boldygoing | Hair Today Gone Tomorrow

Entry tags:

hunter,
ic

Hair Today Gone Tomorrow

[Following this post.]

With the adjustments from the shakedown cruise made and the wind at their backs, it's taken Jim remarkably little time to start getting comfortable in the daily routine, slipping back into old habits - a little older and a little wiser, of course. Gone is the dismissive attitude towards reports and the various minutiae that come with his administrative duties; James T. Kirk is doing his damndest to turn over a new leaf, the weight of his responsibility settled squarely on his shoulders in a way it hadn't before.

A lot can change in a year.

For the first few weeks, he devotes the bulk of his attention to the state of the ship, her crew, the day to day this-and-thats until he's comfortable with the way everything flows. He reads Hunter's letters, smiles at the sketches, listens to the audio while drifting off to sleep. And though he doesn't settle in to write a truly lengthy message back until week four, he still makes sure that he sends something back, even if it's no more than a couple sentences.

It's week seven, and Jim has been looking forward to getting off shift and having a chance to put his feet up, maybe work on this week's letter back to Hunter, or just spend a little time with a book. Or a technical journal - it helps to know what the hell Scotty's talking about sometimes, even if it's dry as the surface of Luna sometimes.

The door to the captain's quarters slides shut behind him, and Jim strips off his command gold outershirt, leaving him in his duty blacks. The sight of a new package sitting on his desk is familiar and expected, and a smile teases at his lips as he meanders over to open it up and leaf through whatever his boyfriend's seen fit to send him this time. A smile that doesn't last as he reads the lengthier-than-usual letter once, twice, until the words sink in and he's staring at it in bafflement. And not a small amount of concern.

The fuck?

For a long moment, Jim considers his options. He could call, use his PINpoint to reach across universes and hope that Hunter's picking up the phone. He could do a rush job on his next letter, send it off tonight... no, too impersonal, too slow. Hell, even the idea of calling doesn't sit well with him.

Screw it.

Jim snaps off a brief message to Spock, a cryptic note about not being disturbed unless it's vital to ship's operations, and dials up the transportation coordinates for Hunter's apartment.

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Hunter is working on a new piece of artwork, and was pacing a little in front of the canvas, when the blueish hue of the PINpoint portal came alive in his apartment.

And Jim walked through.

"Jim!" He was not expecting to see his boyfriend, but feels great relief of seeing him tonight. For Jim -- it would be like looking at an alternate version of Hunter. There are no tattoos. No piercing. And while his hair is shaved, there is scruff on his head, and on his chin.

"You are here." He puts his art brush done. The canvas forgotten.

Not just Jim, but hot on his heels is a familiar orange fluffball, who has already grown noticeably since Hunter last saw the kneazle kitten. Zunar is not staying cooped up on the ship without his master, thank you very much. He mrows a welcome, trotting over to Hunter's ankles to rub up against them in greeting and demand to be petted.

In contrast, Jim stops in his tracks when he sees Hunter, and even though he'd read in the letter what happened, it's a whole other thing to actually see it. He's never seen Hunter-that-was before, not even in pictures, or memories. The tattoos and piercings are as much a fundamental part of Hunter as his eye color, and without them, the man in the apartment is damn near unrecognizable.

Not to mention incredibly hot.

He manages not to blurt out his actual first thoughts, his gaze sweeping over Hunter in disbelief. And a bit of concern. "You didn't think I was just gonna sit on the ship and worry about you, did you?"

Hunter smiles down at Zunar, and bends slightly to give the Kneazle the pets that he demanded. He is glad to see the Kneazle too.

He glances up at Jim, trying to read his reaction. And his hand goes to run over his head, that nervous gesture still a part of his personality.

"This whole experience has been weird for me." Hunter admits.

If Hunter's worried that Jim doesn't think he's sexy like this, fear not, dude. Under less concerning circumstances, he would not hesitate whatsoever to make a move and take advantage of this brief respite from his captainly duties. As it is, his gaze is repeatedly drawn back to the scruff on Hunter's jaw. Not to mention the eyebrows!

This is gonna take some getting used to, but it isn't like it's a bad thing.

At least, as far as looks go. Jim takes a step closer, unconsciously mirroring the gesture, though he's got a bit more hair to deal with than his boyfriend does. "So the magic's gone too?"

It is one of Hunter's many worries right now. And since it is one of many worries in his head right now, he is having a little trouble truly reading Jim's reaction.

"Yes." He glances down at his left arm, and traces a hand over where a tattoo used to me.

"The young girl in the bar, the one who reminded me so much of Kendra, had drawn it out of me. I don't think she did it on purpose."

"Shit, sorry." As weird as this is for Jim, this is probably dysphoric as fuck for Hunter, and it isn't hard to figure that out from the invisible tattoo lines the other guy's tracing on himself.

"How are you... dealing with that?" If nothing else, the sheer concern should come across loud and clear. Jim's worried about you, Hunter.

"I am trying to keep doing things I am used to doing..." Hunter gestures at the canvas behind him. "But it is hard."

"I was finally in a place where people recognized me, as I was. And so right now, I can't go to art fairs, or visit the Foundation, or manage the art studio."

There is a climbing tone of worry in Hunter's voice as he lists the things he can't do right now. And he steps forward, to lean his head on Jim's shoulder, and placing his hands on the other man's waist.

"I guess the truth is... I'm not dealing with this very good."

Magic is something Jim can't really fix, but physical comfort? Hell yeah, that's his forte. When Hunter moves in close, Jim wraps his arms around him without hesitation. At their ankles, Zunar meows, wanting in on this tactile comfort action, using his little claws to climb up Jim until he can reach Hunter's shoulder, purring all the while. Prepare to be cuddled, human.

Jim's hand moves up to gently rest on the back of Hunter's head, the short bristly hair almost a novelty after a year of being used to his boyfriend being bald. "That's why you had Natasha cut your hair." It's not a guess, it's pretty obvious that Hunter's feeling like a stranger in his own skin, and no small wonder why.

Edited 2018-07-01 17:57 (UTC)

Hunter feels a lot better with the physical comfort. And he smiles when Zunar reaches his shoulder, and he can feel the rumbling of the purring against the back of his neck.

His head tilts to the sensation of Jim's fingers at the back of his head.

"Yeah." Natasha also told Hunter that he could always go to a tattoo parlor to get his ink back. But Hunter is not there yet.

"It felt ... heavy."

"I bet." Not that Jim would know, but he's the last person to judge people for their hangups. Shit, if their situations were reversed, Jim's pretty sure he wouldn't be handling it half as well. Hunter's a real trooper.

Dammit. He feels dumb for asking, but he can't just... not. "Anything I can do?" Not much he could do from lightyears away, not just in the brief hours he might have to himself when he's off duty, but there's gotta be something right?

"I am not really sure what to do right now. I really do not know where to start looking for this girl. Or what I would even say to her..."

Hunter sighs. "I think right now, I would really just like some company, if you don't have to go back to the ship right away."

Jim's not sure what to suggest either. With his limited time away from the Enterprise, it's not like he can help with the search, even if there was someplace to start. But hanging around... that he can do. For a little while.

"I just got off duty," he says, nodding. "Got about two hours before I'm supposed to hit the rack."

Supposed to? Excuse you, Jim. Zunar chirps at that, because come on, sleep is good for you. And as a cat, he would know.

"Two hours is just enough time to watch a movie." Hunter suggests.

And when Zunar chirps at Jim, Hunter smiles. "And maybe we can hit the sack together."

"I could do a movie." It's not that far off from his own original plans, and if Hunter thinks it'd be a more comfortable way to pass the time, then he's all for it.

Hunter takes a moment to put away his brush, and heads towards his re-built entertainment center. He picks out a relatively new movie, 'The Lego Movie', that is full of humor, and will be a good distraction.

"How has been your first month of your mission?"

Can't watch a movie without snacks, so while Hunter cleans up and picks the movie, Jim makes a beeline straight for the microwave popcorn. Hey, don't judge, replicators don't do well with low-calorie filler like this.

"It's going pretty good," he says, leaning against the kitchen counter while he waits for the popping to start. "We've still got a couple weeks before we hit the edge of what's been well mapped, but we're getting good data on the way. Spatial anomalies and stuff like that, the kinda thing nobody's had time to study in depth before."

While they speak, Zunar refuses to relinquish his perch on Hunter's shoulder, wiggling to keep his balance as the man walks around the apartment.

Hunter gets a blanket out, so they can cuddle on the couch. He smiles at the presence of Zunar still on his shoulder -- and gives Zunar a treat from a hidden stash of Kneazle snacks that were left behind when Hermione lived her. Does he spoil his boyfriend's cat? Maybe a little.

"That is good you are getting good data." He smiled.

Ooh, treats. Zunar is quick to gobble up any tidbits that come his way, making a note of where exactly the little morsels are hidden for future raiding purposes. A growing kneazle's gotta eat!

"It's keeping the science division happy," Jim agrees. "We're supposed to do a flyby of a comet in a couple days that's not supposed to come back to Sol for six million years. Spock won't admit it but he's dying to get a look at it. Something about the stuff it's made out of's got him all in a tizzy."

Hunter carefully sits on the couch, readjusting himself so that Zunar can keep balanced on his shoulder.

He smiles as Jim tells about the comet. "Spock in a tizzy. Now, that must be as rare as the comet itself."

Oh good, no more jostling around. Zunar licks his paw a few times before settling in to groom the soft stubble on Hunter's head.

Jim empties the popcorn bag into one of the biggest bowls Hunter has, and brings it over to the couch. No individual bowls here, we share like men. "He loves this kinda stuff. If we get back to Earth in five years and he doesn't have like a hundred new articles to publish, I'll be shocked."

Hunter chuckles lightly at the sensation of Zunar grooming his stubble. It is another weird sensation.

"And the rest of your crew? Are they finding their own joys too?"

Every now and then, when Jim catches a glimpse of Hunter from the corner of his eye, he has to fight the urge to do a double take. He covers it well as he joins his boyfriend on the couch and settles the big bowl of popcorn on the space between their knees. "Well nobody's complaining that I know about. Except Bones, but you know how he is." If the doctor ever stopped being concerned about the dangers of space travel, Jim would legitimately worry that his friend had been replaced by some body-snatcher or something. "The rec rooms are all booked up every week, too."

"I imagine your crew just want little reminders of home, even if they are excited with the mission ahead." Hunter smiles over at Jim. His smile is the same.

He uses the remote to start the movie. They can still talk over it.

"Probably," Jim agrees, grabbing a fistful of popcorn. An orange fluffball almost immediately zooms in the direction of his hand, curious whiskers twitching as Zunar investigates the crinkly little treats. Are they good to eat? Can I have some? Look, I'm sad and pitiful, feed me.

Jim stifles a sigh and offers one - just one - single piece to the kitten. "You better eat it," he tells Zunar, who nips at it just enough to grab hold, and then scampers to the other side of Hunter so he can bat at it out of Jim's reach. For science.

Okay, forget pretending not to sigh. At least Jim's pretty sure the kneazle will eat it, after he's thoroughly poked the hell out of the little piece of popcorn. There's still a smile on his lips as he glances over in that direction though.

It is nice to have the presence of Zunar and Jim around again. Hunter smiles at the playfulness of the kitten. And he settles to lean on Jim, popping a few kernels of popcorn in his mouth as the movie starts.

The Lego Movie might be something as an odd choice for Hunter, compared to the other movies in his library. But it is something to be enjoyed.

Something that lets Hunter relax a little, and not be so focused on some of the worries in his head right now.

And he does sing softly to himself during the "Everything is Awesome" song.

When Hunter leans into him, Jim puts an arm around him, shifting a little so they're both comfortable. It's... really kind of normal, if he ignores the soft scratch of stubble where there wasn't any before. And having a movie to focus on means he doesn't have to look at how strangely naked the other man's skin looks without the tattoos.

Not that being naked is a bad thing, mind you.

Zunar finally eats the popcorn after pushing it around for a few minutes, and curls up in Hunter's lap to doze, though not without wriggling his head under the human's hand first, of course.

The movie itself is certainly not something Jim's ever seen, but with Hunter deciding to sing along, it's pretty obvious the other man has. "How many times have you seen this one?" he asks, curious.

If he thinks Hunter's skin looks naked now, with clothes on, just wait until he does see him fully naked without the tattoos.

Hunter smiles again when Zunar wriggles his head underneath his hand. And he gently skritches the Kneazles ears.

"Half a dozen times. The song is something that is easy to remember." He blushes.

The point is not to make Hunter self-conscious, but at least it's not about his body? Blush or not, Jim's staying the course on this one. "I like the way you sing."

"Yeah?" Hunter tilts his head to look up at Jim better. "Next time I send an audio tape, I will include one of my songs."

Has he written songs for Jim too? Yes he has.

"Is there anything you can't do?" Jim asks, mostly teasing. Seriously though, Hunter has his fingers in so many artistic pies, it's a wonder he has time for it all sometimes. But, he supposes, it's quite a bit more than just a hobby.

"Don't trust me with any scientific experiments." Hunter grins. He studies Jim's face for a long time. He had missed the Starfleet captain.

He goes back to watching the movie. It is getting close to where they introduce Lego Batman into the plot.

"Got it. You're banned from the labs," Jim answers with a chuckle, not meaning a word of it.

Truth be told, Jim is only halfway paying attention to the movie. Not that it isn't entertaining or anything, it's just hard not to keep some of his attention on Hunter.

Jim had never really given much thought to what Hunter might've looked like before Kendra worked her magic on him. It's not like it'd mattered. By the time they met, the other man had embraced the look, made it his own, and wore it way better than a hell of a lot of people would've, including Jim himself. It was part of the reason he'd caught Jim's attention in the market in the first place, a standout from the usual crowd he tended to hit up for an evening's romp in the sheets.

Now... he's still hot, but the kinda hot that Jim's seen countless times before. (In the mirror, too, let's be real.) It's still Hunter in there, no doubt about it, and if this turns out to be permanent, Jim is pretty sure he won't have a hard time getting used to it; while the look was what drew him to Hunter, it sure as hell wasn't what made him stay. But he kinda misses the way Hunter used to look, too. Fingers stumble over smooth skin where piercings used to be, like going down a set of stairs and mistakenly thinking there's one more step. A casual touch on bare arms, the small shock of finding fuzz there too, not just on his scalp and chin. The sculpted planes of a face he knows well, untouched by ink or metal, reflecting the light coming from the television while familiar eyes watch the screen.

And the hair. Despite himself, as the movie plays on, Jim can't help but slide a hand up to touch the stubbly bristles, even though there's hardly anything there to play with, marveling at the sheer novelty of it all. And man, he gets totally why Hunter needed to shave it off, but part of him regrets that this is all that's left of it.

As Jim's fingers explore Hunter's smooth skin and bare arms, Hunter half wonders what is going through the mind of the Starfleet captain.

Hunter knows for himself, that his mind goes back to the tattoos and piercings and how bare his skin feels right now.

He does trusts that the change of appearance, will not change how the Starfleet captain feels for him. But it is still worrisome for him that this might be permanent. It took Hunter such a long time to find himself, and accept himself -- and right now it feels like he is back at square one.

His awareness is brought to Jim's hand sliding to touch the stubble on his head. And the soft tactile exploration of his head, and the changes that are now there, make the movie a secondary thing for Hunter.

He moves a hand to run through Jim's hair, and tilts his head a little so that he can stretch just slightly to capture Jim's lips with his own. It means so much to Hunter that Jim is here for him. That he wanted to make sure that Hunter was okay. And the kiss is a simple way of expressing his appreciation for the presence of his boyfriend, and of course express the fact that Jim's touch is more than reassuring right now. It is a turn-on.

With as many times as Hunter's played with Jim's hair, the fact that he gets to - sort of - return the favor is a novelty that's not quite wearing off for Jim, not anytime soon. Encouraged by Hunter's response, he keeps his hand right where it is, rubbing gentle circles on the other man's scalp with his fingertips. And while he doesn't take it any farther than that, not yet, his body is making it pretty clear he's just as interested in refamiliarizing himself with Hunter's body just as soon as the movie is over.

On Hunter's knee, Zunar stirs, purring as he wakes from his catnap. Everyone's feeling better? Great! Cuddles are good for everybody.

It is very reassuring to Hunter that Jim is interested in refamiliarizing himself with his boyfriend, even with the appearance changes. And it is a bit of a novelty to Hunter that Jim is finding new sensory zones.

Hunter is honestly a little nervous about baring his changed body. But the one thing that keeps him calm is knowing that Jim accepts him -- no matter what.

As the credits appear on the screen, Hunter gently moves Zunar off his lap, and then stands to extend his hand to Jim. "Can you stay longer?"

The kitten mews in protest, before becoming distracted by the stray kernels of popcorn at the bottom of the bowl when Hunter moves it, too.

Jim takes the offered hand, getting to his feet, a flicker of regret in his eyes. "I shouldn't stay all night," he says, the ever-present weight of duty leaning on his shoulders. You never know what's gonna come up during the night, no matter how unlikely. But even with the mantle of the captain looming, it's not too hard to find a tiny bit more wiggle room. "But I think I can get away with another hour." He raises his eyebrows, flirtatious this time, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "I bet we can get some good mileage outta one hour."

Hunter admires the Starfleet captain's dedication to his duty. And he smiles softly at that slight flicker of regret in Jim's eyes. It makes Hunter know that their relationship is important to the other man.

"A lot of great mileage." Hunter grins. And leads his boyfriend to the bedroom.

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Hair Today Gone Tomorrow

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