Romance Is Built In
by Weird Little Stories
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Jim Kirk and Leonard McCoy were seated in McCoy's quarters, enjoying some alcohol and good fellowship. Kirk had been very careful to spend time with McCoy and to keep up his friendship with him, ever since Jim and Spock had begun a romantic relationship three months ago. Kirk had seen other people lose touch with their friends during the heady rush of a new romance, and he didn't want to do that to McCoy. Besides, as wonderful as Spock was, sometimes Kirk needed company that was purely human, and McCoy was about as human as a person could be.
McCoy rattled the ice in his glass of bourbon and took a sip. "Have you and Spock figured out what you're doing during shore leave next month?"
Kirk smiled, the slightly goofy smile that touched his lips whenever Spock was the subject of the conversation. "Spock told me that Altair VI has one of the finest archeological museums in the quadrant, including a brand-new exhibit about the Preservers."
McCoy snorted. "Sounds like work to me. I mean, yeah, the Preservers are interesting and all, but learning about them isn't exactly relaxing, is it?"
Kirk shrugged. "Maybe not, but Spock's rarely willing to take shore leave as it is. If this museum will get him off the ship, then we both get something we want."
McCoy looked at him curiously. "Now, I know you love Spock, and I'm even willing to pretend that the walking computer loves you as much as he's capable of loving anybody. But do you really want to spend the rest of your life going to museums on shore leave? Don't you want a little, I dunno, romance?"
Kirk looked consideringly at McCoy. "What do you think romantic gestures are for, in a close relationship?"
McCoy pursed his lips. "Well, aside from the fact that they're just plain fun, they let your partner know that you care about them, that they matter to you. I don't expect two military men to cover their bed in rose petals or write each other poetry, but a candlelit dinner for two might help to make the occasion special, and giving your partner little presents or doing them little favors tells your partner that they're important to you."
Kirk sipped his Saurian brandy. "All of that's irrelevant when you're partnered with a Vulcan."
McCoy snorted. "Hrmph. Maybe it's irrelevant to the Vulcan, but you don't stop being human, just because your lover has pointy ears."
Kirk shook his head. "That's not what I mean. Think about it, Bones. Once every seven years, Spock will literally DIE if he can't have me. Human lovers say, 'I'll die if I can't have you' to express their love, but for Vulcans, it's literally true. Vulcans don't need to ADD romance or drama to their sex lives, because evolution already gave Vulcans the most romantic and dramatic sexuality I've ever heard of."
"Huh," McCoy said. "I hadn't thought of it in quite those terms." He looked at Kirk and shook his head. "Seven years is a long time, though. Maybe once every seven years you get the whole life-or-death thing, but don't you need a little romance in between?"
Kirk chuckled. "You've forgotten about mind melds. Spock can take me inside his mind and SHOW me how he feels about me. A candlelight dinner is nothing, compared to entering Spock's mind and feeling his love for me right there at the source."
McCoy looked at him curiously. "And whatever passes for love in a Vulcan's mind, that's enough for you?"
Kirk smiled. "Bones, Vulcans have to keep their partner nearby and keep them happy, if they don't want to die when pon farr comes around, so Vulcan men are very attentive to their spouses. Both Vulcan biology and Vulcan culture place a lot of importance on maintaining a good relationship with one's partner. Spock doesn't do it in public, but in private he gives me more attention, more love, and more physical affection than anyone ever has. He'll literally die if he can't have me, and that makes him the most romantic partner I could possibly have."
McCoy blinked. "That damned Vulcan isn't even here, and he still gets the last word!"
Kirk chuckled and clapped McCoy on the shoulder. "Look at it this way, Bones, at least you get to CHOOSE to be romantic with a partner; it isn't life or death for you."
McCoy nodded. "I guess I've got the best deal, at that."
Kirk didn't reply to that, but he did grin, knowing that the person who actually had the best deal ... was himself.
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Author's Notes
1. Just a short little thing this time around, but then, I did name myself "Weird Little Stories" for a reason. :-)
2. If you would drop dead if your partner left you, then making your partner WANT to be with you would have to be hugely important. We rarely hear details about Vulcan marital relationships in canon, but given the fact that pon farr exists, I imagine that Vulcans would have to prioritize the health of their marital relationships. What would a relationship be like if "I'll die if I can't have you" were LITERALLY true?
3. We first learned about the Preservers during the TOS episode The Paradise Syndrome," in which Spock discovers that the Preservers were a highly advanced alien race who rescued humanoid species that were in danger of extinction, moving them to other worlds where they could thrive.
4. I have a chronic illness that leaves me non-functional most of the time, which means that I am rarely able to reply to comments. I do read them all with great attention, though, and I do LOVE every single one of them, even when my health doesn't permit me to reply. I apologize for being so limited in what I can do.
5. I don't own Star Trek, and I make no money from the stories I write; everything here is just fans playing in the sandbox. If anything, I think I probably have more respect for the characters than Paramount does. :-)
6. Thanks for reading!
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