"Captain, I'm picking up frequencies from a nearby planet. Planet name Hemera, uninhabited,"

"What frequencies are you claiming to have received if there is no one currently on the planet, Lt. Uhura?" Spock asked stoically.

The Captain knew she would be aggravated; she had addressed Jim, after all, and Spock's cool and indifferent voice could always prove to be a painful arrow through one's heart. Jim pursed his lips, turning his chair slightly towards the lieutenant, ignoring the heavy silence,

"Your point, Lt. Uhura?"

"The frequencies are not coming from a living thing, but from neighboring planets far from this star, are sending out messages to all near ships to warn them that there is going to be a supernova. No one is in danger, all living environments currently inhabited are at a safe distance and considering our mission was so short today and we have time enough to see it…would…you…like to see the explosion, Captain?"

Spock froze next to Jim. No one could tell, Jim knew that. Jim knew Spock in a way no one else did, which was strange considering he knew no more than anyone else about the Vulcan. There was something about his air, though, that he knew he could read better than anyone else. Perhaps because he had mind-melded with him, the other him. He stopped his thoughts there, otherwise he'd give himself a headache. He turned his chair, looking up at his stiff, broad-shouldered First Officer,

"Mr. Spock…are you well?"

"My health is in all ways perfect, Commander,"

"Emotionally?"

The crew silenced. What the fuck?

"I am only just aware that this invitation to see the supernova is meant to pose an emotional attack on me,"

Before Jim could ask how he could know something like that or why he was so upset about it, Uhura scowled and barked,

"Why would I waste effort on trying to make a Vulcan feeling anything?!"

"You wasted over a year trying to make me feel human emotions," He cocked a brow, not looking up from his clipboard as he jotted down notes, "I would not put it past you to try and make me feel anger,"

Jim cringed at the feeling of her frustration spike in the surrounding atmosphere,

"You promised me you were going to resign today! What are you doing here, then!?"

"You promised her you'd resign?" Kirk asked, twisting back towards Spock.

The alien was now looking at his ex-lover, his stance stiff and strong.

"And I do recall a promise you made to me concerning a supernova. You are fully conscious of the fact that I have an emotional attachment to the phenomenon and you are fully conscious as to what reasoning is behind that. I therefore know you are aware of the affect it will have on me," He looked down to the Captain, "Indeed, Commander, I did tell Lt. Uhura that I would resign today, but seeing as you ripped up my resignation papers as I went to drop them off, I found it rather hard to do so,"

"You what?!" She snapped at Kirk.

He looked to her, shrugging, "I wasn't about to let him just walk out!"

"Why the hell not!? He tried to kill you!"

"That is true, Commander," Spock cocked a brow, "I did dump you on an uninhabitable planet without any knowledge as to whether you were properly equipped to survive long enough to wait for help,"

"And you choked him," Bones mentioned from beyond his clipboard.

Jim sighed as Uhura glared and huffed and Spock agreed,

"That also is true, I did intend to kill you when I suffocated you for questioning my love for my mother,"

Jim rubbed his temples, "Okay, so Spock tried to kill me once or twice, what friends don't?"

"Oh, so it is average for anyone who associates with you to contemplate homicide?" Bones joked.

Jim pouted, "Shut up,"

He sighed and looked to Spock, "You're staying aboard, Spock. I don't want another First Officer, even if he did…try to…kill me…alright, look, everyone, Spock's apart of this crew and no one," He looked at Uhura, "Is taking him off this ship. And so help me God, if I find out you've been holding something over his head as blackmail, Lt. Uhura, I will not hesitate to report you,"

She seethed, but Navigator Sulu interrupted soon enough to break the horrid tension,

"So…should we…go to see the supernova, or what?"

Jim looked to Spock for a nod of approval and he was happy to see it; just one nod, but it was positive and that's all that counted. Jim smiled and told Sulu,

"Yes, we're going. Go on ahead, to the supernova,"

Hikaru nodded, smirking a little and pushing at buttons, pulling at handles and sending them off.

Jim insisted that Spock stand beside him for the explosion by the Observation Deck. The gigantic wall-to-wall window allowed them to watch it perfectly in complete solitude. Spock followed the Captain, arms folded behind his back, his chest out proudly and eyes stoic and low until they came to a stop and he mimicked Kirk, stopping immediately and twisting to the side so his feet were centered and together, his eyes never meeting Jim's. He sighed,

"Can you tell me what you meant about the significance of a supernova to you emotionally?"

"That is not a place for a Captain to pry,"

"It is a place for a friend, though,"

Spock stiffened, "It is not a very exciting story, Commander. I dreamt of a supernova, and within the dream my subconscious revealed to me that I could no longer be romantically involved with Lt. Uhura. That is all,"

"…there's more to the dream than the supernova, then, right?"

"Indeed,"

"So, what happened?"

"It is not your place to know,"

"Just don't think of me as your Captain right now, just think of me as your friend,"

"You are not my friend," He finally faced Kirk, "You never were and never will be. That is not our universe. That is the reality of our counterparts, not us. I have much different emotions to deal with towards you,"

"I can't be your friend?" His brows curved.

"No, you cannot, sir,"

"…why not?"

Spock sighed, his eyes flickering with self-control; a strange, but readable expression. To Jim, anyway. He could see when Spock was holding back. It glimmered in his ebony eyes, what he wanted to say, what he wanted to do, but he never would.

"You were first and foremost my enemy and competitor, Commander. Someone I detested with every fiber of my being, after finding how underhandedly you defeated the Kobayashi Maru I suppose you can hypothesize the level of disrespect I had for you. However, as the new Captain of Enterprise, after saving of our lives, after truly proving yourself, I had a newfound respect for you and accepted you as my higher officer. From there on, though, I found difficulty in keeping my human side from considering you more than that,"

"…more than a Captain?"

"More than a friend,"

"I don't want you to run away, Spock,"

"I am hardly running away, Commander. I am doing what is best for you, best for myself and best for the crew,"

"Logically,"

"Of course,"

"But love isn't about logic, Spock,"

Spock's brows curved inwardly at the statement,

"Vulcans do not love,"

"You're not fully Vulcan, though," Jim smirked.

Spock looked away, his forehead relaxing as his eyes traveled back to the window.

"Enjoy the supernova, Commander,"

"I can't enjoy anything if I think you're leaving,"

Another strange moment.

Spock looked at him and gave that glimmer again.

"Fascinating,"

"I love it when you talk about me like I'm a specimen, really, it's so sexy, Spock,"

He watched green color Spock's cheeks as he cocked a brow and looked away again, as if to hide how embarrassed he was at Jim openly saying something like that about him.

"I realize you want me aboard to aid you intellectually, but attempting to jest at my troubling human emotions will not make me perceive you in any greater or kinder light. In fact, I am quite sure it will do the complete opposite,"

"Can you just talk regularly to me? I won't make fun of you, Spock, I was just…just talk like I talk, you know? It just always sounds like you're in the middle of a science experiment when you talk to me…I just want you to relax,"

"That would be most unwise, Commander. If I were to relax my restraints, we would find ourselves in an unsafe predicament,"

"Unsafe? Now that sounds like more my territory," He grinned, "Why's that?"

"Would you still care to hear about my dream, Commander?"

Jim's chest contracted oddly, his heart bumping faster at the sight of Spock shifting his face away in order to hide his slight smile. He closed his eyes, exhaling as if meditating, then opening them to look at the star before them. His full lips parted hesitantly and at the almost inaudible sound of their perfectly soft texture peeling apart Kirk's abdomen gave an unprecedented pulse of excitement.

"I am aboard the Observation Deck, nearing someone to kiss them. Before our lips meet, that image is repeated before a sunset on Earth, then at dusk on the red moon of Cereson, but I am soon alone on Vulcan. I look around, a feeling of…despair taking hold of me. I am alone again on the red moon of Cereson, alone at sunset on Earth and again, I find myself on the Enterprise. I am called by the one I was attempting to kiss out on one of the pods, alone. I find that my emotional response is nervousness and flattery, and it manifests in a rapid heart beat, increased blood flow to my face and hands and a smile. While in the departure pod, I attempt to kiss this person again, and images flash beyond our silhouettes; the land of the red moon of Cereson, Earth at sunset, the Observation deck and at the touch of our lips, a supernova matures and explodes from outside the pod, and I wake,"

"Who is it, in the dream…you're trying to—"

"Not Lt. Uhura, and that is what matters, Commander. I told her of my dream and told her that I held great regret finding it only logical to end our relationship. She did not react well and went on to yell at me about leading her on, and intentionally causing her pain. I told her that would too be illogical, and that…only seemed to upset her more. She stormed out of my quarters soon after that. That is why it is significant to me and to her,"

"I see…" Jim trailed off, looking back at the evolving, fiery star outside their ship.

"When do you know the supernova is about to finish? I mean…have you seen one before?"

"Yes, I have seen one. Once. It was a school trip. I went with my peers. The ending of a supernova is cued after a ring of blue light washes over a four light-year radius. It is in all ways harmless, but if one is too close to the ring when it expands from the star and is looking at its center, one may go temporarily blind. However, I believe Doctor McCoy would know more about that than myself if you are curious as to the health effects of a supernova,"

"Not so much. Are you still thinking of leaving?"

Spock turned to face Jim, his arms still folded on the small of his back, his chest still poised as perfectly as his board shoulders.

"If you mean to ask if I still intend on leaving the Enterprise to teach at Starfleet, I do. However, I need adequate time to file and sign my resignation papers again," He emphasized the last word as if to make Jim feel bad about it, even though Jim felt absolutely no regret for making Spock stay, and on a normal basis rarely felt any shame whatsoever. Spock continued, "I have taken note that you have made a habit of not interrupting me as much, though, and that you have considered my every opinion before taking action on the Command Deck, which is nothing short of an honor. You should be made aware that I have greatly enjoyed being your First Officer, but resignation is my only option now,"

"If I give into this, right? If I let you…go, Spock…can I come and visit you or attend your classes when I'm off-duty? Maybe force you out to a bar on my vacations?"

"That would be counterproductive, Commander," Spock glanced away momentarily, "I would not allow you to attend any of my classes nor would I accompany you to any social gatherings, as my goal in leaving Enterprise would be to eliminate as much interaction with you as possible. If you were to do such things, I would leave Starfleet in order to teach at a Vulcan academy or a Terran school,"

"Shit…why me?"

"I ask myself that every time I look at Lt. Uhura,"

"Did you love her? Did I…did I ruin all of that?"

"You ruined something that never could have lasted. I will not hide the fact that you did not help my romantic slump, however, you opened my eyes to a greater truth about myself, one of which I was unaware, and for that I thank you,"

"What if your dream, wasn't just a dream, Spock? What if it was… I dunno, something more telling than that?"

"You mean to imply that what I experienced was a premonition of some kind?"

"Something like that,"

"Would you care to elaborate, Captain?"

Jim didn't answer, just smiled and looked out to the star again. They stood there in comfortable, calm silence until a blue ring pushed back on the ship like a shockwave and Jim turned over, tugging the Vulcan closer to him by his uniform's v-neck collar. He smiled into the kiss at feeling Spock stiffen and opened his eyes to slits to see Spock's were wide in shock and the entire deck was overwhelmed by flooding light.

Yes, a premonition of types.

He pulled away, a euphoric halo still lighting the entire ship and creating endless patterns of constellations in Spock's wide eyes. It was rare for Spock to ever be animated about anything, and seeing him so innocently amazed made Jim's heart squirm and chest swell with pride. He cupped Spock's jaw in his sizable hand, leaning in and kissing him sweetly again, closing his eyes slowly only once he saw Spock begin to close his. How long they kissed or how deeply they did, when Spock returned the kiss or let his guards down enough to hold his hand over Jim's, neither of them could recall. They only pulled away when the light beyond their closed eyes faded and they found themselves huffing to catch their breaths. Jim smiled triumphantly,

"You're not leaving, Spock…I'm not letting you,"

"I am deeply confused, Command—"

"JIM, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, SPOCK, JUST CALL ME JIM,"

Spock nearly laughed, but recovered quickly and replied, "Jim. I am deeply confused. Is this a lucid dream I am currently in the midst of, or have you reenacted the dream I told you about earlier?"

"Ugh, the latter, Spock, look, I'm not about to do this whole, 'let me analyze everything logically thing' with you. I kissed you, Spock, because you are more than a First Officer to me, and I don't think I could manage being your friend either. I want you to stay aboard, Spock. I'll do anything,"

"No one may know of this,"

Jim blushed, backing away a little. He hadn't expected to get Spock to agree so easily.

"And you are to join me in my quarters tonight to…discuss this further. For your promise of secrecy and a promise to no longer woe women of foreign planets, I will not resign from the Enterprise and we can possibly…make this work,"

Jim punched Spock's arm in the way he knew Spock hated and chuckled cutely,

"You got it. I never pinned you to be the jealous type, Spock…I've got a lot to learn, I guess,"

"Indeed, Captain,"

"Captain…"

"Yes,"

"…uhm…don't call me Captain," Jim looked out the window at the remaining afterglow of the supernova.

"Why is that? I have heard you are quite partial to being call—"

"I like that you call me Commander, Spock. Commander or Jim, that's it,"

Spock gave a hint of a smile, a perk of his brow and a nod, "Very well, Commander,"

"DID YOU SEE ZAT?" Chekov came running in, beaming wildly, "DID YOU SEE ZAT? ZAT VUZ AMAZING!"

Jim laughed again as Spock looked to him and reminded,

"After hours, my quarters. I will be anticipating your arrival greatly," He turned around, walking past Chekov and nodding at him in approval.

The ensign looked at his Captain with wide eyes and his grin still plastered to his face,

"VUZ ZAT NOT COMPLETELY AWESOME, KEPTIN?!"

He laughed, looking out at the bits of star floating around as he took on Spock's beautiful posture.

"That it was, Chekov, that it was,"