This is What Love Is

Fanfiction
Title:	This is What Love Is
Author(s):	Nadja Lee
Date(s):	2009
Length:
Genre(s):	slash
Fandom(s):	Star Trek: TOS
Relationship(s):	Kirk/Spock
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This is What Love Is is a TOS Kirk/Spock story by Nadja Lee.

It was published in the print zine T'hy'la #30.

Summary

"A post fal-tor-pan story. Kirk must come to terms with the changes in Spock's personality."

Excerpt

""I shall do so," he replies, a satisfied gleam in his eyes as he returns to his terminal. I am halfway down the hallway when he yells after me. "Shall we play chess tonight, Jim?" The voice…. So like it was. If I don't turn around, if I stay frozen in this moment…I will be back. Before all this happened. Before…. I scowl; I should be thankful for what I have and not drown in self-pity. I turn around and at his open expression I cannot help but feel my eyes light up; he is here with me. What more do I want?"

Reactions and Reviews

What a heartbreaking story! It‘s only 4 pages long, but lingers with you long, long after reading it. I can see Kirk doing exactly this in the situation portrayed in this touching story (or Spock, if their positions were reversed.) The title sums it all up perfectly. Just beautifully written.

In earlier work, Nadja Lee has written poignantly about cultural clashes within the context of a mature Vulcan-Human relationship and the sacrifices one partner or the other must invariably make for the relationship to remain strong and whole. This Is What Love Is is a magnificent, bittersweet short story of enduring love and commitment. Her storytelling matures to depict human cultural discomforts with a mature Vulcan-Human relationship experiencing difficulties which are, perhaps, insurmountable. I have been an avid reader of broad category for over 40 years and this is easily one of the most powerful stories I have ever encountered in any genre. It’s flawless. I sincerely hope she does not tell this tale from personal experience.