Disclaimer: I do not own this movie/show or any of it's franchises and characters, nor do I profit from these stories. And just to be safe I did base the title around a lyric from Mumford & Son's Winter Winds.

A/N: Welcome to the shit show eyyyyyy, although I hope you'll like it ._. Just a heads up; this story takes place in the AOS universe but operates outside of the films. I started this in like 2012 and obviously, things have changed since then, so just think of this as it's own entity?
Idk, I'm doing a bit of editing on the whole story so hopefully by the end of it, it'll been significantly improved. Happy reading!

This Time Know: A Star Trek Fanfiction

Written by candid-tin-can (Formerly Lady F.S.)

Chapter One: Up-Ended

The air in Jim's office at the Star Fleet Academy seemed thinner as Spock read over the temporary leave request another time. He and Nyota had discussed the possibility of one of them taking an interval position off-board the Enterprise to get some space between them; him as a professor at the Academy or her aboard another vessel. He had to assume she had come to the decision some time between their last meeting and the arrival of this letter. Jim had left to give him some time alone and to sort himself out but there was nothing to sort. The fact that she had made this decision without a warning to him said more than any one else's explanation could. And he knew her well enough to know when she was trying to spare his feelings. After his first reading there were the beginnings of that torrential dance between his human and Vulcan halves. He had just completed the fifth and every flourish of emotion was now successfully sealed behind that familiar barrier. The Enterprise was about to begin a five year stint in space and his job was too important for his mind to be bogged down with personal matters. He knew Jim would encourage him to confront this sort of thing head on but that was a route Spock was rare to take these days.

He stood up and in a swift set of movements, deposited the letter onto the cool wood of the desk and exited the office. When he shut the door behind him there was a sense of finality that stirred his stomach in an odd way. He pushed that down as well and began to make his way to the transport shuttle. He had expected to meet the Captain alone but to his surprise that was not the case. As soon as Jim met eyes with him he didn't hesitate to wave him over, a welcoming smile on his face. Spock observed the way the woman next to his friend became visibly more nervous when she recognized who he was. This was to be expected; they were well known around the academy because of all their past exploits but Spock especially because he had been a prominent professor before serving full-time on the Enterprise.

Jim put a casual hand on her shoulder to try and calm her down but it seemed to be counteractive. "Spock, I'd like to introduce you to a new recruit; Lieutenant Amira Ciela."

Spock gave her a subtle nod. "Welcome aboard, Lieutenant."

She bowed her head in return, avoiding direct eye contact with him as her cheeks grew a shade pinker. "Thank you, Commander. I'm honored to be working with all of you."

Jim gave a soft laugh while Spock merely raised a brow. "Take a breath, Amira. We appreciate the decorum but there's no need to be so formal. We're all a big family here."

Amira let her shoulders relax a bit and the hint of a genuine smile broke across her face. "Thanks, Captain."

His expression warmed up in the change in mood. "I know you're excited to get aboard the Enterprise, there's no shame in showing it."

She nodded eagerly, a smile in full bloom. "Aye, Captain."

She excused herself to board the shuttle and as Spock expected Jim and himself to follow suit, the Starfleet captain pulled him a little ways away from the boarding lane. A curious action but Spock had to assume the purpose of it was to talk about something confidential. The way Jim hesitated to speak had Spock feeling weary. He hoped to the stars above that this wasn't going to be some attempt to comfort him.

"You know what Amira's been recruited for, right?"

Spock blinked owlishly. "I assume to replace the open spot left by Lieutenant Uhura."

Jim's eyes narrowed with blatant skepticism. "So, this won't be weird for you at all."

The Vulcan officer rolled his eyes. "No, Captain. Why would it be?"

"No reason at all, I guess. Let's board the shuttle then." Jim didn't seem convinced in the slightest but he'd have to believe him for now.

Spock understood his friend was just looking out for him and he could appreciate that much at the very least but in the grander scheme of things he'd already considered the eventuality of being faced with someone in that communications chair that wasn't Nyota. Once aboard the shuttle the pair discovered seats had filled up quick and by the time they had arrived there were all but a couple of seats left. Jim was conveniently flagged down by Dr. McCoy who had saved him a seat, most likely to avoid sitting next to any strangers. Spock scanned the aisles and noticed the only available seat left was one, as coincidence would have it, a window seat next to Lieutenant Ciela. He ignored the hesitance in his stride as he made his way over to her. When she noticed he was approaching she immediately straightened her posture and that familiar shade of pink from earlier bloomed across her face.

"C-Commander." She all but sputtered out.

He raised a brow at her strange behavior. "Do you mind if I took that seat, Lieutenant?"

Her head flicked back and forth between him and the seat before she gave a hurried nod, scooting her legs in to allow him passage. "No, sir. Not at all."

Spock pushed down the rising scrutiny towards her easily flustered demeanor. If talking to a superior rattled her this much he didn't have too high of hopes for how she would fair once they were on the bridge. He sunk into the worn seat of the cushion and peered out the window. So many thoughts flitted about inside his head but no matter how much he seemed to try they kept gravitating back towards Nyota. What ship had she decided to join? Was she there right now? Was she thinking of him as well? He shook the frivolous ideas from his head and tried to redirect his mind to other, current subjects. For one, he noticed the way the lieutenant was fidgeting with the hem of her uniform skirt. Honestly, what did Jim see in recruiting such a nervous woman?

"You know, at the Academy," Amira's voice was a little shaky at first but it steadied as she went on. "Miss Uhura is still quite the legend in the Linguistics department. So, why did she leave the Enterprise? If I may ask." She hurried to tack that last bit on as she noticed the subtle stiffening of her commanding officer's shoulders.

She had wanted to try and dispel the aura of intimidation that surrounded him from all the stories that circulated around the Academy about this strict, cold-hearted, no holds barred professor but she got the feeling she had just stumbled upon a very bad topic for small talk. There was a moment's pause before he turned those calculating dark eyes on her and the emotion swirling around in them made her want to crawl under a rock.

"I do not partake in gossip, Miss Ciela. You will have to find your answers elsewhere." His words were concise and simple but they had a weight of clear irritation behind them. Spock recognized the bite in his tone and cursed inwardly at such a blatant slip up in composure. He would have to improve upon that if he was going to be able to work closely with this new lieutenant. Perhaps Jim was right; for whatever reason, the idea of this woman trying to slide into the place of a familiar person did have some sort of affect on him. He didn't like it one bit.

She quickly diverted her eyes to her lap. "My apologies, Commander."

Wonderful. She hadn't even taken one step aboard the Enterprise and she somehow managed to get reprimanded by its First Officer of all people. And she'd be working with him on the bridge as well. She could only hope he'd warm up as time passed and at least become a fraction as friendly as the Captain. Well, as friendly as a cranky Vulcan could be.

Ta da! Sooo what'd you think? Good? Terrible? You decide!