(Untitled)

[fear_no_words]

Thirty. God above, that was depressing

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[leftwithmybones]

McCoy knows what day it is. Hell, he celebrated with cake the last time it came around. Still, he didn't expect to be doing the celebrating this year under that plant. He's been pretty damn cautious to avoid the plant, but now that Uhura's trapped under it, he can't just walk away. "Some birthday present, huh?" he notes wryly, stepping closer and shifting the bottle of wine he's brought as gift.

[fear_no_words]

"Oh don't you start," she grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. Her temper could flare white hot for days, but she knew that she was being ridiculous and directed it at McCoy wouldn't help anyone. Instead she banked it back to something more playfully annoyed.

"I'm the one who gets to do the teasing in this relationship, mister. You better be here to rescue me, not crack jokes."

[leftwithmybones]

"Maybe this is my one and only chance to turn the tables." Still, he's not that cruel and he's definitely not about to draw this out too much longer considering he knows it's been a rough month. He lived with Spock, so he knows exactly how long he's been gone. He lets his lips quirk up slightly and steps one more step closer. "You're gonna get me in real trouble, Miss Uhura."

[fear_no_words]

"You're already in real trouble, Doctor McCoy," she countered, and now her own lips curved into a smirk, despite the lingering remnants of her bad mood. "You're friends with me. And Jim Kirk to boot. Might as well just embrace the situation."

[red_ponytail]

"You know," Bill said, strolling over to Uhura with a teasing grin and a cup of coffee in one hand, "there are easier ways of letting me know you wanted a kiss." He stayed, for the moment, far enough away so as not to get trapped himself.

[fear_no_words]

"But this way I'm guaranteed to get it," Uhura pointed out with a smirk and a pointed look. She rested her hands on the outline of the door, leaning forward just slightly, not that the mistletoe would let her go much farther. "You aren't going to leave me stranded, are you?"

[red_ponytail]

Bill set down his coffee and adopted an expression like he was thinking about it, then a brief moment later his grin was back, and he crossed the distance between them in a couple of long strides. "Wouldn't dream of it, love," he replied, and wasted no time in leaning down to kiss her, one hand curled around the back of her neck and the other resting at her waist.

[fear_no_words]

The kiss left her equal parts hot and cold, conflicting waves of sensation inside of her. Bill was far from a bad kisser and all their teasing back and forth did have a basis, a spark of attraction that flared up in each other's company. But she couldn't enjoy the kiss, no matter how brief, without feeling guilt. Spock of all people would have pointed out the ridiculousness of this; guilt in and of itself and guilt when he was no longer present to expect her fidelity. But as Uhura liked to point out, she was an irrational human being.

She pulled away with a step, freed from her confinement, and gave him a small smile. "Thank you," she said quietly. "Now if you'll help me disembowel that machine," she said, regaining her strength and nodding towards the jukebox, "today might actually turn out to be a mediocre day."

[capable_of]

The jukebox snapping on made Lex look up from the book he was reading. He'd picked up a few more classes at the Island School and he'd spent the last few days he wasn't with Anatoly, playing chess or other wise, coming up with new lessons plans. Today's subject of choice was the debate class.

He cocked his head as he saw Uhura in the doorway, cursing at the jukebox. "Are birthday wishes called for, Uhura?" Lex asked with a small grin as he closed his book, marking a place with a finger.

[fear_no_words]

"Only if you're feeling lucky," Uhura replied, shooting Lex a look that said to tread carefully. She loved her friends, but her mood was brittle, ready to snap. Being messed around with by the island was bad enough. "I prefer presents anyway," she continued, a degree or two sweeter. "Like, say, a kiss?"

[capable_of]

Lex's eyebrows went up in surprise at the tone but he couldn't quite remove the amused grin from his lips. Still, he knew better then to comment further on the subject. He stood up, book still in hand and started towards her. "No birthday wishes but you'd accept presents." Or maybe he didn't. He always had had a habit of taking his life in his hands.

[fear_no_words]

She raised an eyebrow at him, the sweetness draining away slowly but not entirely. She got it. She knew it was funny. But she only had so much patience. "Don't play with me Lex, honey. At least not until I'm out of this doorway and can fight back."

[rewarded_by_god]

"Well, there's no hiding it now," Gaius said from his place, slouched in a chair by the fire, his voice heavy with amusement.

Straightening up, the book in his lap snapping closed, he asked, "You look as though you're in need of assistance. I'm not wrong, am I?"

[fear_no_words]

"I wasn't hiding anything," Uhura replied, leveling her gaze on Gaius. She liked him well enough, a kind of kindred spirit, but she could only take so much teasing in this position today.

She took in a breath and let it out with a sigh. "I could use some help, yes," she confirmed. "I don't suppose you're interested in giving it?"

[rewarded_by_god]

"I don't have any objections that I can recall," he said, getting to his feet with a teasing smirk, wry and libidinous in a kind of bumbling, good-natured sort of way.

Crossing the room toward her, he stopped when he felt the pull of the mistletoe catching him there, only a foot or two away from her.

[fear_no_words]

"Well in that case," she began. Uhura was not in the best mood for games, but life just refused to move along sometimes without a little lightness. It was a distraction as well, especially comforting when she knew that Gaius knew very little about her and nothing about Spock.

"Would you please, oh good Dr. Baltar, save me with a kiss?"