Show Me How To Love You

He was a skater boy...

"Leonard, after meeting a few times, I feel like we've grown a lot closer." Christine said, after dabbing her pink lips with a napkin. Leonard smiled at her and nodded, taking a small sip of his wine. He'd been enjoying their talks also, over the past few days. It was a nice escape from the reality for a while. "In light of our being closer, I was wondering, if... if you'd like to-"

"Bones!" Jim bursted into the picture, heaving Leonard up by the arms. "Medical emergency, now!"

"I'm so sorry, Christine-" he sputtered, feeling sorry for her as he was dragged away by Jim. Christine's shocked face turned into a sad one before Leonard had to turn around and watch where he was going. When they got out into the hall, he yanked his arm away from Jim to walk with him. "Who is it?"

"It's Spock-"

"What? No it's not." Leonard interrupted him, and stopped walking. If it was Spock, he would have felt it. "Jim, what're you doing?" Jim looked conflicted, before sighing. He visibly gathered his composure before speaking.

"The question is, what have YOU been doing?" Jim asked quietly, gesturing for Leonard to walk with him. The doctor glared, wondering what the hell kind of intervention-like conversation this was. Usually these were aimed towards Jim, not him. "It might not be a medical emergency, but it is Spock. You've kinda been... y'know, cheating on him. I know that you two are together still, but you've been seeing Nurse Chapel a lot. In very romantic settings, and-"

"Whoa. Hang on." Leonard stopped, grabbing Jim's arm to make them stop. "I needed some time away from Spock after our... encounter that one night. I was kind of freaked out. I've never done anything sexual with a man." He growled, trying to be quiet so that any passing ensigns wouldn't hear. "Christine has been nice enough to help me relieve some of that stress- and not in a romantic or sexual way. Our relationship is completely platonic! I can't help that she's pretty and that she invited me to some dinners!"

"That did not look platonic to me. Trust me, Bones, I know what women look like when they want more. Christine had desire written all over her!" Jim growled back, and Leonard shook his head.

"This isn't any of your business anyway, Jim. Just... stay out of it." Leonard walked away then, ignoring Jim when he called after him. He sighed and shook his head. This was definitely not the sort of stress-free escape that he'd been hoping for. Avoiding responsibilities (Spock) was hard work. Hopefully shore leave would fix that, causing for a more relaxing environment.

Spock had had about enough. With everything building up on him- the regular xenophobia from several ensigns, Leonard's precarious and ignorant behavior, Jim's meddling, work, et cetera- his walls were weakening with each day. He'd been through more in the past, seen things he'll never forget, but that didn't change the fact that he was fed up with it all.

Meditate, breathe, clear the mind... This has been his mantra, day after day since he was old enough to comprehend the words. And now? That's all he did.

Meditate. He sat in the traditional position, his posture immaculate, for many hours. Breathe. He inhaled and exhaled the deepest breaths of incense that his body would allow him, to contract the fresh positivity and to extract the old negativity. Clear the mind. He thought of nothing, focusing on his breathing, seeing the black abyss behind his eyelids.

When Spock could no longer smell the incense, he knew that it had been a while. When he heard his alarm, he knew that it had been all night. When he heard a soft knock on his door, he knew that he was almost late for work, and exceptionally behind schedule. He opened his eyes, told the computer to brighten the lights to 70%, and took a quick shower.

So began his day. Jim walked with him to the Bridge, and digressed from appointing Spock any tasks that someone else could take. For that, he was grateful. They ate all their meals in silence. When shift was over, they walked back together, and Spock retreated to his quarters for more meditation. Evidently Leonard was no longer committed to their twenty minutes together each day, as they had barely seen each other over the past week.