“Long enough to know you’re losing,” he mumbles, shifting a bit on the bed he’s claimed for his own this evening, though Leonard hadn’t really intended to knock out for as long as he had. A few minutes to rest his eyes had turned into a lengthy and quite satisfying nap. 

The name has a similar cadence to it.  It rolls off of it’s owner’s tongue with a bit of bewilderment, but with the same intones as he’s heard more often than not.  Or...at least so it seems.  It’s similar but different all at once.  Jim spins in confusion, brow furrowed at the call of his name.  Very few refer to him as Jim on the ship, and for a moment he stares at the unknown individual who extends his hand and inform him that he is Leonard McCoy.

For a moment, Jim stares, bright blue eyes taking in the man’s features.  Same wry expression on his lips, dark hair dusting his forehead.  But this isn’t his Bones, but damn if he doesn’t look....similar, older. “Shut up..” he stares in disbelief, stepping a little closer, brow knitting tighter in confusion.

Bones’ hand falls back to his side as he immediately realizes that such formality may have been a misstep on his part. He’s not disappointed, though, to the contrary he finds himself grinning as Jim approaches and scrutinizes him. Has this reality not encountered an alternate version of itself yet? This will be McCoy’s third. 

He gives the young captain a little shrug as he lifts his arms to cross them over his torso. “I didn’t mean to startle you. ‘Figured I should make myself known before any rumors caught your ear.” He raises an eyebrow at Jim. “Do I endure scrutiny, Captain?” 

“That wasn’t one of your options,” he grouses, hating that when presented with a pair of perfectly fine choices, Jim is incapable of settling for either. Honestly, he’s not sure what he expected.

“Not for nothing,” he adds, trying to keep his personal feelings out of it as he hauls the other man up best he can, ducking down beneath Jim’s arm. There’s going to be some damage, and some of it will be from moving an injured man without having secured and stabilized him properly, but he can fix that. It’s not nearly as bad as the alternative.

-COUGHS AnD SPUTTERS- What do you know about that?! Nuh uh. you are too young. Don’t make me take this to Pavel and sort it out with the boy because I sure as shit will.

  ¥

“WAIT WAIT WAIT HOLD THE FRONT DOOR why am I not a ten on looks? I am a god send”

@withinthestardust & @aviophobic

“Well,” he sighs, standing just past the threshold of what is to be their new quarters for however long it takes for the proper entity to deal with the issue at hand, “It’s not ideal.” 

While cadets had been uprooted and shuffled about to new lodgings, they had been told that the crisis at hand was on a strictly Need To Know Basis, which Leonard finds highly suspect. He is already so finely tuned to potential dangers that the notion he can’t even feel safe on Starfleet campus threatens to wind him up tighter than ever before.