Author's Note: Short, cute story about what happens when you get Starfleet officers drunk. Warning; it's got some slash. I do not own any characters (though I wish I did – one of each), so read, review, and enjoy! Constructive criticism is welcome!
Kirk plunked down the empty glass with a resounding thump, looked at the time, and sighed heavily. His head was wonderfully clouded and foggy, his body worn and weary, the events of the last few weeks wiped from his mind courtesy of the scotch he just downed. As far as shore leaves go, this one wasn't the best; it was certainly not the worst, either. Although they were supposed to be relaxing on the beach of a newly discovered planet, a virtual tropical paradise, they surprisingly weren't having an awful time sitting in Scotty's quarters. Or perhaps that is the alcohol talking.
After their arrival to the shore leave planet was delayed by a harrowing encounter with the Romulans, and a ship-wide failure of the environmental controls, the crew of the Enterprise was faced with three days of shore leave stuck on the very ship they were all so eager to get away from. So when Scotty invited the senior officers to his quarters to get shit-faced Friday night, Bones, Kirk, and Uhura jumped at the chance, and Spock was dragged along by Kirk for the ride. So now the five of them were sitting, in varying states of drunken stupor around Scotty's quarters, with the host himself passed out in his bed. Uhura was curled up in a chair, nursing a glass of brandy. Spock was leaning heavily up against the wall, a bit unsteady on his feet, and a bit drunk, not that he would ever admit to it. In any case, he was the most sober out of the three men left awake, though Bones just barely, slumped over the table, and Kirk, still awake but satisfyingly shit-faced. So it is safe to propose that their shore leave went as planned.
Bones hiccupped, and the sound drew Kirk out of his dreamy, booze induced stupor. He looked at his empty glass, then looked at the empty bottle in front of him, shrugged to no one in particular, and half-heartedly chucked the glass over his shoulder. The clunk also seemed to draw Spock out of his reverie against the wall, and he shook his head as if to clear it, and states matter-of-factly, "I am inebriated. It is late. I am returning to my quarters." Although this was addressed to the air in the room, Bones nodded carefully, and Kirk sprung, or maybe stumbled, to his feet, saying, "I'll walk with you." Bones again nodded carefully, though Kirk was addressing Spock, and kirk added haltingly, "I have something I need to talk to you about." Both Spock and Bones nodded their assent, but only the two men left the room, leaving the good doctor to try to stand up, only to collapse on the floor and fall promptly asleep.
Jim walked slowly, the hallway tilting underneath him, and Spock grabbed his elbow to steady him, though Spock himself saw the hallway tipping slightly to one side. This unexpected physical contact shocked Kirk out of his drunkenness, like a bolt of lightning, and his thoughts jumbled together. His attempt to speak began and ended with a strangled, "I ha- um, hmm, I…." Spock stopped and looked at Kirk, and encouraged him to go one, saying softly, "Jim? What do you want to tell me?"
By this time they had reached the turbo lift, and they entered, Kirk saying, "Deck 1," and then turning to Spock in horror, exclaimed, "That's not what I wanted to tell you!" Kirk seemed shocked that at this, while Spock looked at him, humor in his eyes and that almost-smile on his lips that drove Kirk mad. The humor was lost on the drunk Captain, and Spock teasingly said, "Don't worry, I know."
They reached their deck, and they both got off, Spock gently pushing Kirk towards his quarters, one hand on his back to steady him. Kirk suddenly pushed his back outwards in an attempt to make as much contact as possible with the Vulcan's hand, but Spock, in his handicapped state, mistook it as Kirk falling backwards. He scrambled to grab him before he toppled, one hand finding Kirk's wrist and the other sliding all the way around his waist. Kirk made a small satisfied sound, and then remembered he had something important to tell his First Officer. They had reached Kirk's quarters, and Spock started pulling away, thought better of it, and punched in the code to open the door, supporting Kirk across the room to his bed. Kirk sat down heavily, and patted the spot next to him, saying, "Sit down. I have something to tell you." Under normal circumstances, Spock would have shook his head and politely stated that he would prefer standing. However, these were not normal circumstances, and, under the influence of Vulcan wine (procured by Scotty with a smile and a wink, but how, Spock was not sure), Spock sat down next to Kirk as gracefully as a Vulcan drunk off his ass could sit. Spock tried to recover, and he turned to Kirk expectantly, waiting for him to either speak, or pass out. He was far more prepared for the latter, as Kirk was about to spring something on him that they both sort of knew, but what hasn't been spoken of or even thought about for a particularly long time. Kirk took a deep breath, prayed to God, wished for whiskey, and said, "I love you."
Spock's eyes opened wide, his mouth dropped, and his eyebrows took off. He lost his emotional mask completely, and probed his own mind to make sure he wasn't reading Kirk's thoughts, or Kirk reading his. Nope. Nothing. And that's crazy, because somewhere in the back of his alcohol soaked mind Spock was planning to say the same thing to Kirk this shore leave.
"I love you, you crazy Vulcan. And I hope you're drunk enough to get that through your thick head, because I've loved you for a long time, and I need to know. I need to know what you think of me because it's killing me, staying quiet for so long and agonizing over it and not knowing-"
Even though his words were slurred Spock understood him perfectly, and cut him off with one long, cool finger pressed to his lips. It stayed there. They sat there, still, for an eternity, until Spock moved his finger from his lips to his temple, where the rest of his fingers settled in, his other hand coming to rest in the same fashion as the other, until his mind pushed its way into Kirk's and Kirk's was thrust into his, where it had free reign and all the walls Spock worked so carefully to build were crumbled, and Spock screamed in his head one word that Kirk knew would echo in his mind for the rest of life; YES. YES YES YES. I LOVE YOU. YES.