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“Sorel?” Daniel gave him a strange look. “You know how the menstrual cycle works. We had to study it in detail so Spock could be conceived, remember?”
Sorel glanced at his teacup for a moment. He was sitting on the sofa opposite Daniel, in the human doctor’s house. Of course he remembered, having a photographic memory.
“Certainly.” He began patiently. “When I asked about the cycle, I meant the male cycle.”
“Oh,” Daniel blushed slightly.
“I know you’re not subject to… life-threatening risks by staying single. Even so, some biological impulse to… reproduce must also exist in humans, right?”
It was Daniel’s turn to look away. It’s still a little hard to believe that he and Sorel got close enough to discuss this topic so openly. Of course, humans don’t have so many reservations, but it’s still a little embarrassing.
“Well…” he tried to hide an awkward smile. “That’s true.”
Sorel quickly suppressed an expression of surprise. For some reason, he had been expecting a vehement denial. He had known Daniel for almost ten years. In that time, the human had had to learn the truth about the Pon Farr, not only to help Sarek and Amanda conceive Spock, but also because several of his colleagues had gone through it, sometimes losing control in embarrassing ways.
“So even humans have reproductive cycles?”
Daniel nodded, smiling.
“There wouldn’t be billions of us if that weren’t the case.” For some reason, the human seemed more at ease, though his cheeks were still flushed.
“But you never…” Sorel paused, thinking of the right words to finish the sentence. “…showed any sign of suffering this affliction.” He had seen the human smiling, crying, angry, depressed, afraid, but never with any hint of lust. He had told Daniel this.
“Of course you never saw it!” The human looked horrified. “I would never… in front of you!”
Sorel was surprised by the reaction.
“I know you wouldn’t do it on purpose. I only brought it up because…” Why? “Because for Vulcans it’s almost impossible to hide their emotional reaction to the Time.”
Daniel nodded, calmer now.
“Are you… worried about me? Do you think I’ll ever…” he chuckled. “Become a savage?”
He was.
“I’m just calculating the possibility of a scenario like that.”
“In that case, I don’t know if I should tell you. It wouldn’t… help my case.” The human started laughing.
This time, Sorel couldn’t hide his surprised expression.
“Daniel?!”
“Sorry… haha… it’s just…” Daniel hugged himself, unable to control his laughter. “It’s a little weirder than it sounds.”
His friend’s reaction did nothing to calm Sorel. “Daniel…?!” He repeated, dismayed.
“Pff… it’s alright! Okay, I’ll tell you.” The human took one, two, three deep breaths until he had a serene and professional expression. Under other circumstances, Sorel might even be proud. At this moment, however, the Vulcan was curious.
“Unlike the female cycle, which is 28 days, the male hormonal cycle lasts 24—” the human hesitated.
“Months?” Sorel said. It certainly makes sense, considering human life expectancy.
“Eh.” The sound Daniel made didn’t seem promising.
“Days…?” Sorel tried again, feeling a certain agitation in his stomach.
“Hours.”
“Hours?” It’s not possible, Daniel must be joking, it’s the only logical explanation.
“The testosterone peak occurs in the early morning hours.”
24 hours.
“Throughout the day, this hormone progressively declines, reaching its lowest point at night.”
24 hours.
“Stress, poor diet, and lack of sleep can negatively affect the cycle, of course.”
“…Of course.” Sorel seemed stunned. 24 hours?!
“Sorel, are you okay?”
“What do you mean, 24 hours?! That means… that you need to…”
“Hey… no! I don’t need to do anything. My body does it for me.”
“What?”
“During sleep. It’s not uncommon to wake up with an erection, for example.”
Sorel needed a minute, or ten. He shouldn’t have asked. Damn Vulcan curiosity.
“I… have to go. It’s late.” Sorel practically ran out of the apartment, leaving a confused Daniel behind.
In the following days, Sorel thought that the round, blue human eyes no longer seemed so innocent.