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It was a quiet, slow morning. Jim woke up in a languid, pleased kind of mood, pleasantly sore from the previous night, and his husband indulged him by snoozing their alarm once and cuddling with him before they had to get up.
“How are you feeling?” Spock asked, running his hand down his side.
Jim sighed, burying his face in his neck. “Really good. A little sore. Kinda want to call in sick today and stay in bed with you.”
Spock hummed. “Unfortunately, I have an important meeting today. But only two days until Shabbat.”
Jim pulled a face. “Are you gonna make me get up early again so we can go to Shul? Cause I gotta be honest, I prefer the friday night services.”
“I cannot and will not make you do anything, k’diwa. However, I did agree to do some of the reading. But getting up early comes much easier to you than it does to me.”
“Hmpf.” Jim wrapped his leg around his waist. “True, but not to leave the house. You’re mean to me on purpose.”
Spock kissed the top of his head. “Never, adun. You do not have to join me.”
His husband scoffed. “Yeah right. And have Mrs Arnold try to set you up with her son, again. No, thank you.”
“I have no interest in Mrs Arnold’s son.” Spock couldn’t hide a grin. “There is someone else who has caught my eye.”
Jim looked up at him. “Oh yeah?”
“Indeed.”
“Why don’t you tell me about them?”
Spock wrapped his fingers around his waist and pulled him closer. “Let’s see. He is the most handsome man I have ever seen, incredibly smart, a genius. He has a very nice daughter. His laugh is … the most beautiful thing in the world.” He rubbed their noses together. “And I wish to spend the rest of my life, making him happy.”
Jim blushed, but he was smiling too. “Well, I think you might have a shot. Also,” He stretched his neck to kiss the tip of his nose. “You’re not really selling the whole Vulcans don’t have feelings’, babe.”
Spock raised an eyebrow. “That statement would be factually wrong, additionally, I am presently not engaged in a sales transaction. Of course Vulcans have feelings.”
“I know you do.” Jim grinned. “You can’t get enough of me.”
“That is no secret.” Spock gripped his hips tighter.
“We have one hour and fourty seven point three minutes until we need to leave.”
“Fascinating data, Mister Spock.” Jim said, his eyes twinkling. “And how do you propose we spend that time, logically speaking?”
His husband nipped his ear. “Well, if you are open to suggestions…”
An hour later, they got out of bed. Spock made a beeline for the shower while Jim got dressed. He looked at himself in the mirror, smoothing down his uniform jacket, feeling like he was missing something. And then it hit him - his wedding ring wasn’t on his hand.
He usually took it off before bed and placed it on the nightstand, but it wasn’t there.
After looking around, in all his usual spots, he slightly began to panic. The ring wasn’t in the drawer, it hadn’t disappeared behind his nightstand, it wasn’t on the dresser.
Jim scratched his head, opening the drawer of his nightstand again.
“Honey?”
Spock popped his head in from the bathroom.
“Yes?”
“Have you seen my ring?”
“What ring?”
“My wedding ring.”
Spock glanced around the room and in the bathroom.
“No, I have not. When did you have it last?”
Jim sighed.
“I was sure that I had it yesterday at work, and took it off when I did the dishes.”
“Perhaps it is in the kitchen.”
“I’ll go and take a look.”
But it wasn’t there. Jim flipped all the pillows on the couch again before deciding that there was no time to search the entire house before work. So he gathered his things and went to work.
He noticed the whispering in his second class of the day. The cadets seemed to be very preoccupied with whispering and chatting amongst themselves instead of paying attention.
“Alright, I’ll bite. What’s going on with you today?” Jim asked, leaning against his desk.
“Do I have something on my face?”
Someone in the first row cleared their throat.
“No, sir. We were just- Ow!” The cadet had evidently been kicked under the table.
“Come on, what is it?” Jim asked, crossing his arms.
“If you're going to gossip, at least have the courtesy to do it behind my back.”
“Sir, we were wondering if you were alright.” Someone else piped up.
“If I’m alright? Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Some of us noticed that you came in by yourself this morning. And…”
Jim burst out laughing.
“What, you think I’m having trouble at home?”
The class hummed in affirmation.
“Oh my gosh.” Jim wiped his eyes.
“That’s very sweet of you. No, everything is perfectly alright. It was the ring, wasn’t it?” He held up his left hand.
“Truth be told, I’m notorious for losing my things. Apparently, including my wedding ring. My husband is going to help me look for it later. He’s got a meeting this morning, which is why we didn’t arrive together.”
Pulling himself together, he straightened his back.
“But I don’t see what my missing ring has to do with your academic performance. Are you that starved for entertainment?”
Another affirmative hum.
“Oh boy. Well, in the meantime, I suggest you get back to your work and if any of you need to talk to me, come see me during my office hours. Only focusing on your course work isn’t healthy, so make sure you get some R&R this afternoon.”
At lunch, he found his husband in the mess at one of the tables, chatting with one of his students.
Jim trailed his fingers over his shoulders.
“Hi, is this seat taken?”
Spock looked up and smiled at him.
“Please. This is Lieutenant Perez.“
“One of your science minions, I assume. Hi Lieutenant, pleased to meet you. I’m Captain James Kirk.”
The young Lieutenant shook his hand with a wide smile.
“It’s very good to meet you, Captain. Professor Spock speaks of you often.”
“Oh well, he’s a flatterer.” Jim grinned and sat down with his tray.
“I hope I’m not interrupting.”
“Not at all. The lieutenant and I were discussing an article in an intergalactic science journal.”
Spock brushed his leg against Jim’s under the table.
“Do you keep up with the latest research, captain?” The lieutenant asked, shoving a spoonful of pasta into their mouth.
Jim shrugged.
“Not really, only when Spock shows me something. I’m more of a history nut these days. Why?“
They went on to explain a fascinating new discovery that had been made in one of the laboratories on Starbase 15, but Jim was rapidly becoming distracted, playing footsie under the table with his husband, who was much better at multitasking than he was.
“Captain Kirk is of course familiar with the science teams working on Starbase 15.” He supplied helpfully, and Jim blinked.
“Hm? Oh, yeah. Nice folks. And you’re doing your PhD right now, Lieutenant?”
They blushed. “Yes, sir.”
“Nice. I’m sorry, I have a terrible memory. Is my husband your supervisor?”
“Yes, that’s right.” Lieutenant Perez smiled brightly. “It has been an amazing experience.”
Jim winked at them. “Yeah, you picked the best. Spock, why have we never had the Lieutenant over for dinner?”
His husband opened his mouth, blinked, then closed it again. “I do not know.”
Jim patted his hand. “Lieutenant, would you like to come over for dinner sometime?”
They blushed. “Uh- Sure! Thank you, captain.” They gathered their utensils on the plate and got up. “I’ve got to go now, I’m teaching in like fifteen minutes, but I’ll be in touch, professor.”
Spock nodded, offering a tiny smile. “Live long and prosper, lieutenant.”
“Peace and long life.”
And then they disappeared behind the sliding door.
Jim lazily dragged his foot up his husband’s shin. “Should I not have invited them to dinner? I figured it’s less ethically questionable to invite them to our house for a free meal, rather than going out to dinner.”
Spock ran his thumb over the back of his hand. “Do not worry, ashayam. How has your day been so far?”
Jim snorted. “You won’t believe what happened in my tactics class. They were convinced that we’re having trouble because I came in by myself this morning and because my ring was missing.”
Spock’s eyebrow disappeared behind his fringe. “That certainly is a conclusion to draw. Did you disabuse them of that notion?”
“Of course I did. Have your cadets ever assumed that we’re having problems though?”
Spock finished his rice and took a sip of water. “Occasionally, when they are starved for entertainment, though never to my face. I only intervened once when one of them suggested that you might be…” He paused. “What is the term? Cheating on me?”
Jim gasped. “What?!”
“I had a similar reaction. I told them that I would not tolerate such rumors as they are entirely untrue and that I would not hesitate to report anyone who spoke about you that way. Since then, they have been hesitant to speculate about my personal life.”
“You never said anything.” Jim said softly.
“I wished to avoid upsetting you. It was a minor matter and I was able to deal with it.” Spock inspected the blueberry muffin he had added to his tray as dessert.
“Adun? Is it socially acceptable to eat a muffin with utensils?”
His husband tried to hide a smile behind his hand. “Mhm, you do whatever you want, sweetheart.”
“What if our daughter sees me eating it with my hands?”
“I’m sure she’d be scandalized. Do you want me to get you some fresh cutlery?”
Spock considered his options. “I may take the muffin to my office and eat it there. In privacy.”
Jim couldn’t help but lean in for a kiss, but his husband twisted his head so that he couldn’t reach him.
“I have just finished eating a rice bowl with peanut sauce. In the interest of avoiding an anaphylactic reaction, I would brush my teeth before kissing you. And it is recommended to wait a minimum of four hours.”
Jim pouted. “Why’d you get peanuts for lunch anyway?”
Spock stroked his cheek. “It was the only appealing vegetarian option today. I apologize.”
“Hmpf.” Jim picked up his hand from the table and pressed a kiss to the back of it. “To make up for it, you can help me find my ring later so that everybody stops speculating about our relationship.”
“I would have done so anyway, k’diwa. Perhaps you can think of another way that I can ‘make it up to you’.”
Jim nudged his shoulder. “Mister Spock, you are incorrigible.”
His husband blinked innocently.
“Is there a problem, captain?”
“Incorrigible.” Jim gets up and puts his trash on the tray before kissing the top of his husband’s head.
“I’m gonna be late for that guest lecture I’m supposed to give. I’ll see you at home?”
Spock reached over his shoulder to touch their fingertips together.
“Yes. I will eat this muffin in my office.”
“Enjoy it, sweetheart.”
Later that evening, Spock found the ring. It had rolled under the bed. He heaved himself back on the mattress and made a point to carefully slide it back onto his husband’s finger. Jim wiggled his fingers and grinned.
“Yes, I do.”
Spock leaned over him and kissed him.
“Good. I do as well.”