Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Jim couldn’t stand it any longer. It had been going on since the first of the month, when all the rest of the ship suddenly started being decorated with red banners and paper hearts. He blamed Uhura and Scotty who he had given permission to hold an actual Valentine’s celebration this year, since their route would have them still hurtling through space for the day rather than dealing with some planet sized headache.

Damn, wait.

Did that make all this his fault?

How was he supposed to know the two, normally levelheaded senior staff members would go absolutely insane with their plannings. Now, there was going to be the largest party they had held on the ship since they had started their mission, as every species onboard seemed excited to participate in the old earth custom of Valentine’s Day.

It was too late now to rescind his permission.

But it wasn’t even the huge party and decorations that were bothering him. It was that for some reason, everyone seemed to be asking Mr. Spock to be their Valentine. Alright, maybe not everyone, but it sure was a lot. He’d counted six today. SIX!

There had been one when they were in the gym that morning going through their usual sparing practice. Another had approached Spock while he had been getting breakfast. Two had come up to ask him while they were walking through the corridors. One had even been so brazen to throw it out there right on the bridge in front of the whole crew! And the final one had approached him in the rec room.

Each time, Spock had given them the closest thing a Vulcan could produce to a confused look before glancing up at Kirk as if to ask for help saving him. Then he would politely decline the offer and return to what they had been doing. But each and every time, Spock walked away more… disquieted? wary? uncomfortable?

It was driving Jim mad.

Spock didn’t deserve to be disturbed in such a way. And in a way maybe this was Jim’s fault, and therefore his responsibility to fix.

All day he had been racking his braining trying to think of a solution.

Which was what had led him down to Bone’s office after his shift was up.

“Bones.”

“Bones.”

“Bonesy.”

“Booones!”

“What!” Even as he shouted to match Kirk’s volume, he didn’t lift his head to look at his captain. “Don’t you have better places to be. You’re not the only one with mountains of paperwork he hates to file.”

Jim ignored the comment. “What do I do?”

“About what?” He asked like Jim hadn’t been explaining his issue for the last hour.

“About Spock.”

Bones rolled his eyes. “Why are you coming to me? I’m not the hobgoblin expert. Go ask Uhura.”

Jim grimaced at the idea. “Yeah, like I’m going to talk to her about her ex-boyfriend. Do you know what happened the last time I tried to talk to Uhura about Spock. She stared at me for two full minutes straight in dead silence, rolled her eyes, and said I was the biggest idiot in the galaxy.” Jim waited as if Bones would give him some sort of reaction at that before continuing. “Do you know how large a galaxy is! And besides, she’s all focused on this Valentine’s Day celebration like everyone else on the ship.”

Bones groaned. “Still doesn’t make this my problem.”

“Sure it does, you’re the ship’s doctor. Crew morale is as much a part of health as anything else. So help me.”

“You want my advice. Just go kiss that first officer of yours and put everyone else out of their misery.”

“What!” Jim was finally glad that Bones wasn’t looking at him, and therefore didn’t see the way his cheeks blushed so hard so fast it physically hurt. “No! I wouldn’t…I…”

It was like a little switch had been flipped in his head.

“I could.”

The idea was developing faster than he could keep up with.

Now, Bones was looking at him concerned. “Wait, what did you say?”

“I could do it. Well, not just kiss him, but if we could somehow convince everyone that he wasn’t available, then everyone would stop asking him, and Spock would be free from having to deal with all this emotional human stuff.”

“Woah, hold it there.” Bones had abandoned his PADD and was staring wide eyed at his best friend. “That is not what I meant. This is a very very bad idea, Jim. You cannot handle pretending to be in a relationship with Spock.”

He could. It would hurt like hell. Even pretending for a moment that Spock was his, would be like trying to eat only a single potato chip. Getting a taste of everything he ever wanted, but knowing it would never be real was a heartbreak just waiting to happen. But for Spock’s comfort he could do anything.

“I got to go talk to him!” Jim was running for the door.

“I want it on record that I am telling you this is a very very bad idea!”

A few hours later, Jim had everything planned out. It wouldn’t do to just say they were going to be Valentine’s. They would have to make some public showing of their supposed relationship or no one would believe the lie.

I mean, it was going to be hard enough to sell anyone on the idea that of all the people Spock could choose from on this ship that he would pick the over-emotional hyperactive playboy captain.

But Spock was great at fooling people when he wanted to, and Jim was great at smiling through the lie. So, as long as he got Spock on board, there was no way this plan would fail.

Before they could start any of the big things, Jim had to check in with his first officer to make sure that he even agreed to the plan, and that was a conversation best held in private. So Jim offered Spock to meet him in his cabin for a game of chess.

Jim’s heart was pounding as he waited for his favorite Vulcan to knock on his door. When he answered, he was honestly worried that it was so loud that Spock could hear it with his extra sensitive Vulcan hearing. If he did, he made no mention of it, so Jim pushed through and tried to act as normal as possible.

Not wanting to broach the topic too early, Jim planned to wait for the discussion after they had played a few rounds, but Spock had other plans.

“There is an ulterior purpose for which you invited me to your quarters for a game of chess, is there not?” Spock said after only their first round. “Would it not be most logical to discuss it at present, rather than waiting until a later time?”

How could Jim argue with that logic?

“Well, there was something I wanted to discuss with you. But I know it is some what of a touchy topic.”

“How can a topic have the quality of physical touch? It is a category and not an object, is it not?” Spock questioned.

For a moment Jim began to explain, before he realized that Spock was completely fucking with him. It had become a bit of a habit for the Vulcan to pose such questions even when he was well aware of the human idioms.

Jim couldn’t help but laugh. “You got me there, Spock.”

The moment had broken the tension between them and Jim felt much more relaxed as he continued. “I had noticed that a number of crew members have been asking you as their date to the Valentine’s celebration.”

“Yes, Captain,” Spock said. “I had a noticed the same, with a 36.271 % increase in the volume of proposals each day. It has made focusing on my work much more difficult.”

“I have an idea how I could help with that,” Jim volunteered.

“I would be happy to have your expertise in this matter.”

“What if I was your date for the Valentine’s party?”

And there it was.

The words out in the open.

Spock did that eyebrow raise thing of his and Jim was suddenly grasping for an explanation.

“It wouldn’t have to like, you know, actually mean anything, but if they thought… if we made them think… then we could… well, you know.”

“Are you asking me to be your Valentine, Jim?”

“Yes?” His answer sounded more like a squeak than a word. “I mean, I’ll be asking you again later, you know in front of the crew so then everyone knows your mine and all. Then you won’t have to worry about people bothering you during work.”

Spock was worryingly silent for a long time before he gave a tight nod. “That would be acceptable.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes, Jim. I think you have suggested a very logical solution. You shall be my Valentine and therefore no one else shall offer a claim.”

Jim swallowed his tongue on the way Spock had said that final word ‘claim’. In his deep, serious voice it shouldn’t have had such an effect on him, and yet there was something primal about how he’d said it.

Pulling himself back together, Jim flashed him a smile. “Now you’re getting it.”

“Then I look forward to your real proposal, Captain,” Spock said. “However, I fear I must retire for now as the hour is growing late.”

Jim hadn’t even noticed how much time had passed after only one game. “You’re right.” He stood, ready to shake Spock’s hand like he always did after they played a game. The way any good sportsman did.

Only instead of offering his full hand like usual, Spock held out only two fingers. Not sure what the gesture was meant to be, and too surprised to even think to ask, Jim did the same. Spock’s fingers touched their fingers together.

“Good night, Jim.” Spock said in a low and quiet voice before leaving Jim’s quarters.

Jim stood where Spock had left him, as he couldn’t stop staring at place where their fingers had touched. Because even in his absence, Jim had felt this strange and warm sort of tingle in his fingers, and it radiated through him.

Odd.

It was likely some Vulcan thing, and Jim would have to look it up later. But for now, he curled up in bed, his mind thrumming with the promise of tomorrow and his public display of making Spock his Valentine.

Chapter Text

Alright, maybe Jim had gone a little overboard. But he had to make sure that enough people were present for his Valentine’s Day proposal so he could be sure word would get around that Spock was taken.

He’d planned the big announcement in the rec room after alpha shift, when a large part of the crew (or at least the part of the crew with the most gossips) would be present.

Of course Jim didn’t want to make Spock uncomfortable himself, so he didn’t do anything gawdy like write him a love sonnet or throw up a huge banner. Instead, he had used the replicator in his room to make chess pieces that looked like letters, and set them up on the 3D board to spell out his request.

Spock Will You Be My Valentine

Jim sat beside the board as he waited for Spock to join him for their usual after shift game. It was the perfect spot to watch as Spock read the message. And Jim was pretty sure he was daydreaming when for a moment he thought he saw Spock’s cheeks turn a little green.

Everyone watched with baited breath as Spock contemplated his answer. Many had seen him turn down request after request over the last few days, and they likely wanted to see how the Second in Command would let his Captain down.

Instead, Spock gave a small nod. “I find I would be capable of fulfilling your request.”

And it was done.

At least according to the crew, Spock as now Jim’s Valentine.

There was a lot about the rues that Jim had been prepared for. He was ready for the cheers and applauds from his crew. He had been prepared for the dozens of questions about their relationship. He had even been prepared for the random winks, and slaps on the back from random crew members in congratulations.

What he had apparently not been prepared for was Spock actually planning their Valentine’s Day date.

He really should have seen it coming as Vulcans didn’t lie. Spock being half Vulcan meant he only lied when absolutely necessary for the crew or Enterprise’s safety. So it made sense that Spock would assume that this little ruse would require an actual date in order to remain as truthful to the crew as possible.

So the next day following Jim’s little proposal, Spock started to follow him along offering suggestions for their Valentine’s Day date.

The first happened right after shift.

“I have come to understand that a private, yet elegant meal is an expected part of the Human Valentine’s Day tradition, and that the meal should be homecooked, if possible.” Spock said as he followed Jim onto one of the lifts. “However, there will be only a half hour between the end of our shift and the beginning of the crew’s celebration in the rec room. Calculating the time it will take to return to our quarters…” and great dazzling galexies, did he have to say our quarters like he somehow meant ones they shared “… and change out of uniform, we would have at most 13.26 minutes which would not be enough time for a meal. Therefore I propose that we schedule a meal for after the crew’s celebration.”

Jim would have just laughed and told him not to worry about going so far if there hadn’t been at least two other bridge crew members in the lift watching the pair eagerly. “Yeah, sure.” Jim tried to keep his face from giving anything away. “Whatever you want Spock. Anything for my Valentine.”

Vulcans did not smile. Most definitely in all the time that Jim knew him, Spock did not smile. Yet, if there was anything close to a Vulcan smiling, that would have been how Jim would have described Spock’s face in that moment. “Very well then, Jim. I will plan my schedule accordingly.” Then, like he had last night, Spock held out two fingers waiting for Jim do to the same.

There was a tiny gasp from one of the crew members behind them, but Jim really didn’t see why. While Jim had still not been able to find what the meaning of two Vulcans touching fingers was, from context he was starting to figure it was some sort of gesture to seal an agreement. So, Jim reciprocated.

But he was relieved when the lift came to a stop.

Jim hopped off and headed straight to medbay. “I am starting to think this is a bad idea.”

Bones once again did not pause what he was doing, which at the moment felt intentionally insulting as he was only organizing hypos in his cabinet. “And why is that, do tell oh wise and all-knowing Captain.” There was enough sarcasm dripping from his tone that it could have drowned a hippopotamus.

Jim ignored it to get to his point. “Like I know Spock is just trying to sell the whole ruse, but he is getting like really into the whole fake Valentine thing.”

“He’s what?”

“He’s planning it all out to the tiniest detail, and I think he just offered to make a homecooked dinner for the two of us.”

“Spock can cook?!”

Jim frowned. “Of course Spock can cook. He’s good at like everything. But that is so not my point.”

“Then get to it instead of dragging me round and round it.”

“My point is that he’s being so serious it almost makes me think—” Jim cut himself off, afraid to say it even to his best friend who he knows can keep any secret.

But Bones wasn’t about to let him off the hook. “Almost makes you think?”

With a sigh, he dropped back into one of the waiting medbay chairs. “Almost makes me think what it would be like to actually date him.”

Jim expected a huge I told you so, instead he got a supportive hand on his shoulder. “Jim, why don’t you just ask him for real then?”

“You really think if I suggested we go on a real date that Spock would ever say yes to me?”

Bones shrugged. “I don’t really see why not. He dated Uhura didn’t he? What makes you so undesirable?”

“Let me count the ways.” He was so busy organizing the list in his head, he missed the disapproving glare he got from his best friend.

“One, I’m like the exact definition of overly emotional. I’m hotheaded. Love too deeply and all too much. I cry at every movie with a dog in it. Like the dog doesn’t even have to die, I just cry because they remind me of my pet dog Polaris from Earth. I get grumpy if I don’t sleep enough. Cranky if I miss too many meals in a row. And I let all those gooey, messy emotions rule me a lot more than my head.”

“Not exactly a bad thing, Jim. There’s nothing wrong with being open and honest about your emotions, so long as it’s in healthy outlets.”

“But like, Spock’s not going to want to put up with that. Most days he stares at me, and I’m pretty sure he wants to strangle me all over again like he did the first time.”

“I’m not sure wanting to strangle you is why he looks at you that way,” Bones mumbled.

“What was that?”

“Nothing, what was your second reason?”

Going back to his list, he held up a second finger. “Two, you know the reputation I have around the ship and in Starfleet. Everyone thinks I sleep with anything that moves, and leave a trail of broken hearts in my wake. Many of the rumors claim I don’t even know how to be in a relationship. Who is going to want to sign up for that?”

At that, Bones slapped him over the head. “Those are rumors, Jim. You and I both know you are not the love them a leave them type. Just because you’ve had a number of consensual, casual partners does not make you incapable of being in a relationship or prove that you sleep around.”

“They’re very prominent rumors. God, half the ship thinks I’m a…”

“If I hear you refer to yourself with even one derogatory word, I’m going to have to hypo you to surgically remove the foot I’m going to shove up your ass, which is going to be hard to do since it will be my own foot!” Bones snapped.

Jim smartly, did not finish where he’d left off this time. Instead, he skipped ahead. “Third, he doesn’t even like me like I like him. And God doesn’t that sentence make me feel like a high schooler. Spock isn’t interested in me like that. We only just reached friend status. It’s not like I’m easy to get along with.”

Bones scratched at his head. “I think your problem here Jim isn’t Spock. I think your problem is you have no self confidence. You’ve got it all up in your head that Spock is this perfect Vulcan that your not worthy of, but if you ask me, if Spock can’t see how amazing, and selfless, and loyal you are and how lucky he is to have you in his life, then fuck him.”

“If only,” Jim mumbled.

“JIM!” Bones covered his ears. “Ahh! Now I’m picturing that!”

“And on that note, I better go get ready. If Spock is really going to go through with this, I actually have to pick something to wear.”

Bones shouted after him. “You have 3 different colored shirts, Jim! Only 3!”

Chapter Text

Jim couldn’t believe how quickly Valentine’s Day had crept upon him. Now, as he stood in front of his bedroom mirror, wondering if the shirt he’d chosen matched his eyes or just made him look fat, he was starting to question all his life choices.

He tried to convince himself it didn’t matter what he looked like. It wasn’t like he was actually dating Mr. Spock. This was all just for show to the crew. Spock wouldn’t care what he looked like. Even if he looked his best, it wouldn’t make the date any less fake.

With a sigh, Jim glanced over at the clock. He had run out of time anyway. Spock would be there any…

A knock sounded at the door.

Jim swallowed the lump in his throat and still he sounded hoarse when he spoke. “Come in.”

The door opened with a swoosh and then all the air in Jim’s lungs seemed to do the same.

Spock was dressed in the closest thing a Vulcan had to casual clothing. It was a slim black and did everything to accentuate the toned muscle of his body. Jim couldn’t stop himself from wondering how it would feel to slip his hand in between that tight material and his skin.

He quickly jerked his head, forcing himself to look anywhere but at Spock’s body. “You look, um, well, you look really great Spock.” Stars, could Jim sound any more idiotic in that moment!

“I find that your appearance is particularly pleasing as well.”

Jim was certain that was a compliment, but he didn’t know what to do with it, so he coughed, straightened his back, and gestured towards the door. “Should we get going?”

“Yes, Jim.”

Jim tried to ignore that the way Spock said his name, even as it made his heart melt.

For months, he’d been trying to get Spock to call him by his name instead of Captain when they were off duty. Yet, it was only now that he realized Spock had finally acquiesced to his request since this whole fake Valentine’s thing had started.

Together, they headed towards the rec room, where the Valentine’s Day celebration had been set up. And look, Jim and Spock walked together places all the time. It was rare to find one on the ship without the other being too far behind, so he really didn’t see why the whole crew was staring at them and giggling.

Giggling! Like there was something funny about him.

If Jim had felt self-conscious before, he was barreling towards a full panic attack now.

It must have been shown on his face more than he thought, as Spock suddenly was taking his hand. “All is well, Ashayam. They are not laughing at you. They are expressing the human emotion of delight to see their Captain fully participate in the cultural festivities.”

Spock’s words, or maybe somehow it was his touch, had a calming effect on Jim.

He relaxed more as they walked.

Too soon, they had arrived in the rec room and Jim pulled his hand free from Spock’s to keep from embarrassing him too much.

Jim didn’t think he’d ever seen so much red and pink in one place before. Except maybe a small planetoid that had been made up of an exclusively red mineral, but even then it hadn’t been this overwhelming.

Uhura rushed to the doorway to greet them. “Spock! Captain! I’m so glad you two made it! I really didn’t think you guys would show up to the party.”

Jim frowned. “Why wouldn’t we?”

She leaned over while Spock was distracted by Scotty who had just appeared. “I just mean, I figured you two would have preferred to spending this holiday in private.” Then she did this winky thing with her eyebrows that probably would have meant something if she wasn’t clearly already more than tipsy.

“Scott already bring out his scotch?” Jim asked knowingly.

“What makes you think that?”

“Because, Scotty’s scotch is the one alcohol you just can’t handle.”

“I can too!” She protested far too loud.

“Nae lassie, ya can’t.” Scotty said, grabbing her arm as if to lead her away. “I think it’s time we find you some water.”

Uhura giggled and practically draped herself over Scotty’s offered arm. “Did I ever tell you what a pretty accent you have?”

If it was possible, Jim was fairly certain that Scotty’s cheeks now matched the red decorations all over the place. The two of them disappeared into the crowd. Jim was so distracted smiling at them that he flinched when Spock took his hand once again.

“Shall we, Jim?” He gestured for them to move further inside.

“Sure.”

The party was more fun than Jim imagined. Everyone was having a great time. Better yet, Spock appeared to be enjoying himself. The man never strayed far from Jim’s side and they talked. More than Jim thought they had ever really talked before. They talked about everything and nothing all at the same time.

Somehow, Jim had thought that through the night Spock would grow tired of him in some way. Maybe at the way he never stopped talking, or how Jim was always reaching out to touch Spock on the arm or the shoulder, or perhaps even the sound of his voice. In fact, maybe it was the slight buzz of the alcohol in his system, but Spock almost seemed to lean into Jim more and more as the night went on.

Logically, Jim knew the party had gone on for almost two hours and he had promised to join Spock in his quarters for dinner afterward, yet still it felt like it had all gone by in a matter of moments.

“If I can have everybody’s attention!” Uhura was calling as the music swaying through the room came to an abrupt stop. All eyes turned to where she was standing on a chair. Luckily she seemed much more sober now than before and didn’t seem likely to lose her balance.

“I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for joining us tonight to celebrate this old earth tradition. I know we have not been on this expedition long together, but each and every one of us on this vessel have become a family and there is nothing better than to have this time to share the love we share for one another. So, also I want to give a big thanks to Captain Kirk for giving us permission to hold this party as well as for donating his not so well hidden stash of Vorlarion champagne!”

No wonder why the champagne had tasted so good!

“To Captain Kirk!” Uhura shouted before Kirk could protest.

The whole room repeated. “To Captain Kirk!”

“And before you go, we are going to follow one last old earth tradition and play a song for anyone who wishes to slow dance to.”

The music restarted, but this time it was an old love ballad that echoed through the speakers.

Jim figured that was their cue to leave and head for dinner as the last thing Spock would want would be to—except before Jim could even take his next breath, Spock was pulling him straight into the middle of the room where couples were swaying back and forth to the music.

“Spock, what are you doing?”

“Dancing, Jim. Is that not the tradition?”

Of course it was, but Jim couldn’t form a single word as one of Spock’s large hands gently pressed over Jim’s hip while the other interlocked fingers with Jim. The strange sensation that he had felt before when they’d touched now zinged through him making him shiver even as his whole body flooded with warmth.

When Jim could finally manage to make his brain work again, he asked. “Since when did you know how to old earth slow dance?”

“Nyota told me there would be such a dance in advance. I know you have a fondness for such old earth traditions; therefore I spent 18.63 hours studying old earth demonstrations in preparation for tonight.”

Not only was Spock dancing with him, but he had practiced just to be ready for this moment because he knew Jim liked it. Jim’s heart soared at the thought that Spock would do this for him. All of this.

Except for as high as his heart soared, it plummeted back down. Because Spock wasn’t doing this for him. Spock was doing this for their ruse, as a way of making the crew think they were together so they would leave him alone. The more Jim thought about it, the more he realized that all the things Spock had done tonight were for the same reason.

Jim had promised himself he would be alright with all of this being fake. But tasting what being with Spock could be, seeing how perfect they were together, only make the truth that they never would be all the more unbearable.

“Jim?” Spock stopped. “Has something disturbed you?”

He couldn’t do this.

Suddenly it felt like his heart was going to pound out of his chest or stop all together.

“I…” Jim didn’t dare look at Spock’s face. “I’m sorry. I need to go.”

Jim pushed through the crowd of very worried crew members and ran into the hallway. He didn’t stop running until he was back in his quarters, shutting and locking his door behind him.

Bones had been right; this had been a horrible idea.

He should have known that he would be incapable of doing this one thing for Spock without getting all his messy human emotions all over him. How was he going to look Spock in the eye ever again, let alone work with him. And what was he going to tell his crew? Everyone had just seen his little freak out.

Jim was starting to wonder if the admiralty would approve a transfer request for the reason of extreme embarrassment, but he pushed that from his mind.

He’d had a little freak out and that was okay, but it was time to clean up the mess. He would send a message to Spock’s link and tell him that he’d suddenly gotten sick. Too much alcohol or something he ate earlier in the day, hell he had enough allergies to blame it on, he’d find something. Jim was pretty sure he was going to end up throwing up soon anyway with the way his stomach was feeling at the moment so it wouldn’t be a complete lie. The rest of explanations he’d deal with tomorrow.

With a plan set, Jim straightened and turned to head towards his bathroom when he saw the dinner he had been meant to share with Spock. In his panic he’d forgotten about it, but it wasn’t the food that took his breath away. It was the large banner over the table, one that looked like something Jim had once seen in an old earth vid that said: Will you be my forever?

But why would?

There was a knock at the door and Spock’s voice. “May I come in, Captain?”

Jim hurried to open it, desperate for some explanation. “Did you make that?”

Spock looked at the banner Jim pointed at and nodded. “Yes, I had asked Dr. McCoy to set it up as a surprise for you after the Valentine’s Day party. Though I believe I made an error in waiting to present the banner until after the party rather than before. I miscalculated. I had not realized you thought our Valentine’s Day date was a ruse and therefore considered my advances insincere.”

“Wait? That was a real date?”

“Yes, Jim. I thought I had made that clear, but again, I must take responsibility for the misunderstanding. It is my fault for using less than honest means to coax you into requesting I be your Valentine to begin with. That was deceitful and unfair of me and led to the misunderstanding.”

Jim’s head was reeling here. He forced himself to sit down. “Spock, I think I’ve had enough to drink that this isn’t making sense to me. Can you please explain that again. What do you mean you coaxed me into asking you out?”

“Of course. I shall replay what happened chronologically. After the event of your death, I realized that my feelings for you ran deeper than any I had experienced before.”

That was way farther back than Jim thought Spock would go, but it touched something deep in him that kept Jim’s eyes glued on Spock’s. “You… you did?”

“Yes. Your death was the worst thing of which I have experienced in this lifetime. After your revival, I knew that I could no longer pursue a relationship with Nyota as my feelings for you were too important to me to ignore. Nyota took the news much better than I expected, in fact after a time, she was eager to help me in my pursuit of you. She suggested the Valentine’s Day party as an opportunity to make a move, as she put it. However, I did not trust that your feelings would match my own. I had hoped instead to find a way to encourage you to ask me should you have any such feelings for me. Uncertain how to do such a thing, a fellow science officer offered her help and arranged for the other members of the team to each ask me out. They said if you had any feelings yourself, you would be inspired to make your intentions known and you did.”

Now that Jim really thought about it, all the people he had seen asking Spock had been wearing blue shirts. He hadn’t even put two and two together to realize they were all science officers that worked with Spock. “And then I asked you to be my Valentine’s Day date.”

“Yes. I was most pleased to learn that our feelings were equal. When we touched, I felt the depth of your affection. I knew then that I wanted to be with you for more than a single night, which is what I planned to ask you tonight.”

Will you be my forever?

“You really want to be with me?” Jim asked.

“Yes Jim, in every way. Please accept my apology for not making my intentions known outright.”

Jim was laughing. “No, Spock. It’s alright. I was just so upset because I thought you would never return my feelings and knowing now that you do, none of that matters.” Reaching out, he held out his fingers for Spock to touch.

Spock instead took his whole hand and pulled Jim back into his arms. Closer than they had been while they were dancing. Their lips almost touching. “Allow me to make amends, Jim, for not showing you the affection you deserve.”

“Well,” Jim grinned. “If you must, Mr. Spock.” Leaning up onto his toes, Jim pressed his lips to Spock’s and Jim finally thought he knew what it felt like to experience the birth of a galaxy from the beautiful feeling that overcame him of their first kiss.