starlogs | ( closed ) and I'm floating in the most peculiar way

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( closed ) and I'm floating in the most peculiar way

WHO: James T. Kirk & Leonard McCoy
WHERE: Enterprise
WHEN: February 14th (+ another thread later on)
WHAT: Waking up with no power and zero gravity isn't their idea of fun.
WARNINGS: Nothing aside from Bones panicking and Jim hating himself a little later on. Possible mentions of death too.

When things actually started going down, Jim was too fast asleep to realize. Even the faint glow filtering through the windows as the nearest ship blew up wasn't enough to wake him, eyes shut for a while longer. The fifteen minutes of peace that followed would be the last bit of decent and unhindered rest he'd likely get in a while.

It started with a strange tingling sensation, at first. As the systems started malfunctioning, it was the engines shutting down completely and the whole ship going dead silent that had him waking up. His heart thrummed to the beat of the engines and the warp core, and suddenly everything felt... misaligned.

He nearly startled awake at that, shoving the blankets off of him in one sudden move as he got to his feet. Except his feet touched the ground for about a second or two before his whole body started to float, as if weightless, and the more he struggled to reach the ground, the farther away he got from it.

"What the fuck—" he looked over sharply, seeing Bones's silhouette starting to lift from the bed even in the dark of the room. Despite the evident lack of gravity, he tried to glide over to him. "Bones. Wake up, wake up— Bones!"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

On a mostly deserted ship, Jim never really expected someone to approach him out of the blue. There were a couple of the Eluvio natives, but over time Jim got too used to them as some kind of background noise, when he didn't spare them many words nor did they do the same to him. They didn't get in each other's way, at least, something Jim was mostly grateful for.

Right now there was just Bones and him on board, and he definitely didn't expect the doctor to be walking around engineering. So when the familiar voice piped in just behind him, he tensed visibly, back straightening as he turned to look back at him.

"What happened?" He parroted with a slight edge of frustration to it, a huff following right after. "Nothing's happened. Nothing. Can't even figure out what's wrong with my own ship, let alone fix her. We're just trapped up here and I'm... useless."

Watching Jim silently, he let the man get through the frustration and speak he mind about the whole situation they were in. He knew. Leonard saw the frustration building up inside of Jim, but he said nothing and waited till he would be needed or when Jim finally hit his breaking point. Guess that moment was this one.

Without a word, he moved around the mess on the floor and lowered down onto his haunches. Lightly brushing the debris out of the way, he settled on the floor next to Jim and leaned back against the wall. None of the current state was ideal, that was certain. But he also knew that it was better than sitting pretty in one room with no gravity.

Small favors an’ all.

“You are a lot of things, Jim, useless ain’t one of ‘em.” He said that lightly, like he was commenting on the weather or something very obvious. Turning his head a little, he arched a brow at his best friend just slightly. His voice stayed low, warm and rich as he smiled just a little. “Just cause you don’t know everything doesn’t make it true, neither. Not that I’m all that excited about the current situation, but cause you’re here, I can deal with it. Guess that’s not that much helpful though…”

It wasn't his plan to unload on Bones. He knew the doctor was dealing with his own issues as it was, quietly more often than not, and he didn't need to worry about Jim feeling like some overgrown manchild who couldn't get over the fact that some things he just couldn't control, and that sometimes asking 'why' a million times over still yielded no answers.

And this was a shitty situation they were stuck in, but he knew, of course, that it didn't revolve around him or his inability to make it right. But frustration was a bitter pill to swallow and eventually it floated right back up to the surface, making it impossible for him to keep it in.

"Yeah, well... sure feels like it, right now," he breathed out in a quieter tone, more resigned. Sighing deeply, he tipped his head back against the wall and closed his eyes, rubbing a hand over them tiredly. He'd burnt the tips of some of his fingers, and he had a few minor cuts on both hands, but right now he didn't even seem to notice. "Sorry. I'll be fine, I just... needed to vent, I guess."

Leonard let his eyes fall to Jim's hands when they rose to rub at his eyes. A frown pulled at his lips as he let out a soft near inaudible sigh. "Right now, isn't everything." He pointed out gently before reaching out to softly collect one of his hands. He pulled it into his lap and opened up his medkit that he'd taken to carrying with him more often. This time, he worked with utmost care as he cleaned the wounds and did something rare after cleaning. He lifted the hand to his lips and blew on them lightly to ease the sting and burn of the antiseptic.

"You're allowed to vent." His voice stayed even and smooth as he pulled out the protoplaser and carefully mended the open wounds of that hand. Once he was done, he smoothed his fingers over Jim's palm in a soothing motion. "What doesn't come to ya right now, may come to ya later."

Releasing that hand, he leaned over Jim to catch his other one. His thumbs softly pressed into Jim's palm as he aimed to relax some of the muscles before he fixed that hand as well. "Jim. I'm always hear to listen even if I know I can't do much to make it better."

Jim couldn't really tell where Bones was going to do with his hand at first, but it wasn't like he minded the doctor holding it, so he didn't ask. It wasn't until Bones opened up his medkit that he started to notice the small cuts on the skin. Quietly he let the doctor tend to it, raising his eyebrows a little when he blew warm air against the skin.

Bones was right, obviously. But then Jim had been telling himself that for two weeks now and it was starting to wear out, when day after day he couldn't find any solutions, and he couldn't fix this. It was irrational to think the problem was him, when he knew very well that all the ships in the fleet were affected the same way. This went a little beyond just him and his own abilities.

Letting Leonard take his other hand, he let out a soft sigh as he turned to the side a little, legs folding as he curled up towards Bones. His head dropped forward, so he could let his temple and cheek rest against the doctor's shoulder. "It's alright. You being here is more than enough."

Starting to finally work at healing Jim's hand, he did every step very similarly. He blew softly on the wounds before sealing them and very softly rubbed at his palm to ease the tension afterwards. But this time, he drew the hand to his lips and dropped a kiss to his palm the moment he felt Jim's head fell against his shoulder.

"Whatever is wrong, I think we'll figure it out. One way or another eventually. Just maybe gotta wait longer." Still massaging Jim's fingers and palm, he lowered his head to rest his cheek to the top of Jim's head. "As for me bein' here, I'm not goin' anywhere. I'm gonna be right beside ya, every step of the way. Promise you that."

And he'd damn well keep that promise with all his might.

His brow rose as he lifted his eyes to watch the way Bones kissed his palm. The sensation was warm and it tingled a little, but Jim found himself smiling, albeit small and tired. God, he was tired. He couldn't remember getting a decent night's sleep since they got stuck in this whole mess.

"You know, sometimes... you surprise me with the amount of faith you have." Let's face it, if anyone in this relationship was the optimistic type, it was definitely Jim. And yet here he was, lost and helpless and useless, and Bones was the one with the soft touches and warm words and the unwavering belief that things would just somehow work out.

Funny how things worked, sometimes.

His other hand moved back to Bones's, as he cradled it with both his own, letting them settle on Bones's lap while his thumbs smoothed over the knuckles. "Don't know what I'd do without you, Bones."

"Yeah well, I blame that on you. Things just always seem to work out with you." He said that softly as he turned his head a little to nuzzle into his hair softly. "And I think right now, one of us needs to be a little optimistic so you can take a break."

His lashes lowered at the feeling of Jim's hands on his own and he let his fingers go lax in Jim's hold. Dropping his eyes to that hold, he finally looked over at Jim and nudged him with his nose. "Good thing you won't have to find out darlin'."

Smiling just a little, Leonard spoke softer into his hair. "Not the best place, but you need some rest... so... c'mere." He shifted just a little and pulled Jim down to put his head in his lap. Moving his hand, he placed it over his chest to hold him there while he sank down a little against the wall. "It'll be alright, ya know that? I've got ya."

"Guess my luck's not the only thing that's been rubbing off on you," he teased with a small smile. All things considered, though, luck, optimism... those weren't the worst traits for Bones to pick up from him. Granted, it also came with a hint of recklessness and a tendency to get himself into tough spots, but things always seemed to work out in the end.

Which was exactly what Bones was trying to get at, right now. Funny how things circled back around like that sometimes.

He moved around as urged, letting his head rest on Bones's lap, shifting around so he was on his back and could look up at the doctor. He shot him a warm smile, folding an arm and tucking his hand underneath his head, the other hand settling over Bones's on his chest. "Thanks. That's... that helps, actually."

The thought had him chuckling faintly. An uplifting speech from Leonard McCoy of all people. Huh, go figure.

"There are worse things." He actually liked the changes Jim made in him. He felt braver, like someone that could actually get something done. Leonard even considered that maybe, years earlier, Jim could have gotten him to muster up enough bravery that he might have fought for custody of his daughter. At least more than he had. But that wasn't something he could change... and he was god knows how far away from her now.

Tipping his head to look down at Jim, he slid his fingers through Jim's hair, smoothing it back gently while letting his thumb smooth over his brow slowly. Returning that smile, he sent Jim a wink. "I have my moments."

Moments that came far and few between, but he didn't feel like he could be this open all the time. Often he wondered if Jim would even want him to be that close. So he kept it for times like this when he knew Jim needed something.

"Maybe it's stupid... but I've liked having time with you again. Forgot what it was like." But it also made it damn hard to ignore those thoughts he had ignored for a good few years.

"That you do," Jim's smile was warm and it made faint wrinkles show at the corners of his eyes. Jim didn't often feel like this, and when he did he hardly ever showed it, so it was nice to be reminded that he had people to support him, people who kept him strong and sure of himself, of what he was doing. Not that he'd ever forget just how much Bones always did for him, and more often than not while keeping himself in the background.

He wasn't just background from Jim's perspective, though. And right now he was taking up what was essentially a main role, as it were. Jim honestly didn't know how he'd manage to be here if Bones weren't here with him.

"Yeah... things tend to get in the way, don't they," he agreed, while his fingers brushed distractedly along the back of Bones's hand on his chest. "For better or worse, we're not at the Academy anymore. Although mostly for better, if you ask me. Lack of free time aside."

Angling his head a little, he let his fingertips gently trace the lines at the corners of Jim's eyes. Arching a brow, he smiled a little more, he leaned down just enough so he could speak softly enough that the sound didn't echo. "See? I missed that smile. The one that reflects all the way into your eyes and here..." Leonard pressed the pad of his thumb into those lines gently before smoothing back up to his temple. "Not that your serious face isn't attractive."

Breathing out slowly, he looked away across the whole of this corner of engineering. It felt so damn empty without Scotty and his crew running everything. "Well, the greater known universe needs you in it, that much is certain." He long quit wishing for the time they lost and just went with the flow.

Being a working cog in a greater purpose, it worked just fine all these years. He just wanted Jim to succeed. That was still all he wanted. His silly desires for more time with the blonde? Those just weren't that important in the grand scheme of things.

That remark caught him off-guard, leaving him with a flutter on his chest he couldn't really ignore. His brow rose in surprise, his skin warming underneath the careful touch of Bones's fingertips, for a moment actually wondering if that little would even be enough to make him blush. He wiped the thought from his head with a chuckle, covering his eyes briefly before swatting a hand at Bones.

"Flatterer," he mumbled softly, closing his eyes a moment and letting the silence take over for a moment. Well, relative silence. Even on auxiliary power there still was some faint noise from the machinery around them, but without his crew, everything was too quiet and still. It was outright eerie.

"And I need you in the greater known universe with me, so I guess it all works out just fine." And at least here they had plenty of time to spend together, so. Making up for lost time... something like that.

"Is it flattery when it's true?" He snorted softly, his brow arching at him more pronounced this time. He wasn't prone to flattering nobody, but Jim seemed to think when he did talk like something about his person mattered, that's what it was. Most words were pretty and empty. Hell, he gave up on romantic gestures after Jocelyn. With Jim he just... wanted to give him a dose of honesty and no strings attached. Everyone always wanted something from Jim. And it irritated the hell out of him.

His expression softened at those words and he hummed a soft sound. "Long as you need me there, s'all that matters." Cause other than stitching the Enterprise crew back together, which was pretty important by itself, he didn't feel like his role got much bigger. And where he wasn't the best 'shoulder to lean on' he tried his damnedest for Jim to be just that.

Leaning his head back against the wall, he let his fingers curl and slip through Jim's hair silently for a moment just listening to the sounds of the ship. "Maybe you need to step away from it for a bit? If you want we could do something else just to break the tension before you jump back in to the problem?"

"Yes, yes it is." It was definitely flattery if it made him feel like he was blushing like an idiot. Not that he could hold that against Bones, since Jim did just that to the doctor a lot more often. If anything one could say he was just balancing the scales a little more evenly. Only fair, after all.

Besides, Jim did like hearing Bones say those things, or feel those ever so gentle touches of his. Not a chance he'd say anything that discouraged the doctor from keeping it up.

He breathed deeply and let out a long sigh, tipping his head and looking around the area before shrugging. "Yeah... not like I'm going to accomplish anything, aside from frustrating myself even further. Oh, and I have something to give you," he said, the thought making him sit up promptly. He got to his feet, then offered a hand to Bones to help him up. "Come on."

Huffing a little, he fondly rolled his eyes. To him, flattery meant empty fluff words meant to get your way. But he didn't argue it. Pulling softly at a little of his dark gold hair, he arched a brow slowly. "Then I better cut back on the flattery." It was just a tease, he had no intentions of stopping. Still, he always said he refused to inflate the ego.

Then Jim was moving. "For me?" The concept felt odd and foreign. Of all the things he did with Jim, they didn't typically get things for each other. Even if Leonard sometimes picked up traditional books for him. He just never made a big deal of that.

Taking Jim's hand, he pulled himself to his feet and brushed off. "What's the occassion?"

"Mm, not sure I'd go that far," he hummed with a lazy smile. Flattery could often be shallow and empty of any real feelings, granted, but that wasn't how he saw it when it came from Bones. He knew the doctor wasn't really the kind to just spout pretty things for the hell of it either, so as far as he was concerned, no reason for him to stop.

"Yeah. Well, it's kind of a spur of the moment thing. Wasn't some sort of grand plan or anything, for what it's worth." Once Bones was on his feet, he started leading the way out of engineering so they could head back to his room. "And I was going to give it to you on Valentine's but we got tangled up in that whole mess, and then I just... forgot, honestly."

Chuckling at that, he sighed a little. "Of course not, then you'd never get a nice thing out of me again more than likely." Teasing softly, he moved on behind Jim and watched the line of his shoulders. He carried himself better than before. Less like the weight of the universe pushed down on him, at least for the moment.

However the comment about the gift had both brows rising. Spur of the moment wasn't hard to believe. Jim did a lot of things off the cuff. But the idea that it got him a gift out of it, still threw him a bit. Probably just cause he was there, right?

Or so he thought till Jim mentioned it had been for Valentine's day. Well, he'd meant to cook for Jim that day. But... No. Don't read into it. "Well, I appreciate it no matter the day. Ah... thanks for thinkin' of me."

"Please, like it's all that hard for me to get something nice out of you." Bones was a softie at heart and they both knew it, no point in the doctor trying to deny it. Especially when it came to people he cared about. So no way he'd really stop altogether.

Jim hadn't really read into it, either, and he tried not to now. At the time he'd just wanted to try something new, and when Yuuri asked him who the chocolates were for... well, he didn't have an answer. He hadn't gone to the workshop with someone specific in mind, and when confronted with the question, he just said the first name that came to mind.

And Bones was the person he was closest to here, after all. He'd gone to special lengths not to think too much of it since then, and he was trying to stick to that even now. Probably for the best.

"Hey, I always do," Jim shot a smile over his shoulder, going to the turbolift that could take them up to his deck.

Jim had him there even if it annoyed him. Especially with Jim. He should learn to give less with the guy, but he still gave in every time. Where it usually got him in a heap of trouble most of the time, he still rather be in that trouble than not be there when Jim needed him. Maybe he was a damn masochist and didn't even realize it.

Still, he snorted out a soft sound that bordered on a wry laugh. "So you say." More like he thought of him long enough to drag him into stupidity or to play that part of wingman. Something he was damn happy cut down to zero lately. Not that he wanted to bring it up. He figured Jim just finally grew out of some of that mindset from the academy.

Either way, he wasn't so sure about that statement. Likely the only reason Jim did it was cause he was the only one here. "Regardless, you didn't have to." Still didn't, actually.

He slowed down as they reached the lift, looking at Bones at the remark, watching the doctor in quiet contemplation for a few seconds. "I know I don't have to. I'm doing it because I want to." Wasn't that why Bones had mentioned cooking for him, too? Had nothing to do with obligation. Regardless of the chocolates having some deeper meaning or not.

Stepping into the lift, he waited until Bones joined him and the doors closed to turn to him. "Is this alright? I mean, it's not weird or anything?" Hadn't even crossed his mind that he could make Bones uncomfortable, and honestly it was the last thing he wanted. "You're my friend, Bones. I care about you, a lot. It doesn't have to mean anything more than that."

Following along, he angled his head at Jim's statement. Maybe that alleviated some of that strange feeling weighing on him. That thought that he was just the body there and nothing else. And really, that was a bit harsh. Jim was a good person. It honestly didn't surprise him if he thought of whoever got stuck with him here with the Eluvio and its crew.

Once they were off the lift, he blinked out of his thoughts and stopped as Jim turned to him with that question. He felt a tiny shock of surprise at that and he worked quickly through it while his mouth jumped out ahead of his thoughts. "Why wouldn't it be?" At least that question was a truthful one even if he didn't let himself think it through first.

His brow furrowed slightly at Jim's words, though. The choice seemed slightly off for something that was 'just cause he could'. But then, maybe that was exactly why he wanted clarification. So Leonard wouldn't go jumping to some conclusion and do something stupid. Like getting his hopes up. "It's fine, Jim. It's not weird, just surprised me is all."

"Don't know," Jim lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug, giving his own words some thought before letting them past his lips. "You could've been weirded out by me giving you a Valentine's gift. Well— not sure I'd go so far as calling it a gift. It's not all that special, really. Don't go hoping it's something amazing, because it really isn't."

Well, depended on what he'd call 'amazing'. Jim Kirk managing to cook anything edible was pretty amazing. And chocolates, to boot? Damn near miracle, honestly.

Smiling a little at Bones's final answer, he gave him a single nod. "Good. Glad to hear. Come on, then," he said as he reached for Bones's arm, tugging lightly as he started down the hallway and towards his room.

"Talk it down anymore, Jim, and I might be offended by whatever it is." He offered him a small smile to go with that light tease. He honestly didn't know what to think about it. Jim was so determined to make it look like nothing that Leonard wondered why Jim even bothered. It just seemed strange is all.

Either way, he was glad to see the man smile again even if he wasn't so sure how he felt about it. Still, it was better to have Jim happy, or close to it, than upset. He also didn't resist even a little when Jim tugged him off the lift to move down the hall to his room. "Besides, if it weren't fine, I don't think I'd get you all those books back home on crazy whims." It just became a habit. Jim liked paper books, so he picked them up if he saw one he was pretty certain Jim didn't have.

So how was it any different? Other than the fact that Leonard found he rarely did anything without something making him think about Jim. And lately it had gotten ridiculous.

Jim chuckled a little at that, shaking his head. "Yeah. You're right, sorry." He didn't mean to make it seem like nothing, because it did mean something. He just wasn't sure what that something was, nor did he know if he was ready to get into it, or for Bones to ask him.

It was a little ridiculous, when he thought of it. It was just some damn chocolates and it didn't have to be anything more than that.

"That's true," he hummed as they got closer to his room. "I do like that, for the record. Not just books. It's nice when you get me stuff." So yeah, no reason why Bones would mind this, either. He felt a little more confident and a little less like some stupid teen with a flutter in his chest by the time they reached his quarters, promptly walking over to the dresser where he had the chocolates and pulling the box out of one of the drawers. It looked fairly simple, in a dark brown color, with a little red ribbon wrapped around it and tied into a bow. At least he'd skipped on the heart-shaped stickers, since those had seemed a little over the top.

Not that the bow in itself wasn't already, but anyway.

"Happy belated Valentine's," he said as he held the box out towards Bones for him to take.

( closed ) and I'm floating in the most peculiar way

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