Bonds Know No Distance

[mirroredcommand]

The night was dark and deep and long in space, never ending, without a dawn to break the line between waking and sleep, day and night, beginning and end. It made existence endless, broken only by the silent running of the clocks on the wall, the movements of work, food, and sleep. Without these things, without the sureness of a schedule, time became meaningless. Even the stars could not keep him company.

So after Kirk came and 'visited', time resumed its endless patterns, moving on and on without pause or break or concept. For a man used to near-constant action, it was a form of torture more exquisite then any bit of pain or distress. More then anything, it was a torture that gave him nothing to focus his mind on anything but the swelling pain of the broken bond. It was swiftly becoming over whelming, completely and utterly. There was nothing left to keep the pain away, and with his shields designed only to block out Spock's light intrusions instead of a full on force, they were failing after being buffeted for so long. In short, he was going mad.

His expression showed little of the internal war except for the strong brow being furrowed and the age-lines at the edges of the eyes and corners of the mouth looking thicker. It was his hands that gave him away, gripping fiercely into the fabric of the bed he was reclining on. A headache was throbbing behind his eyes in time with his heart, a thick red-hot band of light that was searing like a knife into his mind. Deeper, deeper with every beat of his heart.

Every part of him was focused on maintaining the failing shields, rebuilding them as Spock had taught him those years ago. He had survived torture from Vulcans who knew precisely what to do in the mind, but could not stop this. This bond that had been forced onto him but in the end welcomed, this bond that had saved his life many times in the past, that had saved the life of his first officer and friend, this bond that had been a respite from a world where one could never relax... this bond was killing him. It would destroy him as surely as any blade to the heart.

SPOCK!

Never screamed aloud, never aloud. Instead, strong white teeth bit firmly into his lip, hard enough to send a trickle of crimson along his chin, down to his jawline. The pain, the strain, had been steadily increasing since James Kirk's visit to his cell, as if the reminder of the bond and speaking of it had started a chain reaction. He had long since started to keep his eyes closed [was it hours? minutes? weeks? centuries?] because at least this way the room would not spin. He was starting to feel that same spinning in his mind, making his world wobble like a child's toy.

It seemed hours passed this way. A day? Perhaps. He vaguely heard someone calling him, but did not dare respond. Still trapped in the arms of the enemy, he could not let a weakness be seen. The smell of food made his stomach swell and gurgle, but not from hunger. It felt like his entire body needed one thing it could not have. [a universe away]

He did not feel when he stood, instead he felt the world sway, go sideways. Could not feel the floor beneath his feet, the slap of his hand against the wall in an instinctual attempt to keep himself upright. Did not feel when the world tuned him out, blew him out like a light bulb, did not feel when the pain consumed him and his shields finally fell, did not feel when he hit the ground.

The darkness had claimed him instead.

Comments

[mirroredspock.livejournal.com]

Human mouth, lips that were softer, more generous than the Enterprise bridge crew would know - all they saw was the hard line of Christopher's commanding mouth, never this mouth, his tasting, kissing, teasing mouth.

The bridge crew would also be shocked, no matter how much they whispered to themselves about the Captain's Pet Vulcan, to see eagerness from Spock. His hands crept up until one of them was buried in Christopher's hair and the other, even in this mental place, sought skin, the skin of Christopher's back, under his shirt.

[iron-command.livejournal.com]

Pike wanted no one else to know, ever. He wanted his Vulcan to be his alone, to come to his call alone, to act like this under no one else's eyes. Just his, his hand, his eyes, his mouth.

So warm. He pressed in just that much closer, remembering the warmth that had been curled up against his side for so long.

[just-uhura.livejournal.com]

The loss of contact shocked Nyota into silence for a moment, and she couldn't find the words to protest as James shifted Spock closer to her and slipped away. To her surprise (though she wasn't sure who it was coming from, or maybe both of them) it was unpleasant, like someone had doused her with cold water. She opened her mouth to call him back, to assure the worries that he hid behind his bravado and bright smiles were unjustified.

Her fingers curled around Spock's in assurance that she would follow him - them - wherever they led, and allowed him to drag her into the hallway. As she passed Bones, she shot him a look, though her attention was soon drawn to the empty stretch in front of her. Where the hell had he gone? A familiar surge of frustration rose up inside, though it was edged with an intimate affection. Where the hell had he gone?

Her frustration, though now directed illogically at the computer, continued as she heard those words. No, that couldn't be right, it just couldn't. She wouldn't accept it. But when it was asked again and gave the same response, she felt everything else give way to blind panic that she couldn't reel in even if she wanted to.

The only comment she could make to his statement was a quiet, whispered "what?" How could he just be gone? She didn't understand, though the bitter trickle inside her mind was telling her it was entirely possible and something bad had happened. Giving his fingers another squeeze, she tried to control her whirling emotions, trying to think of something they could do. But she wasn't the Captain, and since James wasn't there that duty fell to--

"Spock."

[dctr-mccoy.livejournal.com]

Bones had shut his eyes as Kirk left sickbay, looking as if someone had just punched him in the stomach. He recognized that look of Jim's - the one of disbelief mixed with an inability to handle strong emotional situations and only having Pike and his Spock attached to his sickbay kept him from following George out the door.

Then Spock took off, followed by Nyota and he was about to just say 'fuck it' to the other two men and go see what the hell was happening when Spock came striding back into Sickbay...

Then he spoke, and it all got even worse.

"What the hell do you mean 'gone'?"

[cso-spock.livejournal.com]

"What I mean, Doctor," Spock looked over to look at him directly, an unwavering gaze held there by the same control that was keeping his expression blank of what he was really feeling. "Is that he is not physically present on this vessel."

[mirroredspock.livejournal.com]

He belonged only to Christopher. His classmates had been afraid, heaping abuse on him in the form of verbal insults and conspiracy to ruin him - but no one had touched him.

That first time, on the bridge of the Enterprise. He could have destroyed Christopher's mind then. But the sheer novelty of feeling another person's skin against his own, combined with the fascination he already felt for his captain, had been enough to hold him back.

As their relationship progressed, the encounters had increased in frequency, in pleasure, until Spock had been thoroughly tied to his captain even before the pon farr.

He belonged only to Christopher.

[dctr-mccoy.livejournal.com]

Spock's expression was stoic but there was something going on in his eyes that made Bones cold - this was fucking bad... It was like a pit opened up in his stomach and Bones just stood there, unable to move. He heard Spock's words but they sounded slow in his head, as if played at half-speed.

His own words were sounded foreign in his head. "Where is he?"

[iron-command.livejournal.com]

He had chosen Spock to be on his ship, hand chosen in a different way then the rest of his crew. He had seen that proud spirit and needed to crack it without breaking it. So he had taken Spock over the console on the bridge, under the eyes of the rest of the crew, to put Spock in his place.

Circumstances had changed things. Fate had decided to step in and set things the way it wanted. He had stopped taking any others for his pleasure, thought he stilled used the same method to break some people new to his ship.

[mirroredspock.livejournal.com]

Christopher took others - Spock had seen it. And when they returned to their quarters, he left whatever mark he dared on Pike to re-establish his claim. It was necessary, it was politics, it was dominance - but it was nothing like what they shared and that was usually enough.

Usually. There were several Enterprise crewmembers who could attest to the first officer's occasional foul mood and fondness for the agonizer booth.

[iron-command.livejournal.com]

Pike had allowed it, those markings and the rare bit of dominance. Those few times he had allowed Spock to take him, to slide deep into his body with hot fingers and hotter flesh below. It was very rare, but... accepted, sometimes.

Mine.

[cso-spock.livejournal.com]

"If I knew the coordinates of his location, I would have already retrieved him." Spock had his own ways of saying he had no clue what was happening or how to remedy it. He looked over the pain at the biobed, still trapped in their own minds and the intimacy of the meld. His first, immutable instinct was to interrupt it and ask them where his captain had gone, theytookhim--but there was no evidence to either support or refute this conclusion.

He needed to do something productive, needed to get all the variables in hand before he did something rash--like ripping open the break between dimensions and wreaking havoc on the mirrored Enterprise on the other side. "I am returning to the bridge." He told the room, and turned to go, intending to bring Nyota with him. "Inform me when they break the meld." Spock gestured to his mirror and Pike on the biobed. "And maintain a security detail at all times."

[mirroredspock.livejournal.com]

Only yours.

Spock gasped into Christopher's mouth, drags his mouth to Christopher's jaw, his neck, all of Spock's favorite places to lick and suck and mark.

[iron-command.livejournal.com]

Pike allowed this, almost pleased about it, tilting his head to allow for Spock's mouth to move further along. He brought a hand up to his mouth, Spock's left, so that he could mouth across the brand.

[mirroredspock.livejournal.com]

The hot human mouth on the tender skin of his wrist wrings a helpless moan from Spock. He is weak at the feel of Christopher's teeth.

[iron-command.livejournal.com]

I'll have you here if we aren't careful. Said with complete amusement.

[mirroredspock.livejournal.com]

Spock's eyes are languid pools of heat when he looks at Christopher.

You may have me anywhere you wish.

He nips at Christopher's ear.

Your body is stressed, however, and I would not wish to overtax you. Yet.

[just-uhura.livejournal.com]

"We'll find him," was her immediate response to Bones, wanting to reassure him that James would be alright. But it occurred to her that she couldn't promise that, and her eyes darted to the Pike and Spock still locked in their meld as if they were responsible. Taing a deep breath, she tried her very best to calm her emotions, to think before laying blame. The last thing they needed was an inter-dimensional war between ships based on wild accusations. It was extremely, extremely difficult to try and force logic into the forefront of her mind, but she could feel the rush of worry and panic from Spock, and was determined to do what she could to try and steady him.

She reached out for Bones's arm as she passed him, fingers gripping it gently as if that was any consolation for the situation. "Be safe Leo." she pleaded, eyes once again finding Pike and Spock. Hopefully they would be sufficiently distracted. To Spock she turned, her hand still tight in his, her jaw setting in that familiar grim determination. "How the hell did he get off this ship? Someone must have beamed him off." She didn't want to say it was the mirror of their ship but the evidence was looking extremely likely.

[iron-command.livejournal.com]

You are tempting me... but for now, we'll stop with this. Pike growled so quietly, a smirk on his lips.

[dctr-mccoy.livejournal.com]

Bones looked back over at Nyota as she touched his arm, leaving behind Spock. She said something but he didn't hear her. Everything was quiet in his head.

The sickbay door swished closed and Bones stood there, staring at it for a minute before turning back to the pair. He wasn't afraid - there were two security guards with him, and he had his phaser on him... he wasn't afraid for him.

Kirk was gone. Taken from the ship. Was this what was happening to the other ships, when the others appeared on their Enterprise. Was Jim on some alternate universe right now, on some other ship with someone that looked like him?

Pike and his Spock... Bones watched them, because there wasn't anything else he could do. This was a helplessness to a degree he hadn't known before. It was all on Spock now, their Spock, and whomever else he got to assist him in getting Jim back. Had to trust the fucking Vulcan to get back the man he- Fuck...

Fucking useless. That ought to be his middle name.

[mirroredspock.livejournal.com]

A quiet whine of disappointment escapes, just for Christopher's ears, but Spock licks across Christopher's smirk and helps his mate to stand. He cannot quite give up the contact between them but he does step back to give Christopher more space.

[iron-command.livejournal.com]

We're going to have to break this meld at some point. But it sounded like the very last thing he wanted. The bond required contact, needed that contact to repair itself.

[mirroredspock.livejournal.com]

I will not leave you alone. They could remain in close contact, but Spock anticipated a time for privacy, for just the two of them.

[iron-command.livejournal.com]

You had better not. Pike took one last kiss before saying quietly, End the meld.

[mirroredspock.livejournal.com]

A last hot promise is pressed from Spock's mouth to Christopher's. And then Spock is sliding out of the meld, back into himself, making sure that Christopher is still intact, in all of his familiar mental spaces.

The sickbay is very bright when Spock straightens his posture and looks around.

[iron-command.livejournal.com]

Pike's eyes opened slowly, and he hissed with the brilliant light before attempting to sit up. Which, it seemed, was a poor idea as his head immediately swam violently. He let out a breath and remained prone, eyes squeezing shut against the light.