Chapter Ten

Spock did not rise with the sun that morning; there was hardly a need to wake up when you hadn't fallen asleep in the first place. Of course, he'd attempted to sleep. He'd shifted positions many times; moving from his back, to his stomach, to his side, and returning to his back. None of this, unfortunately, seemed to assist him any in gaining sleep.

It was her that prevented him from sleeping: Zuria. Every few minutes, his mind would conjure up the images and memories that it had gained in his office that night; the way that her lips had felt as they moved against his, the smiles that had appeared on her face each time they broke apart, and the way she had shivered into his touch, not attempting to conceal her enjoyment.

That, though, was where all pleasantness ended. He had found himself troubled the moment that she had left his office. The logic of what he had done was, well, not. There was nothing logical about him being attracted to aide, and there was certainly nothing logical about kissing her. His deep-rooted Vulcan emotions may have been strongly in favor of his actions, but, again, logic told him that said feelings were irrelevant; a relationship with his aide would be entirely inappropriate.

However, Spock's human emotions told him otherwise. It was only logical that he had these feelings and desires; after all, he couldn't help the fact that he was attracted to her. Human logic stated that he should pursue the relationship that he had been carefully cultivating with her.

And, thus, he was conflicted. He could not yet reconcile himself to one belief, nor could he, at present, find a way to join the two together. He had meditated on the matter for the majority of the night, and still he had reached no conclusion.

Putting his thoughts aside, Spock at last ended his meditation, his eyes opening slowly. He stood, moving to his closet and pulling out a clean uniform. He changed into it easily, replacing the hanger on the hook and shutting the door. Breakfast was a simple affair as well; a quick bowl of what humans called cereal was all that he truly needed.

Gathering his things, Spock made his way to his classroom, stopping first in his office to retrieve the essays that had been completed. He left the room as quickly as possible; he could still feel the events of last night, tempting his human reasoning even more.

This temptation, however, did not subside when he reached the Advanced Vulcan Studies classroom. Just as he had anticipated, Zuria was there waiting for him.

"Good morning, Spock." She greeted, offering him a smile.

"Good morning." He returned stiffly, placing his things on his desk. He stood utterly still as she moved several steps closer to him.

"How was the rest of your evening?" She questioned.

"It was… acceptable." He replied, pretending to be organizing things atop his desk in order to avoid making eye contact. She was making this exceedingly difficult; each word she spoke enticed him further, and he could not think of anything more that he wanted in that moment than her soft lips pressed against his once more.

"Oh. I'm sorry that it wasn't more pleasant." She apologized, growing hesitant in her actions. He knew that she sensed his struggle, but could not identify it. He merely nodded, accepting her apology. More students could be walking in at any second, and his urge to touch her had not diminished any.

Spock could feel her confusion; it almost radiated off of her. Perhaps he should put an end to their deepening relationship before it fully began; he did not want to risk her expulsion from the academy due to her connection to him.

"Allow me to take this opportunity to inform you that I do not require your assistance this evening." He told her, forcing his voice to sound uncaring. Her eyebrows knit together; she was evidently masking her developing hurt. "You are free to do as you wish."

"Really?" She asked, her voice tense. "Because I recall you telling me last night that we'd meet in your office at the same time to create a lesson plan."

"Cadet, you have not had a free evening since assuming the position of my aide. I encourage you to take some time for rest."

"Cadet?" She posed the word as a question, incredulousness apparent. "You don't call me that. Spock, please, just tell me what's wrong." She implored. Spock sighed, preparing to answer her. Zuria deserved more than his honesty, but if he explained the problem, perhaps she would understand.

However, he was unable to do so. The beginning of class was announced, and, after holding eye contact with him for several moments, Zuria returned to her seat.

Throughout the class, the feeling grew on Spock that he could not give up on her, no matter what logic dictated; she wouldn't let him, and he wasn't sure if he would let himself.

For at least the last five minutes, Zuria had been standing in front of Spock's office. She had made a brief stop back at her room, dropping off her things and avoiding Pallania's questions regarding her dour mood. She was not ready to tell her roommate, or anyone else, for that matter, about what transpired between her and Spock. She stood before his office now, knowing that she needed to confront him, gathering the courage to do so.

Inhaling, she lifted her hand, knocking on the door. She squeezed her eyes shut, opening them only when the door did.

"Good afternoon, Zuria." Spock greeted in a monotone voice. "May I inquire as to what brought you here when I told you that I did not need your assistance today?"

"No, actually." She responded, folding her arms together across her chest. "You may not, because you know what brought me here, Spock, and I'm not leaving until you tell me what's wrong."

Minutes passed before he gave a soft sigh. "It was an attempt."

"An attempt to what?" She questioned. He moved to the side, allowing her to enter his office.

"To eliminate the possibility of you being expelled from the academy, should anyone discover this." He replied, referring to the relationship between them. Wetting her lips, Zuria raised a hand, placing it on Spock's cheek. He pressed his own hand against hers.

"That's what this is about?" She asked, a small, relieved grin appearing on her face. Though she hated to admit it, she was afraid the he had lost interest in her.

"I cannot allow you to risk your position at Star Fleet because of my feelings." He continued.

"Spock, if it was just you that had these feelings, then I wouldn't be doing this." She assured, pressing herself carefully against him. "I know that it sounds… incredibly illogical, but I'm willing to take a risk."

Exhaling, Spock pulled his hand from its place atop of hers, gently folding an arm around her while tucking her head beneath his chin.

"Are you certain that this is what you want?" He inquired in a whisper. Shivering, Zuria nodded.

"Yes."

"Then I will not deny either of our sentiments again."

She allowed her eyes to close as he pressed his lips to her forehead, then dropping to hers. She responded his kiss, her tongue seeking out his this time. As they met, she felt her lips curve upwards slightly. Cinnamon. He tasted, again, of cinnamon.

When they pulled away, Spock grasped her hands, holding them in his.

"Now that we have both acknowledged our affections for each other and have decided to pursue a relationship, I must admit that I have a question." He informed her.

"And what might that be?" She questioned in return.

"Does this, in human terms, make me your…" He began, hesitating. "Boyfriend?"

Zuria chuckled at the question. He had spoken the word "boyfriend" as though it were derived from some strange, barely recognizable language.

"Technically, yes; but we can classify us using another word, if you'd like." She offered. She was unsure if the word itself would suit Spock.

"Vulcans simply refer to those with whom they share a romantic relationship as their mates." He said.

"On second thought, let's not attempt to classify ourselves; we don't need to."

"Agreed, Zuria. Let us at this time, however, refrain from speech." Spock suggested, eliciting a grin from her.

That was a request that she was all too willing to oblige.

Hey, guys!

Hehe, sorry that I didn't update yesterday like I said I would. It turned out that I was traveling on Tuesday instead of Wednesday.

So, now I must apologize for something else. I'm sorry if that chapter was a bit... er, suckish or weird. I dunno; I was trying to write a lot of this one about three hours of sleep, which wasn't necessarily a good decision. Whoops.

I don't think I'll have a chapter uploaded tomorrow; I do hope to have one done for Friday, however.

Regardless, reviews are always appreciated. They really do help me in many ways.

Thanks,

Harley