There was nothing terribly romantic about it, of that they were both certain not that they discussed it at the time. They had eaten gelato together on occasion although this was the first time they had gone out to do so. Nyota actually ordered a milk shake instead of an ice cream although it was not constituted of bovine lactose because 'it doesn't really agree with me'. Spock also opted for non dairy because even though he consumed cheese from time to time, on a pizza for example, and sometimes whipped cream and occasionally butter – both of which had been included in Nyota's birthday cake, he on the whole avoided animal products on account of his being such an ethical and morally guided person. So like her, he opted for soy and ordered a scoop of chocolate and a scoop of hazelnut. Nyota did not comment on the inclusion of chocolate in his selection, after all he was an adult and the amount was only equivalent to a Human drinking a small glass of beer. Instead she remarked as she often had before on the good fortune of his having inherited Vulcan metabolism and hummed in pleasure as she sipped on her shake.

"Oh that is really nice," she said with a nod of her head. "Almond and cardamom. You want to try?" She plucked a clean straw from the dispenser on the table beside them. Spock accepted her offer and found her description to be accurate.

"That is really nice," he parroted and she smiled.

Spock escorted her home and bid her a polite good night on the steps of her building. Nyota thanked him with another smile and the most timid of squeezes to his forearm before she disappeared inside and that, should have been the end of it.

However, a few days later as Spock was making his way down the hall of the Linguistics building his ears picked up the sound of Nyota's voice speaking in a loud, irritated tone. He stopped outside the door to one of the labs and peered inside to see Nyota and the odious Christof engaged in a heated debate at the far end of the room.

"Yes, I get it and it's fine," Nyota was saying. "I forgive you but that's it." Christof seemed unimpressed.

"Please, just give me another chance," he implored but Nyota was not convinced.

"Look, I'm just not looking for anything like that right now and even if I was, after this I..." she said, shaking her head emphatically.

"You having a thing with that Vulcan, is that it?" Christof spat angrily. Nyota gasped and her mouth fell open while Spock himself was likewise confounded by the baseness of the accusation. The barbarian.

"Oh my god, you are...such a jerk," she uttered in disbelief, raising her bag and taking a step to one side. Christof didn't lay a hand on her but when he blocked her path Spock stepped abruptly forward into the room and Nyota's face showed her relief. Christof glared at Spock with narrowed eyes as Nyota stalked across the room and out of the door.

"Ug, he's so annoying," Nyota said as they made their way towards his office. Spock nodded and said nothing. "I must be like...the worst judge of character."

"Humans often present their more positive attributes upon initial contact," Spock told her sagely. "I am certain the flaw in this circumstance does not lie in your own judgement." Nyota sighed gently and smiled bashfully.

"Why can't more people be like you?" she quipped as they entered the office. Spock was once again impressed by her excellent judgement but before he could respond her communicator trilled."Oh, go away!" Nyota growled, staring at the display and Spock glanced down to see Christof's ID flashing across the screen.

"Has he been harassing you?" he asked, his brow furrowing slightly in concern. Nyota shrugged and stuffed her comm into her bag.

"No, not really," she told him half heartedly. "He called me a few times and..." she trailed off and sat in her usual spot, digging into her bag and pulling out a PADD.

"And?" Spock urged passively. Nyota set the PADD down and pulled out the stylus from the slot along the top.

"And he came to my quarters last night," she said not looking at him. "But Gaila sent him away. Of course. Uh, the nerve!" Spock observed as her lip curled with a twinge of disgust and found he was likewise disturbed.

"If this behaviour persists you must inform security," he said sternly, stepping closer and looking her up and down with a severe look on his face. Nyota shrugged and met his eyes with a smile.

"No, it's okay, he's not being threatening just annoying," she assured him truthfully. "Anyway, tomorrow..." she said, changing the subject. "Are you going to feed me or shall I eat before I come? Because I have that second year that I tutor in the afternoon and sometimes we go off campus and get pot stickers."

Spock was nothing if not a stickler for tradition and tradition dictated that supervisors feed their teaching assistants while marking end of term assessments. His supervisor had done the same for him and he did the same for Nyota. It was not the first time nor would it be the last, he was certain.

"It was my intention to cook," Spock informed her. "I have acquired eggplant." Nyota grinned. She loved eggplant.