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“I’m telling you, my friend. Women want to be wooed. Now, you ask that girl out on a proper date. I still can’t believe you never have. Go on,” said Jim, flapping his hands at his first officer.
“Is that an order, sir?” asked Spock, suppressing a very un-Vulcan sigh of impatience. The last 25 minutes of his shift had involved patiently listening to ‘Jim Kirk’s Patented Advice Concerning Women’; after Spock had let slip that he had never asked Lieutenant Uhura out on a date. Slow days on the bridge often resulted in Jim devising new and interesting ways to keep himself entertained.
“If you like,” replied Jim, giving him a good-natured shove.
Squaring his shoulders, Spock made his way over to the communications console. Glancing back at his captain who was giving an enthusiastic thumbs up, he turned back to the task at hand and approached Nyota Uhura who was sitting straight backed, head tilted slightly to one side, listening carefully though her earpiece. As casually as a Vulcan can reasonably lean, he set his shoulder against a translucent partition and waited for her to look up at him. This earned him an approving nod from Jim, but no acknowledgement from Lieutenant Uhura.
Spock waited several moments and when she still did not acknowledge him, cleared his throat. Uhura flicked her eyes toward him but otherwise did not move from her position except to raise her hand, holding it in mid air. Her eyes returned to the screen in front of her, stylus madly scratching glyphs onto a PADD.
“Lieutenant. I…” Spock began, but was cut off by Uhura frantically waving her hand at him. She scribbled at the surface of the PADD for a few more moments before setting down the stylus.
Finally she pulled off her earpiece and turned her gaze on him, smiling broadly.
“Sorry, I wanted to finish translating that message before we went off-shift. And now we are. Spock, are you leaning?”
With dignity, he pulled himself upright before stepping closer, not wanting to be overheard.
“Nyota,” he began softly, “I had hoped you would join me for dinner, since officially we are both off duty.”
Brows slightly creased, she asked, “What do you mean, we always have dinner together after shift.”
“It has… been brought to my attention that I ought to have asked you on a date before now,” said Spock.
“Uh huh,” grinned Uhura, looking over at the captain who hurriedly ducked his head behind a PADD.
“So this is a date you’re asking me on.”
“Yes.”
“That you hadn’t got around to doing before now.”
“Yes.”
“That in no way involves how bored our captain is.”
Jim twirled in his chair in the background. Spock stayed silent.
She regarded him, considering. “Hmm. Will there be a kiss at the end?” she asked in a conspiratorial whisper.
He lowered his voice again and rumbled, “and the beginning, and during, should you wish.”
Her grin grew so wide she was beaming at him. “Well then, my answer is yes, Mr. Spock. Shall we?”
Nodding, he watched her stand and roll her shoulders before straightening up her work area. Spock spared a final, disapproving glance at Jim who was now making obscene, vaguely victorious gestures with his hands. Turning her head to see what had caught his interest, she was stopped by a hand between her shoulder blades. Spock, quickly sidestepping, gently steered her in the direction of the turbolift.