Silver Lining/Children of Destiny by Amanda Warrington (NC-17/Explicit)
Fandom: STAR TREK REBOOT
Pairing: Kirk/Spock, with initial Spock/Uhura
Length: 65k
Author on LJ: awarrington
Author Website: Her master list on LJ and the KS Archive
Why this must be read:
Another trope I adore is the accidental bonding one, and there is an absolute plethora of it in this fandom. This one, however, is the one against which all others should be measured.
"Silver Lining" starts with Spock going into pon farr, and so he must be taken to his bonding with his intended, T’Pring, who survived the destruction of Vulcan. As in the original series ep Amok Time, T'Pring challenges their bonding so that she can be with the man she has chosen for herself. Jim, in the meantime, has insisted on accompanying Spock to the ceremony - because he’s a good bro, people - and in the process winds up accidentally bonded to his first officer. Spock’s pon farr hasn’t abated, however, and naturally the two must consummate their match.
That’s just the beginning, of course, as the story shows us a friendship that grows into a deep affection and eventually love, with a lot of really hot sex along the way. How Jim falls for Spock is done in a believable and natural way, and when a crisis affects them both, Jim learns exactly how deep his feelings lie. But the great thing about the story is that it doesn’t hand-wave the complications - Spock was in a relationship with Uhura, and they loved each other, and Jim really isn’t the marrying kind.
As if this story wasn’t brilliant enough, the author then wrote a 30k word sequel from Spock’s POV that is even better! “Children of Destiny” doesn’t just rehash the events in the original, it shines a light on them that provides a fresh perspective that will make you see the whole tale differently. In many ways, it’s a tragic yin to the initial story’s romantic yang, as we learn how painful Jim’s diffidence about their bond is for Spock, as well as Jim’s betrayal of it when he hooks up with someone on shore leave. But as we already know, they fall in lurve, and the journey is somehow more satisfying the second time around.
This writer has one of the best Spock voices in the fandom, making him very sympathetic, yet still Vulcan, and she never portrays him as a robot like many writers tend to do. I hope you’ll check this out.
The first night they were there, Kirk broached a subject he’d been avoiding, but had been curious about. Actually, it had been Spock who had encouraged him to ask questions, apparently having sensed his curiosity. They were lying side by side in bed, Kirk staring at the ceiling.
“In the few months since we’ve bonded, you’ve never talked about Uhura.” He kept the statement open for the time being to see where it would take them.
“What would you have me say?”
That was a tough question. Kirk turned onto his side to look at Spock. “She was your lover for four years, Spock. I don’t believe you can just switch those feelings off, even if you are bonded to someone else.” Again it was an open statement.
There was a long silence from Spock and Kirk could feel through the bond that it wasn’t because he wanted to keep his thoughts private, but more that he was trying to sort through his feelings.
“I was in love with Nyota at the time of our bonding,” he admitted finally.
“And now?” It wouldn’t make any difference, he was sure, to what they shared, but he wanted to know.
“I still love her,” he said quietly. “But I am no longer in love with her.”
That was a very honest answer. After all that time, how could you stop loving someone, just because an accident has prevented you being together. “I can’t imagine how hard it must have been for you, for both of you.”
There was another question, but he didn’t ask it because some part of him really didn’t want to know the answer. Do you regret bonding with me? He would hate for Spock to say ‘yes’. And he couldn’t see how he could say anything else. Spock had been in love with Uhura, but while his bondmate had admitted to loving him, he was reasonably certain he wasn’t in love with him. How could he be? What Spock had shared with Uhura was so much more than what the two of them shared - no, he had to be honest, with what he was allowing the two of them to share.
He put his hand out and pressed it to Spock’s chest. “I’m so sorry all this happened, Spock. I’m sorry you lost her.”
Silver Lining on AO3
Children of Destiny on AO3
Pairing: Kirk/Spock, with initial Spock/Uhura
Length: 65k
Author on LJ: awarrington
Author Website: Her master list on LJ and the KS Archive
Why this must be read:
Another trope I adore is the accidental bonding one, and there is an absolute plethora of it in this fandom. This one, however, is the one against which all others should be measured.
"Silver Lining" starts with Spock going into pon farr, and so he must be taken to his bonding with his intended, T’Pring, who survived the destruction of Vulcan. As in the original series ep Amok Time, T'Pring challenges their bonding so that she can be with the man she has chosen for herself. Jim, in the meantime, has insisted on accompanying Spock to the ceremony - because he’s a good bro, people - and in the process winds up accidentally bonded to his first officer. Spock’s pon farr hasn’t abated, however, and naturally the two must consummate their match.
That’s just the beginning, of course, as the story shows us a friendship that grows into a deep affection and eventually love, with a lot of really hot sex along the way. How Jim falls for Spock is done in a believable and natural way, and when a crisis affects them both, Jim learns exactly how deep his feelings lie. But the great thing about the story is that it doesn’t hand-wave the complications - Spock was in a relationship with Uhura, and they loved each other, and Jim really isn’t the marrying kind.
As if this story wasn’t brilliant enough, the author then wrote a 30k word sequel from Spock’s POV that is even better! “Children of Destiny” doesn’t just rehash the events in the original, it shines a light on them that provides a fresh perspective that will make you see the whole tale differently. In many ways, it’s a tragic yin to the initial story’s romantic yang, as we learn how painful Jim’s diffidence about their bond is for Spock, as well as Jim’s betrayal of it when he hooks up with someone on shore leave. But as we already know, they fall in lurve, and the journey is somehow more satisfying the second time around.
This writer has one of the best Spock voices in the fandom, making him very sympathetic, yet still Vulcan, and she never portrays him as a robot like many writers tend to do. I hope you’ll check this out.
The first night they were there, Kirk broached a subject he’d been avoiding, but had been curious about. Actually, it had been Spock who had encouraged him to ask questions, apparently having sensed his curiosity. They were lying side by side in bed, Kirk staring at the ceiling.
“In the few months since we’ve bonded, you’ve never talked about Uhura.” He kept the statement open for the time being to see where it would take them.
“What would you have me say?”
That was a tough question. Kirk turned onto his side to look at Spock. “She was your lover for four years, Spock. I don’t believe you can just switch those feelings off, even if you are bonded to someone else.” Again it was an open statement.
There was a long silence from Spock and Kirk could feel through the bond that it wasn’t because he wanted to keep his thoughts private, but more that he was trying to sort through his feelings.
“I was in love with Nyota at the time of our bonding,” he admitted finally.
“And now?” It wouldn’t make any difference, he was sure, to what they shared, but he wanted to know.
“I still love her,” he said quietly. “But I am no longer in love with her.”
That was a very honest answer. After all that time, how could you stop loving someone, just because an accident has prevented you being together. “I can’t imagine how hard it must have been for you, for both of you.”
There was another question, but he didn’t ask it because some part of him really didn’t want to know the answer. Do you regret bonding with me? He would hate for Spock to say ‘yes’. And he couldn’t see how he could say anything else. Spock had been in love with Uhura, but while his bondmate had admitted to loving him, he was reasonably certain he wasn’t in love with him. How could he be? What Spock had shared with Uhura was so much more than what the two of them shared - no, he had to be honest, with what he was allowing the two of them to share.
He put his hand out and pressed it to Spock’s chest. “I’m so sorry all this happened, Spock. I’m sorry you lost her.”
Silver Lining on AO3
Children of Destiny on AO3