Author's Note: I've been on a Spock/Kirk fic craze lately; that and Delko/Wolfe from CSI: Miami. (Unfortunately, in the latter case, there haven't been many new fictions on them, which saddens me greatly; Adam Rodriguez and Jonathan Togo are beautiful men.) Anyway, not sure if my fiction will be up to standards because I've read some pretty amazing ones on this site so far, but here's to hoping!

This fic was originally a one-shot, much longer, and about something else entirely, but I totally changed my mind after a random spark of inspiration and I decided to make this a chaptered fic with a completely new idea! Same title though—I really wanted this title to work. Anyway, here's to hoping I don't get writer's block in the middle of this! I tend to be awful at keeping up with chaptered fictions (which is why I ran away to this penname in the first place, but hopefully my bio explains it better if you're curious).

Disclaimer: None of the characters or the original plot of the film belongs to me, though if it did, there would be more than just hints of a relationship between Spock and our lovely blonde captain. There's going to be a few random OC's in here though, which are mine, so please don't take them!

Warnings: This fic is somewhat AU with a bit of a fantasy element to it (set years after the 2009 movie), and is set to be angsty because I've been in a melancholy mood as of late (suffering major writer's block on my other stories on different pseudonyms). As a result, I've made our poor Kirk blind (and other terrible things will happen to him in later chapters, because I'm mean). Don't worry though, I'm planning on making it all better in the end giving this story a happy conclusion, unless of course reviewers vote otherwise, in which case I will just be super malicious.

If you haven't guessed already, this fic is going to be filled with slashy Spirky goodness, so if that's not your cup of tea, then you will probably want to avoid this story. Not sure if there will be sex scenes, but I'll leave the rating at M just in case I feel inspired—I suppose I can always just take it down if things don't end up in that direction. I'm also going to try to stick in some Chulu, since I love that pairing as well, but we'll see how that goes—I'm pretty awful at writing accents. Finally, characters might be OOC because this is my first time writing this pairing and this fandom, so please forgive me in advance!

Basically, I honestly have no bloody idea what I'm doing, so here goes nothing!

The Prettiest Blue Eyes
Prologue

"...and that concludes our lesson for today. Please be prepared to discuss your thoughts on tonight's textbook chapters for next class. Those who have queries are permitted to ask me at this time; I will remain at the front of the room for precisely ten minutes. Class dismissed."

The sound of papers shuffling could be heard throughout the lecture hall as most students packed their things and filed out of the room. A couple of the students stayed behind to ask some questions.

"Professor Spock!"

The Vulcan man teaching the class was momentarily distracted from his conversation with a student by a voice coming from the doorway. He looked over at the young man who had spoken, a brunette with hazel eyes, and slowly raised an eyebrow.

"Mr. Spencer. May I help you? I trust the matter is somewhat pressing, given that you've just interrupted a conversation I was having with one of your fellow classmates?"

The brunette at the door rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Sorry Professor," he said. "It's just that I almost forgot to tell you that someone is here to see you sir; they asked me before class started to let you know they'd be waiting for you until after your lecture was over."

"Were you given a name?"

"I don't think he wants to draw any attention, sir."

It wasn't that difficult to catch the meaning behind the young man's words. "Very well, do you know where he is waiting?"

"Yes, sir."

Spock gave a slight nod. "Then I ask that you please wait there a moment, Mr. Spencer, until after I have finished providing assistance to your fellow companions."

"Of course, sir."

If Spock were to give in to his human half, he might have sighed. Instead, he returned his attention to his students and patiently answered their questions before returning his attention to the young man at the door. The brunette straightened up quickly as his professor approached.

"Mr. Spencer," said Spock.

Timothy Spencer slightly tilted his head. "This way, Professor Spock. Admiral Kirk is waiting for you in the gardens out back."

The young man, who was in his early twenties, knew better than to wait for some kind of response from his professor and began leading the way. Spock wordlessly followed behind him. The Vulcan noted with mild amusement at how almost predictable Jim Kirk's choice for cover had been—the man had always loved being in the outdoors, and the gardens behind the newest Starfleet Academy were one of the prettiest places on campus. It was set up like a labyrinth; most people didn't venture too far into it during the week so as not to risk getting lost before classes, but it was a popular place to hold special events or explore on the weekends. Spock also couldn't help but wonder a little at how Jim Kirk had managed to stay under his radar—logically, he should have been able to sense Jim's presence the minute he was within a few miles from the campus. The Vulcan idly tucked this thought away though, for the time being.

Spock further noted that his student was taking them the slightly longer route to the gardens—the path the young man had chosen was a logical one to take in order to avoid large throngs of people either returning to their dorms or switching classes, but probably highly unnecessary, since it was most unlikely that the curiosity of the many students currently littering the halls would be provoked by them. Still, Spock found himself able to appreciate the gesture all the same; he had been trained over the years by both his mother and former captain to always appreciate "all the little things," as they liked to call them, no matter how meaningless they initially seemed from Spock's logical point of view.

Spock had to raise an eyebrow though when Timothy led him down a different corridor from the one he had been expecting and watched him as he started to tap on the unit attached to the windowed walls until he seemed to find what he was looking for. Timothy opened what appeared to be an electrical hatch and twisted one of the knobs a few times, then took one step back. There was a low hissing sound and Spock had to admit he was mildly surprised when the wall in front of Timothy slowly pushed outward like a door, bringing them face-to-face with one of the labyrinth's tall bush walls. Spock followed Timothy inside and the young man pressed something on the other side of the secret door that allowed it to close back into place. Spock hadn't seen what though, as he had been observing his surroundings; he quickly deduced that they were most likely on one of the two outer edges of the labyrinth that should not have been accessible at all as the ends of the long bush walls were pressed up against the school building.

"How very interesting, Mr. Spencer," Spock said drily. "I was unaware our academy possessed any secret passageways."

He raised an eyebrow upon catching the curse that passed through his student's lips in the form of a whisper that his Vulcan ears picked up that most others probably would have missed. Timothy Spencer turned slowly on his heels and grimaced at his professor.

"Well, er...that's because there aren't supposed to be any."

The young man shifted his weight on his feet somewhat nervously. In his excitement to try out the new passageway he had spent many hours working on and perfecting with his best friend Keifer Hawke—who was practically famous campus-wide for being a prankster and troublemaker—it had completely slipped his mind to be careful who he showed the recently finished passageway to. After all, tampering with school property was not just a violation of rules, it was also a no-brainer that it wasn't something students should have been doing in their spare time. He hadn't worried too much with leading Admiral Kirk there, since the man had been more than enthusiastic to try his secret passageway, but Timothy had completely forgotten about the extreme likelihood of his Vulcan professor disapproving. A very important factor because of the romantic relationship between his professor and the admiral, a publicly known fact, which meant Timothy really did not want to be on his professor's bad side. Especially since his professor was Vulcan, and everyone knew that a person valuing the longevity of his or her own life would never provoke a Vulcan.

"But, on the brighter side, when Admiral Kirk caught me before classes this morning, he asked me if I knew a nice isolated place where he could wait until your lecture was over, so he wouldn't be overwhelmed by people who recognized him and wanted to ask him questions. I mean, he hardly ever visits the campus so it's understandable," Timothy said hurriedly, trying to somewhat change the subject. "I told him I knew just the place."

He conveniently left out that he probably would have wanted to ask the admiral a thing or two himself had the man not made his request. Timothy remembered having felt rather lucky this morning; he had been sitting around on the front steps of the academy about an hour before most classes would normally start, drawing something in his sketchbook, when he had been approached by the admiral. Timothy had recognized the man almost instantly and had pretty much fallen starstruck; he had heard of stories of the beloved former captain of the USS Enterprise occasionally coming Starfleet Academy's Delta Zeta-Tau Chapter to visit Professor Spock. Before today though, Timothy had always waved off tales of such sightings as nothing more than empty rumors.

Spock didn't say anything for a minute and then gave him a slight nod.

"I appreciate your candor, Mr. Spencer," said Spock.

Timothy momentarily relaxed. His relief was short-lived.

"However, an explanation from you at some point in the near future is expected. Please also note, Mr. Spencer, that Vulcans do possess an impeccable memory and this incident will not be forgotten," Spock said as if he had picked up on Timothy's next fleeting thought.

"Of course, sir," Timothy said with a weak smile. "Admiral Kirk is just at the end of this path and around the corner, sir, he's seated on a bench where the dead end is."

"I see you've had time to decorate as well," said Spock, who was still clearly unamused.

He continued as they walked. "And though I understand your intentions, Mr. Spencer, I find it to be highly illogical that you placed the admiral in such a limiting space, as it is quite hazardous. Though Admiral Kirk waiting in a place away from inquisitive eyes is preferred, complete isolation was rather unnecessary."

Timothy was starting to look as if he wished nothing more than to disappear from the face of the planet.

"He also may have preferred a more open space with slightly more sunlight," Spock said while resisting the human urge to scrunch his nose in disapproval.

"Aw, lay off him, Spock," came a familiar Midwestern drawl as the two men turned the corner. "Leave the poor kid alone, he did what I asked. It's partially my fault anyway, I didn't exactly specify that I was looking for a wide open area to stretch my legs out in or that I wanted to catch a few more rays of sunshine. It's not like I'm a plant."

If Timothy hadn't been so terrified of Spock at the moment, he might have smiled. In fact, under different circumstances he might have even felt a little lucky to be able to watch the two men interact like this.

"Indeed, I agree that perhaps you should have been more specific," said Spock. "However, I also cannot condone his irresponsible behavior. He has violated school regulations in addition to placing you in a potentially hazardous environment."

"Wait a minute, are we talking about this kid's secret door?" Jim asked, his blue eyes sparkling brightly with amusement. "Because I actually thought that was pretty cool. I mean even I'm still trying to figure out how he pulled that off, making a door like that so seamless without getting caught or destroying a section of the school. Brilliant, if you ask me."

Admiral James Tiberius Kirk was suddenly way, way up on Timothy Spencer's mental list of most likable people in the universe. Timothy was always a bit of a skeptic, so he hadn't always fully believed all the stories he had heard about the admiral, but it seemed to him that at least the ones he had heard about the man's personality were true—he could now easily imagine the man having been one of the more pleasant captains to have worked under.

"I suppose it is something you would approve, given your previous track record as a student," said Spock.

"You're damn right about that," the admiral said with a smile.

Timothy couldn't help but wonder though why the admiral seemed to be looking either through or past them as he spoke and not directly at them. Timothy remembered there had been at least a few discussions about the man during some lectures, but he couldn't seem to recall anything about him being socially inept in any way or having trouble maintaining eye contact when speaking. Admiral Kirk was one of those kinds that people seemed to obsess over, like a celebrity, so he wouldn't have been surprised if someone had mentioned something in one of those discussions like the color of his underwear when he was captaining the USS Enterprise. Timothy had no idea how people found out about such stuff, but he had come to learn over the years that one should never underestimate a diehard fan. Anyway, the only facts that vaguely came to mind were ones about his time as captain of the USS Enterprise, and how he had unexpectedly and abruptly disappeared from the public eye—even though he was still considered to be on active duty—not too many years after being promoted to admiral. Timothy was pretty sure the reason behind this had been mentioned at some point as well, but he couldn't seem to fish it out of his memory; possibly because that may have been one of the times he hadn't exactly been engaged in the discussion. He found himself now ironically wishing he had paid a little more attention to his classes.

"Regardless, I still do not approve of the location he chose for you, as there is only one possible exit."

"Geezus, Spock, I might be blind, but that sure as hell doesn't mean I'm useless! You know my other senses have gotten ten times stronger since I lost my sight—I can still get out of any situation, no matter how complicated."

Timothy felt his jaw drop slightly. He hadn't known the admiral was blind—perhaps someone might have mentioned it in class—it would definitely explain the lack of eye contact though. However, the way his professor was now looking at him made him think maybe it wouldn't have been mentioned in class after all. He quickly stopped gaping.

Spock spoke to him tersely. "You will not mention what you just heard to anyone."

Timothy nodded. "O-of course, sir."

"You are now dismissed, Mr. Spencer, as there are some things that I wish to discuss with Admiral Kirk in private."

Spock paused for a moment and Timothy saw him glance briefly in the admiral's direction before looking at him again.

"And...thank you...for your assistance."

If he didn't know better, Timothy thought it almost seemed like his professor had said that last part a bit grudgingly, as if he had somehow been mentally egged on by Admiral Kirk; not that it really seemed possible to him.

"No problem, professor," he said.

He stopped and turned back to face the two men just as he was about to leave.

"Um, Professor Spock?"

The Vulcan raised an eyebrow. "What is it, Mr. Spencer?"

"Erm...about getting back out..."

The eyebrow lowered. "Yes, of course."

Timothy smiled somewhat sheepishly. "There's two buttons on the bit of wall under the third window from the right. Just press the top one and it should let you out. It should be easy to see; they are colored to blend in, but if you look closely you can see that they've got a ring around them where they were cut out."

"Duly noted."

"Well, um, afternoon then, Professor, Admiral."

Jim Kirk smiled and lifted a hand in farewell. "See ya around, kid!"

Timothy couldn't help but hope a little for the admiral's words to be more than just a friendly goodbye as he turned and left. He had to find Keifer; he was sure his best friend would want to hear about this.

Jim Kirk chuckled while the young man's footsteps faded away and disappeared. His smile somewhat disappeared when he felt Spock turn around to face him; he felt some of his lover's melancholy through their bond.

"Something the matter?" he asked.

"Something is troubling me, yes," said Spock. "Until my student informed of of your arrival, I was unaware that you were here, which is highly illogical, since I should have been able to sense you being in close proximity the minute you were at least five miles from the campus. I await your explanation as to why I could not."

"Wow, so it really did work!" Jim said, excitement flickering in his eyes.

Spock mentally frowned. "I fail to understand."

Jim shook his head and laughed. "It's just a mental block thing I've been learning from Stonn. He's been teaching me how to do it—I just wanted to learn in case I ever needed to use it."

Stonn. Spock's eyes narrowed. Though their relationship had considerably improved since he had dissolved his childhood bond with T'Pring, allowing her and Stonn to become bondmates, Spock still found that he didn't always see eye-to-eye with the other Vulcan. He apparently would be needing to confront the other Vulcan later.

"You plan on keeping secrets from me, Jim?" Spock asked.

He would be lying if he didn't admit that he was feeling somewhat offended.

"No, no! Nothing like that," Jim said, shaking his head. "Just, you know, I always feel like you're distracting yourself during classes by checking in on me constantly through our bond. Turns out this wall method that I've been learning from Stonn makes it so you only feel positive feelings being projected from our bond. Don't worry, I've only been using it while you're in class or on official business."

"I still do not understand your wish to keep things from me."

Jim made a slight noise of frustration. "No, Spock, I'm not keeping anything from you, I just don't want you getting unnecessarily sidetracked while you're at work! Don't you remember that one time you picked up when I was feeling kind of distressed, and you were so focused on it you just completely froze mid-sentence while lecturing your class?"

Spock didn't reply, but he did remember the incident Jim was referring to. About a month ago he had sensed his lover's feelings of frustration and pain during one of his lectures and had been mildly alarmed. He had been probing Jim through their link in class for the source of his lover's discomfort, which was why he had trailed off and confused the students in his class.

"Well turned out it was just because I was having a little stomachache, remember?" Jim said with a slight chuckle. "Hardly worth stopping class for, don't you think?"

"I would have to disagree," said Spock. "Regardless of the size or gravity of certain issues, I request that you desist from using Stonn's unfavorable technique and allow for our line of communication to remain open."

"All right, whatever," Jim said.

He squirmed a little bit when he felt Spock send him a disapproving telepathic nudge.

"Hey! Okay! I'm sorry, I won't do it again," he said. "Please forgive me?"

Spock didn't feel reassured until he felt Jim's somewhat remorseful feelings through their bond—he knew then that Jim must have discovered Spock's feelings of hurt from the thought of Jim keeping things from him. It didn't matter to the Vulcan if he saw or felt the worst sides of his mate; as a Vulcan male by nature he wanted to be there for all his partner's highs and lows.

"Anyway I like that kid—Spencer, or whatever you called him," Jim said. "Seriously, Spock, go easy on him, will ya?"

"That was one of my students from this afternoon's lecture," said Spock. "His surname is Spencer. Timothy is his given name."

"Timothy Spencer," said Jim. "He seems like he's got a lot of potential, that one."

Spock sighed and relaxed a little, the way he always did when it was just the two of them alone. "Perhaps, but regardless, you should be more careful what you say, Jim, your condition is not considered to be common knowledge."

The blonde man slightly scrunched up his nose.

"Aw, come on now, darlin'," he said. "I know you Vulcans can be all possessive and whatnot, but seriously, I don't understand why I should be ashamed of the fact that I'm blind."

The Vulcan moved closer to his lover and reached out with one of his hands, gently running his fingers through golden locks of hair. He allowed himself a small smile as he felt a slight shiver run through his mate's body from his touch.

"Not shame, T'hy'la," Spock murmured lovingly. "I merely do not see the logical reasoning behind making your weaknesses public. Information that could put you in harm's way, should certain people become aware of it."

Jim laughed and reached out, drawing the Vulcan close; one arm wrapped around his lover's waist and his other hand entwining with the Spock's free one.

"Fine, you overprotective bastard," Jim said, his voice somewhat muffled from being buried into Spock's stomach. "I'll be more careful next time, promise."

"I calculate the likelihood of that statement being true at only ten percent," Spock said in a tone that was faintly teasing. "Perhaps even that is a generous overestimation."

"Mmhmm, whatever you say, honey," said Jim. "Now c'mere and give me a kiss."

The Vulcan slightly inclined his head. "I will never understand why humans consider calling their mate the equivalent of nectar or an infant as affectionate terms of endearment. And on the contrary, Jim, we have been kissing for the last 50.35 seconds."

He gently squeezed their intertwined hands as if to emphasize his point.

"Just shut up, you difficult bastard," Jim said, smiling as he pulled away from Spock's waist.

He then lifted his hand, the one that had been around his lover's waist, grasped part of Spock's professorial robe, and pulled the Vulcan down for a kiss on the lips. The two of them stayed like that for a while, basking in the warmth of the loving bond that connected their souls together.

A/N: Much to my dismay, I did not complete this opening bit in time for the first day of the new year, but hey! At least I'm somewhat close, no? Anyway, happy new year, everyone!

So I think my little Timothy Spencer OC is growing on me a little bit—feel free to voice your opinions on that one as well—but for now I'm thinking that you all might be seeing him again in later chapters as a supporting character. Hell, if enough readers like him, maybe I'll even give him a girlfriend (or boyfriend), depending on the type of feedback I get. Not entirely sure if he's definitely going to make a recurring appearance yet, but I think I've got an idea or two that might help give room for the idea to work (probably not until later on in the story though, since I've got Jim and Spock's backstory up until this prologue to work on first). If I manage to fit him in somehow, you'll probably be seeing some of his friend too, who was mentioned in passing this chapter.

Anyway, did you all like it? Hate it? Don't know what to think about it? Any constructive feedback would be incredibly appreciated. Thanks in advance, and here's to seriously hoping I don't lose steam and get writer's block halfway through this thing!