Fanfic- Steps to Love 8/13: Step 3- Make Him Think of You THAT Way (part a)
Title- Steps to Love 8/13: Step 3- Make Him Think of You That Way (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 considers the next step in the plan.
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!
A few hours after Spock’s chess game with Kirk, the rest of the crew had boarded the ship and the Enterprise was underway. Spock made his way to the medbay to speak with Dr. McCoy. There were a few people there, a woman who’d had a mild allergic reaction to something she’d eaten, and a man who had apparently gotten his hand closed in a door. Spock was amazed by the haplessness of some crew members.
Dr. McCoy was in his office, having left the minor ailments to Nurse Chapel. When Spock knocked on the door, the doctor’s voice bid him to enter. Spock went in and, at McCoy’s direction, took a seat at the chair across from the desk.
“How is it going?” McCoy asked. “You manage to keep him from running off?”
“The Captain is well aware of his responsibilities to the crew,” Spock replied. “For the duration of the shore leave, he remained near the beam-up sight, so he would be able to respond quickly in case of an emergency. One woman did request his company, but he declined.”
“Do you think it’ll stay that way?”
Spock considered for a moment, not what his answer would be, but whether he should explain it. Kirk had been confiding in him when he had related the story about being robbed by a woman, and Spock was not sure if it was his right to recount the information to the doctor. However, McCoy was Kirk’s close friend, and Spock doubted the Captain would mind him knowing.
“Yes. Kirk said that a woman he’d followed to her room once drew a knife on him. He was afraid for his life, and since then he has never let himself be alone with any woman he in unfamiliar with.”
“You’re serious?” McCoy asked incredulously. “He said that? I remember once he came in looking really shaken up. Said he’d lost his wallet, never told me what happened. So you’re sure the alcohol, the women, that won’t be a problem anymore?”
“Positive,” Spock replied. “He seems very sincere in his dedication to his crew. He would not allow himself to be put in a situation where he would not be able to perform at optimal efficiency if they were endangered.”
“Good, that’s good,” McCoy replied off-handly. “Well, good work. I’m surprised it was so easy. Maybe I’ve been overestimating Jim’s carelessness.”
“However he behaved in the Academy, he has reformed himself since becoming a Captain,” Spock said. “Nonetheless, that is not what I wished to speak with you about.”
“No? Well, then, what is it?”
“The next step in the plan you laid out.”
“Flirting,” McCoy replied matter-of-factly. Then he eyed Spock suspiciously. “You aren’t going to ask me how to do that, are you? What, don’t Vulcans flirt?”
“Yes,” Spock replied uncertainly.
“Then it shouldn’t be a problem,” McCoy snapped. “Go, go and flirt with him. I’m not going to explain to you how to do that too.”
Spock stood resignedly, and left the office, making certain that McCoy had stopped speaking before he opened the door. He did not want anyone in the medbay to overhear what they had been speaking about. He noticed as he left that both patients had been discharged, and politely asked Nurse Chapel about their condition. If either of them might need lighter assignments for the next few days, he could pass the information on to the Captain. Nurse Chapel assured him that they had both been in peak condition when discharged, and their ailments had been minor. Spock thanked her for the information and left.
While simply talking to the object of his affections had been difficult to do, it was this step that Spock was most concerned about. McCoy had asked him if Vulcans flirted, and he had answered truthfully that they did. However, Vulcans were very composed in all of their actions. They spoke in ways that humans would consider overly formal. They never allowed emotions to show through their expressions, words, or actions. They never made physical contact with others.
When he had first come to the Starfleet Academy, Spock had seen how ill at ease his Vulcan mannerisms put his human classmates. Although it had been very difficult to him, he had managed to, as humans would put it, “relax” in social situations. There was no way Spock could ever behave wholly as humans did, but he had managed to reach a point where those he interacted with regularly were not uncomfortable with his presence.
It was this relaxation of his Vulcan mannerisms that now created the issue. If Spock were to behave towards other Vulcans the way he now normally behaved with any human he met, they would think that he was desperately flirting with them. However, if he were to do anything less, it would cause the humans around him great discomfort. As a result, Spock knew there was no way any flirting on his part, at least if it was done according to Vulcan standards, would not be recognized as such.
Vulcan flirting was, by human terms, extremely subtle. Relaxation of a usually rigid posture, the use of less formal words in speaking, maintaining eye contact for a second longer than was strictly necessary; all of these, to Vulcans, were indications of flirting. Unfortunately, this was how humans typically behaved, and how Spock had learned to behave, in order to put his human companions at ease.
While there was no doubt that Spock was able to relax himself more completely in Kirk’s presence than in that of other humans, it had not been an active attempt on his part to “flirt.” This change in behavior had occurred on its own, and though it normally might have worried Spock to think that he was not in complete control of himself, he knew that it was natural for humans to be more relaxed in casual environments in the company of those they considered friends. Kirk was, without a doubt, a friend to Spock. Indeed, Spock hoped that the man would some day be “more than a friend.” It made sense given his half-human genetics that he would be relaxed in the man’s presence.
There in lay the problem. Spock was already doing what Vulcans would consider flirting. He did it without actively thinking of what he was doing, and although Kirk was also relaxed in his presence, Spock knew that it was not because Jim returned his sentiments. It was simply the way Kirk behaved.
Spock knew no other ways of flirting. He had no experience with the human way. Noyta had always been very direct, likely because she had known he would not recognize human flirting for what it was. There was no way that Spock could be so upfront about what he felt. For one thing, it would make rejection even more painful, to have Jim say outright that he did not feel the same. For another, it might put a strain on their friendship, and even their working relationship.
While he knew that it would be difficult to interact with the man when he knew that their relationship would never be what he wanted, Spock did not want to lose the precious friendship he shared with Kirk. He truly admired the man, and enjoyed spending time with him, whatever they were doing. If that friendship was lost, it would leave Spock entirely alone on the Enterprise. He had not realized, before he had begun spending time with Jim, how much the human in him craved a companion. It would be devastating to return to the state of isolation he had been in before, when his only interactions had been work-related.
As for their professional relationship, Spock knew how important Kirk’s position was to him, and how seriously he took his responsibilities as Captain. If their working relationship became strained, he could not allow it to reflect poorly on the man who would do anything for his crew. Spock would put in for a transfer to another starship before he allowed Starfleet to bring sanctions against the Captain over an issue caused by a broken working relationship between the two of them.
There could be no “direct approach”; the consequences of rejection were too severe. At the same time, Spock doubted he would be able to make his advances known with his current level of knowledge. He would have to do some research on human flirtation techniques.