Snippet 2b

Sybok looked at him, maintaining silence for a few more seconds. "And you believe I wish to be with him?" he said, his tone unreadable. "When have I given you that impression?"

Spock raised an eyebrow. "Jim confided to me that he had seen the two of you share a kiss."

Sybok's fingers tightened just slightly on his arm, but his expression did not change. "That was three years ago, Spock. Much has changed since then."

Spock's expression did not change either. "You left the bar when you saw him. You would not have left so abruptly had you not been emotionally moved by what you saw."

"I was simply taken off guard," Sybok said, almost on top of his words. "And I reacted suddenly to it. It was my own mistake, and clear proof that I have been away from Earth for quite some time."

"That reaction was not that of a Vulcan." Spock disagreed. "I have never seen you react as you did to any other circumstance."

Sybok's eyes darkened noticeably at that. A few more seconds of silence passed before he spoke. "I do not wish to discuss this with you any longer, Spock," he said, very pointedly turning away. "You may go now."

Spock frowned. "You are displeased with my observation."

"I am not displeased," Sybok muttered, a little more sharply than he'd perhaps intended. "I just do not wish to discuss it any further. I have other things I must set my mind to at the moment."

"Your tone has sharpened, your voice level has decreased and you are avoiding eye contact. You are emotionally compromised."

"Is there something you are hoping to accomplish by telling me this?" Sybok demanded, glancing up coldly at Spock's words.

"You expressed that you were not displeased and yet you show signs of it." Spock replied, ignoring his look. "Yet...however illogical it might be...you refuse to admit it." He raised an eyebrow. "It is...very human of you."

Sybok's posture tightened as he sat up, and this time the glare he gave Spock was almost an open one. "That is enough, Spock. Go, now. If I want any more of your opinions or advice on matters of this nature, I shall call for you. Now go."

Spock watched him for a moment longer before glancing down, breaking his own train of thought. He nodded once to his brother before turning and heading toward the door.

The sound of the door closing was first thing to break the silence.

Sybok put down his pen after the sound of it, sitting back in his chair. He stared at the wall for a few moments, letting out an exhale of air that was not quite a sigh - but perhaps close enough to it.

Spock was too concerned. And clearly too inquisitive to be acceptable in this matter. But there was little to suitably reprimand him of...because, in addition to these things, he was also observant. Perhaps more than he should be.

Closing his eyes briefly, Sybok bent an elbow and pressed his fingers against his chin, staring down at his desk and reluctantly allowing himself to lose focus from his work and become lost in thought.

He stayed that way for a long while that evening.

*

"Finally!"

Sam felt himself knocked a good three feet backwards when Chelsea all but collided with him once he approached their table at Zany's, her strawberry hair flipping out behind her as she flung her arms around his neck.

"Oh, baby, I've been so worried!" she gushed, kissing him at least three times before allowing him to take a seat. "I tried calling you, like, a zillion times! You know how much it bothers me when you avoid me!"

"Yeah I'm sorry about that Chels." Sam said, giving her a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes as he pulled out his chair and slowly took a seat. "I've just been busy with classes. You know how it goes."

"Oh, right. I totally do," Chelsea said heavily, leaning forward to pat his hand with wide eyes. "And, today - oh my gosh it was impossible for me to pick out something to wear. It was, like, insane. And so I called Gabby, and she was all like 'just put on whatever you see first', and I was like 'hell no,' because the first thing I saw was this ugly little cardigan I wore last spring, and I swore I'd never go out in that hideous thing again, so I - "

"Hey, Chelsea?" Sam interrupted, giving her hands a quick squeeze before slowly withdrawing him. "I'm sorry to cut you off, but I really think that we should talk about what happened a few nights ago. With that Vulcan?"

"Oh, yeah, that gorgeous Vulcan," Chelsea sighed, giving him a big smile. "A friend of yours? I mean, you ran after him so quickly - was he mad at you or something?"

Sam half-laughed, looking down at the table. "Not exactly. He and I kinda have a history," he said, looking up at her briefly. "We hadn't seen each other in years and it was kind of a shock, ya know?"

"Of course," Chelsea said with a grave nod - before she paused, frowning. "...wait - what kind of history?"

"The sexual kind." Sam said, making an apologetic face.

Chelsea's mouth slowly opened - then dropped until her jaw was hanging. "...are you serious?" she straightened up immediately. "When was this?"

"When I was 18." Sam said, rubbing a hand against his neck. "Had a thing for him since I was 16 though."