Not my best work. In my opinion, "Listening Skills" or "When Spock Met Carol" is, as far as K/S one-shots go. Still, it entertained me and hopefully will entertain you! :)

Transformation

"So, Mr. Spock, how about dinner? In my quarters?" asked Captain Kirk with a smile just this side of obnoxious.

Spock raised a quick eyebrow. Ever since he'd broken up with Uhura, he'd noticed an increase of Kirk's attempts to spend personal time with him. While he found Kirk to be a competent, if unconventional, captain, he believed that Kirk was not compatible with him on a personal level for a variety of reasons. By the way Kirk conducted himself, he was most likely trying to annoy him and was not serious with his inquiries. "I will be unavailable, Captain."

"Well, some other time then," said Kirk, not missing a beat. This only confirmed Spock's suspicions. The turbolift arrived at Deck 5, so Spock departed without further thought of the incident. He'd barely arrived at his quarters when a red alert sounded.

"Captain Kirk to the Bridge!" came Uhura's voice through the loudspeakers.

Spock turned around and caught up with Kirk as they rushed back to their stations.

"There is an urgent distress call coming from a nearby planet," explained Uhura when they arrived.

"All right, head for those coordinates, Mr. Sulu," ordered Kirk.

"Aye, Captain," said Sulu, obeying the order.

Within fifteen minutes, they were orbiting the planet, and had assembled a landing party that included Spock, Kirk, McCoy, Uhura, Giotto, and a few other security officers. Mr. Scott was left in command.

They materialized on a planet with mostly purple flora and thick orange turf. Spock personally found the combination distasteful but ignored it in favor of searching for the emergency, his tricorder whirring. The distress call had appeared to come from these coordinates, yet there were no sentient beings or structures in sight.

"All right, we spread out. But we keep in contact with regular check-ins," Kirk ordered.

They paired up, but it turned out there were an odd number of people, so Spock volunteered to search alone. Not having time to argue, Kirk waved him off with a warning that if he didn't check in every five minutes, he'd send someone after him.

Spock gave him a curt nod and began his search. His tricorder sensors appeared to reflect back to him in a strange way. He believed it was because of the flora, so he tried to find a clearing to get better readings.

There. Directly ahead, he was picking up a strange reading. Unwilling to alert anyone until he had more concrete details, he set forth to investigate. He glanced up at a treelike plant that formed a perfect arch over his head as he passed under it. Though he never admitted it to anyone, he secretly enjoyed it when he found symmetry in nature.

That thought had just finished forming when suddenly he found it very difficult to hold his tricorder, due to the ground rushing to him at alarming speed and the instrument growing considerably in size. Having no choice, he dropped it clumsily. His clothes, and everything else grew too big to fit him in a matter of seconds.

Once he landed on all fours on the ground, an inspection of his surroundings led him to the logical conclusion that he had shrunk. He also appeared to have transformed in other physical ways – he had a furry tail, paws, and legs. As far as he could ascertain, his entire body was covered in fur. He tried to speak, but all that came out was something between a meow and a lion's roar. So, somehow, he'd spontaneously been turned into a feline.

He hadn't recovered from the shock yet when purple furred bipeds scurried towards him, making funny sounds that resembled laughter. He instinctively jumped for the nearest tree, but they caught him and forced a strange collar on him. Then they grabbed his clothes, communicator, and tricorder before running away.

Spock chased after them until they arrived at a deep river. They climbed into a mini submarine at the water's edge, which was quite deep, and fired warning shots at him which made it quite impossible to pursue them further. They dropped the communicator so it sank to the bottom of the river, and departed without further hesitation.

Spock debated his options. He could stay here in hope that his communicator would be tracked to this location, but with the strong current and depth of the river, and the unknown content of it, it was impossible to calculate where it would ultimately end up. His best choice would be to find the landing party and attempt to communicate what happened.

As a large feline, his sense of smell was quite well developed, along with his hearing and sense of direction, so it did not take him long to find Kirk and McCoy, who were the loudest of the searchers.

"Hey, what is that?" Kirk said when he caught sight of Spock.

McCoy stepped in front of him, tricorder whirring. "It appears to be some variation of the black panther we have on Earth."

Kirk had his hand on his phaser. "Is it dangerous?" Both men stilled, waiting to see what he would do.

Spock most certainly didn't want to be stunned, so he considered his options. Most signs of surrender might actually be deemed aggressive in a feline, so he decided to roll on his back and expose his belly. Though undignified, he was pleased to see it was effective as the two men relaxed.

"Well, it looks like his bark is worse than his bite," mused McCoy. He hadn't liked the look of those fangs and claws, but at least it appeared docile. "I'd still be careful, though. This could be alligator tears."

Kirk got closer to him, curious. Normally this was where Spock would be chiding him for taking unnecessary risks, but now he was grateful for Kirk's human whims. "This is the first sign of life we've seen. He acts like he's domesticated. Maybe it was his owner that set the distress call. Let's keep looking."

Spock yowled loudly and scratched at the ground in attempt to form letters. Unfortunately, even with his wicked claws, he was unable to penetrate to the ground in order to form anything legible.

"Hey, buddy, don't worry, we'll find them," said Kirk, apparently believing Spock's plea for attention was distress on behalf of his supposed caretakers.

Kirk and McCoy set off, communicating their find to everyone else, so Spock had no choice but to follow and come up with another plan. McCoy kept glancing at him darkly, obviously not trusting him, but Kirk smiled, winked, and rolled his eyes at McCoy behind the physician's back. Apparently the Captain believed McCoy was being overly grumpy. He had never been this open and sincere with him when he was humanoid, and Spock decided that the change in demeanor was not unpleasant.

"Hey," said Kirk. "Kirk to Spock, come in." He repeated it several times, and Spock yowled loudly, once more scratching fruitlessly at the ground. Kirk ignored him, raising his voice instead. "He's not answering," Kirk said worriedly. Though Spock had witnessed the Captain's anxiety for other crew members, he'd never seen how the man reacted when something happened to Spock. It was rather unexpected to see how sincere, once again, Kirk seemed. "This isn't like him. He's always so punctual."

He communicated to everyone, and Scotty, to search for Spock. Scotty gave them the coordinates to Spock's communicator, so Kirk and McCoy headed there, along with a few security officers. The rest continued the search for the distress call's origin.

They reached the edge of the river, considerably further downstream from where Spock had seen the furred aliens drop it in. Scotty confirmed the coordinates as being deep underwater. Kirk stared into it, a devastated look on his face. If Spock could, he would raise an eyebrow. It looked like Kirk actually might care about him, despite the impression of bravado he put on before Spock. Then Kirk straightened, a look of determination on his face. "Just because his communicator is down there, doesn't mean he is," Kirk determined. Spock would have congratulated him on his logic if he could.

"He could have lost it further upstream," Giotto offered. "It could have gotten swept here by the current."

Spock quieted in satisfaction. Yes, the Enterprise officers were competent. They would figure out what happened. They walked upstream, searching for any signs of him. After nearly half an hour, they reached the point where he'd seen the aliens disappear. Spock swatted his paw at the water and yowled as loud as he could. Kirk walked up to him with a smile. "Hey, what is it, boy?"

"It's hard to tell, with the thick vegetation, but there appears to be some kind of scuffing marks here," Giotto pointed out. "Could be tracks."

Spock rushed ahead of them and yowled loudly, clearly inviting them to follow. The officers glanced at Kirk, and he shrugged, moving toward Spock. Spock led them to the arch where he'd been turned into the panther-like creature.

"Look here, Captain," said Giotto. In the purple shrubbery, there was a blanket and a few bits of an apple like fruit. "Someone has been here."

They all moved to stare at it. Spock returned to the arch and yowled as loudly as he could. Maybe if they scanned it, they would find something.

"Hey buddy," Kirk said. "You know something about what happened, don't you?" He stared at him, and Spock stared back. Kirk turned to his officers. "Scan the area, see what you find."

They all set to work. Spock kept scratching at the tree and yowling. Kirk smiled at him and scanned the large plant. He did a close visual inspection. "There's nothing here," he concluded, turning back to Spock.

Spock flicked his tail. Though considered an emotional feline gesture, he meant it as a "negative, keep trying." Of course Kirk believed he was a mere animal, and so ignored him.

They found further evidence of some sort of alien campout, but nothing of Spock.

"Orders, Captain," said Giotto, when their search hit a dead end.

"We go back to the ship. Analyze our readings, take further scans. Maybe something will turn up. Then we return and search again."

Spock knew he must return with them. His best bet would be to appeal to Kirk. For the first time, Spock found himself appreciative of his Captain's tendency to bend the rules. Bracing himself against the inevitable invasion of personal space, he sidled up to Kirk and wrapped himself around his legs. "Hey buddy, you can't come with us," said Kirk. Spock gritted his teeth and rubbed himself against him insistently. This was very undignified, but it was his only means of persuasion. He felt Kirk gingerly stroke his back, and he admitted to himself that it wasn't entirely unpleasant. "Maybe we can make an exception," Kirk mused thoughtfully.

"What?" said McCoy.

"He's our only clue as to what happened to Spock. I think he knows something. He might be able to help us."

"We can't just beam him onto the ship! Who knows what – "

"We'll go through the decontamination sequence. It'll be fine. Scotty, eight to beam up. Including the feline."

"Aye, Captain," agreed Scotty. Seconds later, Spock materialized onto the transporter padd along with everyone else. He reviewed his options. Though his paws were unwieldy, if he gained access to a console it was possible he might be able to find a way to communicate. However, without voice control, it would be very difficult. He followed Kirk.

"I'm going to send you to Sickbay so Dr. McCoy can further examine you," Kirk told him.

Spock stopped in his tracks and turned to the turbolift, where Uhura was heading for the bridge.

"Hey! You can't go to the Bridge."

Spock ignored him. In Sickbay, he had far fewer options to communicate, and it was possible Uhura might pick up on his attempts.

Kirk ran ahead of him and blocked his entry. "Hey Mister, you're going with McCoy," he said to Spock. Spock glared at him and swished his tail. It appeared the Captain had won this round. There was no way to get to the Bridge without his say so, and a direct attack would only get him stunned and restrained. He had been fortunate that those measures had not been taken yet as it was.

Tail in the air, he turned around and followed McCoy.

"It's almost like he knows what we're saying," Kirk laughed.

"Oh, don't be ridiculous, Jim, it's a goddam cat," grumbled McCoy. "I'm a doctor, not a veterinarian!"

"He might give us clues," Kirk insisted.

"Yeah, sure. C'mon, Midnight," McCoy said, continuing on his way.

Spock decided that Midnight was at least a more complimentary moniker than hobgoblin, so he made no dissenting noise. He submitted to McCoy's thorough examination with aplomb. Perhaps some Vulcan characteristics had survived the transformation.

Unfortunately, that was not the case. McCoy also seemed strangely unaware of this collar. He did, however, find traces of Starfleet issue boots embedded in his claws. It was concluded that they had to have come from Spock's boots. Spock realized he must have scratched them during his transformation.

"Maybe he rescued it," Kirk surmised, when given the news.

"Well, there's nothing more I can find from him here," McCoy informed him. "What do you want done with him?"

"Take him to my quarters," Kirk said.

So, it would appear he would have to go to the place he had been avoiding after all. Perhaps, if Kirk's terminal was not voice activated, he would be able to use it. He followed the doctor without protest and allowed himself to be locked inside.

Unfortunately, it didn't take him long to realize that all attempts to operate the computer were futile. He would have to utilize some other form of communication. He investigated the Captain's quarters. He found nothing promising, except paper books. Perhaps if he opened one to a page that best described his situation, Kirk might realize what happened. He finally knocked the Bible to the ground and opened it to the story of Jonah and the whale. Not exactly the most ideal metaphor, but it was the closest one he could find. He was, in a way, also trapped inside the body of an animal. It also was a distant parallel to submarines. He dragged to book near the door, curled up beside it, and waited.

However, Kirk took so long to return that Spock ended up falling asleep. His feline brain did not allow for effective meditation. The swish of the door opening awoke him an indeterminate amount of time later. It seemed his inner clock was failing as well.

The captain looked more haggard than Spock had ever seen him. The door swished shut behind him, and Kirk put his face in his hands in a matter that indicated distress. Then he looked at Spock, and the book beside him. "Hey, buddy, leave my books alone," he said softly, picking it up and closing it without looking at the page it was opened to. Spock twitched his ears. Perhaps he would just have to be persistent. If he kept up a pattern of behavior, Kirk was bound to notice.

Kirk ordered a water from his replicator, then glanced at Spock thoughtfully. "What do you eat? Probably meat," Kirk mused. He ordered chicken.

While the chicken was more appealing to him as a feline, Spock still could not bring himself to eat it.

"That's right, we didn't see any other critters around, did we?" Kirk commented. "Maybe you're a vegetarian." He ordered an assortment of vegetables.

Spock ate them gratefully, though they did taste odd to him.

"Well, if you're not going to eat the chicken, I will," Kirk decided. He sat down beside Spock and they ate in companionable silence. Spock kept glancing at him. Kirk was very different when he was alone. Serious, sincere, kind. Spock found the change rather pleasant. It was fascinating how humans portrayed themselves in a certain way when people were present, and differently when unobserved. Vulcans were not that way at all.

"Well, McCoy says I should get some sleep before continuing the search," Kirk told him when they were finished eating. "But there's no way I can sleep, wondering what happened to Spock. He's my best officer. I can't just sit here when who knows what is happening to him."

Though Kirk had complimented him regularly on his work, Spock hadn't known that he believed he was the best officer on the Enterprise. His vocal chords engaged in a purring-like sound, which he quickly made efforts to stop. Especially seeing that Kirk was standing up, and striding for the door.

Spock sprinted in front of Kirk and blocked his way, swishing his tail.

"Hey, don't worry. I'll be back," Kirk promised.

Spock found it most illogical for the captain to risk his health to search for him, especially since he was standing right in front of him. He risked a growl. He disliked the emotionalism of the sound, but it was his only way to communicate.

"Hey," said Kirk sternly. "If you misbehave, I'll be forced to confine you in a holding cell. I don't want to do that, but I will."

Defeated, Spock stopped growling and slunk back to his food dish.

"He must understand my tone of voice," Kirk concluded. That made sense. Without further delay, he left.

With the captain gone, Spock once more knocked the Bible off the shelf and opened it to Jonah, and lay beside it near the door as before. Hours later, he heard McCoy and Kirk approach, arguing loudly.

"Just give me one more!" Kirk pleaded.

"I already gave you two! That's enough! It's time for you to get some sleep. Giotto's team can continue the search."

"I can't give up on him! I've got to find him!" Kirk sounded more desperate that Spock expected.

"I know, we all miss the hobgoblin. But working yourself to death isn't going to get him found any quicker!"

"Fine! But only for a few hours."

There was silence. If his previous data could be correlated to form a hypothesis, they were most likely glaring at each other.

"You better not sneak past me this time."

"Goodnight, Bones," Kirk snapped, then the door swished open.

Spock was surprised to see how much of a mess Kirk looked. This was far beyond the stress he normally exhibited over a crew member. Spock wondered why this was. Kirk rubbed his bloodshot eyes and stumbled past him, barely sparing him a glance. "Oh, not again," he said, seeing the book. He picked it up, and carried it with him to the shelf. "The Bible," he mused. "I have a Christian, vegetarian feline." Kirk laughed in a slightly unhinged manner. Spock did not believe he would behave that way if he knew he was being observed. Kirk placed the book back on the shelf, and fell into bed without bothering to change.

Spock paced the quarters and searched his brain for further communication avenues, but he could think of none that Kirk would take seriously. He would just have to continue what he'd been doing.

Kirk woke a few hours later and left, presumably to continue searching for Spock. They followed the pattern over the next few days. Unfortunately, instead of realizing the pattern of the Jonah passage, Kirk ended up putting his books in a box where Spock could not get to them. Apparently, they'd belonged to his dad and he was worried the Spock would shred them.

So now, Spock had no further way to communicate. His only hope was that the Enterprise team would find the aliens, talk with them, and eventually deduce what happened to him.

Unfortunately, after another week of searching, the Enterprise was called away from the planet. Spock listened with interest as the Captain broadcasted throughout the ship.

"As you all know, Commander Spock has been missing for over a week. Every effort has been made to locate him. Starfleet Headquarters has just contacted us with an urgent mission to aid a Federation colony on the other side of this sector. Once complete, we will resume our search. I will not give up until we know what happened to him. I do not leave members of my crew behind. Kirk out."

Spock felt the subtle humming that indicated warp speed. Kirk entered his quarters a few hours later and collapsed on the bed. Spock detected soft sobs. Kirk lifted his head to look at him, tears down his face. "I hate this. I hate abandoning him. I know he doesn't even consider me to be a friend. But to me, he is so much more," Kirk admitted.

Spock regarded him silently. It seemed he had erred greatly in his judgment of Kirk. His devil may care attitude was merely a front to hide this side of him. If he did regain his Vulcan body, he would accept Jim's next invitation to dinner.

Jim passed out soon after and slept like a rock until the engines dropped out of warp. Spock paced restlessly as Jim readied himself for the mission. Unable to meditate, unable to use the computer, or even converse with anyone, he was quite bored.

Jim seemed to pick up on his. "Hey. I'll have one of my officers take you out for a walk around the ship," he offered. Spock stopped his pacing. Jim left. True to his word, a security officer entered his quarters a few hours later and strapped a harness on him. Spock thought it undignified, but tolerated it for the sake of leaving Jim's quarters.

The officer took him to the gym and let him loose. This was a much larger area than Jim's quarters. Spock stretched and ran around, leaping over the equipment, fascinated with his body's abilities. Though he had no desire to remain a feline for the long term, the agility and flexibility of his form proved to be quite engaging. A group of officers stopped to watch him, and a few of them even reached out to pet him. Spock shied away from it, though he made no aggressive moves. So far, he'd only allowed Jim to pet him. He had no desire for multiple people to pet him regularly.

He did not see Jim for a few days, only security officers. The officers started to grow lax in their supervision of him, and often handed off the task to someone else, since he never made any aggressive moves. Soon even the ones who at first kept their distance relaxed around him. Though he disapproved of the break in discipline, he decided to take advantage of it and wandered out into the hallway when no one was looking. Perhaps if he proved that he would not abuse his privilege of freedom, they would grant him more.

An officer spotted him and paged security, who sheepishly retrieved him. Stricter guard was placed over him after that, and they didn't allow him to freely roam around. Very well. That plan had a low probability of success anyway.

That night, Spock genuinely wished his plan had worked.

Jim brought a strange woman to his quarters. After a brief introduction that seemed to impress the female, he barely paid attention to Spock, instead flirting with her and presenting his bravado, which Spock now knew to be fake. Things got heated, and when they started to undress each other, Spock retreated to the bathroom. However, the bathroom door did little to muffle their activities. For reasons that Spock did not understand, he began to growl.

Jim either did not hear or chose to ignore him. Spock fell asleep. The next morning, voices woke him up.

"Hey, the Enterprise passes through this sector often. If you want, we could do this again," Jim offered. Spock fervently hoped it wasn't anytime soon.

A shrill laugh met his ears. "That's sweet, but no thank you. One night was enough for me."

Pleasantries were exchanged before Spock heard the woman leave. He stretched and reentered Jim's quarters. He was quite hungry.

Jim silently gave him his vegetables, and ate his own breakfast. "You know, every time, I think it's going to be different. But it always turns out the same." His tone was bitter.

A non-sequitur. Spock continued eating.

"Everyone wants a piece of me. But only once. I guess I'm always going to be alone. But I'm not entirely alone, am I? I've got you," Jim said, with a wan smile at Spock.

Spock stared at him. This wasn't what he expected from Jim Kirk. He was, of all things, lonely? Spock would never admit it to anyone else, but that was something he could relate to. Especially in this form.

"I've gotten permission to keep you. You're all I have left of Spock, now. Starfleet won't let me return to the planet right now. But I will, at my first opportunity," Jim said with determination.

Spock felt something inside him soften at this. He regretted the way he'd treated him before his transformation. He would not be so swift to judge him, or any other human, again. If he ever did regain his true form, he would make amends.

Later that night, Jim finally stumbled in, obviously drunk. He rambled on about random things, which Spock listened to idly, having nothing else in which to engage himself.

"You know," Jim said finally, "You kinda remind me of Spock. You know. You've got that look. The one that Spock gets on his face sometimes. It's really hot. Not on you, of course. But, you know, he's really hot. I'd totally hit that. More than once."

Spock began grooming himself, feeling strangely pleased. He'd never considered Jim that way, but now that he considered it, Jim was not unattractive.

"God, his hands," Jim groaned. "So hot. I have so many fantasies about them, you know?" He took off his pants and boxers and reclined on the bed, revealing a hardening cock.

Spock froze, realizing what was coming next as Jim started stroking himself. However, he couldn't bring himself to look away.

"Heh, you're such a pervert," Jim commented, and then ignored him. He began grunting and saying random things, though it was quite clear he was fantasizing about Spock. Spock knew he should go away, go into the bathroom, like last time Jim engaged in a sexual act. But his legs couldn't seem to move. As a feline, he had less control of his body than he liked.

After Jim brought himself to completion, he cleaned himself up and fell asleep.

Spock eyed the bed. He was so cold here on the floor all the time, and he was beginning to believe that he would never regain his Vulcan form. It was only logical to go where heat was provided. He jumped up, and curled against Jim. It was most pleasant. He was woken a few hours later by Jim petting him. Spock began to purr. They both fell back asleep.

This pattern continued for the next few weeks. Spock had bowed to the possibility that he might never again be a Vulcan. Though he was apart from the sciences he loved, he found his time quite pleasant. He curled up with Jim every night, purring, and often curled up on his feet as Jim pet him with one hand and did reports with the other. He listened patiently as Jim talked to him about all manner of things. Spock had never been this close to another person, not even with Uhura. He found a joy in life he'd never known before.

Then, a delegation of Ambassadors from various planets beamed on board. Spock heard snippets of what went on as they headed to Babel. Jim often ranted at how frustrating some of them were to deal with, and was rewarded at the end with lots of petting and praise at being a good listener. Spock found this quite pleasant.

However, the night before they were to arrive at Babel, Spock was awoken by someone covertly entering Jim's quarters. Spock froze, listening hard. They obviously did not have honorable intentions. He was proven right as he caught the glimpse of a knife.

Spock's hackles raised and he acted on pure instinct as he leaped out from under the covers with a roar. The humanoid shrieked as Spock tackled and bit him ferociously. He distantly noted that whomever it was, must be one of the Ambassadors and therefore was not informed of his existence. He certainly didn't smell familiar.

He heard Kirk order the lights on at call for security. Pausing mid bite, limbs struggling against the thrashing alien who was slashing at him blindly and painfully, he had a thought. With careful precision, he bit down on the alien's shoulder, and the humanoid slumped unconscious underneath him. Dazed, Spock staggered off him and collapsed, moaning in pain.

"Hey, hey buddy," Jim crooned to him, stroking his head, his voice a little shaky. "It's going to be okay. McCoy's on the way, you'll be okay. Please be okay," he pleaded. "You mean so much to me, you've got to pull through this."

It felt like ages until the doctor finally arrived and gave him pain medication as he tended his wounds, and also the would be assassin's injuries. Spock soon lost consciousness.

When he woke next, everything was different. Smaller. Spock blinked, and looked down. He was himself again, lying in a Sickbay biobed. Spock allowed himself some pleasure at the realization. The cause was sufficient.

McCoy strode in. "Ah, you're awake," he said.

Spock sat up. "Where is Jim? What happened?"

"Jim is currently saying goodbye to the ambassadors. Ambassador Krel, who you mauled, is being transferred to the Babel prison and awaiting trial."

Spock rose from the bed.

"Hey, wait a minute, Spock. Just where do you think you're going?"

"I must return to my post," he stated. "I have been absent for far too long."

"It'll wait a bit longer, sit down. You're not completely recovered yet!" McCoy told him.

"Very well," Spock reluctantly conceded. "May I inquire as to how I regained my biped status?"

"Well, we're not sure what happened. We brought you in here, bandaged you up, then you flatlined. I tried to revive you. Something fell off from around your neck and crumbled to dust. After that, I was successful in reviving you and you changed back into a Vulcan. Surprised the hell out of everyone and did a number on your injuries! It was touch and go, but you'll be fine." McCoy paused. "How'd it happen, by the way? Everyone is dying to know."

"I am unsure myself. I was conducting my search when I walked under the arched branch of the tree. I transformed and was surrounded by purple furred bipeds who confiscated everything I had. I chased after them, but they disappeared under the water via a submarine."

"Ah," said McCoy. "That makes sense. That explains why you went nuts at the river and the tree."

"I did not go nuts. It was the only way to communicate."

"Right," said McCoy with a smirk. "Just like rubbing against Jim was the only way to get back to the ship."

For some reason, Spock was forced to suppress a flush. "It is against regulation to beam aboard animals from a strange planet."

"Right," said McCoy. "Well, I'll leave you alone for now."

Spock expected that Jim would visit him soon, but that did not happen, even though he was there for a few more days. Though he tried not to engage in speculation, the evidence suggested that Jim had reacted negatively to realizing his new pet was really Spock. This did not sit well with him, and he resolved to mend things the first chance he got.

After Jim had seen the delegates off the ship, he returned to his quarters and sat with his face in his hands. While he was extremely relieved and happy to have Spock back on the ship, he couldn't believe that Spock had been his pet all this time. He was torn between utter humiliation and an odd feeling of hope. After all, no one had forced Spock to start sleeping on the bed with him. If he didn't like him, he would have stubbornly kept sleeping on the floor. Yet, he'd masturbated about Spock, right in front of him! More than once, too. And all those embarrassing things he'd said to him. How would he ever look him in the eye again?

Maybe Spock had just been trying to make the best of a bad situation. After all, it wasn't like Jim had given him the choice to go somewhere else. He'd been too damn eager to not be as lonely anymore, and Spock the panther had seemed like the perfect solution: independent, well behaved, intelligent, easy to care for. Not to mention badass with those fangs and claws. Jim remembered the awful roaring and how badly he'd mauled the assassin. The nerve pinch should have given him away, but Jim had thought the guy had just passed out from the pain or loss of blood, or both. Everything made sense now, everything that Jim had thought strange but dismissed. But, what would happen now?

Jim knew he was only delaying the inevitable, but he avoided Spock determinedly, even when he was released from Sickbay. When Spock reported for duty, Jim forced himself to meet his eyes and smiled. "Welcome back, Mr. Spock, you may report to your post," he said quickly before Spock could get a word in edgewise.

With a curt nod, Spock obeyed the implied order. Jim let his shoulders drop. Maybe things would just fall back into the way they were, and they'd never talk about it. That was far better than Spock asking for a transfer. At the end of the shift, Jim exited before Spock could, and made random rounds of the ship. When he did return to his quarters, he tried to ignore how empty they now seemed.

He successfully avoided Spock for the next few days, and brushed off his approach with a "Not now, Mr. Spock." However, Spock was very stubborn, and when the buzzer rang when Jim had fled to his quarters, he knew he couldn't put it off any longer. "Come."

Spock entered, his hands folded behind his back. Jim forced himself to face him. Now that he was looking, he realized how different Spock's expression was towards him now. Much softer, much more open. Jim's heart started beating faster and he swallowed nervously. "How can I help you, Mr. Spock?"

"You have been avoiding me," Spock stated bluntly. "We cannot function as a command team if we do not communicate regularly."

Jim hardened a bit. "Very well, Commander."

"Jim, I believe we need to discuss what has transpired."

Jim turned away from him, unable to face him anymore. "Well, Spock, you're finally free of my quarters. Congratulations."

He didn't see Spock's slight frown. "Jim, you are laboring under the impression that I found my time with you unpleasant. I assure you, it was not."

Jim glanced at him quickly, scratching his neck self-consciously. "Well, I'm glad it wasn't terrible." He forced a smile.

"Jim, what I wish to say…" Spock trailed off uncharacteristically.

"You don't have to say anything, Spock. If you want to go back to the way we were, we can do that. Just forget this whole thing."

"I do not wish to. Jim, before I became a feline, I had formed a false judgment of you. I believed you arrogant, careless of your relationships, and generally engaging in behavior I found offensive when you were not on duty. I did not believe you truly wished for a relationship with me; instead, I believed you were engaging in mockery and merely attempting to annoy me. You present a façade of bravado that I failed to see through. My time with you as a feline has proven all my judgments false. I was gratified by your determination to locate me, and your conduct during my time with you. Not only do I find spending personal time with you pleasing, I have also found my time away from you this past week to be disquieting."

Jim stared at him, his mouth slightly slack. Then a small, genuine smile began to form. "So if I ask you to dinner, you'll accept?"

"Affirmative."

"Then, sit down, Mr. Spock."

They sat down at his table after they replicated their desired meals. Spock reflected at how much more pleasant this was than eating on the floor.

Jim was eyeing him thoughtfully. Spock had retreated to the bathroom when he'd had sex with that girl – how humiliating - yet, he'd sat and watched him while he masturbated. Where was the logic in that? He started to grin maniacally.

Spock frowned. "Your expression is more gleeful than is normal."

"You watched me, Spock. You didn't retreat to the bathroom. Where was the logic in that?"

Spock froze. The moment where he could deny knowledge of what he meant, passed.

"I think you liked it, didn't you?" Jim prodded. The way forward in this new relationship was a bit awkward and uncertain, but he knew clearing the air would help things get comfortable again.

Spock faltered.

"Hey," said Jim, putting his hand on his.

Spock turned his hand over and returned the grip. "I am pleased to see you have dropped your false front. I prefer you this way."

"Seems like you're the only one that does," Jim mused.

"Jim," said Spock, starting to continue, then stopped. He'd waited long enough. He got up and gently kissed him.

"Spock," Jim whispered.

"There is no need for you to be alone anymore, Jim. I wish to continue the closeness we shared when I was a feline." He inwardly wondered at his emotional side coming out this far. Being a feline had affected his controls a great deal.

"Spock," Jim repeated and pulled him in for another gentle kiss. Then he drew back and smiled, stroking his hair gently. "You liked that, didn't you?"

"There was very little I did not like, Jim, when I saw your true self. With the exception of the female."

Jim looked embarrassed. "It won't happen again. That is, if you want that?"

"If you are referring to the relationship you have been aspiring for, then affirmative."

Jim broke out into a sincere grin. "You got it."