Fic : STXI : Entanglement : Chapter 2
Chapter rating: PGStandard disclaimer applies.
Chapter Two
The semester wore on, and Phonology discussion quickly became one of the highlights of Uhura's week. Spock always arrived at the same time, and the other students started showing up later and later, so each week their conversations got longer. It was mostly small talk or linguistics-related, but she felt them growing closer, and Spock seemed less awkward around her. He didn't seem to realize that even his tiny motions - a raised eyebrow, a twitch of the lip - were screaming at Nyota that there was something really special about him. She never asked him outright, but she enjoyed working on this puzzle.
Nyota went home for winter break, wondering if she would be able to see Spock at school anymore. She decided not to worry too much about it, and was pleasantly surprised to see Spock listed as the TA on her Advanced Phonology syllabus when she returned in January. She wasn't in his discussion section this time, but her disappointment faded when Professor Watanabe mentioned that the department was planning on instituting a weekly department tea meeting. There would be no formal agendas, but it was a time for all the xenolinguists to get together informally and talk about their subject. Nyota knew that Spock would probably resist the social aspect of the event, but would probably attend out of duty to the department.
She was right. He was in the commons with most of the other instructors and more than half of the department's cadets when she arrived. People were pouring tea from a giant teapot and snacking on cookies, and Spock was sitting awkwardly in a far corner, clutching his mug in both hands. His eyes lit up and his expression softened when he glimpsed her, and she gave him a nod before pouring herself some tea and sidling through the murmuring throng to sit on the arm of the couch next to him.
"Hi, Spock."
"Hello." He glanced around uncertainly. "I find myself confused as to the nature of this event."
"Just a social thing, I guess." She took a sip from her mug, and had to fight not to spit it back out. "Ugh, what is this?"
"I do not know. However, I anticipated the tastes of the organizers and brought my own tea."
"That's pretty clever." She set the mug down on the windowsill behind her. "This stuff is awful. Maybe you should make the tea next time."
"Perhaps I will."
...
The next week the tea was much better, and when Uhura arrived Spock was surrounded by a small crowd who seemed to be asking him about it. He made the tea the next week again, and the week after that. Gradually she watched him grow more comfortable and have conversations with other people, and she couldn't help but listen to him talk about the various things that interested him, and provide input for other cadets on all the languages he spoke. Since tea was clearly no longer her time to talk to him, she took to coming in to his office hours near the end of the scheduled block. They chatted then, sometimes about the class topics, and more and more frequently about other things. She told him about her interest in linguistics, her goals for the future, her other classes, her roommate and all the drama that came with her.
They didn't talk much about Spock, and Nyota resolved not to pry.
On the last day of second semester exams, she stopped by Watanabe's office. The professor was out, but Spock was there, grading the written portion of their finals as he sipped from a large mug of tea. He looked up when she knocked on the door frame. "Cadet Uhura."
"Hi. Am I interrupting?"
He set down the PADD he was reading. "Not at all. Do you have a concern about your exam? I have already graded it, and your work was exemplary."
"Oh! No, no. Thanks, though." She looked down at her boots shyly. "I just wanted to see you since, you know, you're graduating next week."
"That is correct. Will you be attending the ceremony?"
"Yeah, I'm in the choir and we're singing for it." She cleared her throat, now uncertain of her motives. "I was just ... I wanted to know what your plans are for after. You haven't talked about it at all."
"I have received a number of offers, but I have not yet made a decision and I am not currently at liberty to disclose."
Infuriatingly straightforward, and yet not what she wanted. "Oh. Well then."
"It will be made public at graduation, though. We will both know then."
Was there a little twinkle in his eye? He was trying to joke with her! Her fears of never seeing him again were slightly assuaged, and she smiled. "I guess we will."
Graduation day couldn't come fast enough. Nyota didn't have much to do except pack her things for the summer, and hang out with Gaila and their other friends. The choir rehearsed several times, and she tried to focus on the music instead of thinking about the knowledge that was waiting for her after the performance.
Finally the day arrived. She had everything already packed, so she simply dressed in her uniform and went to breakfast with Gaila. The graduating cadets were in the mess too, but she couldn't pick out Spock from the hundreds of others there. Then the choir had to leave to warm up, and she felt herself getting nervous and going through the same useless mental motions she had been for days. Several offers? What did that mean? Most cadets got assigned either to a base or a ship, and she couldn't imagine Starfleet giving him anything other than his first pick of posts. There were even rumors that Captain Pike was looking for a new science officer, and any cadet in the Academy would eat their own boot to serve under Pike.
Despite her nerves, she successfully navigated the opening number and sat down to watch the ceremony. Her high school graduating class had been 300 students, and at the time she thought it was large. She was unprepared for the length of time it took for a thousand cadets to receive their degrees and new ranks, and wished she had brought something to do - Gaila had pulled a crochet hook and ball of thread out of her bag and was working on something that looked like a cobweb. She couldn't see Spock in the crowd - there were an awful lot of dark heads with pale skin. When the "SP" portion of the alphabet came and went, she started to worry a little. Why had he been skipped? Maybe he wasn't actually graduating? Had he already graduated and left on an assignment? She glanced around to see if anyone had a program, but didn't see any.
She felt a little silly when the presenters got to the end of the alphabet and started announcing those cadets who graduated with honors - of course Spock would have honors! There were a fairly large number of these, and she fought the whole time to keep her nervousness in check. Each of these cadets were introduced with a description of their Honors work at the Academy, and what they would be doing after graduation. It seemed to go on forever.
"...Which brings us to our final cadet to graduate this year," said the speaker as the applause from the last died down, and Nyota perked up. The butterflies in her stomach rattled around and she found it hard to breathe.
"This cadet has worked tirelessly during his four years here, and has distinguished himself to a degree that has not been seen in many years. In addition to completing two majors and a minor with extraordinary success, he has written three Honors theses, worked as a teaching assistant in three departments, and has been named a Master in the Federation Three-Dimensional Chess Organization. His first major, in the Science track, is Physics, and his thesis is entitled Experimental Observation of Strong Edge Effects on the Pseudodiffusive Transport of Light in Photonic Graphene." There was a chuckle from the audience, as there had been for all of the long-titled science papers. "That paper has been submitted to the Federation Surface Physics Journal for publication.
"His second major is Computer Science. His thesis work in this area has directly served Starfeet Academy, and for the time being its content is confidential." The crowd murmured; whether it was fear or awe was difficult for Nyota to tell. Her stomach did a flip.
"His minor is in Xenolinguistics, and his thesis is entitled Phonemic Cross-Comparisons of Romulan and Vulcan Irregular Verbs." Again a chuckle from the crowd. Nyota's fists were clenched on her knees in anticipation. This was it.
"Due to his impressive accomplishments, this cadet was offered several positions following his graduation, but he could only accept one. Next year, he will be serving the Academy in several capacities: as a technician in the Physics department, as a programmer for the Command track, and as an instructor in Xenolinguistics and Interspecies Ethics. His rank has been suitably advanced to reflect his many accomplishments, and he graduates Summa Cum Laude. I congratulate you, Lieutenant Commander Spock."
The world seemed to move in slow motion as he rose from his seat in the first row of the graduates, and with long, graceful strides ascended to the stage. He was staying at the Academy. She didn't have to say goodbye! Not only that, but he was staying on in Xenolinguistics. She snapped out of her stupor when Gaila elbowed her, clapping pointedly at the stage. Nyota quickly joined in as Gaila gave her an odd look, and smiled as Spock accepted his diploma and rank, then bowed deeply instead of shaking hands.
The rest of the ceremony passed in a blur, and Nyota managed to get all of her luggage together and catch the appropriate transport to Nairobi. She wished a little she could have seen Spock to congratulate him, but it could wait. She would see him in the fall.