Who's your daddy? [Leonard and Spock]

[dctr_mccoy]

Leonard's conversation with T'Pring had awoken something inside him. A thought that circled around his head, like a gnat, that bothered him all afternoon during their garden party. But it wasn't fully formed in his head until he spotted Spock in one of the drawing rooms, speaking with T'Pring's husband Stonn. Stonn was holding the infant girl, but

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[cso_spock]

Spock had wanted to talk with his counterpart immediately upon arrival, but then he had seen Jim approach him, and decided perhaps they could wait. Instead, he made his social rounds, meeting crew and residents alike, including being introduced to literally every eligible daughter of every honorable family in the city. He played his part, never dismissing anybody out of hand nor being more friendly than expected

[dctr_mccoy]

Leonard came out of the bathroom, a slight sickened feeling inside him. Those children, T'Pring's children were Spock's babies. His friend was a father. Leonard was both happy and furious for his friend, but mostly confused.

Did Spock know? Did he allow this other man to claim those children as his own? Right now, with family so important to the Vulcans and producing progeny of the utmost importance, would Spock's family allow their blood to be diverged into another line?

So lost in thought was Leonard that he almost walked into the object of his thoughts as he ambled through the kitchen. "Spock," he said, looking over at him, a vacant look on his face. "What are you doing?"

[cso_spock]

"Leonard." There seemed to be something peculiar about Leonard, the reason for which he couldn't isolate with this brief glance in the busy kitchens. "I was retrieving some bottles from the cellar. Would you like to join me, if you are otherwise unoccupied?"

The quiet time would be pleasant.

[dctr_mccoy]

"Sure," he said, nodding blankly. The information he had was spinning in his head, and he didn't know how or when, or even if he should talk to Spock about this. Jim should be here, Jim was better at talking to people about these things. Fuck...

But the cellar was cool and dark, and Leonard needed to look carefully at the steps to keep from falling. "Are you enjoying the party?" he asked, keeping close to Spock.

[cso_spock]

"There is enough of the crew present to hinder most of the politics," he said as they descended, "which creates a more enjoyable experience."

Here, the only sound that filtered through was the chatter from the kitchens, orders and observations. The stairs hit a landing before taking a sharp right turn down into the cellar proper, dimly lit by glowing lights that ran along the edges of the ceiling and the floor. The wooden shelves storing the bottles looked too much like another set he had seen, years and years ago in Toronto, that he almost wondered if it was the same. Neither the shelves nor the bottles had been stored long enough to gather any real layer of dust.

"Has it met your expectations?" Spock asked as he looked among the bottles.

[dctr_mccoy]

"These things are important for Jim," Leonard said, not really answering the question. "I mean, I enjoyed the chance to show off the baby, but it was good, getting everyone together in a more relaxed atmosphere. Talking to the Vulcans, making friendly overtures and such."

The cellar was cool and dusty and the smell made Leonard think of dirt and money. So many bottles... "I saw you talking to Stonn earlier."

[cso_spock]

He found the bottle he had come down here for, but, on second thought, he decided to get another bottle that wasn't at the bar to begin with. Bitter and thin and Andorian, where else would they find it on the planet?

The bottle chinked softly as he set it on the ground. "Unfortunate," he said, keeping the frustration of that conversation from rekindling in his thoughts. "He is not as reasonable as T'Pring, but thankfully, for his sake, he is married to her."

[dctr_mccoy]

"Whatever you were saying hit its mark," Leonard told him in a knowing voice. He was fully aware that Spock had been doing his passive/aggressive thing that the Vulcans seemed to enjoy, quick verbal repartee, and that Stonn, despite (or perhaps because of) his full Vulcan genetics, had not been able to fire back. "Mind if I ask what you guys were talking about?"

Leonard wondered how much Spock knew about the children, and if he'd share with him, given this opportunity, right now.

[cso_spock]

"I was asking him about the state of his finances." Spock had asked T'Pring first, of course, but she had merely given him Solen and got herself a drink without a relevant word to the topic. He knew that she wasn't so prideful as to reject his gifts, as he had seen before, but he wasn't so sure about Stonn. It was expected, he supposed, classic even, for a miner to reject his charity in some parody of ancient social tradition - but Stonn was clinging to the wrong tales from old Vulcan.

"Did it sound to harsh to your ears?" he asked, turning to Leonard, watching him more closely. "That was not my intention, but Vulcan rhetoric favors strong words against stubborn men."

[dctr_mccoy]

"The words were not as telling as your face," Leonard said, one hand reaching out to touch Spock's cheek softly. It was dark, and they were alone, so he didn't worry about being spotted. "I know when you're being cheeky."

But Leonard did understand the delicacy of financial conversations. "I hadn't realized you were financially supporting them," Leonard said, his face furrowing. Was this because of the children? Did Spock in fact know? "Or were you merely inquiring?"

That too seemed a little presumptuous but the Vulcans had their own quirks.