#startrekoneshot

You lifted your eyes and he gave you a knowing, pointed look before turning and striding back to his spot in the Bridge.  

You took a shaky breath and pressed your cool fingers to your burning cheeks as you thought of the grumpy doctor.  

Leonard was one of your closest friends, having met him back in the Academy in your Xenobiology class when he spilt coffee all over your notebook half-way through the year. “Fucking hell” was the first thing you ever said to him, and you’d spent the rest of the week with him, copying his notes to replace all of yours.  You’d been friends ever since, ecstatic when you’d been placed on the Enterprise with him, and you had a weekly drink and movie night.

But you didn’t have a crush on him.  You thought. There was one time when you’d been watching a movie next to him on the couch, and you’d been shoulder to shoulder, and he turned his head and so did you, and for a second you’d thought he was going to kiss you, and you could feel his breath on your face, and for a second you’d hope he’d kiss you and…

A ping from your PADD woke you from your memories, and you could feel your pulse pounding in your ears.  

Looking down, you saw two messages that made your heart drop in your chest.

Leonard: Have to cancel drinks tonight. Busy medbay.

Leonard: Sorry.

Damn.  You cursed yourself internally at how disappointed you felt.

Y/N: It’s all good.  Stay sane.

‘Stay sane’ was something you always said to each other when things got crazy.  It meant a million things, like ‘don’t work to hard’, and ‘I’m here if you need me’, and ‘don’t do anything stupid’.

Part of you was excited to have a night to do whatever you wanted, the other part of you had been looking forward to having something to do on Valentine’s Day.   But most of you had been excited to spend time with Leonard.

But whatever.

That was all over now.

You finished your shift without any issues, and when you made it back to your room, you decided to throw together a batch of cookies for a treat.  

You just happened to make the kind that were Leonard’s favourite.

And you just happened to pile them into a container and head out the door towards the medbay.

I’m just being nice to my friend who has to work late, that’s all, you thought to yourself as you rounded the big glass doors.

“Hey, Y/N.” Someone called, and you spun to see one of your friends, Amy, who was a nurse.

“Hey,” you responded, “is Dr. McCoy here?”

“Nope, his shift ended about an hour ago.” She said, tucking the PADD in her hands under her arm.

“Oh.” You chewed on your lip and self-consciously held the box of cookies tighter.

You were just about to say something else when your com pinged.  

Hikaru: Botany lab.  SOS.

Shit.

“Gotta go! See you later, Amy!” You called over your shoulder as you dashed back out the doors.

A million things were going through your mind. What was the SOS about?  Was Hikaru alright?  Why did Leonard lie to you about having to work late?  Did he have a Valentine’s date he didn’t tell you about?

You were ashamed at how disappointed and stupid that made you felt.  

It took you a good 5 minutes of fast walking/jogging to make it to the botany lab, and you had broken out in a light sweat by the time you got there.

You rounded the corner quickly and nearly slammed into another person.

“Oh!” You jumped back, almost dropping the box of cookies.

It was Leonard.

“Y/N!” He exclaimed, looking particularly flushed and disoriented by the sight of you.

“Hi, umm, is everything alright?  Sulu sent me an SOS.” You tried to peek over Leonard’s shoulders to see into the lab, but he stood awkwardly in the way.

“He did?” Leonard asked, looking perplexed then annoyed, turning his head to the side and muttering something that sounded like ‘fucker’ under his breath. 

“He just left for the Bridge.” Leonard looked back to you, his hair falling onto his forehead, and a frown pulled at the corners of his lips.  He shuffled just a bit and it was the first time you noticed his hand tucked behind his back, as if he was hiding something.

“Wha-?” You started.

“Are those the cookies I like?” Leonard interrupted, squinting down at the container.

“What, these?” You stammered, tucking the box under you arm. “Well… yes.  But-but they were for Hikaru.”

Leonard’s brows furrowed and he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “I thought Sulu was vegan. Don’t those have eggs in them?” He questioned.

You felt your eyes widen, and you tried to control your facial expression as you responded, “Y-yea…nnno…maybe…” You tucked the box further under your arm. “What’ve you got there?” You asked, pointing to his hidden hand, trying desperately to change the subject.

He looked hesitant for a moment, before withdrawing his hand and producing a magnificent bouquet of flowers. There were white roses mixed in with full-bloom peony heads in a soft pink, interwoven with white baby’s breath and contrasted with dark green ivy.

“Wow.” You breathed. Peonies were your favourite.  You could smell them from here.

Leonard didn’t say anything, just held the bouquet awkwardly in front of him.

There were several beats of silence, and you felt your disappointment grow with each passing second. “You could have just told me you had a date,” you said softly, dropping your eyes to the floor, “I wouldn’t have cared.”

“No, it’s not- it’s just- I…” Leonard was stammering, more flustered than you’d ever seen him before.

“It’s fine, I get it,” you defended, turning to leave, “I should go find Hikaru.”

“Y/N, wait.” Leonard’s hand found your elbow and spun you around, not letting go. He took a breath and squeezed his eyes shut before he continued, “They’re for you.”

You blinked at him, shrugging off his hand on you and stepping back, “No, you don’t have to give them to me just because you don’t want to tell me you’re going on a date. I don’t want your pity flowers.”

To your surprise, Leonard held your gaze, and you watched as his face softened, just a little.  “I’m not giving them to you out of pity, smartass,” he grunted , “they were for you the whole time.  I was bringing them to you as a surprise, for Valentine’s Day.  I know they’re your favourite and I just- I thought… yeah I guess it was pretty dumb.” He dropped the flowers to his side, and you watched a few peony petals glide to the floor.

It took you a second to process everything he said. “You-you’re being serious?”

Leonard lifted his gaze to you and nodded.

“I’m an idiot.” You huffed.

He shook his head, “No, you’re not…”

You pointed your finger at him and grinned, “I’m an idiot.  You’re an idiot.  We’re the co-presidents of Club idiot.”

That made him chuckle and you could almost feel the tension dissolving between the two of you.  What was left was a softer, gentler feeling, something from deep inside you.

“Sulu helped me pick them,” Leonard explained, “The amount of flowers that man grows should be illegal.”

Now it was your turn to chuckle.  

You took the container of cookies out from under your arm and let it hang between your fingertips. “I did make these for you.  I swung by the medbay to bring them to you because you were working late.”

“That was really thoughtful of you.” The softness in his tone surprised you, and you met his hazel eyes, seeing something flash behind them that you hadn’t seen since…

“Do you remember that night you made me watch ‘The Princess Bride?” Leonard asked, leaning against the wall, and you moved to join him, leaning to face him.

That was the night you thought he was going to kiss you.

“Of course. The night you cried because you thought Wesley and Buttercup weren’t going to be together.”

“Ha ha.” He smirked, then let his features soften. “Well, I don’t know if you would remember this, it was a while ago, but when we were on the couch, and… well…”

“I remember.” You said, and his gaze snapped to yours.

“You do?”

“Mhmm.” You licked your lips and looked up at him, taking in the face you knew so well, framed by dark, slightly tousled hair, the lines around his eyes and mouth soft, and the space between his eyebrows was smooth, though you knew his brows seemed permanently furrowed when he was stressed.

“I wish I had done what I had wanted to do then…” He said, his gaze flicking between your eyes and your lips.

“Which was…”

“Kiss you.”

The fingers that you were drumming on the top of the container of cookies stopped, and your mouth fell slightly open.

You chose your words carefully. “So, why didn’t you?”

He exhaled. “I didn’t think it was the right time.”

“Ah,” you nodded, looking down. “So, when is the right time going to be?”

A soft smile ever so slightly pulled at the corner of his lips.  “You only know it’s the right time when it is the right time.”

You smiled and rolled your eyes. “You’re such a romantic, Leonard McCoy.”

His eyes glinted with amusement as he smiled fully now, and your heart overflowed with love at the sight.  He dropped your gaze and played with the petals of one flower between his fingertips, rolling it between his thumb and index when it plucked free.

You gathered up all your courage and inched closer to him. “What if I told you right now was the right time?”

He stopped playing with the flower and looked at you, his expression unreadable. “That’s not how it works, Y/N.”

“Oh shut up.” You quipped, cocking your head to the side and taking a confident step forward, a sudden bout of nervous excitement causing butterflies to take flight in your stomach.

His whole face softened, and he was looking at you with an expression of such admiration that you wished you could capture it with a camera.  He leaned into you, now having to drop the bouquet at his side so he could stay facing you.  His free hand lifted and his fingers grazed your cheek, bringing with it a strong scent of peonies and roses.  

“Kiss me.” You sighed, your eyes fluttering closed as he pulled you closer, and you could feel his breath against your lips, just the same as that night watching that movie.

He paused for a second, and you became suddenly aware of your pounding pulse and your impending anticipation.

“As you wish.” He breathed, the words fanning over your mouth before he covered your lips with his.

His lips were firm and warm against yours, the taste of him immediately intoxicating you and you kissed him back with an equal fervor.  You slung one of your arms around his neck, awkwardly dropping the box of cookie to your side in order to draw him closer.  

The kiss was everything you had hoped for and more, and as his hand dropped to your waist, you felt your chest fill with desire.

You broke the kiss breathlessly, not straying far from him, holding him firm by the fingers entangled in the hair at the back of his neck.

“How ‘bout we take that bouquet and these cookies back to my room?  Hm?” You asked, pecking his lips softly before continuing, “we can have those drinks you cancelled on me from earlier.”

Leonard laughed and shook his head, his nose rubbing against yours.  “Sounds like a plan to me.”

But before you could lead him away, he kissed you breathless again, pulling away to tip his forehead against yours. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Y/N.”

You smiled, “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

-Thanks for reading!  I hope you liked it!-

You backed into the edge of a wheelchair that was parked along the wall and banged your elbow, but you waved off Leonard’s concerned posture, “Nah, I’m fine.” You gulped thickly, your voice wavering, “It’s fine, just ignore me...”

“I’m not going to ignore you.  What’s wrong?” His brows furrowed over the intense set to his gaze, but when there was a sudden cry across the clinic, his eyes flicked around the room before settling back on you. 

“It’s nothing, you’re busy.”

“C’mon.” Leonard huffed and suddenly you were being dragged down corridors until you reached his office and he lead you inside. 

When he closed the door he spun on you, not angry, but he seemed annoyed and it made you want to punch him. 

“Tell me what’s wrong.” He insisted, setting down his PADD and crossing his arms. 

You set the paper bag down on his desk and pulled out the bottle inside, “I got us a bottle of whiskey for tonight, your favourite.”

Leonard’s eyes widened and he stepped forward, taking the bottle from your hands, “This... this is... where did you get it from?”

“This guy on 62nd Street had it.  It may have been illegally imported, but it wasn’t a half-bad price.” You shrugged. 

“You couldn’t have got this just for the end of the semester, what’s the big occasion?” He asked as he started to work on the dark plastic wrapping around the neck of the bottle. 

You toed a the ground, “Well, like I said, we just finished exams, and you’ve worked so hard lately and...” You felt a lump grow in your throat, “You’re leaving next week.”

Leonard lowered the bottle, his fingers still working at the plastic, “Is this about me going to work on the Enterprise?”

Ignoring his question, you glanced at his fingers struggling with the plastic, “Do you need help with that?”

“How do you get this black shit off?” He mumbled, tearing at it harder.

You stepped closer to him, reaching into the pocket of his lab coat and pulling out a pair of scissors, handing them to him.  The sudden close proximity to him was dizzying so you stepped back and wrung your hands in front of you. 

After unwrapping the bottle, he inspected it before setting it down on the desk. 

“Thanks for the whiskey, darlin’, maybe we can share it later-”

“Don’t leave.”

He tilted his head, “What?”

“Sorry, ignore me, I didn’t say anything.” You blurted, your hands shaking so you tucked them into your armpits. 

“No, you did, and I’m not going to ignore you.  If this is about the Enterprise, may I remind you that you’re leaving too?”

“There is no ‘this’, Leonard, I’m fine.” You drew your fingers through the hair at the side of your head, unable to keep them still any longer, “And I am just being transferred one city over, not all the way up into god-damned space!”

“I don’t understand.  You said this was to celebrate.  You said you were happy that I got the job.”

It was impossible to meet his eyes, “I was.  But now?  To see you go?  I really.. I don’t... I’m gonna miss you, is all.” You tried to keep all the words that you wanted to say inside. 

“I’m going to miss you too, but we agreed to message and video chat.” He stepped closer, “And it’s not like I’m going to be gone forever.”

“It might as well be, because you’re going to go up there and make all these new friends and save all these lives and forget about little ol’ me.”

“What are you talking about?  I won’t forget about you.”

“Sure you won’t.” You huffed, trying to hide your impending tears behind your indignance. 

His hands landed on his thighs with a clap, “Why are you being like this?  What do you want me to do?  What do you want me to say?”

“I don’t know.” You grumbled. 

He sighed, “Help me out here.  I’m not letting you leave until you talk to me.”

“God, Leonard!  Just let it go.  I’m all over the place right now.” You wiped furiously at a tear that snuck down your cheek, “What I need right now is for you to tell me to get my shit together.” You let out a watery laugh. 

“Just tell me what’s bothering you, I can help.” He insisted, and a look of hurt flashed across his features. 

“You don’t have to help everyone, Len.” You snapped, perching on the edge of the desk. 

“What are you trying to say?”

“You try to help everyone but you can’t, you can’t if you’re just going to desert them.” Your fingers curled around the edge of the desk as he stepped closer. 

“What are you trying to say?” He repeated. 

You pushed off from the desk, your arms flailing wildly as you spoke, “You can’t just barge into someone’s life with those big hazel eyes and that god-damned lion heart of yours only to leave.”

Leonard extended his fingers before curling them into tight fists, “I don’t know why you’re mad at me.”

A breath desperately escaped you and you pushed away the impending tears in your eyes as you looked up at him. 

“I wish I was mad.” You pushed off the desk to stalk towards the door but he blocked your path with outstretched hands.  

You huffed and started to turn away from him, but something stopped you. The brief look in his eye that you caught.  The confusion and annoyance, but there was something else there as well.  And god help you if it didn’t make your heart swell. 

All of your desire for him built up at that moment and nearly blinded you as you turned sharply to face him, tears perched on your lids.  He looked down at you with worry and concern, one of his arms absently reaching for you.  You looked down at it for a moment before stepping into him, placing a hand on either side of his jaw and crashing your lips to his. 

Leonard's hands quickly found your waist, curling his fingers into the fabric of your uniform, and you sighed into his mouth as you kissed him harder.  But it was when he stroked a hand through your hair that your brain finally snapped back into your skull.  

You pushed away from him, suddenly wanting his hands off you just as desperately as you had wanted them on you.  His features now held a desperate vulnerability, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open.  Your mouth opened and closed with unsaid words and un-explainable feelings.

"I'm just too late." You whispered, pushing past him finally and stalking out the door, wondering if this was the last time you would ever see the man you loved. 

-Thanks for reading!  I hope you liked it!-

((OMG this is the shortest thing I’ve written in a while and I’m scrolling up and down and so amused by how short it is haha))

“What?!  That’s amazing!” She shook your shoulder, but you gave a grunt. 

“Yeah, so amazing, except I’ll have to work with the infamous Captain James T. Kirk.”  Your tone was laced with sarcasm.  

“DUDE!” She slapped your arm excitedly and you scowled, “You are so lucky!  I’ve heard he’s super hot.” 

Rowena sighed longingly and you threw your PADD onto the bed, flopping back onto it so you were staring at the ceiling. 

“Yeah, sure, and an entitled, cocky, arrogant prick who just wants to get in every woman’s pants.”

Rowena flopped down beside you, “What’s so bad about that?  God knows you could use some.”

“Ro!” You gasped and slapped her arm, but you weren’t mad, this was just how she was, giving it to you straight and narrow. 

“It’s true, Y/N.” She giggled, “how long is the mission?” 

“Five years.” You raised your eyebrows in mirror to her expression and nodded. 

“That’s a long time.”

“I know.”

Rowena turned suddenly onto her side, making the bed jump a little, “Y/N, you are the best yeoman that I have ever met.  You can, and you have, handled complete asshats that call themselves captains, so you will give this Captain Kirk a run for his money if he’s anything like people say.  You got this.” 

You smiled.  She always knew exactly what to say, hopefully this time she was right. 

The Enterprise was the most beautiful ship you had ever seen, let alone been on.  As you walked the halls, you tried to admire the architecture of the inside of the ship, but you couldn't too much because you were lost and couldn't find the bridge, where you were supposed to report.  

You had to ask three separate times for directions and finally when you found it, Captain Kirk hadn't even arrived yet.  You drew into the back of the mingling crowd, pulling out your PADD to get ready to take notes.  You knew you probably didn't need to, but it was part of your job and it helped you focus. 

After a few minutes, Captain Kirk finally arrived, hurrying through the lift doors onto the captain's platform, looking a little out of breath.  And his command gold shirt was on backwards.  

He jumped right into his speech, oozing charisma and smiles as he spoke, and you dutifully took notes.  After the speech, you watched and waited until everyone had went up to Captain Kirk and introduced themselves, taking the time to observe your new captain.   He had golden blond hair and a dazzling smile, his posture sure-of-himself and welcoming, and you tried to match your previous notions about him to this man in front of you.  

"I'm going to head down to get the preliminary reports from Scotty, com me if you need me." He spoke to Spock, the first officer. 

"Captain Kirk?" 

He smiled as you approached, and you were thrown off by the blue of his eyes, almost crystalline, and they crinkled around the edges when he smiled.  

"I'm Y/N Y/L/N, your new yeoman." You extended your hand and he took it, shaking it firmly. 

"Nice to meet you, Y/N, I'm sorry but I have to get down to engineering but we can get more acquainted when I get back." He nodded and took off in the direction of the lift.

"Captain?" You called. 

He stopped.

"Are you familiar with the job description of a yeoman?" You asked, placing your hand on your hip.

He turned back to you, his eyebrow raised, and his gaze searching and confused. 

"It includes retrieving reports and filtering information back to the captain." You informed, walking slowly up to the puzzled captain, "So I will go get these reports, and you can sit your pretty little behind in your chair and do whatever captains do."

You knew you probably shouldn't be so sassy with your tone on your first meeting with him, but you couldn't push the thought of his reputation out of your mind.  

"Right, yep, I apologize, Y/N, I'll take a seat then, and you can go run and get those reports." Captain Kirk pursed his lips and slid back over to his chair, dipping his head and actually looking a little apologetic.  

Walking over to stand next to his chair, you looked down at him, "I've been told that you have never had a yeoman before, and I am here to assure you I'm here for anything you need.  I've been around the block a few times before." You found yourself relaxing next to the smiling captain. 

"Good to know, Y/N," He tilted his head as he looked up at you from his chair, "I look forward to working together."

You smiled down at him, "Oh, and Captain?" You mused, "Your shirt's on backwards." 

His eyes widened and he glanced down at the shirt, already starting to pull on the sleeves as you retreated to the lift. 

Add idiot to your list of adjectives to describe Jim Kirk. 

You could quickly scratch that off your list as Jim Kirk was definitely not an idiot.

"What is the level the war core is running at?" Jim said as he read the report that you had retrieved. 

"3.5.  Scotty said we are doing jus' fine." You pulled out the Scottish accent and it made Jim smile. 

"And the radio connectivity of the generators?  Are they still within normal levels?" 

"Yes, Ensign Heather said they were a little high the other day but they handled it."

"And the..." 

"The pressure in the power cells has not exceeded maximum level." You recited, know knowing exactly what he was going to ask. Jim looked up at you, handing you back your PADD with a brush of his fingers on yours, and he seemed satisfied with your work. 

You were getting used to delivering reports like this.  Every time you came back with a report from any part of the ship, he would question you on the details.  Like when you would return from engineering, you quickly learned to gather as much information as possible because he seemed to know everything about everything that came back to him.  He would ask what levels the warp core was set at, what the detailed numbers were involving radiowaves, and generators, and comlinks were.  Things that you had never even heard of.  But you learned quickly.  

And it was kind of fun, learning all these new terms.  You always loved getting to work with a new captain, falling in step next to them, learning what they liked and disliked, how they ran things.  It was one of your favourite parts about the job.

You could also cross 'entitled' off your list, because most of the time he actually forgot you were there and would get up to go get something himself.  Most of the other captains you worked with had you running around like a madwoman, retrieving this and that, not excluding coffee runs and delivering personal messages.  

But not Jim.  He thanked you each and every time you returned to the bridge with something for him, and when you brought him his lunch one time, because he had forgotten to go for a break, he insisted that you needn't do that for him.

“Captain, must I remind you, again, that it’s my job?” You teased, setting down his lunch tray. 

“I know, but...” 

“No buts, Captain, I am happy to do it.” The genuine tone of your voice surprised you, and it made Jim tilt his head to the side and squint his eyes at you curiously. 

The gaze made heat rush to your cheeks, and you quickly ducked away, claiming you had notes to organize.  

"Captain, I have the report you asked for from Dr. McCoy, as well as I filed the navigation charts for our next week's journey." You walked over towards the captain's chair, engrossed in a file on your PADD, but were stopped by a set of hands on your shoulders. 

"You should watch where you're going, Y/N." You looked up to meet Jim's blue eyes near inches from your own.  

You stepped back on instinct, "Sorry, Captain, I was just getting the next task sorted in my head."

He chuckled lowly, "You work too hard, Y/N, and I told you to call me Jim." 

"Sorry, Jim, I'm just used to calling captains, Captain." You blushed, and thrust the PADD into Jim's hands, a little too roughly.  

He gave you an amused side-eye and you felt yourself blush even more.  

"I'd like to buy you a drink later, if you'll have me." Jim dropped his arm, the PADD swinging at his side, and your head sprung up at the statement. 

"Uh... I..." You stammered, making the mistake to meet his eyes and you nearly swooned at the sight of the bright blue irises. 

"I apologize if I have assumed too much, Y/N, you don't have to." His eyes turned downwards now, his stoic facade breaking only for a moment. 

"No, Cap- I mean, Jim I would love to have a drink with you." You smiled up at him and his mouth stretched into a smile as well. 

"Really?"

You nodded. 

"Well then, we can head there after shift."

"Sounds like a plan." You chirped, butterflies set aflutter in your stomach which brought your voice up an octave, and you tried to hide it with a cough.  

Jim just looked amused at how flustered you seemed, and you gave a quick shrug to your shoulders before nearly bolting for the lift doors. 

"Ro, he's actually really nice." You were sprawled out on your bed with your com to your ear, just having returned from having drinks with Jim, and you were still all jittery from it.  

You and him had talked all evening, and you could definitely now cross 'arrogant' off your list because he was the sweetest person, and the best listener, you had ever talked to.  The evening was spent chatting and laughing, with a few suggestive brushes of fingers and knees, but nothing too intimate, and he had walked you back to your quarters, bidding you goodnight, nothing more.  

"Have you slept with him yet?" Rowena asked, and you snorted. 

"No!  No, I haven't." You defended, grinning to yourself and biting your fist. 

"But you've thought about it, right?"

"RO!"

"Okay, okay!  But I can hear it in your tone, you like him." She teased.  

"I DO NOT!" You argued, with much less fight in your voice than you intended, "But he's a really good guy, okay, NOT that I'm going to sleep with him."

Rowena's giggles resounded through the com, and it made you laugh too.  You missed your best friend. 

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself, sweetie." Rowena giggled.

"Yeah," You thought of his crystal blue eyes and sweet smile, "me too."

The next day you arrived on shift, expecting a warm welcome by Jim, but he wasn't in his chair.  Asking First Officer Spock where the captain could be, he told you that he hadn't arrived on shift yet, which was very unlike Jim.  You waited patiently for him, busying yourself, your eyes constantly flicking back and forth from your work to the lift doors. 

"I'm going to go check the engineering room to see if Jim's there." You said non-noncommittally, to no one in particular, and turned to stride out the door.  

The hallways leading up to the engineering room were eerily quiet, and you found yourself tiptoeing on instinct, your pulse racing in your ears.  

"Jim?" You called into the empty corridor with no response. 

Reaching the door you found it ajar, the lights in the engineering room dark as you tentatively stuck your head in.  You were going to call out again when you heard the mumble of voices.  Stepping along the metal bridge that ran along the outside edge of the engineering room, you kept silent and clutched your PADD to your chest.  

Then, finally, a few figures came into view and you froze, crouching down instinctively.  Holding your breath, you peered over the edge and saw five figures, two you recognized as Scotty and Jim, the others were dark, hooded aliens.  Jim and Scotty were nearly backed up against some boilers, the aliens pointing some large weapons at them, and they were talking, but it was too far away for you to hear anything.  

Jim appeared to say something, looking very fierce and captain-ly, and the voice of the aliens grew louder, and they appeared to advance on Jim and Scotty.  Panic flood through you as Jim and Scotty pressed up against the boiler and the alien's weapons raised menacingly.  

"JIM!" 

The syllable was out of your mouth and echoing across the engineering room before you could stop it.

The attack on Jim and Scotty paused, and all heads spun in your direction. You froze, your mouth hanging open, in a half crouch on the metal bridge. 

Jim looked at you for a moment, but then turned back to the aliens and swung at them.  He managed to get the weapon from the hands of the closest alien, who seemed to bark orders at the other two, and you go the message loud and clear, even though it was in whatever language they spoke. 

Get the girl.

You gulped as you saw them dash for the stairs and you took off, and the last thing you saw was Jim’s eyes on you before you were out of view.  

You had been in a few battles before, but you were usually told to get out of harm’s way and hide, because you had barely any fighting experience.  You had taken a few classes on self-defense, and practiced with Rowena at the gym in the Academy, but hadn’t had to use your skills much.  

Why the thought of your and Ro’s gym matches were going through your mind at a time like this you had no idea, but you were snapped back into reality very quickly.  One of the aliens was coming down the bridge in front of you, and the other was coming from behind you.  You were trapped. 

Adrenaline left your mouth dry and your limps shook, when you realized you still held your PADD in your hands.  Looking around you, you decided that your only way out was to go over the edge of the railing.  

So in one fell swoop you tossed the PADD at the oncoming alien, it bouncing off him uselessly, but it made him stop for a second, giving you just enough time to hop over the railing and land on the top of the nearest boiler.  

The aliens shouted at you as you skidded across the top of the slippery metal boiler, and let out a garbled scream when you slid to the edge.  You managed to get a hold on one of the metal railings sticking off the boiler, and you slammed into the side as you fell, your arm nearly being wretched from it’s socket as you dangled. 

“Help!” You croaked, kicking out at the boiler to see if you could pull yourself up a bit, but it was no use.  

“Let go, lass, I’ll catch ya!” A voice from below you, Scotty, with his arms raised and a cut down the side of his face. 

“It’s too high!” You squeaked, your arm beginning to tremble from trying to hold up your weight. 

Two loud clanks sounded over your head and you managed to look up, it was the ones who were trying to get to you, landing on the top of the boiler.  

You heard Scotty swear from below you, and you saw his red shirt move out of view. 

“Scotty!  What-” You started, but suddenly the boiler jerked and something clanked again, and you jostled against the side. 

You heard, rather than saw the two aliens fall into the boiler, Scotty must have opened a panel in the top, and they were enveloped into the water which splashed over the side onto you, and you sputtered.  

Their screams were unusually loud and pained for just behind immersed in water, and you shook as they beat the inside.  Your arm was beginning to burn and you cried out again when suddenly the shaking stopped.  

“Well tha’s interesting.” 

You met Scotty’s eyes, who had moved back to underneath you, “Scot-”

Your hand suddenly slipped, probably due to a mix of your tired muscles and the water-covered handle, and you fell, not even able to cry out and you landed directly on top of Scotty.  His form softened your fall a little, but knocked him to the ground, you on top of him, and you could hear his groans and curses.  

Rolling off of him, you bent over on your hands and knees, gasping for air.  

“Y/N?  Scotty?  Are you alright?” It was Jim’s voice now, and his knees came into view. 

He took your collective groans and gasps as a ‘no’ and you felt a hand on your back as he tilted you back and his concerned blue eyes met yours. 

“’m okay.  I landed on Scotty, so he must’a got the brunt of it.” You urged him, but let yourself be comforted by his gaze for a moment before you pushed him towards Scotty. 

Scotty seemed to right himself quickly, though he was favouring his right side, a hand on his ribs, and you felt instantly bad.  You stood shakily, leaning on the side of the boiler.

“You have to get out of here, there is another group on the other side of the room, heading our way.” Jim’s voice cut through your struggle and his hand found your shoulder. 

“There’s more of them?!” You rasped, bending over to catch your breath. 

“You get out of here, Y/N, I’m serious.  Go.” He placed his hand on your back and you straightened up. 

“No, I can help, they don’t like water, Jim, it dissolved the other two aliens, we can stop them-.”

“No, go, now.  That’s an order.” His gaze was fierce and insistent, but you thought you could see a touch of pleading in his expression. 

You only nodded and moved to Scotty, tugging on his arm to get him to follow you.  

You met Jim’s eyes one last time as you retreated, silently begging the universe to let you be able to see those blue eyes again. 

Once you were out of sight you turned to Scotty, stopping suddenly. 

“We have to flood the engineering room.” You met the engineer’s wide eyes. 

“But Jim said-”

“I don’t care what Jim said, we can’t just leave him to defeat an army of aliens all on his own.  He’ll die.” Your voice cracked on the last word, and Scotty raised an eyebrow at you. 

“Alrigh’.” He nodded. “There’s a way.  As soon as I saw those things get all washed away inside tha’ boiler, I knew what we needed t’a do.  Follow me.”

You gave Scotty a nervous, but appreciative smile as you followed him deep into the engineering room.

A few minutes later, a plan was devised and you and Scotty were in position.  

You were up on the metal bridge again, tucked into the side of it, and you watched with horror as the army of aliens mad there way towards Jim, who seemed to be limping.  

“Y’a ready, lass?” Scotty’s voice came through your com. 

Though you swear you’d never felt your heart beat this fast before, you gulped and nodded, “Ready.”

“Ok, go.”

At those words you surged forward, dashing along the metal bridge, your feet landing heavily and loudly as you ran, which didn’t concern you at all, because that was kind of the point.   

“HEY!  STUPID ALIEN PEOPLE!  OVER HERE!” You yelled at the top of your lungs, and all eyes turned to you once again, the alien group changing direction and heading your way, away from Jim. 

“NOW SCOTTY!” You screamed and grabbed onto the railing for dear life.  

The whole room seemed to shudder, and there was an impossibly loud set of creaking, which you knew were the boilers opening and beginning to overflow. 

“Jim!  Jim, get up!  Onto the ledge!” You urged, meeting his eyes with a flash of panic, having realized that you forgot to warn him. 

His form was small from your high perch, but he paused for only a second before rushing to the nearest set of stairs and beginning to climb, quickly getting lost in the sea of metal stairs and railings. 

Water rushed into the room, starting to flow across the floor, and you silently begged it to go faster, as the aliens were starting to realize that something was wrong and were heading in your direction.  

But your pleading seemed to work as another wave of water rushed across the floor and soon reached the feet of the aliens.  Very quickly they were screeching and scattering, trying to get away from the water, but it was no use, your plan was a success.  

Scotty had locked the exit doors, sealed them so the water didn’t leak across the ship, but also so the aliens had no where to go.  

You sank to the floor, your hands pressed to your ears, as the screeching was so bad and loud that it was almost painful.  Peeking a glance to the aliens, you could see they were dropping like flies, slowly being disintegrated into dark blobs in the water, some of them trying to dash back to where you assumed their ship boarded, but they slipped and fell and were soon washed away.  

Suddenly the room when quiet.  You could tell when Scotty shut off the water, because the creaking stopped, and the water seemed to settle.  

You let out a breath you didn’t know you had been holding and pressed your head back against the railing, dropping your hands from your ears.  

You did it.  

Relief flooded through you as you shakily stood, and suddenly another, quieter set of yelling met your ears.  It brought a smile to your mouth when you realized it was Scotty whooping in success from across the room.  

You whooped once in response and pumped your fist in triumph as you slowly made your way across the bridge again, your limps still shaky as the adrenaline began to wane.  

You stopped suddenly when you realized there was another form at the end of the bridge in front of you.  This one was not a dark, scary alien, but a gold-shirted Jim Kirk, his eyes set in a glare and fists were clenched at his side as he made his way across the bridge. 

"That was stupid, really stupid." Jim mumbled as he stalked towards you, looking very angry, and it took you aback. 

"Jim-" You started. 

"So goddamn brave but so stupid." He was getting closer now and you took a step back, unsure of how to react. 

"I'm sorry." You were frozen in place.  

Jim didn't respond, instead he placed a hand on either side of your head and crushed his lips to yours in a kiss.  It took you a few seconds to react, as his action was so surprising, but you eventually leaned into him, wrapping your arms around his waist to pull him closer, deepening the kiss.  It was a few moments of pure bliss.  You had just beat the aliens, saved your captain and probably the entire ship, and now Jim Kirk was kissing you.  It was exhilarating.

Pulling back to breathe, you moved your arms to wrap around his neck to keep him close, his hands sliding down to your hips now.  

“Wow.” You breathed, “I should rescue you more often.”

His touched his forehead to yours, and he let an exhale out, a soft smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. 

“Thank you, Y/N.” He said and gave you another soft kiss, barely a brush of his lips against yours, “But promise me you’ll never put yourself in danger like that again.”

You could only nod and you reached up, pushing his hair back over his ear, and he closed his eyes at the touch. 

You took the opportunity to lean in and press another gentle kiss to his lips, a shiver running down your spine, which you could attribute to either the feeling of his hands on your waist or the fact that you were still soaking wet from the water from the boiler.  

“Shouldn’t you reprimand me for disobeying a direct order?” You tilted your head at him playfully. 

A smile, “We’ll talked about that later.”

He pressed a kiss to your temple and slung his arm around your shoulders, leading you across the bridge, the way he came.  

“We better go find Scotty and get him and you to the medbay.” Jim said dutifully and you gave his side a squeeze, leaning into his warmth. 

“And talk to him about how we’re going to clean up this mess.” You noted, looking out to the foot of murky brown water that covered the engineering room floor. 

Jim huffed a laugh and helped you ease down the stairs on to the next level, nearing where Scotty was.  

And in that moment, with his arm slung around your shoulders and his around your waist, you knew, with a rush of clarity, that Jim Kirk was nothing like you expected, but everything you needed. 

-Thanks for reading!  I hope you enjoyed it!-

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NOTES ON THE CHARACTERIZATION OF JIM KIRK (ignore if you wish):

I really struggled with this one for a while.  I wrote a bunch of it all at once, and it just didn’t sit right, so I left it for a while, because I dreaded going back to write it.  

But as I re-read it, I began to like it more and more, and found I really liked it.  

I feel like Jim was more TOS than AOS in this one.  For some reason I couldn’t put my thumb on AOS Jim’s character this time around, so this feels more TOS to me (even though I heartily ship TOS Spirk).  

Please let me know what you thought of his character, if it was true to him or not.