Hello! I was challenged by canna-change-the-laws-of-physics on tumblr with a few prompts off a list. My prompts were:

- Jim Kirk

- 111 - "Is that a challenge?"

- 231 - "Just hold me."

This one-shot turned out WAY fluffier/sappier than I'd intended. But that's where the prompts led me. Get ready for some tooth-rotting sweetness!

Let me know what you think! :)

"There's no way!" Hannah scoffed.

Jane shrugged apologetically. "Sorry, Y/N. But I have to agree with her on this one. I mean, have you seen those two together? My teeth rot just looking at them!"

Y/N put her hand dramatically over her heart. "Jane, how could you! I thought you were my best friend!"

All three women laughed. They had commandeered the comfiest couch in their favorite lounge. The best feature was a window that allowed them to gaze at the beautiful galaxies and planets as the Enterprise flew by. The room was fairly full, Beta shift having just ended. Many officers were standing or laying about, grumbling about their shifts or playing board games.

"Jim is very sweet! I don't know what you guys are talking about." said Y/N.

Hannah raised one eyebrow. "I'm not saying he isn't. But he does seem to be the kind that gets straight to the bedroom as soon as he can."

"He's not!" Y/N cried, trying to defend her boyfriend. "Do you think I'd be with him if he were."

Jane nudged Hannah with her elbow. "She's gotcha there." They both knew their friend's preferences when it came to relationships.

"We're taking things really slow. We want this to mean something and not just be a fling." Y/N continued, "He's very respectful of women. His playboy persona is all bluff. He just likes to flirt."

"And exactly how many girls did he sleep with at the academy?" Hannah asked shrewdly.

"Less than the rumors say."

The other woman rolled her eyes. "Still, my Henry is the most romantic, chivalrous sap aboard this ship. He brings me flowers from the botanical lab. He leaves me little notes all over my desk just to say how much he loves me. He kisses the back of my hand like a knight in shining armor. I'm sorry, but there's no way your Jimmy can beat that!"

Y/N huffed. "He does lots of sweet things, he's just been very understanding about my desire to go slow, especially in the PDA department. If I told him I was ready, you'd see right away that my Jim is just as sweet if not more so than Henry."

Hannah leaned forward with a Cheshire Cat grin. "Is that a challenge?"

Y/N blinked. "Well, I didn't mean it like one…"

"So it's all just talk?"

"No."

"Then prove it." Hannah nodded to the door where the captain had just entered with his arm around McCoy's shoulder. The doctor was rolling his eyes at something Jim said. Chekov approached them and started a conversation.

"Prove it how?"

"A bet! Y'all saw Henry come in during my shift today?"

Both women rolled their eyes.

"Yes. We saw." Jane sighed.

"He brought me coffee." Hannah gushed. "He picked me up and spun me around like a Disney princess. He gave me eskimo kisses and whispered that he loved me more than the moon." She sighed dreamily as the others pretended to gag.

"So what is the bet?" asked Y/N.

Hannah shook herself from her starry-eyed stupor. "The challenge is for you to prove, right here, right now, that Jim is capable of being a total sappy sweetheart when it comes to you and your relationship. Even more so than Henry and me! Jane will be the judge."

Jane groaned. "You're really gonna drag me into this?" she whined.

"Yes." was the unsympathetic reply. "You get to declare which of our boyfriends is the winner. But no cheating!" She turned and pointed a finger at Y/N. "You can't tell him what's going on. You said he would willingly be all cute and touchy with you the moment you said you were ready. Well, do it now. You have one hour to convince us."

Jane frowned. "Are you okay with that, Y/N? I don't want you to push your relationship into something you're not comfortable with just for a silly bet."

Y/N thought for a minute, and then shook her head. "No, it's okay. I've been meaning to talk to Jim about being a bit more public anyway. Now's as good a time as any." She stood up and smoothed down her skirt. "In one hour, you'll see how wrong you are." she said, smiling at the girls as she strode over to her oblivious boyfriend.

Jim was leaning over Chekov's shoulder pointing out something on the pad they were reading from. Y/N stood by his shoulder and said in her best, no-nonsense, work voice, "Hey, Jim, hold this for me, will ya?"

Jim didn't even look up from the pad, "Uh yeah, sure babe." He held out his hand and Y/N placed her own hand in his. The group went quiet as Bones and Chekov stared at her. Jim didn't seem to notice. He was still reading until he found the part he was looking for. Y/N looked over her shoulder and winked at the girls who were watching closely. Jane stifled a giggle and Hannah elbowed her to get her to hush.

"Yeah, it was that one." Jim said, pointing to the list. "Make sure we add that to our travel log." He waited until Chekov nodded awkwardly, still looking at Y/N. Only then did Jim turn towards his girlfriend. Surprise spread across his face as he saw their entwined fingers. He looked from their hands to her face and back again. "Umm...did I miss something."

"Excuse me, boys. But could I steal my boyfriend for a while?" asked Y/N.

Bones raised an eyebrow. "Sure, darlin'. Keep him outta trouble."

"Never!" Y/N sassed, pulling Jim towards the couch. She stopped a little ways behind it so that they could have a semi-private conversation but still be within hearing distance of the girls.

Jim looked curious as Y/N turned to face him. "What's up, sweetheart?"

Looking up to meet her boyfriend's vivid blue eyes, Y/N hesitated, slightly nervous all of a sudden.

"I… Well I think it's time we had a talk. I'm ready for a change…? Err, I'm not saying this right. Sorry, it's my fault, not yours. I mean, I wanted to maybe talk about...our relationship."

Jim's face morphed into one of shock, maybe even a hint of fear. "Y/N, what did I do wrong?"

She looked up at him, startled. "What?"

"Are you unhappy with the way things are going? Have I been moving too fast? Did I forget a birthday or anniversary or something?"

"No, why-"

"Wait, it couldn't have been a birthday because I know yours is in four and a half months. And our anniversary isn't for another six. Did you want to celebrate our half-year anniversary? Is that it? Or did I say something-"

"Jim, stop! Stop." Y/N gripped his shirt collar, forcing him to look at her. His eyes were almost wild with fear now. "Nothing is wrong. Why're you so scared?"

"Nothing's wrong? You mean you're not breaking up with me?"

"What?! No! Of course not!"

"Oh, thank God!" Jim gasped, sweeping Y/N up in his arms until her toes didn't touch the floor. Stunned, she soothingly ran her fingers through his hair as he shook slightly in her arms. "I don't mean to seem smothering." he mumbled into her shoulder. "You probably think I'm some overbearing boyfriend now who is so insecure that he can't even-"

"No, no, Jim. Hush. It's okay. It was completely my fault." said Y/N, pulling back as he let her slowly slip to the floor, though he didn't let an inch of space separate them otherwise. She cupped his face in her hands as his eyes darted back and forth between hers. "I didn't mean it to sound that way. But I totally see how it did. I'm the one who's sorry. Please forgive me. I swear, the last thing I want right now is to break up with you."

Jim held his breath for a moment more, searching for the truth in her expression. Then he let his forehead come to rest against hers with a sigh of relief. "I think we're more than even between my overreaction and your...less than ideal choice of words."

"Tactfully put." Y/N giggled softly, closing her eyes and enjoying the feeling of his warm, minty breath on her face.

"So what is it you wanted to tell me?" Jim asked.

Y/N leaned back to look at him again. "I actually wanted to talk about our PDA."

Jim looked down at how close he was holding her and quickly took a step back until there was quite a bit of space between them. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I know we said we'd keep it to a minimum. I just got caught up in the moment."

Y/N laughed and moved forward to wrap her arms around his neck again. "No, no! Stop jumping to conclusions, you ding-bat! I actually want to talk about being more open with our relationship."

Jim blinked at her. "Really?"

"Really." She bumped his nose with hers. "I'm proud of my boyfriend. I'm proud of you as a captain, and even as a constant pain in the ass of the Federation." Jim smirked. "But I'm also proud of you as Jim Tiberius Kirk. The man who almost burned down the kitchen trying to make me homemade chicken noodle soup when I was sick. The man who curbed his natural inclination to show affection through touch just so I'd be more comfortable in public. I'm beyond proud and honored to be your girlfriend, and I want everyone to know how proud I am of you."

A smile started to grow on Jim's face. "So what are you saying?"

Y/N blushed a bit and looked down, nervously smoothing the front of his golden uniform. "I'm saying that I want to show our affection for each other whenever and wherever we want. I don't mind if people see us. I don't give a damn about what they think. I only care what you think." Y/N looked up at him again. "Everyone already knows you're the best captain in the fleet. I want people to know how lucky I am to have you as the best boyfriend in the galaxy."

Jim's smile was brighter than a supernova as he gently cradled her face in his hands. "You have that all wrong you know." Seeing her confused look, he said, "Everyone already envies me for having such an amazingly beautiful, smart, and snarky girlfriend. I might have to start fighting off the competition."

Y/N smirked. "You might have a point. Just the other day Spock gave me an approving eyebrow raise when I managed to break that Klingon code missive."

Jim fake gasped. "Both eyebrows? Or just one?"

"Both."

"Oh no!" he groaned. "I'm going to have to fight off a Vulcan, and soon Romulans and Klingons too, just to keep them from stealing my love away from me!"

Y/N tried and failed to suppress the smile that spread across her face. "Your 'love'?"

"Of course." Jim placed his hands on her waist and pulled her close again. "And now I'll make sure everyone knows that I'm in love with the goddess of the stars. And I'm definitely the lucky one in that situation."

Y/N laughed. "Goddess of the stars? A bit sappy, don't you think?"

"Is it sappy if it's true?" He winked at her. Then his expression softened. "In all seriousness though, we don't have to do anything you're not comfortable with, sweetheart."

But Y/N shook her head. "We express our feelings for each other through touch in private. I'm not ashamed to let others see it. At most I was a little shy, or to be honest, a little selfish & want to keep you to myself for a while at first. But I'm perfectly comfortable with some PG to occasional PG-13 shows of affection."

Jim leaned forwards and pressed a lingering kiss to Y/N's forehead, making her eyes close and a shiver run down her spine. Y/N heard Jane whisper, "Damn! He went for the forehead kiss. Instant point bonus!"

"How did I get so lucky to have you?" Jim murmured, completely oblivious to their audience.

"I always figured you lost a bet." Y/N joked.

Jim chuckled and pulled back. "So what should we do? Now that the world is open to us?"

"Drama queen," Y/N snarked affectionately. She looked around. "C'mere." she said, and she led him to a large, comfy armchair that was close, but not too close, to the couch where the girls still watched breathlessly. With a nudge, she had Jim sit and she sat beside him, pulling her legs up and draping them over his lap as she cuddled into his side. "Just hold me." she murmured.

Jim was more than happy to oblige. He wrapped his arms around her and pressed another kiss to her temple.

They stayed there for a long time, cuddling and talking softly about anything and everything. At one point Jim started reciting all of the corny jokes he could think of just to get her to laugh. Y/N kept a semi-straight face for a while, but finally broke at "What did the tomato say to the other tomato during a race? 'Ketchup!'", "Why are frogs so happy? Because they eat whatever bugs them!", and "An apple a day really can keep the doctor (*cough* Bones *cough*) away… But only if you aim it well!"

Her laughter made Jim want to hear more. So he started tickling her in her sides and neck, the two areas he knew were her greatest weaknesses. Y/N squealed and wriggled, trying to escape, only to slip out of his lap and tumble down onto the floor, still laughing. Jim was still snickering as he carefully picked her up and placed her back on his lap.

They settled down a bit at that point, just talking and holding hands. Jim asked about her shift, and when he heard that she'd been rushed off her feet all day he pulled off her shoes and started to massage her feet. Y/N was pretty sure she heard Jane sigh with envy at this point, but she didn't look up to check. After he was done, Y/N rewarded him with a kiss. His eyes sparkling with love and mischief, Jim decided to up his price. Pulling her close he kissed her long and deep until her head was spinning and several people around the lounge started to applaud and wolf-whistle. Y/N was blushing when they finally surfaced, but she didn't pay the others any mind. She simply pressed soft kisses to each of her boyfriend's cheeks, his nose, chin, forehead, and then lips once more. Jim let out a soft moan as she subtly traced his bottom lip with her tongue. When she pulled away he blinked up at her, dazed and breathless.

"You're perfect. You know that?" he whispered.

Y/N smiled. "I love you too."

Jim groaned and pressed a kiss to each one of her fingers and then each palm making her shiver pleasantly.

When his wrist watch became snagged on her hair, he asked if she had a brush with her. Y/N pulled the small, foldable brush she always kept in her bag out and gave it to him. He had her sit on the chair between his legs as he tenderly combed out the snarls left after a long day (plus a tickle fight and several passionate kisses). Once the tangles were all out he continued to run the brush through her hair, knowing the sensation was like a drug to his girlfriend. Y/N all but melted against him as he continued, stopping once or twice to massage her scalp. Finally he put the brush down and had her sit on the ground in front of the chair. He ran his fingers through her locks a few times before starting to braid the strands together to keep them out of her way.

Yeah, Jim Kirk knew how to braid, and he was not at all ashamed of it. He'd learned from his mom a long time ago. He once showed Bones how to do a French braid so that the doctor could help his daughter Joanna with her hair.

Completely content, Y/N couldn't stop herself from literally purring under his administrations. Jim smiled proudly and leant down to press a kiss to her neck and whisper a soft "Love you." into her ear before resuming his task.

Y/N's eyes had closed in bliss, but the thought occurred to her that the hour must be over by now, so she forced her eyes open. Glancing towards the couch, she found that Hannah was in full pout mode. She'd gotten herself a drink and was taking large swigs as she pretended to read from a magazine. Jane was beaming at the couple, ignoring Hannah's sulkiness. When she caught Y/N's eye she gave her a double thumbs up and mouthed "Winner!". Y/N suppressed a grin as she let her head fall back once more, enjoying the attentions of her perfectly sweet and sappy boyfriend.