Through his Vulcan instincts, in its purest form while he succumbed to plak tow, Spock forms a bond with Kirk just before Spock "kills" him. The Enterprise continues on course to Altair VI, with Kirk and Spock tricked into shore leave.

When Spock leaves Jim to pursue Kolinahr, it sends Jim into three years of despair. He accepts a promotion he doesn't want, loses his sense of self, and ultimately gets stuck in an unwanted sexual habit. Jim is certain Spock will never come back to him, but when he unexpectedly returns from Gol during the V'Ger mission, can the two men find their way back to each other?

What if Vulcans were blamed for what Nero did?

or: Redshirts are underappreciated. Spock finds his Captain after a difficult mission. Set sometime after the destruction of Vulcan. 

•••

 "Do you ever get the feeling that none of this is real?" Jim asked very quietly. 

"Negative," said Spock, at a normal volume. "At times..." he began. This was difficult for him. There was only one other person whom he had tried to intentionally invite past his shields like this. "At times, it seems as if it is entirely too real, and everything else is a dream, or a holographic recording, or something which happened to another being." He sipped his tea. "It is not logical."

•••

Title is from Visions of Gideon, which I will never be able to listen to without tearing up.