ST: FIC: Days of Our Youth 8

Chapter Eight

After leaving the bridge Kirk took Spock down to the mess hall. Whenever he was upset he loved to grab some food. There was nothing more comforting food. So, that was his plan. And being the compassionate man that he was, Kirk took all the back passages to make sure they didn't run into to many crew members.

Hopefully that would help Spock.

Since the bridge Spock hadn't spoken, he didn't even object when Kirk grabbed his hand again. He had just stared at the ground and allowed Kirk to gently guide him to wherever they were going.

When they reached the mess hall Kirk paused a second to ask the computer how many people were inside.

            "Three."

            "Thank you, computer," he mumbled as he stepped inside, pulling Spock with him. To his immense joy one of the three people in the room was Bones. The other two were ensigns, the girl was from engineering and the man was security.

Bones looked up as soon as the door opened. For a second his expression was blank then it shifted into a huge grin. He gestured at the empty chairs next to him. Kirk looked down at Spock but the Vulcan showed nothing. With a tiny sigh he strode over to Bones' table.

            "Hey, Bones. What's for dinner?"

            "For you? A salad," Bones responded. Kirk groaned. "No. None of that. Your eating habits are disgusting," he chided while Kirk sat down across from him; Spock took the seat next to Kirk.

            "I was thinking more along the lines of," Kirk paused and tipped a sideways glance at Spock, "something Vulcan."

Bones' fork stopped half way to his mouth; his mouth open. "Vulcan?" He asked after a second.

            "Vulcan."

Spock slowly looked up. His expression was blank but there was tightness around his mouth.

            "Why Vulcan?" Bones asked, finally taking a bite of leafy greens.

Kirk had to stop a second to think about an answer. He couldn't say it was because he was trying to make Spock feel better. That wouldn't go over well. Like usual he decided to make something up on the spot.

            "Well, I was reading a report on the different culinary practices of Federation planets," he explained, waving one of his hands for emphasis. "The foods from Vulcan caught my eye."

            "What is it that caught your eye, Captain?" Spock spoke up, his gaze fixed on the captain.

Kirk looked at Spock. He pursed his lips slightly. Well, now he really needed to be quick on his feet. He knew, possibly, only three words in the Vulcan language and he was pretty sure one of them should never be used in polite conversation.

            "I'm not sure what it's called," Kirk started.

Across from him Bones rolled his eyes and took another bite of his dinner.

                        "I do know that it's considered a sweet. Like… Dessert," he continued, waving his hand again. "It's kinda like Jell-O, green, with a white topping." He stopped. Whatever he was describing he sincerely hoped that it was a real food.

            Spock's eyes narrowed slightly. Slowly he nodded. "You're talking about Kal'tar," he said.

                        "That does sound familiar," he responded, smiling triumphantly. "Let's have some!"

                        "Captain, I don't think-," Spock started but Kirk waved him silent.

                        "Computer, get us three servings of… Kal'tar," Kirk ordered.

                        "Affirmative," the computer responded.

            Pushing himself out his chair, Kirk stepped over to the replicator. After a small buzz the compartment slid open and inside sat three bowls of a bright green substance covered in what looked like whipped cream. Picking them up, Kirk stared at them for a moment.

            This had better work, Kirk thought.

                        "There ya go." He placed a bowl in front of Bones and another in front of Spock.

                        "Oh, no. I'm not getting in on this experience," Bones grumbled and pushed the bowl away from him.

                        "Come on, Bones. Live a little," Kirk teased.

            Lifting the spoon that he was given, Kirk stared at the bowl again. He had always loved sweets but something about Vulcan and sweets just didn't mix. Clearing his throat he dipped the spoon into the Kal'tar. As he tried to lift it he came across a small problem.

            His spoon was stuck and it seemed like the only way to get it out was to rip it out.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw that Spock was taking very tiny bites. Well, he could have told him that only small bites were used. Although he couldn't stay irritated long, Spock looked very pleased and a subtle glance under the table told him that Spock was swinging his legs back and forth happily.

            Trying to keep his cool Kirk tugged on the spoon. The result was extremely unexpected. The spoon came free with a strange squelching sound and the glob of green, whatever, shot off his spoon right into Bones' face.

            A shocked silence fell over the group. Kirk was frozen with his spoon held up and his mouth hanging open. Even Spock was very still, with the spoon half way to his mouth, his eyes trained on Bones' face.

            Very carefully and very deliberately Bones set down his fork and slowly reached up to wipe the glop off his face. He glared at Kirk with enough anger to stop a cart horse. Flicking his wrist very lightly, he got most of the green off his hand and onto the table.

            Bones looked at his plate for a second then picked up a small, red, tomato. Before Kirk could react or do anything of the sort, Bones leaned across the table and slapped the tomato into his face. The tiny tomato instantly exploded against his cheek, sending juice and seeds to run down his jaw-line.

            Kirk's mouth dropped as Bones leaned back in his chair, looking cocky. Spock glanced between the two, for once unsure of what to say or do.

            That was when Kirk finally moved. He pulled himself out of his chair, strode over to the food replicator and put in his order. Bones watched him with a wary expression. Kirk turned around, cradling something in his hands. He took two steps then dipped his hand into the bowl and hurled warm mashed potatoes at Bones' head.

                        "What the--?" Bones' hand shot up and he nearly fell out of his seat. Steadying himself the doctor glared at Kirk again. "You know what this means, right?"

            Kirk smirked wickedly and nodded.

                        "Good, then I won't feel nearly as bad," he said. He grabbed his bowl of Kal'tar. "Sorry Spock," he apologized. Spock merely shrugged and continued to enjoy his treat. Just one year with these humans had taught him to let it go and be ready for whatever.

            Kirk's eyes widened and he danced away from the table, more towards the door.

                        "Oh no, you don't!" Bones pulled his arm back and let the bowl fly.

            Just as the bowl left Bones' fingers, Kirk dropped to his knees and the mess hall door opened.

                        "Cap'n, I-Holy!" Scotty gasped. He and Uhura were just entering the room when they saw the bowl of green flying toward them. The engineer twisted out of the way.

            There was good news and bad news. The good news was that Scotty hadn't been slammed in the face with green goo. But one glance at Uhura told him the bad news. The young woman was standing very stiffly with green dripping off her face. Scotty's eyes widened.

            Kirk stood up and looked over his shoulder. He had to turn back around and cover his mouth to hide his laughter.

            Bones, on the other hand, looked mortified. He was paused in his throwing position, arm out stretched, mouth hanging open.

                        "Good God…" The doctor breathed. "Uhura, I am so sorry!" He started to babble out apologies. As he stepped forward, with his hands up, Uhura stepped further into the room. Her face was very calm, minus the green goo, and her posture serene. She was staring at Bones like she had never quite seen anything quite like him before.

            Pausing next to a table with two ensigns, she reached down and lifted up the girl's plate. Delicately she dipped her hand into the pile of noodles. With a very serious expression on her features Uhura swung her arm and let fly the noodles.

            Sheer instinct told Bones to drop to the ground and he did just that. Dropping onto his stomach, he coughed slightly at the loss of air.

            Bones might have been lucky but Spock most certainly wasn't. He had been sitting peacefully since the beginning of the whole mess when Bones dropped and Uhura's noodles hit him in the face. He sat perfectly ridge in his chair. Kirk and Scotty both had to clutch their sides from laughing so hard and it was Uhura's turn to look mortified. As soon as Bones looked up he had to join in with the laughter.

            The tiny Vulcan sat with butter sauce and noodles dripping off his face and hair.

            As soon as the laughter subsided the fight really began. Bones got revenge for Spock by throwing more green goo at Uhura and soon the two were in their own battle. Kirk, Scotty and the two ensigns got into teams and started to reenact the battles of the American Revolution.
            Silently, Spock crawled under the table and spent his time picking the noodles out of his hair and wiping the butter off of his face.