#i know ive seen at least one sprk fic like this

[the-last-dillpickle]

Im struggling with how to exactly word this, but I think something that's bugged me about trek Captain/crew-member ships is how unseriously that aspect is considered. As in, the ethics and consequences are almost always under explored and under discussed. I think it's fine to write a Spirk fic where they're happily and openly married while being Captain and First Officer. But realistically? One of them would have to transfer and that would probably be whoever is lower ranked. There might be an investigation even into how the relationship came to be. There is so much power imbalance in a relationship where one of you can order the other one onto a suicide mission. I don't care if the other is CMO and can order the captain on medical leave. The relationship wouldn't be allowed so long as one is in a position of direct authority over the other. What if they get into a fight and now there's petty interpersonal drama interfering with workload assignments? What if the partner gets preferential treat, or the opposite--treated more severely in order to prove a point about the relationship not interfering with work, or just as a straight up point of controlling the other? You can't count on people to simply be professional bcuz they might not even be consciously aware that they're treating their partner any differently. It's just something I'd like to see considered more often, especially in fics--how to keep your relationship from interfering in your work, the threat of Starfleet Command finding out, and the consequences when it does.