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"I was looking for you."
Leonard raised his head from his welcome sheet to see the bright-eyed blond who had sat next to him on the shuttle. He tried not to grimace, but couldn’t help the unpleasantness that seeped in with the memory.
"McCoy, right?" the blond looked unsure, holding out his hand.
"Leonard McCoy," he nodded, taking the offered hand and shaking it, "And sorry, your name again?"
"Jim Kirk," said man smiled brightly, raising his own sheet, "and your new roommate apparently."
"Oh," Leonard blinked, looking down to the ‘James Tiberius Kirk' on the paper in his hand and back up again, sheepish, “Sorry 'bout your shoes.”
Jim chuckled, waving him off, “As if that’s the first time they’ve been thrown up on.” He pointed down the hall he’d come from, “And our room is that way, if you’re wondering. Some freshmen thought it’d be a good idea to switch some of the numbers around.” He laughed, loud and bright, “Who manages to get demerits on their first day?”
Leonard blinked wide-eyed at the laugh, then looked at his sheet again and scowled, “This is gonna be a hell of a time, isn’t it?” He looked up with a sigh, “I dunno if my old bones can take it.”
To his surprise, Jim Kirk just smiled wider, hitting him on the shoulder jovially before leading him towards their new lodgings, “Don’t worry, ‘Bones’, we’ll get through it.” He raised up the card key for their room and kissed it, winking, “For good luck.”
-
"I was looking for you."
Before Leonard could turn towards the whisper behind him, a head was placed on his shoulder, huffing slightly.
“Jim!" he whispered, looking between the blond hair in his peripheral and the professor at the front of the room, "What are you doing here, you’re not even in this class!"
Jim slipped an arm over his other shoulder, sighing dramatically, “But I’m borrrred, Bones,” Leonard felt the tickle of breath against his cheek as Jim huffed again, “’Advanced Quadratic Engineering’ was a gross exaggeration.”
Jim couldn’t see the roll of his eyes, but it didn’t keep Leonard from doing it anyway, and with feeling, “Being a genius got its drawbacks, kid?”
He could practically feel the grin on Jim’s face as he whispered, “Flatterer.”
They’d gained the attention of a few other students by then, but luckily not of the teacher. However, a rather severe-looking dark skinned woman was staring at his cohort like she was mentally trying to set him aflame.
Leonard could feel his own face heating under their gazes, but couldn’t bring himself to shake Jim Kirk off. He sighed, “Will you shut up for the rest of the class so we both don’t get our asses thrown out?” He felt the other man nod against his shoulder, and Leonard sighed again, “And is that damn nickname still a thing?” He felt Jim nod more vehemently, and he huffed, “Fine, you infant, but stay damn quiet.”
It was only a few minor scuffs and bumps before Jim was on his level and grinning like an idiot as he pushed at Leonard’s side, “Come on, move over, this is getting good,” he whispered right against Bones’ ear, lips pressed in close like a kiss.
Leonard jerked at the touch and almost jumped out of his chair, letting Jim wriggle his way into his seat like he did into everything. Those too blue eyes gleamed at him before turning to focus on the board, enthralled. Leonard swallowed, face still warm, as he managed to pull his gaze away from the blond and back to the professor.
-
“I was looking for you.”
It was slurred into his neck as Jim misjudged distances as well as personal boundaries and almost knocked Leonard off his stool.
“Woah, kid,” Leonard said with raised eyebrows, putting his beer on the counter as he tried to push the blond back onto his feet. Jim stood on his own, mostly, with one hand on the counter and the other on Leonard’s thigh, smelling of alcohol and perfume and that sunshiney smell that was just Jim Kirk. The brunet wrinkled his nose, “Did you swim through a barrel of whiskey before you got here?”
“Whiskey and rye!” Jim sang before he snorted loudly, cheeks flushed pink with even pinker traces of lipstick smudged across his face. Bones’ eyes flicked up to see the group of multi-coloured ladies watching his friend from across the bar, all with pink lipstick, before Jim’s face moved to block his view, “That’s ‘American Pie’, Bones! A classic! Y’ can’t go wrong wit’ pie, I mean, com’on.”
Jim’s eyes narrowed, regarding Leonard much too seriously under the neon lights, “You’d be a peach pie, Bones, you know that? ‘Cause of Georgia and all that,” He broke out into his trademark wide grin, on the verge of giggling, “And ‘cause you’re sweet.”
Leonard looked at him like he needed to be put under observation, saying slowly, “And you’re drunk.” Jim swayed again, still chuckling, but Bones was quick to put a hand to his side to steady him, adding, “Like, messy drunk, I think maybe we should get you home, kid.” Jim pouted impressively, and Leonard looked back to the three females, who were now waving the blond over, and he asked, “Unless you had other plans for lodging tonight?”
Jim followed his gaze, smiled and waved at the ladies before turning, rather ungracefully, back to Bones. “Nah,” he said, absentmindedly wiping at his face and smudging the pink further, “I think I’ve had enough too.” He swayed forward again, Leonard catching him against him without a thought. Jim hiccuped, then grinned wickedly, “Take me home?”
Leonard stared, furrowing his eyebrows and making Jim laugh again, and then threw a credit chip on the counter. “Of course, kid,” he stood and looped Jim’s arm around his shoulders, “Let’s get some water in ya and put ya to bed.” He noticed Jim staring at him, confusion on his face, and he growled, “And you’re changing your own damn clothes, I ain’t doing that again!” That was a lie, but he wasn’t going to encourage it happening again.
Jim continued to stare at him, as if trying to work out something in his head, before he smiled, smaller and softer. He leaned easily back into Leonard’s space and pressed a sloppy kiss to his cheek, chuckling, “Sweet as peaches, Bones.”
-
“I was looking for you.”
Leonard stared at Jim as his last word was almost cut off with a yawn, rolling over and scratching at his belly where his old shirt had ridden up, his legs clad in the pajamas Leonard’s gram had given her grandson at Christmas. He shivered and burrowed back under the blankets, opening one blue eye to stare at him sleepily, “I searched everywhere. Where were you?”
When he’d arrived, keeping the light off as to not disturb Jim, he’d passed by his roommate’s bed to find it empty. His heart had leapt with concern until he’d caught sight of his own bed, with a rather Jim Kirk shaped lump buried beneath the covers.
Leonard had been, in fact, everywhere. He’d taken on an extra shift that day until his supervisor told him it was time to go. He’d hung out in a dingy little bar, nursing a watered down beer until the sign in the front flickered off. And after that, he wasn’t sure, wandering out in the wind and cold and darkness, until his feet inevitably lead him back here. He’d gone everywhere until he had nowhere else to go.
Certainly not back to his old house back in Georgia, on the old sunny porch where he’d proposed three years ago to the day.
When Jim stubbornly stayed awake, still staring, Leonard shrugged a shoulder tiredly, voice low as he answered, “Around, I guess.”
It wasn’t much of an answer, and Jim opened both drowsy eyes to regard him fixedly. After a few moments’ consideration, he nodded, and his body relaxed as if about to fall readily back asleep.
Instead, he rolled back, lifting the covers. “Get on in, Bones,” Jim said with a wide yawn, holding the blankets open welcomingly, “You look dead on your feet.”
Leonard blinked wide-eyed at the gesture. Jim just looked at him expectantly with half asleep eyes until Bones finally nodded. He toed off his shoes, let his jacket fall off his shoulders, and laid down next to Jim.
“Good,” Jim murmured sleepily as he wrapped the blankets around the brunet, swearing, “Jesus, you’re freezing.” Instead of shrinking away, the blond threw an arm and a leg over him, pulling him into a tight, warm embrace and sighing into his hair, “S’better. Night, Bones.”
Bones stared blankly at Jim’s chest, feeling the other man’s furnace-like heat wash over him and his muscles finally give into fatigue, body heavy and slow. His mind, however, was racing, and the words left his mouth without thinking, “Why are you in my bed, Jim?”
Jim snuffled sleepily before yawning a reply, “Wanted to make sure,” the yawn cut him off before he finished, “that I knew when you got back.”
Leonard stiffened, mind whirling faster, but Jim just pulled him in tighter until he relaxed, rubbing his stubbled face into brown hair, murmuring, “No no no, shhhh, relax, Bones, sleepy time,” and he patted him gently on the head.
As if on command, Leonard’s mind quieted, and his eyes drifted closed. The last things that lingered in his consciousness before slipping into sleep were the fingers gently running through his hair and the kiss pressed softly to his forehead.
-
"I was looking for you."
Leonard blinked, eyebrows raised, as Jim smiled up at him from the biobed. He chuckled softly, reaching for the doctor’s hand as he continued, “When I was still… not awake, I could hear you. So I looked for you.” He rubbed his thumb idly along the back of the other man’s hand, “Did you talk to me while I was out?”
The doctor nodded, throat tight, as Jim continued to rub circles into his skin, “Yes, Jim,” he croaked, “Yes, I did.”
"Mmm," Jim hummed contently, petting the inside of Leonard’s palm, "About what?"
"Please wake up, please wake up, darlin’, come back to me, kid, just please, com’on, wake up, Jim, please."
"Oh, nothin’ really," Leonard wiped at his eyes with his other hand, giving a breathless laugh, "I just kept talkin’ and talkin’."
Jim nodded and pulled his hand closer, holding his palm against his cheek. His eyes slid shut as he said softly, “And I just kept looking and looking.” He pressed further into Leonard’s touch, the doctor’s hand shaking just so slightly, and laid a kiss on his palm. Jim smiled serenely, “There you are.”
Leonard’s shoulders shook with a sob, and he nodded as tears spilled down his face, “Yes, darlin’,” he took another shaking breath, “Always.”
-
"I was looking for you."
Leonard tore his eyes away from the cosmos as it swirled around them, looking instead at the starlight and mirth dancing in Jim’s eyes. The captain was smiling, leaning against the door before joining his CMO in the darkened observation deck. He came to stand beside him at the window, bumping his hip against him playfully and looking out to the universe.
Leonard watched the shine of suns and stars play across Jim’s handsome face before turning back to the window.
“Of all the places I thought I’d find you, I wouldn’t have guessed here,” Jim chuckled softly, “Have a change of heart?”
Bones nodded, feeling Jim’s fingers come to play at his own before taking it into his hold, squeezing softly. Leonard squeezed back, “You were right, Jim. I had never thought I would think it was beautiful, but it really is, isn’t it? When you just stop and look at it for what it is,” he felt Jim rub his thumb along his skin, and he smiled warmly, “Just… beautiful.”
Jim’s thumb stopped moving, and Leonard turned to look at him, eyebrow raised, and was met with wide blue eyes that weren’t looking at all at stars. They were fixed directly on Leonard, wide and reverent. Jim worked his mouth open and close a few times before speaking, “You’re beautiful,” his eyebrows scrunched up, his tone surprised, “Have I… have I never said that to you before?”
Bones stared at him, also wide-eyed, answering confusedly, “…No? I don’t think so,” his eyebrow raised again, “Maybe once or twice when you were drunk? But you also called me a peach pie once…”
“And I still stand by that comparison,” Jim grinned, turning to meet Leonard head on, hands still clasped together while his other came up to cradle the side of the doctor’s face. He smiled, warm and soft, saying quietly, “You’re beautiful, Leonard McCoy.”
His face was quickly overheating, and Leonard ducked his head just slightly, not pulling away from Jim’s touch, “You’re not so bad yourself, kid.” The grin on his face surely matched the same one that was radiating on Jim’s own, even though his heart was beating so fast it almost hurt.
“Flatterer,” Jim murmured, before pulling him in to finally kiss his best friend.
-
"I was looking for you."
Jim had to stop and blink his watery eyes, his smile threatening to break his face as he continued, “For all my life. I didn’t…” he stopped again to wipe at his eyes, taking a breath before he settled a bit and spoke again, “I didn’t think I’d actually find you. And then even when I did, it took me some time to even figure it out,” he laughed softly, “Some genius, huh?”
A chorus of soft laughter came from the seated crowd, and Leonard laughed with him, eyes just as watery as Jim squeezed his hands within his own.
“Even now, I can’t believe I have you with me. I always have, since the day we met,” Jim’s thumbs rubbed against his skin, “And you need to know how much that has meant to me, how much it will always mean. I am so happy that I can spend each day with you, with your hard-to-earn smile, your always gentle touch, your voice that calms me down or raises me up. All and everything about you,” his eyes crinkled at the edges as he smiled, “Right down to your old bones.”
Bones cursed as he wiped at his own eyes, “Damnit, Jim,” and the crowd laughed again.
Spock, to their side, handed them their rings, and Leonard could hear sniffling in the crowd from Nyota, all severeness from years before gone. The rest of the crew there as well, their family, Leonard’s gram in silent, happy tears.
Leonard slipped Jim’s ring on first, the man laughing again wetly as he wiped at his eyes, before slipping Leonard’s on his, lifting his hand to kiss the ring.
Spock spoke again, signifying that it was the time for them to kiss for the first time as a married couple, and Leonard laughed as Jim stepped forward before he even finished. The blond took his face in his hands, leaning in and pulling back right at the last moment, smiling bright as he asked, “McCoy, right?”
Leonard laughed outloud, before pulling Jim back in to say against his lips, “Actually, it’s McCoy-Kirk,” and kissed his husband.