The Touch of Your Hand

You may be looking for the Merlin/Arthur story One Touch of Your Hand to Mine.

Fanfiction
Title:	The Touch of Your Hand
Author(s):	Dovya Blaque
Date(s):	2001
Length:
Genre(s):	slash
Fandom(s):	Star Trek: TOS
Relationship(s):	Kirk/Spock
External Links:
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The Touch of Your Hand is a K/S story by Dovya Blacque.

It was published in Legends #1 and Lingering on the Fringes #2.

Summary

From "Legends": "Spock, ever observant, turns his insatiable curiosity on Kirk. More precisely, on Kirk’s personal life. Even more precisely, on Kirk’s kissing technique."

From "Lingering on the Fringes": "Why does it so bother Spock when he occasionally witnesses Kirk beginning a new flirtation with a woman? And do McCoy's theories on the subject hold any validity? Just how far outside the Vulcan box is the First Officer of the USS Enterprise willing to go to understand his own motivations?"

Reactions and Reviews

Oh, what an absolutely wonderful story this was. I loved it for so many reasons.

The turns and twists of this tale had me in stitches on more than one occasion, and still it isnt a comedy at all. The Touch of Your Hand is just permeated with an amazing sense of humor and fun. It is a warm, wonderful tale of how Spock and Kirk get together in a rather uncommon way.

Spock is a Kirk-observer in this story. Specifically, he's observing Kirk's behavior with his lovers, or lovers-to-be. In fact, Spock is studying the way Kirk acts when he kisses someone, and there-by has learned to decipher whether Kirk means the relationship to be only a one-night-stand or if there is genuine affection between him and the woman in question.

The whole idea is a fun, and rather endearing one, where, to begin with, Spock himself isnt quite sure why he's observing Kirk's behavior so closely. Gradually he admits to himself that he's curious about what it would be like to have that attention focused on himself.

Our resident Vulcan eventually decides to try out the kissing part, after having a couple of discussions with both Kirk and McCoy about this particular custom - both of which had me smiling widely—because these conversations and the inherent curiosity are just so Spockian. So, he kisses McCoy. Shock! I felt my cheeks blush crimson at the awkwardness of this scene—that's rare these days—but the scene was so adorable and yet very uncomfortable to me, and at the same time, I absolutely loved it. McCoy's reaction was priceless and Spock's sneakiness was amazing.

The entire story is definitely well worth the read. In fact, I'd buy the zine for this story alone, and there are quite a few other nice tales in Legends. But The Touch of YourHand is a story that will go on my favorite story list no doubt.

Another part I was really amazed with was the spot- on characterizations, and it was probably also the most significant reason why I found this story so enjoyable. I recognize Kirk and Spock and McCoy so well in every word, action and gesture that it was a pleasure to read. My hat's off to Dovya for this one. Yum.

I could see a K/S/McC story following this one, or is it blasphemy to say that in the KSP?

I really like stories where, as in this one, Spock is presented as not completely understanding of what he feels but done in a way where Spock's ignorance is one of inexperience with emotion, not because he's afraid to face what he feels. One such facet of his ignorance is about kissing. And Spock being Spock, he decides on a way to overcome that ignorance.

It begins with Spock's observations concerning the way Kirk kisses. He has discovered that what Kirk feels for a woman will determine the type of kiss he'll give her. As there is a female guest aboard who Kirk has shown interest in, Spock has plenty of opportunities to test his hypothesis. And that is probably all it would have been if not for the fact that McCoy discovers Spock's interest in their captain's "oscular approaches." Just as Spock has his observations, so does McCoy, and his observations are telling him that Spock's interest is more about Kirk's kisses, rather than kisses in general. He encourages Spock to talk to Kirk. After thinking about it, Spock decides to do just that. During their next chess match, Spock hesitantly brings the subject up. Kirk attempts to answer his questions as best he can, but he's unsure as to what the question really is. He tries to explain the difference between different types of kisses and who you bestow them on, but eventually admits it's "a complicated subject," and, for the time, they leave it at that. Well, Kirk does. Spock's next move is to kiss McCoy. He and McCoy had been working on a solution to a plague raging in the Zeta Trianguli system. With a solution almost in hand, Spock decides to show his appreciation. To say McCoy is shocked is putting it mildly. But he manages to calm down enough to get an explanation from Spock. Realizing where this is all leading brings the doctor amusement and delight. So, of course, he tells Kirk. Kirk isn't sure how to take it. He feels not a bit of jealousy, but its tempered by the elation he feels when McCoy theorizes that the kiss was only a trial run for the one Spock would prefer to give to Kirk, that Spock loves Kirk and that his kissing research is really his way of trying to work things out, trying to figure out where the two fit together. With a push from McCoy, Spock's next step is to go to Kirk. When Kirk hopefully asks if Spock's experiments are complete as regard to kissing, he's overjoyed when Spock informs him that, while he has suspended any further field work, his study is not yet complete. That's all Kirk needs to hear. He kisses Spock— who then returns the favor. And, well, you can guess where it goes from there.

This is a thoroughly delightful story. I love the spot-on banter between the three men, the way I can see Kirk and Spock so very clearly. I think my only complaint was the rather odd ending. Is it a silly joke on Kirk and Spock's part, or a veiled hint to a possible future threesome? I don't know, but I'm going with the former and totally ignoring the latter.

Spock spends a lot of time studying his captain. The way he interacts with other people, with women. The way he touches. The way he kisses. And after Jim tries to explain to him the why and when and how of kissing, Spock decides to do some experimenting of his own... An utterly delightful story venturing very close to K/S/McC territory, with terrific Big Three characterization, spot-on dialogue and lots of hilarious-but-OMG-so-sweet moments. Warm and full of humor, Dovya at her best.