Hold onto me. I'm a little unsteady.
His time as a doctor had been hectic. Twenty seven years of wondering what the hell it was all for. As he went through undergrad, medical school, Starfleet, teaching, and every other phase of his life he found himself wondering when he had made the decisions to do all of these things. He could look back and organize his personal history into small sections, each another stepping stone to the infinite beyond - a staircase to nothingness that provided little comfort as it floated through the black voice of space. It had never been his intention to join Starfleet, and so he hadn't set himself up for it. But as soon as he set foot in a starship he knew there was no escape. His calling was to be a doctor, he knew that, saving people was his one true purpose, but all the wild adventure, pain, heartache, inhuman wonder and suffering…that hadn't been part of the plan. He'd left Earth to get away from the drama and the pain that past mistakes had caused him. It seemed that he'd run straight into a vacuum of spiraling constant tragedy which enveloped him until the very day he retired.
He was tired. After all, he was seventy-one years old. Anyone in his position would have been that tired. Just when he'd thought it was all over, Starfleet called them in one last time for a simple diplomatic mission, one that was supposed to be simple and quick. Painless. It had almost resulted in Leonard's frozen and bitter demise.
Every remaining memory of Rura Penthe sent a chill down his spine. Even from the newfound comfort of his living room, he felt the sting of the planet's surface leftover on his face. Seemed impossible that his exile had been only a week before. He saw the prison every night in his nightmares and he woke each morning believing he had to live the rest of his life underground, mining dilithium until his lungs gave out.
He had walked through the door and stopped. Bags fell to the floor with a distant crash as he took in the unforgettable yet somewhat alien surroundings. It felt impossible that after all this time he was finally home. His childhood home in Georgia had been left untouched since his father's death. He took a deep breath. It smelled the same. The concept was dizzying. A house frozen in time. While he was risking his life each day in space, Earth remained the same, and his house was identical to what it had been nearly thirty years ago.
He had brought nothing back with him from space except the promise of friendship. Whether to believe it was too much to consider just yet. After the five year mission they had all wished each other well and split apart, reluctant to speak with one another for fear of conjuring memories that were meant to be left floating in the final frontier. Leonard had buried himself in his studies and continued his medical profession quietly. His concentration had been to focus on his work and nothing else. It was all he had left.
Now he found himself in such a mundane environment that he nearly laughed out loud. He had been branded by the universe as a man of the stars even though his soul constantly tugged him back to the country. It was like some sick joke that he was finally allowed to return to the place he came from. As if the universe had simply given up on working him elsewhere and granted him the privilege to live out the rest of his years in peace. He had been convinced he was going to die out there. Now that he was home he wasn't sure how to begin rebuilding his life. He wasn't sure he wanted to.
Quiet, measured footsteps behind him pulled him from his thoughts. He had brought something back from all that. The one thing that helped him to survive his time traveling the universe. The one thing that always brought him back to his senses.
A gentle hand on the small of his back filled the void of confusion that he had been feeling and sent a sensation of comfort and certainty through him. Of course, he thought. It was as if he'd forgotten everything until that moment. Without taking his eyes off of the living room, he spoke.
"Well…this is it."
His voice was tired. It, like the house, had been through so much and crackled with seasoned usage.
Presumably sensing something was wrong, the man behind him gently wrapped an arm around him and turned Leonard so they were face to face. The first thing he noticed about the taller man was his wrinkles. Familiar lines traced over his features, hollowing his cheeks and causing his already stern expression to turn even harder. Leonard placed his hands on the man's face, cupping his jaw and running gentle mirrored thumbs over his upturned eyebrows as if he were attempting to smooth his expression. He then traced a pointer finger up and over the tips of the other man's pointed ears as gently as possible. He felt a hitch in both of their breathing.
"You think you can live here?" he asked finally. Arms enclosed him, connecting around his tiny waist and coming together behind his back pressing them front to front. He was met with a single raised eyebrow.
"I am content anywhere as long as it is with you."
Leonard allowed a tired smile to creep onto his face. Say what you want about the Vulcan race, but they could be damn romantic if given the chance. Without another word, he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the younger man's lips. He responded in kind.
Instead of his head being filled with miserable memories of near-death experiences and little wars across the galaxy, he was suddenly recalling all the comforting touches and desperate attractions between him and his bond mate. So many things had been lost, but they had more than been made up for in recent years. And now they were going to live out the rest of their time together in the peace and quiet of his childhood Terran home.
He broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against the other man's drinking in his scent and as many emotions as he could, in essence drowning himself in someone else so he could block out his own thoughts. "Spock…" The Vulcan gave him a tight squeeze and, without a word, scooped the doctor up like a small child and began walking through the house. He ascended the stairs without difficulty and quickly found the bedroom.
Leonard began kissing him even before they landed on the bed. His ministrations quickly became frantic and needy, tugging at the Vulcan robes his husband was wearing and trying to kick off his own boots. Spock managed, with skilled hands, to work his way out of his own clothing and begin to undress his mate even while Leonard refused to stop kissing him. In moments they were lying naked on the bed, twisted up, feeling one another all over. There was no question they were not as young as they once were, but Spock still felt as beautiful as the first night they were together. He clung to his husband, not only desperate for the contact, but also for the the cool touch. Spock's skin felt like ice. He was covered in a light green blush and already as hard as he could be against Leonard's inner thigh. The human reached between them, holding their erections tightly together and stroking slowly. Spock let a low groan escape his throat which Leonard chased through the skin with his mouth, tracing thin lips over the other man's neck and collar. Spock moved his hips, encouraging his husband to go faster. His right arm wrapped around the doctor's waist to steady him and his free hand went up to press lightly to his face. Leonard moved to grab gently at Spock's heated fingers with his teeth and took them into his mouth, sucked hard and swirling his tongue around the sensitive pads on his fingertips. Spock groaned quietly once more and withdrew his hand, immediately bringing it down, past their heated cocks, around to his mate's backside, to press against the tight ring of muscles in a way he knew would cause the doctor to twitch and buck just the right way.
He pressed in, eliciting a huff of air and a small shout from his husband's open mouth, and began pushing in a small circular motion. "God…" Leonard jerked both of them faster, occasionally drawing his fingers up around the heads to wet his hand with pre-cum before gaining speed again. For a few moments the two only heard the wetness of their actions and their heavy breathing. Occasionally, Leonard would release an overstimulated whimper, a noise which caused Spock to shiver every time without fail.
Neither one needed to announce when they were close to finishing. The other could feel it clearly through the bond and Spock was not taken by surprise when Leonard bucked his hips erratically and, with a drawn out moan, came all over his hand and their stomachs. The build-up and euphoria hit both of them in a tidal wave and soon Spock was coming as well, silently.
They took a moment to catch their breath, sighing repeatedly and moving as close to one another as possible. Spock gently wrapped both of his arms around the fragile human and drew him closer, not bothered by the mess they made. The doctor smiled to himself. They didn't need to speak to express what they were both thinking. Home didn't mean the building Leonard was raised in. Home meant wherever they could be together. The memories from Starfleet were just that - memories. What they had together was more than that. It was a life. Their work in Starfleet may have been over, but their life together wasn't. They were finally home.