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Kirk sits down on the moss covered bench. Spock follows a beat later, first observing the lamp set up next to it. Inside it are fluttering luminescent bugs. The bench is situated in an area slightly darker than their normal surroundings. With the quietly drifting leaves and hanging vines, it could almost be pretty.
Spock looked over at Kirk. He has his chin resting on his fist, likely thinking over what exactly they were doing on this mission. The lamp to his right glows a soft light blue over him. Spock thought he looked beautiful. Before he could pull his gaze away, Kirk looks at him. He makes an effort to not look as though he were just admiring him.
“Do you think we’re actually going to find who, or what, called us here, Spock?” Kirk asks.
“Our chances do not seem very high at the moment, Captain. However, we have only explored a small section of these tunnels so far.”
Kirk makes a displeased noise and sits up. “That’s the problem, isn’t it? We don’t know the layout of this place. I’m not leaving until we find whoever it is, but we may need to rethink our entire strategy.”
He looks down at where the rest of their landing party are observing the small leafy fauna that are in this part of the cave. Spock doesn’t know when he moved, but when Kirk looks back up, he’s noticeably closer. The blue lamplight makes his eyes shine brighter than usual. Spock is so distracted he almost forgets to respond.
“I believe whatever choice you make will be the right one, Captain,” he says.
Kirk looks taken aback by that. Spock himself isn’t quite sure where it came from. The atmosphere in here makes everything else feel far away, he reasons. It isn’t his fault all he can think about is Kirk sitting only a few inches away from him.
“Thank you,” Kirk says, quieter. Nonsense. He’s just telling the truth.
They’re both quiet for a moment. Kirk glances away and seemingly realizes how close they are, a soft dust of pink on his cheeks. He looks back at Spock, who has been only slightly staring. He opens his mouth to say something when they hear another voice calling to them from afar.
“Jim! We found where that bug-person took off to! Come look at this!” shouts McCoy.
Kirk gives Spock a small smile, and lightly brushes his hand against Spock’s arm before getting up.
“Let’s go see what he wants, yeah?”
As much as Spock wants them to stay in this moment forever, he knows he’d follow Kirk anywhere he asked him. Together, they leave behind the vines and fluttering light.