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Kirk was thinking of writing a proposal to the Federation to change their travel restrictions to Alioth X. After all, his ship had been absolutely fine. Really, all they had done was follow basic interplanetary public health procedures as described in Federation Health Regulations section 4 in the chapter on visiting planets experiencing pandemic disease. There was no reason that other Federation Starships shouldn’t be allowed to visit as well.
Alioth X had been subject to a strict Federation embargo after nearly the entire crew of the first ship to make contact with the Aliothans had fallen ill. Despite this embargo, the Enterprise had been permitted to respond to a high-alert distress signal from the planet after Jim had practically begged every top official at Starfleet. Delivering a shipment of quadrotriticale had helped avert a devastating famine, and Kirk had been awarded the Order of Hyoth by the Aliothans in recognition of his actions. Spock, Bones, and him had only spent two days on the planet’s surface overseeing the delivery of the grain and attending the subsequent award ceremony.
When they returned to the ship, they had gone through the standard decontamination procedures as described in the regulations. Their clothes had been incinerated and they had bene provided with freshly replicated replacements. They had been sprayed with fleet-standard germicidal mist. They had been administered a generalized postphalaxis drug cocktail. And, they had been subject to a fourteen-day quarantine in sickbay. Now, all three of them had been cleared for work and were back on duty. The Enterprise pulled out of orbit having once again saved the day.
Kirk was on the bridge as usually when he noticed that Spock appeared to be more hunched over his console than usual. He thought nothing of it, but after several hours with no improvement he grew worried. He tried to put it out of his mind, but then he noticed
Spock shiver, the muscles in his back twitching ever so slightly, his hands shaking as he grabbed a PADD stylus. When the shift ended, he made sure to check on him.
“Are you feeling okay?” Kirk said quietly, leaning down to whisper his question in Spock’s ear.
“Absolutely captain,” he responded at once.
“If you aren’t feeling well, you take some time off,” Kirk offered gently.
“I will do no such thing,” Spock rebuffed. “Because I am not unwell.”
Kirk looked at Spock for a moment. His skin seemed off-color and his voice was thicker and darker than normal. But his dark brown eyes shone back at him intensely and his lips were pressed into an unfriendly line that indicated he was not pleased to have his health questioned.
“Alright Spock. You know how I worry,’ Kirk joked with a smile.
“I receive enough unsolicited health advice from Doctor McCoy. I encourage you to leave such illogical hysterics to him,” Spock stood up and looked back Jim, realizing he had been harsh. “But I do appreciate you concern Jim,” he added before he left the bridge.
***
Later that day, Kirk got a call from Bones to come down and see him in sickbay.
“Jim your Vulcan is not well,” he announced with a grumble.
“Since when is he ‘my Vulcan’? Kirk asked. Bones just laughed.
“I thought he was showing signs of fever yesterday but it’s getting worse. He came down here a few minutes ago with some reports from the life science labs and his nose was rubbed raw, as though it were running and he hadn’t been able to stop it. He looked like a gangrenous Rudolph.”
Kirk couldn’t help but find the idea of Spock with a shining green nose adorable. “Yes, I noticed it myself. He seemed uncomfortable on the bridge— cold and achy.”
“It’s that damn planet!” Bones growled. “The diseases present down there are the most infectious I’ve ever seen! Basically, any outworlder who goes down there is guaranteed to get one. Thank God they have extremely low virulence or the Aliothans would have been wiped out long ago.”
“But we’re both fine,” Kirk pointed out.
“Yeah but we have iron-based blood. Spock’s body is closer in anatomy to the Aliothans except he doesn’t have their super-powered immune system.”
“So he is more susceptible to their diseases?” Kirk clarified.
“Yup,” Bones confirmed. “That’s why some still got through to him despite our decontamination protocols. If we hadn’t be decontaminated we would have caught something, too.”
“What’s your prognosis?” Kirk asked.
“Like I said, the diseases on Alioth X have evolved to opposite extremes of infectivity and virulence. Basically, they spread like wildfire, but they aren’t at all serious.”
“So Spock will be okay?” Kirk asked hopefully.
“He’s gonna have a cold for a few days. He’s also past the window of contagiousness, so none of us are gonna catch it from him. I prescribe rest and relaxation.” Kirk smiled and turned to leave.
“Jim,” the doctor called after him. Kirk turned to see what he wanted. “I’d bring him some plomeek soup.”
Kirk beamed at McCoy before he left to go check on Spock.
***
Kirk stood in front of Spock’s door holding a bowl of steaming purple soup. He rang and announced himself. There was no reply, but a moment later, the door whizzed open and Kirk was granted entrance to Spock’s quarters. He was affronted by an overwhelming heat. Spock kept his quarters warmer than the rest of the ship, but it was obvious that he had cranked the heat way up above normal. Kirk immediately felt sweat begin to bead on his forehead and under his arms. Spock was not immediately visible, until kirk saw what appeared to be a gigantic pile of blankets in front of a computer screen.
“Spock?” Kirk asked. He walked over to the blanket pile and found Spock’s face poking out, the only part of him that was exposed except for a single hand shooting out to use the trackpad. He looked up at Jim, his nose raw and green and shining like McCoy had described. The rest of his face was flushed a sickly mint color. Kirk had to concede it was indeed adorable, even if it did confirm that Spock wasn’t feeling well.
“You didn’t have to bring me soup,” Spock said.
“I wanted to,” Kirk replied, putting it down in front of him. Spock looked at it for a moment before sneaking another hand out from under the blanket and beginning to eat.
“Thank you, Jim,” Spock said, genuineness seeping through in his tone.
“Well, now that I know you’re sick, will you truthfully tell me how you’re feeling?”
Spock was quiet for a moment before he relaxed his shoulders, as evidenced by the blanket pile slumping down around his form. “I am very cold,” he began. Kirk smiled at the obvious admission. “My muscles are sore. My nose is running. I am uncomfortable. However, my symptoms are not severe. I have endured much worse. I can work.”
“But you don’t have to,” Kirk said. “You can take some time off.”
“No,” Spock responded simply. “My symptoms are not debilitating. Discomfort is in the mind. I can control it.”
“You’ve proven that to me before. You don’t have to muster any heroics,” Kirk said.
“It would be a dereliction of my duty,” Spock argued.
“It would be illogical for you to work at suboptimal levels when we have healthy crew people ready to take your place.”
Spock was silent for a moment. “I assume you are going to order me to take some time off,” he said.
“I’ve already had Bones process the request. Three days off to recover.”
“That is excessive,” Spock said.
“You deserve it,” Kirk replied.
“Well, if there is no challenging you, I will begin my rest immediately. Would you help me to bed?” Spock asked. Kirk held out an arm to help Spock up as he extricated himself from the blanket pile. He was wearing a thick, plush robe that totally covered most of his body.
“Spock you can’t sleep in that you’ll overheat,” Kirk said. He was surprised Spock hadn’t given himself heat stroke sitting under so many layers in the oppressive temperature he had heated his room to.
“I’m cold,” Spock said simply.
Kirk thought for a moment, biting his lip as an audacious suggestion flew into his brain. “May I volunteer as your hot water bottle? I’m told I’m rather warm, but I won’t incinerate you in the night like this thing would,” he said, running his hand over the comically plush fabric of Spock’s robe.
Spock looked at Jim for a moment, considering the offer. He nodded. “Very well,” he said. He peeled off the robe to reveal a black t-shirt and regulation pajamas. “Just let me brush my teeth,” He disappeared into his bathroom. When he returned, Jim was shirtless on the bed.
“Unlike you, I am melting in this heat. You don’t mind, do you?” Jim swore he saw Spock’s cheeks go an even darker green, but Spock just shook his head.
“Of course not,” he replied.
He slipped under the covers with Jim and immediately latched onto him. Kirk could feel how desperate Spock was to get as much body contact as possible. He reciprocated, throwing his arm over Spock’s back and pulling him into his chest, nuzzling his chin into Spock’s hair. Their legs intertwined as though they had slept together a thousand times before, the feeling of Spock’s leg burning against Jim’s inner thigh. Jim’s heart fluttered as he felt Spock rub his face against his chest, trying to burrow as deeply into his body heat as possible.
With this much skin contact, there was a fairly open emotional connection between them. Jim rarely got much back from Spock, his nervous system being entirely unaccustomed to reading emotions through touch, and Spock rarely gave out much to read in the first place. However, in this moment, Kirk could swear he could feel a different type of warmth—pure and sincere—radiating not from Spock’s body, but from his mind. He hoped he wasn’t just imagining it. Jim relished Spock’s vulnerability, and knew how lucky he was to see him disheveled and unguarded. He couldn’t believe they were finally together in bed, cuddling.
I hope this happens again, he thought to himself.
“I would be amenable to this becoming a regular occurrence,” Spock mumbled into Jim’s chest. Kirk had no way of knowing if Spock had read his mind or if he had simply been thinking the same thing. That didn’t matter as much as what Spock had just said. Kirk’s hand brushed lovingly through Spock’s hair as he instructed the room’s lights to turn off.
“Goodnight Mr. Spock,” he purred. “Get well soon.”