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There had been a long back and forth, of course. The subject of shore leave had always been a struggle to talk with the captain about. unwilling to engage with the idea of it even when in clear dire need. Spock had spent a fair few minutes attempting to convince Jim that a shore leave was necessary yet again, but ultimately, as always, he ended up victorious.
The Enterprise began its orbit around the planet Earth. The transporter room hummed with the rest of the ship as the captain and his first officer stepped onto the pad, their bags packed and ready.
"you know--" Kirk adjusted his shirt "--you don't need to come with me if you don't want"
"I don't believe I've given any indication, captain, of not wishing to go. unless you would prefer me to stay here"
"no- no of course not, I'm glad you're joining me, I just would never assume camping out on Earth would be your thing"
“typically it's not.” Spock said plainly, his arms resting loosely behind his back “however I make exceptions for when I must make sure you are getting adequate rest”
“I do believe, Mr. Spock, that I am perfectly equipped to handle that on my own” upon hearing this, Spock simply raised an eyebrow in polite disagreement.
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The pale blue sky was laced with swirls of loose clouds as the transporter materialized the two of them onto the Earth. Jim stood for a moment, feeling the dirt crunch under his feet and listening as the leaves in the trees gently sway with the breeze. Despite his earlier protests he seemed almost perfectly content here. his chest rose and fell with a deep inhale of the planet he had been all too familiar with in his youth.
"well- no point in standing around forever" Jim looked to Spock with a smile "might as well start looking for a spot to pitch the tent..." he headed off while the vulcan followed closely behind. Spock hadn't been entirely sure what specifically Kirk was looking for in a camping spot. He knew some general idea, flat comfortable terrain of course, but other than that he had nothing. Kirk would suggest a spot, and Spock would always offer the same response.
"If it's comfortable to you, Jim, then it seems a perfectly suitable spot."
but he never seemed quite satisfied with that. "Yes, but is it comfortable to you?" to Spock they were all... fine. perfectly fine, clear, open areas with flat ground and some kind of equally beautiful view. logically, there was no real reason to have a preference for any of them. but were they comfortable? not necessarily. too damp, too cold, too crowded too... alive. compared to the soft swishing warm winds of Vulcan or the dull breathing of the Enterprise this was uncomfortably loud, and his fine-tuned ears picked up on the lightest chirps of creatures nearby, or the bugs buzzing near him. no matter how many times he'd visited a forest on any planet he struggled to quite get a grasp on them. no, it was not comfortable.
"It's just as comfortable to me as all the others."
Jim sighed and rolled out the tent "alright, whatever you say" he said, setting up the base in a positioning that felt right, he then proceeded to struggle immensely with the structure of the damn thing for a solid five minutes.
"if you require help-"
"no no I've got it!"
Spock raised an eyebrow "somehow I find that hard to believe..."
"I think I figured it out actually." he stood back triumphantly, looking at the tent with pride. until it fell over.
".... I believe it's intended to stay upright, captai-"
"yes I am aware of that Mr. Spock."
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With the tent finally pitched and staked, the firewood gathered and ready to light for later, the sleeping bags and other night time sleep comforts set up and ready to go, the two finally got a time to fully rest their bodies and sit.
"aahhh... that's nice" Jim smiled and sank into his chair. his arms ached a little, he hadn't allowed them much rest in the process of setting up camp. "I wonder how the crew is doing..."
Spock sat firmly across from him "I am sure they're doing well" he readjusted slightly "after all, they are quite competent even without our presence"
"yeah. yeah you're probably right" he stared up at the trees, watching a bird take flight as the sun slowly creeped closer to the skyline "and they'd contact us if anything was wrong... of course"
"indeed." he took note of Jim's fidgeting hands and tapping foot. Without a task the man seemed endlessly restless, searching for the next problem to fix, the next person to command. here he had nothing. Spock figured there would be one thing to keep his mind occupied. some sort of task. "I believe I can hear a stream nearby"
"yeah?" Jim lit up like a dog that had just heard the word 'walk' and was now wagging its tail indiscreetly
"should we try to find it?" to this there was no response, but Jim was already up and out of his chair halfway through the sentence, so Spock figured that was confirmation enough and rose from his seat as well. "it's in that direction" he pointed into the woods "it's not too far. we should be able to make it to and back before nightfall"
"great!" he clapped his hands together and walked in the direction gestured to, nodding for Spock to follow. He knew he'd likely be able to find it quicker than Kirk. His ears were a more reliable travel guide than an overconfident human with willpower, but he didn't care. it wasn't about finding it quickly, it was about enrichment. Humans find some sort of simple pleasure in figuring out where something is, as did he, in the proper contexts. But this would do.
Halfway through the search, Kirk suddenly stopped his walking and dropped to the ground, squatting on his knees "hey there little guy" he said in as soft of a voice as he could muster "ohp- no no I'm not gonna hurt ya... it's okay...." Spock looked over and watched as a little chipmunk stared the captain down before skittering off out of sight. Jim's face softened slightly as his eyebrows curled in with mild disappointment, before getting up in one swift movement. His feet stumbled slightly on the uneven ground and Spock instinctively grabbed for his elbow to secure him.
Jim planted his feet more firmly into the ground, feeling Spock's sturdy presence and firm hand grip his arm. There was a comforting safety in having Spock there to anchor him, even if there wasn't any real danger.
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It wasn't particularly beautiful, or unique, or impactful. A pretty standard average sized river, but it was still a nice sight. The log of a fallen tree stood across the expanse of it, acting as a makeshift bridge if one didn't feel like stepping across the rocks. "Not too shabby a find! Good one Spock" Jim picked up a stone from the river bed and looked it over before throwing it back in. The water glittered where it hit, the ever-dimming light giving it a slight glowing effect. He looked at the other man, who sat on the log with a look of general indifference, though happiness underlined his features in a way only noticeable to those close to him.
He nodded "it was only logical we use our time to explore"
"Is that right" Jim chuckled and ran his fingers through the water "well, it was worth our time" he watched as small fish avoided his hand in the stream. The mountains facing away from his view held the sun in their arms as the day threatened to close.
"It's gotten you to calm down significantly, so I'm inclined to agree." Spock closed his eyes "that was, of course, the purpose of the shore leave in the first place"
Kirk stepped onto the log and sat next to Spock, facing the mountains this time. He shook his head at the other man's comments "I still don't believe I needed it. I was fine"
"Perhaps." he turned around to face the same way as Jim "but you are better now than you had been" an attempt at a retort had been made, entirely ineffectively, much to Kirk's chagrin. But the sun was setting, and the Earth quieted its songs to allow the entrance of the night.
"oh wow..." Kirk said, a dreamy tone in his voice, his eyes slowly drooping to half-lids as he stared at the falling sunset. The sky turned brilliant shades of purples to oranges and then at last to a bright vermilion. Spock looked to Jim, and then to the swirling skies, and then back to Jim. "I know- technically, that there's not usually much difference between the sunsets of other planets and Earth, but there's a feeling about it." Jim's eyes lightly glittered as he spoke "I can't explain it. I guess it's just... knowing that I'm home. something like that"
The other man said nothing in response. A little hum, maybe, an involuntary vibration in his chest and up his throat. He stared for some time, at his captain, His friend. He watched as the colours danced on his face, the light tug of a smile at his lips, the gentle crinkles at the corners of his eyes. Some part of Spock, buried deep within him, burned with an uncomfortable understanding of what Kirk had meant. The smell of the trees and the dirt and the light dew that permeated the area, petrichor and the sun slowly falling behind mountains dotted with greens and yellows, the birds singing their songs and the pitter patter of small creatures dancing across the forest floor in search for food, none of it particularly meant much to him. Unfamiliar territory for a man raised in the dry heat and the red sands of Vulcan, but even then his home had never been a place, or a time, yet it was with him here in this moment. It would have been with him no matter where he went as long as Jim was with him. And some part of him knew that.
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"and there's... ursa major. and minor up there- and uh..." he tutted absent mindedly searching the sky for its stars "cancer... it's pretty dim but it's dark enough out here that you can just barely see it" the fire crackled near them as they laid on their backs, producing a pleasant burnt smell, and lacing the whole night so far with an overtone of pleasant warmth.
Spock stared at the patch Kirk had pointed to and found no meaning in the clusters of stars, but he was content enough to just listen and watch. "fascinating..."
"Do you really think so? I've been looking at star maps since I was a kid" he chuckled "that's... probably not a surprise though."
"I stared at the night sky many times as a child myself"
Jim felt a smile spread on his face. “I wonder if we ever saw each other” Spock turned his gaze from the stars to Kirk, his cheek laying on the dirt beneath. He stared at Jim's dreamy expression, eyes firmly planted on the sky above, face only partially illuminated by the ever dimming fire several feet away, and the bright waxing moon above. “I mean obviously not… literally. but Vulcan's visible from Earth, maybe we stargazed at the same time” he laughed lightly under his breath “I’d like to think so anyways”
“it is possible. Not probable, but possible” Spock's head slowly tilted back to the stars as he spoke. The chilled night breeze was starting to get to him, the fire was almost entirely burnt out, his hands were numb with the cold, his cheeks flushed with a lightly green hue. Cold terran nights were not particularly something he was built for, but regardless he refused to move.
When Jim's attention shifted to Spock, he noticed it all. The shaking hands, the slight shiver in his breathing, the warmth spreading slowly across his face. He slowly got up “stay there, I'll be back” he said gently. He returned half a minute later, 3 blankets clumsily stacked in his arms, one of which was slowly slipping away. Sitting down on his knees next to Spock he wrapped the blankets over top of him one by one “that should help you retain a bit more heat. It's not perfect but it's better than nothing”
Spock cuddled up into the blankets. They were cold too, but a block against the wind, which was pleasant enough to justify them being there anyways “thank you, Jim…”
“Of course” he settled back down to the ground, closer to Spock this time “it's the least I could do, you looked freezing”
Spock leaned in closer to Jim, feeling the warmth spreading through the blankets and finally reaching his body. “Are you not cold as well, captain?”
“Maybe a little” he shrugged as well as he could in his current position “but it could be worse” Jim looked over at Spock, the moon dimly illuminating his features
“You should have gotten yourself blankets as well.”
“No no it's fine”
“Jim…”
“I promise, I'm not too cold, I'm perfectly fine” he smiled at Spock, who looked unamused at best, and before he knew it Spock began extending the blankets over him. “Spock I just said I'm fine”
“Even so, two bodies produce more heat than one. It would be illogical to leave you in the cold when this is more efficient for us both.”
“Ah right… of course” he shuffled closer to Spock to make better usage of the admittedly too-small-to-fully-cover-two-grown-men surface area of the blankets, wrapping his arm around the other man. “...only logical”
Spock placed a firm arm around Jim as they continued their stargazing. A sort of fuzzy warmness spread through him, disconnected from the literal warmth brought on by their being physically close. He listened to Jim's breathing, and felt his heart dimly, counting every beat and inhale in the back of his mind. it wasn't intentional, it was almost instinct. Only natural for him to have his whole attention focused onto his captain.
And all the while Jim's brain slowly drifted, his muscles relaxed, his eyes fluttered close. He made no effort to remain awake as he usually would, when his brain was on high alert and every moment felt like another emergency. This was different for him, a sort of comfort and security was present, being wrapped up in blankets and half cradled in Spock's arms, staring up at the sky. He took one last deep breath in consciousness, a smile on his face, before finally drifting all the way to sleep.