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The ready room was unsettlingly quiet, and had been since Spock had arrived and taken a seat across from the captain. He did not understand what he had done wrong, but Captain Pike had been incredibly displeased since leaving the planet's surface, and had ordered Spock to follow him to the ready room, where they had been sitting in silence since. Spock did not want to interrupt Captain Pike’s thoughts, but he was beginning to feel disoriented, his inhibitions were lowered, and he had come to the conclusion that he was not, in fact, immune to the interrogation drug that he had been dosed with by the most recent members of the Federation.
The plan had been simple- the major sentient species on the planet Kraz-II had contacted the Federation themselves in hopes of joining. As the Enterprise was the closest ship available, they were sent to conduct the diplomatic relations. They could not use the transporter to get down to the surface of the planet due to high concentrations of ions in the minerals making up the planet’s core, so Spock, along with the captain, and several members of the crew had taken a shuttle.
The meeting between their people had gone, in the captain’s terms, suspiciously well. Spock had told the captain that there was nothing suspicious about a species that contacted the Federation in hopes of joining it, easily joining the federation, but the captain had remained on edge. Spock regretted proving the captain correct when, during the second meeting where the treaties were going to be officially signed, one of the guards injected him with an unknown liquid before he could enter the room, and he was taken to a separate, but identical, meeting hall and questioned about the Federation and its members.
He had quickly inferred that there were no intentions to harm his person when they did not lay a finger on him. Thus, he took no actions to harm them either, to prevent souring the relationship between their planet and the Federation. He answered their questions truthfully, and without deception, and they released him once they were finished, shaking his hand. It felt odder than usual.
The fault, truly, only existed from the captain's perspective, as Spock had been left unharmed both mentally and physically. Captain Pike had become… angry when Spock had briefed him on the situation following the conclusion of the signing of the treaties, and had been short with Spock since. The Captain did not understand why Spock had not informed him right away, Spock did not understand why that was necessary- he would have had to interrupt the meeting, which would have delayed the conclusion of the mission. Spock was initially relieved he did not mention the interrogation drug he was injected with, because it likely would have worsened the captain's reaction, but found himself regretting it as he sat across from the captain and having to prevent himself from shivering.
He would include everything in his mission report, of course, but to mention the medication now… Spock was unsure of how the captain would react, and he was… compromised and unable to calculate the probabilities of the different outcomes. Evidently, whatever they put in his system prevented him from thinking straight. He felt incredibly cold, and oddly craving touch- the warmth of touch. Oh.
“Captain Pike, I-” Spock stopped short when the captain held up a hand, silencing himself. Spock would not disobey a direct order from his captain.
“Mr. Spock, do you understand what you did wrong?” Captain Pike asked him, placing his hand on the table between them and leaning forward. Spock gave an involuntary shiver, feeling the heat radiate off of his captain and longing for it.
“Yes, Captain. I did not immediately inform you of the actions taken against my person, constituting a security risk and putting the rest of the crew in jeopardy.” Spock replied, putting in a great effort to keep his voice from shaking. His hands were trembling, and he tucked them against his sides, trying to conserve heat. “Captain if I may-”
“Spock, I’m not finished.” And Spock curled inwards slightly, at the disappointment and frustration in his captain’s tone, and to continue to try to preserve his body heat. Before the captain could continue, however, Ensign Uhura was on the comms.
“Bridge to Captain. We received a message from the Krazkods, sir.”
“Captain here.” Captain Pike responded, rushing over to the comm. Spock did not move, and for a moment he held his breath, before logic took over and he resumed breathing.
“Playing the message now, Sir.” Uhura replied, and Spock studiously stared at the table, diligently avoiding looking in the captain's direction as the message played. Spock wished, for a moment, that he possessed hyposensitive hearing instead of hypersensitive, as he heard the message loud and clear. An apology, of sorts, about the drugging and interrogation of the science officer. An explanation, of sorts, about the drug itself- harmless, as long as skin to skin contact is regularly made as it runs its course, otherwise the recipient will experience escalating discomfort.
He did not process the captain's next words to Uhura, nor her response. Escalating discomfort was certainly true- he half expected to be able to see his exhales, as illogical as that was. He did, however, process the breath brush of fingers across the back of his neck, and could not stop himself from completely slumping in the chair as the freezing sensation dissipated. There was relief, but also shame at his weakness. The drug is not fatal, Spock should have enough control over himself to be able to withstand the cold, and not force his captain into- touching him.
“Captain-” Spock began, intending to protest his actions, but his words were replaced by a loud purr as the hand returned to the back of his neck and remained there. The relief of the captain's hand on his skin was unlike anything Spock had ever felt. He attempted to stop purring, but it only stuttered slightly before resuming, to his embarrassment. He had purred around the captain before, but it was an aspect of his Vulcan physiology that he disliked, because he lacked control over it.
“Spock,” The captain's voice was quiet, and faintly amused. Spock got the distant sense that the captain would be teasing him about this later, but it hardly mattered as the hand receded and the cold began to creep back in. Spock rapidly blinked, allowing himself to shiver because his control had been utterly decimated by this strange chain of events, but his distress did not last long. The captain was spinning his chair around, and grabbing his hand, and Spock was not only overwhelmed with the sensation of the warmth and the relief it brought, but of the emotions running through the captain. Amusement, fondness, relief, frustration, love. He was distantly aware of the captain laughing as the purring picked back up again.
Spock hardly took notice of his surroundings as Captain Pike tugged him out of the chair, out of the room, and through the hallways of the Enterprise. He could only focus on the points of contact, the captain’s hands on his, and the pleasant heat that eroded his logic and reason until all that was left was feeling. “Alright, down we go.” Captain Pike murmured, releasing Spock’s hand and gently pushing him down onto a bed. Sickbay. They were in sickbay, and Spock was cold and reaching out towards the captain with a pleading sound he can hardly recognize as his own.
The hand holding resumed, and Spock melted into the bed, eyes closing as he basked in the sensation of the warmth. Captain Pike called over Dr. M’Benga, relieved when a quick scan with the tricorder revealed nothing physically wrong with Spock, and his vitals were within what they should be. How was it that his chief science officer always got into these sorts of situations, the captain did not know, but he did know that for the next several months, he had the best way to (privately) tease Spock. At the present moment, he was just relieved that the kid was okay, and that everything had turned out alright, and completely adorable.