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“I should have it finished for you to read tonight,” said Jim.
“It’s not for six months yet. I think you have plenty of time,” Leo replied, smirking at his lover.
“Tonight,” Jim insisted. “I’ll see you then. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Leo leaned toward Jim for a brief kiss.
Jim pushed the kiss into something longer, deeper, sweeter, and wrapped his arms around Leo. He pulled away and smiled, “Go stab some people with hyposprays, Bones. I’ll be with Scotty today; he’s got some ideas about boosting output of the new warp cores. Comm me if you have time for lunch.”
=^=
Leo got out of the shower, dried himself, and wrapped the towel around his waist. Walking out of the bathroom, he heard the door swish open and watched his lover walk toward him. “Sorry I didn’t have time for lunch, Jimmy. An entire classroom of Security cadets got into a brawl with each other, and I had to patch several of them up. Testosterone-fueled idiots, the lot of them. Even the women. Especially the women. Don’t they realize they’re playing for the same team? Goddamned bunch of morons…”
“It’s ok,” Jim told him, snickering. “Scotty had a lot to show me. We barely had time for a sandwich.”
“Good ol’ Scotty and his sandwiches,” Leo sighed. “But damn, you gotta admit he knows where to find the best ones in San Francisco, yanno? Have you been to that banh mi place he’s always raving about? The same family has been running that place for more than two hundred years.”
Jim laughed. “Great minds. That’s exactly where we went today. But I’m hungry again, so on the way home I ordered us some Indian for delivery. Should be here in about half an hour.”
Leo got dressed, and together they set the tiny dining table so everything would be ready by the time the food arrived. When it did, it was still piping hot and scented their apartment with basmati and curry. They ate mostly in silence, occasionally voicing appreciation for the delicious dishes Jim had selected.
As they were finishing up, Leo pointed toward three unopened containers he hadn’t noticed before. “What’s in those? Don’t you ever get full?”
“Of course I do,” Jim snickered. “It’s a little treat. Tonight is a special occasion, after all. These two cups have Madras coffee for each of us, and in this one? Your rose balls.”
“Jim…” Leo shook his head and rolled his eyes. He briefly wondered for at least the fiftieth time if there was an Olympic eye-rolling team, confident he’d surely bring home at least the silver. “You are such an infant. You know as well as any four-year-old they are called gulab jamun and I’ll bet you five credits right now that’s what you said when you ordered them.”
Clapping Leo on the shoulder harder than necessary, Jim waggled his eyebrows, and laughed, “No way am I taking that bet, Bones. But rooooose baaaaaalllllls is much more fun to say. Rose baaaalllls! Seriously, though. The coffee isn’t sweetened since you always say these are too sweet, but I thought they’d balance each other out nicely.”
“So, dessert and my favorite coffee for a special occasion? We should have special occasions more often, if you’re going to bring me Madras coffee.” Leo opened the cup, breathed in the scent of the rich brew, and tasted it. “Mmm. It’s perfect. I love this stuff. Thank you, Jim.”
“You’re welcome, Bones.” Jim’s smile faded into a more introspective look. “So…after lunch, while Scotty was climbing around in a Jefferies tube, I finished it. I’ve revised it so many times that I decided I was probably making it worse instead of better and stopped editing. I thought I’d let you read it and have you tell me what you think.” He picked up a PADD, tapped it a few times to display the file, and handed it over to Leo.
“Ok, Jim.” Leo took a bite of the rich dessert and allowed the flavors of rose and cardamom mingle on his tongue. After giving a little sigh of pleasure, he began to read.
“What the fuck?!” Leo exclaimed, eyebrows soaring up his forehead. “Don’t you think this is a little over the top, Jim?”
“Seriously, Bones? You haven’t had time to read more than the first sentence. Do both of us a favor. Use your mouth on your rose balls. Read the whole thing and then react. Ok? I worked hard on this, and it means a lot to me.” His voice got softer, and a lot smaller. “I want this to mean a lot to both of us. To everyone.”
“Ok, Jim. I’ll start over, read it through, and look at the big picture. Come here.” Leo pulled Jim onto his lap, wrapped his arms around Jim’s waist, and looked into those ridiculous blue eyes. “It means enough to me that you wanted to write the damn thing to begin with. I don’t know if I told you that. Give me a few minutes; let me just sit back and take it all in, ok?” He kissed Jim again and gently nudged the blond off his lap.
Jim disposed of the dishes and dinner cartons. He opened his own coffee, sipping it and settling in to watch Leo read, both still seated at the dining table. He had been more anxious about Leo’s ultimate reaction than about actually finishing today, regardless of his earlier proclamation of the self-imposed deadline. To say he was keenly interested in Leo’s reaction would be an understatement.
Leo’s face cycled through a variety of expressions as he read. Jim easily recognized love, shock, and awe, but there was a new one that he had never seen before. Leo appeared shaken to the core, as tears silently wound their way down his cheeks.
Jim was confused. While he was sorely tempted to touch, to soothe, to comfort, he couldn’t help an intense stab of paranoia. Did Bones hate it? Was that what had brought him to tears?
“Bones…” Jim whispered.
Leo looked up from the PADD into Jim’s concerned face. His voice was thick as he rasped, “Jim.” He shook his head, slowly, twice. “I don’t… I don’t even know what to say.”
Jim knelt down in front of Leo’s chair in a heartbeat, grasping the hand not holding the PADD. “You hate it.” His eyes searched the floor.
Leo untangled their fingers and carefully placed the PADD on the dining table. He cupped Jim’s face in both hands, and brought their foreheads together. “No, Jim. I don’t hate it.” He kissed Jim’s lips, cheeks, eyelids. Pulling back, he dabbed at his eyes, looked at Jim, and realized he was seeing his lover in yet another light. His bright sunshine boy had somehow managed to surprise him anew.
Wiping the tears from his face, Leo sighed, “After all this time, I don’t know how it’s even possible for anything you do to shock me anymore. And yet you can still pull something like this out of thin air. I mean, everybody knows you’re scary smart, but I don’t think even I realized how deep your waters flow. Not until now.”
“This…” Leo started, waving a hand around, “This is one of the most melodramatic things I’ve ever read.”
“Bones…” Jim hesitated, still anxious to hear his lover’s reply, and hoping for a positive response. His heart started to race, and he felt his palms getting sweaty.
“Like I said before, it’s over the top. And it is melodramatic. Good God, man, the theatrics alone!” Leo shook his head again, but this time a smile crept across his face and continued to grow. Jim began to relax when he saw the smile, eternally grateful that he had the power to coax this gorgeous man out of his grumpy shell.
“But it’s also one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever read. And it is so you. And so…us. I don’t think…no, I know I couldn’t have come up with anything that approaches this…gravitas. You astound me. You amaze me. I’ve just fallen in love with you all over again.” Leo’s face clearly reflected the new depths of his love.
Jim beamed at Leo. “So, you’ll do it?”
“Yes, Jim, I’ll do it.”
Jim picked the PADD up again, plopped himself back in Leo’s lap, and pointed at the screen. “And you see, here, this is where we’ll say our own vows to each other. They don’t have to be anything long, or formal, but I wanted each of us to have the opportunity to say something from the heart. But—and I can be flexible on this if I have to—I’d like us to save those personal vows until the actual ceremony. I’d like them to be a surprise…you know, like a wedding gift to each other. Does that work? Would you be ok with that?”
“I love you, you idiot. I told you before, I don’t care if we dodge vehicles in the middle of the street to get married. Well, ok, I guess I don’t really want to do that if I don’t have to…I didn’t think I’d ever marry again—but you, you beautiful bastard—marrying you is just about the only thing I want in the entire universe.”
Jim’s lips began to form a pout. “Just about the only thing?”
Leo rolled his eyes at Jim for at least the twenty millionth time. “There are a few details I’d like to add; for example, Joanna’s never been a flower girl before. And maybe the ring bearer too…wait, does anybody we know have a son?”
“I can’t think of anybody off the top of my head, Bones. I mean, obviously we are going way off the beaten path here in the wedding department. I don’t know why Joanna couldn’t fulfill both roles. But you’re right—I can’t imagine marrying you without her there, without her being some part of the ceremony—and I’m kind of embarrassed I didn’t think about that before. As you said this morning, we have six months before the wedding, so there’s still lots of time to finalize all the details.”
“It will be perfect, Jim. You are perfect.”
“I have a question, Bones, but I’m not sure how touchy a subject it is.”
“Jim?”
“Well, you know I’ve never been married before…” Leo nodded solemnly, and Jim continued, “I know there are wedding rehearsals, I guess so everybody knows where to stand, or whatever. But what I don’t know is, do couples usually run through the entire ceremony during the rehearsal?”
Bones frowned slightly. “I guess some people do. When Jocel…when I got married, we kind of ran through an abbreviated version. It was necessary because she wanted the full-blown church wedding experience, and there were several motions everyone went through during the wedding, with multiple flower girls, maids of honor and groomsmen, unity candle, and all that other crap I only agreed to in order to make her happy on ‘her’ day…but I don’t guess everyone does. Why do you ask?”
Jim chewed at his lip, hesitating. “Because I don’t want to go through the whole ceremony during the rehearsal. I mean, obviously the places where other people should practice doing their part, but…I guess I’m saying I want the words to stay secret. I watched the impact those words had on you. I want that kind of impact on everyone. I want our wedding to be something memorable—you know, for the actual wedding itself, not just for the gossipy stories about tipsy aunts or parking lot punch-ups.”
Leo chuckled, remembering the story he’d told Jim about his elderly Aunt Mae at his first wedding reception. She’d taken her enormous hat off and set it on the back of a chair early on. As the party progressed, she had a few too many. The poor dear spent more than hour talking to her hat, not realizing there was only a chair underneath it before a cousin “rescued” her right before the cake was cut and served.
“Ok, that makes sense. Now, I don’t know about you, but my plans are to be focused on you, not necessarily on the reactions everyone else is having. I’m guessing we should hire someone to vid the whole thing?”
“Yes! That’s a great idea. Hadn’t thought of that either.”
“How many weddings have you even been to, Jim?” Leo said from under a raised eyebrow.
Jim looked sheepish. “I could count them on one hand. And I’ve only been to one since I’ve been an adult. And that was where I learned about wedding reception parking lot punch-ups.”
Leo snorted and shook his head. “Only you, Jim. I can see how you might not only have questions about how a wedding is supposed to go, but why you also want a wedding that is unlike any other. And believe me, you hit that one right out of the park. If this is what you want, Jim, then this is what I want. I would give you the galaxy to make you happy. I’m humbled by your love, and, heaven help me, I’ll follow you anywhere.”
Jim twisted around on Leo’s lap to straddle him. He was finally able to relax, knowing Leo didn’t hate the wedding ceremony he had taken weeks to write. He had put more thought into its creation than he’d ever come clean to Leo about. “I love you, Bones.” He leaned in and kissed Leo softly.
“I love you.”
“You said you’d follow me anywhere, right?”
Leo sighed. “What crazy idea do you have now?”
“How about following me into the bedroom?”
That was a suggestion Leo could really get on board with.
=^= Six Months Later =^=
A quintet of musicians played romantic music as the guests gathered and entered the room. Jim and Leo invited hundreds of guests, loved ones and colleagues alike.
The song changed, playing as the door opened. The guests stood, all eyes trained toward the back of the room. Joanna McCoy carried a basket, scattering white rose petals up the aisle as she walked toward Admiral Christopher Pike.
When she reached the halfway point, Jim and Leo looked at each other, pausing for a moment. Each took a deep breath, and after exhaling, began slowly walking down the aisle, side by side. When they reached the front row, they separated. Jim seated himself on the front row in the empty chair on the left. Leo took the empty seat on the right, next to Joanna. Spock was seated to Jim’s left, and nodded somberly at Jim as he sat. To Joanna’s right was Christine Chapel. Christine took Joanna’s right hand, smiling widely, and squeezed it fondly. Joanna repeated the action with her father’s hand.
Pike stood in the center of the stage. He was not smiling.
“We are come to witness a death.”
Pike paused for at least 20 seconds. He looked out at all the guests, some of whom had begun to murmur with confusion.
“We all yearn to Belong, to be absorbed into something that is greater than we are. To be Whole. With as many worlds—as many civilizations—as we have encountered, we find this a nearly universal craving.
“As individuals, we can be capable of great achievements, but when we come together…togetherness seems to be that magic ingredient that kills impossibility. When an individual finally realizes where they belong, what their place is, where they fit—some would even say their destiny—that individual ceases to exist…to embetter the greater good, the Whole. This is the death we attend today.
“These two extraordinary individuals, these bright stars, always followed their own unique path, as you witnessing here well know.”
Pike paused again, this time for only a couple of heartbeats. Some muffled laughter could be heard.
“That path led them in directions they never dreamed they’d take: to Starfleet, to dorm roommates, to the Federation’s flagship Enterprise. To each other. And to me, and to their chosen family.” Pike nodded to the faces in the front row. “To all of you,” Pike pronounced, sweeping both hands outward in an encompassing gesture.
“This…destiny…led them to realize that together they could do and have done extraordinary things.
“We will never know if they could achieve them alone.”
Pike stopped speaking. He spent at least fifteen seconds gazing out at all the guests. He focused especially on the Enterprise senior staff, who were front and center even though they were evenly split across both the aisles.
“Because today, James Tiberius Kirk and Leonard Horatio McCoy come before you to end their lives as individuals.”
Pike gestured toward Jim and Leo, and they stepped forward, stopping to stand facing each other. For the first time since the guests began arriving, Christopher Pike smiled, and the smile was dazzling.
“These two did not make it to this day on their own. They have been loved and cared for by you, their families and friends, depending on you for sustenance, knowledge, guidance, and love. Without you, this day would not be possible. From this day forward, they will likely need your support in different ways, but they will still depend on you. Marriage in itself is a blessing. But doubly blessed is the couple who comes into marriage with the approval and love of their families and friends.”
Pike gestured toward Jim. “Who has the honor of presenting this man to be married?”
Spock rose and joined Jim on the dais. “I do. As many of you are aware, I am half Vulcan. I continue to learn every day, but even so, many human emotions and traditions remain…illogical to me. I have come to understand that my human mother clearly loved my father deeply, until the day she died. When I remember the way she used to look at my father, I realize I see the same emotion displayed on the faces of these two, my…dear friends. On behalf of those who are here with us today, as well as those who have gone before, I support this union.”
Pike then swept a hand in Leo’s direction. “And who has the honor of presenting this man to be married?”
Christine stood and took her place to Leo’s left. “I do. Leonard and I have been close friends since we both started at Starfleet Academy. We work together nearly every day, and I have had the unique opportunity to watch him as his relationship with the Captain…er, with Jim, transformed him into the kindhearted and loving, if sometimes a little bristly, man you see here before you. On behalf of those here with us today, as well as those who have gone before us, I support this union.”
Pike’s voice sounded over the guests this time in a mellower, more lighthearted tone. “Antoine de Saint-Exupery once said, ‘Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction.’”
Jim and Leo turned to face their guests. Nyota Uhura walked over to the area of the stage where the musicians now held their instruments, ready to play. She sat gracefully on the empty stool that was waiting for her. The musicians began a song that was more than 300 years old[i], yet had withstood the test of time and never lost its popularity as a song for weddings. Nyota’s clear, rich voice resounded through the room.
“At last
My love has come along
My lonely days are over
And life is like a song
Oh yeah yeah
At last
The skies above are blue
My heart was wrapped up in clover
The night I looked at you
I found a dream, that I could speak to
A dream that I can call my own
I found a thrill to press my cheek to
A thrill that I have never known
Oh yeah yeah
You smiled, you smiled
Oh and then the spell was cast
And here we are in heaven
for you are mine...
At Last”
When the song was finished, she smiled and nodded at the musicians. As she reached Jim and Leo, she kissed them each briefly on the cheek, whispering “I love you” to each of them in turn as tears gathered in her eyes. She finished crossing the dais and returned to her original chair.
Pike again addressed the assembly. “Marriage can incubate love, can empower two individuals seeking one life together to grow. We are each of us still and always growing, and when we marry, we promise not only our own growth, but also our willingness to witness and withstand the ongoing growth of another. As these two become one, they will promise to love not only as they feel right now, but also as they intend to feel, saying not only ‘I love you today,’ but also ‘I promise to love you tomorrow, the next day, the next year—and always.’”
The Admiral looked fondly at Jim and Leo as they turned to face each other, clasping hands. He addressed the couple, “I remind you that marriage is a precious gift, a lifelong dedication to love and a daily challenge to love one another more fully and more freely.”
Then Pike turned to Jim. “Do you, James Tiberius Kirk, promise to be a loving friend and partner in marriage, to trust and appreciate, to respect and accept Leo’s uniqueness? Do you promise to support, comfort, and strengthen him through life’s happiness and sorrow? Do you promise to share your hopes and dreams as you build your lives together, and to grow with Leo in mind? Do you promise to always be open and honest with Leo, and cherish him for as long as you both shall live?”
Jim’s throat tightened, but he smiled the brightest smile of his life. “I do.” He turned to Leo and repeated, “All of this, and more, for as long as we both shall live.”
Pike continued, “Do you, Leonard Horatio McCoy, promise to be a loving friend and partner in marriage, to trust and appreciate, to respect and accept Jim’s uniqueness? Do you promise to support, comfort, and strengthen him through life’s happiness and sorrow? Do you promise to share your hopes and dreams as you build your lives together, and to grow with Jim in mind? Do you promise to always be open and honest with Jim, and cherish him for as long as you both shall live?”
By now, Leo was unable to stop the tears. His voice was thick but still rang true. “I do.” Turning his face from Pike’s to Jim’s, he also repeated, “All of this, and more, for as long as we both shall live.”
Joanna stepped forward, holding a pillow inscribed with words. Jim and Leo each bent down to kiss her on both cheeks, at the same time. When they straightened back to standing, she spoke to the assembled guests. “Black Elk was an Oglala Lakota holy man. In communicating his life’s narrative and wisdom to his biographer, his words were translated into the following: ‘The sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power, whirls. Birds make their nest in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours. The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle. The moon does the same and both are round. Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves.’”
While Joanna’s poise and demeanor bespoke her genteel Southern upbringing, no guest could later recall a seven-year-old child ever delivering such moving verse. The pillow, with its two small pouches for the rings, was inscribed with the words for her presentation; however, she had them long memorized for the occasion. She spoke again, “These rings, too, are round; they always come back again to where they were. Let these rings be a reminder to you, as well as a notification to all, that you will always come back again to each other.”
Leo paused to take two deep breaths. He cleared his throat and again clasped both of Jim’s hands. “Today we woke up on mostly an ordinary day….the sun rose, babies were born, some people slept in—and we just so happened to be getting married. But the not-so-ordinary part is how we are making promises to each other for the rest of our days, no matter how ordinary or—knowing you—unusual they may be.
“Because of you, I learned to laugh and smile again. I dared to dream again, and in the process I found the love of my life: James Tiberius Kirk. My darlin’ Jimmy. I take you to be my husband. I promise my life to you as your husband. With profound joy I receive you into my life, ending my life alone, that together we will be as one. I promise you my love, my fullest devotion, my most tender care.”
Joanna presented the pillow to her father, who removed Jim’s ring and slipped it on his finger. Leo blinked tears away and continued, “I look forward with great joy to spending the rest of my life with you, caring for you, nurturing you, being there for you in all life has for us, and with this ring, I pledge to you my life as a loving and faithful husband.”
Joanna then offered the pillow to Jim, whose hands were visibly shaking. He took the ring out of its pouch and nearly dropped it. Jim, too, had started to cry, and quickly dashed at his eyes with his left hand. The sparkle of his new ring whited his vision for a moment. He stilled for a moment to compose himself. Joanna quietly returned to her seat.
Smiling softly at Leo, he declared, “I love you, Leonard Horatio McCoy. When we met, you told me all you had left were your bones. When I gave you ‘Bones’ as a nickname, I thought it was cute. Back then, I had no way of knowing what we would end up building on top of that skeleton together. And it is magnificent.”
“You have been my best friend, mentor, playmate, confidant, and—as everyone here knows—my greatest challenge. Today I willingly die as an individual, reborn as one with you in marriage—knowing in my heart that you will be my constant friend, my faithful partner in life, and my one true love. I promise to encourage and inspire you, to laugh with you, and to comfort you in times of sorrow and struggle. Even if I’m the cause.”
Jim chuckled and paused for a moment, remembered to slide the ring onto Leo’s finger, and continued, “This ring represents my sacred vow to you, my Bones, my equal in all things. In all things. I see these vows not as promises but as privileges: I get to laugh with you and cry with you; care for you and share with you. I get to run with you and walk with you; explore new life and new civilizations with you, play with you, and live with you. And I can’t wait to build our lives together as one. I pledge to you my life as a loving and faithful husband.”
The Admiral placed his left arm on Leo’s shoulder, then his right arm on Jim’s. He looked out at the gathering, still impressed by their numbers and diversity. He was amazed at how many planets—planets—were represented in the audience. He loved Jim and Leo as if they were his own sons, and it was clear by the number of faces he saw shining with tears of joy, just how many others loved them, too.
“Today, as we join James and Leonard in marriage, we celebrate them as they begin their lives as one. Yet we also know that this new branch of the family tree will be strengthened and enriched by the love, traditions, and knowledge of their families, friends, and colleagues.
“Will all of you support Leonard and Jim in their marriage? Will you celebrate with them in their times of joy, and bolster them and their marriage in times of hardship?”
The reply was deafening. Everyone in attendance answered clearly and loudly, “We will!”
Pike felt tears pricking at his own eyes, so he addressed the crowd for the last time. “By the power vested in me by the United Federation of Planets, I now pronounce these two married. It is my privilege, my honor, and my delight to introduce to you Jim and Leo Kirk-McCoy.”
He released Jim and Leo, and announced to them both, “You may now kiss your husband.”