S&S&ST Chapter Three: The Bar Scene
Outline
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Uhura sat alone alone at the bar. A stranger would think that she was lonely, but they simply didn't understand the secretive content of her heart. She was solitary by nature, so it did not bother her.
A loud voice interrupted her reverie. "Hey babe. A nice-looking girl like you shouldn't drink without company. Want me to buy you a Slusho Mix?"
She looked up, but it was only Jim Kirke. Why everyone thought he was pretty, she really had no idea. She put on an insincere smile and said oh-so-sweetly, "Thanks, but no thanks. I'd rather do anything than continue this conversation." She accidentally-on-purpose spilled her drink on him, but got a fair amount on her own dress as well. She cursed herself for her stupidity, but it was so worth it.
"Perhaps I could be of assistance," said a soft voice on the other side of her. Her heart fluttered to see Spock. Now he was a Vulcan worth knowing. It went against all her principles and she knew she shouldn't be attracted to him but she gave him a genuinely warm smile. "Thank you. I'd appreciate it." She looked after him as he went to convince the bartender to give her a free drink. The words 'logical' and 'fail to understand' floated back to her and she smiled.
"Hey, I thought you took your drinks alone," said Jim, insisting on being the center of attention.
"Actually, I said that anything would be better than talking to you. And now your brother's here"
Spock then returned with a pair of drinks. "May I inquire as to the nature of your studies?"
"Well what I want is very far removed from what my mother wants. If you think my sister Ayel is bad, you should see her! She used to be a captain, and the way she acts, you'd think she still was. And she thinks there is no better occupation for me. But my aspirations are far less lofty." She twirled her straw in her Slusho Mix and looked shyly up at Spock. Jim caught the hidden implications of that look and choked into his drink.
"Oh? And what do you aspire to, Nyota? Tell me your dreams." Jim boggled to hear his brother say something so shamelessly sentimental.
She chose her words carefully, knowing that Spock would understand, and hoping that his brother wouldn't. "Phonology, morphology, syntax, variability in different mediums of aural conveyance, and other things of that nature."
No such luck. "Oho, a linguist," said Jim triumphantly. "Which means that you, my dear, have a talented tongue!"
Oh well, she might as well go along with it. "I have the most talented tongue in the quadrant," she said, grinning wickedly. "But my mother would rather see me wear yellow than red." She turned back to Spock. "What do you say we lose your idiot brother for a while?"
"That situation would give me a great deal of personal satisfaction," he said, and followed her out of the bar.
Jim watched them go and congratulated himself for a job well done. He decided he needed another beer for his efforts and began to drink himself into a stupor.
* * * *
Jim was waiting when he got home, several hours later. "So how was your first date?" he asked expectantly. "Is she as good a kisser as she looks?"
He adjusted his collar uncomfortably. "I object to your assessment of this evening. It was hardly a date."
"Yeah right." His brother rolled his eyes "What would you call it then?"
"We were merely discussing the different aspects of the Romulan and Vulcan tongues, a subject on which both of us possess considerable knowledge. When we had exhausted that topic, we talked about anything from physics to statistics. She really is a most extraordinary creature. There is something about the expression of her eyes that makes her handsome; or, at least, almost so." He saw Jim nodding and smiling broadly and was sorry for the warmth he had been betrayed into.
"I knew it! Indeed, from the moment I saw the two of you together, there could be no doubt of it. Admit, dear Spock, that you love her."
"I do not attempt to deny that I hold our friendship in very high regard -- that I greatly esteem, that I like her."
Jim couldn't take this ridiculous understatement for another moment. "Like her! Esteem her! Cold-hearted Spock! Oh! Worse than cold-hearted! Ashamed of being otherwise! Any fool can see that you love her, and it is clear that she loves you."
"Perhaps you are right," he assented, "But then again, you humans have an irrational tendency to feel physically attracted to one another without any thought of love. I believe such a phenomenon is called a 'crush'. It is entirely possible that her regard for me is nothing more that that. It would be unwise to hope for anything beyond what I have perceived to be true."
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Uhura sat alone alone at the bar. A stranger would think that she was lonely, but they simply didn't understand the secretive content of her heart. She was solitary by nature, so it did not bother her.
A loud voice interrupted her reverie. "Hey babe. A nice-looking girl like you shouldn't drink without company. Want me to buy you a Slusho Mix?"
She looked up, but it was only Jim Kirke. Why everyone thought he was pretty, she really had no idea. She put on an insincere smile and said oh-so-sweetly, "Thanks, but no thanks. I'd rather do anything than continue this conversation." She accidentally-on-purpose spilled her drink on him, but got a fair amount on her own dress as well. She cursed herself for her stupidity, but it was so worth it.
"Perhaps I could be of assistance," said a soft voice on the other side of her. Her heart fluttered to see Spock. Now he was a Vulcan worth knowing. It went against all her principles and she knew she shouldn't be attracted to him but she gave him a genuinely warm smile. "Thank you. I'd appreciate it." She looked after him as he went to convince the bartender to give her a free drink. The words 'logical' and 'fail to understand' floated back to her and she smiled.
"Hey, I thought you took your drinks alone," said Jim, insisting on being the center of attention.
"Actually, I said that anything would be better than talking to you. And now your brother's here"
Spock then returned with a pair of drinks. "May I inquire as to the nature of your studies?"
"Well what I want is very far removed from what my mother wants. If you think my sister Ayel is bad, you should see her! She used to be a captain, and the way she acts, you'd think she still was. And she thinks there is no better occupation for me. But my aspirations are far less lofty." She twirled her straw in her Slusho Mix and looked shyly up at Spock. Jim caught the hidden implications of that look and choked into his drink.
"Oh? And what do you aspire to, Nyota? Tell me your dreams." Jim boggled to hear his brother say something so shamelessly sentimental.
She chose her words carefully, knowing that Spock would understand, and hoping that his brother wouldn't. "Phonology, morphology, syntax, variability in different mediums of aural conveyance, and other things of that nature."
No such luck. "Oho, a linguist," said Jim triumphantly. "Which means that you, my dear, have a talented tongue!"
Oh well, she might as well go along with it. "I have the most talented tongue in the quadrant," she said, grinning wickedly. "But my mother would rather see me wear yellow than red." She turned back to Spock. "What do you say we lose your idiot brother for a while?"
"That situation would give me a great deal of personal satisfaction," he said, and followed her out of the bar.
Jim watched them go and congratulated himself for a job well done. He decided he needed another beer for his efforts and began to drink himself into a stupor.
* * * *
Jim was waiting when he got home, several hours later. "So how was your first date?" he asked expectantly. "Is she as good a kisser as she looks?"
He adjusted his collar uncomfortably. "I object to your assessment of this evening. It was hardly a date."
"Yeah right." His brother rolled his eyes "What would you call it then?"
"We were merely discussing the different aspects of the Romulan and Vulcan tongues, a subject on which both of us possess considerable knowledge. When we had exhausted that topic, we talked about anything from physics to statistics. She really is a most extraordinary creature. There is something about the expression of her eyes that makes her handsome; or, at least, almost so." He saw Jim nodding and smiling broadly and was sorry for the warmth he had been betrayed into.
"I knew it! Indeed, from the moment I saw the two of you together, there could be no doubt of it. Admit, dear Spock, that you love her."
"I do not attempt to deny that I hold our friendship in very high regard -- that I greatly esteem, that I like her."
Jim couldn't take this ridiculous understatement for another moment. "Like her! Esteem her! Cold-hearted Spock! Oh! Worse than cold-hearted! Ashamed of being otherwise! Any fool can see that you love her, and it is clear that she loves you."
"Perhaps you are right," he assented, "But then again, you humans have an irrational tendency to feel physically attracted to one another without any thought of love. I believe such a phenomenon is called a 'crush'. It is entirely possible that her regard for me is nothing more that that. It would be unwise to hope for anything beyond what I have perceived to be true."
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine