It went a little unsaid, though obviously noted, between Amanda and Winona that the blonde's timing about the announcement of her divorce between herself and Frank, Jim's stepfather, was a little bad.

However, the exchange between Winona and Jim was an entirely different story.

"What the hell, Mom? You couldn't of warned me first before telling my boyfriend and his mother that you're getting divorced?"

"Jim, language! Besides, Amanda and I have been friends for years, long before you and Spock got together so it doesn't matter that I told her." Jim rolled his eyes, adjusting his position so that he went from hands-on-hips upset to crossing-his-arms-and-glaring-at-her upset. Winona sighed. "Listen, I know I should've told you beforehand and I'm sorry about that. But, given how close it is to the holidays, could you forgive me so that we can enjoy the holidays at your boyfriend's house?"

The younger Kirk sighed, glancing back at their table where Spock and Amanda were still seated, even after Jim had stood and nearly made a scene before his mother pulled him aside so they could have a private talk. "All right," he finally said, giving in to the hope in his mother's eyes. "But we're not done with this conversation."

Winona grinned, clasping her hands together joyfully. "Great! Just so you know, though, I'm not so sure about you and Spock sharing a room at Amanda and Sarek's house," she added over her shoulder on her way back to the table.

Jim rolled his eyes again. "We've shared a room for months, Mom!"

Nonetheless, that didn't stop Winona from telling Amanda that she didn't want Jim and Spock to share a room while they were at their house. Jim had fussed about it for a while, trying to use the excuse that there might not be enough room for them to have separate rooms, which both Winona and Amanda ignored with smiles on their faces.

When the two Kirks arrived at the house they would be staying in for two weeks, Jim understood why they'd laughed at him.

It. Was. Huge. Seriously.

Was that even legal?

Jim had stood in front of the house - more like mansion - for at least five minutes before Spock had pulled him along by the hand to actually go in, the blonde's bag in the other since Jim obviously wasn't going to carry it in.

Winona stood next to her son in the foyer of the house as Jim continued to gape at the sheer size of it, a smug smile on her face. "So, Jim, what was that about there not being enough room for us here?" She grinned when he dug a ten dollar bill out of his pocket, still staring at the room, and handed it to her.

"Forget I said anything."

Yeah, okay, she knew he'd be kind of speechless. It didn't mean she still wasn't worried about the possibility of her son having sex with her boyfriend at some point over this vacation. It did mean that she could appreciate her ability to still surprise Jim and bet him ten dollars that he would be amazed at Spock's house.

Jim frowned, staring at something on his wall. Spock, ever the fantastic boyfriend, walked into the guest room, watching Jim's expression with some amusement. "Is there a problem, Jim?"

The blonde didn't look at Spock, although his did point up at the shelf apparently just out of his reach. "I can't get to it and I think your mom hid anything I could be using as a stool." Jim then turned to look at Spock.

Spock raised an eyebrow. He knew that he had grown approximately two point seven two five nine inches during the course of their first semester, effectively making him taller than the blonde. "Would you like me to reach the shelf as you are unable to?" Jim glared at him, no real heat in it. So, it might have been a very good indicator for an angry make out session later that day, but Spock tried not to think about that.

Christmas, in a few words, was interesting, to say the least.

Okay, that may not have been an accurate description for it, but it was how Jim liked to think of it. Spock was, well, himself around Amanda and stood a tiny bit straighter whenever Sarek was around, which, in turn, made Jim feel like he had to stand up straighter, and basically being around Sarek felt like Jim was being judged all of the time.

Other than that, it went really well. They had a snowball fight that afternoon (which Spock didn't participate in until Jim threw a snowball at his head) and then a nice dinner which Winona insisted on helping with.

Basically, it was nice. After dinner, they all gathered around the fireplace in the living room, carefully avoiding the huge Christmas tree and the giant pile of presents underneath it. Jim decided to screw personal boundaries and lean against Spock while staring into the fire. Thankfully, Spock didn't complain against it.

It wasn't long after that that people had started drifting off to sleep, Winona and Amanda in a tie for first. Jim tried his best to actually not fall asleep on Spock but he kinda failed when he figured it would be a while before he'd be able to do this again.

Sarek chose that moment to start up a conversation with Spock. "Are you happy?"

Spock looked up at his father, slightly surprised. "That sounds like a question Mother would ask me."

His father raised an eyebrow in opposition. "Am I unable to ask such a question then?" Spock shook his head, allowing Sarek to relax into the sofa again. Amanda smiled in her sleep, adjusting her head on Sarek's shoulder. "You look happy."

Spock looked down at the top of Jim's head, the blonde pressed up against his side. "He is a welcome distraction from the stresses I have found come with college. Though sometimes I do wonder if Jim would not be happier with someone else."

Sarek looked at Spock knowingly. "You have not noticed how he has looked at you these past few days, have you?" Not knowing where this was going, Spock shook his head. "He is happy as well, Spock. His mother tries, but he understands that she has other worries in his life besides him. He is with people he loves and is enjoying himself. If you ask him, there is most likely nothing more that Jim could ask for."

Spock looked back down at Jim, silently wondering if what his father was saying was true. "Thank you, Father."

The ambassador nodded, letting a few moments of silence wash over them before… "I understand the two of you have a shared love of astronomy?"

So, it was a little off-putting waking up in Spock's room and not the guest room where Jim had been staying the past, like, four days. What was even more off-putting was that Spock didn't seem to be in the room.

Well, okay, Spock wasn't in the bed. He was actually sitting on the other side of the room, meditating. It didn't warrant Jim getting out of the bed so he just settled for lazily stretching from his current spot on the bed. "Morning."

His boyfriend nodded in greeting without opening his eyes. "Good morning. I believe my mother is making coffee." Jim nodded, rolling over onto his stomach instead of getting up.

"Y'know, I seriously considered not coming to stay with your family during the holidays."

Spock nodded. "I understand. Your mother mentioned that in previous years your family has not travelled over the holidays and has instead decided to remain at home and enjoy a small private affair."

Jim hummed in agreement. "You done meditating yet?" He watched as Spock stood and nodded. "Good. I think I need a motivator to get me out of your bed. It's really comfy. Seriously, how do you even survive on those college beds that we have?"

The rest of the day was a bit of a blur, having to do a lot with wrapping paper balls being thrown around and an overwhelming sense of laziness.

New Year's Eve and Day passed in a similar manner. The Kirks enjoyed a dinner at the Grayson's mansion/house and spent the next day not doing much of anything.

(There was a New Year's party thrown though and it ended with a few New Year's kisses shared between Jim and Spock, which Amanda, Winona, and Sarek pointedly ignored when the two of them wandered into the garden a few minutes before midnight.)

Things didn't actually get interesting again until after the holiday break had passed and February arrived for the college students. Christine had been hanging out in Jim and Spock's dorm room, waiting for Nyota. All three of them had been reading their respective books when Nyota had suddenly burst into the room. "Either the building's on fire or someone's just gotten another couple together," Jim said without looking up.

Nyota rolled her eyes. "Valentine's Day is coming up!"

Jim, Spock, and Christine all shared a look. "So?"

The African American girl rolled her eyes again. "This is your first Valentine's Day together as a couple! Aren't you two going to do anything about it?"

Jim looked at Spock, who was sitting right next to him on his bed. "D'you wanna do anything special on Valentine's Day?"

Spock didn't look up from his book. "I have no opinion on the possibility of our celebration on Valentine's Day."

Jim looked back at Nyota. "So, nope. Not gonna do anything on Valentine's Day. Might get Spock drunk on chocolate, but other than that, no." Spock only looked up from his book to give Jim a brief glare.

Nyota sighed, looking to Christine for help. "Hey, this is your idea," the blonde said when she saw the look her roommate was giving her.

"Fine," Nyota said, crossing her arms. "But you will, at the very least, have a romantic dinner?"

Spock looked at Jim for that. "Chinese food?"

Jim nodded in agreement. "Yup."

Cut to two weeks later.

"So, you still up for Chinese later?"

Spock looked up from his book. "Is there a reason I should not be?"

Jim grinned, landing himself on the bed beside Spock. "Hey, Spock."

"Jim?"

"Happy Valentine's Day."

"Happy Valentine's Day, Jim."

A/N: Aaaaaaand unless anyone has anything to say otherwise, this is the conclusion to Soft as Roses.

THANK YOU FOR BEING SO PATIENT CAUSE I MEAN SERIOUSLY THIS WAS A LONG TIME COMING AND I AM SO SORRY ABOUT THE LONG GAP BETWEEN LAST CHAPTER AND THIS ONE AND REALITY SUCKS AND HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY TO YOU ALL EVEN THOUGH IT'S PROBABLY NOT VALENTINE'S DAY ANYMORE IN MOST OF THE WORLD BUT OH WELL