Disclaimer: Don't own the characters. I do, however, own the plot.
"C'mon Jim. Let's get you patched up before things get worse." Leonard stood up, and grabbed Jim's hand. Sudden sparks of hatred entered Spock's eyes, and similar sparks sparked in Uhura's eyes, who had re-entered the cafeteria to apologize or tell Leonard off. One of the two.
"Leonard! I must insist that you move away from the Captain. He is unstable." Spock said, always logical, even in the face of immense jealousy.
"Unstable my ass, Spock!" Kirk drawled as he gripped Leonard's hand tighter, as if Leonard was even was considering going over to Spock and holding his hand.
Leonard rolled his eyes at their incompetence and dragged Kirk, still screaming at Spock, towards the Sickbay. Once Spock was out of range, Jim swerved around and sprawled across Leonard.
"Knew you were there for me buddy. I jus' knew it." He murmured into Leonard's shoulder. Leonard then half helped – half dragged Kirk over to the Sickbay.
"Be quiet, Jim. You know I only did that to because I'm legally obligated too. And I'm not allowed to stand by while Spock beats the shit out you." Leonard reminded him gruffly.
"I don't know about that, Lenny. I felt some looove in your touch." Jim said, making the word love long and sing-songy. He snuggled up to Leonard, closer than humanly possible, and sighed contently. Leonard wiggled away from his grip and snorted.
"Love in my touch? God, Jim. You sound like a soap opera." Leonard continued dragging Kirk along the long corridor to the Sickbay. He reached the door, and pounded the access code into the door, muttering curses under his breath all the way. Kirk complied, staring at Leonard like he was the last human on earth for him. The last soul he could gaze upon before falling into a chasm of fiery death.
Leonard didn't want to be Kirk's chasm of fiery death. He wanted to be his friend. Only his friend. Only Spock's friend too. You can't be friends with a guy without him falling in love over you, can you Leonard? Remembered what happened with Kyle? He loved you, Lenny. As much as Kirk and Spock do. A tiny little voice sounded at the back of Leonard's head.
SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP! Leonard answered back, almost screaming it out loud. He pushed Kirk onto a bed, and got Kirk's special medical kit. Special, because Kirk is allergic to every goddamn thing he had in his regular medical kit. And that annoyed the hell out of Leonard. But it made him feel warm and squishy inside for some unknown reason.
He liked to feel like only he could cure him, to make him all better again? Maybe so.
He liked to see Kirk vulnerable? Most likely.
Leonard brushed off these thoughts and glanced over to Kirk, surveying the deepest and most bleeding wounds with a critical eye. He felt a strange sense of déjà vu, but hey. Kirk had been in the Sickbay so often he practically had his own bed and dermal regenerator.
Kirk groaned when Leonard began cleaning the cuts with alcohol.
Infant. Leonard said internally.
They stood in silence for a while, Leonard cleaning Kirk's wounds and bandaging them, while Kirk stayed curiously silent.
"Bones?" Kirk whispered, sounding like a 5 year old.
"Yeah , kid?" Leonard said calmly, expecting it to be about Leonard's feelings for him. He wasn't disappointed.
"Do you at least like me as a best friend?" Kirk said, eyes shining. "I mean, if I'm just a stupid kid, why do you hang out with me at all? I must be an eternal annoyance for you." He looked down, looking startlingly like a kid who had just been denied cookies before dinner.
Leonard knew the answer in a second.
"Of course I do, darlin'. I hang out with you, because I sure as hell won't hang out with Spock, or any other kid on this ship. Scotty's okay, but you're the one that always makes me feel better when I'm down, and you are the only one who talks me away from the edge. And yes, you are an annoyance. That answer all your questions, kid?" Leonard reached over and ruffled Jim's blonde hair, being uncharacteristically pleasant, and then quickly returned to his more usual cranky state.
"Now, sit your goddamn ass down on the goddamn bed, Jim! I don't have all day!" Leonard grumbled, feeling slightly bad to be shutting the kid down. How does one deal with unrequited love? He would ask Kirk, a guy with many a crush on him, but that's out of the question entirely. Same with Spock. Who knows who else harbours a crush on him, except Chapel? That leaves only one person.
Chekov.
That's right.
Chekov.
Something about his accent, his teddy bear likeness, and his eyes made all the cadets swoon over him. If they were too old for him, they felt the need to coo at him and mess up his curls. And that's the person Leonard went too.
Not exactly the highest point in Leonard's career.
What's more pathetic than a thirty something old man asking a seventeen year old for relationship advice?
So after Kirk had left the Sickbay, sputtering gushy amounts of proverbial goo at Leonard about love, Leonard swallowed his pride and took the short journey to Chekov's room, only 3 doors down from the Sickbay.
Leonard arrived at the door, breathed deeply, and knocked three times on the metal door.
"Come in!" A chirpy Russian accented voice said cheerfully behind the door. The door slid open slowly, and Leonard stepped, eyes focused on nothing but the small body on the bed.
"Mr. Chekov," He was cut off by the chirpy voice again.
"Call me Pawel, zir! We aren't on za Bridge." Chekov said, smiling up at Leonard from his comic book. Leonard tried to see what he was reading, but all he saw was a guy with a red cape and blue tights before Chekov snapped the book shut, blushing heavily.
"Vhat did you vant, zir? Do I haf to get an exam now?" Leonard chuckled. Every time someone he came to visit someone, they immediately assumed that he wanted to cause them pain. And in the most part, they were right. Not this time.
"Look, kid. I need some advice." Leonard said, blushing and looking above the teenager's head.
"On vhat, zir?" Chekov said, cocking his head to one side.
As you can probably guess, Leonard was turning bright red.
"I need advice on… love." He said quietly. Chekov's face turned a bright pink. They both coughed at the same time and looked away.
"Couldn't you ask the Keptin?" Chekov said, clearly pleading to get Leonard out of his room and out of this situation.
"Can't kid. He's the one I need… advice… about." Leonard said, looking at his feet and shuffling them around a bit on the wood floor. Chekov winced at the squeaking noises, and responded;
"Vhy did you pick me, zir? I'm only sewenteen." Chekov said, a look of confusion muddling his features.
"Are you kidding me, kid? All the cadets love you! You must always have to deal with that every day!" Leonard said, shaking his hands everywhere and making very weird hand gestures.
"It iz annoying, zir, but I kinda vanted to ask you a qvestion." Chekov said, looking at his hands.
"Sure kid, go ahead." He said, giving Chek-Pavel one of his rare smiles.
Boy, what a smile.
His red chapped lips curled over his white teeth, and one of the edges of his lips rose slightly above his gums, making his smile lopsided and childish, un-aging his face by a good 10 years.
His whole face changed, cheekbones suddenly appearing, wrinkles disappearing, a sparkle instead of a glare in his dark eyes.
As most female cadets [and some men] would put it, whenever Leonard smiled, the sun would open up and give you its warmth and make you feel like you could do anything, as long as that smile shone for you, just you.
Only a few people got a Leonard McCoy smile.
Pavel Andreivich Chekov is proud to call himself one of them.
Chekov gazed at Leonard's smile a second too long before replying;
"I like zhis… perzon. I don't know if he likes me…" Chekov shut his mouth quickly, catching his slip. Leonard's face was surprised, though not completely astonished. He took a seat on his bed, feeling strangely like his own dad when he was his age.
"I kinda saw that coming, kid. Who is the lucky guy?" Leonard said, giving Chekov another earth-shattering smile and poking him in the ribcage. Chekov just shook his head, and Leonard poked him again.
"Is it the Captain? Spock? Scotty?" He said, letting the question trail off. Chekov shook his head more fervently.
"Is it… Kyle? I know who it is!" Leonard yelled out suddenly, and Chekov was taken aback.
"It's Sulu, isn't it? It is. Goddamnit! I'm acting like a teenager. Is it Sulu though?" He said, poking him for a third time. Chekov just looked sadly up at Leonard, and shook his head.
"I give up. I'll know it sooner or later." Leonard said again, shrugging his shoulders and getting up from the bed.
"Why are you leaving, zir? I thought you had something to ask me." Leonard looked conflicted for a second, and shook his head.
"Nah, kid. I'll see you later, okay? And come and tell me when you find out if he likes you back. I want to know." He said gravely.
Chekov nodded once, and returned to his comic book. The only indication Leonard had left was the door opening and closing, and the musky scent his deodorant left behind. Chekov breathed the precious scent particles in, and asked himself why, why didn't he tell him?
Only if Leonard had guessed himself.
He would have gotten it right.
I wish he would smile again.
A/N: I completely butchered Chekov's accent. I'm sorry.
Plot TWIST! :O
I'm in love with McCoy's smiles. I just want a huge picture of one.
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