WHO WANTS TO LIVE FOREVER
A/N: Inspired by the song "Who Wants to Live Forever". This is the lyric-free version. For the story with the lyrics, please see my Deviantart account. I don't not own either the song or the characters.
In retrospect, he should have seen this coming; Humans and Vulcans were two different species after all, from two vastly different planets located in different solar systems. One didn't need a genius I.Q. to realize that any kind of intimate relationship between a human and a Vulcan would be extremely trying for those involved. One didn't even need logic to come to the conclusion that such a relationship would most likely end in heartbreak, one only needed common sense.
Vulcans lived longer than humans.
Spock had forgotten that. Had forgotten that Jim and himself belonged to different worlds; That there was no happy medium for the two of them to live on.
He sure as hell remembered now.
It wasn't on a planet, the place that the two of them had been at their happiest, living side by side. It was the Enterprise, that glorious starship. That was where he and his T'hy'la had spent the best years of their lives. Together. Standing on the bridge, exploring the vast unknown that is the universe.
They had been fools. They thought they could live together, grow old together. 'We were wrong.' Thinks Spock bitterly as his grip on Jim's hand tightens. The blonde is unresponsive, lying on the bed, breathing lightly. Far too lightly.
Despite everyone's expectations James T. Kirk survived his years of service to Starfleet to live to a ripe old age, with Spock living right beside him every step of the way.
Only he hadn't been beside him, not really. When Jim became old, Spock was barely entering the end of middle age for Vulcans. And now here he was, sitting beside his oldest friend, holding the man's hand during his final moments, before he succumbed to old age's inevitable outcome – Death.
And Spock, being a Vulcan, was denied the comfort all of Jim's human companions had – That it wouldn't be long before they too joined their friend in the Beyond.
He remembers. Remembers all the moments they had together. Working next to each other on the bridge, playing chess in their private quarters, sharing fleeting Vulcan kisses when no one was looking. The time they had had together might have been long for a human, but it was short for a Vulcan.
Far too short.
A few hours ago, when Jim had been awake, he had tried to comfort Spock. He had told him it was fine, that there were much less peaceful and far more painful ways die than a natural death by old age; That he had been happy, so very happy, during their time together. Spock's only response was to cover his T'hy'la in light, soft, gentle kisses, both the human and Vulcan kind. It was the only way he could respond without breaking down into tears. He didn't want that to be the last thing his T'hy'la would ever see. He was pretty sure Jim didn't want that image to be his last sight either.
How? How did his future counterpart survive all those long years, those impossibly long years, without Jim at his side? Spock now wished he had asked the older Vulcan before his passed on.
The minutes passed by and Jim's breaths got shallower and shallower until he finally just stopped breathing altogether. And Spock, without letting go of Jim's rapidly growing cold hand, just laid down his head and wept, silently, before gathering up his emotions, and walking out the door to face the universe, and the rest of his naturally long life….Alone.