boldygoing | A Significant Date [for losthunter]

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A Significant Date [for losthunter]

Time is a strange thing, isn't it? The past year seemed to drag on with agonizing slowness, particularly during Jim's long recovery both in and out of the hospital last February, and again during the last few months. But looking back at it now, he'd be hard-pressed to say where the hell the time went. It's been an entire year since he first found the Nexus, and introduced himself to someone who has come to mean surprisingly much to him. How has it been a year already?

Anniversaries are not really his thing. Never have been, not romantically, or otherwise. The events he commemorates every year are not often the joyful type, usually revolving more about things he'd prefer to forget. To have something good to mark the year's passing... it's one hell of a novelty, that's for sure.

Jim arrives at Hunter's apartment in the early evening, dressed in civilian clothes that are several shades nicer than his usual casual look, incorporating a certain spy's fashion advice into today's wardrobe choice. A mixed bouquet of roses and zinnias is nestled in the crook of his arm as he knocks on the door, and though his face is a mask of confidence, there's an uncharacteristic nervousness in the pit of his stomach. Stupid to start worrying now, but apparently that's not gonna stop him.

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It is a little strange for Hunter to be marking an anniversary too. One year ago, he would have never imagined to be in such a significant relationship.

But he could not imagine his life without Jim in it.

He had finished putting on a nice dark gray suit jacket, when he heard the knocking at his door. He had dressed in a semi casual style. He gives Jim a bright smile when he sees him. That confident smile. And the bouquest of roses and zinnias.

"You look good." Straight to the point.

"Hey, handsome. So do you." Jim grins and leans in for a kiss, before offering up the flowers. He may have never done the whole grand romantic gesture thing before but that hasn't stopped him from reading up on it. And it seemed like the sorta thing Hunter would appreciate, according to pretty much everyone.

"I hope you've got a vase around here."

"I have a proper pottery studio now. I have several vases." Hunter smirks slightly.

He heads further into his apartment to find a vase. And finds one that matches the colors of both flowers beautifully.

He smells the flowers before putting them into the vase. "Good choice."

Jim steps into the apartment, feeling uncharacteristically nervous and a little out of his depth. It's not like they haven't gone out on dates before or anything. But this isn't just a date. Maybe this isn't the kinda milestone Caspar was talking about, exactly, but it's a big deal to Jim. If you'd told him a year ago that his friend-with-benefits would become serious long-term relationship, he would've called bullshit without hesitation.

A lot has happened since then.

It's hard to ignore the nagging worries that keep nibbling at him as he watches Hunter arrange the bouquet in the vase, that soft smile on the other man's face one that he hasn't seen nearly often enough lately. Is he doing this right, bringing flowers before dinner? What if Hunter doesn't like his plans for the evening? Tiny, petty, ridiculous worries that he knows are complete nonsense, and yet they persist anyway.

Little of this shows on his face, maybe adding to the creases at the corners of his eyes, a nervous tilt to the smile on his lips. "Yeah, zinnias are my favorite."

Hunter smiles back at Jim. Just seeing the other man happy again means the world to him. Especially after the past few months of worry and doubt. And sorrow.

He is glad to just have a happy reason to see Jim. To spend time with Jim.

"Good to know." Hunter grins.

"So should we reserve the gifts for before or after dinner?"

He'd known that Hunter would no doubt get him something, and yet it still comes as a little surprise every time, some part of Jim never expecting any such thing. Gift-giving - or rather, gift-getting - has never exactly been one of his personal traditions, and he's never quite sure what to do with that, knowing damn well why he feels this way yet unable to reason it away. It's awkward and strange, but the warmth it kindles in his chest more than makes up for it.

"Up to you," Jim answers, trying to look casual, lightly leaning against the doorframe. "We'll be going back to my place after."

"We are?" Hunter looks a little surprised himself. He has not seen Jim's new apartment yet. And he smiles. "Then my gift to you can wait until then."

He sets a simply wrapped gift at a pre-determined PINpoint location, so he can retrieve it later.

"Where are we going?" He heads over to take Jim's arm in his own.

"That's the plan," Jim answers, a slightly shakier smile concealing his nervousness. Stupid to worry so much, with such an easygoing guy like Hunter. "So don't totally fill up on dinner."

He already has the PINpoint coordinates loaded up and ready to go, just waiting the touch of his finger to take them away. "Zung Italia. It's an Andorian-Italian fusion place on the bay, supposed to have really good kookh alla parmigiana."

Hunter smiles. "That sounds interesting. I am not sure what kookh alla parmigiana is..."
He tries his best to pronounce the words, but he stumbled a bit. "But I trust your judgement."

"And you planning dessert at your place? I like the idea of that." He grins.

"It's like the Andorian take on eggplant parmesan," Jim explains. "Andorian vegetables, Italian seasonings. Most of the menu's like that, or the other way around." For a moment, he worries whether Hunter even likes Italian food... but he'd told Jim before that he wasn't picky. Besides, there's bound to be something on the menu he'll like. Stop worrying, Jim. It'll be fine.

San Francisco awaits, the weather not quite cold enough for snow but still decently chilly, a light fog beginning to settle in at street level as the sun sets. Unlike the last time Hunter was here, the city is alive with the normal sights and sounds of urban life. The wreck of the Vengeance has been completely removed from uptown, and rebuilding is well underway, the wide swath of brand-new buildings - and a completely barren Alcatraz Island, out in the bay - the only visual sign that anything ever happened. It's all very normal, for once, traffic moving smoothly both on foot and in vehicles jetting along the hoverlanes.

It's a short walk along the bay shore to the restaurant, its glowing sign easily visible through the thin fog as they approach. Zung Italia seems to be a decently popular place, with very few empty tables available and a lot of quiet chatter among the various parties seated around the restaurant. The waitstaff, a blue-skinned humanoid with a pair of antennae on top of zher head, leads them to a cozy little table near one of the windows that looks out towards the Golden Gate Bridge.

"I can't wait to try it." Hunter is always up for trying new things. And that includes Andorian vegetables.

It is completely different visiting San Francisco this time around. Hunter is enjoying to see the city come alive with its normal sights and sounds.

Hunter enjoys the short walk along the bay. Especially seeing the Golden Gate Bridge out in the distance. It pleasantly reminds him of the mural back in his apartment. A little piece of Jim's world that connects to a little piece of Hunter's.

After settling into his seat, Hunter smiles over at Jim. "This is lovely."

It's been a long year, for San Francisco. Getting back to some kind of normal has been a monumental task for everyone, but it's finally reached the point where most people can go about their daily lives without the constant reminders of what happened.

Jim, too, has endured a lot since then. But with his birthday behind him, and his ordeals in the past, the man sitting across from Hunter is much more like his old self again. Getting back to normal, one day at a time.

"I thought you'd like it," he says, smiling back, relieved that his choice of restaurant has met with Hunter's approval. "I haven't been to a real restaurant since our road trip last spring."

It is really good to see San Franciso getting back to some kind of normal. And a huge relief to know that Jim is doing the same -- adapting to his new normal.

Hunter has missed parts of that old self. The flirting. The command voice. The confidence. And that reminder of a date they had last spring gives Hunter many fond memories of that time. He smiles.

And reaches over to take Jim's hand in his own.

"I have missed this. I have missed you."

Jim's smile doesn't falter, and he gives Hunter's hand a brief squeeze. He doesn't particularly want to focus on the horrible shit they've both been dealing with since then, as much as their respective psyches will let them, anyway. Tonight should be about the better things in life, like dinner and good company.

"I missed this too."

Releasing Hunter's hand, Jim picks up the menu to look it over. Most of the items on the list are recognizable as Italian dishes with a xenoculinary twist, though Hunter may not recognize the foreign ingredients. There are a few Italian-style Andorian dishes listed as well, wine pairing suggestions listed for each item. "You need any help figuring out what's what, I'm your guy."

"Yes. You are my guy." Hunter lightly teases Jim.

He appreciates the fact that each of the dishes listed have a wine pairing suggestion. And since he is willing to try any of the dishes tonight, he is going to choose one that has a xenoculinary wine suggestion. He wants to eat and drink like Andorian's do.

Jim decides to stick with the kookh alla parmigiana, and while he's not usually much of a wine guy, this place is just fancy enough that it would be weird not to get any. One Sauvignon Blanc for him, and a plate of gristhera appetizers for the two of them to share.

For Hunter, he'll recommend the Alardi partinna, a creamy pasta-like dish with morsels of native Andorian meats that pairs well with glow-ale. It's something that shouldn't be too shockingly foreign, not like shaysha beetles would be, but still different enough from Terran cuisine to be novel and interesting.

"I'm gonna miss this place," he says, once their orders are in, glancing out the window towards the Bridge. "San Francisco's kinda grown on me, you know?"

Hunter is very grateful for the recommendation. He can't wait to try it.

He glances out the window to the bridge too. "How does that work, once you head on your five-year exploration mission? What happens to your new apartment?"

Jim leans back a little in his seat, returning his full attention to the man on the other side of the table. "In theory, when I come back it'll be just how I left it. I'll be taking any leftover food with me so it won't go bad while I'm gone."

"I sometimes forget, that things are different than how they would be in my dimension." Hunter blushes. "I had wondered how you would keep the rent on it paid, for a full five years. But... currency has changed."

Jim looks momentarily surprised by that too, and laughs a little, more at himself than at Hunter. It's still weird, sometimes, when they stumble into a minor little culture shock like this. "I forgot that'd be something you'd have to worry about. People in your century still do long tours of duty in the military and stuff, right? Do they have to worry about the rent while they're gone?"

"Usually in their case, it is the military who pays for the room. Or will purchase a block of rooms for their soldiers to use." Hunter explains.

"If we still used the same kind of economy, I'd hope Starfleet would foot the bill, then," Jim says, smiling across the table at him. It's comfortably familiar, slipping into the same kind of casual cultural exchange that he's so used to. Definitely helps take his mind off the more stressful thoughts that have him nervous about how the evening is gonna go.

The waitstaff comes by with their appetizers, colorful cubes of fried tubers that have been heavily seasoned with some kind of exotic herbs, and served with a savory sauce that tastes nothing like any Earth food that Hunter will have had before. "Gristhera's a really popular hors d'oeuvre in Federation space," Jim tells him, dipping one of the little bite-sized morsels into the sauce before popping it into his mouth. "The flavor appeals to a lot of species and there aren't many who can't digest it."

Hunter is a lot curious about the appetizers that come to the table. He watches Jim dip one into the sauce before eating it, and copies him. "Gristhera." He repeats the word.

"It is very exotic. I can't really... compare it at all."

Even though Jim has yet to run across a food that Hunter doesn't like, a twinge of nervousness shoots through his stomach. "Do you like it?" he asks hopefully. It's not like they'd go to waste; Jim would be more than willing to eat all of it. But he also wants to make sure that Hunter enjoys himself, especially today, experiencing the little facets of daily life on Jim's Earth.

"It is delicious." Hunter reassures him. He is starting to pick up on Jim's nervousness. And he reaches over to touch Jim's hand again.

And very uncertainly, he speaks again. This time in somewhat broken Russian, which he is just starting to learn. "Ты такая умная, так красив, так тактично. Я так повезло с вами."

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