(no subject)

[quigonejinn]

Spock had been Uhura's friend a long time before they began sleeping together.

In fact, Uhura remembers an afternoon when she was at his apartment, and it was just that -- his apartment. Both of them there. He had put together a group of interested linguists who wanted to investigate the caste dialects of Telluride. The scope of inquiry was fluid; membership and attendance were fluid. One was called away on an emergency humanitarian issue to a grain colony. Semester-end grading had another two. Uhura couldn't remember why the others weren't there, but the end result was sitting at his kitchen table, frowning at rubbings of stones a bit older than the Lighthouse of Alexandria and about as fuzzy, too.

Grey rain had been coming down all afternoon. It was San Francisco's rainy season, and Spock had left the curtain off the glass door that looked out onto the patio.

"You want me to -- " Uhura started to collect her papers and stand. The wall unit had just chimed to let Spock know that he had an incoming call.

It turned out to be Spock's mother, calling from a shuttle as they were coming back from a series of trade treaty talks with the Andorians. Audio only because a moon or something of the sort was getting in the way of the audio -- Spock lifted up one eyebrow and looked over at Uhura, and she shrugged. It was possible, though not likely, particularly if the shuttle had been made in the past eighty years, which raised the question of why a Vulcan diplomat of the rank of Spock's father would be on a transport like that, but that was a digression, and she started to gather up her things again, but Spock surprised Uhura by introducing her.

He surprised her again by getting up from the table and starting to walk around the kitchen, tidying things. Spock paid such careful, absolute attention when people spoke, even if he didn't like them. He loved his mother, but he began wiping down the kitchen counter, turning the spice rack so that the labels faced outwards. He put a pot of tea on the stove and leaned back on the counter. He ran his fingers over the edge of the sink and touched the leaves of a plant that he had growing in the window.

The rain continued. The call continued, and the pot of tea boiled. Spock made three cups, pouring one out for his mother and setting it on a place mat while telling her about where he'd gotten the leaves. It was easy to forget how young he was by Vulcan standards, and Uhura was halfway through her own cup before she realized -- they had been friends for a year and a half, and she was seeing Spock relax for the first time.

She realized, too, what she would risk if she ever tried to sleep with him.














Uhura still ends up making the first move.

It's after food, of course. Captain Pike was right about how Spock liked to eat -- maybe it came from hanging around teenagers. Maybe it came from the fact that by Vulcan terms, Spock was still a kid.

Oone cool night in San Francisco when her and Spock and Danveri take a bunch of that year's crop of early-admits out for their first taste of non-cafeteria food in months. Originally, it's just her and Danveri and a pack of kids bright enough to find the prospect of going to university at fifteen, sixteen not quite challenging enough for their taste, but young enough to thrill to Danveri telling them stories about deep space exploration. Starfleet is finally starting to go back into the deep reaches after the scare twenty-four years back, and Spock had been at some sort of senior staff function, so he shows up late, wearing his gray Academy instructor uniform, with a little bit of annoyance in his voice.

One of the kids scootches over to make room for him, and Spock stays quiet at first, but then, the conversation swings to how you build a calculating machine without Feyron transistors -- basically, how you manage to build something capable of basic calculations using only technology and fabrication methods available in the late 20th century, and conversation then moves onto obscure computing puzzles of popular at the time, and it ends with Spock defending his analysis of P = NP against a fourteen year old kid from some mining colony where nobody speaks Standard as a first language because they're too busy breeding mathematical geniuses -- kid is modeling out three-dimension shapes on his two dimensional schooling pad, and everybody is excited and talking really fast.

"I missed this," Danveri says to Uhura, as they're settling up the check and the kids mill around, waiting to bet set back on the path to the Academy.

"Deep space not exciting enough, Dan?" She pulls her coat on, and he laughs.

"You wouldn't believe how much paperwork is involved in going where no man has gone before."

They shepherd the kids back in the San Francisco night. The fog from earlier in the night had blown off, and it's bright and clear. Light pollution keeps the stars from being seen, but it lets Uhura see Danveri at the front. His hair looks silver, and he has that faintly luminescent thing that his species does under yellow light, when they're well fed and happy. He likes to joke that he's basically a sentient firefly. In the mouth, pronounced the way that his species does it, his name has a vibrating undertone, almost like the beating of wings, except as far as Uhura can figure, wings never appeared in the phylogenetic history of his species.

Spock seems content, too, even though he keeps mostly to himself during that walk back. Uhura's elbow bumps against his side, and he looks over at her -- not surprised or annoyed, but as though that's how she normally gets his attention, as though he expects her. This time, it was an accident, but Uhura swears that it's the equivalent of a smile, and she isn't going to waste a sentiment like that.

She doesn't make her move that night, but it's soon enough after that it amounts to the same thing.

Danveri is the commander on one of the ships that the Romulan time-traveler blows all to hell.

In fact, half of the kids hat went on that pizza run die that day.

Comments

[dafnap.livejournal.com]

I am completely devoid of coherency at this point, but I am so, so stupid happy you're writing Trek. I am such a sucker for your world building here, the way you can describe a whole species with something like this:

his name has a vibrating undertone, almost like the beating of wings

It's just. Fricking. Pretty. Okay? I love your Uhura here, working her way backwards through the medium she's familiar with.

[pensive]

you + Trek = I am ded.

♥ <--make that font size="50"

[paperclippy.livejournal.com]

*cracking up* I had no idea you know about P and NP.

[quigonejinn.livejournal.com]

I KNOW MANY THINGS. (Actually, I picked it up just yesterday from this, which I found on Metafilter.)

[paperclippy.livejournal.com]

LKJDHGSLKHG;.ZJ

That was simultaneously incredibly hilarious, and incredibly sad. Wow.

Now of course, I have to ask - since you're posting fic again, how about some Malkar/Felix???

[quigonejinn.livejournal.com]

Surrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrre, although you're going to have to put up with the fact that, to me, Malkar and Felix are basically just "sadistic magician who likes killing puppies and raping dudes (in approximately that order)" and "brittle victim of horrific abuse and brothel survivor who thinks he's tough enough"

Also, do the books ever talk about how magicians get trained up? They may have, but I kinnae remember.

[paperclippy.livejournal.com]

I don't recall how far you read in the series, but there are some scenes where one of Felix's duties in the Mirador is teaching. There's lots more talk of magical theory in the last couple books, which is really quite interesting.

But yeah. Any Malkar/Felix would be great, even if it's OOC. ;) I managed to find exactly ONE Malkar/Felix fic online, and it was, shall we say, not as good as I hoped it would be.

[eponis.livejournal.com]

God dammit woman, everywhere you go, you write my favorite stories in the fandom.

<333333

This was amazing, and I'd love to read more. You just have an amazing style, blending lyrical emotion, wonderful detail, and subtle geeky jokes. Love it.

[illariy.livejournal.com]

here via friendsfriends, hope this isn't creepy

Oh, this was so lovely to read. All the details, such as the band of language geeks studying together, how Spock's annoyance melts after being able to discuss geeky stuff, basically: how Spock and Uhura fit together because of what they share. Loved it and would like to subscribe to your newsletter. :D

[musesfool.livejournal.com]

These are lovely.

[kickthebeat.livejournal.com]

you are ridiculous. spock and his mother continue to rock my world; ALL i want to read are thousands upon thousands of words about his life before the enterprise. GET TO IT. seriously, i've missed your writings in a fandom i'm familiar with so, uhhhh, keep on keepin' on, gf. ♥

[noein9.livejournal.com]

Okay, you so do not know me and I eavesdropped on you conversation some days back,so....

Anyway, this:Captain Pike was right about how Spock liked to eat -- maybe it came from hanging around teenagers. Maybe it came from the fact that by Vulcan terms, Spock was still a kid.

and: Spock paid such careful, absolute attention when people spoke, even if he didn't like them. He loved his mother, but he began wiping down the kitchen counter, turning the spice rack so that the labels faced outwards. He put a pot of tea on the stove and leaned back on the counter. He ran his fingers over the edge of the sink and touched the leaves of a plant that he had growing in the window.

and: Spock paid such careful, absolute attention when people spoke, even if he didn't like them. He loved his mother, but he began wiping down the kitchen counter, turning the spice rack so that the labels faced outwards. He put a pot of tea on the stove and leaned back on the counter. He ran his fingers over the edge of the sink and touched the leaves of a plant that he had growing in the window.


Just lovely. It's in showing- the descriptions- that you get the characters, sense of character and place and being, simply being.

Funness. And just the cool.

[amonitrate.livejournal.com]

I love the details of this. I love Spock/Uhura through your lens.

[notexotic.livejournal.com]

In fact, half of the kids hat went on that pizza run die that day.

That right there is a goddamn sucker punch.

I love this.

[renisanz.livejournal.com]

This was cool. I just realize that Chekov could have been one of those kids on that pizza run. I liked the detail of Spock setting out a cup of tea for his mom even though she wasn't physically there.

[idlerat.livejournal.com]

Lovely!

[imadra-blue.livejournal.com]

*peeking in from under stacks of books about Chinese cinema and Japanese religions*

I really love this. I have a lot of trouble getting at the physical aspects of Spock/Uhura, too, so I understand what you're going through. This is a really lovely character piece that really gives a great voice to Uhura and wonderful observations of Spock. And I love all your little sci fi details, as always, makes it feel so real.

♥