A/N: Just a warning that there is going to be some M-rated discussions in this chapter here. We are dealing with a young, inter-species couple, and we've already seen some gaffes and cultural misunderstandings. There'll be more but these just have an adult bent to them. Again, M-rated discussions will abound, so read at your own discretion.

Before I forget, I'd like to say a special thanks to everyone who leaves reviews! I love reading your thoughts on the subject and they definitely help motivate me when I am blocked; and in response to the guest who left a review last chapter about Spock and Se'tak, it's not that Spock hasn't tried to teach his son how to mind-meld (or other Vulcan mental techniques), it's just that Se'tak never really cared to practice/use them. Se'tak embraces his humanity much more than his Vulcan-ness, hence why he also dislike suus mahna practice. Hope that clears up the confusion!

Date Night

U.S.S. Enterprise, 2279.346, 1905 hours. Nyota was sitting in her home office working when she heard the doors open. She didn't think anything of it until the overwhelming stench of sandalwood and…something hit her so hard she could taste it and she started gasping for breath. As she gripped the corners of her desk her first thought was that the ship was being gassed but when she heard the sound of someone whistling she knew it was much worse.

Se'tak had discovered—and used—a bottle of cologne.

It was a gift she'd gotten Spock years ago, before she knew better, and it'd lingered in the back of their medicine cabinet ever since.

Until tonight.

Pinching the end of her nose she tried to wave the offending scent away but it only intensified as her son drew closer. Not wanting to embarrass him (he was especially touchy about subjects like personal hygiene since he hit his teens) she sat on her hands and looked to the door for his passing.

"What're you up to tonight, Sweetie?"

Se'tak stopped and poked his head in. "Just going to the movies."

Good G-d he was going to subject the better part of the crew to that foul-smelling stuff?! The ship would have to touch down on the nearest M-class planet just to recycle the air within the hour! Se'tak had laid it on so thick Nyota could practically taste the oil. "You meeting up with the gang?"

His cheeks immediately flushed. "Not exactly."

She had a fairly good idea who he was going with but asked him all the same. "Who then?"

"Meruka." Oh, her baby boy had it bad—and she felt even worse reminding him that the Orions would be leaving tomorrow evening. He rolled his eyes and strode off to the front door. "I know Mama!"

Seconds after he left poor Selas came to her in the midst of a hacking coughing fit.

1912 hours. He rang the door chime to the Orion delegations quarters with sweaty palms. Why was he so nervous? He'd been spending plenty of time with Meruka over the last week so picking her up at her quarters shouldn't be this stressful. Se'tak was reminded why he had yet to pick up Meruka from her rooms when the door was answered by one of the other young ladies in the ambassadors' party.

The woman stepped back and ushered him in and he gulped hard and crossed the threshold.

Verena had seen the young boy with Meruka before, and was as intrigued by him as her younger counterpart; however, she understood that in his society a liaison between a woman of twenty-five and a boy of fourteen was frowned upon.

Pity.

Therefore it fell to the newest member of their delegation to look after him and by all accounts Meruka had done her job well. He stood before her tonight looking every inch a respectable young man in his nice slacks and button-up shirt and was very polite. The young man didn't even try to ogle her (which was a shame given how hard she and Meruka had worked to make up this pretty purple dress). The only problem lay in the overwhelming stench seemingly emanating from his every pore. If he smelled like this on a daily basis then she would have to question her friend as to how she'd put up with it for so long.

"Hi, um, I'm Se'tak, and I'm, uh, here to pick up Meruka. Is she ready?"

She led him toward the seating area. "It is nice to see you again. I'm Verena. Meruka is not quite finished dressing." She leaned over him holding her breath. "May I offer you a beverage?"

The boy nearly choked, whether from his own aroma or the sight of her ample bosom she couldn't be sure, and she smiled as he politely shook his head no. They sat quietly for awhile and the longer they sat the more Verena realized that the scent emanating from Se'tak was not naturally occurring.

Was this possibly a misguided attempt at wooing a member of the opposite sex? She had done something similar once, stealing several of Ama's expensive perfumes and bathing in them at the age of six. The smell from that experience was so overpowering it took ten good baths and a week indoors before she was allowed out in society again.

Poor Se'tak. She could sympathize with his desire to impress Meruka but given his smell all he was liable to do tonight was drive her away. If only she could get him to bathe...

"Hi!"

Meruka giddily bounded out of their shared room and twirled in front of Se'tak. After trying on numerous outfits she'd finally settled on the maroon dress with the long-sleeves, scoop back and mini-skirt-a very modest choice by Orion standards but considered very provocative off-planet. Verena was pleased with how far her friend had come just on this trip alone.

The poor boy had to pick his jaw up off the floor. "You…you look…" She smiled and bit back her giggles as Se'tak struggled for words. Shaking his head out of his stupor he asked, "You do know we're just going to see a movie, right?"

"I know, but because I'm going with you I wanted to look good for you in front of your friends!" She smiled broadly and twirled about again. When he still hadn't said anything she began to pout. "Don't I look good enough for you and your friends?"

Fishing for a compliment—damn she'd taught that girl well!

"You look so good I don't want to take you anywhere in case you find somebody better and decide to leave me."

"Aww, nev—!" She was about to throw her arms around his neck when she caught a good whiff of his scent and skittered back. "What on Terra are you wearing?!"

His brows knit together and he pulled up his shirt collar and took a sniff. "Oh, this? Just some of my sa-mekh's cologne, that's all."

"Some? Se'tak, it smells like you doused yourself in the whole bottle!"

"So?"

Verena stood off in the corner, shoulders shaking with laughter as she watched the two duke it out. "So?! I am NOT going out with you smelling like that! You'll stink up the whole ship!" Meruka pinched the bridge of her nose then stomped over and grabbed his wrist.

"Hey! Where are you taking me?!"

"To the sonic showers, that's where," she replied sounding all nasally. "And in the future remember that a little goes a long way…"

"But you're going to mess up my hair!"

Once the two were out of the room Verena doubled over with laughter.

1927 hours. He was still trying to smooth down his hair as they walked into the Rec Room for the show.

Meruka batted her pretty eyes at him as she asked, "What are we seeing again?"

Se'tak took a good look around the room before answering. He saw Uncle Jim with his family off on the left, with Lily and Sam sitting on opposite sides of their parents and still sniping at each other behind their folks' heads. Uncle Hikaru and Kyson were there too, never ones to miss a film with epic fencing matches. Aunt Chris and Uncle Len were also present but Tabby and Becca were absent.

Placing his hand on the small of Meruka's back he led her over to two free seats as he answered her question. "It's 'The Count of Monte Cristo', a Terran film based on a book written in the 1800's. It's about a man who's wrongly put in prison—"

"Oh, prison!"

There was a wicked gleam in her eye that worried him as he finished, "—and escapes to exact revenge."

"Sounds great." She slipped into her seat and patted the one next to her, waiting for him to sit down.

There wasn't much chance to talk after that as the lights dimmed and the screen lit up. The film was old, made in the late-22nd century, but it was Uncle Jim's pick and he liked the fact that the Mars colony (that was then under construction) was used for some of the prison scenes. Once the story got under way Se'tak glanced over at Meruka to see her concentrating so hard her eyes looked twice their normal size. She looked so cute he couldn't resist smiling. Snaking an arm over her shoulders he drew her into his embrace and she snuggled against him completely contented.

1941 hours. "Oh goody!" Meruka quietly exclaimed.

It was the beginning of Edmond Dantes' engagement party but he couldn't see what she was excited about. "Hmm?"

"The orgy scene, right?"

Se'tak furrowed his brow. "What's that? Some Orion thing?"

She looked up at him all shocked. "You don't know what that is?!"

A few pairs of eyes were looking their way now and so Meruka leaned up and whispered into his ear. His eyes bulged out of his head; he would never be able to watch this scene the same way EVER AGAIN.

1959 hours. She let out a little startled squeak as the Abbé popped out of his secret tunnel into Edmond's cell. "Who's that?"

Se'tak shot her a knowing smirk. He'd seen this holo before, and while it wouldn't have been his first choice it wasn't bad as far as movies went. "You'll see."

"I bet it's his future lover. May/December romances can be so hot."

"Huh?"

But Meruka kept babbling on like she didn't even hear him. "Of course it's not like there's a whole lot of options for them—I mean, what kind of prison keeps people in solitary confinement!? That's just barbaric! Even Orion prisons are better then that!" She would've kept on talking if it weren't for the cries of "Shh!" from some of the audience members and him whispering in her ear that Edmond and Abbé Faria were not, in fact, going to become lovers.

2035 hours. The holo was paused and the lights went up while the audience stood and stretched and tended to their business. Beside him Meruka sat still and was staring at the screen looking very pensive. He could guess why.

"Not what you were expecting, is it?"

"No," she slowly replied. Not wanting her to be turned off, he asked if she was bored and wanted to go do something else. "No! I want to see how it ends! It's just so different from Orion cinema."

"I can guess how."

Meruka smiled and slapped him playfully on the arm. "It's not just the lack of sex, silly—although that's part of it—but it's the plot, the costumes...it's everything! Don't get me wrong, I'd love it if there were more singing and dancing, but it's not like anything I've ever seen before and I'm actually really enjoying it."

"Good, I'm glad to hear it."

A few people were starting to return to their seats with snacks in their hands. Meruka took a tentative sniff of the buttery air and her grin broadened. "Mmmmm…"

G-d she was adorable. Smiling down at her he asked, "Would you like some of what they're having?"

"Yes! I don't know what it is but it smells absolutely divine!"

He placed a quick kiss on her cheek. "Ok then, I'll go get you some popcorn. Why don't you see about something to drink?"

"Ok."

Se'tak watched her head over to the replicators then moved toward the line for the popcorn machine. It was another throwback of Uncle Jim's, something he absolutely loved owning, an old time popcorn cart like the street vendors used to own. The snack itself was free and was a big hit with the crew on movie nights, holidays and parties. As the line moved forward he grabbed a large red and white cup and waited his turn. The cup now filled he turned back to see Meruka already sitting in her seat anxiously looking up at the screen.

"Hey Tick."

Only one jerk on the ship called him that and it was the same person who also thought it was a great insult. Biting his tongue Se'tak turned around and was confronted by Cole, Kevin and Sean. They were bullies, all of them, and he just rolled his eyes in the face of their collective stupidity and waited for them to let him pass.

"Cole."

His classmate looked beyond him at the audience settling back down. "Don't see your freaky family here tonight, so who are you with?"

Se'tak shut his eyes and willed himself not to strike out at the imbecile before him. "My family and I are not freaks," he replied through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, whatever, Tick. You're not natural, that's for sure." Cole reached out as if about to shove him and instead upended his cup of popcorn. "You're not full-Vulcan, you're not full-Human—you're what happens when biology experiments go amuck. Your kind should be a cautionary tale."

The other guys ribbed each other and chuckled and Se'tak could feel his face burning hotter and hotter. It'd be so easy to take them out but Sa-mekh warned him what would happen if he got into another fight…

"Hey, I was beginning to wonder where you were," came Meruka's voice. She reached out and gently placed a hand on his arm. "Are you all set because I think the holo's about to start."

"No WAY! Freaky Tick's got a girlfriend?!" At that exclamation Cole and his cronies began to circle them and Se'tak pulled Meruka tighter behind him. "Shit, and a hot Orion at that. Look at that ass! Hey Babe—" he made a grab for her and yanked her up against him. Se'tak tried to pull her back but Cole danced out of the way and the other two got up in his face. He could talk his way out of this, he wouldn't let them goad him into another fight…"—how 'bout you ditch this loser and come have a private dance or two with me?"

Meruka shoved Cole hard. "Get your hands off me!" she cried. "There's no way in Gothor* I'd ever dance with you!"

"Leave her alone!"

Ignoring him Cole grabbed hold of her wrist and twisted it hard. "Oh yeah? Then how 'bout you dance for me, whore."

That was the last straw; Se'tak snapped and moved on instinct, peaceful resolution be damned. He took one step forward before Sean got in his face and with an elbow to the ribs and a flick of his wrist he had the asshole flipped over and lying on his back wheezing in pain. Kevin gave a shout as he rushed him; there was a loud crunch and he went staggering back with a broken nose and tears in his eyes for his efforts.

Cole froze seeing how effortlessly Se'tak dealt with his friends and the next thing he knew he was shoved back against the wall so hard his teeth rattled in his head. Next he was grabbed up by the collar of his shirt and lifted clean off the ground. "You have no right, NO RIGHT, to call her that! She is NOT a whore! Say what you want about me but you leave Meruka out of this, you hear me?!"

"ENOUGH!"

He'd been so far gone he didn't even notice the lights go up or hear Uncle Jim come up behind him. Most of the others gathered for the movie were now watching them while Uncle Len and Aunt Chris were on hands and knees, med pacs open beside them, looking to Kevin and Sean and running tricorders over them. Se'tak flung Cole away in disgust. He took a couple steps back, his head held high knowing he had nothing to worry about; he hadn't started the argument but he'd certainly finished it.

Then again, when Sa-mekh found out what went on…

…shit.

Uncle Jim's eyes darted from him to Cole and back again, now in full blown captain mode. "What's this all about? Who started it?" Neither one responded. "Let me guess, the answers are nothing and no one, right?" He still got no reply but he seemed to know exactly who the instigator was and subtly shifted his body towards Cole.

Before anything more could be said Uncle Len piped up. "Jim, the Morrison kid's alright, he's just winded, but I need to take the Sweeney boy to Sickbay and set his nose straight." The doctor looked up at him and Cole just then too. "We should probably take Granger with us and give him a once over just to be safe."

Uncle Jim spoke so softly he almost didn't hear him. "Alright, Bones." He looked to them both once more with a deadly serious look in his eyes. "I won't tolerate fighting on my ship and I'm going to get to the bottom of this one way or another, mark my words. Now don't worry because I'll be having words with ALL of your parents before the evenings out, and you better hope this incident doesn't hurt Earth/Orion relations." Uncle Jim glanced back and spotted three young ensigns in the crowd. "Cal'shoun, Fein, Henniman, please escort these youngsters back to their quarters."

"Yes, Captain."

Not only were they getting kicked out but they were getting their own escorts. Great! And the worst part was he didn't even do anything wrong!

No, scratch that—the worst part was that his last night with Meruka just got completely ruined.

Ensign Henniman began to lead her off while Ensign Fein gestured for him to start marching in the opposite direction. "I'm sorry!" Se'tak called out to her.

"I'm sorry too!"

His heart sank at hearing that. "It's not your fault!" She started to deny it but he wouldn't let her. "I'll try and come see you before you leave tomorrow, ok?"

Meruka sounded surprised and he noticed that her eyes were watery. "Promise?"

"I promise!"

"Ok!"

The doors shut behind her while the other set of doors opened before him. Ensign Fein held a hand out and waited impatiently for him to pass.

What a shitty night.

* Gothor = Orion, similar to Hell