Disclaimer: Star Trek in any of its incarnations does not belong to me.

The One With The Bike

It was the Enterprise's first shore leave on Earth and Kirk took Spock to visit his home in Iowa. Jim's mother was off-planet, so they had the entire Kirk home to themselves. On their first day in Riverside, they slept in. Surprisingly, Jim woke up earlier than Spock. When the Vulcan finally came downstairs, he was greeted with the sight of his bondmate busy in the kitchen.

"Why are you going to the trouble of preparing such a meal?" Spock asked, who was greeted with a peck on the lips.

"You'll see," Jim said with a grin as he expertly sliced some tomatoes. Spock noted that there were plenty of sandwich items, fruits, and vegetables strewn out across the kitchen counter.

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Nope." Jim grabbed a mug and handed it to Spock. "Just drink your tea. I'm almost done – you won't have to wait long."

"This is going to be so awesome, Spock. You'll see," Jim said as he produced a wicker basket that held their lunch.

Spock raised an eyebrow. "This leads me to believe you are taking me on a picnic."

"Yep, sure am. Hold this." Jim walked around to the garage and then stopped. Standing in front of him were two bicycles. "Ta-da!" Jim announced as Spock saw the bikes. "What do you think? I found my old bike yesterday and it was still in working order. You can ride Sam's old one. We'll ride to the clearing in the woods and have our lunch."

Spock eyed the bikes with thinly veiled apprehension. "Jim, there is something I must tell you-"

His bondmate was not listening. "I can't wait to show you the places where Sam and I played as kids! There's even a lake nearby where we can go skinny dipping…" He waggled his eyebrows at Spock. It did not have the desired effect.

"Jim, I do not know how to ride a bicycle," Spock blurted out.

The blond sounded surprised. "Wait, you don't?"

Spock all but sighed. "Bicycles are a human invention. We had none on Vulcan."

"But surely your time in Starfleet-"

"There was no bicycling requirement to pass," Spock said gently. "Therefore, I never learned."

It took Jim a few seconds to process this information, that no one had ever taught his bondmate to ride a bike. "Dammit, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have assumed-"

"Do not concern yourself, ashaya," Spock interrupted. "I am not offended."

"We can take the motorbike to the clearing instead," Kirk offered.

"I would not be averse to riding so close to you," Spock replied, a teasing glint in his eyes. "In fact, I find it quite pleasurable."

"Good," Kirk said, relieved Spock wasn't holding anything against him.

"However, I am intrigued by this bicycle of yours. Perhaps you could teach me how to ride while we are here?"

Jim's eyes lit up. "I'd love to."

After their lunch in the clearing, their skinny-dipping in the lake, and subsequent shower, Spock was ready to learn how to ride a bicycle. The Kirk driveway was a wide, flat surface – perfect for their activity.

"Okay, the first thing we need to do is make sure your seat is at the right height." Spock watched as Jim adjusted the seat. "Try this."

The Vulcan swung one leg over the seat and adjusted himself accordingly. He waited for Jim's response.

"Your feet touch the ground, but they aren't flat on the ground. That's good," Jim approved. "Are you comfortable?"

"As comfortable as one can be on this contraption."

Jim chuckled. "Okay. Now, your brakes are on the handlebar. Just squeeze them and you'll come to a stop." Spock nodded. "I'm going to hold on to your bike and pull you forward, give you a chance to practice pedaling."

The Vulcan placed his feet on the pedals. "I am ready."

Jim slowly guided the bike forward as Spock began to pedal.

"This is not so difficult," the Vulcan commented.

Jim smirked at him, knowing his bondmate was about to eat his words. "Yeah? Let's see what happens when I let go." The human took his hands off the handlebars and watched as Spock's bike wobbled and then tipped over.

"Perhaps mastering this art is more difficult than I had thought," Spock remarked, his face impassive as he righted his bike.

"Let's try it again," Jim offered, biting back a laugh. He recognized Spock's look as one of frustration, even though to most people he would look emotionless.

They repeated the process and most times Spock rode a little bit further than his last try. They had been at it for over an hour when Spock decided to call it quits for the day.

"Don't worry, it takes awhile to find your inner balance," Kirk said bracingly. He gave his Vulcan's left shoulder an encouraging squeeze, which caused Spock to wince.

"Sorry!" Kirk cried. "I forgot." His bondmate had scraped his shoulder on a particularly nasty tumble. They slowly proceeded inside to the living room, where Spock sat down on the couch with a barely audible sigh.

"Where else are you hurt?"

"I believe the question is, where am I not hurt?" Spock removed his shirt and pants, revealing a host of scrapes and bruises.

"Ouch," Jim said sympathetically. "Let me go grab the antiseptic." He raced up to his bathroom, and grabbed what he needed. Quickly, he returned downstairs. "Got it!" He said, holding up the tube. "Get ready for some TLC, bondmate of mine."

Spock lay back against the couch and allowed Jim to administer the ointment onto his scrapes.

"Look, Spock, Snoopy band-aids!" Jim gleefully exclaimed as he held one up before placing it over one of the scrapes.

Spock was not amused. "Do you not have a dermal regenerator?"

"Ours is broken. Therefore, I have to do this the old-fashioned way."

"Very well." Spock resigned himself to the unorthodox treatment. But he couldn't complain – he got to feel his bondmate's gentle hands on his skin. "I feel rather foolish, Jim. I believed that I could ride well on the first or second try."

Jim lightly kissed the tip of his bondmate's nose. "Well, considering how many other things you pick up on the first try, I'm not surprised you thought it would be the same with bicycling."

"How many days did it take you to learn?" Spock asked as Jim cleaned off one of his larger wounds.

"When I was a kid? About three or four."

"Who taught you?"

Jim smiled at the memory. "Sam. He was a good teacher too, very patient and understanding. Don't ask me who taught him, my mom wasn't around enough. He probably learned from his friends."

"I am pleased that you had biking as a distraction."

"Yeah, it was a great escape from family problems." Jim bit his lip. "But my childhood wasn't all bad. We had some great times, Sam and me. That is, before he ran away."

"But you found him again," Spock reminded him.

"Yeah." Jim gave him a lopsided grin. "We're meeting him and his wife for lunch on Starbase 12 after the Enterprise ships out."

"I have not forgotten. I look forward to meeting him."

"I'm sure he'll get a kick out of you."

Spock stared at him. "A kick?"

"Oh, stop pretending you don't know human expressions. I know you do." Jim shook his head at Spock. "Turn over – I need to fix the scrapes on your back."

For the next few days, Spock accrued even more injuries as his attempts to master the bicycle continued. But it was clear he was progressing. At the end of the third day, he could ride from one end of the driveway to the other without falling. On the fourth day, Jim taught him how to steer. By the fifth day, Jim thought Spock was ready to ride on the trails with him.

"I can't believe how well you rode today!" Jim said as they returned to the house.

"I did not fall even once," said a smug Spock.

"I really appreciate you learning. Now this is yet another activity we can do together." Jim hugged his bondmate.

"Jim?"

"Yes?"

Spock sniffed the air. "You need a shower."

Laughing, Jim threw his arm around Spock as they went upstairs to wash off the sweat and grime from that day's ride.