I know I said this will be the second and final chapter, but I have a couple things left to do so it'll be a three-parter. It's done already, I just need my awesome beta to look it over. So yeah that should be up today :) Thank you for reading!

It was 6 minutes after the end of the Gamma shift, and Jim Kirk was finally heading back to his quarters to get some well-deserved and long overdue rest.

At least, that was the plan.

See, what he didn't take into account was the long legged Vulcan standing ramrod straight in front of his door.

"Spock?" he edged closer, "Are you alright?"

"I am…" he trailed off, not meeting his eyes. He hung his head. "I am not."

"What happened?" asked Kirk, punching in the code, his eyes trained on Spock. He was not going to have his first potentially emotion-inducing conversation with Spock in a hallway. The door hissed open and he motioned for Spock to follow him inside.

Once they were safely in the privacy of his quarters, Spock visibly relaxed. Afraid that another direct question might spook the clearly distraught Vulcan, Kirk waited with uncharacteristic patience for him to continue while he plopped down on his bed.

Spock was doing what could be considered as the Vulcan equivalent of pacing, walking back and forth in his usual calm, professional manner. Kirk began wondering when he had started noticing Spock's slips in demeanor, when the Vulcan came to an abrupt stop and turned to him.

"It is illogical, Captain."

If Kirk has ever seen his First Officer positively distressed, it was in that moment. Unable to hold back a slight chuckle, Kirk tried to compose himself.

"Care to elaborate on what 'it' is?" he asked.

Then something strange happened. It was evident that Spock was attempting to school his face into the usual serene mask, but something seemed to have gone wrong. Looking slightly constipated, Spock's eye twitched as he tried harder and harder to gain some semblance of composure. The phrase "short-circuiting" came to Kirk's mind, but before he could reach out and try to calm down his FO, Spock let out an exasperated sigh and sat down next to him, taking a PADD out from freakin' nowhere.

"'Smile. You'll feel better. Smile wider. You'll feel much better. Pull back skin and expose your grinning skull. See how much better you feel?'"

For the second time in a single day, Kirk was absolutely speechless. Even though this time he knew Spock was reading from his PADD, nothing could have prepared him for hearing these words come out of Spock's mouth.

"Spock, what the f- where the hell- what?"

"Captain it is not logical. I do not understand- I do not, I do not know," he slumped slightly, looking as dejected as a Vulcan could. He looked up at Kirk. "What is a Night Vale?"

"What is a what? Give me that," he said, snatching the PADD out of Spock's hands. "Whoa wait a second, Night Vale? Spock, remember the WtNV movement in the early 2020's? These guys are responsible for a huge surge in racial and sexual acceptance in the early 21st century. You know what you just found? Spock, you just found the beginnings of one of the biggest social awareness movement in history. This is amazing, man, I can't believe you found this." He kept scrolling through various so-called "tweets", until he felt Spock's eyes burning holes into the side of his head.

"What, Spock? What's wrong?"

Taking in a controlled breath, Spock looked up at his commanding officer.

"Do you... Captain, not realize the... the complete irrationality of 96.2% of these statements, not including the ones for promotional purposes?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"I am very much aware of the fact that up until approximately 2067 the human race was not nearly as reasonable or understanding as they are now, but this exceeds every one of my previous notions. I cannot comprehend the extent of human lack of logic and purpose in these statements. What I am asking, Captain, is what compelled the humans of one hundred and fifty years ago to create such… thoughts and choose to express them in a public sphere?"

"Spock, it's just for fun. It's really no big deal." He looked at him. "Why do you have your panties in such a twist over a couple harmless chirps or tweets or whatever? You already knew that us humans are 'simply illogical', right? So why do you let this affect you so much?"

Blinking incomprehensibly, Spock was silent for a long moment. Then, quite abruptly, he stood up with his fingertips glued together as they usually are when Spock is in a pensive mood.

"Perhaps it is difficult for me to accept my relation to a species capable of such… unusual behaviour that does not include violence. In the very least, there is tangible evidence of the causes of violent behaviours such as the outbreak of wars that can be related to biological, sociocultural, and cognitive functions in human beings. Behind these actions, however… I find no such cause."

"And that upsets you."

"It is… disconcerting."

"So it upsets you."

"...Yes," he conceded.

"I understand," said Kirk airily, "But I won't let you be ashamed of who you are, even if it's technically only half of you." He picked Spock's PADD and started scrolling.