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Fall was slowly creeping in, making itself prominently known, and so almost as soon as Spock had awoken that morning he had pulled on his thickest wool sweater before he even began to feel alive. The plomeek tea he brewed helped slightly, although his body temperature was still nowhere near it would have been back on Vulcan.
As he drank his tea, his mind slowly adjusted to being awake, and he became aware of the scent of vanilla and cotton: the smell of his mother. Spock looked down and, with a tight feeling in his chest, became aware that he had put on the sweater his mother had knitted for him when she had found out Spock would be moving to Earth. She had warned him of the cold weather, especially being near the coast, and wished him luck on his new adventure into Starfleet. Spock hadn’t spoken to his mother since the day of his departure.
Letting out a small huff, Spock left his nest of blankets to sit on the floor, lit his fire pot, and began to meditate. Commonly, he would only meditate once a day late at night, but due to the vast change in environment and differences in Terran culture from his own immediately drained all of his mental energy. The academy itself, while comfortably structured, was still a different way of life. The layout of the campus made very little logical sense, aside from each building being subject-bound. Spock stored each of these stresses into different shelves of the library of his mind.
An hour of meditation passed swiftly, and after he spent another hour reading, he got ready for the day. After he pulled on his uniform, Spock grabbed his bag and exposed himself to the cooling weather of San Francisco. Walking briskly towards the Science building on campus, he became aware how useful a coat would have been.
Spock’s Physics and Environmental Sciences lessons were both remarkably uneventful, which was seemingly becoming a pattern, and as he walked into Advanced Astrophysics he predicted the pattern would only continue.
Being used to his peers avoiding sitting by him, Spock placed his bag on the empty seat on his left, watching students begin to mill into the classroom. He pulled up the book they were going to be studying in class on his PADD, and continued reading the page he was on, already halfway through the book before they’d even begun the school year. As he flipped the page, a voice spoke.
“Hello, do you mind if I sit here? There aren’t any other good seats left.” Spock’s head shot up in surprise, then felt his face soften slightly when he was met with the softest hazel eyes he had ever seen.
Silently, Spock nodded and moved his bag off of the neighbouring seat, watching the man sit down intently and noting his increased heart rate.
“Hi,” the man turned to face him with an outstretched hand, beaming, “I’m James Kirk.”
Spock felt his brow lift slightly, never having seen a face look as joyful as his. A look of pure sincerity glinted in his eyes which Spock felt himself drowning in, a feeling of complete security washing over him immediately. The man seemed to radiate comfort and warmth, with his golden eyes and golden hair and golden smile. He felt his heart rate increase further.
Spock must have spent longer than he thought staring, as Kirk’s eyes slowly drifted down, retracting his hand, and slumping in his seat slightly. He frowned. “I am Spock. I apologise if I appear cold or uncaring, I am a Vulcan and our customs are rather different from-” Kirk’s face brightened.
“Oh no, there’s no need to apologise for that, don’t worry about it,” he flashed that warm, golden smile once again. Spock’s heart was hammering so loudly by now he was sure Kirk could hear it pounding against his ribs.
Kirk leant back in his seat and crossed his arms. “So Mr Spock, do you have anything you’re into?”
“‘Anything I’m into’?”
“What you do in your free time, what you do for fun, that sort of thing. You seem the kind of person that has very interesting hobbies,” Spock noted how increasingly hard it was to hide his flustered demeanor.
“For recreational activities I read. I used to play the lute, however I did not bring it with me to Earth. I often play chess as well.”
“Oh, I play chess too!” His eyes lit up with excitement, as if they weren’t already brighter than the stars, then his grin morphed into a smirk. “If you enjoy losing, I’d love to have a match with you at some point.”
“I’m afraid you’d be the loser in this scenario,” Spock replied smoothly.
Kirk let out a mock gasp, then a snort of laughter as he swivelled his legs to fully face him. “I think you now owe me a chess match, Mr Spock.”
“It would only be correct,” he felt his cheeks flush with warmth, and realised Kirk’s were too. “Besides chess, what do you do for entertainment?”
“Well like you, I spend a lot of time reading. I’m very interested in Earth History so I’ve got a big collection of old books on different time periods, and seeing how the past repeats itself is really interesting. ‘The history book on the shelf, it’s always repeating itself’ y’know?” Kirk chuckled to himself.
“Ah, which poet said that?”
Kirk bit his lip to hold back a sheepish grin, “ABBA.”
Spock cocked his eyebrow, “They sound insightful.”
“Wait… you don’t know them? Well I guess you won’t have gotten much Terran music over on Vulcan.”
“Alas even when on Vulcan I did not listen to much music. As it is emotional in nature, there has been very little music created since the time of Surak. However, I do understand it is an important part of Terran culture and find it an interesting way of processing one’s emotions,” Spock ignored the heat of his cheeks.
“It’s great for that- oh finally the professors here. You know I can’t wait for the class to start, I love learning about the Earth world wars.”
Spock’s brow furrowed slightly, “I don’t believe we will be learning about that specific topic in Astrophysics.”
Panic slowly started to spread in Kirk’s face, he sat up straight. “What.”
“This is the room for Advanced Astrophysics.”
“Astro- no no no I’m meant to be in Earth History class right now. Oh shit oh-” he fumbled around and found his timetable. “Where’s room H11?”
“It will be in the Humanities building.”
Kirk sat there, wide eyed, paralyzed by panic.
“Kirk, I’d advise you to hurry,” he said, then watched the man launch out of his seat and bolt down the corridor. Logically, Kirk wouldn’t make it to his correct classroom in time, but Spock felt a foreign pang of hope for him in his stomach.
After dismissing the illogical feeling, he turned back to face the front, then something drew his eye away: a leather bomber jacket over the back of Kirk’s now empty seat. It would have been left by him in his rush. Suddenly, he felt a hot flush on the tips of his ears thinking about returning this jacket to the man, having an excuse to see him again. No. he would hand it in to lost property, that would be the correct thing to do. Spock forced the gentle upturn of his lips away and opened his PADD.
As the class wore on, Spock tried his hardest to concentrate, but the empty seat at the side of him kept dragging his attention away. The thought of seeing Kirk again. The man that hadn’t reprimanded him for his behaviours and Vulcan nature. The stranger that made it seem like making friends was suddenly a possibility. Bashfully, as if Kirk were still there, Spock covered his cheeks and faced the professor once again, and realised he hadn’t copied anything down.
He had decided, after much pondering throughout the lesson, his plan was to deliver the jacket to Kirk personally after his next free period, instead of handing it in to lost property. As it would be the assigned lunchtime slot, it would be easier to find the cadet.
Finally, after a tediously long lesson and far too few notes taken, time succumbed to Spock’s mental wishes and the class was dismissed. He exited the classroom and headed towards the library, bomber jacket cradled in his arms.
As Spock climbed the stairs to the highest and quietest floor of the library, he forced every thought of Kirk out of his head. He would try and find the man in an hour, so there was no use thinking about him now. Instead, he began to recall the information from the Astrophysics lesson, surprising himself by just how little he had taken in. The woman sitting next to him, Uhura, appeared to have taken sufficient notes. He would request to copy them in their next lesson. With his increased heart rate, lack of concentration, and now this, he began to question if he had grown ill.
He shook away the thought, and located the book on the politics of the Prime Directive he had planned on studying. Briskly, Spock walked to the far side of the room where an alcove was, framing a small window which provided the perfect spot for reading.
Whether luck was on his side, against him, or even real, Spock couldn’t decide, but what he did know was that in the corner by the window, glowing radiantly from the sun, sat one James Kirk. His knees were pulled up to his chest, his eyes looking at the pages of a book intently, and his golden hair was framed by the sunlight.
Immediately, he rushed over to Kirk, feeling his heart racing. Awkwardly, he cleared his throat. “Hello, you left your jacket in my classroom and I assume you’d want it returned.” He held out the brown jacket with slightly shaking hands.
Kirk’s head shot up, then his look of shock was overcome by a surprised grin lighting up his face. “Oh my- thank you! This is really kind of you.”
“There is no need to thank me: it was the logical thing to do.”
“Ah, well, thank you anyway,” Kirk grinned even wider, then stood up to take the jacket, eyes widening when their hands accidentally touched. “Oh- I’m sorry.”
“No no it’s quite alright,” Spock spluttered, feeling a red hot throbbing in his fingers and his cheeks burning hot. Then, after seeing Kirk stood up he accepted that his face may permanently remain bright green. The man had discarded his uniform shirt and underneath wore a regulation black tshirt, a very flattering regulation black tshirt that made Spock feel like he was having heart palpitations.
“Hey, are you ok? You look like you’re gonna ralph; I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to touch you. I know Vulcans have a touch sensitivity thing and-”
“No no it’s-” he cleared his throat and covered his blushing cheeks. “How was your Earth History lesson?”
“Oh, I uh… didn’t go,” Kirk’s voice quietened and he sat down, his back leaning against a bookcase. “You probably won’t understand it, it’s a human thing. We can sometimes get a little… overwhelmed. It’s nothing to worry about, though. I’m alright.”
“Ah,” Spock cocked his brow, then he sat down next to him, “are you referring to a panic attack?”
Kirk looked at him quizzically. “How do you know what a panic attack is? I can’t imagine you’d encounter many on Vulcan.”
Spock decided not to share the fact that he had first-hand experience with anxiety attacks with a barely established acquaintance. “I decided to read up on humans before moving here.”
“Ah, very logical,” he smiled up at Spock, then covered his mouth and yawned. “Oh my stars, I’m tired.”
“That is understandable. Your body went into fight or flight mode; as far as the illogical side of your brain is aware, you almost died today.”
Kirk’s brow furrowed. “What?”
“You mentioned how you had a panic attack instead of going to class, and seeing that you were here when I arrived, not in a lesson, I can infer the attack lasted a long time, or was quite intense and needed a long recovery period. I am aware how draining these mental attacks can be to humans.”
“No no don’t worry, I’m fine. I’m fine, I’m… just tired,” Kirk smiled again.
After furrowing his brow, and blinking far too quickly, Spock cleared his throat. “What book were you reading as I arrived?”
Kirk’s demeanour immediately brightened, “Oh, it was Treasure Island. I used to be obsessed with it as a kid, I know it’s a bit of a strange comfort book but I have a soft spot for it.”
“I understand the close ties to elements of childhood. I’m quite fond of Alice in Wonderland myself, my mother used to read it to me when I was a young child and it’s provided comfort ever since. My mother is quite fond of Terran fairytales, and so I was exposed to many growing up.” He frowned slightly, a feeling of being lost suddenly stabbing at his stomach.
“Oh that’s amazing, she sounds lovely.”
Wordlessly, Spock nodded and began to study the laces of his boots.
“So, what’s it like on Vulcan? I’ve never been before,” Kirk’s eyes were wide with curiosity.
“It’s hot, comfortably so, especially compared to San Francisco’s cooler weather,” he cocked his eyebrow in amusement, seeing Kirk’s reaction to calling San Francisco cold, “and the cuisine is enjoyable. However, I do not miss the rigidity of the culture. There are many expectations of how one should be, and if you attempt to choose your own path you face intense reprimands.”
Spock’s face dropped. He had met this man 1.4 hours ago and already he had shown multiple emotional displays, revealed personal facts, and overall behaved entirely illogically. If his mind was compromised enough to do all this within a day of knowing a person, there certainly was a chance of illness being the cause. Perhaps even an abnormally early Pon Farr.
“That sucks, I’m really sorry,” Spock looked into Kirk’s eyes and saw a raw understanding in them, an intense feeling of safety filling his chest. It made him almost smile.
“It is not your fault, you needn’t apologise. Additionally, there is nothing inherently wrong with the way things are, it just wasn’t beneficial for me.”
“Well in a way I’m glad things didn’t work out, because now I’ve met you. Hey,” Kirk lightly nudged Spock with his shoulder, “if it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t have gotten my jacket back. Thank you, again.”
Spock had to resist the urge to smile. “You are welcome.”
They sat in silence for an unknown amount of time; at some point Kirk had drifted off, his head resting on Spock’s shoulder, but instead of the burning that physical contact normally brought him, Spock felt a warmth. Perhaps the golden glow Kirk radiated had seeped into Spock’s nervous system. He gave himself permission to smile briefly, looking at the sleeping human filled with a temporary peace, then once again his face fell to stoicism when he read the clock on the other side of the room.
Carefully, he shook the man resting against him. “Kirk,” slowly, he rubbed his eyes and propped himself up, “it's 12:00pm: the associated time slot for lunch. I didn’t want you to miss it due to sleep.”
Kirk scrunched his face up and quizzically hummed.
“It is lunchtime.”
“Oh, thank you,” he blinked away sleep rapidly, trying to wake himself up, then slowly stood up and walked over to where his bag was. “It’s a shame we don’t actually share any classes, that would’ve been lovely.”
“Well, all you’d need to do would be to misread your timetable again,” Spock cocked his eyebrow and stood up himself.
Kirk grinned from ear to ear. “Advanced astrophysics does sound interesting, but my schedule’s already jam-packed.” Already, he had laced up his boots Spock wasn’t aware had been taken off, and pulled on his returned jacket, “it’s been a true pleasure meeting you, Spock.”
“As with you,” an urge to say something more pulled at his chest.
Before he could think of something relevant to say, Kirk held up the ta’al slightly shakily. “Live long and prosper.”
Spock’s brow raised slightly in surprise. “Peace and long life.”
After he smiled once more, Kirk left, and along with him all the warmth in Spock’s chest did too. Watching the man leave the library, he felt in his chest a deep pang of something he had never felt before, something painful and wonderful. His new acquaintance may have left, but a sliver of his golden sunshine remained.