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La'an walked through the doors of her quarters, sighing in relief as the stress of the day finally melted away upon setting eyes on the familiar surrounding - or, in this case, the dark shadows of it. Her quarters were her safe haven, a place she could always go to when she needed to take a break or in this case relax after a long and exhausting day. And exhausting day it was.
She frowned, taking a step further, her interest peaked as the lights failed to turn on, something that has never happened before.
Exasperated, she angrily tore off her hairband from her hair and raked her fingers through her hair, perhaps a bit harsher than it was necessary to untangle the complicated knots. After a long day of security checks all over the Enterprise (on top of her normal schedule) thanks to the actions of some idiotic ensigns that thought smuggling illegal eggs on board was the funniest thing, the last thing she needed was some sort of electrical malfunction when all she wanted to do was take a shower and crawl into bed.
"Computer," she gritted out, beyond frustrated at this point, "lights at 40 percent." She blinked, narrowing her eyes when the system failed to come up with any sort of response, the room eerily silent and just as dark as when she first stepped foot through the door. "Computer, locate the source of problem." Once again she was met by silence, gritting her teeth in annoyance she pressed her fingers into her eyes, fighting off angry tears. "Computer-"
"Computer, lights at 40 percent." The sound of Spock's baritone voice made her squeak, her whole body flinching as the lights came on and the vague shapes in her room finally came into focus.
"Holy fuck-" the rest of her curse got caught somewhere halfway out of her throat, her teeth biting down on her tongue as she pressed her palms on her knees, fingers digging into the pants and leaving creases. She breathed heavily as her heart pounded in her chest, her arms shaking. She looked up at Spock that was seated in her chair, his back perfectly straight despite the fact she just cursed up a storm in his presence which would usually earn her at least a raised eyebrow. "You," she pointed her finger at him, one of her hands pressed to her chest as she finally stood up straight once again, "scared the crap out of me."
"I apologize." His voice was quieter than when he gave the order that shortened her life span for about 4 years straight.
Her heart finally beating in it's usual rhythm, La'an relaxed, her arms falling limply to her sides. "Sorry I cursed you out, I just didn't expect you here tonight."
"I am aware." He stood up, his hands held behind his back in a very formal stance she usually associated with his duty form. Despite the serious posture, he was dressed in a plain black shirt and gray sweatpants, starfleet issue. "It was my intention to surprise you, however, I seemed to have frightened you instead."
"No, no. It's okay. Sorry." She heaved out a sigh, her shoulders slumping. "Today has been... not great."
An emotion flashed across his face in a speed of light, something she took notice of, but it was gone too quickly for her to figure out a correct one. "I seemed to have made an error and failed to encorporate your additional duties of the day into the my calculations."
La'an let out a weak chuckle. "What exactly have you been calculating?" She asked, genuinely interested since it was not unusual for him to preform a social experiment during his free time - over time she got used to his unusual way of phrasing things and has grown quite fond of them.
Spock shifted on his feet, she took notice of the lack of socks and smiled, something she has not yet gotten used to since he seemed to do that only when he was uncertain of his answer or nervous. The action made her frown, wondering if his reaction had something to do with their romantic relationship and whether or not he was coming in here to voice his concerns.
However, every bad thought that she had vanished from her head in an instant once Spock brought his hands in front of him while taking steps in her direction, therefore reducing the distance between them. In his hand, there was a strawberry fruit cake with a single candle on top of it. The sudden realization of the day and the date dawned on her, his thoughtfulness pushing tears to her eyes. The rush of positive emotions combined with the piled up stress that accumulated during the day made it increasingly difficult to push back the tears that made a reappearance in quick fashion, the salty liquid escaping from her eyes and rushing down her face, turning her cheeks into black waterfalls.
Spock's face immediately fell, her reaction mistaken for a negative one. He cleared his throat. "I did not mean to cause you emotional distress. Please, forgive me."
La'an laughed through her tears, bringing up a hand to wipe her eyes, her face practically split in face by her watery smile. "No Spock. I'm not sad." She reached out with her arms, grabbing his forearm and pulling him towards her. He went willingly, allowing her to snuggle into his chest while she composed herself. "Quite the opposite, actually."
He was silent for a few moments while he processed her response even though she could feel his confusion rolling off of him in waves. "Are tears not usually a sign of negative emotions?"
"Yeah." She chuckled. "But they can also be a sign of happiness."
"I see." He stated reassuringly even though she could tell he couldn't fully grasp the concept. "Still, I apologize for making you cry." His unoccupied hand rubbed her back in a soothing way, the repetitive motion making her sink into his chest even further, feeling almost like she was melting.
"I forgot it was my birthday." She whispered, her cheek pressed into his collarbone. It was not a lie, she absolutely forgot it was 8th of December, the gregorian calendar only used informally nowadays and there weren't a lot of informal days on a starship. She felt Spock shift, tilting his chin down to look at her as she looked up at him. "I didn't even look at the calendar this morning."
"It is very common to dissociate from the civilian way of measuring units when one is surrounded by military schedule." He stated logically, his warm eyes gazing down at her with open affection. "I am very fortunate to have been one to remind you."
"Hmmm. You're quite right." She hummed, raising on her tiptoes and tugging on his shirt simultaneously in order to make him bend down and pressed their lips together. It was a chaste kiss, merely a brush of lips upon lips but it still made butterflies do that little dance in her stomach that always had her feeling like she was floating. Considering that she was held down by an artificial gravity in the first place, that phrase might not even be entirely inaccurate. They sighed in unison as they parted, their arms still wrapped around each other firmly, basking in the warmth that their bodies emitted. La'an dropped down on her heels, clearing her throat and raising an eyebrow at him. "So?"
Spock tilted his head questioningly. "So?" He repeated in confusion.
La'an smirked. "Can I have my cake now?" Spock seemed lost in thought for a second, almost as if he forgot about the existence of the before mentioned cake that made her break down into tears in the first place, before a light bulb (ironically) seemed to have gone off in his brain and he brought the fruit cake in front of them for her to inspect. "Strawberries." She almost purred in satisfaction as the smell reached her. "My favorite."
"Indeed." Spock agreed and produced a lighter, seemingly out of thin air, in order to light the candle. The warm glow of the candle made the honey rings in his eyes appear brighter and La'an found herself drowning in his irises for a fraction of a second before Spock broke the silence once again. "Make a wish La'an."
La'an closed her eyes for a second, pursing her lips in faux determination and furrowed her brows, before she opened them and blew out her candle. Spock's lips stretched into a lazy smile as he watched her, her own expression mimicking his in a way that she was sure made her look like an absolute lunatic, but she was too content at the moment to care. "Can I eat it now?" She asked in an almost child like wonder and impatience as Spock took out the used candle and disposed of it safely on her desk for him to remove later.
"Of course." He didn't even finish his sentence until the end before the treat was almost ripped out of his hands, La'an's teeth sinking into the biscuit and pudding. She let out a moan as the first taste hit the nerve endings in her tongue, the stress of the day evaporating completely as she munched on her dessert. Some of the pudding got stuck on the corner of her lip, something she didn't seem too concerned about at the moment but Spock couldn't help but notice. He raised an eyebrow and brought his thumb to wipe at the smudge before he brought it up to his lips. La'an followed his movement with hungry eyes, her pupils dilating as she watched him suck it from his finger. For a moment she wondered if he was unaware of the picture he was painting but the fact that he maintained eye contact while preforming a lewwd action told her exactly what she needed to know. Spock sent her a falsely innocent look that she dismissed with a raised eyebrow before he smiled at her warmly once again, uncaring of the emotional display now that they were away from prying eyes. He tucked a strand of her wild hair behind her ear, the pads of his fingers grazing the shell and making her shudder. "Happy birthday La'an."
La'an hummed, the heat simmering low in her belly as she sent him a sultry look in response to his obvious seduction. Every atom in her body seemed to be vibrating with energy, every electron charged with sexual tension. Even as the last molecule of fatigue left her body in the wake of the fading memories of the day - La'an could tell that the night was far from over and still very much so young. So instead of jumping on him and climbing him like a tree, she took another bite of her cake and muttered to herself. "Happy birthday to me indeed."