Christmas in July Kickoff

May as well start right out on the first, here’s your first offering and I hope you like it as much as I do.

It was a hot summer’s day in San Francisco. Not unusual, certainly. In the distance, Spock spotted what the human’s around him called thunder clouds though in the amount of time Spock had been in San Francisco during the warm summers the clouds never seemed to accumulate enough to produce any precipitation.

Last summer he’d taken a few weeks during the Academy’s typical summer break to visit his parents on Vulcan. It had been a tense and unpleasant time there. His father still wasn’t speaking to him for deciding to enlist in Starfleet rather than the VSA and his mother did her best to keep the peace between them. He could see they were only causing her pain and so this summer he chose not to go to Vulcan.

Spock didn’t find the heat nearly as bad as his Human counterparts, being from Vulcan after all, so he was out for his afternoon walk, passing one of the apartment buildings known for housing cadets.

“Oh. No.”

Spock heard the note of panic in those words and he instantly reacted to the distress, stopping in his tracks and looking upward.

A male Human with sandy blond hair hung precariously by only one hand from a top floor balcony. He wore only a light blue tank top and low-slung denim shorts that appeared to be in danger of falling off at any moment. But the man himself was in far more imminent danger.

Spock made a decision.

“Let go. I will catch you.”

“What? Are you crazy? No.”

Spock could see him desperately trying to get his other hand to grasp the railing of the balcony but he was failing.

“Your hand is too sweaty.”

“Thanks. Tell me something I don’t know. Damn. I don’t wanna die.”

Spock calculated the distance from the balcony to the ground. “I do not believe you would die but you would likely have grievous injuries.”

“Grievous. That’s a good word.”

“Your most logical strategy is to let go so that I may catch you.”

The man’s laugh was shaky. “Well, far be it from me to go against logic. Are you sure you won’t drop me?”

“I will not. And Vulcans do not lie.”

“Not sure that’s as reassuring as you think it is. But okay. Uh. Here goes nothing.”

After a rather nerve-wracking hesitation the man let go of the railing and fell quickly to Spock’s position.

He landed in Spock’s arms and instantly he hooked both arms around Spock’s neck. Spock felt a wire string against his skin.

The man moistened his lips with his tongue and looked straight into Spock’s gaze with the bluest eyes Spock had ever seen. He was breathtakingly beautiful in Spock’s opinion.

“What are you holding?” he asked.

“Huh?” The man blinked and then grinned. “Oh. A string of Christmas lights. I was trying to hang them on my balcony. I climbed onto the railing and then my foot slipped. I thought I was a goner.”

Spock glanced up again. “The railing is too narrow to accommodate your person.”

“Now he tells me,” Jim murmured, drawing Spock’s attention once more to his lips.

“Christmas lights?”

“Yeah. For a Christmas in July party. Which I have to say since you rescued me from an unkind fate you just have to come.”

Rather than agree to that strange invitation, Spock said, “May I suggest a different method for hanging your decorations?”

“Yeah, definitely. Jim.”

“What?”

“My name. Jim Kirk.”

“Spock.”

“I know who you are. Everyone does.”

Spock didn’t quite know what that meant and he also realized he still had his arms full of the man. The strangest thing was that he found himself quite reluctant to set him on his feet. He had to, of course.

So, he did. Jim slipped from his arms to stand next to Spock.

He gave Spock a crooked smile.

“Thanks for the rescue again. It’s really hot out here.”

It was a non sequitur.

“Yes. Quite warm.”

“I have a big pitcher of iced tea upstairs in my apartment. You could, you know, spot me, while I finish decorating for that party. You are going to come to it right?”

“When is it?”

“Tonight. Just a few hours from now. If you come upstairs for that iced tea, you could just hang around until the party.”

Spock was not one who usually gave into spontaneity. But he found himself wanting to go up to Jim’s apartment for that iced tea. And whatever else might be offered.

And he didn’t think he was mistaken about those possibilities he saw twinkling in those blue eyes.

“Yes, I would like some iced tea. And to attend your strange festivity.”

Jim laughed. It was a very good sound.

“Come on then, Spock. And welcome to my strange life.”