Author's Note: This oneshot is for the Kirk/Spock Advent Calendar on Live Journal.

A Simple Snowman

The radiant sun shone down on the sprawling wilderness, illuminating but not melting the fresh snow that had fallen the night before. Amongst the sprawling mountains were impressive trees, amongst the impressive trees was a wide clearing, and amongst the wide clearing was a log cabin full of joyful crewmembers of the Enterprise, celebrating the fact that Christmas was less than twenty-four hours away and they weren't having to spend it at their stations. Of the many conversations that were going on simultaneously, the one taking place by the front door was definitely the most unique.

"Are you requesting that I aid you in the construction of a snowman, Jim?"

Kirk let his mouth twitch with a grin at Spock's choice of words. He had known Spock for years, but his eloquent way of communicating would never fail to tickle him in delightfully inexplicable ways. Pulling on his padded leather jacket, he looked into the eyes of his t'hy'la and let himself smile fully.

"Exactly," Kirk confirmed, "I've been dying to build a huge snowman since we made plans for this shore leave."

Spock stood by the front door in his specially made Vulcan thermal attire with hands behind his back as he replied, "Of course I am familiar with the Earth custom but, as with the majority of Earth's customs, I have yet to grasp the exact purpose."

"Fun," Kirk answered simply. He opened the door, letting the chilled air slide between them.

Spock's right eyebrow lifted into a skeptical arch, "Fun?"

"Don't tell me that after all this time you still don't know what fun is."

"The current definition of fun as a noun in the English language is-"

"What happened in our room last night?"

Spock's only response was a deadpan expression as the crewmembers within earshot were instantly riveted by their conversation, reminding Kirk that other people were, in fact, present.

McCoy appeared out of the crowd then, gesturing emphatically with his half empty glass of egg nog, "If you're gonna leave, Jim, would you be so kind as to not freeze us all to death while you do it?"

Kirk nodded to his friend and looked at Spock, waiting expectantly for him to make a decision. The Vulcan quickly weighed the options of indulging his bondmate's whim or staying inside to interact with a good number of humans who were endlessly interested in his relationship with the captain and not afraid to say so.

Spock silently stepped out onto the porch.

Kirk shot McCoy a triumphant smile as he followed suit and closed the door behind them, missing the doctor's subsequent eye roll.

Now outside in the unbelievably fresh air, the couple stepped down off the porch and into the snow. As they walked away from the cabin, the loose white powder came up to their ankles but the packed snow provided a more than stable surface to trek across.

Kirk felt a small stab of guilt poke him in the ribs, "I didn't mean for anyone to overhear."

"No apology is necessary," Spock assured in his usual tone, "When in my presence you have a peculiar tendency to overlook the presence of other life forms. I have become accustomed to such behavior."

"Well you're a very captivating personality, Mr. Spock."

"It is a skill that I only find redeeming to exercise around you, captain."

They shared a glance then, feeling that spark that had become so familiar and continued on in a comfortable silence.

Now about fifty feet away from the cabin, Kirk stopped and took a look around.

"Seems as good a place as any," he said, bending over and starting to scoop together a pile of snow.

Spock surveyed the newly declared building site, "What is the approximate diameter required of the base?"

Kirk stopped in mid-scoop and looked up, "Large," he said in a dry tone.

"And the midsection?"

"Smaller," he answered as he continued working.

"The head?"

Kirk straightened up, "Are you gonna help or do you want to draw up some blueprints first?"

"Do you think it necessary?"

Kirk went to speak, then caught the sly glint in the Vulcan's eye. Without a word, Spock bent down and began to add snow to the pile. Not one to favor losing, Kirk leaned over, scooped up a fistful of snow, and threw it at Spock's shoulder when he wasn't looking. Startled by the sudden but harmless impact, Spock looked over at Kirk with a silently questioning expression.

"Horseplay," Kirk informed, "It's a human thing."

Proud of his cleverness, the captain went back to building the snowman. Once the base was about waist high, they started on the second level.

"Are you positive you desire this project to be quite so large?" Spock asked as they packed even more snow together.

Kirk replied with a chipper voice, "Why not? You know my motto."

"I have always been under the impression that your motto was more of an aspiration."

Kirk shot a mock glare over in his partner's direction, "Despite your tendency to choke?"

Spock's eyes widened at the crude remark and he remained quiet. Kirk noticed that Spock's cheeks had flushed a gentle green, and couldn't hold back a victorious grin.

He noticed that they had used all of the loose snow around them, so he took a couple of steps away, stooped down and gathered together an armful of the white powder.

As he stood up, he was smacked in the back of the head with a snowball. Dropping the load of snow, he whirled around to find Spock standing there, hands behind his back like a perfect gentlemen.

"The majority of species require recreation," Spock offered matter-of-factly, "Vulcans are no exception."

Kirk brushed the snow out of his hair, "I'll keep that in mind," he muttered in defeat.

Ten minutes later they were staring at a more-than-full-sized snowman that stood between them and the cabin. It was just big enough to eclipse the pair of them.

"Perfect," Kirk said with a grin.

Spock tilted his head to the side slightly as he looked over the mounds of snow piled on top of each other, "If I recall correctly, in order for a snowman to be complete it must have two pieces of charcoal to serve as eyes, a carrot to serve as the nose, and twigs to serve as arms."

"Nah, we don't need them."

Spock looked over at him, "If you never intended on completing this project, then why did you insist that we pursue such an endeavor?"

"Because I wanted to see you build one," Kirk began as he stepped in front of the snowman and faced his bondmate, "and now there's a barrier between us and the cabin's windows."

A flicker of realization showed on Spock's face, but he was far from faltering, "Am I to understand that this was your intention from the commencement of this venture?"

"Are you surprised?" Kirk asked, eyes dancing as he took off his gloves and let them fall to the ground.

Spock spoke in a low voice as he stepped towards the captain, "If I were to be caught off guard by this behavior, it would mean that I had not been giving you my attention over these past four years and three months. And Jim," they were now close enough to touch without moving, "you have always had my undivided attention."

Kirk made the final move, grabbing the sides of Spock's face and gruffly pressing their mouths together. Spock gasped at the initial jolt of cold hands against his warm Vulcan skin, but the moment passed and he wrapped his arms around his t'hy'la, deepening the kiss. Their tangling mouths provided all the heat they needed as Kirk teased Spock's tongue with his own and reveled in the almost electric current that zipped down his throat and heated the deepest part of him.

Kirk's right hand found its way down Spock's torso as he shuddered from the intensity of being in such capable arms. Without hesitation, his hand slipped in between the Vulcan's legs and gripped the already hardening bulge. Spock moaned into Kirk's mouth, unable to keep his impulse in check at the sudden, delicious pressure.

"Jim!" a voice yelled from seemingly miles away, "Get your hands off the first officer and come toast the crew!"

Kirk and Spock froze for only a moment before the former quickly gathered himself and stepped out from behind the snowman. McCoy was standing on the porch, shaking his head.

"What makes you think I had my hands on him?!" Kirk yelled back, trying to sound as innocent as possible.

"What am I, an ensign?! Get in the damn cabin!"

Kirk couldn't help but laugh as he looked over at Spock, who had taken the opportunity to regain control of himself. The Vulcan emerged from behind the snowman.

"I believe these belong to you, captain," Spock said, offering the gloves.

Kirk took them with a grin and they both started walking towards the doctor.

After a moment of silence, Spock said, "This recent experience has left me somewhat…discontent."

"I wouldn't worry, Mr. Spock," Kirk assured him, "the snowman's not going anywhere."