Title:Yellow Roses for Her, Orange Roses for Jim
Sequel to: Giving You Away for Someone Else to Take
Series: Trek Pod
Sub series: Redefining Happily Ever After
Inspired by: Ridin' Solo by Jason Derulo
Lyric excerpt:
Yeah, I'm feeling good tonight, finally doing me and it feels so alright, oh,
Time to do the things I like, going to the club everything's alright, oh,
Noo to answer to, Noo is? like u, no,
And since I got the hold of me, I'm living life now that I'm free, yeah,
Telling me to get my shit together now I got my shit together, yeah,
Now I made it through the weather better days Can't get no better
I'm so sorry that it didn't work out I'm moving on,
I'm so sorry but it's over now, the pain is goooone,
Summary: How do you survive your break up when you must live and work with your ex? How do you move on to someone else without wrecking two very important friendships? Valentine's Day 2259 will be entertaining.
This is a different type of love story.
Pairings: Post S/U and with on the verge K/S
Even though I personally believe Spock and Uhura's relationship in this story takes precedence in the first section and should be categorized as such on this site, I am tagging it as Jim and Spock because K/S fans are more tolerant of other relationships. However, to compensate for that instead of making this a one shot as originally intended, it will be a two shot. The second part will have more K/S goodness.
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek. I'm just the latest person to reinterpret the material. Unfortunately, I'm not being paid to do it.
Thank you to Teddy Bear for reviewing this. All remaining mistakes are mine or the voice recognition software's.
Part one: The End is Just Another Beginning
Nyota never had to deal with an ex boyfriend before. That is not to say that Spock was her first ex boyfriend. He was not even her first major relationship, even if he was the first guy she really loved. She has had several former boyfriends but she usually never had to see any of them the next day let alone work side by side for the next five years. This was a new experience.
The first few weeks hurt like hell even if she was the one who terminated their relationship. She had to constantly remind herself that she made the right decision every time she saw her ex. Nyota personally loves her captain for having the foresight to assign her and Spock to separate shifts that first week.
That only lasted so long, eventually she had to be a grownup and deal with being around someone that she still loved that didn't love her. Receiving emotionless stairs from Spock was just as bad as icy glares from someone else. It was like a stab in the heart. Even if he supposedly saw the logic in ending their relationship, she knew she hurt him. That is okay because she hurt herself.
At least he had Jim to help him through the breakup. She had no one at first. Almost all her friends were assigned to the Farragut. No one on that ship survived. She really needed someone to talk to those first few weeks and had no one. She hated spending every lunch alone, as she watched her ex become closer to someone else. Part of her wondered if breaking up with Spock sent him in to Jim's arms faster but she knew it was inevitable. Within weeks, the two seemed like they have known each other their whole lives despite occasional 'arguments' on the bridge.
Then one day six weeks post breakup, Jim sat next to her in the cafeteria. Apparently, he was tired of her spending all her time alone moping and keeping everyone at arm's length.
"Is this seat taken?" Jim asked her.
"No." she told him because she knew she couldn't turn her captain down. "I think everybody's avoiding me. Where's your boyfriend?" She asked preparing to get up very quickly if Spock would be joining their table. After six weeks, she wasn't ready to eat lunch with him yet. They were just getting to the point where she could work on the bridge with him without feeling absolutely miserable.
"What boyfriend? When would I have time to date with Starfleet sending us from one diplomatic ass-kissing mission to the next? I no longer have a sex life. Besides, I have not had a boyfriend in—a very long time." Jim said that last part not looking at her.
"I was talking about Spock. Wait, you have had boyfriends before?" She asked that part in near shock. Even though she now knows he is not as bad of a person as she initially thought he was the concept of Jim Kirk and monogamy just didn't seem to fit.
"Spock is just a friend." Jim protested a little too quickly. She doesn't believe him when he says that but she is not emotionally ready enough to challenge him on that particular point. She is not ready for her ex boyfriend to move on. Jim notices this and changes the subject.
"Why are you so shocked that I have had a boyfriend before? The ladies' man thing is highly exaggerated even if I can be quite charming." He said using his trademark smile to illustrate his point.
"Trust me; I already know when people say Jim Kirk will sleep with anybody they really do mean anybody even if they get the final number a little too high. Remember when we first met?" She asked him.
"You mean when your fan club beat the hell out of me? How could I forget? That night changed my life." Her captain said that last part in all seriousness. Considering he started Starfleet the next day, she believed him.
"They were not my fan club." Nyota said defensively. "They were just a group of guys who were trying to sleep with me because they didn't know I already had a boyfriend." She said with a touch of irritation.
"Sorry. You two were already together by that point?" Jim asked her.
"Only a couple of weeks, but he still didn't want to come to Iowa with me. I'm pretty sure that one member of my supposed fan club had another reason to beat the hell out of you. I was actually at that particular bar the day before when I saw you making out with one of the guys who beat you up the next day. For that reason alone, I find it a little hard to believe that until recently any of your relationships lasted beyond breakfast. You are maturing now, so who knows." She said looking around wondering when Spock would get there.
"Spock is in the lab working on something that is 'fascinating' during lunch. Don't worry. You won't have to run away the moment he walks into the room." Jim said noticing her apprehension.
"I wasn't looking for Spock." She said defensively.
"Sure, I believe you." Jim said with a laugh that told her that he did not believe her.
"No you don't." She said almost rolling her eyes.
"You're right about that. I know you still care about him. I know he cares about you. You could still get back together or at least explain the human concept of breakup sex to him." She almost wanted to, but she could not back down. Her reasons for breaking up with Spock were just as valid six weeks later.
"How do you know Spock still cares about me?" She asked him, ignoring the break up sex comment.
"He told me." Jim said, it as if it was the most simple thing in the world.
"That's why we can't get back together. Spock never told me anything really when we were together. I felt like he kept me at arm's length the entire relationship. I do not know about his bad relationship with his father until Amanda died. He shares a lot more with you than he ever did with me. If we got back together, it would just fall apart again. I'm halfway to the light at the end of the tunnel and I don't want to go through this again when everything will inevitably fall apart. You wouldn't understand. When have you ever really been in love? What do you know about love?" She asked the question more to herself then to Jim.
"More than you think. I have been in love before. Contrary to popular belief, I have not slept with everybody on this ship." She heard Jim say defensively again.
"I know that. I haven't slept with you. So that means that you haven't slept with everybody on the ship." She said jokingly knowing that his reputation was exaggerated. She now realizes that he actually does care about what people think about him and the assumption that he is the ship slut irritates him.
"Funny." He said sarcastically before continuing. "Two weeks before we met, my boyfriend of two years broke up with me because he said I had no future. He couldn't see himself with such a slacker like me long-term. During the break up, he actually told me my only marketable skill was sucking people off. I wish the asshole told me that before I fell in love with him." She could tell that Jim was still a little upset about the situation.
"Sorry," At least she was actually kind during the break up with Spock. Then again, she felt like she was ripping her own heart out during the exchange.
"I'm over it now but there was a reason why I mostly stuck to girls at the academy. I met you during the middle of my post breakup breakdown where I pretty much stayed drunk and slept with anyone who was willing to in hopes of make it hurt just a little bit less. You're taking this break up much better than I did." That almost sounded like a complement from him.
"Do you have any idea how hard it is to get real alcohol on the ship?" She said jokingly.
"Very. Bones has all the best stuff. Let's be honest the alcohol only works for so long and then you have to deal with reality. Facing reality for me was joining Starfleet. My turning point was Pike showing up to the bar that night and telling me I could actually be something. When you are used to everybody thinking that you are a complete screw up, that's refreshing. I think I went to San Francisco just to spite the dick and to avoid seeing him at the grocery store. Riverside is a very small town. It worked out in the end. I'm an awesome Starfleet captain now." Jim actually said smiling.
"I bet he's kicking himself now that you're the youngest captain in Starfleet history." She said smirking.
"I sent him a hard copy version of the announcement complete with photograph. It was expensive but worth every penny for the vengeance. He actually had the nerve to send me a congratulations message where he said he always believed in me. It doesn't matter anymore. The idiot breaking up with me was probably for the best. He forced me to pull myself together. You have to love yourself before anybody else can love you. I was too big of a masochist before I joined the academy. I really was wasting my potential. I'm in a much better place now." Nyota just realized that he really did understand.
"Will it get any better? Will the pain eventually go away and I will no longer feel like I cut out my own heart?" She asked genuinely wanting his opinion.
"Eventually," Jim said before pausing for a moment. That is when she noticed her ex boyfriend taking the seat across from her. She should have been able to tell it was Spock by the way Jim's face lit up completely before he frowned quickly.
"I thought you were going to be working in the lab for lunch. Not that I am not happy to see you. I'm always happy to see you." Jim said almost unnerved.
If she mumbled under her breath, "just friends, yeah right" no one could blame her for that.
"I will talk to you later captain." She was already getting up from the table at that point.
"Sit back down."
"That's okay. I will just let you to enjoy the rest of your lunch. I'm done anyway." She said as an excuse.
"I would believe you if your lunch did not look replicator fresh. I have no trouble making that an order. Please sit back down." Jim said in a calming voice.
"When you terminated our romantic relationship 6.3 weeks ago you indicated that you still wish to maintain a friendship. I thought friends eat lunch together." Why did Spock have to be right? It was annoying.
"Fine," She said sitting back down. "What experiment were you working on this afternoon?" She asked Spock as she took a bite of her sandwich. To her absolute shock, instead of getting a quick answer he actually responded in detail with their captain asking him all sorts of little questions.
She had this irrational fear that eating lunch with her ex boyfriend would be like having a fork shoved in her heart. It wasn't like that. It was pleasant. Maybe, just maybe, she can survive this break up without transferring.
Jim was right. Things did get better eventually. The constant misery and sadness finally went away although that may have something to do with her starting to make new friends. One of those friends just happened to be her former boyfriend once she could be in a room with him for more than 5 minutes at a time off duty.
She didn't date by choice. One she wasn't completely ready for a new relationship even as she was completely over Spock. She was trying to figure out who she wanted to be and it was becoming apparent that being single was for the best.
Also, she wasn't looking for forever. Unfortunately, short-term relationships were not practical when you have to see the guy the next day. There was always shore leave but it didn't happen nearly enough.
Their first shore leave finally occurred almost nine months in to the mission. It just happened to coincide with Valentine's Day 2259. For the first time since second grade, when four different boys asked her to be there Valentine, she was single. Last year at this time, she would have dreaded the thought of being alone on the one day in earth culture completely dedicated to love and romance. She was a romantic at heart.
This year it didn't bother her. Sometime over the last 12 months, she realizes that she could buy her own flowers and chocolate. She didn't need a boyfriend to be happy. She was happy. She is probably happier now than she has been in a very long time.
She loved her friends. She realized Jim was not a bad person once he stopped trying to sleep with her. She is not even that upset that he's trying to sleep with her ex boyfriend even if her captain is still denying that he has any interest in Spock beyond friendship. The back rub incident on the bridge was a dead giveaway.
From that first almost awkward lunch nearly seven months ago, Spock has become one of her best friends. She and Spock were much better friends than lovers. Being grounded in logic and professionalism was a great foundation for a lifelong friendship not a lifelong love affair.
Some days during the boring shifts, she has too much fun speaking behind her captain's back in Old Russian with Chekhov. Christine was great and was the type of person you could tell anything to. Even the ship's grumpy doctor became a good friend, but that's mostly because they shared stories of heartbreak over alcohol. By this point, she had lots of friends.
She also loved her job. There was something great about discovering a new language and programming it into the universal translator that is better than falling in love. It was almost better than sex but that was only because her last ex was that good. (She will admit that she misses the sex but she is human.) She loved being on the away team. She enjoyed being a major part of any negotiation. She enjoys contributing to the success of Enterprise as a whole.
She has found a satisfaction in her job that wasn't there before. That was a good thing. That empty feeling from the beginning of the mission has been filled was something great.
Her plan for Valentine's Day 2259 involved sending herself a dozen red roses, getting dressed in a sexy outfit, going clubbing with Christine, and enjoying every single guy at the club wishing they had a chance with her. It was a good plan. As she was putting on the brand new shoes she bought today at one of the local boutiques she heard a knock at the door. She did not think to look assuming that Christine forgot her key card again like yesterday. Instead, it was Spock at her door holding a bouquet of yellow roses and something that looked like a teddy bear with fangs. Actually more shocking than that was the fact he was wearing a suit.
"So what brings you here? She asked as she let him into the room.
"When you terminated our romantic relationship 8.4 months ago you indicated that you never expected me to bring you rose's on Valentine's Day. I felt the illogical need to prove you wrong. James assured me it was perfectly normal for friends to give each other Valentine's Day presence. I believe yellow is the appropriate color for friendship on earth. The "vampire teddy bear," as James refers to it is from him. He refuses to call the replica by its traditional Vulcan name although I have no idea why it is covered with hearts." He said handing the two items over to her. She had to suppress the need to laugh.
"The year after we break up you bring me presents. Thank you, but I can buy my own flowers. I do appreciate the irony." She said smiling as she walked to the bathroom to put the flowers in water.
"Until the termination of our romantic relationship, I had no indication whatsoever that you expected such things on this earth holiday. There is no such holiday in Vulcan culture. I was unfamiliar with the various traditions associated with the date. You never explained the significance to me directly." Why did she have this uneasy feeling that all her little hints last year were just a little too subtle? Now that they were friends, she realizes that sometimes you need to hit Spock over the head for him to understand certain things.
"We really had bad communication when we were dating? Because you have that ability to read my mind I assumed that you actually did." She said as a joke before continuing. "So why are you so dressed up? I don't think I've ever seen you in a human style suit before. You even wore Vulcan robes to Amanda's memorial service."
"For some illogical reason James asked that I dress in this particular outfit for dinner tonight. I chose to humor him."
"Big Valentine's Day date?" She asked smiling. When they broke up, she didn't think she would ever be happy about him being with someone else but she actually like Jim Kirk. Oh god, she can't believe she just said that even if it was just in her mind.
"James and I are just friends." Spock told her for the one-millionth time. She never believed him.
"Do you realize that you're actually calling him James and not captain? That alone tells me that you two are not just friends, even if you have not kissed yet. If you two are together, you don't need to keep it from me to spare my feelings. I'm not a fragile little girl that needs to be protected. I am over you. A part of me will always love you, but I have moved on. I'm happy, even if I'm alone. I enjoy being single. I think James makes you happy even if you will never ever confess to actually feeling any such emotion."
"I have emotions; I just choose not to express them. I do care for James a great deal." Spock said in such a deadpan voice that she started laughing. "I value my friendship with him, just as I value my friendship with you."
"But you know it's more than that with him. The fact that your cheeks are really green right now confirms my hypothesis. Even though it hurt me a lot, I ended our romantic relationship so you could find happiness and the one. I see the way you two are together. I actually saw you almost fall apart when Jim went missing a few months ago on a mission. You two were lifelong friends the moment you met even though you were at each other's throats. I'm so sorry that it didn't work out between us, but its okay now. I think Jim is the one for you." Unfortunately, right at that moment Christine sent her a text message asking if she was ready to leave.
"That was Christine. She wants me to meet her in the lobby in 10 minutes. I guess we have to cut this short." She said grabbing her purse and jacket from beside the bed. "Just one word of advice for tonight, if you got roses for Jim, make sure they are red or maybe orange. She said kissing him on the cheek before they left the room together.
"I assure you they will be." She heard him say as she stepped into the elevator by herself.
"I knew it." She said smiling as the door closed in front of her.
A/N: As being a K/S writer that respects Uhura, I realize that too many times in fanfiction, she is reduced to the role of the girlfriend, the sex object, or the bitch. She is too good of a character to have that happen to her. I have started a new C2 called 'Uhura is my last name' dedicated to the sheer awesomeness that is Nyota Uhura. I need story and possibly staff members. I'm looking for stories where Uhura is a strong individual regardless of the main pairing. PM me if you have something. Thank you.