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They're on Yorktown still, construction on the Enterprise well underway, when Leonard finds the document on Jim's PADD. He storms into Jim's room, brandishing the PADD like a weapon. He throws it at Jim and crosses his arms, knows his anger is clear on his face.
Jim looks up, startled.
"What the hell is this?" It's more of a demand than a question.
Jim eyes him warily and picks up the PADD from the floor. He glances briefly down at the screen and Leonard watches the realization dawn on his face.
"Oh. I didn't think you'd find that."
"You didn't think...what the fuck, Jim! You can't just decide to leave and not tell me! I thought we were past that!"
Leonard is fully aware that he's yelling, and he doesn't give a damn. This is something to yell about.
"Look, I'm not leaving, Bones. I was thinking about it, but I'm not going anywhere."
"That's a god damn application, Jim. That looks like a lot more than just thinking about it."
"Okay!" Jim stands, and now he's yelling too. "I submitted an application for vice admiral here. So what?"
"So what? You owe this crew more than that, dammit. Hell, you owe me more than that!"
"What do you want me to say? That it was a mistake?"
Leonard sighs and sits. His face smooths out as the anger dissipates, leaving him with a strange kind of sadness.
"Tell me why," he says, and rubs a hand over his face.
"Why I submitted an application?" Jim sounds confused at the turn of conversation. "Isn't it enough that I wanted to advance my career?"
"You and I both know that's not true," Leonard says. Jim falls onto the sofa beside Bones, a heavy sigh on his lips.
"I was starting to get lost," he says, looking at his hands folded in his lap. "Sometimes it feels like too much. The weight gets too heavy and I'm afraid I won't be able to keep it up."
"So leaving, you thought that was the best way to deal with it?" he asks, but doesn't accuse. Jim is still an enigma sometimes, even after all this time, but he thinks he can understand this.
"No," Jim sighs. "I don't think I could ever bring myself to do it," he says.
"Good," Leonard says. "Because I'm only up here in this death can 'cause of you. You leave, I leave."
"Such a romantic," Jim says, a half kind of laugh on his breath. He leans his head back into the couch, lets his eyes drift shut.
"I mean it," Leonard says. "You ain't leaving me up here by myself. Where you go, I go."
"That sounds like a deal," Jim smiles. Their silence is companionable, comfortable even, but then Jim is shifting, rolling his head over to look at Leonard. He reaches out, curls his hand around Leonard's and brings their joined hands into his line of sight.
"Actually," Jim says, and Leonard looks at him. "That sounds like a proposal."
Leonard stiffens and tries to tug his hand away from Jim's.
"Jim," he says, sounding like a warning.
"No, Bones, I mean it," Jim says. "Marry me."
Leonard looks at him, really looks, and is only half surprised to find that this is the most sincere look he's ever seen in Jim's eyes. They're bright and shining and there's a glimmer of hope that makes them brighter than the sun.
"Okay," Leonard nods. It's too easy to give into him, really. Leonard never stood a chance.
Jim blinks, as if it's not the answer he was expecting. "Okay?" Jim asks.
"Okay means yes," Leonard says, and Jim's smile turns into a kiss. He tastes like happiness and sunshine, the fucker, and maybe he tastes a little like home, too.