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

"Considering the things you've lived through in the past few years, I'd say you're pretty lucky," Jim hummed softly, trying not to think much about the doctor's warm breath on his neck. "But maybe it's just me rubbing it off on you. Who knows."

Either way, though, it worked for the best, so Jim wasn't about to complain. But Bones couldn't really say he'd been unlucky as of late, not with all the crazy things they'd lived through over the years. Well, luck might be a part of it, but Bones was also brilliant and Jim knew that played an instrumental role when it came to getting them out of a tough spot.

"How unusually optimistic of you, doc," he said around a smile, voice lilting vaguely. His fingertips curled over Bones's ear, sliding from his temple and around the shell, down to the back of his neck. "Must be your lucky charm, at least."

“Mm… you make me a better person, but I don’t know about rubbing luck off on me.” He huffed a small laugh and playfully rolled his eyes even if Jim couldn’t see it. “Sure as hell try more things cause of you.” And go against his fears for that matter. Leonard had found he could overcome things that horrified him if Jim needed him to. And Jim never asked him to needlessly.

“Yeah well, don’t tell anyone. It’ll ruin my image.” Snorting softly, he started to laugh only to have the breath come out shakily as that hand swept over his ear like that. The arm about Jim’s waist tightened just a little as he lowered his head to press his eyes against Jim neck close to the shoulder. His voice came out a little off as he spoke that next word. “Mine?”

It hung in his head almost too hopefully before he pushed himself to say something else. He dared not cling to any hope like that, and really, Jim was just joking. “Well, having you around has worked so far, so I’m not complainin’.” Nor denouncing the idea that Jim could be ‘his’ anything other than just friends. “You make a good heater, too, by the way. If we’re listin’ off your good qualities.” Smirking just a little he smiled to himself still half hidden pressed against his neck.

Edited 2017-03-07 16:06 (UTC)

"Yes, and they always somehow turn out well. I'd call that luck, wouldn't you?" Granted, Bones's talent got him through a number of those situations, but he couldn't deny that sometimes a lot was left to chance. The doctor couldn't really say he was unlucky, no— not since he met Jim, anyway.

So yeah, maybe he was rubbing off on him a little. (Not in the literal fun way, though.)

"Guess you better keep me around for a good while longer, then. Although I'm not sure I'd say you don't complain, but... you know, it's grown on me," he said with a soft chuckle, arm tightening a little around Bones's shoulders, his head tipping down at his next words. "Mm, one of those days, is it? Well, not about to stop you if you wanna keep showering me with compliments."

And at least it kept them distracted, so.

"I call that pure idiotic stubbornness to roll over and die." He smiled just a little before shifting to slip further under Jim's chin and burrow closer into his chest. It felt a little silly, maybe foolish even, but he liked being able to disappear into Jim's arms like that.

It felt silly, but he wanted to pretend for a moment that this wasn't silly at all.

"I'll keep you longer than that." He said that firmly before huffing in amusement. "Please. You need the healthy dose of reality, darlin'." Releasing Jim's hand, he moved that arm to wrap around Jim as well, this one sliding up to rest at the back of Jim's neck. Playing at the short strands there, he let out a soft sigh. "On second thought, we don't need to add to the hot air in here when your ego inflates."

"As long as it keeps us in one piece, you can call it whatever you want," Jim shrugged, glancing down a moment when Bones curled even closer to him. He didn't point it out, though, instead just tightened his hold on him, a wordless way to say that he was perfectly alright with Bones being as close to him as he wanted or needed right now. Jim himself might need it just as much, anyway.

"Keep me as long as you want, and I'll do the same," he hummed, his smile opening up as he chuckled at the next remark, only to dissolve into a soft little sigh when he felt Bones's fingers playing with the hair at the back of his neck. It made his light poke at Bones's side and his jab at the last words a whole lot softer and warmer than he meant them to be. "Jerk. Shut up."

He instantly laughed when Jim poked him, the lighter nature of it making a ticklish sensation ripple over his skin more than it should. Smiling against Jim’s chest, he closed his eyes. Jim tightening the embrace only helped him relax more until most of the tension and upset and the situation bled right out of him. “Well, I may be a jerk, but I’m your jerk so you’re stuck with me.”

And really, someone needed to keep Jim’s feet planted firmly on the ground. Not that he had nearly as much issue with his bravado now than when they first met. Hell, Jim had literally grown up to be one helluva man and Leonard was proud to know him. He just refused to pour pointless platitudes on Jim when he needed honesty and depth of feeling. And a right bit of loyalty at that. Things people seemed too busy to realize Jim needed most of the time.

“Happy Valentine’s day by the way.” He snorted softly at the ridiculousness of the scenario before huffing. “I was actually planning on I don’t know... makin’ you dinner instead of eating replicator food. Guess that’s out. Raincheck?”

"Mm, guess I am." Jim sounded more happy and pleased about his predicament than he did bothered or upset. Honestly, whether Bones was in a good mood or complaining even about the weird smell in the air on a particular morning, Jim liked having him around. Even if sometimes it was near exasperating listening to the good doctor.

The reminder of what day it was had him letting out a soft laugh. "God. I forgot all about that," he confessed, shaking his head a little. "To be fair, we haven't had replicator food in a while." Only because they hadn't worked since they got here, granted, but still. Truth was they'd been settling with rations or quick meals more often than not since they got here, so yes, a proper cooked meal would be pretty great.

"For what it's worth, I had something planned too. Was gonna take you to some ice skating show Yuuri and Victor were putting together." And he also had that box of chocolates tucked away on a drawer, but it felt a little stupid bringing it up now. Like it was more important than it really was. So he kept that bit to himself, on the off chance he got to give the box to Bones some other time. "Raincheck on both counts."

"Hm." He hummed the sound at Jim's answer and shrugged just a little. "I guess you are till you tell me not to, I guess?" He sighed lightly and sank in closer to him, hoping that day never popped up. But he had issues with doing dumb things that screwed things up. Kinda like how this entire conversation started.

Least that turned out better.

Blinking his eyes open at the idea of Jim planning something for them, he smiled just slightly. "I had wanted to see that. Yuuri really sounded excited about that when I talked to him." He'd planned to go if only for the kid, but the idea of Jim wanting to go together made something inside heat up and coil softly in his chest.

"Sounds just fine to me. Be thinkin' about what you might want darlin'. I'll figure out how to make it happen."

"So... forever. And then you call me lucky," he huffed in a light teasing tone, though warm enough to make it clear he didn't really feel like having the doctor stick around for the rest of his life was a bad thing. If anything it was the opposite that he didn't even like imagining: Bones at any point not being a part of his life, in one way or another.

"I thought so too. He's pretty talented, from what I gather, so I figured it'd be a fun show, if nothing else." And then, of course, he hoped to rope Bones into making use of the rink along with him. Some other day later on. This kind of put a damper on things. Jim was just trying not to think about the possibility that they might not get another chance.

But it felt good to talk about it like they would. Like things would work out just fine in the end. "I'm not picky. Some southern dish you like cooking, maybe? Make it a surprise."

"Are you implying I'm lucky you want my presence forever?" Snorting softly in amusement, he shook his head the tiniest bit. Like he expected any less. But then, he found some of those ridiculous antics cute. Not that he'd own up to any of that. He was too busy feeling relieved that Jim had no plans of getting rid of him in the predictable future. "You're such a peach."

Humming a soft sound about Jim's description of Yuuri, he knew it fit. He liked the guy. Polite with a bright personality. "He's got a good heart. In fact, he's been learnin' first aid from me." He smiled a little at that and let his fingers start to press into the muscles of Jim's and idly work out the muscles that might be tense in his back.

"Sure, sure... I'll figure somethin' out. Though I'd prefer at least know one thing you want me to aim for."

"No, I was joking..." He breathed out a soft laugh, tipping his head in a faint nod. "Yeah, sure. That works." He was more implying that he might not be so lucky after all himself, but having to explain it now made him feel a little like a jerk. Besides, he knew damn well he was lucky, having Bones in his life. Wouldn't call it anything else.

"Oh, has he? And here I thought I was your nurse. Guess you'll teach anyone, won't you." Said in a teasing tone that almost implied Bones was easy in any way. Like Jim could talk. Well, not seriously, but he could poke fun at Bones about it. Still, that was nice. Bones might be grumpy as hell about it but Jim knew how much he liked people taking interest in the kind of work he did.

He was thoughtful for a moment, then— "Does 'delicious' count as something to aim for?"

"Gee, thanks, sweetheart." Rolling his eyes, he let out a soft sigh. No point getting fussed over any of that. Jim was just bein' a brat to yank his chain. So he let it go. Eyes closed he felt tired even thought he should be more worried about the situation and not getting lulled to sleep by how warm it felt curled up against Jim.

"Just cause he's learnin' doesn't make him who I want with me all the time." Obviously the exhaustion liked making him just say what's on his mind. Cause he didn't mean to just blurt that out. Clearing his throat softly, he shifted just a little bit. "But yeah, I'll teach any willing to learn. Keepin' 'em is an entirely different story."

Huffing a soft laugh, he shook his head. "Guess it'll have to do."

"Anytime, honey," he murmured in a teasing tone, lips quirking in amusement. Honestly it might not be such a bad thing if Bones did fall asleep right now. At least his breathing would stay calm and he wouldn't be panicking, and Jim would have some time to try and think of a way out of this mess.

Not like Bones worrying even more would solve anything, anyway. They both knew the good doctor tended to freeze up when he went past a certain level of worry, so.

"But you want me with you all the time?" There was a hint of surprise to the tone, though he was more pleased to hear it than anything. Not that he'd ever doubted it, of course. It was much the same for him, after all. He wouldn't trade Bones's company for anything. Except maybe for Bones's safety right now. "Good. Keep me, then."

Like some damn alley cat, as Bones once called him.

Snorting softly at that, he tamped down the thought he actually wouldn't mind if Jim meant it when he used endearments. No point in even considering that. Instead he moved on to the next question. "Yeah, Jim. I do. Just you." He commented lightly, trying not to linger on it that much. Jim was about the only one he wanted with him all the time.

Smiling just a little at the 'keep me' comment, he hugged Jim a little tighter. "That mean you've been tamed down enough to be a indoor-outdoor cat?" He teased lightly and tipped his head up to touch his nose to Jim's chin. "Yeah darlin', I'll keep ya."

And he meant it. "Bout to fall asleep... not usually a good idea when the chance of oxygen is runnin' out." But they might have to think about that in the future if the power is out too long.

Well he could mean it, but they both knew that was more Bones's thing. Jim did always like it, though. Sometimes he thought back to the first time Bones slipped and called him 'darling' out of the blue. Despite his unending amusement and the fluster that took up Bones's face and had him looking like a ripe tomato, it had become kind of... a thing. One of those little quirks that had grown on him over time.

"God, that's all so damn romantic, Bones. You goddamn sap," he huffed, but said it all with a warm, fond tone nonetheless. He chuckled at the question, reaching for the shell of Bones's ear and pinching it lightly. "Well, you let me out sometimes. Don't I always come back?"

So yeah, he was as 'tamed' as could be. Well, as much as one could tame James T. Kirk anyway.

He tipped his head down a little, catching a glimpse of Bones's face, his hand cupping the back of Bones's neck again. "That's alright. I'll wake you up in a bit, long before oxygen runs out." Again, not their main concern, all things considered. Unless there was some breech in the bedroom that was slowly sucking it out, and he seriously doubted that.

"It wasn't that bad." He snorted in irritation but didn't move otherwise. Though, his eyes opened up a bit at that last part. "Didn't realize I was keepin' ya locked up that much. But yeah... ya do." Jim did tend to come meandering back before he knew it. Lowering his lashes again, he let out a soft sigh before they fell closed completely. "Guess I am a bit of a harpin' voice in you life."

Really. No wonder he felt like he was runnin' in place sometimes with the way they were with each other. And he really didn't want to think about it. He'd just try to be less like that in the future. If only cause it must get mighty annoying if nothing else.

"Promise?" Not just because he was afraid of falling asleep and not waking up as oxygen deprivation was prone to doing to people, but also cause he wanted to help if Jim needed it in the near future. Even if he didn't know what he could do. Too bad he was already well on his way to falling asleep.

"Almost sounds like a bad thing when you say it like that." In all honesty? Sure, there were times when Bones frustrated the hell out of him. Good intentions aside, the doctor just had a way of pushing some people's buttons with how outright stubborn and annoying he could be about making his point, but it wasn't like Jim could talk much. He knew he was a source of headaches for the doctor far more often.

But all in all, he'd never say Bones was in any way unwelcome in his life. Not even on the days when he tired of listening to the doctor would he ever say he didn't want him there. And nothing Bones could do would ever make Jim want him gone. It would be like not having ground to stand on, or gravity to tell him what's up and down.

"Promise. I'll be right here, doc," he murmured softer as he felt the doctor relax against him. Pressing a soft kiss to his forehead, he curled his arms comfortably around Bones, keeping him close as he fell asleep.

Humming softly, he shifted close but still in a way that was comfortable for the both of them. One nice thing to being weightless meant he could hold on without having limbs fall asleep on him. Not that he actively considered that. He just started to drift off to sleep to the feeling of Jim's lips against his forehead sending a warm feeling rushing through him.

He liked that closeness. the feeling of nothing else in the world mattering beyond them right there. And it made it so much easier to fall asleep. In fact, he slept so deeply he barely stirred when Jim did move later to get up. True, it was colder without him, but he felt no urgency to get up. Not really. Not yet.

After all, Jim did promise.

For a while Jim was fine with just laying there, doing nothing. But he definitely couldn't find enough peace of mind to fall asleep along with Bones. As glad as he was that the doctor wasn't panicking at the moment, he knew he was carrying the worry about their current situation for the both of them.

He used that time to run a number of possibilities through his head. Both the causes for this power failure, and courses of action he could take to get them out of this mess. Worse came to worst, they had to find a way to get out of the ship, either back to the Eluvio or just get a shuttle up and running and try their luck on some planet nearby. Eventually, at some point during those painfully long and silent hours, he got his hands on his comm device, but it didn't help at all. The thing could turn on but the whole network was down. Well, that probably ruled out Eluvio so far as solutions went.

Eventually, after some long hours, Jim reached the end of his patience. He suppressed a groan for the umpteenth time, and making sure not to wake Bones up, he wiggled from underneath the belts and pushed himself towards the closet, rummaging through it for anything he could use to force the doors open. The clothes hangers didn't look nearly strong enough, but... well, he had to try something. He grabbed one then dragged himself along the wall until he reached the door, starting by trying to pry the doors open, not exactly remembering to keep himself quiet as to not wake up the doctor.

Part of him noted the movement and sounds in the room. But even half asleep, he knew it was Jim and gave him no reason to worry. Not immediately anyway. But eventually his thoughts cleared up from the soft sounds mixed in with the cold of the room. Stretching out a little, he furrowed his brow and pulled out from under the covers to look at Jim. Part of him wondered just how long he'd been out, but he didn't ask...

And part of him was a little upset that Jim didn't wake him. Not that he was gonna bring that up. "I think I can hear the wheels turnin' in your head from across the room. What are ya plannin' darlin?" Slowly sliding out from under the belt, he rubbed at his arms and pushed toward the dresser to find one of their thermal undershirts. He didn't bother looking back at Jim as he pulled his t-shirt off and trade it out.

Too wrapped up in his own efforts to pry the door open, Jim didn't even notice the doctor waking up until he heard his voice from behind him. Hands stilling, he glanced over his shoulder, eyebrows raising as he huffed out a sound, not quite smiling.

"Not planning anything," he said with a tone that implied he would very much like to have a plan. Any plan, really. "Just trying... to get this stupid door open," he tried and tried again to stick the hanger between the two doors, to no avail, and he let out a frustrated sound, letting go of the hanger to focus on the control panel again instead. "There's gotta be some way to do it."

"Uh huh. Just don't go gettin' yourself hurt. First aid in zero gravity is a bitch." Carefully closing the drawers again, he straightened his shirt as best he could before pushing off the dresser to the other side of the room where Jim was. Lightly catching himself on the wall, he slowed the impact and lowered down a little to get a look at whatever he was doing.

"Well, still the option of dismantling something to find an item with more leverage." Glancing about the room, he wondered if any of the furniture had the right kind of frame work for that. And honestly, even a phaser would do no good. Assuming one had enough power to even melt a hole in the door, it may not even be big enough to get a hand hold.

"Yeah, I know. You told me," Jim said somewhat dismissively, still busying himself with the task at hand. A task that proved to be pretty much pointless anyway. Not like anything changed from before, and Jim knew his ship well enough to know there wasn't even some kind of manual override so it'd be easier to open the doors. It made no sense, really. Even with a power failure like this one the doors should still work; power couldn't just go down on the whole ship like this, completely out of the blue. Leaving them dead in the water, so to speak.

Wheels turning in his head at a frantic speed as he tried to make sense of the situation, he shoved both hands into the panel, blindly following along the wiring and feeling along for anything amiss, or anything that might actually unlock the doors. "We can always use the—"

Before he could get the rest out, the engines roared back to life, the faint murmur of noise and vibration reaching him a little too late. Arms still disappearing into the wall, the energy flickering through the systems had him getting shocked, and he let out a cry of pain as his arms jerked away, and he fell right on his back on the floor when gravity started working again. "Shit!"

He told him. Right. Which was why Jim was still futzing about like he could revive the ship like Frankenstein's monster. Pulling himself closer to the wall, he hovered here in silence, figuring it better to stay quiet while Jim worked. His eyes drooped closed as he listened to the sounds of Jim's hands in the panel as well as the words that started to slip out of his mouth.

And then he felt it. The sudden rumbling hum of the power and a sudden sinking feeling. The next thing he knew, he was impacting with the floor with a thud that dully ran up his spine. Hissing sharply, he started to curse his luck until he heard Jim's curse and the tell tale sound of electricity shorting.

Turning to the blonde, he scrambled to pull Jim away from the panel entirely and practically against his chest. A look of worry creased his brow as he curled his fingers carefully about Jim's biceps as he looked over his shoulder. "You alright? Did you get shocked?"

Jim's face was twisted into a frown, eyebrows knit together and eyes closed, lips pressed tight as he held his hands to his chest. He flexed his fingers, trying to work the ache and discomfort out of the muscles, feeling them pulled taut from the burst of that electric shock alone.

"Yeah— I'm fine," he breathed out deeply, the sound shaking its way out of him. Slowly he blinked his eyes open, the room now with a dim light that at least let him see Bones's face a little more properly. "Nothing much, just got caught off-guard."

There may be tiny burn marks on his fingers, but Jim wasn't paying them much mind now. They had other things to worry about. "Help me up. We need to figure out what happened."

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

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