1.
It's Jim Kirk's seventh birthday. He's still young enough to believe that just maybe this birthday will be different than last year's, maybe his mother will finally be home.
Instead a package is delivered that afternoon while Sam's off trying to find a job a ten year old could do. It's from a starbase somewhere in deep space, and suddenly he's not very eager to really open it at all. Jim takes his time, because he knows mom's not coming home that year. Inside the box is a teddy bear, it's soft and fluffy and there's a blue bow tie tied around its neck.
Jim wonders if his mom even picked it out, or just had a friend do it. The bear's dark brown fur and brown glassy eyes do nothing to fill the hole in his chest where his mother and father should be, but he takes it upstairs, names it George and keeps it hidden in his closet.
2.
He's ten when his mother remarries. The guys a dirt bag of a father and an even worse excuse for a man. He eats, drinks, and has his fun with his new wife's sons while she's away.
It was only a matter of time before Jim's next birthday rolls around. He'd expected for everyone to forget again, after all there was no way his mother would be anywhere near him on the anniversary of her husband's death. Somehow Frank knew though and he was determined to give Jim a present he'd never forget.
He didn't, even years later Jim would look in the mirror and see his slightly crooked nose and the scar above his left eye and remember that night. Well what little of it he could actually remember. There had been blood, and pain, and Frank's boots. Jim would often stand in front of the mirror for awhile, remembering.
Bones called him a narcissist for staring at his reflection so long, but Jim would never correct him. Really how could he?
3.
Jim was now sixteen, and had long ago stopped celebrating anything. It wasn't his birthday, it was the day his father had died. A noble man he'd never know.
Even though he never celebrated, it didn't make it any easier to wake up that morning and discover his brother had finally left.
"Yeah happy fucking birthday!" he shouted to an empty bedroom.
4.
On the day he turned twenty he opened the door of his apartment to hear the unmistakable moans of sex. The sounds were coming from his bedroom, their bed room. Hurt and angry, Jim dropped the bags holding their dinner on the floor and left. Choosing to go get drunk and forget what day it was and who else was in the bedroom with his lover.
5.
In all honesty there was no way Pike could have known what he'd done. To everyone throwing Jim a birthday party after the memorial ceremony for the Kelvin had probably been a good idea. Celebrate life after death and all that, but it had been pure torture for Jim. He'd had to spend four hours walking around making small talk with a fake smile on his face.
He hadn't headed for the closest bar afterwards either, because Bones had insisted walking him to his dorm room. Bones had stayed, offering silent support while they drank half a bottle of whiskey and talked about nothing at all.
+1
He and Bones had been together for two years by the time his twenty-ninth birthday rolled around. He was recovering from the crews surprise party by nursing a glass of bourbon stolen from his boyfriend's stash.
He was on his second glass by the time his door chimed.
"You're late." He greeted his lover.
"Well it's no fun if I'm predictable." Bones defended himself, stepping into the room and latching onto Jim's mouth.
"You've been into my Bourbon again." He growled pulling away.
"You were late," Jim smirked walking back over to the couch, "Plus stop hiding it where you know I'll find it."
"Cocky bastard," Bones grumbled sitting down next to him.
"You love it."
"Yeah, but I don't know why," Bones muttered through a yawn.
"You all tuckered out from the party?" Jim teased.
"That communications officer of yours sure knows how to throw one."
"True." Jim agreed settling back against the cushions.
"So did you get what you wanted for your birthday?" Bones asked after a moment of silence. Jim just shrugged.
"Considering ten years ago I would've gotten a fist in the face, anything I get now is more than I could ever want."
He looked over to see Bones giving him the look he got whenever Jim mentioned something about his past. It had made him start dropping little tidbits here and there just to see that look again.
"Well I hope you have room for at least one more present." Bones said as he dug something out of his pocket.
Jim slowly took the small box Bones offered, his lover looked nervous. Bones never looked nervous.
He lifted the lid to look inside. A simple silver ring rested on a bed of white velvet. It took him a little while to register what it meant.
"Really?" he asked roughly.
"If you want," Bones replied with a half smile.
"I want," Jim grinned his gaze turning heated, "Oh I want."
Bones looked pleased before it melted into a hunger. Jim scooted so he was straddling his soon to be husband's hips. He quickly batted away Bones wandering hands. Jim silenced his displeased whine with a kiss.
"I need to thank you." Jim explained, opening the fly of Bones pants.
"For what?"
"For giving me the best birthday present ever," Jim said leaning up to give Bones another breath taking kiss.
"You."