Chapter Text
Spock willfully ignored the pointed stares and whispers that flowed in his direction as he stepped off of the turbolift with his captain in his arms. His superior hearing certainly allowed him to hear the murmurs of ‘oh my god, I told you so!’ and excited whispers of who owed whom money, but as he was not in the practice of eavesdropping he decidedly did not hear those things.
Adjusting Jim’s head to lie more comfortably on his chest, Spock nodded his approval at his decision not to eavesdrop since he definitely did not hear soft coos of “aww, he is so gentle…” from the direction of a few female ensigns. It was of no consequence that he also happened to quicken his pace at this time as well.
Rounding the last corner before arriving at his and his captain’s conjoined quarters at last, he adjusted the sleeping figure in his arms once more to be able to reach the control panel. He hesitated only for a moment, deciding it was best to respect his captain’s privacy as much as possible and not enter his room without his express permission. Quickly, he tapped out his own entrance code and his door slid open easily. While his room was comfortable for him, he surmised that it would be less so for his human companion. “Computer, lower temperature by ten degrees.”
While the room cooled, Spock carried the sleeping figure in his arms over to the bed and gently placed him there, making sure his head was comfortable in the transition from against his chest to the softer pillow. If his fingers lingered in their hold of the captain’s soft, smooth hair during the transition, well. That certainly wasn’t intentional on Spock’s part. A light green dusted his cheeks as he forced himself to remove his hands from the sleeping figure. Captain Kirk was safe now, so he had no reason to bother the man. Deciding to get back to his reports, he straightened and turned on his heel, heading for the door.
Before he reached it, however, a low moan sounded from the bed behind him. Frozen mid-step, with wide eyes, Spock slowly turned his head to see Jim with a look of extreme discomfort on his face. Without thinking about the consequences, Spock was back at his side with the intent to help in some way. He looked at the man lying before him, noticing that there was a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead, despite the temperature change in the room.
Slowly, he reached out and brushed the back of his hand on the captain’s forehead in order to gauge his temperature. Even with that light touch, however, he was suddenly bombarded with strong feelings of fear and anxiety. Spock jerked his hand back, eyes going wide. He had never felt another’s emotions so strongly without a meld, not even through Jim’s usual careless touches he so often shares with Spock. The sudden thought occurred to him that perhaps there was an issue with his mental shields, but he would have to meditate on that issue later. For now, his captain was more important.
Knowing that the man still needed rest, and quite honestly not wanting his hard work of carrying him all the way to his quarters to be for naught, he decided against waking him. Instead, he placed a hand gently, yet firmly on Jim’s chest and projected as much calm as was possible through the fabric covering of his shirt. Only a few seconds passed before the effects started to show and Jim’s face softened back into a peaceful expression once more. While it would have been the proper time to then move his hand, Spock lingered instead.
After a moment, Spock felt his cheeks heat in a deep flush as Jim’s feelings churned and twisted into something new. His hesitation to move away from this suddenly intimate setting resulted in a projection from Jim he was not expecting; the peace that Spock gave him had shifted his nightmares into pleasant dreams as intended, but Jim’s version of pleasant was somewhat… erotic.
Just as Spock decided that he had invaded Jim’s privacy too much and moved to pull away, but a soft whisper stopped his very breath, sending a shiver down his spine and a spike of something undeniably lustful shooting through his body, straight to his groin. Face hot and breath slightly shaky, though he would never admit it to himself later, he leaned forward without thinking, straining to hear the word he was almost positive he heard correctly the first time, once again tumble from those soft, delicate lips below him. Sure enough, as if thinking it, wishing it, was enough to bring it into existence, he once again heard it. His name.
Whispered so softly, so lewdly, from the sleeping form of one James T. Kirk, twice he had said it now, “Spock…!”
Abruptly, the vulcan remembered he was just that: a vulcan. He stood quickly (too quickly, as he made himself slightly dizzy in the process), and retreated across the room much faster than was necessary. His hand still burned from where he had touched Jim, his head still hummed with the warm feeling of ...something... and his body still ached in a way it had never truly ached before; there was a desire in him so strong that it frightened him, and it came from only… what?
A dream?
A name?
He was much too flustered and quite frankly, embarrassed, at the whole situation. His feelings were overwhelming and new and he had no desire to deal with them. As a Vulcan, a True Vulcan, he should be able to handle any and all emotions accordingly. Shame, an emotion he knew all too well, flooded him. He knew better how to handle shame, and the thought grounded him. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, concentrating. Slowly, his breathing went back to normal, and eventually his blood flow and temperature followed suit.
He took another moment to bottle his emotions, setting aside his strange desires and feelings that he simply did not know how to handle for another day. Deciding that his face and body were back to normal, he opened his eyes once again. Jim was still asleep, undisturbed by the turn of events. Deciding it was best to get back to work, the commander turned his attention to his desk. While he had originally intended to head to the bridge in the captain’s absence, he decided now he would rather stay put. Just in case the captain started displaying any more signs of emotional or physical distress.
Hours passed before Jim started to stir again, and this time his eyes fluttered open. For a moment he opened and closed his eyes, trying to adjust to the lights of the room and gain a sense of where he was, as he did not immediately recognize his surroundings. He sat up slowly, eyes finally landing on Spock.
“Mr. Spock? What are you…When did I get here? I remember lying down in sick bay, but…” he trailed off, sleep-addled voice causing Spock to repress a slight shiver that was trying to work its way down his spine.
“My apologies, Captain, for the confusion. Yes, you are correct that you fell asleep on a medical bio-bed at the suggestion of Dr. McCoy. After a brief discussion with the doctor, however, it was decided that you may be more comfortable within your own quarters. I took the liberty of delivering you thusly.” Spock delivered his excuse with his head held high, hands behind his back as he stood from his chair.
Kirk raised an eyebrow. “I see. And, may I ask then,” he paused a moment to yawn, “why I am still not in my own quarters?”
The room was silent for a moment as Jim was sure he saw the vulcan’s cheeks go a bit more green. “Once again, I apologize, Captain. As I did not wish to invade your privacy any more than necessary while also wishing to see to your wellbeing as much as possible, I took it upon myself to bring you here, to my quarters instead.”
“My wellbeing, Mr. Spock?” Jim asked, a grin stretching across his face despite his attempt at remaining in Captain Mode.
Spock looked away, squaring his shoulders in an attempt to remain unphased. “Yes, Captain. You were, I believe, having what Terrans refer to as a nightmare.”
Surprise flitted across the captain’s eyes before a strange look settled on his features. He had a glint in his eye that seemed to spark something once again in the vulcan, which he quickly tried to stomp down. “Oh?” Jim purred, placing his feet on the ground and slowly standing from the bed, “And does that mean I have you to thank for the...pleasant...dreams I had right afterwards?” He took a step towards his first officer, noticing and taking delight in the way that he swallowed nervously, regardless of his face keeping the same, carefully neutral look.
Spock stayed perfectly rigid as his captain approached, the playful, almost predatory look in his eyes making the bottled feelings that Spock had worked so hard to keep locked up tight come bubbling to the surface once more. Without thinking, he stepped forward towards Jim, leaving only a few inches between them. He reached out, running his hands over Jim’s biceps, leaning in to whisper into his ear.
“Captain,” he felt his blood heat at the small shiver that ran through his captain as the vulcan’s hot breath hit the shell of his ear. “Jim…” he trailed off, allowing one hand to roam towards his neck, fingers barely touching the skin there.
The vulcan’s eyes fluttered closed as the emotions of his captain came rushing forward through the skin-to-skin contact. Surprise, curiosity, amusement, and a distinct spike of lust all jumbled together in Jim’s head had Spock let out a breath he did not realize he was holding. Lost in the emotions he was feeling from both Jim and himself, he hardly recognized his own voice as he spoke once more into the shell of the round, human ear.
“You’re so...infuriating.”
The yellow alert siren blared, snapping them both out of their lustful states. Spock’s eyes flew open and he immediately stepped back and let go completely of Jim, who was fairly red but equally quick in removing himself from Spock. Jim looked for a long second into Spock’s eyes before flipping open his comm and checking in with Sulu.
“What’s going on up there?” His voice was not nearly as breathless as he feared it would be. The feeling of Spock’s fingers on his skin and hot breath in his ear was almost overwhelming, but he pushed his feelings aside and settled back into James T. Kirk, Captain.
Sulu answered immediately, “Sir, we were hailed by a federation ship five minutes ago. We responded, but there was only static and no visual feed at all. They started scanning the ship a moment ago and for some reason our shields are not functioning at maximum. We aren’t sure if they are a threat or not at present, sir, but they have scanned us.”
“On my way, Kirk out.” Jim and Spock were already halfway down the corridor before Sulu had finished his explanation. While there was an interesting and exciting new dynamic between the two, they were first and foremost Captain and Commander of the USS Enterprise; duty came first.
Spock and Jim, stepping onto the turbo lift and quickly exchanging tactics and ideas of what could be happening, would save their budding and extremely confusing emotions for a later date.