The Academy AU for sensors

[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...

Comments

[sensors]

Spock's first week is... Difficult to describe. A majority of people treat him like exactly what he is: an alien. Different. Strange. He is constantly in a liminal space, always on edge, and spends a lot of time just centering himself.

He is comfortable, however, when he is around Jim Kirk. He has to get used to Dr. McCoy's mannerisms even more than he has had to get used to Kirk's, but he does not dislike him. He seems to enjoy a debate, though he gets very heated about it—Spock has noted that their mutual acquaintance seems to be playing distraction for the doctor. He does not need to ask why, but he does know that when he is too busy arguing semantics of something with Spock, he is too busy to need being wrangled by Kirk himself.

Assisting without requiring explanation.

Academically, Spock is... Also disappointed, to an extent, that there are certain courses he is disallowed from simply testing out of. He shares several courses with the other Kirk, and he is aware that Sam Kirk appears to dislike him, but he is unsure why. He tries not to dwell on it. He also spends quite a bit of time in the library: Spock enjoys physical books and also the solitude provided. It is only sheer coincidence that his times there do not coincide with his roommate's more often.

And overall, Kirk is a tolerable roommate. He is charming when they are both awake, Spock is able to rest with little issue, and for the most part, Kirk is, while not as tidy as Spock, tidy enough that Spock manages his expectations. Somewhat.

He does, at one point however, engineer moving the laundry receptacle for Kirk's clothing closer to his bed so that he is able to simply drop them in instead of moving around. To many this would seem an act of passive aggression, but in reality Spock is simply trying to be helpful and hopes that, having spent time with Spock, Kirk will realize that. Because when Kirk is sober, there is little difficulty in simply asking Kirk to pick them up and then he does so. It is attempting to reason with a drunk human so that the issue does not occur in the first place where Spock has no desire to tread.

Hopefully, simply making it easier is inobtrusive but efficient enough.

His only other issue is what temperature to set the room at, as Spock prefers it several degrees warmer than most humans. That one, he is not sure how to bring up. That one, he simply does not allow himself to shiver in moments where the temperature is too low for him. San Francisco is much colder than Vulcan over winter though, and it will be coming up quickly. He will have to bring it up at some point. For now, he stubbornly refuses to do so.

[smartass_captain]

It doesn't take Jim long at all to simply drop his clothes either on his desk chair (still wearable, not dirty) or into the laundry receptacle Spock has arranged for him. He's even tried once or twice after watching Spock do it to care enough to fold his clothes when dumping them on his chair, but eventually he settles for Sorta neatly hanging them and that is gonna have to be the end of the matter.

The man isn't the type to leave trash about and doesn't seem to own much to have clutter in the first place. Most of the Stuff taking up room in his side of the room are class materials of some kind or another.

Spock's side of the room smells of incense. Jim's smells of coffee. Spock wears his heavy robes around outside of his uniform. Jim dresses Down to his black undershirt and boxerbriefs. He'd love to go nude half the time but something tells him Spock would Not appreciate that. They both stay up in bed reading actual books on several occasions, and Jim isn't even always the first one to go to sleep. Sometimes he's even still awake when Spock wakes.

If temperature is Spock's stubborn issue, sleep is Jim's. He tries to catch naps in the rare pockets of time where Spock is in classes and Jim isn't. He hasn't had an episode sleeping yet, but he's terrified of it happening. Spock seems nice! And he's way smarter than Jim first thought. Jim really doesn't want to freak the guy out. So he naps in weird places and tries not to sleep in his dorm room whenever possible. Bones is starting to (loudly) worry but Jim always manages to brush him off.

It's the middle of the week on one of Jim's 'secret nap slots' that he's got no homework to do (did it already) hasn't bothered reading the material for his next class (already knows it) and it's too damn sunny out to properly fall asleep that Jim looks around his empty dorm room.

The temptation is there to call up one of the friends he made at the bar the other week for a quickie. But Jim's not really feeling it. He's tired. This was supposed to be his time to sleep. His eyes drag across the room before falling on Sopck's little shelf of things. The Tri-D set catches his eye at first. He'd love to ask Spock to play sometime. But the other? The giant mess of sticks all glued together or something? That one stumps him.

When his curiosity can no longer be contained Jim wanders on over the invisible line to Spock's side of the room and starts to futz with it. Maybe he just dropped it in the move and couldn't be bothered to put it back to rights? But it doesn't...move. The way he expects.

Huh.

Jim leaves. Comes back with a canned coffee and drags his desk chair over in front of the mess of rods. Three cans of coffee later when the sun starts to get lower he tosses the cans in the trash and bounces his brows to the completed sculpture. There. Much better.

Time to crash.

[sensors]

The solution is adequate. Spock does not like to see the clothes hanging on the chair, but he is able to tolerate it far more than he is able to clothing on the floor. And as far as messes go, it is low on the scale: Spock's true issue lies in trash, food, and so on. That has not been an issue in any capacity, and so Spock is content.

Spock is too cold to not wear his full uniform or heavy robes, but that does not mean he begrudges Kirk in his choice (or lack thereof) of clothing in their shared space. He very studiously Does Not Stare despite the fact that he finds the human to be incredibly physically attractive: he will maintain respect as much as possible.

(He does, however, take surreptitious glances. No one is perfect.)

Kirk's strange sleep schedule confounds Spock, however. McCoy is not the only one concerned, and they have shared glances more than once in one of the very few things they wholly agree on with not a drop of confrontation. Jim Kirk needs more rest than he is getting.

Spock has not seen Kirk most of the day, which is not entirely uncommon as they share very little actual course time, but what is surprising is that when he enters their shared space, Kirk is in his bed asleep. His eyes sweep over his fellow cadet's sleeping form and over to the other side of the room to—

—It takes an inordinate amount of effort to keep himself from waking Kirk to inquire why his kal-toh set has been put into one of the solution states over the course of a single afternoon. Kirk has never mentioned using a set before had mentioned Spock as the first Vulcan he ever met, how long has he been playing? It is one of the simpler solutions and Spock is capable of much, much more complex, but he grew up playing it, learned from his father, has years of experience.

He must know.

Somehow, he manages to keep from waking him, as he is fully aware that Kirk needs the rest. However, whenever Kirk does wake, Spock is seated on his bed primly, PADD in hand. He had messaged with T'Pring for quite some time about it and she had sent him increasingly blunt responses instructing him to simply speak to Kirk about it.

He will not be. Not yet, he has decided. He is aware by now that Kirk enjoys challenges, much as Spock himself does. In the time between his conversation with T'Pring and settling himself on his bed, he rearranged the kal-toh into a different starting configuration than it had been in previously, one requiring a markedly higher level of skill to solve. It is, again, set next to the tri-D set. Should Kirk ask, he will answer. If he does not, Spock anticipates he will simply have understood the implicit offer of a worthy challenge and continue to work out solutions.

He does not seem upset in any way, either: he is as relaxed as he ever is, even to the point that his legs are tucked beneath him far more casually than he would anywhere with someone other than Kirk himself in it.

[smartass_captain]

Spock is aware that Jim is awake long before the man sits up. There's a sudden breath and then Nothing from the bed next to him. On his side of the room Jim has gone still as the dead, eyes wide and unseeing at first where he stares at the dormitory door. After five to ten seconds he seems to adjust. Remember where he's at. Relax. God he wishes he could get used to this new place quicker. Of course then Jim is all casual airs hauling himself upright with his messy hair and big yawn.

It's dark out. He napped a lot longer than he planned on. And when he glances over Spock is already changed into his evening attire. He looks over to the sculpture he'd fixed to say something. Point it out. And then freezes when he sees it having been jumbled all up again.

"...You didn't like it?"

Awh. He spent all afternoon fixing it.

[sensors]

Jim Kirk has inquired, and so Spock may also inquire. However, the human's wording is strange, as though he does not realize what has been done.

Spock pauses, looking from his PADD to the set before swiveling his head to look at Kirk himself.

"I apologize if you desired to keep it in the completed state for a longer period of time; I have reset it to a different staring position so that you may play again, if you desire. The original solution you posited is an intriguing alteration to one I have implemented before, and I find myself curious as to how you would solve the new presentation." A beat passes. "Where did you learn how to play?"

[smartass_captain]

"Completed...??" Jim squints, trying to follow the conversation but he did just wake up and moreover he had no goddamn idea that thing was supposed to be a game. Is Spock doing that weird kind of joking with him again? A suspicious glance, but no. His room mate seems perfectly calm and earnest.

So Jim stifles a yawn with the back of a hand, drags it through his hair after and circles round the bed to sit on the far side of it the way he usually does when he intends to sit and chat with Spock.

"Didn't know it was a game. I thought it was a sculpture or something." He genuinely shrugs. "I saw you hadn't fixed it since moving in and hell, I had nothing better to do this afternoon so I figured I'd fix it for you."

[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.

[smartass_captain]

"So it's...a puzzle game." That's kinda cool actually. And Spock set up a new one already? So it's not just a one time thing. You can solve it over again without it being the same. That is getting an eyebrow raise.

"Honestly by the end I was getting one of those headaches you get from working on a difficult but like .. Engaging? Problem?? It's the first thing I've had to Try at since I got here. It was fun so I kept going.

And once I fixed it the sun finally wasn't coming in the window so I could catch a nap."

Though it seems more like he crashed pretty hard given the time now. That's good honestly. Get the sleep debt paid up so he can go back to Not. That new set up Spock arranged is getting hella eyeballed though. This afternoon has been the most fun he's had since arriving here. It was challenging. He knows already he's going to try this one too. It's taking all his willpower not to get started right fucking now.

[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."

[smartass_captain]

It is!

Jim can't remember the last time he had to actually put some Effort into cracking anything. It scratches at an itch he's left untouched for so long he forgot it was even there. And he desperately wants to get that delicious sense of accomplishment again. But considering he'd kinda banged his head against it this afternoon instead of sitting down and going about things they way you probably should a thing like this he's loathe to let Spock see him stumbling at this. Sure, he complimented Jim on finishing it but he could just have been being nice.

What if it's like, a kids game???

Yeah, Jim can't risk that. He'll wait until his next secret nap slot time and knock this one out, too.

"I'd like that." Jim pipes up. He tears his gaze away from the kal-toh set and looks back at Spock. His excitement is palpable on his face even without the huge grin plastered there. "Fuck, you can say that again about the courses. Taking everything I've got not to fall asleep in class." Is it boredom or the whole NOT SLEEPING thing that is causing that, Jim?

"For now though, can I ask what you've been reading? I finished up the book I was reading about the design of the first warp core and until class assigns something I haven't already read I'm kinda short on options and the library won't open until 0700."

[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.

[smartass_captain]

"Trying to figure out who I have to go kick the door in to get permission to test up from some of these prereqs. No luck so far, I'll let you know if that changes." It would be helpful if Jim had a goal really for his education here. He sort of figured he'd spend the first year determining where he wanted to end up. But he also figured (incorrectly) that the prereqs themselves would be more challenging than they are.

He wasn't expecting Spock to be reading fiction, since he can't imagine it being part of a curriculum in the sciences. But after a second Jim remembers that Spock has way more free time than an average cadet. He can afford to read for fun. More than most.

"I don't think I've read much aside from first contact with Earth from a Vulcan authorship. I'd be interested in checking it out." Truth be told Jim is not very picky with What he reads. Leave him in a room long enough and he'll read ever printed word he can find. Maybe it'll be really good! Even if it's not, it'll be a common taking point he can share with Spock.

That feels worth the time sink for a new book series.

[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.

[smartass_captain]

At this rate Spock is going to realize that this slot of afternoon time must be one of the few open slots in Jim Kirk's schedule. He's consistently been in the dorm at this hour on this day several times now. However, this time Jim isn't catching a nap. Sleep is the absolute furthest thing from his mind.

He's folding little square candy wrappers into little geometric shapes for something to do with his fingers while he studies the partially finished kal-toh set he's sat down in front of. Uniform jacket hanging open. His bag cast carelessly over his bed. It's clear Jim had not bothered to do Anything after coming into the dorm but pull up a chair and get to work.

Well. Nearly anything. He's got a half empty water bottle next to him and the little bag of wrapped candies he's been working on slowly one at a time. It clacks against his teeth as he works it from one side of his mouth to the other while lost in thought. The wrapper gets crumpled. Jim reaches up and moves three of the rods. Taps the tip of his index finger on the desk several times. Moves one back.

Tap, tap. tap.

Two more get moved in place of the one he returned. He reaches over to twist off the cap of the water bottle and take a sip. Pockets the crumpled little wrapper. Reaches for another candy. This one he pops into his mouth, wrapper and all, and reaches out to turn the set around about thirty degrees to get a better look at it from another angle.

Tap, tap, tap, goes his finger against the desk. A speck of reflection on the surface and Jim turns around. Damn, was it that late already? He reaches up to wave at Spock, then belatedly reaches up to pluck a perfectly intact wrapper from between his lips and throws that one away before he goes to wipe his hands off fastidiously. Shit he must look like a mess right now. He hasn't been able to solve this one nearly as fast.

"Oh," Clack! Goes the candy against his teeth. Jim shifts it so he can talk more easily. "Hey, sorry. I didn't realize it had got so late. I can get out of the way. I was hoping I'd have this done before you got back." A self depreciating little chuckle.

[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.

[smartass_captain]

"Well, I finished the first one in a little over three hours. I wasn't sure what to expect for this one." Jim offers a bit of a cocky grin Spock's way. One that gets a little bit wider. More eager. When he thinks he might have caught Spock (!!) of all people checking him out. Jim can't help but to notice that compliments from his room mate are pretty rare.

Yet he does seem to be getting more than most. His brother's full of shit; Jim's definitely got a shot with Spock, right? He's looking at the Vulcan with the same expression he'd been giving the kal-toh set a moment ago for a second, but then his grin flickers back to full intensity.

Okay, operation: hit on hot Roomie is a go.

"Oh, I didn't get to start quite as early this time. I desperately needed a coffee after class so Bones, me, and this girl in my compsci class went to scope out this cafe on the other side of campus. Decent. We should go sometime." You know. On a date or something.

"Anyway. I've been at this for a good twoooooo and a half hours?"

[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.

[smartass_captain]

"Well, it's a lot harder this time." Jim admits. Spock doesn't sound disappointed, but Jim squirms a little all the same. He should have gotten further. He wants to see more of those Looks when he manages to impress his shy room mate.

Jim's just got to keep trying.

Sam keeps telling Jim he's crazy. Jim tells Sam to fuck off. Bones tells Jim that if the man's interested at all he's a goddamn idiot. Him...well, Jim doesn't tell Bones to fuck off but he sticks up for Spock so much it's clear that whatever Spock thinks of his room mate, JIM thinks the world of Spock. It's a little weird to see the guy who spent his first month returning every flirt he got and dishing out just as many all but ignoring the world in favor of one nerdy, socially maladjusted Vulcan.

Maybe all Vulcans are socially maladjusted. Bones wouldn't know.

Jim's managed to coax Spock out of their room a few times now. Out to a tea shop he found because he wanted to impress the other. Out for food to a Chinese restaurant he found that had really good vegetarian options for a change of pace from their usual fare. And he's kept an eye out for Spock more when he's in the library now that he knows the other frequents there. He thinks he's making progress.

The day after he solves the fourth kal-toh configuration Spock made for him (a good week of work, this time, goddamn are they getting tough) Spock asks him to take the set with him while they head out across campus. It's the very first time Spock has asked Jim to go out anywhere with him, so he's pretty stoked. Trailing along after the Vulcan toting the game set with little hearts practically floating off his head with every other step.

[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.

[smartass_captain]

Of course, Jim's got no idea just what Spock's pulling. He's also got no idea just how difficult these kal-toh configurations are supposed to be. More than once Spock's asked him about his technique, but every time Jim just shakes his head. It's not about one single technique. If he saw the same configuration more than once he might try to improve by getting the set solved in as few moves as possible, but for these new ones? Adaptability is his friend more than any predetermined plan.

He has to take in the whole puzzle. He also employs something very few Vulcans do. Jim's not afraid to make mistakes. He has gotten very skilled in moving pieces back two, three, even four moves at a time until he can get back to a state where progress might be made again. This allows him to cut his time drastically by testing out a strategy while paying enough attention that he can backtrack and try again without just sitting and inspecting the set for hours at a time trying to find the one perfect move.

Jim seems startled to see Spock put in a proposal without telling him. Maybe since it hadn't gone anywhere he didn't find it worth talking about. But then he keeps going and...uh? Holy shit? Spock doesn't sound like he's fluffing Jim up. Did he make a lab report out of this?? He wants to ask questions but when the board looks at him and asks him if this is the case Jim just nods with as serious an expression as he can manage.

Whatever Spock is playing at, Jim's not about to ruin his chances by opening his mouth.

"You're looking to persuade us with a Game you've been playing in your free time...?" One of the professors starts, and this time Jim does step forward.
"My attendance and grades are perfect so i believe you'll find this hasn't been affecting my studies, sir."
"That isn't the point."

Jim can't quite hold in his scowl entirely. This is bullshit.

[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.

[smartass_captain]

Even with the report Spock had delivered taking apart Kirk's solutions right in front of them, it does not actually serve as a guide to beating the game set up in front of the board now. One of the older board members reaches forward to move a couple of the pieces just to bring the whole room up to speed on just how limited the actual options are and why strategy is so key in playing the game.

Seemingly satisfied with his observations, he sets the pieces back where they had been and reclines back in his seat to let his colleague remove the boot from his mouth if he can.

After some very hurried sputtering and some hasty apologies given, the board agrees to allow Cadets Spock and Kirk to test up to a class level that would be more suitable for each of them. On the condition that they provide clear intentions of a specialization in written format by the week's end.

It's brilliant. Jim can't believe that worked. He's not sure yet what to do about that paper but he'll figure it out. He's side by side with Spock hiking back to their dormitory with a huge grin on his face.

"I can't believe you got away with roasting them like that. Amazing. you didn't tell me you were writing a paper based on our little competition. Hell."

Probably for the best. This way Jim didn't forego any more sleep or classes to try to push himself harder.

"Finally we'll have something to DO around here."

[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.

[smartass_captain]

"It was so hard not to just give that guy the biggest shit eating grin I had. I thought my face was going to cramp I was trying so hard not to alter my expression at all. You make it look easy but it really isn't."

With a murmured thanks for Spock getting the door, Jim hauls the kal-toh set back up onto its place on Spock's side of the room. Once he's arranged it just so, he turns back to the other. He's just about to suggest further plans when Spock speaks up. For a second Jim just stares but then immediately hurries over to the thermostat to crank the temperature up.

"Damn, Spock. You should have said something sooner! I had no idea. I left it where it was at when I got in, figuring you'd already set to to where you wanted it."

Though after a second or two he adds,

"It uh. It going to be a problem if I dress down more often when we're just lounging in here then? I don't mind but it'll be pretty warm for me otherwise." And that is the truth, but Jim would be lying if he didn't also want to see if Spock ever tried to catch peeks of him in states of undress now that he's actively trying to get the Vulcan to notice he's hitting on the guy.

[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."