Historian's Note: Takes place shortly after the events in 'Where No Man Has Gone Before'. (This was previously removed due to canon concerns, and is now being reposted.)

Author's Note: I realize that color television in the 1960's was still a relatively new concept, and that filming had to take into account that most household TVs were still black and white sets. Consequently, the use of stage make-up was more pronounced to compensate for the lack of visual clarity. I also realize that Star Trek had a rough start, and it took several episodes for any real sense of continuity to be established - particularly concerning Spock's character. Most fans generally accept this as a given and ignore the continuity oddities. But… Spock eventualy wears purple eye shadow. I didn't make that up. It's canon. Not that I don't think it's lovely, but I decided to have a little fun with it.

=(^)= A Cut Above =(^)=

Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu tugged the blue tunic down over his head and then ran his hands down it to smooth out any wrinkles. He admired the effect in the mirror, still trying to decide if he liked the new uniforms. He decided that he did prefer the darker blue color, and the cut of it was nicer too. The new collar was a definite improvement. He ran the tip of his tongue over his front teeth, made a final pass with the comb, then shrugged at his reflection. The uniforms never seemed to stay the same for long. Any time some one made it to Admiral, it seemed they felt the need to change at least one thing and uniforms seemed to be the easiest. He left the small 'fresher, and sat on his bunk to put on his boots.

All in all, he would be glad when the Enterprise got under way. An entire month in a space dock for repairs and, while they were at it, a minor refit, was a long time to be out of commission. And they weren't even anywhere interesting – a Starbase fairly close to the middle of nowhere. It had taken them two weeks to limp there at a fraction of the ship's normal speed. They'd been able to obtain (steal, really, as far as Sulu was concerned, but who was he to quibble?) the equipment they needed from the cracking station on Delta Vega, but that had not held out for long.

His steps were light as he left his cabin. Sulu enjoyed his position as head of Astrophysics, and had passed the majority of the past six weeks finishing up a few projects. Even better, Mister Spock had seen fit to assist him today with a particularly troublesome spectral analysis. Most people found Mister Spock's demeanor intimidating and cold, but Sulu found it wasn't so bad to work with the Vulcan. Once you got used to him, the science officer was probably the best lab partner a person could ask for, as long as you were careful not to be an idiot. Sulu was all business when it came to his work, and he at least appreciated it when others were too.

A pretty dark haired yeoman gave him a conspiratorial wink and waved him over to her as he was headed towards the turbolift. Sulu smiled as he slowed, giving her an open once-over. The new cut of the female uniform was quite fetching on her. Pants were still an option of course, but almost all the women on board had opted for the more revealing skirted version. No one had complained. He'd heard that the Enterprise was the only ship in the fleet to so enthusiastically take to the skimpy outfits.

He wondered what that said about them. Sulu was pretty sure he was serving on the randiest ship in the service, and this thought broadened his smile.

"Afternoon', Alicia," Sulu greeted.

"Hikaru," she whispered excitedly, ignoring his admiring gaze and glancing over her shoulder. The corridor was as crowded as usual, the second shift about to start, but no one was bothering to stop and listen to them. "You're not going to believe what I heard."

He raised his eyebrows. Hikaru Sulu was a shameless gossip. He couldn't help it… he liked to know things. All kinds of things. He had half a zillion hobbies, and he was often found in all manner of locations on the ship in pursuit of any one of them at any given time. There wasn't any one on the entire ship who he didn't share some interest with, and he made friends easily. He'd recently taken up an interest in twentieth century history, and he was pretty sure he was born in the wrong time period. He fancied he would have made an excellent espionage agent back in those days.

It wasn't his fault that people liked to tell him things.

"Mister Spock is going to be first officer!" she hissed, eyes wide.

It took Sulu a few moments to get his mouth to obey him and close. Alicia was grinning, ear to ear, delighted to have shocked him so. Some people took great amusement in being the first to tell him something and getting his reaction. It was like some kind of shipwide contest.

"No!" he managed to say. It came out almost as a shout, and he slapped a hand to his mouth. A lieutenant gave them both an odd look as he passed, but carried on without comment. It wasn't that the concept was hard to grasp – Spock was second officer, after all, and the ship's first officer had died in the line of duty. It was just that it was not exactly a secret that Mister Spock did not want to leave sciences.

She nodded eagerly. "Yeoman Smith told me – she's transferring to the Starbase. She said Mister Spock's been doing all the first officer duties ever since Commander Mitchell was killed, and that the Captain isn't even looking for anyone else for the post."

Sulu grinned, pleased for the Vulcan. "That's great!" he said happily. Then he amended quickly, "About Spock's promotion I mean, not about Cynthia transferring. Did she say why?"

Alicia shrugged. "She said she was on the bridge when we went through that barrier, and it was the most terrifying thing she'd ever seen. She said she didn't think she could do that sort of thing all the time…" her voice trailed off and she gave Sulu a sort of 'what can you do?' look.

Sulu let out a small sigh. Starfleet, and a starship in particular, was a rough life. It was dangerous and exciting, and Sulu would never give it up for anything, but it wasn't for everyone. He'd been on the bridge too, and he couldn't say he was surprised she was transferring off the ship. That would make it the third yeoman Kirk had gone through since taking command of the Enterprise after her three-year refit. It wasn't the captain's fault, Sulu knew, but it must be frustrating.

A low whistle sounded the one minute warning, and Sulu jerked upright in surprise. He was technically off duty, but he'd told Mister Spock he'd meet him in astrophysics lab three for beta shift. You did not report late to Mister Spock. The yeoman laughed as he gave her a quick wave and bolted for the turbolift.

Its occupant saw him charging down the corridor and held the door. "Ye best not be late, laddie," Chief Engineer Scott declared as the door slid closed.

Sulu grabbed the handle and gave his destination. As the lift started moving, he decided that the red suited the engineer much better than the odd, faded salmon color that had been the old uniform. He looked Scotty up and down and gave him a wink. The older man rolled his eyes and shook his head, and Sulu laughed. Scotty was still shaking his head when the lift doors parted and he stepped out onto the engineering deck.

"Oh, Scotty!" Sulu called, his eyes widening. He stuck an arm out to hold the doors open, and looked down at Scott's hands. "Congratulations!"

Scotty looked confused for a moment, then glanced at his wrist. He smiled, almost shyly, at the shiny braids of gold encircling the cuff of each sleeve. "Aye, thank ye. I reckon the cap'n thought it a mite embarrassing for the chief engineer o' the Enterprise to be only a lieutenant," he said.

Sulu gave a short nod. "About time, if you ask me," he said.

Scotty looked mildly uncomfortable. "Aye, well, I imagine the cap'n had to spend some time convincing the powers tha' be."

Sulu let a wide smile spread across his face, and Scotty couldn't help but respond in kind. A soft alarm starting dinging, letting him know that some one, some where, was waiting on the lift. Sulu stepped back, removing his hand from the sensor. "I'm sure Captain Kirk considers it well worth the effort!" he called as the doors slid closed, and Scotty's smile widened in happiness.

Sulu glanced up at the tiny clock imbedded in the mantle of the door as the lift began to move, and sighed. It was going to be close. He slipped past the doors the moment they were wide enough to let him pass, and headed down the corridor at a dead run. He cringed when the whistle sounded the beginning of beta shift two seconds before the powder blue doors whisked open. He skidded to a halt just inside the lab and heaved a deep breath. Maybe, somehow, Mister Spock wasn't—

"Lieutenant, are you unwell?"

Sulu's head whipped around to find Mister Spock regarding him coolly from a computer terminal across the lab. "N-no, Sir," he said, trying not to sound out of breath and annoyed at himself for the stammer. He thought about apologizing, but he knew that would probably be foolish. Better to just say nothing.

Spock tilted his head slightly in a motion that Sulu had come to recognize as the Vulcan considering something. Sulu's mind instantly began spitting up all manner of excuses he might offer – none of which he actually would, of course, if the science officer enquired about his tardiness. Still, he really didn't want to tell him that he'd lost track of time down in the hydroponics bay. If he hadn't spilled that container of soil samples all over himself, he wouldn't have needed to change.

Instead, Spock gestured towards one of the 'scopes. "The spectral analysis of the most recent recording will be completed shortly. Please compare them to the previous data when it is ready."

"Aye, Sir," Sulu blurted, grateful to have been spared, and quickly sat himself in front of the machine. He'd seen a lot of people get offended by Spock's tendency to sort of take over, but Sulu never minded. The Vulcan was just plain better at handling the myriads of annoyingly tedious aspects of science. Come to think of it, he couldn't remember any of the other crew working on projects with Spock more than once. Well that was their loss, because Spock could get a lot done in a very short amount of time.

He took a moment to calm his breathing and heart rate. Really, it was undignified to go tearing through the halls of the ship, but he'd been so close.

He sighed, irritated at himself.

He glanced at Spock out of the corner of his eye, trying to see if Spock was annoyed. Spock, of course, looked perfectly calm. Actually, the new uniform looked very nice on the Vulcan. Sulu noticed he'd chosen the blue and not the gold – technically, Spock had his choice, since he was the highest ranked science officer and in the chain of command. Spock had been wearing the command yellow for a little while, probably at Captain Pike's insistence, and hadn't changed it when Kirk took command.

He wondered what had prompted the change.

Then he frowned as something Alicia had said finally clicked. Mister Spock was still the senior science officer. That made him in charge of all the science departments on the ship, except life sciences. Each sub department had their own head, but Spock oversaw them all as a whole. Any personal or assigned projects were routed through him first. If he was promoted to first officer, some one else would have to be science officer. But Spock was still wearing science blue…

Did that mean he was doing both?

That didn't seem fair.

The computer beeped at him, and he slid a cartridge into the slot to load the results. It wasn't a complicated procedure, and he let his hands do the work for him without any real thought. When the computer beeped again, he took the card over to another consol. The computer began compiling the information and putting it up on two separate screens for him to study.

He'd actually sat in on the briefings for their last mission. He'd been surprised when Commander Mitchell had called him to the bridge for the crossing of the barrier. They didn't know what that barrier consisted of, and what its effects would be, so it seemed the captain was being a little cautious and keeping a few extra minds close at hand. Not that Sulu minded, of course – most captains didn't allow 'extra' personnel on the bridge.

Sulu hadn't known Mitchell well, but he was still saddened by his death. Mostly for Captain Kirk's sake. Sulu liked his new captain. He found Kirk to be a charming, outgoing individual, and he'd been glad he had at least one close friend. Frankly, in Sulu's experience, captains were usually very stand-offish, not mingling with the crew much. But Kirk was often in the rec room, and took many of his meals with the crew.

But what was eating at him at the moment was the idea that Kirk was making Spock do double duty. It was fairly common for either the senior science officer or the chief engineer to hold the rank of second officer. Frankly, it was considered unwise for either department head to be first officer. That usually went to tactical or helm or even communications officers, positions that did not have such large departments.

Gary Mitchell had been Kirk's first officer as well as his senior helmsman. Sulu sympathized with the captain. It couldn't be easy to replace the position held by a friend; he supposed that was why captains didn't make friends in the first place. Sulu had a great deal of respect for Spock, however, and he wouldn't be surprised if the Vulcan second officer's sense of duty prompted him to make sure the ship ran smoothly in the absence of a first officer. No matter how much work that might entail, he knew Spock would never complain about any task.

Maybe Kirk thought that if Spock didn't protest, then it was all right?

Maybe Alicia had misunderstood Yeoman Smith. After all, Cynthia was leaving the ship… she might have even deliberately set out to leave a messy rumor behind. Some people were like that. He didn't really think so, though.

No, it was starting to look like the Captain was putting off appointing a new first officer, and Mister Spock was taking up the slack. And while Sulu sympathized with Kirk, he found himself feeling that Spock was being taken advantage of. The fact was, he worked with Spock almost every day, and he knew him much better than he knew the captain. That wasn't really saying much. Still, his loyalties were a little biased towards the Vulcan. Spock was a genius, and you just couldn't be a scientist onboard the Enterprise and not come to admire him.

Spock was certainly capable of looking after himself, Sulu sternly told himself. He couldn't shake the feeling, however, that when it came to working with humans… well, maybe Spock could use a little help. Sulu wracked his memory for anyone who hung out with Spock. The captain played chess with him in the rec lounge. Sulu was pretty sure the captain was actually trying very hard to adjust to his stiff science officer. Well, he obviously couldn't take his concern to the captain in this instance. He couldn't think of anyone else.

Maybe Spock didn't have any friends.

That thought made him frown. The Enterprise was its own little community. Four hundred people, give or take, sounded like a lot… but when you spend all your time inside the ship, you quickly learned who you were compatible with. Spock wasn't exactly friendly and approachable, and his emotionless demeanor came across as very intimidating. Sulu suspected a person would have to be pretty determined to make friends with Spock. Well, that just meant Sulu would have to tell Spock himself that Kirk was using him.

Sulu checked the monitor. It was going to take the computer several more minutes to finish, so he pondered how to broach the subject. He glanced over at Spock, and was surprised to see the Vulcan looking at him. Spock dropped his gaze instantly and moved his hands over his console to check a reading.

When it came right down to it, Sulu didn't have a clue what Spock liked to do with his free time other than help curious Lieutenants with odd projects in the science lab. Spock wasn't one for idle conversation, and Sulu had seen plenty of people promptly shot down if they attempted it, so he generally kept his interactions with Spock to a professional level. But there had to be some way to start a conversation with him. Then Sulu noticed Spock's hair. He found it a little odd that Spock's uniform was always in perfect order, and his mannerisms and even speech patterns were always precise, but the man seemed to have trouble with his hair.

Well… it was something.

"Mister Spock," Sulu said and Spock looked up again. "I'm surprised you haven't taken advantage of the Starbase facilities and gotten a trim," he said casually with a gesture at his own hair.

An eyebrow disappeared into the slightly uneven fringe of his bangs, and Sulu wondered if he'd crossed some kind of line. After a moment, Spock answered. "Unfortunately, the Starbase does not currently boast a barber."

"Oh," Sulu said and wished he could think of an answer to that.

Sulu started to turn away, thinking that was the end of his first attempt at chitchat with the science officer, when Spock shifted position slightly. "Maintaining that particular aspect of my appearance has become somewhat troublesome." Spock paused. "It is not a skill I have been able to master."

That was probably the longest non-work related exchange of dialog Sulu had ever had with Spock. Considering that the ship's mission was five years, one would think Starfleet would assign an official barber onboard – humans liked to look nice, after all. But Starfleet didn't, so most people either did it themselves or knew some one who could. And, actually, it was hard to cut one's own hair. And since he'd already concluded that Spock didn't move around much in social circles, the Vulcan wouldn't know what skills people had unless it was a matter of record. He'd always just assumed Spock wasn't vain enough to give the matter much consideration.

Sulu's jaw swung open and words fell out.

"Well, I'm not bad with scissors." He clamped his mouth shut instantly and resisted the urge to groan. That could very easily be taken as criticism of his commanding officer's appearance.

"I beg your pardon?" Spock asked carefully.

This was the point where most people just stammered an apology and found something else to do. Sulu sighed. Well, no help for it now, might as well go for broke. "Some people have tricky hair. A lot of people let me do theirs – I'm not bad at it." He gave a non-committal shrug, and checked his console to see if it was ready. "If you want, I can even it out."

Silence stretched out, and Sulu refused to look away from his monitor. It was waiting patiently for his next instructions, but he couldn't move. He'd pretty much just accused the very precise science officer of sloppiness. It was probably some kind of Vulcan insult. He commanded his shoulders to not hunch, but he wasn't having much success.

"Symmetry is preferable," Spock said quietly.

Sulu felt kind of bad, because now he was certain he'd insulted the man. But then he grinned, because suddenly the idea of giving Spock a haircut was far more interesting than multi-physics at the moment. Sulu quickly adjusted the computer, setting it to correlate a massive spool of data that had nothing to do with his current project, but which still needed to be done. Then he stood, and, when Spock remained seated, gestured towards the door.

"Would not finishing your day's work on your project be a better manner in which to spend your time?" Spock asked, his head tilted slightly.

Sulu shrugged. He hadn't really even started yet today, but he'd temporarily lost interest in light of a new challenge. "To be honest, Sir, I wouldn't mind a little break from it."

Spock glanced at his own console and Sulu briefly considered that maybe he wanted to keep working. Or maybe he was actually having second thoughts about the offer. Sulu was on the verge of sitting back down when Spock seemed to come to a decision.

"As it is your personal venture," Spock said calmly, "and not one assigned to you, and as you are not currently on duty, it is logical for you to set your own pace." Sulu wasn't quite sure what to make of that so he just nodded and smiled. Spock ran his hands over the display and after a moment the machine's monitors went dark. "Additionally," Spock added as he rose from his seat, "There is a matter I wish to discuss."

"All right," Sulu said, and headed for the door. He could hear Spock fall in step behind him. He had a thought that Spock had been trying to find a way to begin said discussion. He figured it must therefore be of a somewhat sensitive nature, because Spock just didn't generally have a problem with communication.

"We can talk in my quarters, if that's all right, Sir," he said as they walked. "I've got everything we need to get a great look."

"Very well," Spock acknowledged politely after a moment, and Sulu got the impression that Spock wasn't entirely sure what he'd meant.

The turbolift ride was brief, and no others joined them. The silence was sort of uncomfortable, but Sulu decided to keep his mouth shut. It was harder to shove his foot into it if it was closed. Finally, Sulu was keying the code to unlock his doors and they entered. As soon as they were inside, Sulu absently keyed the doors locked again. Spock glanced in curiosity at the keypad on the wall, but Sulu was already heading for the lavatory. Spock was still standing next to the door when he returned, carrying the black case he used for these occasions. Sulu snagged the chair behind his small desk and dragged it to the center of the room. He motioned for Spock to sit, and the Vulcan slowly lowered himself into the chair.

He watched Spock out of the corner of his eye as he unzipped the case and began to spread its contents on his desk. Spock was looking discretely around the room, and Sulu chewed his bottom lip. His quarters were a bit of a mess at the moment, he realized. Not very professional.

But it wasn't the normal state of things, and so he felt a need to explain. "I've been working on a project in the hydroponics bay," he said, turning to face Spock. "Some of it ends up coming home with me."

"I see," Spock said, and again Sulu had the feeling Spock was simply being polite. Still, Sulu felt a little better for having explained why there were buckets of dirt cluttering his room. Crew quarters didn't have very many available surfaces, so most of the containers were scattered across the floor.

"I'm using my cabin settings as one of the controls," Sulu continued as he bent to examine Spock's face. Spock blinked at him as he talked, but did not interrupt. Spock raised an eyebrow, and Sulu made a mental note of where it landed in relation to his bangs. "Hmm."

"Would it not be simpler to use the hydroponics environment control cubicles for such a task?" Spock asked.

"Well," Sulu answered absently. He wondered if he could get Spock to tilt his head different ways. "There aren't many that are unassigned, so I figured I'd use my cabin for the more moderate variables, and the hydro bay for the more extreme."

"Logical," Spock said, and Sulu decided to take that as a compliment.

"At the moment, it's a bit too warm in here," Sulu added and Spock tilted his head up at him in curiosity. Sulu was pleased, because it gave him the view he was looking for. "But I'm trying to find the optimal temperature to germinate Denevan lilies."

Spock's brows drew together slightly in confusion and Sulu suddenly realized that almost all of Spock's facial expressions were confined to his eyebrows, which had an amazing range of motion. Then he realized the cause of the confusion, and he paused with a comb in one hand a laser cutter in the other.

"I don't like to lose the seedlings," Sulu said, somewhat embarrassed and felt a bit of heat creep into his cheeks. Generally, people found out basic things like germination temperature by the simple expedient of dissecting the seed and running it under an analyzer. But Sulu loved plants, and to him that was kind of like abortion. He would do it if he had to, if there was some emergency, but he hated it. And since this was one of his own hobbies, he could do it any way he wanted to, even if it meant more work.

Spock inclined his head slightly. "Any loss of life is regrettable."

"Mister Spock, will you raise both eyebrows about half way?" Sulu suddenly asked.

Spock tilted his head at him again, and Sulu found himself wondering why he'd ever thought the man had no facial expressions. "In what manner is that action conducive towards evening my hair?"

Sulu gave a one-shouldered shrug. He was faintly self-conscious. "Well, sir… I figure if I'm going to cut your hair, I might as well do it properly…" He cleared his throat awkwardly as Spock's eyes narrowed slightly. "Not that your current style is bad, but just a little bit of tweaking would do you a world of good."

"I desire to maintain the current form."

Or, Sulu mentally translated, 'don't change my hair'. Any second now, Spock was going to change his mind and leave. He shook his head quickly. "No, no, Sir, that's not what I meant." He took a breath and held it for a moment, thinking. "It's just that the angles don't match your face." Spock's right eyebrow rose again and he quickly added, "I promise, Sir, it'll be a very Vulcan look, but more suited to you."

Spock still hesitated, and Sulu tried to wait patiently. He didn't know if he should just give up and agree to do minimal damage control, so to speak, but he really hoped Spock would let him do it properly.

Spock seemed to come to some kind of decision. "I have yet to observe you attempt a task without full attention to detail, nor are you disposed towards untruthfulness." That said, Spock straightened marginally in the chair and carefully raised both eyebrows to the requested height.

Sulu smiled, feeling very flattered, and marked their location in his mind.

"Okay," he said and Spock's face resumed its normal state.

Sulu set to work. He ran the comb experimentally through Spock's hair and watched as it settled back into place. Most of Spock's hair was courser than human hair and resisted any other style than it was already in. Human hair was the same way, each person having their own natural parts and whirls that couldn't really be changed without awkward results. So now Sulu knew why Vulcans generally had similar hair styles – that was just the way their species' hair tended to grow. Learn something new every day.

He noticed right away why Spock was having problems. His hair wasn't uniform. There were a lot of brown strands mixed in with the black, and they weren't just different in color. They were softer, finer strands. There was a whole patch right above Spock's right temple. You couldn't really see it unless you were up close, which Sulu figured not many people did, because Spock had this sort of 'don't get near me' aura that you just couldn't fail to pick up on. If you cut them the same length as the thicker, black strands, he knew they'd lie differently and appear shorter. Hence the uneven results.

"Well," Sulu said slowly as he used the flat edge of the comb to carefully mark the line of Spock's eyebrow in relation to where he wanted the inside curve of the bangs. "I can see why you have trouble, sir."

Spock's eyes moved to look up at him without shifting his head.

Sulu flashed him an encouraging smile. "Your hair has different textures," he elaborated. "The softer, brown hairs are what's causing the problem."

He could have sworn that the corner of Spock's mouth twitched. "It seems there is no end to the problems caused by my mother's heritage."

Sulu felt his eyebrows go up in surprise. It was common knowledge that Spock had some human blood in him, but Spock was always careful to be vague about it. Sulu jumped to a conclusion. "Your mother was human?" he asked. Spock was silent, and Sulu masked the moment by switching on the laser and checking its power status.

"Yes," Spock answered.

Sulu glanced away from the tool in his hand to look at Spock's rather intent expression. It was almost as if the Vulcan was daring him to make something of it. But instead of being offended, Sulu couldn't help noticing how the brows lowering above his eyes looked. Their ragged appearance really detracted from what would otherwise be a painfully intimidating… well, not glare, but… well, a glare.

"Well, I'm human so I guess I'm biased," Sulu said, and decided to let Spock make of that what he would. He changed the subject. "Do you mind if I do your eyebrows too?" he asked.

Spock looked at him in disbelief.

Sulu resisted the urge to slap himself. But he wanted to do this right. And he wanted to do the eyebrows before doing the hair, because the angle really was going to matter.

Spock seemed to be debating the issue. But he hadn't said no, so Sulu quickly turned and picked up a small brush. "Nothing permanent… just a brush," he said, and showed Spock the tool in question. "If you don't like it, you can change it back easily."

Spock's eyes focused on the brush. "That is part of a micro welder."

Sulu glanced at it, and grimaced slightly with guilt. "Um, yes," he admitted. He bit his bottom lip when Spock's gaze lowered to examine the array on his desk. An eyebrow inched upwards.

"Your implements all appear to be the dissected remains of a micro welder and an attenuator," Spock concluded. "Except for the comb."

Still holding the tiny, stiff brush in one hand, Sulu swallowed. He didn't trust his voice, so he just nodded.

"Interesting," was all Spock said.

"They were both beyond repair, and properly logged as disposed of," Sulu said nervously. Technically, 'disposed of' meant 'destroyed'. And Spock was very technical.

Spock turned to face forward again without further comment. Sulu decided to take this as permission, and leaned forward to closely examine Spock's unruly eyebrows. Spock blinked at him, his eyes barely two inches away, and Sulu considered he might be taking some liberties here. But then his attention was caught by his new project. The individual strands were stiff and currently seemed inclined to grow almost straight upwards. They were ridged slightly, and reminded Sulu of a bird feather that had been stroked backwards. Sulu carefully applied the small brush. They didn't object to being combed downwards and out to the sides. It was slight, but the new angle made a huge difference. He wondered if he could talk Spock into letting him trim them a bit, but decided to let it go for now.

"Then I shall consider the matter attended to," Spock said and Sulu jumped slightly. He had to think for a moment to remember what he was talking about.

He flashed him a brief smile of gratitude, but went right back to his chore. In a matter of moments, he had the other side done. Now, for the difficult part. There wasn't any indication of styling agents in Spock's hair, so he asked, "Have you ever used hair gel?"

"No…" Spock said slowly.

"Sir," Sulu said. "Let's face it, your hair won't lay properly unless you do something to make the different textures more uniform. There's not much I can do about it, if you want an even appearance. Has it always been this way?"

Spock hesitated. "It has always been…" he took a breath and the next word came out as a sort of reluctant sigh. "Irregular." Spock glanced away as though mildly embarrassed.

"Well," Sulu said. "I don't know about Vulcan hair, but human hair has a tendency to change both in color and texture as we age. So I'm guessing the brown strands have been gradually getting softer." He ran the comb through Spock's hair again. "And they want to curl just a little bit."

Spock's shoulders shifted slightly but he said nothing. Sulu decided to just go with it, so he went back to the lavatory and fetched a tube of gel. He dug through the open case on his desk until he found a comb with finer teeth. "Look," he said. "It's basic science." Spock looked at him but did not interrupt. Sulu spread some of the gel onto the comb. "The lighter strands need to be made heavier to match the thicker Vulcan hairs, or else they'll always look like they're trying to pull away."

For whatever reason, Spock seemed pleased by this explanation. Probably the whole 'I'm Vulcan, not human' thing. Whatever made the man happy, Sulu decided, as long as he let him fix his hair.

Spock shifted position again so that he was sitting straighter. Sulu decided that 'not no' meant 'yes', and expertly combed the gel through Spock's hair. Sure enough, once they'd been forced into conformity, the softer hairs that had been shorter were now longer. The barely noticeable contrast of the dark brown color mixed with the black was also diminished to an even more unnoticeable level as Spock's head took on a high-glossed tint. Not greasy or anything, just a nice healthy looking sheen.

He would normally have tilted his customer's head with a grip on the chin, but decided Spock wouldn't appreciate that. Instead, Sulu stepped sideways to look at the Vulcan's head from the profile. Spock continued to face forward, but his eyes moved to track him.

The line of Spock's jaw ended at the bottom of his ear. The very tip of the upswept ear curved back gracefully before curving back in, but the point was at a perfect line all the way to his chin. If you followed the point of his ear towards his eyes, it was again a straight line. The new slant of the eyebrows formed a dark line between. The sharp angle of his cheekbone formed yet another perfect line toward the center of his ear.

The physicist in Sulu couldn't help but appreciate the mathematical precision inherent in that.

So far, he hadn't done anything that couldn't be undone. But this was Spock. A brilliant scientist in his own right, but also the science officer of the Federation's flagship, probably soon to be the first officer. Sulu took a deep breath to steady his nerves, flipped on the laser and began trimming the bangs first.

He switched back and forth from one side to the other, making sure that he got it symmetrical. He wasn't actually changing much, but he did alter the angles slightly. It was painstaking work, because it wasn't like the man had grown his hair long or anything. He was working in terms of millimeters here. He didn't want it too short, because the black fringe looked very nice placed exactly halfway between the pale forehead and the top of his eyebrows. He decided to make the hairline curve, instead of making sharp cuts, because Spock's face was all angles and he liked the contrast.

Finally, Sulu stood back to examine his work. He ran the comb through a couple times, and noted happily that the sleek dark strands settled easily back into place with no strays.

He smiled in satisfaction.

Then he realized that he hadn't said a word the entire time. He glanced at the clock and winced. He'd just spent almost an hour, completely absorbed in his task, ignoring his superior officer.

He looked back and gave a small, apologetic shrug. "Sorry, Sir," he said with a sigh. "I know you said you wanted to discuss something while we did this. But I tend to get… focused."

Spock regarded him calmly. "I am aware of the pattern, and do not find it detrimental to your endeavors." Spock tilted his head in thought a moment before adding, "I often find the human tendency to chatter constantly to be… distracting."

Sulu gave a light snort and was glad he's never been inclined to be talkative when around Spock. Except for today, apparently. He checked Spock's shoulders for any stray hair the scoop on the laser might have missed, and saw none. He turned to his dresser and pressed the button that turned it so the mirror faced them. He stood back, and gestured for Spock to have a look.

Spock stood and checked his appearance. His expression did not seem to change at all, and Sulu couldn't tell if he was satisfied. Sulu did not lack in self confidence, but Spock was without doubt the most formidable and hardest to please customer he'd ever had. He swallowed nervously and chewed at his bottom lip. After a long moment, Spock turned his head a fraction and regarded the mirror out of the corner of his eye. Now, Sulu had paid particular attention to the contours of Spock's hairline in regards to those ears, and he was most nervous about that. Spock blinked slowly, then examined the opposite side.

Sulu couldn't resist. He reached out and pointed at the mirror to get Spock's attention, then indicated the hairline where it began its downward curve from the top of his face towards his jaw. "See, this needs to be lower," he said. "To intersect between here and here." He pointed from the tip of Spock's ear to the tip of his eyebrow. "But your hair has to grow out some more. It'll take a few trims to gradually lower the angle, but I figure I can get it right within a few months."

Spock cast him a sidelong glance. "You do not object to continuing this service?"

Sulu tried to keep the silly grin in check as a wave of relief washed over him, but it was a battle lost before it began. "It looks okay?" he asked.

Spock blinked, then turned to give him his full attention. "Your skill is to be commended," Spock said simply, and Sulu could not recall higher praise being given to anyone in the science labs.

"Then, Sir, I'd consider it an honor to… uh, continue this service," he said enthusiastically. He scooped up the fine-toothed comb and tube of gel and handed them both to the science officer.

Spock accepted them with a slight lowering of his brows that indicated a frown.

"That comb's a good one," Sulu explained. "The spacing is wide enough for the brown hair to be coated enough – but not too much – and narrow enough for the gel to just be sort of scraped off of the black hairs."

Spock inclined his head slightly in understanding, and Sulu felt a warmth of professional pride at the way the reflected lighting shifted across his hair. Sulu hesitated, wondering how much he could get away with here. With Spock, though, he was learning, it was better to just do, and not ask. Sulu was beginning to suspect that if you asked, Spock would feel obligated to say no. But it was a different matter if you just did it. Then it would almost be rude for him to argue. Unless he really didn't want you to, in which case you'd get a very cold look that could reduce even the hardiest of souls to the status of awkward teenager. He'd seen it happen. Spock had already been far more compliant than he would have ever expected, so Sulu decided to give it a try. He fetched another small case from his 'fresher and set it atop the dresser. He started rooting through its contents, trying to find just the right color.

"You wish to imply I should wear cosmetics?" Spock asked and Sulu did not look up because he could already feel the Vulcan Death Glare drilling into the side of his skull and he didn't think he'd survive direct eye contact.

He didn't answer right away, and his hand paused as his brain struggled to think of a logical way to explain what he wanted to do. While there were some periods in earth's history where it wasn't the case, for the most part human males generally didn't have a problem with the concept of make up. Almost everyone on the ship put a fair amount of effort into their appearance, but maybe Vulcans had some kind of taboo or something. After a moment, his hand continued rummaging until he found what he was looking for. By then, he'd steeled his nerves to look up.

Well, he'd seen harsher Death Glares directed at higher ranked crew, so he relaxed slightly. "You're a Vulcan, sir," he began, careful to keep his voice as calm and neutral as possible. The Death Glare modulated slightly into confusion as to how that statement could possibly apply to the question. "In my professional opinion, you should emphasize that fact if you are to serve on a human-crewed vessel."

"Please clarify," Spock said.

Sulu managed to contain his amusement. He'd just discovered that flattery worked on everyone, even the venerable Mister Spock. "So far, I've worked to call attention to the most obvious Vulcan features, Sir," he said, and gestured to his ears and slanted eyebrows. Spock didn't comment, so he continued. "But I suggest you also emphasize more subtle things, but in a way that makes it look natural so that people see, but don't actively notice."

Sulu hesitated, but Spock was just looking at him. Since he wasn't dead yet, however, Sulu reckoned Spock was at least considering the concept. "Look, just close your eyes and let me try something, and if you don't like the result it's nothing a quick wash won't take care of."

Spock gazed at him, and Sulu felt a trickle of sweat start to make its way down his spine. He kept himself very still, holding the small, flat container in his hand. Then, to his surprise, Spock let out a slow breath and closed his eyes.

"I am curious as to how you intend to demonstrate this peculiar failing of humans to see but not notice," Spock said.

Sulu smiled, flipping the lid open. He worked the powder into the small foam pad as he organized his thoughts. "Our eyes tend to see more than our brains can process at any given time, particularly if we're focused on something else. So we see something, but unless it's important, the mind just sort of skips over it. It's the general impression that gets remembered, more than most of the details."

He brushed the applicator against Spock's eyelid, and the Vulcan moved back a fraction before catching himself. "Sorry, should have warned you first," Sulu apologized, but kept working. Spock's eyes were set pretty far back, leaving them in shadow to begin with, so it didn't take much. He did the other eyelid, and then set about outlining his eyes with black liner. He chose a clean pad to blur the edges together. The entire process took less than three minutes.

"Okay," he said when he was finished, and Spock opened his eyes.

Sulu tilted his head to examine the results, and concluded he was a genius. He gave Spock a playful wink before pointing at the mirror, and watched carefully for any reaction as Spock studied the physicist's handiwork.

It was subtle. Spock's eyelids had a natural greenish tint to begin with, due to the color of his blood, and Sulu had only darkened that a couple of shades. He'd emphasized his eyes with the liner, but it was very thin and blended into the eyelashes. The overall effect was to make Spock's eyes darker and more pronounced, and the eyes called attention to the slanted, alien brows, which pointed right to the elegant, alien ears. A stranger would conclude it was natural, and those few who knew the Vulcan well enough to notice the difference wouldn't dare comment on it.

And it did look very nice.

Sulu waited patiently, knowing that it was good work and that Spock liked it, because the Vulcan was still pondering the reflection. Sulu figured that what Spock was actually debating was whether or not to keep the look. He was pretty sure Spock wanted to, but for some reason was having trouble accepting the idea.

"Logically, Sir," Sulu volunteered in as neutral a tone as he could muster, and Spock turned an intent gaze on him. Sulu paused then, because Spock was regarding him with the same faint expression of curiosity that he gave a particularly fascinating new lab specimen. The sharper, darker look that Sulu had created made that expression on Spock's face look like it could cut him to ribbons if he said the wrong thing.

Not that Spock hadn't always been daunting, but damn.

Sulu realized he was staring. To his horror, he also realized that his mouth had fallen open. He snapped it closed and shook his head as if he could shake his scattered thoughts back to where they belonged. "Logically," he repeated, "you should use every available tool when in command of humans – and that includes appearance, because humans make both conscious and subconscious decisions based on that."

He gave Spock a moment to digest that, and then picked up the silver compact and pencil. He held them out to Spock. Spock hesitated for a second longer, then accepted the offering with the hand that was not already holding the comb and gel.

Sulu gave him a smile. "It'll only add a couple minutes to your morning routine," he offered. Suddenly, the idea of Spock doing normal things like brushing his teeth and shaving seemed absurd, but he obviously did those things the same as any other member of the crew. "And you can try different shades, find if you like something better."

Spock simply stared at him in silence.

Sulu shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "So, uh, now that I've completely monopolized your time for over an hour, what was it you wanted to discuss?"

His attempt to relieve some of the tension in the room by changing the subject backfired, because Spock stood there, apparently unsure how to begin. It was almost surreal, Sulu decided, having Mister Spock standing in front of him showing the faintest traces of insecurity. Definitely not what he'd expected when he woke up this morning.

Sulu's stomach chose that moment to rumble, impossibly loud in the silence that had descended. He glared down at his midsection, mortified. "Sorry," he said, looking back up anxiously. "I had a little accident in hydroponics, and didn't have time for lunch." He rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Would have still made it in time for beta shift, but then—" he stopped himself suddenly as he realized he was now engaging in 'constant chatter'.

But giving Spock a make-over had been pretty damn ballsy, and he'd really worked his nerves into a fit.

"I have observed that the over all performance of the crew appears to be deteriorating," Spock stated the moment he'd stopped talking, apparently having found the opening he was looking for.

Sulu couldn't keep his back from stiffening in a combination of both humiliation and anger, and Spock's eyes widened marginally. Honestly, two seconds didn't qualify as deteriorating, and he was off duty any way—

"I do not intend any criticism," Spock added quickly, and Sulu blinked in surprise. That was Spock-speak for an apology, a rare thing indeed. Spock paused, and seemed to be choosing his words carefully. "I am aware of your… familiarity with the crew. I…" and Spock paused again. To Sulu's utter amazement, Spock seemed to be very uncomfortable. What in the world could the man be trying to get at?

Sulu privately admitted that Spock was right, though. The crew was edgy in general. Twelve people had died on that last mission, and several more had transferred off the ship during the month-long stay at the starbase. Including the ship's chief medical officer, Sulu abruptly recalled. Piper had been talking retirement for months now, it hadn't come as any surprise, and since this was likely to be the last time the Enterprise was docked for a while, he figured the medic had taken advantage of the opportunity.

Which left the Enterprise without a CMO. It was the CMO's duty, generally, to see to the health of the crew, including morale. Failing that, the duty fell to the first officer. Failing that, the duty fell to the second officer. Sulu's eyes widened in surprise.

Spock, a Vulcan, was trying to figure out how to cheer up the crew.

This was a conversation that Spock should probably have taken up with the captain. Maybe Spock didn't even realize it was a morale issue, or why. Maybe he only noticed efficiency was down. But then why would he be making out-of-ordinary efforts to discuss the issue with Sulu, who was probably the ship's most social person?

Sulu had always found that the direct approach was best when talking to Spock, and he saw no reason to change that now.

"Crew morale is really low at the moment, Sir," he said, and Spock's shoulders relaxed marginally. Sulu silently congratulated himself. "A lot of people died, and well, we humans get attached to people." He watched Spock carefully for any reaction, because he wasn't sure if Spock was getting his point. The Vulcan met his eyes calmly, and Sulu decided to be blunt. "In particular, the captain's morale is low. That affects the crew."

Spock's gaze lowered to the floor. "Yes," he agreed softly.

There was some kind of inflection in that word, but Sulu didn't know what it was exactly. At any rate, Sulu realized that Spock was aware of the issue, and that was why he was being graced with this conversation and not the captain. He decided he didn't need to elaborate on that point.

"Not only that," Sulu continued, and Spock looked up again. "But we're short by two senior officers."

Spock tilted his head at him. "Humans find security in a stable command structure," he said. It was a statement, but the way Spock's eyes turned slightly away made Sulu think it was actually a sort of question.

Sulu nodded. "Our mission is to explore," he said, feeling like he should explain. "We expect to encounter all manner of things. For us, there's a certain… well, comfort, in knowing that there's some things that don't change. Also…" Sulu felt compelled to add, because when it came to Spock, some things that should have been obvious some times weren't. "Well, we've been in space dock for a while, and most of us are bored out of our minds." It was a small thing, but it was adding to the problem. "Repairs are complete, and we don't know why we're still here."

Spock regarded him for a long moment. "The Enterprise is awaiting a transport ship that will be arriving with our new chief medical officer in approximately twenty four hours sixteen minutes, as well as several other transfers."

Well, that was interesting news, and a bit of a relief. Not that the Enterprise couldn't survive without a senior medic – all the medical staff were experienced and trained. But, like he'd said… it just felt better to have a CMO. It also meant they'd be leaving dock soon, which would be nice.

Spock paused again. "Also… The captain… wishes to convince me to take the post of first officer," he said finally, with a measure of hesitation.

Spock was confiding in him! At first, Sulu felt a sudden flush of surprise and pride. Then he was kind of sad, because that probably made him Spock's closest friend and he barely knew the man. Captain Kirk was probably at least a little closer, but he could understand why he couldn't talk to him about this either.

"Well, Sir," he said honestly, "I think you'd make a great first officer."

Spock blinked at him, and Sulu realized that Spock didn't agree. He couldn't imagine why, though. Spock had been on this ship since its maiden voyage, over ten years ago. He was, essentially, a permanent fixture. If anything, it was surprising that he wasn't first officer, except that everyone knew he'd turned down several chances at promotion.

Dark eyes bored into him and Sulu swallowed nervously. He kind of felt like he was going out on a limb here; but, as his mother used to say, in for a penny, in for a pound. "Do you want to be first officer?" Sulu asked, and before Spock could answer, he added quickly, "I mean, I've always kind of figured you liked being science officer."

Spock considered the question for a long moment. "I have been offered both," he said finally.

Sulu raised both eyebrows in surprise. Well, that explained that. And if he didn't want it, then he could just say no. Unless… "Do you feel obligated to accept?"

Spock's brows twitched very slightly and his eyes tightened. Sulu didn't know quite how to interpret that expression, and he blew out his breath in a puff of frustration. How do you talk about feelings with some one who professed to have none? Which was obviously a load of crock, or Spock wouldn't even be having this conversation.

He sighed. "Sir… permission to speak freely?"

Spock's expression changed slightly, but Sulu couldn't tell how. "I would welcome it, Mister Sulu," Spock answered.

"That's a huge responsibility, Mister Spock," Sulu said after a moment. "I don't think it's fair for Captain Kirk to ask you do that. I think he's taking advantage of your sense of duty by calling you science officer but having you do the duties of first officer, in order to avoid finding some one to replace Commander Mitchell."

Spock stared at him with such an intent expression that Sulu felt his shoulders straightening at attention. He looked away to stare straight ahead. He'd just leveled a rather severe accusation against the captain.

"That is the general impression among the crew?" Spock asked.

Sulu swallowed nervously. "No, but only because people are assuming we're picking up crew at the starbase. When the Enterprise leaves without either a new science officer or a new first officer, people are going to make the obvious assumptions."

There was a long pause. "That is not the captain's motive," Spock said finally.

Sulu snorted. "What else could it be?" he asked.

"It is standard procedure for the first officer to also hold a bridge station," Spock said calmly.

"Well, yes," Sulu agreed, but shook his head. "But not the science station - certainly not Senior Science Officer. That's the largest set of departments on the ship!"

Spock tilted his head. "You do not think I am capable?"

There was no criticism in the question, no anger, no anything apparent other than simple curiosity. Sulu almost responded by saying it wasn't a matter of skill, it just wasn't possible, but then he thought about it. As senior science officer, Spock spent most of alpha shift on the bridge anyways. And Sulu knew for a fact that the man spent most of beta and even a large chunk of delta shifts down in the labs. Really, not much would change for the Vulcan.

He looked at Spock with an odd kind of dawning realization. Spock wanted both. He'd pretty much already accepted. Spock's primary concern at this point was the crew's reaction. It was suddenly clear to Sulu that Spock had gone to a fair amount of effort, from the Vulcan's perspective, to ascertain if his accepting the double post would be detrimental to the captain.

"It's not possible for a human to do it, not without stressing out," Sulu answered. "But I don't think anyone would say you're not capable, Sir, not once they really think about it."

"The Captain warned me that some of the crew might question his motives," Spock said quietly, his brows lowering in concern. "I had thought a second, possibly more informed, opinion might negate that."

Sulu didn't think his opinion qualified as more informed, exactly. Well, in a way, maybe it did. From a lower level perspective, from some one who talked with the crew as an equal and not a commanding officer.

"Mister Spock…" Sulu began, then paused to take a deep breath. Spock looked at him with a completely indecipherable expression, and Sulu hesitated. He'd already stepped over so many lines, gone out on a few too many limbs for one day, and it was only a matter of time until something blew up in his face if he kept it up.

"Continue," Spock prompted.

"I think a lot of people might jump to the wrong conclusion, like I did," Sulu said, and the already closed off expression on Spock's face somehow became even more devoid of emotion. Sulu hurried to qualify his statement. "But honestly, Mister Spock, this is a good crew and I think everyone will adapt and get used to the idea." Sulu did not know how he knew, but somehow he was absolutely certain that Spock was about to decline the post. "Of course," Sulu added and smiled just to add some mischief. "It would help if some one were to… oh, I don't know, spread the wordproperly."

Spock blinked, and Sulu congratulated himself on surprising the soon to be first officer of the Enterprise.