As Spock drifted into consciousness, he became aware of how warm he was. That was odd, seeing as his room was freezing the previous night. The next thing he noticed was the smell. The smell made him feel safe and calm inside. Once he became more alert and opened his eyes, he saw nothing but golden hair. Looking past that, he saw a face. Not just any face, either. His Captain's face. Spock let out a rare yelp of shock and thrashed out, causing himself and Jim to fall off of the bed in an undignified heap. After a moment, he heard Jim swearing and a deep chuckle from above them. Looking up, he saw amused hazel eyes staring down at him. In as dignified a manner as he could manage, Spock rose to his feet, a green tinge climbing up his neck and across his cheeks.

"What are you doing in my quarters?" he asked after clearing his throat. At that point, Jim had gotten to his feet as well.

"Well, we were goin' to talk to you, but you were already asleep." McCoy answered, standing from the bed.

"What matter was so important that it required you to break into my room and invade my bed?" As Spock spoke, his voice was gradually rising in volume. Seeing no other way to get the Vulcan to stop his tirade, Jim, ever the problem solver, grabbed Spock's face and gave him a big kiss right on his mouth. For an extended period of time, it was as if Spock had turned to stone. His face was completely blank and his back went rigid. McCoy stepped up behind Jim, looking at Spock with concern in his eyes. After a long moment, Spock finally spoke.

"Get out." he whispered, then louder, "Get out!" McCoy braced himself for a physical altercation while Jim threw his hands up in a placating manner.

"Wait, Spock, c'mon. Listen, if you think I'm playing or whatever, I'm not. I care about you. We both care about you. We just thought you would never be interested. It was your reaction to seeing us kiss that made us realize we might have a chance." Jim reasoned. Spock stopped for a moment and thought things over in his mind.

"You both...like me?" he inquired, disbelieving. McCoy stepped in front of Jim and answered for them both.

"'Course we do. We just didn't think you'd be so receptive to the idea. Y'know, bein' a hobgoblin and all." After he finished speaking, he held out his hand and waited to see what Spock would do. Spock stared at the hand apprehensively for a moment before finally putting his own in the doctor's. Spock and McCoy both felt an immediate spark. It was the feeling of Spock's katra attempting to make a connection with the other man. Seeing Spock's acceptance, Jim reached down and grabbed Spock's other hand. Suddenly, the Vulcan was hit with a barrage of emotions coming from both men. Warmth, acceptance, happiness, contentment, love. Feeling overwhelmed, Spock had to let go of the hands and sit on the bed before the tears prickling his eyes fell. Both men followed and sat on either side of him.

"Now that that's out of the way," McCoy started, "Why the hell is it so cold in here?"

"The environmental controls ceased to work last night." Spock stated as if it were no big deal. This got the good doctor riled up.

"Dammit, Spock! It's way too cold in here for a Vulcan! If the controls were broken, why didn't you tell anybody?"

"Doctor, I assure you-"

"Leo." McCoy interrupted.

"I beg your pardon?"

"You can call me Leo, Spock. It would be kinda weird if you kept it professional." McCoy said, raising an eyebrow at the Vulcan. Spock looked down and mumbled to himself.

"What was that?" Jim asked.

"Leo." Spock repeated, trying the name out on his tongue.

"Well, there ya go!" McCoy exclaimed, patting Spock's knee. Suddenly, they all heard the ship-wide intercom come on with Chekov's voice filtering through.

"Ve haef arrived at New Wulcan."

"Well, that's our que." Jim said as he and McCoy rose from the bed. Both men leaned down to give Spock a gentle kiss as they both left to get dressed.

~x~x~x~

Spock felt his anxiety rise as he, Jim, Leo, Nyota, and Sulu stood on the transporter pad, waiting to be beamed down to the surface. Once everyone was ready to go, Jim gave the command.

"Energize."

"Yes sir!" Scotty replied cheerfully. That familiar tingling feeling engulfed the team as they were transported to the surface of New Vulcan. Once there, Sarek and the Ambassador greeted the team respectfully. Sarek inclined his head before speaking.

"Captain Kirk, it is pleasant to see you again." he said. His eyes then shifted to Spock. "Son." Spock inclined his head as well.

"Father." he responded. Beside him, Spock heard Leo mutter something to do with prissy, over-polite Vulcans. This caused the corner of his mouth to twitch slightly upward. Apparently, his older self noticed this, as he saw laughter and wistfulness dancing around in his wizened eyes. After greetings were made, the small group was told that they could wander and explore the new colony. Noticing an interesting looking building, Nyota dragged Sulu with her to scope it out. As she led him away, she turned her head and caught Spock's eye with a wink. Spock had to fight hard to keep his face from turning green.

The group of three were left to their own devices. As they explored the city, Spock noticed that Jim seemed to have a wide-eyed curiosity about him. Leo was curious as well, he just contained it more than their captain did. They continued walking through the city, Spock hanging back and letting Jim and Leo give in to their awe. After a while, Spock heard a voice that made him freeze in his tracks and his heart stop for a moment.

"Spock." Both Jim and Leo turned to face who was talking and saw a group of three Vulcans approach their love. The tallest of the three stepped forward and looked at Spock with a smug expression on his face. This irked both men to no end.

"Sepek." Spock replied coolly. Sepek's eyes scanned the small group before he spoke again.

"I see you have ceased attempting to fit in with true Vulcans. After you ran away to Earth, I did not think you would ever show your face around us again." Jim stepped forward, fists and teeth clenched in anger. Leo stopped him with a hand to the chest.

"You are incorrect in the assumption that I ran away. I was merely utilizing my skills where they would better serve the universe."

"Vulcans do not lie, but since you are a half-breed..." Sepek let the comment hang in the air. Spock felt anger coil inside his stomach.

"This conversation is pointless, therefore, it is over." As Spock turned on his heel, Sepek grabbed his upper arm.

"This conversation is over when I say it is over." Spock stared into Sepek's eyes and forcefully jerked his hand out of the iron grip. The two humans followed as Spock walked away. Confusion was swirling within both of their minds after seeing the Vulcan version of an all out argument.