#female james t. kirk

[strawberryreddy]

Warning Fem! Spock & Fem! Kirk

Saw that female Kirk yesterday 3 am and now I am literally doing this

[pacipinka]

Kirk: this game isn’t fair! I refuse to play by these rules

guy: then I know exactly how to persuade u *aims gun at spock???*

Kirk *panicked*: Alright!

[overthestars-and-offtoneverland]

Yo I love characters that are smart as hell but have the biggest "I'm a dumbass" energy.

Like, sure, he may be incredibly intelligent, but my first thought is going to be "God, what a Himbo."

[sprite-writes]

all I want for christmas (is you)

Leonard “Bones” McCoy/Reader (Original Female Character)

Summary: McCoy finds himself wrapped up in the Enterprise annual gift exchange, and for some reason, this Christmas gift feels a hell of a lot more important than just a Christmas gift. 

Maybe it’s got something to do with who it’s for. 

Word Count: 6,463

A/N: guys I swear this was suppose to be a 2000 word drabble for the holidays but its a whole chapter now idk, I hope you enjoy! as always special thanks to @lightning-writes

“Lieutenant, is there a reason you haven’t drawn a name yet?” 

“I need to feel all the papers! That’s how you pick the best one– duh.” She swirls her hand around the bowl once more, rubbing the notes between her fingers. Spock stares patiently. 

“Is there a best one to be picked? My understanding of the secret Santa tradition was to be given a random partner.” 

“There sure is, and it’s... this one!” she says as she finally plucks the blue sticky note. “It was calling to me.” She unfolds the paper like it's about to self-destruct, and it reveals its neat loopy handwriting.  

 CMO McCoy 

She blinks. 

Oh. Leonard. 

She blinks again. 

It’s Leonard! 

She laughs to herself, and Spock raises an eyebrow. 

“I assume you’re happy with your choice?” 

Her heart beats a little quicker. “Oh, definitely.  I told you I had to feel all the papers.” She smiles and rocks on her heels. 

I’m Leonards's secret Santa!

Spock nods politely and returns the bowl back to himself.  “Thank you for your participation, Lieutenant. I hope your exchange goes well.” 

“You too, Spock! Merry Christmas.” 

She pats his shoulder and returns her gaze to the piece of paper. Spock makes his way back to his station when something settles in the pit of her stomach. 

Oh god, I’m Leonards's secret Santa.

-

“I’m not doing a gift exchange.” 

“Bones, hear me out.” 

“No.”

“All the other senior officers are doing it, Even Spock!” 

“And? Good for them.”  

Leonard doesn’t look up from his PADD, and Kirk fitfully shakes the bowl of papers. 

“What will it take for you to do this?” he pleads.  Leonard halts, his eyes narrowing, and his hands folding on his desk. 

“What are you offering?” 

When Kirk sighs, “I mean, whatever if it’s reasonable,” he knows he’s got Kirk right where he wants him. 

“You show up for your next two physicals, get up to date on your vaccines, stop flirting with Nurse Walker – then I’ll buy someone a candle or something.”

 Kirk glare,s but it does nothing to deter his friend. 

“ I think Walker really likes me—“ 

“Jim.” 

“Fine! Fine, you win, just pick a name.” 

The doctor rolls his eyes and plucks the first paper off the top of the pile. It’s yellow, and he hopes to god it doesn’t say Spock.

 It doesn’t; its pristine sharpie work stains the paper. 

Operations Manager A. Sunshine 

He stares and squints, all while Kirk watches him intently. A tight, nervous feeling begins to bloom in his chest. 

Sunshine. Christ. 

“Well?” Kirk prompts. Leonard folds the paper again and shoves it in his uniform pocket. 

“Yeah, I got it,” he waves Kirk off. “You can leave my office now. Not like I got patients to attend to or anything.” 

Kirk laughs, and it’s blindingly bright. 

“I’ll leave you to it, Bones. Remember - two weeks until the exchange!” 

Two weeks until the exchange. God help me. 

-

“Okay, what about a jacket? Or a sweater?” 

“Nyota, we wear a uniform every day. When is he gonna wear a sweater?” 

Sunshine paces back and forth on the sidewalk, chewing on her nails. They’re an hour into their recreational shore leave, with four stores under her belt, and she’s no closer to a gift. 

“You want my help or not?” Nyota crosses her arms and stops Sunshine in her path. 

“Sorry, I’m being mean, aren’t I?” She receives a pointed look. “I don’t mean to, I just really want this to be…”

“Perfect?” Nyota finishes.

 “Perfect?” Sunshine repeats the word, rolling it over in her mouth. “No, not exactly. I just want it to be…  right? I guess? I feel like there's an answer, and I’m just not seeing it.”

She sighs. The entire endeavor begins to feel a bit hopeless, and she wonders if she's doomed to just be the shittiest secret Santa the enterprise's annual gift exchange has ever seen. She imagines Leonard's face opening a sweater he’ll never wear, feigning appreciation, and her stomach flips. 

Nyota locks her arm with Sunshine’s and gives her all the seriousness she would a Starfleet mission. “If there's an answer on this starbase, we’re gonna find it.” 

“You think so?” 

She smiles, “Not a doubt in my mind.” 

-

“Bones, you can’t just get a woman makeup, you have to know her shade,” he plucks the tube of lipstick from Leonard's hands, whose eye twitches. 

“She wears this color every day, Kirk.” 

“She does?” He examines the tube. “Oh, yeah, I guess she does. Still shouldn't get it for her though, what if it’s not her brand?”

“Her brand?” 

Kirk looks at Leonard like he’s a child asking perpetually asking why. 

“Yes, Bones, her brand. This stuff is very elaborate.”

“Well, I don’t see you coming up with any bright ideas,” he hisses, shoving the lipstick back into its holder like it offended him. Kirk shrugs. 

Leonard wants to scream. From the moment he unwrapped that damn yellow paper he knew this would be a disaster. Why couldn't he have gotten Chapel? Or Sulu? Or Chekov? Or even Kirk? Instead, he gets Sunshine, who he can't bear to disappoint with the candle that's been sitting in his bedside drawer since two Christmases ago. She deserves more, a lot more… he just has no idea what more looks like. 

“This is impossible.” he concedes, his hope having run dry after four stores and three makeup departments. 

“It is not, we just need to get creative. I think you’re looking at this wrong, Bones,” Kirk begins to weave his way through the retail-maze. “You’ve got to think more… Sunshine. Not just some generic Christmas gift.” 

Kirk's words make their way around his head, and unfortunately, he has a great point. Perhaps, maybe, there is a tiny chance that he was carried away by the daunting expectation of what a holiday gift should be. The answer is staring him in the face now - he isn’t getting a Christmas gift, he is getting a Sunshine gift. This, he could work with. 

“You might be onto something, Jim.” He snaps his fingers. “With me–I’ve got an idea.” 

-

 Sunshine has always been partial to mint chocolate chip, and it's not like there's much of it in space. So, the cone in her hand is indeed a necessity and not a distraction. 

“No more pit stops after this,” Nyota says,  sweet yet stern, as she holds the door open for Sunshine. 

“I completely agree, so quit trying to get us sidetracked,” she quips and takes a long lick of her mint chip. 

Ever the patient one, Nyota rolls her eyes with a smile. “So sorry, Lieutenant. I'll try to stay on task.”

Sunshine laughs,  links their arms, and they walk down the strip. The impending sugar rush raises her spirits, and she is more than ready for the next bout of stores. 

“Okay, so I'm thinking we stop up here and try--”

“Oh, look, It's Jim and Leonard,” Nyota says casually, and nervousness shoots through Sunshine.

“It's what!?”  Sunshine hisses, her head shooting left and right for a store to dive into. It’s too late, Jim is already waving, and nudging Leonard, who does his polite little half-wave—awww.

“Shit, it’s too late, we were seen,” she sucks in a breath. “Okay, okay, act natural, Nyota. Don’t give anything away!” 

She lobs the rest of her ice cream in the nearest trash, straightens her clothes, and skirts backward until her back is against the nearest wall. She has just enough time to pull Nyota next to her and prop her foot against the wall before the pair approach—and just like that, she’s as natural as ever. 

“Hello boys,” she hums. She doesn’t even spare them a glance at first, choosing to stare at her nails, and be incredibly casual. She’s met with silence and the prickling feeling of someone  staring at her. 

They all are. 

“Er—hi, Sunshine,” Kirk says slowly, like it's a question. She inches her gaze away from her hand. Kirk has that crease between his brows that he gets when he’s thinking, and Leonards's arms are crossed over his chest, and suddenly this interaction is anything but natural. She plants her foot back on the ground. 

“Everythin’ alright?” Leonard asks, in his concerned doctor voice that she knows all too well. She prays the interaction is salvageable.

“Of course it is, everything is normal, as it usually is – right, Nyota?” She juts her elbow into her friend's side, who does not take the gesture kindly. With a hard glare, Nyota nods. 

“Just enjoying the day off,” she says tightly, and Sunshine envies her talent for socializing. 

There's a suffocatingly awkward pause, where Sunshine sweats and looks at anything other than Leonard – who, in turn, stares at her like he’s trying to solve a math problem. 

“Well, uh, we should get back to it, I guess,” Kirk breaks the silence, still confused as ever. 

“Yeah! Yeah, of course, us too,” she blurts, and pushes herself off of the wall, “Have fun! Be safe! See you at work!” And with that, she's locking her arm with Nyota once more and hauling ass away from the two. She walks so fast, they’re out of earshot in seconds. 

“You know that went terribly, right?” Nyota says flatly.

“I do, and I’m willing to take some of the blame.”

“Some?”

“Most of the blame, maybe,” Sunshine cringes. “It really was that bad, wasn’t it?” 

She knows the answer already, but instead of a hearty yes, Nyota bursts into laughter, and keeps laughing until Sunshine joins her. 

“It was terrible, awful,” she says, trying to catch her breath. “You’ve really got it bad, huh?” 

Sunshine giggles, and leans on her friend. “Ha, got what bad?”

Nyota pauses, curiously observing her friend's seriousness.  “Nothing. Here, I’ve heard good things about this store.” 

--

Leonard stares at Sunshine's back as she retreats, thinking about what the hell he just watched unfold.

“Any idea what that was?” Kirk asks, his head tilted so far, he could hurt his neck. 

“Not a damn clue.” 

--

Another hour passes, and Sunshine is close to hysterics, and the shopkeeper is hearing all about it. 

“So, I pick the name out of the bowl,” she brandishes the crumpled blue paper, “and I’m like, ‘oh, perfect’ because, like I said, we’re great friends, like super close, but now, I actually have to get the gift. And it’s impossible! Everything is too ordinary or not thoughtful enough or just useless! We’ve been at this for hours, and I’m at my wits end here.” Sunshine’s legs swing from her place perched on the countertop. 

“So, this friend of yours,” the assistant manager, Tina, begins, “he doesn’t have any hobbies? Or interests?” Customers pass, and Sunshine sighs.

“Hobbies? Not really. I mean, all we do is work, and he works a lot– did I mention he’s CMO? Yeah, I mean, he’s passionate about his work! He loves being a doctor, he acts all jaded about it, but he’s actually a huge softie, loves helping people.” She pauses and sucks in a breath, while Tina nods like she’s keeping up. “He doesn’t love doing it in space, though. That’s what he’s mostly jaded about. I mean, he did his dissertation in med school on deep space diseases, so it makes sense but –” 

“Well, where’s he from?” Tina interrupts. 

“Oh, he’s from Earth; I am too.” Sunshine points to Nyota, who is rifling through the cologne section in her stead, “So is my friend.” 

“You know, there’s a little earth-themed shop just around the corner…” 

This piques Sunshine’s interest, and it fills her with hope. 

“Earth-themed?” she repeats. Tina nods while she restocks the shelf behind the counter. 

“It’s an antique shop; they have trinkets from everywhere but mostly earth. Maybe you’ll find something there?” 

Sunshine grins, and she feels a weight being lifted off her chest. “Tina, you’re a godsend, thank you so much,” she hops off the counter with renewed vigor. “C’mon, Nyota! I think we’ve got our answer!” Nyota is halfway through the stack of samples in her hand when she’s rushed out of the store. She fleetingly wonders why she puts up with this. 

—

Leonard barely looks up from his PADD the entire way back to the ship. It takes Kirk, attached to his side, to weave him through crowds and assure no accidents or injuries. The enterprise is quiet upon arriving, and Kirk is ushered into Leonard's office.

“Alright! Game time, Bones, tell me whatcha got,” Kirk claps his hand on Leonard’s shoulder—it reminds him of a high school football coach. 

“Right, we’re gonna need to abuse your authority. “ 

“…for a Christmas gift?” 

Leonard rifles through his drawers. 

“Well, what else would it be for? Listen, go ask the head nurse–should be Nurse Bennet– tell her you need access to the medical imaging equipment, and grab the camera in Drawer B, got it?” 

“Uh, yeah, I guess?” 

Leonard shoos him out of the room. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he uses the moment of solitude to clear his head. 

He really hopes this isn't a stupid idea. 

—

In the antique store, Sunshine elects to not sit on any of the countertops. 

The entire place seems fragile to her, with shelves lined high with old-world things she didn't recognize and floors littered with boxes. It was eclectic, to say the least. To say the most, it was downright cramped. And tiny. 

Definitely no countertop sitting for her. 

Her eyes trail across the room, and she gets an odd nostalgic feeling, like she isn’t quite in space anymore. It feels like her mom's old house.  The feeling sweeps her up like a hug, and she almost forgets why she’s there as her eyes roam. Nyota recenters her with a nudge and points to the back of the store. 

“Hello!” Sunshine calls and catches the attention of the man behind the register. He’s older, with deep smile lines, and an overly large coat. He looks kind, she thinks. He waves in return for her hello. 

Nyota slips between two shelves, already scouring for ideas, while Sunshine approaches the shopkeep. 

“Somethin’ I can do for you?” he asks, his accent familiar, and strikes her with a sudden longing feeling. 

“If it's not too much trouble, I really need some help finding a gift for my friend,”she says, uncharacteristically beginning to feel shy. “And there's a bit of a story to it too, if you have the time.” 

He stares at her curiously, and she hopes she hasn't overstepped. 

“Sure.” He shrugs. 

He gestures for her to come around the counter, and she can see a wooden chair peeking from behind it. She accepts his invitation and makes herself comfortable in the old-looking wooden rocking chair. Dust flies from it when she sits.  He continues counting the register and waits for her to begin. 

“So,” she fiddles with the blue sticky note that has lost its stickiness, “I joined Starfleet like, a little over a year ago, and there's this Doctor…” 

—

The captain clears his throat and clears it again, running a hand through his hair because he’s just not sure what to say. 

“So, I gathered you both here for a reason, which is very important… but I also cannot provide much information about why it’s important - very… classified stuff,  but I assure you-” 

Leonard is too impatient for his own good, and he’s rolling his eyes and grumbling mere seconds into the captain's fake speech. 

“I’ll take it from here, Jim,” he interjects, “I can’t watch you flounder like a fish out of water anymore.”

The captain's patience wavers, but Leonard takes no mind to this. 

“Henly, Donavan, stand next to each other and smile. We’re doing a Starfleet scrapbook or something,” he says, voice filled to the brim with sarcasm. He brings the camera to his face, and the two girls look at one another with confused, pinched faces.

“We don't have all day, Ensigns,” he mumbles. Henley and Donavan turn their confused frowns into tentative smiles, and he snaps the picture. He throws a thumbs up their way. 

“Great. You’re dismissed.” Leonard turns around, sights set on their next stop already. Kirk, however, scrambles to leave this interaction on a politer note.

Kirk calls, “What he means is thank you so much for participating ladies, and you look great by the way, can’t wait for you to see the scrapbook!” but they were already retreating, whispering and giggling to one another.  He sighs. 

“So, now that I’ve abused my authority for the sake of a Christmas gift, do I get to know what the gift is?” he demands. 

“We’re not done abusing your authority, just so you’re aware,” Leonard says pointedly, “and fine, but we walk and talk.” 

That’s fine with Jim, he’ll walk wherever, talk to whoever,  if he finally gets to know what’s going on. 

“One year, for Pam and I’s anniversary, she got me this holoframe, piled high with a bunch of pictures of us. The thing’d flip through them all day, like a highlight reel while our marriage fell apart.” Leonard stays five steps ahead and doesn’t look back at Kirk. It’s an odd place to be vulnerable, the enterprise hallways, and Kirk has no idea how this fits into anything. 

“Okay…”

“I hated the damn thing. Not the sentimental type, but what you said, about getting a more, Sunshine gift, somethin’ clicked,” he snaps his fingers. “Can’t think of anything she likes more than the crew, and I’ll go out on a limb and say she’s the sentimental type.” 

Kirk pauses thoughtfully and suddenly feels touched by the gesture that isn't even for him. 

“So, we are making a Starfleet scrapbook? But of all Sunshine's favorite people?” 

“Do not go around saying we’re making a scrapbook like we’re a couple of grade schoolers.” 

Kirk catches up with his friend with a newfound dedication to this endeavor. 

“Sorry, holoframe,” he grins. 

—

Sunshine and Nyota are both perched behind the shop counter now. Sunshine slumped down into the rocking chair, Nyota rested on the arm of it. 

“...after I told Tina all of this, she sent me here and said maybe you could help—oh, well, actually, she never said that, I just sort of roped you into this on my own accord, sorry about that– but, on the way here, I wrote down this list of facts about Leonard to maybe help find him something?” She pulls out a crumpled receipt with sharpie on the back. 

“You brought…a list?” the shopkeep drawls, and it makes her blush. 

“Yeah it’s—I thought it might help,” she says sheepishly.

“She is very prepared,” Nyota supplies with a comforting pat on her shoulder.

“Alright, then let's see it.” He holds out his hand, and she lays the receipt flat on his palm. It feels like she's handing something over much more important than the record of her ice cream purchase, but she doesn't put her finger on why. 

She waits as the man reads, and she rocks in the chair. She thinks about what a whirlwind of a day it's been but still feels at ease. 

“He’s from Georgia?” the shopkeep finally says. She perks up. 

“Yeah! He’s, like, a country boy,” she cringes. “Well, like, he's from the country, he grew up on a farm, I just don't know what the actual word for it is.” 

Thankfully, the man just chuckles and doesn’t correct her. It's a win in her book. 

“He ever miss home?” he asks, eyes still on the paper. 

“Oh, only all the time,” she scoffs, “ he’s really not a fan of space.” She buzzes with excitement— she can tell he’s onto something. When he finally speaks, Sunshine has to restrain herself from leaping up and hugging him right there in the store. 

“Yeah, I think I got a few things he’d be interested in… Georgians ought to help each other out anyways.”

—

Three fake emergencies and six photos later, both men are exhausted. 

Leonard hopes no one enters the rec room for the next hour. He fears the image of him and the captain sprawled on the couch looking through photos of various crew members may be hard to explain. 

“Are we done now? Please tell me we’re done.” Kirk shifts, really he wiggles, to prop his feet on the chair beside him. Leonard fiddles with the camera as he replies. 

“Just waiting for Uhura to be back from shopping, and that should be it.” Kirk sighs and sinks lower into the couch. Since starting this whole thing, Leonard's anxiety has grown steadily, like a snowball rolling down a hill. Aside from the task of wrangling crew members, and then inventing explanations for his actions, the real challenge is convincing himself that this is even a good idea in the first place. He thinks about that tube of lipstick, and if it was her brand, and wishes this whole thing could be simpler. 

“Do you think Spock’s still mad?” Kirk asks, and Leonard barely hears it over his own thoughts. 

“He’s forgiven you for a lot worse, I wouldn't get too wound up about it,” he replies absently, hands still fidgeting. “Y’know, Jim, I appreciate you running all over hell's half acre for me. God knows you didn't have to.” 

“Bones, I have no idea what that means, but you’re welcome.” His friend smiles, and it quells some deep nervousness. “Totally gonna be worth it, anyway,” Kirk adds.

Leonard isn’t all that sure what he means, but still, he agrees.

“Yeah, I think it will.”  

 Leonard doesn't see the smirk on Kirk’s face, nor does he pick up on the mischievous cadence of his voice, or even the way they're on completely different pages. Kirk thinks perhaps that's for the best.

—

The gift sits on her desk for three days before she wraps it. 

She carefully maneuvers her work around it, avoiding touching the object like it was some precious gem. On occasion, her eyes would drift to it while she sits in her quarters, and her cheeks would heat without reason. She makes an effort not to think about it too much or get too excited, and to definitely not touch it. She finds lately that a bit of effort is required to get her mind off of many things related to the CMO, and it takes even more effort not to think about why that was. 

She wraps the gift on the day of the exchange—because it's the easiest way to avoid thinking about it.

—

Leonard gets the damn thing out of his sight as soon as possible. 

The gift had been finished – pictures uploaded, running on a ten-second loop – hidden away in a gift bag, out of sight out of mind. He is protecting his peace—leaving it out in the open will only restart the cycle of doubt in his head. So, he pulls doubles, up until the holiday party, if only just to get his goddamn mind off of this stupid exchange he shouldn’t have ever done in the first place—

He works until Chapel won't let him in the medbay anymore, and when she doesn't, he slots his time with other tasks. Hell, he even wonders if he should’ve gone back for the lipstick, the day after they leave the port. He goes as far as to bother Nyota about it, who waves him off and tells him she's sure Sunshine will love her gift—her reassurance helps more than he anticipated. 

He almost gets himself to forget the whole thing, lost in the medbay chaos, until he feels the scrap paper crushed in his pocket.

The gift stays hidden away until just a few minutes before he has to meet her, and his palms sweat when he picks it up. 

—

Lieutenant Jameson calls out the day of the holiday party— Dakitoan Flu. 

Without much choice, Sunshine takes his rounds. She doesn’t think she’s ever completed a task faster in her life. Complete is even a strong word—it's more like half-ass. She’s all too aware of how she’ll have to repeat most of the work again tomorrow, correcting her own mistakes. But she doesn't care. She’s been stressing out about this party for two entire weeks, she’d be damned if she misses it. 

When she does finally rush to the rec room, the blue-wrapped gift in hand, there are few people left, and her heart sinks a bit. 

There's a Christmas tree in the corner of the room, with only one present left beneath it, and a few red and green ribbons are strewn about. She spots Spock first, already wiping down tables and cleaning up the festivities. He catches her eye, and he must see how her posture is wound tight with nervousness—or her pink cheeks, or her frazzled hair, or the way she obviously ran here. Spock doesn’t quite smile, but his gaze softens in some way she doesn’t see often, and he nods toward a table in the far corner. She follows, and—

Oh! It’s Leonard!

Spock gets a double thumbs up for his help. 

Leonard sits with Jim, both of them with glasses of some dark liquid in hand. She wishes she could have had a drink before this. She smoothes down her hair before she approaches. 

Kirk notices her first and smiles — it reminds her how nice it is to have someone in her corner.

“Sunny! You made it!” He cheers. She grins back and lets it sink in, yeah I did make it, and the thing she’d been fussing over for weeks is finally coming to an end.   

 Leonard is much more reserved, he always is. He sees her, and his posture relaxes—he does that a lot. Almost like he’s holding his breath for some reason. 

“Captain, Doctor,” she greets the two, still catching her breath. “I’m sorry I missed the party, you have no idea how insane my shift has been —I mean, no idea, but it's over now, and I’m so glad I caught you guys.”  

“We had to convince Spock to leave the Christmas tree up until you got here, he’s been cleaning damn near since the party started,” Leonard tuts, and she laughs. 

“Aw, I’m glad he did…” She looks at the pine tree, which is bare of ornaments and lights, and raises her eyebrows. 

“Well, he sort of did,” Leonard amends. “It was a compromise.” 

“A compromise that leaves me with putting the decorations back in storage, so I’d call it more of a trade,” Kirk complains. 

“Master negotiator, huh?” she teases and has every intention of teasing him more, maybe even calling Christmas his new Kobayashi Maru, but she waits a beat too long.

“Anyways, Jim, don’t you think you should be getting to it?” Leonard says, as if the conversation didn’t just start. 

Jim doesn't say anything at first, just stares at Leonard while Leonard stares at him. It’s all very… intense, she thinks. They exchange pointed looks like they’re engaged in a silent conversation– actually, she’s pretty positive they are. Awkwardness begins to prick at her skin. 

“Is there something—”

“Wow, I didn't even notice the time, better get to it, just like you said,” he springs to his feet with alarming speed. 

“Oh, do you have to go?” she asks with disappointment.

“I do, duty calls, or something.” He holds her by the shoulders looking at her with enough intensity to make her squint. “Have fun,” he says meaningfully, and smiles, and then, he's gone, leaving with a friendly pat on her back. 

She hesitates a moment before taking Kirk's seat. 

“Is he…okay?” 

“That's a loaded question,” Leonard deadpans, and despite her confusion, she laughs. 

“So I have something-”

“Anyways, there's this-” 

Their sentences crash into each other,  and they both freeze. 

“You first,” she offers. He doesn’t say anything for a moment, just purses his lips and avoids eye contact. 

“Just—Don’t move, I’ll be right back,” he grits out and leaves her at the table. It's abrupt and leaves her wondering why this interaction is going like this. She wraps her arms around herself and waits. 

Behind her, he picks up the last present left under the tree, which has been waiting there for her all day.  Yellow bag with yellow paper stuffed inside.  He places it on the table, and sits back down, hands wringing together. She wants to ask what's got him so worked up. 

“I’m your secret… Christmas person or whatever the hell it is,” he grumbles and doesn’t meet her gaze. Not until he hears her stifle a giggle, which then bubbles into a laugh.  She doesn’t mean to, but the whole thing just comes together too perfectly for her to contain herself. 

“You’re my Secret Santa?” she asks, alight with excitement, and he nods at her slowly. 

“Yeah, if that’s the name—” He’s cut off with another laugh, and she eagerly puts her gift in front of him—blue paper with a blue bow. 

“Leonard, I’m your Secret Santa!” She beams, “We picked each other! What are the odds?”

He stares at her, then at the gift, and says quietly, bewildered, “What are the odds?” 

She doesn’t catch what he means, but she’s too excited to harp on it. 

“Well?” she prompts and inches the blue box towards him. “Are you gonna open it?” 

Curiously enough, she’s not nearly as nervous anymore. 

He blinks and shakes his head like he’s clearing his thoughts. “Yeah, yeah of course,” he says distractedly. 

He opens the box carefully, it's like he’s doing an operation. When he looks down at the gift, the gift, he pauses and gets this expression that Sunshine doesn’t think she's ever seen on him. 

“Len?” 

“Sunshine, is this…?” 

“It’s a postcard! From Georgia!” She grins, “A real one from Earth, It’s an antique.” She reaches over the table and taps on the glass of the frame in his hand. “See? There's a little stamp of authenticity. Isn’t that neat?”  

Neat. It’s about the neatest thing Leonard’s ever seen. 

She settles back in her seat. “I thought it might make you a little less homesick,” she adds, much quieter, as if the statement itself needed privacy. 

Leonard stares at the postcard. It's got a picture of a peach orchard, on a perfect summer day, he can tell by the blossoms that line the trees. Greetings from Georgia! it reads.  It looks like something he would have seen hanging in his Ma’s house. He thinks of the red door of his childhood home, and how the branches of his family's own peach tree framed it. The smell of his Ma’s cooking and the feeling of coming home— his chest fills with familiarity and longing. He stares for a while and doesn't say anything for even longer. 

He doesn’t realize he’s been silent until Sunshine clears her throat. It feels like he forgot he was on the Enterprise for a moment. 

“Sunshine this is…” Damn near perfect. “Nice. Thank you.” He says it and cringes. There's so many more feelings and thoughts under the surface. He wishes he could make a sentence out of them. But Sunshine, like she knows his inner thoughts, accepts the weak compliment like it's the best thing she's ever heard. 

“Aw, Leonard!” She tucks her hair behind her ear and flushes – or maybe it's the lighting. “I'm so  glad you like it. You have no idea the hell I put Nyota through to find it.” 

He’s not sure what Nyota had to do with it, and he doesn't ask either. “I’ll thank her too then,” he says weakly, but he definitely won’t. With a deep breath to quell his nerves, he pushes her gift toward her. 

“Your turn,” he says with bated breath. 

Being so wrapped up in her own Christmas shopping, she almost forgot she gets a gift too. She tears through the tissue paper with the same unrestrained excitement she had picking her secret Santa just a few weeks ago. 

“I still think it's so crazy we got each other, this makes the gift-giving thing like, ten times better,” she tells him. He nods curtly, and she can tell he’s wound tighter than a spring–or at least that’s how he would say it. 

“Relax, Len, I’ll like whatever’s in the bag– heck, I’d like it even if you gave me a rock.” 

She dives her hand into the bag, the tips of her fingers touching cool metal. At first, she has no idea what she’s looking at. A… little screen? A flat little screen with a cool blue border? She opens her mouth, a question on her tongue, when— 

“The power buttons on the side,” Leonard says. He doesn’t give her a chance to move, leaning over the table and clicking the button for her. 

The screen comes to life with a picture of Sulu and Chekov, both donning awkward thumbs up… and is that in Kirk’s room? She blinks, and it changes again, this time to Scotty and Keenser sitting among a mess of wires in engineering but smiling brightly nonetheless. Another second passes, and she's looking at Spock and Nyota, sitting beside each other in the rec room loveseat looking equally poised yet annoyed. Sunshine laughs before she can stop herself. 

“Len is this—?” The picture flickers again, and the sight of it stops Sunshine's words in their tracks. It's Leonard and Jim, on that same rec room loveseat. Jim’s practically beaming—face lit up and an arm looped tightly around Leonard’s shoulders. Leonard, shit. He’s got that soft and reserved smile on his face—like the one he has when he talks about home or his friends, where his eyes are just filled with this warm something. 

Sunshine’s face turns hot, and her chest becomes unbearably heavy with emotions. 

“Leonard, this is so fucking sweet—” She cuts herself off with a wet laugh, and she realizes she’s got tears in her eyes. 

Leonard, however, looks mortified, as he watches her face become red and tears fall down her cheeks. 

“Shit—Damn it, I’m sorry—You weren't supposed to cry!” he stutters in a panic. Sunshine laughs again and hiccups over it with a sob. 

“They’re happy tears, Len!” she insists, wiping her cheeks. “This… I think this is the nicest gift I've ever gotten.” She can’t bring herself to look away. The pictures are just the slightest bit grainy—like the camera her mom used to take pictures of her. The thought starts the waterworks all over again. 

“It is?” 

She sniffles, scrubbing her tears with her sleeve. As Sunshine traces the edges of the frame, and watches the photos loop again, she knows for certain this is the sweetest, most thoughtful gift she's ever gotten. She thinks about how curious it is that it's from someone she’s known only a year—a coworker, no less. 

Then, she thinks, maybe, it's not all that curious at all. 

“We should do this every year,” she tells him. She’s positive, actually, that, as much of a headache as this exchange has been, she would do it again in a heartbeat. 

“Secret Santa?”

“Yeah, but not so…secret next time, and… just us, maybe.” 

She doesn’t look at him when she says it, for both their sakes. 

“Sure,” he says, and she can hear the tightness in his voice. “I’ll try not to make you cry next time.” 

She laughs, “No, do it! It’s more fun that way. Maybe I’ll make you cry.” 

“Uh-huh.” 

He seems less nervous now, like his smile is coming a bit easier. 

“We should get going before Spock sticks us with the rest of the cleaning,” he says, gathering the discarded paper from the table, “and I know you had a long day, Jameson told me you covered for him.” 

She doesn’t want to leave, but she knows he’s right. She wonders if he feels the same pull to stay.

“Yeah, but it’s fine,” she tries to say casually.  She leaves her chair as he does. “You know me, I don't mind.” 

“Doesn’t make it a good thing, you pull about as many doubles as—”

“As you?” she interrupts cheekily, and he rolls his eyes with a smile. 

“Yeah, as me.” 

The paper goes in the trash, and they’re left with nothing to do but bid each other goodnight. It’s the last thing she wants to do. 

“Thank you again, Len. The pictures—It’s perfect. I love it.” She tries not to cry again, mostly for his sake. 

“No problem, and you too,” he tells her simply. His cheeks are still tinged pink, and seeing him hold the present she labored over in his hands, with all that warmth in his eyes, it's almost more than she can stand. 

Fuck it. She thinks to herself, and before her nerves can stop her, she wraps her arms around Leonard's neck. It's an awkward angle, and she has to pull him down to her height a bit—and she’s still got the frame in her hand and everything. As far as hugs go, it's not great, but in other ways, it's perfect. Leonard doesn’t react for a moment, but finally, his arms encircle her waist, after a fair bit of hesitation. 

It’s really nice, she thinks. 

“No, really, thank you,” she says into his shoulder. The fabric of his uniform is soft, and she can smell his apple shampoo. 

“You too, Sunshine,” he mutters. The sincerity in his voice feels nearly tangible. Leonard pats her back, maybe because he feels awkward or maybe because it's time for the hug to end; either way, she lets him go. 

“Have a good night,” he says, and he can't quite meet her eyes. 

“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow,” she answers softly.

They share a long parting glance, as they head in opposite directions to their quarters. 

Unbeknownst to the pair, their senior officers are perched just around the corner. 

“...and he knew her shade, Spock. The exact shade of lipstick she wears. He was so… dedicated to the whole thing. I half-thought he might give her a candle or a necklace or something but this?” 

Spock nods thoughtfully. “She treated the exchange with similar enthusiasm, from what Nyota has told me.” 

“You’re a genius for setting this thing up,” Kirk shakes his head, “even if I did have to copy Sunshine’s signature on 20 different sticky notes.” 

“Well, it was your influence that caused me to—”

Kirk waves him off. 

“You don’t have to justify it, Spock. Hell, everyone can see how bad they’ve got it for each other. Can’t blame you for wanting to move it along.” 

“Indeed they do, Captain.”

[ensigngareth]

Cuddle Bug

James Kirk x nb reader

It wasn't a secret that Kirk was a cuddle bug, a comfortable one at that with his extra chub on his sides. After long hard shifts (with a few red alerts), all you wanted to do was cuddle up to your captain and sleep.

Finally once the ship had settled down after the third red alert of the day, it's where you snapped, heading straight to his quarters to get some shut eye.

"Well hello lieutenant, how can I help you?" Kirk looks up from where he was sitting, smiling softly yet warmly at the sight of you, he already knew what you wanted.

You walk towards him, exhaustion pulling you down as you flop onto the small bed, making a motion for him to join you.

"Tired?" Kirk smirked as he spoke, one eyebrow raised as he joined you on the god awful bed, holding you close like the love of his life you were.

Quietly you mumbled the words into his neck, the ones of love, the ones of promise, the ones that'll stick.

"I love you."

[chekovs-merkin]

here’s your friendly reminder that wanting your ship to be canon is a cool motive, but still bi-erasure

[pinkamour1588]

Red, White, and Royal Blue

Star Trek (+Original Characters)

[pinazee]

Listen, every time i rewatched TOS i always skipped turnabout intruder because it angered my feminism too much. But now im like, they literally turned kirk into a baby girl

[merrysithmas]

tbh i am so thrilled w the narrative implications rising in snw because they decided to explore the portion of kirk's life where he is in a situationship with a partner who essentially becomes the Star Trek equivalent of the scientist who created the A-bomb (Genesis project).

like i wanna see Jim Kirk tied up in situationship with a woman who once dazzled and bewitched him with her unparalleled genius but becomes victim to her ambition, going down the path of the mad scientist, driven deeply into alienation by the ferocious belief in the veracity of her work

and jim, ambitious in his own right, faced with the morally alarming nature of unchecked desire

not only can jim not follow this path himself, but he fears/dislikes the idea of fatherhood and has devoted his soul to another path entirely - with this being unexpected. whereas with carol, who is obsessed with Creation and her own work would "want David in my world" as she stated in the later movies.

love me a good Watching Love Decay Into A Descent To The Horrors story

mmmm some good fcking food🍿

[anewstartrekfan]

Star Trek Rambles: Lenore Karidian: A Wonderful Subversion

Lenore Karidian is one of the best women Star Trek ever wrote (I say this a someone who has only seen a season and a half of tos) I know not a high bar but legitimately. She had Captain Kirk eating out of the palm of her hand. Even when he was trying to fish from her she managed to turn it around in her favor. I truly believe she never actually gave a shit about Kirk. It was all a means to an end to protect her father. What’s my proof?

Their first little date, about 5 minutes after meeting each other, they ditch a party she was late for, (because she murdered the host), and then lead Kirk down a path, TO WHERE SHE KILLED THE LAST GUY

If you ask me she was luring Kirk there to kill him. How, I’m not sure, but I can assume she had something planned for when they were going to kiss.

Oh but what about their flirting on the enterprise? The scene where Kirk proclaims that women remain women no matter what.

That scene is a farce in terms of the romance and revealing when it comes to Lenore’s beliefs. Kirk is giving her this tour to try and get her guard down so he can get info on her father. However Lenore notices this, calls him out for it, and turns it around on Kirk. Forcing him to answer her questions, like if he is actually human, and if the women on the enterprise are human as well.

“Are you captain? Human?”

“Has the machine changed them? Made them, just people instead of women?”

It’s subtle but she isn’t just fake flirting here. She’s othering Kirk and his crew. Her later attempt on Kirk’s life involves overloading a phaser, which would destroy not only Kirk’s cabin but those around it. Kirk has to call for an emergency evacuation while he desperately searches for it. It’s easy to justify killing the Tarsus 9 because they weren’t human by her father’s standards anyway, but what about Kirk’s crew? She had to other them as well to justify it.

“All this, and power too. Caesar of the stars, and cleopatra to worship you.”

I spoke in a prior blog about how Kodos sees technology as something that has made humanity inhuman. That removed the struggle from life, emphasizing the so called tradition of man shaping his destiny himself without tools. Aka, fascism. Lenore does this as well, and displays a sort of devotion to tradition when she quotes Star light Star bright and talks about how old the stars are. When Kirk insists he’s human, she doesn’t agree with him. Instead she shifts the topic to the women in the crew. When Kirk gives his line about how women will always be women, Lenore again changes the subject. Likening Kirk to Caesar. Stroking his ego, but also it is fitting given she planned to murder him. She likens herself to Cleopatra, a woman who is frequently portrayed as a seductress and blames for Antony’s fall.

Another thing to remember is she got a tour of the whole ship from Kirk. Which is how she was able to track down Riley AND plant the phaser in Kirk’s cabin.

While I can’t prove she was going to kill Kirk in an earlier scene, she absolutely tried to kill him with the overloaded phaser on the enterprise. And what’s key is she attempts this before Kirk confronts her father. So at the end of the scene when she breaks things off with kirk, and is angry at him for just being a tool, I think she’s upset that she didn’t see Kirk was using her as well. She drops the pretenses and says what she actually thinks of him.

“You are like your ship. Powerful, and not human. There is no mercy in you.”

All she sees Kirk as is a threat to her father’s safety. And above all else that is what she cares about. It’s why she has the nervous breakdown at the end. Her father finds out she’s been murdering the survivors of the genocide he committed and he’s heartbroken. She can’t see that her actions doomed her father, and when she kills him only because he protected Kirk, she loses it completely. How could her father ever dare to want to protect Captain Kirk? The inhuman who was going to throw him in jail. Who dared to make her father suffer?

Big picture is she was great. Cunning, ruthless, and a match for Kirk’s wit. She only got caught because Kirk happens to hear her confess to her father. Had Riley not tried to kill Kodos, Kirk would’ve arrested Kodos and let her go free none the wiser.

[ericac318]

Unexpected

Summary:

Adley Benson is a young Data Analyst for Starfleet. She met Jean Luc Picard at 10 Forward three years before this story begins. They began a relationship and now she lives with him at Chateau Picard and works from the vineyard. When Picard gets a distress signal from Beverly Crusher, what happens next for the couple? Picard x OC

Chapter 11

Back on the Titan, Jack’s attempt to take over a member of the bridge crew failed, resulting in the death of Lt. T’Veen.

“We need a new plan,” Kirk began as Reagan began to come to, “Is there any way to take back control of the ship in the next ten minutes?” he questioned as he felt her take his hand in her own.

Picard leaned back against the wall as he brainstormed for a solution.

Reagan sat up in her bed, against Kirk’s wishes, for the second time that day, “What’s going on? Where can we help?”

“You can help by resting,” Kirk responded, “That battle with Vadic’s men took quite a toll on you,” he added before continuing, “You experienced a severe concussion so you are stuck in sickbay for a while, understood?”

Reagan took a deep breath before she replied, “I understand. However, I do have an idea,” she began once she saw she’d grabbed the attention of the others, “We have our own supercomputer on board. It’s time to see if Data can win over Lore and take his body back. If you can get Data back, then he can take control of this ship with ease,” she stated, surprised no one else had thought of it, earning a proud smirk from Kirk.

Picard turned to Beverly, Jack, and Sidney (who’d been attempting to find a way to take back the ship’s controls), “That is not a bad idea, though I’m not sure if Geordi will go for it. Let’s go see if we can make that happen,” he looked at Captain Kirk, “Would you like to join us or stay here with Reagan?”

“I’m going to stay here until she’s cleared to leave and return to action, if that’s alright, Admiral?” Kirk inquired with his superior, even if their ranks based on their time served made no logical sense.

Picard nodded, “That is perfectly fine,” he gestured for Sidney, Jack, and Beverly to follow him to engineering where they would find Geordi and Data/Lore.

After Delaney made her comment about Vadic having control of the Titan, one of the guards returned to the small group.

Before the guard had a chance to say anything, his body was disintegrated before their eyes.

Delaney recognized Worf from her studies at the Academy, but she watched with a hint of delight as Riker and Troi embraced the Klingon.

“One’s personal space is a right,” Worf replied to their affections as the couple released him before Riker introduced Worf to Delaney.

“It is an honor to meet you, Lt. Hale,” Worf replied, “There is something you will want to see before we leave,” he added as he looked at Troi and Riker before he gestured for them to follow him.

The three trailed behind Worf through the halls of the Shrike until they reached what looked like a lab where Raffi was waiting.

Deanna and Delaney were introduced to Raffi before they took a look at the sight before them.

“Jean Luc,” Troi stated, empathetically.

Worf corrected her, “That is not him. It is the version of him that died. According to the records, they are isolating and taking apart the pieces of his brain infected with Iromodic Syndrome,” he shared.

“Why would they want the part of his brain destined to die?” Troi inquired as Raffi shook her head.

“We have no idea, but it has something to do with his son, as well,” Raffi replied, “I think I can download what they have and take it back with us. We can’t stay here any longer. We need to get back to the Titan,” she urged.

Raffi’s words caused a lump to form in Delaney’s throat. She hadn’t seen Liam Shaw since the morning she’d made her quick escape after their one-night stand and she wasn’t sure if he ever wanted to see her again.

While Geordi began working on separating Lore and Data, with the hopes that Data would win, Picard and Jack made their way to turbo lift as their next ten-minute deadline was nearing its end.

Jean Luc handed Jack a device as a contingency. A device that would initiate a forcefield to protect him in the event that they would need to open the airlock on the bridge to get rid of the intruders, even if that was their last choice.

Once the turbo lift doors opened, Jack and Picard were greeted by the sight of Vadic with her phaser aimed at Adley’s head as Picard’s girlfriend sat on her knees, awaiting her fate.

“Ah, Jack,” Vadic began as she backed away from Adley, causing Picard to move to her side and pull her protectively into his arms, “I’m so glad you decided to join.”

Jack shook his head, “You only want me. Let the others go,” he instructed, causing Vadic to wave her hand as she instructed her soldiers to move everyone but Jack into the Ready Room.

Everyone left except Seven, she chose to stand by Jack’s side.

“Are you alright?” Picard questioned Adley once they were behind closed doors, even though they still had a small audience.

Adley nodded as she leaned into his embrace, resting her head against his chest, “I’m ok, thanks to you. Are we going to get out of this one alive, babe?” she asked while attempting to stop her teeth from chattering from the nerves coursing through her body.

Jean Luc placed a kiss on her forehead before he replied, wishing he could comfort her more, “If Jack does what I told him then we’ll be alright. I still wish we knew what they were planning for Frontier Day, though. If we could understand their bigger picture, then this entire situation would be much easier,” he added as she placed her finger to his lips.

“We’ll figure it out,” Adley responded with confidence that she had no right feeling, “As long as we’re together then we can take on anything. That’s what I’ve learned in the years we’ve been together and I can’t wait to see what comes next for us. I know that this isn’t the appropriate time for me to be saying such things, but I want you to know how much I love you, always,” she added as she attempted to stop her lips from curling into a smile.

“Don’t you ever feel guilty regarding our love,” Picard stated before he placed his lips to hers, wondering what was going on aboard the ship surrounding them. Adley gave into his kiss, for a moment before she pulled away. “I have waited my entire life for someone who makes me feel the way you make me feel. Nothing could get between us, and I hope you understand how seriously I take those words,” he added before he placed a chaste kiss on her cheek.

Adley smiled at her boyfriend, ready to call him by a more significant title, “I trust you, baby. Before we came on this mission, I wasn’t sure that I was the person for you, but now I am. I can’t wait to see how our lives evolve when these babies arrive,” she added with a smile as she felt him place his hand on her slightly swollen abdomen, as he’d done a few times previously on their mission.

While Picard and Adley were having their sentimental reunion, Data had won over Lore and taken control of the ship at the same moment when Raffi, Riker, Troi, Worf, and Delaney made their entrance on board.

Raffi glanced at Delaney, “We can handle these soldiers. Why don’t you go to the bridge and see how the hostages are faring?”

Delaney nodded as she made her way to the turbo lift.

When she reached the bridge, she saw a man standing next to Seven of Nine addressing Vadic.

“One of my prisoners has returned,” Vadic interrupted Jack, “Let’s put her with the others,” she instructed as one of her soldiers grabbed Delaney roughly by the shoulder and threw her into the Ready Room with the others.

That’s where she came face-to-face with Captain Liam Shaw, who had clearly taken quite a beating.

Shaw let out a long sigh at the sight of Delaney while Adley was also in the room, “How many of my exes are going to show up on my ship during this mission?”

Delaney let out a small laugh, “I don’t know if you could really call me an ex, Captain,” she stated as she walked toward the man she’d spent the best night of her life with. “You don’t look great,” she added as she reached up and placed her fingers, gingerly, on his injuries.

“Thanks,” Shaw replied, sarcastically. “How did you get tangled up into all of this mess?” he inquired, resisting the urge to close his eyes from the feeling of her fingers on his skin. Shaw loved Adley, but he also loved Delaney and he couldn’t believe that they’d both shown up in the midst of all of this chaos.

Delaney shrugged, “Luck of the draw, I guess. Somehow Vadic knew about our one-night stand and she tortured me for information on your location. I suppose she doesn't understand how a one-night encounter between two people works because I haven’t spoken to you since that night, but she didn’t believe me,” she explained.

Shaw didn’t know if it was the blood loss or if he was feeling bold, but he decided to take a step forward with Lt. Delaney Hale, “Would I be too presumptuous if I asked you to be my girlfriend? I know we need some time to catch up, but I don’t think that’s a good enough reason not to move forward to a more formal title..” he let his words linger, waiting to see what she would say.

Delaney couldn’t stop the smile from creeping across her lips as she responded, “I wouldn’t say no to that proposal. I’d be more than happy to be your girlfriend,” she replied as they were interrupted by the feeling of the ship shaking, beneath their feet.

That didn’t stop them from entering into a passionate kiss that would seal their new relationship status.

Data had taken over the AI body, besting Lore, and he had control of the ship. Luckily, Jack used his device, given to him by Picard, to protect himself and Seven when Data opened the airlock to the bridge and sent Vadic and her men into the cold, depths of space.

Back in sickbay, Kirk was sitting on the edge of Reagan’s bed, while all the events were transpiring around them, including the Titan, finally destroying the Shrike with every weapon they had at their disposal.

“Are all those sounds a good thing or a bad thing?” Reagan questioned as she heard the Titan firing at the Shrike, unaware of what was actually going on, just making a hopeful assumption.

Kirk’s lips curved into a smug grin as he replied, “Those sounds are a very good thing. Our people managed to throw Vadic and her people into space and now we’re destroying her ship. The only thing left for us to do is to stop whatever the Changelings have planned for Frontier Day,” he added as he tentatively placed his hand on top of hers. He was fairly certain that she felt the same way about him that he felt for her, but he couldn’t be one-hundred percent certain.

“James Tiberius Kirk,” Reagan began, “If I didn’t know better, I’d say that you like me. Maybe even as much as I like you. Am I hot or cold with my suspicions?” she inquired while wearing a sly smile on her lips.

Kirk was unable to suppress the light chuckle from escaping his lips, even while they were in these dire circumstances, “I’m not sure how you were able to guess that I liked you too, but you’re right,” he replied, sarcastically, before continuing, “There are a few problems with ‘us’ though. The first one is that you’re far too young for me,” he stated matter-of-factly as if the words leaving his mouth were enough to set that in stone.

“Age is merely a number,” Reagan replied as she sat up and swung her legs off the side of the bed, “Based on your crazy track record, you’re bound to outlive me. Do you have any other more valid reasons for us to stay apart?”

Kirk let out a loud laugh at her logic before he replied, “I don’t suppose I do. So, what does that make us? Are we boyfriend and girlfriend, or not quite there yet?” he questioned as he heard his communicator chirp.

He chose to ignore it for the moment while he awaited Reagan’s response.

“If you’re ready to be exclusive then so am I,” she stated as she moved forward and placed her lips to his. She deepened the kiss, resisting the urge to straddle him because she knew that they were needed, as she broke the kiss and continued, “Are you one-hundred percent sure about being exclusive with me? There are a lot of girls in the galaxy you haven’t even met yet,” she added, with a smirk.

Kirk shook his head as he looked to the ground, his smile reaching his eyes causing his crow's feet to shine through, “I’ve never felt the way I feel for you about anyone so there’s no need for me to scour the galaxy for a better match. You’re it, my one, my everything,” he added, even as cheesy as his words sounded.

Once they resolved their conversation, Kirk answered his comms. Everyone was wanted in the conference room to figure out their next steps.

A/N: This is the most recent chapter of this fanifc, but you can start from the beginning here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/45696184/chapters/114994717

[it-spirk-to-me]

i love these poses so much- bones's sass is amazing

Lady Trek with sweet 60′s hairstyles? don’t mind if i do.

[sprite-writes]

Masterlist:

Star Trek

pinterest board / ao3 link

1. Not to me (Not If Its You) ➸ Change is always hard, no matter how big or small. Luckily the enterprise crew is both deeply caring, and obnoxiously nosey, and very determined to help.

2. It’s a Touchy Subject ➸ Kirk is having some…personal issues and enlists his lieutenant to help. Unfortunately for her he never knows when to stop talking, and accidentally hits a… sensitive topic, one about a certain chief medical officer.

3. Yours (And Ours) ➸  McCoy hated surprises, and being interrupted. Though for the right person, he supposed he could make an exception.

4. Something Blue ➸ All is well on the starship Enterprise. Except for, well, its missing Captain.

5. all I want for christmas (is you) ➸ McCoy finds himself wrapped up in the Enterprise annual gift exchange, and for some reason, this Christmas gift feels a hell of a lot more important than just a Christmas gift. Maybe it’s got something to do with who it’s for.

6. failed romantics ➸ Secrets can’t be kept forever, and what better time to reveal them than the Enterprise night shift.

[greengoddesssmoothie]

In the recent past, women were told by society that they could have a fulfilling relationship or a career, but not both. There’s been a push to “have it all!” more recently, of course, but that’s not what this post is about. This post is about how James T. Kirk occupies the unique position of a male character who had to choose one or the other. There are few male characters other than him who are genuinely and unabashedly hopeless romantics who want to settle down but aren’t allowed to by the narrative. And if you view The Search for Spock as a romantic drama, then Kirk also kind of fulfills the typical female character trope of “learning that romantic love is actually more important than a career.”

As you can see, Captain James T. Kirk’s arc mirrors many female romance protagonists, and he is therefore, textually, wife material. In this essay, I will—

[your-name-is-jim]

TOS fans, you may want to read this comic series!

Sooo I recently read this series of comics called Star Trek: Year Five, published in 2019-2021 by IDW Publishing; I heard it was good, but I didn't expect it to be that good!

If you haven't read it, I suggest to check it out! (it's also not hard to find it if you get what I mean)

The art overall is great and, more importantly, the characters act like themselves and there are several references to their canon backgrounds, past and future experiences! What I absolutely loved was also seeing a lot of "old faces" from TOS show, as well as mentions of events from the series and the movies.

As the title suggests, the story takes place during the last year of Kirk's five-year mission on the Enterprise. I'd like to tell you more, but I enjoyed the surprise of a lot of things I didn't expect, so first of all I'll post a few pics without major spoilers from the first 11 issues (there are 25, so you still have a lot to discover!):

I especially love how Bones and Sulu are drawn, they really look like them! Scotty and Uhura too, but that depends on the artist. Speaking of them, if you like a little Scotty/Uhura, this series has something good about it!

The joke about Kirk thinking there's something strange with the way the Klingons look now cracked me up. LOL

Also, I'm not sure Chapel would call McCoy "Bones", but she is very right in that panel. :)

The last panel is classical James T. Kirk's ass appreciation lol

Sulu has a love story with an alien who doesn't understand human genders and uses they/them pronouns. As someone who headcanons TOS Sulu as attracted to any gender, that was great to see :D

I'm also posting this "end-of-the-episode" panel because it's just perfection. TOS in a nutshell. Aww, look at Kirk and Spock just looking at each other! <3

I must say, you may be a little disappointed if you expect to see many moments with Kirk and Spock together, BUT the scenes they have together are really good! I won't say anything more, just read until the end and you'll see! :D

By the way, this series has a Valentine's Day extra, which is the only part where Kirk has a love interest (a female original character). Yeah, you heard me: in the main story, Kirk doesn't have new romances with anyone; Sulu is the one who gets all the action! ;)

The Valentine's Day issue is not linked to anything else and I don't think Kirk's female love interest is mentioned outside that story, so you can easily skip it if it's not for you. However, even if I can't say I'm especially happy with that story, I personally found something interesting there, for example this:

I think I saw this out of context once, but I didn't know where it was from, so sorry I'm just going to lose my mind thinking about ladies or GENTLEMEN in Kirk's life and Kirk not correcting her about his sexual preferences. Anyway, I might make a separate post someday about this special from a Kirk/Spock shipper's perspective, because I do have a lot of thoughts about it :)

So, if you haven't read Star Trek: Year Five, I hope I convinced you to check it out! I hadn't been lucky with other Star Trek comics before, so I had almost lost hope to find something good… and then here it was! Something that made me feel like it was really written with a lot of love for The Original Series! I really needed it!

If you decide to give it a try, I'd love to see your thoughts and see your favorite parts! I hope you enjoyed this little review. :)

[woman-of-many-fandoms]

This is funny because I started watching TOS in 2009 (after I was blown away with how great ST 2009 was ) and I literally thought this. There are SO many times I wanted someone to call HR on Kirk and Mccoy's racism just made me uncomfortable. (spock of course was great)

I know most ST fandom is centered around TOS (especially Sprik shippers) but some people really need to take off their rose tinted glasses. And talk about being centered towards the male gaze! AOS fixed a lot of things wrong with TOS. I just wish it got more than 6 and some hrs of screen time. I think that's the source of most of the AOS criticism. Not enough time for story telling. (I mean I get it, no way could you financially get those actors to commit to a TV series)

SNW is the exact opposite, a bunch of well written female characters that aren't being leared at. That version of Pike is actually the best example of non-toxic masculinity.

watching TOS and wishing the Enterprise had an HR department