A/N - Another depressing fic. Oh, well. It's what I get for reading Yasunari Kawabata. By the way, this is post Wrath of Khan.
Disclaimer: not mine.
Warning: character death, slash. (mostly suggested, though)
He could turn and see Earth in the window in the other window of the spacedock's viewing deck, but he didn't. He kept his back turned to it, looking out instead at the vastness of space. The Milky Way flowed across his reflection in the window, but he looked beyond that, his eyes scanning the stars, searching for one in particular around which orbited a newborn planet. Kirk was painfully aware it was out there, but unlike the Vulcan sun, he couldn't tell which of the far points of light it was. He was struck by the sheer distance - so many stars between there and here, as though the entire Milky Way stood between him and that distant point of light. And yet, as far away as it was, Kirk was also aware that the distance wasn't the only thing seperating him from his beloved. Taking a deep breath, he abandoned his attempt to locate the star, but he didn't move, even to turn around. He simply stayed there, staring out at the stars, and after a long moment, pressed his fingers to the glass and let the tears come.