Disclaimer

I do not own Star Trek and make no money from this work.

A/N

This work has not been reviewed by a beta. Any and all errors are my own, which I will try to go back and fix as I find. This was written for the Uhura is Awesome fic fest on LJ. I hope I don't blow up the world when I post over there. 12:48 am here. I'm going to bed.

Five times they kissed, only once on the lips.

One

Nyota Uhura's personality was as irrepressible as Spock's was subdued. The two year old bounded around the S'chn T'gai household as if she were its ruling matriarch, much to the delight of the actual one. Amanda had insisted that M'Umbha Uhura and her daughter stay in their home when Sarek had informed her that the renowned human linguist coming for the Linguistics symposium at the VSA was intent on bringing her small child with her.

As exuberant as Nyota was, she was as equally perceptive and intuitive, seeming to miss nothing that occurred in her environment. While the Ambassador and his wife appeared to enjoy or perhaps politely tolerate her laughter, singing, and enthusiastic chasing of their pet I-Chaya, their son Spock did not. He often stared at Nyota in open curiosity when he was unaware that he was being observed doing so. But Spock retreated from her presence when she noticed he was there as she would then turn her overwhelming emotive behavior on him, desiring to play or much worse hug. And so by her third day on Vulcan and after several rebuffs from the young man of the household, Nyota didn't so much as hum to herself during meals (an amusing quirk that manifested when she found the meal exceptionally palatable) but like those around her ate her meal efficiently, without so much as a peep. She liked Spock. She wanted him to like her back. When Spock was at school she and his pet sehlet were as rambunctious as marauding Romulan pirates and doled out hugs and kisses when cookies (from Amanda) or songs (remarkably from Sarek) were shared, but when Spock returned home she became as restrained as he.

The entire household as well as Nyota's mother found the phenomenon…fascinating.

Then one evening Spock came home from school with a large bruise of his face and a trace of green blood on his lip where the skin had been broken and Nyota couldn't keep herself restrained.

She first saw Spock's injuries as he came from discussing what had occurred with his parents in his father's study. Her dark eyes filled with tears and she tried to lay her little hand to his cheek as she said 'hurt.' Spock stepped quickly away and left to do his chores to her sad call of 'Wait!' behind him. Later, as he sat down to complete his homework, Nyota sat next to him and began to sing; it always made her feel better. Spock removed himself from the 'family space' to study in his room. When everyone sat for end-meal Nyota removed her favorite things from her dish and placed them on Spock's plate; her boo boos were always soothed by treats. Spock used his utensils to scoot his food safely and neatly away from her offerings. Nyota then got down from the table, reasoning she needed back up, ignoring her mother's surprised, 'where do you think you're going little lady' and marched straight out the backdoor and yelled 'CHAYA!' The sehlet lumbered in, nudging her tiny body and knocking her to the ground before she got hold of him and half pulled half pushed the beast to Spock's side telling the animal that Spock 'had an owie' and 'peas help'. Spock rose saying that I-Chaya was not allowed in the kitchen and escorted his pet back out.

Nyota was beside herself. She was a helper. She wanted to help. She'd figured out her 'loud play' must hurt Spock's pretty ears, so she stopped. She helped. Nyota wanted to help! She sat back down at the table without a word, struggling to think of something that Spock's papa, Sarek—also with the pretty ears—said was 'acceptable'. It took her almost the whole meal to remember what she'd seen. Nyota watched and waited and finally Spock took a drink of his juice and then left his hand on the table beside his plate. She reached out quickly and wrapped the tips of her index and middle fingers firmly around his.

Spock gasped, twitched and fell out of his chair. He scurried rapidly to his feet, his face and ears tinted sharply with his blood as his eyes darted to his parent's faces and he asked to be excused even as he was rushing with all due haste from the room. He went to his room, secured the door, crossed swiftly to his desk, and collected his chair, which he then used to stand on and started to climb out of his window. His mother was the only one who ever 'kissed his hurts away'. Spock dropped to the ground outside; now certain he was absolutely alone and could be heard by no one. He looked at his trembling hand which was now suffused with the very same 'care' and love' currents he received from his mother. His mind instantly replayed Nyota's minds ecstatic 'GOT YA!' The wonder and amusement he'd been fighting down bubbled up and a small laugh escaped him, though he bit his sore lip to prevent the accompanying smile that was threatening to emerge and schooled his expression as he touched the 'offended' hand to his bruised face.

Two

Nyota felt more intrusive than her two year old self had been on the last occasion she was able to visit Vulcan. The trip inadvertently coincided with Spock's impending acceptance into the VSA. She tried to stay out of his way and avoid gawking at his ridiculously handsome face whenever she passed him. She happily helped Amanda plan a special dinner for Spock to celebrate and she promised with a wink to his mother not to put anything from her plate on his.

At the appointed time Nyota was allowed to go along to the ceremony as it was logical to satisfy her ever growing curiosity, and Spock had encouraged her that the VSA was within her—always striving—reach. Then she heard what they said to him about his mother's people…her people and she felt shocked, angry tears spill down her face. Spock's eyes said everything while his father said nothing.

Per Vulcan decorum they still had the dinner though it was not with companionable silence but a stony one and Nyota had to occasionally wipe a tear away because at the newly minted age of thirteen she just couldn't get control. Spock used his knife and fork to carefully pick up his prusha kisan and slide it gently onto her plate. When Nyota looked at him at last after she resolved not to shed another tear, Spock touched his fingers to hers beneath the table to kindly say thank you, to kiss away the hurt in her heart.

Three

Just as Spock turned to Starfleet Academy, so too did Nyota. But she did not simply follow him; she'd always had her eyes on the stars, from her first journey through them to Vulcan. Nyota Uhura was nothing if not bold and pursued her aspirations to serve aboard a starship with a tenacious single-mindedness, patience and hard work.

Spock watched Nyota when she came to the academy, just as he had watched her when she had first visited Vulcan…from a distance; though he no longer wanted to. The indomitable spirit he had come to know in those first few weeks of her life spent on Vulcan continued to remain unaltered by the passage of time. Nyota sang in the choral group, danced with her friends in the local clubs, and laughed freely as she strolled across campus, usually accompanied by several males who followed her as easily as I-Chaya once had and Spock now could not, though much to his relief she took far less notice of the many new men in her life than she had of Spock's pet sehlet.

Unbeknownst to Spock, Nyota didn't think any of the cadets who asked her out were as smart as he, or as handsome, or clever and therefore she stubbornly didn't want anybody else. Her affection for him had only grown with time. Nyota was no longer a child and she was waiting for the day she caught Spock's eye from across the quad, or the mess hall, or the classroom and knew that he'd become aware of that fact.

And then it finally happened.

"Where are you going?"

"Not telling."

"Come on, Ny! I'm your best friend. I know for a fact three spectacularly hot guys asked you out tonight, now spill it! What are you doing?" Gaila face contorted into her best pout.

"Listen, La. You'll think what I'm doing is stupid, which doesn't matter by the way, and I'm going to it alone so you're not missing out on some salacious piece of gossip, so let it go."

"I can't!"

"You're going to have to."

"I don't want to!"

"Tough."

"Is it Christopher Monroe?"

"Gaila!."

"Akihiko Takahashi?"

"Stop please."

"M'Trin?"

"Oh, for crying out loud, Gaila!"

"Well, I know he's furry all over, but the tail is kinda hot."

Nyota picked up her tray to leave, with Gaila right on her heels continuing to spout off names while Spock's eyes discretely tracked her roommates exit.

True to her word Nyota settled into her seat at the renovated movie house without a companion save for a bag of popcorn and a box of Hot Tamales. Right before the lights dimmed Commander Spock sat down in the seat next to her.

"This film is very old, Cadet."

"It's a personal favorite, Commander."

"I am aware." Spock said while seeming to scrutinizing the size of her bag of popcorn. "You lied to your roommate when you said you were spending the evening alone."

"I didn't say I was spending the evening alone. I said I was going wherever I was going alone, which I did. Traveled to this spot all by my lonesome and I'll be leaving the same way."

"I will follow you to ensure you arrive home safely, Nyota….as always."

Nyota smiled into the darkness as the theater lights went down and the film lit the screen before them.

The movie began with a group of unseen angels meeting to show a lesser angel still trying to earn his wings about the life of a man named George Bailey. Nyota and Spock watched scenes depicting George's childhood and when it got to the part where a young besotted Mary Hatch leaned over the counter of the local ice cream parlor while George was telling her about all the adventures he was going to have exploring and said, "Is this the ear you can't hear in? George Bailey, I'll love you till the day I die." Nyota smiled widely and looked at Spock with only the light from the screen flickering across his face. He turned his head to meet her adoring gaze while he lifted her hand in his and began to trace her fingers with his own causing goose bumps to sweep over her instantly electrified skin.

Spock whispered, 'I know' to her unspoken declaration as he held her hand tighter, rubbing his thumb into her palm, causing a slow burn of arousal to ignite and swiftly seep from the surface of his skin into the very core of his body and her to gasp and squirm.

"There are no other individuals present viewing this film, Cadet." He murmured into her ear, shifting his eyes from hers to stare as if mesmerized at the hand he continued to touch and caress.

Then she whispered, 'I know' and climbed into his lap spilling her popcorn onto the floor.

And when the film progressed to the scene where George was forced to speak nose to nose with Mary on the communication device and the emotions he fought to contain for her broke through and he told her 'I don't want to get married–ever—to anyone! You understand that? I want to do what I want to do. And you're….and you're…' trailing off to grab her fiercely to him, Nyota was rocking her hips gently into Spock's, her forehead resting against his, their hands firmly intertwined palm to palm, their hot breath mingling with every panting exhalation.

Four

Nyota loved Spock. She felt like she had loved him her whole life. But she had goals, things she wanted to accomplish and she couldn't let her love for him get in the way. And Spock understood; her thirst for knowledge, her curious mind that yearned to not just learn the known but explore and discover the unknown for herself. He understood perfectly for he was the same. As for the rest, the other things he wanted and she was not yet ready for…he would be patient…he would wait.

Spock walked into her quarters to find them empty. He stood, his head tilted slightly to the side, perplexed because she had specifically requested his presence. He walked from the common area to her sleeping alcove and saw a book lying open on her bed with a PADD propped up with a pillow next to it that said 'read please'. His curiosity sufficiently piqued he lifted the book, which appeared to be a journal Nyota kept and began to read, immediately noting the star date which placed the entry before her entrance into the academy in her eighteenth year.

A cotillion…a ridiculously fluffy ball gown…my love for Mama knows no bounds. I don't quite understand how this feels so archaic and silly while at the same time necessary and right. The cotillion is her last request of me before I leave for San Francisco, for Starfleet, and for the all the dreams I've mapped out for myself. She met papa at her own cotillion, uncharacteristically ditching her escort for him and his 'breathtaking smile' before they'd not so much as spoken a word. Mama may be a realist in life but she's romantic at heart. I can't count the times she has shared her 'most happy memory' with me; recounting how the moment between she and papa was magic and 'right'. Doing this for her now is right too. There is symmetry to it, returning to the place and thing that brought them together. And Lady Amanda will be here for my 'coming of age' just as Mama and I were there for Spock's, which feels like it lends itself to that balance as well.

Spock… I wish he were here. It would be nice to have an escort I actually love…like …yeah, its love. I'm so pathetic. Please, oh please, let me see him every day when I get to the academy. I hope the first thing he says when I finally see him again is that he's secretly loved me forever and as luck would have it T'Pring has been dragged away by a pack of rabid le-matyas.

Dear God,

Please let it be that Spock never, ever, EVER reads this book. He will think I'm a complete lunatic.

Yours sincerely,

Nyota

I really need to stop having the hand-kissing dream. It's always different yet the same. Spock brushing the hair that has fallen in my eyes away and tucking it behind my ear, kissing my forehead with the pads of his fingers, grazing the curved shell of my ear with the back of his fingers. Spock guiding me beside him into a room, while his fingers touch lightly like the brush of parted warm lips on the bare skin of the small of my back. The simplest and most innocent of touches turned into intimate kisses. I will never crave another's hands as I crave Spock's.

It almost kills me to wonder at all the things he could do with those long fingers. That he could feel me in a way that no human man could. That he could reach inside me and sense what his touch does to me—the pleasure he renders me…show me as it blooms and grows within him.

Someday…someday he'll kiss me with his lips while he uses his fingers to kiss along the path inside me, silky and soft just for him, and let those sensitive finger tips kiss the place where he'll place our child.

I don't know why that thought turns me on so…

Spock stared at the page, not realizing until he placed the book down to rest again on the bed after reading the entry for a fifth time that his hands were shaking. The book was no longer before his eyes, but the last of the words written across the page continued to play through his mind.

Someday…someday he'll kiss me with his lips while he uses his fingers to kiss along the path inside me, silky and soft just for him, and let those sensitive finger tips kiss the place where he'll place our child.

I don't know why that thought turns me on so…

Nyota's final words were on the very bottom of the page, haphazardly scrawled compared to the neat script above it. She had paused in her writing to release the tension in her body…he was sure of it.

Spock understood perfectly well why the thought she had written stirred him beyond rational thought and let himself be swept up in the arousal Nyota's words provoked, secretly savoring the way his desire was evidenced as it flowed and began to dampened his uniform trousers.

His wait was over…she was ready.

He retrieved one of the uniforms he kept in Nyota's quarters, cleaned and changed into it and went to find her.

Five

"What's up?"

"Nothing"

"Lieutenant Commander Nyota Uhura, you're staring into space, smiling like an idiot." Gaila said while narrowing her eyes. "Something is most definitely up. I've known you forever girl, what's the big—Whoa, riled up First Officer at three o'clock!"

Nyota's smile became impossibly brighter but she continued to stare straight ahead despite the warning of an incoming, 'riled up' Vulcan.

Gaila tripped over her own feet while she scrambled to get out of the way as it appeared Commander Spock was not slowing in his approach. He blew by where she and Nyota sat, somehow collecting her friend in his arms without pausing or appearing to exert effort of any kind. The Orion's mouth fell open and her nipples tightened and peaked when Spock captured Nyota's mouth with his own, sinking into a deep, hungry kiss as he pinned her to a wall before the deity and every shocked-silent sentient being in rec. room six.

No one seemed to be capable to moving or looking away as the Enterprise's XO held the Enterprise's Communications Officer to him easily with one arm, moaning wantonly into her mouth as he used his free hand to collect hers from where it clung to his shoulder and began to stroke and fondle her slender fingers with his own.

Sulu adjusted his pants. Nurse Chapel bit her lip and shifted in her chair trying to discretely press her thighs together.

Spock grasped Nyota's hand tightly as he lifted his mouth from hers.

"You are ready to become my wife."

"I am Spock…Yes."

Spock began to purr loudly. Gaila whimpered.

"You are ready to have our children." Spock rolled his hips roughly to Nyota's. Nurse Chapel fainted and fell out of her chair.

"How soon can you marry me?" Nyota asked as she brought their joined hands to her lips, pulling their intertwined index fingers into her mouth. Spock groaned, turned and knocked over a chair while he deposited Nyota on a table.

He order for the room to be cleared immediately and requested any able body person to take Chapel to sick bay. When no one seemed to move, Nyota growled, 'Move it, people' snapping the group out of their lust induced stupor. Kevin Riley hoisted Chapel over his shoulder and watched enviously as Gaila grabbed Sulu's hand and double timed it toward her quarters with Chekov in tow. Janice Rand and Charlene Masters disappeared with escorts as well.

"Computer, secure door." Spock said as soon as the door hissed closed and then began tugging at Nyota's uniform.

"How are you going to explain this behavior to the Captain?"

"I will inform him you are in heat."

Nyota began to laugh against Spock's chest but stopped when she heard the ripping of her undergarments. She looked up into Spock's face and met his intense gaze as she felt him push two fingers into her sex.

"Silken and soft for me…" Spock murmured. He twisted his hand and pushed his fingers deeper causing Nyota to inhale sharply. His countenance became almost overwrought with lust as he began moving the tips of his fingers in slow circles within her, leaning in to her ear, skimming it with his lips as he whispered, "A kiss for luck."