Work Text:
Step one: Flirt (by insulting him)
Leonard gazed under his brow across the lab table. Spock had walked in a while ago, and Leonard had been too focused on his work to care. But now, he looked, up, studying the Vulcan. Spock was working quietly, sitting with his legs crossed and his PADD on his lap, fingers on one hand tap-tap-tapping at the screen, his other hand propping up his head.
A line from Shakespeare came to mind--‘O, that I were a glove upon that hand, / that I might touch that cheek!’ Honestly, Leonard would he honored to touch Spock’s hand at all, let alone his cheek.
Goddamn, he was down bad.
“Hey Hobgoblin,” he said, with no real purpose other than to get Spock’s attention. Spock looked up.
“Yes, Doctor?” Spock said.
“Um,” Leonard sputtered, not having thought further than eye contact. “What… what are you doing?”
“I am mapping star charts.”
“Why are you doing star charts in the medical lab?” Spock didn’t answer, looking back down. Leonard rambled on, trying to fill the silence. “What, did you get lost on the way to your quarters, you pointy-eared asshole?”
“I fail to see what my ears have to do with this conversation.”
“Don’t dodge the question! Did you see me in here and want to join? Because you want to spend time with the illogical doctor?”
“No, I do not,” Spock said, rising, and walking out, eyebrow raised.
“Did I hurt your nonexistent feelings?” Leonard called after him. Spock didn’t dignify that with a response.
Leonard sat in the silent lab, wishing he could keep his mouth shut. The room was empty without Spock.
Step two: Give him flowers
Leonard held the pot of flowers carefully. Sulu had been reluctant to give him even these few, and if Leonard hurt them, he’d never let him take another flower again. He hadn’t even let him cut them; he’d made him keep them in the pot.
Red tulips. According to the first thing that came up when he searched ‘flower meanings’ on his personal PADD, that means ‘I declare my love’. And he did. He did declare his love.
(Part of him was kind of banking on Spock not knowing Terran flower meanings. The other half desperately hoped he did.)
Goddamn, he was down bad.
He knocked on Spock’s door instead of buzzing, because he knew it pissed him off. “Hey, Spock!” he yelled, again instead of buzzing.
The door slid open to reveal Spock standing there in parade rest, and Leonard wasn’t usually one to be intimidated by his Vulcan Stare™, but everything was scarier when you had flowers in your hands.
“Hello, Doctor.”
“Hey there, Spock,” Leonard said nervously. He thrust the flowers into Spock’s chest, and Spock took them in surprise. “These are for you.”
Spock looked down to study the plants. “Terran tulips.”
“Yep,” said Leonard, rocking back and forth on his heels. “Tulips. Red ones.”
“Indeed.” Spock looked at him strangely. “Well, if there is nothing else, I have work to complete. I thank you for your gift. Goodbye.” And he pressed the button to close the door before Leonard could do or say anything else.
And Leonard was left alone in the hallway feeling stupid.
Step three: Quality time
Leonard slid into the turbolift just before the doors closed. “Hey Hobgoblin,” he said, a little breathless. He’d finally managed to corner Spock. There was no escaping now.
“Hello, Doctor,” said Spock. “Deck R,” he commanded at the turbolift, and it started moving.
“Going to the science labs, huh?” Leonard rocked on his heels, waiting for his chance. “Why? Your shift’s over.”
“There is always work to be done,” Spock said, infuriatingly dismissive.
“Well, you’re off duty. Wanna come and, I dunno, watch a movie with me?” he said, trying to act casual.
“As I said, I have work.”
Leonard rolled his eyes. “C’mon, Spock. Your team is competent as hell--you trained them! They can last a few hours without you. Let’s go watch a movie. My quarters.”
“Doctor--”
“Please?” They made eye contact. Leonard held his breath. Maybe the turbolift was a bad idea--Sure, Spock was trapped, but so was he.
Spock sighed. “Alright.”
“Really?” Leonard said, surprised. He hadn’t actually expected Spock to say yes.
“What film did you have in mind?” Spock raised an eyebrow, and Leonard could swear there was a smile in those stupid, devious, big, wide, adorable, gorgeous, pretty, deep brown eyes of his.
Goddamn, he was down bad!!!
“Uh, um, what, what kind of movies to you like?” Leonard stuttered, blushing furiously.
“I am not sure,” Spock said thoughtfully. “I do not watch many films.”
“Well, what kind of books do you like, then?”
“I read mostly reference books and research papers,” said Spock.
The turbolift came to a stop, but neither of them got out. It was the wrong deck; they were no longer going to the science labs. “Uh, deck nine,” Leonard called, and the turbolift closed its doors and began to move again. “We can watch a documentary, then. Um, I heard of a good one on the history of this Terran dude who helped with, like, space travel?”
“That sounds agreeable,” nodded Spock.
“Great!” said Leonard, too loudly, and he cringed at his lack of volume control. “I--I’m glad.” He fidgeted as silence fell. He was out of things to say, but there was still time left in the turbolift ride.
After too long of a pause, the lift finally opened its doors. Leonard rushed out immediately, and Spock walked out behind him.
“Right this way, Hobgoblin,” he said, nervously leading the way, as if Spock didn’t know where Leonard’s quarters were, as if he didn’t have the entire ship layout memorized.
He punched in the passcode to his door and shuffled in to set up his viewer and his couch. It was a loveseat. He’d always sat on it alone before.
“Do you want snacks?” Leonard asked.
“I am not particularly hungry,” said Spock lightly.
“We can have popcorn? It’s a tradition on Earth,” he said, already punching the code into the replicator.
“Of course, Doctor.”
Leonard came back over to the couch and sat down in his usual spot on the left cushion. He patted the spot next to him. “Come sit down, Spock.”
Spock sat.
The movie was pretty good. Leonard barely watched it, too distracted by the fact that the only thing between him and Spock was the bucket of popcorn that Leonard had eaten almost all of. Besides, if he could see the reflection of the screen in Spock’s eyes, then watching Spock’s eyes analyze every frame was pretty much the same thing as watching the screen, right?
Spock was very pretty.
When the movie was over, the lights turned back on automatically, and Spock stood up.
“That was an informative film, Doctor,” he said. “I thank you for allowing me in your quarters to view it with you.”
“Of course, Spock,” said Leonard, dazed, blushing harder than he’d ever blushed before, which was stupid, because all Spock had done was thank him. And very impersonally, too.
“Goodbye.” And he just left! He just fucking took off!
The doors slid shut behind Spock, and Leonard was left red faced and alone in his quarters, full to bursting with replicator popcorn and love for a stupid Vulcan.
Step four: Try to hold his hand
“Spock!!”
Leonard sprinted to where he’d heard the crashing noises. Spock wasn’t even visible under the rocks and dirt that covered him.
“I am not seriously injured, Doctor,” he said, voice muffled, as well as slightly pained; Leonard could hear it in the way his tone was tight and clipped.
“‘Not seriously injured’ my ass!” Leonard exclaimed, quickly bending down to start digging. Spock was thankfully not super deep. Not so thankfully, the dirt around him was sticky and clumped together with green blood. Leonard felt so sickened by the sight that couldn’t even bring himself to make a joke about it. “Spock?”
“Hello, Doctor.” Spock sat up, brushing himself off. There was a wound on his head that was bleeding, and his shirt was ripped in a few places to reveal greenish scratches all along Spock’s torso. His left leg was badly broken. It was probably where all the blood had come from; the bone was visible.
“Good god, Spock,” Leonard hissed. “I think the rock god hates you.”
“I do not subscribe to such illogical beliefs.” It was a testament to the amount of pain Spock was in that he didn’t even make an attempt to move.
Leonard didn’t take the bait. He flipped open his communicator. “McCoy to Enterprise, two to beam up. Have an emergency medical team ready.”
“Well, uh, there’s an issue…”
“Goddammit Scotty!” he yelled. “Spock’s hurt! Fucking beam us up right this fucking second or so help me god!”
“I’m sorry, Doctor, I can’t! The transporter’s broken!”
“Fuck!” He threw the communicator as hard as he could. It landed far away, and Leonard cursed and jogged over to bring it back. “Sorry Scotty. You still there?”
“Jings, laddie! What’d you do that for?”
“Sorry,” said Leonard again, embarrassed. Scotty didn’t deserve that. “I know it’s not your fault. Spock might seriously die, though, he’ll fu- fricking bleed out!”
“We’ll have the transporter fixed soon,” Scotty promised. “Keep Mr. Spock from dyin’ in the meantime. Scott out.”
Leonard snapped his communicator shut and hid his face in his hands. “Oh lord, that was so rude. Poor Scotty.”
“Indeed, Doctor,” said Spock.
“You’re an asshole,” Leonard grunted. “You and your green blood.” He got to work at staunching the bleeding and making sure Spock didn’t fucking die.
And he didn’t know what got into him, what demon possessed him, but he saw Spock’s hand just lying there, and he saw the pain that Spock was in, and he slowly started to slide his hand into Spock’s.
“Don’t touch me,” Spock snapped, jerking away.
Leonard recoiled, pulling back his hand. He covered up how he couldn’t breathe by saying, “What the hell!”
“Do not touch me,” Spock repeated tightly.
“I--”
And of fucking course, that was the moment Scotty chose to beam them up.
Medical teams quickly came to yoink Spock over to sickbay so they could fix him. Leonard followed, ready to do his job, not letting himself think about what just happened, or the spike of something that he felt when he touched Spock’s hand.
Goddamn, he was so down bad.
And he was so fucking stupid for it.
Step five: Get mad at him for not noticing you’re in love
Leonard sat at his desk in his office, filling out paperwork. The door buzzed, and he looked up. “Come in.”
It was Spock. Leonard should really get into the habit of saying ‘who’s there’ first.
“Hello, Doctor,” Spock said.
“Hey, Spock,” he grumbled. “What are you doing here?”
“I have been discharged.”
“So you chose to come here?”
“I wanted to bid you farewell.”
Leonard looked up. Spock looked so earnest, and the words were on the tip of his tongue: I love you. But Leonard was fucking stupid, and he couldn’t just tell someone he loved them. No, that would be too logical.
“Oh, so now you want to be polite,” he said instead. He felt hot.
Spock frowned Vulcanly. “Doctor--”
“My name is Leonard! You’re so fucking dense,” he cried, and it was true, true as anything would ever be. “All I’ve ever fucking wanted--” He cut himself off, because again, he too stupid to just fucking say it.
Goddamn, he was down bad.
“I don’t understand,” said Spock.
“You never understand.”
Silence.
“Goodbye, Doctor,” said Spock. And he left Leonard alone again.
Leonard buried his head in his hands. He was so fucking stupid.
Step six: Apologize and kiss
“Doctor?”
Leonard looked up from the monitor. Spock was outside the door of his quarters? “What do you want, Spock?”
“I have come to offer my apologies,” said Spock, and suddenly Leonard’s lungs had been thrown out the airlock. “I seem to have offended you, and I do not understand how or why.”
“You haven’t offended me,” Leonard said, and he was fucking choking.
“Then why have you been avoiding me?” asked Spock. He sounded genuinely confused.
“Computer, open the door.” The door slid open, and Spock stepped in just enough for the doors to close behind him. “I’m sorry, Spock.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I shouldn’t have yelled at you. It’s not your fault. I was just…” He trailed off.
“Just what, Doctor?”
“Call me Leonard,” he begged. “Please just call me Leonard.”
“Leonard,” said Spock softly. It was the first time Spock had ever said Leonard’s name, and he wanted to cry.
He looked away. “You fucking piss me off, Spock.”
“What have I done that angers you?”
“Nothing!!”
“Then why--”
“Because I’m fucking stupid and I love you!”
And then they were kissing.
Goddamn, Leonard was down bad!!!!
Step seven: Flirt (by insulting him)
Spock walked into Leonard’s quarters. “Heyyy, Hobgoblin,” Leonard said.
“Yes, Doctor?” Spock said.
“What’re you doing here?”
“I’ve simply come to have a place to work.”
“And you chose, here, with the illogicalest of illogical Humans?”
Spock didn’t answer. There was a moment of silence.
“Did you see that? I just let a pause sit for an entire thirty seconds. That’s a lot for me,” Leonard joked.
“It was twenty-five point seven two seconds, actually,” said Spock, smiling Vulcanly.
“Asshole,” Leonard said. Goddamn, he was so fucking down bad.