Chapter Text
Vulcan has always prized the experience and wisdom that only age can bring. Jim said once that it was because they had so much more age to go around than most species, and perhaps that is true. Yet Spock had been marked as that rarest of Vulcans, a maverick, since his youth. If he had returned to Vulcan and conformed to its expectations, it might have become a mere youthful adventure. Even among Vulcans, such were not uncommon. He had never cared to do so, and it had not greatly troubled him that he did not receive the deference of his contemporaries.
Here, he is an unknown. Not all know his history; those who do, know it only in broad strokes. They do not know his history of conflict with his family, his clan, and his people. They know that he is a scientist, and a diplomat, both highly regarded careers that are more necessary to Vulcans now than ever before.
And so he is a respected elder here, a leader of their diminished society. He is a leader guiding his people, rather than a voice from the wilderness. It is more gratifying than he had imagined it would be.
And yet, he would trade it in a heartbeat to be back with his wife and children.