Tish Hokni'es Kwi'shoret // Spirk

Chapter 20: An Illogical Pain (Someone Gets Handsy)

If you had any sense of self-preservation, you would steer clear of Bones when he was on a mission. So when that mission came down to tracking a guilty party, no one held back information. As its turns out, tracking down the only Vulcan student in Starfleet wasn't actually that hard. He only had to pester one passerby to find the exact location. It was disappointing really, Bones was in the mood for an tough interrogation.

Spock was in Stellar Cartography, freaking Stellar Cartography, who even takes that? They had to all be that wishing some screaming lunatic to run in and disrupt the class. Well, today was their lucky day.

Bones picks up his pace until he was blurring the line between walking and flat out sprinting. His joints were aching with age and his breathing was coming out shallow and raged. He mentally notes to throw in a physical course or two next semester.

Soon enough, Bones was barreling through the half-empty rows of seats in the classroom to Spock, who was seated in the very front row like the prim-and-proper teacher's pet he was.

The professor had long since stopped talking. She didn't really seem all that mad about the interruption if anything she was probably just as glad as the students for a break.

"Bones." Spock greets him in a monotonous voice that made Bones want to slap that damn raised eyebrow right off his face.

"It's Jim." It was either something in the deadpan tone of his voice or his overly rigged posture that had set Spock off and out of his seat in a matter of seconds. Or it could have just of been that he said that one magic word. Jim.

"I apologize for the disturbance, professor, but there is a personal matter I must attend to immediately. I fully accept whatever disciplinary action you seek fit." Spock gathers his books in his arms.

The professor just laughs. "I'm not going to discipline you, Spock. I am not your parent, and I'm sure you wouldn't leave unless it was an absolute emergency."

Spock nods. "Thank you."

"Now go." She waves him off with a smile.

Bones turns to give her his best apologetic face before walking back out with Spock closely trailing.

When they get back in the hall, Bones significantly speeds up. Spock has no problem keeping up. "Is Jim alright?" He asks with so much worry in his voice that he almost sounds human.

"I don't know!" Bones whisper yells. "You tell me!"

Spock was extremely puzzled by the situation. All he knew was that something wasn't right with Jim, and Bones wouldn't give him a straight answer. "Tell you what?"

"Tell me what the hell you did to him! He's been fine since you've met and now all of the sudden he's not? You had to have done something to him!"

"I do not have the necessary information to answer your question. If I knew what was ailing him, perhaps I would be able to narrow down my actions and come to a certain conclusion."

"Yeah? Well that's just the problem, isn't it? I have no clue what's wrong with him. And here I thought that you would be able to tell me. I guess I was stupid to believe that you'd be able to help." Bones clenches his teeth. This conversation was getting nowhere, and it was doing nothing but frustrating each other.

It was heavy and angry silence for the rest of the way.

•••

Spock's arm shoots our, blocking Bones before he could step into his room. He couldn't stop him, he was Jim's friend too. Bones faces him, ready to shove that bastard out of the way until then he catches Spock's glare.