the Dalaverse

This scene should look familiar, guys. Spock certainly thinks so.


Title: Waiting at the Gate
'It comes as no surprise that Dr. McCoy accompanies the captain to the transporter room.' Or, Spock experiences the phenomenon commonly known as déjà vu.
Author: Dala
Pairing: Kirk/McCoy, implied Spock/Uhura
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: standard applies



Waiting at the Gate


It comes as no surprise that Dr. McCoy accompanies the captain to the transporter room even though he is not on the away team. Spock has often made note of his frequent visits to the bridge when there is no need for his professional expertise. Sometimes he comes with a question or comment which could easily have been addressed over the comm or in their off-duty hours; sometimes the captain calls him up to view a remarkable nebula or consult with Spock on scientific research (a task McCoy protests and yet he always arrives within a reasonable span of time). Even after these trivial matters have been settled he will often remain standing by the captain's chair for some time, sharing the occasional quip or observation but more often a silent presence at Kirk's side.

He is far from silent now, voice rising and falling in a rant about recent ground missions which have gone badly and the chances of this mission producing similar results. The doctor running on pessimism while the captain blithely disregards his concerns is likewise a familiar scene; however, Spock detects a subtle difference in their speech and behavior patterns. Whereas McCoy usually stands close to Kirk - much too close for polite Vulcan social interaction and verging on too close by human standards - today there is nearly a meter's space between their bodies. Even his gesticulating hands decline to breach this invisible barrier. Spock adjusts his phaser on his belt as he continues watching them, curious at this break with convention.

Finally Kirk cuts the doctor off with a roll of his eyes. "It's just a routine planetary survey, Bones. I'll be back in a few hours."

McCoy crosses his arms over his chest, huffing. "Yeah, in pieces."

"Good thing I've got you to put me back together again."

There is a vaguely interrogative lilt to Kirk's voice, which strikes Spock as unnecessary bordering on absurd. After all, care for the captain's health should be the CMO's first priority regardless of the personal regard he has witnessed between these two men. It's also the sort of mildly suggestive comment Kirk frequently pairs with a wink or a hand on McCoy's shoulder. The fact that such gestures are absent seems significant to Spock. Even for a human Kirk is unusually tactile, and there is no one he touches more often than the doctor. In lieu of physical contact his gaze lingers on McCoy's face as if he is searching for something. The doctor looks away first.

If Spock were to speculate, he would say that perhaps they've quarreled on a level beyond their usual disagreements. He is of course no expert on human behavior; Nyota would no doubt have a better chance at correctly interpreting their body language. But she remained on the bridge to monitor their transmissions from the planet's surface, bidding them luck with a light brush of her fingertips on the back of Spock's hand.

Kirk joins him on the transporter pad with an quick grin, betraying no further unease. Out of the corner of his eye Spock watches McCoy's scowl deepen as the captain greets the three other members of the team. His hands clench into fists and he rocks on the balls of his feet as though trying to decide whether to move forward.

"Damn it," he mutters at last with a small, angry shake of his head. Crossing the short distance to the landing pad in long strides, he seizes the captain by his uniform tunic and kisses him.

Though Kirk is startled, Spock can see that this is no first kiss. There is no hesitation from either party, no delicate negotiation of territory: Kirk's lips part at once and he responds with evident passion. McCoy presses their bodies together so tightly that the captain is bent back in his embrace, spine curving gracefully. Kirk's right hand reaches up to twine in McCoy's hair while the other arm wraps around his waist. True to form even when he is caught off-guard, his fingers slip under the hem of the doctor's shirt to stroke bare skin.

A rustle of fabric to his right must be young Ensign Riley shifting in embarrassment as the kiss stretches long past the point of propriety, even propriety such as James T. Kirk understands it. From the operating console, Mr. Scott gives voice to quite another reaction with a whistle - a wolf whistle, if Spock recalls the colloquialism correctly (never mind that he has listened to recordings of canis lupis and their vocalizations sound nothing like the engineer's piercing blast of enthusiasm).

Just as it was McCoy who first reached out, it is McCoy who pulls back. The captain's grip stalls his retreat even as color creeps up his neck, past his wet lips. They stand still for a moment, foreheads just touching as they trade shallow breaths.

Kirk's smile is wide and pleased. If he'd been asking an unspoken question as Spock earlier postulated, he seems to have received his answer. He brings one hand up to cradle McCoy's jaw, an oddly tender gesture more intimate than the clash of tongues and teeth. McCoy apparently feels the same, for he flushes deeper and takes a step back. Kirk presses a shorter, softer kiss to his mouth before letting go.

McCoy ignores Scott's chortling as he stalks off the transporter pad, raking his disheveled hair back and muttering to himself about damn fool captains and hostile alien plantlife. Kirk is still beaming dazedly as he settles back into place. Spock looks straight ahead before the captain becomes aware of his interest. McCoy meets his eyes with an air of defiance, clearly daring him to comment on the inappropriate display.

"Captain," says Spock in a low voice which is nevertheless meant to carry, "shall I inform Lieutenant Uhura that her attempts at - what is the phrase - 'setting up' the doctor with attractive humanoid females -"

"Are futile, yes." He speaks out of the side of his mouth, blue eyes framed by creases that will one day turn into laugh lines. McCoy bites his lip but holds Kirk's gaze as the captain murmurs the command to energize and the world dissolves around them. Spock makes an impulsive decision against telling Nyota that the doctor is taken, not out of reluctance to bring an end to her pet project but because he thinks it might be more satisfying to watch her find out for herself.

She is waiting beside McCoy upon their return; and Spock concludes that his judgment was sound.