Disclaimer: I do not Star Trek or any of its characters.

"Wait, you mean you haven't tried fried pickle-squid?" asked Ellara.

This made no sense! It was a delicacy made by the gods, no doubt about it. Everyone should have the chance to try it in their lifetime, and seeing as the head shakes of the crew indicated they hadn't, that situation would have to be fixed as soon as possible. "Well come on!" she said, dragging Uhura up with her off of the couch. "There's a cute little place ten minutes away."

"Is it a cute little place like the last one?" questioned Kirk suspiciously.

The last outing they had taken had resulted in them getting kicked out. The owner had been upset when he found out that Uhura and Spock used to date, but that she now went out with Kirk. He believed that "no one should leave their mate", and wouldn't listen when they tried to explain that humans didn't have such a thing. it was obvious the man had an unhappy marriage, but Ellara kept silent. She didn't want a fight to start.

Back to the question at hand, she shook her head, knowing that the owner understood very clearly the mating habits of other species. He found it odd, but was not insulted by it and wouldn't kick them out. Kirk breathed out a sigh of relief at her non-verbal response, and held on tighter to Uhura's hand. The two had been practically attached at the hip since they'd been reunited, save for when she left to go learn. It made Ellara happy to know that her friends were enjoying themselves.

On their walk there, the group fell into natural pairs. It was Sulu and Chekov at the back, followed by Bones and Scotty, then Kirk and Uhura. Spock and Ellara lead the front, the only ones to remain in complete silence. Spock disliked small talk, and Ellara preferred lengthy discussions surrounding topics she was passionate about, which required more then ten minutes and a seated position. It was often that the two would sit in her kitchen discussing a new scientific theory.

—

"That was very delicious, lassy." groaned Scotty, sitting back and rubbing his stomach. The meal had gone by smoothly. Conversation had flowed easily, as well as the drinks and food. Ellara smiled, pleased to know that her friends enjoyed the meal.

"Well, what did you think?" asked the owner.

He had snuck up on them, so his question made Ellara jump slightly in her seat and squeal. As everyone conveyed their gratitude to him, Spock turned to her. "Are you quite alright Counsellor?" he asked, an eyebrow raised in curiosity.

Ellara smiled. "I'm fine, he just snuck up on me. And I've told you, it's Ellara when we're off duty."

"You two make a cute couple." said the owner before walking off, leaving the bill beside Ellara.

She blanched, sputtering and stammering, looking behind her as though to correct the man. "I do not understand. Why did the owner assume that we are a couple? Our behaviour did not suggest it." asked Spock, just as confused.

The rest of the table was red in the face from restraining their laughter, finding the situation hilarious. "I think it's because we're sitting next to each other, and you asked me if I was alright. I was never really aware of Rendorian dating standards, but I think that for most human couples that's pretty normal." supplied Ellara, having calmed down slightly.

Ignoring the strange event, Ellara quickly paid the bill and the group was off once again. Although she tried not to, she could clearly hear the group whispering behind them. "Spock." she said quietly.

"Yes, Ellara?" he replied.

She turned to him, eyebrows scrunched up. "Can you hear what they're saying behind us?"

Spock nodded, informing her. "They are discussing the events in the restaurant, specifically the final remark of the owner."

Ellara turned her head forwards once again and nodded, puzzled. It made no sense. Why would they talk about it? Spock and Ellara were no more a couple then an owl and a cat.

Little did she know, Spock was having the very same dilemma. Nothing that the two did showed signs of being even remotely romantic, so why would a complete stranger think they were in a romantic relationship? It was puzzling, and he would have to ponder over it at a later time. For now, though, he and Ellara had a vigorous game of chess to pursue.

—

"You cheated, I'm sure of it." scowled Ellara, furious at having lost for a third time that night.

Spock tilted his head a fraction to the left. "That is illogical, Ellara. Why would I cheat when I could win the game without doing so?"

It took a moment, but Spock's sass sunk in and Ellara's face brightened considerably. "I don't know, Spock."

She turned her head towards the stairs as a noise sounded from them, and Ellara's father stepped off the edge, rubbing his eyes. Glancing into the kitchen, he let out a sigh. "It's three in the morning. What are the two of you still doing up?"

Ellara's eyes widened in surprise as she confirmed that it was, in fact, the next day. "We didn't realize, pop." she turned to Spock. "I guess this is a good time to say goodnight."

"It is indeed." replied Spock as he stood up. "I enjoyed our matches and look forward to the next one."

As he was leaving, Ellara muttered under her breath, "Of course you did. You won."

Spock paused for a moment, and then continued. It was obvious that he had heard. While she cleaned up, her father finished off the glass of water he had gotten up for. "So, you two are awfully close." he said as he passed through.

"What are you talking about?" Ellara shot straight up from her position over the living room table to stare at Nalli.

He waved a hand in mirth, letting out a lighthearted, "Nothing, nothing."

"No seriously." shot Ellara, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Nalli took a seat on the stairs, inviting his daughter to sit next to him. She accepted, and rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm just saying, it's been three days since he's been here, and you've been attached at the hip. Hell, I think you might have actually ignored the others a little bit to spend time with him."

Ellara blushed, realizing what he was really implying. "We're just friends…" she protested, moving away a bit.

"And that's alright. But you and Lywa were friends. Your mother and I were friends. Maybe it's time you thought about being a bit mo-"

Ellara stood straight up at that. "I don't feel that way about him. It was different with me and Lywa. I'm going to bed. Goodnight."

Nalli sighed as he watched his daughter stomp up the stairs. She would need to come to terms with it. The feelings between the two were fairly obvious; it was impossible that no one else had noticed.

—

"I'm gonna miss you," whispered Ellara, "with all of my heart."

She was clutching onto her father like he was about to disappear. "Little fire, it's not the end of the world. You're not even leaving the planet yet!" he chuckled.

Nalli was a little shocked at how affectionate his daughter was being with him. He was certain that it had something to do with how he brought up memories, but Nalli would bet his money that the conversation he'd overheard yesterday played into it.

"You know, you and your dad talk affectionately, but I rarely see you hugging or anything." commented Uhura over her cards. "Do you have any kings?"

"Go fish. And what do you mean? Nalli and I are extremely close." Ellara replied, frowning.

Uhura smirked. She placed a set of cards beside her. "Not really. You call him by his first name, of all things. Most humans only do that when they have a bad relationship with their parents."

"Got any aces?" asked Ellara, before answering. "And he and I are perfectly fine. There's no hard feelings between either of us. He was just away all of the time, so he feels more like a big brother then a father."

Uhura quirked her eyebrow at the completely bullshit response, but sighed and handed over two aces. "If you say so."

"Tell Miya I say hello, by the way. It's been a while since I've visited her." he added on.

Reluctantly, Ellara let go of her father and nodded. "Will do. Till next we meet." she said, stepping into the car she was loaning from her father. He wouldn't be home when she would come back, as he was going on a trip, so she was leaving the keys with his neighbour.

As Nalli watched his daughter drive away, he whispered, "Till next we meet, my daughter."

Eeeeeeh! Chapter sixteen finished up! I would like to thank my lovely beta reader, TransformersGeek, for looking over this and making it much, much better! So, this was a teensy-weensy bit of a filler, slightly short for my taste... ;/ But, alas, if I had added in the next event, it would have dragged on(at least in my opinion). Therefore, we have a lot to look forward to in the next chapter! I swear I'm sorry I say that each time haha. In other news, omg everyone is all "Spock and Ellara"... that definitely came out of nowhere I really need to work on that... Ummm... anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I look forward to posting the next one!

TransformersGeek: Thank you vv much!

booklover1798: Thank you! Love you too! Will do!

AwesomeFangirlOtaku01: EYOOO! SO MUCH RENDORIAN! ...Jk lol. But that's great to know, I appreciate it!

- fangirl0012345

Updated October 28th, 2016.