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It had been approximately 3.75 seconds since Kirk had beamed aboard the Enterprise, and Spock was still thinking only one thing. He’s alive. It had been 3.75 seconds since Spock thought that he had lost that which mattered to him more than anything else in the galaxy. 3.75 seconds had passed since those 1020 painful seconds when Spock thought he was alone.
“Spock,” Kirk said. There was no charm behind that word. Only sincerity.
“Jim…” Spock replied. Kirk was approximately 10 feet away from him on the bridge, but even that distance was far too much. He bridged a gap that felt like lightyears and pulled Kirk into a tight embrace.
“Spock.”
“Jim.”
They repeated each other’s name like a mantra, the vocalization required to remind them that what they were feeling was real. The two of them moved apart just enough to look at each other. Kirk was crying. Spock was certain that there were tears forming in his eyes as well. He did not care. He couldn’t do Jim justice with a straight face and a falsely calm tone. He couldn’t lie to Jim. Not now, not ever.
He pulled Kirk into a kiss, a human kiss. This was surprising, as Spock almost never initiated intimate contact between, especially not in public. But in that moment, the whole universe might as well have just contained the two of them. As their lips met, a torrent of emotions flowed between them. Fingers were placed on psi points, and Spock tried to show Kirk all of the pain that he had felt when he heard the comm turn to static, when he knew that he was all alone. From Kirk, he felt regret. He felt the pain of a dying man, he heard Kirk going through all the things that he hadn’t said, and that he would now never get to say. But now they were home, home with each other, a home that they had almost lost forever. When he was with Kirk, all of Spock’s logic, all of his reasoning broke down, but he didn’t care. This connection, this love, was all the logic he needed.
The two of them pulled apart softly, gently, still connected in a desperate embrace. Kirk smiled, tears still running down his cheeks.
“Jim,” Spock said softly. “I-- I want to tell you something that I almost never got to say. I-- I love you, Jim.”
“As do I, Spock.”
They came together again for another kiss, but they quickly became aware that they were not alone, but were in fact on the bridge, in the sight of a few dozen officers. The two of them pulled apart, though not with any sense of urgency, and they still were holding hands when Kirk addressed the group.
“Umm… well...” he said. At that moment Kirk realized that the two of them had not yet gone public about their relationship to most of the crew. This was going to be a fun explanation. “You see, it’s kind of a funny story, really.”
“Captain Kirk and I are in a romantic relationship.” Spock interrupted. There were many times when Spock’s brief and candid use of language came in handy. This was one of them. Kirk could see some looks of confusion and surprise among the crew members, but most of them looked rather neutral. Kirk could see notes being passed back and forth between the officers, most likely containing the payments of bets. McCoy put his head in his hands, shook his head and sighed, though Kirk could tell that he was covering up a smile. Scotty seemed to be trying his best not to pump his fist in the air and jump around. Uhura simply shared a knowing glance with Spock, and turned around back to her station. Sulu and Chekov high-fived, and Kirk could already tell that they were planning something.
The two of them didn’t regret coming out to their crew at that moment. If anything, it was the perfect opportunity. They didn’t have to call everyone together for an awkward staff meeting or wait until the two of them were being bonded to tell everyone. It was true that the entire crew wasn’t present on the bridge, but the news would travel around fairly quickly. After all, it wasn’t every day that your commanding officers announced that they were dating.
“Sulu, continue course to next destination. The rest of you may return to your stations.” Kirk ordered. He then walked to the turbolift, with Spock following him.
“Quarters deck.” he said, and the turbolift continued down.
“Jim, I am glad that the crew is aware of our relationship now. It will help things move more smoothly.”
“Doesn’t it also just feel good to get it out there?” Kirk replied.
Spock slightly smiled. “I suppose so.”
“I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted from nearly dying.”
“Since you are the captain of the ship, your health is my top priority. So much so, that I am afraid that I must join you to make sure that you get the proper amount of sleep.” Spock replied. If he was a human, he might have smirked, but instead, he just raised a single eyebrow as he always did.
“You drive a hard bargain, Mr. Spock, but I suppose I’ll have to acquiesce. My quarters, I’m assuming?”
Before long, the two of them were asleep, wrapped around each other, in motion again, and that was the most extraordinary thing in the world.