“So much for the Valentine’s Day party,” Jim mumbled.
Spock was certain he could not have heard his captain correctly. After all they were stranded in cave in a snowstorm on a formerly hostile planet waiting for a rescue they both knew would take some time.
And that was not by far the worst of it.
“You are injured and need medical attention and we are in a cave trying not to freeze to death and your main concern is a ridiculous frivolous inappropriate festivity on the Enterprise that you will now be unable to attend,” Spock snapped.
Jim, face almost as white as the snow falling outside the cave, grimaced. “Well, when you put it that way…”
Spock relented slightly as he had no desire to be waspish to his captain. He clamped his lips shut for a moment as he continued to set up their shelter.
Concern for Jim’s injury was making him—as Jim would say—cranky. Spock got the fire going and then turned to the emergency blankets. He wrapped one completely around his captain, who now eyed him silently.
Once Spock was certain Jim was as comfortable as possible, he set the emergency beacon near the cave entrance so the Enterprise would get their signal when they were able to return after the storm.
He then approached Jim to check on his injured leg.
“You should join me in these blankets next to the fire, Spock.”
He intended to as soon as he ascertained Jim’s state. He crouched down to look at the blaster burn below Jim’s left knee. The material of his pants had been burned away, the flesh was a sickly charred mess and there was caked blood visible.
Jim’s pained gaze met his. “Looks gross huh?”
Spock pursed his lips. “I have seen worse,” he tried to say lightly and failed. “I would feel better if the doctor were here.”
“You want Bones to be along? Boy, I must be in bad shape.”
“I will give you some pain medication, Captain.”
Jim nodded. “All right. Then come in here with me.”
Spock injected Jim with the medication from the medkit in their emergency pack, and then watched Jim’s face to see the relief appearing there.
“Better?”
“Yeah, thanks.”
Spock then, having seen to everything he needed on behalf of himself and his captain, joined Jim by the fire in the emergency blankets.
For a moment, Jim stayed stiff and straight beside him, but after a time, he slowly leaned into Spock, his strength waning.
“Why are you so disappointed not to attend the Valentine’s party?”
“I’m not that disappointed, really. Just…” He blew out a breath. “I intended to make a big grand gesture there to my Valentine.”
“I see.” Spock put his arm around Jim’s shoulders to draw him closer against him for shared warmth. “I do not believe your Valentine needs grand gestures.”
Jim sagged further against him. “Are you mad at me?”
“Of course I am not. I apologize for snapping at you earlier. I am…concerned.”
“I know, but we’ll be rescued eventually.”
“Yes,” Spock agreed. “But it disturbs me when you are in pain.”
“It’s not that bad,” Jim whispered.
“I can see that it is, T’hy’la.” Spock closed his eyes for a moment. “What grand gesture?”
Jim chuckled softly. “I was going to propose.”
Spock nodded. “Very well. I accept.”
“Yeah? You do?”
“Of course, Jim. I would bond with and marry you. I do not need a frivolous party for such a thing.”
He felt Jim’s smile. Not physically, but in his mind, and Spock blew out a breath of his own.
“I think bonding will be quite easy.”
“Yeah?”
Spock took his hand and held it. “I am certain of it.”
“Who are you going to buy a Valentine’s Day Card for?”
The card slips from Jim’s hand and onto the floor as he jumps at the unexpected voice coming from behind him. He bends down and scoops it up from the floor of the shop before someone steps on it to ruin it. He abruptly puts it back in the slot of the shelf.
“Geez, Spock. Don’t sneak up on people.”
Spock arches a questioning brow at him. They are in a gift shop on the main thoroughfare in the heart of Yorktown. A couple of days from going out on the newly repaired and upgraded Enterprise.
“We are in the shop together, Captain. How could I have snuck up on you?”
“Well.” He shrugs. “You gonna get a card for Uhura?”
Spock looks like is considering it and he steps past Jim to the display. After a moment he holds up one that says something about his loving friend.
”That’s for her?” Jim asks. He is surprised, yes. Rumors were swirling that despite Spock helping to rescue her, they were not reconciling. Jim didn’t know because she had seemed like she’d wanted to at Jim’s party.
“Yes.” Spock picks up the card Jim had been studying which showed a big flashy glittery red heart. He opens it to read it. His gaze goes to Jim, but it is unreadable. “If Only You’d Be Mine?”
Jim smiles. “Thought you’d never ask,” he jokes.
Spock puts the card back and chooses another one. It has a small red heart and hands that seem to be holding it. He hands the card to Jim.
Who reads out loud, “Logically, you should be mine.”
Jim laughs. “That’s cute, I like that one.”
Spock nods and puts it with the card for Nyota. “Then I shall get this one for you.”
He walks away and Jim stares after him, eyes wide, and jaw dropped open.
“What is a guy like you doing in a place like this?”
Spock’s lips quirked as he looked up from his PADD into the sparkling blue eyes of the too good-looking Human who stood beside his table.
“The duty roster, actually.” Spock gestured to the seat across from him. “Why don’t you join me?”
“If you insist.”
The Human plopped down with an overly dramatic sigh. He picked up the fork Spock had discarded and poked at Spock’s half-eaten fruit bowl.
“Not sure that’s actually real fruit.”
“Doubtful,” Spock acknowledged. “Bored, Captain?”
Jim grinned. “Beyond belief. I’ve been looking for you.”
“And so you have found me.”
“How much longer?”
Spock arched a brow. “What do you have in mind?”
“A little horizontal something something.”
At that he shook his head. Not in an answer to the suggestion but rather to Jim’s word choice.
“Ah come on.”
“You need to eat.”
“Okay, well, then we can have a romantic dinner first. Or, you know, as is my preference, after.”
“The duty roster—”
“I’ll do it while we eat. Or you can. Or together, whatever. Come on, Spock, this is the first time we’ve had time to breathe in a long time. We should spend it together in our quarters, basking in our love.”
Both eyebrows shot up at that.
Jim laughed. “I read that on a love card.”
“A love card?”
“Yeah you know romance, Valentine’s.”
“It is Groundhog’s Day,” Spock pointed out.
“Right, but V day is coming. You’re stalling. Let’s go have a little romance.”
Spock shut down his PADD and rose, reaching down to pull Jim up from his seat, too.
After all it was only logical to romance one’s husband, Spock supposed.
As they walked along the corridor, close enough to touch, there were some crew members who would swear their fingers were touching.
Spock looked up from his notes so fast and rather violently he nearly knocked over his tea. As it was a few drops landed on his notes. He fought back aiming a glare at his mother for stirring in him a reaction best left dormant.
But his mother smiled, unfazed by his hard stare. “He’s absolutely adorable, Spock. You should ask him out.”
“He is Human.”
‘You are half yourself,” she reminded him with an elegant raised eyebrow. “And really, poor boy, hardly anyone talks to him.”
That much was true. Why the beautiful blond haired blue eyed Human was working as a librarian in the Federation Literature Building on Vulcan, Spock couldn’t guess. The man was shy and wore glasses that just made him more, as his mother said, “adorable”.
Once or twice, Spock had seen the librarian walking home from the library to a stark, plain apartment building Spock knew had furnished apartments for outsiders to rent while on Vulcan.
He and his mother were currently having tea just on the other side of that building.
The truth was, his mother was also quite correct that Spock wanted to ask him out.
“Go on,” she urged. “He’s just over there at that table by himself. Ask him out and then have him join us.”
Spock almost said no, but what was that old Earth saying about cutting off his nose to spite his face?”
“It’s almost Valentine’s Day, you know.”
Spock blinked at her. “So?”
“The perfect time to find new love.”
He sighed and pushed back. “It is a date, Mother. Let us not get ahead of ourselves.”
But she grinned, her dark eyes, which he’d inherited, twinkling.
The shy librarian’s eyes widened behind the thick glasses as Spock sat at the chair across from him.
“My name is Spock.”
“Uh.”
“May I have your name?”
“Jim Kirk.”
“Hello, Jim. I would like for you to join my mother and me for tea over there if you are willing,” then Spock paused, “Also, are you free for dinner?”
“To-Tonight?”
“Indeed.”
“With you and your mother?”
“No. With me.”
Jim’s mouth hung open for a moment, and then his tongue came out to trace his lips.
“Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “I am.”
Spock nodded. “Join us?”
Jim looked. “I’ve seen you two before. Your mother is Human?”
“Indeed. Apparently, fondness for Humans is a family trait in my family.” Spock rose and gestured for Jim to do so too. “Shall I carry your teapot for you?”
He was rewarded with a bright smile.
As he carried the teapot over to the table where his mother waited, Jim brought his cup.
Spirk (with a small dose of Pinto) 