Chapter Text
[December 23 cont.]
After Jim walked away from him, Leonard had fought his natural urge to stomp back to his house and sulk the rest of the afternoon. I tried to communicate for once, his brain pettily supplies, already locked in some sort of imaginary couple’s therapy session. But if there’s one thing Leonard knows, it’s that he’s not going to let this thing with Jim dissolve over something related to Santa.
Plus, he quickly realizes there’s a place where he can take out his bad mood without having to feel even a little guilty.
When Gary answers the door, Leonard asks without preamble, “You got this whole Santa thing under control?”
“You think I won’t be able to do some simple mending?” Gary snaps. “Also, I reminded your mother, but in case she didn’t relay the message, I need sixty to ninety minutes for repairs, no exceptions.”
“Well, great, just like magic or something,” Leonard says vaguely, looking out the extreme corner of his eye to try to spot Jim again. He’d meant to come to Gary’s pissy and stormy, but instead he still just wants to talk to Jim.
“It’s not magic,” Gary snaps. “I have an advanced degree.”
Leonard just makes a noise in his throat, barely listening.
“Is Santa not important enough for the President himself to inquire about?”
He turns back to see Gary’s scowling face, and Leonard raises his eyebrows. “You heard of delegation?” he asks dryly.
“I don’t think Jim’s ever heard of it. Maybe you’re getting a new boyfriend exception or something, but the Jim I know loves being in control. To a fault. Did he tell you about my hot tub?”
“Yes, Gary, I heard about your goddamn hot tub.”
“Like, my god, just because you’re a new President doesn’t mean you can’t bend the rules now and then. No one thinks you’re fucking incompetent or something.”
Leonard blinks, the word incompetent bouncing around in his brain, and he wonders if that really is the crux of the issue. It all seems to fit: Jim’s comments about how amazing Leonard’s parents are, the constant clipboard, his micromanaging, everything. Vaguely, Leonard asks, “Anyway, about Santa — how far are you?”
Gary looks at him like he’s suffering from severe head trauma. “Considering Santa hasn’t shown up yet, nothing’s been done. Can’t help when there’s no costume, unless you want me to use undisclosed measurements to try to make something out of an old blanket.”
“What the hell do you mean he hasn’t shown up?” Leonard snaps.
“I could not possibly be any clearer.”
Suddenly Leonard understands why Jim has been so stressed out all week.
Leonard is very comfortable with damage control. In fact, that’s really his whole job, when it comes down to it. But at the moment, saving lives feels a lot less complicated than finding out Santa has bailed on them — a distinctly un-Santa-like thing to do, as Scotty said. He and Uhura holed up with Scotty in his kitchen to discuss, accompanied briefly by Leonard’s parents on FaceTime. But in the end, it was indisputable.
No Santa.
Though Leonard is inexplicably worried, he’s glad for an excuse to find Jim. He ping-pongs between about ten people with walkie-talkies before he finds Jim in the very last place he could’ve expected: at home.
When Jim opens the door, Leonard can’t help but smile and say his name, relief washing over him.
“Hey, Bones,” Jim says absently, typing something on his cell phone.
Leonard’s eyebrows raise. He thought he’d grown numb over the last year, but it cuts over him all of a sudden — just the thought of being someone Jim ignores. He shakes it off, reminding himself that this is about a goddamn Santa for a glorified block party. So he just says, “There’s an emergency.”
“You’re the doctor.”
“Jim,” he snaps.
Jim blinks and looks up at him, pulling off his reading glasses. “Did you cross more things off my list?”
Leonard takes a step inside and grabs Jim by the arm. Yes, partially because it’s fucking freezing outside, but mostly because Jim is being ridiculous. He just pulls him a couple of feet into the entryway and kicks the door shut behind him.
“Do you really want me to apologize for trying to help you out?” Leonard asks, much closer to him now, hand still holding Jim’s forearm. The last time he was this close to Jim, they almost kissed. He has to guess that’s the very last thing on Jim’s mind, judging from his cold stare. But he decides he may as well go for it, and he adds, “Jim, dammit, do you know the last time I’ve cared about someone this much? Trust me, I couldn’t give less of a shit about Santa, if it weren’t for you.”
Jim just looks at him for another few seconds, and Leonard wonders if he’s really going to get the silent treatment for the grave sin of being helpful for the first time in his fucking life. Then, much to his surprise, Jim pulls his arm away, only to reach for the lapels of Leonard’s coat. Before Leonard can process what’s happening, Jim pulls him in.
And kisses him.
Leonard makes an embarrassing noise in his throat at the contact, but after that split-second of shock, he presses himself against Jim. As soon as Leonard feels Jim’s tongue against his, he slides his arms around Jim’s neck, trying to get as close as possible. He gets lost in it, barely noticing when his back is pressed against the wall.
All thoughts go out of his head in favor of kissing Jim. Damn, he’s certainly not surprised by how good it is, but he is surprised by how strongly he’s reacting. He starts to shiver, the only thing holding him steady is Jim’s hands on him and the wall behind him. Maybe it’s the coat making him feel overheated, but he can’t do anything but pull Jim closer to him. In fact, maybe they should just cancel Christmas altogether and hole up here for the foreseeable future.
Jim pulls back, holding Leonard’s face between his hands. Jim smiles and says Bones softly, looking a hell of a lot different from a few minutes ago. Jim lets out a quiet laugh, probably at something horribly embarrassing on Leonard’s face, but he can’t even bring himself to care.
Leonard runs a hand through Jim’s hair, savoring the texture under his fingertips. He’s entirely forgotten he was annoyed at Jim just a couple of minutes ago, until Jim says, “Sorry, Bones — I was an ass. All this has just been… more than I expected.”
“Me?” Leonard asks quietly but firmly. He’s sure he’s coming on strong, but he doesn’t know another way to be, now that he’s found Jim. He’d rather have a rejection now — though it would be quite a rejection, after a kiss like that.
“No, all this Christmas shit, being president and everything. Then it seemed like you were starting to doubt me, too, and—” He breaks off, eyebrows shooting up. “Wait, didn’t you say there’s an emergency?”
“Oh, fuck, Jim!” Leonard exclaims, finally letting go of him. “Santa dropped out. We’ve gotta find a replacement.”
“It’s Christmas Eve Eve. There’s no way we can find a Santa now. Did you talk to your parents?”
It’s not strictly-speaking true, but he says, “No, I knew you’d be able to think of something.”
Jim rolls his eyes, clearly seeing through Leonard’s lie. “The Santa really did drop out, though, right?”
“Yes, do you think I’d lie about something like that?”
“I mean, you just— oh, fuck, I think I’ve got an idea. Come on.” He shoves on a coat before grabbing Leonard’s hand to run out the door.
“I fail to see how I can be of service,” Spock says.
When Jim led Leonard over to Spock and Uhura’s house, Leonard was slightly concerned. The feeling hasn’t really faded, but he can’t help but be interested — after all, he isn’t convinced that he’s even heard the man speak all week. So he just stands off to the side in Spock’s entryway, eyes going back and forth between Jim and Spock.
“You know Pike, don’t you?” Jim asks. “The guy who lives at the end of the street.”
Spock nods slowly, eyes flickering over to Leonard just for a moment.
“We need him to be Santa tomorrow.”
Spock’s eyebrows raise. “He prefers to be rather reclusive, Jim.”
“Just come with us to talk to him. Please?”
Spock sighs. “As long as you assure me I will not be blamed for an unfavorable outcome.”
Jim rolls his eyes, and Leonard finds himself letting out a startled laugh. With a grin at Leonard, Jim tells Spock, “Yeah, I’ll make sure your record stays spotless, okay?”
Turns out, watching a Santa negotiation isn’t as riveting as Jim made it out to be. Pike gave them all coffee and tea, and they sat around his kitchen table. Leonard is there because — well, he’s not entirely sure why, but there’s nowhere else he’d rather be. Spock silently drinks his tea, carefully watching the proceedings. Jim is leaned halfway over the table, with an impassioned speech about kids and Christmas that seems to be designed to make rich people donate money.
Pike, however, seems unimpressed. Leonard isn’t sure what he expected for a guy described as reclusive and perfect for Santa, but not this: good-looking, mid-sixties, grey-haired, very distinguished. He looks like a rich businessman, one of those men who’s always on the verge of retiring. Plus, the decorations on the exterior of his house seem to be the handbook definition of bare minimum — Leonard supposes it’s easier to get away with that, being the last house on the street and not in the very center of the cul-de-sac.
After a while, Jim actually seems ready to give up. He pauses after one of his speeches to take a long drink of coffee.
“Chris,” Spock says slowly, with a glance at Jim, “the event only lasts for a few hours. Everything is well-established. It really is very seamless by now.”
“Yeah, I remember,” Pike says.
Jim abruptly sets his mug down hard and says, “Wait — you’ve been Santa before, haven’t you?”
Pike frowns at him.
“You were,” Jim insists. “I remember you!”
Pike rolls his eyes, clearly caught. “So what, Jim?”
“You know, that Christmas really changed my life,” Jim says. “Does that sound ridiculous? And not just because I had my first crush. You might think I’m just saying what you want to hear, Pike, but I really found what I wanted here. Maybe I was only a kid, but it felt like another world to aspire to. It was enough to keep me focused. I just want these kids to be happy for a day — hell, for a few hours. And they won’t be without Santa.”
When he’s done with his speech, Jim’s gaze flickers over to Leonard, just long enough for Leonard to smile at him. Jim turns back to Pike, but Leonard finds that he can’t help but stare, Jim’s words rattling around in his head.
“Alright, Jim,” Pike says with a sigh. “But I need help finding the costume. Buried in the basement, I think.”
“Thank you,” Jim says with a relieved sigh. Then he turns to Spock with a smirk and adds, “And Spock’s just the man to help, aren’t you, Spock?”
Leaving Spock and Pike to sort everything out, Jim and Leonard walk down towards the cul-de-sac. Jim is back to his good spirits — laughing and giddy over his Santa triumph. Leonard hangs onto his arm and grins, just glad to see Jim like this again.
After a couple of minutes, Leonard can’t stop the question from bursting out of him: “You really had a crush on me back then?”
“Maybe I was talking about someone else.”
Leonard laughs. “I wish I remembered.”
Jim laughs harder and shakes his head. “I don’t. I was so much younger than you — you would’ve just patted me on the head and laughed at me with Scotty.”
Leonard snorts, but before he can say anything, Jim stops abruptly and turns to him, his hands going to Leonard’s face as he leans to say softly in his ear, “I’ve still got that crush on you, y’know, Bones.”
Even though their kiss earlier was already a thorough indication of Jim’s feelings, Leonard finds himself reddening. Besides, Jim’s gloved hands feel exactly right on him, and Leonard finds himself leaning in, very ready to kiss him again.
“Jim!” Scotty calls. “You got him?”
Leonard lets out a quiet groan, half-turning to see Scotty waving at them from the cul-de-sac just a few feet away. There’s a wide grin on his face, as though he’s very aware that he interrupted them. After a soft laugh, Jim pulls Leonard over to Scotty.
“Yes!” Jim exclaims triumphantly.
“And he helped you?” Scotty asks, nodding at Leonard.
Jim nods slowly, and he and Scotty exchange a significant look that has Leonard reconsidering if this really is a cult.
“Is it time?” Scotty asks.
Before Leonard knows it, he’s in Scotty’s living room, being forced into a chair, while Jim and Scotty stand in front of him. He looks between them, scowling — he’s happy to play along, but he also isn’t about to act like it.
Abruptly, as if waiting for a cue, Scotty says, “I hereby nominate Leonard McCoy to be officially named to Team Kringle.”
“I second the nomination,” Jim says.
“And what the hell is that?” Leonard interrupts.
“Think of it like an HOA extracurricular,” Scotty says. “Don’t you want to be one of Santa’s helpers?”
Before he can decide between about a million snarky comments rolling around in his mind, Jim interrupts, “Let’s put the motion to a vote — all in favor say ‘aye’.”
He and Scotty both say aye and then look around as though there may be other people present. Leonard can’t help but snort, and Jim exclaims, “The motion has passed!”
Scotty makes whooping noises as he does a loop around his living room. “Oh, yippee,” Leonard says dryly, leaning back in his chair.
“Now, Bones, this is not a toy,” Jim says with a grin, while Scotty hands over one of the red walkie-talkies, complete with the red-and-white striped antenna. “We’ve still got a lot of work to do.”
Leonard can’t help but laugh as he takes the walkie-talkie.
[December 24]
“Everything looks great!” Jim says, surveying the just-completed area for Santa’s workshop. The rest of the volunteers scamper off to cross more items off the to-do list, but Leonard stays put. Jim glances up at him for a second before putting his pen in his mouth so he can flip to another page on his clipboard.
Leonard grabs the pen from his mouth, trying not to laugh when Jim’s teeth click together. “Did you sleep at all?” he asks, mind flashing back to his own night, where that kiss had center stage in his dreams.
“Yes,” Jim says shortly.
Leonard wavers for a moment, not sure if he really wants to scold Jim when he knows it’ll be fruitless. Tomorrow he can mount an attack. Instead, Leonard just circles the back of Santa’s chair while running his hand over the curved, gilded top. “Are you gonna give this thing a test drive?”
Jim blinks at him and takes off his reading glasses, eyebrows raising in disbelief. “I’m not authorized to do that,” he says.
“It’s just a chair, Jim.”
“It’s not just a chair, Bones.” Jim gestures wildly around them, where everyone in the neighborhood has been working since dawn to get things set up. “This is where magic is real.”
Even Leonard can’t help but smile at that. “Well, sounds like someone ought to try it out, then. Besides, in ten, twenty years, maybe you can play Santa.”
Jim rolls his eyes, but slowly walks to the front of Santa’s chair and looks down at it. With one last glance up at Leonard, who nods encouragingly at him, Jim sits down. After a couple of seconds, he looks more comfortable. He leans back and crosses his legs, looking up at Leonard with a smile.
“See?” Leonard asks, reaching down to ruffle his hair. Jim stares at him with a disarming smile, and Leonard feels a blush creep onto his face. The moment doesn’t last long, though, before Jim gets that hyper-focused expression back.
Jim jumps out of the chair, and, already defeated, Leonard just says, “Alright, well, I’m sure you have a billion more things on your checklist, so I think I’ll head home until this thing starts. Make sure Blitz is hanging in there.”
“I caught that,” Jim says, planting himself directly in front of Leonard. He holds the clipboard behind his back with both hands, but leans closer to Leonard with a smug look on his face. Close enough to touch.
“What?”
“You said home.”
Leonard blinks. “You don’t miss a thing, do you, kid?”
Jim grins. “One more thing,” he says softly, leaning even closer.
“Yeah?” Leonard asks breathlessly.
“Give me back my pen.”
Leonard goes red immediately, shoves the pen into his hand, and leans forward to give him a quick peck on the lips. “Call me if you need me,” he says softly, then bolts away before he can get too good of a look at Jim’s face. He doesn’t want to beat himself up over being too much or too fast right now. Like Jim said, it’s the one time for magic.
There are about a hundred screaming children running around. There’s a hot chocolate tent, sleigh rides, presents, a long line for Santa — who’s looking more cheerful by the hour. The works, basically. All led by a very frazzled-looking Jim, wearing a red Santa hat and so busy that even his trusty clipboard has been discarded. He’ll occasionally run by Leonard and yell something, but Leonard just laughs in response and tries to help when he can, called from emergency to emergency via walkie-talkie. Still, other than a massive marshmallow crisis, it’s been mostly smooth sledding.
In the early afternoon, Scotty grabs him for the big reveal of Jaylah’s ice sculpture.
“I’ve been losing sleep over it,” Leonard says dryly.
Scotty laughs — a bit too hard considering Leonard’s comment was very literal.
Jaylah dramatically pulls a red tarp off her sculpture to reveal a very detailed nutcracker, made entirely from ice. Leonard’s eyebrows raise and he leans forward. “It’s good,” he says, turning to Scotty.
“Of course it is,” Scotty says, grabbing him by the shoulder. Jaylah begins explaining her craft to the children nearest her, but Scotty seems to have other things on his mind. “You seem to be having a good time, laddie. Got a certain sparkle in your eyes.”
“My eyes don’t sparkle.”
“I meant—” Scotty breaks off, gesturing in a wide arc over the scene in front of them. “You look happy here — a damn sight happier than you ever looked when we were teenagers.”
“Being a moody teenager was sort of my whole thing.”
Scotty rolls his eyes. “So do you think you’d move back?”
“I’m thirty-four, Scotty — I’m not moving back in with my parents.”
“Aye,” he says solemnly. “Well, I’ve got a feeling we’ll be seeing plenty of you, either way.” With that, he gives Leonard a wink and then starts walking off.
Leonard stays there for a moment, deciding whether or not to let the whole thing go. Then, at the sight of Jim crouched down talking to a kid on the other side of the street, Leonard frowns and follows after Scotty. “What does that mean?” he snaps.
“Well, you did it,” Leonard says, shoving the last of the hot chocolate into Jim’s hands. To his surprise, Jim wraps his other arm around him, and they both stumble, until they sit down hard at the edge of the raised platform of Santa’s workshop. Leonard lets out a startled laugh, and Jim looks proudly at his unscathed hot chocolate cup.
“It’s almost Christmas,” Jim says, tucking his arm around Leonard more successfully this time.
“Ya don’t say?” Leonard says. Still, he can’t help but lean into Jim, feeling tired all of a sudden. It’s nighttime now, everything lit up by the neighborhood’s excessive light display, and it seems most people have gone back home. Then he asks, “What’s Santa bringing you, anyway?”
“How about you go on a date with me the day after tomorrow?”
Leonard starts, exhaustion immediately blasted out of him. He looks up at Jim, who’s smiling softly, face a little flushed.
“Don’t look so surprised,” Jim says, laughing. “Or did I imagine making out with you yesterday?”
“Yes,” Leonard says abruptly, wanting to get his real answer out so bad it hurts. “Yes to the date, not to the—” He breaks off. “But we’ve gotta leave this godforsaken neighborhood. I mean it, Jim.”
“Deal.”
They grin at each other, and Leonard feels it again: something new is here, something good.
Then he clears his throat, saying in a much different voice, “But you need sleep, Jim. Doctor’s orders.”
Jim rolls his eyes but nods. “One thing first?” he asks.
“What?” Leonard snaps, but when Jim pulls him in for a kiss, Leonard supposes an extra few minutes won’t do any harm.
[December 25]
Leonard, for the first time in recent memory, wakes up without the sound of a chainsaw. He takes his time, stretching idly — definitely not thinking about Jim — before wandering downstairs. It occurs to him that this is his second Christmas alone, and a damn sight better than last year; freshly separated from Jocelyn, he’d spent the day drinking away his problems.
He can practically hear Eleanor’s ever-optimistic voice in his ear — what a difference a year can make — as he heads straight for the kitchen to make coffee. He stops dead on his way, noticing a single wrapped gift under the Christmas tree. He freezes and looks at it. Santa, of course, is his first thought, because this goddamn neighborhood has driven him out of his mind.
All survival instincts gone, he goes straight for the gift and picks it up. Sure enough, it does say Santa on it. Before he can think too hard about it, a chorus of very familiar voices shout, “Surprise!”
He looks up to see his parents emerging from David’s office. He’s too tired to process any of this before coffee, and just raises his eyebrows. “You’re back?” he asks blandly.
Eleanor runs up to him and gives him a hug. “We just couldn’t miss Christmas!” she tells him.
David gives him another hug, and Leonard can’t help but wander towards the kitchen.
“Everything looks great,” David says as they follow after him. Leonard tosses the gift box onto the counter as he starts to make coffee, immediately shooed away by Eleanor, who takes over. Leonard doesn’t mind an excuse to just sit down at the island, watching as David wanders around.
“You made some… creative choices, but I suppose some would call that style,” David says in a tone that very much indicates he would not call it style.
Eleanor rolls her eyes. “So how was your week, Leo?”
Leonard, barely managing to squash the urge to gush about Jim, just shrugs. “Not so bad, in the end,” he grudgingly admits. “You guys find a place in Florida?”
“Well, we’re going with a long-term rental for now,” Eleanor says, with a look at David. She hands over a cup of coffee, and Leonard takes a grateful drink. “And thank you for looking after the house and Blitzen. It’s the best gift you could’ve given us.”
“And we’ve got a gift for you,” David says, putting the small gift back into Leonard’s hands.
Leonard, never one to make a big production out of gift giving or receiving, makes quick work of the red wrapping paper. From inside the box, he pulls out a set of keys. He looks back at his parents, eyebrow lifting. “What’s this?” he says.
With a glance at David, Eleanor says, “If you want the house, it’s yours.”
Leonard looks between his parents, genuinely shocked. But they both just grin at him. “This is insane,” he says, looking down at the keys. He knows that a week ago, he would’ve rolled his eyes and played it off as a joke. But today, he can’t help but desperately want to stay here — even if his parents change their minds about Florida in six months, which he has a suspicion they will.
So he looks back up at them and nods. Eleanor starts bouncing on her feet in excitement, and Leonard says, “Yes, thank you.”
David starts talking about the specifics. Leonard, for his part, pays as close attention as possible under the circumstances — caffeine still not hitting him yet, reeling from the shock of it all, and part of his brain lingering on Jim. He only asks one question, and it only comes when he notices Blitzen staring up at him. Eleanor reluctantly agrees that Blitzen can stay with him for now.
A few minutes later, Leonard is saved by the doorbell.
Eleanor and Leonard look at each other for a moment, but before she can move, he bolts off his chair and to the door. Sure enough, there’s Jim, wearing his red coat and grinning widely. Leonard glances back and sees Eleanor out of the corner of his eye, and Leonard is certain she’s going to say something horribly embarrassing. Without even a thought, he yanks his coat off a hook, and just as Jim raises a hand to greet Eleanor, Leonard grabs his arm and pulls him out onto the porch.
Jim laughs, letting himself be pushed to the bench, which is safely out of sight of any windows. “Merry Christmas to you, too,” Jim says.
“Yeah, yeah, merry Christmas,” Leonard says, and sits down.
Jim presses himself against Leonard’s side, and for a minute, they just stare out onto the cul-de-sac. It’s still decorated from the festivities yesterday — if Leonard remembers correctly, most people help clear everything up in the late afternoon.
“So, are you gonna take the house?” Jim asks.
Leonard turns to him, eyes wide. “You know about that?” he asks, and as soon as it’s out of his mouth, he wonders why he’s even surprised. Judging by Scotty’s comments yesterday, he has a feeling that this is yet another thing the whole neighborhood was in on.
Jim laughs. “Well, I think you said it once — hardly anyone sells to outside parties. Besides, your parents have mentioned that they want you to take the house… about a thousand times.”
“Have they?” Leonard says to himself, leaning back against the bench. “I guess I’ll have to think about it. Make a pros and cons list. This neighborhood really is something else.”
“Lots of crazy neighbors.”
“And I’m not a fan of HOA’s.”
“Just bribe the president if you want something.”
“Oh?” Leonard asks, turning back to him again. “With what?”
Jim grabs him for a kiss. Leonard just presses closer to him, happy to be able to do this again and again and again. It’s slower than the other times, with Jim’s hands on his face, tongue unhurried and sensual. When Jim pulls back, Leonard stays wrapped around him. He opens his eyes, and when he glances out, he notices that it’s started to snow.
“Do you think the whole world was conspiring to get us together?” Leonard asks softly. “And now the weather, too?”
“We had it under control, Bones,” Jim says, running a hand through Leonard’s still-messy hair.
“We did, didn’t we?” Leonard asks, laughing to himself. Maybe things were spinning out of his control for over a year, but everything finally seems to have settled right here, right now. It really does feel like the best Christmas gift possible.
The door opens abruptly, and Leonard makes a vague attempt at sitting up straight. Eleanor’s head pokes out of the door. “Well, what a surprise!” she exclaims, in the absolute least surprised voice possible. She has a shit-eating grin on her face as she looks between them, and then adds, “You’ll stay for Christmas, won’t you, Jim?”
“Of course! If you want, Bones,” Jim adds, looking at him with a smile. He jumps off the bench and reaches back for him.
Leonard rolls his eyes and grabs Jim’s hand. “Always,” he says softly, just for Jim. Then the two of them head back inside Leonard’s new house.