K'hat'n'dlawa

The Drawback

You're how old?" Amanda asked him incredulously. Sarek tilted his head and raised his eyebrows at her tone.

"I am sure that your hearing is unimpaired." he replied.

"There's no way. You're joking, right?" she asked.

"Vulcans do not 'joke'. Nor do they lie, as you are aware, Amanda." Sarek said.

They were in her apartment again- it had been two weeks since they first used the ozh'esta, and since then it had become yet another of their 'date customs', as Amanda called them, for him to come inside. Amanda had taken the liberty of sitting sideways on the sofa, her back resting against his chest- something which, until recently, he would have been uncomfortable with. Now, however...he found that he enjoyed her slight weight against him, the top of her head tucked just underneath his chin. She had placed his arms around her middle, and told him that this was called 'cuddling'. He found cuddling to be very pleasing.

"There's no way that you are sixty-four years old. I don't believe that for a second." Amanda was now shaking her head.

"How old do you suppose I am?" he asked.

"I would say thirty five. Maybe forty." she said. "But sixty four? No way."

He found himself to be amused by her reluctance to believe him.

"I assure you, I am sixty four years, four months-"

"There's no need to tell me your exact age." she cut him off. Then she sighed. "I just...I never realized that you're so old."

"I am only old by human standards. By Vulcan standards, I am quite young. Our life spans are much longer than that of humans, and we age much slower physically." he said. "In fact, I am the youngest planetary ambassador."

"I admit, it's a little disturbing."

"How so? This does not affect our current relationship in any way." He truly did not understand. He had not realized that this may be a problem for her. Suppose she decided that he was too old for her?

"It's just that you're old enough to be my...oh, never mind. I guess I'll just have to get used to it."

He felt relieved. If she said she had to 'get used to it', then that must mean that it did not deter her. He decided to reward her with a kiss on her forehead. Her eyes slipped closed and she smiled as he did so.

"And what did you do before you were an ambassador?" she asked.

"I was an astrophysicist." he replied. "My change in occupation is partly the reason why I had to dissolve the bond between myself and my former wife, T'Nik."

"Why, though?"

"She wished to take a posting on a science station in a remote corner of the galaxy. I had my own duties as a new ambassador. We would not have seen one another for many years. It was logical to separate."

"And you were bonded to her as a child, right?"

"That is customary for Vulcans, yes."

"Did you..." she trailed off, and she shifted in his arms a little- which he took to mean that she was uncomfortable about asking her question. "Did you...miss her?"

He thought he understood what she may be worried about.

"I had been bonded to her for many years, Amanda. I admit it was...strange, at first, to no longer have her presence in my mind. But T'Nik and I were bound only by duty and obligation. It was our families' wish for us to be married, and so we were. There was no emotional attachment other than a deep respect for one another."