Work Text:
This was just an idea I decided to run with so who knows where it will run too. This was prompted by the idea of Jim having some form of artistic or creative talent which leads him to find love. Any way I don’t own anything here. Just a short bit off fluff because I wanted to make fluff to distress from my studies. Normal warnings man on man love and fluff monsters. I have dyslexia this goes through a checker so please be nice.
Colour pallet
It began simply enough with Spock noticing that there were paints and paint brushes on a shelf in his captains quarters. The Vulcan found himself intrigued by the presence of this equipment and asked. “Do you paint captain?”
“Hm?” Jim asked looking up from the report that Spock had handed him an expression of confusion on his face.
“I said do you paint sir, I observed that you had the correct equipment to do so.”
Spock found himself even more fascinated as the blond mans cheeks coloured slightly. “Yes, I paint not very well though. When I told Bones I use to paint a lot as a child he encouraged me to take it back up as a way to express myself and as an additional way to help me to relax when I am not on duty.”
“Dr McCoy is most logical to advise you to find more ways to relax when off duty captain, it will help with the performance of your duties if you are less stressed. Might I enquire as to what it is you paint?”
“Oh all sorts of things. People, places, memories, and something’s I don’t really understand.” Jim shrugged as he said this to his first officer.
“Would you show me your work captain?”
The blonde man flushed again. “It’s really not very good and as I said before in some cases quiet strange.”
“Yet I would still wish to see it.”
Jim placed the report to one side and stood up from behind the desk. “Very well I’ll show you my latest work.” The blonde man walked across the room, he opened a cupboard were Jim carefully drew out the canvas which was facing away from Spock. Then with a nervous sigh the captain slowly turned it round so that the other man could see his work. Spock’s brows rose at an alarming rate, the image before him was a golden swirling symbol against a background in variegated shades of green; the Vulcan could read that symbol as easy as breathing. Jim’s eyes met his, and an expression of concern came onto the human man’s face and he spoke. “See I told you it was strange.”
“You do not know what this is?” Spock asked him unable to conceal a small trace of surprise which leaked into the question.
The blonde man quickly shook his head. “No, I don’t know where the idea to paint this came from it just did... They seem to express things I am thinking or feeling when I do not know how else to express them. It’s not the only one I’ve painted...”
“How many of these have you painted Jim?”
The young captain man thought for a moment. “I’d say close on to five. There not always like this, sometimes...Probably be easier if I show you rather than trying to explain.”
Carefully placing the green one to one side, Jim returned to the cupboard and drew out another picture. He turned this round; it had a fiery red and orange back ground and a beautiful stylized golden butterfly in the centre of it. As Spock looked at the picture he instantly spotted a line of the symbols, which made up the body of the butterfly.
Suddenly Jim’s voice broke into his revelry. “If you like it you can have it Spock. Before you say Vulcan’s cannot like things, I can see it fascinates you. Which is probably as close as I am going to get to your liking something? So please take it, a gift between friends.” The blonde man held the canvas out to Spock a tentative smile on his lips.
The Vulcan met his bright blue gaze, he gave the captain a single nod and accepted the painting from the other man. “It is most aesthetically pleasing Jim. I thank you for this gift of your work.” Spock said the other males name without being able to stop himself, it seemed somehow wrong to the Vulcan to call him captain when receiving such a gift from him.
The captain watched as his first officer hurried from his room, he shook his head slightly confused about this curious behaviour on the part of the Vulcan. Jim shrugged to himself this was Spock after all he was probably not use to receiving gifts and it was probably this which had caused his usually well controlled first officer to leave in such a rush. Carefully the blonde man placed the other work back in the cupboard with the others and went back to his work.
Spock mean while had sat on the edge of his bed, his eyes once more went to the butterfly and the symbols which made up its body. They were Vulcan but he knew that Jim was useless at other languages, this left him unable to find a logical way to explain the writing and with the questions of how and why Jim painted these. He found the fact that the captain had no idea what he was doing was strange. Yet this art work was an aesthetically pleasing mixture of Terran and Vulcan, to Spock’s mind this mixture was very much Jim. The words though struck him anew every time he looked at the painting, freedom, rebirth, hope and soul. To Spock this was very much like a young Vulcan child’s first sentences, yet with this image of a butterfly those words were completely relevant.
After this the friendship between the two men grew slowly but surely and whenever they were in private together Spock used Jim’s name. The Vulcan was aware because of the smile he always received from the other man in return for using his name that his use of the other man’s name was something that the captain liked him doing a great deal.
One evening after his shift was over Spock entered the quarters of his captain for their regular chess match and instantly the Vulcan noticed that the blonde man was settled at his easel. Jim was working hard on a picture which Spock could not currently see and had not at first noticed the entrance of the other man.
When Spock moved slightly further into the cabin, this caught the attention of the young captain, Jim looked up from his work, and he smiled at his first officer. “Ah Spock time for chess, give me a moment and we will play.”
“I can always return later Jim.”
“No, no I was about to stop.”
“Might I see what you are painting?”
Jim gave him a single nod, Spock came round the edge of the easel and looked at the work before him. It was a field of multi coloured flowers, slowly he turned to look at Jim as he cleaned his brushes and spoke to the other man. “This is from the world we visited three days ago.”
“Yes, I thought it was so lovely. I wanted to capture it while I could recall it clearly. I thought it might make a nice gift for Uhura for her birthday at the end of the month.”
“I am sure she will find it pleasing. Why did you not chose to give her one of your unusual ones as you call them?”
The blonde man shrugged as he began to put his brushes away Jim answered that question. “It didn’t feel right. I’ve also been waiting for you to explain it to me. I know they mean something now yet I still do not know what.”
Jim turned towards his first officer, his blue eyed gaze met the dark one of the other man and Spock spoke to the captain. “It is Vulcan Jim. Those strange symbols as you call them are my people’s written language.”
“So in those paintings I’m writing in your language...Why? How?”
“I do not know. Have you always known those words?”
The blonde man slowly sat down on his bed and though for a few moments. “No not always, it came after your older self melded with me. Before you say he should not have done that, it is fine I have grown use to knowing some things I should not. For the most part he was very careful in what he did, these words being left behind seems to have been a mistake however I do not mind them being there. Though it is a little strange to me, I feel at the same time like I was always supposed to paint them as I do. They are part of me now and I have no wish for them to go away even if I do not fully understand them.”
“Fascinating, your mind has already adjusted to the words being there even though you consciously do not understand them you do not wish to lose them.”
“As you say, I am not sure what I am trying to commune with them but I feel like I am trying to say something very important, yet I know not what it is exactly.”
Spock carefully settled on the edge of the bed beside his captain but not as close that they would be touching and then addressed the other man. “Would you like to know what the one you gave me said Jim?”
“Yes.”
“They were freedom, rebirth, hope and soul.”
Jim looked pensive for a few moments and then gave his first officer a nod. “Yes that rather fits the butterfly image.”
“Indeed.”
“What about the green one I showed you?”
“Ah healing and peace.”
“So they are all positive messages.”
Spock gave Jim a single nod of his own. “It would appear so.”
The blonde man gave him a large smile in response to this. “I am glad it is positive.”
“Jim would you inform me should you paint more.”
“Of cause, I would be interested to know what they mean. Would you like to see the others?”
The Vulcan gave her a single nod, Jim rose, he went to the cupboard and drew out the green painting and the other three. One was a deep purple in the centre of which was a silver crescent moon the writing was picked out in the same shade of purple as the background on the moon. “This place is peace, rest and home.”
Jim placed it with the green one; the next picture was silver with black symbols spaced out across the canvas. “Wait this is the first which actually contains a proper sentence. I am empty without completion in my soul and mind.”
“It is good to know that I seem to be progressing into sentences.” Jim said with a smile for the other man. The captain drew out his last canvas, it was not painted making the symbols which are in different shades of oranges, yellows and reds stand out very clearly. “Another sentence, wait how did you even...?”
Noticing that there was a rare slight tone of surprise to the Vulcan’s voice Jim looks at him closely and then said with concern to his first officer. “Spock what is it?”
“Those words they are, parted from me and never parted. Never and always touching and touched. They are the words of those of my kind who are bonded together as one in mind.”
“Bonded...? What is that?”
Spock thought for a long moment before he answered this question with the only comparison which came to his mind at this moment in time. “The human equivalent to the bond or at least a close approximation would be married.”
Jim stared at him for a long moment before setting this last peace against the wall and sitting back down next to Spock. “So I basically wrote your peoples version of wedding vows.”
“Yes...”
“I’m sorry if this somehow upsets you.”
Spock shook his head. “You have not offended me. It would be illogical to become angry with you when you had no knowledge of what it was you had placed in your work.”
“Come let us forget about those words for now and play our game of chess.” They did so but both men were slightly distracted by the words Jim had used in his art and what they might mean for both of them.
That night mediation did not come easily to Spock, and Jim lay in bed staring at the ceiling. Both of them were having trouble getting passed those words. Slowly the captain of the Enterprise let out a deep sigh when Spock had said those words it had made something inside him feel warm and complete. Deciding he was not going to sleep anytime soon Jim went for a walk to the observation deck. He stood looking out of the widow at the stars going passed them and murmured to himself softly. “Parted from me and never parted. Never and always touching and touched.”
As he finished the words Jim felt it again that warm happy feeling and a tingling sensation all over his skin. “Those words feel so right...Why?” When the answer to that question crystallised in the mind of the young captain, Jim found he was not as shocked as he perhaps should have been by the answer. “I love him...Spock...”
Still thinking Jim quietly left the observation deck, the realisation of his own feelings for the Vulcan made him feel lighter. However at the same time the captain was convinced he was going to have to hide his feelings for Spock as it was more than likely those feelings were going to be undesirable to him. As far as the captain could see this would mean avoiding touching the telepath as much as he was able to until he could berry those feelings deep down.
Spock knew something was wrong with Jim, the captain was suddenly being extremely cautious around him. The Vulcan assumed that he was still concerned that the words had upset him in some way. Spock made sure that he kept telling the other man that he was not in any way angry with him, the first officer also made sure to reiterate to his captain that it would be illogical for him to be angry as he had not known what those words had meant to his people. The Vulcan was pleased when slowly over the next few weeks the blonde man responded to these gestures and began to become less nervous around him once again.
After all of this just as he had planned to Jim was very careful after this not to touch Spock unless he had to or was sure he had his romantic emotions under control. Jim was grateful of the fact that if the Vulcan noticed this change in the blonde mans actions towards him he showed it not at all.
Just as he had always intended to do the captain gave the painting he had done for her to Uhura on her birthday. As soon as the lady got it from Jim she loved the picture completely. This praise and joy from receiving one of his paintings gave the young captain great encouragement to paint even more painting then he had before.
It was not until three months after this Jim began to paint once again, this time he was doing so because Spock’s birthday was soon and he wanted to give the one he secretly loved a gift for that day. He was sure that the Vulcan felt that celebrating the day of his birth was illogical but the captain decided to brave his displeasure cool as it was and give him a painting any way. Jim had spent days working on the peace determinedly staying away from those symbols he now knew were the other mans native language. The blonde man did not want to use them an unwittingly give away any of his feelings to one who he was sure would find them both illogical and distasteful. Jim sat back from the canvas, for once he was truly pleased with his work and hoped that in some way it might please Spock.
The Vulcan was glad that on the day of his birth his human ship mates had been low key about celebrating it, they were obviously keen to respect the fact that his kind did not celebrate birthdays but still wanting to do something for that day to mark it. For the most part Spock had just been in the receipt of simple good wishes from most of the crew. There had been a simple thoughtful gift from Uhura consisting of some incense and candles for meditation. At the end of his shift Spock returned to his cabin, Jim was waiting for him in the corridor and held out a present wrapped in science blue to the other man. “Here, happy birthday.”
Carefully the Vulcan took the wrapped package from his captain. “I hope you will enjoy it...well if not enjoy it then at least find it aesthetically pleasing.” Jim said softly before returning to his cabin before Spock could say anything to him about his gift.
The raven haired Vulcan returned to his own quarters, he sat on the bed and carefully opened the present. As the canvas came into his view Spock felt something stir deep inside, looking back at him with a gentle smile on her face was his mother. The Vulcan had to admit that Jim had captured his mother to perfection, her personally and katra were all there.
When the two men met again the next day Spock had tendered his thanks for his gift to his captain who received them with great happiness. The Vulcan had the picture placed on the wall and he soon found himself looking at the picture every day as he came into his cabin. It was two months later that Spock noticed it on the vase in the back ground Vulcan script which spelt him name. This made him look even closer there were books on the shelves to one side with more of the script on their spines, Spock found himself reaching for a padd and jotting them down. The Vulcan kept looking over the picture and he found a few more words in the book that his mother held in her hand.
Over the next few days Spock spent any time he had when not doing his duties or being with his captain trying to organise these words. The Vulcan decided early on that he would not mention these words until he was sure what the message was that Jim had left him clearly unconsciously in the picture. Eventually those words came into order for the Vulcan and they said. “Spock, you will not want these words so I will not say them to you. I love you, you are all my heart and soul. Parted from me and never parted. Never and always touching and touched. You are my T’hy’la.”
The Vulcan sat down on his bed, the words on the padd before him were ones that meant a great deal to any person of his race. For them to be coming from the one person he would not have logically thought would have such feelings for him had managed to actually surprise him. Spock quickly realise that he had secretly desired these words from Jim for the longest of times. The question was how did he approach Jim about these words? As he thought about the answer to this particular question Spock remembered the way the captain had behaved after the revelation of the words of the bond. With these words before him the Vulcan realised that Jim had not only been worried about his reaction to those words but also the feelings which the captain obviously felt for him. As far as Spock was concerned it was more than likely that Jim had worries that he would not want or return those emotions.
Spock’s eyes fell on the words on the padd again, with Jim calling him T’hy’la he knew logically exactly what it was he needed to do. Quickly the Vulcan left his room, the first officer rang the chime to the captain’s quarters, and when Jim gave him permission he entered. As the blonde man looked towards the door he smiled at Spock and set the work he had been doing down onto his desk and turned to face the other man. “How can I help you Mr Spock?”
“The portrait you gave me. There were words in it.” The Vulcan instantly noticed that Jim seemed to freeze as he said this.
Quickly Jim shook himself out of this reaction. “Oh that was not my intention.”
“Yes I am sure you did not mean to use them in that particular picture. Would you like to read your message Jim?” Spock asked as he held the padd out to him.
“I would like to...” Jim carefully accepted the padd making sure not to touch the Vulcan’s hands.
He read the words three times over, placed the padd down on his desk and then looked up at Spock slowly. “I...” But before he could carry on any further the Vulcan reached out putting his hand over that of his captain.
Startled Jim looked down at their hands then back up into the dark eyes of the other man. Slowly and deliberately the Vulcan raised their hands between them and moved them both into a Vulcan kiss. The captain let out a shocked but pleasured gasp at this contact and began to return the kiss slowly but surely. “T’hy’la...Will you not say the words to me...” Spock said in a voice which was extremely soft and for a Vulcan deeply emotional.
“Spock, my T’hy’la, parted from me and never parted. Never and always touching and touched. You are mine and I am yours if you will have me?”
“Yes Jim I will have you. You are my T’hy’la parted from me and never parted. Never and always touching and touched. You will come to new Vulcan with me as soon as possible were we shall be bonded formally.”
Jim raised both brows slightly at the barely hidden steal in the voice of what was now his Vulcan. The captain did not answer that demand as he did not think that it was necessary. Instead he leant up and kissed his first officer fully on the lips, slowly Spock responded to the kiss, before lifting the blond man into his arms and carrying him off to bed...
It was a mere one and a half months later the captain of the Enterprise and the first officer arrived on new Vulcan and were bonded. Surprisingly for this pair no terrible incidents occurred during the ceremony and their bond was stronger than had evidently been expected by many of the Vulcans around them for an interspecies pairing. The only remarkable event during the whole visit came from Spock’s father who was heard to say to his son. “I am content to witness you find the kind of love I once shared with your mother. May you both live long and prosper together.”
“And too all accounts they did.” A male Vulcan teacher says to his class. “When Jim died something amazing happened the elders found that they could save his Katra for a human this is rare indeed and to all my knowledge has not happened since then. It did not leave this world fully until Spock also passed from it and then they went on together. Spock donated many of Jim’s works of art, and his love letters as the humans call some of them to the people of New Vulcan.”
As the class walks off a teenage Vulcan male with jet black hair and serious brown eyes stands looking up at one painting. It has a vibrant emerald green back round on which is painted a golden tree hanging from the stylised branches are words reading. “Spock, when time and tide parts us, never doubt that somehow, some way my soul and your soul will meet again.”
As the teenager turns away from his perusal of the painting he finds a pair of blue eyes watching him very closely. Slowly the blond haired human younger male smiles widely and illogically the teenager is sure he has seen that smile before. As if somehow draw to do so the two males approached each other, as soon as they are opposite each other their fingers met in a Vulcan kiss. Instantly a spark of recognition passes instantly from one mind and one soul to the other.
“Jim....” The Vulcan said softly a small barely notable smile forming on his lips.
“Spock...” The blonde said with an even wider smile than before for the other male.