Chapter Text
The next morning in the mess, Spock and Jim walked in to find Uhura, Bones, and Scotty at a table in the corner, laughing at some inside joke that Spock was sure would be confusing to him regardless of context. He settled next to Jim on the bench and got to work quietly on his Plomeek soup while Jim took a large bite of a breakfast sandwich.
“How are you two?” Uhura laughed and wrapped her arm around Scotty, who took the opportunity to blush into his scrambled eggs. Jim chuckled.
“We’re great actually,” He nudged Spock with his shoulder, who gave him an amused eyebrow. Bones’ eyes darted from Spock to Jim’s neck and back again, and then he groaned. However, the intended effect was set off by the wicked grin on his face.
“Sulu owes me a fortune.” Scotty broke out into an illogically large smile and Uhura had a face Spock knew Jim would colloquially and crudely describe as ‘shit-eating’.
“What are you guys talking about?” Jim sounded apprehensive. Spock had some ideas, none of which he approved of.
“I had it down to the day too,” Uhura said. “I could have sworn it would happen next year on Jim’s birthday. Did you know Spock already got him his gift?” Spock glared at her.
It was coffee beans he had grown in Sulu’s botany collection that he had planned to roast with equipment in his laboratory. Usually, coffee plants took several years to grow, but he had made some enhancing genetic treatments that sped up the process. He hadn’t told anyone the purpose of the beans and had explicitly hidden it from Jim, but Uhura had found him in the process of tending them earlier this month. She knew he didn’t drink coffee, and she had connected the dots when after grilling him for 42 minutes and 36 seconds, she had cheekily pointed out that Jim constantly complained about the replicator coffee. Apparently, his silence had been an admission when he had intended it to be a dismissal. Jim whipped around to stare at him.
“You have? Really? My birthday isn’t for another 5 months.” His cheeks were reddening and Spock could tell from the heat in his face that he was likely becoming an unseemly shade of green. He stiffly nodded. Jim’s face broke out into pure delight.
“Spock! That’s so sweet! What is it?”
“I believe in telling you I would defeat the purpose of the human tradition of gift-giving on the yearly cycle of one’s birth.” He turned his attention pointedly back to his soup, but he could feel Jim still beaming at him. Bones grumbled.
“This is fucking ridiculous. One day in and they’re already this sappy. I won’t be able to survive the rest of this mission.” Uhura and Scotty nodded sympathetically. Jim took his eyes off Spock to turn his attention to his three friends.
“Wait, did I hear all that correctly? You’ve been betting on us? When did that start?” Everyone averted their eyes but Uhura, who proudly proclaimed,
“Basically a week after we broke up.” Spock’s eyebrows cleared his bangs. It was one thing the crew had been betting at all, but so soon after he and Uhura had broken up? He knew their break up had been amicable, but that turnaround must be fast, even by human standards. It was the speed of light by Vulcan ones.
“That’s pretty insidious, even for you guys,” Jim was definitely trying to be admonishing, but he was failing spectacularly with the big smile plastered over his face. “I was barely even awake then. That’s like, incredibly unprofessional.” Spock had to bob his head slightly in agreement. Scotty had the grace to look a little bashful, but it didn’t stop him from relocating blame.
“Bones started it. I just happen to be a betting man.” From Bones’ angry stuttering, he clearly didn’t intend that news to get out. Spock tried his best not to glare at him.
“Oh really?” Jim scrutinized Bones. “And when were you going to tell me this, Bones? Before or after you told Spock to stop leading me on? Seems like you were throwing the game a bit.”
“Never. Ideally” He took a big bite of cereal. “And it’s not throwing the game if you both admitted it of your own volition. I just wanted to get a good estimate on the time frame we were working with here. Seriously. Sulu owes me so much money. He was convinced it would happen after the five-year mission was done but before the next one. That’s clearly too professional for you fucks.” Jim's face softened.
“You really think we’re getting another five-year mission?” Spock pressed two fingers to Jim’s hand under the table and Jim instantly reciprocated, turning to face him.
“Captain, we’re the most highly trained, successful starship crew in Starfleet, not giving us another mission is highly illogical.” Jim intertwined their fingers and gave him a look that made Spock’s stomach swoop.
“Yes,” Jim said. “I suppose it is.”