1 – Reading

McCoy could feel the weight of eyes over him, he was trying to concentrate in an enormous list of diseases and symptoms and that being-watched feeling wasn't helping at all. He turned around and found Kirk's blue eyes pinned at him.

_ Have you lost something? – he asked

Jim was so focused on Bones' lips he noticed them moving but didn't listen to what the doctor said him. He shook his head a bit and gave his friend his trademark smirk.

_ What?

_ I asked if you have lost something – echoed Bones a bit bad humored. – I mean, aside from your marbles, of course…

Jim snorted and smiled.

_ I love you, Bones. – he said it with a playful voice, even if he had meant every word. He wasn't ready for confessing his love but he was trying to get used to the sound of that words together.

The doctor rolled his eyes and returned to his reading.

_ No kidding, kid…

2 – Sleeping

When he joined Starfleet he was sure he would have some hard days to come, but he never thought someday could be harder. After weeks of studying, 5 hours of written tests and more 3 hours of patching, cutting and hypo spraying test dummies he have finally finished the tests season. He walked into the room he shared with Jim and found his roommate watching something on his PADD, ear-buds on and lights off.

The doctor crossed the room with no words and went to the bathroom they shared. He took a short, warm shower, feeling his head bumping like a drum – damn headache! He wanted to stay there a little longer but he was so tired he was daydreaming about his bed.

He went out of the bathroom with a white towel wrapped around his hips and wet bangs over his forehead. He collapsed onto his bed, wrapping his pillow and sighing.

_ Really long day? – Jim asked without taking his eyes out of his PADD, Bones nodded in agreement and the blonde continued – Must have been really long, you didn't even complied about me watching videos with the lights off.

The future captain noticed Bones' deep regular breath and smiled:

_ I love you, Bones – he said in a low, affective voice

_ Too tired for this, kid – was Bones last sentence before rolling to his side and falling sleep.

3 – Drinking

After few days of expectations, in one glorious afternoon, Bones received a note in his PADD with his grades. He sighed in relief and gave himself a little smile. Jim, who was looking at his own grades, peered over the brunette's shoulder to see Bones' PADD.

_ You've done brilliantly – he said smiling to his friend. – I mean, you were really worried about not going brilliantly?

Bones frowned, but Jim noticed the thin lines around his eyes got lighter.

_ Not everyone is a fucking genius-boy, Jim – he said in his grumpy-yet-happy voice.

_ Will you let the fucking genius-boy pay you something to drink? – Jim offered, McCoy was used to his "everything is a reason to celebrate" style – A bourbon perhaps, to celebrate!

"A bourbon to celebrate" turned to be a long series of every kind of alcoholic beverage available at the nearest bar. When Bones was furrowing his brows at his 3rd mug of romulan ale he saw Jim ordering his 5th.

_ We shouldn't be drinking this – he said in a very slow voice, Jim looked at him with questioning eyes – This thing is blue, Jim. BLUE!

_ It is a nice color…

_ God didn't put any blue food on Earth – said Bones shaking his mug and dripping blue ale over the table. – Humans aren't supposed to eat, nor drink, blue stuff!

Jim smiled widely. Drunken Bones was fascinating, he would go hours and hours in nonsense topics and, for Jim's greatest pleasure, the doctor's accent would slip out with every single word.

_ I love you, Bones.

The man didn't care to reply; he simply gave his half-empty mug the look and mumbled.

_ Blue…

4 – Driving

It has been a little more than one year since the Narada incident, a little more than one year since the last time they've been on Earth. They were going to spend 5 days docked on San Francisco to repairs and supplies.

After dismissing the crew Jim walked over to Bones, who was staring at the nothing with a blank face. Jim stopped by his side and cleared his throat. It took a few seconds to Bones turn to him.

_ I'm going to stay here, Jim – he said with unexpressive voice.

_ You gotta be kidding! We're on Earth, Bones! – said Jim – We're out of the "disease and danger wrapped in silence and darkness" stuff.

Bones smirked when noticed Jim was quoting one of the first sentences they have exchanged and he replied with other sentence from the same conversation:

_ Ex-wife got the whole planet at the divorce, remember?

_ Bullshit!

_ Jim, I got no more family and I can't go see Jo because I didn't warned Jocelyn with 3 months antecedence and all that burocratic nonsense you know…

Jim grabbed on Bones' hand and began pushing him down many corridors and hallways. At first Bones tried to complain but after one or two minutes of unsuccessful monologue he quitted. Jim lead him to the garage where the vehicles of the officers out of Earth were kept. Jim spotted his bike and headed to a young cadet wearing a red dress who was working on the garage.

After a few words, she gave him two helmets and his keys. Jim tossed one of the helmets to Bones and put the other – he was used to drive without them, but he was pretty sure Bones would never ride a bike without. He captain sat on the bike and motioned the other place with his head.

_ Maybe Jocelyn have the whole planet now – he smiled. – But the roads are still my realm.

Bones shook his head and doubted his own sanity while putting the helmet and sitting behind Jim. The first minutes were pretty nice to Bones – and pretty boring to Jim. Once they left the limits of the city and Jim saw the endless road in front of him, he twisted his wrist on the accelerator making Bones squirm.

The doctor pulled tightly against Jim's body, his chest rising and falling quickly pressed on the captain's back. His grip very firm on Jim's waist and his face hidden on the curve of the blonde's neck.

_ You are fucking trying to kill me!

Jim overheard McCoy's even with the wind carrying every sound away.

_ I love you, Bones!

The captain felt an answer being yelled at him, but he didn't hear it. Even then he was sure it was something in the "Nonsense, kid, you're trying to kill me" lines.

And he was absolutely correct.

4/5 – Patching

Doctor McCoy was an excellent surgeon, he has firm steady hands and precise eyes, but even with it he wasn't able to patch himself up. He was leaning on a stone wall, his side bleeding profusely at the point his blue shirt was looking more like purple-red. And he didn't even know what happened.

At the first moment, Kirk, he and a redshirt security agent were talking to some local leaders of a planet they've never been before; the following moment the redshirt agent was dead, Kirk was unconscious, he was bleeding and the local authorities were gone. He tried to contact Enterprise but he only got static on his comm.

He knelt beside Kirk and took a tricorder out of his bag. According to the instrument Kirk's brain have suffered no damage and he was perfectly fine. He looked for some bandages and some clean cotton to try to stop the bleeding. When he finally managed to stop the hemorrhage he heard Jim mumbling and regaining consciousness.

_ Bones? – Jim looked at him and gave an odd smile; the doctor replied the smile and than Jim noticed the pain on his face. – What's up wit… - his eyes found what was wrong, the blood soaked shirt and the compact mass of cotton and bandages being pressed against Bones' side were quite a clue.

_ Nothing wrong, Jim – said McCoy – The bleeding is over, but I need to got to the med bay quickly. My comm is out, try to contact Enterprise.

The captain did so and he almost couldn't hear Uhura speaking over the noise of static and other communication channels. He only understood that McCoy and he were supposed to stay on that place because Scotty and Chekov would find a way to beam them up.

_ We need to wait – he said looking at Bones' blood soaked shirt and hands. – Lemme help you with it – he asked

Bones rolled his eyes, yet he didn't wanted to spend much time with an open gash across his side on that unknown planet. He pointed to his bag and Jim reached it.

_ Get a hypo named "42 a" – Jim handed him the hypo and he took a deep breath before stabbing it on his leg and administrating the medicine inside his body.

_ Hey! Why do you always stab me in the neck and got yourself a nice leg-stab?!

_ Jim, I'm a doctor not a contortionist; I can't stab my own neck precisely!

The captain pouted and the doctor rolled his eyes. Leonard kept on giving Jim instructions on how to clean the wound and how to prepare the needles and stitch for patching.

_ If we were onboard we could use a skin regenerator, but I don't want to stay opened for so long, you'll need to patch it up. – Leonard said, he was sitting over his bloody shirt, his bare chest now clean, in front of him a few medical instruments and a lightly nervous Captain James Kirk.

Kirk nodded and picked the needle, following Bones' instructions he was slowly patching the good doctor's side. He was feeling the warmth of Leonard's skin and his muscles twitching under his touch. He was doing his best and was actually doing it nicely.

When the gash was already half patched McCoy stopped wincing in paint at every new stitch and that made Kirk more confident about what he was doing. When he finished fixing his friend he leaned over him and placed a soft kiss on the edge of the wound.

_ I love you, Bones.

That time the doctor almost believed, but in that exact moment his body was split into billion pieces as they were beamed up back into Enterprise and he lost his thoughts.

1 – Kissing

33. That was his age from that day on, for the next 365 days. 'Big deal' he said to himself with acid sarcasm. The day went with no "Happy birthday to you" but it was exactly what he expected since nobody knew his birthday date.

He finished his shift and went to his quarters were a generous glass of his good old bourbon was waiting for him. He took his boots off and sighed, at the very bottom of his mind he wondered if Jo remembered which day it was. He finished his glass feeling slightly more depressed than he was at the beginning of it.

He was about to serve another glass when he heard the comm at his door chiming.

_ Bones? – it was Jim

_ Get in – the doctor said, he knew Jim knows his access code so he didn't

minded standing up to open the door.

In a matter of fact the door slid opened and Jim entered holding something behind his back and smiling his trademark smile.

_ I have something to you – said the younger man. – But you have to drop this glass and sit on the bed.

_ Jim, that's the weirdest thing you've ever said me – was Bones' response alongside with an arched eyebrow. Yet he did as the blonde asked.

Jim sat by his side at the edge of the mattress and, his legs crossed, his body turned in Bones' direction.

_ Turn to me – he said and Bones did it as well – Close your eyes.

Leonard furrowed his brows, but once he has nothing to lose he decides to close them as Kirk asked.

_ Dim lights to 0% - the captain ordered and even with his eyes closed McCoy felt the room was now dark. He heard a small noise and a little light came trough his closed eyelids.

_ Happy birthday to you – Jim's voce was so low it was even difficult to hear him – Happy birthday to you – the voice was still low but Bones felt Kirk's hot breath against his closed eyes and he decided to keep them closed. – Happy birthday, my dearest Bones – low and close, very close. – Happy birthday to you… - the last word wasn't even spoken; it was barely whispered against McCoy's lips.

Bones slowly opened his mouth and Jim's lips got closer enough for his tongue reach the Doctor's lips. The shared a timid, patient and gentle kiss. So sweet and soft, it was almost a dream. Leonard pulled away slowly, opening his eyes and closing his mouth. At the pale yellow light of a single candle he saw Jim's smiling flushed face. The blonde was holding a small cupcake covered with pink sugar with a small blue candle on it.

_ I love you, Bones – he said.

_ Thanks Jim – Leonard said, caressing Jim's cheek gently – I love you too, kid.