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“Bones. Bones, where are you going? Get back here, you can’t just leave me—”
Jim heard the whoosh of a door. His pulse raced. So Bones really had left him like this. “Like this” meaning stretched out on the bed. Limbs tied down. Hard as a rock, and wearing nothing but a pair of lacy green panties that Bones had picked out to match the green tunic that was now discarded on the floor.
Jim writhed, testing the give of his restraints. Damn, Bones was good at this. Nothing felt tight enough to be uncomfortable, but there was nowhere near enough give to allow him to work himself free.
His cock ached. The friction of lace against sensitive skin as he moved was just enough to tear a soft, needy sound from the back of his throat, but nowhere near enough to do anything useful.
Just as he was starting to get really worried that he’d pushed things too far, tested the limits so much that Bones was making good on his perennial threat to leave him tied up all night long, he heard the chirp of the intercom.
Jim groaned. “Computer, answer comm,” he barked, trying to keep his voice even. He hoped, god he hoped, that it was Bones. On the off chance it was someone calling from the bridge, though, he didn’t want to embarrass them. Or worse— risk them coming down to check on him. He swallowed hard before he said, “Kirk here.”
“Captain? Nurse Chapel here,” came a low voice. Damn. “Doctor McCoy asked me to tell you he’s working on an important project and to ask if you need anything?” Her voice was light but there was an undercurrent of knowing smugness that made Jim wonder exactly how much she knew. Not that Bones would have told her anything, but she had an irritating knack for figuring things out.
Jim cleared his throat. “Do you know how long he’ll be go—I mean, how long he’ll be, uh, there?”
“He’s locked himself in his office grumbling about something or other, so it’s anyone’s guess,” she said.
“Very good. Thank you, that will be all,” Jim said. His stomach swooped as the call disconnected.
Sure enough, a minute or so later, the intercom sounded again. “Computer,” Jim said, gritting his teeth. “Answer. Kirk here.”
“You learned your lesson yet?” Bones said slowly, deliberately.
“Bones, would you get back here?” Jim tried to sound commanding but it came out in a whine.
“Color?” was all Bones said.
“Green,” Jim admitted between clenched teeth. The desperation was putting an edge on his arousal that Jim wished he could bottle and sell.
“I’m gonna let you cool your heels there,” Bones retorted. “See if you try a stunt like that again.”
“Ok but Bones ,” Jim said, grunting as he tried to work a hand free. “You won’t be gone too long, will you?”
“Why do you ask, Jim? You need a hand?”
The dangerous tone in Bones’ voice made Jim’s hips buck uselessly. He did need Bones’ hand, needed both of them, one on his cock and one slicked up and working its way into him. He would’ve been squirming in those talented hands right now if he hadn’t gone and run his mouth about the way Bones had looked at Spock in the gym the other day.
But he was right, and he knew it. Bones wanted Spock as much as he did, and if Jim could only get him to admit it, they could—
The thought tore a groan, almost a shout, from Jim’s throat.
And then he heard the whoosh of a door once again. This time, though, it wasn’t the main door. It was the door to the—
“Captain? Jim?” Spock sounded alarmed. “Are you—”
“Who’s there? Jim, is that—” Bones was startled out of his controlled drawl.
“Spock!” Jim yanked at his restraints, reflexively trying to cover himself and blushing hotly. His cock strained against the thin fabric, panic and arousal battling for control.
Spock froze when he saw Jim.
Then he took a step into the room.
The door slid shut behind him.
“Spock?” Jim asked, forgetting to wriggle. Spock was as still and composed as ever, but a hint of green darkened the tips of his ears and his eyes looked dark and hungry.
“Doctor, am I to surmise that you are responsible for this?” Spock said, his eyes never leaving Jim’s.
“Oh, I’ll show you a surmise, you interfering—“
Spock hit a button on the wall and Bones’ voice cut off mid-insult.
“A bold choice, Mr. Spock,” Jim said, eyes crinkling in a smile. “How long do you estimate it will take him to get down here?”
“About three minutes,” Spock said absently. Jim caught a flicker of movement in his eyes—almost but not quite imperceptible—down to the green panties and back up to Jim’s eyes.
“About three minutes,” Jim murmured. “About three—why, Mr. Spock, if I didn’t know better I’d say you were distracted by something.”
A muscle twitched in Spock’s jaw. “If this is your attempt at flirtation I should tell you that it is unnecessary. I am…already interested.”
A wide grin spread over Jim’s face. “You don’t say,” he crowed, pulling at his restraints just enough to flex his muscles. “But of course you know Bones and I are an item, Spock. Can’t have one of us without the other. And I think he’s on his way in here to prove that point. So…do your… interests incline that way?”
“If they did not,” Spock said, voice low and raspy, “I would have left promptly. Otherwise it would have been too difficult to restrain myself from touching you before Dr. McCoy’s arrival.”
Jim had to close his eyes and think of cornfields when he heard that.
Spock didn’t stop. “It has taken all my self-control to keep from climbing atop your body and finally running my hands over that warm, soft flesh that I have desired since the day we met. To keep from tearing that small, impractical garment off of you and finally taking you in my mouth. From tasting you as you—”
Jim arched his back and came in the small and impractical garment just as Bones blew through the door. He opened his eyes just in time to see the smirk that Spock had directed at Bones.
“Of course. Of course ! You hypocritical sultry-voiced overachiever! You would get him off without touching him before I could even get back here. Pretending you’re all controlled and making a mess of Jim while you’ve got him all to yourself. You pointy-eared sex maniac!”
Being tied up and still recovering from the fact that Spock had not only walked in on him like this but had talked like that, Jim was helpless to do anything but watch as Bones advanced on Spock. As his shouting crescendoed, Spock pounced on him. Suddenly Bones was pressed up against the wall, Spock staring down at him.
“If you need further proof of my considerable self-control even in the face of great arousal, Doctor, consider the fact that I have not yet divested you of your shirt. While it did not escape my notice that you think my voice “sultry” and your pupils have dilated, I will, of course, wait for your affirmative consent.”
“What about Jim’s affirmative consent?” Bones sputtered.
“He had it, Bones,” Jim said. “It’s possible I was teasing him. Just a little. He definitely knew I was into it. In fact, I guess I…I invited him to join the two of us. If that’s all right with you.”
For a long moment, Bones just glared at Jim. Just as Jim was starting to feel a cold trickle in his veins, wondering if he’d seriously misread things, Bones grabbed the back of Spock’s neck and pulled him into a kiss so energetic it startled a small hum out of Spock. The two of them wrestled for control, Spock running his hands down to Bones’ hips, Bones kissing down Spock’s jaw, both of them moving against each other frantically.
Jim didn’t mean to break up the moment, but a whimper of need escaped him as he watched them. Their heads whipped toward him in unison, and Jim saw Bones’ jaw harden in a familiar way that made his soft, sticky cock stir.
Bones grabbed Spock’s chin. “Don’t think you can distract me, Spock,” he said sternly. “You made a mess before I got here. Hope you’re planning on cleaning that up.”
Spock looked from Bones to Jim, eyes darkening as he glanced at the green lace clinging to Jim. “Jim—may I—”
Bones grinned. “You can do what you want, Spock. Jim’s a good boy. He wants you to slow down or stop, he’ll say yellow or red. Otherwise?” He looked at Jim expectantly.
“Green,” Jim whispered, the hungry look on Spock’s face stealing his voice from his throat. “Green. Please.”
Spock kneeled on the bed between Jim’s legs. He ran a finger along the lacy edge of the panties, gently brushing the tangle of hair rising above them. Jim shivered at the soft touch.
Then Spock slipped his finger beneath the fabric, feeling the cooling stickiness on Jim’s skin. He pulled his finger out and held it to Jim’s mouth. His face was a question. “Green,” Jim murmured again, and the finger pushed into his mouth.
Jim’s eyes fluttered shut as he sucked, cleaning himself off of Spock’s finger. When he heard the guttural moan Spock made, though, his eyes flew open and he was rewarded with the sight of Spock’s face, skin flushed dark, mouth slightly open. Jim whined and Spock fed him a second finger.
“That’s real pretty, the pair of you, but I thought I told you to clean up your mess.” Bones was still leaning against the wall, but he’d fished his cock out of his pants while they were distracted and he stood there, stroking it slowly. He nodded at Jim’s groin. “Go on, Spock.”
Spock’s eyes narrowed. Pulling his hand out of Jim’s mouth, he reached down and with two swift tugs and the sharp sound of threads snapping, he held up a limp slip of green lace. He tossed it aside and looked back at Jim, who nodded eagerly.
And then Spock’s tongue was on him, Spock’s mouth was surrounding him, and all Jim could do was moan at the feeling. Spock’s mouth was cooler than his hands, and the sensation sent blood shooting back into Jim’s dick.
“How do you like that, Jim?” Bones asked, still lazily stroking himself. “You got what you wanted, I want you to tell me all about it.”
Jim’s breath caught in his throat. Bones was always getting after him to use his words but…like this? While Spock was finally, finally here with them?
“Color?” Bones prompted, voice soft.
Jim took a deep breath. “Green,” he said. To his surprise, he found that he wanted nothing more than to tell Bones all about it. “His mouth is cool, like he’s been eating ice cream. I had no idea.”
“And you’ve imagined this plenty of times, haven’t you?” Bones prompted. Jim’s face flooded with heat as Spock looked up at him, mouth still on his hardening cock.
“So much,” he said, holding eye contact with Spock. “I’ve wanted this for so long.”
And then, as the images of everything he’d ever imagined flooded his mind, he realized that in some of them he was staring at himself, kneeling in front of himself, thrusting fingers into his own mouth, and he understood that those images were pouring out of Spock’s mind. His back arched and he pushed deeper into Spock’s mouth, rock hard again.
“Spock, can I—I gotta tell—oh Spock, Spock ,” Jim groaned, as new images rushed in, images of all three of them, Spock sandwiched between Jim and Bones, Spock on his knees before Jim as Bones possessively threaded a hand through that dark hair, Spock watching as Bones fucked Jim slowly, lovingly. Some were clearly Spock’s, some were his own. “Bones,” was the only word Jim was able to form then, “ Bones ,” with such urgency that Bones was at his side in a moment, perched on the bed, a soft hand on Jim’s cheek.
“Jim?” he asked, softly, as though for Jim’s ears alone although they both knew Spock’s perfect hearing would catch it.
“Green,” Jim managed, gasping. And then Spock reached for one of Bones’ arms, fumbling it away from Jim’s chest, pulling Bones’ hand into his.
The images running through Jim’s mind didn’t change all that much in substance; it was more a subtle shift in the feeling, as if the light had warmed or the focus had sharpened, throwing new details into view.
“All of us, together?” Bones murmured. For just a moment, his voice was softer than Jim had ever heard it when Spock was around. Then: “Show off,” Bones grumbled, and Jim would have smirked except that Spock moved his tongue in a new way and he whimpered instead.
“Jim, you are not to come again until I give you permission,” Bones said hastily, and a thrill ran down Jim’s spine as the authority in Bones’ voice met the feel of Spock’s cool mouth and launched him onto a new plane of existence.
“Aye, sir,” he mumbled, the words dragged out of someplace deep within. He was vaguely aware of a snort from Bones, but it was accompanied by the gentle drag of Bones’ thumb across Jim’s lips before Bones turned toward Spock.
“Since Jim here isn’t going anywhere, what do you suppose I should do with you while you clean him up?” Bones asked, climbing off the bed and repositioning himself behind Spock. “Think your mental tomfoolery might extend to showing me your colors, since you’ve got your mouth full?”
To Jim’s relief and dismay, Spock pulled his mouth away. As Jim caught his breath and pulled himself back from the brink, Spock said, “Actually, Doctor, the Vulcan custom is to associate red with steady forward movement, such as that of the planet itself. Green, as you know, is the color of blood, and as such—”
“Oh, for Pete’s sake,” Bones snapped. Spock inhaled as if to speak. “And so help me if you ask who Pete is you’re done here. If your great big Vulcan mind can’t remember the colors we use, how about a safe word. Your choice.”
“T’Pring,” Spock answered at once.
The haze in Jim’s mind cleared a little at that. “Your—your ex?” Jim sputtered. Bones had drawn a hand over his face in disbelief.
“It is logical. I do not wish to think of her during our sexual activity,” Spock said. “Additionally, as your responses clearly demonstrate, you will abruptly cease whatever you are doing when you hear her name.”
Jim felt a smile start to spread over his face as he met Bones’ eyes. “Can’t argue with that,” he said weakly.”
Bones threw up his hands. “Can’t argue with that,” he parroted. “Can’t argue—lord, how did I wind up with these two?” he asked, rolling his eyes toward the ceiling. “On a ship full of brilliant, charming—you know who would never pull a stunt like this? Nyota. I should go see what she’s doing.”
“Scotty,” Jim said under his breath. “ And Christine.”
“I believe you were inquiring about my safeword because you wished to initiate a new activity,” Spock said, peeling off his shirts and appearing completely unfazed by any of their reactions. “I would welcome your attention to—” he dropped his pants pointedly and stepped out of them, then doing the same with his briefs “—any part of my person that remains accessible to you while I am fellating Jim.” And with that, Spock’s mouth was back on Jim, and Jim forgot any jokes he’d been about to crack as Spock applied just the right amount of suction oh god .
And then something shifted. Spock’s rhythm faltered and Jim felt a soft, quick vibration, as if Spock had moaned too quietly for him to hear.
Jim craned his neck to see what Bones was doing. He could see the grip Bones’ fingers had on Spock’s ass, but Bones’ head was out of view between Spock’s legs. He heard Bones lapping wetly, and then an audible moan from Bones pulled another silent one from Spock.
Jim’s head spun with how quickly it had all happened. An hour ago he was teasing Bones about the look on his face when he saw Spock doing Suus Mahna in the gym, and now Jim’s cock was humming with the feeling of Spock’s pleasure as Bones—well, Jim realized, he wasn’t totally sure what Bones was doing to Spock, but if it involved Bones’ mouth Jim knew it felt good.
Spock’s moans were growing in intensity, and at the sound and feeling of a particularly loud one, Jim whimpered. “Bones, I’m trying,” he said between gritted teeth, “but I don’t know how long I’m gonna last.”
“That so?” Bones said, sitting up. He tapped Spock’s thigh. “That’s enough of that, then.” Spock pulled away from Jim.
Jim pouted. “That wasn’t what I meant, Bones.”
“Well too bad you’re not the captain in here then,” Bones retorted.
Spock frowned. “Nothing in Starfleet regulations provides for—”
“You want me to get my face back in between your legs or not?” Bones interrupted, scowling.
Spock paused for a moment, then closed his mouth.
“That’s what I thought,” Bones said. “But I want Jim to know what he’s missing. Excuse me.” Bones came back around to Jim’s side, and as he approached, Jim could see that his face was slick and shiny. He bent to kiss Jim and Jim groaned as a spicy, tart smell hit his nostrils. As his tongue slipped into Bones’ mouth, he whined for more. The taste was even better than the smell, and Jim squirmed with impatience.
When Bones pulled away, Jim looked from him to Spock, who was kneeling between Jim’s legs watching the kiss with dark eyes. He didn’t shy away from Jim’s gaze, and his lips turned ever so slightly up at the corners when Jim’s cock twitched at the sight of him.
As Jim watched, Spock’s dick finished emerging from between folds of skin, and Jim could see that it was glistening with what must be more of whatever he’d tasted on Bones’ lips. “God, Spock,” he sighed. “Look at you.”
Bones rolled his eyes. “Over here, Spock,” Bones said, getting to his feet and walking to the end of the bed between Jim’s feet. “Leave Jim to think about what he’s done.”
“What, exactly, is his crime, Doctor?”
Jim grinned broadly, and Bones glared at him over Spock’s shoulder. “Sassin’ me. That’s all you need to know. Least if Jim wants to come again tonight,” Bones said, lifting an eyebrow in warning. “Or if you do,” he continued, as Spock’s head tilted up toward him.
With a soft grunt, Bones sank to his knees in front of Spock. Jim’s view was limited to Spock’s pale back, and as beautiful as that was, he wanted more. Jim craned his neck. He wanted to see the look on Spock’s face as Bones sucked his way up those lean, hairy thighs, getting closer and closer to that gleaming cock, the ridges at the end different from any Jim had ever known. He wanted to see how deep Bones’ tongue extended inside the opening between Spock’s legs, how far Bones could swallow Spock down.
Instead, he watched Spock’s perfectly straight back, its muscles rippling, as Spock held himself upright and swayed just slightly under Bones’ careful attention. He strained to hear the first sounds of Spock’s pleasure, deep and rumbling under Bones’ more enthusiastic vocalizations. He smelled the scent that he now recognized as Spock’s slick, mouth watering at the thought of tasting it firsthand.
Spock’s back arched and he gasped. His hands dug into the bed. That was it. Jim couldn’t take it anymore.
“Bones please,” Jim begged. “I’m sorry, I was a pain in the ass, please, you can’t just leave me here!”
Bones just hummed noncommittally into Spock’s flesh.
“I’ll be good , Bones, I swear, but I need you. I need both of you, I’ve never needed anything this badly.”
“Color?” Bones asked, not moving.
“Green,” Jim said, letting his head fall back on the bed. His cock throbbed. Bones ignoring him for paperwork was one thing, but ignoring him to eat Spock out was a whole new level. His skin was buzzing and, desperate as he was, he felt like he was flying.
“Good. ‘S what I thought.” The soft, wet sounds resumed and a shiver ran through Jim’s body as he fought for control.
Then he felt a hand brush his ankle. Spock was reaching back toward him. Spock’s fingers wrapped around Jim’s foot and Jim’s gasp was almost a shout. With Spock’s hand on him, he could feel Bones’ tongue, sure as if it was on his cock.
The sensation stopped abruptly. “Jim, you ok? Color?”
“Green, Bones, don’t stop,” he moaned.
“Don’t stop what, I’m not—damn it, Spock!”
“Don’t stop, Doctor,” Spock said, voice commanding but with a hoarseness to it that almost undid Jim entirely.
“I don’t take orders from—” Bones started, but Spock cut him off.
“Please,” Spock said. He spoke simply and quietly, but the sound was shot through with a shining thread of helpless need that made Jim’s breath catch in his throat.
Apparently it had a similar effect on Bones because without another word he bent forward, and Jim’s nerves lit up as though Bones’s mouth was on him, in him, around him, everywhere at once. He shook with the effort of not coming and forced Spock’s name out through gritted teeth.
Spock understood and removed his hand from Jim’s ankle, and Jim lay still, panting. Spock made a sharp sound in the back of his throat as Bones pulled away from him and got to his feet.
“Would you look at that! The two of you being good for me.” Somehow Bones managed to smirk at Spock and beam at Jim simultaneously. Jim’s chest filled with warmth. Finally .
“Can I be good for both of you?” Jim asked, heart pounding. “Bones, please, untie me, I need both of you. Please,” Jim almost sobbed, as Bones raised one eyebrow. “I promise I’ll be good.”
“Spock? What do you think?” Bones asked, as though they were considering tricorder readings on a mission. “Should I untie him?”
“Doctor, it remains unclear to me why he was tied up in the first place,” Spock said, with a pointed sigh.
Bones rolled his eyes and bent down to untie one of Jim’s ankles. “Suppose I have to do everything around here,” he said, and Spock moved quickly to untie Jim’s wrists. As Bones briskly rubbed Jim’s legs, which had been starting to go stiff, Spock gently massaged Jim’s wrists, pressing soft kisses to them. “His wrists are fine,” Bones snapped. “I know how tight I tied him. Work out his arms or they’ll be sore from staying in one position so long. How I let him convince me to do this—”
Jim felt a small pang of surprise come from Spock, and he grinned up at him. “What, you thought this was Bones’ idea?”
“You seemed to wish to be untied,” Spock said, brushing his lips against Jim’s wrist again.
“Sometimes a man gets tired of being in charge all the time,” Jim said, shrugging. He winced slightly at the motion and rolled his shoulders out.
Spock looked from Jim to Bones. “In that case, Doctor, I propose that I should assume control of Jim’s superior half while you retain control of his inferior half.”
“Spock, you’ve seen his ass, there’s nothing inferior about this half,” Bones said, sliding his hands under Jim to squeeze the anatomy in question.
“I merely used the terminology appropriate to your profession, Doctor,” Spock said, before hauling Jim up into a sitting position. “Jim. On your hands and knees.” His tone changed to one Jim recognized from missions when Spock had a team to command. A whine of need escaped Jim as he scrambled to obey.
Spock climbed onto the bed in front of Jim and leaned back against the wall, opening his legs to Jim. “You will stimulate me with your mouth while Doctor McCoy penetrates you from the rear. You will do so until Doctor McCoy and I reach completion, at which point you will be permitted to do so as well. Do those terms sound satisfactory, Doctor?”
“Suppose so,” Bones said, voice husky. Jim could hear him undressing, finally, and a tremor of anticipation ran through him.
“Color, Jim?” Spock asked, arching an eyebrow at him.
“Green,” Jim moaned, the tantalizing smell of Spock making everything else fade away.
“Then you may begin,” he said, nodding at Jim.
At once, Jim buried his face between Spock’s legs, tongue exploring the folds around Spock’s dick, reveling in the taste of him. He moaned and Spock’s hips rose toward his mouth, urging him deeper.
Jim breathed in the heady scent and then peered up at Spock before wrapping his lips around the tip of Spock’s dick and beginning to suck. Spock’s moans were fully audible now, and Jim thrilled at the sound.
As he started to take Spock down deeper, he felt Bones slide a finger into him. Even that threatened to do him in and he stilled, adjusting to not just the sensation but this new reality that he had longed for. The familiar feeling of Bones delicately working him open, teasing him in the way he knew Jim loved, and the entirely novel taste and smell of Spock, whose dick was heavy on Jim’s tongue, both happening at once. Jim drew a long, shaky breath in through his nose, and resumed his attention to Spock.
“God, Jim, if I knew you looked that good sucking cock I’d have suggested a third a long time ago,” Bones breathed, slipping another finger into Jim.
Jim made a noise of protest, although with Spock’s dick hitting the back of his throat it was considerably muffled and entirely unintelligible. Spock translated, plucking the words from Jim’s mind. “He says I am not merely a third. And furthermore he believes that you are in agreement with him.” Jim was surprised to hear how easily Spock got the words out, given the uncontrolled groans he had been making just seconds before.
“Is that so? And here I thought you were being good for us, Jim.” Bones pulled his fingers out and Jim whined.
“I can attest that Jim is, in fact, very good,” Spock said hoarsely. Jim’s face heated at the praise. His whine turned to a whimper.
“Well of course he is, Spock,” Bones said, his eye roll audible in his words. “But he likes a little tough love before you tell him so. Don’t you, Jim?”
Jim, mouth full and unable to think in words, pictured the greenest things he could.
“Affirmative, Doctor,” Spock said, threading his fingers into Jim’s hair. “I must warn you, both Jim and I are nearing climax. If you wish to keep to the timeline we established, you would do well to—”
“Next time we do this, remind me to make sure your mouth is full too,” Bones grumbled, but he gripped Jim’s hips and Jim’s head spun as Bones pushed slowly into him.
Now he was well and truly filled, Bones’ thick cock starting to move inside him and Spock’s ridged one moving insistently over his tongue. Bones’ fingers dug into the flesh of Jim’s sides and Spock tugged at Jim’s hair and Jim was theirs, all theirs, only clinging to enough of himself to be good for them, to keep himself from coming.
Spock’s hand in Jim’s hair clenched, then loosened, and then Spock stretched forward, reaching for Bones, and as Jim tasted something new, warm and slightly bitter, his head was also filled with the image of himself, eyes watering as he swallowed around Spock’s dick, and he heard a sputtering gasp from Bones. He knew, then, that they were all seeing through Spock’s eyes, that Bones was watching him like this, and he shivered happily under their gaze. He tried his best to swallow it all down, but Spock kept filling his mouth and eventually he had to admit he was outmatched. He looked up pleadingly at Spock and Spock, instantly understanding, slipped out of Jim’s mouth and released Jim’s hair in order to stroke himself through the end of his orgasm, covering Jim’s face and chest. Spock kept hold of Bones with his other hand so that Bones could see Jim looking thoroughly debauched, dripping, and delighted.
Bones didn’t last long after that. Jim could feel his rhythm start to falter, and he pressed himself back, begging for more, even as Spock leaned forward and extended a hand to wipe the fluid from Jim’s cheek. Spock fed Jim two gleaming fingers as Bones started to let go, and the feeling of being filled from both ends, being stuffed full of the two men he wanted more than the rest of the universe combined, sent Jim soaring. It didn’t take more than a raspy, “So good for us,” from Bones before Jim was coming too, cock untouched, but who needed that when he was dripping from both ends, Spock and Bones gazing down on him like he was a precious thing.
Bones recovered first, going for towels while Spock was still pressing fingers into Jim’s mouth. Once Jim’s face was clean, Spock accepted a damp towel from Bones and wiped himself off before leaning back with a contented sigh.
“Our boy’s got some skills, doesn’t he?” Bones said, with an air of pride. Jim’s eyes suddenly prickled. Bones tossed the sticky towels to the floor and climbed into the bed, sitting next to Spock at Jim’s other side. He ran a gentle hand through Jim’s hair.
“Indeed, Doctor.” Spock’s inflection was not as definite as usual, and Jim looked up at him. He was staring down at Jim’s shoulder, not quite meeting his eyes.
“What is it, Spock?” Bones asked, before Jim could manage words. His voice was…almost gentle. Not the way he’d be gentle with Jim, not the way he’d murmur and croon in his ear and tell Jim he’d been good. It was still clear that this was Spock he was speaking to. But in that tone, Jim could read years of grudging respect and friendship ripening into something more.
“Is he,” Spock pressed his lips together. “Is ‘our boy’ an accurate phrase?”
“Spock?” Jim asked, his heart pounding.
“I would understand if the two of you require additional time to discuss matters,” Spock said quickly. “I can return to my quarters if you would like privacy.”
Jim, wits still scrambled, looked pleadingly at Bones. Bones scowled.
“Spock, you idiot, you’re not going anywhere,” he said, before reaching over Jim’s head and pulling Spock into another kiss. This time, despite Bones’ scolding, the kiss was soft, tender. The tears that had welled up in Jim’s eyes spilled over and he took a long, gasping breath.
Spock and Bones broke apart, looking down at Jim. They spoke at the same time.
“Jim, are you—”
“--something the matter, Jim?”
Jim reached for their hands and pulled them both down toward him. Beaming through his tears, he whispered, “Green.”