Fic: Educated Differences - Chapter Four
Title: Educated Differences
Universe: AU
Rating: PG-13 (NC-17 later)
Relationship status: first time
Word count: 3597
Genre: romance, friendship
Trope: teen, jealousy
Warning: Language, angst.
A/N: I was hoping to post this on Sunday but my internet went for a few days so sorry it’s taken longer than usual. Hope you enjoy it! :)
Summary: Modern day college AU. Jim and Spock are freshmen and are put together as roommates. In this part: Jim learns that Spock has a crush on him which triggers him to make a move.
Chapter Four
Over the next few days Jim found himself attaching himself to Spock and vice versa. With McCoy constantly in lectures and doing practical work, Jim figured he’d use the time to bond with his roommate who Jim was growing to like more and more with each passing day. He found himself looking forward to heading back to their room after a long, boring day to see Spock, who would talk him out of his bad mood gently and rationally. Jim also quickly became used to finding Spock staring at him, his expression often a mask from what he was thinking.
Jim also observed that Spock was a lot calmer and happier when it was just them. Jim was aware that other people made him nervous and he suffered from minor social anxiety but some people, like McCoy, caused a particularly bad reaction from Spock who would become closed off and grumpy within seconds.
It was a week later that their relationship shifted. Jim, Spock, Nyota and Sulu were all sunning themselves on one of the grassy areas, Spock sitting under a tree because he stated that he wasn’t a fan of skin cancer, when McCoy walked over.
‘Hey gorgeous,’ Jim said with a friendly smile, pushing himself to a sitting up position. Spock raised an eyebrow as the medical student sat down next to Jim and sighed.
‘Haven’t seen you in a bit, you replace me, kid?’ McCoy said, wrapping an arm around Jim and tugging him against him roughly. Jim smiled and jokingly shoved him off as Spock tensed up, looking up from his book and watching them, eyes expressionless.
‘I figured you were off practicing prostate exams on unsuspecting freshmen,’ Jim said, throwing his head back to let the sun’s heat warm his face.
‘Is that an offer, Jim?’ McCoy said with a smirk.
‘You know I love you but I just don’t think we’ve reached that stage in our relationship yet. Maybe next year, dear,’ Jim joked as McCoy stretched out his legs in front of him and leaned back on his hands.
McCoy cast a small suspicious look over at Spock who was pretending to read a book. ‘So, what’s your score so far?’ McCoy asked casually, watching Spock carefully out of the corner of his eye.
Jim frowned, blinking into the sunlight. ‘Score?’
‘Girls. I won’t believe you if you tell me you haven’t been counting,’ McCoy said, looking sideways at Spock and noting his reaction.
‘It’s great to know you think so much of me, Bones,’ Jim said with a grin.
‘You do realise I can hear you guys right?’ Nyota said, sounding irritated from where she was lying on the grass next to them. ‘I don’t want to be privy to your gross conquest talk, thanks, and neither does Spock.’
Jim shot her a scowl. ‘How’d you know? Spock is a guy, he might want to take part in our guy talk.’
Nyota opened her eyes and sat up on her elbows. ‘He has too much respect for women to discuss your propensity for allocating numbers to girls rather than names.’
‘Oh get off your high horse, Nyota. Don’t pretend you’re his best friend and speak for him.’
‘Speak for him? Isn’t that what you’re doing right now?’ Nyota said, sitting up with a pointed glare.
‘Spock, keep your wives in line, would you?’ Sulu said dryly, his eyes shut as he dozed.
‘I am not married,’ Spock stated as both Nyota and Jim looking at him for support.
‘Tell Jim you’re uncomfortable with his low respect for girls,’ Nyota said, looking at him expectantly.
‘I never said I had a low respect for girls,’ Jim said, voice rising.
‘You do, you objectify everybody,’ Nyota snapped.
‘At least I don’t get people drunk without them knowing,’ Jim said, aware it was a low blow and Nyota immediately went rigid, her eyes flashing.
Spock shifted forward, wanting to break the tension. ‘Jim is aware of my discomfort around his way of referring to women. I appreciate his attempts at treating females with respect and no longer using derogatory terms toward them,’ Spock stated.
Jim couldn’t have looked more smug and triumphant if he tried. Nyota rolled her eyes.
‘Thanks, Spock,’ Jim said with a smile in his direction. Spock stared at him with an inscrutable expression as Nyota looked back and forth between Spock and the object of his gaze, unsure what she was witnessing.
McCoy stared at Jim, his brow furrowed in contemplation as he stared down to where Jim was now using his lap as a pillow.
McCoy idly let his hand run through Jim’s hair and he saw Spock’s jaw tighten, his eyes becoming dangerously dark as his eyes fixed on the hand carding through his hair. McCoy looked away and smirked, his fingers not hesitating as they continued raking through Jim’s hair, aware that Spock was staring at him with annoyance.
………………
‘Jim,’ McCoy said, joining him on a bench outside the maths building the next day.
‘Bones,’ Jim acknowledged with a nod, moving some of the paper off of his lap.
‘Barely seen you without your roommate,’ McCoy said casually, his legs stretched out.
Jim shrugged. ‘We’re slowly getting to know each other.’
‘Uh huh,’ McCoy said carefully, nodding once slowly, his voice loaded.
‘What is it?’ Jim asked, knowing McCoy was hiding something.
McCoy turned to fully face him. ‘I think your little bowl cut friend wouldn’t mind being your boyfriend.’
Jim snorted. ‘And how do you know that? Did he tell you when you guys were talking about boys whilst braiding each others hair?’
McCoy rolled his eyes. ‘Don’t you ever wonder why he hates me so much?’
‘He doesn’t hate you,’ Jim dismissed casually.
‘He dislikes me intensely then, and you know why? Because you and I are close.’
Jim laughed. ‘You think he’s jealous of you because you and I are good friends?’
‘Jim, I’m not kidding. I just thought I’d give you the heads up. Even though the last thing you need is a boost to your ego with the addition of someone new to your fan club.’
Jim considered this new information before shaking his head in disbelief. ‘I really don’t think he does like me. It might be because I’m his friend and he’s not used to having friends and this is what he’s like in a friendship.’
‘It’s more than that,’ McCoy said, watching Jim’s reactions carefully.
Jim let out a shaky laugh, his heart thumping excitedly in his chest but he was too distracted to give his own excitement over the situation any consideration. ‘Really? You think so? This is unbelievable. Out of all the people on earth, he has a crush on me? It’s official, I’m in the top 10 most awesome people in the world list.’
‘I’m sure Forbes will be asking you for a picture soon,’ McCoy said dryly.
Jim looked thoughtfully at the ground, his mind in overdrive before looking back up. ‘I can’t believe it. I’ll have to flirt with him a little and see if he admits to it or something.’
‘Don’t be a brat toward him Jim.’
‘It’s like my default setting,’ Jim said with a grin as he stood up, collected his books and writing pad into his arms and stalked off toward his room, eyes bright with excitement.
………..
‘Hey beautiful,’ Jim tried as he walked through their door. Spock turned to him with a raised eyebrow, not used to being addressed in that manner. ‘You OK?’
‘Yes,’ Spock replied, giving Jim a long look up and down in suspicion.
‘Me too,’ Jim said, dumping his books on his desk and turning to Spock with a large grin.
‘Is something wrong?’ Spock asked, his voice slightly laced with concern.
Jim walked over and sat down on Spock’s bed. Spock tensed.
‘Please remove yourself from my bed.’
‘Remove me yourself,’ Jim said, knowing Spock wouldn’t dare lay a hand on him but wanted to bait him all the same.
Spock’s fingers clenched slightly before releasing. ‘Please move from my bed now.’
‘Maybe you want me on your bed,’ Jim said, waggling his eyebrows for effect.
‘I can assure you, I do not,’ Spock stated in irritation. Jim felt his stomach drop slightly as a touch of doubt over McCoy’s observations seeped into his mind.
‘Not even a little bit?’ Jim asked curiously, his tone becoming more serious.
Spock’s eyes narrowed as he gave Jim a speculative gaze. ‘I do not understand what you are inferring.’
Jim exhaled slowly. ‘Do you like me?’
‘I find you vaguely tolerable when you are not disrupting me from my studying or disrespecting my personal space,’ Spock said, pointedly looking at the bed Jim was on.
Jim’s stomach tightened in disappointment. ‘So, Bones is full of shit.’
‘Please remove yourself from my bed,’ Spock said again, his voice becoming clipped.
Jim groaned, annoyed that Spock’s whole attention was focused on what Jim was sitting on. ‘Don’t you want to know why he’s full of shit?’
‘I could not even attempt to feign interest,’ Spock said blandly.
Jim threw his hands up in the air and got up, Spock visibly relaxing. ‘Bones thinks you like me.’
‘I have confirmed I do enjoy your company,’ Spock said, watching Jim move about the room agitatedly.
‘No, he thought you liked me liked me. As in, you find me attractive.’
Spock tilted his head to the side, like he was considering something. ‘Objectively, you could be considered handsome.’
‘Do you think I’m good looking?’
Spock raised an eyebrow. ‘You are pleasing.’
Jim let out a frustrated sigh, losing his patience. ‘Do you have a crush on me or not?’
Spock’s eyes widened ever so slightly as his whole body stiffened, his eyes looking everywhere but at Jim. ‘I believe I am late for my lecture.’
‘Your lecture is at 4 and it’s 2.30,’ Jim said as Spock got up and turned his back on Jim, throwing books and his laptop into his bag.
‘I have work to be done in preparation,’ Spock said, awkwardly putting his bag over his shoulder and heading past Jim and out of the door quickly, not giving Jim a chance to say anything else.
Jim nodded to himself in amusement. ‘That’s a yes.’
………….
‘I don’t feel like you’re into this,’ Gaila muttered, her hair fanning around Jim’s head as he lay on Gaila’s bed half naked, doing his best to block out the things he was starting to think about in relation to Spock.
‘I am,’ Jim insisted, although he could hear the lack of conviction in his voice.
‘Do you want to sleep with me or not?’ Gaila said, although her voice lacked any real annoyance. She was more amused.
‘I do, I really, really do,’ Jim said, letting Gaila kiss his neck slowly, her hair tickling his bare chest. Jim let out a contented sigh before his mind inevitably landed back firmly on his roommate.
Gaila stopped and looked up at Jim’s face. ‘You sure?’
‘My dick is on board,’ Jim said, his eyes flicking down to his jeans which had a very obvious bulge in them.
‘You’re 18. You could get hard by rubbing against a wall,’ Gaila said, kneeling up so she was straddling Jim’s waist.
‘Can we stop the chit chat and just go for it?’ Jim said with a long sigh, like he was doing Gaila a favour.
‘Interesting,’ Gaila said, tapping her lip with her finger thoughtfully. ‘What’s wrong cutie?’
‘Nothing,’ Jim said emphatically, his voice becoming higher pitched.
Gaila looked down at him disbelievingly. ‘I’m not going to sleep with you until you tell me what’s wrong.’
Jim snorted. ‘When did you become a psychologist?’
‘Look, I’m hot and all the guys I bring to bed always focus on me. You weren’t. It’s a bit of a hit to the ego to be honest and so whatever it is that’s dragging your attention from me is something major,’ Gaila said, tucking her curly red hair behind her ear.
‘You know you’re gorgeous,’ Jim said flirtatiously, his hands resting on her hips as Gaila tilted her head in agreement. ‘I just… Spock likes me.’
Gaila threw her head back and laughed. ‘So that’s why you just suddenly turned up at my door. Trying to reaffirm your sexuality by jumping into bed with a girl is quite a desperate move. You know, I think I have a spare vibrator around here somewhere if you want to borrow it?’ Gaila said, looking around the room. ‘Anyway, I’m surprised you’re surprised. He’s not actually subtle.’
Jim pushed himself up on his elbows, brow furrowed in confusion. ‘Pardon? You knew?’
‘Whenever we play chess he stares at you all the time and glares at me. Two and two together, sweetheart.’
Jim shook his head, feeling baffled. ‘I didn’t notice.’
‘The real question here is; why do you care if he likes you? You’re pretty hot and I somehow doubt this is the first time someone has told you they like you.’
‘I guess,’ Jim said with a shrug. ‘He’s just different. I mean, it’s a dude and he’s all… highly strung but also really vulnerable.’
Gaila looked down at Jim, a small smirk coming to her lips. ‘Jim, are you suddenly finding yourself attracted to bowl cuts?’
Jim snorted and shook his head. ‘No, no way. I’m not into guys. I don’t think. I mean, I’m open to a lot of stuff but I’ve never found a guy hot.’ Jim thought back over his time with Spock and suddenly frowned. ‘Although, the air force jumpsuit made him look really good.’
‘Attractive?’ Gaila said, her tone teasing as she stared down at Jim.
‘Sure,’ Jim said before his face dropped into one of shock. ‘Oh god. I found him hot. I found a guy hot.’
‘Shocking,’ Gaila said, eyes rolling.
‘You know, considering I’m in bed with you right now, you’re taking my gay realizations pretty well.’
Gaila smiled. ‘I don’t think you’re gay. I just think you like someone who happens to have a dick.’
Jim lay down, his back hitting the mattress as he ran his hands through his hair. ‘Oh god.’
Gaila let out a loud hum. ‘He’s such a nice boy. To be honest, I’m not sure what he sees in you.’
‘Thanks,’ Jim replied dryly. Gaila moved off of Jim and sat next to him, looking down at Jim in sympathy.
‘Well, you’re pretty but you’re like the complete opposite of him.’
Jim smiled softly. ‘Yeah, maybe that’s why he likes me.’
‘Oh, look at you with your love struck smile. How adorable. Now, I’m not one of those girls that will be cool if you yell out a guy’s name in bed so you should go and find your roommate.’
‘Woah, I’m not ready to go seduce a guy.’
‘You don’t seem like the type to look before you jump,’ Gaila said with a smile, standing up and pulling on her top.
‘I might need a drink first,’ Jim said, almost to himself.
‘Then do a shot of something and go and do your thing.’
‘You’re very authoritative.’
‘It turn you on?’ Gaila said, waggling her eyebrows.
‘Little bit,’ Jim said jokingly as he turned to get off her bed, grabbing his t-shirt from the floor and pulling it on. ‘This has been… an interesting experience.’
‘Good luck with your roommate,’ Gaila said, giving Jim a large grin.
‘I think I’m going to need it,’ Jim said, toeing on his shoes and leaving with a wave.
……….
‘Fill me up, Chekov,’ Jim said from his place in Sulu’s bed as he buried himself under the covers, a hand sticking out with an empty shot glass.
Chekov rolled his eyes and ignored him in favour of playing Wii tennis.
Sulu turned from where he was playing computer games and rolled his eyes. ‘You’ve been hiding in here most of the day, you’re going to have to go face him sometime.’ Jim let out a long groan. ‘Stop being a baby.’
Jim scoffed. ‘How am I a baby?’
‘A guy has a crush on you so you go have a tumble in the sheets with a girl which leads no where because your thoughts were on said guy, and then you run and hide in here.’
‘I don’t know what to do,’ Jim groaned, feeling conflicted and confused.
‘You like him?’
‘Maybe, yeah,’ Jim shrugged.
‘You object to seeing him butt naked?’
Jim screwed up his face before it fell into curiosity. ‘I don’t know, I don’t think so.’
‘If Spock was a girl, would you have hit on him by now?’
Jim laughed and nodded reluctantly. ‘Ok, I get your point.’ Jim threw the cover off of him and stood up.
‘Be nice to him,’ Chekov said.
Jim scoffed. ‘Everyone’s so sure I’ll be the one to hurt him.’
Sulu and Chekov exchanged a look like that was exactly what they thought.
‘Go get laid… quietly,’ Sulu said pointedly as Jim gave him a salute and left.
He walked to the next door down and took a breath, getting himself together before throwing open the door.
‘Nyota is going to kick me in the balls and then kill me,’ Jim said as he strode into his room feeling determined. Spock was sitting cross legged on his bed with his laptop open in front of him, looking serene and calm. Jim decided to stop thinking over everything and push all his doubts to the back of his mind and just do it. Specifically, do Spock.
‘What have you done?’ Spock asked as Jim stalked across the room to Spock’s bed.
‘About to do,’ Jim said, pushing the laptop to the edge of the bed so he could sit down. ‘Don’t freak out I’m on your bed.’
‘I am trying not to,’ Spock said through gritted teeth as Jim sat opposite him.
‘Let’s do this. I haven’t ever been with guys but we get on, I do find you attractive, it makes sense,’ Jim said leaning forward roughly for a kiss but Spock whipped out a hand onto his shoulder and held him away.
‘You wish to start a relationship with me?’ Spock said, sounding slightly shocked.
‘Sure, I guess, whatever.’
Spock let his hand drop from Jim’s shoulder, his eyes downcast. ‘I had believed a relationship with you was highly unlikely.’
‘Why?’ Jim said, sitting back.
‘You focus primarily on females and sexual relationships. I am male and have no sexual experience and would not be willing to enter into a sexual relationship straight away.’
‘Well, if we were in a relationship we’d have sex at some point, Spock, it’s how things work,’ Jim said.
‘You also have not experienced intercourse with another man,’ Spock stated, Jim blushing slightly as he reached a hand up to the back of his neck, feeling his body tense up at the thought.
‘No, I haven’t, but I like to think I’m an open guy and I’m sure I can learn.’
‘I do not doubt it, however, if we were to enter into a relationship, I need to inform you that I wish to take things slowly.’
‘How slow?’ Jim said, narrowing his eyes.
‘Slow,’ Spock said vaguely, Jim sighing in annoyance.
Jim felt a small sliver of panic set in as the word ‘relationship’ registered in his mind. ‘A relationship is kind of a big deal, Spock. Maybe we should just do a test run or something for a couples weeks, see if we’re a good fit,’ Jim tried.
Spock nodded. ‘It would be wise to test our level of compatibility in a romantic sense.’
Jim sighed quietly with relief. ‘Ok, so we’ll just go with it and in a couple weeks, if things aren’t right, we go back to being friends and move on.’ Jim paused. ‘And, I won’t be with anyone else for now.’
Spock seemed pleased and nodded. ‘That is acceptable.’
‘So, can I kiss you?’ Jim asked eagerly, surprised at how badly he wanted to.
‘Not yet,’ Spock said calmly.
‘Hug?’ Jim asked with a laugh. Spock took a moment before nodding.
Jim launched himself forward, causing Spock to fall back on the bed, Jim’s head resting on Spock’s chest as Spock’s arm held Jim securely to him. Spock was completely tense from head to toe as he adjusted to the feel of another body against his own.
‘I am not used to this level of physical contact,’ Spock said as Jim shifted, pressing his whole body against Spock’s side. Jim would liken it to cuddling a plank of wood.
‘Want me to move?’ Jim asked and immediately Spock’s arms tightened around his frame. ‘I’ll take that as a no,’ Jim paused, throwing a leg so it fit in between Spock’s. ‘Gotta say, I’m normally in your position for the cuddling bit.’
‘I enjoy our positions, however if you are uncomfortable-’
‘No, it’s fine.’
‘Good.’
Jim inhaled and exhaled slowly as he waited for Spock to relax but it was clear that Spock was taking his time coming to terms with this level of physical contact so he waited.
‘You OK?’ Jim murmured quietly, his head going up and down as Spock breathed.
‘Yes,’ Spock replied simply.
Jim chuckled slowly. ‘Relax, Spock.’
‘I am trying,’ Spock said softly, his hand coming up to stroke Jim’s cheek affectionately. Jim let out an appreciative hum and Spock’s whole body loosened straight away as he shifted slightly, making himself more comfortable as his arms held Jim tightly.
Chapter Five
Universe: AU
Rating: PG-13 (NC-17 later)
Relationship status: first time
Word count: 3597
Genre: romance, friendship
Trope: teen, jealousy
Warning: Language, angst.
A/N: I was hoping to post this on Sunday but my internet went for a few days so sorry it’s taken longer than usual. Hope you enjoy it! :)
Summary: Modern day college AU. Jim and Spock are freshmen and are put together as roommates. In this part: Jim learns that Spock has a crush on him which triggers him to make a move.
Chapter Four
Over the next few days Jim found himself attaching himself to Spock and vice versa. With McCoy constantly in lectures and doing practical work, Jim figured he’d use the time to bond with his roommate who Jim was growing to like more and more with each passing day. He found himself looking forward to heading back to their room after a long, boring day to see Spock, who would talk him out of his bad mood gently and rationally. Jim also quickly became used to finding Spock staring at him, his expression often a mask from what he was thinking.
Jim also observed that Spock was a lot calmer and happier when it was just them. Jim was aware that other people made him nervous and he suffered from minor social anxiety but some people, like McCoy, caused a particularly bad reaction from Spock who would become closed off and grumpy within seconds.
It was a week later that their relationship shifted. Jim, Spock, Nyota and Sulu were all sunning themselves on one of the grassy areas, Spock sitting under a tree because he stated that he wasn’t a fan of skin cancer, when McCoy walked over.
‘Hey gorgeous,’ Jim said with a friendly smile, pushing himself to a sitting up position. Spock raised an eyebrow as the medical student sat down next to Jim and sighed.
‘Haven’t seen you in a bit, you replace me, kid?’ McCoy said, wrapping an arm around Jim and tugging him against him roughly. Jim smiled and jokingly shoved him off as Spock tensed up, looking up from his book and watching them, eyes expressionless.
‘I figured you were off practicing prostate exams on unsuspecting freshmen,’ Jim said, throwing his head back to let the sun’s heat warm his face.
‘Is that an offer, Jim?’ McCoy said with a smirk.
‘You know I love you but I just don’t think we’ve reached that stage in our relationship yet. Maybe next year, dear,’ Jim joked as McCoy stretched out his legs in front of him and leaned back on his hands.
McCoy cast a small suspicious look over at Spock who was pretending to read a book. ‘So, what’s your score so far?’ McCoy asked casually, watching Spock carefully out of the corner of his eye.
Jim frowned, blinking into the sunlight. ‘Score?’
‘Girls. I won’t believe you if you tell me you haven’t been counting,’ McCoy said, looking sideways at Spock and noting his reaction.
‘It’s great to know you think so much of me, Bones,’ Jim said with a grin.
‘You do realise I can hear you guys right?’ Nyota said, sounding irritated from where she was lying on the grass next to them. ‘I don’t want to be privy to your gross conquest talk, thanks, and neither does Spock.’
Jim shot her a scowl. ‘How’d you know? Spock is a guy, he might want to take part in our guy talk.’
Nyota opened her eyes and sat up on her elbows. ‘He has too much respect for women to discuss your propensity for allocating numbers to girls rather than names.’
‘Oh get off your high horse, Nyota. Don’t pretend you’re his best friend and speak for him.’
‘Speak for him? Isn’t that what you’re doing right now?’ Nyota said, sitting up with a pointed glare.
‘Spock, keep your wives in line, would you?’ Sulu said dryly, his eyes shut as he dozed.
‘I am not married,’ Spock stated as both Nyota and Jim looking at him for support.
‘Tell Jim you’re uncomfortable with his low respect for girls,’ Nyota said, looking at him expectantly.
‘I never said I had a low respect for girls,’ Jim said, voice rising.
‘You do, you objectify everybody,’ Nyota snapped.
‘At least I don’t get people drunk without them knowing,’ Jim said, aware it was a low blow and Nyota immediately went rigid, her eyes flashing.
Spock shifted forward, wanting to break the tension. ‘Jim is aware of my discomfort around his way of referring to women. I appreciate his attempts at treating females with respect and no longer using derogatory terms toward them,’ Spock stated.
Jim couldn’t have looked more smug and triumphant if he tried. Nyota rolled her eyes.
‘Thanks, Spock,’ Jim said with a smile in his direction. Spock stared at him with an inscrutable expression as Nyota looked back and forth between Spock and the object of his gaze, unsure what she was witnessing.
McCoy stared at Jim, his brow furrowed in contemplation as he stared down to where Jim was now using his lap as a pillow.
McCoy idly let his hand run through Jim’s hair and he saw Spock’s jaw tighten, his eyes becoming dangerously dark as his eyes fixed on the hand carding through his hair. McCoy looked away and smirked, his fingers not hesitating as they continued raking through Jim’s hair, aware that Spock was staring at him with annoyance.
………………
‘Jim,’ McCoy said, joining him on a bench outside the maths building the next day.
‘Bones,’ Jim acknowledged with a nod, moving some of the paper off of his lap.
‘Barely seen you without your roommate,’ McCoy said casually, his legs stretched out.
Jim shrugged. ‘We’re slowly getting to know each other.’
‘Uh huh,’ McCoy said carefully, nodding once slowly, his voice loaded.
‘What is it?’ Jim asked, knowing McCoy was hiding something.
McCoy turned to fully face him. ‘I think your little bowl cut friend wouldn’t mind being your boyfriend.’
Jim snorted. ‘And how do you know that? Did he tell you when you guys were talking about boys whilst braiding each others hair?’
McCoy rolled his eyes. ‘Don’t you ever wonder why he hates me so much?’
‘He doesn’t hate you,’ Jim dismissed casually.
‘He dislikes me intensely then, and you know why? Because you and I are close.’
Jim laughed. ‘You think he’s jealous of you because you and I are good friends?’
‘Jim, I’m not kidding. I just thought I’d give you the heads up. Even though the last thing you need is a boost to your ego with the addition of someone new to your fan club.’
Jim considered this new information before shaking his head in disbelief. ‘I really don’t think he does like me. It might be because I’m his friend and he’s not used to having friends and this is what he’s like in a friendship.’
‘It’s more than that,’ McCoy said, watching Jim’s reactions carefully.
Jim let out a shaky laugh, his heart thumping excitedly in his chest but he was too distracted to give his own excitement over the situation any consideration. ‘Really? You think so? This is unbelievable. Out of all the people on earth, he has a crush on me? It’s official, I’m in the top 10 most awesome people in the world list.’
‘I’m sure Forbes will be asking you for a picture soon,’ McCoy said dryly.
Jim looked thoughtfully at the ground, his mind in overdrive before looking back up. ‘I can’t believe it. I’ll have to flirt with him a little and see if he admits to it or something.’
‘Don’t be a brat toward him Jim.’
‘It’s like my default setting,’ Jim said with a grin as he stood up, collected his books and writing pad into his arms and stalked off toward his room, eyes bright with excitement.
………..
‘Hey beautiful,’ Jim tried as he walked through their door. Spock turned to him with a raised eyebrow, not used to being addressed in that manner. ‘You OK?’
‘Yes,’ Spock replied, giving Jim a long look up and down in suspicion.
‘Me too,’ Jim said, dumping his books on his desk and turning to Spock with a large grin.
‘Is something wrong?’ Spock asked, his voice slightly laced with concern.
Jim walked over and sat down on Spock’s bed. Spock tensed.
‘Please remove yourself from my bed.’
‘Remove me yourself,’ Jim said, knowing Spock wouldn’t dare lay a hand on him but wanted to bait him all the same.
Spock’s fingers clenched slightly before releasing. ‘Please move from my bed now.’
‘Maybe you want me on your bed,’ Jim said, waggling his eyebrows for effect.
‘I can assure you, I do not,’ Spock stated in irritation. Jim felt his stomach drop slightly as a touch of doubt over McCoy’s observations seeped into his mind.
‘Not even a little bit?’ Jim asked curiously, his tone becoming more serious.
Spock’s eyes narrowed as he gave Jim a speculative gaze. ‘I do not understand what you are inferring.’
Jim exhaled slowly. ‘Do you like me?’
‘I find you vaguely tolerable when you are not disrupting me from my studying or disrespecting my personal space,’ Spock said, pointedly looking at the bed Jim was on.
Jim’s stomach tightened in disappointment. ‘So, Bones is full of shit.’
‘Please remove yourself from my bed,’ Spock said again, his voice becoming clipped.
Jim groaned, annoyed that Spock’s whole attention was focused on what Jim was sitting on. ‘Don’t you want to know why he’s full of shit?’
‘I could not even attempt to feign interest,’ Spock said blandly.
Jim threw his hands up in the air and got up, Spock visibly relaxing. ‘Bones thinks you like me.’
‘I have confirmed I do enjoy your company,’ Spock said, watching Jim move about the room agitatedly.
‘No, he thought you liked me liked me. As in, you find me attractive.’
Spock tilted his head to the side, like he was considering something. ‘Objectively, you could be considered handsome.’
‘Do you think I’m good looking?’
Spock raised an eyebrow. ‘You are pleasing.’
Jim let out a frustrated sigh, losing his patience. ‘Do you have a crush on me or not?’
Spock’s eyes widened ever so slightly as his whole body stiffened, his eyes looking everywhere but at Jim. ‘I believe I am late for my lecture.’
‘Your lecture is at 4 and it’s 2.30,’ Jim said as Spock got up and turned his back on Jim, throwing books and his laptop into his bag.
‘I have work to be done in preparation,’ Spock said, awkwardly putting his bag over his shoulder and heading past Jim and out of the door quickly, not giving Jim a chance to say anything else.
Jim nodded to himself in amusement. ‘That’s a yes.’
………….
‘I don’t feel like you’re into this,’ Gaila muttered, her hair fanning around Jim’s head as he lay on Gaila’s bed half naked, doing his best to block out the things he was starting to think about in relation to Spock.
‘I am,’ Jim insisted, although he could hear the lack of conviction in his voice.
‘Do you want to sleep with me or not?’ Gaila said, although her voice lacked any real annoyance. She was more amused.
‘I do, I really, really do,’ Jim said, letting Gaila kiss his neck slowly, her hair tickling his bare chest. Jim let out a contented sigh before his mind inevitably landed back firmly on his roommate.
Gaila stopped and looked up at Jim’s face. ‘You sure?’
‘My dick is on board,’ Jim said, his eyes flicking down to his jeans which had a very obvious bulge in them.
‘You’re 18. You could get hard by rubbing against a wall,’ Gaila said, kneeling up so she was straddling Jim’s waist.
‘Can we stop the chit chat and just go for it?’ Jim said with a long sigh, like he was doing Gaila a favour.
‘Interesting,’ Gaila said, tapping her lip with her finger thoughtfully. ‘What’s wrong cutie?’
‘Nothing,’ Jim said emphatically, his voice becoming higher pitched.
Gaila looked down at him disbelievingly. ‘I’m not going to sleep with you until you tell me what’s wrong.’
Jim snorted. ‘When did you become a psychologist?’
‘Look, I’m hot and all the guys I bring to bed always focus on me. You weren’t. It’s a bit of a hit to the ego to be honest and so whatever it is that’s dragging your attention from me is something major,’ Gaila said, tucking her curly red hair behind her ear.
‘You know you’re gorgeous,’ Jim said flirtatiously, his hands resting on her hips as Gaila tilted her head in agreement. ‘I just… Spock likes me.’
Gaila threw her head back and laughed. ‘So that’s why you just suddenly turned up at my door. Trying to reaffirm your sexuality by jumping into bed with a girl is quite a desperate move. You know, I think I have a spare vibrator around here somewhere if you want to borrow it?’ Gaila said, looking around the room. ‘Anyway, I’m surprised you’re surprised. He’s not actually subtle.’
Jim pushed himself up on his elbows, brow furrowed in confusion. ‘Pardon? You knew?’
‘Whenever we play chess he stares at you all the time and glares at me. Two and two together, sweetheart.’
Jim shook his head, feeling baffled. ‘I didn’t notice.’
‘The real question here is; why do you care if he likes you? You’re pretty hot and I somehow doubt this is the first time someone has told you they like you.’
‘I guess,’ Jim said with a shrug. ‘He’s just different. I mean, it’s a dude and he’s all… highly strung but also really vulnerable.’
Gaila looked down at Jim, a small smirk coming to her lips. ‘Jim, are you suddenly finding yourself attracted to bowl cuts?’
Jim snorted and shook his head. ‘No, no way. I’m not into guys. I don’t think. I mean, I’m open to a lot of stuff but I’ve never found a guy hot.’ Jim thought back over his time with Spock and suddenly frowned. ‘Although, the air force jumpsuit made him look really good.’
‘Attractive?’ Gaila said, her tone teasing as she stared down at Jim.
‘Sure,’ Jim said before his face dropped into one of shock. ‘Oh god. I found him hot. I found a guy hot.’
‘Shocking,’ Gaila said, eyes rolling.
‘You know, considering I’m in bed with you right now, you’re taking my gay realizations pretty well.’
Gaila smiled. ‘I don’t think you’re gay. I just think you like someone who happens to have a dick.’
Jim lay down, his back hitting the mattress as he ran his hands through his hair. ‘Oh god.’
Gaila let out a loud hum. ‘He’s such a nice boy. To be honest, I’m not sure what he sees in you.’
‘Thanks,’ Jim replied dryly. Gaila moved off of Jim and sat next to him, looking down at Jim in sympathy.
‘Well, you’re pretty but you’re like the complete opposite of him.’
Jim smiled softly. ‘Yeah, maybe that’s why he likes me.’
‘Oh, look at you with your love struck smile. How adorable. Now, I’m not one of those girls that will be cool if you yell out a guy’s name in bed so you should go and find your roommate.’
‘Woah, I’m not ready to go seduce a guy.’
‘You don’t seem like the type to look before you jump,’ Gaila said with a smile, standing up and pulling on her top.
‘I might need a drink first,’ Jim said, almost to himself.
‘Then do a shot of something and go and do your thing.’
‘You’re very authoritative.’
‘It turn you on?’ Gaila said, waggling her eyebrows.
‘Little bit,’ Jim said jokingly as he turned to get off her bed, grabbing his t-shirt from the floor and pulling it on. ‘This has been… an interesting experience.’
‘Good luck with your roommate,’ Gaila said, giving Jim a large grin.
‘I think I’m going to need it,’ Jim said, toeing on his shoes and leaving with a wave.
……….
‘Fill me up, Chekov,’ Jim said from his place in Sulu’s bed as he buried himself under the covers, a hand sticking out with an empty shot glass.
Chekov rolled his eyes and ignored him in favour of playing Wii tennis.
Sulu turned from where he was playing computer games and rolled his eyes. ‘You’ve been hiding in here most of the day, you’re going to have to go face him sometime.’ Jim let out a long groan. ‘Stop being a baby.’
Jim scoffed. ‘How am I a baby?’
‘A guy has a crush on you so you go have a tumble in the sheets with a girl which leads no where because your thoughts were on said guy, and then you run and hide in here.’
‘I don’t know what to do,’ Jim groaned, feeling conflicted and confused.
‘You like him?’
‘Maybe, yeah,’ Jim shrugged.
‘You object to seeing him butt naked?’
Jim screwed up his face before it fell into curiosity. ‘I don’t know, I don’t think so.’
‘If Spock was a girl, would you have hit on him by now?’
Jim laughed and nodded reluctantly. ‘Ok, I get your point.’ Jim threw the cover off of him and stood up.
‘Be nice to him,’ Chekov said.
Jim scoffed. ‘Everyone’s so sure I’ll be the one to hurt him.’
Sulu and Chekov exchanged a look like that was exactly what they thought.
‘Go get laid… quietly,’ Sulu said pointedly as Jim gave him a salute and left.
He walked to the next door down and took a breath, getting himself together before throwing open the door.
‘Nyota is going to kick me in the balls and then kill me,’ Jim said as he strode into his room feeling determined. Spock was sitting cross legged on his bed with his laptop open in front of him, looking serene and calm. Jim decided to stop thinking over everything and push all his doubts to the back of his mind and just do it. Specifically, do Spock.
‘What have you done?’ Spock asked as Jim stalked across the room to Spock’s bed.
‘About to do,’ Jim said, pushing the laptop to the edge of the bed so he could sit down. ‘Don’t freak out I’m on your bed.’
‘I am trying not to,’ Spock said through gritted teeth as Jim sat opposite him.
‘Let’s do this. I haven’t ever been with guys but we get on, I do find you attractive, it makes sense,’ Jim said leaning forward roughly for a kiss but Spock whipped out a hand onto his shoulder and held him away.
‘You wish to start a relationship with me?’ Spock said, sounding slightly shocked.
‘Sure, I guess, whatever.’
Spock let his hand drop from Jim’s shoulder, his eyes downcast. ‘I had believed a relationship with you was highly unlikely.’
‘Why?’ Jim said, sitting back.
‘You focus primarily on females and sexual relationships. I am male and have no sexual experience and would not be willing to enter into a sexual relationship straight away.’
‘Well, if we were in a relationship we’d have sex at some point, Spock, it’s how things work,’ Jim said.
‘You also have not experienced intercourse with another man,’ Spock stated, Jim blushing slightly as he reached a hand up to the back of his neck, feeling his body tense up at the thought.
‘No, I haven’t, but I like to think I’m an open guy and I’m sure I can learn.’
‘I do not doubt it, however, if we were to enter into a relationship, I need to inform you that I wish to take things slowly.’
‘How slow?’ Jim said, narrowing his eyes.
‘Slow,’ Spock said vaguely, Jim sighing in annoyance.
Jim felt a small sliver of panic set in as the word ‘relationship’ registered in his mind. ‘A relationship is kind of a big deal, Spock. Maybe we should just do a test run or something for a couples weeks, see if we’re a good fit,’ Jim tried.
Spock nodded. ‘It would be wise to test our level of compatibility in a romantic sense.’
Jim sighed quietly with relief. ‘Ok, so we’ll just go with it and in a couple weeks, if things aren’t right, we go back to being friends and move on.’ Jim paused. ‘And, I won’t be with anyone else for now.’
Spock seemed pleased and nodded. ‘That is acceptable.’
‘So, can I kiss you?’ Jim asked eagerly, surprised at how badly he wanted to.
‘Not yet,’ Spock said calmly.
‘Hug?’ Jim asked with a laugh. Spock took a moment before nodding.
Jim launched himself forward, causing Spock to fall back on the bed, Jim’s head resting on Spock’s chest as Spock’s arm held Jim securely to him. Spock was completely tense from head to toe as he adjusted to the feel of another body against his own.
‘I am not used to this level of physical contact,’ Spock said as Jim shifted, pressing his whole body against Spock’s side. Jim would liken it to cuddling a plank of wood.
‘Want me to move?’ Jim asked and immediately Spock’s arms tightened around his frame. ‘I’ll take that as a no,’ Jim paused, throwing a leg so it fit in between Spock’s. ‘Gotta say, I’m normally in your position for the cuddling bit.’
‘I enjoy our positions, however if you are uncomfortable-’
‘No, it’s fine.’
‘Good.’
Jim inhaled and exhaled slowly as he waited for Spock to relax but it was clear that Spock was taking his time coming to terms with this level of physical contact so he waited.
‘You OK?’ Jim murmured quietly, his head going up and down as Spock breathed.
‘Yes,’ Spock replied simply.
Jim chuckled slowly. ‘Relax, Spock.’
‘I am trying,’ Spock said softly, his hand coming up to stroke Jim’s cheek affectionately. Jim let out an appreciative hum and Spock’s whole body loosened straight away as he shifted slightly, making himself more comfortable as his arms held Jim tightly.
Chapter Five