Title: Comfortable
Characters: Kirk, Spock
Rating: K
Word Count: 400
Summary: Pure fluff, random idea for the prompt of sleepy, random execution of said idea. The whole purring thing is totally fanon, to my knowledge; at least it's never mentioned in the TOS or TNG canon despite the fact that the fandom is swamped with the myth.

James Kirk will always remember the watershed that finally showed him more clearly than words that he'd been accepted at last by the uniquely brilliant individual whom he had inherited as First Officer. For months he had painstakingly stoked the flickering ember of friendship, kindled it with care and patience, and for a year he'd attempted to prove to himself and his superiors that he was deserving of the ship and magnificent crew he'd been given.

Spock was a hard nut to crack, though he enjoyed the challenge, and so he had never truly known what the stiffly-proper Vulcan thought of him personally or of his command; asking outright smacked of immaturity, and he wasn't that desperate. Spock's rigidity barely shifted in his presence under most circumstances, and he had begun to think that the Vulcan would never relax around even him.

Then came this stopover at Starbase Fourteen, where he and his First were delayed by Command with classified instructions while the Enterprise made a supply run to a nearby planetoid. They were to rendezvous with her by shuttlecraft, and the take-off had been uneventful, the two-hour flight peaceful and even calming.

Now, they are fifteen minutes from the rendezvous when he suddenly registers that their conversation has dwindled unusually low, even for them – and he turns in his seat to look at his co-pilot (though by now neither of them are piloting; the computer can handle a reunion with the ship on its own). Then his hand promptly flies to his mouth to keep from laughing at the sheer adorableness of it.

Spock is fast asleep.

Stiffly upright (perfectly postured even in a nap, he sees with amusement), Spock is breathing heavily, dark lashes spread evenly over his too-pale skin; and no wonder, because the last two months have been grueling for all of them but his exec especially. They hadn't even gotten shore leave at the Starbase, and he knows his First has pushed himself far too harshly of late to keep the Enterprise beyond-functional.

The Vulcan is obviously relaxed enough in his presence to permit himself a nap during the trip, and the gesture of trust warms his heart more than any trite words of companionship ever could.

He smiles, and turns his attention back to the console before him.

But just wait until he gets back and tells Bones that Vulcans don't snore, they purr…