riverviewlogs | ( closed ) how about you and me

Entry tags:

( closed ) how about you and me

who: Jim Kirk & Leonard McCoy
what: a failed dinner date surprise
when: now
where: their place, shared housing
warnings: gross domesticity, probably some smooching and general self-indulgent shippy stuff. will update if need be!

All in all, Jim had liked the flower festival a little more. Granted, he'd still been getting used to life in Riverview then, but the mood in general had been livelier and more festive. Not that people were in any way sadder or more unpleasant, but there was definitely a lingering feeling of grief and loss that just didn't sit well with him.

Most of the aspects weren't really up his alley, so he skipped on a lot of it. He accepted any lanterns only so he wouldn't be rude, but he didn't share any stories, he didn't hang any lanterns. He was honestly debating on whether to send a single lantern down the river in a few days, but he had time. Until then? There was one tradition he could get behind, at least.

Or... well, try his best, anyway. Because cooking really wasn't a strong suit of his.

He organized himself so that, hopefully, it wouldn't be too disastrous. Choosing a recipe: check. Buying ingredients: check. Getting some little decorative items just to set the mood: check. Oh, and a cute fancy apron (fundamental, clearly): check.

It all seemed fairly straightforward. He set up the table for two, simple but with a couple of candles and a small jar with flowers, the rest of the flat tidied up to near perfection. And it would've been perfection if it weren't for the fact that halfway through keeping an eye on the meat roasting in the oven, he let the rice burn and stick to the bottom of the cooking pot, and by the time he took care of that there was an even stronger smell of something burning in the air. He opened the oven and— ah. Great. A curtain of smoke right into his face that quickly enough spread through the rest of the flat.

Windows open, Jim was currently using a kitchen cloth to force the smoke out, looking a bit like a mess from having to deal with the disaster of his cooking attempt. Bones shouldn't be back so soon, though, so he could still try to get them takeout. Wouldn't be as special, but it'd have to do— and that way Bones wouldn't have to see the complete mess Jim had made of the kitchen, or the charred roadkill that should've been their dinner.

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The doctor did pause, his mind providing that mental image before he finally blinked out of the thought to cut Jim an amused look. "Oh, I would love the view, then get you out of that colorful terror cause you are far better lookin' in nothin' at all> I mean, you are also pretty hot in clothes." He liked Jim in just about anything but he couldn't change how much he loved the look of Jim in nothing at all.

Shaking his head, he went back to his task and worked at putting the gravy together. He wasn't the best at brown gravy, but his mama taught him right. So he kept at it before glancing back at Jim. "Hm... pop quiz later then." He paused purposely later before smirking. "On the gravy. Not my ass."

Chuckling to himself, he get it ready to simmer a bit while leaning over to get the items to melt the cheese and make a cheese sauce. He did a mental check list of the items cooking and checked each before going back to the sauces. "Did you have plans for after dinner?"

"You're such a party pooper. I was going to make you pancakes in the morning in nothing but the apron, but fine, if you're gonna be that way..." Just kidding, he wasn't. Well, he wasn't planning on it anyway. Not like he even knew how to make pancakes. It was something to aim for, though. Eventually— once he mastered the basics.

Nodding vaguely at the first comment, he rose his eyebrow and glanced at Bones, then burst out laughing at the unneeded, but still amusing, clarification. "Oh, that's good to know." Because he might just have gotten confused, of course. Pinching Bones's side, his laughter died down to a chuckle, and he let out a sigh at the question.

He had, actually... well, not planned, exactly. He'd had an idea. But it had seemed a little silly in the end, so he didn't include it in his dinner plan. So he just shook his head. "Not really, no. Figured we could do whatever you wanted."

"Don't tell me..." he paused for dramatic effect before adding in amusement. "You have erotic fantasies about this little number. Maybe I should remember that for later." Chuckling softly, he made no comment about the pancakes that Jim just offered and smiled to himself. "Is that what you're wantin' for breakfast?" He chimed in with amusement, fully meaning to tease him but also find out what he wanted for breakfast.

Smiling a little too brightly, he ducked his head and kept his eyes on the stove. The smile was one that took over his entire features, crinkling the corners of his eyes and lighting them up. That only lit up more with the laugh as Jim pinched his side. Slapping at his hand playfully, he half turned to look at Jim quietly.

Arching a brow slowly, he caught that sigh and stayed silent a moment before looking back to the food. "What was it you wanted to do, Jim? Cause aside from stickin' close, I have no preference, but I think you look like you have a thought in mind."

"Well, I do have some erotic fantasies of you in no number at all, but... not gonna lie, you cooking with just an apron on does sound like it'd be damn hot." Maybe not that apron, fine. Jim wasn't picky, but Bones seemed to be. He was mostly teasing the doctor anyway, and he kept at it as he answered the question with a wink. "What, you in only an apron, or pancakes? More importantly, can I get both?"

Not that Jim really had any issues getting Bones naked whenever and wherever, mind. Something he'd been enjoying far too much as of late.

He held in a breath at Bones's question, finally lifting his shoulders in a shrug and smiling plainly at him. "It's a little silly, but also— a surprise. So I guess you'll just have to wait." And now he really would have to go through with it, whether it was a little too much or not.

Both brows rose at Jim's answers as he progressively added more to the fantasy so to speak. Leonard could do nothin' else but laugh, ducking his head and shaking it just a little. "I can do pancakes, but I don't know how I feel about cookin' in the nude. We'll see." It seemed a little too much on the dangerous side, but then, he guessed the damn apron would help with that. God, he was actually considering this.

Smiling in spite of himself, he tipped his head to look at Jim with an arched brow just as he finished the gravy to pour over the meat. "Guess I'll just have to tell ya if it's actually silly or not, later." Lifting the pot with the gravy, he drizzled the liquid over the meat in the other pan before covering it to start heating at a very low heat. Depositing the gravy pan in the sink to wash later, he checked on the cheese sauce before also glancing at the time to see how long it would be before the vegetables would be done enough.

In the mean time, he moved to Jim and leaned in between his legs lightly and tipped his head to kiss the line of his jaw softly. "But now you got me curious as to what it is you have in mind for after dinner."

"Mm, yes... guess we will see," Jim smirked, waggling his eyebrows a little too exaggeratedly for it not to be comical. But yes, good, he was all too happy to plant those images on Bones's mind. Jim wouldn't be disappointed if Bones never pulled a stunt like that, but he would be terribly amused if one day he was greeted by a sight like that in the morning one day, no lie.

"Well, try to let me down easy if you do think it's stupid." He had a feeling Bones wouldn't. It was probably right up Bones's alley anyway. Jim just wasn't very well-versed in romantic shows of affection, so all this was fairly new territory for him. Not particularly scary but still a hint intimidating, but let's face it, Jim always did love a challenge. Besides, this was Bones. The doctor would be the first to tell him if he was screwing up somehow, and Jim for one was comforted by that knowledge.

Smoothing his hands up Bones's arms, he curled his own loosely around his neck, tipping his head a little so Bones's face fitted against his jaw and the curve of his neck. "Guess you'll just have to be a little patient and wait for it. Think you can handle that?"

Part of him reminded him that he did dumb things for this man. That one day one of those dumb out on a limb things was gonna result in something he couldn't deal with. Whether bad or just too much damn embarrassment to swallow. Either or, he also had the feeling it wouldn't matter and he'd go an' do it anyway.

But that train of thought derailed when Jim made that request. Lifting a brow slowly, he gave him a careful look before leaning in closer and kissing Jim's temple. "Doubt I'll think it's stupid and you know I'd never hurt ya if I can help it." In fact, he'd try just about anything Jim suggested just to make sure the blonde was happy.

"Hey..." A smile pulled at his lips as one hand rose to slide through Jim's hair. Closing his eyes a little, he hummed a happy sound when Jim pressed his face into his neck. "Honestly? I waited years for you, so I guess I got the corner on the market on patience." Suddenly his eyes went big as those words left his mouth and he mentally cursed. He'd really not meant to say that out loud.

Bit too dramatic, there. The chances of greeting Jim in the morning with nothing but an apron on going wrong were so slim they were pretty much negligible, so it's not like Bones could compare it to— other stuff. Times when Jim's charm and crazy ideas actually got him into insanely dangerous situations. This would be very far from that.

"Maybe not... honestly, you'll probably like it." A lot, really. At least the fact that Bones was such a romantic made Jim feel fairly sure that his idea, silly though it may seem to him, might just melt the doctor's heart. Not that that was his ultimate masterplan, but he wasn't about to complain either.

The next words out of Bones's mouth had his thoughts screeching to a halt right then, although he didn't look put off, even if he was evidently surprised. "Years," he parroted, a hint of disbelief in his tone. If only because Jim couldn't possibly imagine how he could've missed that for so long. "You're serious?"

Biting into his lower lip, he cursed a nice streak in his head before stepping back away from him with an apologetic smile. He didn’t want to answer Jim’s question or inquiring tone. He’d never meant to say that out loud and honestly, it would be a lot better if he’d never said it. Lifting a shoulder slowly, in that universal noncommittal gesture, the doctor turned to the food on the stove.

Shifting pots around and checking things to make sure they were cooking, he moved to the rice and kept his eyes on the task of hydrating it just a little before warming it up carefully. Well, his avoiding the question was about as efficient as ignoring an elephant in the room. Checking on the vegetables one more time, he pursed his lips and bit at them with nervous energy.

“Stages of severity I guess.” He knew he cared about Jim far more than a friend the day he put his entire career with Starfleet on the line and smuggled him onto the Enterprise. Not that he knew just what degree at that point. Then little things, small sacrifices and ridiculous decisions to make sure he could follow him where he went. When did he become that devoted of a person? Certainly wasn’t for his wife. And then Jim died. That likely flipped his world upside down and inside out more than anything else.

How did you deny you cared that much about a person after something like that? It just got written off and repressed to the wayside in favor of their friendship. Things were just… easier that way. “Not that it matters.”

Bones was reading it all wrong. Then again, he often did. Vaguely he was reminded of their time at the rave, the night they first ended up falling into bed together— when Bones kept second-guessing himself and wondering if Jim was just humoring him when he really wanted to be spending time with someone else.

It drew a smile from him, despite everything. He gave Bones a bit of room and the time to work through that anyway, although he wouldn't give him too much time, lest the doctor drown in his own negative, self-deprecating thoughts. Eventually he pushed away from the counter and stepped closer to Bones, settling his hands on the doctor's waist, moving closer from behind as he curled his arms around him.

"It matters," he muttered, pressing a soft kiss to Bones's neck and nuzzling against it. Voice lilting, he couldn't help adding in a playful tone. "God, Bones. If you wanted to get me in bed for that long, you should've just asked me."

He shivered when he felt those arms wrap around him. He put the items in his hands down and slowly lowered them to slide over Jim's. Leaning back into him, he let his head rest against Jim's softly. His eyes closed for half a second at the feeling of that kiss into his neck only to snort at those last words.

"Jim, if all I wanted was you in my bed, I would have come on to you at the Academy consequences be damned. Drunk and divorced or not, I knew you were hotter'n hell the moment we met on that shuttle." But Leonard didn't do that sort of thing, and he was more interested in making a friend than a one night stand. Pausing a second, he turned his head to look at Jim quietly.

"Did you ever wonder why I got you on the ship that day? Or did you think that's just what best friends do? Cause I was countin' on you not thinkin' anything of it." Especially then, when he wasn't sure what to make of his feelings. His hands squeezed Jim's softly as he closed his eyes. "I took my own father's life, but I wouldn't stop till I brought you back. It got a little hard for me to deny, well, anything."

An eyebrow shot up his forehead, and he almost snorted at that. "You're kidding me, right? I was bloodied and bruised, probably stinking up the place, and sporting a massive hangover. What part of that exactly was 'hotter than hell'?" Just saying, most days Jim looked great, especially after joining the Academy, but that had definitely not been one of those days.

Bones was just biased, obviously. Not that Jim could blame him, because... well, been there.

"For what it's worth, it left me kinda dazed when I saw you all proper and clean-shaven for the first time. You clean up really well," he hummed, a hint humorous but no less truthful. Jim knew Bones had a tendency to think less of himself in a lot of things, appearance being one of them.

He shrugged at the question, turning his head to the side and settling it on Bones's shoulder. "Guess I never really thought about it. Figured you just... wanted to help me." And also that he'd been weak to Jim's abandoned puppy look. Even if he really had tried not to look too upset about being left behind— he was never very good at dealing with that particular sentiment. "You don't have to deny anything. You never had to."

"Obviously doctors can see through the injuries. Sue me." Rolling his eyes, he snorted softly at that. Yeah, Jim was not at his best, but he still knew a good looking guy when he saw it. He just wasn't the one that slept around. So it had been a passing thought at the moment.

Then he full on laughed at that. Shaking his head, he turned his head to look at Jim with a small smile of amusement that lit up his eyes. "That so? Never thought you looked twice at me to be honest." He'd just figured Jim had been looking everywhere else but at him. And that helped him at least keep his thoughts to himself even if there was a little bit of upset.

"I always want to help you. I never wanted to be the next person to walk out on ya... Honest to god, Jim, never could figure out how anyone could." Reaching up, he slipped his fingers over Jim's cheek and smoothed over the shadow of lines that would crinkle at the corners of his eyes whenever he smiled. "Went from not wanting to leave you behind to just needin' you around. Funny how that works out."

"I think you just liked seeing me all messed up," he hummed in a playfully accusatory tone. Even if Bones found something attractive in that, honestly Jim wouldn't hold it against him. He'd cleaned up rather well himself once he joined the Academy, though, and even if he got into a scuffle here or there, it was never the kind of bar brawls he landed himself in back in Riverside.

"Mm... looked at you more than just twice, even," Jim didn't bother hiding that from Bones. But then they'd become close friends, and Jim hadn't really wanted anything more serious than some fling or a one-night stand, and he knew that'd be the kind of thing that could've very well ruined their friendship. He'd have had no one else at the Academy. So putting those thoughts away had been an easy decision to make.

But it was nice he didn't have to keep them hidden in that box forever. Not that he couldn't have, but still.

Hands curling on Bones's waist, he slowly guided the doctor into turning around so he was facing him. The food could wait a few seconds, probably. For now, leaning in to kiss Bones properly seemed well worth the risk of burning what they had managed to savage from the mess Jim had made. Lips pressed softly but lingered for a while, and he stayed close even as the kiss broke, licking the taste of Bones's mouth from his own lips. "Always needed you around too. So— I'm glad you didn't leave me behind."

“Maybe the reality is I like taking care of you.” Shrugging his shoulder, it wasn’t necessarily a lie, but he didn’t want Jim hurt just so he could care for him either. But he liked being the one back in the Academy that Jim went to when he did get messed up. Just cause he was okay with being friendzoned didn’t mean he didn’t want to be close sometimes. And he needed that sometimes with how he tended to distance himself from people after everything happened in Georgia that led him to that shuttle that day.

“Did you? And here I used to think you just liked a warm body in the bed when you curled up in bed with me.” Not that he minded. He liked those nights and even missed them when they got stationed on the Enterprise and time just didn’t allow it anymore. He just got too used to standing to the side and just behind Jim. It just felt natural now. In a way he thought Jim grew out of him and he’d just have to deal with that change.

So feeling the pull of Jim’s hand against his waist still took his breath away even when it was the simplest of touches. Moving to face Jim, he slid his own hands down the curl of Jim’s sides and arched a brow at him. It felt a little natural, like gravity, just to move and meet that kiss. Melting into it, he moved one hand up to cup the side of Jim’s face, fingertips grazing into his hair line before curling just behind his neck to pull him closer. When Jim did pull away, the doctor turned his head just enough so their noses brushed slowly, a smile growing on his lips.

“Not ever gonna leave you behind, Jim. Not gonna happen. So do me a favor and do the same, alright?” Stealing another soft kiss, he smiled against those soft lips.

Jim wouldn't take that particularly to heart, honestly. Not like Bones needed to want Jim getting hurt, as he did get into trouble often enough on his own for Bones to have plenty of opportunity to take care of him. Not as many fights the longer he was at the Academy, but a whole lot of dangerous situations he'd (sometimes literally) jump into headfirst without thinking since then.

"I liked your warm body in the bed," he smiled warmly, though he wouldn't lie. Back then, just about anyone would do. Jim never really did care much what people said or thought, he liked sex and he liked how much fun it was— but he also knew that the friendship he had with Bones was much more important than that. He'd have given all that up in a heartbeat if only Bones had asked him. Then again, he could understand why the doctor wouldn't. For the same reason Jim had never made a move on Bones to begin with.

Pressing his lips softly against Bones's, he sighed warmly as he cupped his neck, fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt, letting out a sigh against the doctor's mouth. It was light and slow but there was something immensely sweet and intimate in such a simple touch, and Jim felt his insides twisting and fluttering happily once the kiss broke.

Even if the words that followed were a bit sobering. Still, Jim didn't let anything show on his face. His rash and thoughtless plan to accept a promotion, how that'd have meant him leaving the Enterprise and getting stationed elsewhere. Looking back now, Jim was all too aware how he hadn't planned any of it through. Right now he was just immensely glad he'd decided not to go through with it.

So he said the only thing he could. The only thing that happened to be very much the truth at this point. "Never. Promise you."

Smiling at that, he reached back to turn the stove off so he didn't end up burning anything. Something he managed to do without actually leaving the circle of Jim's arms. When this was done, he caught the other man by his hips and lifted him up onto the countertop before pressing in between his legs. In all honestly, Leonard didn't know what he wanted out of this, so much as he wanted to be close to Jim. To lean into him and soak up his presence in anyway possible. "I liked your warm body in my bed."

Where he wasn't the type to sleep around, he liked having someone he trusted near him. And on his side of this, even if there was no sex, Jim was normally still there in the morning and came back to see him later. That had been worth far more than any hot night of sex to be perfectly honest. Cause Jim was there.

Tipping his head up into the kiss, he smoothed his hands from Jim's hips to his sides then back down again, rolling down the muscles of his thighs. Most of this felt almost like too much and not enough at the same time. But it made sense. As much as they oriented themselves to each other over the years, turning it into something romantic could only make things much more intense. And more obvious just how much Jim was like oxygen for him...

Leaning back a little to look him in the eye, he offered Jim a small happy smile. "I never thought I'd be this close to anyone, you know that?"

The move caught him more than just a little off guard, and Jim let out a sound of surprise as Bones lifted up his weight, though he helped and hopped onto the counter as soon as he figured out what Bones was trying to do. Grinning and chuckling softly, he wrapped his legs loosely around Bones, feet hooked together behind him as he moved his hands up and cupped the doctor's face.

He tipped his head down and pressed their lips together in a slow, soft kiss, sighing quietly as his hands slid down to Bones's chest, then back up his neck. It was all a little silly, really, but Jim liked it far too much to point that out right now. The food could wait a little longer, anyway.

"Well, we've always been close," he offered with the lift of a shoulder, sliding his hands farther up and tracing along the shell of Bones's ears with his fingertips. "But yeah... can't say I expected this, either."

Smiling all the more as Jim wrapped his legs about his waist, he couldn't help but curl his hands around the other man's thighs lightly. Leaning into that kiss, he licked at his lips gently and sucked on the lower softly before pulling back lightly.

"You know, I could get very addicted to just kissing you like this. It's going to end up being a real problem, darlin'. You know that?" Leaning closer, nuzzled at Jim's neck, kissing there softly.

"Mm... You're probably right." Kissing just under his ear, he let out a soft breath at that last comment. "Do you regret it?" He didn't think Jim did, but he wanted to ask. Just be sure that he wanted this level of intimacy.

"Don't see why this would ever be a problem," Jim pursed his lips and shrugged. Really, if Bones wanted to kiss him all the time like this, then all the better for him. He sure was planning on taking full advantage of it.

He did pull back a hint at that question, though, shooting Bones a flat look with just a single eyebrow quirking upwards. "I'm gonna pretend you didn't even ask that." Yes, because Jim always planned setting up romantic dinner dates (where he actually tried to cook) for people he regretted getting involved with. That was clearly a standard for him. Actually Jim planning out dates of any sort at all was evidently the norm.

Honestly, he couldn't even fathom why Bones even felt he had to ask.

"Anyway— dinner? Or are you planning on eating me instead?"

He winced slightly at that answered and ducked his head. Yeah, likely not his better questions he'd asked. Breathing in slowly, he started to apologize, but Jim seemed to roll on past it and likely didn't want to talk about it. Clenching his jaw, he Finally looked back up at him when Jim asked that question.

Nodding his head quickly, he felt a flush of embarrassment and probably even a little bit of shame as he started to unravel himself from Jim. "No point wasting your hard work. Just save dessert till after dinner." He smiled at him even if it was a little strained from feeling like a damn heel.

Catching Jim's hands as he pulled away, he squeezed them softly then turned to the stove. If nothing else, he would get dinner together and hopefully shake that feeling of guilt off. Pulling out plates, he started to fill them with the food. Once they were both put together, he picked them up and glanced back at Jim. "Wanna grab the silverware and something for us to drink?"

Moving toward the small table, he slid them both onto the table.

Bones got embarrassed and guilty about the stupidest things sometimes, honestly. It was a silly question, one that didn't need to be asked, and that was the sole reason why Jim had moved past it so easily. Not because he minded talking about it, simply because the fact that he didn't regret any of this was made abundantly clear by all the little things he kept doing for Bones.

Also the fact he kept sleeping in his bed. Their bed? Whatever, details.

"On it," he nodded and went to the fridge to get them lemonade— the one thing he'd managed to make successfully tonight. The table was already set otherwise, so Jim only brought along a box of matches, setting down the jar of lemonade first, then using a match to light up the two small candles on the table between their plates, next to the tiny flower arrangement.

What? Just because he'd messed up the original recipe didn't mean he wasn't sticking to everything else he had planned for the night.

At the sound of a match being struck, he turned to watch Jim light the candles. The sight just made him grin and laughed softly. And in a few quick steps, he crossed the distance to Jim and wrapped his arms around him from behind and pulled him close. Pressing his face into Jim's neck he hid that smile in the warm skin. Breathing out a laugh, he finally moved again to kiss his cheek. "Thanks, Jim."

He really didn't know how else to express the feeling. The second realization that all this was something Jim tried to do for him. Try as he may, he couldn't think of anyone putting that kind of effort into anything with him and well... he would be lying if he didn't say it made him damn happy and not just a little bit sappy.

And it wasn't the first time he had to bite his tongue when he almost said he loved him. Especially when it came like a chant in his head as he hugged him tighter. "Now let's eat that dinner you started and I finished. Someone's gotta talk to me about those control issues." He teased him softly, knowing full well he only took control to help, but he rather Jim feel like he was the intruder and that Jim totally had it under control. Cause honestly, he'd have eaten it burned just cause Jim made it.

Jim knew this was a little more than what most people would expect from him, so realistically speaking he was counting on Bones being surprised by all the little details and the lengths Jim had gone to for tonight. Still, that sudden hug caught him a little off guard, and Jim huffed out a chuckle as he put out the match and set it down on the table.

His hands settled over Bones's then, and he moved so he could turn around and face the doctor. Leaning in, he pressed a light kiss to his lips, hands settled on his chest for a little while before he nodded and started pulling away.

"What, you mean when you took over and actually saved what would have been a disastrous dinner? You know we'd probably be eating takeout food right now if it weren't for you, right?" Because Jim had been just a few minutes away from calling some food delivery service when Bones had come in. So really, this was all thanks to the doctor, and Jim happily took a seat on one of the sides of the small table, picking up the jug of lemonade to serve up both their glasses. "For the record, this lemonade is not store-bought. That has to earn me some cooking skill points."

Moving to slide into his chair after Jim pulled away, he only looked up when Jim poured the lemonade with that tidbit of information. Smirking just a little, he arched a brow at the other man before taking his glass. "Well then, guess I'd better give it a try." Tipping the glass toward Jim, he pulled it to his lips to take a sip lightly.

"Well, I'll be... the Iowa boy makes a damn good glass of lemonade." Chuckling at that, he took another drink, savoring it before setting the glass down. Once Jim settled in, he slid his foot out under the table to softly tap Jim's. "Guess you'll be the one in charge of keeping lemonade ready for us."

It wasn't entirely teasing. He actually did like it enough to have Jim in charge of such a silly task. "Well then, let's give dinner a shot and see how we did." Picking up the silverware, he tried the meat first and gave a slow nod. Not half bad for a complete change in original purpose. He managed to mute down the burned flavor nearly completely, so he called that a real win.

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