The Academy AU for [personal profile] sensors

Jan. 28th, 2025 04:36 pm
smartass_captain: (Wondering)
[personal profile] smartass_captain
The night Sam Kirk walks into the Kirk family farmhouse his little brother throws a fucking beer bottle at his face. He misses. If he'd hit, the next several years might not have happened.



Jim is twenty years old and his life is a fucking mess.

He's no longer in the goddamn hospital every other month, but still in mandatory therapy until he ages out of the system on his 21st birthday. His therapist has worked with him since. Well. Since he got mandated one by the University of Iowa's children's hospital when they brought him home and nursed him back from the brink of being starved to death. Sam isn't here about Tarsus though. He's here because he heard little Jimmy just got out of a stint in county for petty theft.

Why's a guy stealing bread in this day and age? Jim doesn't give him a satisfactory answer. He can't. There isn't one. He'd been better until he'd left his personal device at home for a weekend boke trip. Without his meal schedule Jim can't function. But see, his body doesn't tell him when he's hungry anymore either, so Jim hadn't noticed until it was day three and he started hurting. All sense left him. Next thing he knows he's sitting in a jail cell being watched while he eats the food they gave him because anyone can see Jim Kirk is still too thin. Jim hates it. That look of fucking pity.

He was home and on his fourth beer of the evening when his fucking older brother strides in like he hasn't been gone for the last damn near decade of Jim's life.

"Sober up. I want you to come into town with me tomorrow and take a test." Sam had said. Jim thinks he told his brother to fuck off. He thinks he tried, but he might have stormed off so the other didn't see him break down into tears. He dodges Sam for three days before they bond over noon breakfast talking about when their mom finally found out about and ditched Frank. Sam asks where Winona sent him then, since neither of them believes for a second she stayed Earthside to raise him herself.

Jim lies.

But the lie works. And so he lets Sam drive them into town chattering the whole time about Starfleet. He wants Jim to take an aptitude test. If he passes, well. Dear ol' big brother's gonna whisk him away to San Francisco so they can enlist together. Sam got in, you see. Second attempt, so maybe Jimmy won't be going with him Right away.

"Jim." Jim corrects him. He's toying with the idea of maybe letting Sam talk him into this, but he's not forgetting the last damn near decade so easily. Not forgiving it yet, either. He tells himself he'll take the stupid test to shut his brother up. And hell, maybe he'll even beat his 'big bro' and pass on a first try. He aces it, hangover and all. Sam seems real keen on congratulating himself for giving Jim pointers the last couple days and Jim doesn't argue much.

A change of scenery seems like a decent idea.

All he wants to take fits into a single duffel bag he tosses into the back of Sam's beater of a truck and they make for San Francisco...

Date: 2025-01-30 04:34 am (UTC)
sensors: (027)
From: [personal profile] sensors
He did not know it was a game. Jim Kirk has never before played kal-toh. He looked at the set, deemed it broken, and decided he must fix it for Spock.

"Fascinating."

The tips of his ears have gone slightly green. He hopes that in his current state, Kirk will not notice the flush. He certainly does not desire to explain why he is slightly flustered.

"The sentiment is appreciated," he says first, of Kirk desiring to fix something of Spock's for him, "it is called kal-toh; it is a strategy game of Vulcan design. The goal is to return the shape to a perfect sphere. It can be played alone or collaboratively either by working out a solution together or by one party setting the beginning configuration for another to solve. To have reached a completed state in a single afternoon your first time playing is quite remarkable."

High praise from someone like Spock.

Date: 2025-01-30 01:27 pm (UTC)
sensors: (082)
From: [personal profile] sensors
"Precisely." Spock can tell that Kirk is interested and engaged in a way he normally is not even without him saying so and that too is fascinating. He watches the human quietly for a moment, as the explanation of the work and the resultant headache is of note despite his apparent flippant nature about it.

Spock is familiar with the sensation. It is satisfying.

"I would find it a gratifying activity to set configurations for you to solve should you also desire to continue. I am aware that many of the courses are not as engaging as one would hope for both of us."

Date: 2025-02-01 03:18 am (UTC)
sensors: (077)
From: [personal profile] sensors
Kirk's grin is as bright as the sun and Spock finds himself blinking slowly, normal and nictitating eyelids both, in the brilliance of it. It takes every bit of self-control he has not to flush slightly; Jim Kirk is fascinating on several levels, and his joy to simply be challenged in any capacity has Spock feeling warm.

"They are not intellectually stimulating in the least, and the lack of ability to simply test out of courses that would do us no further service is short-sighted."

They are in agreement, at least. Deeply so, it would seem.

At the question however, Spock pauses. "I have been reading a recently published piece of Vulcan literature by an author I have until now been unfamiliar with. There is a translation into Standard, should you desire I send you a copy."

There is something oddly cautious about his demeanor talking about it though, as though he anticipates the interest dissipating once Kirk knows its origin. While there is much prolific Vulcan literature, it is often ignored by other species due to assumptions about Vulcans' ability to weave fiction. Spock finds the viewpoint tiresome, and he finds he feels positively enough about Kirk that should he have a similar viewpoint, Spock would be inordinately upset.
Edited Date: 2025-02-01 03:19 am (UTC)

Date: 2025-02-01 03:47 pm (UTC)
sensors: (083)
From: [personal profile] sensors
"I was unaware that kicking doors in was a standard practice in the process," Spock says, with a slight air of mystification. Surely he is misunderstanding something in the phrasing.

He is, at least, mildly pleased by Kirk's willingness to read (no, interest in reading) the piece of literature: he nods and quickly sends off the translated copy to Kirk's PADD. "Please share your thoughts when you have read it," he says, a warm curl of gratification settling in his stomach again.

And so things continue. They chat about the book as Kirk reads it and Spock finds his views insightful and an interesting angle to see the work from a non-Vulcan experience. The Kal-toh set is primed, and Spock anticipates when Kirk will solve it again.

A few days later is when Spock returns from his courses slightly early, the last having been cut short due to a prior engagement on the instructor's part, which Spock has several opinions about and voiced at least one of before his fellow cadets had so unanimously agreed that they were glad for the shortening of the class time that he had relented.

(Spock is also glad, but for different reasons. His protest is due to the fact that he realizes the others in the course desperately need the instruction time.)

He intends to take a shower and then head to the library to study but when he enters the dorm he sees that Kirk is working on the kal-toh set and all his plans suddenly seem far less important in favor of getting to see the sharp, gleaming edges of Kirk's brilliance in action.

Date: 2025-02-01 05:15 pm (UTC)
sensors: (052)
From: [personal profile] sensors
Unfortunately for both of them, by the time Kirk turns to look at Spock, Spock is fully distracted. He has spent the moments before being noticed alternately watching Kirk's work on the set and his hands' movements, and for a moment his gaze remains squarely on Kirk's hands before he seems to snap out of it and realize he is being spoken to, blinking twice before dragging his gaze up to his fellow cadet's face with some difficulty.

"My course ended early for the day," he finally says, "and I found myself with more unused time than is usual. You are not in the way," as he speaks he stalks over to look over the kal-toh setup, eyes flicking to each positioning, before:

"Had you finished it prior to my normal time of arrival after starting it today, I would have suggested you join a team of tournament players." Simple, to the point. "Your current progress is remarkable. What time did you begin?"

He almost sounds eager when he says it, but he swallows and stifles it after.

Date: 2025-02-01 11:01 pm (UTC)
sensors: (082)
From: [personal profile] sensors
Three hours for Kirk's first foray into kal-toh resulting in a completed sphere. That is beyond remarkable, and perhaps that becomes obvious in the way his gaze shifts again to the set and back to Kirk, something not surprise but certainly interest in his eyes.

"I see." He also sees the way Kirk is looking at him, and it is pleasant to think that he is finally giving him something that actually challenges him intellectually. He is not, in fact, thinking about being flirted with, because he does not believe that Kirk would be interested in him in that way.

The invitation sparks a thought in him, but he must clarify— "I do not drink coffee. I do drink tea, and should the cafe also have that available I would find it enjoyable to go with you."

But surely Kirk just wants to do so as roommates, acquaintances, whatever term Vulcans use for the Terran definition of "friend" that is so unlike their own. However, that does not stop Spock from glancing at him out of the corners of his eyes as he continues to inspect the set.

"Two and a half hours to progress this far is less than anticipated." It is clear in the way Spock says it that it is a statement of fact, not a dig in any way: Spock had until now been unfamiliar with the speed Kirk is able to complete the puzzles.

Date: 2025-02-02 12:18 am (UTC)
sensors: (107)
From: [personal profile] sensors
It may be impossible to tell by an outside party, but each day that passes sees Spock more and more enamored with Jim Kirk, despite knowing the human simply sees him as a pleasant acquaintance. Dangerous perhaps to allow himself to get such attachment, but it is a wholly new experience to have someone's attention so fully and willingly trained on him in positive ways and he finds that he desires it to continue whether their level of closeness ever changes or not.

That said. Spock notes the timing of each solution Kirk comes to, the method he took, and the level of difficulty for practiced kal-toh players. He takes photographs of each starting point before letting Kirk touch them so that there is visual information on the settings used.

And finally: a single week to solve one of the most complex starting positions for the set.

That night, he finishes putting together his work and requests an audience with the academic board. Then it is simply a matter of getting the completed set and Kirk there with him.

It is easy, of course, as Kirk is more than willing to go with him. Spock finds that gratifying and tells him as much. Once they enter the meeting, Spock nods toward Kirk and then to the table behind which the board sits and then stands at a sharp, parade rest, head tipped slightly so that it looks as though he is looking down his nose at them.

"Upon my last formal request to remove the prerequisite courses from the requirements for both Cadet Kirk and myself, I was informed that should I procure enough evidence of achievement, it would be considered." A beat, as he lets it sink in.

"I have done precisely that. Cadet Kirk has achieved in a week using his free time what took the leading professional kal-toh player on Vulcan two weeks of solely focused work. He did so after only completing four configurations. I have played kal-toh since I was a child and have found his work beyond remarkable. As such, Cadet Kirk has shown more than sufficiently that he should be allowed to progress into courses that will suit his heightened academic requirements. I have forwarded my notes and evidence to your PADDs, please take a moment to read them. Should you have any questions upon completion, I will remain to answer them."

He likely should have warned Kirk this is what he was doing, but he was too single-minded to think of that. He does, however, wait as he said he would while they pick up their PADDs to read everything Spock has sent them. He stands next to Kirk as they do, expression impassive save the slightest tension at the corners of his eyes.

Date: 2025-02-02 03:02 am (UTC)
sensors: (097)
From: [personal profile] sensors
Spock, on the contrary, never loses his calm, almost placid expression in the face of the disrespect. He does, however, turn his head toward the offender and arch an eyebrow slightly. Jim, of anyone, will be able to note that every bit of softness in Spock's eyes, the tell other Vulcans always used as "proof" of his humanity, is absent. His gaze is as sharp as one would expect from a calculating, emotionless Vulcan.

"Commander, I believe you are under the impression that games are only for children. While children on Vulcan do begin learning to play at a young age, it is at the tutelage of a parent who is guiding their child toward the principles required to follow the path of logic dictated in the writings of Surak."

If the room feels a little colder, it may be the implication of you are insulting my species' religion coiled in the words Spock just spoke.

A single beat's pause before he continues. "However, perfecting the implementation of these principles is a life-long process and requires countless hours of meditation, training, and effort. Often, kal-toh is a part of this process, but it is often given up as too difficult by those less," he considers his words here, "inclined toward the course of learning."

Spock moves to the kal-toh set as he speaks, fingers working deftly and swiftly to return the set to a starting point: the one it was in when Kirk first solved it.

"I invite you, Commander, as it is a game and in your statement implied to be unworthy due to this, to approach and find a similar solution to the one Cadet Kirk employed in his first encounter with the concept."

Calm. Cold. Flat. The disgust is almost palpable in the air, but Spock has said nothing untoward nor has he made an expression to indicate such, so there is nothing to reprimand him for.

Date: 2025-02-02 04:23 am (UTC)
sensors: (052)
From: [personal profile] sensors
Spock, it is important to note, has a deep-seated sense of self-satisfaction as they leave to return to their dormitory. Kirk's countenance is overwhelming in a way that feels as though Spock cannot even look at it for fear of being blinded. He has thought this before, as illogical as it is, but it is especially true now.

Still, he is drawn to it. He tilts his head toward his fellow cadet as they walk, a bit of the softness at the corners of his eyes having returned.

"I was given the impression that many Terrans enjoy surprises if they are pleasant," Spock finally says, "and I also did not wish to cause undue distress over weeks of anticipation had my plan not worked. I was reasonably certain it would, however. It is gratifying to have completed the goal."

Spock knows what his paper is going to be about. He has known his intended specialization since he stepped foot on campus.

That said.

"It is also notable that for many, the fear of being seen as discriminatory is enough to alter the course of their internal narratives."

See: It was bait, and the commander took it.

When they reach their dormitory, Spock waits for Kirk to enter the room before following suit.

With the pleasant mood Kirk is in, Spock contemplates only briefly before deciding now is the time to note his temperature preferences. "If possible, I would prefer to adjust the temperature controls of our room several degrees higher. I am amenable to achieving what I believe is called a 'happy medium' as well. San Francisco has much lower temperatures than Vulcan. Especially so in winter. My body temperature is difficult to maintain in such weather."

Explains all the layers Spock is constantly in, at least.

Date: 2025-02-02 09:12 pm (UTC)
sensors: (Default)
From: [personal profile] sensors
"It is unlikely that doing so would have changed the outcome, but it is still preferable this way. I am pleased you managed it."

—And just like that, at the slightest indication that Spock is suffering discomfort, Kirk is setting the controls higher. Spock blinks twice before contemplating the question posed to him. How to word his response, at least.

"I fail to see why it would be a problem," he finally confesses, "especially as your discomfort would be caused upon my request. In fact, I
too rarely wear so many layers in my quarters when they are a reasonable temperature."

Date: 2025-02-03 12:59 am (UTC)
sensors: (083)
From: [personal profile] sensors
"I will attempt to ascertain the optimal temperature relative to that of the outdoors and our classes." See: he will make adjustments as necessary. "It is appreciated."

And no, he is not going to mind if Jim (he flashfire notes it in his head that he thought of him as Jim and he purposely switches back to Kirk with a small measure of alarm for how he has gotten too comfortable) takes off more layers.

He is brought out of his thoughts by the offer: despite himself the tips of his ears tinge green and he wishes he could stamp it down but instead carries on as if it never happened.

"I did not perform the "stunt" desiring a "treat" for doing so," he begins, "as I did it to ensure we both receive the education best suited for us. You stated a desire to finish in three years, correct? It was a logical choice to ensure that unnecessary courses need not be taken." A beat passes, and then: "Nevertheless, I would enjoy sharing a meal with you."

Date: 2025-02-03 01:47 am (UTC)
sensors: (030)
From: [personal profile] sensors
When Kirk holds up a hand and requests a 'high-five,' Spock's eyes widen. Just slightly. It is the first time Kirk has ever done such a thing since they met and it surprises him so much that he almost, reflexively, allows it in the face of just how excited his human roommate seems and how blinding his grin is.

However, Kirk course-corrects quickly and Spock appreciates it, inclining his head slightly so that the further softening of his expression is not noticed. He shifts closer easily at the tug, meanwhile. "Apology is unnecessary where offense has not been taken," he reminds, as he has before, a gentle prod of I am not upset with you that has become routine whenever apologized to unnecessarily.

He nods to the suggestion: he is not opposed, and they are often able to make their dishes truly vegetarian.

Spock catches Kirk's sleeve between two fingers himself, technically connecting them as would hand-holding for many other species. He is unsure if Kirk realizes it in itself is a measure of intimacy, but it does not matter. He gently tugs Kirk out the door as he continues their conversation.

"My desired track is science, yes." He does not say I desire to become Chief Science Officer of a ship even though he does because it sounds childish in his head to do so. "I am most interested in astrophysics and computer sciences currently, but will be endeavoring to broaden my knowledge base while progressing through the Academy."

Date: 2025-02-03 04:49 am (UTC)
sensors: (082)
From: [personal profile] sensors
It would definitely be cute and romantic and not at all weird! However, they are both fucking stupid so put a pin in that for later.

Spock is back to an almost serene (insomuch as he is ever serene countenance as they walk and discuss their futures. Starfleet is the first place Spock has felt he could ever even try to belong, and Kirk is one of the reasons for it. He considers his fellow cadet's indecisiveness for a moment, rolling the thought over in his head.

"Command would suit you well," he finally says, decisive.

The thing about Spock communicating such is this: of course he knows about the Kelvin. He has looked up and read up on the entire thing, knew before even coming to Starfleet Academy at least some of it. But all this time, he has never treated Kirk as though he is attempting to chase a legacy he does not deserve. Even hearing that Kirk wanted to meet and surpass his father's tenure at the academy had not drawn such a conclusion from him. Spock is earnest to a fault, and this is his opinion based off what he has observed, not what anyone else has done or told him.

"People are drawn to your personality." A beat. "I would not be opposed to such a commanding officer."

High praise from Spock, who has held polite derision for many of their instructors up until this point.

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bless

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they're so stupid (fond)

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they're REALLY good lmao

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honestly i laugh every time, it's so good

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Jim Kirk

April 2025

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