A Tree for Two
By I. M. Mueller
"Hey, Spock, let's have a picnic. Bones said it is a wonderful planet down there. Just what he recommended for the crew, and I, for once, am all to go down for a relaxing time." Captain Kirk said contend to have caught Spock before he went to the Science Labs as for the last week. He missed the Vulcan at the bridge.
"I am sorry, Captain, but we are in the middle of a break through to the last component for the Transformer." Spock watched his Captain more closely and saw that his semblance was fatigued and rather forlorn in the moment when he had to refuse the invitation. "But I will be able to accompany you in forty-six minutes, if you would like to make a new appointment." He amended, mentally rescheduling all the tests which did not need his immediate attention.
Kirk's face lit up again and he grinned at his First Officer.
"Oh, well, then it'll give me more time to pack a picnic basket. I'll meet you at the Transporter then."
"Very well, Captain." Spock answered and gave a little nod and observed the once again lighter steps of Kirk when he turned around to go his way.
The last weeks had been fatiguing for all the crew, especially for the captain as he had been night and day at the negotiations for the two planets of Alcove to settle for peace, until Starfleet finally sent an Ambassador to take over. There next assignment had been to investigate this new planet in the Alfa-Zeta Quadrant if it was suitable for settlement for colonists.
***###K/S###***
"That's a get used to, isn't it? Red Sky, blue grass, rusty trees and green water. That at least is not as strange." Kirk chuckled when they beamed down exactly forty-six minutes later.
"Interesting, though the sky reminds me of Vulcan." Spock answered and relieved Kirk from the heavy picnic basket and thought where Kirk had arranged an old-fashioned basket. He examined the real wood art it was made of.
"What about that place over there under that huge tree? It has been ages since I went to a picnic. What about you, Spock?"
"I am certain that I never have been to one until now."
"What, not once? So, let me introduce you to the art of picnic. I just hope there are no ants around here to carry away our food. That's one of the first steps. Be sure that you don't place your blanket near an ant-hill." Kirk looked around and saw nothing reminding him of any type of ant-hills. Matter of fact there was only the one tree at this place on the hill and nothing else beside the blue grass. He placed the blanket near the tree to have some shadow from the hot sun. It was hot, just right for his Vulcan Officer, he thought but not too hot to give him a stroke.
Spock placed the basket on one corner of the blanket and sat down when Kirk gestured him to and watched him when he began to place two glasses on the blanket followed by a bottle of wine.
"Wine for the occasion, there is some juice there for later."
"What is the occasion?" Spock asked, accepting his wine glass filled with the red liquid.
Kirk grinned. "Our picnic, this lovely, albeit strange new World, a friend to share the good and the bad times. What d'you need more?"
"Very, well said, Jim." Spock answered and they clinked their wineglasses together, its sound calming.
Kirk placed his half empty wineglass now on the ground and lunged for two of the carefully wrapped sandwiches he had made.
"Vegetable and cheese sandwich for you, Spock, and for me vegetable and cheese sandwich with ham."
"Thank-you, Jim."
"You're welcome! You know a picnic is not that different from camping. The only difference is we do not take a lot of camping gear around. I love it." He munched contently on his sandwich while he gestured to the tree beside them. "You know that is a lassie tree. Reminds me of the old oak tree at home I used to climb to read. Did you ever go and read in a tree, Spock?"
"No, I did not, Jim. There are not as many trees on Vulcan as on Earth. I used to climb on a nearby hill and sit there to read and observing."
"Ha, another one to introduce you to, my friend. You just can't go on and never read in a tree. That's a rule. Don't ask me what rule." Kirk amended when he saw Spock's eyebrow climbing up to his hair. "It just is." And he gulped the last piece of the sandwich down and began to take his boots and socks away.
"In order to accomplish that, Jim, we need a book to read, and I did not bring one with me."
"Tata, but I brought one and I will share it with you. I got it on Alcove. It's called Beyond Dreams, and I just thought I bring it along. Until now I didn`t even get the time to look at it and what it is about, but it is old and a First Edition. Just that made me buy it, can't wait to read it finally. The title seems promising."
Spock stood up and tugged on his shirt hem to straighten it reflexively. Kirk watched him with genuine smile lighting up his face but frowned when he took in the still booted feet.
"The boots and socks have to go. There is just no way to climb with clad feet."
"Captain, I am really capable to climb a tree with my boots on."
"I know, Spock, but what I meant was that no way for you to really feel the pleasure to read in a tree if you can't feel the wood and grass and freedom of it."
"Another rule, Captain?" Spock asked with his special little smile.
"Yeah, that's it. Another rule. Just do it." Kirk laughed and gave Spock backing while he removed his boots and socks.
"Can you feel how nice the grass is on your feet? I used to walk sometimes during summer bare feet when I was a boy. All used to when I was in grade school. Just in class you had to use shoes."
The branches of the tree were a little high so Spock gave Kirk a little boost for the first one. When he was securely anchored upon the tree he helped Spock up, who had the book. The tree was really huge and they could sit side by side on one of the bigger branches.
It was even comfortable, Spock thought, who had never been bothered when they occasionally touched as if it were with others.
"Okay, here we are, Spock. Now let's take a look at this book. It's from the year 2002, printed in the United States of America. There are several short stories."
"Yes, Jim. And it states that the writers are not professional but fan fiction writers. I read one of them, they are still popular nowadays. They write mostly of favorite shows from their epoch sometimes they handled about movie pictures, vid shows and even books. As I recall some got professional afterwards and even got contracted as writers for some of the shows."
"Yeah? I never heard of them. What did they write about exactly?"
"Anything they wanted to without restriction the show authors had when writing for the shows. The topics ran from any part in writing, there were almost no barriers."
"Did you ever read one, Spock?" Kirk asked curiously and as always awed by Spock's wisdom and intelligence. There seemed to be nothing he didn't know about.
"Only once, it was about a Television Show, as I recall they called it Starsky & Hutch, a Police story. It was interesting and showed a lot of insight to the epoch's Police structure and culture in whole. It was a reproduction of a so called Fanzine. Yours is quite a catch if it is a real one, and by the sight of it, it is, Jim."
"Let's see then what this one is about." Kirk said and leaned back, aware of Spock's nearness and they began to read.
"Amazing the similarities of this ship described here to the Enterprise and our crew. A shorter blond Captain and his Alien First officer."
"Indeed fascinating, Jim." Spock answered distracted by the words that flew by.
Kirk's eyes grew a bit rounder by the next phrases. The adventurous first chapter gave place to a more romantic piece the more he read. "They are in love." He whispered, chancing a glance to Spock covertly under his eyes.
"It seems so, Jim."
They continued to read and Kirk gasped shocked by the content, more though as he was reading it with Spock by his side. He shut the book when the next page revealed an explicit drawing of two men in a love act.
"But it was written by a woman." He squeaked out. His face was burning so much that he just knew he was beat red blushing.
"Another curious fact. In fact most of the writers were women, the artists too who made those drawings and sketches of their favorite pairings. They wrote as I told you before without restriction of any topic you could imagine, reaching from Gen, Het to Slash Fan fictions. Slash was the same gender stories, as the one in your hands."
"Gees, sorry Spock. I really didn't know what the book was about or I never would have brought it down here for us to read."
"Don't worry, Jim. I thought it was a rather interesting story and really would like to continue to read it."
"You do?" Kirk asked baffled.
"Yes, I do, Jim. Please open it again; I really would like to see that sketch I got only a glimpse of before you shut the book."
Kirk's face grew hotter to Spock's entertainment. He was sure that there was not a lot which embarrassed his Captain in the Universe, as their joined reading of an explicit book. He was well aware of the captain's covert looks he stole from time to time while they skimmed through the very explicit parts of the first story.
"Uh, Spock, what do you think of same gender relationships?" Kirk whispered while they finished the first story. It seemed really hot around here, Kirk thought.
"On Vulcan there are some. They were used to be in ancient Vulcan as well among the Warriors. A Warrior bonding as they called them and are still used. I for me felt never any inclination for this life style." Spock said studying his captain closely.
"Neither, did I." Kirk said caught in Spock's suddenly brazing eyes.
"But lately I think," Spock continued leaning closer, "I am not so sure."
"Neither am I." Kirk whispered looking intently at the rose lips of his first Officer.
"I for me would like to try that out, Jim." Spock whispered while approaching his lips to Kirk's, waiting for permission.
Kirk looked into his eyes and approached the rest and their lips touched for the first time. Tentative at first to grow more insistent and suddenly he could feel himself being lifted by the strong Vulcan arms and settled on his First Officer's hot body and feeling the answering bulge of arousal to his own. He moaned when those hot hands squeezed his ass cheeks and then one of the Vulcan's hands released his wrap around uniform to roam freely on his bare chest.
They kissed again with more passion grinding their groins together. Kirk lifted his head to gasp a bit of air when he looked down at their blanked.
"Oh, shit. He is going to kill me!" Kirk gasped out watching with amazement the huge ants carrying away their basket filled with sandwiches and the juice.
"Who, would kill you? " Spock asked momentarily distracted to have eyes for anything else than the bare chest he stroked.
"Bones! That basket was his." Kirk whispered, shuddering when the hot tongue passed over his sensitive nipples. He cried out when he felt the bite and then the soothing lick.
After another mind shuttering kiss Spock lifted Kirk from his lap. "So I think our picnic is over, and I am hungry, but not for food. " He said throaty to a dazzled Kirk who did not know how he was suddenly transported on the ground.
Kirk leaned on Spock, momentarily the basket was forgotten. Finally Spock released him and wrapped the uniform shirt back on Kirk.
"As I recall picnics were always in danger of ants, and those are huge in comparison and I rather would prefer our first time in my cabin."
"Why not mine?" Kirk asked his mind still on the first time part of Spock's speech.
"Because mine is warmer than yours." Spock answered with his secret smile which was only for Kirk to see and took the blanket from the ground while reaching for his communicator.
"Two to beam up." He ordered and looked at his own fair haired captain, just eager to try out some of the fascinating positions he had read about and glimpsed in the sketches.
"Oh, right, and a tree for two to read in but not to make love. I get the picture Spock. I really would like to try out some of what we read about, and I wonder what the second story is about." Kirk said smiling his face had lost the fatigued parlor and a new swing was in his strode when he placed himself in position beside Spock to beam up back on the Enterprise and their new future.
Who would have known what a climb on a tree and a little reading could bring.