-1A/N: Sorry for the slow updates, I am taking a class this summer as well as some other things, blah, and it's been extremely fast paced. Considering how many classes I will have for the upcoming fall semester I'm not sure if I'll even be able to continue working on this fic diligently.

Besides that I really want to thank all of you for the reviews. They account for fifty percent of my necessity to continue this fic! I wasn't sure at all how to continue, I had several scenarios but I dislike going off into a tangent if I do not feel that it is necessary.

I'm publishing in two's. These two chapters are not my favorite, but I think it's because I've lost interest in their Academy days since I was primarily going to make this 'fic progress quickly past the events in the movie. So I'm really trying to get them out of the Academy so I can continue onto the original storyline. I hope you guys appreciate these chappies!

Chapter Five

One Year Later

It is a Vulcan custom for guests in the homes of their hosts to prepare the meal.

Uhura visited Spock's new apartment quite often and usually arrived before him due to this tradition. That and her classes were now minimal and her current work was within seminars, publications, her thesis and laboratory work. Spock's morning class schedule was a mirror opposite of her nightly work. It was in the afternoon that they found a common balance.

Spock had given her the key a year and two months ago.

He moved off campus to find more privacy. He had given her the key and backup code to his apartment the day he left the Academy dorms. He did not at the time seem to think of this as inappropriate or possible to be misconstrued. He had made a logical deduction that she would continue to come visit him for tea in the mornings on Monday-as they routinely did-and that it would be best if she began making tea without him.

Uhura accepted, though slightly reluctantly.

The idea of having the key to his home seemed extremely intimate and she was trying very hard to place any romantic feelings she possessed for the young Vulcan out of her mind.

Uhura was not, after all, a fool, or a woman who pined uselessly.

Since the beginning of this year she would no longer be Spock's student. But before then she held the obligation of not only being inferior in rank but his pupil and lab assistant. According to Starfleet Articles any romantic relationship between the two of them was prohibited. Spock, she assumed, would be highly unlikely to break these regulations and she would not be willing to jeopardize her success for anyone.

So she forced herself to move on, though the lingering heat in the middle of her gut always returned when she looked at him.

She had currently dated five Starfleet boys, yesboys, of several different species. The human males as usual were extremely emotional and too attached. Uhura did not like their constant attention or self conscious apprehension. The Cardassian males were more mature but were too family oriented. They wanted families and fertility and tradition-and to travel back to their homelands with a wife tugging behind them.

Uhura was not willing to settle down and become a housewife for anyone.

She was not the type of woman to be meek and accepting.

And the Betazoid men. Well…male-there had only been one. Betazoid males were hardly present in Starfleet. It was a society reminiscent of a matriarchy. Most of the women were educated and held jobs, many of the men searched for appropriate wives and stayed at home. They were also known to be extremely sexually frustrated at a certain age so it was unlikely that they would be able to concentrate on their studies. Much like Orion females.

So it was very rare for a Betazoid male to be present in Starfleet.

Armand was extravagantly handsome, with the tell tale black eyes of a Betazoid and black glossy hair. He was blunt and honest as was typical of their race and he was charming and humorous. He was also sexually attentive and had offered to still be friends with benefits when Uhura called off their affair. He was the only male she had had sexual relations with since coming to the Academy.

He was the perfect male specimen, but he possessed no motivation or drive. It was…frustrating that he was incapable of holding a relevant conversation that did not dwell on sex.

It seemed that the only man who seemed to fit Uhura's strict qualifications was Spock. Or perhaps, he was the one who made such qualifications?

It didn't matter, because she was trying to get rid of him, to prevent him from invading her calm mind. She was tired of pining over a Vulcan who probably didn't even realize she was female. They could be friends and that was it.

Spock entered his apartment more tired than usual. His instructive duties were coming to an end. He was choosing between becoming the Head Science Officer at a Deep Space 3 Station in the Andromeda Galaxy or serving active duty under Captain Pike as his Commanding First Officer. Both were pleasing prospects but he had chosen to serve on the Enterprise.

A part of him knew that it was because Uhura would most probably eventually be present as well…

A soft agreeable scent filled his living room.

Carefully folding his coat Spock placed it in its appropriate drawer. It was winter and cold. Spock's dislike for this chilling weather stemmed from the severing heat of his home planet. He could not understand this idea of snow or ice or chilling winds.

Uhura had assisted him by buying earmuffs.

The earmuffs seemed to amuse some of his students but they were practical and kept his delicate ears warm. It was a thoughtful gift on her part, a gift she said came from the giving spirit of the holiday.

Christmas.

It was peculiar that she still celebrated this holiday. It was a holiday of conglomerate origins-stemming from paganism to Christianity. The joy and art that Terrans received from this one day of the year was particularly astounding and since Spock had never known Uhura to be religious he perceived that she was secular and would not follow the holiday.

Apparently his deductions were wrong and the first time they had Christmas together Spock did not give her a gift in return. Spock felt no guilt, only curiosity. This Christmas he had prepared a gift in expectation.

A gift that he hoped would please her as he had other ideas in store as well.

Holiday music filled the apartment.

Spock followed the smell to the kitchen to see Uhura moving about ebulliently with a red apron around her waist. The scene was stereotypical of a 1950's cinema. The housewife preparing a Christmas meal, waiting for her husband to return. Uhura hummed a light tone, her crystal vocals joining in the radio song as she pulled something from the oven with red mitts.

"Chestnuts roasting on an open fire." She sang moving about the kitchen.

Spock leaned against the wall, appreciating her lithe figure and allowing himself to wonder. She was an extremely affectionate woman, and firm. She reminded him of a more volatile version of his mother-ever knowing and protective.

The day she gave him the earmuffs she had been particularly adamant that he accept them.

"I don't want you being more susceptible to the cold because of your ears, Spock." She had said seriously and it had amused Spock greatly.

She would make an outstanding mother.

Spock sighed at his own musings. His thoughts were no longer focused when he was around her. His former student seemed to have an unknowing ability to destroy his logic seamlessly. Even without speaking.

It did not help either, that his body and mind were exhibiting signs towards her that should occur only with his mate. Of course Vulcans knew the feeling of lust. But this was a different feeling. A rare feeling that Vulcans were prone to only during ponn farr. It was primitive, animalistic and originated from his Vulcan barbaric ancestry.

Spock was finding himself boiling with the need to possess her, mark her somehow, to consummate an empathetic link with her through a mind meld. He considered the prospect. He was not, after all, an authority figure in her life anymore. And it was currently a secret fantasy of his to court Uhura. But he was not well versed on human courtship and did not know how to begin.

His body was also hinting at the ferocity of such a relationship. She was a human. Vulcans kept the embarrassing viciousness of their mating a secret. It was not unknown for Vulcan mating to mirror that of Klingon mating, though Vulcans did not fight their mates-only threatening males. If he were to engage her in a relationship, and it became…sexual, as his body was demanding, she would be hurt. It was logistically inevitable.

Spock was not sure if he could deal with how she perceived him if he were to hurt her, however inadvertent it may be.

"Spock!" She spat as she turned around in surprise.

"Yes, Nyota?"

"You scared me half to death!"

"I hope that your sentence is an idiom, otherwise I am worried about the fragility of the human body."

Uhura smirked at him and pulled off her mittens. Spock wished to kiss her mouth as he had seen human males do. He did not fully understand the interaction of mouth to mouth, but it seemed to be mutually pleasing between most humanoids.

"I'm beginning to wonder about how easy it is for you to make these little jokes about human capability but then when I try to introduce you to quality humor you do not find it amusing."

"I am sorry. But asking someone to interact with an imaginary door and recite onomatopoeias is not humorous to me."

"Knock knock jokes are funny because they're corny. Besides I never say anything when you try to recite chemistry jokes you get from Dr. Latimon."

"I understand the ironic logic in his jokes."

"I'm sorry, Spock, but if a joke ends with word play concerning precipitate it's just not funny. And you shouldn't bring them home."

Home. Did she view this as their home? That had been his secret intention from the beginning. A place where he could be with her quietly. Alone and comfortable. Their home. Spock perked up at her use of the word,

"Today is a special day, Spock, so I brought our your favorite teacups-the Sarek ones." Uhura said particularly pleased with herself.

"I have no predilection towards inanimate objects. They are merely tea cups. They do not possess added efficiency in comparison to any other tea set so I do not favor them."

"It's okay Spock, you can say all you want but I know they're your favorite."

She started setting up the table. Spock assisted, happy to have a reason to be in close proximity to her. The kitchen was small, small enough that he had to brush against her apron to reach the cabinets and she had to stretch across his chest to grab her mittens.

"Excuse me, Spock. I made pudding. I put it in the stove to heat up."

Spock let her reach across his chest once more and he breathed in her honey scent. His fingers twitched and his eyes darkened. He was unsure sometimes if she was not fully aware of her affect upon him.

She pulled off the apron and folded it on the counter looking at him knowingly.

"You're such a clean freak. I already washed everything in the kitchen, Spock so stop trying to survey your neat surroundings."

She placed the apron back in its appropriate drawer and then began to pour them both tea.

Spock pulled out a seat for her-a politeness he had trained himself to cultivate from reading Terran books and watching old Terran movies with Uhura. He sat down across from her and she poured honey into his tea. He dropped one cube of ice into hers.

"What is this?" Spock asked motioning.

"Pudding, have some."

Spock contemplated the word pudding. He could not find an appropriate translation in his language.

"Is this pudding native to Earth?"

Uhura laughed softly.

"Yes, I suppose in a way this pudding is. But other planets have cultivated their own version of pudding, which would probably be different from this."

She began to serve him a bowl.

"Thank you, Nyota."

"Okay! Let's eat, Spock. I'm so glad winter break is here. Are you intending to see the parade on Monday?"

Spock contemplated her in a moment of silence-the wide grin, the expectant eyes. She desired his company. But was that in a friendly manner? Or could she harbor feelings as he did? It would not do to assume or hope. Results came only from actions.

"If you will accompany me I will go." He said finally, his black eyes were watching her reaction carefully.

"Accompany you?" Uhura asked with a raised eyebrow she unconsciously procured from Spock.

A slight hope was building in her chest but Uhura was too proud to acknowledge the feeling.

Spock looked at her with a slight intensity behind his black eyes.

"I am unsure how to proceed. I do not understand how this may commonly proceed as I am foreign to the procedures commonly used by human males. I can only state facts and the evidence of my intent. I am no longer your instructor or employer. There are no regulations within Starfleet that forbid superior officers from dating inferior officers. I…am attracted to you and feel that we are complementary. I do not wish to be presumptuous in hoping that your feelings are congruent to my own. I-"

"Spock. Are you asking me out?"

Spock paused and blinked. His eyebrows twitched.

"I'm sorry. I am unfamiliar with that…expression."

"I mean-do you wish to engage in a romantic relationship with me?"

Spock stared at her, his face betrayed no emotion or subtle change as he seemed to contemplate her words.

"Yes. I am. I do not wish to create embarrassment within our relationship if you wish to keep this mainly as a friendship. I understand that humans believe that such situations may be embarrassing and I assure you that if you do not wish to engage in a romantic relationship that I will not feel such embarrassment or discomfort. I am Vulcan."

"So…you are asking me out?"

Spock's lips thinned and he gave her a look that almost seemed exasperated.

"Yes. I have already said this. I have yet to hear your answer to my question."

Uhura looked at him in shock. She had not been expecting this. She had dreamt of such an occasion and she was currently unsure if she was still dreaming. She had tried not to dwell upon him and his seeming disinterest in her other than as a friend. But now he wished to engage in a relationship with her?

"I would love to, Spock."

For the first time since she knew him she saw something equivalent to a smile curl his lips and make his eyes flicker. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen and she knew she would never forget that moment.

It was gone in an instance, but his eyes were still flickering with elation. He did not acknowledge the fact that he had smiled at her, instead choosing to pretend as if it had not happened. He was slightly embarrassed that his emotions had not been contained.

"I am pleased. I have bought something for you, in celebration of Christmas." He said, and pulled a package from his pocket.

It was not wrapped in anything-no gift wrap or pretty box. It was still present in the package he bought it in, but he gave it to her with such apparent earnest that Uhura herself felt excited.

She tore open the plastic brown bag and dropped the contents into her hand.

It was a hair band of silver and white elastic-a strange elastic band that seemed to glisten like white gold but stretched like an elastic band. There were two pink ballet slippers on the band, made out of white gold and outlined with silver.

"Spock. It's beautiful. I can't accept this it must have cost you a fortune and this-is this Cardassian gold? Spock I can't-" Nyota shook her head.

Spock pursed his lips.

"Is it not agreeable?"

"No, no it is! But it cost too much and I don't want you to pay so much money for-"

"The cost is irrelevant and well within my means. It is a logical gift. I wished to give you a gift as a thank you for the ear muffs. This is a human tradition. You must accept this."

Nyota smiled slightly and in one swift movement took down her ponytail. Her dark black hair flowed like silk night down onto her shoulders, spilling over her neck. The foreign urge came into him once more and Spock forced himself not to touch her. Spock had never seen her with her hair down, it made her look feminine, almost vulnerable.

Spock watched her intently as she began to push it back up into a ponytail with his hair band.

"Thank you, Spock. Of course I can't wear it regularly. It's too extravagant for daily wear."

Spock nodded and poured her more tea.

"As you wish."

Uhura smiled.

This was going to be interesting.