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

[losthunter]

"Thank you..." Hunter nervously laughs. He is not used to seeing no expression on a person's face. Especially as a portrait artist, when it is those expressions that inspire new creations. "It was nice meeting you."

[boldygoing]

Spock inclines his head a little. "You as well."

Jim can tell that Hunter is nervous, though he can't tell if it's just because he's meeting an alien, or if it's because Spock is a Vulcan, particularly. He waits until they're in the turbolift to speak up about it, though, the lift speeding down to deck five. "You all right?"

[losthunter]

Hunter runs a hand over his own head, nodding slightly. "My first time meeting someone who didn't show their emotions at all. His poker face must be killer."

"I study faces for a living. I use those little emotions to express myself in my art. And it just threw me a little."

He takes Jim's hands in his. "I hope I didn't make an ass out of myself."

[boldygoing]

Oh, well that makes sense. Jim squeezes Hunter's hands gently in his own. "No, you did just fine. He's a Vulcan; in their culture, logic is the most important thing, and showing emotion is seen as a lack of self-control. Most people think they plain old don't have 'em, but they do, it just takes a lot to get them to show it. Spock's only half-Vulcan, so I think he's tried to out-Vulcan the rest of his people to prove he fits in."

[losthunter]

"I honestly couldn't tell if I was being weighed and judged, or not." Hunter shrugs his shoulders a little.

"You have a great connection with him. Just by non-verbal gestures, he knew what you wanted."

[boldygoing]

Jim pauses, replaying his memories of their brief interaction on the bridge. "Nah, he was just curious if we were serious or not. I've got a reputation for sharing a good night with all kinds of people, I just don't normally bring 'em home for a visit, you know?"

He's not surprised that Hunter picked up on the ease of communication between himself and Spock, though. "I'm pretty sure some of it's because of the mind meld with old Spock. Makes it easier to read him. And we've been running the bridge together for a year, so I've gotten practice figuring out what he's thinking."

[losthunter]

Hunter arches an eyebrow at Jim's assessment of what Spock was curious about. Obviously their connection is quite strong for Jim to know exactly what was going on in the Vulcan's mind.

He isn't phased by the comment about Jim's reputation. And is a little flattered that Jim considered Hunter special enough to bring him to the control deck, when others had not been given the same invitation.

"Mind meld? Is that sort of like telepathy?"

[boldygoing]

The turbolift door opens, and Jim leads the way through the circular corridor, passing multiple doorways with name placards on them. "Yeah, Vulcans are touch-telepaths. Supposedly they can do longer-distance stuff too, but just with family or bondmates."

[losthunter]

"So, my concern he was trying to read my mind was all in my head." Hunter chuckles.

[boldygoing]

Jim laughs out loud too. "Where else would it be?" he teases.

They don't have to walk very far before they reach a door whose nameplate reads JAMES T. KIRK, CAPTAIN. It slides open as it detects the assigned occupant's approach, revealing the captain's cabin.

Jim's quarters are comfortably spacious, divided into two sections by a half-wall. On one side, there is a desk equipped with a viewing monitor, currently powered down, and a chair that's bolted to the floor. This side of the room also holds a low table and a couple of chairs, a multi-level chessboard still displaying the end of a game in which the black king is checkmated. It's clearly the living area portion of the cabin, intended to entertain visitors or get work done while not on the bridge.

On the other side of the room, half-hidden behind the partial wall, is the captain's bunk, a relatively narrow mattress tightly fitted with gold and black sheets. A bedside table holds a few datapads and the bracelet Jim bought from Hunter, sitting on top of a dogeared copy of A Tale of Two Cities, its pages yellowed with age. A solid silver crate sits against one wall, presumably the one containing his collection of inherited books. The walls themselves are somewhat bare of decoration, though there is a transparent portion of the wall that leads to the outside.

There's another single door in the bedroom side of Jim's quarters, a small panel glowing green where a doorknob would be on an ordinary door, and a set of double-doors further along the wall.

"Home sweet home," Jim says with a smile.

[losthunter]

Hunter is very impressed by how spacious Jim's quarters are. He was expecting something a little smaller, in all honestly.

He walks around the living area portion of the cabin, checking out the desk and chair (and half wondering if that half-wall could support a bookcase). He pauses at the multi-level chessboard. "Okay... I have never played it in this format."

He is also curious about the half-hidden side of the room. He had to smile at the gold and black sheets. And feels a warmth in his belly again at spotting the bracelet and the A Tale of Two Cities on his bedside table.

"This is very nice."

[boldygoing]

Jim grins at Hunter's comment on the chessboard. "It's a bit more challenging, but I could teach you if you're interested. Otherwise I've still got a two-dee board we can use."

And of course he's pleased to see that even his quarters hold an interest for his twenty-first century friend. "Most crew quarters are a little smaller. One of the privileges of command is having the best room on the ship, outside guest cabins."

[losthunter]

"I am not going to back down from a challenge," Hunter takes another closer look at the chessboard. He is very curious about the different platforms.

Turning his attention back to the bedside half of the room, Hunter nods to the two doors. "I am guessing one of those leads to a washroom?"

He slides past Jim, close as possible, and has to run his fingers over the gold and black sheets. "And are these because of your rank, or just because you like the color scheme?" It is a good question to ask, if he is planning to surprise Jim with a few gifts later.

[boldygoing]

Jim nods in response to the question. "Yeah, the single door. Captain and first officer's quarters share a head, so the green light means it's unoccupied. Double doors are my closet."

He can't quite resist the very tempting opportunity to put his hands on Hunter as the other man goes by, spreading his fingers against Hunter's lower back. "Kinda both. Bed linens are standard issue, but black and gold are my colors."

[losthunter]

"Man, I can't imagine sharing those facilities." Jim has been to Hunter's place. He has seen the large washroom, that comes complete with a double shower and a Jacuzzi tub. He is a little spoiled in what he was able to purchase.

Hunter leans into the touch at his lower back. He turns to capture those fingers in his. And pulls Jim towards him. "You do look good in gold and black."

[boldygoing]

Jim shrugs a little. "I'm used to it."

But he smiles a little wickedly when Hunter draws him closer, and he lowers his voice seductively. "And you look good in nothing at all."

[losthunter]

"Is it the tattoos? The muscles? The combination of them both?" Hunter teases lightly as he removes his shirt.

[boldygoing]

"So few options!" Jim teases him right back, stripping out of his gold uniform shirt. He has another black, long-sleeved shirt on underneath it, also emblazoned with the Starfleet logo in charcoal gray, but he wastes no time divesting himself of this one also. "How come I've gotta choose?"

[losthunter]

"You don't. You just get to enjoy it all." And Hunter leans back so he can climb onto that bed. "And just let me find all those ways to excite you."

The fact that Hunter enjoys finding ways to spoil his lover is something that Jim would have found out after their first evening together. Tonight is not going to be any different.

[boldygoing]

Jim is all for that plan, all but chasing Hunter down onto the narrow bunk, heedless of the way their movements wrinkle the military-neat sheets. He has far more important concerns at the moment. It's time to find out just whether or not this bed truly is big enough.

And if it's not, well, they're both creative.

[losthunter]

[Awww. They are adorably flirtatious together]

[boldygoing]

[They so are. :P nice happy moments before Jim goes through some bad times]

[losthunter]

[The drama queen in me is equally excited for the bad times. But I am glad that Jim has some happy moments beforehand]

[boldygoing]

[Haha me too. I've already put him through so much shit in fanfic and now RP!Jim has to deal with awful canon stuff. Things happen fast enough that he wouldn't really have time to contact Hunter during the crisis, but after that he's in a coma for two weeks and stuck in the hospital for weeks after. So am trying to figure what might be the best way to play it out. ;) I'm sure at the very least that Hunter would probably want to visit him during his recovery.]

[losthunter]

[Hunter would worry a little when he doesn't hear from Jim for an extended period of time. Especially if he hears that Jim was in a coma for that time. Hopefully there is a way to play it out, even if it is after Jim is out of the hospital and tying up loose ends.]