Prompt: Kirk, Winona -Even Firefighters Hug Their Moms
Even Starship Captains Hug Their Moms
She was waiting for him when he stepped off the shuttle and onto the solid ground of Earth. An Earth that, thanks to his crew, was still there.
Jim saw his mother's eyes brimming with unshed tears, but he suspected that, ultimately, it would be a losing battle. He met her eyes for several long moments, both ignoring the bustle around them, just staring.
She broke first, sniffing loudly, then raising her arms and walking to him. Though he didn't advance to meet her, he allowed her arms to wrap around him, allowed her to squeeze him tightly in a firm hug that, it turns out, he hadn't quite forgotten over the years. She pressed her face against his neck and he felt wetness against his skin, her battle against the tears abandoned.
″Oh, Jim.″ Winona's voice was soft and quavering, a sharp counterpoint to the strength of her embrace. She didn't – or couldn't – continue.
Jim realized that there were some who would never again be able to do this, that he very nearly lost it himself. With a soft, tremulous sigh, James T Kirk raised his arms and hugged her back, burying his face in her hair and losing himself in the scent of her, another part of his childhood that he hadn't forgotten.
Even starship captains hug their moms, sometimes.