Title: At Lover's Lane
Author: Sara
Email: sara_merry99 @ yahoo.com
Betas: Farfalla and Singer
Pairing: Kirk/Spock
Rating: PG-13
Archive: KSOF2003, ASCEM, AAK/SA (a giftie for you Farf). Anyone else please inquire.
Disclaimer: I would claim them if I could....they'd have more fun with me than they do with ParaViaBorg. But alas, I can't claim them, so I'll send them back home when I'm done with them.
Notes: Thanks to Lyra for the challenge.
Summary: Some heavy issues hang overhead as Kirk and Spock go parking.
At Lovers' Lane
The Andromeda P5 nebula flared
and pulsed, its ribbons of purple and pink light powered by the two irregular
stars buried deep within. A small Federation runabout hovered in space outside
the nebula. Inside the small ship, two men--one human, one half Vulcan--stood
together in front of an observation window, hands clasped, enjoying the
beautiful spectacle.
"Ah, Spock, this is exactly what
I needed," Jim Kirk said, sitting down on a convenient seat, squeezing his
bondmate's hand tightly. His voice softened slightly as he went on, "Since the
fal-tor-pan, we've hardly had any time alone together." He reached out
for Spock with his other hand, encouraging him to sit close.
"Indeed. I have missed you as
well." Through their bond, Spock could feel the pain his death still caused Jim.
If not for Vulcan controls the intensity of the pain would have made him shiver.
And that pain was dwarfed by the pain both of them had felt after the
fal-tor-pan, when their marriage bond was only partially restored, both of
them leaking half their souls away into the space between their minds and
hearts. These pains were like aching scars in their psyches. Only contact,
mental more than physical, could fully heal them both.
Squeezing Kirk's hand, Spock
stayed silent, respecting the heaviness he could feel in Kirk's mind for a few
minutes before speaking, "I did not expect that we would be allowed to leave
Earth before your hearing, Admiral. I hope you have not further endangered your
position with Starfleet by taking this trip without permission."
Kirk smiled wanly. "It's okay,
Spock. Admiral Cartright knows that I have no intention of fleeing from justice.
You are still an officer of Starfleet in good standing. I believe I am
officially in your custody."
Spock raised his eyebrow again
at that assertion, his muscles stiffening. "Admiral," he started, his tone sharp
with disapproval, "this is highly..."
Kirk shook his head and smiled
again. "I know, Spock. We will be back on Earth by tomorrow afternoon, well
before the hearing the day after. Everything will be fine."
Spock sat stiffly on the edge of
the seat, not sure he approved of the irregularity, even if it did allow him to
spend what might turn out to be his last hours of privacy with his bondmate.
After a minute of indecision, Spock relaxed into the seat, not willing to spend
these stolen, private hours maintaining a stiff, public formality. "Very well."
"I want us to take this evening
and just be together." Kirk said, settling in comfortably. "For today, I don't
want us to worry about the trial, or what may come after."
Spock raised his eyebrow. "You
do not think you should prepare for the trial, Admiral? I am certain that a
lawyer could be found to..."
Shaking his head, Kirk said,
"No. That isn't necessary, Spock."
"Admiral. Jim, I am certain you
could argue extenuating circumstances..." Spock began, but was stopped by a
shake of Kirk's head.
Reaching out to put his arm
around his mate's shoulders and draw him close, Jim sighed, a mixture of
contentment and worry for the future. "I just want to relax and enjoy these few
hours together, Spock. Please."
Nodding his understanding, Spock
allowed Jim to bring them together into a tender hug. They shared a kiss that
was warm with love and happiness, only the barest embers of passion waiting to
flare.
Pulling away from the kiss,
Spock turned to the spectacular view of the nebula outside the observation
window. "Why did we come here, Jim?"
"I told you, I wanted us to have
some time together," Jim answered, resting his head comfortably on Spock's
slender shoulder.
"I understand. But why here? We
could have been together in our apartment in San Francisco."
Smiling, Jim said, "You remember
this nebula, of course."
"Of course.. Our first mission
together after the V'ger crisis was to do research on the Andromeda P5 nebula.
It was nuclear astrophysics research on the interactions between the neutrinos
emitted...."
Jim poked him in the ribs
playfully, eliciting a small grunt. "And...", he prompted. When Spock didn't
speak after a moment, his expressive face fell. "I thought you had all your
memories back now."
Spock permitted himself,
permitted Kirk, a shadow of a smile. "I do. You declared your love for me over a
game of chess after my second duty shift assisting the research project."
Jim smiled, knowing now that
Spock was playing with him, drawing out the pleasure of the reminiscence.
"And..."
Spock smiled more openly and
continued, "And two nights after that we made love for the first time."
Spock turned to face his
partner, pulling him into another kiss, more passionate than the last. Spock
buried his fingers in Jim's tawny hair, holding Jim's head so his mouth was at
just the right angle for the kiss to continue until both were breathless from
the emotions they shared as much as from the physical sensations of the kiss.
After a moment of harsh
breathing, Jim nodded. "Yes. And after that mission we made arrangements for our
bonding ceremony on Vulcan." He looked out at the pulsating nebula. "This is
where we began...," he said, sounding wistful.
Suddenly, Spock understood
completely what Kirk wasn't saying. He didn't need to hear the rest of that
sentence to know that Jim was concerned that this might be where their
relationship ended as well. Kirk didn't plan to defend himself at the tribunal,
didn't want to speak with a lawyer. What Kirk needed, what they both needed was
to chase away the last of their shared pain, to fully restore their bond. After
the trial, the bond might be all they had of each other.
Spock decided deflection was in
order and continued the playful mood of earlier. "So we are here for reasons of
mere sentiment, then."
Jim sighed theatrically and
turned so he could lean back against Spock. "I suppose Vulcans never want to go
parking," he said, with a little smile, apparently understanding what Spock was
doing and going along with it.
Spock wrapped his arms around
his love's chest, and gave the answer he knew was expected of him, the next move
in their verbal game, "Parking, Admiral?"
"Yes, parking. Going out to a
secluded and scenic spot for the purpose of kissing," Jim reached up behind him
and drew Spock's head down for a short but passionate kiss, "and making out."
With that he twisted slightly and began to nibble on Spock's ear, beginning with
the soft earlobe and working his way up to the sensitive tip.
Spock's breath huffed out of him
at the stimulation before he said, "Ah. Parking. No. Vulcans prefer to engage in
intimate activities," Spock took a moment to lick delicately down the tendons of
Jim's neck, ending with a sharp nip at the tempting place where neck met
shoulder, "in the privacy of our own homes." Spock turned Jim and lay him back
along the seat, stretching his lean body over his lover's. "It is not logical to
risk exposing one's private matters to strangers."
Kirk smiled up at his partner.
"Or one's privates."
"Indeed," Spock said with a very
slight smile, rolling to one side and resting his weight on his elbow, so he
could stroke Jim's cheek with the other.
"Well, we're truly alone here,"
Kirk said. "So we can go parking without violating even Vulcan sensibilities."
Spock nodded his agreement. He
then leaned forward and kissed Jim, letting the banked passion between them
burst into a full and consuming flame. Pleasure, desire and love flowed between
their bodies and their souls through their touches and the bond they shared.
They soaked up the love and the connectedness, letting the passion and joy heal
the lingering ache in their hearts and souls.
Later, they lay in each other's
arms, sweaty and spent, clothes scattered around them haphazardly, staring out
at the nebula. Jim spoke softly, as if his normal voice would be an intrusion
on the moment, "It was worth it, you know, Spock."
Spock roused himself from his
afterglow with a soft, "Mmmm?"
Kirk turned to face his mate.
"Getting you back. It was worth everything, the Enterprise, my career..." He
paused and winced a little. "Even David." He rolled onto his back, and put his
arm over his face. "God, that sounds horrible to say. He was my son. But I never
knew him, never really had a chance to love him." He moved his arm again, his
golden hazel eyes finding Spock's, "I knew you, loved you, and I was dying
slowly, by inches, without you. I need you. None of the rest of it would have
ever mattered to me if I hadn't been able to bring you back." He looked away
again, "That's why I'm going to plead guilty, we all are. If I fought the
charges, I'd feel like I was denying that."
Warmed to the core almost
against his will by the words, Spock reached out and pulled his bondmate close,
cradling the familiar and beloved body to his chest. "I grieve for the losses
you suffered, t'hy'la, and I rejoice that we are together again." Spock's
elegant hand stroked the broad back, soothing and calming Jim with his gentle
touch.
"I can't feel anything but joy
to know you are alive, even if the hearing goes against us and I never see you
again." Kirk shivered then rested his cheek against Spock's lightly hairy chest.
"It will still have been worth it."
Years of being bonded to a human
had not taught Spock how to reliably express his emotions in words. So he
remained silent, pouring love and comfort and gratitude into Kirk through their
bond, sharing all that he felt for the vibrant man who had been his constant
light for more than 20 years.
After some time of this silent
communion, Kirk roused himself. "It's time for us to return, Spock." He gave
orders to the computer to return the ship to Earth at warp 5, a journey that
would take only a few hours. Together they watched the nebula disappear into the
maelstrom of the warp field, then cleaned themselves and dressed, putting on
their public personae as they put on their clothes.
Just before the runabout landed
at the San Francisco air-yard, Kirk pulled Spock into a fierce embrace. "I love
you, Spock cha'Sarek, no matter what happens."
"And I you, t'hy'la," Spock
replied, then his mouth seized Jim's in a kiss that was passionate and almost
bruising in its intensity.
****
"On behalf of all of us, Mr.
President, I am authorized to plead guilty." At Kirk's words, Spock heard the
murmurs in the court room. Spock was grateful for the forewarning he had of the
plea that was going to be entered because it was that foreknowledge that allowed
him to retain his Vulcan impassivity. The thought of Kirk's humiliation and
incarceration as a consequence of this guilty plea chilled him. He sought Kirk's
mind in their bond, anticipating that he would find pain, or at best
resignation. What he found instead was joy, love, and a deep resonant certainty
that Kirk would do all of it again, and more, for Spock's sake.
When the charges against Uhura,
Sulu, Chekov, McCoy and Scotty were dropped, Spock let his relief flow through
the bond to Kirk. If their friends had suffered because of saving him, he knew
he would have borne the guilt to his death.
"James T. Kirk, it is the
judgment of this council that you be reduced in rank to Captain, and that as a
consequence of your new rank you be given the duties for which you have
repeatedly demonstrated unswerving ability...the command of a starship."
At those words, Kirk's mouth
twitched in a smile and Spock knew that everything was going to be all right.
Kirk and Spock turned to look into each others eyes, their bodies revealing
nothing but a publicly appropriate relief. Their shared emotions, however, were
a rush of joy and love and passion and a renewed hope for the future. Kirk had
been willing to sacrifice everything for his love, had offered everything he had
been and could become up to the universe. But the sacrifice hadn't been demanded
of him. He got to keep his career, a new starship, his friends, his life. Most
importantly, Jim and Spock got each other. Everything was going to be all right
now.