Artificial sunlight generated by the high-tech lights around the edges of the walls and faint rustling mixed with clanging greeted me as I was finally dragged into consciousness. I pulled the covers up under my chin tightly before reluctantly peeking my eyes open in the smallest squint possible.

I was met with the view of space swirling just outside the huge floor-to-ceiling windows that graced the length of the captain’s quarters. What, if anything, was able to see in from the deep, darkness of space just behind the thick, protective glass? The random thought was immediately cut off by a sickening throb in my temples paired with a fierce churn of my stomach.

The captain’s quarters. In an effort to focus on anything but the complete awfulness that coursed through my body, I wondered where said captain might be, as he wasn’t in bed beside me anymore. There were still sounds coming from somewhere — sounds that might be related to food or a warm beverage if I was lucky. Food, maybe not so much at the moment. But coffee blacker than my heart? That sounded like a gift from the very cosmos my gaze currently rested on.

Whatever noise was being made came to a stop, and glorious silence filled my ears. I nestled back into my blanket cocoon, burying my head into the pillow further and drawing in a deep, relaxing breath.

Sleep was just starting to pull me back into its peaceful embrace when I heard footsteps coming from behind me, and then felt cool air meet my back as the blankets were lifted. The mattress shifted, followed by Jim’s body pressing up behind me, conforming exactly with all the curves and angles of my body. An arm slid around my waist, pulling me closer to him, and his lips rested right next to my exposed ear.

“I know you’re awake.”

As he spoke, each word tickled the sensitive skin of my ear with his soft, distracting lips. My heart hitched as my mind mercilessly started to replay the fantasy it had conjured in my drunken dreams last night. With him pressed so tightly against me … I was suddenly hyper aware of every cell and nerve in my body. It took an incredible amount of focus to ensure my body stayed frozen still.

With as much focus as I could muster, I kept my movement contained to a smile. But before responding, I couldn’t help but nuzzle my ear against his lips just the slightest bit.

“I am now. I was almost asleep again after all that racket you were making.”

“Mmm, and to think I just missed out on a chance to hear more interesting tidbits from your dreams … damn, I should’ve waited to come tell you I made coffee.”

Every nerve and muscle in my body went rigid. I flung myself around to face Jim and very, very instantaneously regretted it — not only because it sent queasiness jolting through me, but for what laid before my eyes.

I was greeted with him staring back at me, head propped on one hand with a shit-eating grin spread across faintly stubbled cheeks. He was still clad in his white undershirt, leaving the curves of his biceps and arms exposed to my wandering eyes. It took my brain a split second to refocus on the matter at hand. I pinned him under a serious glare as he smiled back dreamily, not a care in the world.

“What exactly did you hear?”

“Oh, you know, just some moans, some groans, some “Oh Jim, please”s, some “Don’t stop”s... You know, what I would expect when you’ve clearly been dazzled by my charm.”

“I am going to kill you.”

“Well, based on what I heard last night, you definitely want to do a long list of things to me, but kill was not something I remember —”

Before he could finish his unbearably cocky response, I was pushing myself up and onto one elbow in an effort to give him a good slug in one arm and vacate the bed in search of black, black coffee. But his hand snagged my wrist before my fist could connect with his bicep.

Just as I was about to string together a few short and simple maneuvers to leave him alone in bed grasping his manhood in pain, he used my captured wrist to pull my lips down towards his as he craned his neck toward me.

The kiss was deep, laced with the laziness of the slow, easy morning. It ebbed away some of my ire from his admittance of hearing my lust for him in my sleep. Some, but not all.

My lingering anger didn’t stop me from running a hand through his messy hair and then over the prickles of his stubbled cheek, continuing on to the collar of his shirt, where I took the fabric in my hand and clenched it while deepening the kiss.

I used the leverage of my grip to push him backwards onto the bed, swinging my leg up and over his body. My hair fell in a curtain over my shoulder, blocking out all the stars just outside the tall windows. His hands found either side of my face, thumbs stroking my cheeks as he pulled away for just a moment to whisper on my lips.

“Now I know just how badly you want me.”

Moving my hips in just the right way, a soft moan escaped from his lips while his hand simultaneously gripped the hair at the nape of her neck. I leaned down to his ear and whispered in the most sultry voice I could muster.

“Don’t bet your life on it, Kirk.”

With that, I planted a hard, deep kiss on his lips before pushing off of him roughly and swinging my leg up and back over his body — with maybe just a little too much vigor. And maybe I drug my knee over his crotch with a little too much force on purpose.

“I’ll be off to find that coffee you mentioned, thank you very much.”

I snatched one of the blankets off the bed, wrapping myself up in it as I strutted out of the bedroom and to the small kitchen that was open to the living space.

“Oh I don’t think so.”

By the time he came quickly jogging into the kitchen after me, it was too late. I’d already found the freshly brewed pot of coffee and poured myself a mugful. It was easy to lean against the counter and serve him up the same shit-eating smirk he’d been touting the entirety of our short time spent together this morning.

Based on the quickness of his pace and the grin still tugging at his mouth, it was obvious to me that he thought he would be dishing out some sort of payback.

“If you so much as think about coming between me and this holy, deliciously hot beverage, I promise I will eviscerate you where you stand.”

He stopped just short of where I was leaning against the counter, my nose hovering above my steaming mug. I made and kept direct eye contact with him as I took a sip, punctuating my threat by making more noise drinking than necessary.

“Well that certainly paints a very real, disturbing image. Those lessons with the officers are clearly paying off.”

I rolled my eyes as I watched him abandon his pursuit of me and instead settled for pouring himself a fresh cup of coffee. Replacing the pot on the burner, he took up a spot next to me at the counter, matching my lean and taking a sip from his own steaming mug.

Taking another sip myself, I watched as his brows furrowed, moving to hold his mug between his hands. Flicking his gaze up to me, he cocked his head with a quizzical expression spread across his features.

“Speaking of your lessons, I’ve been meaning to ask how you’ve been getting on with the officers I’d selected. I know you’ve gotten on with Scotty well, and Bones is a harmless grump, but what about someone like Spock who I know can be —”

At the mention of the spiny, cold-hearted Vulcan’s name, I choked on the coffee that I was just starting to swallow.

“What time is it?”

With a quick glance at his comms, he responded, “10:05, why?”

“Shit, shit, shit!”

I hastily set my mug down on the counter, liquid sloshing over its sides, and started off towards the bedroom to fling the blanket on the bed before rushing back towards my bag that was still sitting at the bar.

“Now I know he can be an unbelievable prick, but why in the hell are you running around like he’s going to smite you at any moment?”

After a few moments of looking around from left to right for what might possibly be a bathroom, I paused my frantic hustle to give him a half-answer.

“Because he IS going to smite me — bathroom?”

“Right off the bedroom. Maybe you could enlighten me as to why the mention of his name has lit an enormous fire under your ass?”

His words grew fainter as I near sprinted my way to the bathroom, throwing my bag down on top of the toilet before taking in my appearance and letting out a few more choice expletives. Grabbing a washcloth off the rack to my left, I turned the faucet on to cold water before fiercely scrubbing my face in a feeble attempt to become more awake and less hungover.

As I turned the water off and started to dab my face dry, I glimpsed the mirror to see Jim had followed me during my mad dash and now had himself planted in the doorway, leaning casually against the doorframe with an amused and puzzled look painted across his face.

“Me, in all my infinite wisdom, agreed to have an extra lesson with him today because I am so hopelessly failing at comprehending and completing any of that damn man’s assignments. And of course, I managed to forget about it, and now I am five minutes late and counting.”

As I explained my sudden surge of panic to him in the mirror, patting my face dry and attempting to arrange my hair into a somewhat neat ponytail, I saw his eyebrow arch along with that stupid, annoying grin of his.

“You think it’s funny? I swear I will follow through on eviscerating you if I have any capacity to think after this lesson, which I’m sure is going to be doubly awful now that I have insulted him by being late.”

“You know as the captain of the ship, I could easily put Spock back his place and tell him to —”

After hastily and hopelessly trying to smooth out the dozens of wrinkles on my uniform, I snatched my bag from the toilet and walked up to him as he blocked the entirety of the doorway. Gathering my height and pushing a finger into the center of his chest, I gave him the steeliest gaze I could muster through the faint pounding that was just starting in the back of my skull and tiredness that nipped at every part of my body.

“You will do no such thing. And if you so much as think that thought again, I will make sure you pay for it dearly in one way or another. Keep out of it, Kirk.”

He held his hands up in surrender, amusement still playing at his features as I pushed past him and back through his spacious quarters to the door that would take me through the weaving halls of the Enterprise to where Spock would be waiting for me in the commons.

I could hear his footsteps in my wake, and I was ready to give him another verbal lashing for any other smart-ass quips he had to offer before I made my leave to be punished both mentally and emotionally.

“Alright, so I won’t mention anything to him about his egregious error planning a study session on the ship’s day off, but it’s going to be infinitely harder for me to keep my mouth shut about taking you away from me on said day off.”

And just as I was about to turn around and offer him a peck on the lips before continuing on my way feeling many different levels of shitty, he had to go and say something so typical of his arrogant, overly confident self. And it would be a lie if I said it wasn’t part of the reason I was drawn to him. Even if it was exactly what made me turn on my heel, push my finger back into the center of his chest, and threaten him one more time before leaving.

“I mean it, Kirk. I will end you.”

“Remind me to never get on your bad side before you’ve had a full cup of coffee.”

Instead of hauling off and giving him a good ol’ fashion knee to the groin, I settled for gripping him by the collar of his undershirt, offering him a few of my favorite curses, and giving him a quick, and maybe a bit aggressive, peck on the lips before stomping off to leave through the door.

But just as I hit enter on the keypad with Jim continuing to lip off after me as I left, Bones was beginning to step through the door on the other side, thinking it had opened for him to enter instead of opening for me to make a speedy exit.

I didn’t have time for the cocky captain who was still flapping his mouth behind me, let alone the dumbfounded and thoroughly confused doctor who I brushed past without so much as a glance in his direction.

“Doctor.”

“Cadet.”

My bag might’ve hit Bones as I stormed past. I’d have to find time later to apologize for my abrupt exit, and deal with the fact that I was in fact storming out of the captain’s quarters in the morning on the day of rest.

As I sulked through the empty corridors of the ship, the thought crossed my mind that today might be the day I punch a Vulcan if he decided to push me too far. The image gave me a chuckle as I attempted to clear my head and regain my composure before coming face to face with the one person who had been the second biggest pain in my ass since this whole journey behind.

With a pause before rounding the corner into the common space, I took a quick breath in and out as I made another useless attempt at smoothing over the stubborn wrinkles covering my uniform.

Let’s get this over with.

The thought was still echoing in my brain as I walked through the large space full of empty tables, chairs and couches — save for one at the center of the room.

There sat Spock, his posture unnaturally rigid as his emotionless gaze bore into me with every quickened step I took towards him. As I neared the table where he sat, the only person in the room, I opened my mouth to start my very polite and formal apology only to be interrupted by his cold, cutting tone.

“Being prompt, cadet, is an invaluable trait that demonstrates discipline, respect and mastery of one's responsibilities. Clearly you have fallen short on all three. I will not tolerate tardiness again. Pull out your notes, and we will begin.”

It took every fiber of my being to draw my lips into a curt smile before pulling out the chair and sitting down across from the expressionless Vulcan, who already had a book open and a sheet of mind-melting equations next to it.

I would need to hit something very, very hard, very, very soon.