-Head on over to peacefulspock-

Spock glances at his captain. Kirk is standing with his hands clasped behind his back, a private smile on his face. Even though he’s not looking at Spock, there’s still an invisible tether to his thoughts all the same.

Perhaps the tether is simply from Spock; perhaps because he cannot, once again, ignore how beautiful Kirk is against the backdrop of the endless night.

The deck is empty, except for them. There is silence but for the soft, enduring humming of the ship.

Jim finally breaks the silence. “When I was… in that cell.”

“Captain.” Spock turns fully to him. Has to tighten his hands to prevent himself from reaching out. “You are not required to—”

“No, Spock, I… I want to,” Jim softly interjects. He smiles, melancholically, up at him. “When I was in that cell, I truly thought I would be trapped in Janice’s body forever. It was terrifying; I’ve never felt so alone. But then you…” He takes a steadying breath and is uncharacteristically avoiding Spock’s eyes. “You knew me, Spock. And I didn’t feel so terrified and alone.”

“If I can be sure of it, Captain, then you’ll never be alone.”

Jim’s expression melts into a truly bright smile. “Somehow I always knew that.” He reaches out two fingers toward Spock’s hand.

Unsure if Jim knew the full gravity of his gesture, Spock says, “Captain, I don’t think—”

“I know what I’m doing, Spock.” He holds his fingers closer to Spock, across the space between them. “If you want me.”

Spock finds himself speechless with wanting. With careful fingers, he touches his own to Jim’s. There’s a spark of electricity between them. The act in itself is innocent; the look in Jim’s eyes is not.

“In that cell I resolved to tell you, Spock,” Jim continues, “that as long as there’s breath in my body, you will never be alone, either.”

ahh i had to draw this as old married spirk!!

he’d press the flowers and oddly-shaped leaves, etc. in a book and note the star-date they were collected, the name of the planet, the coordinates, and the reason jim gave each sample to him (e.g., “smelled pretty” or “shaped like fran drescher”) underneath each one, cataloguing all of jim’s “treasures” in his own scientific way.

strangely, spock found himself pleased to add a new page, and stranger still, he found himself dreading the end of the book. he was very fond of it, and though he would never admit it, perhaps over the years it was the most precious thing he owned.

–

when spock learned of kirk’s decision to accept the promotion to admiral, he was deeply hurt to know they would likely never stand on the bridge of a starship together again.

spock doesn’t tell kirk of his decision to leave starfleet and return to initiate kolinahr on vulcan. instead, he leaves the book at the door of his apartment just before leaving for his shuttle. the treasures do belong to him, after all.

when kirk finds it and realizes what it is and what it means, it breaks him, and when he reads the inscription on the inside of the front cover: “The following samples have no scientific relevance or importance.” he literally can’t hold back the sobs. they have no scientific importance and yet he obviously kept them preserved so carefully, so lovingly. so very spock.