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Jim despised hypo shots with a passion, but his disdain for stuffy delegate meetings was on a whole different level. The thought of sitting through hours of mind-numbing discussions and endless bureaucracy made his skin crawl. However, there was one silver lining that occasionally lured him out of his self-imposed hiding in the corner - the promise of exceptional booze from various corners of the universe. It was a tempting offer, but Jim couldn't help but feel that the extravagant libations were an exorbitant price to pay for enduring such an excruciating ordeal.
But as luck would have it, Jim found himself in a rather unfortunate situation. He had become the center of attention of one General Put'a, a delegate from a newly joined planet in the Federation dubbed Vi’bor’a II. This general, however, seemed to have no understanding of personal space whatsoever. Throughout the evening, Jim skillfully managed to avoid the general's blatant advances by cleverly observing him from the corner of his eye as he persistently followed him around the room. He had become uncomfortable the moment the general slithered next to him at the bar, his gut twisting uncomfortably as the general commented about his ‘extraordinary exotic eyes’ that reminded the general of a rare flower on his home world that only bloomed once every 5 years. It was at that moment, Jim politely excused himself, calling out to Sulu who had finally been relieved of the Conn and had found his way to the party. Since then, it was as if the general's gaze never wavered, fixated solely on Jim. Just when Jim thought he had it under control, that the general would not disturb him amongst the Orion Science group that had boarded earlier in the day, the unexpected happened. Ambassador Jo'der of Vi’bor’a had been called over to add input into a conversation about the mining operations on one of the planet’s moons. Accompanying the Ambassador was the general, who was introduced to the group as his cousin, or, as the Universal Translator described it, that of which comes from my father.
Jim's smile remained fixed on anything but the general and his cousin, instead gazing out the viewpoint window behind them, hoping to mask the unease that General Put'a's presence had stirred within him once more. As the ambassador rambled on, the general had begun another conversation with a reluctant Jim. Jim, whose mind wandered to his bond with Spock, his t'hy'la, in a desperate bid to convince the other man to save him. The golden thread, invisible to the naked eye, tethered their souls together, and at that moment, Jim tugged at it in his consciousness. He beckoned Spock to abandon his work in the laboratory and rescue him from the conventions of delegation protocol. A whimsical thought fluttered in Jim's mind, envisioning Spock clad in Earth Medieval armor, riding gallantly on a majestic steed or perhaps a sehalt. The image delighted Jim greatly, and he made a mental note to share it with Spock later in the privacy of their chambers
The thread tugged back and Spock’s emotions rushed over him, sorrow and guilt overtaking him, with a promise to make it up to him later that evening. ‘I will be there soon, ashyam. I am almost done.’ he whispered into Jim’s mind. The blond whined, shoving as much need and please as he could through the bond. Showing Spock how much he really did need him with him right now. He focused hard, breathing deeply as he strained to show Spock just how much he was needed, and with every bit of mental strength he could gather, he projected a single thought, ‘Please get me away from him before I cause an intergalactic incident for slugging the guy.” He could not help but smirk as the feeling of anger coursed through him, and the knowledge that Spock was now officially done with his work, as he made his way towards the lower deck.
Finally. Jim thought to himself, still smiling at the general, that he knew the significance of being polite and friendly towards dignitaries. He was well aware of the value of maintaining good relations with important individuals, based on his past experiences. However, he couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation, hoping that Spock would arrive promptly.
As the minutes ticked by, each second felt like an eternity to Jim. The monotonous drone of the general seemed to stretch on endlessly, and he could feel his patience wearing thin. He sighed inwardly, desperately wishing for some kind of distraction from the mind-numbing discussion at hand. And just when he thought he couldn't take it anymore, a sudden pause filled the room, as if freezing time itself. It was in this frozen moment that Jim's thoughts were transported to another place, a place where Spock's presence brought him solace and comfort. In his mind's eye, he could see the radiant glow that always surrounded Spock whenever they reunited after being apart for too long. It was a familiar sight, one that never failed to make Jim's heart skip a beat. And then, as if by magic, the door swung open and there stood his first officer, Spock. A rush of relief washed over Jim as he caught sight of Spock striding towards him with purpose. Their eyes met, and a genuine smile tugged at the corners of Jim's lips. In that moment, everything else faded into the background as Spock’s mind met Jim’s in a warm breeze.
“General Put’a,” Jim started as Spock came to rest next to him, his hand already outstretched to Jim. Jim’s hand coming up and brushing their fingers together, “This is he who is my husband, Spock. He is also the Chief Science Officer as well as my First Commander. He was delayed to the gathering.” He supplied, grinning at Spock, who pointedly stared down at the other man. “Spock, this is General Put’a of Vi’bor’a II.” Jim introduced.
“Yes, my experiment on the properties of the crystals we found on our latest away mission took me longer than I had anticipated. My apologies, General, I am pleased to meet your acquaintance.” Jim grinned, that was Spock speak for Fuck you . Jim wanted nothing more in that moment to let Spock envelop him in his hands, to drape his lean body over and snarl at the man who was attempting to establish a sort of courting of Jim. Spock raised an eyebrow through their bond, a familiar sense of something washing over him, and Jim couldn’t help but look at him and smirk. Looks like they’ll definitely be less talking tonight when they returned to their quarters.
The general looked between the two of them once more before bowing his head in greeting, dark eyes hooded, “That is quite alright, Spock.” The general seemed to spit the word out of his mouth as if it were poison. “We should just be fortunate you showed up at all. You have a very attractive mate.” He continued on, gaze converging back onto Jim, and he bit his lip as anger and possessive flashed through Spock. His body moving in front of Jim as if shielding him.
“I am well aware.” Spock replied, his voice icy and sharp as he returned his attention back to his bond mate, “Captain, if I may have a private word with you regarding ships business?” He asked, and Jim fought to keep his face neutral. There would be no telling what would happen next, and frankly, Jim did not want to know.
“Of course, Mr. Spock.” He replied, turning once more to General Put’a and bowing, “I’m sorry to cut our conversation short General, but unfortunately a captain's work is never done. Even in my off duty time.” he joked, but his smile did not reach his eyes and crinkle his brow like it normally does.
“Quite understandable, Captain.” Put’a replied, “Perhaps if you are free later we can continue on with our conversation.” the hairs on the back of Jim’s neck stood up, and he shifted in his place. Spock positioned his body closer to Jim's side; almost hiding him completely, from view.
“As would be unlikely at this juncture. The captain is a very busy man.” Spock spoke, the ghost of a growl reaching the back of his throat as the general taking one last look between them before turning on his heel and walking away.
When he was out of ear shot he turned towards Spock and smiled wide, leaning in to give him the first proper kiss they could share in the day. Their minds brushing together at the contact and Jim wanted nothing more than to drag Spock away from it all. They parted too soon and Jim spoke, “Have I told you how much I love you lately?” he asked, head tilting to the side, a smile on his lips as he gazed up into Spock’s beautiful brown eyes.
Spock paused for a moment, his head mirroring Jim’s as he thought, “Negative.” he replied, a smirk playing on his lips that made Jim want to reach up and pull him down for another kiss. “You may need to refresh my memory, Captain.” He replied and Jim’s lip twitched. So that's how they were going to play it this evening.
“Cheeky Vulcan.” He sent through their bond, Spock surprising him by leaning down and whispering in his ear, his breath hot as it ghosted along the exposed flesh, causing his legs to tremble. The world around them seemed to vanish, leaving only the two of them in the vastness of forever.
Jim had never experienced a greater dislike for these delegate meetings in his entire life than when Spock responded, "Indeed." and pulled away from him. As if he did not just say a word dripping in pure, tantalizing filth that it should have been a crime. So he would wait, would watch every move Spock made until he would signal that he was leaving, and that Jim must accompany him in order to observe something quite fascinating with one of his latest experiments.