A/N: Hello, this is my first Star Trek fanfiction, and if it isn't obvious already, I do not own this franchise at all.

I am here to spread the love of K/S, and start a story before Star Trek 2 comes out next summer. I am that excited about it.

Anyways, this work of fiction will concentrate on Kirk and Spock slowly developing their relationship with each other, so expect long, multiple chapters. There will be alternating perspectives each chapter so I hope nobody minds that too much. By the way, the rating will be teen for most of the chapters, but mature in some so be forewarned.

Warp Factor 1: For the Longest Time

IOWA

The child, scarcely twelve, looked up from his crouched position to see the silhouette of a stranger. Squinting against the sun, the young boy appeared annoyed; after all, he was just released from the police station after a none-too-friendly confrontation about a stolen vehicle and its destruction. The boy, however, was curious as he examined the figure that approached him without warning.

"Hey there, what's your name?" the stranger asked casually with a smile, and even though the little boy could hear the voice, he could only see the outline of the stranger's jaws moving. The sun really was blinding him, but the boy didn't mind. He watched as this man sat down beside him with a careless grace.

"What's it to a stranger like you?" the boy asked suspiciously, squinting away.

"Nothing, except that you remind me a lot about myself when I was your age," the man replied easily. The boy could practically hear the smile within the low voice.

Having nothing to hide and having less adrenaline than when he drove off the cliff, the little boy muttered with his eyes to the ground, "James Tiberius Kirk."

"Really?" said the stranger. Then after a while, he added thoughtfully, "It's a nice name. Do you mind if I call you Jim?"

Startled, the young boy looked at the man and searched for any signs of mockery. He found none. Timidly, he answered the inquiring stranger with a small nod, "Yeah, you can call me Jim."

"Alright Jim," said the man grinning and slouching forward to meet Jim's eyes more. "Want to hear some advice? I bet you could use some at the moment."

Jim watched the man, and despite the stranger talking at a leisurely pace, he was clearly in a rush. Since the conversation started, Jim had noticed that the stranger checked his communicator watch twice. And even though Jim knew the man didn't have to be here, Jim found himself wanting the man to his shoulders, Jim briefly opened his heart and listened.

Years Later

Jim guided his motorcycle into the lot of the bar. After finding a decent parking area, he decreased the speed and grounded his boot into the pavement. The sound of the engine soon died out as he fumbled to turn the keys and extract it from the vehicle. Slowly, with unsteady feet, he made his way to the entrance of the bar and pushed his way through. A barrage of noise and sweat greeted his senses.

Familiar with the smell of booze, the sound of blaring music, and a crowd of people, Jim made his way through the human maze. He may have tripped once or twice, felt a woman up while recovering, and got slapped in the process, but Jim could care less. By the time he reached the bar counter, he left everything behind him. He wanted to forget – forget about all those curves he loved so much and those eyes that he could get lost in.

Curse his heart that broke so easily.

Intent with forgetting and determined to never fall in love again, Jim ordered a drink to drown his sorrows. However, he was on his third drink when he glimpsed a flash of red behind the burly fellow beside him. He heard a voice that spoke clearly over the present volume. It was delicate, light, and it cut through the buzzing in his head.

Jim felt his mind focusing just a bit more as he leaned over the bar counter to look past the man on his right; beyond that obstacle of a body, Jim saw a face that immediately made his stomach flip. He had seen many beautiful women in his time, but none other was like this. She was a rare one.

The woman's long black hair, pulled back into a straight ponytail, highlighted her facial features. Jim found himself tracing her profile with his eyes. From her hairline to the curve of her forehead, down to the bulb point of her nose, and even the curl of her lips and her small chin, Jim saw she was delicate. However, her bright eyes were sharp amongst her soft features. She was delicate, yes, but in no way did that translate to her personality.

His back to the crowd and world behind him, Jim watched in awe as the woman spoke with the bartender. Successfully forgetting his previous lover, Jim fulfilled the first half of his goal. He contemplated on the new beauty and his original intent. However, when the woman in red smiled and a laugh like crystal reached his ears, Jim damned his earlier determination to hell.

Before he knew it, Jim was leaning forward and conversing with the woman. Even in his slightly drunken state, Jim was fairly impressed with himself for being able to speak coherently at all.

He learned she was a cadet, of Starfleet no doubt, studying xenolinguistics.

Upon realizing that, Jim was disappointed beyond belief. A Starfleet cadet meant she wouldn't be earthbound, which meant long distance relationships, and Jim knew how those turned out. So, in the split second he fell in love, Jim dulled his interest just as easily. By then, he was by her side taking a swig from his glass. He smiled and watched her lips waver in surprise at his unexpected knowledge in the area. Jim knew then she definitely would have a talented mouth.

Her name was Uhura. Well, her last name was Uhura at least, and he probably wouldn't ever see her again.

Jim continued to converse with her, teasing her to get her first name, and everything would have turned out fine if it weren't for the hand that roughly clapped him on his shoulder. When Jim turned around, slightly annoyed, he saw that Uhura wasn't the only cadet around. Three, four, five? Jim couldn't really count at the moment but at least three men of similar bulking build faced him. It was like high school all over again.

They told him to piss off and Jim, not unaccustomed to hostility and therefore not easily threatened, refused. Or maybe it was his intoxicated state that made him act rash, arrogant, asking for trouble. Unsurprisingly, an all out brawl ensued.

There were screams and sounds of furniture, along with glass, being broken. Jim heard all this and more, but everything felt like a blur. His knuckles hurt, his face hurt, and his torso in general hurt. Despite the pain, however, Jim welcomed it. So intimate was he with trouble and pain that he felt it was a part of him, as if he deserved it. As if his father's death at his birth was not enough, misfortune followed Jim everywhere.

Jim couldn't think anything more. His face was being pummeled, he was helpless, outnumbered, and Jim wasn't so sure if he would escape death this time. But just when Jim was on the verge of blacking out, he heard a sharp whistle above the roaring in his ears. To Jim it was like a beacon of light.

The fight stopped, everyone left, and Jim learned that his saviour was none other than Captain Pike – the man who served alongside his father many years ago. The moment Jim knew who this man was, he also knew what kind of lecture he was going to receive. It wasn't difficult to read the disappointed and curious face of the captain. The man knew how others generally viewed him…a troublemaker with a brain that was apparently a huge waste in his body.

However, as Jim sat across from the Starfleet captain and listened to him speak, he realized this man was not like the many others who mocked and bullied him in his adolescence. Pike really knew where to twist the knives, but it was particular in a way that compelled yet angered Jim.

"Enlist in Starfleet," Pike said.

Jim scoffed and mocked the demand, but somewhere in the back of his mind, a memory echoed the same words.

"If you're half the man your father was, Jim, Starfleet could use you. You could be an officer in four years. You could have your own ship in eight. You understand what the Federation is, don't you? It's important. It's a peacekeeping and humanitarian armada…"

That lead to my father's death, Jim thought bitterly and interrupted Pike. "Are we done?"

Pike paused. "I'm done," he said and stood up.

And just when Jim thought he would have the last word, Pike continued on and gave the location and time for the new recruits shuttle take off.

Jim didn't look at him.

Pausing once more, Pike added, "Now your father was captain of a Starship for 12 minutes. He saved 800 lives, including your mother's and yours."

Jim stared at him and Pike held his gaze with a steel resolve.

"I dare you to do better," Pike finished.

And with those words immortalized into Jim's mind, leaving him speechless, the Starfleet captain turned his back and left.

Emotions churned up a storm in Jim that night. As he laid in the fields of Iowa, with his hands tucked behind his head and his motorbike just a meter away, he gave a long and hard look at the starry sky above him. His eyes searched for something, anything – a sign of some sort to tell him what to do, but all he could see were specs of a thousand plus suns. He couldn't remember the last time he gave the heavens all his attention like this, especially when he was sober. There were just too many nights he'd rather sleep away in than look up and be reminded of his father's grave.

Jim blinked. Pike didn't see him as some poor hapless man who lost his father, no – he damn well knew Jim was better than that. Just Jim didn't know it himself. He had the brains, just not the attitude because all his life he was downtrodden on. Growing up in Iowa with a backwater population didn't help him with his obvious and blooming intelligence. Teachers couldn't handle his curiosity. Kids didn't like his smart aleck attitude. His mother couldn't stand his love for the stars.

So, Jim hated himself. He became rebellious. He didn't like himself, but he also didn't want to be part of the mass that ostracized him. He didn't want to be assimilated to their ignorant and prejudice ways. He liked being different. He hated being different. Pike, however, was giving him the opportunity to be himself, not just to him, but to anyone who had ever thought he was an accident, a waste, a nobody.

Jim grit his teeth. I'll be somebody, he thought. I may not be my father, but I'll definitely do better than him.

Satisfied with a challenge worthy of pursuit, Jim closed his eyes. Thoughts slowly transitioned to memories of a man from his past – a man with a shadowed face and a familiar voice who also spoke of the stars. The same man who gave him advice that almost ruined his life.

"You may not think life's not worth living right now, but you'll see that it can be very rewarding if you're patient," said the stranger with a small smile.

Jim looked at him skeptically.

The stranger continued. "Trust me on this. Study and enlist in Starfleet. You'll meet the greatest people there. Even some you could really call friends."

Jim frowned. This was definitely not the advice he needed. "Enlist in Starfleet? I'm not even of age."

"That's why you work towards it kid, but look, the best thing is that you're gonna find someone you'll love – with all your damn heart in Starfleet," the stranger quickly checked his watch. "And when you do, there'll be a time when you'll have to choose between that person and the greater good."

Jim's ears perked and looked curiously at the stranger. "How do you know all this?"

The stranger was quiet for a moment, contemplating, but Jim listened attentively. "I know this, kid, because I've lived through it. I was like you once. I didn't belong here. I belonged amongst the stars. We belong amongst the stars. What I needed was amongst the stars," the stranger murmured and then he stared at Jim. "The person who needs you will be amongst the stars."

Jim stared at the man back and furrowed his brows. "I don't understand."

The man firmly placed his hands on either side of Jim's shoulders and said, "It's alright. I may sound crazy but you've gotta listen and trust me on this. Lives will be at stake. When the time comes and you have to choose between who you love and Starfleet, choose –"

Jim couldn't remember what the man had said then in those last few moments before his uncle came, but the stranger had said enough to get his hopes up. He studied alright, and people made fun of his dream to go into Starfleet. Even his mother vehemently discouraged it. At that time, Jim had something to look forward to. Someone he would love with all his heart. He wondered how that would feel like, but the lack of support he received dulled his dream and Jim was left with "aptitude tests that were off the charts" and no goal in mind. In terms of love, Jim settled for less. He thought the stranger crazy and one day said "screw this." He went out with the first girl who asked him.

His love life turned out to be one train wreck after another, but maybe Starfleet would change all that.

Jim sat up with a new resolve and when he opened his eyes to look at the stars, he saw a streak of light cut through the sky.

Shipyard

Jim was amused by the divorced recruit beside him. When he saw Uhura just beyond him in the next row of seats opposite of him, Jim felt a warm sensation run through his body.

"I never did get that first name," he said smiling at her.

The woman rolled her eyes and shook her head with good-nature and disbelief.

Jim couldn't help thinking about what the stranger said to him many years before. His heart sped up at the thought of it. Jim studied for Starfleet, his hard work paid off, and now he was enlisting in Starfleet, so, he was supposed to meet the person of his dreams right?

And for the longest time, Jim thought that person was Uhura.

This moment is crucial, but I hope the slowness will not discourage anyone from giving this fic a shot. Please review and let me know what you guys think :)