Title: Appearances
Author: LittleMissReaper
Fandom: Star Trek
Pairing: Spock/McCoy
Genre: Romance/Humor
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Don't own Star Trek, never will, so I shall express my love for it in the following manner. Read on!
"-It is only logical."
McCoy, who had been silently fuming throughout Spock's little speech, perked up at the "l" word.
"Logical, Mr. Spock? I am sick of your goddamn logic. With those ears and your eyesight I don't see how your brain has enough room for autonomic functions, let alone logic."
Spock raised both eyebrows at the good doctor. "You have not considered that perhaps the Vulcan brain is simply more efficient than the human brain."
McCoy looked as though he was trying to light Spock on fire with his mind. That failing, he went back to a verbal assault. "That's another thing I don't get-"
"One of many, no doubt."
McCoy shot him an especially scathing look. "I don't see you as all that efficient."
Spock noticeably bristled. "Are you criticizing my work, Doctor."
McCoy smirked, knowing there was no right answer to this question, luckily he wasn't looking for one. "No, I'm criticizing your entire culture. You Vulcans like to think that you're the pinnacle of civilization but you still hold onto barbaric traditions like arranged marriages and honor duels. Even humans did away with those centuries ago."
"And you brought upon yourself unfathomable pain. It has always appeared to me that love and the other emotions it spawns are at the root of most human suffering. Where there is no love and no ego to bruise there is no jealousy, no suspicion, no hate. There is a clarity of mind that allows for decisions that are beneficial not only to the individual, but to society."
"What good does it do for the individual or the race to have no connection or investment in your children beyond wanting to have them survive and carry on the genetic line? What good is there in having a partner with whom you have no sympathy, no love, no passion? I would think that it would be more logical to get rid of the institution of marriage completely and have nothing to do with each other between pon farrs. Your people may have gotten rid of jealousy and the violence and hurt associated with love, but you also lost true companionship, mutually supportive and loving relationships. You lost joy and passion and triumph and longing. You may have the more peaceful existence Mr. Spock. Your decisions might be easier and I'm sure there will be times I'll envy you for that. But in the end I'd rather get my heart broken a few times and experience the full range of emotions because damnit, the rewards are worth it."
Spock's eyes had narrowed during this tirade, but as the doctor stood before him, red faced, panting and having apparently said all he needed to say, he composed himself. He straightened his uniform and gave the briefest nod. "I must yield to your expertise in these matters, Dr. McCoy. As you are perhaps the most emotional creature I know, you are the only one in this conversation qualified to attest to the merits of emotion.
The only thing that prevented McCoy from being entirely in Spock's face was the height difference and you could tell he was cursing it.
"Don't try to tell me you don't feel, Spock. You race has just as much emotion as mine. You've just trained yourselves to be uptight fucks. The puritans of the galaxy, even the Romulans separate themselves from you guys, and we all know how wild and crazy they are." He finished, his drawl dripping with sarcasm.
Across the bridge Mr. Scott and the captain were watching from the engineering station with wary amusement. Both could feel that the fighting was somehow different, that the air between the two had changed, but neither could pin down exactly how.
"D'you think we should stop them, Captain?"
Kirk just smirked. "Do you think we could if we tried?"
"Aye, but not without Nurse Chapel and a fist full o' hypos. Or a full security team armed with phasers, and then not without losing a few men and damaging the bridge." Scotty nodded, sounding positively solemn, but his grin ruined the effect. "It is distracting the rest of the bridge crew though."
Kirk looked over at the helm where Chekov and Sulu were shooting looks at the argument by the science station and conversing in fervent whispers.
Uhura wasn't looking at the bickering pair, but she was smiling the smile of one well pleased, and humming a song it took Kirk a minute to place. It was an old earth tune called "A long Time Coming." Ah, so that's what this was about. He immediately brought up leave rotations on his PADD.
The less senior officers were nervously trying to remain focused on their sensors, but still keeping alert incase something should suddenly fly their way.
Kirk surveyed it all with ever growing amusement. "We're well within federation space, and should be arriving at star base very soon. Besides, we haven't had shore leave in a while and I'm not going to say no to starting the festivities early."
Scotty shook his head. "But the fighting, Captain, it cannae be good for them."
Kirk chuckled deeply at this. "Mr. Spock is a Vulcan and Doctor McCoy is from the south. That's not fighting, Mr. Scott, that's foreplay!"
Scotty's eye widened at the sudden understanding. "I do hope they're on first rotation for leave, Captain."
"Oh they are Mr. Scoot, I checked a minute ago and if they hadn't been, I would certainly have changed it so they were."
"I didnae make it up here until well after it'd begun, what started it all, if you don' mind my askin'."
Kirk thought for a minute, as though the fight was a war that had started many centuries before and he could no longer remember the cause. He was sure that they couldn't either.
His thoughts were interrupted be the surprisingly deep voice of helmsmen Sulu (he would never get used to that).
"Arriving at Starbase in one minute, Captain."
"Good, assume standard orbit. Lt. Uhura, please send my regards to the commodore in charge of the base and begin authorizing leave parties."
"Yes, Sir."
He took his place in the captain's chair and turned his attention back to his two best friends.
They had stopped arguing and were simply glaring at eachother. McCoy was breathing harder than could be considered normal and his hands twitched in what could easily be mistaken for a desire to throttle the Vulcan before him. Kirk knew it for what it was though, and watched for what came next. Four fingers pressed together in a secret kiss, a flash of a smile in blue and brown eyes and McCoy stormed off in an Oscar worthy huff.
Minutes later their shift change relief arrived and Spock, usually the first to arrive and last to leave (aside from Kirk) was in the first lift down.
It only then occurred to him that this was the first time Spock had ever taken advantage of leave. Though he doubted that either of them would see the outside of Spock's quarters, let alone the ship, he was nonetheless happy for them as his crew and as his friends.
After all, four years of foreplay was a long time to wait.