I have clicked bookmarks until my browser crashed, four times, so in the interest of not killing my old dinosaur of a laptop, I'm here to humbly beg your help. The stories I have lost are as follows:
- Academy!STXI!fic. Starts out with McCoy bitching at Jim about his drunken antics, and threatening to cut off all medical aid. They enter into a wager: if Jim quits booze, brawls, and random hook-ups until New Years Day (maybe a month or two from the start of the story), he gets 2 bottles of Saurian brandy up front, and gripe free medical intervention for [x amount of time]. Enter Spock, who takes an interest in Cadet Kirk's newly evident competence. The stinger at the end of the story is that Spock was the one to prompt McCoy to dare Jim into good behavior. Happy ending, though.
- Academy!STXI!fic. Jim is in the locker room, getting dressed after a work out, and rushing as he is now late for class. Of course, in class, Jim learns that the comm/PADD/whatever he rushed off with is not in fact his, when the owner sends a message requesting they meet near a fountain on campus to exchange them. Of course, this is Spock, and Jim, being, you know, not stupid or blind, decides Spock is a very good thing, and as such not to be let go. Some minor angst, I think, about the student/teacher thing, but eventually K/S.
- Pre-Academy!STXI!fic. Jim Kirk is a genius so, of course, for this and reasons I can't quite recall, though probably either owing to Tarsus IV, and Pike's intervention in the aftermath thereof, or being a Fleet brat with a surviving parent on active duty in deep space, he ends up in the Starfleet Prep-Academy, or Starfleet High, or something along those lines. Whereat he meets Spock, who mentors him in advances math and applied sciences and chess/Tactics/Military History, ie. essentially grooms Jim for the Command track, since Jim is not fitting in well and actually reluctant to commit to the Academy. There is no student/teacher relationship, per say, and a great bit of angst while Jim figures out that he actually like likes Spock, but eventually K/S when Jim graduates and enters the Academy.
In light of the nature of these three stories, I would also like to request recommendations for similar stories, with an emphasis on stories wherein Spock and Jim meet before the Academy, or even a good HighSchool!AU. I thank you very much for your kind consideration.
Thanks to
verizonhorizon for 1 and 2, and
fearlesssisters for 3:
- Bragging Rights, by Ragdoll.
- Textual Attraction, by lalazee.
- Getting Educated, by Tyleet27.
There are tons of great rec in the comments, I second them all. Thank you again to all contributers.