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Title: To the End (La Comédie)
Series: Star Trek XI (as if I write for anything else these days): water park 'verse
Rating: PG-13/R for some violence, swearing, and fade-to-black sexy stuff
Summary: You are cordially invited to the Starfleet social function of the year. That is, assuming these terrorists and the Enterprise Crew's own issues don't get in the way.
Disclaimer: I own nothing that has to do with the characters featured in Star Trek or the Star Trek movie from 2009. No harm was meant, so put the lawyers away, man.
Chapter Notes: Taluhk nash-veh k'dular is Vulcan for “I cherish thee.” It’s about as flowery as they get and is considered a “declaration that is acceptable between bondmates in Vulcan society.” K’diwa is the shortened version of k'hat'n'dlawa which means “half of each other’s heart and soul.” It apparently is a bit archaic due to the emotional connotations the words have. It’s essentially “beloved” in Vulcan. These were taken from The Vulcan Language Dictionary.
The song that Bones walks down the aisle to is Concerto No. 1 in E major, Op. 8, RV 269, "La primavera" (Spring), third movement, allegro, by Vivaldi. The song they leave to is a surprise, as is the song they dance to.
Special thanks for this chapter goes out to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
inugrlrayn for her help with the vows. Thanks, lady!
I have that word count now: 62,471. I just...I don't even know.
I swear the epilogue is able to be posted in one part by itself. The link to part two is located at the bottom of the first half.
“Wait...you guys were the ones who sucked the air out,” Jim said said in an accusing tone to his friends as they sat inside Pike’s office. Bones sighed and placed a hand on his thigh to calm him.
“I knew you’d react this way,” he grumbled good-naturedly.
Chris gave Jim an apologetic smile. “It was just going to last a few minutes. You guys were supposed to call for help, causing another distraction. We would have warned you, but they took our only line of communication.”
“Instead Spock turned all Incredible Hulk on the door and we started running,” Jim finished. “Which I am never getting on your nerves again, by the way. Jesus.”
Janice looked at Christopher for a moment, before turning back to the Enterprise crew. “Recon team is going in as we speak to assess the damage; hopefully we got de Maupassant at least. His organization is undoubtedly crippled by tonight’s events.”
“You all did great work,” Pike continued. “Especially considering almost none of you had any experience with this type of retrieval mission. I’d give you all commendations, but unfortunately as this was off the books I can only offer a good job.” Everyone smiled at him, except for Spock and Sulu.
“It’s fine,” Nyota said as she placed a hand on Spock’s shoulder. “What matters is we got what we came for.” He looked at her; he had been feeling better since he destroyed the door, but his temperature was beginning to rise again and he felt himself perspiring.
Scotty nodded his agreement. “I think we’re happy it went well, though I could go for some sleep.”
“Good thing is afternoon wedding,” Chekov agreed. “Otherwise may sleep through it.”
Janice couldn’t help but yawn at that. “You’re not lying.” Christopher chuckled a little.
“Let’s wrap this up then, since we have a busy day ahead. Sistene, I’ll expect your report on my desk before the ceremony.”
Sighing a little, Chapel nodded twice. “Yes, sir.”
With that everyone began to make their way out of his office, Pike and Rand included. The only person who hung back was Sulu as he appeared to be lost in thought. Chekov was about to cut the lights and shut the door behind him when he noticed the helmsman still sitting on the couch.
“Hi...Sulu?”
Hikaru started for a moment before looking up at him. “What?”
“It is time to go. We have wedding to get ready for.”
“Oh right,” he stood somewhat shakily. “Guess we should leave, then.”
Pavel looked at him for a moment. “I know I am not your favorite person, but is something the matter?”
On the one hand, he was right; Pavel absolutely was not his favorite person. On the other hand, he kind of needed to get this off his chest, and he wasn’t honestly sure where things were with Chris. “It didn’t occur to me until Kirk’s freak out just how dangerous taking the air out of their room was. We would have killed them.”
Pavel shrugged. “Knew nothing like that would happen.”
“Scotty did the engineering right, but suppose no one came to help them?”
“It would have still worked.”
“How? How can you possibly know that?” Sulu glared down at him. “Don’t tell me you did the math, the math doesn’t account for human errors.”
He shrugged. “Did do math, but that is not why I knew.” He hesitated for a moment before making eye contact with the pilot. “Knew it would work because it was your plan, Hikaru.”
The glaring gave way to a look of shock. “I...what?”
Pavel shrugged a second time. “Know you have no faith in me, but does not mean that I have no faith in you.” He nodded at him once and began to leave the office. “We must go.”
Hikaru began to follow him out into the hallway, where they quickly caught up to their friends. The whole way back, all he could think about was Pavel’s words.
It humbled him that after everything between them Pavel could still feel that way about him. While he knew that Pavel missed being his friend, it never occurred to him in all of his anger that he could miss Pavel.
He thought also about his problems with Christine. Sometimes, people did things not because they wanted to, but because they felt they had no choice. While that didn’t necessarily make it right, it did make it understandable. He thought of himself as being an understanding person, but maybe that was an area where he needed work. His mother was fond of calling people works-in-progress, and he was beginning to see why.
Christine was genuinely sorry for lying to him and hated doing it. Pavel had grown up.
Now the only question was...just how understanding could Hikaru really be?
-----
The group of eight, both rescuers and rescued, silently trudged through the hotel lobby. They attracted quite a few stares, although none of them were heeded. Wordlessly, they went into the elevator, pushing the necessary buttons for their respective floors.
At the tenth, Sulu, Christine, and Scotty got off without so much as glancing back to their friends. On the fourteenth, Spock and Uhura left, Chekov following quickly behind once he remembered what floor he was on. Before too long, the elevator stopped on the sixteenth floor and Jim and Bones made their way to their separate rooms.
The two men turned left and made their way down the hall, and Jim got his keycard out of his pocket. He stopped in front of his door and waved it in front of the reader. The door slid open and he took a step inside when suddenly Bones grabbed his wrist. He looked back at him with a curious expression.
“I know you wanted to do the thing where we spend the night apart from each other,” he said. “But...I...”
Jim softened. He looked pointedly into the darkness, then back at Bones. He quickly repeated the motions. Bones sighed in relief, letting go of his hand to walk ahead of him into the room. He followed and shut the door, making sure to lock it.
Bones had already taken off his boots and was in the process of unzipping the jumpsuit. Jim watched him for a minute.
“You get to keep that, right?”
The doctor froze and favored Jim with a perplexed expression.
“What? You made me keep the matador outfit. I can't make you keep this?”
Bones' face formed a knowing smile. “Yeah, I can keep it.”
Jim grinned back at him. “Awesome.” He quickly pulled his shirt over his head and folded it before placing it on a chair. He then took off his jeans and disposed of them in a similar manner. He took off his socks and ran a hand through his hair; sleeping in just his underwear was fine this once. Bones threw the black ops suit across the room and, clad only in his boxers, moved to his usual side of the bed. He pulled the covers down and climbed in, with Jim quickly following suit.
Bones rolled onto his side and looked at him for a long while. Without a word, he slid himself into his arms and buried his face in his neck. Jim blinked in surprise before quickly getting with the program. He wrapped his arms around Bones, pressing a kiss to his hairline. Relaxing at his touch, he quickly drifted off to sleep.
Jim protectively tightened his arms around him. He stared into the darkness of the room as the blackout curtains blocked most of the early morning light. All he could think about was how they almost didn't have this moment: how close they had come to being separated for good.
He also thought again about what had been plaguing him in the cell; that so long as he stayed the captain of the Enterprise, people would continue to target him and those he loved.
Sleep did not come for him.
-----
Spock closed the hotel room door and locked it tight. He frowned at the slight tremors in his hands.
Perhaps it had been foolish to think tearing the door down was enough to simulate the kal-if-fee. His blood was pounding and he was still quite feverish. It felt like it was merely a matter of time before the plak-tow would overtake him. He needed to get to the medication immediately to meditate with a clear mind.
As quickly as he could manage, he made his way to the bedroom. His steps faltered at the sight before him.
Nyota had removed the black jumpsuit and sat on the bed clad only in her black bra and underwear. Her hair was loose about her shoulders and she raised herself up onto her knees.
“You should be resting,” he said after a long moment.
“I'm doing something I should have insisted on in the first place,” she retorted. “Spock, let me help you through this.”
Spock shook his head. “I have already explained that mating during pon farr can be violent.”
“It can also kill you if you don't.”
He shook his head a second time. “I have been handling it, with the medication and...”
“You're shaking and sweating, Spock. You tore apart a door with your bare hands.” Nyota frowned. “Spock, I am your th'y'la. More importantly, I am your partner. I am also putting my foot down. We are going to take care of this right now.”
Perhaps it was the fever. Perhaps it was exhaustion. Perhaps he was simply tired of fighting about it, but Spock found he was hard-pressed to form an argument. “If I hurt you, I will never be able to forgive myself.”
“My risk, my choice,” she replied. “You would never hurt me on purpose, Spock. I know you're not yourself.” Her frown became worried. “If I don't do everything I can to ease you through this, I will never forgive myself.” She opened her arms to him. “Please.”
She was, as always, eminently logical.
More importantly, he loved her.
Spock moved to kneel on the bed with her as she turned to face him with her arms still outstretched. Wordlessly, he fell into them and rested his head on her shoulder. She stroked his hair for a few minutes before he moved to look her in the eye. He hesitated for a moment, and then he kissed her. As she placed her hands on his face, she kissed him back. They lingered that way for a while before he found he could no longer restrain himself and pressed her back into the mattress.
She gasped a little into the kiss as she shifted below him. He slotted himself in between her thighs and reached a hand up to caress her hair. His other hand rested almost possessively on the outside of her thigh. Spock broke the kiss and looked down at her.
“Taluhk nash-veh k'dular," he whispered as her hair slid through his fingers like silk.
She smiled. “K'diwa.”
He kissed her again, more savagely this time. For a moment he thought she would push him away; instead, she moaned into it.
Nothing else mattered after that.
Nothing, that is, except for her.
-----
Hikaru Sulu ran down the hall, trying to catch the elevator before it left.
“Wait, wait,” he said as he stuck his arm into the door. It quickly bounced back and he stepped inside.
The only other person on the elevator with him was Christine.
Her hair was down for once and her dress was a dark gunmetal-gray color. She looked amazing, if a bit tired. Right, Pike ordered her to give him a report. She wouldn’t have gotten the same amount of sleep as the rest of them.
“Thanks,” he offered with a smile as he stepped into the elevator. She had already pressed the button for the lobby, so he didn’t bother touching the screen. He simply stood next to her, close enough to touch if he wanted to but not enough to invade her personal space.
They rode in awkward silence for a moment.
Hikaru sighed. Well, there was no easy way to do this. Best to just get on with it. “Look, about those awful things I said...”
She snorted a little. “Putting it mildly.”
He paused for a moment; he deserved that, so he elected to let it go. “I understand now that you don’t do that because you like to, you’re doing it because you have your orders and you have no choice. I’m sorry that I didn’t have any faith in you about this or that I assumed the worst. I understand if you want to call things off for real because of how much of an ass I was, but I want you to know that I don’t still feel that way.”
Christine was regarding him coolly, although the set of her shoulders did relax a little. “I can’t promise it won’t happen again. I can’t just suddenly tell you what I’m doing because you don’t want to break up with me.”
“Right, and I get that,” he answered, “but maybe you can just tell me it’s classified if I ask, and maybe I don’t always have to ask to start with.”
She looked at him for a long moment. “You’d really be okay with that?”
Hikaru thought for a moment. “Yes, I really would be. We’re in this together.” It wasn’t a lie; he would be, and they really were.
She finally started to smile. “Okay. Then that’s what I’ll do from now on.” Christine reached out her hand and he took it with a smile of his.
The rest of the elevator ride was comfortable, although his thoughts kept going back to Pavel.
He wasn’t sure he could ever be as close to him as he was, but he knew he needed to at least talk to him and clear the air.
Maybe at the reception.
-----
The afternoon was clear with a few clouds, about twenty-three degrees Celsius, and the breeze was blowing gently through the trees. The fountain sprayed gently in the light breeze and the smell of the flowers wafted through the air in a pleasant way.
Jim surveyed the garden and his nerves started to hit him bit by bit. He took a long, deep breath and nervously adjusted his tie. Bones was still getting ready after Jim kicked him out, as he insisted they at least not get dressed together. He asked if he could at least put on some pants but he wasn't having it.
He rubbed his right hand with his left.
This was it. There was no turning back now.
Technically that wasn't true, as he could easily make a break for it and hijack a shuttlecraft. He'd be in orbit before the music even started. No harm, no foul.
Except for the part where Bones would probably hunt him down and beat him to death with his bare hands for humiliating and abandoning him, and there was the part where he really wanted to marry Bones in the first place.
Yeah, no.
A hand rested on his shoulder and he looked down into the eyes of his communications officer. Uhura was clad in a silver floor-length dress with wide straps and a low neckline. Her hair was down and a pair of dangling diamond earrings fell from her ears. She smiled up at him. “Nervous?”
“Yes...and no. And, Jesus, so much.” He smiled back at her, and it was crooked. “How about you? Did Spock...is it...I mean...” He blushed a little. “There is absolutely no way whatsoever for me to ask about this delicately.”
“Stop trying before you give yourself a stroke,” Uhura admonished in a gentle voice. “Yes, it was handled. He's fine and will be here in a minute.”
“How about you? Are you all right? Physically, I mean.”
After a moment, she nodded. “It was different, not in a bad way necessarily. Not something I want all the time, but I think I can deal with it once every seven years.”
“We all have to compromise sometimes,” Jim said with a nod. He took that moment to wrap an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him and slid an arm around his waist. “I have to say, this is not how I expected things to go.”
“Oh?” Her right eyebrow raised in curiosity. “And how was that?”
“I don't know. I expected, when we all got our postings I mean, that I'd be some great swashbuckling hero and you and Spock would get hitched and I'd dance at your wedding. You and Spock are getting hitched, but...you're going to be dancing at mine first. This was just never part of the plan.”
“That’s not a bad thing.”
“No,” he said with a soft smile. “No, it’s really not. I’m just realizing how much more there is for me instead of a never-ending cavalcade of getting shot at.”
“Cavalcade is one of my favorite words,” she said fondly.
“Mine too,” he shot back with a grin. He quickly became more serious. “I’m happier than I ever thought possible, and we both know who to thank for that.”
She smiled. When the mission began, Jim really hadn’t changed much from his academy days. Even now he was still brash, borderline ridiculous, and a bit crazy...but, he was also dependable, strong, and one of the best friends she could ever ask for. Brushing a stray lock of hair out of her eyes, she looked back up at him.
“You know, you don’t have to call me Uhura all the time.”
A little confused, he gave her a sideways look.
“My name is Nyota,” she finished, and he looked down at her with an astonished expression. The surprise quickly gave way to gratitude and he grinned at her.
“I’ll make sure not to abuse it.”
“Probably wise, as I reserve the right to revoke the privilege at any time I see fit.” Jim raised an eyebrow. “I’m just saying.”
“Fair enough...Nyota,” he said with a squeeze of her shoulders. Together they began to walk towards the viewing pool. A thought occurred to him and he smirked. “You know, it’s not too late. We could totally add you and Spock to the queue. What do you say?”
At first, she said nothing. It didn’t take too long before she grimaced.
“I think Spock and I have had all the monuments a couple can take for today, but I appreciate the offer. We’ll just stick to the plan of waiting until the tour ends.” She elbowed him in the side and he laughed. As they walked closer to the wooden platform on the pond, he took in the decorations.
Large floral arrangements of lilies adorned the aisle, and the rows of chairs were strung together by swaths of silver ribbons. The weather was warm and sunny, with only a few clouds in the sky. The Japanese maples gave the garden an air of privacy
Everything was perfect.
He looked back behind him and he saw Sulu, Chapel, and Scotty walking down the aisle, followed not too far behind by Spock and Chekov. Geoff and Pike were following at a distance. The guests were due to start arriving at any moment.
The butterflies in his stomach began to give way to excitement.
It was almost time.
-----
Two days ago when she had gotten the message, she admittedly had been unsure of what to think.
After all, Jim never really seemed the type to settle down with anyone, let alone his best friend that she’d met at his graduation. Although if she were being honest, Jim never really had friends before Leonard, either.
While not unwelcome, it was a bit of a surprise. She immediately messaged Sam to see if he and Aurelan were going to make it, and they said they would. So here she also was, about to attend the wedding of her youngest son.
Winona Kirk stood by the walkway leading toward the wedding site, pausing to take in the surroundings. It really was a beautiful locale. Unsure of where to go, she began walking towards the front. She spotted several Starfleet officers she was familiar with and stopped to exchange pleasantries with them as she kept an eye out for Sam or Jim.
There he was.
Jim was ahead near the deck talking with Christopher Pike. He was smiling, but she also saw he was rubbing his hands together nervously. Some things never changed. She began to make her way over when Richard Barnett appeared in her path.
“Winona,” he said with a smile.
“Admiral, so nice to see you.” It was.
“You’re really going to call me Admiral today,” he said with a shake of his head. “Really?”
Winona couldn’t help but laugh. “Richard.”
Richard grinned down at her. “Much better. Bet you never thought this would happen,” he said as he pointed to where Jim and Christopher were talking.
“I was a bit surprised, but he’s happy. That’s all that counts,” she answered truthfully. He nodded his agreement. They two of the them continued to make smalltalk for a while; they went back quite a few years, so it was fun for them to catch up.
Her attention kept diverting back to Jim, who was now talking with another admiral. Sensing he was being watched, he scanned the crowd before him before meeting her gaze. His eyes widened almost comically, and he quickly turned to excuse himself.
“Mom!”
Winona turned to Richard. “Excuse me, I...”
“Don’t worry about it. We’ll talk more at the reception,” he said. He lightly touched her on the shoulder before taking off to find his seat. Jim filled his spot almost immediately.
“Mom, I...you weren’t at the dinner last night so I just assumed...I mean...how are you,” he babbled. She felt her smile turn into a full-on grin.
“I’m fine, Jim, and I’m sorry I didn’t make it last night. My shuttle didn’t get in until late and I should have messaged you.”
This made Jim visibly relax and he started to smile a little. “Oh. Well, I’m...I’m really happy you made it today; Bones will be too.”
Come to think of it... “Where is he, I don’t see him anywhere?”
“He’s out of sight, but he’s here. We’re doing it the old-fashioned way, so neither of us will see each other until he walks down the aisle.”
Winona raised an eyebrow. “How on Earth did you get that man to agree to that?”
“Coin toss.”
“Right.” She really ought to have guessed; at their graduation, they roped her into a poker game. Winona had easily taken them both to the cleaners, much to Jim’s amusement and Leonard’s consternation. She looked her youngest son over carefully. He definitely was the spitting image of his father, and he looked incredibly handsome in his tuxedo. Most of all, he looked happy...and relieved. “Jim...did you really think I wasn’t coming?”
There was a brief moment of hesitation before he answered. “You’re busy, and last I knew you were off-planet. I know how it goes.”
She sighed. Honestly, she couldn’t blame him. She’d barely made it to the graduation, not to mention all the other events she’d missed over the years. It kind of broke her heart, but he had every right to feel that way.
“I know I wasn’t always there for you and Sam,” she began, “but I’m so happy I can be here today. I’m in San Francisco for a month before my next assignment, so I would love it if you and Leonard would spend some time with me while you’re on leave.”
Jim brightened considerably. “It’s okay, I...I know it wasn’t on purpose. I’d really like that. I’ve got to check with him though, we’re honeymooning and then spending time with his daughter in Georgia...but, I think I can get us back a day early, if that’s all right?”
Feeling relieved herself, she couldn’t help but grin at him. “That sounds wonderful.”
“Great!” He reached out his arms and she let herself be pulled into a hug. “Now come with me, I’ve got a spot for you next to Sam up front. You’re not sitting in the back!”
“Wait, what about the admiralty?”
“Whatever,” he said as he began to pull her to the front row. She just laughed in response.
-----
Leonard McCoy stood at the back of the “aisle,” peering from behind one of the maple trees.
Strangely, nerves weren’t really hitting him. However, he was still irritated by Jim kicking him out with only his boxers and room key earlier.
But only a little bit.
Everyone was taking their seats and getting into position. The music was going to start any moment now. He took a deep breath.
“Daddy?”
He looked down at his daughter. “Yeah, baby girl?”
She frowned for a second at his words. “I thought I told you...”
“I know, I know, you’re not a ‘baby girl’ anymore. The problem is, Jo, you’re always going to be my baby girl.” He raised both of his eyebrows at her. “So I don’t know that I can ever stop calling you that, but I can try to not do it so much, if that’s okay.”
Jo scrunched up her face in thought for a moment before nodding. “I guess once in a while is okay,” she said as she smiled again. “It’s almost time, isn’t it?” She raised the basket she was holding up and tapped it once. Bones smiled back at her.
“Yeah, it is. We’ll know when it’s time.”
Lowering the basket, she stepped forward. “I love you, Daddy. I love Uncle Jim, too.” She looked thoughtful. “Although I guess he’s just Jim now, like Uncle Clay became just Clay.”
He nodded. “Sounds good to me, and I know he’ll be happy to hear that.”
With that, the music started, a beautiful melody played by the string quartet up front. Bones peered out from the tree and saw that Jim was standing at his place just to the left in front of Pike. They waited a couple of moments and then he nudged her.
“Go on,” he whispered. She rolled her eyes.
“I know,” she whispered back. With that she began taking steps down the aisle, dropping a handful of petals every meter or so. He waited until she was about halfway there before beginning to walk down the aisle himself.
Everyone turned their heads to stare at him and he couldn’t help but flush a bit in response. Being the center of attention was Jim’s thing, not his, and it made him feel a bit awkward. He looked ahead of him and Jim was standing perfectly straight with a look of undisguised awe on his face. He couldn’t help but smile back; he looked pretty good himself in his matching suit.
Okay, he looked better than pretty good. He was as gorgeous as always, and it made his heart swell.
He was an incredibly lucky man.
Jo had taken her seat next to her mother; he was almost there himself. He took the final few steps and joined Jim in front of Pike. His fiancé reached out his hands and he took them as he stood facing him. The music faded before ceasing all together, and Pike began to speak.
“Friends, we are gathered here today to take part in the most time honored celebration of the human family, uniting these two men in marriage. Jim and Leonard have come to witness before us, telling of their love for each other. We remember theirs is a love whose source is the affection of those who loved them into being.”
Winona found her eyes teared up at his words. Across the aisle from her, Bones’ aunt and uncle did the same.
“You have known each other from the first glance of acquaintance to this point of commitment. At some point, fairly recently might I add,” he said with a smile and several people in the audience chuckled, “you decided to marry. From that moment of yes to this moment of yes, indeed you have been making promises and agreements in an informal way. The symbolic vows that you are about to make are a way of saying to one another, ‘you know all those things we've promised and hoped and dreamed -- well, I meant it all, every word’."
Nyota took Spock’s hand in hers and smiled at him. His cheeks turned slightly green from flushing, but he squeezed her hand in response. Christine looked up at Hikaru, and he put his arm around her shoulders.
“Look at one another and remember this moment in time. Before this moment you have been many things to one another -- acquaintance, friend, companion, and even teacher. Now you shall say a few words that take you across the threshold of life, and things will never quite be the same between you. For after these vows, you shall each say to the world, ‘this is my husband’.”
Scotty found himself touched, not just for his friends, but for himself. He looked over at Pavel, who he realized was looking right at him. The navigator offered a tentative smile and he returned it. Joanna grinned up at her dad and soon-to-be stepfather, and her mother smiled with her.
The admiral nodded to the men standing before him. “In honor of the occasion, Jim and Leonard have elected to write their own vows.” He looked to Jim and gave him a reassuring smile. Jim cleared his throat in response.
“A little more than a year ago, I fell in love with my best friend, and you know, at first it terrified me. I’d never been in love before, and it was kind of a scary feeling,” he said with a shaky grin. “The thing that kept sticking with me though, the thing that got me through, was that I was in love with you, Bones. You were the first person to ever have my back, and I knew then like I know now that we’ll always be an inevitability.”
As he hung on every word that was said, Bones found he was rendered speechless.
Damn him.
“I promise, Bones---Leonard, that I will face everything that comes our way by your side. I promise that when things get difficult I will always work them out with you with respect. I promise to never stop wanting to wake up by your side. Most of all, I promise to love you with all I’ve got until the day I die. And I promise I’ll always have your back, the way you’ve had mine for so long.”
Taking a long, deep breath, he looked to Pike for a moment. He nodded back in response, and Bones took that as his cue.
“Everyone here knows I was hesitant about getting involved with you when this began.” He took another deep breath before continuing. “You love showboating, you’re reckless, you’re stubborn, and you’d seldom taken anything seriously before.”
Jim raised an eyebrow, but his expression was amused.
“There was also the fact that you’d never do anything to hurt me. That you always look out for me when I’m working too long. You always know exactly what I need when I’m feeling low, or even when things are good.
“That, Jim, is why I said yes to you then and why I’m saying it today. I swear I will always do right by you, and I swear that no matter what obstacles come our way, we’ll face them together. I swear that I’ll always be there when you need me, and even when you don’t. And I swear that I’m gonna love you with all that I am for as long as we’re both breathing.”
Amusement having since faded, Jim’s expression was touched and his eyes looked suspiciously bright. Bones smiled at him briefly before they both turned their attention back to Pike.
“The wedding ring,” he said and Johnny and Sam passed the rings to the grooms, “is a symbol of unity, a circle unbroken, without beginning or end. And today Jim and Leonard give and receive these rings as demonstrations of their vows to make their lives one, to work at all times to create a life that is whole and unbroken, and to love each other without end. Jim, take the ring you have selected, place it upon Leonard’s finger, and say these words, ‘with this ring, I thee wed’.”
His hands trembling a little, Jim held out the ring as Bones lifted his hand. “With this ring, I thee wed.” As he slid it onto his finger, Bones found his vision was growing blurry. He swallowed once, so that he would be able to speak properly when it was his turn.
“Leonard, take the ring you have selected, place it upon Jim’s finger, and say these words, ‘with this ring, I thee wed’.”
“With this ring, I thee wed,” he proclaimed as he slid the ring onto Jim’s finger. They joined hands again and faced Pike, who was now smiling openly.
“Jim and Leonard, as a collection of words, this ceremony would count for little, were it not for the love and commitment you have pledged to one another. Your vows may have been spoken in minutes, but your promises to each other will last a lifetime. Having witnessed your vows for marriage with all who are assembled here and by the authority vested in me, I announce with great joy that you are husbands to one another.”
His face flushed, Jim was grinning, and Bones found he was doing the same.
Pike smirked a little bit as he jerked his head quickly to one side. “Come on, let’s go. Give the people what they want.”
The captain burst out laughing just as Bones grabbed his face with both hands and kissed him soundly on the lips. He quickly stopped laughing to kiss him back. A round of thunderous applause erupted from the crowd. They stayed joined until breathing became a necessity, and they finally broke apart and smiled at the crowd.
Still with a grin on his face, Pike shook his head once. “It gives me great pleasure to present to you, for the first time as husband and husband, Captain and Doctor Kirk-McCoy!”
The music began anew, and with their hands joined the newly married couple began to make their way down the aisle with the matching smiles still on their faces.
They were about two-thirds of the way to the end when Bones noticed it.
“Is that...are they playing ‘Back that Ass Up’?”
The smirk on Jim’s face was the only answer he needed.
“You are unbelievable.”
“You should just be happy I didn’t pull a bait-and-switch to have you do your processional to it,” Jim retorted.
“I can’t fucking believe I just married you.”
“Believe it, McMuffin. You’re stuck with me.”
“Oh no, I’m not. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but they have these newfangled things called annulments...”
Jim snorted. “Oh, like that’s going to happen. You love me way too much for that.”
“I’m not sure I honestly do at this particular moment.”
“More to the point, you knew what you were getting into.” They had reached the end of the aisle and Jim tugged him towards him. Bones stumbled a bit and Jim held him close. “You love it,” he whispered as he kissed him. He squawked a little in protest but quickly found he was kissing him back.
“Fuck you,” he said with a laugh as it ended. Jim threw his head back and outright cracked up.
“Come on, Bones, it’s time for the meet and greet.”
With that, he led him to through the bough to stand and wait for their friends and guests.
Chapter 5b | Chapter 6b
Series: Star Trek XI (as if I write for anything else these days): water park 'verse
Rating: PG-13/R for some violence, swearing, and fade-to-black sexy stuff
Summary: You are cordially invited to the Starfleet social function of the year. That is, assuming these terrorists and the Enterprise Crew's own issues don't get in the way.
Disclaimer: I own nothing that has to do with the characters featured in Star Trek or the Star Trek movie from 2009. No harm was meant, so put the lawyers away, man.
Chapter Notes: Taluhk nash-veh k'dular is Vulcan for “I cherish thee.” It’s about as flowery as they get and is considered a “declaration that is acceptable between bondmates in Vulcan society.” K’diwa is the shortened version of k'hat'n'dlawa which means “half of each other’s heart and soul.” It apparently is a bit archaic due to the emotional connotations the words have. It’s essentially “beloved” in Vulcan. These were taken from The Vulcan Language Dictionary.
The song that Bones walks down the aisle to is Concerto No. 1 in E major, Op. 8, RV 269, "La primavera" (Spring), third movement, allegro, by Vivaldi. The song they leave to is a surprise, as is the song they dance to.
Special thanks for this chapter goes out to
inugrlrayn for her help with the vows. Thanks, lady!I have that word count now: 62,471. I just...I don't even know.
I swear the epilogue is able to be posted in one part by itself. The link to part two is located at the bottom of the first half.
“Wait...you guys were the ones who sucked the air out,” Jim said said in an accusing tone to his friends as they sat inside Pike’s office. Bones sighed and placed a hand on his thigh to calm him.
“I knew you’d react this way,” he grumbled good-naturedly.
Chris gave Jim an apologetic smile. “It was just going to last a few minutes. You guys were supposed to call for help, causing another distraction. We would have warned you, but they took our only line of communication.”
“Instead Spock turned all Incredible Hulk on the door and we started running,” Jim finished. “Which I am never getting on your nerves again, by the way. Jesus.”
Janice looked at Christopher for a moment, before turning back to the Enterprise crew. “Recon team is going in as we speak to assess the damage; hopefully we got de Maupassant at least. His organization is undoubtedly crippled by tonight’s events.”
“You all did great work,” Pike continued. “Especially considering almost none of you had any experience with this type of retrieval mission. I’d give you all commendations, but unfortunately as this was off the books I can only offer a good job.” Everyone smiled at him, except for Spock and Sulu.
“It’s fine,” Nyota said as she placed a hand on Spock’s shoulder. “What matters is we got what we came for.” He looked at her; he had been feeling better since he destroyed the door, but his temperature was beginning to rise again and he felt himself perspiring.
Scotty nodded his agreement. “I think we’re happy it went well, though I could go for some sleep.”
“Good thing is afternoon wedding,” Chekov agreed. “Otherwise may sleep through it.”
Janice couldn’t help but yawn at that. “You’re not lying.” Christopher chuckled a little.
“Let’s wrap this up then, since we have a busy day ahead. Sistene, I’ll expect your report on my desk before the ceremony.”
Sighing a little, Chapel nodded twice. “Yes, sir.”
With that everyone began to make their way out of his office, Pike and Rand included. The only person who hung back was Sulu as he appeared to be lost in thought. Chekov was about to cut the lights and shut the door behind him when he noticed the helmsman still sitting on the couch.
“Hi...Sulu?”
Hikaru started for a moment before looking up at him. “What?”
“It is time to go. We have wedding to get ready for.”
“Oh right,” he stood somewhat shakily. “Guess we should leave, then.”
Pavel looked at him for a moment. “I know I am not your favorite person, but is something the matter?”
On the one hand, he was right; Pavel absolutely was not his favorite person. On the other hand, he kind of needed to get this off his chest, and he wasn’t honestly sure where things were with Chris. “It didn’t occur to me until Kirk’s freak out just how dangerous taking the air out of their room was. We would have killed them.”
Pavel shrugged. “Knew nothing like that would happen.”
“Scotty did the engineering right, but suppose no one came to help them?”
“It would have still worked.”
“How? How can you possibly know that?” Sulu glared down at him. “Don’t tell me you did the math, the math doesn’t account for human errors.”
He shrugged. “Did do math, but that is not why I knew.” He hesitated for a moment before making eye contact with the pilot. “Knew it would work because it was your plan, Hikaru.”
The glaring gave way to a look of shock. “I...what?”
Pavel shrugged a second time. “Know you have no faith in me, but does not mean that I have no faith in you.” He nodded at him once and began to leave the office. “We must go.”
Hikaru began to follow him out into the hallway, where they quickly caught up to their friends. The whole way back, all he could think about was Pavel’s words.
It humbled him that after everything between them Pavel could still feel that way about him. While he knew that Pavel missed being his friend, it never occurred to him in all of his anger that he could miss Pavel.
He thought also about his problems with Christine. Sometimes, people did things not because they wanted to, but because they felt they had no choice. While that didn’t necessarily make it right, it did make it understandable. He thought of himself as being an understanding person, but maybe that was an area where he needed work. His mother was fond of calling people works-in-progress, and he was beginning to see why.
Christine was genuinely sorry for lying to him and hated doing it. Pavel had grown up.
Now the only question was...just how understanding could Hikaru really be?
The group of eight, both rescuers and rescued, silently trudged through the hotel lobby. They attracted quite a few stares, although none of them were heeded. Wordlessly, they went into the elevator, pushing the necessary buttons for their respective floors.
At the tenth, Sulu, Christine, and Scotty got off without so much as glancing back to their friends. On the fourteenth, Spock and Uhura left, Chekov following quickly behind once he remembered what floor he was on. Before too long, the elevator stopped on the sixteenth floor and Jim and Bones made their way to their separate rooms.
The two men turned left and made their way down the hall, and Jim got his keycard out of his pocket. He stopped in front of his door and waved it in front of the reader. The door slid open and he took a step inside when suddenly Bones grabbed his wrist. He looked back at him with a curious expression.
“I know you wanted to do the thing where we spend the night apart from each other,” he said. “But...I...”
Jim softened. He looked pointedly into the darkness, then back at Bones. He quickly repeated the motions. Bones sighed in relief, letting go of his hand to walk ahead of him into the room. He followed and shut the door, making sure to lock it.
Bones had already taken off his boots and was in the process of unzipping the jumpsuit. Jim watched him for a minute.
“You get to keep that, right?”
The doctor froze and favored Jim with a perplexed expression.
“What? You made me keep the matador outfit. I can't make you keep this?”
Bones' face formed a knowing smile. “Yeah, I can keep it.”
Jim grinned back at him. “Awesome.” He quickly pulled his shirt over his head and folded it before placing it on a chair. He then took off his jeans and disposed of them in a similar manner. He took off his socks and ran a hand through his hair; sleeping in just his underwear was fine this once. Bones threw the black ops suit across the room and, clad only in his boxers, moved to his usual side of the bed. He pulled the covers down and climbed in, with Jim quickly following suit.
Bones rolled onto his side and looked at him for a long while. Without a word, he slid himself into his arms and buried his face in his neck. Jim blinked in surprise before quickly getting with the program. He wrapped his arms around Bones, pressing a kiss to his hairline. Relaxing at his touch, he quickly drifted off to sleep.
Jim protectively tightened his arms around him. He stared into the darkness of the room as the blackout curtains blocked most of the early morning light. All he could think about was how they almost didn't have this moment: how close they had come to being separated for good.
He also thought again about what had been plaguing him in the cell; that so long as he stayed the captain of the Enterprise, people would continue to target him and those he loved.
Sleep did not come for him.
Spock closed the hotel room door and locked it tight. He frowned at the slight tremors in his hands.
Perhaps it had been foolish to think tearing the door down was enough to simulate the kal-if-fee. His blood was pounding and he was still quite feverish. It felt like it was merely a matter of time before the plak-tow would overtake him. He needed to get to the medication immediately to meditate with a clear mind.
As quickly as he could manage, he made his way to the bedroom. His steps faltered at the sight before him.
Nyota had removed the black jumpsuit and sat on the bed clad only in her black bra and underwear. Her hair was loose about her shoulders and she raised herself up onto her knees.
“You should be resting,” he said after a long moment.
“I'm doing something I should have insisted on in the first place,” she retorted. “Spock, let me help you through this.”
Spock shook his head. “I have already explained that mating during pon farr can be violent.”
“It can also kill you if you don't.”
He shook his head a second time. “I have been handling it, with the medication and...”
“You're shaking and sweating, Spock. You tore apart a door with your bare hands.” Nyota frowned. “Spock, I am your th'y'la. More importantly, I am your partner. I am also putting my foot down. We are going to take care of this right now.”
Perhaps it was the fever. Perhaps it was exhaustion. Perhaps he was simply tired of fighting about it, but Spock found he was hard-pressed to form an argument. “If I hurt you, I will never be able to forgive myself.”
“My risk, my choice,” she replied. “You would never hurt me on purpose, Spock. I know you're not yourself.” Her frown became worried. “If I don't do everything I can to ease you through this, I will never forgive myself.” She opened her arms to him. “Please.”
She was, as always, eminently logical.
More importantly, he loved her.
Spock moved to kneel on the bed with her as she turned to face him with her arms still outstretched. Wordlessly, he fell into them and rested his head on her shoulder. She stroked his hair for a few minutes before he moved to look her in the eye. He hesitated for a moment, and then he kissed her. As she placed her hands on his face, she kissed him back. They lingered that way for a while before he found he could no longer restrain himself and pressed her back into the mattress.
She gasped a little into the kiss as she shifted below him. He slotted himself in between her thighs and reached a hand up to caress her hair. His other hand rested almost possessively on the outside of her thigh. Spock broke the kiss and looked down at her.
“Taluhk nash-veh k'dular," he whispered as her hair slid through his fingers like silk.
She smiled. “K'diwa.”
He kissed her again, more savagely this time. For a moment he thought she would push him away; instead, she moaned into it.
Nothing else mattered after that.
Nothing, that is, except for her.
Hikaru Sulu ran down the hall, trying to catch the elevator before it left.
“Wait, wait,” he said as he stuck his arm into the door. It quickly bounced back and he stepped inside.
The only other person on the elevator with him was Christine.
Her hair was down for once and her dress was a dark gunmetal-gray color. She looked amazing, if a bit tired. Right, Pike ordered her to give him a report. She wouldn’t have gotten the same amount of sleep as the rest of them.
“Thanks,” he offered with a smile as he stepped into the elevator. She had already pressed the button for the lobby, so he didn’t bother touching the screen. He simply stood next to her, close enough to touch if he wanted to but not enough to invade her personal space.
They rode in awkward silence for a moment.
Hikaru sighed. Well, there was no easy way to do this. Best to just get on with it. “Look, about those awful things I said...”
She snorted a little. “Putting it mildly.”
He paused for a moment; he deserved that, so he elected to let it go. “I understand now that you don’t do that because you like to, you’re doing it because you have your orders and you have no choice. I’m sorry that I didn’t have any faith in you about this or that I assumed the worst. I understand if you want to call things off for real because of how much of an ass I was, but I want you to know that I don’t still feel that way.”
Christine was regarding him coolly, although the set of her shoulders did relax a little. “I can’t promise it won’t happen again. I can’t just suddenly tell you what I’m doing because you don’t want to break up with me.”
“Right, and I get that,” he answered, “but maybe you can just tell me it’s classified if I ask, and maybe I don’t always have to ask to start with.”
She looked at him for a long moment. “You’d really be okay with that?”
Hikaru thought for a moment. “Yes, I really would be. We’re in this together.” It wasn’t a lie; he would be, and they really were.
She finally started to smile. “Okay. Then that’s what I’ll do from now on.” Christine reached out her hand and he took it with a smile of his.
The rest of the elevator ride was comfortable, although his thoughts kept going back to Pavel.
He wasn’t sure he could ever be as close to him as he was, but he knew he needed to at least talk to him and clear the air.
Maybe at the reception.
The afternoon was clear with a few clouds, about twenty-three degrees Celsius, and the breeze was blowing gently through the trees. The fountain sprayed gently in the light breeze and the smell of the flowers wafted through the air in a pleasant way.
Jim surveyed the garden and his nerves started to hit him bit by bit. He took a long, deep breath and nervously adjusted his tie. Bones was still getting ready after Jim kicked him out, as he insisted they at least not get dressed together. He asked if he could at least put on some pants but he wasn't having it.
He rubbed his right hand with his left.
This was it. There was no turning back now.
Technically that wasn't true, as he could easily make a break for it and hijack a shuttlecraft. He'd be in orbit before the music even started. No harm, no foul.
Except for the part where Bones would probably hunt him down and beat him to death with his bare hands for humiliating and abandoning him, and there was the part where he really wanted to marry Bones in the first place.
Yeah, no.
A hand rested on his shoulder and he looked down into the eyes of his communications officer. Uhura was clad in a silver floor-length dress with wide straps and a low neckline. Her hair was down and a pair of dangling diamond earrings fell from her ears. She smiled up at him. “Nervous?”
“Yes...and no. And, Jesus, so much.” He smiled back at her, and it was crooked. “How about you? Did Spock...is it...I mean...” He blushed a little. “There is absolutely no way whatsoever for me to ask about this delicately.”
“Stop trying before you give yourself a stroke,” Uhura admonished in a gentle voice. “Yes, it was handled. He's fine and will be here in a minute.”
“How about you? Are you all right? Physically, I mean.”
After a moment, she nodded. “It was different, not in a bad way necessarily. Not something I want all the time, but I think I can deal with it once every seven years.”
“We all have to compromise sometimes,” Jim said with a nod. He took that moment to wrap an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him and slid an arm around his waist. “I have to say, this is not how I expected things to go.”
“Oh?” Her right eyebrow raised in curiosity. “And how was that?”
“I don't know. I expected, when we all got our postings I mean, that I'd be some great swashbuckling hero and you and Spock would get hitched and I'd dance at your wedding. You and Spock are getting hitched, but...you're going to be dancing at mine first. This was just never part of the plan.”
“That’s not a bad thing.”
“No,” he said with a soft smile. “No, it’s really not. I’m just realizing how much more there is for me instead of a never-ending cavalcade of getting shot at.”
“Cavalcade is one of my favorite words,” she said fondly.
“Mine too,” he shot back with a grin. He quickly became more serious. “I’m happier than I ever thought possible, and we both know who to thank for that.”
She smiled. When the mission began, Jim really hadn’t changed much from his academy days. Even now he was still brash, borderline ridiculous, and a bit crazy...but, he was also dependable, strong, and one of the best friends she could ever ask for. Brushing a stray lock of hair out of her eyes, she looked back up at him.
“You know, you don’t have to call me Uhura all the time.”
A little confused, he gave her a sideways look.
“My name is Nyota,” she finished, and he looked down at her with an astonished expression. The surprise quickly gave way to gratitude and he grinned at her.
“I’ll make sure not to abuse it.”
“Probably wise, as I reserve the right to revoke the privilege at any time I see fit.” Jim raised an eyebrow. “I’m just saying.”
“Fair enough...Nyota,” he said with a squeeze of her shoulders. Together they began to walk towards the viewing pool. A thought occurred to him and he smirked. “You know, it’s not too late. We could totally add you and Spock to the queue. What do you say?”
At first, she said nothing. It didn’t take too long before she grimaced.
“I think Spock and I have had all the monuments a couple can take for today, but I appreciate the offer. We’ll just stick to the plan of waiting until the tour ends.” She elbowed him in the side and he laughed. As they walked closer to the wooden platform on the pond, he took in the decorations.
Large floral arrangements of lilies adorned the aisle, and the rows of chairs were strung together by swaths of silver ribbons. The weather was warm and sunny, with only a few clouds in the sky. The Japanese maples gave the garden an air of privacy
Everything was perfect.
He looked back behind him and he saw Sulu, Chapel, and Scotty walking down the aisle, followed not too far behind by Spock and Chekov. Geoff and Pike were following at a distance. The guests were due to start arriving at any moment.
The butterflies in his stomach began to give way to excitement.
It was almost time.
Two days ago when she had gotten the message, she admittedly had been unsure of what to think.
After all, Jim never really seemed the type to settle down with anyone, let alone his best friend that she’d met at his graduation. Although if she were being honest, Jim never really had friends before Leonard, either.
While not unwelcome, it was a bit of a surprise. She immediately messaged Sam to see if he and Aurelan were going to make it, and they said they would. So here she also was, about to attend the wedding of her youngest son.
Winona Kirk stood by the walkway leading toward the wedding site, pausing to take in the surroundings. It really was a beautiful locale. Unsure of where to go, she began walking towards the front. She spotted several Starfleet officers she was familiar with and stopped to exchange pleasantries with them as she kept an eye out for Sam or Jim.
There he was.
Jim was ahead near the deck talking with Christopher Pike. He was smiling, but she also saw he was rubbing his hands together nervously. Some things never changed. She began to make her way over when Richard Barnett appeared in her path.
“Winona,” he said with a smile.
“Admiral, so nice to see you.” It was.
“You’re really going to call me Admiral today,” he said with a shake of his head. “Really?”
Winona couldn’t help but laugh. “Richard.”
Richard grinned down at her. “Much better. Bet you never thought this would happen,” he said as he pointed to where Jim and Christopher were talking.
“I was a bit surprised, but he’s happy. That’s all that counts,” she answered truthfully. He nodded his agreement. They two of the them continued to make smalltalk for a while; they went back quite a few years, so it was fun for them to catch up.
Her attention kept diverting back to Jim, who was now talking with another admiral. Sensing he was being watched, he scanned the crowd before him before meeting her gaze. His eyes widened almost comically, and he quickly turned to excuse himself.
“Mom!”
Winona turned to Richard. “Excuse me, I...”
“Don’t worry about it. We’ll talk more at the reception,” he said. He lightly touched her on the shoulder before taking off to find his seat. Jim filled his spot almost immediately.
“Mom, I...you weren’t at the dinner last night so I just assumed...I mean...how are you,” he babbled. She felt her smile turn into a full-on grin.
“I’m fine, Jim, and I’m sorry I didn’t make it last night. My shuttle didn’t get in until late and I should have messaged you.”
This made Jim visibly relax and he started to smile a little. “Oh. Well, I’m...I’m really happy you made it today; Bones will be too.”
Come to think of it... “Where is he, I don’t see him anywhere?”
“He’s out of sight, but he’s here. We’re doing it the old-fashioned way, so neither of us will see each other until he walks down the aisle.”
Winona raised an eyebrow. “How on Earth did you get that man to agree to that?”
“Coin toss.”
“Right.” She really ought to have guessed; at their graduation, they roped her into a poker game. Winona had easily taken them both to the cleaners, much to Jim’s amusement and Leonard’s consternation. She looked her youngest son over carefully. He definitely was the spitting image of his father, and he looked incredibly handsome in his tuxedo. Most of all, he looked happy...and relieved. “Jim...did you really think I wasn’t coming?”
There was a brief moment of hesitation before he answered. “You’re busy, and last I knew you were off-planet. I know how it goes.”
She sighed. Honestly, she couldn’t blame him. She’d barely made it to the graduation, not to mention all the other events she’d missed over the years. It kind of broke her heart, but he had every right to feel that way.
“I know I wasn’t always there for you and Sam,” she began, “but I’m so happy I can be here today. I’m in San Francisco for a month before my next assignment, so I would love it if you and Leonard would spend some time with me while you’re on leave.”
Jim brightened considerably. “It’s okay, I...I know it wasn’t on purpose. I’d really like that. I’ve got to check with him though, we’re honeymooning and then spending time with his daughter in Georgia...but, I think I can get us back a day early, if that’s all right?”
Feeling relieved herself, she couldn’t help but grin at him. “That sounds wonderful.”
“Great!” He reached out his arms and she let herself be pulled into a hug. “Now come with me, I’ve got a spot for you next to Sam up front. You’re not sitting in the back!”
“Wait, what about the admiralty?”
“Whatever,” he said as he began to pull her to the front row. She just laughed in response.
Leonard McCoy stood at the back of the “aisle,” peering from behind one of the maple trees.
Strangely, nerves weren’t really hitting him. However, he was still irritated by Jim kicking him out with only his boxers and room key earlier.
But only a little bit.
Everyone was taking their seats and getting into position. The music was going to start any moment now. He took a deep breath.
“Daddy?”
He looked down at his daughter. “Yeah, baby girl?”
She frowned for a second at his words. “I thought I told you...”
“I know, I know, you’re not a ‘baby girl’ anymore. The problem is, Jo, you’re always going to be my baby girl.” He raised both of his eyebrows at her. “So I don’t know that I can ever stop calling you that, but I can try to not do it so much, if that’s okay.”
Jo scrunched up her face in thought for a moment before nodding. “I guess once in a while is okay,” she said as she smiled again. “It’s almost time, isn’t it?” She raised the basket she was holding up and tapped it once. Bones smiled back at her.
“Yeah, it is. We’ll know when it’s time.”
Lowering the basket, she stepped forward. “I love you, Daddy. I love Uncle Jim, too.” She looked thoughtful. “Although I guess he’s just Jim now, like Uncle Clay became just Clay.”
He nodded. “Sounds good to me, and I know he’ll be happy to hear that.”
With that, the music started, a beautiful melody played by the string quartet up front. Bones peered out from the tree and saw that Jim was standing at his place just to the left in front of Pike. They waited a couple of moments and then he nudged her.
“Go on,” he whispered. She rolled her eyes.
“I know,” she whispered back. With that she began taking steps down the aisle, dropping a handful of petals every meter or so. He waited until she was about halfway there before beginning to walk down the aisle himself.
Everyone turned their heads to stare at him and he couldn’t help but flush a bit in response. Being the center of attention was Jim’s thing, not his, and it made him feel a bit awkward. He looked ahead of him and Jim was standing perfectly straight with a look of undisguised awe on his face. He couldn’t help but smile back; he looked pretty good himself in his matching suit.
Okay, he looked better than pretty good. He was as gorgeous as always, and it made his heart swell.
He was an incredibly lucky man.
Jo had taken her seat next to her mother; he was almost there himself. He took the final few steps and joined Jim in front of Pike. His fiancé reached out his hands and he took them as he stood facing him. The music faded before ceasing all together, and Pike began to speak.
“Friends, we are gathered here today to take part in the most time honored celebration of the human family, uniting these two men in marriage. Jim and Leonard have come to witness before us, telling of their love for each other. We remember theirs is a love whose source is the affection of those who loved them into being.”
Winona found her eyes teared up at his words. Across the aisle from her, Bones’ aunt and uncle did the same.
“You have known each other from the first glance of acquaintance to this point of commitment. At some point, fairly recently might I add,” he said with a smile and several people in the audience chuckled, “you decided to marry. From that moment of yes to this moment of yes, indeed you have been making promises and agreements in an informal way. The symbolic vows that you are about to make are a way of saying to one another, ‘you know all those things we've promised and hoped and dreamed -- well, I meant it all, every word’."
Nyota took Spock’s hand in hers and smiled at him. His cheeks turned slightly green from flushing, but he squeezed her hand in response. Christine looked up at Hikaru, and he put his arm around her shoulders.
“Look at one another and remember this moment in time. Before this moment you have been many things to one another -- acquaintance, friend, companion, and even teacher. Now you shall say a few words that take you across the threshold of life, and things will never quite be the same between you. For after these vows, you shall each say to the world, ‘this is my husband’.”
Scotty found himself touched, not just for his friends, but for himself. He looked over at Pavel, who he realized was looking right at him. The navigator offered a tentative smile and he returned it. Joanna grinned up at her dad and soon-to-be stepfather, and her mother smiled with her.
The admiral nodded to the men standing before him. “In honor of the occasion, Jim and Leonard have elected to write their own vows.” He looked to Jim and gave him a reassuring smile. Jim cleared his throat in response.
“A little more than a year ago, I fell in love with my best friend, and you know, at first it terrified me. I’d never been in love before, and it was kind of a scary feeling,” he said with a shaky grin. “The thing that kept sticking with me though, the thing that got me through, was that I was in love with you, Bones. You were the first person to ever have my back, and I knew then like I know now that we’ll always be an inevitability.”
As he hung on every word that was said, Bones found he was rendered speechless.
Damn him.
“I promise, Bones---Leonard, that I will face everything that comes our way by your side. I promise that when things get difficult I will always work them out with you with respect. I promise to never stop wanting to wake up by your side. Most of all, I promise to love you with all I’ve got until the day I die. And I promise I’ll always have your back, the way you’ve had mine for so long.”
Taking a long, deep breath, he looked to Pike for a moment. He nodded back in response, and Bones took that as his cue.
“Everyone here knows I was hesitant about getting involved with you when this began.” He took another deep breath before continuing. “You love showboating, you’re reckless, you’re stubborn, and you’d seldom taken anything seriously before.”
Jim raised an eyebrow, but his expression was amused.
“There was also the fact that you’d never do anything to hurt me. That you always look out for me when I’m working too long. You always know exactly what I need when I’m feeling low, or even when things are good.
“That, Jim, is why I said yes to you then and why I’m saying it today. I swear I will always do right by you, and I swear that no matter what obstacles come our way, we’ll face them together. I swear that I’ll always be there when you need me, and even when you don’t. And I swear that I’m gonna love you with all that I am for as long as we’re both breathing.”
Amusement having since faded, Jim’s expression was touched and his eyes looked suspiciously bright. Bones smiled at him briefly before they both turned their attention back to Pike.
“The wedding ring,” he said and Johnny and Sam passed the rings to the grooms, “is a symbol of unity, a circle unbroken, without beginning or end. And today Jim and Leonard give and receive these rings as demonstrations of their vows to make their lives one, to work at all times to create a life that is whole and unbroken, and to love each other without end. Jim, take the ring you have selected, place it upon Leonard’s finger, and say these words, ‘with this ring, I thee wed’.”
His hands trembling a little, Jim held out the ring as Bones lifted his hand. “With this ring, I thee wed.” As he slid it onto his finger, Bones found his vision was growing blurry. He swallowed once, so that he would be able to speak properly when it was his turn.
“Leonard, take the ring you have selected, place it upon Jim’s finger, and say these words, ‘with this ring, I thee wed’.”
“With this ring, I thee wed,” he proclaimed as he slid the ring onto Jim’s finger. They joined hands again and faced Pike, who was now smiling openly.
“Jim and Leonard, as a collection of words, this ceremony would count for little, were it not for the love and commitment you have pledged to one another. Your vows may have been spoken in minutes, but your promises to each other will last a lifetime. Having witnessed your vows for marriage with all who are assembled here and by the authority vested in me, I announce with great joy that you are husbands to one another.”
His face flushed, Jim was grinning, and Bones found he was doing the same.
Pike smirked a little bit as he jerked his head quickly to one side. “Come on, let’s go. Give the people what they want.”
The captain burst out laughing just as Bones grabbed his face with both hands and kissed him soundly on the lips. He quickly stopped laughing to kiss him back. A round of thunderous applause erupted from the crowd. They stayed joined until breathing became a necessity, and they finally broke apart and smiled at the crowd.
Still with a grin on his face, Pike shook his head once. “It gives me great pleasure to present to you, for the first time as husband and husband, Captain and Doctor Kirk-McCoy!”
The music began anew, and with their hands joined the newly married couple began to make their way down the aisle with the matching smiles still on their faces.
They were about two-thirds of the way to the end when Bones noticed it.
“Is that...are they playing ‘Back that Ass Up’?”
The smirk on Jim’s face was the only answer he needed.
“You are unbelievable.”
“You should just be happy I didn’t pull a bait-and-switch to have you do your processional to it,” Jim retorted.
“I can’t fucking believe I just married you.”
“Believe it, McMuffin. You’re stuck with me.”
“Oh no, I’m not. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but they have these newfangled things called annulments...”
Jim snorted. “Oh, like that’s going to happen. You love me way too much for that.”
“I’m not sure I honestly do at this particular moment.”
“More to the point, you knew what you were getting into.” They had reached the end of the aisle and Jim tugged him towards him. Bones stumbled a bit and Jim held him close. “You love it,” he whispered as he kissed him. He squawked a little in protest but quickly found he was kissing him back.
“Fuck you,” he said with a laugh as it ended. Jim threw his head back and outright cracked up.
“Come on, Bones, it’s time for the meet and greet.”
With that, he led him to through the bough to stand and wait for their friends and guests.
Chapter 5b | Chapter 6b
