Dr. Leonard McCoy has left the Enterprise. (just_bones) wrote in thedoorway, @ 2013-05-14 20:16:00 |
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Entry tags: | !log, james kirk, leonard mccoy |
WHO: Leonard “Bones” McCoy and James T. Kirk
WHERE: Lab.
WHEN: Backdated! May 7th, 2013.
WHAT: Jim still hasn’t gotten over the fact Bones is younger than him.
RATING: Low, no spoilers.
STATUS: Complete.
In hindsight, Jim had not reacted as well as he could have when he woke up next to a young floppy haired Bones. The initial shock had been fierce but excusable, but perhaps he shouldn’t have gone straight in for the teasing. If it was weird to find a young Bones next to him in the morning, it had to be even worse to find out you had become a younger version of yourself. So he allowed Bones his space, allowed him to process whatever this situation was. Still, this thing was showing no signs of ending and he wasn’t going to let Leonard hide away forever. He knew Bones had to be driving himself crazy with this and trying to figure out how to fix it. They were in a world because of a magical portal. He didn’t know how to tell his friend this might be something that can’t be fixed with science. With food in hand he entered Leonard’s workspace without asking. He wasn’t in the mood to argue with privacy. “You’re taking a break and before you even start I am ordering a break not as your Captain but as your friend. Which comes with stricter penalties if disobeyed. So put down whatever you’re working on. It will be there in ten minutes.” Jim made himself at home on the stool next to Bones, not bothering to wait for permission. He didn’t see anything that would be destroyed for good if he sat down. He pulled out a salad loaded with just about everything. The man needed protein and given his obsession with vegetables Jim figured this would be a happy medium. “How’s it coming, kid?” “Jesus, are you trying to give me a heart attack?” Leonard asked as he looked up from his microscope. He was already on edge and tightly strung-- he was sure that he hadn’t gotten more than ten hours of sleep in the last two days, but that wasn’t the worst of Leonards problems. From what he could tell (and what Banner had told him, although the other man had practically disappeared since their last conversation-- not that Leonard could blame him) there wasn’t anything wrong, aside from the fact that he was currently sitting in the body he’d had as an eighteen year old. “You brought me food?” he asked, all previous annoyance drained when he realized just how long he’d gone without eating. Still, it was somewhat exhilarating to experience his youth again, to feel how much more his teenage body could do and how much farther he could push himself even if he was using its current gifts to figure out how to get his body back to the age that it was supposed to be. Leonard carefully cleared his workspace to ensure that there wasn’t any danger of contamination. There wasn’t much chance of that in the first place as he’d temporarily pulled his access to open cases, but Leonard made sure that he samples he’d taken from his own body were properly protected. “You brought me a salad?” he asked, disbelief written plainly on his face as he looked between the carry out container and Jim’s face. “I’ve been in here for the better part of forty-eight hours, and I’ve got next to nothing to show for it, Jim,” Leonard answered as he hoisted himself back onto his own stool next to Jim. “But the scar from my tango with my uncle’s mare is gone. Or rather, it’s not there yet,” he explained as he tugged at the collar of his shirt to reveal its absence from where he’d suffered a particularly nasty broken collar bone. Jim ran his finger along the line where the scar should be. “Would you look at that. I wonder if that means those in their future bodies have scars they’ll one day receive. Or if it’s limited to what they have now.” Jim couldn’t help but be fascinated by it all. Despite his nonchalant attitude towards things, he enjoyed knowing how something worked. He enjoyed knowing enough about something to make improvements. He was a tinkerer by nature, but rarely lacked the desire to bother with any long term projects. “You’re dealing with magic and sorcery. You’re not expected to have an answer in 48 hours. People have been searching for the fountain of youth since there was death. If it was that easy to figure it out you wouldn’t have gotten to look so old to begin with,” he teased, kissing the soft spot under his ear to insure he knew so. “I brought you a salad. Please know that it went against everything I believed in.” A lie, but one that would annoy Bones just the way he liked him annoyed. “Given your current age I probably should have opted for four burgers, but I didn’t want to be accused of trying to fatten you up.” Bones looked tired. Not bad, simply tired. Like a man who wasn’t giving himself any breaks. Jim both loved and hated the moments he could mother Bones for a change. It was a nice break from the usual routine, but it also meant his friend needed to be pulled back before he worked himself to the ground. “When is the last time you ate?” Leonard was equally fascinated by the idea that Jim had proposed; however, he was too exhausted to follow it to the next logical step. He already knew the course that he was following with the samples he’d taken from his own body, so at this point, he was practically running on autopilot. Which was what had him so exhausted in the first place. Still, he made a mental note to track Chekov down sometime soon so that he could ask him about the changes he’d noticed in his older body. “But here we have a known cause, Jim. There could be the answer here, and even if I can’t find it right now, I don’t want to miss the opportunity. Who knows, maybe this accident leads to the medical breakthrough that brings this universe’s medicine in line with what we know in the 23rd century,” he replied quickly, although he realized that, as Spock would say, his logic was unsound. Still, Leonard promptly shut up when Jim’s lips pressed into his skin. “Jim, we’re at work,” he whispered, although there was nobody else in the lab. He could still feel the the color rising in his cheeks. “In that case, I’ll enjoy it twice as much as I would anything else,” he replied with a smirk. Leonard popped open the container and poured some dressing onto it. He couldn’t help groaning as he took the first bite, giving Jim an appreciative nod. “I bought a sandwich from one of the machines in the hall a few hours ago, but I couldn’t eat that shit. Tasted worse than anything I’ve ever had out of a replicator,” he answered between mouthfuls of food. Leonard hadn’t realized just how hungry he was until he’d had a plate of real food put in front of him. Plus, with the way he’d been eating the last two days, he was sure that he could eat the entire thing and then some more. “No pressure,” he said, raising his eyebrow at the other man. Yes, that would be wonderful, but the universe would get there. He didn’t pretend to know much about alternate universes, but Spock had taught him enough that he trusted it would work itself out. Not that it couldn’t use any help. “I know how serious you take your work, but you could have some fun with your current state. It seems a shame to waste all your time in it sitting in a lab.” A rotten part of Jim knew that he was also being jealous. Bones still had a purpose here. He could do good work and make something of himself. Jim was simply rolling along. No amount of jealousy could overshadow his pride in Bones either. The man gave his all. “That’s because it’s a sandwich from a machine. You couldn’t have ordered a pizza?” It was funny to see him dig into the meal like he had never seen food before. “Remember to breathe in between bites. You don’t want to be the first person to ever choke on a salad. Maybe I should go ahead and order that pizza...” Jim wasn’t sure if he was entirely joking or not. Leonard couldn’t help but smile at Jim in return. He knew that it was what he needed, to be reminded not to work himself into the ground, and he needed to hear it from Jim, but the experience was still somewhat novel. “I haven’t just been sitting, you know. Have to stretch at some point to keep from getting stiff,” he replied, although he knew that wasn’t what Jim meant. And despite the pains in his back and his legs-- the growing pains he remembered from years ago-- Leonard could feel that his body was more limber and flexible than it had been a few days ago. “I did a stress test earlier, too. Ran the fastest mile I’ve run since the academy, in maybe a decade,” he said, a note of pride in his voice. But all of that was beside the point. “I just need to make sure I’ve got good samples while I’m like this. However, I’m quite open to suggestion as to what to do with myself once I’ve taken care of that,” Leonard added, quirking his lips. “I didn’t even think about it. I was a little preoccupied,” Leonard answered before he shoved another bite of food into his mouth. The only reason he’d thought to buy a sandwich was because the snack machine had come into his line of sight during a trip to the bathroom, but he thought it would probably be better not to let Jim in on that fact. “But wait until after we get home for the pizza. People tend come out of the woodworks for that sort of thing, and I’m not much in the mood to share,” McCoy replied vehemently. “Of course not, you have to raise your arms now and then to adjust the microscope.” Jim couldn’t help but smile at how proud Bones sounded. “Good, we’ll have to race later. Either I win or I get to stare at your ass as you pass me. Either way I’m happy.” Jim knew that they were at Bones’ place of work, but that didn’t stop him from teasing him. It wasn’t unheard of for Jim to flirt in inappropriate places and he wanted to make the other man blush before he left. He couldn’t stop staring at the man. He had always been handsome, even in this lanky slightly awkward form it was clear he would grow up to be devastatingly handsome. He was all sharp angles and intense eyes. Lucky bastard. “Of course you didn’t. I’m reminding you of this the next time you feel like lecturing me about taking better care of myself.” He gave it another two weeks tops. “You’re leaving the lab? My God! It’s a miracle. Just for that I’ll get breadsticks too. And don’t worry, I’d never make you share. Pizza is sacred.” McCoy simply rolled his eyes at Jim. It wasn’t like any of the training exercises he’d had to endure in the command track were any less tedious than the work that he did in the lab, but it was all a matter of perspective. “We can have a race, but not until after I get a few hours of shuteye,” he conceded. He was willing to make those sorts of concessions if it got a rise out of Jim-- not that it was much of a sacrifice to Leonard himself. “And when I say hours, I mean hours,” Leonard added, just as conscious of the fucking nightmare of a person he became after he’d gone too long without sleep. The fact that Jim had showed up with food and armed with promises of a pizza were probably the only things keeping his mood in check for the time being. “And it wouldn’t be such a bad thing if you’d quit staring at me like that. It’s not polite.” And it made him feel more than a little self-conscious. Leonard pushed his hair back out of his face before his expression softened. He simply didn’t know what he’d do if his body was permanently stuck in its current state. “Me eating half a shitty sandwich isn’t my way of putting myself in mortal peril, Jim,” he pointed out point blank. It was far more often that Leonard found himself on the other side of the same situation-- waiting for Jim to beam back from some godforsaken alien ship so he could make sure that the captain got put back together again. “Breadsticks are all I’m going to get with my pizza when I leave tonight?” McCoy asked, trying his best to look innocently disappointed. He wasn’t sure that it was working, but at least he figured that he had his youthful looks on his side for the moment. “I’ll allow it. In fact, if you wanted to go back to the room, curl up and go to sleep now I wouldn’t stop you either.” At least then he’d know the Bones had actually bothered sleeping. Jim liked to think this problem would fix itself soon, but there was no guarantee. Bones could keep going like this for a few more days, maybe even a few more weeks but eventually it would catch up to him. The longer this went on the harder Bones would work to understand it. Better to nip the problem in the bud. “Hours and hours. I wouldn’t dream of interrupting you.” Jim smirked as Bones called him out. “I don’t care. I like looking at you. Besides, it’s not the first time I’ve looked at you, Bones.” Jim had never been one to hide his appreciation in others, even if it was purely aesthetically. “No, you only eating half a shitty sandwich is your way of not taking care of yourself. I can play mother too. Unless that was your plan all along.” Jim liked it when Bones got flirty. He should really make him do it more often. “There might be a surprise or two, but first I need you to get up your strength. You’re no use to me passed out.” “You know I need to finish this, at least the stuff I started this morning,” McCoy replied, trying to erase the edge of irritation from his voice. But, he reminded himself, a compromise would probably not go unappreciated by Jim. “What if I put myself on a timeline? Say, I’ll be at home in three hours or so?” And then Leonard was powerless to stop himself from blushing; however, that was one of the least bothersome uncontrollable reactions he had to deal with in his younger body. “Well, the last time I looked like this,” Leonard said, gesturing toward himself, “There wasn’t anybody who was looking at me like that.” Granted, the last time that Leonard looked this young he was also beginning medical school, and none of his peers were interested in the moody teenager who enjoyed making them look like idiots. “Not that anybody’s ever looked at me the way that you do,” he added with a shrug. “You’re giving me much too much credit if you think I planned all of this as an appeal to your instincts as a caretaker,” Leonard said. Not that he wasn’t enjoying reaping the benefits of Jim’s concern for him, but he hadn’t realised that Jim’s concern for him had grown to its current level. “A surprise or two? I might need a little bit more incentive than that. Aren’t you supposed to be good at negotiating, Jimmy?” “Go crazy, Bones. Give yourself four.” Because if he limited himself to three he would fret all night about what he might have done with an hour more. He’d still do that with four, but at least now he could take comfort in the fact he got one extra hour. Jim should probably point out that this wasn’t home. Or did home mean his apartment or Bones? The truth was he knew exactly where Bones would come when he was done with his work. It was the comfortableness that came with years of friendship, one that was best left without commentary. “Oh, they were looking. You weren’t paying attention.” Jim shrugged when he commented on the looks he gave. Jim had never had a problem admiring others, even if wasn’t sexually. “Or maybe you’re craftier than you let on.” Jim laughed at his next point, sneaking a crouton from Bones’ salad and popping it into his mouth. “First rule of negotiating is to never reveal your cards all at once. Besides, I thought this was the work place. If you want me to give you specifics I can be very detailed...” “Alright, four hours,” Leonard replied, although he wasn’t entirely able to remove the sheer note of glee from his voice. Perhaps Jim was a better negotiator than McCoy had previously given him credit for being. He shoved another forkful of salad into his mouth to keep himself from correcting Jim. He knew when somebody was looking at him in that particular way, like they were sizing him up for later, but Jim was different. Or maybe it was McCoy that was different, maybe the feeling was tainted by his own desire this time. Either way, he felt that giving voice to such thoughts might hit a little bit too close to home or be too revealing, so instead he chewed. Besides, arguing with Jim about the semantics of it all was pointless, and the last thing that he wanted to do was spoil the current mood. “No, you’re right, save it for later,” Leonard said with a nod, although he couldn’t help if the movement was slightly strained. It only reminded him of one of the things he’d hated most about being a teenager, and that was feeling like he had almost no control over his body. And wouldn’t Jim just love to get him worked up here in the middle of his lab space? “I guess I’ll just have to trust that you know what you’re talking about,” McCoy said before he took a deep, calming breath of air. “Are you sure? Wouldn’t you like a preview? Four hours is an awfully long time to wait,” he said just above a whisper, swiveling his chair to face Bones and placing his hand just above Bones’ knee. He knew the other man would chose to stay and work and he would only be part dejected by the fact. Jim knew how important work was. He was hard pressed to put anything above the Enterprise, but this research wasn’t the Enterprise and he could be terribly needy. He simply had to remind himself that this research was Bones’ Enterprise. “I think I know a thing or two, but I’m always willing to take notes on how I can be improved.” "I-- I think I've already got some ideas of my own," McCoy replied, obviously affected by Jim's close proximity and the way his goddamn voice had gone soft and low. No wonder Jim Kirk had the reputation he did at the academy. McCoy was stuck in the middle of a scientific nightmare (or was it some sort of genetic wonderland, he couldn't decide), but Jim had turned his attention over to decidedly different pursuits. Jesus, he needed to get back to work before he embarrassed himself. "Goddamn, Jim. Give me my four hours, then I'm yours for whatever plans you've made," Leonard replied, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. It wasn't fair-- he was going to have to think about decidedly unattractive things in order to cancel out the arousal that had curled into the pit of his stomach. Leonard swallowed hard. "I mean it, I can't focus on anything while you're here, put the hormones on top of that--" Leonard felt a little bit like he was begging for mercy. He took a quick glance around the lab to ensure that they weren't being watched, then McCoy leaned forward to steal a quick kiss. "I'll give you plenty of notes when I get back to your place tonight," Leonard promised. Jim couldn’t help but smile, but he did have the decency to keep himself from laughing. He knew he was teasing the other man, but it couldn’t hurt to give him some sort of incentive to put the work down. He still hadn’t gotten over the novelty of being able to touch Bones whenever he wanted, he wasn’t sure if he ever fully would. In the back of his mind he knew that he would likely forget this once he had been sent back. It was a strange thing to consider, one Jim was determined to prove wrong. But if they were right, he and Bones would be back to friendship and tension. Would they ever move past that back in their timeline? It was hard to say. Especially when doom and gloom was awaiting for them back home. “Fine, I’ll leave you to work. Solve a few diseases and then we’ll talk. Just don’t work yourself to death, Bones. I have plans for you.” |