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Leonard’s stuffy bounced against Spock’s back with every step that he took. A feeling that the Vulcan did not enjoy much, but on which he had settled on keeping his thoughts to himself. The last thing he wanted to do was upset Leonard or his stuffy in anyway. According to Lieutenant Sulu, that had not ended well at all for Ensign Chekov.
The last thing Spock ever wanted was to upset Leonard, regardless of what form he was in. It always left an awful feeling in the pit of Spock’s stomach. One which was impossible to get rid of until he was able to find a way to make Leonard smile once more.
“Spock?” Leonard spoke softly near his ear. “Are Sar-ek and Aman-da going to say goodnight?” Spock was glad that his father had managed to teach Leonard to say everyone’s name in two parts. It made it easier on Leonard to pronounce people’s names, and Spock no longer had to hear the word ‘Sar’ out of his mouth again.
Coming to a stop in front of Nyota and Christine’s room, Spock debated the best way to answer Leonard’s question. He wasn’t sure why Leonard had become so attached to his parents in such a short amount of time, though he was sure a large part of it was the stuffy that he was currently dangling across Spock’s back. He also had to admit that the visual of his father carrying the little boy in his arms had been enjoyable. Something Spock never thought he would see in his lifetime.
“Unfortunately, their presence is still required at the diplomatic gathering in the mess hall.” Leonard leaned back against Spock’s arms just far enough so he could examine the Vulcan’s face, as if he was looking for a hint that Spock was lying to him.
“Oh…” The smile on Leonard’s face disappeared. “Jim too?”
“He requires some...alone time at this moment.” Spock explained “though, i can assure you all of them will still be here when you wake up in the morning. They will be glad to see you at breakfast.”
“Ok…” Leo leaned forward once more and swung his Sehlat back and forth carefully, letting it brush against Spock’s back while Spock reached forward and pressed the doorbell to Nyota and Christine’s room,
Returning his hand to Leonard’s back, Spock rubbed his thumb into the little boys shoulder. A gesture that Leonard had always seemed to appreciate when he was feeling down as an adult.
“You’re dad’s cool.” Leonard whispered against his shoulder.
“That is not a word i usually hear associated with my Father.” Spock admitted. It was not even a word that Spock associated with his own Father. Ambassador Sarek was Stoic and respectable. Intelligent and Calm. In Spock’s experience, those traits did not usually add up to a ‘cool Father’.
“But he is.” Leonard protested, glancing back when the door to Nyota and Christine’s room slide open and beaming when he saw Nyota.
“What are we talking about out here?” Nyota smiled, chuckling when Leonard reached out towards her. “Hello Gorgeous. I see Commander Spock decided to steal you away from all of those big bad Diplomates.”
Spock raised an eyebrow. “It seems you have decided you no longer enjoy conversation?” He pointed out. It was irregular for Nyota to leave a diplomatic gathering before anyone else as a rule.
“I figured you might want both of us here when you went to put Leo to bed.” Nyota smiled back at him “And Chris was starting to get uncomfortable around one of the Admiral’s aids. She was being really flirty.”
“Ahhh,” Spock nodded in approval. “I sometimes forget that it is not customary for Humans to physically attack those who try to take their mates.”
Nyota laughed “That is a special trait for one James T. Kirk.” She agreed. “The rest of us prefer to steal away our mate and hide away with them.”
Spock could not find it in himself to disagree with Nyota’s comment. There had been more than one instance where Jim had placed himself between Leonard and an unwanted suitor and attempted to rearrange their nose. A trait that Spock was glad never came into effect when he himself had an unwanted suitor, though he wasn’t too fond of Leonard’s ability to sass a person into fear either.
“He can have the couch tonight.” Nyota pointed a finger back towards the couch across the room from her and Christine’s bed. “We were just waiting for him to get here before going to bed ourselves. Chris has an early morning in Medical.”
Nodding his head, Spock followed Nyota into the room and made his way towards the couch while Leonard laid his chin against Spock’s shoulder.
“So you didn’t answer my question.” Nyota smiled playfully “What were you two talking about?”
“That Spock’s dad is cool.” Leonard beamed over at her.
“Oh really?” Christine walked out of the bathroom in her PJ’s and smiled when Leonard glanced over at her while Spock set him down on the couch. “You had fun hanging out with him today i take it?”
Leonard nodded his head excitedly “He’s lots of fun.” he proclaimed, ignoring the way that Spock rolled his eyes. “He carries around Stuffies and has the best hugs. Plus he talks a lot about Spock and all the cool stuff he used to do.”
Spock did his best to refrain from rolling his eyes again. He didn’t want to upset Leonard with his disbelief, but it was a far fetched tale in his opinion. For one, the only reason his father had Leonard’s new stuffy was because of his mother’s insistence that they get it for Spock’s cousin.Secondly, the thought of his father telling Leonard stories of Spock when he was younger was laughable at best. Sure, there were moments when his father showed pride in Spock’s abilities and curiosities, but he was hardly the type to be so prideful that he would tell others stories. It was unbecoming of the Vulcan Ambassador.
“It’s true.” Leonard reached out and poked Spock in the nose to get his attention “He told me all sorts of stories.”
“In that case, i look forward to hearing some of your favorite stories when you wake up in the morning.” Spock said softly, placing a hand on Leonard’s shoulder and guiding him carefully until the little boy was laying down. Reaching over to the other end of the couch, Spock gathered up the blankets and pillow that Nyota had left there for Leonard and placed the Pillow under Leonard’s head. “In fact, if you tell me these stories while my mother in present, i am sure she would be more than willing to add some of her own.”
“Really?” Leonard beamed up at him.
“It is a favorite pastime of her’s.” Spock assured him, opening the blanket up and placing it over Leonard’s tiny body carefully. “As i am sure your mother enjoys telling those willing to listen all about your adventures.” Leonard’s smile fell at the sound of that. “Leonard, i only mean to say…” He started to correct himself, stopping when Leonard looked up at him with sad eyes. A look that Spock had never enjoyed seeing in the other man’s eyes.
“I miss Mommy and Daddy.” the little boy whispered weakly, tears starting to form in the corner of his eyes.
Spock opened his mouth to respond, only to close it when he realized that he did not have an appropriate response to such an admission. Glancing back at Nyota, he waited patiently for her to think of what to do next and kneel down beside him so that she could reach out and take hold of Leonard’s hand.
“Would you like us to call your mom in the morning?” She asked softly, ignoring the way that Spock looked at her with wide eyes. Surely she did not think that lying to Leonard would improve the situation. “Commander Spock can have Jim look her up in the Starfleet database and find her ship so you can call her when you wake up.”
Leonard seemed to debate this for a moment before looking back up at Nyota with a weak smile “Can i?”
“Of course you can.” She smiled softly “but first you have to lay down and get some sleep. We don’t want you to fall asleep while you’re talking to her, do we?”
Shaking his head, Leonard grabbed hold of the edge of his blanket and pulled it over his shoulders while holding his Sehlat close to himself. “Mommy likes it when i call in the morning anyways.” He smiled proudly behind the the Sehlat’s fur. “She like’s seeing the sun shining behind me. It lets her forget she’s in space.”
Nyota chuckled at the sound of that “Your mom doesn’t like space either?”
“No.” Leonard shook his head again “She said she became a Captain to try and help people, but it’s hard being in space all the time. She needs to call daddy every day so she can see the sun and trees and flowers.”
“In that case, we’ll put you in Sulu’s lab so you can show her all of the cool plants that he has collected.” Nyota promised, poking Leonard in the nose playfully and watching as he giggled. “It won’t be like earth, but at least she’ll get some pretty flowers to look at. Maybe it will be good enough to get her mind off of where she is.”
Leonard nodded his head and buried his face into his stuffy once more while he closed his eyes. “Can’t wait to see mommy.” he whispered softly, smiling when Spock tucked the blanket under his body and ran his fingers through his hair.
Spock stayed by Leonard’s side for a few minutes longer, watching as the little boy drifted off to sleep slowly while continuing to mumble things about his mother.
“Well, we’re going to have a fun day tomorrow.” Spock glanced back at Nyota and raised an eyebrow “Yeah...i know. Sorry.”
Pushing himself to his feet, Spock let out a soft sigh and turned to face Nyota. “I will be back for him in the morning.” He told her softly, watching from the corner of his eye as Christine crawled into bed.
“I’ll make sure he’s ready for you.” Nyota smiled back at him.”And...i’ll figure out what to tell him about that call.”
“That would be appreciated.” Spock sighed, turning on his heel and heading towards the door while Nyota followed him. “It was not wise to lie to him.”
“He looked like he was about to cry.” She countered, smiling when Spock looked back at her “What else was i supposed to tell him Mr. Spock? ‘Sorry, we don’t know where your mom is or if she’s even alive?’. He’d be heartbroken.”
“Leonard is capable of dealing with the truth.” Argued Spock.
“As an adult.” Nyota agreed “But as a kid...No one can take that kind of information. It’s too heartbreaking. Not even you would have been calm and controlled if someone told you you couldn’t speak to your mom when you wanted to as a kid.”
Contemplating Nyota’s argument, Spock found himself nodding in agreement. As a child he had been quiet attached to his mother, and unwilling to listen to anyone who told him he could not speak with her when he wanted.
“I see your point.” He conceded, raising an eyebrow when Nyota leaned up and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
“I thought you might.” she smiled up at him. “Good Night Spock. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Goodnight.” Spock said softly, bowing his head and leaving the room while Nyota turned around and moved to join Christine in bed.
Falling back into his bed, Jim let out a soft groan as he stretched his arms over his head and tried to work the kinks out of his back. “At least Admiral Marcus was the worst part about today.” He whispered under his breath, lifting his head up when he heard Spock coming out of the washroom. A smile pulled at his lips when he saw Spock wearing one of Bones’ old university shirts. “Nice look Spock.”
It took Spock a moment to realize what Jim was talking about, and a faint hint of a smile tugged at the side of his lips. “Leonard always left it on the floor in my room.” he said softly “When he passed...i thought it would be appropriate to keep it.”
“He would have liked to see you in it.” Jim smiled up at Spock, watching with amusement as the Vulcan ran his fingers over the words on the shirt, tracing out the ‘U’ in university carefully. “He always liked when i stole his hoodies and sweaters, even if he complained about it sometimes.”
“Leonard often showed he cared with his complaints.” Spock pointed out, making his way over to the bed and sitting down on the edge. Sliding Leonard’s ring off of his pinky finger, Spock held it in his hand and examined it for a moment while Jim crawled up beside him. “It was his own way of showing his love.”
“You can say that again.” Spock turned around and raised an eyebrow at Jim “No...wait, just...never mind.” Jim sighed in defeat, laying his chin down on Spock’s shoulder and looking down at the ring still in Spock’s hand. “Is it bad that i never noticed you wearing that?”
“You have been preoccupied for the last month.” Spock reminded him, reaching back and placing his free hand in Jim’s hair. “Besides, it is not a large item. It is easy for people to miss.”
“That’s true.” Jim admitted. Wrapping his arms around Spock’s waist he buried his nose into the Vulcan’s shoulder and hummed happily, his eyes still glued on the ring.
Noticing the Captain’s gaze, Spock held the ring up towards him and waited for Jim to take it into his hands. Once he had the rng, Jim sat back on his feet and stared down at it quietly.
“You know i had plans.” Spock raised an eyebrow at the sound of that “for the future, i mean. Plans for those days we’d be on shore leave together. The day when we would retire.” Jim allowed himself to fall back against the bed and held the ring up over his face so that he could continue to stare at it. “Ever since the day i met Bones i started making plans.”
“You hardly knew him.” Spock pointed out calmly.
“Nothing too extravagant.” Jim chuckled “at first it was simply. It was a plan to get to know him more. To take him out for a drink. A month into our time at the Academy i started making plans for the holidays. Neither of us had anywhere to go as far as i knew, so i thought we could do all of these cool things together.”
Spock looked down at his own hands while he listened to Jim. He couldn’t recall having such hopes for his future with Leonard when they first met. The two of them did nothing but fight for the first month, after all. However, he could recall the moment he found himself making plans of his own. The day he realized he wanted something more than just friendship with Leonard.
“The only time i didn’t have everything planned was when i asked him out.” Jim’s dry chuckle pulled Spock out of his thoughts and back to the conversation at hand. “It was so stupid. We were sitting in his and Joseph’s room drinking while Joseph was back home with his family for a birthday. I just asked him out while he was pouring me another drink and he went rigged.”
“Did he turn you down?” Spock frowned. Leonard had always been in love with Jim as long as Spock had known him. There wasn’t a moment that he could recall seeing the two of them in the same room where Leonard did not have a fond look on his face.
“No, he said yes faster than i could process the fact that i had asked him out.” Jim chuckled “he even suggested the best place to go and told me we should go in a week. He picked me up in my room in the...most gorgeous suit i have ever seen.”
Spock hummed to himself at the thought of seeing Leonard in a suit. Their time on the Enterprise did not usually permit occasions when any of them would be in civilian dress clothing. This had left Spock with a lack of opportunities to see Leonard in anything other than his uniform, his workout clothes, or his sleep clothes.
“What about after?” Spock inquired. “When you joined the Enterprise and…” he wasn’t sure how best to phrase the question.
“When he fell in love with you?” Jim lifted his head up and smiled down at Spock “then the plans just...changed.”
“You incorporated me into them?” Spock felt his stomach clench at the thought of Jim changing everything that he had laid out for his future to incorporate himself. To ensure that Leonard had both of them.
“Of course i did.” Jim chuckled fondly. “It wasn’t hard. I always figured you’d be around for a lot of it since we’re such awesome friends. I just made a few simple changes so that you were involved in a lot more.”
Contemplating what Jim had said, Spock allowed a small smile to tug at his lips. “And what did these plans consist of, if i may ask?”
“Oh, so much.” Jim sat up in his spot, beaming at Spock and laying Leonard’s ring down in the Vulcan’s hand. “Everything you could imagine Spock. A house in Georgia because Bones loves it there, maybe even a house on New Vulcan so we can have two places to live in through the year.”
“Leonard is unlikely to grow any fonder of space travel in his old age.” Spock pointed out, leaning forward to put the ring on the night stand on his side of the bed.
“No, i know that.” Jim laughed “but he’ll want to go to Vulcan, Spock. He talks about it all the time. How we’ll have to have a place there so you can always be at home. Near your family and your people.”
Falling back against the bed, Spock allowed himself to stare up at the ceiling while he processed what Jim had said. He had always known that Leonard was concerned about him being away from his parents for too long after the destruction of his home planet. What he hadn’t realized, however, was just how far in advance Leonard had thought their life together through. It was comforting to know that he had plans for them to still be together in their old age.
“Spock…” Jim’s showed up in his line of sight, a giant smirk plastered across his face “that’s cute.”
“To what are you referring?” Spock asked with a raised eyebrow.
“You got all soft and melty-eyed when i told you about Bones wanting a house on New Vulcan.” The Captain’s smirk only grew when Spock rolled his eyes at him “Come on, It’s cute how much you’re in love with him.”
“We.” it was Jim’s turn to raise an eyebrow now “I believe the proper sentence is ‘How much we are in love with him’”
Spock watched as Jim bit his lower lip and smiled sheepishly.
“Ya.” Jim whispered, leaning down and pressing his forehead against Spocks. A sense of fondness surrounded Spock with the simple touch, a feeling that he knew Jim was getting in return. “We do love him.”
“More than anything.” Spock agreed, reaching up to put a hand in Jim’s hair and holding the Captain there for a bit longer, not wanting to lose the various emotions now washing over him.
“Too bad love can’t make him an adult…” Jim whispered, pulling his forehead away from Spock’s slowly and sitting back on his feet once more. Turning around in his spot, Spock laid down on his stomach and looked up at Jim, watching as the Captain fiddled with the end of his shirt. “We have two days until Admiral Marcus leaves and if he doesn’t…”
Spock reached forward and placed a hand over Jim’s “We will figure it out.” He promised softly, waiting for Jim to meet his eyes before continuing “We have succeeded in many things with far less time. We will find a way to get Leonard back. Our Leonard.”
“We can’t force him to grow up though.” Jim whispered “we don’t even know what brought him back. He should be…” Jim choked back the word and screwed his eyes shut.
“He should be.” Spock agreed, not wanting to finish the sentence for Jim. he could tell it hurt the Captain too much to think about what had happened to Leonard. How the Doctor should be dead rather than aboard the Enterprise in any form. “However, he is not. How that happened i do not know yet, but it does give us a chance that not many people get.”
Jim met Spock’s eyes, smiling weakly when the Vulcan cupped his cheek and pressed their foreheads together once more so that he could feel the small amount of hope that Spock had buried deep down inside.
“We’ll find a way?” Jim asked, his eyes glued to Spock’s as if they had the answer to everything.
“I believe we will.” Spock agreed. “As Illogical as it seems, i do think there is a chance that we will get Leonard back to his adult self so that we can fulfill all of those plans you have made for us.”
Laughing, Jim moved his forehead away from Spock’s so that he could lean forward and hide his face in the Vulcan’s shoulder. “I don’t know if he’ll like the motorcycle i have planned.”
“Most likely not.” Spock agreed “but he will enjoy the opportunity to yell at you for it.”