K'hat'n'dlawa

Starting New

Sarek sat before a computer console. He'd just began his research and had found a very helpful document. It was a bit outdated...but how much could human mating rituals have changed over the centuries? He leaned closer to the screen and began to read.

First of all, if you're interested you gotta show it. Flirt a little- laugh, smile, touch their shoulder...

He decided that a marriage proposal had been indicative enough of his interest. He moved on to the next step.

Once interest has been communicated, feel free to ask for their phone number...

This document really must be quite old if it mentioned "phone numbers". He skipped that one too.

Call her up and ask her out. First dates have to be special- good first impressions are lasting ones. Take her out to dinner at a nice place and don't be cheap- then go somewhere fun afterward. Feel free to get creative with your date ideas, but it has to be romantic and something they'll never forget. It helps if you keep your plans for the night secret- build anticipation!

It did not tell him how he should ask her on a date. And what did they mean by "romantic"? What would Amanda find to be romantic? And fun? What was fun to humans? It seemed he still had more research to do...

And don't forget- flowers are a girl's best friend! To get on her good side early bring her a gift. Roses may send too strong a message this early in the relationship, so settle with something a little more subtle.

Sarek would have to look up a local florist. He did want to "get on her good side early." What a strange expression.

During dinner, open up a little. But don't talk about yourself TOO much- women hate that. Give her a chance to talk, too. Share a childhood memory, talk about your family, your favorite food- anything you think she should know about you! Just don't get too personal- don't ever talk about ex-girlfriends.

Perhaps this would be more difficult than he'd anticipated. "Open up"? Vulcans did not share private information easily. He would prefer to listen to her speak. He enjoyed the times in his office when she spoke about anything and everything and he could be free to simply sit there and listen, letting the smoothness of her voice wash over him...

If you've done a good job, you'll know. Walk her to her door and if she stands there looking at you for longer than ten seconds, she wants a good night kiss. That is the key indicator of a first date gone well.

Continue to show her a good time and maybe by the end of a future date she'll invite you inside to spend the night. Just remember- use protection!

Sarek stared at the screen. Good night kisses? Spending the night? Using protection? He began to feel uneasy. He had not considered this before...humans were very keen on physical contact. And apparently it was an important part of courtship. They even engaged in sexual intercourse before marriage for no logical reason.

Vulcans on the other hand...he had been bonded to a female at the age of seven, as was customary. But other than joining their fingers in the ozh'esta, a traditional sign of marriage, he'd rarely touched T'Nik throughout the years of their bonding...unless he was in his Time of course. Touching a woman to whom he was not bonded in any way would be a great challenge for him.

He and T'Nik had dissolved their bond six years before, after his last Pon Farr. It had been a mutual agreement- T'Nik was a scientist and wished to be placed on a distant science station in space to study spacial anomalies. She would have been out of physical reach by the time his next Pon Farr came...they agreed that he should find another mate in the intervening seven years. He had not until this time really considered it.