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Jim had a shitty shift. Too many admirals wanted things Jim either couldn’t do or just wasn’t willing to do. Honestly, if he had to listen to Admiral Marcus talking about war against the Klingons one more time he’d fucking lose it. Really, the only thing that kept him somewhat sane was the thought that at the end of the day Bones would be waiting in their quarters and maybe the stash of alcohol sitting in their kabinett was also part of Jim’s plan for the evening.
When the whole talks were finally over Jim felt at least ten years older, he was exhausted and ready to bury himself under a mountain of blankets. That thought was immediately lost the moment Jim stepped into the Captain’s quarters. The first thing that distracted him from his original plan was a heavenly smell, he couldn’t exactly place what Bones had cooked, but if he could bet he would set all his money on something southern. He took a few more steps to get into the kitchen area and that’s when his mind reached complete blackout.
There in the kitchen was Bones in all his tanned skinned, freckled glory, just wearing a pair of Jim’s boxers and an apron, swaying to a tune in his head, baking. It took some willpower for Jim to gain back control over his limbs to sneak up to Bones or rather to clumsily take the last few steps. Once he had reached his destination he hugged Bones from behind, his arms circling the brunet’s slim waist.
Jim wasn’t even sure what he originally wanted to say, but the words that tumbled out of his mouth could only be blamed on the still lost connection to his brain, “Marry me.”
With that Bones went stiff in his arms, the doctor’s hands clenching around the bag of flour he’s holding, spreading the flour over the whole counter. “J-Jim, I-I don’t know what to say,” the younger man stammered.
“Sorry, that was a shitty proposal,” the connection between Jim’s brain and mouth still wasn’t working fast enough, because the reason why Bones had gone rigid in his arms sure as hell wasn’t the fact that his proposal was shit. “God, Bones I’m sorry, I had a long shift and my brain is mush. I don’t want to scare you off with this sudden talk about marriage.”
It’s then that Bones turned around in Jim’s arms, so that they were facing one another. Jim had expected him to look at him with his usual scowl, maybe even mad or shocked, but Bones was flustered, a crimson blush visible on his face and neck; maybe the other wasn’t as opposed to the idea of marriage as Jim had thought after his first reaction.
“There’s nothing you need to be sorry about, it’s just that we never talked about marriage and I just assumed that after your divorce from Carol marriage was off the table, a touchy topic at best,” Bones said, his flush expanding to the roots of his dark hair.
“Yeah, my last marriage ended in a divorce, but that was because she wasn’t the right one. Why wouldn’t I want to marry you? You are the most intelligent, amazing and beautiful person I know. I love you and I know that I want to spend the rest of my life by your side. I was more worried that you wouldn’t want me to be your husband, after all I’m divorced and eight years older on top of that,” Jim answered.
“When will you finally let that topic drop, you know that I don’t care that you’re older than me. You’re perfect for me the way you are. Stop thinking that you’re not enough for me, because you are enough, I don’t want someone who’s my own age, who’s in your eyes better suited to be my partner. I don’t want someone who’s not you,” Bones pressed his finger against Jim’s chest to punctuate each of his statements.
“You know I sometimes wonder who’s the adult in this relationship,” Jim mumbled, slowly closing the distance between them.
“Definitely not you, infant” Bones replied shortly before their lips met in a chaste kiss.
Once they broke the kiss Jim slowly backed away, “I’ll be right back.” Not wanting to leave Bones longer than necessary, he hurried into the adjacent bedroom. It took him a few minutes of rummaging through his things to find what he’d been searching for. With his academy ring in hand he walked right back to his brunet doctor.
Back in front of Bones, Jim kneeled down and even though they had discussed all this minutes ago Bones ended up looking surprised. “I said that the other proposal was shitty, so I intend to do it better this time. Leonard McCoy, my Bones from the moment you set foot onto this ship I couldn’t take my eyes off you, I knew deep down that you belong to me. I know that I can be a lot from time to time, I get hurt, I run right into danger without looking, but you can handle me. We’re like oddly shaped puzzle pieces that only make sense once you bring them together. You’re the love of my life, my best friend and hopefully my future husband. So I’m asking you, do you want to marry me?”
Bones just nodded, the otherwise so mouthy doctor finding no words. Jim took Bones’ outstretched left hand, sliding the ring onto his ringfinger. Still holding his fiancé’s hand Jim got up.
“Jim, that's your academy ring. Are you sure you wanna give it to me?” Bones asked, taking the first close up look at the ring.
“There’s no one else I’d rather give it to.”