I'll Save You - Spirk

Chapter Ten

*Jim's POV*

I arrived at the clearing 10 minutes early and sat in the sun with my back against a tree.

I have no idea why I am so intent on helping this Vulcan kid, I mean I've always hated people who bully other people for no reason, but I went from protecting him in a fight to teaching him how to fight?

I think part if the reason is I really want to spend time with him. It weird, I don't even know him but when I can't see him I find myself wondering, is he okay? What if someone's hurting him right now, and I'm not there to stop it?

I shook myself out of these thoughts and settled against the tree, tipping my head to warm my face.

Spock arrived at exactly 1300 hours, looking very uncomfortable. "Hello Jim, where do we start?" he asked, looking somewhere above my head.

I stood up slowly, regarding him. "I think defence is usually a good place" I replied, swinging my arms a bit to warm them up.

He looked at me uncertainly, his body stiff as I began to circle him.

"Follow my movements" I commanded him, holding my arms up in a basic defensive stance.

He copied me, his arms too low and his movements too stiff and forced.

"Hold your arms higher to protect your face, and loosen up a bit, it will allow you to absorb hits better and give you more flexibility."

He did as I asked, moving more freely as his body got used to the stance.

"Okay" I began slightly nervously, having never done something like this before "punch me"

He slowed down a bit, frowning "I don't want to punch you"

I shook my head "don't worry, you won't make contact, I'm going to show you what to do in the event someone tries to punch you"

"Oh okay" still frowning he darted forward, his smooth, lithe movements catching me off guard so much that I almost forgot that I was showing him what to do if someone tries to punch him.

I stepped aside at the last minute, catching his wrist with my hand and sweeping his legs out from underneath him, catching him and pulling him upright before he could hit the ground.

What I wasn't expecting was what his skin felt like, it was warmer then mine, and very soft. When I touched it I felt a jolt in the pit of my stomach, along with the feeling of something brushing against my mind.

He backed up a bit, looking confused at my reaction "do I try that now?" he asked when I just stood there, staring down at my hand.

I looked at him in surprise, was it possible he didn't feel anything? I guess there's only one way to find out. "Yes, just try to repeat what I did" I answered numbly, wondering if it would happen again.

We circled for a second, the I moved forward, swinging a fist in his direction, but I had to fight myself to do it, every nerve in my body screaming at me to stop, to protect him, not hurt him.

I realised with horror I had swung to hard and fast to stop it crashing into his face, but my worries were unnecessary. At the last minute he stepped aside, grabbing my wrist and tripping me.

I felt the jolt again, but nothing in my mind this time. I ended up sprawled on the hard ground, with Spock, who had dived to catch me and missed, falling down next to me.

"S-Sorry" he mumbled, leaping up and offering me a hand.

I laughed "that's alright, that was awesome! You got it on your first shot!" I took the offered hand, hoping to feel the strange jolt again.

I was not disappointed, but again Spock didn't appear to feel it. What' s happening to me?

He did however look very pleased with himself "Can I try again?" he asked eagerly, a warm glow lighting his face up.

"Sure" I laughed

............

We worked on that move for about an hour, and I liked what I saw.

Spock, although he didn't know much about fighting, was quick to learn and adapt.

I decided to spice things up a little and the next time he went on offensive I grabbed him by the waist and threw him over my shoulder, again making sure he never touched the ground.

This unfortunately caught him off guard and he yelped, curling up and rolling away from me.

"Woah, woah, it's alright mate, I'm not going to hurt you" I said, trying to keep the panic out of my voice as I reached a hand out and gently touched his shoulder.

He flinched slightly, but didn't move away. "I'm sorry" he muttered "habit"

"They really fucked you over, didn't they?" I tried to keep the anger out of my voice, I really did, but clearly it failed.

He flinched away again and muttered something that I couldn't hear, but I could hear the terror in his voice.

"It's alright mate, your not in danger, your alright" I told him soothingly, squeezing his shoulder gently.

He shook himself slightly and looked up. "Sorry" he said again, his face completely straight and void of emotion.

"Okay, I think that's enough for today" I said, pulling him up. "Coffee?"

"Not today thanks, if you don't mind we will reschedule your tutoring, I have to go" he turned and walked to the edge of the clearing "thank you for today, sorry about this" he threw over his shoulder, not giving me any time to reply before he disappeared from view.

I dropped to the ground, then smashed a fist against it, bruising my knuckles. "Dammit" I snarled "I'll fix this Spock" I vowed to the empty clearing, "I promise".