You Can't Be Too Careful [Star Trek/Leonard "Bones" McCoy Love Story]

[18.] Violettes

[18] Violettes

As I neared the end of my fourth and final year as a cadet with Starfleet Academy, nearly two years after the death of my father, I wondered how my life had turned out as it had. After Scotty returned to Astrid and I, things pretty much went back to normal. At least, as normal as they could possibly be. Although Astrid was still a collection of sarcastic comments loaded with enough sass to make the universe explode, she had matured considerably. Little things that she had overreacted over before didn’t seem to bother her anymore. I found that I had matured as well. I appreciated the little things in life more than I ever had, and I often became aware of the fact that I was smiling. Though I was still ridiculously clumsy, I managed to grow more comfortable in my own skin, which meant that I didn’t trip over every little thing that crossed my path as much as I used to. Changes were taking place all around me.

The month of May was coming to a close. Graduation was just around the corner, and I was turning twenty-four. When I woke up the morning of May 25th, there were a dozen chocolate cupcakes arranged on a glass platter sitting on my dresser. A few balloons were tied to the back of my desk chair, colored vibrant purples and brilliant silvers. I grinned, knowing that Astrid probably did it in the middle of the night.

Rolling over onto my side, I noticed that my best friend wasn’t buried beneath her thick covers, as she usually was. I raised an eyebrow and flung my own covers off, shivering as my bare feet hit the frigid floor. A few strands of hair fell in front of my eyes, but I didn’t bother brushing them away. I folded my arms across my chest and took a moment to observe the cupcakes. Each was covered in white icing, accented by frosting roses. I smiled warmly.

“Oi, birthday girl!” Astrid’s voice called down the hallway. “”re ya awake?”

“Yeah, in here,” I answered, never tearing my eyes away from the cupcakes.

Astrid came down the hallway calmly before excitedly throwing her arms around me and squeezing me until I was begging her to not snap my spine in half.

“Happy Birthday, my favorite lass!” she giggled happily, kissing me on the cheek. “Twenty-four years of clumsiness. I wouldn’ ‘ave missed a single moment of it fer the world.”

“Thanks, Astrid,” I chuckled. “This is all lovely.”

She waved me off. “Not a problem at all. You’ll ‘ave ta thank Uncle Scott s well. He helped.”

“Did he?” I asked, playing with the ribbon attached to one of the balloons.

“Yep,” she replied, popping the ‘p’. “I picked the cupcakes and balloons out, and he paid for them.”

I tipped my head back and laughed. “He’s such a sucker.”

“Ya, he is,” she said, beaming. “Bu’ he’s our sucker.”

“That he is,” I agreed, turning to face her.

“Oh, an’ we’ve collectively decided tha’ we’re gonna take ya out ta dinner tonight. Tha’ alright?”

“Of course! I’d love to go.”

“Grea’!”

I picked up one of the cupcakes and took a large bite out of it.

“Mmm, breakfast,” I murmured through a mouthful of food.

Astrid laughed and brushed a crumb away from my lip with her thumb.

“Ya ready fer graduation?” she asked, collapsing on her bed.

I stared at her. “I’m honestly not sure.”