"What the hell was that?!" Jim gasped up at him, excitement and other numerous, indecipherable emotions flitting across his face. It seemed that despite the information gained and the change initiated by the… unconventional mind meld, Spock still was unused to seeing that which was so freely expressed by Jim but so deeply restrained by his own people. He certainly knew of emotions, and expressions, but knew very little by way of recognising them.
What he felt now, however, was familiar.
This was anger (get rid of it you are above this you are in control)
Spock closed his eyes and took a deep breath in, attempting to briefly clear his mind and allow Jim's elation to abate his anger slightly.
"That," he said, "was a Vulkhansu nerve pinch."
"Can you do it on me?" Jim said, and Spock grimaced internally.
"I have been told it is a painful experience - one I doubt you would want to endure."
"Damn-" and Jim genuinely seemed discouraged "-can you teach me, then?"
Spock ignored the question. "We should get back to your home before he wakes up."
Jim's look darkened. "Yeah," he agreed, moving towards Frank's limp form, "let's go."
True to the original plan, Spock drove them back. It wasn't hard to get a grasp for the simple controls, but he had to admit to himself that working the foreign manual gearbox was fascinating - humans really were much farther from warp capability than he thought.
They travelled in relative silence, the presence of an unconscious Frank discouraging most conversation lest he woke up. Spock was confident that he would remain as he was for at least another 2.5 hours (as he had only performed the nerve pinch once before, and never on a human, he could not be exact) (he would be frustrated had he not been Vulkansu).
"Do you reckon we can convince him it was all a dream?" Jim asked.
"As your field is largely destroyed and you drove through the barn wall, it is unlikely," Spock pointed out, "not to mention that he could still feel my ship, even if he could not see it."
Jim smiled. "Yeah, but I mean about seeing you. Man, his face when he realised there were suddenly two of us is something I'll never forget."
"I was unaware humans faces could become such a colour," Spock said, and it wasn't entirely a lie. He did know that humans had red blood that flushed to their faces when experiencing intense emotions, only not to the extent demonstrated by Frank. Jim laughed, which was the desired effect of his words, so Spock let the lie-by-omission be.
Laughter was a curious thing. Spock had heard his mother laugh before, in the privacy of their home (and Spock had been told, much to his dissatisfaction that during the two years of infancy before Vulkhansu acquire an adequate grasp of logic, that he had also laughed), but Jim's was so different to hers. His mother laughed softly, ducking her head as if to hide the reaction from disproving eyes, but Jim laughed loudly, a sound he projected by opening his mouth wide and tipping his head back as if to let everyone hear it and know of his emotional state.
It was fascinating.
Spock had come across other societies in his studies, had heard exclamations of joy or sadness in holovids and examined the flaws and advantages of the structures of each (even his own society, which remained the society with the most advantages and least flaws through logic, according to his Vulkhansu teachers), but holovids did not prepare him for this. For Earth.
"I'm convinced Frank was, like, an octopus in a past life," Jim said, "you know they can change colour? Except when they're in danger an octupus' arm will fall off, and Frank just falls down."
He laughed at his own joke. It never failed to intrigue Spock that within the space of 4.352 hours he now knew what a joke was, and, theoretically, how to make one. He also knew what Snack Mates were, and that Winona Kirk had an old Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Laboratory in the attic that Jim had been looking for for several years. Aerosol cheese and 30-year-old radioactive toys were admittedly not at the top of Spock's need-to-know list.
They chatted about Earth's marine creatures for a little while longer before Spock turned onto the Kirk property.
"Damn maybe I should learn to drive soon," Jim said, opening his door, "you were far less panicky about it than me."
Spock got out of the car. "I did have the advantage of knowing there was nothing chasing us."
"Hmm. True."
Jim walked around the bonnet to stand next to Spock, both staring at Frank through the car window.
"What do we do with him?" Jim said, more thinking aloud than actually asking.
Spock opened the car door. "He will awake in approximately two hours. First, we will move him to his bedroom."
"The fact that you suggested that knowing full well the bedroom's fucking upstairs makes me ashamed to know you," Jim said, "I don't wanna carry him up a flight of stairs."
Spock initially felt hurt by Jim's words, but felt through the bond only reluctance towards the task and the same freely felt happiness thrumming at the back of his mind as usual.
"Vulkhansu are three times stronger than humans, and you are injured," Spock said, "I will hold most of the weight."
"Hey, you're also hurt," Jim protested, stepping close and brushing away the almost congealed blood on Spock's lips with his thumb. Jim's hands were rough but the gesture was soft and Spock found himself unable (unwilling) to move.
Jim jerked his hand back suddenly.
"Sorry, sorry, I forgot," he said, and they were both blushing now, "I mean, I know I know things that I didn't yesterday, I just- don't always remember? Sorry. Dumb monkey brain here."
"It is… expected," Spock said, brushing the spot Jim had touched with his own fingers.
Jim had blue eyes. It wasn't that Spock had never noticed the colour before, but Jim had very blue eyes (an inexact description, but an apt one nonetheless). They complemented his complexion and hair colour and Spock had become all too aware of them.
"A-anyway," Jim said, breaking eye contact and grabbing Frank's collar, "we should move him."
"Yes," Spock agreed, slightly shaken, and together they pulled Frank out of the back seat and slowly made their way upstairs.