Work Text:
Kirk shifted in his chair, surreptitiously turning just far enough to see the science station on the bridge. From his position, he couldn’t quite make out what Spock was looking at on the computer.
His fingers twitched towards the PADD in his lap. He had remote access for every screen on the ship. All he’d need to do was tap a couple of buttons, and he could see exactly what Spock was doing.
But was that really the kind of captain he wanted to be? One who spied on his own first officer?
He should just ask Spock what he was doing. That was the normal, rational thing to do.
No, the normal thing to do was to trust his first officer not to hijack his ship in the first place. That was what had always worked – until it hadn’t.
Rationally, Kirk knew that Talos IV had been an extenuating circumstance. He understood why Spock had felt so desperate, and he genuinely admired the lengths he’d been willing to go to for his former captain. If it had been Bones, or Sulu, or any one of his other officers who’d stolen Enterprise to save a loved one, he most certainly would have forgiven them by now.
But it had been Spock. Spock, who had always claimed to be the logical, unemotional one, who was supposed to be above reproach. Spock, who’d broken the sacred bond between a captain and their Number One.
Kirk stood from his chair and took a few steps. Then he bent down and raised his arms in a stretch, craning his neck to see Spock’s work station as he did. On the screen was a schedule for the xenobiology labs.
Spock turned around. “Can I help you, captain?”
Kirk’s face flushed. “No, I’m sorry. Carry on.”