#captain pike x y/n

[g0thc0re420]

Soulmates AU! Growing Pains: Leonard McCoy x Reader

Word Count: 17, 923

CW: age gap! slow burn, cursing, smut (choking), mentions death of parent. Dr. kink.

Synopsis: Maybe this was what you needed. A change of scenery, hopefully a reassignment to some other foreign planet where you could collect more samples. You rubbed the inside of your wrist. Another heartbreak, so far, the worst one of your Starfleet days. Taking a peek just to reassure yourself the mark was still there, still not yet able to make out the half image fully, you dropped your head and sighed. Maybe you were late. You had been in Starfleet practically from birth. Your mom was one of the best captains in recent Starfleet history, or depending on who you asked, she had already found her place amongst the greats, and in some instances even giving Admiral Pike a run for his money. You only hoped you could live up to what she had always imagined for you. You quickly pulled down your sleeve and stood, soulmate be damned, the stars waited for no one.

You traveled through the ranks of Starfleet quickly, as to be expected, and currently stood in front of Admiral Pike's office. You had no idea what this meeting could be about. You were on shore leave from your current assignment and you were hoping to be able to sleep in sometime this next week. You quickly shook those thoughts from your head as you raised your hand to gingerly knock on the door. Stifling your nerves, still feeling like you had been sent to the principal's office. 

“Come in,” called from the other side of the door and you took a breath to steady yourself. Entering the office you were taken aback to see a head of jet black hair already sitting in front of the Admiral. Waiting for his gesture before sitting, the two of you are too close for the formalities of Starfleet at this moment.

“I understand you’re on shore leave at the moment so we’ll make this quick. The USS Enterprise is getting ready to leave on a 7 year voyage, and Commander Spock has apparently waited until this very moment to choose his right hand,” You must have looked extremely confused considering the subtle taken aback look on Spock’s face. 

“I’ve kept quite an eye on you since you joined the Academy.” Spock finally spoke, and you allowed yourself to turn and look at him. “You hold a doctorate in botanical sciences and you wrote your dissertation on how we could take Hippomane mancinella and from removing one gene make a non-poisonous twin that could be used to restore coastal plains.” Spock paused for a second, glancing at Admiral Pike before continuing. “You are also my best friend, and I care very deeply for you. I hope you know that I have chosen you because you are the most logical choice for the job.”

You could feel a flush of heat spread rapidly across your face, slightly bowing your head towards him, “Thank you Commander Spock.” The slight twitch in the corner of his mouth was all you needed. 

“You also made Lt. Commander this year, you’re 24, certainly one of the youngest we’ve had in the current history of Starfleet,” Admiral Pike spoke again.

You looked back at him and cleared your throat, sitting up straighter in your chain, “Youngest to make Lt. Commander in the last 25 years,” a weight sat heavy on your chest as the sentence left your mouth. The real reason for your hesitation. 

“(Y/N) do you even realize how proud she would be of you even if you never joined Starfleet? You have her brains and her heart, and based on what I’ve heard from Spock here you’ve gotten one over on him more than once during sparring exercises.” 

“How long do I have to pack?” 

Three days later, you were before Spock once again. This time in an office of your own and quickly falling into a comfortable silence with the vulcan by your side. Both of your heads buried in your PADDS as you both had to finalize a few remaining documents and double check all incoming reports. You were tasked with helping Spock give out the assignments to everyone who stepped foot on the Enterprise. You painted a smile on your face and made sure everyone was where they were supposed to go. Noticing that your line was dwindling down you looked around for Spock, wanting to double check nothing else remained on your part before the USS Enterprise took off on her adventure. 

“(Y/N)?” A voice behind you half screamed your name and as you spun around your sights quickly fell on Nyota Uhura. You double checked that no one needed your assistance before sprinting over to her and enveloping her in a hug. “I thought you were away!”

“Admiral Pike called me back. I’ve been reassigned.” 

Her eyes widened as she stepped away from you in shock, “No way!” You frantically nodded as she let out an overjoyed squeal while dancing in place, “Thank god I'll at least have you for the next 7 years.”

After making a lap around the ship to make sure there were no stragglers you met Spock again, this time quickly falling in stride beside him and heading to the bridge. Quickly you were introduced to several faces you had never seen, before your eyes fell onto the man sitting in the Captain’s chair. 

A soft smirk fell on his face as he stepped toward you and pulled you into a hug, “Welcome aboard (Y/N). It’s good to have you home.” 

You pulled away from him, suddenly conscious of how many people were watching the interaction. “Thank you Captain. It’s good to be here.” Moving back to stand behind Spock you stifled the feeling of embarrassment that crept up within you. What would everyone think of you after that interaction? He was your boss. 

Pulling out your PADD you read through a couple new reports that had started filing in while waiting for James to finish his speech and by the end of his rambling when Spock looked at his PADD all he needed to do was skim the documents and provide a signature. As he went to comment on the way you gave clear and concise instructions in response to any remaining questions in the correspondence he noticed you were already gone and there was no trace of you on the bridge.

Moments later Spock found you, already diving head deep into the research you couldn’t wait to explore and prepping the built in greenhouse for any future plants that could cause significant problems.

“I see we are quick to begin our work,” Spock mused, hands behind his back as he stepped into what was now a barren tin can. 

“Yes!” You quickly stood from the container you were mixing starter soil in, “If we get to our next destination alive I want to be prepared,” You took a small step closer to Spock, lowering your voice hoping that no one else would hear. “I apologize for leaving the bridge so abruptly earlier. When Captain Kirk hugged me it made me extremely uncomfortable.”

“I understand the sentiment as I also do not fare well to public displays of affection.” Spock gave you that vulcan half smile again before walking over to where you previously were and picking up a pair of gloves.

*******************************

6 months in and Leonard was pissed. You had been a thorn in his side for 34 days now. For the last month he had tried hunting you down, but he didn’t even know where to start looking. Why did the enterprise even need a botanist? It was just one more patient that tested the remaining patience he had left. “Dammit Jim you promised me I would have (Y/N)’s physical exam done by the end of the week!” 

“I was just calling about that, if you want that done you’re going to have to make a house call.”

“Now why would I do that?”

“Because I might have not told them anything about being late for any sort of physical just to mess with you.”

Leonard sighed before bringing both hands up to his temples. 6 months in and he could already confirm he was going to die of a stroke. Jim was going to speed up that process tenfold if he continued with antics like this. There was some sort of virus going around the ship right now, he didn’t need to be making calls to random personal quarters. 

“When I get my hands on you.”

“Thank me later , Bones.” Leonard could hear the devious smile Jim held on his face through the comm and couldn’t help but instinctually roll his eyes as he was then told the two locations he could find you. Checking the time he was certain he would be able to find you at your quarters. He entered the turbolift and in his anger almost ran into Spock.

“Doctor.” Spock gave a subtle nod of acknowledgement.

“Commander.” The air was stiff around them. McCoy, not too sure why he didn’t like the Vulcan, maybe it was the coldness. He was so still in everything down to his breathing. Almost the complete opposite of the way a human reacts.

A lightbulb went off when he suddenly remembered that Spock was a science officer, the blue shirt had been in front of him multiple times this week and Leonard hadn’t made the connection until this very awkward moment.

“Commander Spock, one of the science officers, is late for their physical exam. I tried recruiting the Captain for his help in informing them, but apparently he’s just been playing games with me the entire time. Would you happen to know where I could find Lt. Commander (Y/L/N)?”

He didn’t miss the way the Vulcan’s eyebrows raised as he lifted his head from whatever he was reading on his PADD. Looking maybe a little too close, Leonard could see an almost quizzical look appear on Spock's face. “That is very unlike (Y/N). Some days I fear they may run a tighter schedule than me.” Spock only half spoke the latter sentence aloud, mostly musing to himself. Spock looked at the floor level the confused doctor chose and almost felt pity. Has Leonard McCoy really not met you yet? The thought was somewhat incredulous to Spock. You had to be the clumsiest human he had ever met. Sober you was almost as bad as an inebriated Jim. 

“You’re not going to find them in their personal quarters. I would start at the research library, if you don’t find (Y/N) there, go to the greenhouse.” The turbolift opened and Spock gracefully stepped out, “I wish you the best of luck Dr. McCoy.”

After getting somewhat lost from the library, Leonard finally found the greenhouse. He stopped at the door, not knowing what sort of protocol to follow, so he rapped on the door with the back of his knuckles. There was a moment of silence before he heard you call out.

“Come in,” The first thing Leonard saw when he stepped in was a giant computer system running a constant stream of intel from the plants you had collected on surface missions already. From soil hydrations, pH of the soil, humidity in different areas of the greenhouse. He looked around before seeing a pair of blue pants to his left and there you were, almost completely bent over. He didn’t even notice the trough like planter you were currently digging to the bottom of, all he could focus on was the way those blue pants clung to your body. From the roundness of your ass, his eyes trailed down to your thighs, further down to where your pants just ever so slightly flared at your calves.

“Need some help there Darlin’?

Your head quickly popped out of the planter, the blush you were currently experiencing, exacerbated the redness of regaining blood flow to your head again. Leonard felt his heart skip, his eyes grazed over you before he cleared his throat, “Are you Lt. Commander (Y/L/N)?”

“Yes I am, may I ask-”

“Leonard McCoy, CMO.” he stated gruffly before you could even finish your question, trying to push down the reaction he felt when he made eye contact with you. He didn’t need to feel anything for anyone right now. He had a job to do dammit and that job didn’t involve any sort of personal relationships.

“Oh.” You briefly looked down at your feet, the solid exterior slightly putting you off after the semi-sweet first impression he had going for him. “Well, if the CMO had to come all the way down to the greenhouse for me then it must be important. How can I be of service?” You moved closer to him, away from all the plants, and suddenly he could smell the florals on you. 

Oh god. Leonard definitely didn’t want to answer that last question. The imagine of you bent over that ungodly sized planter was almost enough to do him in. He didn’t know what was going on with him. “You’re late for your 6 month physical, and typically I wouldn’t hunt down a patient over something like this but you’re over a month late and you’re the last one.”

“A month?” You had to keep yourself from screeching, “I am so sorry. I can be up there first thing tomorrow morning? What time would you like me to be at med bay?”

Leonard scoffed, “Are you serious?”

“Very much so. Why would you think that I wasn’t being serious?” You looked up at him, before sitting at your desk and pulling up your schedule. “I’m assuming that 0600 is probably too early,” and Leonard couldn’t agree more, he would need to be wide awake when dealing with you. “I’ll be having my lunch around 1300 tomorrow, does that time work with you Doctor?”

Leonard felt a hitch in his breathing at the use of his title. Breathing has never been this hard for him, even when he thought he was head over heels for Jocelyn, “T-that works just fine with me, and I promise not to take up your entire lunch.”

“I’ll hold you to that Doc.” you winked at him and he watched as you added the appointment into your daily schedule. Leonard cleared his throat once again and quickly turned, leaving you back in the serene peace of the greenhouse. Realizing the time you started packing up your things, making your rounds through the nursery and checking all the levels one more time just to be safe.

***********************

Leonard had a hard time sleeping. You had a 3 minute conversation and yet you were now consuming his dreams. He kept getting pieces of what he saw last night flooding his mind as he had down time in med bay.

Checking your pulse he couldn’t ignore the feeling of your heartbeat increasing ever so slightly. “You sure you’re feeling okay Darlin.?” He couldn’t help but notice the blush that spread across your skin, covering your cheeks and nose. 

His fingers still resting on your carotid, you looked up at him from the examination bed you were currently sitting on, your eyes wide and playful, “I’m not too sure Dr. McCoy, that’s why I came to see you.”

“Is that right?” Leonard mused as he held eye contact with you, his hand slowly moving to grasp your neck, his thumb gently brushing against your lower lip-

“Bones!” Leonard was snapped out of relishing his dreams by Jim, yelling his name and flapping around his arms like he was on fire. Truth be told he didn’t even see his best friend walk in.

“Jim, what is so important that you had to come and bother me during the middle of the day?”

Jim softly slumped in the chair in front of his friend, feigning hurt at the abrupt shutdown of his antics. “So, did you make that house call?” Jim couldn’t help the smile that crept on his face. Being close to the both of you only made it easier for Jim to plan the beginning of his plan. 

Leonard hummed to himself, mulling over the question his friend had asked, “I did, in fact the Lt. Commander agreed to come in for their physical exam later today.” Leonard released almost a half smile as he thought of seeing you again.

“That's all?” Jim had stared at the man before him bewildered. “Bones! I was trying to set you up together! You’d be perfect for each other, and you never know, (Y/N) could be your-”

Leonard could already see where Jim was going with this and he didn’t need another lecture on his love life from Jim, “You know I’ve given up on that, besides…”

“Besides?” Jim waved his hand in the air, trying to coax the last of the sentence out of him.

“She’s only 24, Jim,” he lowered his voice, “What would everyone think of me? They’d never let me speak at the Academy again!”

“Bones, she’s a grown woman who can make her own decisions. Even if nothing happens between the two of you, you could still use another friend. I mean when I’m all you got,” Jim grimaced and shook his head. “It must be rough for you.”

“Thank you for that Jim. Now please, leave my office.” Leonard started on the paperwork he had waiting for him, not even really minding if Jim stayed, as long as he dropped the subject of you.

“Yeah, it probably is time for me to be somewhere else. I’m serious Bones, Maybe just try and get to know (Y/N) outside of the med bay. I think you’d be in for a pleasant surprise.”

Leonard couldn’t help but roll his eyes, ignoring the pit in his stomach as the scenes of you unburied themselves in his mind.

*******************

As much as you tried to focus on the report in front of you, you couldn’t help but think of the gruff doctor who visited you last night. The goosebumps that covered your body whenever he maintained eye contact with you made you want to jump him. A shiver rolled down your back as you were reminded of the southern drawl that hung in the air after he called you that damned nickname. Darlin’. Sighing you ran a hand down your face, trying anything to pull your thoughts away from the doctor who made a special late night trip just for you. 

“(Y/N) is everything okay?” Spock was now in front of your desk.

You let a tired smile hang on your lips and you rolled your eyes as the vulcan was still trying to decipher what human emotion you were feeling, “Just feeling a little worn down with the pace I’ve been holding the past couple months. I should probably try to slow down sooner than later.”

“Did Dr. McCoy find you last night?” Spock was now staring intently as you almost choked on the sip of coffee you were trying to enjoy. 

“I didn’t even know I missed the physical exam, how did you?” You stared back with the same intensity as your vulcan friend, before he finally caved.

“He almost ran over me getting on the turbolift looking for you. Apparently Captain Kirk was supposed to inform you it was due and Dr. McCoy suggested the captain had been avoiding telling you just get one over on our Chief Medical Officer.”

“Sounds like something James would do,” you ended the conversation and Spock was almost at the door before you spoke up again, “Commander Spock, I was hoping to take a few personal days at the end of this week. I can make sure everything is set and running on its own, but it’s…” you hesitated, not wanting to say the words out loud. It was crazy to you, still being affected by a day like this. To everyone else but you, two days from now would just be a regular work day. You cleared your throat, wanting to try to make it through the sentence without unleashing too many human emotions on the vulcan you held near and dear. Forgetting that if anyone understood what you were feeling, it would be Spock. “It’s her birthday.”

“I understand Lt. Commander. I also have times where the pain seems all too fresh. Your personal days are granted,  just send them to me in a formal request so we have the documentation.” You nodded your head in agreement, double checking the time, you were surprised just how fast it passed, and if you hurried, you could bring a coffee for the doctor.

Walking into med bay you held the hot coffee in your hand and smiled at the nurse who greeted you, you recognized her as Nurse Chapel, she did the exams for your transfer to the USS Enterprise. “I have an appointment with Dr. McCoy.” 

She smiled at you from the sign in desk and handed you a PADD to start filling out some general information on. “I am sure glad to see you Lt. Commander, Dr. McCoy has been going a little bit overboard trying to make sure everyone’s physicals are up to date. You’re the last one left.”

“Well hopefully once this is over Dr. McCoy can finally find something to help him relax.” You smiled at her as you handed the PADD back, she led you to a quiet exam room and assured you that the doctor would be in to see you in just a few minutes. You could feel the slight downward pull at the corners of your mouth as you glanced at the cup in your hand. “Please let Dr. McCoy know not to keep me waiting too long, unless he enjoys cold coffee.” Nurse Chapel laughed before patting your hand and walking out of the room.

You didn’t like med bay, hospitals, or anything that had to do with patching people up and hoping you’re fixing them. The white sterile room bringing up feelings of uneasiness. You looked around, setting the coffee down next to the PADD that was already in the room and taking a seat on the exam room bed. Sitting on the edge with your legs dangling you watched the clock on the wall tick. 

After two minutes of staring at the clock on the wall your comm went off. “Lt. Commander (Y/L/N)?”

You knew what it was, you had been eating lunch with Spock every day for the last 6 months. “I’m still in med bay, my appointment was until 1300 so I’m here just a little bit early. I promise as soon as i’m done here-”

Your voice faded out as Leonard walked into the room. “I’ll let you know when I am done in med bay Commander Spock.” Your eyes locked with Leonard as he stood in the doorway to the exam room, politely waiting for you to finish your conversation. Once he had your full attention you looked back at him giving a sheepish smile as he walked into the room. “I made you a coffee. It’s a flat white.” You gave a soft sigh as you revel in your thoughts for a moment. 

Leonard took in a breath when he saw the perfect white dot sitting in the caramel colored foam. “Flat whites are my favorite,” he turned to you as he took the first sip of his coffee. You were sure you were still in a dream when you saw the corners of Leonard's eyes scrunch, followed by a deep hum in his chest. Your eyes flicked down to his torso, admiring how the blue shirt clung to his broad shoulders. Following the lines of his body down you watched how his chest flexed as he turned to reach for the PADD behind him. 

“So, it says here you’re a month due for a physical exam. You’ve been on several away missions in the last 6 months, if you keep going at this pace you’re probably going to have to get a physical every 3 months.”

You couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle, quickly apologizing once you saw the frown reappear on his face, “My apologies Doctor, it was just funny to me how I mentioned to Commander Spock that I needed to slow down. I’m not as spry as I was in my academy days.” 

Leonard couldn’t help but let out a deep laugh at your comment, “(Y/N) you’re 24, you’re still young and spry.”

“Dr. McCoy I was officially accepted into Starfleet Academy at 12, I have a PhD in botanical sciences and I’m the youngest person to achieve the rank of Lt. Commander in the last 25 years. I haven’t slowed down. I cut my month long shore leave down to 3 days to be transferred from the USS Scovil to the Enterprise. How many away missions have I been on?”

“43,”

“That’s 7 a month for the last 6 months. Honestly, Spock is surprised I didn’t end up down here sooner.”

“So am I, some of those away missions ended up hostile, how did you just dip under the radar?” Leonard was now taking the time to read through most of the reports on file for you. He didn’t even realize you had been on any of these, without any checkups in between.

“My mom was Captain (Y/M/N) (Y/L/N).” The prestige of her name floated through the room and you watched as Leonard took what brief information he had about you and put the pieces together, “I’ve been training in hand to hand combat since I could walk. I am perfectly capable of defending myself with every weapon on this ship. I’ve taken on Spock and won.”

Leonard was now standing in front of you, gently pressing his fingers to your neck, staring at the watch he still wore on his wrist, “What’s the deal with you guys anyway? Ya know the people on this ship don’t know how to keep anything to themselves, they like to whisper.”

“You should have heard what they were saying about Jim and I after he hugged me on the bridge in front of everyone,” you wanted to sigh at the feeling of his skin on yours, a tingling sensation seemed to linger wherever he touched you, “With Spock it’s different. We both have the same mark, like matching same sides, not opposite sides. One night I was studying for the Academy and prepping for my dissertation. I had a few and ended up laying on my balcony outside pondering the woes of life. It was the first time Spock told me I was his best friend, and I made a stupid joke about how we were halfmates. That was 5 years ago.” A fond giggle fell from your lips as Leonard removed his fingers. 

He pulled out his tricorder and started scanning you, “I know it’s weird for people to see a vulcan and a human so close, but that night Spock explained to me that finding someone with the same mark as you was almost as rare as finding your soulmate.”

A scoff fell out of the doctor’s mouth as he motioned for you to lay back, pulling out a hologram screen to run a full body scan, “You actually believe in all that bullshit?”

You could feel a blush creeping up your neck, you felt like you were on fire under his hazel gaze, “Yeah. My parents were, and from what I remember they were always so happy, my dad never remarried. He was her #1.  On and off the ship. I see the same thing in the way Spock and Uhura look at each other when the other isn’t looking. I hear the way Sulu talks about his husband. Besides,” you waved your hand in the air, needed to catch your breath as the doctor held your gaze, “They’re a soulmate, if I don’t find them in this lifetime, I’ll find them in the next.”

You wanted to disappear, watching the look on Leonard’s face morph ever so slightly into a different emotion as you explained yourself. You couldn’t help yourself from flickering your eyes down to his slightly parted lips. Never have you ever wanted to kiss someone as badly as you wanted to reach up and kiss Dr. McCoy right now.

“I guess I’ve never thought of it like that,” Leonard spoke his thoughts out loud while he looked at the reports that had generated in front of him. “I was married, she wasn’t my soulmate, but I loved her. Thought she loved me too. I think she did at one point, but from what I’ve heard, nothing’s the same after you meet “the one.”” Leonard placed air quotes and he turned to look at you, “You’re clear to go. Everything looks great.”

You sat up and Leonard offered a hand to help you down, “Thank you for the coffee, I’ve dreamt of having a coffee that good since we’ve been on this floating tin can.”

You couldn’t help but let a smile grace your features, “Thank you, it feels really great to be complimented on something that doesn’t revolve around my work  for the Federation.”

“Anytime Darlin’” Leonard let go of your hand to open the door, leading you back out to the med bay waiting area.

“I guess I’ll see you in 6 months,” you couldn’t help how your smile slightly faltered as you realized your time with Dr. McCoy was coming to an end.

“If you go on that away mission next week, then I expect to see you much sooner than that.” His eyes scanned your features, his hand still resting on the small of your back.

Thankfully the waiting room was empty and even though it was your second time meeting this man all you could think about was how intoxicating he was. His eyes seemed to drink you up, he smelled like whiskey and spice, like cinnamon and anise, and your back, it was still tingling from where his hand last rested. “Then I promise you will see me sooner than six months, Doctor.” Noticing how Leonard seemed like you hit the pause button after you used the title, it almost looked as if he was short-circuiting. 

You glanced at the time, noticing you only had half of your lunch hour left. Spock! You stepped away from Leonard and smoothed out your uniform. “Thank you for taking the time to see me today, and for informing me last night,” You gave him a soft smile, “Maybe I can bring you another coffee sometime.” 

Your nerves grew as you watched Leonard fold his arms over his chest before you saw a twinkle in his eye, “I think I would like that very much.”

“Great! Sounds like a date!” You called over your shoulder, you didn’t see the way Leonard flinched at the word ‘date, or the way he stared after you for a couple seconds longer than he should have.

**********************************

4 months later and you now had a pretty solid routine going, you and Leonard were spending more time together, mostly due to you. Every Friday morning you would meet him in his office, coffee in hand and the two of you would sit and talk about work, while you approved reports from the following night. This was an easy transition for you, and on fridays you couldn’t meet, it almost felt like you were going through withdrawals until you saw him again.

This Friday was different. The previous night you ended up spiking a fever along with a few other symptoms like chills and nausea. Spock knew you didn’t like the med bay but he also trusted you enough to know he wouldn’t need to restrain and carry you up to med bay, unlike the Captain. So he sent you away and let you know to contact him in the morning about how you were feeling.

From the second you opened your eyes it felt like someone had laid a 50lb dumbbell on your skull. All lights and sound hurt, even the dim lights around the floor in your cabin had you digging around, looking for a pair of sunglasses. You reached for your comm, “Commander Spock, are you awake?”

“Lt Commander, you know you can call me Spock when we are off duty.” There was a brief moment of silence before he started speaking again, “(Y/N) why are you whispering?”

“I have a migraine, and while my fever is gone for now, the nausea hasn’t subsided at all. I’m calling out sick today.” You chuckled as you reminisced the last time you fell ill during the course of your friendship with Spock. It was the week before you graduated with your PhD, he didn’t believe it when you didn’t show up to class at the Academy. He came home, expecting you to be out, prematurely celebrating your success. Instead he found you quite literally on death’s door. Meningitis, you had ignored the symptoms for about a week, something that Spock continuously lectured you on during your multiple day stent in the ICU. 

“If it gets any worse, I promise I will have you come drag me to med bay if need be.” It took all you could not to wince while you tried to smile at Spock through your comm, hoping he could hear the smile in your voice and not worry too much.

“I look forward to your recovery (Y/N), I don’t know how long I can handle Jim by myself.” The vulcan let out a very human sigh, and you felt a twinge of guilt roll through you as Spock went silent on the other end. 

“I promise Spock, I’m not going to let a migraine and some small stomach bug take me out. I’m resilient.” You turned off your comm before pulling the sunglasses off and laying back down in your bed, already exhausted just from walking across the room. You slowly sank back into your sheets, pulling both a pillow over your eyes and your comforter past your head, trying to drown out any ray of light that could attempt to sneak in.

******************

Leonard was becoming worried, you weren’t ever late for your friday coffee meetings. That’s what Leonard considered them. Meetings, you sat together, always drinking a new drink or new coffee from some of the friendlier planets in the solar system. Leonard was amazed when you told him about the multiple coffee plants you had in the greenhouse, hoping to one day be able to cultivate them. They were meetings, always revolving about what the other did the previous week or what new thing was currently bogging down your workload. Leonard was a gentleman, he wouldn’t consider the friday morning coffee ritual as a date, he had never formally asked you on a date, and at this point it was clear to him you didn’t seem very interested in taking this friendship any further than that. Just friends.

He debated walking back out into the waiting area to see if you were there. You didn’t even sign in on Fridays anymore, after the first couple weeks you would just walk into his office, coffee in hand, PADD tucked to your side. His thoughts were brought back to the conversation you had last week.

“Morning,” You greeted as you walked into his office, Leonard immediately noticed you looked off. Leonard didn’t know if he could tell because he was trained in recognizing the signs of when someone was sick or if he had just been around you enough to notice the subtle differences. You hair was thrown into a low bun, you seemed to be more slouched and you looked as if you were walking through mud. 

“Mornin’ Darlin’” Leonard echoed your sentiment back as you pulled one of the chairs from in front of his desk so you were sitting right beside him. A yawn pulled itself from you as you sat the mugs down on the desk. 

“It’s hot chocolate today,” you looked down at your hands, suddenly bashful at the thought of disappointing him with no coffee in sight, “I just don’t think I can handle the caffeine today, it’s practically the only thing I’ve consumed the past 4 days and I wanted something to make me feel better,” you were almost whispering at the end of your sentence. 

Leonard wrapped his arm around you as laid your head on his shoulder, finding solace in the crook of his neck. You were so still and quiet he could have convinced himself you had fallen asleep if it weren’t for the feeling of your eyelashes brushing the exposed skin of his neck every couple of seconds. He noticed how pale you looked, the dark circles forming under your eyes. 

He wanted to lecture you about taking care of yourself. You should know how much sleep you should be getting, but he couldn’t bring himself to say anything. He knew it wasn’t what you needed. He was okay being your comfort at this moment, Lord knows you’ve done it plenty of times for him. Sneaking into his quarters after hours to listen to him rant after a particularly long day, He fell asleep on your lap once, he awoke to a note from you. It was an emergency, some ensign removed the wrong plant from the nursery and potentially exposed the entire staff in the greenroom to a noxious gas the plant emitted when it wasn’t mature enough to be transferred out of the nursery.

“Len,” You mumbled against his neck. He couldn’t help the way his heart swelled at the nickname. He hummed in response to you, “I grew the cocoa beans used to make that hot chocolate and if you don’t drink it I might actually cry from exhaustion. He couldn’t help the involuntary chuckle that bubbled out of him. He grabbed his mug as you sat up again, taking a sip, it was the best hot chocolate he had ever had the pleasure of drinking. He watched as you pulled out your PADD, checking the cameras in the greenhouse, before standing abruptly. 

“I have to go. I’m so sorry but if that ensign is about do what I think he’s doing then I could lose almost a year's worth of research!” You moved so fast you forgot all about the hot chocolate, leaving your favorite mug on his desk. 

Leonard still had the mug, he hadn’t been able to find an appropriate time to drop by your quarters to return it, but he also didn’t want to intrude on your work. You always made sure to come in before the med bay opened and unless you were getting back from an away mission, you didn’t hang around the med bay waiting for the chance of a quiet moment with Leonard. It was quite pleasant for him actually. Knowing that you could both go off and do your jobs, before reconnecting with each other gave him confidence in your relationship, friendship. He means friendship. 

Leonard wiped the tired from his eyes once again before stepping out of his office. Ready to take on the day, his light just slightly dulled this morning without his ball of sunshine bounding through the door before his work had to begin. Today was going to be a long day. He grimaced, his frown deepening and the lines on his forehead etching themselves a permanent figure of the day. 

**************************

It was finally lunch time, and Leonard had made up his mind hours before that he was going to use his lunchtime wisely and find you. His first stop was the green house, a couple of science officers were around as well as a handful of ensigns. He had walked the perimeter of the greenhouse, not finding you anywhere, not that he needed to look. Most of the time he just knew if you were somewhere. He was always able to find you. Even at the lavish holiday party the captain held for everyone Leonard was able to find you within minutes. He stayed by your side the whole night. He even danced with you a couple of times.

Lost in his thoughts he didn’t notice he caught the attention of Commander Spock until it was too late. “Dr. McCoy, is there anything I can help you with?” 

McCoy had a sinking feeling in his gut when he lifted his head up and saw Spock sitting at your desk, reading down a thorough check list to be completed by the end of the day. “I’m just looking for (Y/N). We usually do coffee in the morning on Fridays but they didn’t show up today. At all. Usually they’ve already contacted me and we would have rescheduled.” Leonard was still unsure how much he could trust the Vulcan so he wasn’t willing to go into further detail than that.

“(Y/N) has told me about the early morning rendezvous with you. They greatly appreciate them.” Spock straightened himself, separating the emotions from the conversation. “Lt. Commander (Y/L/N) is sick. I sent them to their quarters yesterday after they developed a fever. Today they told me their symptoms were a migraine and nausea. They are extremely prone to migraines, most days the Lt. Commander can just work through them,”

“(Y/N) is sick?” It’s not that Leonard didn’t believe the vulcan but he had even seen Spock sick during this last year on the ship, but you hadn’t even visited med bay once with even a case of the sniffles. Hell, because of Jim, even he had to be quarantined at least once in the last three months, “Any other symptoms I need to know about?”

“Not that I am aware of Dr. McCoy. However it seems the Lt. Commander’s migraines have become slightly more frequent in the last couple of months.”

Leonard took a mental note of what the vulcan was saying and his next mission was to get to your quarters. He had noticed last week you didn’t look like your usual self, now he was kicking himself for not pushing you to get checked out. He let his emotions for you get the better of him and he just focused on finding you. He was the CMO. He shouldn't be letting romantic emotions cloud his judgment when it comes to patient care.

Arriving at your door, Leonard gave a brief knock, waiting in the silence of the corridor to hear you call out, but there was no response, he tried his comm, “Lt. Commander (Y/L/N), Commander Spock informed me you were sick, I’m here to just make sure you’re doing okay.” No response, remembering the last time your comm went silent, a shudder ran through Leonard. 

Another away mission, Jim said he confirmed the planet was abandoned, the only forms of life the Enterprise found were plant and animal life. Of course that turned out to not be the case and soon everything went to shit. Leonard already had his hands full with red shirts needing stitched up when everything stopped. 

Jim and Sulu bust through the med bay doors, your limp body being held up by the two of them, “She was walking just a few seconds ago, but now she’s limp!” He watched Jim’s pleading eyes flickering around for anyone who was available to help. Spock was following behind and when it seemed like Jim and Sulu were about to lose their battle with supporting your dead weight, Spock stepped in and scooped you up. Cradling you in his arms like a child.

Leonard couldn’t do anything for the first 30 seconds, watching the way your body just hung there, no movement from you except the extremely quick and labored breathing you were exhibiting. He fully didn’t know what he was doing until he just left the red shirt sitting in front of him, having one of the nurses continue the stitches he was currently working on. When he finally reached you, it was hard to determine what blood was yours and what wasn’t.

Spock laid you on the closest open bed and Leonard began scanning you, with not only his tricorder but his eyes as well. He placed two fingers on your neck and closed his eyes, ignoring the tingling that started small in his fingertips and worked its way up his arm. Your pulse was strong and the sense of relief Leonard felt was strong enough to clear his head, though he still had to focus to not drop to his knees. 

Looking at the PADD with your scans, he had to have looked visibly confused, because both Spock and Jim had tried to peek over his shoulder to read your medical information on the device in his hand. “She has no external injuries, and I can’t find any internal bleeding. What happened out there?”

Jim spoke first, “It was an ambush, they were waiting to show themselves until we hit the ground. (Y/N) had already made a break for the treeline, she was looking for a specific plant. They came out of nowhere, and Scotty was trying to beam us all out but he couldn’t get a steady signal on (Y/N). They were engaged in battle, 3 on 1. It didn’t stop until she-” Jim suddenly stopped his account of what happened on the foreign planet, almost too afraid to finish his sentence. 

“We were finally able to get a steady signal and beamed them to the transporter, only after Lt, Commander (Y/L/N) had been thrown into a tree,” Spock finished for the Captain.

“I could have taken them if Scotty and Chekov hadn’t been yelling in my ear the entire time.” You slowly opened your eyes, bracing yourself for how bright the room surrounding you would be. “And it was 4 on 1 James.” There it was again, you were the only person who could get away with calling the Captain by his government name. 

The breath Leonard didn’t know he was holding released as he made his way to your side, “From what I heard, you kicked ass down there.” 

A sheepish smile was your response, he didn’t know why, but he needed to be close to you, he would have sat down on the bed and pulled you into his chest if he didn’t have his current audience. “You hit your head pretty hard (Y/N), and while it doesn’t look like a concussion I want to see you back here in 3 days just to make sure nothing else is going on.”

Leonard was pulled back into the present by your door opening, and there you were, gorgeous. Leonard couldn’t help the small smile he felt when he looked down at you. Noticing the way your messy locks fell around your face and the out of regulation pajamas you were wearing. The dark circles under your eyes more prominent now than they were last week.

“Len, what are you doing here?” You shielded your eyes from the brightness of the hallway. Wincing in pain when you tried looking up at him.

“Spock told me you were sick. I came to check on you.” A soft shrug from him and he didn’t miss how you seemed too tired to even roll your eyes at your boss for ratting you out to the CMO. You motioned at him with your hand before turning and walking back into your quarters. 

Leonard had never actually been inside your living space until now, and he couldn’t help but feel immediately at home. Photos hung on your walls, photos of you from medical school, at the academy, there was one that caught his eye immediately. You and Jim, while both younger than you are now, were instantly recognizable. Jim was holding you on his shoulders, you held your PhD in your hand. Your joy in the photo emanating into the real world. Then he saw it, your mark. 

Perfectly placed inside your wrist, he stepped closer, he could hear his blood swishing in his ears as he finally put two and two together. There it was, staring at him. He now had proof that his entire life you had been the one he was waiting for. An uneasy feeling sank over him. He just needed to push everything down. He was a doctor, he had a job to do, and he wouldn't let this discovery change anything.

**********************

You watched as Leonard looked around your small apartment, he was currently observing the photos on your walls. You were tired, you laid down on your couch and pulled a blanket up past your head. Your migraine now just a dull throb at the back of your skull. You could now hear Leonard shuffling around your kitchenette. When you finally pulled the blanket down you could see him standing in front of you.

There was a mug in one hand, and a tricorder in the other. “Leonard, I promise I’m fine. It’s just a migraine.”

Leonard scoffed before setting the mug down, “According to Commander Spock, your migraines have been more frequent lately, he also mentioned a fever and nausea.”

“Spock can’t keep his damn mouth shut can he?” You replied before moving into a sitting position and allowing the doctor to scan you. You hummed as his hand brushed across your wrist, immediately finding the spot to check your pulse.

“I was worried about you, ya know,” Leonard softly spoke. “When you didn’t show up this morning I knew something was wrong,” his sentence ended in a mumble of words. You couldn’t help but reach up and place a hand on his cheek. 

“I apologize for making you worry, Doctor.” This time, you could feel his jaw slightly clench and you watched his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed. 

“(Y/N),” you noticed he was closer now, hovering mere inches from your face. 

“Yes Leonard?” You could hear the catch in your breath as you spoke. His breath fanned across your face, the mintiness from brushing his teeth still lingering. The proximity of being so close had your heart going crazy and you couldn’t seem to think straight. As quickly as the moment started, he ended it. Pulling away and tucking his tricorder into his hip. 

“Well, everything seems fine, and nothing is broken.” He made his way to your door. “Drink the tea, and take it easy for the next couple of days,” and with that he opened the door and walked away.

******************************

You hadn’t seen Leonard for two weeks, even on your last away mission he had someone else do you exam. He wouldn’t even come out of his office while you were in med bay. The daily throb in your heart of the rejection didn’t stop your stride but it definitely slowed it. You were second guessing yourself and you couldn’t seem to focus unless you had someone else to hold you accountable. You slept more these days, not being able to stay late in the greenhouse for the fear that your mind would start to wander and then you had your heart breaking all over again.

Sitting in the mess hall with Spock at lunch you were approached by an ensign. A yellow shirt, and when you looked behind him, you could see Sulu intently watching the interaction unfolding in front of him. “Lt Commander (Y/L/N), I was hoping I could invite you to the party we’re having tonight.”

You smiled up at him, intending to find a way to gently let him down, when the unsuspecting doctor walked into the mess hall, and you couldn’t help but smirk, motioning him closer to you, you decided to just be honest, “Listen kid, I’m sure you’re great, but someone already has my heart.” You watched their face slightly falter, “However, they’re too stubborn to admit it, help me make him jealous and I think I can talk to the Captain about your incredible performance.” 

You weren’t expecting the quick nod of their head or the salute they sent your way from the table, keeping the smile on your face, you couldn’t help but laugh as Spock finally made eye contact with you. “I don’t see how you attending a party with a member from the flight crew could in any way make Dr. McCoy jealous.” 

You could hear the ensign talking to Sulu as Dr. McCoy passed their table, “She said yes!” The ensign looked back over at you and waved, you made sure an enthusiastic smile was planted on face as you waved back, pretending not to feel Leonard’s glare boring into you as you turned back to Spock, “Just like that Commander Spock.” The vulcan couldn’t help the sigh of disappointment. Why must the two of you make things so complicated?

       “Lt. Commander, wouldn’t it just be easier to tell Dr. McCoy, how you feel about him?” 

     You sighed, eyes bouncing around the room before landing down at the plate of replicated food in front of you, “I wish. He’s been avoiding me for 2 weeks now. Hell, the other day I helped another science officer to med bay and he wouldn’t even look at me,” you shrugged your shoulders before collecting your belongings, “I think maybe I should turn my affections elsewhere as Dr. McCoy has made it clear to me that he would no longer like a friendship with me, let alone a romantic relationship.” You turned on your heel, already done with the conversation and quite frankly done with the way your thoughts were constantly brought back to the man who wanted nothing to do with you.

     You didn’t even see Leonard approach your table at the end of your conversation with Spock, determined to outrun the wave of emotions you could feel rising up in your chest. 

******************

    The party was great, it really was, but you felt so out of place. Parties weren’t usually your thing and the ensign who asked you to the party quickly forgot about you as soon as you defended Spock in the middle of a heated conversation. Sulu ended up having to coax you away from the group as the insults toward your best friend kept coming, and you quickly rolled up your sleeves. 

“Hey, you’re okay, anyone who really knows Spock knows that he’s actually a really great guy.” Sulu rubbed your arm as he led you to the bar. “Plus, it would be a little uncomfortable to end up in med bay right now.”

You scoffed and could help the incredulous look you gave him, “I wouldn’t have ended up anywhere but my cabin. The best part is none of them would have even known who I was until Captain Kirk inevitably got involved, and I also know that James would throw himself on top of a live grenade for me.”

Sulu couldn’t help but roll his eyes at you before handing you one of the drinks he ordered, “You and the captain are close too?” 

“Yeah, he’s like an older brother. My mom and his dad were close, so he was over all the time when we were younger, he’s the one who pushed me to apply for my doctorate degree and even filled out a couple of applications behind my back, and he protected me more than once from creeps when he would sneak me into the bar with him.” You downed another drink the drink and looked at the crowd opposite of where you currently were, “I could still take him,” 

“How many of those have you had tonight?” Sulu nodded at the empty glass in your hand.

You shrugged, setting the glass back down on the bar, “I lost count about 30 minutes ago.”

The comment earned you another laugh from the man beside you and suddenly your comm went off, “Lt. Commander! It’s great to see you here!” Your head suddenly turned into a swivel as you scanned the party, looking for the biggest pain in your ass you had ever met. Someone grabbed your shoulder from behind you and reflexively threw them over you to the ground, before placing a foot on their chest to keep them on the ground.

The laugh that followed had smoke coming out of your ears and suddenly you were a teenager again, “Chekov! Don’t do that!” You couldn’t help but stomp your foot on the ground, “I could have hurt you!”

“Did you just stomp your foot? Are you throwing a tantrum right now?” You helped Chekov off the ground and you noticed how he had been grinning the entire time.

“How am I supposed to get any peace on this ship when I have a gaggle of men I have to constantly keep from killing themselves?” You feigned anger and dramatically threw your hand back to your forehead. 

“Well, who else would keep us in check if we didn’t have you?” The puppy dog eyes from both Sulu and Chekov broke past your resolve and you pulled both of them into a hug. Kissing both of them on the top of the head before pulling away.

“Who’s gonna take care of you when I’m gone? I’m 25 now, in my prime, someone could wife me up right now and I’d be whisked away in a flurry of love and babies.” You watched the horror spread over their faces and you couldn’t help but feel proud of yourself.

Chekov quickly dropped to one knee and you couldn’t help the feeling of embarrassment that filled you, a pit in your stomach forming and even with the threatening look on your face, the ensign didn’t move off the ground, “Well, if you’re going to get married, I think we both,” he paused and nodded at Sulu who couldn’t help the comical smile on his face as he stared at the scene unfolding in front of him. “Would prefer if you did get married that you wouldn’t be whisked away from us.”

You couldn’t help but laugh, the first real laugh you had experienced in weeks, and soon you were laughing so hard you had tears pricking at the back of your eyes, “You’re really taking marrying up to a whole new level,” you dropped into a squat, resting your body weight on your balls of your feet as you got within eye level of your friend, “You’re drunk Chekov, you wouldn’t remember this in the morning if you wanted too.” You gently pushed on him back by his forehead, as you expected Chekov, who was extremely drunk for this early in the night, fell backwards. What you didn’t expect was him flailing, grabbing you, and throwing you down the stairs from the bar after him. 

Everything that happened next was in fast forward as a group of people were on both of you, you could feel your face flush with embarrassment. As swiftly as the embarrassment settled, the overstimulation was sudden and you were going to freak out. There were too many people, people were trying to touch you, some trying to help you up, and everyone was speaking at once. You closed your eyes, you could feel an ache in your head, and something warm in your hair. You could hear James shuffling through the crowd, using his captain's voice to part the sea of swarming people. 

“(Y/N) are you okay?” You were lifted to your feet, wincing as he put pressure on your shoulder. James instantly repositioned the way he was supporting you. You quickly looked around and saw Chekov, he came bounding over to you as soon as you were up.

“Chekov, are you okay?” You reached up and started inspecting him, which earned you a laugh.

“I just tucked and rolled!” He spun in front of you as if to prove his point. 

“Yeah,” you suddenly noticed the pain in your shoulder was growing, “Wish I got a heads up,” you couldn’t help but laugh with the ensign and you rested most of your weight against your longest known friend. 

“(Y/N) you’re bleeding. From your head. We gotta go.” 

You looked up at him, trying to pull your best puppy dog eyes through the growing pain, “But James, it just got fun!”

“Remember when you said that after your commissioning?”

You groaned, you had been trying to forget about that night since it happened, you got drunk. Totally wasted with James at a surprise party he threw for you , cheering you on and even challenging you to go shot for shot. You fell off the second story balcony, thankfully into bushes, but nevertheless walked away with a concussion and a pretty nasty bruise that consumed most of your lower back. “Fine, let’s go.”

*********************

Jim regretfully walked you to med bay, he wondered if this is what he put Bones through everytime he got sick or injured, “What is going on with you tonight?”

“I really don’t want to go to med bay and I really really don’t want to see Leonard McCoy.” You automatically imitated the grumpy doctor, even furrowing your brows like he would.

“I thought you two were friends?” What had he missed, the last time Bones had talked about you, he thought the two of you had something, it was the most he had seen his friend smile in, well, the entire time he had known him.

You bellowed a dry, sarcastic laugh, “Yeah, me too.” You looked away from him, suddenly more interested in the floor than the conversation you were having, “I thought we could have been more,” you whispered under your breath. 

Jim stopped walking, turning your head so he could look you in the eyes, “(Y/N), Bon- Leonard is a complicated man. He doesn’t always know what’s best for him right away. Even when the best thing to happen to him is right in front of him.”

You shook your head, trying to break the look Jim was giving you, “No, it’s my fault. I thought he was going to kiss me. I read the signs all wrong, and now he hasn’t talked to me in 16 days, and now I’ve ruined a perfectly good friendship.” 

Jim wiped away a tear that started sliding down your cheek, pulling you into his chest and kissing the top of your head. You gently sobbed into his chest, trying to be quiet in the corridor with a few people still bustling around you. His heart breaking at seeing you this heartbroken. He had been there for other break ups, most of the time you rationalized it, even to him. 

‘It wasn’t meant to be’ was after Chandler, a snotty rich kid who tried desperately to buy his way into your pants. He tried using his dad’s rank to intimidate you, trying to use the power of someone else to make you do what he wanted. Even after you had broken things off, there were some nights you would still sleep on Jim’s couch, afraid to go back to your dorm. He wasn’t a problem for you much longer.

“She just wasn’t the one,” was after Savannah. Someone who you remained in contact with to this day. You were there when Savannah got her dream job, she thanked you in her speech when she graduated top of her class, and most importantly you were her daughter’s godmother. Every shore leave, every break from school, you made her and her family one of your top priorities. Jim had even seen you leave study groups or parties just to go spend time with her.

“My soulmate is still out there,” Was after Ashton. It had been a few years, Jim thought you guys were happy, but then came the inevitable. You stormed into his apartment, not even bothering to knock as there was nothing Jim was going to be doing that you hadn’t seen at least once already. He was married. You were humiliated, you didn’t go out unless you were going to school for weeks. Beating yourself up for not knowing. Jim had to remind you countless times that it wasn’t your fault, you had no idea of knowing that this man was married, hell Jim even did digging of his own after things got serious and he couldn’t find anything. 

He couldn’t help the look of pity he gave you as you pulled yourself out of his chest, wincing at the pain as he released you. “Whatever happened to the girl who could rationalize these things? Your other half is still out there,” he said softly.

More tears welled up in your eyes. You shook your head again, more violently this time, as if trying to shake the tears away. He couldn’t help but empathize with your sorrow. He would have put the pieces together himself if you had given him time, but you spoke again. “James, he is the one. And now he won’t even look at me.”

Jim’s eyes widened in disbelief. Never in the entire time of knowing you did he think you would ever say those words. It was supposed to be the two of you, lone wolves for the rest of your lives. “You really love him, don’t you?” he asked, pulling you into his side. You nodded, and he kept his arm around your ribcage for support, careful to avoid putting pressure on your shoulder. “And you should probably try to stop crying before we walk through that door.”

**********************

Walking into med bay, you couldn’t help but feel mortified at how you must look. You could feel the blood in your hair even more now, and you couldn’t even bear to lift the arm with the damaged shoulder. Not to mention how the makeup you wore for the night probably looked after you cried into James’s chest. You quickly glanced at him, stifling a laugh as you pointed at the mascara stain on the dress shirt he was currently wearing. 

“You think that’s funny?” You watched as he dramatically tried to wipe the makeup off his shirt. “Ya know, this better win me some brownie points.” 

You laughed harder at the comment, “Speaking of brownie points, I promised the ensign who asked me to the party that if he helped me make Leonard jealous I would put in a good for him with you.” You couldn’t help the dreamy smile that fell on your face just mentioning him, “Then he said Spock was an asshole and now I think we should just shoot him out into the void of space.”

“I forgot how mean you get when you drink.”

“Who else do we have tonight?” You didn’t want to turn around, the southern drawl in his voice was something you didn’t even notice how much you had missed until this very moment. You wanted to cower behind James, you wanted to run and hide. You wanted to beg James to turn around and patch you up in your quarters. Before you could speak, James did. 

“Well, I decided to throw a party and things got a little out of hand. The Lt. Commander was practically thrown down a flight of stairs. I think they have dislocated a shoulder and they’re bleeding. From the head.” 

You couldn’t stop yourself when you jabbed an elbow into his ribcage, pushing through the pain to let him know how you felt, “I’m fine, I just hurt a little bit.”

James poked you in the shoulder, using the littlest bit of pressure, causing you to rear back and stifle down a groan of pain, “You asshole!”

You didn’t miss the sigh or the eye roll from the handsome doctor in front of you, and now you were pissed. You were trying to have a good time tonight, and yet absolutely no one was able to take him off your mind, and now here you were, standing in front of him, looking like a complete mess, “Listen, you obviously don’t want me here, and quite frankly I don’t want to be here, so if you could just put my shoulder back in place so I can go away, that would be great.”  You sighed before turning away from them and finding the closest open bed, “Stop looking at me like that James, I can feel your eyes in the back of my head.” 

You couldn’t hop onto the bed without jostling everything that hurt, so you chose to plant yourself in one of the visitor chairs beside the bed. Your head resting back against the wall, closing your eyes and trying to prevent the tears trying to escape, the pain now moving toward the range of extreme and you finally touched your head. Pulling it away to inspect your fingers, there was the blood now sticky. You sighed, annoyed with the fact that showering after tonight was going to be hard.

********************************

Leonard pushed through the privacy curtain and for a couple of moments he just looked you over with his eyes. Jim had told him what happened. The thought of Chekov proposing, no matter how fake, seemed to enrage him. The thought of you with any man did that to him, not to mention the blatant flirting in the mess hall the other day. He wanted to track down the ensign who asked you to the party down, give him a piece of his mind. He wanted to let the ensign know that he shouldn’t be hitting on his woman.

But you weren’t his, were you? Jim let him know about the conversation in the hallway, how you cried after telling him how long it had been since he had been icing you out. Has it really been 16 days?  Jim told him he needed to fix it. Leonard wasn’t sure he could. How would he even go about letting you know that the only reason he was acting this way was so he didn’t break your heart. He was damaged, and had too much baggage for someone as sweet as you. He didn’t want to ruin you.

Looking at you now though, past the injuries of the night, Leonard realized that his way of trying not to cause you any harm was actually doing the most harm. Your eyes were closed, but still slightly puffy and tear streaks had etched their way onto your cheeks. The blood in your hair now drying and matting your hair together. From just looking at your current posture he wasn’t too concerned with any broken bones, but he suspected Jim was probably right about the dislocated shoulder. 

He cleared his throat to get your attention, watching closely as your eyes slightly opened. He didn’t miss the glimmer in your eye as you finally looked at him, and when you held his gaze Leonard let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding in. The need to be close to you reared its head again and it took all of his self control to not sprint the short distance to you. He sat on the med bay bed so he was closer to eye level. He didn’t really know what to say. 

“Hi,”

Your eyes widened and your mouth fell open at his opening line choice. “Hi? Are you fucking kidding me? Hi?” You threw your good hand in the air, wincing from the sudden change in posture, as you whisper screamed at him. The both of you knew there was an extremely high chance Jim was trying to eavesdrop on the two of you.

“What else am I supposed to say?” Leonard almost couldn’t believe himself, who says hi?

“Maybe, I’m an ass for not talking to you for 2 weeks but let me stitch up your head.”

“I am sn sss.” 

You huffed, sitting up straighter, “Or maybe, it looks like your shoulder is dislocated, let's get it back into place and get you out of here.”

“If that’s what you want me to do.” 

“Of course I want you to fix me! Why else would I drag myself down here?”

So you wanted to fight, Leonard could do that, “Oh, so you have to drag yourself down here?”

“Right now, yeah? I literally have no other choice!”

Leonard wanted to smirk, “So you only wanted me because you had no other choice?”

You gasped and looked at the ground, “You know that’s not what I meant.” 

Leonard stood, grabbing the PADD he had with him, “I’m not the one who said it.” 

“Yeah, and I’m not the one who made me fall in love with you.” Leonard froze, just barely able to hear you, you had dropped into a barely audible whisper. Leonard didn’t know if it was from fear of saying it outloud or hoping he wouldn’t hear it.

“Yeah, well what are you going to do about that?”

He watched as your head snapped up, and if looks could kill Leonard was sure his head would have exploded right then and there, “You’ve obviously already made your choice, so maybe just get me the hell out of here and transfer my care to someone else. That way you'll never have to see me again.”

He sighed, not really wanting to do this now, but it looks like he was going to have no other choice, “(Y/N)-”

“Save it. I don’t want to hear it, now please, just fix me enough so that I can go back to my quarters and shower, I need to get this blood out of my hair.”

“(Y/N)-”

“I’m serious-”

“If you would shut up you would know that I’m in love with you too!”

Leonard had never raised his voice at you before, and the look on your face made him regret it instantly. He crouched in front of you and cradled your face in his hands, “I am so head over heels for you Darlin’” He looked into your eyes, searching for anything other than the rage they currently held, “It scared me. That night in your room, when I saw the way you were looking at me, I knew. I never wanted anyone to look at me the way you did. I panicked. I ran and hid, hoping that if I just pushed everything down for long enough then-” He sighed again, his breath feeling like a cotton ball in his throat.

******************

You were pissed. Angry at Leonard for ignoring you, angry that you were in med bay, angry that Leonard wouldn’t shut the fuck up. You were trying so hard to move past the feelings you had for him, but you always seemed to end up right back in front of him. 

“Why?” You couldn’t stop your mouth from moving, even though in this moment you desperately wanted him to shut up. You could hear how tired he was, making the southern accent more prominent, making your heart swell. 

“Well, I’m broken. Told Jim that Jocelyn took everything in the divorce. All I got is my bones.”

“So that’s where the nickname comes from? James tries so hard to call you Leonard to my face, like the nickname is a secret or something.” You could feel the way he looked at you, choosing to focus on the nickname instead of anything else he just told you. “Leonard, we can continue this conversation later, but my shoulder really hurts. Please help me.”

Leonard helped you onto the bed, and slightly straightened you up. “Um, I need to take your shirt off, I need to see-”

You couldn’t help but blush. You had thought this before, not in this context. Your fantasies usually revolved around his office, in the shower, maybe you thought about you and him in the greenhouse once or twice, but never like this, “I’m gonna need some help with that.”

Leonard slowly pulled your arm out of the sleeve, and you almost thought you could see him shaking, “Len, I’m not made of porcelain.” You could hear him release the breath he was holding, his thumb dancing over your wrist. Soon enough you were topless, you could see a bruise forming. Your shoulder felt so wrong. You almost couldn’t describe it. It felt taut like it was being pulled, but you felt like you had no control, you couldn’t shrug if you tried. 

“This is gonna hurt, according to these scans not only is your shoulder dislocated but you have a torn AC ligament.” He laid you down, placing your arm down over the edge of the bed, and quickly pulling your arm into a 90 degree angle, while rotating your arm. You felt the relief as you heard your shoulder pop back into place. Then the hypo, and if your shoulder still didn’t throb a little you would have hit Leonard.

“That’s gonna help with the pain and swelling, and this one,” He stabbed you again, “Is gonna help with that ligament, but you cannot lift anything heavier than 15 pounds until I clear you, and because this can still affect your range of motion, we’ll still have to keep a close eye on it. Usually for a dislocated shoulder we would recommend a sling, but we’re going to need movement if you want to be able to maintain your current quality of life.”

“Okay, and the treatment plan?” You sat up and gingerly pulled your shirt over your head.

“Well the fact you were able to do that is a good sign.” He took a step back from you, “Stand up and hold your arms directly out in front of you,” You did, your left arm not reaching quite as high as your right hand, “Now out to the side,” again, the left shoulder not quite as high. “Drop them to your sides and shrug,” You almost couldn’t. Trying with all of your might to move your left side up to your chin. The smallest inch of movement had you content. 

“4-6 weeks,” Leonard smashed the contentedness. “I know, it seems like a long time, but (Y/N) losing range of motion for your line of work would hinder you in more ways than one. Even with the medicine we have, we can only speed up the human body's healing time by so much. If it was any worse I would have said 8.” He took a step closer to you and took your hand in his. “Now stop pouting and let me check your head.”

*****************************************

It had been 3 days since the last time you had seen Leonard, the longest amount of time the two of you had gone since that night in med bay. You had even spent the night once or twice. However, this time you weren’t anxious about it. He didn’t consume your thoughts like before and for the first time in weeks, you finally felt like you were back in your groove. You were on the last 2 week stretch of desk duty, and not surprisingly you were spending most of the time following Spock around, or wandering around the greenhouse, trying to politely remind people that your way was the right way and you were actively writing the protocol for this.

However, right now you were moping. Looking like someone ate your candy and you couldn’t help it. Everyone who you could bother during the day was gone. A new planet, going where no man has gone before, or whatever the excuse was. You just knew you were bored and there was no one around to entertain you. You soon found yourself wandering to med bay, hoping that you could catch a moment alone with Leonard. You waved at the nurse sitting at the desk, before making your way to Leonard's office. You knocked on the door and when you didn’t hear a response you slowly opened the door.

Stepping into the office you glanced around, it was empty. You frowned even more, wanting to fold your arms over your chest and huff. You made your way back to the desk and faced the nurse. “Where’s Dr. McCoy?”

“The captain asked him to join the team going down the surface today.”

“Oh, okay. Can you let him know I stopped by? He wanted me to come down for a follow up.”

The young boy sitting behind the desk smiled at you and straightened his posture a little, “Yeah, can I get a name? Lt. Commander (Y/N). Thank you.” You smiled back before heading back out into the hallway. 

Back in the greenhouse you couldn’t stay focused, wanting to wander and more than enough times trying to sneak in and help with the rearranging currently going on. Every time someone caught you and every time they threatened to tell Spock. Eventually you conceded, holing yourself away in your office. You couldn’t help the way you stared off into literal space. Not being able to keep your mind busy with anything work related, you decided to give up. You pulled out your PADD and started drawing. Focus every bit of [ent up energy into the smallest details on the pages… 

Just wanting something to keep you busy. And you were now in a field, it looked like home. Yellow dandelions and honeysuckle sprouting up everywhere, you could feel the cool grass beneath your toes. The wind was warm and steady. The sky was cornflower blue and white wispy clouds were scattered throughout. You finally felt calm. You closed your eyes, trying to breathe in the moment. A hand grasped yours, you looked over and there he was. The man who completely consumed your dreams. You could see it. This is where you spent most of your time, the space you went to in duress. 

The image shifted, now you were in a house. Your mom’s home. It smelled exactly as you remembered. You heard the kettle on the stove and made your way to the kitchen, laughter floated through the air. The kitchen now in view, your mom was now at the counter, filling a group of mugs that sat on the counter. Behind you at the kitchen island, stood Leonard, chopping vegetables and bantering with your dad.

The image rippled behind you, changing the scenery and you were still on earth, but this was your home. The place you started and the place you would end. When you decided to move to Washington, James helped you. Packed only what you needed and took the road trip with you, only along for the memories. Your homestead spread before you. Your eyes automatically drifted to the chicken coop. Leonard was there, several of your hens grouped around his feet as he spread bird seed for them.

“I don’t think chickens would be that big of a fan of me,” You jumped as Leonard made himself known behind you. You slowly made your way to him, suddenly anxious about the interaction, “I heard you were looking for me?”

You almost forgot, you laughed to yourself before explaining, “Yeah, it wasn’t anything important. I was bored, and both James and Spock were gone! I can’t do anything with this damn arm and I needed stimulation. I didn’t know James stole you too!” You lightly hit him in the chest and scowled, “I thought we had a rule.”

The doctor suddenly looked bashful as he stared at your feet, “There was an exception to the rule,” From behind his back, he revealed a plant. It looked like a venus fly trap, but it was maroon. “ “It looks like dionaea muscipula, but I’ve never seen one this color. Or as large.” You gently cradled the propagate in your hands, breathing gently as you inspected it. “Usually 10cm is the largest they get. This one could be significantly bigger.” You finally looked up at him, tears slightly welling up in your eyes, “Thank you,” 

Suddenly you were surrounded by him. His hand on your face, his smell swirling around, and most importantly his lips on yours. They were soft, a complete contrast to the finger grazing over your cheek. You couldn’t help but smile into the kiss as you leaned into him. He wrapped his free hand around your waist and pulled you against him. You were hyper aware of the feeling of his chest against yours, you swore your breathing was in sync. 

Leonard pulled away first, deciding that air was actually a vital part of his plan to have a future with you. He rested his forehead against yours, placing a chaste kiss to your nose, “Maybe I can get used to the chickens.”

*******************************

Leonard practically dragged you out to the turbolift. Only giving you a split second to stop by the greenhouse to drop off your new favorite thing. Surprised you were able to make the short ride to his quarters without your hands all over each other. He held your hand the entire time and you couldn’t help but notice how opposite the two of you looked. Leonard with a determined look taking over his features, he was desperate to be alone with you and he couldn’t stop bouncing as you waited to arrive at the correct floor. You, on the other hand, looked completely love drunk. Still reeling from the kiss, just happy to be near him and along for the ride.

He pulled you down the hallway and you did everything you could to stay on your feet as you tripped after him. He turned back to look before picking you up, tossing you over his shoulder and he resumed his pace. You let a giggle fall out of you, hanging over his back, staring at the floor. He hummed in response, and you couldn’t help but shake your head, knowing he couldn’t see you, deciding to keep this to yourself. He stopped, arriving at his door, and soon you were in the darkness and privacy of his personal space. The room is familiar in the dim lighting from the late night visits that happened occasionally. He continued, moving to a space you had never seen before, his bedroom.

You couldn’t help the flurry you were feeling in your stomach, suddenly aware of everything around you. Taking in what the room looked like, you could definitely see Leonard in the space, it was nicely decorated. The sheets looked soft, a rich phthalo green with matching comforter. The night stands were simply decorated, with a single light on each, one of them holding a photo of he and James at the Academy. The rest of the room had small trinkets, and a couple of dirty clothes were sitting on a chair in the corner. What really caught your eye was the small purple succulent sitting on his dresser.

“You put him on your dresser?” You couldn’t help but ask, knowing he would know exactly what you were talking about. The succulent was your first surviving propagation of its kind. You had affectionately named him ‘Jim’.

“Yeah, I brought him home that very day. I’ve been following all your rules. Even had Scotty set me up special lights so the little could get the effects on sunlight.” He set you down on the bed and looked at you, before stepping forward and weaving his way between your legs, currently towering over you. You wanted to drool, you were sure this was heaven. He was kissing you again, this time deeper than before, his tongue already begging as you moved your lips against his. Ever so slightly you moved back onto the bed, slowly lying down as Leonard climbed on top of you. His hands slowly moved up your shirt and you couldn’t help but try and press your body against his hands. Trying to desperately communicate the need for his touch.

“Len,” you whispered and he looked at you. His eyes softened as he took in the sight of you, a hand coming up to cup your cheek, you couldn’t help but pull him into a hug, pulling him down until his entire body weight was on top of you. You couldn’t help the contented sigh that fell from your lips as you embraced this feeling. He felt like a weighted blanket on top of you, bringing a sense of peace with him as your breathing synced together,  “I missed you.”

“I missed you too Darlin’” Your hands grabbed the back hem of his shirt, gently tugging and trying to pull it up his body, Leonard picking up the hints. Moving off you, he finished the job you were working on, before you sat up, allowing him to pull your shirt off you. “You’re gorgeous,” again you wrapped up in a kiss, and it was everything you had been dreaming about since you met him. 

Soon enough, you were naked, your lower half dangling off the edge of the bed, Leonard stroking himself as he stared at you. You swore you could feel his eyes burning into your skin as he raked you over, looking as if he was trying to memorize every inch of your body, the adoration radiating off him made you want to cry. You couldn’t remember a time anyone had made you feel this way just from a look. You didn’t know why you were suddenly so emotional, but now you were worried you were ruining the moment. You saw Leonard’s face change as he moved toward you. 

“(Y/N)?” He scooped you up, sitting you on his lap, his thumb brushing away the one rogue tear that escaped, “What’s wrong?”

You shook your head and smiled, “Nothing, it was just the way you looked at me.” You turned around in his lap, straddling him. You slowly kissed your way around his jaw line, up to his ear before gently nibbling on his ear lobe. You kept your lips pressed to his skin as you whispered in his ear, “Now, where were we Doctor?”

You shivered as he gripped your thighs, you slowly hiked yourself up placing one hand on Leonard’s shoulder to keep yourself steady using the other to line yourselves up. You didn’t miss the way he bit down on his lip as soon as your hand wrapped around his cock. Slowly easing yourself down onto him, you slowly stretched down until your thighs were touching his, placing both arms on his shoulders as you gave a few small bounces just to adjust yourself. Adjusting your knees, you started rotating your hips while setting a steady pace as you started to spring up and down. Having to quickly adjust when Leonard dropped to his elbows, and you came with him. 

He now had the upper hand, using one arm to wrap around your waist, keeping you in place, using the other to hold your chin, maintaining eye contact as he set a brutal pace, his hips almost smashing into yours. The new angle had changed and suddenly you couldn’t stop the moan that fell from your lips, seeing a smirk appear on Leonard’s face. “You sound so pretty,” He swiped his thumb over your lips and instinctively you slightly parted your mouth, “Say my name darlin.’”

You couldn’t help the heat that burned your cheeks, deciding to try and get back at him for the compromising position he put you in, “Leona-” You didn’t get to finish his name before his hips stopped moving. His arm is still locking you in place. You wanted to pout at the sudden loss of movement but didn’t have enough time as you were on your back now. Legs resting around his hips, his free hand now gripping one of your hips, as he slowly leaned in closer.

He adjusted the way he was holding your chin, he now rested your chin in the dip between his thumb and index finger, with each holding onto your jaw and adjusting your head to look at him, “I don’t think you heard me, what’s my name?”

“Dr. McCoy,” You looked at him through lidded eyes, eyes closing at his grip on your jaw tightened for a split second, before his hand on your hip pulled you closer to him. Settling a tortuous pace as he thrust into you, hiking your hips higher up as you started thrusting up towards him, desperate for more. He slowed down for a split second, a hand coming to rest by your throat. His fingers instinctively fell on your carotid. 

“Are you sure you’re feeling okay? Your heart rate seems pretty elevated,” He softly widened his grip, his hand now resting at the base of your neck.

“I was hoping you could tell me Doctor,” Leonard leaned down close to you, his fingers already slowly inching to either side of your neck, “Are you okay with this.” 

You quickly nodded your head and wiggled your body, closer to his, “Yes Le-” You swallowed, avoiding eye contact with him, “Yes Dr, McCoy.”

He applied pressure to the sides of your throat, you tilted your head back, almost as if you were presenting your neck to him and you could have died hearing the low moans Leonard was placing in your ear. You hummed as your eyes drifted shut, and you could feel the coil that had been tightening was ready to snap. 

“I want to spend the rest of my life with you (Y/N),” He thrust to punctuate every word and there you went. You gasped and drug your nails down his back as your thighs tightened around his waist. Leonard released his grip from around your neck and pulled away from you, spilling all over your stomach. He was gone the next second, before returning with a warm wash rag, practically wiping you down from head to toe. You couldn’t help yourself when you settled down under the sheets, face buried in the pillows that smelt like him.

Leonard soon returned, climbing into the bed beside you and pulling you into his chest. Kissing the top of your head before speaking, “Are you okay? I know that got intense pretty fast,” His fingers were absentmindedly running through your hair.

You yawned, moving yourself closer so your ear was pressed up against his chest, his heartbeat thrumming in your ears. You nodded against his ribcage, “I’m fine. I’m great actually…and the ‘Doctor Thing’ is kinda hot.” You could feel his chest shake with a silent laugh and you yawned again.  Pulling the blanket up to your neck and quickly falling into the best sleep you had received in weeks.

****************************

Leonard instinctively grabbed for you when he rolled over half awake in bed. He received no reprieve from the empty sheets, they were still slightly warm, and now he was wide awake. Scanning the room with his eyes, he couldn’t see you anywhere. There was something new on the dresser and he slowly made his way over to it. It was a note from you, and he couldn’t help but notice how elegant your handwriting was as it scrawled across the page. ‘I needed coffee, and you have none. Come find me if you would like a cup.” 

Leonard almost seemed like he was on autopilot as he dressed and brushed his teeth, leaving his quarters with only his comm and a mission to see you again. He quickly arrived in front of your door, and knocked within the same breath, realizing how desperate he was to see you. Now you stood in front of him, in a white t-shirt. He swallowed thickly as he could see your nipples pressed against the fabric, noticing how the pajama pants you stole from him hung around your waist.

He noticed the way you were looking at him, eyes still slightly coated with tiredness as they scanned his face, he tried to remain as untroubled as possible, trying not to give any signs of doubt as he stared back at you. He had something important he needed to tell you. You slowly reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling him back into your quarters with you. Leonard could smell the freshly ground coffee and finally took a glance around now that he was here again. Taking in more than just the photos on your walls. 

He watched as you made your way across the room from him, back toward the espresso machine that sat on your counter, “Now how did you manage to pull that off?”

You looked over your shoulder as you giggled, “Listen, when it comes to Starfleet, I’m not dumb. I know that I’m a nepo baby and I know that I could have everything the easy way. I could take advantage of everything and everyone would let me. James could too.” Leonard scoffed as you started swirling and lightly tapping your steamed milk, “I know that my last name carries a legacy that I won’t ever feel I have earned.” You started slowly pouring the milk into a steel Starfleet mug, “However, almost everyone else thinks that just carrying her name is enough to give me the world. Spock knew that, he challenged me all throughout my time in Starfleet, and yes the age gap was definitely weird for everyone at first, but he sees something in me, something I never will.” You looked up at him as you started tamping your espresso, “Admiral Pike knew that. It’s because he knows me. I’ve called that man Uncle Chris since I could talk. He knew a pay bump wasn’t going to get me to leave my station. Especially to come to the ship he was the first captain of. So he gave me Spock, and a brand new espresso machine.” 

Your fingers tapped on the edge of the counter as you bit your bottom lip. You grabbed your finished espresso shot, holding it up to the light and inspecting it. “I was a barista once, and I loved it, it gave me something that made me feel like me. The other people in the coffee shop didn’t know who I was, or if they did they didn’t care.” You were practically speaking into the counter as you delicately poured the shot over your milk. “My mom would have loved it. If there’s one thing my dad drilled into my head, it’s that I didn’t have to choose Starfleet.” You now held a bottle filled with a purple syrup. You steadied your hand as you etched a simple crosshatch pattern into the top of the foam.

“I’ve been thinking about what you said in med bay for a couple days now,” You quickly sanitized everything, exchanging steaming pitchers, mugs, and even the shot glass, “My mom, is the reason I do anything in this life.” He watched as you started your process over again. Moving at a slightly quicker pace this time, “She died when I saw 5. It’s been 20 years and yet her birthday still feels like my day of atonement.” Leonard noticed how you adjusted the amount of coffee in the puck and the amount of water, “My last relationship ended because he proposed, and then I found out he had a wife.” You couldn’t help but happily gasp as you finally watched the shots finish pulling. 

“Just because you were married the person you, at one point in time, loved,” You were now steadily pouring the milk into the espresso that laid in the bottom on the mug, the stream of milk coming from your steaming pitcher couldn’t have been thicker than a pencil, “It doesn’t mean that you’re broken, and if you are, then so am I. And so is James. And Spock as well. Every single person on this ship,” You handed him the mug, “Is broken in some way, and it doesn’t make them any less worthy of love.” 

You cradled your mug in your hands before sitting across from him, in a small armchair you managed to tastefully squeeze in the small living room provided to you, “I love Spock, and I love James,” you swiftly pulled your legs underneath you, “And I love you, Leonard. And you are worthy of love.”

You slowly took a sip from your mug, watching his reaction as you tried to keep a somewhat safe distance from him, it wasn’t every day you could pull that conversation out of thin air. You became somewhat concerned as Leonard stared at his coffee, after a couple more seconds he looked at you and you felt like you could breathe again.

“Do you remember the first time you ever came to med bay? The conversation we had?

************************

Leonard couldn’t help but stare at the perfect white dot that stood perfectly in the middle of the carmel colored drink from the milk and espresso mixing together. He felt breathless. You remembered, this was the first time he had coffee made by you since he ran away. He swore he could feel his heart swell, looking at the act of love made right in front of his face. “And I love you, Leonard. And you are worthy of love.” He wanted to run. To move out of your eyesight, and if he could, out of your life.

He couldn’t. He wouldn’t dare. You were here, why would he ever leave? He took in everything around him, trying to stifle his nervous system that was telling him to abort the mission. He swore he could see the flashing red lights in his vision. He finally looked at you and the room was alive and it was all because of you, you were the sunshine he so desperately craved. Like his own personal star.  “Do you remember the first time you ever came to med bay? The conversation we had?”

“I remember the big three,” you softly smiled at him, and he watched as you took another sip from your mug.

Leonard just needed a little bit more context, for his own peace, to make sure the both of you were on the same page, “The big three?”

 “We talked about how flat whites are your preferred drink of choice, we talked about ‘the deal’ with me and Spock, and we talked about how you didn’t believe in soulmates.” It almost seemed like you had a checklist to remember. Feeling quite pleased with himself that you seemed to be on the same page already. 

“I never believed in having a soulmate. Not just for me, but for everyone. I’ve always thought it was crazy to love someone based on a mark we’ve had since we were born.” Leonard finally took his first drink, appreciating the warm, velvety milk that soothed his groggy morning throat, “The idea that you can’t love someone just because you weren’t chosen for them was always ridiculous to me. I’ve always wanted to reject the idea that someone should love me just because of a damn sign from the universe I had no say in.”

His gaze seemed more intense now, hoping you would know the gravity of the words he was trying to muster the courage to say. He was in this for the long haul, for the rest of his life. ‘The night I came to check on you I saw it. In the photo of you and Jim.”

You smiled at him and Leonard took a shaky breath, “Your mark is the dendrites of a multipolar neuron,” He watched your face morph as you brought your wrist to your face, gently tracing the lines with your fingers. Leonard pulled his arm out of the black thermal he was wearing, and for the first time, he turned his arm, and just below the crease of his elbow, was the finishing piece of yours, “I got the terminals of the neuron,”

“They look like plant roots,” You mused from your spot on the chair, now leaning over the arm of the chair to get a closer look, “Everything clicked that night,” Leonard stood, moving in front of you and bringing your wrist to the inside of his elbow, watching as your bodies and the image connected, “I ran away that night because I was scared. The thought of you being mine was almost too much to handle, then I saw the way you looked at me. No one had ever looked at me like that.” He was now holding your hand, watching as a slight blush consumed your cheeks. “You still look at me like that. I love you (Y/N), and the only thing I ever want is to be yours.”

**************************************

You wanted to cry,you had been naked in front of Leonard before but now you felt like you had been stripped bare, you needed a break in this conversation. You could feel the heaviness in the air, making it hard to breathe. “People will say things about you Leonard. It’s happened before.” 

“What? They’ll think I’m with you for the status?” Leonard puffed his chest playfully.

“No, that’s not what I’m worried about.” You straightened yourself up, now on your knees as you locked eye contact with Leonard, “You’re the CMO of the USS Enterprise, you don’t need my status. No, what I’m worried about is that you’re one of the youngest men I’ve dated, and that’s still a 9 year age difference.”

“Youngest? I told Jim they’d never let me speak at the Academy again.”

You couldn’t help but laugh, pulling him in by the front of his shirt, “I’ll have you know I am a grown adult Dr. McCoy. With a fully formed prefrontal cortex. I think I’m perfectly capable of making my own decisions.” You were hovering in front of his lips when you saw a small smile make an appearance, a knock at the door pulled two two of you out of your reverie and you groaned. Pulling away from him and grumbling under your breath all the way to your door.

James was waiting, bouncing in place as he tried seeing into your room from his angle in the hallway. “Did Leonard give you his gift?” James bounced his eyebrows up and down at you. 

“If you’re talking about the potentially giant venus fly trap then, yes.” You crossed your arms over your chest.

“So, it’s giant huh?” A smirk cracking his face as he watched yours morph.

“I mean…” you paused, not knowing if Leonard wanted to tell people, before shrugging your shoulders as you fully faced James, measuring the air with your pointer fingers.

“Are you serious? Tell me you’re joking?” You slightly jumped as Leonard placed his hand on your shoulder. 

“What are we joking about?” He yawned after he spoke and you knew it couldn’t have been any earlier than 0700. 

“James doesn’t believe you have a big dick.” You laughed as Leonard suddenly stood straighter and seemed to tense up, you turned toward him, pulling him down for a gentle kiss, “James didn’t believe that we actually told each other how we felt.”

“Thank god you did because my next plan was to strand the two of you in a desert at night.” 

“Goodbye James,” you briefly waved before closing the door and pulling Leonard into your bedroom.

[joelalorian]

Masterlist

Welcome to the madness that is my medicated mind! Hope you find something you enjoy. 18+ MDNI, warnings/tags included on each individual fic. No use of y/n, ever.

Series

Tides of Desire: TLOU no outbreak AU. Joel Miller is a luxury yacht captain running charters in the Caribbean. You join the crew as a deckhand and unexpectedly complicate Joel's peaceful existence. Basically the TLOU bunch on a Below Deck yacht. Complete.

Fall Into Me: dbf!Joel x f!reader. Joel is hanging on by a thread as a single father to a tenacious 10-year-old Sarah. Feeling like he's drowning, like the world is about to spit him out, he needs some help before he breaks in half. At your dad's insistence, you show up in his life and change everything. Complete.

Petals of Affection: A cozy, floral mystery in three parts featuring Jackson!Joel x f!reader. A secret admirer gifts you a different flower and a riddle ten times before you put the clues together and discover that he's been right in front of your face the whole time. Complete.

Wonder in Winterland: You, a city girl on a cross-country road trip a week before Christmas, find yourself stranded in a whimsical Christmas town. You soon discover there is more to life than big city dreams. Based on the Hallmark movie Love You Like Christmas. In progress December 2024.

One-Shots

Lost Cause: Joel thinks you shouldn’t waste your time on him. You disagree. Inspired by the song Save Me by Jelly Roll. Some of the lyrics have been woven into the story.

One-Shots

Fevered Flame: Marcus Pike x f!reader. When Marcus Pike lost himself in work after that debacle with Teresa, he didn’t expect to take on a sizzling new case in the quirky town of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. Nor did he expect to meet you, an up-and-coming agent also looking for a fresh start. An unprecedented heatwave, mind-boggling art thefts, ancient Aztec legends, this case had the works. How would he ever solve the case with the temperature rising between you both?

Series

Lycoris Radiata - Coming Soon!

Stepdad!Dave x f!reader - Coming January 2025!

One-Shots

Blown Away: How were you to know that Dave York blowing you a kiss in a quaint coffee shop one morning would change your life?

Whisked Away: Dave York is full of surprises. A secret getaway leads to the next step in your life with Dave. A follow-up to Blown Away, but could be read as a standalone.

One-Shots

beneath the silent boughs, whispers of danger flow: An adventure planned to impress you goes sideways, leaving Frankie scrambling to get you both out alive. Summer Lovin 2024 challenge fic.

Beacon of Hope: Rough weather leads to a helicopter crash. Is it real or all delirium? Written for @/almostfoxglove's angst challenge.

neighborhood watch: When someone - or something - starts causing mischief around your new neighborhood, you and your neighbor Frankie are paired up for the new neighborhood watch.

my skin in your teeth: Seems like everyone in the house wants to sink their teeth into Frankie in one way or another. A neighborhood watch sequel for #fucktober.

Sweetness in the Stars: While prospecting on a recently colonized moon, Ezra discovered a strawberry patch amidst the lush forests. Knowing how you missed the sweet fruit and longing for a way to get closer to you, he took you back to the grove to harvest the juicy, plump berries. Afterwards, Ezra treats you to an unexpected, sweet treat. Happy Pedro Hours charcuterie challenge fic.

a hero's blessing: The Norse goddess Frith weaves the fabric of destiny for every living being. A Norwegian gift of a thousand thanks unlocks a destiny which Marcus did not see coming. An Offering of Frith challenge fic.

Through Every Lifetime: Two souls find each other through every lifetime when love refuses to give up. A Roll-A-Trope challenge fic.

[v-o-i-d-e-d]

I've been binging romcoms with my younger sister and we just finished "To all the boys I have loved before" and now I can't get the idea out of my head: reader writing letters for different starfleet members without intending to send them and suddenly the letters are gone and being sent to their unintended targets (lol, probably Jim did it not knowing that they were not supposed to be read or something). Problem is: our favorite vulcan will too be receiving quite a love letter. Idk, I just thought it was cute, you can ignore if it's too silly ^\\\^

This was such a cute request and I love rom-com-type situations so I ran wild. Also, I'm sorry that this took so long for me to get out I have been busy with school and other annoying responsibilities! I hope you enjoy it!

Title: Message in a Bottle

Pairing: Spock x Kirk!reader

Warnings- none!

Word Count: 4047 my hand slipped

            Lieutenant (Y/N) Kirk had been having a totally normal day. She completed her duties on the bridge as normal and had just finished eating dinner with her brother Jim. Now as she headed back to her room, she could not wait to shower, crawl into bed, and enjoy the next few hours of sleep before she had to get up and do everything again. When she entered her room the automated door hissed closed and she was finally completely alone. She took a deep breath and turned the lights in the room on. She almost immediately noticed something that completely ruined her peace.

 Earlier that morning, (Y/N) was clearing out her storage closet and had sat a white box full of envelopes on her dining room table so that she would remember to find a new place for them. That box was no longer on the table. Now, one might think why is a missing box of envelopes a big deal? Well, they aren’t. It’s the fact that the envelopes were all properly addressed and full of letters to people she knew that she never intended to send. A few sappy ‘thank you’s to old teachers, a couple to her higher-ups including Captain Christopher Pike – the man who told the Kirk siblings to enroll in Star Fleet Academy. These letters would be slightly embarrassing if they got out but nothing (Y/N) couldn’t handle. After all, everything she wrote in them was true and she appreciates everything those people have done for her. There was only one letter in that whole box that worried (Y/N)—her love letter – a detailed love letter – to one Commander Spock. She cursed herself for writing and keeping a love letter in the first place though she didn’t anticipate the whole box would disappear. She tried to think back to earlier to see if she could remember if she moved it, but when she left her room after lunch it was still on the table and she hadn’t returned since.

            “This can’t be happening. It didn’t just sprout legs and walk away!” She said to herself. (Y/N) ran a hand down her face and thought hard. She paused, “No fucking way.” She exited her room at a jog and progressively got faster as she headed toward her brother’s room. She slid to a stop in front of the white door of the captain's quarters and rapidly slammed her fist against it.

            “James, open the door right now!”

The door slid open revealing a perplexed – and slightly afraid – Jim Kirk. He knew he had done something wrong for her to be angry enough to come to his room calling him by his full name. Of course, he had no idea what he had done but he decided it was best to try to start off ahead.

            “Look, I know you’re upset about-“

            “Did you move the white box on my dining room table when you were in my room earlier?”

            “Wait, what? That’s what you’re mad about?” Jim scrunched his face up and scratched the top of his head. (Y/N)’s eyes widened and she briefly looked around the corridor before shoving Jim back into his room and following him in. The door shut with a hiss and (Y/N) closed her eyes and took a deep breath in through her nose and out through her mouth. When she opened her eyes Jim was staring at her with a confused expression and his hands crossed over his chest.

            “Please, for the love of god, tell me you didn’t mail those letters,” (Y/N) said as calmly as she possibly could. Silence followed her question and she already knew the answer.

            “Well –“

            “Oh. My. God.”

            “There was a box of addressed envelopes on the table so I thought you needed them mailed!”

            “Jim! Why would you mail someone else's letters? Isn’t that, like, illegal or something?” (Y/N) was absolutely freaking out and, for the life of him, Jim couldn’t understand why.

            “I was trying to be nice! I knew you had a long day today and I wanted to take something off your plate! Excuse me for being a good brother,” Jim rolled his eyes at his sister and threw his hands in the air in exasperation.

            “Well, jackass, a good brother would have asked before just taking a box from his sister’s room and now there is a love letter headed to your second in command!”

A long pause followed her statement. Jim blinked once. Twice. Then a prolonged third blink.

            “What?” Jim had no idea what to say. (Y/N) groaned and ran her hands through her hair in frustration. She began to pace in the entryway and ramble about how dumb she was to write it in the first place and how she should have burned the letters when she had the chance. Jim finally shook his head to rouse himself out of his stunned silence.

            “Why the hell would you write a love letter…to Spock? Or to anyone for that matter what is this 1812?” Jim chuckled at his own joke but covered it with a cough when (Y/N) glared at him.

            “I don’t know! I like writing letters and I just started writing one day and it turned into a full blown sappy confession that I had planned to keep hidden till the day I died! Now it’s headed off to the last person in the universe who I wanted to see it.”

            “Well, maybe this isn’t so bad.”

            “I want you to stop talking.”

            “No, I’m serious maybe this is what you two need to stop dancing around the obvious!” Jim gestured vaguely with his hands as (Y/N) ceased her pacing. She sighed and shook her head.

            “Jim, we’ve been over this: Spock does not feel that way about me. And that’s fine!” (Y/N) and her brother had had many conversations about this subject. Always with Jim insisting that the feelings were mutual and (Y/N) denying that Spock would ever even look at her in that way. I’m his best friend’s little sister and his subordinate, she thought, He’s way too professional for that.

            Before Jim could respond, both of their communicators chimed. They were being called back to the bridge for an emergency. They briefly held eye contact before rushing toward the door. As they jogged toward the bridge, (Y/N) continued the conversation.

            “Okay did you just mail them today?”

            “Why are we still talking about this?”

            “Because I want to know how long I have to transfer to another part of the fucking galaxy to avoid embarrassment,” They turned a corner and the lights flickered before flashing red. The ship shuttered and Jim and (Y/N) struggled to regain footing.

            “Is it bad that I’m hoping whatever just happened happened to happen to the mail room?”

            “Yes. And that was way too many uses of the word ‘happened’.”

Six hours and several shots fired later, the trouble was averted. A rogue Klingon battalion had decided to attack the Enterprise while it was stationary and almost destroyed the engines but quick thinking from Jim, (Y/N), Spock, and Sulu had saved the day. (Y/N) was officially beyond exhausted. She was so tired, in fact, that she forgot about the whole letter situation and went straight to bed after the whole debacle was over.

Day 1 of waiting:

She slept blissfully and woke up rested and ready for the day. She had gotten dressed and ready and made her way back to the bridge. Unfortunately, her blissful restfulness was cut short when she laid eyes on a certain Commander and remembered the imminent embarrassment that was bound to ruin her life at some point this week.

            “Good morning, Lieutenant Kirk. You look rested.” Spock greeted her with a nod as he fell in step with her toward the bridge elevator.

            “Uh, yeah, good morning,” (Y/N) managed to only stutter once and she quickly cleared her throat. She shouldn’t be freaking out. They walked together to the bridge all the time. Of course, normally Jim is with them but still, casual meetings with Spock were not entirely out of the ordinary. As they walked, silence filled the space between the two and, to (Y/N), it was suffocating. Something on her face must have given away the fact that something was wrong.

            “Are you feeling alright, Lieutenant?” Spock asked. His face was neutral but he side eyed (Y/N) intensely. Briefly, (Y/N) met his heavy gaze before looking straight ahead.

            “Yup, feeling absolutely terrific!” She couldn’t even believe herself. Spock raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to speak again but, luckily for (Y/N), he was interrupted.

            “Lieutenant Kirk.” It was Scotty. God bless him! (Y/N) thought.

            “What’s up, Scotty?” Was that the formal way to address him? No. But (Y/N) just wanted to get out of speaking with Spock one-on-one.

   ��        “I need to speak to you. There are some issues with a few of the privates stationed in the engine room and I could use your help to resolve the issue before I throw some people out of the airlock!” His accent was strong with annoyance and (Y/N) couldn’t help but chuckle.

            “Sure thing,” She turned to Spock who had paused beside her, “You go on to the bridge, I’ll be in the engine room if you need me in the meantime.” Without waiting for an answer, (Y/N) hurried toward the engine room leaving Scotty to trail behind.

Day 2 of waiting:

            It was only the second day, and Spock had already caught on to the fact that (Y/N) was avoiding him. (Y/N) knew it was not going to be easy to allude him while also keeping it a secret that she was doing it on purpose, after all – Spock isn’t an idiot and (Y/N) is anything but subtle. Spock and (Y/N) had a routine and of course in an effort to not speak to him (Y/N) had changed it so that she was usually off the bridge when Spock was there and vice versa.

            “Lieutenant Kirk you are needed on the bridge,” Chekov’s thick accent crackled through (Y/N)’s communicator and she sighed. She knew Spock would be there which is why she was currently in the engine room recalibrating the warp drive. It was busy work that she normally wouldn’t do but anything to avoid the impending embarrassment.

            “On my way.”

            When she arrived, Spock immediately shifted his gaze from his work to her. (Y/N) briefly met his gaze before walking toward her brother who was seated in his chair with his legs thrown over the armrest. She rolled her eyes.

            “What do you want, Jim?”

            “That’s no way to address your captain, Lieutenant,” Jim had a smug smile on his face – as usual – and it took everything in (Y/N) not to smack him on the back of his head.

            “Tell me what you want or I’m leaving. I was working, unlike some people,” She scoffed as she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned into her hip.

            “Okay, I am sending you and Spock on a mission,” Jim’s smirk got wider as he noticed his sister’s eye twitch in annoyance. “The planet we’re coming up on is supposed to be abandoned but there should be evidence of a previous civilization. I figured with your archeological knowledge and Spock’s general smart-assery you two would fit the job perfectly.”

(Y/N) took a deep breath in through her nose as she glared at Jim. She sneaked a glance at Spock.

He was listening in on the conversation – an action he deemed logical since it also pertained to him. His eyes were focused on the screen in front of him but he could see (Y/N) from the corner of his eye. He noticed her normally relaxed state was exchanged for tensed shoulders and a glowering expression. Whatever had been going on yesterday had most certainly carried into today. He thought. (Y/N) Kirk was one of his closest friends just as James Kirk was. Though many things that the younger Kirk did were illogical and not well thought out, she knew how to get the results she wanted and always figured out a way for everyone to be happy or at least safe. Spock enjoyed her company even more than he enjoyed her brother’s. She was smart, kind, and usually quiet if it was just the two of them. She was a challenging chess opponent and someone dear to his heart. Not that he would say that to her.

(Y/N) sighed, “Okay. When do we leave?”

“Tomorrow afternoon. We’ll be in the atmosphere at around 12 o’clock Earth time so you’ve got plenty of time to research and prepare. Why don’t you and Spock take the rest of the day for whatever nerd stuff you need to do,” Jim waved his sister off before getting up and leaving the bridge. (Y/N) glared at his back as he left before begrudgingly walking over to Spock.

“Hey, Spock,” she said. Her eyes were focused on the ground rather than up at the Vulcan who was looking at her intently. (Y/N) took a breath in through her nose before finally lifting her gaze to meet Spock’s, “Let’s go get some lunch and we can talk about the mission.”

Before the Vulcan had the chance to respond, (Y/N) quickly turned on her hell and started walking toward the elevator. Spock easily caught up to her before the doors closed and as the elevator began to descend, Spock spoke up.

“(Y/N), are you feeling ill?” Spock dropped the formalities and asked straight out. (Y/N) lifted an eyebrow and looked at her Commander with a curious gaze.

“No, I’m fine. Why do you ask?” This was a stupid question, (Y/N) realized. Her behavior was at best erratic and clearly intentional so it was only logical for Spock to know something was wrong. She did breathe an internal sigh of relief knowing that Spock hadn’t received the letter, otherwise, she was sure he would have confronted her by now – mutual feelings or not.

“You’ve been acting strange for the last couple of days. I want to be sure that your behavior will not negatively affect your performance on this mission.”

(Y/N) fought the urge to roll her eyes as the elevator doors hissed open. Of course. She thought. He’s only worried about this dumb mission my dumb brother is sending us on to torture me.

“I am also worried about your well-being, Lieutenant.” Spock’s surprising sentiment almost made (Y/N) trip on her own foot. She cleared her throat and shrugged her shoulders as they turned the corner of the hallway.

“I promise, I’m okay. Just have a lot on my mind right now.”

“Ah, yes, the letter.”

(Y/N) swore her heart stopped right there in the hallway. She hesitantly looked at Spock, trying her best to keep her expression as neutral as his. She didn't know how to respond I could play dumb, she mused, but he’s too smart for that to work. The man knows my handwriting so it would be impossible for me to deny that I wrote it. She took a deep breath through her nose, Fuck it.

“Yeah, actually that is what’s on my mind. And honestly, I had hoped I could just ignore the problem but I should have known that wouldn’t work with you.” (Y/N) rambled.

“Why would this be a problem?” Spock tilted his head slightly and furrowed his eyebrows, something that (Y/N) found impossible endearing.

“It could ruin things! In so many ways!” By now, (Y/N) was pacing the hallway and Spock was more confused than ever. “You’re my superior officer and I just sent a love letter to you! Of course, I wouldn’t be dumb enough to send it that would be my genius brother. But I was dumb enough to leave the box out and allow him into my room! But I mean, who mails other people’s letters without asking? What was he even thinking?”

“(Y/N) –“

“I’m so sorry! I seriously didn’t mean to tell you like this and if I’m honest, I didn’t intend on telling you at all! My feelings were supposed to be kept to myself! Well, to myself and Jim but he’s a nosey bastard who obviously can’t mind his business! I don't know why I tell him anything and honestly, I wish he’d just – “

“(Y/N).” Spock, tired of listening to her pointlessly rambling on about how annoying her brother is – a fact he knew to be true – grabbed her gently by the shoulder to get her to stop pacing. Now that she wasn’t speaking and instead was staring up at him like a kicked puppy waiting to be scolded his mind went blank. Spock was officially at a loss for words. “I was talking about the letter of promotion Admiral Pike sent you. About the head of engineering position.”

She wanted to disappear. Perhaps if she willed it hard enough, she could fade from existence on the spot. For once, it was running her own mouth that got her in trouble instead of her brother’s. (Y/N) tried to read Spock’s expression but couldn’t and that sent even more anxiety straight to her gut.

“Oh.” That was all she managed to say. She quickly regained her wits, “Then just forget everything I said and we can just go back to normal!” She let out a nervous laugh that sounded more like a cry and started to walk in the direction of the cafeteria. However, Spock hadn’t let go of her shoulder and as she walked away his grip slipped from her shoulder down to her hand, stopping her in her tracks.

“Wait.” That was all he managed to say. His mind was still reeling trying to decipher her quick words. A love letter. He thought. She loves me? He couldn’t believe it. “You love me?”

Despite her distraught state, she had to admit she had never seen Spock looking so dumbfounded, as if what she said was something he had never thought of in any scenario. His hand still held hers firmly and he gently pulled her back towards him. “You love me.” He said again, though this time it seemed as though he was finally understanding the situation.

“Okay, Spock, you’re starting to sound like a broken record, and the record is titled Hurting (Y/N)’s Feelings.” She chuckled only to keep herself from bursting into tears out of sheer embarrassment. This was the moment she was dreading. The absolute end of a friendship and a lifetime of shame. I’ll have to go into exile. Maybe I’ll ask Scotty to throw me out of the airlock. She thought. Just as she was about to speak again, Spock dropped her hand turned on his heel, and headed back in the direction they came from. That was when the damn broke and (Y/N)’s eyes welled up with hot tears. Blinking rapidly, she haphazardly looked around the hallway to make sure no one saw her before jetting away in the direction of her room.

“You left her in the hallway?” Jim was on the verge of shouting. He was absolutely flabbergasted at Spock’s behavior. Spock rolled his eyes.

“I was unsure of what I was supposed to do.”

“So you decided to leave my baby sister in the hallway, by herself, after basically confessing her undying love for you.”

“You’re being dramatic.”

“Trust me, I am not.” Jim ran a hand through his hair and huffed out an annoyed sigh. He paced back and forth, a habit that Spock noticed the siblings share, before looking back at his second in command. “Okay, you have to go after her.”

Spock knew this. It was obviously the most logical course of action. There was only one problem: “What am I supposed to say to her?”

“Apologize for rudely walking away, first off. Then – and this is just a spitball idea – tell her you feel the same!”

Jim was actually convinced that Spock’s brain had short-circuited. Spock wasn’t firing on all cylinders because if he was, he would understand the logical thing to do. Secretly, Jim was happy this situation happened. He had been trying to the Spock and his sister together for months now but he found the process to be similar to cutting a tree down with a blunt axe.

“Beginning a relationship with Lieutenant Kirk would violate –“

“Not if she accepts the promotion.”

“She’d still be my subordinate!”

“Only in the same way Scotty is our subordinate! He only has to listen to us sometimes.”

“That is not how the ranking system works.”

“Who cares?” Jim was tired of arguing with Spock over something that seemed so obvious. Spock felt the same way. “Listen, if you don’t want to tell her you have feelings for her I can’t make you. What I can tell you is that no matter what you do the sentence needs to start with I’m sorry and end with something nice. Turn off the Vulcan side for a change, not everything you do has to be completely logical. Sometimes we just need to do things that we want.”

It must have been a strange sight. The commanding officer of the USS Enterprise stood stiffly in front of (Y/N)’s quarters. He was still trying to figure out what exact words he needed to say and he had taken to scratching at his cuticles out of nervousness. I should not just be standing here. He thought. Shaking his head and finally lifting his clenched fist, he knocked twice. Panic briefly set into his veins as he realized he was actually going to have to talk to (Y/N). A cold shiver ran up his spine as the door’s airlock hissed open and revealed (Y/N) on the other side. He could tell she had been crying, though the tears seemed to be mostly dry by now. Her red-rimmed eyes lightly glared up at him and she crossed her arms tightly over her body.

“Can I help you?” Her voice was scratchy and her words were punctuated by a sniffle. Spock felt an ache deep in his gut from knowing he had made her feel this way.

“I-“ He paused. Once again he was speechless but he was determined to make this right. “I apologized for the way I behaved. Leaving you there after such an important moment was not the right thing to do and I am sorry for hurting you.” Even as he did his best to keep his tone even he couldn’t help the slight waver in his voice.

“It’s alright, Spock. Honest. I’ll be okay and ready for the mission tomorrow. Like I said we can just go back to normal and forget about it.” She was offering him an out. He knew he could easily just take it and go but part of him, a large part of him refused to give up that easily.

“No.”

“What?”

“I do not wish to return to normal.”

“Oh.” (Y/N) believed this to be the final moment of friendship. He wanted nothing to do with her anymore. “Um, okay. I guess you can just do the mission alone or ask my brother to –“

“You misunderstand. I do not want to return to normal because I reciprocate your feelings of affection.”

Oh. (Y/N) thought. A moment of silence passed between them. Spock watched (Y/N)’s face for any sign of emotion but she seemed frozen. He wouldn’t lie, she thought. Vulcans don’t lie. “You do?” her voice was quieter than she intended, almost a whisper.

Spock took her hand in his larger one. “Of course I do. I believe an adequate way to put it would be you have bewitched me, body and soul.”

(Y/N) couldn’t help the giggle, “So you do listen when I talk about Jane Austin. I thought you found romance novels illogical.”

“Everything about you is illogical, but that is one of the many things I find alluring about you.” They both smiled. (Y/N) had only seen Spock actually smile a few times and each time it was like new life had filled her lungs but this time it was even better knowing that the smile was put there solely for her. And this time, she couldn’t stop herself from kissing that smile even if she tried.

[elen-aranel]

Helloo~ May I make a Christopher Pike x reader request? It's a month old scuttlebutt, that the captain is involved with you, based solely on misconstrued events (leaving the direction of his quarters early morn in a rumpled uniform, stopping by medbay for a 'shot') Everyone knows that everyone knows, from cadet to captain. Except you don't. And noone has bothered checking. And the captain finds it funny (and you 'apparently' don't mind either as you've not bothered to shoot it down) so any moments you two have in view of others, he gives you a conspirational wink with some flirty banter. You think (hope) he's really flirting and not just being friendly.

Is it a bit much for a request? If so lemme know. Or i can commission? Idk. The idea hit me and it made me giggle with all the ways it could go.

Thank you so much for the request, and for your patience... this took a while! I hope you like the direction I've gone with it <333

Common Knowledge

Pairing: Christopher Pike x F!Reader (no Y/N) Warnings/Notes: Reader wears the dress version of the standard SNW uniform. Food mentions, alcohol mention. WC: 5.8k

It all starts the morning after you spent gamma shift in a Jeffries tube. Well. Several Jeffries tubes, in fact, chasing down an issue with a relay that had blown and taken a bunch of circuitry out with it, including some life support systems.

You’re feeling good, though, as you step out into the corridor on a deck full of crew quarters. Yes, your red uniform dress is creased and you’re in dire need of a shower, but the relay and the burned-out circuitry are replaced, and all systems are back online.

You deserve a water shower, not a sonic one, you tell yourself as you head toward the turbolift, nodding to the occasional officer as you walk by them. You just need to make sure the ops console on the bridge is reading everything correctly, then your duty shift will be done.

“Commander, Lieutenant,” you greet Lieutenant Commander Chin-Riley and Lieutenant Ortegas as you enter the turbolift. Unlike you, they both look fresh and ready to face the day. Number One nods in greeting, but Ortegas looks you up and down quite blatantly, and you find you’re trying to smooth your skirt despite yourself.

“Long night?”

“I—” you start, but before you can reply—

“Computer, hold. Open the doors,” Commander Chin-Riley says, and as you turn, Captain Pike is walking into the lift. And somehow, even though you’ve been on the Enterprise for a while, you’re never not struck by his presence. His broad shoulders. How handsome he is.

“Good morning, Number One, Ortegas. Lieutenant.” He puts an odd weight on your title, even though of course he knows your name, and then your mind goes blank as he winks one of those blue eyes.

“C-captain,” you stutter, well aware of Ortegas trying to stifle a laugh next to you.

“Sleep well?” Una asks, something knowing in her voice, after the captain directs the turbolift to the bridge.

“I’ve had… more restful nights,” he says, and looks at you sideways, doubtless taking in your rumpled dress and less-than-fresh appearance. “Like the lieutenant here, I’d wager,” he adds, and you must have missed a memo somewhere because this ‘lift ride has gotten very weird, very fast.

You decide keeping quiet is your best bet — it’s a short ride, thank goodness.

But you can’t shake the feeling that there are eyes on you as you finish your work on the bridge.

It may have started in a Jeffries tube, but it continues in sickbay.

You appreciate knowing sickbay is there. Doctor M'Benga and Nurse Chapel are skilled at their jobs, and you’ve had cause to be grateful for them when accidents happen, from a pulled muscle during a workout to a painful plasma burn from faulty equipment.

That doesn’t mean you love getting your quarterly check-up and shots. But you decided early on in your career that you weren’t going to be one of those people doctors had to chase for their physicals. Every three months you turn up. You’re due for routine vaccinations against some common alien viruses that human immune systems need reminders about, and your contraceptive shot.

Not that you really need it, of course. You aren’t getting any. The closest you’ve been since you joined the Enterprise was Lieutenant Paulson, a senior engineer who sometimes commands gamma shift when you’re on that rotation. He asked you out to dinner on Starbase 1, and while you like him as a person, you had to decline. You’d known him for a while, and never felt any kind of spark. And there’s been no-one— there’s been almost no-one else on the ship that you’re interested in. But still, you get your shot.

Today your appointment is during your shift. You didn’t want to be interrupted; you’re working on a new scanning device to be used on a planet with an unusual combination of atmosphere and magnetic field, which affects the resolution of normal scanners. So when your reminder went off you kept hold of your PADD, and you carried on entering the design parameters as you walked.

“Woah there,” a voice cuts through the equations you’re focussing on, and you feel hands on your arms, steadying you as you stumble.

As it turns out, walking with a PADD is a mistake.

Especially when you walk straight into the captain in the corridor outside sickbay.

“Captain! I’m so sorry! I—I was— I’ll pay more attention.” You look up, flustered, into his blue eyes, suddenly keenly aware of the bulk of him, of the controlled strength in his hands.  Happily, he seems amused rather than annoyed, that half smile playing about his lips.

“I do admire your... dedication, Lieutenant, but you’re right. Paying attention is a good idea.”

And as the doors to sickbay swish open, letting Chief Kyle and one of your fellow engineers out onto the corridor, you realise the captain hasn’t moved. You’re still in his space, and he’s still holding you.

“Captain, Lieutenant... are you joining us?” Nurse Chapel looks as though she’s suppressing a smile. “You’re, uh... both here for your quarterly shots, right?” she adds, as Pike finally steps back, and you walk with him into sickbay. You nod, mutely.

“Yes. Timed it perfectly this time, didn’t we Lieutenant?” he says, and he grins at you, knowing.

“Sure,” you find yourself saying, sitting down a little abruptly on the biobed Doctor M'Benga indicates. Is Pike… flirting with you? Or just being his usual warm self?

“This shouldn’t take too long. I’m sure you want to get back to your... duties.” M'Benga looks meaningfully at Pike, who shrugs, a picture of innocence.

“Can you blame us?”

You can’t help your smile.

But actually, now you really think about it, maybe you’re wrong.  Maybe it started with the onions.

You have a shift free, moving from nights to days as you do on a semi-regular basis, since some edict came down from Starfleet that people shouldn’t just work nights for health reasons. It doesn’t entirely make sense to you; you’re on a ship, so it’s not like anyone has a real day or night, but being able to socialise with people who are always on alpha is a plus, and you suppose the same rules apply to planetary bases which do have day and night.

The captain has invited you to dinner. That isn’t special, even though you wish it were – he likes to get to know the whole crew in an informal setting, and it’s just your turn. And maybe you over-think it just a little, during the day, planning what to wear to make yourself look pretty but not like you’d tried too hard.

Either way, you are early. You only realise as you press the chime for the door, when it’s too late to back out.

But the captain’s smile is warm and welcoming. “Hi, come in, come in. You any good with a vegetable knife?”

You grin in return, relaxing. “Yes sir. It’s been a little while, but I can chop.”

“Chris. We’re not on the clock right now.”

“Yes, Chris.” You follow him into the kitchen area of his quarters, taking in the fire, the view of a green forest through the windows, all the details that mark the space as his.

“Excellent. That spatial anomaly today— well. I’m playing catch-up here.”

“Oh wow, you really are...” the vegetables are all laid out ready, and there are a lot. But then, you don’t know how many people will be here. “Set me to work. How do you want the carrots?”

Pike’s knives are sharp and well balanced, and it’s easy to chop carrots into even circles, and to dice potatoes into neat cubes. You chat, too, about the food he’s making, and the special unit he had the ship’s botanists set up to let him grow fresh herbs in space.

You’re pretty much on autopilot by the time you get to the onions. You know the technique: you slice them in half through the root, then make sure you don’t cut the root again as you cut from close to the root to the tip, then across into chunks.

“So, there’s something I’m curious about,” you say as you grab the next onion.

“Oh?” Pike pauses for a moment, hand poised over the control for the oven.

“The forest overlay you have for the windows. Is it somewhere special to you? It’s really lovely.” You blink a little as you chop. Perhaps you got a lash or something in your eye.

Pike presses the control on the oven, then turns to look at you. “No, actually it’s—” he frowns. “Wait, are you all right?”

You blink again. “Of course, why wouldn’t I be?” Your brow draws together, and you put your knife down, turning to him a little more.

“Because you’re crying.” He starts towards you.

“Oh, damn.” You can feel it now — that tell-tale sting in your eyes. You look down at your chopping. “The onions. But I was being careful.” You sigh, blink again, and feel a tear roll down your cheek.

“If there are a lot it doesn’t matter how careful you are. I’m sorry, I should have done them.” He reaches past you, and you’re terribly aware of him in your space. He pulls off a piece of kitchen towel.

 “It’s not your fault—” the words die on your lips as he turns to face you, blue eyes filled with concern.

“I’ll just—I don’t want you to use your hands—” and he takes the towel and dabs your face, and you suck a little breath in at his closeness, wondering why it has to be in a circumstance like this, when the door chime goes. “Enter,” he says, distractedly, blotting away one more tear before stepping back. “There. No harm done. But you should wash up. Ah, Spock, perhaps you can take over the chopping.”

You look round to see that Spock, Sam Kirk, Ortegas and Uhura have all walked in, just in time to see you with red eyes from the onions. At least, you think as you wash the onion off your hands, your makeup is waterproof.

Regardless of how things did or did not start, you’re pretty sure the captain only thinks of you as a friend. That this flirting is just a joke between the two of you... even if you wish it were real. Either way, you decide you might as well enjoy it.

You get back to the transport point from your solo hike on Chi Orianis Prime – it’s beautiful, with fluffy peachy-pink grass that’s soft underfoot and smells very slightly citrus-y when you tread on it, interspersed with lavender coloured bushes, with views of blue lakes and red mountains in the distance – right as Pike gets back from his fishing trip. Given how he’s carrying his cooler, it must have been a successful one.

You’re just about to ask him about it when Chapel and Ortegas arrive, with Uhura and La’an in tow, laughing together. They’re wearing t-shirts and shorts and sandals, carrying towels — clearly back from the beach, La’an actually looking like she might have caught the sun a little.

You take a step closer to him.

“Enjoy your trip?” The smile on Erica’s face is just a little too innocent.

“Yes, thank you. Wouldn’t have been the same without the lieutenant here, though.” Pike catches your eye, and you smile back at him, sappy, playing along.

“The captain’s right. We had a good time.”

None of your close friends wanted to go to movie night with you tonight. They’re showing a classic 20th century Earth film, Casablanca, and none of them were interested in seeing something that old. But it seems pretty popular with the rest of the crew when you get there. You pick up some popcorn first, wondering once again whose idea it was to put a Starfleet delta on the containers, and you head to find a seat.

Maybe it was a good thing your friends didn’t come. There aren’t too many spaces left when you go to sit down, but there are a few seats a couple of rows in front of where Spock and Nurse Chapel are sitting together. You settle in, allowing yourself three pieces of popcorn before the lights go down.

And right before they do, Pike slides into the free seat next to you.

“I thought you were going to stand me up,” you tell him, tilting your popcorn container over.

“A gentleman would never,” he replies, and you can hear the smile in his voice as he takes a piece.

The back of the shuttle is open to the bay, and Cadets Novakova and Manuel, on engineering rotation, are standing inside it with you, PADDs in hand. You’ve popped a panel off the inside of the shuttle, and you indicate a junction point.

“So, okay. You want to interplex the circuitry here. What will be the result of that? What are you hoping to achieve?”

“Well, the increased signal strength will improve thruster response time and efficiency.” Manuel says, shrugging his broad shoulders like it’s obvious.

“Yes, and we need better responsiveness for the planet. The atmospheric differentials are almost out of spec.” Novakova nods. “This is the easiest way to achieve that.”

“All right. And looking at the systems in front of you, will there be any other consequences?”

“No, there shouldn’t, it should just—” there’s a pause, then Novakova steps back, playing with a twist of her blonde hair as she considers. “Wait. That pathway, it connects to the impulse engine as well, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, it does, and the boosted signal would go through there too…” Manuel’s fingers fly over his PADD.

They look at each other as the penny drops, and you notice Pike in the bay, listening in. You tilt your head and raise a brow in a silent invitation, but he shakes his head a little, content to observe.

“So if we interplex the circuitry there, we will get an increase in thruster efficiency, but at the expense of introducing instability into the impulse control matrix.” Manuel sighs.

“You’re flying along, minding your business and then boom. Impulse reactor overload.” Novakova winces. “I didn’t see that.”

You nod. “You didn’t. Because neither of you really looked. For what it’s worth, it would probably have worked on the shuttles at the academy. But these are a different model. You have to work with what’s actually in front of you. That’s half the battle.”

“Wise words, Lieutenant.” Pike leans into the back of the shuttle, and you can’t help your smile at the praise as the cadets turn to acknowledge him. “The two of you should take them to heart.”

You're sitting on a bench in the bar, sipping a favourite drink, listening to Ensign Thyra play an Earth guitar but sing a wistful sounding song in her native Andorian, when Lieutenant Ortegas sits down next to you. And then Nurse Chapel sits on your other side.

“So, you and the captain. How’s that going?” Christine’s opening is straight to the point.

You give her a sceptical look. “It... isn’t? Hi to you too, by the way.” You turn to Erica. “To both of you.”

“Oh, come on. You guys are not subtle.” Erica rolls her eyes. “It’s been scuttlebutt for weeks. Me, Number One,” she starts counting off on her fingers, “Christine, Mbenga, Uhura...”

“Sam Kirk,” Christine adds.

“Yes, Sam Kirk, Spock, La’an...”

 “We’ve all seen it. I even heard the cadets talking about it. Everyone knows.”

You shake your head, putting your drink down on the table in front of you. “We’re not... I don’t—” you look from one to the other. “There’s nothing between the captain and me.” You take a breath. “He flirts, sometimes I flirt back, but it’s just a joke.”

“Doesn’t look like a joke to me.” Christine says, her voice soft, almost sympathetic.

Erica shrugs. “It’s okay. You don’t have to admit it, if you guys are keeping things to yourselves... We just wanted you to know that we’re happy for you. Pike should have someone on the ship. And you. You should have someone too.” Her smile as she stands to leave is genuine.

“I—I’m not hiding anything. But thanks, I guess? I appreciate the sentiment.”

Arriving early when the captain invites you to a crew dinner is your habit now. You enjoy helping with prep when you can, and having a quiet moment to chat with Chris.

But this time you use the computer to check that others have arrived before you get there. You try to relax; these are your friends, Chris is your friend, but with what Erica and Christine said… you feel self-conscious. Second guessing everything you do and say.

 You leave as soon as you can without being rude.

You feel a bit self-conscious with work, too, although you try to bury it. Especially with Pike piloting the shuttle for this mission. You’re sitting in your tactical uniform in the back of shuttle Kepler with Spock, Sam Kirk, La’an, and a couple more science officers. You would expect Kirk especially to pass some comment, but even he is quiet, because Zeta Lyrae VI’s wind shear is every bit as bad as science predicted.

A long-range scanning probe identified it as a possible source of dilithium as well as some other useful minerals — visual scan only, though, because the strange magnetic field prevented scanning of the interior. But that’s where the scanner you developed comes in. The visual scan also tagged some potential ruins which Kirk will investigate, and there’s general surveying to do too.

You grit your teeth against the turbulence. You trust that the captain’s piloting skills and the modifications you and the cadets made to the shuttle will see you safely to the ground, but you still feel motion sick. You know, though, there are pattern enhancers in the cargo. Perhaps you’ll be able to beam back up.

The turbulence lessens as you get deeper into the atmosphere, but you’re still very glad when the shuttle touches down. There’s a metallic tang to the air as the shuttle door opens, but it’s cool and refreshing despite that, and you take a deep breath, settling your rolling stomach, before you get to work.

The dawn sky of Zeta Lyrae IV is muted shades of pale blue and grey, warming a little to mauve-pink at the horizon, where the two suns have just risen. Barren-looking plains stretch out in front of you, with a river lazily meandering across, and there are hills leading to mountains not far away to your right. It’s hard to make out, but the lines of dark stones partially embedded in the ground to your left could well be the remains of a wall, and there are other, more defined structures further away in that direction.

“Lieutenant, you have everything you need?”

“Yes sir.” You lift your last case again, the heavy one, and try to keep your face blank at the weight of it. You know you’ll be feeling it tomorrow, but its contents were too large for your backpack. “I’ve identified a site two kilometres away that’s suitable for the scanner base. Enhanced scanning should be online within an hour.”

Pike nods. “Kirk, La’an, you have the ruins. Spock, the science survey is yours.” He turns to you. “Let me help with that.”

“I’m fine, honestly,” you protest as Pike takes the case from you, fingers brushing yours for one tiny electric moment.

“We’ll make quicker time if we share the load. Which I’m sure Spock will appreciate.”

“Aye, sir.”

You notice that there’s no flirtatious comment today.

This planet feels a bit like a dream, with its dead quiet, muted colours, pearly grey sky and the two suns gently highlighting the landscape. The only evidence you can see of the turbulent atmosphere are the occasional blue-green clouds scudding quickly across the sky.

You pick your way through the pathless terrain, looking for any signs of life. While there are scraps of ragged looking vegetation here and there, a lot of it seems dead, and the planet as a whole seems mostly barren.

You don’t make conversation; there’s something about the planet’s quiet and your confused emotions that steals your ability to make small talk, and Pike is quiet too. There’s just the sound of two pairs of boots crunching on the ground.

Until you almost step on a flower: a seven petaled bloom in the shape of a star, pale blue in the middle deepening to grey-purple just at the tips. You pause to get a better look, to see if there are any others like it nearby, but it seems solitary.

“Are you all right, Lieutenant?”

You look up to see Pike has stopped too, mild concern on his face.

“Yes sir, I’m fine.” You straighten up. “I just... this flower is the only one I’ve seen, and I wonder... is it the last gasp of the life that used to live on this planet, or is it a glimpse of hope for the future?”

Pike glances at the flower, but his focus is on you when he speaks. “We’ll likely never know, but I... I choose hope.”

The site you chose from the visual scan is obvious when you get there. You’re at the edge of the hills, and there’s a grey cliff curving round one edge of a flat open area. Geophysics had identified it as a potential location for dilithium, and as you get close you can see veins of the pink crystal running through the rock.

Now you just need to find out how much there is.

With Pike helping it doesn’t take too long to set the scanner up. You start with the base in the case he was carrying, and together you fold it out into a large circle, locking struts and its three legs in place.

You attach the probe that will drill into the soil, the antennas to communicate with the smaller unit near the shuttle and with the Enterprise, and to facilitate scanning in the atmosphere. Finally, you attach the computer from your backpack which is the brains of the system — you can’t help your private smile of satisfaction as it comes online. The shuttle is far enough away that its systems don’t affect the sensitive scans, and when the probe deploys and calibration data flows straight through immediately.

You talk to Commander Pelia and Lieutenant Spock on comms, making adjustments on the fly to the different parameters, optimising the uplink from the scanner and away team’s tricorders to the Enterprise.

Pike checks in with La’an at some point, but next time you look up you see he’s a little way away, tricorder out, following a standard scanning pattern working outward from where you are. You’re a little surprised he didn’t tell you that’s what he was going to do. Then the scanner beeps as the drill returns a result outside expected tolerances, pulling your focus.

It’s easier to get lost in your work than think about him, and for a long while, you do.

“Lieutenant, do you see that?” There’s a note of concern in Pike’s voice, and you follow his gaze to the horizon to your right.

It almost looks like a distant rain shower would on Earth, but there are green lights sparking all through it. Like lightning but less directional. You take a breath, and realise the metallic smell has intensified, to the point you can almost taste it.

“Yes, sir, I do.” You turn and meet Pike’s eyes.

“Plasma storm?”

“Plasma storm.” You redirect your scanner’s gain to maximum in that direction, sacrificing resolution elsewhere.

Pike’s tone is rueful. “Should’ve known when I scanned a burned patch of vegetation. It must have developed quickly.”

“Looks like it’s moving fast, too.”

“I’ll contact the rest of the away team, have them meet us at the shuttle. You start packing.”

“Sir,” you reply, distracted, already deep in the scanner readouts. You vaguely hear Pike calling Spock, then La’an, but you’re focused on one last scan.

“Lieutenant? I gave you an order.”

“Yes sir, you did, but look.” You point to the readout of the storm’s speed on the screen. “Scans show that even if we leave right now, we can’t make it back to the shuttle before the storm hits. We don’t even have time for them to pick us up.”

Pike frowns. “Options?”

“The cliff. There’s a cave system behind it. I don’t think there’s an entrance close enough, but...”

“Phasers? All this dilithium makes it risky.”

“Plasma burns are no fun, sir. I would know.”

He raises a brow. “Sounds like a story for later. All right. Let’s do this.”

You grab your phaser from your holster and dial the power up.

“Fire.”

You focus your beam on the weakest spot, and Pike fires at it too. And... nothing happens, for long enough for a shade of doubt to creep in. Then there’s a sound, a pile of rubble, and a gap. Just large enough for a person.

The cave is dark. It’s big, too, enough that the torches on your vests can’t illuminate the other side from where you are.

The storm is still raging outside, but the sound of it is quiet in here; the narrow space you opened the gap into curved round for a few metres before opening out into the space you’re in.

Now all you can do is sit and wait.

And you’re so aware of Pike, sitting with you.

He’s quiet, and now you come to think of it he has been all day. Definitely no flirting. You try to steal a glance at him, see what he’s thinking, but it’s too dark, and you don’t want to turn to face him.

You cast around for a distraction, and find a piece of dilithium embedded in the rock floor of the cavern next to you. The surface is flat and glassy-smooth, but with a few imperfections, and you like the feel of it under your fingers. In your head you go over the dilithium crystal eigenstates you memorised at the academy in one of your classes in warp field mechanics, and calculate the power output you would need for your phaser to trigger different levels.

“Sir, I’d like to try something, to give us some more light. It’s safe.”

“Sure. Go ahead.”

You adjust your phaser to its second lowest setting, scoot across a little and fire on the dilithium, counting seconds in your head. It starts glowing red immediately, but as you shut the beam off the glow spreads, along one vein, then another, then another, until the whole cavern is lit up like its own galaxy, surrounding you on the floor, the walls, the ceiling.

“Wow, that’s—that’s good work. Thank you.”

There’s something in his expression as he looks at you, the wonder in his eyes melting into a smile, that makes you brave.

“So… I had an—an interesting chat with Chapel and Ortegas the other day.”

“Oh?”

“Apparently the scuttlebutt is that we’re dating... we’ve been dating for a while. They wouldn’t believe me when I told them it wasn’t true.” You stare out across the cavern at all the glimmering lights.

“Oh.” He exhales. “Hah, yeah… I’m, uh, sorry about that? Things… got away from me.” You hear him stir, move into a different position.

You frown. “I don’t understand. What are you sorry for?”

“I’ve always been interested in you. And you’re not the sort of person that’s cowed by rank – Paulson is your superior, in your chain of command, but I was in the bar when he asked you to dinner, and you were so sure of yourself when you rejected him. So that day in the turbolift, Una and Erica jumping to conclusions... Your face was a picture, and I had to take Una’s bait. But by the time she told me there was already a rumour, you were joining in, and I—”

His voice goes quiet, like a confession.

“I couldn’t stop. And that wasn’t fair to you… making you an object of gossip like that.”

“Chris, I—” but now it comes to it, you can’t find the words. How do you tell him that you wouldn’t mind, not at all, if only the gossip were real? “But you did stop. We’ve barely spoken today. Until now.”

“I can read the room. You weren’t up for it the other night. Or today. And… I would never force my attentions where they clearly aren’t wanted.”

“But... they are, Chris. They are wanted.”

The cavern is dead quiet, and you almost wonder if you actually spoke aloud. But the look in Pike’s eyes when you finally turn to meet them—

“Lieutenant Spock to Captain Pike. Come in, please.”

Pike shrugs a little, face apologetic, as he flips open his communicator.

The ride back to the Enterprise is as quiet, and bumpy, as the ride to the planet. Spock and the rest of the away team had sheltered in the shuttle with shields up while the storm passed over them, and when the Enterprise’s scanners had shown that another one was forming, they came to pick you up.

All the equipment you left outside was destroyed.

But you think, as you climb in the shuttle, you catch a glimpse of one of those star-shaped flowers, still intact. Still blooming.

And Pike makes a point to catch your eye as you leave the shuttle bay. It’s subtle, but you recognise the invitation.

You think you can smell food as you press Pike’s door chime, and the scent only gets more appetising as you walk in. The lights are low, apart from the fire burning brightly, and Pike pauses, apron on over his gold uniform, to smile at you as you walk over to the kitchen area.

“You came.”

“Of course.”

He picks a small bottle up, and pours from it into a salad bowl in front of him. “I hope you’re hungry… I may have gone a little overboard on the mac and cheese. I thought we could use a little comfort food after that planet.”

“It smells amazing. Anything I can do to help?”

“It’s almost ready. You could pour the wine?” He indicates to the bottle and two glasses on one end of his L shape table. You uncork the chilled bottle and take care of the drinks while he brings plates, salad, and the macaroni cheese, piping hot and smelling delicious.

Sitting next to Chris, rather than opposite like you might at a restaurant or on the other side of the L as you have when you’ve been to crew meals here, feels so intimate. As he reaches over to get some salad, or you go to pick up your glass to sip some chardonnay, you can’t help but touch. You try not to let being this close to him distract you… as intimate as this is, as hopeful as you are, nothing is settled.

You take a bite of your pasta and sigh. “It’s perfect, Chris. Creamy, the cheese— everything. Perfect comfort food. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” You see him relax a little as you load up another forkful; he cares what you think.

You eat for a while in companionable quiet, then he takes a breath.

“I’m planning on demoting Spock. He has the worst timing.” He quirks one of those half smiles at you, the kind that make you melt a little, but then his expression goes serious.

“My position on this ship… I have to be careful of it. Your training – everyone’s training – tells you to do as I say. So, if I’m… interested… in someone, usually I try to set that aside.” He puts his fork down and shakes his head a little. “Clearly I didn’t do well on that score with you. But… I would have to be sure, before I truly pursue anything, that a person isn’t saying yes because of my rank.”

“I told myself that flirting was just a joke between us. That you don’t get involved with your crew. I want it to be real, but when people assumed that it was… It spooked me for a moment there.” You turn to face him more fully, to look into his eyes.

“I understand what it means for you to be Captain Pike. I understand that the Enterprise comes before me. But I felt that—that pull toward you, long before whatever this was started. It’s not your rank, your position of authority, Chris, it’s you.”

Chris stands from his chair, reaching a hand out to you. You stand and take it, his fingers warm in yours, and let him draw you to him, feeling the press of his body all along yours. You stare into his eyes, and see a wonder there that you’re sure he sees in your eyes too – the knowledge that you can finally have this. But then your eyes drift shut as he kisses you, gently, unhurried, savouring the moment.

You part for just a second, and then it gets passionate as you kiss him back, one hand on his chest, while his other hand finds its way to your lower back, holding you tighter. Your lips part, his tongue finds yours and you taste him, and you can’t get enough.

“So I know your shots are up to date,” Chris says, voice gravelly, when you pause for breath. “Would you like to take this to the bedroom?”

“Yes please.” You don’t care if you sound needy; you just want him. He takes your hand again and leads the way.

You are not quite sure what happened to your dress. You remember Chris helping you take it off last night, but quite how it got this crumpled is a bit of a mystery. You lift it up from the floor, and try to shake it out, not very successfully.

“Breakfast is served,” Chris says, looking fresh and neat in his uniform, not a hair out of place. No evidence to be seen of your activities last night, or how little sleep he may have had. “Oh, did you want a new uniform? I can synthesise one.”

“No need. I’ll have time to change in my quarters before shift.” You pull it on and try to smooth your skirt. “Breakfast?”

“Waffles. And real maple syrup. I know this little farm—”

It isn’t far from Pike’s quarters to the turbolift, and the officers in the corridor nod and smile to you as usual. Until you meet Lieutenant Ortegas.

She looks you up and down, taking in your creased dress with a raised brow and a sly smile. “I saw the duty rosters; I know you’re on alpha today. So… you get lucky last night?”

You try to hide your smile, but you feel too good – you don’t really want to.

“Yes, Erica, I did.”

Everyone will know, but you don’t mind. You and Chris are at the start of something special.

[anonymousewrites]

Logos and Pathos (AOS Edition) Chapter Five

AOS! Spock x Empath! Reader

Chapter Five: Planet in Distress

Summary: Vulcan is in danger, and the Enterprise tries to protect it.

            Spock and (Y/N) walked onto the Bridge, and everyone’s emotions were a cloud of worry. They understood what the lack of Pike’s appearance meant. Many officers shifted uncomfortably at the implications, but Spock walked past all the stares and arrived in front of the Captain’s chair. He paused. (Y/N) looked at him and nodded imperceptibly. He saw their encouragement, turned around, and sat down.

            “Dr. Puri, report,” said Spock, clicking on the communications.

            “It’s McCoy,” came the reply. “Doctor…Puri was on deck six. He’s dead.”

            “Then you have just inherited his responsibility as Chief Medical Officer,” said Spock.

            “Yeah, tell me something I don’t know,” huffed Bones.

            “(L/N),” said Spock, and they turned to him from his usual station—Uhura kept control of communications in this time of need. “Keep me apprised of the status of the away team.”

            “They’re preparing to launch,” said (Y/N), tuning their monitor. “Launched…Entering the atmosphere. Twenty thousand meters. The platform is at fifty-eight hundred meters. They’re approaching quickly.”

            “Kirk to Enterprise,” said Kirk over the comm. “Distance to target, five thousand meters.”

            “Forty-six hundred meters from the platform,” said Sulu. “Forty-two hundred meters to target.”

            “Four thousand meters,” said Kirk.

            “Three thousand meters,” said Sulu.

            “Three thousand meters,” said Olson at the same time.

            “Two thousand meters,” said Kirk.

            “Pull your chute,” said Sulu, and he and Kirk reacted immediately. Their parachutes opened, and they began to slow their descent.

            Olson kept falling. “Two thousand meters!” he said as he hit the same height.

            “C’mon, pull your chute, Olson!” shouted Kirk.

            “Not yet! Fifteen hundred meters!” said Olson.

            “Open your chute!” said Sulu.

            “Yeah!” shouted Olson, exhilarated as he raced downwards.

            Damn it, pull your chute! thought (Y/N), but they didn’t want to say anything to distract the away team.

            “Olson, pull your chute!” said Kirk in alarm.

            “One thousand meters!”

            Olson finally pulled his chute, but it was too late. He hit the platform, but his high speed sent him rolling away. His chute caught in the energy beam, and he was sucked in, disintegrating.

            “Olson!” shouted Kirk.

            “Olson is gone, sir,” said (Y/N), heart sinking.

            Kirk landed next, and even with his decreased speed, his chute tried to drag him over the side with the high winds. Luckily, Kirk retracted the parachute and got to his feet.

            “Kirk as landed,” said (Y/N). A few moments of tense silence later, they saw Sulu’s tracker land. “Sulu landed.” Alright, now they just have to destroy the device.

            “Olson had the charges,” said Spock, lacing his fingers. He was trying to calculate a way out of the situation, but it was up to Sulu and Kirk.

            “They’re moving,” said (Y/N), watching the trackers move on their monitor (little did they know that Kirk and Sulu had engaged in hand-to-hand—more like sword-to-hand-to-phaser—combat in order to get weapons to disable the platform).

            “The jamming signal is gone,” said Uhura, turning around in her seat. “Transport abilities and cross-ship and planetary communications are reestablished.”

            “(L/N), run a gravitational sensor. I want to know what they are doing on the planet,” said Spock.

            “Got it,” said (Y/N), not wasting any time to start running the scan.

            “Kirk to Enterprise?” said Kirk, his voice cutting through the comms. “They just launched something at the planet through the hole they just drilled.”

            (Y/N)’s eyes widened. “Spock, gravitational sensors are off the scale. If these readings are right, they’ve created a singularity.” They looked at Spock desperately. “It will consume the planet.”

            “They’re creating a black hole at the center of Vulcan?” repeated Spock.

            “Yes,” said (Y/N) sorrowfully. The tiniest twitch of Spock’s eyebrow and the tensing of his muscles were the only indications of his emotions, but (Y/N) knew—they were his friend, they understood him—that he was distressed.

            “How long does the planet have?” demanded Spock.

            “Minutes,” said (Y/N).

            Spock stood and looked at Uhura. “Alert Vulcan command center to signal a planetwide evacuation on all channels, all frequencies.” He looked at Chekov. “Maintain standard orbit.” To compensate for his rising, unwanted concern, he reverted to as much logic and procedure as he could.

            “Yes, sir,” said Uhura.

            “Aye, Captain,” said Chekov.

            “Where are you going?” said (Y/N), standing.

            “To evacuate the Vulcan High Council. They are tasked with protecting our cultural history, and my parents will be among them,” said Spock.

            “Can’t you beam them out?” asked (Y/N).

            “It is impossible,” said Spock, even more grim than usual. “They will be in the katric ark. I must get them myself. (L/N), you have the conn.”

            (Y/N) shook their head. “If your mother is there, I can sense her emotions since she’s human. I can help you be faster.”

            “No—” Spock couldn’t let (Y/N) run into such danger. He couldn’t have his family and dearest friend at risk.

            “Report me for insubordination later,” snapped (Y/N), heading for the elevator. “Or else I’ll just decide to go after you do and leave Chekov with the conn.”

            Spock couldn’t stand it, but (Y/N)’s fierce loyalty knew no bounds.

            “Chekov, you have the conn,” said Spock.

            He stepped into the elevator besides (Y/N).

l

            (Y/N) and Spock stood side-by-side and awaited the Transporter as the chief attempted to lock onto the away team’s signal.

            “Standby, locking on your signal,” said the officer.

            Then, the platform broke as it was retracted. Kirk and Sulu were thrown into the air thousands of meters over Vulcan.

            “I can’t lock onto you! Don’t move. Don’t move!” cried the officer, but Sulu and Kirk had no choice but to cling to one another as they fell.

            (Y/N)’s eyes widened. Another crisis. Two more possible deaths…!

            “I can’t lock on your signal, you’re moving too fast,” said the officer as she tried to lock onto them.

            “I can do that!” said a Russian voice over the comms. A few minutes later, Chekov skidded into view, having also abandoned the conn to help with the current crisis. “Give me radio control, I can lock on!”

            “Beam us out!” shouted Kirk over the comm.

            “Do it, Chekov,” said (Y/N), pushing Chekov into his seat. If he didn’t bring in Kirk and Sulu, they and Spock couldn’t beam down to Vulcan.

            “Enterprise, where are you?” said Kirk.

            “Hold on, hold on…” Chekov began to calculate their trajectory and locked onto a point farther below them. “Computating gravitational pull and…gotcha!”

            Kirk and Sulu materialized and fell roughly into the transporter pad.

            “Oh!” Chekov let out an exclamation in Russian, and (Y/N) patted his shoulder in relief.

            “Clear the pad,” said Spock, barely waiting for Kirk and Sulu to stand. “We’re beaming to the surface.”

            “The surface of what?” cried Kirk, surprise floating around him. “What, are you two going down there? Are you nuts? Spock, (L/N), you can’t do that!”

            He was pulled off the transporter pad, and (Y/N) and Spock stood side-by-side.

            “Energize,” said Spock.

            “Spock! (L/N)!”

            They dematerialized.

l

     ��      (Y/N) and Spock rematerialized on a Vulcan cliff. They took a single look out at the planet before running into the tunnel beside them. Great mountains were crumbling into red dust as the black hole consumed the planet from within. Vulcan didn’t have long.

            “Spock, there,” said (Y/N), pointing down another tunnel as it forked.

            The barest trails of human emotions filtered up, and the pair turned into the tunnel. They slowed only as they came upon a human woman—Amanda Grayson, Spock’s mother—waiting outside of the council chamber.

            “Spock?” asked Amanda, fear and confusion in her aura as the ground rumbled around them.

            “The planet has only seconds left. We must evacuate.” Spock nearly reached out. “Mother, now!”

            “This may, councilors!” called (Y/N), waving everyone back through the tunnels.

            Around them, debris fell. Several pieces hit Vulcans, and (Y/N) flinched away as death and destruction surrounded them.

            “Keep moving,” said Spock firmly, urging everyone towards the cliff they had appeared on.

            He grabbed (Y/N)’s arm and pulled them away from a falling rock. His heart thudded against his side, and (Y/N) let out a yelp as they were nearly crushed. The pair stumbled out of the tunnel onto the cliffs. Cracks were crawling up their mountaintop perch.

            “Spock to Enterprise. Get us out now!” commanded Spock over the radio.

            “Oh!” Amanda stumbled as the ground shook, and (Y/N) steadied her.

            “Locking on you,” responded Chekov.

            The ground rumbled, and cracks spread around the gathered group. Pieces at the edge of the cliff began to fall away, and several Vulcans fell to their knees.

            “Don’t move! Stay right where you are!” said Chekov as he tried to get a lock on.

            The dematerialization energy began to circle around the group.

            “Transport in five,” began Chekov.

            Cracks spread beneath (Y/N)’s feet, and their breath caught.

            “Four.”

            They fought not to move a muscle.

            “Three.”

            Amanda shifted slightly.

            “Two.”

            The ground fell away from beneath her.

            “No! No!” shouted Spock.

            (Y/N) reacted instantaneously. Grabbing for Amanda’s hand, braced themself to hold her full weight. Amanda cried out, and (Y/N) pulled her towards them, but the cracks spiderwebbed around their feet, and for a sickening moment, they felt their feet sliding.

            “One!” shouted Chekov.

            Then Spock’s hands were around their waist, hauling (Y/N) and Amanda back as the entire world dematerialized. As the Vulcan refugees transported away, their planet was consumed. The black hole pulled every last speck of dust into it, leaving empty, black space.

            Vulcan was gone.

l

            Spock, (Y/N), and Amanda fell to the ground of the Transporter as they rematerialized. Spock’s shoulders heaved as adrenaline rushed through him. (Y/N) stood and helped Amanda to her feet as she took deep breaths. Sarek, Spock’s father and Amanda’s husband, quickly stepped forward to attend to his wife (even a Vulcan was a good spouse. Sarek would take care of Amanda).

            He nodded to (Y/N), and Amanda clutched their hand. No words were spoken to express their thanks for saving Amanda’s life. The grief of Vulcan’s loss hung too heavy in the air.

            (Y/N) nodded, exhaustion and pain setting into their very bones. An entire planet. Gone. Their eyes went to Spock, who was already standing and squaring his shoulders to act according to his duty as acting Captain.

            Their gaze softened. Oh, Spock. They knew that, despite all of Vulcans’ unreadable expressions and auras, their culture was deeply connected to relationships between people working to a common goal, even if logically. (Y/N) didn’t need their empathy to understand grief.

l

            “Acting Captain’s Log. We have had no word from Captain Pike. I have therefore classified him as a hostage of the war criminal known as Nero. Nero, who has destroyed my home planet and most of its six billion inhabitants. While the essence of our culture has been saved in the elders who now reside upon the ship, I estimate no more than ten thousand have survived.

            …I am now a member of an endangered species.”

l

            Spock stepped out of the Medbay, shoulders falling from where he’d held them strong and square. He had been dutiful and ensured all of the elders were well-cared for. Spock had done everything he could.

            But it still felt like too little. How could anything matter or be enough in the scope of Vulcan’s demise? So many deaths, so much loss, so much hopelessness…It pressed around Spock, and he fought harder than he had in his entire life to keep from losing control of his emotions.

            He drifted through the hall of the Enterprise, going through the motions of his duty in an attempt to feel in control. Nothing worked, though. Spock was left empty, unsure of how to proceed. He stopped as he arrived at a viewing deck. The expanse of space stretched out in front of him.

            The Enterprise had quickly retreated from the black hole, but Spock knew the stars and planets shining out at him. They were the ones that he had studied on Vulcan.

            Now there was a hole where Vulcan should be. Just like the one in his heart.

            “Spock?”

            He stiffened and turned. Upon seeing (Y/N), he relaxed. “(Y/N).”

            “Do you mind if I stand with you for a moment?” asked (Y/N). They didn’t ask if he was alright. They didn’t need to.

            “You may,” said Spock, turning back to space.

            (Y/N) stood beside them, and the pair looked out at the space they were leaving behind. “I checked on the crew’s mental state. Some were shaken up, but I managed to calm most.”

            Spock nodded, glad that (Y/N) wasn’t asking how he was feeling. They never pressed. They were respectful of his identity and beliefs.

            “Thank you,” he said, after another stretch of silence. “You saved my mother.”

            “Of course, Spock,” said (Y/N). “I did all that I could.” Their eyes flicked to him. “I’m sorry, Spock.”

            “A singularity cannot be evaded,” said Spock, voice tight and curt.

            “Yes, but I’m still sorry. Even if there wasn’t…anything we could do. I’m still sorry,” said (Y/N). They lifted their hand and touched his arm, a calm gesture of solidarity. “I’m sorry.” If he could not show his emotions, they would let him know they understood him.

            Spock looked down at the hand and raised his own. He placed it on (Y/N)’s wrist, just above their hand. “…Thank you.” He swallowed, and he kept his face carefully expressionless. “Thank you.” He held their wrist tighter as everything surged to the surface in the face of (Y/N)’s softness.

            (Y/N) felt him tense, and they boldly pulled him in for a hug. They didn’t ask him to speak or cry or show any emotion. They just hugged him, letting him know they were there. They always would be.

            Because (Y/N) loved Spock.

            They had realized that in the few moments that had nearly spelled his death. (Y/N) couldn’t be without him. They couldn’t lose him.

            And they’d do all that they could to make sure he knew that he meant the world to them.

            Spock closed his eyes and lifted his arms to hold them. He had lost so much, and the weight of solemn grief rested heavily on his shoulders. But he hadn’t lost them. He hadn’t lost (Y/N).

            For a horrifying moment, (Y/N) and his mother had nearly died. He had nearly loved two of the people he cared about most in the galaxy. Loved most.

            Because Spock loved (Y/N).

            So he returned the hug, and in the quiet of the viewing deck, he tried to shut out all the darkness and be safe in their calm arms.

Taglist:

@a-ofzest

@grippleback-galaxy

@genderfluid-anime-goth

@groovy-lady

@im-making-an-effort

@unending-screaming

@h-l-vlovesvintage

@neenieweenie

@keylimeconstellation

@wormwig

@technikerin23

@ilyatan

@nthdarkqueen

@kyalov

@starlit-cass

[space-helen]

Sore

Words: 588

Pairing: Captain Pike x Reader

A/N: Short but I think it's cute

Request: could ypu possible do something cute with Captain Pike from Star Trek Discovery and his wife who is an officer on the discovery and they just have a slow day together after she got injured on a mission? - @perasperaadastrawriting

______________________

You were sore, your abdomen radiating pain as soon as you sat up in bed. Taking a breath you braced yourself. The away missing had gone slightly wrong and you’d ended up in the cross-fire. On the whole, relatively uninjured but you knew you’d be sore for days and had been told to take it easy.

Swinging your legs out of bed you let out a small noise of discomfort and stopped once again. Yeah it was definitely worse after sleeping.

Chris was returning to you as you tried to move out of bed. Rushing quickly to you when he realised what you were doing, forgetting the breakfast he’d been carrying.

“Y/N what’re you doing?” he stood next to you and cupped your cheek in his hand as you looked up to him. 

“I just wanted to get something to eat. I didn’t realise you were still here.” you said truthfully, thinking the man had gone back on shift.

“I’m definitely not going back on shift when my wife can’t entirely move around freely on her own.”

You huffed “I’m fine. I can move, the ship is way more important than me.” you tried to stand again but winced. “Alright, maybe I’m not entirely fine.”

He nodded “See. The ship is perfectly under control and I’d much rather be here to make sure you don’t do anything stupid that’ll see you off duty for longer.”

“Ah I see.” you nodded “You just want me back working again for full ship functionality.” you teased.

He playfully rolled his eyes and a smile pulled at the corners of his lips “Sure Y/N, sure.”

You smiled up at him again before bringing your eyes back to the ground. “Can you help me back into bed?”

“Of course.” Moving the covers back fully he helped you move back into bed comfortably. Whispering words of reassurance as the pain hit, eventually you were settled and he pulled the covers back over you before leaning forward and placing a kiss to your forehead.

The forgotten breakfast on the floor caught your eye and you smiled “Chris.”

“Yes?” he pulled away slightly.

“You might want to clear that up.” you pointed in the direction of the doorway.

He closed his eyes and smiled as he turned, letting out a laugh. “I really was worried you’d hurt yourself more you know.”

“I know.” you felt a slight pang of guiltiness over it but knew Chris would hate it if you felt guilty for even a second.

Walking over to the food he quickly picked it up and went to collect some supplies to clean up the rest of the mess. You watched as he got to work cleaning up the mess flawlessly.

“You’re amazing you know that?” you commented from your spot on the bed.

He turned back to look at you with his million dollar smile. His eyes beaming “Says the woman who’s the personification of the word.” Standing to his full height he made a gesture to the items in his hands “I’ll take these back and then make you some breakfast. Maybe I’ll get someone to come check you-”

“No.” you shook your head “I’m fine. If it gets worse later then sure but at the moment I just want to relax.”

He nodded “Alright, but promise me that you’ll let me get Doctor M’Benga before dinner tonight if it gets worse.”

You nod in response “As long as we can cuddle before then.” 

“And how could I turn that down?”

Tag List: (open)

Star Trek: @heyitsaloy  @angel-with-wings-castiel @starfleet-imagines @captainsophiestark @perasperaadastrawriting

[triptuckers]

first name basis - jim kirk

Request: nope Pairing: jim kirk (snw) x reader Summary:  jim insists you call him by his first name, but you're not sure about it Warnings:  bit of language but thats it Word count:  539 A/N: saw that episode with la'an and jim and got this idea :) enjoy reading!

you hear kirk let out another sigh across from you. for the past hour you've tried to ignore him. you know it's late, and you're both tired. but this report couldn't wait and it had an annoyingly long list of demands.

captain pike had apologised to you both when he assigned you the task, and he had asked the two of you to get it done as quickly as possible. so here you are, on the third night in a row, working on a report on the latest away mission and your findings.

because captain pike was needed aboard during the away mission, he had assigned spock to lead the mission. spock had beamed down to the surface of the planet along with la'an, kirk and yourself.

and because both spock and la'an were busy with their other duties, you and kirk had been assigned the boring - and time consuming - task of putting together the detailed report.

you hadn't really worked with kirk often. your paths didn't cross that much aboard enterprise. the only times you'd see him would be in the cafeteria, sometimes on the bridge or on an away mission.

a part of you actually thinks the most time you've spent with him is in your lab, working on the report.

at the end of the day, or rather, somewhere in the night, kirk would start sighing a lot to signal he was about down with it for the day. as he was doing now.

'you alright there, lieutenant?' you say.

he sighs again.

'we've been working on this report for the past three nights and you still call me lieutenant.' he says.

you don't look up from your work, even though you can feel his eyes on you.

'so? you are a lieutenant. as am I.'

'don't you think we're past ranks at this point? I've seen you trip over a fallen log and nearly break your nose during the away mission. also, the other day I saw you chug three coffees in a row.'

'fine.' you say, still looking at your work. 'but I'm not calling you james.'

'why not?' says kirk.

'it sounds too formal and I don't feel like it suits you. plus there was a james at the academy same time I was there and he was a real asshole. fucked me over a couple of times.'

'really?'

'yeah. got a middle name?'

'tiberius.'

you're silent as you finally lift your gaze to look him in the eye. he's got bags under his eyes, and his hair is slightly disheveled but he's still got a twinkle in his eyes. you're sure you look as tired as he does. except maybe without the twinkle in your eyes.

'you're serious? your middle name is tiberius?'

'yes, it was my grandfather's.'

'I am not calling you tiberius.'

you see how he frowns slightly.

'then what?' he says.

'you got any nicknames?' you ask.

'not really.'

'how about jim? short for james.'

'jim...' he says, contemplating it. 'yeah, sure. I actually like that.'

you smile at him. 'alright, jim.' you say. 'I want to finish this section of the report tonight, so I'm getting another coffee, want one as well?'

'yes, please. thanks, y/n.'

A/N: If you want to request something, make sure to read my house rulesHere’s the list of characters I write for. Everything that I have written can be found on my masterlist. Please don’t repost my work, as I spend much time and effort on it!! Thank you for reading! Much love, Max/Marit

[mara-tevith-solo]

Steady as she goes

Wrote this because the chokehold this man’s voice has on me is umph. The audiophile in me never stood a chance lol

Pairing: Captain Christopher Pike x fem Starfleet Professor reader

Warnings: Smut! softdom! Pike, some cursing, age gap, healthy relationship, some violence, a lot of fluff, wrap it before you tap it, only a power imbalance on paper, reader is a professor at Starfleet Academy and a Commander, drop the titles at the door sweetheart, starts right before 2009 Pike finds Kirk

Rating: 18+ this thing is passionate

words: 3.6k+

"Come here often, handsome?" You knew that it wasn't the most conventional way to announce your presence, especially when the man in question had his hands in the oven to grab something, but you couldn't resist. He looked just too irresistible to you.

Pike jumped as he straightened quickly, a loaf tin between his mitted hands as he just stared at you incredulously "Y/n, you're early." He couldn't be mad at you for very long, if ever, especially not when you were wearing that red dress, or that shade of lipstick that just happened to be his favorite. Add when you smiled like that to the list.

You could almost see the stars in his eyes as soon as you smiled, his own growing smile warm and a bit lovestruck "Well, I wanted to spend as much time with you as possible before your Recruit Run." You admitted as you closed just enough of the distance between you to put a bottle of wine on the counter before you went to go hang up your coat.

"I actually have some exciting news about that!" He called after you as he closed the oven door.

"Oh?" You were quick to rejoin him in the kitchen, eager to find something to help him with.

He'd already poured two glasses of the wine by the time you returned, sipping from one as he watched you with an eager glint to his gaze "Command wants you to go with me this time, figure a young pretty face will help encourage the more shy prospects."

"Oh, well if that's the case, I'll just come back later." You were teasing, elated by the news but wanting to play with him a little.

You turned to pretend to leave, but his arms were around your middle as soon as you did, peeling a shrieking little giggle from your throat "Oh no you don't!" He laughed as he lifted you off of your feet slightly, enjoying the way that you were clinging to his arms.

"Chris! Put me down!" You giggled wildly, even as he set your feet back down on the kitchen floor like you'd asked.

"You're not leaving," He chuckled directly into the shell of your ear, the timbre of his voice shooting straight to your core, making you press back against him without fully noticing your actions "you're my prisoner until after dinner." His voice lowered with your actions, noticing the shift immediately.

You shifted so that you could look up at him, shifting your hips against his, his hardened length making its presence well known against your ass "Only until after dinner?" You asked softly, eyes flitting between his and his lips.

His mimicked yours, wanting so badly to kiss you "You're more than welcome to stay." He murmured into the shrinking space between you. You were almost certain that he could feel your heart beating as clearly as you did as his nose caressed yours, drawing out the anticipation until you felt like you were going to pass out. It was only then did he give you what you so desired. You could, and would, swear on a massive stack of every religious text in the Universe, that his kisses were made of magic. They flooded you with desire, they relieved the stress of a long day teaching, they made the Universe feel brighter on a bad day. Same thing with his hugs, or his cooking, or his smile. Ok, so Christopher Pike himself was magic.

Your right hand came up to caress his cheek, deepening the kiss gently as his own hands began wondering your figure, trailing fire across your flesh until you were about ready to start begging. "Chris..." You moaned against his mouth softly, your eyes half lidded with desire as you gazed up at him.

He hummed softly as one of his hands trailed down to the apex of your thighs, devouring your lips like a man starved as he pressed in right where you needed him, tantalizing you with the pressure. "Tell me what you need, sweetheart." He ordered with a rumble as he pressed in just a little harder, watching as you moaned louder, rocking your hips in a bid for more. He moved with you, no matter how insistently you moved, smiling down in the face of your pout. "Use your words, honey." He chided playfully. You couldn't help but whine softly, the sound born of need and frustration as you ground your ass back into his clothed cock, trying to entice him into just giving you what you wanted. "Y/n..." His tone was a warning, warning you that he would stop if you didn't do as he asked.

You whined a needy keen as you finally conceded, trying to not pout up at him "I need you inside me, Chris. Please, baby." You begged with just the slightest hint of desperation.

He hummed again as he gave you more of what you wanted, pressing in harder against your clit, applying just enough pressure to make lightning color your veins with sparks of want "You're asking me so prettily, but you need to tell me how you want me inside of you." You barely noticed as he began slowly herding you towards the bedroom, to a much more comfortable setting for the both of you "Do you want me to fuck you on my fingers until you're a drooling mess? Or do you want me to fuck you until you can't walk?" He lowered his timbre again as he spoke, uttering filthy promises in your ear as you began practically leading him into his own bedroom, kicking your shoes off as soon as you crossed the threshold "So eager."

"For you." You agreed shamelessly as he pulled you into him, one of his hands low on your back while the other aimlessly fiddled with the zipper of your dress, just to tease you.

Your hands were fanned on his chest, feeling as much of him as possible all at once, his heartbeat, his every breath, his every movement as he slowly leaned down and captured your lips in a slow, sensual kiss that made your hair stand on end. You barely noticed his hands traveling down, down until they were pulling at your dress, rucking it up on your hips in handfuls until you could feel the air unobstructed on your bare pussy. His fingers sought out your underwear for a moment until he realized that you hadn't worn any, pulling away from your lips with wide eyes "Now, Miss Y/ln, I might be wrong but it appears that you've been a bit naughty."

You bit your lip with a flirty little giggle as you absently played with the collar of his button down shirt, already down two buttons and rolled up at the sleeves "I had a whole plan, I was gonna tease you with the knowledge of their absence at some point tonight."

With a lust-filled groan he was attacking your lips, his kisses firm and insistent, they would not be ignored or blown off in favor of chaste pecks. He wanted your passion, he wanted to taste it on your tongue. "You'll be the death of me." He vowed as he let your dress skirt drop before he began working on the zipper with intent.

"What an admirable way to go." You purred as his lips left yours, trailing down the column of your throat as he slowly eased your dress to the ground. He let you work at the buttons of his shirt as he nipped and kissed your neck like it was ambrosia, leaving not a single square inch of it untouched as your fingers stumbled and fumbled with the small mother of pearl buttons. He would have chuckled if his cock wasn't so painfully hard, eager to be buried in your silken heat to the hilt. He did take mercy on you though, pulling away just enough to skillfully divest himself of the uncooperative shirt before impressively popping the clasp of your bra in one quick motion. His pants were easy to remove, along with his underwear that allowed his cock freedom, the head an insistent red as it wept a small silvery pearl of liquid. "It would seem, Mister Pike, that I'm not the only eager one here."

No sooner had you said the words than he was picking you up by the thighs and gently throwing you down onto the bed with a squeal of laughter from your lips. He didn't give you any time to recover or get situated, instead diving straight into your pussy, lapping at it like it was to be his last meal. You fisted his hair and the sheet with a breathy moan, your back immediately arching as he fucked you with his tongue. He groaned as he ate you, content to stay there all night. His cock throbbed with want, reminding him that it would not be ignored, that it wanted you too. He was slow to pull himself away for your core, slowly crawling up the length of your body like a prowling cat, eyes fixed intently on yours. His hands were firm as they grabbed your thighs, pressing them down towards your ribs before he was thrusting into you, hilting in one fluid motion with the most erotic squelch you'd ever heard. "Ohhh," He rumbled as he didn't wait to set a maddening pace, watching himself thrusting in and out of you, watching as your pussy drooled around him "so pretty, take me so well." He praised, making your walls tighten in desire. He groaned and bucked under the pressure, making you moan his name like a prayer, his hands tightening on your thighs as he continued "Be a good girl, Y/n." The order was half hearted at best, as though he wanted you to do the exact opposite.

You smiled up at him as your hands gripped under your own knees "Or what?" You asked as your purposefully tightened around him.

He shuttered as his eyes rolled back into his head, a breathy moan passing his lips as he bucked hard for several thrusts until he was changing the position completely, flipping you to your left side, your leg hugged to his chest as he began fucking you harder, deeper "Or I'm going to fuck you til you're a babbling mess." He promised, already fulfilling it. With every thrust, your nerves were like live wires, painting stars in your eyes as you screamed with the pleasure he so willingly gave you. Over and over again, the head of his cock assaulted your cervix, his name and 'fuck' a pretty little prayer to his ears. "Cum for me, Y/n." He ordered as he felt you begin to tighten around him involuntarily, milking his cock and his waning resolve "Cum on my cock, precious." You came on his cock with a squealing cry, the already obscene squelching that accompanied every thrust sounding like it was coming straight from a twenty first century porno, your pussy like a vice around his cock. He knew he wasn't going to last much longer "Once more, Princess." He upped his pace, chasing both his high and yours, hitting your cervix again and again in rapid succession as you babbled and begged under him, cumming again in no time at all as he chased you over the cliff.

"Uhhhhh, fuck yes!" You cried as he twitched and came inside of you, painting your walls with his cum. He stayed there for a moment until he was sure that he'd given you every last drop, not liking to waste a single bit, watching intently as he pulled his softening cock out of you, at the mixed cum that dribbled out after. He was gentle as he let your leg go, knowing that your hips sometimes had issues if they were in a position for too long, and cleaned up while you went and cleaned up as well. He knew not getting a UTI was on the top of your sex priorities list, and he admired that you endeavored to be as healthy as possible.

You immediately settled into his side when you rejoined him on the bed, cuddling into him as he covered you both with a blanket to fight the chill "Excited for the trip?" He chuckled as his fingertips trailed up and down your spine lazily, your ear over his heart.

"Mhmm," You hummed contentedly before shifting to look up at him "I'll need to go home and pack though."

He nodded in understanding as he glanced down at you with a warm smile "I'll take you home after dinner, and then I'll pick you up at oh six hundred tomorrow morning."

You giggled softly "I honestly forgot all about dinner." the admission was soft as it left your tongue.

He joined your laughter before suddenly getting up, pulling you with him "No skipping meals in this house! C'mon, I made your favorite."

You pulled him down for a kiss as he began rummaging through his closet for something for you to wear in the interim, your lips sweet as honey on his as he kissed you just as sweetly in return "You're the sweetest, Christopher Pike." You praised him as you took the shirt he was offering, the grey material almost sinfully soft as it settled over your skin.

His eyes devoured the visage of you in his clothing hungrily, making you giggle and dance out of his react before he could start round two, watching him get a pair of pajama pants on from the doorway "It's our three year anniversary, sweetheart. I wasn't going to let it pass with just dinner and a movie. It has to be special."

"Chris," You felt like crying at how sweet he could be just for you "I love you."

His smile was beaming as his hand cupped your cheek, his thumb caressing your skin tenderly "I love you too. Now c'mon, before it get's cold."

                                 *three weeks later in some bar in Iowa*     

      The thing that you enjoyed the most about Chris, was how you could be yourself with him, anywhere, in any situation. You didn't need to change who you were based on the situation and setting with him around. You knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that he'd support and back you whenever the need arose. And he didn't try to possess you. He knew you were with him because you wanted to be, that he was with you because he wanted to be, that you were more than capable of handling your own battles, though he was always ready to support and defend you if the need arose. He'd watched you put an extremely persistent, extremely large, Peléian Cadet in his place, very literally, the previous year. But there was something to that Recruit with the goatee that he found personally disconcerting. Sure, he respected that the man kept a keen eye on the female Recruits, and you, he just really didn't like how the man did it.

He found him to be nosy and dominating, inserting himself where he wasn't needed or wanted more often than not. Pike would be the first to admit that the women under his charge were all capable in their own rights, and you were certainly helping them grow and become even more confident on the road. So, the younger man acting like all of you were damsels in distress just ruffled his old feathers wrong. So, when the man began ceaselessly hovering around you as you spoke to a Recruit at the bar, he just knew that he had to pull the man aside and finally set some ground rules. "Recruit, I'd like a word." His voice was firm as he spoke, catching a blip of your conversation about how to pick courses the first year, and your eye, for the briefest moment before he was practically dragging the man away from the two of you.

"I thought he'd never leave." The woman in front of you sighed, her shoulders deflating as her tensions released, though she still swirled her drink in her hand from residual discomfort.

You smiled reassuringly as you took a sip of your own drink, something fruity that you didn't really pay much attention to the name of, just that it had enough alcohol to take the edge off your mounting headache from the man "The Captain will get him sorted. If he's not too stubborn. I've seen the Captain wrestle a twelve hundred pound animal that decided to randomly throw a tantrum, a two hundred twenty pound man shouldn't be too hard." You had tried to keep your tone professional, if not implying that you were at most friends with Pike, but she'd caught something in your tone, something that spoke to the true nature of your relationship. You noticed the change in her demeanor immediately, the brightening, as though she was about to ambush you with a whole host of questions, though the two men returning distracted the both of you.

It didn't take long for the man to find trouble, he and several others taking issue with a local who was trying his hand at flirting with Recruit Uhura of all people. She was the most capable of the group, and she was having no trouble with the local. Not like the four men were having. You stood as you barely caught sight of Chris's back in the other room of the bar, checking on the Recruits there and completely missing the tensions that were brewing. The goateed Recruit threw the first punch, attacking the drunk man with no semblance of self restraint as the local gave as good as he got until the others began joining the fight. You were fully willing to wait it out a bit more if the others hadn't stepped in, let the goateed man get a well deserved lesson, instead forced to intervene quickly as they ganged up on the man "That is enough!" You yelled, grabbing one of the men by the collar of his jacket and hauling him away from the fight. He didn't dare utter a peep as you glared him down, utterly disappointed in the lot of them before you went fishing for another "That's ENOUGH!" Your yell was more chesty as your hands clamped onto the smallest man of the quartet, his fist instinctively smashing into your mouth right as Chris was whistling loudly.

A hush fell over the bar as he called everyone's attention to him, his eyes glacial as they passed over every uniformed body in sight until they stopped on you. Your lip was fat and bruised where the Recruit had hit you, feeling hot against the air, blood sharp on your tongue. You watched as his eyes ignited with rage as they affixed on the man you still had ahold of, before they were back on the move "All of you, out." He ordered sternly, leaving no room for argument or refusal.

"You can whistle really loud." The drunk local who was draped over a table groaned with wonder as you waited until the Recruits had filed past the Captain before making your way out behind them.

His hand was gentle as it grabbed yours, stopping you in your tracks in front of him as his hand moved up to gently thumb your lip "Looks worse than it feels." You promised in a whisper as he continued to inspect the wound.

"I'll still help you treat it at the hotel." He promised with a deep frown. "I'm going to stay behind here for a bit, see if the towny needs any medical attention."

You nodded, wanting nothing more than one of his kisses, or even just a hug, but refraining because of the audience "I'll take the Recruits to the hotel and come back for you." You left without another word from the both of you, silent as you marched into the bus outside. You still said nothing as you drove it to the hotel, and no one said a word to you.  

Later that night, you made your way into his room, the door adjoining the two rooms having been wide open the entire evening. He'd wanted to press the issue of seeing to your lip as soon as the front doors closed around you, but you had needed a few minutes to yourself, to ease the darker parts of yourself so that you weren't wasting what time you got with him stewing. He was upright in bed as soon as you came through the door, watching your every move as he turned off the tv "C'mere." He coaxed gently as soon as your eyes met his. One word was all it took for you to relax, sliding into the bed next to him. He was gentle as he handled your nearly healed lip, taking into account the scab that made a dark band over the warm pink "Looks good." He rumbled with an apologetic half smile. He felt guilty for not being right there when it happened, for not taking control of the situation immediately, of not getting through to the goateed Recruit better. As soon as he'd heard you yell, he could have sworn his stomach dropped to the floor as he rushed back to you.

You noticed the shift immediately, snuggling into his side as you pressed a soft kiss to his cheek "Thank you, Chris."

"Nothing to thank me for." He halfheartedly argued as he laid the both of you down, coaxing you to place your head on his chest. He didn't care if his shirt got wet from your hair, it was just a shirt. It'd dry. Why he cared about was that you were ok. You wanted to argue with him, but knew it was fruitless when he was in that mood, knowing he'd be a stubborn mule about taking the blame. So you left it, letting his heartbeat lull you into a deep sleep.  

[southernbluebellereader]

You read my mind!Which is why I wanted to combine these 2 together: A betazoid and a vulcan!But SNW version (because I like Ethan Peck, his granpa was THE GREGORY PECK!)

OMG STOP NO WONDER HE LOOKS SO FAMILIAR. This is such a cool idea!

A/N: I'm not 100% familiar with the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Plot since I just started watching the show. I took a little inspiration from Star Trek: The Next Generation because I'll pull most of my Betazoid knowledge from there. Also, Betazoids have telepathic abilities. As far as I know, Vulcans have telepathic abilities through the Mind Meld, but for the sake of this fan fiction, Spock also have regular telepathic abilities, though perhaps not as advanced as the readers. Purple text is telepathic thoughts.

A/N 2: I hope you like it! It's kind of wonky, but I may write a part 2 because of it. I hope it's not too vague!

MASTER LIST

Pop of Color

Spock x F! Betazoid (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds; Inspo from The Next Generation)

Word Count: 696

Summary: Y/N is the ship's quartermaster - while serving as the ship's emergency seamstress, aside from Lieutenant Kirk constantly finding himself at her office, Spock tagging along with him to ensure that his Lieutenant actually gets his clothes mended - and maybe start bringing his own clothes to be mended.

First Officer Spock. “Lieutenant Kirk, you’re not here because you need to switch your quarters again, are you?”

Ms. Y/N. Sorry for Intruding. Again. Spock sighed as Y/N chuckled, both of them watching as Lieutenant Kirk unloaded a bag of ripped-up uniforms and trousers, and handed them to her.

“Oh Y/N, you know me!” Lieutenant Kirk chuckled bashfully as he handed her.

“You know me, I’m the ship’s seamstress at this point, gentlemen.” Y/N briefly looked through the uniforms and placed them to the side, “I’ll have them done by the end of the week, Lieutenant.” 

Smiling at her, the young Lieutenant gave her a thumbs up, then turned around and went on his merry way, leaving Spock and Y/N in her office, Spock sighing once more.

I don’t understand how you don’t find him amusing, Mr. Spock. One thing Y/N appreciated about Spock was his telepathic abilities, though perhaps not as great as hers, she found that it reminded her of home.

His behavior is very illogical and carefree, Miss Y/N. Spock shook his head slightly. But I have to get back to the bridge. Spock started to turn around but stopped when Y/N spoke to him again.

You don’t need anything mended, Mr. Spock? Y/N smiled gently at the Vulcan, who turned his head back to her, the corner of his mouth curving upward ever so slightly.

Not today, Miss Y/N. 

—

“Captain Pike, I know you’re nervous about this ceremony, but I need you to please stand still,” Y/N exhaled sharply as she placed several pins in her mouth, one by one sticking them through the Captain’s green dress uniform so that it would fit him more snuggly.

“I’m sorry, Miss L/N, but are you sure I need to be here for this? You couldn’t have gotten my measurements from my file.”

“Yes, I could’ve, but remember what happened last time?” Y/N stood up from her stool and beckoned him to undress, Spock looking at her and Captain Pike in amusement as the Captain undressed, mumbling under his breath, “Your other green dress uniform ended up being too small, Captain.”

Y/N wrote down the correct measurements of her Captain, then turn towards Spock, “Alright, Mr. Spock, your turn.” Y/N beckoned the Vulcan to step up before her. C’mon, Mr. Spock, I might as well take your measurements too, just in case.

“I assure you, I do not need my measurements taken, Miss Y/N.” An eyebrow rose, which did nothing to hide the ever-so-slight green flush of his cheeks that Y/N manage to catch. She shot him a small smirk and beckoned him once more to step in front of her as she sat back down on her stool. No need to be shy, Mr. Spock. You know I don’t bite. It’ll be quick.

“Make it quick, Miss Y/N,” Spock chuckled as he approached her, allowing her to line her tape measure along different parts of his body, Captain Pike enjoying the scene, “No, please take your time Miss L/N.”

—

See, doesn’t it fit better now? Y/N approached Spock and stood beside him. He’d opted to wear his formal uniform that she’d previously made alterations on, and added a few touches of her own.

Yes… But you could’ve done without the… embellishments, Miss Y/N.

Y/N chuckled at the telepathic groan that Spock gave her. A ‘thank you’ would suffice, Mr. Spock. Wouldn’t you rather be overdressed than underdressed? I know I would. Y/N met the Vulcan’s eyes and winked at him. His eyes traveled quickly from Y/N’s eyes to her colorful and embellished attire. He couldn’t help but agree, accepting her point. Point taken, Miss Y/N. Care for a drink?

An ensign walked up to them with a tray of alcoholic beverages.

Oh please!

Nodding, Spock took a hold of two glasses, one for himself, and handed the other to Y/N, “Thank you, my dear.”

When did we get so acquainted, Miss Y/N?

When you admitted that you like the embellishments I added to your uniform, Mr. Spock.

[make-me-imagine]

Always

Prompts: “I will never stop fighting for you. I will never stop protecting you.” + “You are my family.” Requested By: Anonymous & @spuffyfan394 (Mystery prompts combined; Green 15 & 35)

Pairing: Christopher Pike x GN!Reader *pre-relationship, obvious feelings, pining, etc

Plot: After Y/n is taken by hostile aliens, Chris makes a personal trip to save them, much to Y/n's surprise.

Warnings: Mentions of torture and beatings in past tense. Wounds. Brief mentions of blood. Mentions of "selling" of reader by hostile aliens. A bit angsty in general.

Words: 1.5k

-

You stared at your feet as you tried to ignore the cold chill that had seemed to seep into your bones. The metal walls and lack of windows kept the cold trapped in the cell with you. Your long sleeved shirt was too thin to help, and your boots didn't keep your toes from going numb.

Closing your eyes and leaning your head back, you began to wonder what time it was. Or even what day it was. You had lost track of time a while ago, but your best bet was that you had been captured about a week ago.

You never thought your scouting mission could have gone this bad. The idea that you would have been attacked by scavengers and then taken prisoner had never crossed your mind. The worst part was, that you were alone when you were taken. It could have taken days before anyone would know that anything had happened to you.

And then what next? If they realized you had been taken, how could they have known where you were taken too? Or who you had been taken by?

You remembered the day you left the Enterprise. Standing in the docking bay outside of your shuttle, Chris in front of you.

"Good luck Y/n." He spoke with a smile.

"Thank you, Captain." You responded with a soft smile.

Your eyes locked momentarily, before you made your way into the shuttle. When you looked back at him, he was still staring you down.

"Don't stay away too long." He added, with a soft gaze.

"Why? You gonna miss me?" You asked jokingly.

"Already do." He replied with a smile that made your heart palpitate.

His eyes stayed locked on you as you closed the shuttle doors. It took you a minute before you were able to breath again. His response had caught you so off guard, you almost got dizzy.

You knew there was tension growing between you and the Captain, feelings that were becoming more obvious to both of you. Feelings that were getting too hard to ignore.

Your eyes fluttered open at the sound of distance footsteps. You let out a shaky breath as the memory of Chris faded from your mind. Your heart began to beat anxiously as the footsteps grew closer.

A pulsating ache began to pound at your sides as you recalled the beatings you had gone through by the aliens that had taken you. Not to mention the torture you were met with when you tried to escape. They intended to sell you, to who and for what, you knew not. But you would risk more than one beating before you let that happen.

Sliding into the corner of your cell, you took a few deep breaths as you heard the door begin to unlock. Your fists were clenched in anticipation. You were not going to let them get away with this so easily.

As the door slid open, your heart was beating so loudly you felt it in your head. And as someone stepped in you almost flinched. But as your eyes locked onto theirs, you felt your breath leave you as your whole body seemed to shudder.

"Chris?" Your voice was a whisper, almost too quiet to hear.

"Y/n." Chris said softly as he knelt down in front of you.

He brought his hand up to your face and felt his gut clench. Your skin was cold to the touch. You had a split lip, a cut above your eye, and various bruising along your cheek and chin. Your clothes were ragged and you had small blood stains across your side, hands and legs.

"What are you doing here? How did you find me?" You asked softly, still unsure you could believe it.

Chris furrowed his brow and frowned. "It was harder than I would have liked, but luckily these guys made a mistake."

You gave him a questioning gaze and he smiled softly. "Some of the aliens that took you stayed on the planet to scavenge your shuttle. When we went to find you, we found them instead."

You let out a soft sigh, "How long has it been?"

He spoke softly, "Eight days."

You nodded softly as Chris began to reach around you. "Now come on, we gotta get out of here."

You hissed in pain as you leaned against Chris. Limping beside him, your eyes caught on Una and Spock in the hallway. Una looked at you with a look of worry, and you gave her a small nod in assurance.

"Let's get out of here." Chris spoke as he tapped his badge.

"Pike to Enterprise, four to beam up."

There was a moment of silence before you heard Chief Kyles voice. "Sir, I can't get a good enough signal from where you are to beam you out."

"It might be the metal in this building Captain, it appears to be very dense."

"That's also probably why it's so cold in here." You mumbled, and you felt Chris pull you a bit closer.

"As soon as you get a clear lock on us Kyle, beam us out." Una said into her com.

As you slowly made your way down the hall, you felt just how weak you had gotten. Your legs were heavy and cramped, and the cold seemed to make it hard for you to move properly.

Hearing footsteps coming closer, you felt your heart skip a beat, and you absentmindedly gripped Chris's shirt.

He looked down at you, and saw the fear in your eyes. He felt a rush of anger before he pulled you closer to him, shielding you from view if the aliens were to come around the corner.

You all felt a pit in your stomach as you realized they were coming towards you. When the aliens rounded the corner, there was a moment of shock that passed over their faces as they saw all of you. As they began to yell out in alarm and reach for their weapons, you closed your eyes tightly in anticipation.

As you did so, you heard a familiar sound meet yours ears as a bright light engulfed you. When you opened your eyes, you saw the familiar transporter room around you.

Letting out a relieved sigh, you felt as though all the strength left our body as your legs swayed a bit.

"Hold on Y/n." Chris whispered as he held onto you. "Kyle beam us to the sickbay."

- - - - - - -

Between the rushed exam and treatment by Dr. M'Benga and Nurse Chapel, you had no time to talk to Chris. Not until you were mostly healed, and left to rest, did you see him again.

Looking up at the sound of footsteps, your heart palpitated as you saw Chris approaching you, a small smile on his face. Setting down you pad you smiled at him in return.

"Captain." You greeted.

He stopped beside your bed and briefly looked you over. "How are you feeling?"

"A bit tired, but better."

He nodded once as he picked up your pad, seeing you had been writing your incident report.

"You didn't have to do this just yet you know." He spoke softly as he briefly read it over.

"Yeah I know, but, what else am I gonna do?" You gestured to the empty sickbay around you.

Slowly setting down the pad, he looked back at you. "You seemed surprised to see me when we got to you. Did you really think we weren't going to find you?"

You let out a soft breath. "I had no doubt you would have. I was just surprised to see you."

"Why?" He had a hint of disbelief in his voice.

"Well, it's not every day the Captain makes a personal trip to come save you."

He smiled at this, as he shook his head softly. "Y/n-"

"I know, I know, you'd do it for anyone on the crew." You smiled at him.

"Though that is true, that's not the only reason. And, I think you know that." He tilted his head to the side as he stared tenderly at you.

Meeting Chris's eyes, you saw a certain gleam in them that added to the tension between you. Looking down, you felt your ears heat up as Chris gently placed his hand on top of yours.

"You are my family, Y/n. Everyone on this ship is, but, you- you mean more to me than- than"

"-than I should?" You finished for him.

He nodded softly as he ran his thumb over the back of your hand. "No matter what happens, I will never stop fighting for you. I will never stop protecting you. Whether that means coming to rescue you personally, or not."

You smiled softly as you looked from him to your hands. Flipping your hand over underneath his, he let his fingers linger over your palm before he gently pressed his hand against yours, intertwining his fingers with yours.

You uttered softly "Thank you Chris."

"For what?"

"For coming to get me."

"Always."

You and Chris locked eyes, the tension between you obvious, but not uncomfortable. You had no idea what would happen between you now, but you weren't as scared of it as you had been before.

xx End xx

This is my first time writing for Chris, so I hope you like it!

If you want to be added to my Star Trek taglist, let me know! You can specific which show/movie or character if you want :)

General Taglist: @criminaly-supernatural, @caswinchester2000, @imaginesfire, @rexit-mo, @onuen Star Trek/SNW Taglist: @starfleetimagines, @groovy-lady; @agent-catfish-kenobi

[mystery-star]

It’s a kind of Skill - Spock

Pairing: Spock x nonhuman!reader (gender neutral)

Warnings: mentions of banishment

Words: 689

Please do not repost my work on other sites or platforms!

-

“Do it again!” you groaned inwardly. Sometimes your captain could be like a child when he was happy about something. What was worse was that Chekov supported him.

“I should have never told you” you muttered.

“But of course you had to. This is fucking brilliant, (Y/N). It’s magic”

“It’s not” you defended yourself at the same that your fiancé spoke up.

“Magic is not real. (Y/N)’s power might be best described as telekinesis”

“Which is something rather unreal, don’t you think?” Spock raised an eyebrow

“Did humans not use to believe that reading minds was not real either?”

“Yeah, I get it... explore new worlds and civilizations... we’ll find anything we never thought was possible and so on. But still, to move objects without having to touch them. I imagine it’s real nice”

“It’s also tiring” one would think that the bigger or heavier the object the more difficult it was but oddly, that was not the case. It was, in fact, the density that decided how exhausting it was. Much to Spock’s surprise, moving objects with lesser density even were more difficult. Sometimes you wished you had an explanation. After all you had been banned from your home planet for your skills. Since then you had been hiding them from everyone, only using them in secret. However, once you had met Spock, he soon realized that you were not like most people from your species and after having tried to keep to yourself for a few weeks, you told him the truth. Ever since, he tried his best to help you control your powers and how to efficiently use them when you wanted to. For that, he also wanted to understand the science behind it. Occasionally you doubted it was science and too thought it was magic but then again, when he came up with a new explanation you had to admit it did make sense... until the moment you proved it wrong.

“But if you practiced you’d get better?”

“Only a little. I mean there are limits to everything. Yes, you can train to get better but at some point it’s not possible to do more. And the fact that it is tiring never really changes” Spock immediately piped up with the newest hypothesis he had but the captain cut him off.

“What’s the easiest thing to do?” you rolled your eyes

“I thought easiest was to keep it a secret” you had not wanted to tell the crew but then, yesterday using your powers had been the only way to save the ship and the crew, so you had found that was worth it. And luckily, only the bridge crew knew right now since you had been there when you had used the ability to send away an enemy ship that would surely have destroyed you otherwise. They had promised to not let anyone know as long as you told them everything.

“Don’t be like that. You know we’d never cast you out for your abilities. I mean... maybe it’s better your people banished you instead of doing worse. Like taking advantage of you, doing experiments or even kill you” you shrugged

“You’re right” Spock had once told you something similar and had then supported your wish to not let anyone else know, for fear that someone of Starfleet command might want to use your powers to their own benefit.

“And uh...” he leant back “You know, when I requested you show us something, I never wanted to take advantage of you. I just think it’s awesome and want to see more. Because I’m curious. That’s why I’m in Starfleet”

“I thought it was because of a bet you had with Captain Pike” Lieutenant Uhura said “That you could have your own ship in three years”

“Well, I did manage that”

“By breaking basically every rule” when Kirk denied the accusation, the communications officer listed up some things he had done wrong and with a happy sigh you leant back. It seemed like you were off the hook. At least for now. You exchanged a glance with Spock and he placed a hand over yours.

[youvebeenlivingfictional]

Trust

Pairing: Mirror!Christopher Pike x Reader

Rating: Explicit - 18+ only (Minors interacting with the work will be blocked)

Notes: It’s the end of the Pike Spike like a week later. This is just smut. Smut that has not been beta-read. There are no uses of Y/N or of Reader’s physical descriptions.

I didn’t tag my usual general list because I know not everyone is into Christopher Pike, so if you weren’t tagged and wanted to be, sorry!

Warnings: Explicit sexual content - blindfolds, blowjobs, gags, light slapping piv, unprotected sex

Summary: The trip through the halls and on the turbolift have been a touch nerve wracking—but the high, sharp modulation of the boatswain’s whistle on the bridge makes your stomach twist in shock. You had little hesitation in his quarters, and even in the halls, but now, you go still at what you're certain is the mouth of the turbolift. Christopher feels it. He gives your arm another squeeze, and then a light tug. Your feet follow, leaden and clumsily. Pike guides you with an assured calmness, towing you like a shuttle with its engines down. 

It starts with a note and a strip of fabric. 

You look at the piece of fabric, frowning, and pick the note up to get a better look at it. You recognize your Captain’s handwriting immediately. Your eyes skim the single line there, over and over. The words are straightforward enough, but the order seems deceptively simple. 

Tie this around your eyes and wait.

You glance between the note and the fabric again. Tie it and wait? Wait for how long? And for what? You pout, setting the note down and picking up the strip of cloth. It’s incredibly soft between your fingertips. You raise it curiously, wrapping it around your head and covering your eyes. It’s got plenty of room to be tied behind your head, with just a little slack. You glance down, shifting over to the couch and nervously lowering yourself onto it. You tie the fabric a little more tightly around the back of your head. It’s still loose enough that you can see the fabric of your uniform’s skirt if you glance down. 

You hold carefully still, unsure of how long he’ll be—how long you’ll have to wait. You force yourself to take slow, even breaths, trying to slow the thundering of your heart in your chest. As you finally manage to calm yourself, you hear the swish of the door opening. You swallow thickly. You want to curl your fingers into fists, to grip your skirt, but you force your palms flat against your thighs. You hear his slow, steady steps approaching. You know it’s for show—your Captain could sneak up on you if he pleased. The steps cross in front of you, then around, then behind. You let your eyes close as he takes hold of the fabric, and feel his fingers brush against the back of your head. 

Your eyes open again as you feel the tie grow more tight around your eyes. It’s tight enough that your lashes brush the fabric as you blink into the dim. The light isn’t closed out from you entirely, but you can’t make anything out—no shapes, no colors, just the sheen of the glow. His hands drop away from you again, and then—silence. The room goes as steady and still as it was when you were alone, with nothing but the hum of the ship around you. 

And then his breath brushes across your lips. You tip your head up, leaning in on instinct, a moth drawn to his flame. He looses a cruel chuckle, his fingers curling around your jaw and holding you steady. 

“Should I punish you now, or later?” He asks. Your brow furrows, lips parting in confusion. 

“Punish?” 

“You could see out of the bottom of that blindfold. I know you could—don’t lie to me.” 

“You told me to tie the fabric around my eyes and wait. You didn’t tell me to tie it tightly.” 

Christopher is quiet for a moment before he hums softly in concession, his hand dropping away from your face. There’s a beat, then he pats your cheek lightly. 

“Stand up,” He urges. You do as he says. He takes hold of your arm, leading you to the left—presumably around the coffee table, and toward the door. You don’t ask him where you’re going; you don’t have the courage. 

Christopher gives your arm a light squeeze, tugging you two to a stop. 

“Do you trust me?” He asks. 

Your tongue swipes across your dry lips. You know your answer the second he asks; you know you’d follow him to the ends of the galaxy. 

-- 

The trip through the halls and on the turbolift have been a touch nerve wracking—but the high, sharp modulation of the boatswain’s whistle on the bridge makes your stomach twist in shock. You had little hesitation in his quarters, and even in the halls, but now, you go still at what you're certain is the mouth of the turbolift. Christopher feels it. He gives your arm another squeeze, and then a light tug. Your feet follow, leaden and clumsily. Pike guides you with an assured calmness, towing you like a shuttle with its engines down. 

When Pike pulls you to a stop again, you go still. You hear the shift of his legs as he sits, and then silence, save for the pings and blips of sensors at various stations on the Bridge. It’s a moment before he reaches you, gripping your top and tugging you in. His hands lift, resting on your shoulders, and giving a gentle push. 

You lower yourself to your knees. Your heart is beginning to pound more roughly in your chest. You raise your hands hesitantly, sliding them over Christopher’s knees, and down his thighs. Your breath catches in your throat as you hear the low zzzz of his pants being unzipped. You scooch a little closer on your knees, fingers flexing. You hear the rustling of fabric, then feel Christopher set his hand on the back of your head. 

You lean in, swiping your tongue over your lips. You feel Christopher’s hand slide from your head, down to your jaw. He grips your jaw, giving it a gentle squeeze, and your mouth falls open. It’s only a second before Christopher presses in. He’s harder than you thought he’d be, but the warmth and weight of his cock on your tongue is familiar, and oddly comforting. Your eyelids flutter closed at the feeling, and the taste. You shift closer between his legs, your belly pressing against the edge of his chair. You slide your hand to grasp his shaft, curling your fingers and pumping his cock as you begin to move in earnest.

You hear Christopher draw in a deep breath, and fight the urge to smile as his fingers smooth over your cheek. You take careful, even breaths through your nose as you draw Christopher deeper between your lips with each passing bob of your head. A little part of you is desperate to tip your head up, to search for that approving, sweetly warm and deeply aroused look on Christopher’s face—to take in the growing darkness of his eyes, and the smug curl of his lips. But you’re glad that you can’t look up. You can’t imagine the looks that you must be getting from the crew, the sneers and glares, and the jealousy that they must feel. 

The thought makes you squirm on your knees, and you squeeze your thighs together. You feel Christopher shift, pushing him deeper into your mouth. You flounder as you feel him curl over you, his cockhead tapping at the back of your throat. You gag just a touch, fighting not to reel away. Christopher doesn’t let you get more than a few inches, anyway. He keeps his hand on your cheek, stroking your jaw, and tsking when you lean back just a touch too far. 

You finally manage to draw back, sucking in a thick, sloppy breath. You feel Christopher swipe at the spill of spit at the corner of your mouth before he gives your cheek a couple of light, slick slaps, leaving your heated skin cooling in the air. You peer at the dark band of fabric, lips parted and panting as you wait. 

Christopher doesn’t leave you there long. You feel him curl his fingers around the fabric of your top again, drawing you up onto your shaking legs. You think for a moment that your knees may buckle, but Christopher yanks you onto his lap before they can. Your hands slam against the back of the Captain’s chair, breath caught in your throat. You feel Christopher’s hands slide covetously up your thighs and under your skirt. 

You want to fuss, and quibble. You can’t imagine how the crew must be watching now—eyeing your ass under your rising skirt, jeering or pointing, whispering to one another. But you don’t have time to dwell on it for long. Christopher eases his cock into you, drawing you more harshly onto his lap. Your jaw drops wide at the press of his thick cock. Your hands curl around the back of the chair as you adjust to the slight burn of the stretch. Your cunt throbs hotly around him. 

Christopher smooths his hands around the globes of your ass, giving an encouraging squeeze. You begin to ride him slowly and carefully, wary of making too much sound, or exerting yourself before you’re adjusted fully. Christopher’s grip grows a touch tighter, and you roll your hips a touch harder, fingers flexing along the back of the chair. You hear Christopher sigh impatiently, and your stomach twists at the sound. You’re too scared to apologize—you don’t dare speak. Panic rises in you as you feel one of Christopher’s hands lift away from your body. 

You wince against the flood of light. It takes your body a moment to adjust, and you squint. As the bridge properly comes into view, you find Christopher peering up at you with a wily grin. You can’t help looking around hurriedly, wary of your crew and their scorn. 

To your utter shock, you find that everyone else on the bridge is blindfolded. Now and again, someone will tip their head back toward you, but they can’t see a blessed thing. You turn to Christopher to ask what he was thinking, but he grips your blindfold where it's fallen around your neck and yanks it up, tucking it between your lips. He reaches up, gripping the back of the gag and yanking it, forcing your mouth wider and shushing you softly. Without another warning, he grips your hip tightly and draws you down onto his cock. 

Your eyelids flutter at the force of the feeling. You bow your head, forehead resting against Christopher’s. The odd whimper and whine hardly makes its way past your gagged lips. You can feel Christopher’s grip tightening on you as he drives his hips up against yours. You can feel your body going hot against him. Sweat beads along your forehead and gathers in the hollow of your throat. You shiver as Christopher turns his head into your neck. He draws in a deep breath and groans softly, sucking a plush kiss to your neck. 

“Nearly,” He warns. You nod hurriedly, rolling your hips more harshly against his. Christopher raises a hand, pressing two fingers between your lips. You close your eyes, sucking them with the same vigor as you had his cock. After only a moment or two, Christopher draws his fingers from between your lips, lowering it to your throbbing cunt. It takes only a handful of well-placed swipes; it’s sensitive from its neglect, and the sudden slick onslaught. The whimper you let out is louder than the last. You expect a reprimand, but Christopher chuckles dryly, and murmurs, “That’s it.” 

You’ve never been so acutely aware of the coiling feeling in your belly. You plant your knees more firmly on the hard chair, rolling your hips in almost laboriously slow circles. As your orgasm crests, you bite down roughly on your gag, groaning through the feeling. Christopher’s pace doesn’t slow for a second. His thrusts only grow more punishing as he uses your worn, spent body for his pleasure. You close your eyes as Christopher’s cock twitches and spills into you. His hips don’t still right away. He grinds up again—and again, and ag—ain—until he finally sags back in his chair. 

Christopher raises his hand, gently prying the cloth from between your lips. He draws you in by the fabric, brushing his lips against yours. You let your eyes slide closed as Christopher’s other arm curls around you, pulling you against his firm chest. He tips his head back as the kiss breaks, eyes wandering your dazed expression.

“Go back to my quarters and wait for me,” He orders softly. 

“Aye, Captain,” You whisper. You nod a touch, leaning back and bracing yourself on the arms of the chair, carefully avoiding the screens and buttons as you draw back from his cock. You glance around at the blindfolded crew once more before you dare to dart in, kissing him once more. Christopher indulges it, smiling a little. His gaze wanders you covetously as you stand, straightening your skirt. He nods over his shoulder with a wink, and you walk on shaky legs over to the turbo lift, trying to take the quietest steps that you possibly can. You step onto the turbolift, smiling as Christopher turns to ensure that you’re on fully before he turns back to the crew. 

“Alright,” You hear him call out as the doors close, “Remove them.” 

-- 

“I know you didn’t fall asleep.” 

“No, Captain,” You mumble. Still, you don't lift your head from where you’ve rested it on your arms. You feel the bed dip beside you, and smile as you feel Christopher settle over you. 

“Why are you still dressed?” He murmurs, dropping a kiss to your neck. “You didn’t tell me to get undressed.” 

“Did you like your surprise?” 

“Yes.” You glance back, opening a sleepy eye to find Christopher watching you curiously. “Thank you,” You tack on softly. He hums, sliding his hand down, gently patting between your legs. You groan softly, squirming against the heat of his hand.

“Lift your skirt,” He murmurs.

“Now?” You huff softly, stunned. “Again?” 

“Do you trust me?”

Your answer to that question has yet to steer you wrong. You nod a little bit, and Christopher’s smile grows wide and sharp. 

“Lift your skirt.”

Tag list: @wretchedwisteria​​​ ; @brandyllyn​​​ ;  @wildmoonflower​​ ; @buckybarneshairpullingkink​​ ; @mad-girl-without-a-box​​ ; @moonlightburned​​ ;  @amneris21​​ ; @elen-aranel​

[elen-aranel]

All Work

For: @youvebeenlivingfictional Comfort Prompts, 11: Stopping by their workplace on your way home late at night with the hunch that they’re still there. Pairing: Captain Christopher Pike x Reader (no Y/N) Warnings: Mention of canon-typical violence WC: 790 Rating: Teen Notes: tfw you have to post immediately before you lose your confidence... it's been a while!

When you press the chime for the door of the ready room, you hope there won’t be an answer.

You hope the captain is in his quarters, cooking, perhaps, or reading a book, or watching one of those black-and-white movies he enjoys. You would like it if he were working out in the gym, or maybe taking a walk in the arboretum amongst the trees.

But based on how he’s looked when you’ve seen him hurry down a corridor, when you’ve handed in a report on the bridge, he hasn’t been doing any of those things for a while. And right on cue—

“Enter.” The familiar voice sounds subdued as you step through the doors. Your eyes sweep across the mostly empty room, from the red armchairs, over the conference table and the display still showing the disputed border that the Enterprise had found herself in the middle of, to the desk at the other end with the captain sitting there, poring over a PADD.

And it’s more than just the stubble that’s there at the end of a long day. It’s the hunch of his shoulders. It’s—it’s not defeated, that isn’t the word, but the almost resolute look in his eyes. The way they’re narrowed slightly, just at the corners. You’ve known him for years, and it isn’t a good sign.

“He just has to get through it,” Una had said in an undertone, glancing round to make sure you weren’t being overheard at dinner in the mess hall. “He’s signing off on all the fitness evaluations, and he is personally going over every single repair log. I would’ve insisted, but when he’s in this mood—” She had given a small shrug. “I pick my battles. But you’re welcome to try…”

And so here you are.

“What can I do for—oh, hey,” his face relaxes a little, and the corner of his mouth quirks up just slightly. Not quite a smile, but it’s a start. “It’s—I guess it’s late, huh. Did you need something?”

“No, nothing. I don’t need anything. But…” You pull the last chair from the conference table, spin it round, and sit down so you’re more on his level. “It’s nearly gamma shift, and I wondered…” your eyes stray to his PADD.  “Do you need to be doing those reports right now? I have it on good authority that they’re not due in for another month. Surely they’ll keep ‘till tomorrow.”

He shrugs. “As a captain you stay on top of the paperwork, or you drown in it. But… I could take a break. Drink?”

“Sure.”

He stands, walks round the desk, and heads to the other end of the room to pour two glasses of whiskey. He holds one out toward you, question in his expression, and you get up and join him. You sit together in one of the alcove sofas.

“Cheers,” he says, and you clink glasses. You enjoy the bite of the alcohol, the complex flavours on your tongue.

“So you spoke to Una?”

“She told me you were working through something. I just think you’re working too much. You know what they say…”

He rolls his eyes at that. Which you deserve.

“I just… I remember Rigel VII, Chris. And those months before. This… this conflict? It wasn’t that, but I worry, you know? I know being captain is the loneliest job and blah blah blah… but… sometimes I think you hold onto that load?”

He regards you with those pale blue eyes, softened now.

“When I gave the order to fire on that Zenali ship… I know it was the only order I could have made, and I don’t regret it, not for a second… but…” he tilts his head, takes another sip of his drink. “Meeting the Zenali ambassador, who lost his son... he was so gracious. He didn’t bear us any ill will. Just wanted to work towards peace.”

“Yeah.” You know that you can never fully understand the weight of those decisions, and those consequences, but at least you can be here with him. You lean back against the sofa, and after a beat, Chris mirrors you.

“I guess Number One could take a look at the repairs for me. Perhaps I will call it a night,” he says after a while.

“Yeah?” You try to play it cool, but you’re pretty sure he can read your relief.

“Yeah.” He smiles properly this time, downs the rest of his drink, and puts his glass up on the side. “So, any suggestions on what one can do around here to wind down?” He stands, and offers you his hand.

You take it, letting him pull you up. “I may have one or two…”

[anonymousewrites]

Logos and Pathos (AOS Edition) Chapter Nineteen

AOS! Spock x Empath! Reader

Chapter Nineteen: Fulfilled Promise

Summary: Spock confronts Khan after (Y/N)'s death.

            Spock’s entrance onto the Bridge raised everyone’s alarm. His entire body was tense, and the crew members looked at him warily. They had all heard Kirk and Scotty’s tone of voice, and now that Spock looked like that…it told them something had gone wrong.

Even though Khan and the Vengeance had gone down and crashed into San Fransico and Starfleet HQ, Spock’s gaze said that the battle wasn’t over. His battle wasn’t over.

            “Search the enemy ship for signs of life,” snapped Spock, voice tight and clipped. Every part of his body thrummed with rage and grief. He wanted Khan to feel his wrath.

            “Sir, there’s no way anyone survived,” said Sulu.

            “He could,” said Spock harshly. Khan was alive. He was alive, and (Y/N) wasn’t, and Spock would make him pay for that.

            A moment later, Sulu’s scan picked up a figure. Khan, still strong as ever, jumped from the ship and slid down the broken pieces of the ship.

            “Whoa! He just jumped thirty meters!” exclaimed Sulu.

            “Can we beam him up?” said Spock, his eyes unable to leave Khan.

            “There’s too much damage. I have no incoming signal,” said Chekov.

            “Spock, what are you planning?” said Kirk, stepping up to Spock worriedly. His First Officer had never gone rogue, and the change in him was disturbing.

            “Can you beam me down?” said Spock to Chekov, completely ignoring Kirk.

            “Yes, sir,” said Sulu.

            “Ready the Transport Room,” ordered Spock, running towards the elevator.

            “Spock,” said Kirk, catching him.

            Spock whirled on him, every muscle tensed to push past his captain if needed. Nothing mattered more than avenging (Y/N).

            “Would (Y/N) want this?” asked Kirk.

            “(Y/N) is dead because of him,” replied Spock, voice cold. “He doesn’t deserve any of their kindness.”

            Kirk stepped back. Khan had killed Pike and (Y/N) on top of countless other lives. He knew (Y/N) wouldn’t have liked vengeance, but he had the same anger as Spock. Kirk wanted Khan to be stopped, and he couldn’t stop Spock.

            “Go get him,” said Kirk, squeezing Spock’s shoulders.

            Not bothering to respond, Kirk raced into the elevator and towards the Transporter. Armed with a phaser, he arrived in.

            “Stand by for coordinates,” he commanded.

            Chekov relayed the coordinates from the Bridge, and the Transport crewmen punched it in. Spock dematerialized with his phaser raised.

l

            Spock materialized in the middle of a fearful, confused crowd, and his head snapped around to find Khan.

            Their eyes met. Spock’s eyes narrowed. Khan ran.

            Spock pursued him, refusing to let him disappear into the crowd. Khan shoved people aside and entered a building, but Spock dodged the fallen people and continued to follow him. Khan didn’t bother to open a door and crashed through the glass, and Spock’s botos crunched over the shards. Khan exited the building and zig-zagged through stairs, but those obstacles were nothing to Spock. While Khan’s stamina was endless, Spock’s rage refused to die as well.

            Crossing a street, Khan forced cars to stop, and his escape remained unimpeded. However, Spock’s pursuit was fueled by equal parts ambition and rage, and he was undeterred.

            Khan leapt from the street and onto a carrier lifting into the air. He watched in satisfaction as it rose above Spock. His smirk fell as Spock jumped and grabbed onto the bottom of the carrier. Pulling himself up, Spock caught sight of Khan once more. Khan stamped down on his hand, and Spock let out a cry. His phaser fell away to the ground far below.

            Viciously, Khan grabbed Spock and threw him against the side of the carrier. Spock jumped to his feet and ducked Khan’s next punch. He side-stepped Khan and punched, connecting with Khan’s cheek. Khan barely stumbled, but anger coursed through Spock and spurred him forward. His Vulcan strength was affecting Khan, even if a little.

            Furious at being hit, Khan redoubled his efforts, and Spock grappled with him. They exchanged blows, each managing to avoid being completely taken out but taking their share of bruises as they dealt out attacks.

            Spock grabbed Khan’s next and pinched it. Instead of sending him to sleep, the Vulcan Nerve Pinch only caused Khan frustration and pain due to his resilience. He let out an angry yell and nearly went to his knees. However, Khan grabbed Spock’s wrist and flipped it over awkwardly. Spock was forced to let go, and Khan punched him. Then, he grabbed Spock’s neck, forced him upright, and punched him again.

            Spock hit the top of the metal carrier hard, and Khan loomed over him. He grabbed the sides of his head and pressed inwards. Spock grabbed his hands and tried to pull Khan’s grip away. When that didn’t work, Spock took desperate, private measures.

            Spock pressed his fingers to Khan’s temple and forced a mind meld. Spock pressed all of his anger and grief into Khan, mimicking (Y/N)’s empathy by sharing all of his pain with Khan. He let out a cry and kneed Spock in the stomach to force him away. Khan took a step back and panted as Spock groaned. Turning to spot another carrier, Khan jumped.

            He landed on the carrier below and looked back up at Spock. He wasn’t a superior human. He couldn’t do what Khan did.

            But Spock was braver than Khan could ever be, and, knowing (Y/N) would have courage, Spock was willing to risk everything to gain his vengeance against Khan. Spock ran and jumped into the open air. He landed on the metal carrier below and rolled back. He grabbed onto the edge with barely enough time to hang on for his own life. But Spock had survived the jump.

            Khan stared in frustrated disbelief as Spock pulled himself up. He kicked Spock back and grabbed his collar to punch him several more times. Then, Khan grabbed Spock’s head again and pressed inwards.

            “You,” he sneered. “You inferior thing. Half-human, half-Vulcan, completely inferior!” Khan glared at Spock. “So what made you special to them? Nothing is special about you. You’re nothing compared to me. No one is.”

            “You…lost!” said Spock, pulling his hands away. “Because someone with more bravery than you could ever have sacrificed everything.”

            “Bravery…more like stupidity,” growled Khan, trying to crush Spock between his hands like he wanted to with his own insecurities and anger at being defeated.

            Behind Khan and Spock, Transporter energy appeared, and it swirled into the form of Kirk. He stood with a phaser in hand and spun towards Khan and Spock. Khan whirled on Kirk, but Kirk fired the phaser—on stun—over-and-over into him. Khan flinched but continued approaching Kirk.

            Spock tore a piece of metal from the carrier and grabbed Khan’s shoulder. Khan turned, and Spock hit him across the face. While Kirk kept the phaser trained on Khan, Spock grabbed his arm, braced it across his shoulder, and pulled.

            Snap!

            Khan shouted in anger and pain as his arm broke. He had been wrong—Spock could break bone.

            “Spock!” shouted Kirk.

            Spock ignored him. Grabbing Khan’s disoriented body, he flipped him and slammed him onto the metal. He pinned him down and punched him again and again. Every bit of his grief and anger and pure fury at having lost (Y/N)—the person he loved most—went into his attacks. Khan couldn’t take a single moment to recover. He was at Spock’s mercy, and Spock had none left to give.

            “Spock!” Kirk knelt and stared at Spock desperately. “Spock, stop!” But Spock was blind with rage, blind to anything but revenge. “He’s our only chance to save (Y/N)!” Kirk used the one phrase he knew could get Spock back.

            Save (Y/N).

            Spock froze and looked at Kirk. Kirk gazed back at him with such intensity that Spock knew he was telling the truth. Spock looked back down at Khan. He raised his fist and punched him one last time.

            Khan’s consciousness was knocked from him, and he went limp.

            Khan was defeated. Spock stood victorious.

            And he had a chance to save (Y/N).

l

            “(Y/N)…I feel the same. I love you.”

            “I have loved you for longer than I knew the words for it.”

            “May I kiss you?”

            “I love you, T’hy’la.”

            “Beloved.”

            “T’hy’la, keep your eyes open. Stay with me…Please…”

            “Please. Please, open your eyes, T’hy’la.”

            (Y/N)’s eyes opened slowly to bright white light. A familiar voice spoke to them, pulling them from the depths of their own mind and the infinite blackness that surrounded them. They blinked.

            In an instant, a hand was in theirs, and two fingers pressed against theirs. (Y/N) smiled as they felt the familiar, comforting aura.

            “Spock,” they said softly, turning their head.

            He gazed at them from beside their hospital bed, searching their face for signs of discomfort. “You’re alright, T’hy’la,” said Spock, comforting himself as well as them. After all, (Y/N) had been dead. They had barely been saved, and until they awoke, Spock had been left in the greatest fear of his life. “You’re alive.”

            (Y/N) smiled. “I promised I’d come back.” They pressed their fingers against Spocks’ again. “And I don’t break my promises.”

            “I am very glad you are alive, T’hy’la,” said Spock. “I thought…I thought I had lost you. It was a terrible thought.”

            “I’m sorry that I worried you, Spock,” said (Y/N) softly.

            Spock shook his head. “It is unavoidable for me to worry for you. I love you, T’hy’la. I will always worry for you. I want the best for you. I couldn’t—can’t—stand the thought of leaving you to die.”

            (Y/N) smiled. “I love you, too, Spock.” They chose not to mention that Spock had learned what they had at the volcano—that people would risk everything to protect those they loved. “I love you so, so much.”

            Tears came to (Y/N)’s eyes as all the emotions they’d gone through until then came through them. The fear of losing their friends. The anger at Khan. The fear of death. Dying.

            But they were alive. They were holding the hand of the man they loved. (Y/N) was alive and filled with every positive emotion possible, burning with warmth.

            “I love you, Spock,” said (Y/N), gazing at him with pure love and emotion.

            Spock raised his other hand and wiped their tears of relief away. He leaned in. “I love you, too, T’hy’la.” He kissed them. He showed them his love, the best medicine he could give, for his own heart and theirs.

l

            “There will always be those who mean to do us harm,” said Kirk. “To stop them, we risk awakening the same evil within ourselves. Our first instinct is to seek revenge when those we love are taken from us.”

            (Y/N) touched Spock’s fingers at the words. They gazed at the flag being folded in honor of Pike and all the other lives lost against Khan. Around them, people sat with solemn auras and expressions.

            “But that’s not who we are,” continued Kirk.

            (Y/N) pressed their fingers properly against Spock’s, and he returned the quiet gesture.

            “We are here today to rechristen the U.S.S. Enterprise and to honor those who lost their lives nearly one year ago,” said Kirk, looking out at the crowd. “When Christopher Pike first gave me his ship, he had me recite the Captain’s Oath, words I didn’t appreciate at the time. Now I see them as a call for us to remember who we once were and who we must be again. And those words?”

            “Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise and her five-year mission to explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no one has gone before.”

l

            “Captain on the Bridge,” announced Chekov.

            Kirk strolled onto the Bridge and smiled at everyone. The newly-rebuilt Enterprise was completely repaired and gleaming in the lights and joy of its crew. Kirk chuckled as he saw Sulu sitting in the captain’s chair.

            “It’s hard to get out of it once you’ve had a taste, isn’t that right, Mr. Sulu?” teased Kirk.

            Sulu stood. “ ‘Captain’ does have a nice ring to it,” he said playfully. “Chair’s all yours, sir.”

            Kirk smiled and opened a comms channel. “Mr. Scott. How’s our core?”

            “Purring like a kitten, Captain,” came Scotty’s pleased reply. “She’s ready for a long journey.”

            “Excellent,” said Kirk. He clapped Bones on the back. “Come on, Bones! It’s gonna be fun!”

            “Five years in space. God help me,” grumbled Bones.

            “Don’t worry, Bones. You have the best company,” teased (Y/N), coming onto the Bridge with Spock.

            Kirk smiled broadly. “Spock. (Y/N). Glad to see you.”

            “We’re glad to be here, Captain,” said (Y/N).

            “Captain,” greeted Spock.

            “Oh, god, I forgot I was stuck for give years for the lovebirds,” groaned Bones.

            “Bones, I have a feeling they’re going to have the steadiest relationship,” laughed Kirk. He patted (Y/N) and Spock on the shoulders, and his smile became gentler. “Really, though. I’m glad to have you both.” He looked out at the stars stretching into infinity before them. “Where shall we go?”

            “As a mission of this duration has never been attempted, we defer to your good judgement, Captain,” said Spock.

            “We know you’ll do the right thing,” said (Y/N), smiling.

            The two took their places at their stations as Kirk sat down in his chair.

            “Mr. Sulu, take us out,” he said, and he leaned back.

            “Aye, Captain,” said Sulu.

            The Enterprise jumped to warp.

            (Y/N) and Spock looked at one another, and (Y/N) smiled while Spock gazed back with equal fondness. They had faced so much destruction and death and overcome it all. They were still together. They always would be.

            (Y/N) and Spock had each other. They had their love. That was all they needed.

Taglist:

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[space-helen]

Irresponsible

Words: 1019

Pairing: Pike x Reader

A/N: May have taken this a different way slightly but I hope it's ok <3

Request: hi, Pike X reader, how would pike react to him over reacting, he is attracted, your falsely accused and/or punished, because he was far harder on you due to his attraction than he would normally have been so how does he attone- @Emeraldsyndicate

______________________

“That’s totally irresponsible of you.” the man could feel himself bubbling inside “You are relieved of landing party duties from this point forward. You’re dismissed.” with his final word he stormed out of the room back onto the bridge.

You could feel tears brimming in your eyes. Taking a moment to compose yourself you turned and also left the room. Crossing the bridge you left and made your way to your quarters, you knew everyone on the bridge had caught on instantly. Heck half of the ship probably knew about your colossal fuck up and being reprimanded for it already. But was it really that big of a deal?

If the Captain had acted that way then sure, it must have been. But would he have reacted that way to anyone else? 

You groaned and allowed yourself to crumple once inside your quarters, thankful that you weren’t scheduled to be elsewhere right now. You allowed some tears of fall.

You knew the mistake was silly. One minute you’d had your phaser on you and the next it’d fallen off. You’d gone back to retrieve it and nearly got caught by the inhabitants of the world. They weren’t supposed to know you were there but no one was entirely sure that you weren’t seen in some way.

The Captain sat on the bridge and tried to calm down. He could feel the anger slowly leaving but he was still annoyed at the situation. You could have been hurt. The inhabitants of the world were known for their anger, for you to drop your phaser and go back for it? A stupid idea really. He mulled the situation over in his head some more. 

He could see why you went back for your phaser. They weren’t to know that you were there under any circumstances and finding a phaser would surely give it away. But the danger you’d put yourself in? Absolutely unforgivable. But was it?

He tried to get on with work but the situation kept crossing his mind. Had he been too harsh on you? Yeah, he really had. Guilt started to flood his brain before he excused himself from the bridge and made his way to you.

You just got up to leave your quarters when you were greeted by the Captain as you’d opened the door. With a sigh you allowed him inside, prepared for another ear full for how you’d behaved. You hated to see the man angry and hated this more especially because he was angry at you.

“I’m sorry.” you spoke out before he could even turn to face you “I understand what I did was irresponsible and I accept-”

“Stop.” he raised a hand and spoke softly “Let me speak.”

You did as you were told. Not wanting to get into more trouble.

He hesitated for a second before finding his voice again to speak. “I need to apologise for earlier. I think my punishment was too harsh and I’d hate for you not to be part of the landing parties anymore.” He looked away from you nervous before looking back “I think I blew up like that because I was really worried about you. I was thinking about how you could have been injured or killed down there and I never want that to happen.”

“Every Captain’s thoughts.” you added “totally understandable.”

“That may be the case for the most part but my main concern was you.” he tried to emphasize “I have no clue what I’d do without you.”

Your heart felt like it froze for a second. Surely Chris wasn’t saying what you thought he might be saying. Gosh you’d known each other for years now and were friends but never in a million years did you expect this. Sure you’d had a crush on him when you’d first met but you’d buried it.

“We all have our part to play” you tried to joke.

“No Y/N.” he grumbled and nervously looked away again “I was trying to say it without saying it but… I like you, more than I probably should and thinking about a future without you was killing me. I flew off the handle because I can’t bare to lose you. Sitting on the bridge thinking about the whole thing made me realise that firstly, my reaction was unjust. Secondly, that I should stop pining and do something about it otherwise it’ll eat away at me.”

You stood dumbfounded for a second and just stared at the man.

“Y/N?” he questioned, scared he’d way overstepped the line.

“Don’t let the others hear you say you were only concerned about me down there.” you laughed.

It was the man's turn to be rendered speechless. Not entirely sure what to do next.

“If you’re saying what I think you’re saying without outright saying it.” you added “then I feel the same way about you too. I like you a lot. I had a crush on you early on in our friendship but buried it because I thought it’d never go anywhere.” you admitted.

“Now why would you think that?”

“Because you’re a Captain and it’d be really inappropriate for someone under you to make a move.”

He laughed “not as inappropriate as a Captain making a move on someone under them.” 

You smiled “I supposed it’s a good thing we feel the same way then.”

He took a step closer to you and reached for your hand “I’m truly sorry about earlier Y/N I was just scared.”

“I understand.” you gave his hand a squeeze and looked into the man's eyes briefly before looking away.

“I suppose I should go back to the bridge” the man admitted “How about I make you dinner though after my shift. You’re done for the day aren’t you?”

You nodded “I start early tomorrow though.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll come get you after my shift.” 

“And you’ll take me for a romantic walk back to yours to cook?” you teased.

“Of course I will.” he gave you a wink and released your hand before disappearing from the room.

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[whomanwriter]

A day in the life of a Nekoma High Student

Haikyuu!!

(Kuroo Tetsurō X Y/n) (Scenario)

a/n : Heheh this is it and not sure if this is what I imagined it to be but it's along the line as this scenario especially when it involves Kuroo. This is just an example of what their daily lives are, not necessarily everyday but it happens. I hope you enjoy and do tell me if there are something I should fix. Thank you (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

*I do not own the images nor the character(s), only for visual reference*

Warnings - slight swearing, Kuroo being an ass because he likes provoking people, i think that's it? also its not proofread hehe

Genre - fluff

Total - 990 words

let’s begin! :)

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“Shit!” once you turned towards the clock on the wall. You were late and Kuroo does not tolerate tardiness even towards his childhood friends; Kenma and you. Quickly, you head towards the bathroom while swiping your towel and slamming the door shut.

Aggressively brushing your hair then grabbing your jacket and bag you head out towards the door and quickly lock it. Jumping down the flight of stairs was fun but you didn’t have time to think about it when you know what’s coming for you later.

Running downhill past the group of elderly that you usually greet “She’s late” they acknowledged when you zoomed passed them. Chuckling at your behavior, they looked away and walked ahead.

Since Nekoma High was only 10 minutes from your home, it was easier to get there without any transport. Arriving at the gate, you quickly rushed inside and ran towards the volleyball clubroom and hastily dropped your bag inside then grabbed your clipboard and whistle.

After making sure you locked the door, you looked at your wrist watch and scrambled towards the gym where you know Kuroo would be waiting. Your heart was racing when you reached the gym doors.

Slowly sliding it open, you peeked inside to see the boys practicing. You let out a big sigh when Kuroo was not in your vision and stealthily slid inside. But your relief was cut short when a shadow loom over you.

Swallowing harshly, you turned around slowly to see Nekoma’s captain with a big grin on his face. Knowing him, it was definitely a suspicious one and not to be trusted. You let out another defeated sigh and slumped shoulders while staring at the floor not wanting to look him in the eyes.

“Oya? what do we have here?” he taunted you. “it seems like our precious manager had just arrived and unprepared for our practice match today”. His voice sounded scarier and you knew it was over. Yes, you were being dramatic but this is Kuroo we’re talking about here.

“I’m sorry Kuroo-san, I promised to be early and I broke it” you confessed and bit your lip when he let out a dark laugh. He patted your head and leaned down towards your ear “you owe me now” he whispered.

Flustered at his close distance, you faced the other way. Nodding at his words, he patted your head again and walked past you. “Alright everybody, let’s do our usual warm up and get started” he shouted towards his team.

Kenma appearing beside you “You’re doomed” he stated obviously to you. Turning his way, you nodded again “Yeah, I know”. You faced the boys doing their warm ups and bring both of your palms towards your cheeks, slapping them lightly. Trying to motivate and wake you up for the day.

Nekoma had a practice match with Fukurodani today and you promised to be early to help the boys prepare and get them motivated but since you were late it was rushed and slightly awkward. The boys knew of your impending doom and tried to make it less awkward however that obviously failed when neither you or Kuroo would say anything to each other.

During the match was when things were okay since they needed your advice and encouragement. Kuroo would act like he forgot about what he whispered to you and acted as if nothing had happened earlier. This made your anxiousness heighten.

After the practice match, everyone headed towards the locker to get their belongings and get changed while you sit outside and waited for them. After deliberating all sorts of punishment Kuroo was going to give, you gave up and mentally prepare for what’s to come.

After waving goodbye to the other boys, Kuroo and Kenma walked alongside you and trekked home. Since your houses was close it made sense to just walk home together.

Arriving infront of Kenma’s house and sending him off does your anxiety heighten once again. Kuroo remained silent the whole way to your apartment. It was an agreement that if one of them were late they would go to the the late person’s house.

Since it was you this time, Kuroo accompanied you up. Kenma mentioned earlier that he didn’t want to be apart of it so he opted out. You unlocked the door to your apartment and muttered silently to yourself “I’m home”.

Both of you toed your shoes and slipped on the house slippers, still silently walking into your living room. You told him to wait while you showered and changed into something comfortable. He nodded and sat down.

After changing you head out into the kitchen and wore your apron. Knowing what the punishment was, you quickly get started onto cooking his favorite meal, Grilled Salted Mackerel Pike with added dishes of course.

30 minutes later, you brought out his tray of warm cooked meal and set it infront of him delicately. sitting opposite him while he ate was agonizing because one thing for sure that everyone knows is that you are a number one foodie.

Salivating at the food, you pouted at him and stared pitifully at him eating. Kuroo obviously was enjoying seeing you suffer brought up the fish to your nose and waving it cheekily. He knew your weakness and was using it against you.

After Kuroo agonizingly finished his meal, he scooted over to you and pinched your cheeks with his thumb and index finger. “Don’t be late again Chibi-chan, I want you to promise me that” gazing at you seriously while holding out his pinky finger and holding it out for you to take.

You maintained eye contact while taking his pinky and stamped his thumb for an added assurance “I promise, Kuroo-san. Now can we get to the part where you cook for me pleaseee?” you whined out while still pouting. He chuckled at your cuteness and smiled down at you. “sure, I’ll make your favorite”.