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John Grimm knows something's up when the people in Fleet uniforms start giving him strange looks.
He's stopped at Starbase 14 to pick up some supplies, and most of the people in the brightly colored uniforms are giving him double takes. He glances down at himself, but he can't figure out why a man in BDUs, combat boots and a black T-shirt would give anyone pause.
It isn't until he's handing over his credits to the slightly pudgy shopkeeper that he at least gets a clue as to why they're so many people on the base: the Enterprise is docked there for a week to resupply.
"Heroes of the Federation they are," the shopkeeper says. "And here on our little base. What an honor."
"Well, everyone has to get supplies somewhere," John says reasonably, which gets him a glare.
Then the shopkeeper looks thoughtful. "You know, you sure look a lot like the guy who was in here yesterday. Oh what's his name...the doctor. I can't believe I've forgotten it."
"Okay then," John says as grabs his bag of supplies and walks off. If there's one thing he's learned in his life, it's that some things aren't worth waiting for.
He's heard about the Enterprise of course. It would have been pretty hard not to after the star charts changed, subtracting a planet and adding two black holes to the map. He's seen the newsfeeds and the pictures of the ship's young captain. But most of the newsbursts had focused on the young captain and his personal story rather than that of the rest of the crew. He hadn't even seen a full picture of the command crew, but he hadn't been paying too much attention to them either. Grimm's days were quiet now, and he was fine with that.
But he has to admit to being curious about these people who are causing all this fuss. He drops his purchases back at his ship before heading back out. It doesn't take long to track his targets down (it's ridiculously easy actually, with the amount of attention these people are attracting) but it makes him feel a little thrill down his spine that he hasn't in a long time.
The crew is surrounded by a large group of onlookers. He worms his way into the crowd. He first spots Captain James Kirk, who looks a lot younger than most of his press photos. The young man is laughing, slinging his arm around the neck of a man who makes John pull up short.
He's encountered doppelgangers before, people who shared his features or resembled him somewhat. But none of them have ever looked so exactly like him before.
Apparently it's a mutual feeling when the blue-shirted man looks up and catches his eye. He freezes for a long moment, studying John's face and then his attire before sharply elbowing the gold-shirted Captain.
Clear blue eyes laser in on him within seconds, analyzing and assessing for a threat before moving on to a physical examination. The eyes light up as he notices the obvious similarities, but Grimm can still see something moving, working, constantly upgrading the man's knowledge behind the glee in his eyes.
Huh. That was interesting. John mentally upgrades his own opinion of the man from just a charismatic pretty boy.
"Bones, you got an identical twin I've never heard about?"
"Can't say that I do Jim."
The crowd surrounding the men seems to realize that they won't be getting any further attention and breaks off, dispersing into the corridors of the station.
"John Grimm," he introduces himself with his hand out. He's used a lot of aliases in his years, but he likes coming back to his own name, no matter the risk.
"James Kirk," the gold-shirted man returns, heartily shaking his hand. "But most people call me Jim."
The blue-shirted man seems to take his cues about John from his captain and since Jim hasn't deemed him a threat, he shakes John's hand as well. "McCoy. Leonard McCoy. And there goes my idea about you being a long-lost McCoy."
John chuckles. "Bit of a shock to me as well. Small galaxy I suppose."
"I suppose so."
"And there goes my hot twin fantasy," Jim chimes in. He's still keeping himself slightly ahead of the other man, ready to move him back away from any danger. John's opinion of him ratchets up again.
"Shut up Jim."
"The doctor here likes to ruin all my fun," Jim says conspiratorially to John. "But it's interesting to meet someone who looks so much like him. You sure you two don't have a great uncle in common or something?"
"Hard to say," John says carefully. "Lot of the old family records went up in a fire." It wasn't a complete lie. Some of the Grimm family records were on Olduvai when he blew up the Ark. They probably did go up in flames in the resulting explosion.
Leonard looked somewhat disappointed. "That's a damn shame. Would have been interesting to see if we were actually related or a statistical anomaly."
John decides to play his hand. He hasn't had stimulating conversation (or stimulating anything) in five months and as dangerous as these two could be to him, he's willing to take the risk if it means something more. "We could try to figure it out. I hear this base has a decent steakhouse. If you're interested."
The doctor again turns to Jim for his cue. The trust between them is obvious and John does not (does not) think of what he used to share with his RRTS.
"I could eat," Jim says, slinging his arm around the doctor's neck again. "Bones, why don't you comm the ship and let them know where we'll be while John and I figure out where to find this place." It's phrased as a question, but it's obviously an order and the brunette rolls his eyes before walking off, silver comm gleaming in his hand as he flips it open.
Jim's gaze turns to him and John squirms a little inside at the intensity. It's been too long since he was last around others and all the interaction seems to make his blood pulse so much faster.
"So, John," he says casually. "I've got a lot of enemies in the Federation. If you prove to be one of them, or try to hurt Doctor McCoy, I won't hesitate."
John licks his lips. "Can you back it up?" He cracks his knuckles, muscles twitching in anticipation.
Jim's tone is still eerily calm. "Do I have to?"
They stare at each other for a long moment before John cracks and starts laughing. "You're pretty damn confident kid." He slaps Jim on the back. "I can work with that."
He gives Jim a calculating look. "And for the record..." He slips behind the man and puts his mouth against his ear so he can whisper, "I can back it up."
Jim just laughs at that and sidesteps John. "Okay then." McCoy walks back up to them and Jim rubs his hands together. "Let's get some dinner. I feel like I could eat a whole cow."
John feels an unfamiliar feeling stretching the muscles in his face. He lets the grin overtake him as he starts leading the way to the restaurant. He doesn't know what this is, but he knows it's going to be interesting.
*****************
Dinner with James Kirk and Leonard McCoy is turning out to be a rather cozy affair, John Grimm reflects as he pops another steak fry into his mouth and starts chewing.
The two men have kept up a constant running commentary, only stopping for breath to insult one another or to take another bite of their dinner or take a drink.
It's definitely been one of the more amusing evenings he's spent in his life, watching the pair snipe at one another. It doesn't take him long to catch the by-play either, the longing looks that are quickly aborted when they might be returned, the casual lingering touches and the words that seem to have deeper meaning than either of them realize.
Jim and Leonard (Bones, but the nickname seems to be only for Jim) are obviously in it deep. John can also see that they're both too stubborn or calloused to see it in each other. (And when the hell he became a matchmaker he'll never know. Once again, he blames Sam for any remotely romantic bone in his body. Apparently, a sister's sappiness was contagious.)
He knows all about time and patience and letting things take their own course. He also knows he isn't a saint, even if he is still a good person by nature. So John might be an outside observer, but for once, he wants in.
So when a blue-shirted Vulcan tracks them down in the restaurant, requiring 'just a moment of the captain's time before he can return to his meal,' Reaper pounces on the unsuspecting doctor.
"So, you and Jim," he says casually, scooting his chair closer to his doppelganger. It's still uncanny to him how similar they look, but it's bothering him less and less each time he looks.
"Yeah, what about us?" the doctor says gruffly. He seems to say most things gruffly. It shouldn't be charming, but it really kind of is. (Again, John thinks he's a sap and mentally gives Sam a fond curse.)
"You're awfully close." He's treading a fine line here and he knows it, but John's had years and years to study tactics and people and a number of other subjects. He's fairly confident he's not going to fail.
"Course we are," Leonard says, neatly pulling a bit of steak off his fork with his teeth and eating it. "We've known each other for a long time, been through a lot of shit together."
John goes for the kill. "How long have you wanted to bed him?"
McCoy coughs as he takes a sip of whisky, then snorts painfully as some of it goes up his nose. "What?" he finally chokes out. "You outta your goddamn mind? You've got a lot of damn nerve..."
John shuts him up by putting his hand against the nape of McCoy's neck, stroking the fine hairs there. "He touches you like this, like a lover. And it makes you feel good, doesn't it?" John purrs, moving his hand up and down in a caress.
McCoy is rapidly turning red, but his speech appears to be going the way of the Martians. "Lot of...damn nerve," he forces out, trying not to lean into the touch and failing.
John grins again. It's a good feeling. "The way he looks at you, it's incredible. Like all the passion in the world is just bound up in his eyes and waiting to be set free. We could set that free." Leonard opens his mouth to protest, but John continues before he can. "Anyone looking at the two of you can see it. The way you look at him like he's the last piece of your puzzle. The way he keeps you close, protects you without you even knowing that's what you needed. What you wanted."
"Enough!" McCoy says, jerking away. "Enough. You may look like me, but I sure as hell know what you're saying isn't worth a damn since it ain't true."
John sits back in his chair, picking up another steak fry and slipping it into his mouth. "Isn't it?" he says once he swallows.
"No!"
"You're sure?"
"You're damn right I'm sure." McCoy says, but John can see the moment he starts thinking, really thinking about all the little instances John had pointed out.
He loves it when a mission goes according to plan, even if it is a hasty plan he wasn't sure would work and one he didn't realize he wanted to execute until he already was.
McCoy takes a hefty swig of his drink. "We're just really close friends. Really...close."
"Oh, I can see that," John says, tipping his tone just toward sarcastic because he knows already that it's how the doctor operates.
He sees the doctor leaning back in his chair to look over at where Jim is sequestered in a corner with his First Officer, the two of them bent over a PADD. He sees the easy affection in the man's hazel-green eyes and then (wonder of wonders) the blooming lust.
It's then that he springs with his offer.
"I could help you with him," he says casually, taking a sip from his own drink.
"What?" McCoy asks, still looking a bit dazed as he turns his attention back to John.
"I said, I could help you with him. We're three adults and if all parties are willing, I think the three of us could have a lot of fun tonight." He leans closer to Leonard, practically purring in his ear. "A shove in the right direction, followed by all the really great kinds of shoving."
McCoy shudders and John gives into the urge to press his lips to Leonard's neck, eyes still trained on Jim in case he turns around. Shows are good, but a misunderstanding would kill his evening and he knows it.
But John Grimm knows that if there's one thing he isn't, it's a saint. He isn't Cupid either, even if he does still keep (and read) some of those ridiculous romance novels Sam used to hoard both in her teen years and into the time when they found each other again.
"Think about it," John whispers, blowing warm air against the damp spot he's left on the doctor's neck. He puts himself to rights, just as Kirk returns. McCoy's still tongue-tied, gaping at him in a way that's still vaguely attractive (after all, an open mouth has so many possibilities.)
"Hey guys, Spock is finished with me, so I'm all yours for the rest of the evening."
Kirk, oblivious to their conversation, drops a casual hand on McCoy's shoulder with the ease of a gesture often repeated. It makes the brunette huff out a weird, squeaky sort of breath that makes Kirk look down at him in askance.
"Bones?"
But the doctor isn't looking at Kirk. He's locked gazes with John, who feels his groin stir at the heat there.
"Okay," he says quickly, ignoring Kirk's question. "Okay, yes."
John doesn't wait for him to change his mind. "I'm proposing the three of us together. In as many sweaty positions as we can handle. ASAP."
The former solider is satisfied to see Kirk's pupils immediately blow with lust and affection. But concern enters and takes over pretty quickly.
"Dr. McCoy, could I see you in private for a moment?"
Leonard's eyes are still locked on John and it takes Kirk physically lifting him out of his chair by his arm to get him to break eye contact.
They head to the same corner where Jim had gone with Spock. The conversation is heated and quick and includes a lot of quick, questioning glances over at John. He keeps his expression neutral.
Whatever the doctor says to Kirk appears to get through just fine and after a moment, the pair return. Kirk leaves a generous handful of credits on the table and then they're out the door without a word.
They end up in one of the nicer lodgings on the base, one with plenty of accommodations and a staff that looked like they understood the word 'discreet' by not saying a word about two Starfleet officers and a man who looked nearly like a twin of one of those by not saying a thing. Jim, after a few words with the hostess (who doesn't even blush at the request Jim makes of her) comes away with a bag of supplies.
Reaper approves of all of this: the third-party location so none of them have the advantage (or disadvantage) of home territory, the preparedness and the way they all seem to be moving together like a well-trained unit as they head toward their room.
He even manages to sit still as the doctor runs a tricorder over him for diseases, mostly because he knows from long experience and experimentation that the little device isn't advanced enough to pick up on his DNA pattern. It'll identify him as human and whether he has any of sexual diseases that the doctor is obviously scanning for, which he doesn't. Whatever McCoy find seems to satisfy him because he packs the device away.
The room's minibar is stocked, so Kirk pours them all drinks, correctly guessing John as a whisky kind of guy, for which he's impressed.
From there, it's as easy as their conversation in the restaurant, only more charged, the air thicker. Kirk, Jim, is the one to start things off, which doesn't surprise John in the least. He's heard the stories, sure, (it's part of the man's legend along with saving Earth) but more than that, he's heard about the man's determination. And Jim's a man determined to get something he's always wanted.
So he leans back in the chair he's taken at the room's small desk table. He takes a sip and rolls it around on his tongue as the captain strides up to his CMO, straddles him in the place he's taken on the bed, and kisses him like he's obviously wanted to for a very long time.
Leonard seems a bit shell-shocked at first, just like when John made his proposition, but it doesn't hold him back for long. He's got his glass on the nightstand and his hands fisted in dirty blonde hair pretty quickly.
John's learned patience over his long years and even before that when being in the RRTS often meant a lot of hurry up and wait, so he lets the two men indulge themselves for awhile before McCoy remembers he's there. It's he that beckons John forward, shifting Kirk a little (which obviously shifts Leonard's knee in a stimulating way if Jim's satisfied hiss is anything to go by) and drags Grimm down. Jim falls to the wayside while John sprawls on top of the doctor and mashes their lips together.
It's a bit messy and pretty sloppy, but it's amazing and it leaves John shuddering. It's been a long time since he's trusted anyone to touch and even paid services can only get someone like him (with his stamina and tastes) so far.
They're interrupted by a short whimper which comes from next to them. "God that's hot. You have no idea how gorgeous you both are." John and Leonard share a look, and whatever inhibitions the doctor had about this encounter seem to be melting away. They may not be identical in the traditional sense, but they're still sharing an identical thought when they pounce on the man next to them.
Shirts are quickly subtracted from the equation, along with boots and socks as they hit the gigantic bed again. McCoy and Grimm both make use of their medical training to drive each other and Jim just a little bit crazy and Jim lives up to every crazy rumor that's ever circulated about him and surpasses his own press when he starts John to thinking he might come before anyone ever touches him below the belt.
It's wonderful, but it's not moving fast enough for John's tastes.
So he pulls Leonard off the bed, standing them at the foot of it as Jim pants and tries to get a hold of himself. John unbuttons the doctor's uniform slacks and slips his hand inside, sliding beneath the waistband of his underwear to roughly fondle the man as he whispers the dirty plan he's formulated into the man's ear. McCoy's head falls back on his shoulder and John can see those sharp eyes are figuring out the logistics, weighing the medical risks, the sheer and utter lust the idea sparks.
In fact, he only has one request to make, gasped out as John thumbs over the head of his hard member. "Me," he stammers out. "I'd like to...our history...me."
John's feeling particularly generous with these two in front of him like sinful promises. "By all means," he says, giving Leonard a few quick jerks before taking his hand out of the doctor's pants, something which makes him whimper. As a consolation, he trails his hand up to tweak Leonard's nipples. "Just don't forget me."
McCoy actually chuckles at that. "Don't think that will happen any time soon."
Kirk sits up on the bed. "You know, as much as I like the show, I really came to be a live participant."
"Oh, you'll come alright," Reaper growls. "When we tell you to."
Jim's mouth actually hangs open for a moment. It doesn't last long. "Damn. Bones, this could be the best idea you've ever had."
"Shut up Jim."
Leonard pulls free from John in order to knock Jim back onto the bed, stripping off Jim's pants and underwear while remaining in his own before he straddles him, rocking his ass with the barest of friction against Jim's cock.
Grimm helpfully hands him the lube from Jim's little bag before pointing to Jim's mouth, which is hanging slackly open. "May I?"
"Be mah guest," Leonard says, Southern accent in full force.
John shucks his own clothes before climbing on the bed to straddle Jim's face while McCoy shimmies down his hips.
"Spread your legs Jim and be awful nice to our friend here. Don't come, either of you."
John twists around to look at Leonard, who is carefully coating his fingers in lube. "My plan, remember?" John says, but he's not complaining. The doctor knows how to command and John's always been good about obeying orders he believes in (and some he doesn't, but he's not thinking about that now, not now, not now, especially when he's sliding into tight wet heat.)
Jim moans as Leonard starts stretching and the resulting vibrations around John's cock feel amazing. And the captain knows how to use his tongue.
He's so glad he spotted these two.
John thrusts in too far a couple of times, choking the other man, but it's less awkward fumbling than he normally expects from these encounters (not that he's ever had anything that feels quite this good or easy.)
He's getting close when he feels a tap on his shoulder. Looking back, he sees Leonard jerking his thumb at him and he gets the message. He pulls out of Jim's mouth and rolls off, regretting it instantly as he feels Jim's moan in his bones.
And then literally hearing the man moan 'Bones.'
He wonders how the nickname came to be. No one's muttered his nickname in years, but the tattoo remains and sometimes aliens will ask him what it means. Sometimes he tells them the lore, but mostly not.
Lost in his own thoughts, he idly fists his cock before tuning back into Jim and Leonard's conversation.
"Jim, are you sure? I mean, I didn't really imagine, didn't know that you, I..."
Jim sits up, John forgotten for a moment.
He cradles Leonard's face in his palms. "Bones, I've wanted you for a long time. I just didn't know how to make you see it." He brings him in for a slow passionate kiss. They both look a bit dazed when they break apart.
"And John," Jim says, shifting those unfathomable blue eyes to focus on him, moving one palm to stroke along John's scruffy jawline. "I can never really express what this means, what you're giving us." He draws John in for a similar kiss that leaves him breathless, which is saying something with his higher lung capacity. Jim turns back to Leonard. "So yes, I'm sure. I want you. Both of you."
McCoy looks a bit floored, but there's raw heat in his gaze.
"Okay," he says. "Okay."
And then he's positioning Jim, pulling his legs up and using one hand to guide himself to Jim's slick entrance. John takes the momentary shifting to place himself behind Jim, leaning up against the headboard and threading his legs between Jim's to hold them up and apart. It leaves his own arousal trapped a bit painfully between his stomach and Jim's back, but he knows the endgame so he ignores the discomfort.
And besides, the position gives him other opportunities, like free access to Jim's rosy nipples or the ability to slip a finger into his mouth and feel the kid giving it the same ministrations that his dick was remembering fondly or press a kiss against his temple or neck or wherever he felt like reaching.
Leonard slides home in small increments, obviously knowing enough to let Jim adjust to his size. When he's balls deep in Jim, he leans up to kiss John until Jim whines deep in his throat and John can feel his muscles ripple in a way that has Leonard quickly backing away to start thrusting into the younger man.
The doctor obviously knows the human body as he takes Jim right up to the edge and then backs off, again and again, shifting the angle of his thrusts so that he can lean up to kiss them, both Jim and him. Then he'll shift again and Jim's breaths will start coming out with high-pitched sounds and words on occasion like "Yes, please, so good, Bones, wanted, ungh, yes, harder."
And while Jim is a show worthy of the finest of erotic holos, John will admit to being fascinated by the man with his face when he's in the throes of passion. He wonders if his eyebrows furrow in the same way and whether his lips quirk up to the side as he licks them.
But even the fascination can't distract him for long from Jim writhing widly between them, showing such genuine enjoyment for the act that suddenly John has to be in there.
He catches McCoy's attention. "Plan," he grunts out.
Leonard starts crooning to Jim, slowing his thrusts to get the words out. "Did you really mean it Jim? That you wanted both of us? Because you can have both of us. Do you want us? Can you take it?"
"God yes!"
"Okay." Leonard slides out and Jim keens at the loss.
There's a bit of elbowing and a lot of grunting as they manhandle themselves and each other into position. But then Leonard is on his back, Jim draped over the top of them so they're chest-to-chest and John positioned behind them, resting his haunches on his ankles.
Leonard starts to move to get back inside Jim, but John knocks his hand away and fists Leonard's cock himself, slowly guiding the other man back into Jim's body, something that makes both of them moan and makes Leonard give a delicious shudder. Jim tries to start bouncing on Leonard's cock, but the doctor wraps his arms around Jim's chest and pulls him close, immobilizing him as best he can. Jim whines, but stills.
John retrieves the little bag from earlier and fishes out a fresh tube of lube, popping it open to spread an overly generous amount on the fingers of his right hand. He uses just his finger tip to trace the red ring of muscle currently stretched beautifully around Leonard's flushed cock. It gets him some moans that are quickly swallowed up by hitched breaths as he slots that finger into place beside the dick in Jim's hole. A second finger follows the first and a third soon after, time and small thrusts from both men falling in between.
It's as he's pulling his fingers free for the last time that he's struck by a sudden wave of doubt. He should leave now. These two are made for each other and even if he brought them together, that doesn't mean that he should get something like this for it.
But then Leonard leans up to see what the hold-up is, rolling his eyes as he sees the uncertain look in John's own. Jim is panting weakly against Len's neck, squirming as much as he can with the way he's impaled. He eventually manages to roll his head back to see why John's stopped and John's caught by the thin ring of blue surrounding blown pupils. And he admits to himself that he knew he was caught from the moment he saw them.
He gives them a genuine smile and gets back to work. It takes a little more stretching before he's satisfied he's not going to hurt Jim (at least, not in a way he wouldn't enjoy) and then he's spreading lube over his ignored cock, which is throbbing and pouring the rest directly onto Jim's swollen hole.
John presses a kiss to Jim's spine as he slips a thumb into Jim's hole to hold him open, then presses forward with his cock, moving as slowly as he can.
It's unlike anything he's ever felt: the pressure, the heat, the sheer raw nerves sparking in overload. Heightened senses just mean he feels it all the more when Len's hips hitch up, pressing them all just that little bit closer together. John slipped his hands over Leonard's shoulders and used the leverage from his grip there to start thrusting.
The rhythm isn't smooth at first, isn't even close actually. Instead, it's jerky as they all try to figure out when to move. But that just makes it more real. Trying not to come immediately is also something they're all dealing with.
Eventually, the rhythm smoothes out, the two dark-haired men trading places inside the fair-haired one. All three of them are making noise, Jim most of all, actual coherent words slipping out on occasion that have strong "Bones" and "John" sounds to them.
And then one of them stutters as they ram their hips forward, John's not sure who, and they're both thrusting hard into Jim at the same time.
"Unh, Jim! So good. Feel so amazing. Take it so pretty."
John spares a moment to grin. Apparently his doppelganger likes to talk dirty.
"So hot. God, beautiful. Taking both of us and just moaning for it."
"Bones," Jim gasps out.
The pair of them are both brushing against Jim's prostate in a merciless sort of pleasurable torture and Jim's words dissolve pretty quickly into whines and shouts as he ripples around them, muscles tightening hard around the two cocks splitting his slick hole open.
It's a cascade after that, sensation building and flowing over itself. John picks up speed and Len follows suit, both of them thrusting hard.
John succumbs to it first, thrusting as hard as he can manage before letting himself go, spots dotting his vision as he empties himself deep inside of Jim. His hips stutter as he forces pulse after pulse of come around where Len is still thrusting.
The other two rut frantically beneath him, murmured words and cries filtering through the blood rushing past John's ears before Jim's hole clenches hard and draws out the last threads of his orgasm as Jim comes with a shout. It's not long after that that he feels faint pulses against his cock, the wetness doubling if not the warmth.
He misses seeing their faces, lost in his own pleasure. He knows that will be the only thing he regrets about this whole thing because he won't get another chance.
It takes a long time for them all to stop shuddering, muscles twitching with pleasure as their orgasms taper off. John pulls out as gently as he can (which still makes Jim whimper softly) before flopping off to the left side.
Jim gives a grunt when Leonard's softening cock slips out under its own weight, slipping down his chest to lie in the narrow space between the two brunettes.
They're all a mess, but Jim and Len have caught the worst of it. Len is covered in Jim's come and Jim is covered with his own release and slowly leaking their combined loads of come out of his ass and onto his thighs and the sheets below.
Len runs his fingers through the mess, slipping a finger into Jim's swollen hole and swirling it around until Jim moans, unsure whether to move back into the pressure or push the doctor away.
"Wish I could plug you up Darlin'," Len drawls, accent sinful as he continues to finger Jim. "Keep us both inside you, plugged up so full with our come sloshing around inside you, so that you'd feel it every time you moved and know. Know just how owned you are, how much you loved having two cocks up your ass, love feeling it every time you shifted in your chair. And then when we wanted to, we could just slide the plug out and slide back in, fucking you on just our come."
"Damnit Bones!" Jim mumbles against the pillow as the other man chuckles and withdraws his finger. Jim turns over so he's laying on his back. He looks mournfully down at his cock, which makes John smile. "I know I'm younger than you two, and while that's quite possibly the filthiest and best idea I have ever, ever heard, there is no way I'm getting it up again any time soon."
This makes Len laugh again. John has to admit that he quite likes the thought too, but even his rewritten genetics aren't going to grant him an option to explore it.
Instead, he chivalrously gets up and heads to the bathroom to gather cleaning supplies and glasses of water. They manage to mop up the worst of the mess, despite Jim's attempts to help (which mostly consist of him flailing without much coordination toward his groin in a vague attempt to clean himself up).
Between John and Len, they manage to get a glass of water into Jim and drain their own glasses. After that, they roll Jim off the bed into a nearby chair and change the sheets (the hotel thoughtfully has a spare set in the tiny closet and John is glad they went to a hotel that thought of all sorts of accommodation). After that, they maneuver themselves back into the bed, Jim sprawled in the middle and Len spooned up to his side. John throws a muscular arm over both their waists and lets himself drop off to sleep.
And that should be the end of it.
Except for how it's not.
When John wakes up, it's to find Len staring at him. His first reaction is to reach for his gun, which isn't there. He can see McCoy noting the aborted gesture with interest, but he doesn't comment on it.
"You know," he says slowly. "I'm pretty sure we wouldn't be opposed to a round two...or three."
John laughs softly, if a bit regretfully. He's due to pick up a couple of shipments today and he was planning on breaking away from the station today. "It's a tempting offer."
"Hard to resist this," Jim mumbles sleepily, face mashed half into the pillow, one brilliant blue sliver of an eye peeking out at John. He waves his hand about, probably meant to encompass their bodies, until Len catches it, laughing, and presses a kiss to Jim's knuckles.
"Man makes a hell of a point," John says, tackling them both to the bed.
****************************************************************
Jim heads back to the ship when they finally manage to extract themselves from the bed, shower (separately) and get dressed. He mutters something about supply requisitions and tells 'Bones' to keep his comm on so he can track them down later.
Now that John's decided to stick around, he's pretty much got nowhere to be. He's already commed his suppliers to tell them to hold his provision and fuel orders until later in the week. He and Len decide to wander around the station, Leonard searching for a souvenir for his daughter.
The man knows how to tell a story and John finds himself not even minding when he can tell that some of the really interesting details are being left out of Len's tales, likely because of non-disclosure clauses and the fact that he's not in Starfleet. Len talks about Georgia and peach pie and asks where's John's from.
And because Len told him about Joanna, John finds himself, for the first time in years, talking about Samantha. It hurts, yeah, but it feels good to let someone know about how much his sister believed in him and how much he misses her and how funny she was and how she started him on his romance book collection ("Don't let Jim hear you say that," Len warns. "He'll never let it go. Like a dog with a bone that kid is.")
They talk about a medical paper they've both read, some unclassified research Len's doing on developing an allergen serum from a plant the Enterprise crew discovered on a planet called Praxos. They talk about the experiments John's been running on his little ship involving replicator recipes (some of them are edible and one he's pretty sure will make a decent plastic).
John feels...happy. For the first time in a long time.
And when Jim joins them again, it makes it that much better, the captain bouncing with energy and dragging them all over the station. It's fun. Which is why John knows it's actually going to hurt when they ship out. Together and without him.
But repression is something he's gotten a handle on, so he just wrings as much out of the experience as he can. And if he makes sure that Leonard's filthy words from their first night are facilitated by him ducking into a sex shop for a few impromptu purchases, well, that's just his business.
They spend three more days together (three sweaty, incredibly fun, passion-filled days) as the Enterprise undergoes a minor refit and resupply.
And then just as quickly as it started, their time is over.
John's standing with Len at airlock, waiting for Jim to finish up with the docking officer before they say their goodbyes.
Jim and Leonard are back in their uniforms after spending the last three days in civvies (or less, which is what John has honestly preferred on them) and John is back in his standard set of clothing, black T-shirt stretched across his chest while his worn gray BDUs are tucked into his combat boots.
It's while he's scuffing said boots against the deck plating, trying to figure out what to say, that Leonard drops a bombshell on him.
"You know," he says casually. "the last record of a John Grimm was from several years ago. An RRTS member with a file so encrypted it took Jim two hours to hack into."
John stiffens without meaning to. Duke always did say he had a shit-ton of tells when it came to poker.
Len continues unperturbed by John's silence. "File was pretty uninteresting. Lots of redactions."
John relaxes a fraction then tightens right back up as Len forges on. "But there were some notes about a last mission to Olduvai, some unrecovered property the old UAC wanted to get their hands on."
John's already calculating his escape route, wondering if he should kill the doctor and desperately not wanting to. He thinks of The Kid and his stomach curls.
McCoy's still talking, oblivious to John's train of thought or just managing to appear that way. "Jim dug a little deeper. You should know; you've seen his dedication. Found some of a Samantha Grimm's research on a subject called Lucy. Incomplete of course, since the facility was destroyed. Interesting stuff, especially if you start putting together some pieces that came in about that research and that last RRTS mission."
He turns to John. "But nothing to do with you I suppose," and John relaxes his fists, which had clenched so hard that there are half-moons of blood welling in his palms from where his nails had dug in. "Unless..." McCoy shifts, obviously recognizing the fine line he's treading. "Unless that John Grimm is you."
"If it is?" John said tightly. He knew the way the Federation worked and knew how vulnerable it was with the loss of Vulcan. If they had C24, they would have an unstoppable weapon to fill that gap. He mentally kicks himself. He should have known better than to trust these people. He wonders if it's too late to knock McCoy out and start running. Running he can do. Most of his life these days has been running, even when he was pretty sure there was nothing left to run from. It had been better. It had. He just needs to start again.
McCoy interrupts him before he gets more than a step (away or forward even John can't really tell. He thinks he's closer.)
"Then a brilliant doctor who knows a damn thing or two about genetics and his crazy Captain would offer that man a place with them while they helped him get back to normal, if that was what he wanted." Leonard's face softens. "It can get awful lonely out here in the black, especially as the years go by with no one to share them with."
"You mean you...?" he trails off, not sure what's being offered or even what he's asking at this point. His feet are still poised to run, but he's not moving yet.
"Could reverse the supposed immortality part of it? Yeah. With enough time. And," and here he looks at John straight in the eye, "you could have Jim and I."
John laughs, a nasty sound that tears itself out of his lungs. "You're kidding."
McCoy's face is solemn. "No. I'm not kidding about any of it. You've lived a long time John. Now, I don't dare to judge whether you like that or not. But I know that years spent alone, without anyone to love or even to trust can eat at you, especially when you see them stretching out without hope. And Jim and I...well, we wouldn't be if you hadn't pointed us in the right direction."
"You would have gotten there eventually." John won't admit to panicking right now. This can't be what he thinks. It's a trick. It has to be.
Len shakes his head. "No, John. We wouldn't have. My divorce left me pretty messed up and Jim's been abandoned all his life, unintentional or not. He wouldn't have risked our friendship and I wouldn't have seen him wanting me. And Jim sees something in you, same as I do."
John latches onto that. "So it's pity then."
"Not pity," says a quiet voice from behind him. Jim has managed to sneak up from behind and John is cursing that he's let his guard down so completely around these two.
"Then what is it then?" he snaps.
"What is it you want out of life John?" Jim asks. "You've got your ship and you can go where you want. But did you ever feel like being part of something greater?"
"I was part of something greater," he retorts. "And then my entire team was murdered, I became a freak, and I had to watch my only family wither and die. So you tell me what I should want."
He doesn't know why he hasn't run yet. He should kill these men now so he can stay alive, stop them before the hunt starts up again. But he wants what they're offering so bad he can feel it like a physical ache running through his whole body.
He feels tired suddenly, like he can actually feel all of his extended years weighing him down.
Jim seems to catch on to his desperate thoughts. "John, it's not an ultimatum. It's an offer, freely given. Nothing's going to happen to you if you turn us down. You'll be free to go and we won't mention any of the history we may or may not have dug up. But think about if that's what you really want. Nothing's going to happen to you."
And without really meaning to, John does think about it.
He likes his ship and the freedom it gives him. He doesn't have to follow anyone's orders but his own and it's his choice whether he helps or doesn't help someone. He likes meeting people all around the galaxy and the casual relationships on a number of starbases and planets that he can rely on any time he needs stress relief.
But Sam's gone, his parents gone longer. His whole team is dead, all remnants of the RRTS dismantled, and Olduvai is practically a fairytale now, most of the facility and its secrets reclaimed by the planet.
He wouldn't call himself happy, but he's not dissatisfied with his life. He's not immortal (Lucy's skeleton had told him that much), but the thought of growing old and dying is tempting in a way he hasn't allowed himself to think about since Sam died and her research into C24 with her. He hasn't had the heart or the will to work on the problem himself.
"So what now?" he says shakily.
This was just supposed to be a good time with two extremely attractive men (he wonders briefly about the narcissism factor too) not whatever this is they're offering.
"Come with us," McCoy says. "Be with us."
"That simple?"
Jim laughs, throws an arm around him that John doesn't shrug off. "Simple? Hell no. The paperwork and the subterfuge is going to be an absolute bitch. But I think...we think," he grins at Len, "that you're worth the effort.
"You are worth it John. Don't tell yourself otherwise," he says, suddenly serious.
With his body the way it is now, John's never really felt like the risks he took meant anything. Gunshot to the heart? No problem. Mauled by a pack of wolves while hiking on Talisa? Only had to scoop his insides back into place and wait for the healing to finish up before heading back to the trail. But this...this is a risk that could bring everything crashing down.
He looks into two bright pair of eyes. And it honestly surprises when he see some of his own pain reflected in them. These two have known loss and sorrow and pain, perhaps not just like him, but they've known it.
He thinks of Sam in her last days, smiling at him as he held in her hand in that hospital bed and wishing him happiness.
But John was never much of a thinker. He was an action sort of man.
So he pulls Jim close and kisses him, an action which is swiftly returned with interest.
He kisses him so hard and long that the station kind of fades around him.
"Way to make a girl feel like a third wheel," comes an amused voice, breaking John and Jim apart.
"Shut up Len." He draws the doctor in for a similar kiss before breaking away for breath. He shoves both men back to stand at arm's length, but doesn't let go of them. "Wait, this is crazy."
"You've met us, right?" Jim asks.
It makes him laugh. "All right. Point. But you've got rules and regulations..."
"...and defense contractors that only need a sympathetic admiral's signature to approve their service aboard a Federation starship, which, 'hey!' we have."
"My ship..."
"Hey Bones, isn't there room for a Delta class ship in shuttle bay two?"
"If we move the still, yeah, plenty of room."
"I'll have to bribe Scotty then."
"Wait," John snaps, and the other two snap to attention, although grins are still plastered on their faces. "I can't, you don't...shit."
"John," Len says. "It's not like it's either, or. You can leave if you don't like it or don't want to stay. We won't stop you if you decide it's not for you. We don't have to do the research on reversing the synthetic chromosome either. They're just options, not deal breakers. Moron," he puts in as an afterthought.
There's really only one thing John can say to that as he starts striding towards the airlock where the Enterprise is docked, towing Jim and Len along with him.
"You better have a damn big bed."