Hey guys, I'm back!

Okay, so, I totally loved the newest Star Trek movies with Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto! I saw those, I thought of this, and I just HAD to contribute!

I must tell you, though, that I did not watch the old TV show or movies, and most of what I know about Vulcans (Spock is my favorite character, BTW) is what I learned from the two aforementioned movies and from several fanfics. So I will make a few things up, I will get many things wrong, but we'll officially dub this an AU so that I don't get murdered.

Also, this is my first attempt at romance, so please don't hate if it sucks.

And yes, I know the title is totally lame, but bear with me.

Anywho, please enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters

Kirk knew from the moment he saw her that he was in love.

When she gazed on him with those large brown eyes, he melted. Every single time. When she tucked her short hair behind her adorable ears, his heart skipped a beat. When she raised an eyebrow at him questioningly, with those naïve misunderstandings, he fell even more deeply under her spell.

They were such close friends- had been for several years- and yet Spok still hadn't figured out the reasoning behind his remarkably uncharacteristic behavior. He wished so badly that they could continue being normal, that she would figure it out on her own, then she could tell him that she felt the same way, and then he would never have to risk being shot down by directly telling her.

But then he would remember her upbringing; emotionlessness and being surrounded in it at all times. And his battered heart would sink. Why did she have to be so unreachable, especially since she was the only one who had ever made him feel this way?

Then he would remember that she had, in fact, been exposed to emotion, considering her human mother. Surely some of it had rubbed off onto her? Surely it was in her genetics?

And finally he would recall all of those times when she was so hopelessly lost during any emotional situations, and he could picture it clearly in his mind's eye: her eyes wider than usual, her lips twitching downward ever so slightly, her ears faintly shaded green with embarrassment as she stood there awkwardly, hands clasped primly behind her back. Every single time it happened- whether it be on a meet-up during shore leave, a party, or a diplomatic event- he wished he could stop whatever he was doing and run up to her, rescue her from this sea of uncertainty and uncharted territory.

But for some reason something in the back of his head would tell him that she wouldn't appreciate such an extravagant gesture.

So he started small, slowly placing his feelers, subtly testing the waters, searching desperately for any sign that she saw him as something more than her cocky, sarcastic, annoying, hilarious best friend.

He put everything he had into the search.

(Line Break)

The first time he deliberately touched her, it was under the guise of a friendly shoulder pat between two colleagues as they celebrated the Romulan defeat. It was meant as a light touch, delicate and meaningless in the grand scheme of things. Yet it had meant so much to him regardless.

"Good work, First Officer." He had said with a smile, internally savoring the smell of her, the feel of her uniform under his palm. She had startled at the unexpected contact and jumped back, whipping to look at him, eyes widening only slightly as she realized it was just Jim. Her features were quickly schooled into indifference once more before she nodded in agreement, and that had basically been the full extent of the conversation.

Good Lord, how it burned in his heart, how passionately he felt for her, how much stronger his feelings became after the simple interaction. She was so unlike all the other girls he had hooked up with; she was educated, could hold her own, wasn't desperate to throw her body at him like all the prostitutes he used to think he loved so much. She was new, and charming, and he just loved her so much, and he couldn't think of words to describe it. The only way one could accurately measure his affections for the Vulcan would be to look at his expression as his gaze lingered on her, which he admittedly did often when she wasn't aware. She was so beautiful, so amazing.

And for once, his love wasn't a heartless desire for a woman's body; he wasn't longing after a sexual encounter with Spok. His sole desires were to be her one and only, to hold her close and to see and be the recipient of her extremely rare smiles, to treat her like the goddess she really was. He wanted her to love him back.

(Line Break)

The first time he saw her smile, if only the teensiest bit, was six months after they defeated Khan, and four months after the start of their next five year exploration.

There had been some sort of party for a crewmember's birthday, and all had been present in the mess hall. Spok had worn a uniform blue shirt with slim black pants, and while it wasn't the dress she generally wore, it still looked equally stunning on her slender figure. She appeared uncomfortable, picking at one of her sleeves in slight agitation as the lights lowered slightly and loud music began to play. He could tell the noise was hurting her ears.

He had sidled up to her cautiously, reaching out and gently placing a hand on her sleeved arm.

"Come on, Spok, let's ditch this place." He said casually, leading her out into the quiet hallway. He could feel the relief radiating from her.

"Captain, is there something that requires my expertise?" She asked, minutely confused and doing a poor job of hiding it. He leaned against the far wall and shrugged, cherishing the undivided attention.

"Nah, just looked like you could use some fresh air. Also, we're off duty, so you can call me Jim, Spok." He replied, smiling. Her brow furrowed for the shortest of seconds, then it was gone.

"Alright, James." She said, and Jim is 99 per-friggin-cent sure that there was a mischievous lilt to her words. And that's when the smile just barely caressed her pale cheeks, managing to light up her eyes for just a split second, and then it's back to the monotonous flat mouth.

He saves the image in his mind and reviews it every day, because her small smile is enough to brighten his day instantly.

(Line Break)

The first time she calls him 'Jim', it's two weeks after the hallway scene, and he's already noticed how much friendlier towards him she's become.

"Jim, I-" She had stuttered out, speechless for the first time he'd ever witnessed, and he smirked at the little green blush seeping into her cheeks. "I wanted to thank you for what you did at the gathering that night. Your consideration of my discomfort in loud environments is appreciated." She concluded, nodding and walking away.

After that, it was much less professional between the two of them, their friendship taking leaps and bounds. Kirk was thrilled.

(Line Break)

Today, he was sitting exhaustedly in his 'big boy captain chair' and rubbing a hand over his forehead. Things were moving slowly today, so he gave the conn over to Sulu and went for a walk around the ship.

It was statistically near impossible that he happened to walk by that specific loading deck, of all the billions of places on the ship, at that specific moment. Honestly, it was quite the coincidence.

"-little bitch!" He heard just a snippet of the exclamation, but it was enough to stop Kirk in his tracks and make him tilt his head in concern. He backtracked until he stood by the large glass doors to Loading Deck C13.

He immediately felt his blood boil as he glimpsed the scene inside the large room.

There were two men standing there, one hunched over with his arms splayed out behind him as he shouted at the sole female occupant. Both men wore red shirts, both were unfamiliar to Kirk, and both had equal looks of hatred on their faces that he instantly disliked.

The female Jerk 1 was yelling at just so happened to be Spok, standing there with her arms crossed behind her back as she slowly turned to face away from them. By all means, she looked perfectly unaffected by the idiot's insults, but Kirk knew her well enough to spot the slight greenening of her ears, the slight glassiness reflected in her eyes, and the slight slouch of her shoulders as she refused to engage in verbal combat.

All Jim saw was red as he surged through the sliding doors, and wasted no time in storming up to Jerk 1 as he finished his taunt of, "-just a little green-blooded goblin!"

The fat man never saw the direct punch to the nose coming. In fact, he didn't see anything after that, because he immediately collapsed to the floor, unconscious. Jerk 2 jumped in surprise, cowering away from the captain and whining when he was lifted up by the collar of his uniform. Jim pulled the other man close, so close that he could smell the alcohol on the other's breath.

"What the hell do you think you were doing?" He demanded, shaking the redshirt for emphasis. The name on his tag identified him as Terence Ross.

Terence was completely shocked; his limbs were shaking as he scrambled to escape the furious captain's death grip.

"I-I, I mean, T-Tommy Boy was just- just teachin' the Robot a lesson!" He whimpered, clenching his eyes shut as a puff of hot air was angrily blown onto his face. Kirk could hear the slightest intake of breath from their Vulcan companion, and it was the closest thing to hurt that he'd ever heard from her. This increased his rage and he brought up a fist threateningly.

"You son of a bitch! She's a person too, you know! I ought to throw you out into the abyss for your inexcusable actions!" By now he was sure the other man was going to faint.

A reluctant, feather-light touch on his shoulder made him pause, and he turned to see Spok, his beloved friend, looking at him imploringly.

"Captain, please do not do anything you will later regret on my account." Her voice was strong, but underneath he could hear the shakiness, and he could feel the hurt she felt but tried desperately to hide and control. Nodding to her, he quickly brought up his fist again and punched Ross straight in the face, dropping his unconscious body to the floor in disgust.

Spok was looking at him with Vulcan surprise, and seemed too shocked to object when he hooked his arm through hers and led her quickly from the deck.

After almost five minutes of walking, though, she stopped short, waiting until he was facing her before she spoke.

"Captain, why did you do that?" Her eyes were penetrating deep into his soul. She looked so lost, like she just couldn't understand. His heart softened, and he took a few steps closer to her. They were alone in this sector of the ship.

"Because those bastards had no right to say those things about you. You are just as important and just as human as they are; they're just too xenophobic to see it." He spoke with sincerity, his voice smooth and his eyes pleading her to see herself the way he saw her.

She took a deep breath through her nose, tucked a stray hair behind her pointed ear.

"But Captain, why did you do that? Why did you defend me so readily? I am an adult too, and I should have told them to stop. It was my fault that I walked into their work area while they were intoxicated. I asked you not to do something you would regret because of me, yet you did it anyway. Why?"

He sighed, moved a bit closer and placed a hand on her shoulder, gently rubbing his thumb along the base of her neck.

"Because, Spok," he said, working up his courage, "I care about you. And I don't regret doing what I did." She didn't swat his hand away, didn't ask him to remove it, just stared searchingly into his bright blue eyes with a question in her own.

"Why do you not regret it? You also care about being the captain of this ship, but you have just risked losing that. Why would you do that?" He almost laughed. She honestly didn't understand. Had no clue. It just made him love her even more; it made her sense of innocence seem stronger.

"Because, Spok, I don't care about that as much as I care about you." He brought his face closer to hers, their noses just inches apart. "I love you, Spok."

There it was. The truth was finally out in the open.

They stayed like that for some time, but Kirk didn't mind. He watched avidly as her emotions broke through her mental walls in her shock, watched as confusion, excitement, and hundreds of other feelings shone in her dark eyes. She stared straight up into his.

Finally, after an eternity, she spoke.

"Captain, I-" She stopped herself, pulling back just slightly and running her hands through her ebony locks. "Jim, you are a human male. A mammal. Every mammal's instinct is to find a mate, continue the bloodline. That is what you are doing; you are searching for a mate so that you may procreate and continue your bloodline. While I am quite honored that you have considered me for this role in your life, I must tell you that you do not want to taint your offspring with my Vulcan blood." With this, she turned and ran back to her quarters.

Jim stood there, shocked. What should he have expected, though? She was a Vulcan, and she found comfort from logic and facts. Such emotional dumpage all at once must have been severely overwhelming for her.

Sighing dejectedly, Kirk returned to the bridge.

All he could do is give her space and hope that some day she might change her mind.

He would wait relentlessly for that day.

(Line Break)

It was a quick mission, one that should have borne more fruit than it had. But, it only being a few days full of awkward glances since his confession to Spok, Kirk was understandably distracted as he roamed the jungle surface of some random planet in search of life.

They had found it, but it hadn't been friendly, and all they got from the mission was a frustrated Scotty- 'Damn it, why aren't they beaming up?'- And a rather beaten and bloodied Captain James T. Kirk. When he and Bones finally beamed back up to the ship, he had been immediately rushed to the Med Bay where his broken arm, sliced forehead and bruised ribs could be taken care of properly. All the while, everyone was telling him how lucky he was, how they had thought he was dead for a full ten minutes before the communicators came to life and he was requesting being brought up.

A few minutes into the healing process, though, and the doors were sliding open to admit Kirk's favorite First Officer, skirt swishing and eyes scanning the room desperately. Moments later she located her target, and McCoy- who seemed to have a supernatural sense for these things- immediately turned away to 'check his scanner'.

"Hey, Spok." He started, trying to reassure the alien as she walked determinedly towards him, her mind set upon something. "It's alright, I'm fi-"

He was cut off as she launched herself at him, pressing his lips to her own and wrapping her arms around his neck.

And even though his injuries were giving him agony, the sweet taste of her lips and the sensation of her embracing him was enough to drive any thoughts of pain from his mind. He was quick to wrap his one good arm around her back.

She pulled away, panting just a bit and blushing madly.

"Apologies, I am very inexperienced in your displays of affection." She mumbled before becoming serious once more. "I thought you had died on the mission, Jim. And… And I thought about what I wouldn't have been able to… I thought about how I truly felt… And…" She trailed off, placing a kiss on his cheek. "I love you, James Kirk." She finished, the barest hint of a smile gracing her lips.

If it weren't for the constant aching in his ribs and the fact that Bones was there, Jim would have sworn that he had died and gone to Heaven.

Well, that's the end of the first part!

Did you like?

Grace is very bad at writing romance. And at understanding Star Trek.

Did you like regardless? *I hope you did* :)

Hopefully I'll add the next part soon, but with school ending next week and finals coming up, plus my having to turn in my school laptop, it may take me a bit longer to update, depending on my schedule. No promises, but thank you for your patience!

I know 'greenening' isn't a word, but since Spock has green blood, and I couldn't say 'reddening', I made up a word. Yay me.

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