As my mind wanders and I browse the fanfiction there seems a painfully small amount of fiction dedicated to this pairing. Nyota and Khan, how about we go for a quick and relatively painless experimental ride?

I do not own these characters. And so, the universe goes on.

Say what you will about the levels of stress and near-death experiences while diving through space on the weave of a physicists darker imaginings.

Nyota was convinced these things were nothing in comparison to a well placed grin. Especially a grin coming from the perpetually frozen veneer of revenge personified. Nyota blinked again to make sure she had seen it correctly and it was already gone. The communication officer puffed out a breath. If she was lucky death might come for her yet.

Six hours before...

Somehow, Khan in these tense days on the ship, drifting without warp capability, had managed to sleep less than Spock and make himself available to every crew-member with an advanced curiosity in the realms of biology, engineering, Earth from a time which no other living human still survived, and exceptional male physiques. The latter earned a quick dismissal, but in the tension of scraping by knowing death loomed a mere feet of alloy from where you stood, the human drive to confirm existence was powerful. Even the most proficient officer might feel the need for relief from the machine-like march to D-day. People are not perfect. People snap sometimes.

So when Nyota saw the silhouette of a tall lean man in blue, all of the emotions, repressed by the singular need to survive, just bubbled near the surface of her consciousness. She blew out a breath, her eyes closed as she walked forward, and began to slide her hands around his waist from behind. Nyota wasn't prepared for the rapid whirl and the thud her body experienced as she landed just a few inches from the ground. It wasn't that gravitational field had failed, she was held aloft in arms that were distinctly unVulcan. Not hot, but warm and strong, cradling her, and accompanied by blue eyes that registered shock for a few seconds.

"I apologize." The voice paused. " Although I am human in part, I was not aware that social niceties of this time period... allowed for such close physical contact."

"On first instinct I moved to attack before I realized the source." Khan's voice rumbled from somewhere deep in his throat.

"Oh!" Nyota whispered. She took a moment to run her eyes along his features up close, still locked in his arms. Noting the small crook in his nose, the patch of hair forming above his lips, the way his pupils were dilating, the proximity of his lips to hers...

"Perhaps I have shocked you beyond response?" Khan said, this time his voice clearer, almost teasing, but still deep. A tickle of his breath crossed her lower lip. Nyota felt her nervous system come alive

She scrambled to a standing position, flushed and searching for words. "No...I mistook you for another person. That was inappropriate of me, my apologies Khan." Nyota's voice began with a waver and ended in a professional clip.

Khan still stood mere inches from her as they had risen together. She could feel the heat of his body. Her own swayed imperceptibly towards his and she looked up. He was tall, and from here his eyes were hooded and near-black with some emotion. She blinked again and he had moved back from her, reestablishing a professional distance. His face was unreadable.

"Perhaps I need to refresh my observations of appropriate social contact. This era has yielded one of its few surprises today." "In any case, thank you for the lesson, it is one I will not forget."Khan said, his eyes locked on Nyota's, a small grin appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"There are reports I have standing that need my urgent attention." Nyota said, lamely, in a rush of air. Her eyes opened a little too wide. Before she could mumble anything else vapid Nyota turned on her heel and almost ran for the door. She could feel the burn of Khan's eyes on her as she left.

As she walked down the corridor far from the threat, she chastised herself mentally for the mistake, her face still flushed. From a distance you might mistake him for Spock she reasoned. But the stoop in his shoulders wasn't there, the hair- she hadn't been looking closely. She sighed, tears not even pricking the corners of her eyes any longer at the thought of Spock. The weariness of their relationship a reminder of why she sought to put her arms around him in the first place. It was a last hope and gesture. That by some act of physical intimacy she could drag Spock back to her. Drag herself even back to the magical place they had occupied. Before the death of his planet, the isolation, then the drifting towards another. Thoughts of his betrayal stabbed at the skein holding back the rush of her anger and loneliness. But it wasn't Spock, it was Khan.

Where he held her, her skin still prickled with electricity, the static humming against her uniform as her hips swayed in motion. She had felt a tightness in her belly, a staccato of her heart, an energy she hadn't felt in so long for that brief moment. Her physical memory was despondent as she shut down any lingering thoughts, smoothed down her uniform, and stepped into her quarters. They were dark to reserve energy, and cold. She grabbed at some regulation outer gear and wrapped herself up tightly, needing to conserve body heat and calories. Laying in the darkness for some indeterminable period of time her mind leapt from thought to thought, trying not to make allegiances, until she was asleep.

The rectangle of light from the corridor grew with a pneumatic swish. He stepped in and it was darkness again. She could feel the bed move with his weight as he laid down at her back. His fingers long as they curled around her chin and pulled her up for a kiss. It was warm and wet. An exchange that grew until she was biting his bottom lip, fighting his tongue, and grasping the sides of his face. He flipped her so that her back was pressed against the bed, his weight trapping her hips. Nibbling down her neck, pulling away her regulation outer gear for better access. The steam of her heated body released into the cold air of her quarters. She wanted more. Her fingers ripping at the hem of his shirt fisting handfuls of material until she laid claim to his stomach and back. Trapping him momentarily and shifting the axis of their exchange, twisting to her knees to pull his shirt off. His face was obscured by the darkness. Nyota quickly divested herself of the jacket and uniform. Before she could reach, his hands had found the back of her bra and she had only her white cotton underwear between them. Just from the cold and adrenaline her breasts were aching. His hands were hot as the came to cup them, his mouth joining them. He was so good, twisting and teasing. Sweat was already building behind her knees as she knelt on the bed. Her head arched back hands in his hair, mumbling incoherent praises as he played her breasts to perfection. She was wet, unbelievably so, already. Moving herself back and forth against his mouth wishing to be anywhere but unfucked. He released his attention from her breasts to lay her down a little roughly onto the bed. Her underwear disappeared swiftly in the process. Standing, he removed his pants and all else. Climbing over her body, the slow warm wet kisses returned. His fingers joined the party, carressing the lips of her intimacy in a promise. Nyota lifted her hips against his hands saying "More." against his lips. One finger, then two. She began to move against the frantic pumping. Again saying "More."

"Yes, more." The deep voice removed the last of her self control. Nyota's hands found his penis, stroking once or twice before guiding him to slide along the wetness of her arousal. Finally his hit his mark, sinking deeply. Nyota's breathy noises and the sound of skin on skin was all that was heard. In and out, stretching her and making her claw her allegiances into his back. Nyota began to quiver from the sensation feeling her arrival near. His pumping grew frenetic, strong and deeper. Suddenly there were stars and the sensation lit a trail of numbness from her toes to her navel as she came powerfully. He followed not moments later from the pulsations of her orgasm around him.

Collapsing into her, Nyota woke with a start. Her was dark and she was wrapped in her outerwear still. The pumping of her heart the only sound in the room. She took a cold shower that was not entirely effective before putting on a fresh uniform. Climbing up the steps to the deck she locked eyes with Khan. It would be a very long day on deck...