PANTS ON FIRE
SUMMARY: Prompt fic. After getting into a fight, Jim lies to Bones about being hurt. He's about to learn, the hard way, why that's not a good idea.
CO-WRITER: Cat
PROMPT: Lie
SCLAIMER: I don't own Star Trek (2009) and make no money from this story.
WARNINGS: Language and corporal punishment
A/N (Super):I would like to take the time to send a special THANK YOU to Cat for saving me! I was floundering and she swooped down with her angel wings and finished the story up and just totally brought it home! Hun, you're the best ever!
OoOoOoOo
"Bone! Hey, Bones," James 'Jim' Tiberius Kirk called out to his friend as he entered the triage unit of Star Fleet Academy's Medical Centre.
The man in question, one Dr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, looked up with a slight sigh. He started to walk towards his younger friend.
"What did you do this time?" Bones demanded.
"Aw, Bones, can't I just stop in to say hi?" Kirk flashed his mega watt smile.
Bones shot him a look. Before he could protest, he was jubilantly brought into a hug by the other man. Bones shook him off.
Kirk was unceremoniously led to a bed while Bones grabbed a tricorder to run over him. Bones didn't get far with the scanning before Kirk neatly rolled off the bed.
"Jim," Bones grumbled. "Stop being a baby and get back here."
"Jeez, Bones." Kirk rolled his eyes, exasperated. "I just came…"
"Now, Jim," Bones demanded, interrupting the other. He raised an eyebrow in warning. "Before I decide that a hypo is definitely needed."
"It's just my ankle," Kirk mumbled as he sat back on the bed. If he was ever asked, Kirk would be the first to admit that his friend was a bit hypo happy.
Bones' eyes narrowed. "Just your ankle. You're being honest with me because...?"
"Because I know you," Kirk answered with a shrug and a sly smile. "And I'm gonna be late for my date. Come on, McCoy, can't you just fix it and let me go; please?"
"I'm gonna regret this later, aren't I?" Bones asked.
"Probably," Kirk agreed with another mega watt smile. "So can you hurry?"
"Let me see." With an eye roll and grumbling in such a way he'd scare anyone else, Bones quickly ran his tricorder over his friend's ankle. As he finished healing it, he advised, "No more fights for a while, alright?"
"Thanks, Bones." Kirk grinned brightly, causing the other man's mouth to twitch slightly.
"Go, before I decide to keep you." Bones smacked Kirk upside the head softly enough that, to most, it would be considered ruffling of the hair.
OoOoOoOo
It was the oddity of the duo that the staff at the Medical Center got used to seeing. The first time Bones rushed into the triage unit, stopping briefly to look at the students who were all trailing in before rushing to Kirk's side, it had made almost everyone stop and stare.
Now, only the visitors and first years who knew the two merely by reputation stopped and stared.
Jim was a well known smart ass. He was scarily intelligent and never needed to study, which irked his fellow cadets. The teachers loved him until they realized he couldn't care less about their opinion. He was also a frat boy who would sleep with any species so long as they were female and walked on two legs. He loved to drink at bars, get into fights and break as many rules as he could get away with.
Bones, as Kirk had nicknamed him, was a country doctor who had seen birth and death. He liked things a certain way and didn't deal well with change. The divorce his ex had put him through had left him bitter and while he'd go out on a rare occasion, he'd sworn never to marry again. He was a brilliant doctor whose bedside manner left a lot to be desired. He went to bars only when Kirk could drag him, only got into fights when his friend needed his protection and liked to follow the rules…at least until Kirk managed to get him to break them.
As different as the two were, they did have a few things in common. For one, they were both loyal to those who deserved it, especially each other. They could both go from calm and collected to pissed off in the space of a breath. They were both uncaring about what others thought of them.
When people first saw them together they got confused and stunned looks. Yet on the off chance you were able to get close enough, you could see what no one else did. Jim helped soothe the edges around Bones' personality, often drawing the doctor's ire unto himself. Bones gave Jim the attention and protection an older brother would have.
So it wasn't much of a surprise to those at the Medical Centre when Bones went to the Chief Medical Officer, Captain Richard Lennox, to request Kirk be his patient since "he's allergic to everything, including the sun. It'd be better if only one doctor treated him at a time so they can give him the attention he needs." The CMO agreed, secretly glad that he'd no longer have to deal with the "pain in the ass kid."
It was because of this that, when an unconscious Kirk was carried in, Captain Lennox looked towards his yeoman and ordered, "Get McCoy here, now! Tell him it's Cadet Kirk."
The young man nodded, despite his nervousness at being the messenger. He took off running.
OoOoOoOo
* Knock * Knock * Knock *
Forever a doctor, Bones was already opening his door when the last knock was made. He glared at the young kid who was standing outside his door, looking nervous.
"What?" he demanded, a scowl on his face.
"S-sorry, Dr. McCoy," the young man stammered. "Dr. Lennox said for you to come to the Med Centre as quick as you can and to tell you it's Cadet Kirk."
McCoy had already turned on his heel to get dressed when he heard the CMO's name being uttered. He allowed himself only the briefest hesitation when he heard his friend's name. He was quick to change and with the kid who'd woken him by his side, he ran to the Medical Centre.
Bones beat the yeoman into the triage unit, where there was one bed surrounded by a flurry of activity. Bones didn't even have to ask who it was. He was by his friend's side almost before anyone realized he was even there.
"Jim." Bones looked down at Kirk and took a quick visual inventory of his injuries. "What the hell happened?"
"Fight," Kirk answered, his voice choked. He grimaced. "Didn't…think it was…this…bad."
"Damn it, Jim," Bones cursed, his fear warring with his anger.
Before he could really lay into his friend, Dr. Lennox was by his side. "We have some internal bleeding going on, Dr. McCoy. I didn't know what to give him, though, since his file is so long."
With that sentence, 'Bones' was gone and replaced by 'Dr. McCoy', who barked out orders quickly. No one protested and even Lennox, who was his boss, found himself obeying the orders given to him.
It was touch and go for a few hours and despite the technological advances made, Kirk would still have to stay in the hospital for a few days.
OoOoOoOo
That night, after Kirk was stabilized, Dr. McCoy was replaced by Bones. Bones sat at his friend's side, attending his every need without hesitation. And as the fear died down, it was replaced by anger and disappointment. He knew, without being told, that Kirk hadn't got into a fight while on his date. He could tell because of the bruising and the fact that he'd glimpsed the kids clothes and seen there was no blood. No, the fight hadn't been how he'd hurt his ankle, which could only mean one thing - James Tiberius Kirk had lied to him.
Later, as Bones was running his hand through Kirk's hair in a soothing manner, he could only shake his head. "You've got a lot to answer for, kid."
Kirk slept on, oblivious to the trouble he was in.
OoOoOoOo
It had been ten days since Kirk had been rushed to the Medical Centre and two days since he'd gone back to classes. The first eight days, Bones hadn't left his side. Kirk had been grateful to begin with, as for the first four days, he'd been too sore to move without help. In fact, he'd been too sore to even notice his friend's mood.
The next four had seen them arguing as Kirk tried to become more independent. Bones hadn't wanted Kirk to hurt himself again and refused to let him move without assistance. This had led to them arguing and after a particularly nasty argument, Bones had, to both their complete and utter shock, grabbed his friend by his upper arm, angled him just so and swatted him.
It was a stunned Kirk who was turned back around as his friend wagged a finger at him. "Don't think you're not in enough trouble as it is. I'd hate to hit a patient, but don't think I won't put you over my knee if you keep pushing me."
Kirk had gone quiet the rest of the day and had tried not to get on his friend's bad side; not that it had been much of a problem. Other then acting like an over protective parent, Bones had barely said a whole sentence to him.
He'd been glad when Bones had declared him able to go back to classes. He needed the time to think and being alternately smothered and ignored by his friend hadn't allowed him to do that.
It was for that reason he took his time getting back to his room after his first day of classes. Forget that he was tired and could barely keep his eyes open. He knew the minute he stepped back in his room, Bones would once again turn into a mother hen.
When he finally got back, he discovered he was right and he was ushered straight to bed for a nap. He was too tired to protest. He was only vaguely aware that Bones stood by his bed, running a hand through his hair. When he woke up, Bones once again didn't say much of anything, other than to tell him to eat.
The second day of classes went better simply because it was his short day. He had two classes, then a two hour break before another two classes. He was able to nap during the break and now that his classes were done, he was ready for supper.
As he got to his room, he realized supper would have to wait. It was too early for the late meal and too late for lunch. Thankfully for him, Bones was still in mother hen mode and there was a small sandwich waiting for him on his desk.
There was no hesitation for Kirk as he scarfed the sandwich down, starting his many pages of catch up homework.
He was startled an hour later when the dorm door swung open with a bang. He watched warily as Bones trudged in tiredly.
"Long day, Bones?" Kirk asked with a small smile, trying to gauge his friend's mood.
"Have you taken a nap?" Bones ignored the question and instead rushed to the younger man's side to check him over.
Kirk batted him away as he joked, "Jeez, Bones, you didn't even buy me dinner yet."
"You need to rest, Jim," Bones reprimanded. "Go take a nap."
"But I'm fine," Kirk protested, ignoring the fact that he sounded like a child trying to justify himself to a parent. "Besides, I have a lot of work to catch up on."
"Just go take the damn nap," Bones interrupted, his tone showing he was on the last thread of his patience.
"I don't have time," Kirk shot back, equally on his last thread of patience. He was tired of being systematically smothered and ignored by the man who was supposed to be his friend. He continued, "I missed ten days, McCoy; TEN DAYS! I don't have time for naps and resting and eating! I barely have time to sleep at night and shower in the morning!"
"Jim," Bones tried, but the younger man was oblivious.
As Kirk continued his rant, Bones realized just how much pressure the young man was feeling. Bones didn't blame him. While the young man had a brilliant mind, he'd spent years squandering it and his acceptance into the Academy had been on a trial basis. It wasn't common knowledge that Kirk had spent his first few months at the Academy under the careful watch of one Christopher Pike. Kirk had surprised those who hadn't believed in him by surpassing every expectation anyone had.
Bones was brought out of his thoughts by Kirk finishing up his rant. "Do you understand now? Did I explain in simple enough terms? I even spoke English just for you. Do you need me to translate it into another language?"
"Damn it, Jim," Bones managed through gritted teeth. While he understood the younger man's rant, the doctor in him was still worried. "You almost died! You need to rest!"
"What part of 'I'm fine' don't you understand?" Kirk demanded, tired of the conversation as a whole. "God, Bones, you'd think you would trust me to know what I need, considering it's my body"
"When it comes to your health, I don't trust you at all," Bones admitted with a frown. He watched his friend flounder for a moment before continuing, "You lied to me, Jim. You said it was just your ankle. YOU ALMOST DIED!"
Kirk started at hearing his friend yell. While Bones wasn't afraid to yell at most people, Kirk had learned long ago that he, himself, wasn't in the 'most people' category.
"I thought it was just my ankle, Bones," he tried. "How was I supposed to know that I was bleeding internally?"
"I call bullshit." Bones glared at him sternly. "You knew I would find something and that was why you rolled off the bed so fast. You used the trust I have in you to get your way so you didn't stay in the infirmary longer than you wanted. The result of that could have been your death."
"Bones…" Kirk visibly deflated.
"You lied to me." Bones shook his head, disappointment raidiating from his very being. "You used our trust against me. How do you think I would have felt if you had died? And for what…a date with a beautiful girl? Was it worth it, James?"
The two men stared at each other silently. Kirk's mouth opened and closed multiple times before it shut with an audible click. Kirk's shoulder slumped as he realized he had no good excuse for what he'd done. The thought of losing his best friend's trust hurt in more ways than he thought possible.
Bones gave a soft sigh. He knew he shouldn't have got into it with the still healing man. Knowing that further discussion would be pointless and would only bring more hurtful words, he grabbed fresh clothes and his shaving kit.
"Take a nap, Jim," he ordered firmly. "I'll wake you up in an hour and we'll go to dinner."
"Yes, sir," Kirk mumbled quietly as he stumbled to his bed. He didn't see the other man flinch at being called 'sir'.
"I'll be back in a fifteen minutes," Bones informed him.
As Bones left for the shower, Kirk lay in bed thinking. He didn't know what it would take, but he was willing to do anything to gain the other man's trust back. Though he'd never say it out loud, he looked up to Bones, who was confident in everything he did. While Bones was always his best friend, there were times when Kirk looked up to him much like a younger brother would an older.
As he drifted off, he swore to himself he would clear the bad air between him and Bones.
OoOoOoOo
Fifteen minutes after he'd left the room to shower, Bones came back in and took in the sleeping form of the man he couldn't help but want to protect. Unconsciously fixing the blankets around the slumbering Kirk, Bones sighed. He didn't want to be angry with his friend any longer. It actually made him even grumpier than normal.
He sat in a chair by the bed and pulled out some files to go through. He knew it was irrational, but he felt the need to make sure he was around in case something went wrong. Without thought, he leaned his head back and sighed. His eyes drifted closed and before he knew it, he too was sound asleep.
OoOoOoOo
Head back, feet resting on the bed frame beside him, was how Kirk found Bones when he woke up. A look at the clock next to his bed showed that he'd been asleep for about seventy minutes. He wanted desperately to jump out of bed and rush to continue his back logged homework, but seeing Bones by his bedside and knowing there was only one way his blankets had got over his shoulders, he couldn't. He felt the need to wait for approval.
He didn't have to wait long as Bones woke up, feeling eyes upon him. He stretched, working the kinks out of his back and neck. "How long have you been awake?" Bones asked him.
"Um…five minutes, I think." Kirk shrugged as he sat up, suddenly feeling shy and not liking it one bit.
"You should get started on your homework before supper." Bones got out of his seat, files in hand, and started to walk away.
"Bones…" Kirk started. He paused when Bones stopped, but didn't look back at him. "I'm sorry."
"Sometimes that's not good enough," Bones informed the young man with a sigh that showed his hurt.
"Damn it, Bones." Kirk finally stood up. "Look, I admit it, I messed up. I'm sorry, okay? Can't we just…forgive and forget?"
Bones turned and glared at the boy. "Forgive and forget? Forgive you for lying and forget that you almost died? No, James, I can't just forgive and forget."
"Stop being such an ass." Without thought, Kirk picked up a pillow and chucked it at his friend's head. "Get over yourself, McCoy. I didn't tell you about my stomach hurting because I'd been sick the night before. I thought it was just a bug that would go away." Kirk could see the doctor turning red with anger and he inwardly smirked. If there was one thing he knew about McCoy, it was that instead of talking about what was bothering him, he'd hold it in. While he did so, the older man would become even grumpier than normal. One way or the other, Kirk was determined to make him talk…or yell, or whatever it was he needed to do to go back to his old self.
"Besides, Andrea's hot and it took me six months to get a date with her!" Kirk continued. Seeing the dark look he was getting, he smirked and shot off, "And if the real problem is you're jealous, then get off your lazy ass and ask someone out."
"Jealous!" McCoy all but spat out. "I'll show you jealous."
James Tiberius Kirk expected many things from his friend. What he wasn't expecting, however, was to find himself face down, his upper half supported by his bed with a pillow under his stomach and chest and his lower half supported by…
"Bones." Kirk's eyes widened as he realized the position he was in. "This isn't funny. Let me up, Bones!" Kirk bucked, but to his annoyance and displeasure, he only found himself held more firmly, which effectively pinned him in position. He looked back at Bones and glared. Seeing his friend raise his hand, his eyes widened. Before he could get out a word, the hand fell, meeting its target, which was his backside.
*SWAT*
"AH –" Kirk couldn't hold back his yelp, even though he'd been as prepared as he could be. He was stunned by what a hard hand Bones had. He clenched his lips together to stave off any more noise.
*SWAT, SWAT, SWAT*
Bones was well aware that the younger man he had over face down over his lap would soon find his voice again and start to fight the position he was in, so he started to talk, punctuating his words with firm swats to the upturned backside. "I want you to understand and understand well so there are no questions later. I'm not jealous that you had a date. You're in this position because you lied…to…me." Bones let his swats rain down a bit harder than before as he outlined what the young man had done wrong. "You used the trust that we had against me and that will never be okay with me. This doesn't happen again, James Tiberius Kirk! Do you understand?"
What angry silence Kirk had had was gone by the time the other man was done with his lecture. He'd never admit it, but Bones' words hurt worse than the spanking he was getting. If Bones had simply been pissed off, Kirk would have known what to do. However, Bones wasn't just pissed; he was hurt and the trust they had was obviously gone.
"I can keep this up all day," Bones warned as he started to target the younger man's sit spot.
"No!" Kirk blushed as he realized he all but shouted his response. "Okay, I understand!"
"Do you?" Bones retorted, keeping his hand flat as he continued to land the swats hard. "Why don't you repeat back to me why I'm doing this?"
"Seriously?" Kirk winced as the harder swats made it clear Bones was indeed serious about this. He felt his eyes beginning to grow suspiciously damp and he quickly wiped at them, not wanting to start crying. He'd been in plenty of fights and been hurt more times than he could count, yet had never come even close to tears. Desperate to stop this before it went too far, he spoke quickly. "I lied to you… broke our trust."
"Are you going to lie to me again?" Bones demanded.
"No…" Kirk gasped as Bones' hard hand continued to impart his displeasure through Kirk's backside. But beneath the pain and the heat was the thought that Bones would never trust him again - and that made the spanking even worse.
"If you do, I will have no problem doing this again," Bones warned as his hand landed over and over on skin that was already sore and aching.
"I understand!" Kirk's legs had begun to kick a little and he was shocked to realise that his voice was beginning to shake. His eyes were filling again and he had the feeling proper tears weren't that far off. Just when he thought he was about to lose it entirely, though, the hard hand stopped falling. Kirk took several deep breaths to calm himself down and then wiped at his eyes once more before he slowly pushed himself up off Bones' lap. He resisted the urge to rub his aching backside and looked at his friend, even though he felt embarrassed by the fact Bones had just spanked him and hard. "I… I'm sorry," he said.
Bones simply nodded. "You don't lie to me, Jim. You don't ever lie to me." He clapped a hand on Kirk's shoulder and squeezed gently.
Kirk relaxed a little, knowing that Bones was telling him - in his own brusque way - that he was forgiven. And maybe he would eventually earn back his trust.
Bones stood as well. "I imagine you're probably hungry by now," he said. "Why don't we go down to dinner and then you can do some more on catching up on the work that you missed?"
Kirk nodded and gave a small smile. "Sounds like a plan." He didn't need to be told twice and walked towards the door as fast as he could go, his movements made a little awkward by the burning pain lingering in his backside.
Bones followed a little more slowly, a faint smile touching his lips as he noticed how Kirk surreptitiously attempted to rub the sting from his backside.
Looked like he'd finally found a way to get through his friend's thick skull… by figuratively setting his pants on fire.
The End
A/N2 (Super): So, just a reminder with the completion of this fic, I am officially on a 4 - 6 week leave from writing!I hope you will wait for my return! My first fic back will be for Bonanzabook who, as you may recall, won my first contest! So, until then, for all you who write, I look forward to seeing what the next several weeks brings as I'm finally catching up on my reading! Go me! :D