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Full Prompt:

I don't think I've ever seen a fic quite like this, but I would love to read an AU in which Kirk, against all odds, attends the VSA.

Maybe he does it instead of Starfleet, or maybe he decides to take the entrance examinations at the request of Starfleet Academy. (Like maybe it looks bad that no other species has ever been accepted to the school, so 'fleet wants their most promising cadet to give it a shot.)

Genius!Kirk is something I just love to death. It would be great to see all of the Vulcans just completely exasperated because here is this totally illogical being who is nevertheless brilliant. Any pairing is fine, though K/S seems the most obvious.

However you do it, I will love you forever. I need this fic. Long, short, or anywhere in between.

I have a thing for unusual pairings...and I wanted to show more than just exasperation at Mr. Kirk's demeanor. And so I present to you ...

Logical Propositions

"Mr. Kirk," said T'Pring, "I was wondering if you might be available to discuss your interpretation of the Gödel metric. I find it fascinating and -"

"Not as fascinating as I find you, Babe," the human said. His crescent-shaped eyebrows did a most fascinating dance upon his forehead. A grin spread across his attractive, yet alien, symmetrical features.

T'Pring tilted her head. James T. Kirk, the exchange student from Starfleet, was a genius by any quantitative measurement. Therefore, she should not get flummoxed if she didn't understand his every utterance. This was her chance to expand her knowledge of other species! "It is true," she said, "that Vulcans do not have any standard age of complete maturity. However, by any definition, I am not a baby. At least, no Vulcan definition. Would humans consider me a baby? Perhaps because I am unmarried and unbonded?"

Her stomach constricted at the admission, but it was illogical not to be forthright about her status, even if it pained her to think of Spock's rejection of her. From across the familial bond she felt her mother, father and sister sense her distress. They sent her waves of comfort. She straightened.

Laughing, the human said, "No, I would not consider you a baby at all."

"Then why refer to me as one?" asked T'Pring.

"It is a figure of speech we refer to when describing a hot chick."

"I am not a juvenile member of any bird species," said T'Pring, forcing her forehead to remain smooth as incomprehension threatened to knit her eyebrows together. "And although my basal metabolic rate is higher than yours -"

"So you wanted to discuss my interpretation of Gödel metrics?" He said, smile completely gone.

x x x x

"That was a fascinating discussion, Mr. Kirk," T'Pring said. It was getting late. She reached across the family bond to reassure her parents that she was alright. They had been a little concerned when she'd said she would be spending time with a human male. Humans were notoriously promiscuous.

"Want to come back to my place for a coffee?" he said, eyebrows dancing again above his exotic blue eyes, his smile returning.

T'Pring blinked. She had been worried he might try to proposition her, a strangely exciting, but ultimately unsettling, illogical prospect. Why engage in sexual relations that did not lead to children or the nurturing of a life long bond? But instead she got this generous offer! Coffee was very expensive on Vulcan. "Thank you, Mr. Kirk. However, tonight I promised to help my younger sister in her meditation practice. It is a little known fact that Vulcans are affected by caffeine and I would not be able to fulfill my duty to her if I were to partake of your offer."

She looked at him hopefully. Perhaps he would invite her back for some kasaa juice or some other non-caffeinated beverage instead?

"Errr..." he said, smile dropping, "maybe some other time."

T'Pring did her best to hide her disappointment.

x x x x

"You did not write it," Desalvic said, glaring down at Mr. Kirk as he sat across from T'Pring in the Satisfactory Tea cafe.

T'Pring stifled her internal urge to spit at Desalvic. She looked over at Mr. Kirk to see how the human reacted. If he felt any anger, he was hiding it well. In fact, he was smiling. Fascinating.

"Based on what evidence?" he asked.

"No human could have come up with that theorem," said Desalvic.

Tilting his head, Mr. Kirk said, "I'm going to ignore the fact that you're basing your conclusion on an ad hominem - even though it does make your argument completely illogical..." Mr. Kirk smiled very wide to let the insult sink in. He understood Vulcans rather well, T'Pring thought with satisfaction.

"...because I'm just so curious as to who wrote it if I didn't," he said tilting his head in the opposite direction.

Desalvic straightened. "Perhaps she did," he said, motioning his head towards T'Pring.

T'Pring was, even for a Vulcan, a master of self-control. However, that was too much for her to ignore. "That is as illogical as your ad hominem," she said. "It is well known my thinking is not original enough to have devised such a clever solution to the problem of relativity preventing closed time-like curves." Which is why she stuck to the very practical field of Vulcan and xeno medicine, only delving into theoretical physics as a hobby.

Mr. Kirk's smile vanished completely for some reason.

Desalvic said something in Vulcan that made T'Pring's ears go green. T'Pring responded curtly in the same language.

Narrowing his eyes at her, Desalvic nodded his head at Mr. Kirk and then walked away.

"What were you talking about?" said Mr. Kirk with a frown.

It was very odd, but intelligent as Mr. Kirk was, he had difficulty learning languages, something almost any Vulcan did with ease.

T'Pring restrained a sigh. "He commented on your lack of sexual mores. I assured him that your behavior towards me has been nothing but gentlemanly." Mr. Kirk did not seem to partake in anything as illogical as unbonded promiscuity.

Mr. Kirk's frown vanished. It was replaced by wide eyes and a curious 'o' shape of his mouth.

Well, if he could get over his anger, certainly she could, too. "Now," she said pertly, "you had suggested we return to your place to look at your etchings."

She was very impressed to learn that Mr. Kirk counted artistic ability as one of his many talents.

"Errr..." said Mr. Kirk licking his lips and not meeting her eyes. "Maybe some other time."

T'Pring hoped that her face did not betray her disappointment.

x x x x

"It was illogical to attack them," said T'Pring, cradling the head of Mr. Kirk in her lap. "You have never responded violently to goading before." She shook her head. "I do not understand -"

"They called you a whore for hanging around me! I know enough Vulcan to understand that," Mr. Kirk said sitting up and not meeting her eyes.

Oh.

She was touched. But also worried. "Vulcan males are three times as strong as you are, Mr. Kirk. Attacking one is foolhardy, attacking three..."

"Do you have to keep calling me Mr. Kirk? We've known each other a few months now. Can you please call me by my first name?" He said turning to look at her.

A purple welt was spreading across one cheek. His hair was askew, and the alien curves of his ears protruded, crusted with red. More blood, red and alien was leaking from the side of his mouth.

T'Pring swallowed. She had witnessed just how illogical her species could be during her association with Mr. Kirk. He seemed to bring it out in them. Maybe it was the way he managed to intellectually outmaneuver them, even as he never succeeded, or even tried to hide his emotions. T'Pring found the disconnect between his mind and outward control fascinating, but most of her fellow Vulcans did not.

Wincing, Mr. Kirk brought a hand up to his bleeding lip. His movements were stiff, painful even to watch...

...because he'd defended her honor.

"Very well, James," she said.

"Jim," he said.

She blinked. "But your name is James. Why would I call you Jim?"

He sighed, and then smiled. "Okay, James."

His jaw got hard. "No one, no one, should call you a whore."

"Vengeance is illogical," T'Pring said. Even if she personally wanted to gouge out her foes' eyes with a serrated spoon for what they'd done to him.

"I know," said Mr. Kirk – James' eyes on her.

"But there is a 3D chess competition to be held at the Academy in three weeks' time," T'Pring said, suddenly hit with inspiration. "I know the three gentleman whose acquaintance you just made are entered, as I myself am."

"I was the Northern Hemisphere's 3D chess champion in 8th grade," said Jim. "Can I still enter the tournament?"

"Yes," said T'Pring, having no doubt at all that even if James or she did not win the tournament, they could at least best their detractors.

"I've got a set at my place," James said, getting up stiffly. "Want to come over and practice?"

T'Pring tilted her head. She wondered if meditation might be a better idea. Upon reflection, wanting to gouge out someone's eyes for hurting James might not be completely logical. She was conflicted on the matter.

"I really mean it..." James said quickly. "We'll just practice chess."

Blinking, T'Pring said, "What else would we do?"

"Errr..." said James.

Obviously her hesitation had made him uncomfortable. "I accept your offer," she said. "Let us play chess."

Three weeks later T'Pring achieved her highest standing ever in the Vulcan Science Academy's chess tournament. Practicing chess with an unpredictable human had helped her skills immensely. As she expected, James did not win the tournament, but he trounced the Vulcans who had injured him and insulted T'Pring. It restored T'Pring's faith in Surak's principles of non-violence. After all, if she had merely gouged out their eyes a few weeks ago, their humiliation would not have been so thoroughly logical or wonderfully public.

x x x x

"Well," said James, "I guess this is goodbye."

They were standing facing each other outside the Satisfactory Tea cafe. "Yes," said T'Pring. His year as an exchange student was over. He would leave for Earth and Starfleet tomorrow. And then...off to the stars. Even imagining that life made T'Pring fonder of the safe red earth beneath her feet. To imagine James out there, with all the death, disease and uncertainty...

She could not bring herself to turn away from him. "Or perhaps," she swallowed, hoping she was not being too forward, "you could treat me to that coffee at your place. The cup you offered me when we first met. If caffeine prevents me from meditating tonight, so be it."

James ran his hands through his golden hair. He did that when he was nervous. Had she been too bold?

"I packed up all my coffee and my coffee maker already," he said.

Oh. How disappointing. She wasn't thinking of missing out on the exotic drink. It was the thought of never talking to him again. Never seeing him smile, never puzzling over the wide variety of expressions that played across his features. T'Pring had catalogued no fewer than 939 variations in facial muscle contortions, 930 of which were completely mysterious.

"Would you like to just...walk?" he said.

"Just walk?" said T'Pring. It was better than nothing, but still...

He laughed, "And talk too."

"That would be acceptable," said T'Pring.

x x x x

T'Pring's feet, despite the lightness of the gravity on Earth, felt like they were being dragged into the cold cement floor of the Starfleet hangar. Her mind was empty. The telepathic bonds with her father, mother and little sister severed forever. Only the tide of her fellow refugees kept her moving.

She knew no one around her. Her sister had been killed in the initial tremors. Her parents had telepathically coerced her to take the last seat on the transport...she hadn't been strong enough to force one of them to go in her stead.

Vulcans could not cry; it was a waste of precious eye secretions. T'Pring wondered if she could cry if the water would carry away some of her sorrows. She swallowed...even if it did, she was surrounded by strangers...her world was destroyed, her physical world, but also her internal world. She would never be the same again.

"T'Pring! T'Pring!"

T'Pring's breath caught in her throat. She turned her head and stopped. The wave of Vulcans parted and a familiar figure came crashing through, clothed in brilliant crimson, his golden hair gleaming beneath the hangar's floodlights.

"T'Pring! T'Pring! I thought you were..." He was a blur and suddenly T'Pring found herself on the receiving end of a human embrace. She stood rigid, unsure of what to do.

He pressed his forehead to hers and T'Pring felt wetness fall upon her cheeks. He smelled clean, like soap and coffee. James' hands left her back and went to her face and it was all she could do to hold up her shields.

"James..." she stammered. "My control is weak...I am...I cannot hold off telepathic contact..."

He pulled back, hands still on her face. His eyes were wet. He was sad. She didn't understand.

"I don't care, I don't care," he said.

She did not want to puzzle over his mysterious tears. Not now. At his words, T'Pring's shields fell like a curtain, and she was suddenly seeing...grief, affection, joy. Overwhelming joy. He was crying because he was happy to see her.

"Fascinating," she said. Because it was. And for a moment it took her away from everything.

James laughed. And then she saw other things in his mind: how difficult some of those smiles had come when he faced his antagonists on Vulcan, how much he had appreciated her friendship, how beautiful he thought she was …what all those invitations back to his place really meant, how much he desired her. How promiscuous he was...

Face reddening, he pulled his hands away and she ached at the loss of his touch, the loss of his presence. Putting his hands through his hair he said, "Sorry."

"It is alright, James," she said. And it was. She was just grateful to see him. To have not been alone in her mind, even if it was just for a moment.

He looked around her. "Where are they taking you?"

T'Pring looked at the lines of her people, walking around her, faces blank, not meeting her eyes or the eyes of each other. "We were told that cots have been put in the Starfleet amphitheater for us."

"Your family?" said James. "Will they be with you?"

T'Pring swallowed and looked down. "I am alone." She had nothing. Only the clothes on her back. She hadn't changed or taken a sonic shower in the two weeks since her vessel had been found and tugged to Earth.

"No," said James.

Lifting her head she found his eyes on her, his jaw tight.

"No," he said again, shaking his head. "You can't stay there." Taking her wrist, he dragged her through the crowd. "I have officers' quarters now. Don't ask; it's a strange story. You'll stay with me."

Turning to her he said softly, "Don't worry, I'll sleep on the couch."

T'Pring tilted her head.

Later that night, she emerged from the sanitary cubicle in his robe. James was bare-chested, wearing only a pair of loose trousers. The muscles beneath his golden hued skin rippled as he spread a sheet over the couch. The couch wasn't big enough to accommodate his frame. He would either have to sleep body bowed in fetal position, or with his bare feet hanging over the edge. For some reason that image of his bare feet, cold, in open air was too much.

She looked past him to the bedroom. "It is illogical," she said, "for you to sleep on the couch when the bed will easily accommodate two."

Halting his efforts to tuck the sheet into the couch cushions, he stood and put his hands through his hair. "T'Pring, I...if..." He closed his eyes. "If I share a bed with you, I won't be sleeping."

T'Pring tilted her head. She thought she understood his meaning, but wished he would for once talk directly. "James, please be direct" she said.

James quietly came forward and put his hands to her temples. She let her shields drop and an image of her and him, bodies joined, flashed across her vision. It made her body go warm and for a moment the universe disappeared. But then the image was followed by a silent apology from him...for the image...for his desires that were so inappropriate at a time like this...

But they didn't seem inappropriate to T'Pring. Especially at a time like this. Claiming all the comfort she could while she could seemed entirely...logical.

"Come," she said, taking his hand.

To be continued...

A/N:

Special thanks to Beta Notes From the Classroom. Check out her awesome "People Will Say" For Spock and Nyota goodness.

Reviews are love! If you enjoyed this story please let me know.