just_muse_me 26.1 "Five kisses that weren't on the lips, and one kiss that was."
New York
The streets of New York were always crowded no matter what the time of year, but the Christmas season seemed to bring in even more. Despite the fact that it was below freezing and snowing it was packed, but with only five days left until Christmas it wasn’t a surprise.
“Stay close or I’m going to lose you.”
The grumble was soft in his ear, and made a grin spread across his face. It didn’t make him stop, though, but he did grip his hand tighter as they moved together, him with a determined stride. More Gabriel’s than Leonard’s, but the other was following after, if nothing more than to humor his partner.
“You’re not going to lose me, Len, I’ve told you that a hundred times now, if not more. Stop being so paranoid.”
He turned back towards him and flashed him a grin before he was back to pulling him along, not stopping until they were in front of Rockefeller Centre, and he stopped so abruptly that Leonard crashed into him with a grunt.
“Isn’t it beautiful, Len? It’s one of my favourite things here, in New York. I’ve been to see it every year as long as I can remember…”
Gabriel trailed off with a slight sigh, a small smile appearing on his face as he gazed up at it, a seemingly dazed expression on his face as though he’d laid eyes on the most beautiful thing in the universe.
The kiss to his cheek was unexpected, but it made him smile as he leaned back in his arms, and though the world was rushing past them on all sides, for a moment it was just the two of them, bathed in the lights of the tree.
Engineering Deck
“Len?”
Gabriel was surprised to see his boyfriend standing in the doorway of Scotty’s office where he was currently working, filing the weeks reports. He knew that he was on overtime, but his lover showing up was a rarity, and he briefly wondered if he had completely lost track of time somehow.
“Scotty said you were in here, so I decided to stop by. Had to come down to check on some idiot who pinched his hand. Will it be long until you’re done?”
He smiled at the grumbled words and set the report he’d been working on down, and the smile turned to a grin as he looked at him.
“No, not at all. I have about three reports left to file, but they’ll take a half hour at most.”
“A half hour? Hmph. You better be right with that, because dinner’ll be ready by then.”
A grunt as he walked over to him, and leaned down to give him a quick kiss on the cheek, and though it wasn’t much it made Gabriel glow as he quickly finished the reports, and then made his way up to their dinner.
Sickbay
“You’re both damn fools, I hope you realize that!”
Gabriel and Jim were lying on each their biobed, having ended up taking a beating at the bar of the starbase they were currently docked at. They hadn’t intended to, of course, but bar brawls generally weren’t.
They had started with a drink together, a celebration of the recent successful mission, though already a few drinks in and Jim had had his eyes on someone else. Gabriel had laughed and shrugged his shoulders when Jim had asked if he would be terribly offended if he went over, but who was he to be offended? With all issues they had had, it was good to be able to just be friends with him, and that’s where he hoped to remain.
He’d had another drink on his own before he’d decided to head back to the ship and to his boyfriend; that was at least until he heard a loud voice yelling, and turned just in time to see a fist connecting with Jim’s face.
The friendship instinct kicked in before anything else having him charging like a bull over to return the blow while Jim stumbled up from the floor. In retrospect that wasn’t the best decision he had ever made in his life, especially after the ten minutes spent yelling at the both of them when they’d returned to the ship and shown up in sickbay - Gabriel with a black eye and a nosebleed and Jim a cut lip; but Jim was his friend, and he knew that he had done the right thing.
“You’re both going to end up getting yourselves killed at some point you know.”
Jim had been sent back to his quarters to recover after an unneeded hypo, but revenge had always been a dish that Leonard served with a hard jab in the neck. Gabriel was expecting his now, too, even closing his eyes as he waited for it, and finally opening one when there was no jab, but instead a kiss on the cheek.
“Don’t ever do that again.”
First Officers Quarters
A radiant smile spread across Gabriel’s face as he placed the last piece of the Kal-Toh on the top, and he came to realize that he had actually completed it when it didn’t fall off after five seconds of holding his breath.
He and Spock had been working on it the entire weekend, and though Gabriel was quite sure Spock could have easily completed it on his own without him there to make occasional slip ups, he was thankful that the other was patient enough to share it with him. It had given them time to talk. Or rather - it had given Gabriel a chance to talk with rare interruption, and then to have his thoughts sorted out into those that were logical, and those that weren’t. Naturally he didn’t agree with all of the other man’s opinions, but they forced him to view his issues in a new, completely different light, and on a few of them it helped decide whether he should bother wasting his time thinking of them or not.
He had a grin spread from ear to ear as he dragged Leonard to Spock’s quarters, eager to show him their achievement of sorts, even though Spock had waved it off as though it wasn’t a big deal at all. For him it was though, to him at least, so he was going to show it off. A bit at least.
“And you didn’t think we’d actually completely it.”
There was a certain amount of smugness in his voice as he walked with a determined stride to the door and knocked, still finding that more normal for him, and a habit that was hard to break.
“I didn’t specifically say that I didn’t think you could do it, I just said it was a waste of good time where you could be doing something else.”
Before the grumbling could go on though the door slid open and Gabriel flashed Spock a beaming smile before walking in, Leonard dragged behind him, and the pair making the Vulcan raise a brow at the spectacle.
“See! Look at it!”
There was a proud grin on his face as he pointed at the round object that had, just days before, been a pile of metal rods on the base. Now though, after hours of careful placement and concentration was a perfect sphere, and Spock had even let Gabriel win the game.
“Yeah yeah, I see it. Well done.”
Gabriel looked at Leonard and bit back a grin, though that didn’t last long as laughter bubbled up from him, earning him a glare from his lover.
Of course he understood it, somewhat at least. It had taken up his entire weekend, and as he tended to get obsessed with things over short periods of time, he spent nearly every moment he had off in the Vulcan’s quarters assembling it with him, cutting into the time they had together.
A kiss to the cheek was unexpected, but not unwelcomed, though before he could say anything his hand was firmly grasped by the others, and he was being dragged back out of the First Officer’s quarters again.
“I’ll see you later, Spock!”
He laughed, he couldn’t stop himself, especially not with the slightly confused and bewildered look Spock gave the both of them, and he could hear Spock’s voice in his mind going: “Fascinating. The complexities of human relationships still astound me.”
San Fransisco
Despite wanting to stay and complete his education to become a full officer the first time around, Gabriel had known that he couldn’t. Too many people were relying on his return within a year, and he set them first, as he tended to do. He’d had a crew to return to, after all, so it would have to wait.
That mission ended though, as most do, and despite it being a difficult choice he had decided that it was time for him to complete it so he could be a full officer, and move up in ranks as he deserved. Three years later and he had completed his run with near perfect scores, and now all he had to do was decide what he was going to do next.
Secretly command was something that he was considering, but he hadn’t told anyone, not even Leonard about that. It would be another several years of schooling, and as fun as it had been for him, he was still the oldest in his class, and he would be then too. He could serve aboard ships as an engineer, now - so he had completed what he had originally wanted to do.
He was supposed to hold a speech at the ceremony, and that was making him almost sick to his stomach. Knowing that there were going to be so many people there, and so many of importance…it was unnerving. He’d never been a great public speaker when it came to groups, but with his unique background he’d been asked, and once asked he couldn’t exactly say no. So instead he sucked on his lower lip as he stood under a tree, going over his notes again as he tried to calm his nerves.
The arm that slid around his waist made him freeze and yelp, though a moment later there was a kiss on his cheek, and a familiar scent that wafted into his nostrils, and he turned to face his partner, the one he hadn’t expected to see that day, and flung his arms tightly around him.
“You made it!”
He beamed at him, arms wrapped around his neck to keep him close, almost as though he had to do so to make sure that he would stay there with him. But that was logical, of sorts. Leonard had been away Jim on a new mission, and he hadn’t expected them back for another month.
“I didn’t want to miss this.”
The reply was simple and earned him another hug before the bell marking the beginning of the ceremony tolled; and it wouldn’t be until later when he learned from Jim that he had hopped a shuttle back that he would come to appreciate just how much he had done to be there for him on his day.
Observation deck
The party had quieted down throughout the evening. Couples pairing off, friendly or more as the night progressed. Some went off to enjoy themselves through fun and games elsewhere on the ship. Some snuck bottles of alcohol with them so that they could continue their consumption in private, or perhaps save it for later. Others had liquid courage to thank for the person who was in their arms as they stumbled off back to their quarters, finally leaving just one couple on the observation deck where the party had been held.
The music that was playing now was soft, a piece Leonard had picked out as now that they were alone, they could listen to whatever they wanted to. He’d put on the music and smiled, the sound of it relaxing to him, and Gabriel had teetered on the balls of his feet - that was until the other man had reached for his hand, silently asking him to dance and then leading him out to the middle of the floor.
Slowly they swayed to the music, close to each other with their forehead against the others; eyes closed as they both just let themselves enjoy the moment for what it was, and what it would mean to them in the time they were apart.
“We’re under the mistletoe I hung up earlier.”
Gabriel broke the silence with a soft laugh, pulling back to look up at the sprig above them, and then down at Leonard again, a smile on his face.
“So we are. Huh.”
A moment passed as they just looked at each other, then both leaned in for a gentle, loving kiss; the sort that made the world around them stop as it had that time in New York, when it felt as though there was no one else but them.
The streets of New York were always crowded no matter what the time of year, but the Christmas season seemed to bring in even more. Despite the fact that it was below freezing and snowing it was packed, but with only five days left until Christmas it wasn’t a surprise.
“Stay close or I’m going to lose you.”
The grumble was soft in his ear, and made a grin spread across his face. It didn’t make him stop, though, but he did grip his hand tighter as they moved together, him with a determined stride. More Gabriel’s than Leonard’s, but the other was following after, if nothing more than to humor his partner.
“You’re not going to lose me, Len, I’ve told you that a hundred times now, if not more. Stop being so paranoid.”
He turned back towards him and flashed him a grin before he was back to pulling him along, not stopping until they were in front of Rockefeller Centre, and he stopped so abruptly that Leonard crashed into him with a grunt.
“Isn’t it beautiful, Len? It’s one of my favourite things here, in New York. I’ve been to see it every year as long as I can remember…”
Gabriel trailed off with a slight sigh, a small smile appearing on his face as he gazed up at it, a seemingly dazed expression on his face as though he’d laid eyes on the most beautiful thing in the universe.
The kiss to his cheek was unexpected, but it made him smile as he leaned back in his arms, and though the world was rushing past them on all sides, for a moment it was just the two of them, bathed in the lights of the tree.
Engineering Deck
“Len?”
Gabriel was surprised to see his boyfriend standing in the doorway of Scotty’s office where he was currently working, filing the weeks reports. He knew that he was on overtime, but his lover showing up was a rarity, and he briefly wondered if he had completely lost track of time somehow.
“Scotty said you were in here, so I decided to stop by. Had to come down to check on some idiot who pinched his hand. Will it be long until you’re done?”
He smiled at the grumbled words and set the report he’d been working on down, and the smile turned to a grin as he looked at him.
“No, not at all. I have about three reports left to file, but they’ll take a half hour at most.”
“A half hour? Hmph. You better be right with that, because dinner’ll be ready by then.”
A grunt as he walked over to him, and leaned down to give him a quick kiss on the cheek, and though it wasn’t much it made Gabriel glow as he quickly finished the reports, and then made his way up to their dinner.
Sickbay
“You’re both damn fools, I hope you realize that!”
Gabriel and Jim were lying on each their biobed, having ended up taking a beating at the bar of the starbase they were currently docked at. They hadn’t intended to, of course, but bar brawls generally weren’t.
They had started with a drink together, a celebration of the recent successful mission, though already a few drinks in and Jim had had his eyes on someone else. Gabriel had laughed and shrugged his shoulders when Jim had asked if he would be terribly offended if he went over, but who was he to be offended? With all issues they had had, it was good to be able to just be friends with him, and that’s where he hoped to remain.
He’d had another drink on his own before he’d decided to head back to the ship and to his boyfriend; that was at least until he heard a loud voice yelling, and turned just in time to see a fist connecting with Jim’s face.
The friendship instinct kicked in before anything else having him charging like a bull over to return the blow while Jim stumbled up from the floor. In retrospect that wasn’t the best decision he had ever made in his life, especially after the ten minutes spent yelling at the both of them when they’d returned to the ship and shown up in sickbay - Gabriel with a black eye and a nosebleed and Jim a cut lip; but Jim was his friend, and he knew that he had done the right thing.
“You’re both going to end up getting yourselves killed at some point you know.”
Jim had been sent back to his quarters to recover after an unneeded hypo, but revenge had always been a dish that Leonard served with a hard jab in the neck. Gabriel was expecting his now, too, even closing his eyes as he waited for it, and finally opening one when there was no jab, but instead a kiss on the cheek.
“Don’t ever do that again.”
First Officers Quarters
A radiant smile spread across Gabriel’s face as he placed the last piece of the Kal-Toh on the top, and he came to realize that he had actually completed it when it didn’t fall off after five seconds of holding his breath.
He and Spock had been working on it the entire weekend, and though Gabriel was quite sure Spock could have easily completed it on his own without him there to make occasional slip ups, he was thankful that the other was patient enough to share it with him. It had given them time to talk. Or rather - it had given Gabriel a chance to talk with rare interruption, and then to have his thoughts sorted out into those that were logical, and those that weren’t. Naturally he didn’t agree with all of the other man’s opinions, but they forced him to view his issues in a new, completely different light, and on a few of them it helped decide whether he should bother wasting his time thinking of them or not.
He had a grin spread from ear to ear as he dragged Leonard to Spock’s quarters, eager to show him their achievement of sorts, even though Spock had waved it off as though it wasn’t a big deal at all. For him it was though, to him at least, so he was going to show it off. A bit at least.
“And you didn’t think we’d actually completely it.”
There was a certain amount of smugness in his voice as he walked with a determined stride to the door and knocked, still finding that more normal for him, and a habit that was hard to break.
“I didn’t specifically say that I didn’t think you could do it, I just said it was a waste of good time where you could be doing something else.”
Before the grumbling could go on though the door slid open and Gabriel flashed Spock a beaming smile before walking in, Leonard dragged behind him, and the pair making the Vulcan raise a brow at the spectacle.
“See! Look at it!”
There was a proud grin on his face as he pointed at the round object that had, just days before, been a pile of metal rods on the base. Now though, after hours of careful placement and concentration was a perfect sphere, and Spock had even let Gabriel win the game.
“Yeah yeah, I see it. Well done.”
Gabriel looked at Leonard and bit back a grin, though that didn’t last long as laughter bubbled up from him, earning him a glare from his lover.
Of course he understood it, somewhat at least. It had taken up his entire weekend, and as he tended to get obsessed with things over short periods of time, he spent nearly every moment he had off in the Vulcan’s quarters assembling it with him, cutting into the time they had together.
A kiss to the cheek was unexpected, but not unwelcomed, though before he could say anything his hand was firmly grasped by the others, and he was being dragged back out of the First Officer’s quarters again.
“I’ll see you later, Spock!”
He laughed, he couldn’t stop himself, especially not with the slightly confused and bewildered look Spock gave the both of them, and he could hear Spock’s voice in his mind going: “Fascinating. The complexities of human relationships still astound me.”
San Fransisco
Despite wanting to stay and complete his education to become a full officer the first time around, Gabriel had known that he couldn’t. Too many people were relying on his return within a year, and he set them first, as he tended to do. He’d had a crew to return to, after all, so it would have to wait.
That mission ended though, as most do, and despite it being a difficult choice he had decided that it was time for him to complete it so he could be a full officer, and move up in ranks as he deserved. Three years later and he had completed his run with near perfect scores, and now all he had to do was decide what he was going to do next.
Secretly command was something that he was considering, but he hadn’t told anyone, not even Leonard about that. It would be another several years of schooling, and as fun as it had been for him, he was still the oldest in his class, and he would be then too. He could serve aboard ships as an engineer, now - so he had completed what he had originally wanted to do.
He was supposed to hold a speech at the ceremony, and that was making him almost sick to his stomach. Knowing that there were going to be so many people there, and so many of importance…it was unnerving. He’d never been a great public speaker when it came to groups, but with his unique background he’d been asked, and once asked he couldn’t exactly say no. So instead he sucked on his lower lip as he stood under a tree, going over his notes again as he tried to calm his nerves.
The arm that slid around his waist made him freeze and yelp, though a moment later there was a kiss on his cheek, and a familiar scent that wafted into his nostrils, and he turned to face his partner, the one he hadn’t expected to see that day, and flung his arms tightly around him.
“You made it!”
He beamed at him, arms wrapped around his neck to keep him close, almost as though he had to do so to make sure that he would stay there with him. But that was logical, of sorts. Leonard had been away Jim on a new mission, and he hadn’t expected them back for another month.
“I didn’t want to miss this.”
The reply was simple and earned him another hug before the bell marking the beginning of the ceremony tolled; and it wouldn’t be until later when he learned from Jim that he had hopped a shuttle back that he would come to appreciate just how much he had done to be there for him on his day.
Observation deck
The party had quieted down throughout the evening. Couples pairing off, friendly or more as the night progressed. Some went off to enjoy themselves through fun and games elsewhere on the ship. Some snuck bottles of alcohol with them so that they could continue their consumption in private, or perhaps save it for later. Others had liquid courage to thank for the person who was in their arms as they stumbled off back to their quarters, finally leaving just one couple on the observation deck where the party had been held.
The music that was playing now was soft, a piece Leonard had picked out as now that they were alone, they could listen to whatever they wanted to. He’d put on the music and smiled, the sound of it relaxing to him, and Gabriel had teetered on the balls of his feet - that was until the other man had reached for his hand, silently asking him to dance and then leading him out to the middle of the floor.
Slowly they swayed to the music, close to each other with their forehead against the others; eyes closed as they both just let themselves enjoy the moment for what it was, and what it would mean to them in the time they were apart.
“We’re under the mistletoe I hung up earlier.”
Gabriel broke the silence with a soft laugh, pulling back to look up at the sprig above them, and then down at Leonard again, a smile on his face.
“So we are. Huh.”
A moment passed as they just looked at each other, then both leaned in for a gentle, loving kiss; the sort that made the world around them stop as it had that time in New York, when it felt as though there was no one else but them.