It felt
good to be waiting to meet with Jim, Leonard thought, as he waited in his seat
at the restaurant he’d arranged to meet Jim in while Leonard was briefly in San
Francisco.
He
hadn’t seen Jim since the last time he’d been there, a year ago, when Leonard
had left Starfleet to return to Georgia to set up private practice and finally
stay grounded on Earth, where he could attempt to have a relationship with his
daughter.
But he’d
come to San Francisco to pick up some medical equipment he needed in person,
and honestly, it had made for the perfect excuse to catch up with Jim.
Just
then the door to the restaurant flew open and Jim breezed in, literally, as it
was quite windy outside, and his friend came in with a gust.
Jim was
laughing, his face lit up by a smile, which was great to see, honestly.
Leonard
stood and motioned him over, pulling Jim into a tight hug. “God, it’s great to
see you.”
“And
you.”
“Sit.”
Leonard gestured. “Wow, you look—”
“Fat?
Ugly?” Jim joked.
“Gorgeous,
actually.”
And it
was true. Jim looked well rested, tanned, his blue eyes sparkling. He wore a
burgundy long-sleeved T-shirt that seemed molded to him, and his slacks, black
dress ones, looked pressed and expensive.
Jim
laughed again, and Leonard was struck how he seemed…happy. “If I didn’t know
better, I’d think you were flirting with me.”
“You do
know better,” Leonard said, dryly. “I took the liberty of ordering us a bottle
of wine. Should be here any time.”
“Fantastic.
And speaking of, you look pretty good yourself. Leaving Starfleet agrees with
you.”
“Are the
rumors true?”
“True?”
At the
moment the wine sommelier arrived with their bottle and for the next five
minutes they were occupied with tasting and then pouring glasses for each of
them.
“Back to
rumors,” Leonard said. “I’ve heard through sources that they’re finally going
to make you a full admiral, Commodore.”
“Oh
that.”
He
snorted. “You say that like it’s nothing. You’re a big deal, Jim.”
“If you
say so. And yeah, I guess they are true. I’m torn. Part of me wishes I could go
up again, command of a ship—”
“Ten
years wasn’t enough?”
“Oh,
hardly. Anyway, I guess they want old men like me to be in charge of the brash
young ones.”
“Which
you were at one time.”
Jim
sipped his wine. “Mm. Great choice.”
“Glad
you approve. Still in that apartment?”
“Sure
am.”
“Big
place for just you.” Leonard shook his head.
“It’s
not that big and who says it’s just me?”
Leonard
lowered his glass to the table. “Damn! You’re with someone?”
Jim
blushed. “Well.”
“No
wonder you look so damn happy!” Leonard grinned and slapped the table. “That is
good news. Great news in fact. I never thought you’d settle down, Jimmy boy.
When did this happen?”
“Well.”
“Is that
all you can say? Within the last year, I’d guess.”
Jim
shifted. “Little longer.”
Leonard
frowned. “You were with her when I saw you last year?”
Jim
grimaced.
“Longer?”
Jim
nodded.
“But…wait.
You were together on the Enterprise?”
“Yeah.”
“How in
the world were you with someone on the Enterprise and I didn’t know?”
Jim was
bright red. “We kept it a secret, Bones. For, um, for a while, actually.”
“How
long?” Leonard asked, dumbfounded.
“Last
three years of the mission.”
“Plus this
whole last year?”
Jim nodded.
Leonard
felt hurt. He supposed he didn’t have a right, but…he did. “Why wouldn’t you
tell me? Was she an ensign?”
“No. God.
No. Nothing like that. For a long time, we just, it was so weird for us,
everything, and I wasn’t even sure if I could get it right, Bones. And then we
did and it was so private and intimate between us that for a long time neither
of us wanted to spoil it.”
“Okay.
Okay. Maybe. I get that. But what about the last year?”
Jim winced.
“Well. Um. Actually, Bones, who I’m with, well, I included them for dinner. And
uh—”
The door
opened to the restaurant and Leonard turned around to look. Standing there,
looking windswept, was Spock.
For a moment,
Leonard’s brain didn’t catch up, and he wondered what Spock was doing there,
and what a coincidence that he would be at the same restaurant he and Jim met
at, but then Spock looked in their direction and walked toward them.
And it
all made a strange sort of sense that he didn’t even think about before, but
now, it was all he could think of. Yes. Of course. Spock.
“Bones,” Jim said with a smile as he took Spock’s
hand. “Spock is my husband.”
Spirk (with a small dose of Pinto) 