Spock knew this, intellectually. He’s known this for years. From his first day on the ship, he’s been able to hear Jim through the walls. From the the Khan incident onwards, he crossed the bathroom to wake Jim up every time one happened.
But it’s only once Spock started sharing a bed with him that he realized how… wide they were.
Jim was able to share a bed with someone, easily. But in the midst of a nightmare, he got physical. He flung his arms and legs out and screamed and babbled both nonsense and curses and sobbed and kicked bit scratched punched-
The breaking point happens when Spock- too tired from a 56 hour state of emergency after a lab accident and 4 nights straight of Jim’s night terrors being worse than usual (prompted by a letter from his mother)- doesn’t move out of the way of one of Jim’s arms quick enough.
Jim, probably thinking he’s Nero or something, grabs him by the throat and starts punching him. By the time Spock gets him awake and help arrives, one of his eyes is swelling shut, and his nose is broken in three places.
Jim is horrified with himself. It is mutually agreed upon that something has to give.
Attempt one- Sleeping pills.
Jim’s tried them in the past, claimed they worked once they got the right ingredients that he wasn’t allergic too. And for a few nights they do work, Spock sleeps soundly.
And then, a red alert happens in the middle of the night. Spock spends five valuable minutes waking Jim up, and he’s still not lucid enough for the command training to kick in.
That time was a false alarm, but Spock, for the safety of the ship, insists that Jim stops the treatment. Jim agrees begrudgingly, asks Spock if he wants to move out.
Spock doesn’t- it’s too late for that. He can’t sleep without Jim.
Jim’s sessions with a hypnodoctor are… unorthodox. And while the nightmares don’t stop, they do get less violent. Spock appreciates this, truly.
The hypnosis employs the use of a series of touches, which Jim does every night.
The problem is, he becomes complacent, starts forgetting to do them. And then, they stop being affective.
Spock sighs as Jim wakes him, again, and this time manages to get out of bed before he can be grabbed. He mentally notes to find something else before going to soothe the love of his life.
This one is Jim’s idea. He reads that playing music at night can help with nightmares.
Spock, as a scientist, is offended that his boyfriend would take an article at face value like that, because it doesn’t work no matter what type of music they play. All this attempt leads to is Jim fervently apologizing and Spock writing a strongly worded letter to the author editor and publisher.
At least they can laugh about this one later.
Attempt four- Muscle inhibitors
Another one of Jim’s ideas, this time backed up with science and Doctor McCoy.
Spock is more hesitant to hit the button which will make Jim’s muscles lock in place via small robots injected into the muscle fibers.
“It’s just for now sweetheart,” Jim whispers between kisses that are far too convincing, “Just until we can find a way for me to stop beating you up. I hate the fact that I keep hurting you.”
Spock agrees, begrudgingly. But Jim’s first night paralyzed, and he has the nightmare of the year. Spock wakes up to Jim begging an invisible enemy to stop, let him go, please don’t-
Spock is sickened by the fact that he did that, and refuses to do it again and for so far as to hide the materials. Jim and he get into quite the argument over it.
It ends with he and Jim both going to bed angry, and him getting pummeled in the midst of a nightmare.
“You should leave,” Jim begs him between sobs as Doctor M’Benga treats his wounds, “this isn’t healthy. Please leave me, I’m so sorry-“
Spock takes his hands, and says never.
Jim proposes then and there, in sickbay at approximately 3:30 in the morning. Spock’s only stipulation is that they have a Vulcan bonding as well.
M’Benga sighs and says “congrats but can you both get out of sickbay, Len’s gonna have my head if I have to wake him.”
Jim is a horrible meditation student and far too turned on by his fiancée in his meditation robes. The attempt fails miserably but reaps some beneficial results in the form of sexual favors.
Attempt six- physical activity
Spock proposes this plan after noticing that Jim sleeps better after strenuous away missions. And going to the gym every night works for a bit, even gets them both down a few pounds.
But then, Jim breaks his leg on a mission, and they are forbidden from the gym for at least three months. When they go back, it’s lost all affect.
This attempt is honestly desperation on Spock’a part- the tarsus anniversary is coming up, along with Jim’s birthday and Christmas and it’s the worst time of year for his nightmares.
The earbuds work, but continuously fall out when Jim moves in his sleep. Spock, for a Christmas/birthday present, finds Jim a pair of over the ear headphones. Jim adores them and uses them for music, reports, and his nightly ASMR tape.
And it works, gloriously, it works. Spock considers giving offering to whatever deity clearly intervened.
Every night, just as Spock is falling asleep, without fail, Jim manages to roll over and smack the hard plastic of the headphones into either his cheek or his shoulder. It always hurts, but honestly Spock is willing to take it. It’s better than before. He says nothing, and the months leading up to their wedding are glorious.
But then, a gorn rips his arm out of it’s socket. The dislocation destroys his rotator cuff and snaps his collar bone, he has four and a half reparative surgeries over the span of a week to fix it all.
The first night he’s allowed to sleep in his own bed, Jim is so careful all night, tending to his every need, kissing every inch of bruised and scarred skin. Spock lays on his back and Jim puts on his tape.
Like clockwork, Jim rolls over.
The plastic cup connects right with the snap in his collarbone, and Spock can feel the stitches tear as he screams in pain.
He has his fifth surgery- an emergency one for where a bone fragment pierced his vein.
When he returns to his quarters, Jim has completely moved out.
Attempt Eight- sleeping apart
Spock finds that his bed is now too cold, no matter how many blankets he uses or how high he turns up the heat. Jim has insisted it’s not forever, but he refuses to hurt spock anymore. Not when Spock’s the one person he never wants to hurt.
But the walls are thin, and Spock’s hearing is advanced, and he can hear the other half of his soul shrieking in pain every night.
The final straw is placed on his back four nights in, when Jim screams his name.
Consequences be dammed, he’ll let Jim kill him before he ignores Jim begging for his help.
He runs across the bathroom, jumps on the bed and without thinking his hand slides onto Jim’s face, melding with him.
For a moment Spock is horrified- non-consensual melding is a crime, after all- but then, he realizes Jim is relaxed. What’s more, Jim is still asleep. His mental presence recognizes Spock’s and is no longer scared, although he is approaching wakefulness.
As he slips out and Jim wakes up, Spock realizes the answer to all his problems.
And he, victoriously, in a moment of pure humanity, decides he has earned every single one of his degrees. He’d been starting to doubt it, after all.
If he couldn’t crack human dreams, what was the point of any of them?
Attempt infinity- Bonding
Spock lays in bed on day thirteen of their honeymoon, sated and warmed by the setting risan sun flowing in through the window of the small cabin they had.
Jim wanders out of the bathroom and crawls into bed with him, yawning and warm. Spock kisses his forehead and shifts closer to him. Jim mumbles something about dinner later, nap now. He’s asleep in minutes.
The warm presence of the bond in Jim’s mind satisfies his fears, reminding him that he’s never alone. Jim- and by extension, Spock- sleep soundly, physically and mentally tangled together until undistinguishable from one another.
(HOLY HELL THIS GOT LONG AS F U C K. W O W Z A. @herrhasen (who’s also the fabulous @deheerkonijn Incase y’all didn’t know) I hope you enjoyed this! I had a blast writing it)
