"You sure you'll be alright down there?" Uhura's voice sounded in his ear, through the communicator embedded in the helmet of his climate controlled suit.
"We'll be fine," Captain Kirk insisted with a grin, even though she couldn't see it, "Won't we, Mr. Spock?"
The Vulcan gave a sharp nod in reply.
"Okay," Uhura said, though she still sounded skeptical. "We'll be back as soon as we can."
"We're not going anywhere. Just don't have so much fun that you forget all about us."
"We'll try, sir," she intoned and hung up with a click.
This was one of the rare "urgent" missions that the captain could afford to miss and was happy to avoid. And it wasn't like they were on shore leave; Kirk and Spock had beamed down to perform a routine check on a research station before the Enterprise was called away.
The planet was beautiful, though. The research station was built into a rocky outcropping, overlooking a white, frozen plain that seemed to go on forever. On the other side, rocks rose out of the ice into towering snowy peaks. The research station was the only evidence of life. Somehow it was much more lonesome than the vacuum of space. Maybe this was how Dr. McCoy felt out there, but to Jim the stars always seemed so welcoming. There was something foreboding in the frozen expanse, and the looming mountains reminded him of just how small they really were.
"Sir," Spock's voice sounded in his ear, conveyed by communicator even though his first officer was hardly two feet away.
Kirk grinned at his impatient first officer. "Isn't there some logic in appreciating the view?"
Spock seemed to consider it for a moment, looking out over the icy plain. "I suppose there is some merit to the human concept of the sublime, however I believe we will have more than sufficient time to 'admire the view' after our inspection is complete."
"Right you are, Mr. Spock. Lead the way." Kirk gestured toward the station and followed Spock inside.
Only when they had passed through two sets of doors - each of which would only open when the other was closed - did they remove their climate suits. The air inside was cool, though hardly the bitter cold of outside. An uninhabited research station didn't need to be warm. Still, Kirk found himself longing for something warmer than his uniform. Spock was shivering and his expression betrayed tightly controlled discomfort.
"There must be something really fascinating out here for you to volunteer to beam down instead of staying in the warm ship," Kirk teased.
Spock gave him a tight nod. "The report made by the previous research team to visit said they had found life capable of surviving under such conditions."
"Maybe we'll find something that will help us stay warm. Shall we?" Kirk gestured down the hall.
Kirk followed Spock through the winding corridors of the research complex. He moved quickly, no doubt to warm himself up, and Kirk had to jog a few times to keep up. The inspection didn't take long; they checked on experiments, Spock adjusted various knobs and dials, Kirk evaluated the condition of the machinery and made a few quick repairs. They found a small mess hall for a quick lunch, and then they resumed recording results and doing maintenance work. It wasn't a large station, and by nightfall all they had left to do was collect some samples from outside, which they would do the next day.
They had a hot dinner in the mess hall and found a room with a bed large enough for both of them. Spock's skin was tinged green from a day spent in the cold and his extremities looked worse for the wear. They spoke little as they prepared for bed. Spock changed into his warmest night clothes that left only his head exposed while Jim scoured the station for all the blankets he could find. He left Spock with the blankets and returned soon after bearing hot drinks.
Spock had turned the mass of blankets into an enormous nest. He was cocooned inside, going through the results they had collected.
Spock looked up as he entered and the corners of his lips turned upward at the sight of the steaming cups.
Jim handed one to Spock and took an appreciative sip of his own. "Sorry, it's just black tea, they didn't have anything from Vulcan."
Spock nodded and cradled the warm cup in his hands. He took a long sip that would have scalded Jim's mouth and throat, but did not bother the Vulcan. "Thank you. It is appreciated."
Jim put down his own cup and began to change into his own meager night clothes, wishing he had thought to bring something warmer. He finished pulling off his shirt to find Spock inspecting his drink.
He quirked an eyebrow at Jim.
"Sorry, I couldn't resist the hot chocolate, you can try it if you want," Jim offered with a wry smile.
"That would be highly irresponsible," Spock replied.
"Just thought I'd offer. Now, I don't suppose there's room under there for me."
Spock gave him a look and scootched aside to make room for Jim. He hastily slid under the covers. Spock glared at him as his cold feet brushed against Spock's warm legs. Jim ignored him and let out a groan of contentment - this was more like it, sipping hot chocolate in bed next to his lovely, warm first officer. If only he could see the snow gently falling outside, it would be perfect. As it was, he was content to snuggle up to Spock, who kindly obliged, and let the freezing captain lean against his chest. Jim made half an attempt to read the report over Spock's shoulder, but he was happy to be off duty for the time being.
After some time, he remarked, "Next time we have shore leave on Earth, you should come with me to Iowa."
Spock looked up from his reading and fixed Jim with a curious, searching look, as though nothing was more fascinating. Jim smiled back at him.
"It's beautiful in the winter," he continued, unable to look away from Spock's warm brown eyes, "With the snow over the fields."
Spock quirked an eyebrow at him, but the barest hint of a smile ruined the air of skepticism.
Jim grinned. "We used to have snowball fights; we would build little forts and run around until we were soaked and our fingers were nearly frozen. But I wouldn't say no to comfortable walk in the snow instead, bundled up in our warmest clothes, of course. And then we could return home and warm up by the fireplace with a cup of hot chocolate" - Spock gave him a look - "or tea," he tacked on. "The point is, there's nothing more cozy than being warm inside, watching the snow outside swirl to the ground, especially after spending the day outside."
Spock cocked his head to the side and seemed to consider the idea, but Jim already knew he was convinced with the way his expression had softened at the thought.
"It is a peculiar custom, but I would not object to experiencing it to further my understanding of human culture," Spock said at last.
"Then it's a date," Jim declared with a grin and nestled in to Spock's side. "Goodnight," he whispered into the crook of Spock's neck.
"Goodnight, Jim," Spock said, absently running his fingers through Jim's hair as he returned to the report.
The next morning dawned bright and cold. Jim untangled himself from the warm mass of blankets and dragged himself out of bed. He dressed as quickly as he could and by the time he was done, the top of Spock's head had emerged from the covers to watch him, but he made no move to emerge further. No matter what the Vulcan might say, that was evidence enough of how much the cold had affected him.
Jim went to the mess hall and brought back coffee for himself and tea for Spock. The promise of tea was enough to lure Spock out from under the covers. They ate a quick breakfast and then suited up to go back outside.
The climate controlled suits were surprisingly warm in contrast to the air inside and so they were comfortable as they stepped out into the cold, blustery day. Snow danced across the icy plain, tossed to and fro by the wind. The traction on their boots was the only thing keeping them upright when a fearsome gale struck and threatened to pull them into the air. They forged across the open plain to all the sites the researchers had marked for data collection. Spock took samples, sometimes directing Kirk to help.
When they were done with all the sites on the plain they returned to the station with aching legs and had a late lunch. And then they donned their climate control suits once more and took to the mountains.
They wouldn't have had to travel far by air, but it was slow going clambering up mountain paths. They helped each other up rocky outcroppings and held each other tight to keep from falling. The wind wasn't nearly as bad in the valleys, but it howled endlessly near the peaks. As they edged across a narrow ledge, Jim slipped and nearly tumbled down the cliff. It was only Spock grabbing him around the middle that saved him.
"Please, be more careful," Spock insisted, his breathing ragged, and Jim was inclined to agree with him.
They did not finish until past sunset, so they trekked back to the station under the starry sky. Their bodies ached from the exertion. Spock continued on steadily as though he could march forever, but Jim began to stumble on weary feet. They distracted each other from the struggle by pointing out familiar stars and bickering over the constellations.
And then they emerged from behind the mountains and Jim's voice caught in his throat. He froze, starting out over the empty white plain. Hanging above the open expanse were curtains of light, greens and purples and blues and pinks rippling in the night sky, and mirrored on the ice below.
Spock stopped beside him and somehow their gloved hands found each other without any conscious intention on either's part.
"Never thought something so cold could be so beautiful, eh?" Jim teased.
"The phenomenon has nothing to do with the cold," Spock said, though his eyes did not leave the sky. "The light is emitted by ions precipitated into the upper atmosphere when the planet's magnetic field is disturbed by solar winds." He did not miss a beat, but his voice was tinged with wonder.
Note: I haven't had much winter this year, so I wrote this in an attempt to make up for it.
This was originally posted on my tumblr, vtsuion dot tumblr dot com, where I am posting shorts like this one, answering questions, and accepting writing prompts!