This is a sequel to my fic Dualities

you should read that before hand

just fyi

It was times like these that McCoy wondered what he had done in his life to royally piss somebody off. There was no other explanation for it; maybe it was karma, repercussions for a previous sinful life, or even just plain old fucking fate. No matter what the name for it was: it followed Leonard McCoy like an unwanted stench and offended him just the same.

This time was different. While it wasn't, unsurprisingly yet still engagingly, the first time he'd ever been to an alternate dimension it was the first time he'd ever been to one with someone else. Of course that someone else had to be Jim. This came as both a relief and annoyance. Mostly because if McCoy ever found himself in a strange place, Jim was the first man he'd wish to have with him. Yet at the same time he wished, just the same, that it was actually Jim's equally piss poor track record he could blame this whole mess on. Such was not the case since he was the only recorded surviving person to return from an alternate dimension in history. It wasn't something he'd ever put under his list of achievements but that didn't stop him from being smug over the record every once and a while.

Today was not such a day. Today McCoy sat with his arms crossed tight over his chest and thrummed with taut tension. Today Jim was beside him going frantically over controls of the small shuttle that they'd barely managed not to crash into the ice planet that had appeared out of nowhere when there had been nothing but empty space and a civilian cruiser in need of aid. McCoy couldn't be sure how he knew but he just did, he knew damn well that wherever they had ended up had to be in the same alternate universe McCoy had been in before.

By sheer dumb luck and, he reluctantly conceded, Jim's piloting skills they had managed to not crash and burn as a massive black smudge on the side of the ice planet. They were, however, completely stranded because naturally the mountain the shuttle had dragged across managed to puncture deep to some very vital fuel lines. If it weren't for the whole alternate reality bit, contact between their shuttle and the Enterprise would have been immediately established.

"Should've known," he grumbled under his breath and shifted rigidly in his seat. Jim didn't pay him any mind, still trying in vain to establish some sort of contact with anyone or anything.

"It must have been that weird flux," Jim said to not anyone in particular. McCoy snorted. Figured it would be the one thing that had both stranded a whole pleasure cruiser and kept them from being able to use the transporters. Scotty had said the activity from the cloud-like flux was too similar to the same one that had sent McCoy off nearly a year ago and it'd be safer to use a shuttle rather than risk the transporters. Jim must have heard McCoy's derisive snort because he finally sat back from the panels, an annoyed look in his blue eyes. "Oh shut up, your cynical attitude isn't going to help get—"

"Hello?" was the voice that suddenly crackled over the comm causing them to both jump. Jim stared at in surprise for a second too long before McCoy made an irritated noise and leaned forward to press on the microphone switch.

"This is Galielo VI, from USS Enterprise," he said as with as little sarcastic bite as he could manage, which must have been very little because the look Jim sent him was full of reprimand. "We've suffered unsuspected engine failure due to an emergency landing. Is there any way you can send aid?"

About one kilometer away in the control center of Echo Base, Han was having a Bad Day. Most days on the ice ball were typically rather rotten but today was taking the cake for being of ridiculous proportion in the amount of sheer bad luck he'd been having. It first started, as most of his bad days did, with the princess or should he say Her Bitch Royally. It was an appropriate name that for once he wasn't responsible (you can thank Chewie and a few too many bottles of Kashyyyk wine) but the name was so perfectly fitting anyway. She was always bossing him around, like she owned him or something, and today had started no different.

"I asked you to set up sensors yesterday," she said as if she were scolding him, her hands on her hips. Han looked up from the repairs he had been so painstakingly just begun working on not but a minute ago to see this and laughed.

"I'm sorry, princess," he drawled after her face had fallen into a scowl at his laugh. "But when did I start taking orders from you?" She didn't say anything else just tipped her chin up and walked away. After that, his mood already beginning to sour, he learned of some sort of a space storm above Hoth's atmosphere tossing all kinds of asteroids this way and that. This meant, that even if the Falcon was ready to leave today, he wouldn't be able to and probably wouldn't be able to for another whole week if the damn thing persisted. Which with what little scans they could get on it, seemed more like a promise than a mere chance.

It escalated downward from there, a multitude of little happenstances that turned for the worst. He stubbed his toe on a supply crate, which lead to him spilling half his armful of new wiring and plating onto the floor. Later said something just a little too cross to Chewie who took it offensively, told him in no uncertain terms to 'fuck off' and desisted all further help with the Falcon.

So when he's sitting in the control center at a terminal trying to set up some sort of grid to place the sensors he wasn't the least bit happy when the radio beside him suddenly blared to life. Han sat up and looked around the room but no one else seemed to have paid the noise any mind. He huffed and was just about to do the same when the same ungodly noise happened again but this time he swore he could hear the sound of a man's voice amongst all the garble.

There was a headset sitting innocently enough at his elbow and he picked it up, holding the earpiece to his ear and plugging the cord in. "Hello?" he said into the microphone, really hoping he wasn't playing a fool to some feedback from debris falling into the atmosphere.

The pause was almost long enough for Han to call it quits but a response finally came. If it hadn't been just the voice itself the name of the ship would have done it. The sarcastic bite was just the same as was the oddly nuanced drawl that still tempted him in his dreams. He'd recognize that voice anywhere, the recording still sitting in the data stores of the Falcon and subject to be played whenever Han was feeling especially lonely. Han remembered all too well of the doctor who had come and went that one day on Tatooine, disappearing into thin air on his ship with not even a goodbye.

"This is the Captain of the USS Enterprise," a different voice said suddenly, startling Han from his thoughts. "We are requesting immediate rescue. Are you a Starfleet outpost?"

Only two things about what this captain had said made any sense to Solo but he ignored them in favor of more immediate concerns. "Is that you McCoy?" he asked, unable to keep the undoubted tease out of his voice. "Got yourself stranded again."

There was a strange noise before the radio on the other end cut on and then out and then on again with the sound of muffled struggling. "Han Solo?" came McCoy's voice after a moment's pause, shock clear in his voice. Han laughed, almost delighted, and leaned back in the console chair in an unconscious response to that voice.

"Damn right, doc," he replied with laughter still fresh in his voice. "You sit tight, I'll come get you."

The other man's voice spoke again, "You'll get the both of us." This guy—the captain-didn't sound too happy about something and Han hoped it wasn't the idea of being rescued.

"Yeah sure," Han said absently as his hands went to work to try and trace where their shuttle had ended up. "You're not too far out so sit tight and try not to wander out of the shuttle. See you soon, McCoy." And with that promise he cut the radio and stood, tossing the headset back onto the console. There was a Commander giving him a funny look from across the room. "There's a crashed shuttle out there, a friend of mine," he explained hurriedly as he passed, barely noticing Leia who was anything but approving. "Gonna go give him a hand."

Han didn't stay around to listen to any arguments. Maybe Leonard McCoy's sudden reappearance in his life would end up being the crowning moment to his bad day but he didn't think so. In fact, he was willing to bet that McCoy was more like a cosmic gift of apology rather than a punishment.

Although, he thought as he shrugged on a heavy coat, there was another person with McCoy this time, totally different to how it was before. A captain no less and undoubtedly McCoy's captain. He took a moment to pity that he hadn't been the only captain in McCoy's life before trotting to the Tauntauns holding pin. Getting to the crash site should be easy, since its wayward passengers had managed to land in a nearby valley that had moderate weather. Especially since they were going to have to walk the way back to base seeing as he could barely get away with taking one Tauntaun, let alone three.

Nobody stopped him on his way out and he steered the creature in the right direction, urging it to all but run to the crash site.

Things had gotten tense in the small shuttle since they'd talked to Han over the comm, though McCoy really wasn't sure why. So what if he knew somebody in an alternate reality? It wasn't exactly his first traipse into this new frontier even though the chances of them happening to meet again were akin to a snowball's chance in hell. However, that's how things had turned up and it wasn't as if McCoy could control that even though that was how Jim was treating it.

Despite being more than a little irritated at Jim being mad at him for no good reason, Leonard kept his mouth shut. He knew better than to argue with Jim when there really wasn't anything to argue about. If Jim was fixin' to be in a bad mood, McCoy wouldn't do him to disservice of trying to quell it.

"Here," Jim said as he shoved a rather large coat at McCoy, having already pulled on a matching one that was in command gold. McCoy's was blue in colour, making him wonder if they had packed these specifically or something. He didn't mention how the colour of their uniforms made no difference here. Jim shoved a few more instruments into a knapsack, including a phaser McCoy noticed, and headed to the hatch. "Let's go."

McCoy would have rather sat and waited in the warmth of the shuttle but, still, he didn't argue with Jim just grabbed his medkit and shouldered it. They marched together out into the windswept snowy valley they had landed to and were met with nothing but grey skies and the same, white view in every direction. The icy wind bit at their eyes and Jim readily produced a pair of goggles for each of them, handing one to McCoy with a nod.

"It's just like Delta Vega," Jim said with a frown, snow crunching under his boots as he walked a foot away and looked around more. "Nothing but snow, snow and more snow."

"What the hell good is a single environment world anyway?" McCoy grumped unhelpfully. He was trying to cross his arms to help ward off the chill but the jacket was too thick for him to really get any success. He looked up to see Jim watching him with a small, amused smile but instead of scowling like he normally would, Leonard smiled. "Cheer up, Jim, at least we didn't crash land on a hostile planet."

Jim nodded but still didn't seem willing to let go of that persistent annoyed mood. McCoy shrugged, having done all he could, and made his way to the side of the shuttle to lean against it heavily. The wind was hash here and he was already feeling the force of it on his muscles. "Who is this Han Solo?" the question was finally asked as Jim joined him against the shuttle. It was hard to read Jim's expression due to the large, shaded goggles but the set of his mouth was suspiciously tight.

"The guy who helped me the last time I ended up in an alternate reality," Leonard said with a shrug. Han was a bit more than that but…well, his and Jim's relationship was still brand new, a new step in their friendship that was still just getting to its feet. He didn't want to test the strength of it with the admittance that he'd slept with Han just yet. Somehow he felt Jim wouldn't take it very well right now, given the circumstances. "A friend, really, a captain in his own right, too." McCoy held back just on the cusp of defending Han Solo to Jim, knowing that would also result in a negative response.

"I thought you had been on a desert planet," Jim said but it wasn't a question but to ascertain that Jim knew the facts and knew them well, not putting any tolerance for a lie.

"I was," McCoy replied easily because he wasn't lying. "This is a different planet entirely, I'm sure. There's no way they're the same. Three suns on Tatooine, remember?" Jim looked at him and McCoy could almost feel the expression Jim was giving him even though he couldn't see it. 'No I don't remember, Bones, I wasn't there,' Jim said without actually saying anything. McCoy knew it was just petulance though because his report had spent a good deal on the three suns, prompting an interesting discussion between Jim and Spock about the probability of such a planet existing.

There were more questions Jim had lined up for him but they never got asked because a strange howl, form not too far off, reached their ears. Jim was immediately on the alert, hand darting into the knapsack to undoubtedly curl around the phaser. McCoy sure hoped there weren't any monsters on this planet; the place was enough like Delta Vega as it is.

The creature, or whatever it was, appeared in sight from out of the snowy gales and was running at a good clip right towards them. Jim pulled out the phaser, preparing to take aim when McCoy noticed something funny about this alien and put a hand on Jim's arms to stop him. "Wait—"

"Bones, it could be—" the captain stopped though when he saw what McCoy meant as the man riding the bipedal lizard-creature became apparent. The lizard's loud feet crunched into the snow as the man finally approached close enough to draw to a stop and drop off into the snow. As the man walked McCoy recognized that gait and smiled, holding a hand up in greeting.

Han raised a hand in reply, pulling off the fabric wrapped around the lower part of his face, to reveal the bright white of his answering grin. "Well, I'll be Wookie's uncle," Han said as he finally reached them and pushed his goggle up to really look at them. "Been a while, McCoy, you're lookin' good for a guy who suddenly vanishes into thin air."

"Ha, funny, Solo," McCoy replied, falling into the familiar banter easily. "I told you I hadn't been abandoned, though, didn't I?"

"Suppose you did," the man replied, turning to look at Jim now. He held out a gloved hand to Jim. "Han Solo."

Jim took the hand and shook it, his smile had a little too much teeth. "So I've heard," he replied, letting go of Han's hand to push his goggles up as well. "Captain Jim Kirk." Han looked into Jim's bright blue eyes and then blatantly sized him up. McCoy groaned inwardly, realizing he should have known-should have fucking known-that it would come to this masculine posturing between the two. He would have offered to get out the measuring tape for the two of them but that wasn't necessary because he had already seen both of what the men had to offer. The thought made him flush warm despite the cold and he suddenly realized what a mess he was in now: both of the only men he'd ever been with were meeting and both of them were the biggest, most arrogant pricks he could have ever chosen.

"I'd like to get out of the cold, thanks," McCoy cut in, stepping between them to break the tension. Han smiled and patted his arm, gesturing to the direction he came from.

"It's barely a clip that way, c'mon, we're gonna have to hoof it." The walk back thankfully didn't require much in the way of talking because the wind was just too much to talk over. McCoy needed the time to collect his thoughts and reign in any panic that bubbled in his stomach. He really didn't know Jim as the jealous type but…well, he had the feeling Jim was sitting proud on the idea that he had been Leonard's fist experience with a man even though there had never been any confirmation of that. Leonard cursed himself in his cowardice, wishing he had told Jim about the sex when he'd had the chance. Keeping it a secret made it look like it had meant something, when it really hadn't, it had just been sex.

McCoy barely thought that it was his 'first time' with a man was hardly important either—sex was sex, no matter what the gender of the person you did it with was. It hadn't meant anything, Leonard was sure, but…he looked up at Han's back and frowned. He shook his head. No, it hadn't meant anything. Sure there had been a spark but it wasn't a spark of a romantic sort, just physical attraction. Any romantic notions had come from his (at the time repressed) love for Jim and not Han, who was like Jim in so many ways.

"We're here!" Han yelled back to them over the wind as the massive doors of what looked like a hangar carved out of the rock loomed into sight. It was definitely a unique sight, full of many small airplane-like ships that were half built. He'd never seen spaceships so small and marveled at them. "What, never seen a X-wing before?"

"No," McCoy shot back with a quirk of his eyebrow. Han just grinned in reply and continued to lead them further into the base, back into the tunnels.

"You can take off your gear now," Han told them as he pulled off his coat. He looked towards Jim, who was still standing by the tunnel's entrance looking out into the hangar. "Hey, Captain, there's enough time for gawking later. You guys need to see the General before you get comfortable."

As they began walking down the tunnel, Jim put a hand on McCoy's arm to slow him down. "They're at war," he said under his breath, watching each man that passed them suspiciously.

"Explains the hurried need for fighter craft," McCoy replied with a frown. A war wasn't good for them. He was sure when he was here the last time Han was definitely not involved in any kind of a war. Jim's expression questioned just that. "I told you, when I was here Han was some kind of smuggler on a desert planet not a soldier in a war." His captain almost didn't look convinced but Han had stopped to look at them, just outside a bustling and bright room with the telltale hum of machinery.

"Here we are," Solo said giving them each a once over before quirking up one side of his mouth dryly. "Better not make me regret this." He sent a look to McCoy, which was ignored. Leonard had no obligation to Han, no matter what the man liked to think.

"Not a problem," Jim replied tersely and walked into the command room. It was full of people moving about archaic machinery, all in mismatched uniforms, and all with the tension of a war that wasn't tipping in their favor. An older man stepped forward, obviously having expected them and introduced himself as a general. McCoy stood back to let Jim work his magic, completely unneeded for this process.

"So, that's your CO?" Han asked, leaning against the wall beside McCoy. "A lot younger than I expected. Prettier, too," Han added with a smirk at McCoy which grew at the intended flush he'd earned in response. "Ah, so it's like that, then."

"It is," Leonard replied shortly, watching Jim and nothing else. "Don't think I've spent the time apart pining for you."

"Oh, hardly anything but," Han said easily, still confident despite McCoy's intentions. "I just didn't realize you were involved with anyone when we'd been," he chuckled, "together." The way Solo said it made the word sound dirty and McCoy's answering scowl must have given away more than he intended because Han just looked smug. "Ha, so I was right," he said, leaning closer to McCoy, brown eyes bright. "I had you first."

"Goddamnit—"

"What's the matter, Bones?" Kirk asked, tense, eyes darting back and forth between McCoy and Han, taking in their closeness with a frown.

"Nothing," the doctor hurriedly amended and stepped towards Jim, pointedly away from Han. "Everything alright on your end?"

"Yeah," Jim said although he looked far from convinced at McCoy's dismissal but tactfully let it drop. "We're clear to stay but," his eyes moved over Bones' shoulder, "Mr. Solo is responsible for our care, it seems."

"Mister Solo, is it?" Han asked as he prowled over to them, hands loose in his pockets in a casual stance although there was nothing casual about it. "Does that mean I have to call you sir, Captain?"

McCoy hadn't honestly seen such a seething glare from Jim in a long time and it surprised him. "Do what you like," Jim replied in that particular way he when he was dealing with some dignitary on a diplomatic mission he did not like.

"I intend to."

The look Han sent towards Leonard made him burn with anger, it was so blatantly lewd. McCoy felt Jim tense rigidly beside him. "Come off it, Han," McCoy said, hoping to convince Jim this was how Solo always had acted towards him. Jim didn't say anything further before Han mentioned something about getting food and that they should follow if they wanted some, too.