Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
Back to Bones' POV
Bones had double and even triple checked his patients, charts and staff in Med Bay before deciding that being fifteen minutes early to Jim's room wouldn't be that odd because if he didn't get out of his nurses' hair they were going to skin him alive. So, he had reported off to a grateful Chapel and sauntered down to the officer's deck. Bones was not antsy, excited or even hopeful. As he came up to Jim's door (which was keyed for his entrance code, not just his CMO over-ride) a thought dawned on him. Since when in the hell did even he think of himself as 'Bones'?! His name was Leonard! Oh, that's right, as soon as that little chit had given him the nickname forever ago. Hell Jim had never even called him Leonard, but Bones rather liked being Jim's 'Bones' because no one else called him that. Bones rolled his eyes. Yeah, grown man reduced to a love-sick puppy. He had to chuckle as he punched in his code, didn't he and Jim used to make fun of guys that were this in love? Like yesterday?
To say that Bones was delighted to hear the shower running in Jim's dim lit room would not even come close to the real feeling that soared thru his chest. The only thing better than James T. Make-You-Drool-With-Happiness Kirk, was a freshly showered, still dripping wet James T. Hotter-Than-Orion-Slave-Girls Kirk. And Bones would know because Jim took more showers than anyone he had ever met. It didn't matter if Jim had to put on the same dirty clothes he had just taken off, Jim was going to be clean underneath them. (Bones had to stop that line of thought before he really thought about what was underneath Jim's clothes.) That man went thru more soap and shower gel (because he used both) than any other person alive today. Bones had asked him once why he showered so much but the only reply he got was a smile that didn't reach his eyes. Bones had long since decided that it was to wash off his past grime, that it was a mental thing, so he had dropped it. Because come on, really complain about a wet, fruity smelling Jim? Bones wasn't nuts. Jim used peach shampoo and body wash and damn if that wasn't better than the real thing back home in Bones' book.
So, now the internal debate was: did Bones wait in the living room or in the bed room or stand some where in between? He really did not want to miss seeing Jim at his finest and probably half-clothed. So he began to argue the pros and cons of the situation going so far as to tick them off on his fingers. He had only just confessed his undying-follow-you-to-the-great-beyond love so maybe being in the bedroom wasn't a good idea, yea that would totally freak Jim out and he really could not be waiting on the bed half-clothed himself, that would for sure cause a scene and not the scene in those romance novels that Chapel read on her down time. So maybe if he got some of Jim's secret whiskey stash and kinda nonchalantly stood by the room divider trying not to look like he was trying to look at Jim? That would work because staying in the living room with no chance of seeing Jim was not an option. So he quickly filled a tumbler with some Southern Comfort that Jim preferred, the irony was not lost on the good doctor, and took his place to wait. It had finally dawned on Bones that Jim was taking a really long damn shower.
Before Bones mind could drift as to what Jim might be doing in the shower, he heard the water click off. Bones could no more wipe the one-sided grin off his face than convince Chekov that a Russian did not invent the wheel, but he could care less. Had Bones been thinking straight he might have noticed that Jim went to open the door a lot quicker than normal (because yes, Bones had it down to a science as to when Jim would be toweled off and dried so that he had to move away from the door), but Bones was not thinking straight. And when the door opened to showcase Jim, a naked Jim, in all the glory that God had given him looking better than any damn thing Bones had ever seen, it took every ounce of Southern hospitality that his mama had beat into him not to gape like a fish out of water. The breathing taking sight before him was enough to make Bones forget his name, whether it was Bones or Leonard.
To say he was surprised to see Jim, all of Jim, well that would be stupid because the surprise was written all over his face. Bones could see the shock in Jim's blue eyes at finding Bones in his quarters waiting on him and finding him naked. Both men were frozen in place looking at one another. Bones fought really hard to keep his eyes locked with Jim, but he was human, he was a man! And had he mentioned that Jim was naked?! So, he quickly glanced down to use this one opportunity he may ever have to truly appreciate Jim's body in all of its pure beauty. Well, it was supposed to be quickly. He wasn't supposed to watch the water drip down his sculpted chest, down his perfect six pack, to the blonde patch, down to – oh Dear God above! – down to his athletic thighs, even to his cute little feet with the perfect arches. Bones heard himself gasp, which may or may not have been the first gasp he had let out (and gasping was really not a manly thing to do at all, some little part of his mind that could still function reminded him), so he downed what was left in the glass.
Bones could no more turn away from the sight before him than he could stop breathing even while he threw back the whiskey his eyes were locked on the feet and tanned legs infront of him. He glanced back up at Jim's face, ok not glanced because he slowly worked his way back up his gorgeous body to his face. To find that the man was blushing! Jim Kirk who was embarrassed of nothing was blushing at being ogled over by his best friend twice. Or was that anger? Bones was suddenly brought from his rambling thoughts at the idea of Jim being mad at him. "I – I…" Great now he couldn't even get a word out. He swallowed, he would not look down. Damnit, ok that glance down was a slip. "I just thought I would come on down here… I… I…. I didn't know that you liked to get out of your shower naked these days." Ok so his voice might have squeaked there at the end. Eyes up, eyes up! Damn, that's four 'peeks', well actually two peeks and two very long glances, Jim is going to notice any minute. "I'll just go sit down in here… or I could just go back to my quarters. We can always just grab dinner together another time, I mean you know we are still best friends even though you are standing there…" Bones gulped. "Naked." He was rambling, he was stalling, he was glued in place.
Jim finally laughed. But it was not a true Jim-laugh; it was a tight, nearly forced laughed. Yup, Bones had really messed up. "Bones, you just do whatever you want to do. I'm going to find some clothes and dinner." His voice was casual enough to cause Bones pain. Jim moved towards his dresser. If he knew that Bones was still staring at him, Jim sure didn't show it. "I am really hungry." Jim's voice was deep, breathy. Bones thought for a split second that maybe Jim had enjoyed Bones' eyes raking over his exposed flesh, but he remembered Jim had spoke with nearly that same tone when Bones had meet him on the transporter pad earlier. Jim had to be really pissed off. But there was something in his voice that made Bones question just what Jim was hungry for.
Bones stopped that hope before it bubbled up and ruined his already less than tactile recovery. He really needed another damn drink right now. "I'll just wait out here." Breathe Bones, just breathe in and out. He walked back to refill his glass in the living area. He gulped down one glass and poured another. Some where in the back of his mind he could hear his logical side telling him not to get drunk because that really would make this bad situation worse. He was so uncomfortable. Bones pulled off his blue tunic and threw it on Jim's couch toeing off his boots underneath the small sofa table. Not the first time he had done that. It was normal for him to strip down to his blacks while in Jim's room. They were comfortable around each other and they were relaxed with one another not stiff or formal, just was normal friendly routine operating procedure. He tried to concentrate on normal, to allow his brain to catch up with the events of the past minute and a half.
What the hell had he just done?! What the hell was Jim going to do about it?! Jim was going to come running out of the bedroom at any moment and kick Bones out of his room and refuse to see him ever again. Bones sank onto the couch, leaning over with his elbows on his knees holding the tumbler with both hands. After all their years of friendship this was the first time he had ever seen Jim, outside of a medical emergency, completely full-frontal naked. And what had the dumbass done? He'd had stared and checked his best friend's complete body! Jim was a very detailed-oriented man, he would have noticed every time Bones' eyes had wandered down his body – four whole freaking times, well three times down and one time up, but still four times all together. Bones groaned. Throwing caution to the wind he downed the rest of the glass and sat it on the table infront of him. If he was going to loose the friendship of the person that mattered the most to him, then he was not going to do it sober. So when he started begging for forgiveness, the alcohol would have him loose enough to beg on his knees.
A/N: Thanks for reading
I kinda, sorta got the inspiration for the part where Bones kept looking down from a scene in "What Women Want". Heehee.
I hope you like it! Please hit the review button and show some love! Next chapter Bones' or Jim's POV? And can we kill the angst or keep it going?
