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Jim comes barreling into their dorm room early in the afternoon on Sunday. “Hey, Bones.”
Leo continues reading his PADD and doesn’t look up or reply.
“Bones?”
“Oh, hello there, Jim. Nice of you to stop by.”
“What are you talking about? I live here, too.” Jim realizes Bones is upset, and tries to figure out why; however, Leo hasn’t given enough information yet for him to hazard a guess.
“Hmn.” Leo returns his gaze to his PADD.
Jim realizes that Leo must be upset with him. This is his best friend, he doesn’t know what he’d do without Leo by his side. He needs to find out what’s wrong so he can deal with it. Best to just rip off the bandage. “What’s wrong, Bones?”
Leo puts down the PADD. He looks at Jim and takes a few deep breaths. “I thought we were going out last night. You know what kind of shit sandwich this week has been for me. I’d been looking forward to it for days, and then you leave yesterday afternoon and don’t come back until now. I was here all alone last night.”
Jim swallows. “I didn’t realize those plans were set in stone; we’d talked about it, but I didn’t think they were finalized. I had some drinks early last evening and those led to more drinks…I thought you liked being alone.”
“I do. You know that. But sometimes I need to have something to look forward to, to plan for. It helps me make it through the week—especially when I know it’s going to be a bad week. I can’t fucking believe you, Jim. You got drunk and forgot about me and now you’re backpedaling with this ‘didn’t think they were set in stone’ bullshit! I’m sorry I’m not as exciting as your other friends.”
Jim sits down on Leo’s bed next to him and sighs. “Fuck, Bones. I’m sorry. You’re right. I didn’t think. I should have remembered. I should have. I’m so sorry, Bones. You shouldn’t have had to be alone. I am sorry, I really am. I promise I will never forget either of those anniversaries again.”
Leo scrubs his hand across his face. “Okay, kid. Okay. I just…I didn’t even drink last night, I didn’t trust myself. All I could do was relive that day, and try to stay calm. Try to forget. But I can’t forget, I just can’t. I… At least I didn’t even think about… And on top of all that, with my self-esteem completely shot to shit, I couldn’t help but feel that my own best friend didn’t even care. Any other two days, Jim. Any other two days, and it would be fine. I wouldn’t forget your two days.”
“Bones, I promise you. I swear to you, this will never happen again.” He pulls his communicator out of his pocket and starts tapping away at the screen. “See, I’m setting myself reminders. Plural. Shit, if I’d thought to do this beforehand, you wouldn’t be so upset with me. I don’t want you to be angry with me. I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have you to keep me out of the hole on my two days. Four days a year, just four. The whole rest of the universe can go fuck itself on those four days. Then we won’t have to do this again. Okay?”
Leo repeats the action with his own communicator. “I don’t forget anniversaries like this easily, but I do know what I’m like when I’m in surgery all day. I can’t always predict what my workload will be like, but if you can set your reminders, I’ll do it too. Thank you, Jim. Just…thank you.”
“Cmere.” Jim stretches his arms out to give Leo a seated hug. “Are we okay?”
Leo shifts closer and returns the hug, sighing heavily. His shoulders sag, and he visibly relaxes. “Yeah, Jim. Yeah. We’re okay.”