Spock One Shots

No Nachos on Vulcan? Part 2

Everyone had been through a lot in the last couple of weeks. The destruction of the Discovery along with her crew had been devastating. You had transferred to the Enterprise shortly before the ship had been lost. All your friends were gone. But you knew you were fortunate to have only lost friends. Some people lost spouses, siblings, or parents. You couldn't even imagine what that was like. 

At first, Spock had kept his distance from you. He took his meals in his quarters and only seemed to come out when he was on duty. You kept busy by getting to know your new shipmates and taking any available extra work that came up. You ate alone for the most part, reviewing the schematics of your new ship while worfing down whatever meal was planned on the menu. 

The days seemed to blend together. Work, eat, sleep. Work, eat, sleep. You were reviewing the diagnostics for the life support functions on the ship when you heard someone clear their throat. You looked up to see Spock standing over you with a tray in his hand. 

"Are you amenable to company, Lieutenant?"

You raised your eyebrows in surprise. "Yes. Please sit."

He set the tray down on the small table and took his place across from you. There were two bowls on the tray as well as silverware. He took one of the bowls, a spoon, and then began eating. The minutes ticked on. He didn't look up at you or say a word. He simply sat there eating. 

You looked at him incredulously. "Are you always so talkative or am I just lucky?"

Spock froze mid-bite. He returned his spoonful of what looked to be stew to his bowl and cleared his throat. "I suspect your statement is sarcasm, which likely means you have, in some way, taken offense to my actions. I think this is because I did not clarify the parameters of this interaction. I frequently consume meals alone in my quarters. During such times, I do not wish to converse unnecessarily with others. I assumed when I saw you reviewing  work on  your PADD, that you felt a similar way. It was not my intention to offend. I only wished to consume a meal without committing myself or another person to forced niceties."

You softened your expression. You hadn't meant to make him feel uncomfortable. Especially after everything he had been through. "Hey, it's no big deal. Actually, you were kinda right. I like quiet during my lunch breaks. I'm just wound up from all the work I've been doing lately. Sorry."

Spock nodded, satisfied that the matter had been settled. He grabbed the other bowl on the tray and set it in front of you. You inhaled the steam rising up from it. 

"Vegetable curry. How did you know I like Indian food?"

"I did not." he replied. "I have observed you briefly over the last few days. You have a habit of ordering the scheduled meal on the ship's replicator rotation. I inferred that today would be no different."

"Thank you, Commander."

"Thanks is not needed. You performed a similar action for me." He returned to his meal.

You gave him a small smile and then began to eat. The two of you fell into a comfortable silence. You resumed your reading. In turn, Spock also pulled out his device and began running through various tasks he needed to complete as Chief Science Officer.  It was a small moment, but it felt...nice. You didn't know why exactly. It just did. 

Soon enough the lunch break was over, and as you both stepped out of the cafeteria, you noticed that Spock has already turned away from you and was headed down the hallway toward the turbolift. You were about to let him go, when you had a thought.

"Commander! Commander Spock!" 

He turned around as you strode over to him. "Listen, I know you have to get the Bridge, but I have a proposition that I think might be mutually beneficial. "

He raised his eyebrow and cocked his head to one side. "I am listening."

"Well," you began. "Like you said, we're the same. We both like quiet during our meals. I was thinking we could make it a habit to meet for lunch. It will keep us from having to socialize and we can introduce each other to different foods. I already did the nachos. Today, you did vegetable curry. So I propose that every third day could be a toss-up. After that, we start the cycle again. "

Spock clasped his hands behind his back and  thought for a moment. "I think I would find this arrangement satisfactory. I am willing to engage in it on a trial basis. One question."

"Yes?" you said.

"How will we decide our meals on "toss-up" days?"

You ran through possible solutions for a second and then a mischievous grin came over your face. "Here's what I suggest. On toss-up days, we get in separate lines for the replicators and we have to order AND eat whatever the person in front of us gets."

Spock's eyes widened. "Considering the number of species on this ship, not to mention the various palettes of the crew, such an action could be quite risky. I am not sure this is logical."

"You're right. It's not logical. It's fun. Are you in?" You looked at him with big, expectant eyes.

He paused. "I believe so. Though I suspect I will one day regret it."

You laughed. "I think you might be right."