Work Text:
Leonard was looking out of the window, watching the snow fall down slowly, as it added another layer to the already covered ground. He shivered inwardly, glad to be in the warm kitchen, unlike his idiotic boyfriend, who was running around outside in the cold, checking if everything was ok at the farm.
Winter in Iowa, at least for Leonard’s taste, was way too cold to be really enjoyed. But however, thanks to lucky circumstances every member of the Kirk family would be earthbound at the end of this year, and Jim was excited to finally see both his brother and mother again.
And so, after Jim had told him those news and looked at him pleadingly, Leonard didn’t have it in his heart to disappoint the blond. He gave in and promised to come along to Iowa and help Jim getting the farm ready, even though he would have preferred to spend New Year’s Eve all relaxed and in silence in Georgia. At least they had stayed over the holiday’s with his mother, and so he wasn’t too annoyed over the change of their plans for the last day of the year.
Leonard got startled out of his thoughts, when the back door suddenly opened, and Jim stepped into the room. With the thick coat, the beanie on his head and the huge scarf wrapped around his neck and half of his face, the other man was hardly recognizable.
“Goddammit Jim, close the door, you’re dragging the cold in here!”
Thankfully, Jim for once listened to him immediately and closed the door obediently, right before he peeled himself out of his winter clothes and threw them on the floor. Leonard glared at him, not amused about his boyfriend making a mess, but Jim just grinned cheekily. He stepped closer, to give Leonard a short kiss.
“Missed you, Bones.”
Leonard huffed, but his annoyance was all for play. He tried holding back a smile, but failed miserably.
“Idiot, you were outside for only half an hour or so.”
“That’s way too long to go without your cheerful personality. Come on Bones, give me a hug.”
Leonard, unable to deny his boyfriend such a simple request, pulled Jim into his arms, and the blond sighed with content as he returned the embrace happily. For a few minute they stood there in the kitchen, enjoying each others affection, until Jim decided to end it by pressing his ice cold nose into Leonard’s neck. The brunet yelped and slapped Jim, who was laughing his ass off, slightly on the head. Grumbling, he shoved Jim towards the mess of clothes he had left on the floor.
“Go put away your clothes, you infant.”
Jim rolled his eyes at him, picked up his coat and everything else and left the kitchen, but not without turning around one last time and sticking out his tongue.
Leonard snorted, not having expected anything less by the kid, who was even more energetic than usually. He had no idea if Jim knew, but the doctor had noticed how nervous Jim was about New Year’s Eve. Not only would the whole family be assembled, but Jim would also introduce Leonard officially as his boyfriend.
Their relationship was relatively new, still more or less a well kept secret between them and the commanding crew of the Enterprise, and now Jim’s family would be the next to be let in on the news.
As far as Leonard knew, Jim had never introduced any of his partners to his mother before, and so Leonard could understand his nervousness. If he was completely honest, it was quite entertaining to see the normally so confident captain run around like a headless chicken, trying to check endless times if everything was perfect. Adding to that, it was also really endearing, and he might have even fallen a bit more in love with Jim. Though he’d never admit that out loud.
With his boyfriend back inside in the warmth, they could now finally get to cleaning the rest of the house, though he would have preferred a lazy afternoon. And so he left the kitchen with a sigh, hoping that the two of them would get the house ready till everyone else would arrive.
+++
When Leonard woke up the next day, he knew that something was wrong, as soon as he had turned around, seeking the warmth of his boyfriend to cuddle close to while still being half asleep, and found the other side of the bed empty and cold.
Confused, he opened his eyes, but when he looked around in the bed room, he couldn’t spot Jim anywhere.
His eyes fell onto the clock on his bedside drawer, and when he realized how early it was in the morning, he let out a long suffered groan. So much for sleeping in - without Jim he didn’t see much sense in lazing around in bed. Begrudgingly, he got up and dressed, and headed towards the kitchen, hoping that there would be some coffee ready to help him get through the morning.
All the while, he wondered where his boyfriend had gone to. He could remember that they went to bed together, but with how cold Jim’s side had been, he probably hadn’t stayed in bed for too long.
He surely wasn’t somewhere in the house, otherwise Leonard would have heard him rummaging through the rooms on his way down. And so the last place left for the blond to be was somewhere outside.
But Leonard wasn’t in the mood to go out in the cold and look around for the kid. It probably hadn’t stopped snowing during the night, so it would be still too cold for him to leave the warm house anytime soon. At least not of his own accord.
When he finally entered the kitchen, no cup of coffee greeted him and he stared accusingly at the silent coffee machine. Cursing at his bad luck, he prepped the old machine and waited impatiently for the coffee to be done. Sure, he could have gotten a cup way faster from the replicator, but he was on Earth and and able to have some rightfully brewed coffee. There’d be still enough replicated dishwater when they’d go back into space.
While he was waiting for his coffee to be done, he stared out of the kitchen window and finally noticed his boyfriend, who seemed to have gotten himself busy, as he was nearly done building what apparently was about to become an igloo.
Leonard watched the spectacle, wondering what Jim was up to, until he got distracted by the coffee machine again. He left his spot in front of the window, to get a mug from the cupboard and pour himself a cup of the desperately needed hot beverage.
Inhaling the delicious smell, he sighed, right before he took his first sip. But his thoughts strayed back to Jim, and so he took his coffee and returned to his spot at the window.
The igloo had been finished in the meantime, and Jim was sitting down right at its entrance now, his gaze directed at some point in the distance. Leonard didn’t really know what to make of that, but if Jim would sit out there in the cold too long, he’d have to drag his ass back inside.
Grumbling at the other man’s foolishness, he left the kitchen to get his PADD from the living room, but he decided to head back and finish his coffee where he could keep an eye on his boyfriend.
Which turned out to be a good idea, as Jim was still sitting outside and staring into the nothingness. Leonard’s irritation grew with every passing minute, since the kid surely would get a cold if he stayed where he was, and in the end Leonard would have to go out himself and drag his stupid ass back into the house.
He decided to give Jim a bit more time before he’d go out and kick his ass, so he sat down at the table with his coffee and PADD, but as time went on his gaze wandered more often to the window than it actually stayed on his PADD.
Jim didn’t move even once, making Leonard more and more restless. He wasn’t sure if he ever had seen Jim being still for such a long time - even in his sleep the blond was always shuffling around, so this was completely unusual for him.
After one last attempt he gave up, his mind too busy worrying about Jim to concentrate on anything else. He got up, headed for the back door, but after one step out, he regretted his decision immensely. It was terribly cold, and he really should have gotten at least his coat and boots, but for now it was too late.
Well, maybe he could convince Jim to come back inside faster if the blond saw him running around without warm clothes.
Cursing himself and his boyfriend, Leonard walked up to Jim, who was still sitting in the same position as earlier. Apparently, the other man was so spaced out, that he didn’t even notice him stepping closer, startling him when Leonard approached him.
“Jim? What are you doing?”
After a short moment, Jim finally turned around, but when he saw Leonard, his eyes widened and he jumped up quickly.
“Me? What are you doing outside so lightly dressed? It’s freezing, Bones!”
“Oh really? You think I didn’t notice this myself?”
Leonard wasn’t really in the mood for any more talking. He just wanted to go back into the house, and preferably back into bed to warm up again. But Jim just stared at him with confusion, not in a hurry to get away anytime soon.
“Then why are you out here?”
“Maybe because you’re an idiot who has been sitting out here for who knows how long? Jim, can we please go back inside and warm up?”
He offered his hand to the blond, who turned around to the igloo to take one last glance at it, before he looked at him and took his hand with a sad smile.
“Whatever you want, Bones.”
To both Leonard’s relief and Jim’s own luck - cause he’d kill the blond otherwise, Jim let himself be dragged back into the house without any complaints or resistance.
He left the other man back in the kitchen to get rid of his coat, and headed for the fireplace in the living room. After a while he got a fire started, and so he grabbed the blanket of the couch, sat down and huddled himself into the warm cloth, hoping that Jim would join him.
And indeed, not much later he entered the room, stopping in front of the couch, and looked down at Leonard with a mixture of sadness and exhaustion.
“What’s wrong, Jim?”
“They won’t come.”
Leonard’s heart broke for Jim with these words. He had an idea who was meant by them, but he still had to make sure.
“You mean…?”
Jim sighed, and let himself slump down on the couch next to the brunet, who drew the blanket back to pull his boyfriend closer and put it over the both of them. Jim obeyed without another word and put his head down on Leonard’s shoulder in defeat.
“Neither Sam and his family, nor my mom will make it in time for New Year’s Eve. They don’t even know if they will make it at all.”
“Why won’t they come?”
“Well, there was a major setback with one of Sam’s experiments, and since it’s in a crucial state, everything will be for naught if he leaves now. And the warp engines at mom’s ship failed, so she has no idea when they’ll arrive at Earth, but she said they’ll try their best.”
Leonard didn’t know what to say, but no words could make Jim’s disappointment vanish anyway. He knew how much it had meant to Jim that both his mother and brother would spend some time on earth. Jim sighed again, and Leonard wished that he could make him feel better.
“I don’t even know why I’m surprised or so disappointed, Bones. Guess I just really wanted to start into the new year with my family. It’s probably stupid, but I wanted it to mean that things could really change.”
“Of all the things you have ever said this is the least stupid, Jim. I’m sorry they won’t come, I wish I could change that for you.”
Jim lifted his head from Leonard’s shoulder, and smiled at him softly, before he leaned closer and gave him a soft kiss.
“Thank you, Bones. At least I’ve got you by my side, that’s better than anything else I could wish for.”
He smiled back at Jim, but before he could say anything else, a thought came to his mind, as there was still one question left unanswered.
“You know Jim, somehow I still don’t see how the igloo fits into all of that?”
“I just build it out of sentimentality, cause I didn’t know what else to do with my feelings. When we were kids, Sam and I used to build one every winter, and at nights we sat in front of it, watching the stars while he made up so many wild stories about them. I kinda was hoping that we’d revive that tradition with Sam and Peter this year.”
“I’m sure there’ll be plenty of chances left for that. You’ll get to do that with your brother and his son sooner or later.”
At that Jim let out a yawn, and so Leonard tugged his boyfriend down with him and shuffled around until they both could lay down comfortably on the couch, Jim draped halfway over the other man with his head on his shoulder. Leonard put one arm around the blond and stroked his back upwards to his neck, where he started playing with the soft tufts of Jim’s hair.
“Come on now kid. I don’t know how much sleep you had last night, so let’s take a nap for now.”
Jim couldn’t suppress another yawn and nodded sleepily, the stress of the morning clearly having taken its toll on him. Soon, Leonard could feel Jim’s breathing even out, and only a few minutes later was he fast asleep. But for the brunet there wasn’t any thought of sleep, as his thoughts were racing while he was trying to come up with a plan to cheer Jim up.
For the rest of the day nothing else happened, and Leonard was quite happy about it, so he had enough time to plan a surprise for Jim. The blond disappeared a few times all over the day, and when Leonard found him, he was again outside by the igloo, working a bit on it or sitting inside and doing nothing but brooding. Leonard didn’t like it, but at least it gave him enough time to make a few calls without Jim having the chance to eavesdrop on him.
+++
In the end last day of the year had arrived without much ado, except for Jim becoming mor and more melancholic. He tried his best not to let it ruin the day, but Leonard still noticed that the other man had his moments where he was completely absent minded.
As the evening came closer, and the year was running out with its last hours, Leonard’s surprise finally got itself started with the ringing of the doorbell. Jim, completely puzzled, got up from his place on the couch to see whoever was out there.
Leonard, just having finished some last preparations, came out of the kitchen, but held himself in the background with a smirk on his lips. He had an idea who was out there, not an exact clue since there were a few possibilities, but it didn’t really matter. Jim would be surprised in any way, and definitely happy to see the person on the other side of the door.
The face of absolute confusion Jim pulled when he opened the door and saw his chief engineer standing behind was absolutely priceless. Scotty just beamed at his captain and simply hugged him, never letting go of the bottle of scotch he had brought with him.
“Jimbo! How nice to see you!”
He then let go of the still dumbfounded man to greet Leonard in the same way, and gave him the bottle, which was eyed with appreciation.
“Thanks Scotty. I see you brought the good stuff, I might invite you again the next time.”
Jim, who still hadn’t recovered from his shock, looked questioningly at Leonard, but before he could ask what was going on, the doorbell rang for another time. Again, Jim opened the door, and this time Spock and Nyota entered the house. One look at Jim’s stunned face had Nyota smirk as she kissed the poor man on his cheek to greet him, while Spock just nodded and said a simple “Captain”.
Jim didn’t even need to close the door, since a few moments later a cheery Chekov and Sulu, with his husband and daughter accompanying him, stepped up the porch and entered the house, greeting both Jim and Leonard.
The poor blond was completely lost by now, and Leonard having sympathy with his overwhelmed boyfriend, ushered the others who were chatting excitedly with each other, into the living room to have a few minutes alone to talk to Jim.
When they were finally alone, Jim had found his voice again and stared at Leonard with wonder.
“Bones? What’s going on? Why is my commanding crew assembled in the living room?”
Leonard just shrugged in amusement and grinned at the other man.
“You said you wanted to spend the evening celebrating into the new year with your family. So I made a few calls, and they all were more than happy to come over. Except for Spock, I think his exact words were “Fascinating”, but you know that’s his way of showing excitement.”
Jim kept blinking at him dumbfoundedly, and Leonard could watch as he finally understood his words when Jim’s confusion was suddenly replaced by his most beautiful smile. He nearly jumped at Leonard, hugging him close to himself and mumbled a happy “Thank you, Bones” into his neck.
Leonard grumbled good naturedly and hugged his boyfriend back. Just for that everything he had arranged was worth it, and he knew that he had done the right thing.
+++
A few hours later, the old year gone and the new one just having started, Leonard came back with Sulu from one of the guest rooms, where they had put Demora to sleep. His gaze was sweeping over the guests, making him realize that JImwas missing again.
He had an idea where he could be, and so he silently passed by his friends to grab his coat and head outside. He walked towards the igloo, and indeed, the blond was sitting again in front of it, staring up into the sky and at the stars.
“How long have you been sitting here? In case you didn’t notice - it’s fucking cold outside.”
Jim turned his head towards him, smiling softly. He seemed to be calmer and more relaxed than the last few days, and Leonard didn’t have the heart to scold him for much more. So he just sat down next to his boyfriend and huddled closer, seeking for some delicious warmth. Jim shuffled towards him and laid his head down on Leonard’s shoulder.
“Don’t worry Bones, I’ve just been out for a few minutes. I needed some time to calm down from all the excitement, and this was just the right place.”
“Do you want to be alone? I’ll go back inside if you promise me that you won’t stay out here too long.”
Jim just shook his head against his neck, making Leonard snort. He sighed and looked up at the sky, realizing that it just had started to snow again. He decided he’d give Jim a few more minutes, as long as there were still only a few snowflakes dancing down towards the ground, before he’d drag Jim’s ass back inside where he could warm up.
After a few minutes of silence he felt Jim shift and lean up, and so he turned around to see the other man looking at him with a soft smile on his lips.
“Bones?”
“What’s wrong, Jim?”
“Nothing, I just wanted to… I mean, I… Thank you, Bones.”
Jim took a deep breath, and he looked so insecure for a moment, making Leonard curious what else he had on his mind.
“I’m sorry Bones, I was probably a moody ass during the last days, and you really didn’t deserve having to deal with me. But more than that I’m so grateful and in awe what you pulled off behind my back. I mean, you invited all of our friends to cheer me up, and reminded me that family is more than people you are bound to by blood.”
“Well, I couldn’t let you be all mopey and miserable, so no need to thank me for that.”
“Maybe, but I still want to. And I know that we haven’t been that long together yet, and that we wanted to see where this relationship would take us, but the last few hours made me realize something.”
He took another deep breath and looked at Leonard with so much sincerity, that the brunet could feel his heart beating faster.
“Bones, you’re it for me. I love you.”
Now it was Leonard’s turn to be speechless. Jim was right, their relationship was fairly new, and he was surprised that Jim was voicing out his own feelings, since he knew how hard it was for the blond to talk about his emotions, even though he was showing them by his actions day by day.
Just when he wanted to answer Jim, they were interrupted by a snowball that landed right at the side of Jim’s face, who spluttered and cursed violently. They both turned to where the snowball had been thrown from, and were surprised by what they saw.
There, on the ground, was another blond man rolling around and howling with laughter. Jim, who had gotten rid of all the remaining snow in his face, recognized the figure on the ground immediately.
“Sam! But how… I thought you wouldn’t be able to make it?”
Jim’s brother tried to calm himself down, and finally sat up, grinning madly at the still shocked man.
“Oh god, your face! I wish you could have seen your dumb face.”
Jim glared at Sam as he grabbed a handful of snow, ready to start the snowball fight for real. But his brother held his hands up placatingly, trying to defuse the situation.
“Ok, sorry Jimothy. How about a truce for now? I’ve had a long day and I really need a drink and some good sleep afterwards. You know, it’s been taking me nearly all day long to find a suiting substitute to watch over my experiment. Thankfully one of my colleagues wasn’t leaving the station for the next weeks, so he was willing to overtake the reins for a while. Aurelan and Peter will join us tomorrow, but I had to come here as soon as possible, since for nothing in the world would I have wanted to wait for your stupid face when I surprised you.”
Leonard, who had gotten up, watched as Jim jumped up and helped his brother to get back on his feet, before he hugged him tight to his chest. When he let go of him, he punched him slightly on the arm as revenge, though his smile clearly betrayed his actions.
Sam started laughing again, but then he stopped suddenly, as if he had just remembered something.
“Come on now, guys. Better let’s get back inside. When I went out, mom had started talking to your first officer, and I think it’s better if we save him now, you know how she loves to confuse and rile up people.”
“Mom’s here, too?”
But Sam hadn’t heard him, since he was already jogging back towards the house. Jim turned back to Leonard, reaching out for him, and with a smile the brunet grabbed his hand and intertwined their fingers, right before they followed Sam back to the house to let the party come to an end.