

But everyone else needed to know that. It wasn't for me. It was for you.

For him? They had gone through all this ritual, all these ceremonies, for him? And then he realized that she was right - again, as usual, she knew what he needed, what was right for him, for them. The Vulcans now recognized him as an adult, the head of a household, a distinction he hadn't realized that he needed. Her family had welcomed him as one of them, giving him complete acceptance. Even his shipmates were treating him slightly differently - as though they now realized that he was not as cold inside as might appear on the surface. Stunned, he looked down into her face. My Nyota, always there for me, giving me what I need when even I do not know what it is. K'hat'n'diawa, you have proven your worth to me so many times. Let me prove my worth to you.

You have my permission to begin any time now. Came the laughing reply, encircling him in her warmth and love as she pulled him down towards her.

***

He hovered over her, his knees planted on either side of her head, his arms on the mattress beside her thighs. He breathed on her center and heard her sigh, felt her move beneath him, opening herself. Felt her hands, on his body, her lips and tongue, touching, tasting. He groaned, close to his limit. His tongue descended, tasted, lapped, his lips and teeth pulled gently, squeezed, tantalized. Her mouth enclosed him, her hands stroking, her body moving, arching up against him, her moans muffled, but all the more enflaming because of that. He was close, so close, but he would not allow himself to release until he felt hers. And then she tensed, and he could feel it building, building, and then she was convulsing against him, her tongue sucking hard on his length and he tipped over the edge into ecstasy.

***

When the sun was just creeping over the horizon, he gently teased her awake. "Come and run with me, adun'a." And she glowed at him, hearing that. And tried to pull him back against her. But he resisted. "Run. Feel the wind in your face. The ground beneath your feet. Come and run with me." And so they dressed in shorts and tanks and running shoes and quietly slipped out of the house, jogging down the path until they were far enough from the house that they felt alone again, and then stretching out into a run, legs flashing, enjoying something they had not been able to do in so long. They ran until she was panting, and stopped, hands on knees, to catch her breath. When he turned back to her, she lifted one arm and waved him on. Go run, ashayam, run hard. And so he did, flashing down the path at full speed while she stood and watched. And let him feel how she felt watching him.

And when he turned, and came back, running full tilt, he did not stop, but caught her up against him, still running, and she laughed and wound herself around him while he ran under the bright trees, until he found a place where no one could see them. Hearts pounding, blood stirring through their bodies, they sought each other quickly, nor did it take long for them to reach that white hot ecstasy they knew so well. They lay together on the warm ground afterwards, talking softly, touching, until they knew that breakfast must be on the table. Surely someone had gone to pound on their door by now, discovering them gone. And so they rose, and brushed the soft dust from one another, and jogged back to the house, back to family and friends.

***

They managed to get up the stairs and into her bedroom without being laughed at too much. When they took off their running clothes, it was immediately obvious that everyone had seen the dirt stains on their clothing. So much for getting away with anything. Nyota blushed. Spock leaned over and kissed her. "Are they not expecting such?"

"Well, yes. But, still."

"And how is this different from yesterday?"

She thought for a moment and then smiled. "I guess it's not any different at all." And so they dressed and headed down the stairs for breakfast.

***

After breakfast was finished, and the tables cleared, and the dishes done, people started to pack up. The shuttle from the Vulcan Embassy landed in the yard, and Spock assisted T'Pau out across the yard and up into the shuttle. When he would have taken his leave of her, she laid her hand gently on the side of his face, nodding. She was pleased with him. A feeling of lightness descended on him, unexpected. He made sure she was settled and buckled in, and then he turned and left the shuttle. Nyota was saying goodbye to his father and Selek. As he watched, she raised herself on tiptoes and kissed first one and then the other on the cheek. Sarek turned and came toward him, clasped his upper arms briefly, and then entered the shuttle. Selek was still talking to Nyota, who was grinning madly. And then she hugged him, hard, before saying something. The only word he could catch over the noise of the shuttle engines was 'promise'. What was she promising?

Selek turned and headed toward the shuttle, stopping to give him a farewell. And then Captain Pike was there, hurrying, his duffle on his shoulder. He clapped Spock on the back and hurried up the stairs, pulling them up after him when he was inside. Spock moved back away from the shuttle, towards Nyota, and she slipped her hand into his as they watched the shuttle rise into the sky.

Shortly after this, Nyota's father brought the family vehicle around and the first load of people piled in. He went along to help with the luggage. After the third trip, he was slightly too warm and definitely thirsty. He went into the kitchen to get a glass of fruit juice and discovered that they were in the process of laying out lunch. All the cousins and aunts and uncles were still here, but everyone who was not family was now gone. There were still a lot of people, he discovered as he looked around. Nyota's family was not small.

He looked around for Nyota, and finally found her, sitting in a tree in the yard. "What are you doing?"

"Just watching. I haven't seen all the family together in so long. Come sit up here with me."

He looked at her askance. "In the tree?"

She laughed and patted the branch beside her. "Yes, silly, in the tree. Haven't you ever climbed a tree before?"

"I cannot say that I have. This is not something that people do on Vulcan."

"Well, it is certainly done on Earth. Now climb up here and sit beside me."

And so he did, very carefully. When he was settled on the broad branch, leaning back against the trunk, she leaned against him and he wrapped his arms around her. They sat there, enjoying being alone in the midst of everyone, until her stomach began to grumble. And then they got down and went to fill their own plates.