Giving the Tour [for losthunter]

[boldygoing]

It has been a week or two since the Enterprise was in any kind of condition to entertain visitors. A supply run here, a survey mission there, nothing close to casual enough for Captain Kirk to justify setting aside a little time to have a guest aboard, his days taken up by the duties of command. And certainly not out in the middle of deep space, where an unexpected visitor would be more likely to be seen as a stowaway or intruder, no matter if the captain vouched for them or not.

But it has been six months since the crew's last chance for shore leave, so after the debriefings are complete, Starfleet Command gives the slightly weary crew a brief three days off while the ship's systems are inspected and recalibrated. And it's a perfect opportunity to make good on his offer from a while ago.

Jim sits at a shuttle terminal in downtown San Francisco, a gold-shirt in a small sea of red and blue, all Starfleet personnel waiting to be taken up to various starships in orbit or in Spacedock. He knows it might be a few minutes before Hunter arrives, and keeps himself busy reviewing reports on a padd, keeping an eye out for the distinctive tattoos of his invited guest.


[OOC: Image links to replace invalid links below:
Spacedock
USS Enterprise
Warp core
Officer's lounge]

Comments

[boldygoing]

"It is," Jim agrees. "At its core, Starfleet's mission is exploration and the search for knowledge, and that never stops, not even when we're in port."

[losthunter]

"And I feel a little overwhelmed. My thoughts right now are focused around exploring a certain Captain." Hunter whispers lowly in Jim's ear.

[boldygoing]

And there's still so much of the ship to see. But Jim understands. Enterprise is huge, and Hunter probably has never seen anything like her. "We could hit up the officer's lounge next, if you want. Should be empty."

[losthunter]

"That would be great."

"I am enjoying everything that I am seeing." He clarifies softly. Not wanting Jim to think his girl is not being appreciated. She is.

"I just have never seen anything like this before. Any of it."

"I truly feel like the Country Mouse right now. A little lost in the big city."

Sorry for all the edits, my link failed twice! Should work now.

[boldygoing]

Jim laughs a little, though he's not laughing at Hunter. "Which one of us grew up on a farm, again?" he asks rhetorically, but puts a hand casually around Hunter's waist. "Don't worry about it. Officer's lounge is up another deck."

The lounge is relatively small, but still comfortably spacious. The lights are dim at first, the room darkened so as to not waste power when no one is there, but they slowly brighten in response to the presence of people in the room. There are some comfortable-looking couches, and a full bar with actual bar stools bolted to the floor. One wall is transparent in part, providing a spectacular view of space, and a small slice of Earth as the Enterprise and Spacedock slowly rotate together, the moon visible in the far distance on the horizon.

silly links

[losthunter]

Hunter leans into the touch, sliding his hand around Jim's waist. A little glad that little personal displays of affection are not going to be considered inappropriate right now.

Hunter has to smile when he sees the full bar, and the couches. But of course, it is the transparent wall that attracts him the most. And he heads in that direction, to look down at the Earth, the Spacedock and the moon all at once.

"I have never seen anything so incredible."

[boldygoing]

Jim comes to stand next to him, also admiring the view. He's seen it before, of course, but it's still just as beautiful. "This is one of my favorite places on the ship, besides the observation deck."

[losthunter]

Hunter places his arm around Jim's waist again, once the Captain is standing next to him. And he leans his head onto Jim's shoulder.

"Observation deck? Where you just sit and observe?"

[boldygoing]

Jim puts his arm around Hunter, too. "Yeah. It's a bit more popular though, so it's usually not as private unless it's the middle of the night."

[losthunter]

"Sort of the make-out point of the ship?" He grins.

[boldygoing]

Jim grins a little. "Among other things, yeah. It's part of the rec facilities, and if there's one thing every starship needs, it's a way for crew to let off steam when they're not on duty."

[losthunter]

"I imagine it is important to have rec facilities on a ship like this one. Especially if people have been assigned to a longer mission, where they just feel a little caged."

"Do you find ways to let off steam?" Hunter whispers in his ear. His fingers trail lightly against his hip bone. It is sort of nice to just be content with the small gestures and flirting. And even if they are disturbed by a crew member, Hunter doesn't think he would let go of Jim too quickly right now.

[boldygoing]

Jim makes a pleased sound in his throat, shifting his own hand a little lower on Hunter's lower back. "Not that kind, not with my crew anyway. Spock and I play chess every week, and I spar with Sulu every now and then. And you already know about the books."

[losthunter]

"Well, you have me in your life now for that kind of distraction." Hunter nuzzles his neck.

"I am glad to hear that the game of chess is still something of interest."

[boldygoing]

Jim leans into his touch, and it's still rather novel and quaint to him to be with someone so adorably prone to cuddling rather than just fast and dirty sex. Not what he's used to at all, but he certainly won't complain. "Do you play?"

[losthunter]

"I do. I used to play with my tutor all the time." Hunter had to smile a little fondly. It is a little obvious that he had a crush of said tutor. "He was blind. And it was quite interesting that he would beat me every time, all the same."

[boldygoing]

"That's pretty cool. You and I've gotta play sometime."

[losthunter]

"I would really like that." Hunter shifts his head slightly, so he can take advantage of the quiet moment and capture a soft kiss from Jim.

[boldygoing]

Jim responds with his typical enthusiasm, half tempted to lock the door with his override code and do some terribly indecent things to Hunter against the observation viewport. But they have yet to test out the bed in the captain's quarters, to see if it can be spacious enough for two fully grown men, and if he starts something now, they may never know.

"You want a drink?" he asks instead.

[losthunter]

It is a good thing that Jim doesn't voice his temptations. Because the temptation of enjoying those indecent things, while also enjoying the view outside, would be a little difficult for Hunter to pass up.

"Sure. What were you drinking at the pub, the one after the Romulan Ale?"

[boldygoing]

Jim clears his throat. "You mean the totally legal and not at all Romulan ale," he says with a straight face (well, almost). "That was a Cardassian sunrise. It's kind of like a tequila sunrise but it uses Bajoran spiced rum instead of tequila."

[losthunter]

Hunter has to laugh at Jim 'clarifying' his drink. It earns him another kiss.

"Can I have that?"

[boldygoing]

Hey, you can never be too careful. They are in Spacedock, after all, and Jim doesn't really want to risk someone overhearing something they shouldn't. He's already having a hell of a time trying to keep his juvenile delinquency out of the media spotlight.

"Sure. It's been a while since I made one but I remember the recipe just fine. Have a seat."

The captain steals a last kiss before moving behind the bar, delving into the liquor cabinet and collecting the bottles he'll need to create the drink. "I used to bartend at this place in Vancouver," he says as he works, grabbing a highball glass from the other cabinet. It looks glass, but sounds different as it clinks against the smooth bar top. "It was just for a few weeks but I learned how to make just about anything."

[losthunter]

Hunter selects on of the bar stools to sit at, and smiles as he watches Jim work his magic behind the bar. "Did you have a lot of people wanting to express their problems to you?"

[boldygoing]

Jim's not quite as skilled as the barkeeps who make an entertaining show out of the act of creating a drink, but he has sure and steady hands as he pours, creating the gradual gradient of color in the glass. He chuckles a little at the question. "Sometimes. But most of the time, their problem was that they needed more shots," he says with a cheeky grin.

He slides the drink across the bar to Hunter with a practiced hand. "One Cardassian sunrise."