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afteriwake · 5 years ago

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The Paths We Take, Glittering And Entwined (1/? - A “The Paths We Take, Glittering And Entwined” Story)

So this is going to be the start of a series with the same name because I love this title, but basically, this is going to set up for an AU Star Trek 2009. Spock is a Captain, Kirk is an Ensign who will end up the First Officer, and they’re soulmates. Fair warning: in this story, Kirk is addicted to a drug that kills any human attempting to go through withdrawal, but that’s something most humans don’t know. Spock is going to save his life and this is the only story where he’ll be an addict, but it is a prominent theme in this particular story. I hope @greenskyoverme will forgive me because apparently I had chapter 2 and 3 both finished and could have posted them last year. ::sheepish look:: Sorry!

The Paths We Take, Glittering And Entwined - Before the new ship the USS Enterprise is set to take its maiden voyage, it's new captain, Captain Spock, attempts to meet some of his crew on their "home turf." What he and Ensign James Kirk do not expect, however, is the rare connection that makes Kirk Spock's bonded t'hy'la. But Kirk is hiding a secret that is slowly killing him, and this unexpected connection leaves them both with problems: for Spock, it is how to remain unattached in the face of a personal crisis and for Kirk, it is how to remain alive with the secret he is keeping from both his captain and his best friend.

“Stardate 2258.66. This is Captain Spock of the Starship Farragut. We are returning to port in San Francisco after a three-year voyage exploring the farthest reaches of the known galaxy. Starfleet Command has said that it is their wish to decommission this ship and reassign the crew to new ships in the fleet, and I will be given captainship of the newest ship in the fleet, the USS Enterprise. I am...unsure...how I feel about this situation. I must ponder it some more.”

Spock turned off the recording mechanism on which he did his logs and then looked at the place which he had called home for the last three years. Home was an unfamiliar concept to him; Vulcan was not home, and neither was earth. He was a child of two cultures, two planets, and as such fit wholly into neither. He had essentially turned his back on Vulcan by choosing to go to Starfleet Academy and had, within five years, become the youngest Captain on record, surprising absolutely no one, it had seemed. His mother had been pleased. His father, he had not been sure about.

He would rather have not told them, he thought, but it was proper. It was, he supposed, an honor to have the youngest Captain in history as your son, but then, Starfleet was not too aware of Vulcan culture, and only one-half of his family was human.

He had always done his work with due diligence. He knew he was not everyone’s favorite captain, but he had no need to be. What he cared most about was doing his job, and doing it within the rules set forth by the Prime Directive. He cared about keeping his crew safe. He cared about keeping his ship in one piece.

And he cared about his duties above all else, it seemed, even himself.

He had bonded with no one on his crew, and as such he would not be sorry to see any of them leave his command. Perhaps it would be best if he had an entirely new crew. Perhaps he could study in depth the last three years and see where improvements could be made. Learn and improve. That was always his way.

He reached over for the paper logs he also kept. While technology was a marvelous thing, he did not entirely trust it. There was some comfort to pen and paper. For three years he had dutifully recorded is thoughts, some of which had not made official logs, and he went to the ones which were the earliest from this voyage. There was some time until they arrived in San Francisco and he would have to supervise the deboarding. He could begin his process of revisiting the past and improving upon it.

---

“Bones, did you see? We both made the Enterprise crew!” James Kirk was nearly bouncing up and down with giddiness. Well, maybe not giddiness. It could be the aftereffect of his last bump of KCW. He usually felt pretty upbeat after he had some, and generally pretty shitty when he hadn’t. If it hadn’t been for that wonder drug he swore he never would have managed to make it through the Academy, not while trying to balance a social life and other responsibilities on top of it.

He’d tried for years to make his mom proud. For years to show her he wasn’t a screw-up, wasn’t a mistake. His dad had died when he was a baby, his brother had high-tailed it out of there when he was old enough to survive on his own, his uncle...well, the less said about him the better. And while his mom had gone off and traveled the stars Jim had stayed in Iowa and tried to just survive and be good for as long as he could, but eventually, he’d said to hell with it. And he’d made mistakes. Made more than he could remember until he’d been given the choice: jail or Starfleet.

It had only been because someone liked him he met Bones his first day. Leonard McCoy was no stranger to a crap life, and they’d bonded. Bones was more or less a straight arrow, though he had his vices, and he tried to guide Jim as best he could, with some moderate success. They’d made it through the Academy just in time to get placed on the newly commissioned Enterprise, under a returning Captain from one of the ships that was being decommissioned. He’d heard about the Captain, Spock. Supposed to be a tight-ass but fair. You didn’t mess around with him but he’d make sure you were okay.

Could be worse, he supposed.

Bones rolled his eyes. “Look, Jim, we gotta talk.” He grabbed Kirk’s arm mid bounce and pulled him to a shady grove of trees in the quad, looking around to make sure no one was nearby, and then pushed Kirk to something resembling a sitting position. “Just because that crank you take doesn’t show up on piss tests doesn’t mean I’m going to cover for you forever if you’re still taking it when this mission starts.”

“I can stop anytime I want,” Kirk said, with an indulgent shrug, but his fingers started tapping nervously against his leg. The very idea of quitting was just not appealing in the slightest, even though he knew this mission was five years in deep space and he had no idea if there was any way he could take that much KCW aboard or if he could get more once they left Federation space. The very thought of it all was making the euphoria of his hit ebb away like the water draining out of a tub.

“That’s bull and you know it,” Bones said, starting to pace. “You’ve been on this crap since day 1 when I met you. Do you even eat anymore? I mean really eat? I can’t think of the last time I saw you eat an actual meal of real food. And don’t think you’re going to have unlimited supplies of water like you do now, or get to take a bathroom break anytime you need. It’s not going to be like the Academy.” He shook his head. “I should rat you out. You know I should.”

“Don’t!” Kirk said, scrambling to his feet. “You know I need to go on this mission. I need to go out into space.” He reached over and put his hands on Bones’s shoulders. “You know it’s important.”

Bones stared into the eyes of his friend. “You need to get help, Jim,” he said, his voice soft but insistent. “You don’t kick this habit by the time the mission starts, I will tell the Captain. Got it?”

Kirk nodded, willing to agree to anything to get on that damn ship. “Fine. I’ll do it. Okay?” He could. He really could. He could kick the habit. He hadto, now. Bones wasn’t the type to make idle threats.

He just hoped it didn’t kill him in the process.

#star trek aos #spirk #kirk x spock #fanfic #fanfiction #spock #james kirk #Leonard McCoy #multipart: the paths we take glitering and entwined #my au: the paths we take glittering and entwined

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