drive_through_rx | Cheat Sheet (Star Trek, Kirk/Spock, PG)

Title: Cheat Sheet
Fandom: Star Trek XI
Pairing: Kirk/Spock
Rating: PG
Word count: 1090
Notes: STKM again. Prompter asked for Neko!Spock. I am solidifying my position as "that person who can't do angst." Fuck it, I am made of rainbows as far as that goes.

Compared to other things that have happened on the Enterprise, Spock's sudden possession of a long furry flexible tail and similar fur on his now-mobile ears is pretty low on the trauma list. McCoy checks him over, mutters something about green-blooded cats, and signs him off with a clean bill of health. "Figure out what happened and how to reverse it" becomes a priority of the science department.

And life on the Enterprise continues, as normal as it can ever claim to be. Kirk gives Spock two days of leeway, and then sets out on his campaign to freak his first officer out as much as possible.

Volley one: jingly toys. There are cats on the ship, albeit not many, and Kirk charms a toy from a nurse with a tabby kitten. Keeping it muffled in his pocket, he waits until he gets bored and then pulls it out an hour into the shift. He tosses it up, it jingles as advertised, and Spock's ears twitch, perking up noticeably. Of course, when the Vulcan turns, his face is impassive as ever, but the ears are where the truth is at.

"Sir, that object's noise is distracting and unpleasant. Please cease playing with it." Kirk gives him an innocent look.

"My apologies, Mr. Spock." He returns the toy to his pocket.

He keeps it with him from then on, and pulls it out whenever Spock's around and they aren't on the bridge. All the way across a dining room, he can see those furry ears twitch and swivel. This keeps Jim entertained for four days.

Volley two: the tail thing. For the first few days, Spock tries to keep the tail concealed in his uniform, but soon finds that it becomes unpleasantly sore when stuck down a pant leg or tucked up into his shirt all day. Grudgingly modifying a pair of uniform trousers, he comes onto the bridge with his tail free for the first time on the day Jim gives up the jingly toy stage of his campaign.

The timing couldn't be better. He doesn't even have to do anything for the first few hours, just sits back and observes his first officer at work. Amazingly enough, Spock's tail broadcasts his feelings quite clearly-- Vulcan control can't repress the contrary nature of felinity, it seems-- and watching his tail quirk up curiously as something at the science station beeps insistently is actually kind of hilarious.

Kind of, because Kirk used to have cats-- well, barn cats, half-wild things that would sometimes deign to be petted by lowly humans-- in fact, cats with a lot in common with Spock-- and every time someone walks by Spock, whether they brush against his tail or not, the fur puffs out in a freaked-out response and Spock's ears flatten. There's no reason for Spock to be angry, so it must be anxiety.

That first day is enlightening. The tail is like a cheat sheet on Spock, makes it easier to know what's going on under that flawless facade, and Kirk is not surprised that the tip of Spock's tail starts twitching every time they talk. He knows he annoys Spock, he enjoys annoying Spock, and he makes it a point of standing very close to the other man without ever touching him for a few days.

Once Spock stops tensing up when Kirk's around, of course, is when he attacks. They end up sharing a turbolift to the bridge, Kirk says something stupid about the shore leave schedule, and when Spock goes to correct him Jim grabs his half-raised tail with both hands and gently strokes the dark fur. He's amazed that anything about Spock can be so soft, before the tail lashes out of his hands and proceeds to whip from one side to the other, fury only barely reflected in Spock's eyes.

"Do not touch me again," Spock hisses-- really, very catlike, complete with the impression that he is going to fuck Kirk up if he tries anything that stupid. Kirk backs across the lift, both hands raised in a gesture of submission.

"Sorry! Sorry." He chews on his lower lip and can't help adding, "You do have a very nice tail," just as the lift doors open.

Spock doesn't need to say I hate you out loud. His tail's saying it pretty clearly to anyone who cares to look.

Volley three is put on hold until the opportune moment. Said moment comes eleven days after the tail incident, in the aftermath of an away mission involving a planet sponsored for Federation consideration but not yet a member. The planet is never going to be a member, thanks to the ambush that killed three crewmen and wounded two others. One of the injured is Spock.

McCoy tries to kick Kirk out of Sickbay three times before he gives up and just lets the captain stay by Spock's bed. Most of his wounds are superficial, but the Vulcan took a hard blow to the head that knocked him out very thoroughly. Kirk worries to himself for a while, but no one's paying much attention to the stable patient.

Resting an elbow on the bed, Jim smooths his hand lightly over Spock's hair, segueing smoothly into petting one of his ears. They're just as softly furred as the brief touch he'd gotten of Spock's tail, warm under his hand; he gets lost in thought as he pets his first officer affectionately and misses the slight twitch under his fingers that telegraphs Spock's slow return to awareness.

What he does catch is exactly what he hoped to hear: a deep rumbling, rhythmic and loud, from Spock's throat. When dark eyes finally blink open, the purring doesn't stop, not even when he registers who it is that's touching him-- in fact, the first thing Spock's tail does is curl around himself contentedly, and he nudges his head into Kirk's touch.

"Jim," he says eventually, once he gets control over the purring. "Fur is not an impediment to telepathy."

"Oh." Kirk draws his hands away, blue eyes widening when Spock arches an eyebrow at him. "Oh." He'd certainly not been thinking anything he wanted Spock to hear during the tail incident, and even having his deep affection revealed was uncomfortable-- there's a reason it's unspoken affection.

"You will never cease to surprise me." When Spock exhales, there's a hint of a rumble under his breath. Slowly, Jim reaches out and strokes two fingers along the edge of Spock's ear, and smiles at making his first officer purr.