Fanfic- Steps to Love 6/13: Step 2- Keep Him Away from Alcohol and Women (part a)
Title- Steps to Love 6/13: Step 2- Keep Him Away from Alcohol and Women (part a)
Fandom- Star Trek XI
Ship- Spock/Kirk
Chapter Rating- PG-13
Overall Rating- PG-13 thru NC-17, maybe
Genre- slash, romance, drama
Warnings- none
Disclaimer- I do not own Star Trek
Chapter Summary- Spock wasn't worried about this step, but maybe he should be.
Overall Summery- Spock enlists McCoy's assistance in wooing one Captain James T. Kirk.
A/N- Inspired by ragdoll987's Bragging Rights and Veggie Girl's Tomorrow. Thanks, as always, to cozibizzle for beta-ing!
Of all of the steps Dr. McCoy had laid out, Spock was most confident that there would be a positive outcome for this one. He knew that Kirk took his responsibilities as Captain of the Enterprise seriously, and Kirk had told him in no uncertain terms that he put forth a great deal of effort so that none of his actions endangered any members of the crew. Kirk knew very well that consuming alcohol would inevitably impair his judgment, and that wandering off with an attractive female could cause the ship to be without a captain at a vital time, or even be dangerous to Kirk himself. No, Spock was certain that this step was quite unnecessary.
However, Dr. McCoy seemed to insist upon him taking it. “It’s the whole reason I agreed to help with this whole conspiracy,” he told Spock. “If he’s with you on the ship, it means he’s not out god-knows-where with god-knows-who! I don’t want to have to patch him up any more than I already have to for work-related injuries.”
Thus, Spock spent the next several days wondering how to give any sort of warning about the dangers of strange drinks and strange women, without sounding like he doubted the Captain’s common sense. Putting things delicately had never been his strong suit. He’d just as soon not have the conversation at all, if he ran a risk of insulting the man by raising this point.
However, after a certain incident, Spock began to wonder if alcohol and women were something he needed to worry about. The incident occurred in the mess hall one morning (though ‘morning’ was a relative term when not on the surface of a planet, most of the crew still used it to describe the hours at the beginning of their shifts), when one of the male crew members was recounting events from his time at the Academy.
“I once was dating six women at once,” the man bragged. “None of them ever found out about each other!” Even though there was another person between Spock and this man, he shifted away. The man’s attitude towards women was distasteful.
“Are any of them on the Enterprise now?” the Captain asked, leaning forward as though eager to know more. Spock wondered why he was allowing the man to continue speaking this way; Kirk had always treated his female crewmembers with respect.
“Five,” the man replied in a way Spock thought would have been described as ‘smug.’ “I still see three on and off.”
Kirk’s expression changed from eagerly curious to disdainfully cold. “As your Captain, I order you to tell all five of these women what you’ve done!” The crewman was stunned, and spluttered for a moment before responding. Spock found his expression of dawning horror strangely satisfying.
“Come on, Kirk!” The crewman cried. “It’s not like you didn’t do the same thing when you were at the Academy! A different woman every night, and in and out of bars like a revolving door! And you still do! Alien women, alien liquor, you haven’t changed a bit, and you’re no different than me!”
Spock felt a strange, sick feeling rise in his stomach, and pushed away his half-eaten breakfast. He did not know if what the man said about Kirk’s time at the Academy was true. He did not think that what he’d said about now was true, but Spock could not watch the Captain at all times on new planets. Spock could only hope that it was not true; if it was, there could never be anything more between Kirk and him than there was now. Moreover, it could be dangerous.
All of this passed through Spock’s mind in a fraction of a second. He looked to the Captain for his response. There was a strange look about his eyes that reminded Spock somehow of lightning he’d seen during storms on Earth, and for the first time he understood what it meant for someone’s eyes to ‘flash.’ When Kirk spoke, his voice was low, threatening, but at the same time calm and level.
“I was speaking to you as your Captain, and your refusal to follow a direct order, and your insubordination, are enough to have you thrown in the brig. However, I will overlook them both if you chose to follow that order now.”
The two stared at each other for a moment, in a battle of wills, and there could only be one victor. The crewman looked away and pushed himself up from the table, presumably to find the five women. Kirk continued to stare at the place he’d left, seemingly deep in thought.
Spock did not think it wise to interrupt. Instead, he was lost in his own thoughts. The man had said that Kirk was spending a great deal of time with alien women on new planets. This could be potentially dangerous for both captain and crew. Furthermore, if it were true, it would likely mean that Kirk was not attracted to men, and therefore would not be interested in Spock.
Spock wondered what would happen to him if Kirk did not return his affections. He had decided, at the beginning, that if Kirk did not feel the same, he would accept it and simply be grateful for their friendship. It was the logical response, but Spock was learning that nothing logical about these desires, or the emotions which his human side felt. He did not know if he would simply be able to ‘move on’ if Kirk did not feel the same. None of his past relationships had ever been as important to him as this one was, and Spock did not know how he would respond if it could not progress any further.
There was no reason to think about that now. He did not know if what the crewman had said was true, and even if it was, it did not, necessarily, follow that Kirk was not interested in men.
“Spock.” The captain’s voice jolted him from is thoughts. “We’d better get going. Shift’s about to start.”
“Yes, Captain.” Spock stood and accompanied his Captain to the door of the mess hall where they parted, Kirk to the bridge, Spock to the onboard laboratory to finish some experiments. Spock felt a twinge of regret when they parted, something he’d gotten used to but still did not fully understand. He knew he would see the man again, soon, so there was no reason to regret leaving him.
But now was not the time to think of that. Spock forced his thoughts from his captain to his incomplete experiments. It was very important that his mind be focused on them at this time.
Later that same day, the Enterprise came to a new planet. The atmosphere was breathable, and there were millions of life forms, so a landing party was sent down to investigate it. They found that the planet was rich in minerals very valuable to Starfleet, and the native people were intelligent and peaceful, and more than willing to negotiate to join the interstellar trade system. The negotiations were to take place over a banquet held in honor of the visitors from the Enterprise, which Spock and Kirk, among others, were to attend.
At the banquet, an ivory-skinned woman in flowing garments filled everyone’s glasses with a purple liquid, and stepped back to a position from which she was able to nimbly dart forward every time someone’s glass needed to be topped off. Spock sipped the liquid cautiously as the discussion began. It was alcohol.
While that was not an issue for Spock, he wondered if it would prove a problem for the rest of the crew. If they were the slightest bit inebriated, they might make a mistake in the negotiations. However, they could not risk insulting their hosts by refusing the drink outright. Spock made a mental note to review any contract that might be drawn up before it was signed, and then split his attention between what was said, and how much Kirk drank. It was not, Spock rationalized, because he doubted the man’s ability to control whatever desire he may have for alcohol; it was to see if that desire existed, and how strong it was.
Fortunately, the negotiation was ended very quickly, before anyone had the chance to consume much of the alcohol. From there, the discussion turned to the different aspects of culture, with each side eagerly explaining their own. Spock, who had not been raised as a human, did not feel the need to speak. Starfleet was, after all, mostly comprised of humans, so any dealings this race had with Starfleet were likely to be with humans. Spock simply listened, eager, as always, to learn about this new race’s ways.
Food was shortly brought out, and the conversation dwindled as mouths became otherwise occupied. Most of the dishes, with a few exceptions, were comprised entirely of vegetables, so Spock was able to eat them. He was appreciative; quite often, his diet prevented him from eating much of anything on such occasions.
The spices used were strange to Spock, but the taste was not unpleasant and he ate eagerly, though he suspected only Kirk, who had taken many meals with him, would have noticed. The conversation was a pleasant buzz in the background to which Spock delegated a small portion of his consciousness. The rest was spent admiring the artwork on the walls and ceiling, and the music softly played by one of the women, and watching his Captain.
One of the women seemed to be trying particularly hard to keep Kirk’s attention on her. She was beautiful, by human standards, Spock supposed, with china-white skin and jet-black hair and eyes. Her featured were almost perfectly symmetrical, which Spock knew signified attractiveness. He did not like that she was paying such close attention to Jim, and he to her.
By the time the fifth course was over, Spock was ready to admit that what he felt was jealousy. Of course it was, when that…female, was looking at his captain like that! Spock might even have been openly scowling at her; he wasn’t entirely sure.
Then Jim looked at him, and Spock wanted to say something witty to keep the man’s attention on him instead of that woman, but his tongue seemed stuck to the roof of his mouth. As he struggled to pry it loose, it dawned on him that the captain’s expression was one of concern.
“Spock, are you feeling alright?”
“Yesh, Jim, I feel perfec’ly fine.” Spock smiled, pleased with himself for freeing his tongue.
Jim did not seem pleased. A frown on his face, he leaned close to Spock, who instinctively moved back when his personal space was invaded. “Your pupils are dilated. Spock, how much did you drink?”
Spock did not understand. He hadn’t drunken much, and all of it had been alcohol, not chocolate, so there was no reason for it to matter anyway.
“Only half…a little more ‘n half… no, a little less… Not much,” Spock concluded.
“Whatever.” Jim waved the comment away, an annoyed expression on his face. Spock hoped the man wasn’t angry with him. “Come on, I’m taking you somewhere to sleep it off.” Spock did not understand what Jim meant, but the next moment he was being pulled to his feet, and Jim was apologizing and biding goodbye to the members of the planet’s high counsel. They beamed up to the ship, and Kirk pulled Spock by the arm down the hall.
Spock still did not know what Jim was doing, but he was glad that he’d gotten the other man away from that woman. He definitely had not liked the way she looked at Jim.
Jim was pulling Spock through one of the observation decks on the way to the residential section, when Spock was suddenly struck by what was beyond the glass. He stopped, and though Jim pulled at is arm, he would not move.
“Jim…,” Spock whispered in awe.
“Spock,” the other man growled back, having given up on moving him. He looked out the window, trying to find what had so captivated Spock, but seemingly finding nothing.
“They’re beautiful, aren’ they,” Spock breathed in wonder.
“What, the stars?” Jim sounded surprised. Spock nodded vigorously. “Sure they are. But we see them all the time, remember?” He pulled at Spock’s arm again.
“We see them scientific’ly,” Spock replied. “Burnin’ balls of gas, with planets around ‘em. We never jus’ see what they look like.”
Jim sighed heavily and sank onto one of the couches in the room. Spock joined him after a moment. Jim was smiling.
“I didn’t think you’d be one to just admire the beauty of the stars, Spock,” Jim said softly. “I admit, sometimes it’s difficult for me, too, to look at them and just see beauty, when I know they each have planets orbiting around them, waiting to be found. But I guess there’s beauty in that, too.”
“Yes,” Spock replied, awed by his Captain’s thoughts, and the fact that the man was sharing them with him. They sat in silence for a long time after that, how long, Spock didn’t know. He didn’t realize until Jim’s voice roused him that he’d laid his head on the man’s shoulder and was nodding off.
“Time for bed, I think,” Jim said with a gentle smile. Spock smiled in return, and allowed himself to be led to his own rooms, where he promptly fell asleep on the bed.
The next morning, Spock woke with a terrible headache. Doctor McCoy administered a cure, as well as a lecture to the effect of not needing two of his charges drinking strange liquor, and the idea being that Spock would have an influence on Kirk, not the other way around. Spock remembered little from the previous evening, except that he had been very bothered by one woman’s attention to his Captain, and a vague recollection that he had been filled with a sense of wonder.
Spock was full of contrition when he met his Captain for lunch, and explained that the dishes they had been given must have contained something like Earth’s cocoa beans. He did not want his Captain to think him incompetent. Kirk simply laughed and dismissed it, reminding Spock that they could never know the effects alien cuisine might have on any of them.
“I’ll tell you one thing, though,” Kirk said, grinning. “If I’m half as hard to drag home after a night drinking as you are, I owe Bones an apology. About a million of them.”
“You should begin right away, Captain,” Spock replied. “To say the phrase ‘I’m sorry’ one million times would take decades, if not centuries.”
Kirk looked at him in awe. “Did you just make a joke?”
“Of course not. Vulcans have no sense of humor.”
“You’re only half Vulcan.”
Spock did not respond, and Kirk laughed. “I’ll make you a deal,” he said. “You avoid anything that tastes or looks anything like chocolate, and stop eating if you feel strange, and I won’t touch a drop of alcohol while on duty.”
“Agreed,” Spock replied, surprised that he had, through no efforts of his own, succeeded with half of this step. McCoy, coming to sit a little ways down the table, looked positively stunned, likely amazed by the ease with which Spock had accomplished what he had been trying to for years. Spock was strangely gratified to see the expression on his face.