And We Fall in Love

Fanfiction
Title:	And We Fall in Love
Author(s):	Kathy Stanis
Date(s):	1999
Length:
Genre(s):	slash
Fandom(s):	Star Trek: TOS
Relationship(s):	Kirk/Spock
External Links:
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And We Fall in Love is a Kirk/Spock story by Kathy Stanis.

It was published in the print zine Beyond Dreams #1.

This story won a 1999 STIFfie Award.

art by Alison Fiddler ("Quiet Time") -- "Cozy! How would you like to get up early one morning, or in the middle of the night for a snack, glance into the living room as you walk past and see the most attractive males in the known universe cuddled together in an oversize armchair? Could you remember every detail? That Spock's arm was draped casually over Kirk's shoulder? That their legs were entangled as though they were one being? Would you recall Spock's serious expression as he contemplates his future in the dying embers? Would you notice the way Kirk gazed lovingly up at the angular face, eyes half-closed in drowsy contentment? Don't worry. Thanks to Alison you don't have to rely on memory. You can frame this unforgettable glimpse at love and look at it every day. Another fan writes: "I think I’ve only seen computer generated work by this artist, so it was a treat to see an actual drawing of Alison’s. I think it’s terrific and I love the wonderful intimacy of Kirk and Spock sitting together in the overstuffed chair. I love the completeness of this work, too, as I mention in the comments of Linda Wan’s piece. It’s neat to see the drapes and palm tree in the background—things like that in artwork are very powerful visually—creating a mood and making it seem as though we’re really watching them. I vastly appreciate and enjoy this drawing over any computerized photos, partially because, no matter how expertly done, I’m always aware that it’s photos put together and it doesn’t exist. So I find Quiet Time stylish and filled with loving emotion. A K/S artwork doesn’t have to be perfect in anatomy or form—it’s the feelings that count the most as well as the composition and style. I like the second piece okay, but it’s this “real” art that touches me.

Summary

"As they sit before a fire at Kirkʼs Iowa home, he and Spock conjure up fantasies of the different ways they could have met and fallen in love in other realities."

Reactions and Reviews

What could be better than a succession of great alternate universe K/S fantasies all nicely collected in one place? Why, getting to eavesdrop as Kirk and Spock sit before the fireplace together, coming up with those great fantasies and describing them to each other, of course!

I loved it when Spock admitted that he had played warrior as a boy. And I liked the description of Spock, returning from stoking the fire and "lolling" at Kirk's side "in a kind of Vulcan way." That phrase, though it might seem rather vague, actually called up a perfect mental image for me of a very relaxed Spock who nevertheless is maintaining an almost endearing air of Vulcan dignity—in other words, a Spock who is in love with Jim Kirk, but who is still Spock.

This is a fun, sexy scenario, but there is true intimacy here also. It's really very touching that these two men, each of them formerly a loner in his own way, now feel comfortable and secure enough with one another to share such private dreams. And the thing which makes the shared dreams truly intimate is that they are not just about sex: they are also about love.

This story is so delicate and beautiful, it's almost more of a poem than a story. Like an impressionist painting, the longer you look at it the more depths and more beauty it reveals. The first time I read it, it didn't make a huge impression on me, but I couldn't stop thinking about it. So I read it again, and again. Now it's one of my favorites. It's set the evening after Kirk and Spock make love for the first time. They're relaxing at the farmhouse in Iowa, talking, drinking brandy, touching...and enjoying that wonderful experience of being completely relaxed and without expectations with a new lover.

They start sharing scenarios of how they might have met each other and fallen in love. What if Kirk had stayed on the farm and Spock was a traveling salesman? What if it were in the 1930s? What if Kirk were a businessman in Hoboken? The underlying premise of all these scenarios is that in every situation they fall in love.

These tiny little tales they spin with each other interweave with Kirk's memories of them making love the previous night, his hopes for them making love that night, and the caresses they're sharing as they talk. There's love and caring and acceptance of each other in every line.

Their interactions are excellent. I love the fact that Spock encourages and contributes to the flights of fancy, while still being in totally in character.

This is a beautiful story that, like an impressionist painting, deserves to be contemplated and pondered.

A truly unique story written by one of our most creative authors. Now I may have read a story using this particular plot idea before, but if I have, I honestly dont remember it.

This was so great as Kirk and Spock played WHAT IF...using the plots of many K\S stories. I laughed out loud when I spotted one of my own. I really appreciate how time consuming the research must have been to find just the right scenario for what she had in mind.

Excellent characterizations...superbly written and of most importance to me, the love is there, permeating the entire story.

Well done, Kathy. A must read for all K/Sers.

There are some exquisite moments in this, but the concept, clever as it may have been, was tedious to me. Even realizing it was a take-off on all the things K & S have been to each other in the AU genre, I became tired of hearing them related. What I did enjoy, immensely, were the moments that tied the "what-ifs" together. Scintillating snippets of cuddling by the fireside, stealing a kiss, a hand placed warmly on a nearby thigh.... There's an accidental mind touch that threatens to interrupt the verbal gaming with some serious living. A lovely fireside scene—one to be treasured for its simplicity.

This is a unique and engrossing story that I thoroughly enjoyed, not only because of its clever use of the story lines of various K/S AU’s, but also because the author uses them to such good effect. They form a perfect framework for an intimate conversation that is by turns tender, erotic, touching and funny. Having Kirk and Spock themselves comment on these likely and not-so-likely scenarios for their first meeting is a marvelous touch. I was also able to appreciate the gentle humor directed at some of the AU premises (including the author’s own!) without being distracted from the basic seriousness of the real story. And this story did seem real to me— wonderfully so! I mentioned that it’s about an intimate conversation; in fact, I believe intimacy is the outstanding characteristic of the piece. Both characterizations struck me as entirely believable: Kirk mellow, sexy and utterly happy; and Spock, in love, more than willing to indulge his new lover’s flights of fancy. The fact that the story takes place on Earth, away from the Enterprise, also helped make its events believable. It had the feeling of a time apart, a leisurely seduction, a chance for both men to explore their relationship and perhaps even to act a little silly as only a respite from their shipboard responsibilities could allow.

While the entire story is written from Kirk’s POV, Spock’s state of mind is always equally clear. This is true in part because the dialogue throughout is beautifully done. I also love the way their previous night’s lovemaking is revealed through bits and pieces of Kirk’s recollections and even through his anticipation of what is to come. I was left with no doubt about their shared passion, even without a straightforward retelling or lengthy flashback. When done well as it is here, this is one of my favorite writing styles: presenting just enough information to enable the reader to fill in the blanks, like brief and disconnected images flashed on a screen that somehow form a coherent whole.

I suppose this story could technically be classified as one having no sex scene. Or perhaps...it has many. I know which way I’d vote!

Picture this: an isolated farmhouse in Iowa, rain

pouring down outside but a wonderfully warm fire raging in the fireplace inside, two brandy snifters in the hands of two Starfleet officers on the day after the night before. Kirk and Spock have declared their love for one another the previous night, and they’ve acted upon that love, but not in the myriad of ways they’re going to. So begins this thoroughly delightful story, and you love it already, right? Once again we’re treated to a unique look at our favorite universe. I am constantly awed by this author’s ability to construct something new and different in a genre that is more than twenty years old. Here Kathy uses the plots of many actual K/S stories as the two men ruminate about various sexual scenarios they might enact together. Any K/S reader will recognize the A/U plots of "In Any Reality" by Brianna Falken, or Elizabeth Scott’s "The Last Game," or Shelley Butler’s "Untouched," among others she mentions. (I especially loved the references to Kathy’s own "The Summer of Love"— one of my favorites.) Now this idea has been done in limited form before, the use of other authors and plots, but never (that I’m aware of) in quite this way. Told completely from Kirk’s point of view, the plots are used as a form of verbal foreplay, exploring the ways they might interact with each other. Will Spock be dominant? Will Kirk? How would it be if they had met in Pre-Reform times or even if Kirk were an ad executive from Hoboken, New Jersey? The scenarios are tied together with the common thread "...and we fall in love." In each time and place, in all times and places, these two essences would be drawn together in love. Oh, yes! Impressed as I was with all this, there’s even more. This story was meticulously planned. Each episode is placed exactly in its proper place to create a building sense of sexual anticipation as Kirk thinks about this new love and the life that is just beginning between them. And though related just from Kirk’s P.O.V. there is never a doubt as to Spock’s feelings and thoughts. Excellent characterizations.

There was a smile on my face the whole time I was reading this. Sometimes it was there in humor, sometimes in recognition, but always because of the love—the love Kirk and Spock express for each other in this story and the love this author has for the characters and this Divine Obsession we all share.

What a superb story—finely crafted, intimate, unique idea and beautifully written. I would not expect any less from this author. On a pure story-telling level, even this quiet story is involving. But the up-close detail and the precise characterizations make this absolutely wonderful.

From the previous reviews, you might know by now what it’s about—Kirk and Spock in a farmhouse, sitting by the fire, brandies in hand, weaving personal, sexy fantasies of the two of them in various scenarios all taken from K/S stories by authors who Kathy thanks at the end of the story. There’s so much emotion—powerful and evocative—in every moment as Kirk and Spock get drawn deep into the fantasies. We, too, get swept away into each scenarios as if we were sitting there by the crackling fire. (Don’t you wish!) But it’s so vivid, so detailed, so atmospheric, you really feel like you’re there. A small thing I adored— Kirk calls Spock “boyfriend” And they eat chocolate pie. And kiss. And I’m thrilled that Spock also drinks brandy. Brandy just suits Spock somehow. And many gentle, humorous touches like “I remember hearing once, from Mom I think, a philosopher—Phyllis Dillon, Diller, something—she said that the surest way for racial and nationalistic conflict to end was for people to intermarry.” And “But even the FIB could never prove it...” . I also really liked the gentle tipsy quality that they both enjoy in such a protected place. Here, in this isolated farmhouse with the rain, alone with each other, they get to let down all barriers and constraints—what more trusting, intimate thing could there be than this? This story is also a terrific example of how effective and strong it is to keep to one POV. We are in Kirk’s head, but not only do we see Spock from Kirk’s perspective, but we understand everything that Spock is feeling—shown through the dialogue and situation. If we had been in Spock’s head, too, it might have become muddled and confusing, especially in such an intimate story. And how extraordinary to have their love-making be so vivid even though it happens before the story opens. This is not an easy thing to write so well. I loved all the fantasies especially the Vulcan prostitute. (Hey! What story is that from? Sounds pretty far-fetched to me!) I totally loved the ending as they lie together and drift off with thoughts of more fantasies.

This is one of those stories that years from now when we’re like ninety will stay memorable when we’re sitting in rocking chairs on the front porch and reminiscing about K/S.

A truly unique story written by one of our most creative authors. Now I may have read a story using this particular plot idea before, but if I have, I honestly

don't remember it. This was so great as Kirk and Spock played WHAT IF...using the plots of many K\S stories. I laughed out loud when I spotted one of my own. I really appreciate how time consuming the research must have been to find just the right scenario for what she had in mind. Excellent characterizations...superbly written and of most importance to me, the love is there, permeating the entire story.

Well done, Kathy. A must read for all K/Sers.

What could be better than a succession of great alternate universe K/S fantasies all nicely collected in one place? Why, getting to eavesdrop as Kirk and Spock sit before the fireplace together, coming up with those great fantasies and describing them to each other, of course! I loved it when Spock admitted that he had played warrior as a boy. And I liked the description of Spock, returning from stoking the fire and “lolling” at Kirk’s side “in a kind of Vulcan way.” That phrase, though it might seem rather vague, actually called up a perfect mental image for me of a very relaxed Spock who nevertheless is maintaining an almost endearing air of Vulcan dignity—in other words, a Spock who is in love with Jim Kirk, but who is still Spock. This is a fun, sexy scenario, but there is true intimacy here also. It’s really very touching that these two men, each of them formerly a loner in his own way, now feel comfortable and secure enough with one another to share such private dreams. And the thing which makes the shared dreams truly intimate is that they are not just about sex: they are also about love.

I always love Kathy Stanis' writing. This story has become a favorite and yet to try to truly explain why is difficult. It doesn't have the angst or the intricate plot and characters that I look for and love in stories. It is just so incredibly sweet and right. The little touches, remembrances throughout of their first night together. The wonderful line, "their making love after five years of foreplay," makes me smile every time, bringing image after image coming to mind. The story is simply a very domestic one of Kirk and Spock spending a intimate evening together, just talking and touching. The delightful flashes of humor are just wonderful. I love it when Kirk says to Spock, "Well, I don't know about that, Mister Does not See Command...Except in Bed." And Kirk's innocent question to Spock, "You're the virgin, and I'm...the whore?" Then, the warm affectionate touches between them and the wonderful kiss between them with Spock admitting that he ‘s not controlling is so well written that I can just see them clearly. And, each time I read this story, I enjoy the fact that Spock is willing to play along with Kirk, to tease him with the different scenarios of how they might meet and fall in love. I find myself slowing down and re-reading lines to savor the obvious love between them. When I want to just relax and enjoy a story, this is one of the ones I pull out.

I didn’t think I would like this one, but once I started reading it, I soon changed my mind. Kirk and Spock are sharing shore leave in Iowa at Kirk’s family home and after their first time together, they share a conversation about how they might still have become lovers in a variety of other situations. There was a wonderful atmosphere about this story, and it created some lovely images with Kirk and Spock sitting by a warm fire, drinking brandy and the rain beating against the windows, while they discuss all the various scenarios and how they might have met anyway creates a lovely warm fuzzy feeling, although there is not a lot of action in this one it is still an enjoyable read anyway – it’s nice to see them relaxing and enjoying each other's company for once without constantly being interrupted by a crisis on this ship!