To Boldly Go... (![]() ![]() @ 2013-11-09 19:26:00 |
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Entry tags: | !log, christopher pike (movies), james kirk |
Who: Chris Pike & James Kirk
When: Saturday Night
Where: Soon-To-Possibly-Be Starfleet Ranch
What: Drinking all of the scotch
Rating: PG-13 // G-Docs, to be updated as we go.
Pike hadn't been expecting company tonight. In fact, he'd been avoiding people since the news that Zoe had left. Babs, Cameron, Zoe. This time it wasn't his fault, he couldn't control that blue glowing box but he couldn't help the pervading feeling of guilt and responsibility. It came with command, in his opinion, the sense of being responsible for those around you, whether or not they were technically under your command. When Kirk had shown up, he had tried to convince him he had plans.Kirk had shown up with alcohol and Pike had obliged him. That had been a few hours ago. The empty scotch bottle - which had been full when they started - was a testament to their activities. And now the second bottle was close to being poured out as well. He refilled both their glasses and ran a hand over his hair. "You didn't need to do this, you know. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself," he commented before silently adding and drinking alone. --- Jim went out to visit Pike at the ranch because he understood what it was like to lose the people that you cared about and felt responsible for whether it was in or outside your own control. Kirk didn’t bother waiting for an invitation from Pike; he had a pretty good idea that one wasn’t going to be extended. Chris would want to be alone out there at the ranch to deal with whatever he felt -- or he’d find a nearby bar in which to bury his guilt. Kirk knew that because he’d be doing the very same thing if he was in the Admiral’s shoes. That was why he grabbed a bottle of good scotch and headed up. He’d dropped a text to Spock just to let him know where he’d be spending his night. The Commander didn’t really keep tabs on him and they didn’t have to tell Spock anything, it was just a courtesy. It didn’t mean there was anything serious about their relationship regardless of how frequently they were seeing each other and it definitely didn’t mean that he was really enjoying how things were progressing. Not even a little. But all that was hours and a half dozen glasses ago. They’re already touched on and gotten through all the small talk and general chitchat. The pleasant, haziness of a good solid drunk had settled over Jim and he simply smiled when Pike explained that he didn’t need to come out to the ranch at all. “Yeah, well. I’m here now, aren’t I?” Jim picked up the empty bottle, turning it his hand and examining the label, trying to read it as a test of his own sobriety. He pressed his lips together, trying to keep his emotions in check as he furrowed his eyebrows and added with a half-shrug. “Besides, I didn’t have to invite you over when Bones left, did I? You just -- you knew.” And they didn’t have to talk about it, not really. He knew how hard it had been for him to talk about Bones when he left, and not only because he still wasn’t quite sure how he felt about him. There was so much that he’d wanted to tell the doctor; it bothered him still that he hadn’t really gotten the opportunity, and it probably bothered him more than it usually at the moment because he was drunk, with nothing to really distract him from his thoughts besides more scotch and whatever direction the conversation decided to go. “And as far as I’m concerned, any excuse to drink with you is a good one, Chris.” __ It brought a smile to Pike's lips to hear Jim call him Chris, along with a sense of pride. He was proud of the young man Kirk had become and viewed him as one of the best fellow captains he knew, despite how young he was. Even so, Kirk had faced more than most Starfleet captains twice his age. "Yeah, and now you're too drunk to leave. Don't think I don't know what you're up to, Jim," he said, sipping at his refilled glass. It felt good to know Jim cared, eased the feelings of being a washed up has been. "Trying to ply me with good scotch?" Christopher asked with a smile. "Although I don't think I have any lectures or speeches for you today." --- “That’s okay. I’m too drunk now to remember them by tomorrow.” Or at least, that would be the excuse he would use, particularly if they were the kind of lecture that needed remembering. There wasn’t really all that much that got past Jim in the long run, he was sharp, and he had a good way with people even if he wasn’t always the most open or forth-coming about himself. It was probably for that reason that things had changed so quickly with Spock once they’d finally figured out how to work out the tension between them without throwing punches or insults. That level of intimacy with a vulcan meant opening his mind up and and lot of the things that he’d never talked about or shared with anyone, Spock knew. Things he’d wondered about the father he never knew, or memories of the stepfather that he’d despised. Falling out of trees and scraped knees in Iowa. Spock knew about it all. The only other person who Kirk came close to being honest with, really, was Pike. His relationship with the Admiral was something that meant a lot to him and one he actively wanted to strengthen. He trusted Chris, and respected his experience and his knowledge beyond anyone’s. “Anyway, I just thought you’d like the company -- and you said yourself that it’d been a while. What with everything... going on, I guess it’s easy to get caught up.” ___ Pike chuckled at Kirk's first comment as he drained his glass before getting to his feet, leaning heavily on his cane and the table as he did so. Kirk was right, after all, it'd been awhile since they'd had a chance to catch up. But this - this was coping mechanisms pure and simple. Perhaps not the healthiest, but one of the easiest to indulge in. "I do - appreciate it. It's-" Christopher trailed off, looking for the words, knowing Jim would understand even if he couldn't articulate it. His lips pursed and after a while he finished the sentence. "-lonely." There was no time for self-deprecation or self-pity. Not now. "Grab what's left of the bottle and another if you want and let's go look at the stars. Half the point of being out here is actually being able to see them." Pike headed towards the screen door that opened out onto the porch and the ranch land beyond, grabbing a blanket from a shelf as he did. Chapel would have his head if he didn't take at least some precaution against the cold ground. "I'll tell you about the time I hijacked a shuttle and buzzed the Admiral's picnic." --- Jim, for one of the few times in his life, followed orders without protest. He grabbed the remainder of the bottle, and then hooked a second around the neck. If he was going to follow Pike into battle, he was bringing as much artillery as he could handle. He was well-versed in the tactics of drinking until whatever was bothering him didn’t seem to matter all that much anymore, and he had no problem getting there with a friend if that friend needed it. Besides, as far as Kirk was concerned, Pike shouldn’t ever have to feel lonely. They were in this together, and not just because they were both in Starfleet. Not just because Pike had always been there for him during his lowest times; had always found a way to help and had never hesitated to go to bat for him when he needed help but was too proud to ask. They were in this because they were -- well, family. Jim had never known his father, and Chris was the closest he’d ever come to feeling what that relationship must be like. So he threw his jacket over his arm and followed the other man outside. “It’s not really that cold. I mean, for this time of year. It’s nice.” ____ "It is," he said, limping off the porch and towards the barn, stopping at a patch of grass far enough from the buildings and spreading out the blanket. "It is. But Chapel will hang me if I catch a cold. She's a hell of a person to have on your bad side and I wouldn't advise going against her medical advice." He eased himself down on the blanket, hiding the wince as he did so. Balling up his jacket under his head, he stretched out, staring up at the stars. With the lights off in the house, you could actually see a fair amount of stars. He sighed, a faint smile on his lips as he stared up. "Not as many as in the Mojave or from the bridge, but more than New York." He couldn't stop his thoughts from drifting to Zoe and Babs. And then Phil. He took the bottle from Jim and took a long swallow. "I hate to tell you, but it never gets easier, losing people." ---- |