Chapter 29

Growling in frustration, Jim collapsed face down on his bed, "Well fuck him!"

Bones and Spock smirked at one another, and shut the door behind them, taking a more conventional seat on the battered couch in the room.

Rolling over onto his back, the blonde glared at the ceiling, "Fucking bastard".

"Well, you did beat up another student" McCoy pointed out unhelpfully, and he turned to him, pointing an accusatory finger at him, "And yet I didn't see you trying to stop me!"

"... He deserved everything he got".

They all turned to Spock in surprise, but the man continued to stare expressionlessly at them, only a small glint of something dark in his eyes betraying his satisfaction of the heavily injured man.

"... Yes" Jim finally said, "I firmly believe he did".

"So what now?" the Doctor asked him, and the boy frowned, "What now? What do you mean?"

"Well, I'm going to take an educated guess here and say that you and Mitchell aren't quite 'a thing' anymore-"

"Why Bones, how very astute of you to notice".

"-and good riddance too" He continued, ignoring the snarky interruption, "But now that Professor Pike has... shall we say... decided what to do-"

"Punishing, Bones, he's punishing me!"

"Oh please, he's not punishing you, he merely... reprimanding you".

"That sounds an awful lot like punishment Bones".

The older mutant narrowed his eyes at him, "You almost killed another student, and in return you have to wash dishes for two weeks".

"And I can't go to Spock's defence class!" He pouted, completely unaware of how the two men's gazes locked hungrily onto his cupid-bow lips as a result, "It's not fair!"

McCoy quickly shook himself out of his daze, and stared in disbelief at the teen, "... You almost killed another student. I would say missing four two-hour slots where you beat the shit out of other students, is a somewhat appropriate response".

Jim stared at him in mock-horror, sitting up to clasp a hand over his heart, "You wound me, Bones. To think that you would side with that- that- that-"

"I would advise against finishing that sentence" Spock finished quietly, and the blonde frowned at him, "Why? Do you... Oh my god you actually respect him".

The Vulcan shifted uncomfortably on the couch, "I... do not not respect him".

Jim sat up fully, legs crossed and elbows resting on his knees as he lent forwards closer to him, his gaze calculating, "... Why?"

"Why-?"

"Why do you respect him?" He asked, "What did he do to make you loyal to him?"

Spock swallowed, unconsciously shifting closer to his boyfriend who subtly held his hand in return.

"He... He recruited me".

Jim snorted, "He recruited all of us".

"Yes, but not... I was the first student at this Academy" He tried to explain, "I was..."

The blonde's eyes softened at the stuttering Vulcan, knowing full well that him pushing a subject that made the emotionless man emotionful, and leant back to try and appear less imposing.

"You don't have to-"

"No" Spock interrupted, "I left... I ran away when I was 14 years old".

Jim blinked in surprised.

Well, he hadn't been expecting that to come from the man's mouth.

"I was... I never fitted in on Vulcan" He continued, giving a wry smile, "For rather obvious reasons... And then Professor Pike, who was Captain Pike back then, landed his Starship on my planet to restock supplies".

"That's how you met him?" He asked cautiously, "I mean, I know Bones said you came here when you were 14, but... if he was Captain Pike back then..."

"I was his first student" Spock repeated, "I was... technically, the reason he set up Starfleet Academy".

"Because..."

"Because when he left Vulcan, I left with him".

Jim frowned, trying to understand just what the mutant was getting at, before suddenly, it all clicked.

He stared, "... You ran away by hiding on the Head Federation Starship?!"

Spock nodded.

"... Man, and I thought my way was dramatic".

Both men turned to him curiously, but he glared at him, "No. No way. This is about pointy over there, not me!"

"I have... said all I plan on saying this evening" the Vulcan said, "It is now... 'your turn' I believe the phrase is".

"Then I pass" He snapped, and Bones sighed, "Look, kid, we don't want to... pressure you into telling us-"

"Good!"

"-but we want to help you through whatever it is that... caused you to come here".

"I'm a mutant. Isn't that the reason we're all here?"

"Spock's here because he has nowhere else to go, and I'm here-" McCoy abruptly stopped, and Jim narrowed his eyes at him, "And you're here-?"

The doctor took a deep breath, "... And I'm here because I was a reckless and volatile and would probably be dead by now if I didn't".

"... Dead?"

"I'll show you my scars if you show me yours".

Jim eyed them cautiously, tasting only curiosity and a slight hint of worry in the air, before slowly, reluctantly nodded.

"Alright... Alright, fine. A trade's a trade, yea?" He paused for a minute, as if collecting his thoughts, before beginning to speak once more.

"... I was born in Iowa, where I lived until I was 15. When I was 3, my mother remarried to- to a man named Frank".

"Your stepfather".

"My mother's husband" He said sharply, "And he... we didn't get along. I hated him, he hated me, and my mother wasn't ever home long enough to realise. Sometimes I wonder if he only married her for a free place to stay... Anyway, when I was 15, I left".

"You ran away?" Spock asked quietly, and Jim slowly nodded, eyes distant, "Yea. I ran away... I went to Vegas, and I built new life for myself. I'm not stupid, I found a way to survive. And that's where I stayed until two weeks ago when Nyota and Scotty found me".

"Two weeks ago?" Bones asked quickly, "But you've only been here a week".

"I know. I trailed them for a while, let them ask around about me to find out what they wanted".

The two men stared at him.

"... Have you always been this untrusting?"

"Yes".

"Alright".

"So... that's your story?" Bones finished, and Jim slowly stood up, walking over and collapsing down on the remaining seat left in between the men, "... Yea. Yea, that's my story. And you?"

"I was an off-the-rails teenager who smoked, drank, and got into bar fights".

Jim blinked, turning to him, "... Seriously?"

"Seriously" He said, "I... I was a doctor".

"You currently still are a doctor".

"Of mutants, yes, but five years ago I was a real doctor too. I worked in Georgia's biggest hospital, the youngest doctor in the United States since... since I don't know when".

"... Doesn't that make you a genius?"

"I suppose it does".

"And you... what? Got bored of healing people and came here?"

"Pike came to me. Talked some sense into a... into a suicidal teenager".

Jim froze, before abruptly spinning around, facing him full on as the doctor refused to meet his gaze and stare straight ahead instead.

"You-?"

"... I told you I was reckless. I didn't have the best home life, it physically killed me when I failed to save someone, and I just... I didn't want to deal with it anymore".

"So you came here, and that's why Spock was your counsellor".

"Exactly" He finished, glancing over the boy's head, meeting the Vulcan's gaze warmly, "And in all honesty? I think... I think Spock saved my life".