Bed of Silence

Fanfiction
Title:	Bed of Silence
Author(s):	Rosemary C
Date(s):	1981
Length:
Genre(s):	slash
Fandom(s):	Star Trek: TOS
Relationship(s):	Kirk/Spock
External Links:	Bed of Silence on AO3
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Bed of Silence is a K/S story by Rosemary C.

It was published in the print zine Out of Bounds.

Summary

"On the day he receives his captaincy, Kirk is taken by Mitchell to a brothel where the main attraction is a male “devil.”"

Reactions and Reviews

2001

This story is well-known among fandom, almost famous, and as time went by I came to realize that.... Wait a minute, that's not quite the right lead-in! Well, anyway, this story is a gem of an alternate universe tale, simple and direct. It might take a little bit of a stretch to imagine not only Spock's silence but also the physical realities of his captivity, but once those are accepted, this is a story to be savored.

Kirk is an Empire (but not the Mirror one) officer about to ship out as captain of his own vessel, and he's visiting the "most luxurious and exclusive" brothel at the urging of Gary Mitchell. He's not quite sure he wants to be there. He's going to visit "an alien slave forced into prostitution. A male, rumored to resemble the Devil himself... How the hell had he ever been stupid enough to allow Gary to talk him into this?"

Kirk's encounter with Spock is anything but what he thinks it will be. "Something had happened here tonight; something which he was incapable of understanding. Not here, where the warmth of the creature's soft skin still surrounded him and the sizzling passion of the last hour was still heavy in the tent."

Forced into activities wholly repugnant to him, the Vulcan slave has kept the only bits of resistance and selfhood that he can: he refuses to speak and he refuses to allow himself to become aroused even while he services his customers. But he and Kirk manage to communicate on a very basic level anyway, as day after day Kirk, compelled by his fascination with the man, returns to the brothel and his silent bedpartner. One night, Spock saves Kirk's life when Mitchell attempts to assassinate him while he's in the slave's arms. That leads not only to Mitchell's public execution, but it all brings about a short hiatus in Kirk's relationship with the nameless slave, as he can't bring himself to visit the brothel while he assimilates the heartbroken emotions of Mitchell's treachery.

So when he goes to visit his dark, pointed-eared obsession again, someone else has had the "use" of the slave and injured him in the process. That brings home to Kirk on a very basic level that he is incapable of protecting this silent man he has come to love. When Spock shortly thereafter breaks his most basic rule by becoming sexually aroused by Kirk and climaxing with him, the Vulcan finally speaks. "Now...I've betrayed...everything...." he sobs. But, of course, Kirk is not content to leave him in bondage. There's a most satisfactory ending as some chains are discarded and others, lovingly, are assumed.

2008

This K/S story is set in the 'Mirror' universe and although I am not a fan of Mirror stories in particular, this is one of the few such works where I make an exception. And although it was originally written and published over twenty years ago, its recent appearance on the net served as a reminder of why it has remained one of my favorite K/S stories of all time.

The story takes place right before a newly promoted Kirk is to take his first command, that of the Enterprise. To celebrate, Gary Mitchell takes him to a brothel – ―the most luxurious and exclusive of its kind, but nevertheless, a brothel where an alien prostitute that supposedly resembles the Devil himself is the star attraction. Kirk finds the whole situation rather distasteful, yet also finds that for some reason, he cannot just walk away. Instead, he reluctantly agrees to bed this 'Devil' and soon finds himself facing a silent, uncommunicative alien whose sole purpose for existence is pleasuring the customers who come into his bed. Only the chains binding his wrists to the bed signal that he has been given no choice in the matter. That, and Kirk‘s own behavior toward this helpless being, convince him that he really doesn‘t want to go through with this, yet to his surprise, it is his alien companion, without a word or sound, persuades him to reconsider. That first time together leads to a series of events, both tragic and uplifting, that change the course of both their lives forever.

I think the reason this story has remained one of my favorites is that, unlike many 'Mirror' stories where Kirk is simply a bastard, the author shows us a much more vulnerable, gentle Kirk who needs love and can love. And it is that need and that ability to love which breach the hellish existence a certain 'Devil' has been forced to endure and finally give to Kirk what he has been able to give no other – his words, his thoughts, his desires, and most of all – his love. It all comes together to make one remarkable, unforgettable story.

2009

To celebrate the obtention of his captaincy, Jim lets Gary drag him to a brothel which main curiosity is a "male devil", and finds himself strangely and immediately compelled by the quiet alien. Unusually soft portrayal of Kirk for a Mirror story, but it works because we get the feeling we caught him in a vulnerable point in his life, and the immediate attraction between him and Spock was played with enough strength. It was lovely to see the tenderness and care blooming visit after visit, and Kirk deploying all his charm to try and get under his partner's skin. Subdued Spock that worked well within the concept of the fic.

2010

Now, let me just say up front that I have never been a fan of mirror!verse at all. I am not into the violence and excessive cruelty that most of this genre is comprised of, so imagine my surprise when I came across some mirror fics in which that is not the case at all... Bed of Silence (TOS) by Rosemary. On the day he receives his captaincy, Kirk is taken by Mitchell to a brothel where the main attraction is a male "devil." This is not specified as mirror!verse, but it reads that way IMO. Love at first sight. Slave fic. Porn. What more do you want from me?

2021

5/5: I really enjoyed this one. I generally tend to avoid stories tagged with non-con, but this one was handled really well. Kirk mentions early on that he's not into rape, and it's incredibly obvious in everything he does. Beyond that, it's written very well, in that classic 80's style, not going too heavy with big words yet not being crude with the descriptions of sex at all. Overall a very enjoyable read.