Meaningful Silences 19?

Rated: T (May go up later depending on direction of fic.)

Pairing: K/S Nothing explicit.

A.N.: Takes place before and during 'The Search For Spock', May be somewhat inaccurate due to my foggy memories of the movie, but this was just banging around in my head. This is my first attempt at Star Trek fiction so and feedback is appreciated. Enjoy.

A Game of Strategy and Cunning

"That move was illogical."

Kirk didn't respond except with a small quirk to his lips. He was much more relaxed then he had been since Spock's reawakening. Perhaps it was the fact that they were finally doing something that they had done previously, but Kirk was much more comfortable in comparison to his state of mind that morning. A good game of chess was always a fine when of relieving stress, even during troubling times, of which this certainly classified.

"You deliberately sacrificed a rook for no apparent purpose." Spock continued, sounding thoroughly confounded.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time." Kirk grinned as he moved a pawn closer to the other end of the board. "Sometimes a good guess works just as well."

Kirk leaned back in his chair, just waiting for the outraged or as close to it response from his Vulcan opponent. He needn't wait long.

"A guess is not a logical way to make a decision. Do you do this often when we've played in the past?" Spock asked in a hopelessly confused tone of voice.

"Yes quite often in fact."

"I can only assume that you enjoyed playing the game, rather than winning it." Spock responded matter-of-factly.

"On the contrary, my fine Vulcan friend. I have actually won more then half using this method." Kirk answered gleefully. He laughed aloud when Spock raised his infamous eyebrow in disbelief. It was nice to see some of Spock's mannerisms still present, when much of his mind was absent.

"I fail to see any reasoning behind this guesswork of yours, let alone for you to actually win utilizing it."

"Perhaps guesswork isn't the correct term. I often use intuition when making spur of the moment decisions, and a logical analysis is why I keep your around."

"Indeed. It is a good thing that I am your first officer then, for it seems to me that you need sound reasoning when choosing a particular course of action. Perhaps that is why you have avoided discussing the depth of our relationship since before I died."

Spock watched as James stiffened in his seat from both the topic of conversation, as well as the reminder of his death however temporary it might have been.

"I thought we weren't going to discuss this further. Why can't you just drop it?" Kirk all but growled in frustration at his oblivious first officer.

"I am only trying to understand the parameters of our ...friendship. Perhaps it is you who are dwelling on the romantic connotations that were indeed present."

Kirk looked abashed for a moment before straightening in his seat and returning his gaze to the chessboard.

"How about if tomorrow we spend it going through each of our logs to give you a fair background of your career up till now? If we have time we can try to watch some of the personal ones as well." Kirk suggested hesitantly, concerned and what his logs would reveal, that not wanting to hinder his Vulcan's recovery.

"I believe I shall look forward to it." Spock answered before moving his queen back a space. "Check."

He waited for Kirk to make the next move. He was finding that human fascinating, and was anticipating what tomorrow would bring.