Rose Tyler is Bad Wolf (_badwolf_) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2018-03-21 19:20:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, james kirk, rose tyler |
Who: Kirk & Rose
What: Drinks & Talk
When: Wednesday Night
Where: Kirk's Place
Rating: Low
Status: Complete!
Kirk had invited Rose over to his apartment for drinks and chicken wings. He figured they could both stand to have a quiet night of drinking and talking. Maybe about dreams, maybe not. Maybe a movie. He’d leave it up to Rose what she wanted to do, but Kirk needed a distraction.
He set a beer down in front of her, then dropped onto the couch. “So. Creepy kids?”
“Cheers,” she said with a smile, kicking her feet up. It was rare that they actually hung out at his apartment; their time together was usually aboard the Enterprise, but she understood the need to separate at the moment. She hadn’t really seen Kirk down before and he had always been there for her when she had her bad dreams, it felt only natural that she could be there for him, in whatever way he needed.
Even if that was to talk about her own creepy dreams. She gave a shudder and shook her head. “I hope I don’t have to see them again,” she said. “I mean, I always knew kids were creepy, but not until I had that dream. The gas mask definitely didn’t help either.” She took a sip of her drink. “I have to say, I had rather questionable fashion in the dream. I dunno what I was thinkin’!”
Once his love of the Enterprise had gone back down to normal levels, Kirk had needed some time away to collect his thoughts. Besides, his apartment would get too dusty if it remained unused.
“Was it one of those children of the corn things?”
Rose couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, a little. I dunno what was going on with them, but they just kept appearing and asking ‘Are you my mummy?’” Rose shook her head. “Dream me didn’t seem to be as creeped out as I am. I actually separated from my companion just to try and help this kid. I dunno what I was thinking.” Rose wondered if her dream self was more brave than she was here...more brave or more stupid, either one.
“There was a cute guy in my dream though. Even though he was kind of playing us.” She flashed him a grin. “So I guess overall it wasn’t so bad?” That was the positive spin to it. “I hope your dreams don’t have any creepy children. Or whatever it is that freaks you out the most.”
“That’s freaking terrifying,” Jim said. “Like something out of a horror story. I do recall some creepy children once, but that wasn’t really their fault. They were controlled by a noncorporeal entity.”
Then there’d been Charlie, but that was something else entirely. Still creepy though. “I don’t have too many fears, beyond losing crew and my ship.”
“Noncorporeal or not, when children want to be, they can be the scariest thing I’ve ever seen.” She shook her head. “It’s like that entity knew it and used it to their advantage.” She took another sip of her beer, hesitating just a bit when he spoke of his fears. She knew they were heading towards grounds that might be a little rocky, his biggest fear possibly coming true from his latest dream.
“How long have you been dreaming for now?” she asked. They usually talked about her own dreams, something she never minded, but she didn’t know his history with his dreams. Other than the kickass spaceship that appeared in Orange County.
“They’re also easy to manipulate, to make them believe things and look up to you.” They’re smart too, but still easily manipulated.
“Are you talking about kids?” Rose raised an eyebrow and nudged his foot with his. “I mean yeah, that’s the point of kids though yeah? To make them good human beings for the future! But manipulating sounds...mean.”
“It is mean. That’s why you shouldn’t do it.” Jim flashed her a smile, “Unless it’s to protect them. Like don’t talk to strangers, believe in Santa Claus,, that sort of thing.”
Harmless lies were a part of society. No one could be truly honest, not if they wanted to maintain social niceties.
Rose couldn’t help but roll her eyes at him, but in a teasing way. “It’s not like I was gonna go out and start an army of kids or somethin’ like that!” She took another drink, thinking about it. “But I guess that’s why the worst villains are the ones that do do that with kids. Although, talking to strangers, is that really a bad thing? Like...if it wasn’t for the network, I don’t think you and I would have started talking!”
“You’d probably be a fantastic mum,” Kirk commented. He knocked back part of his drink, studying Rose as he shifted in his seat. “Talking to strangers isn’t bad. And sometimes you need to. Kids don’t always know how to tell the difference between a good and a bad one. But neither do some adults.”
Rose couldn’t help but laugh out loud at his comment, almost drooling some of her drink out. “What makes you think that?” she asked with a shake of her head. She hadn’t even thought about having kids, let alone being a good mum. It seemed like too much trouble than it was worth, but then again, she was only 21.
“So then how do you teach people the good and the bad? I feel like you kind of just hope that the kid understands and turns out alright...uses their best judgement and such.”
“You just seem to have the right outlook on things,” Jim commented. A deep, secret part of him wanted kids. He’d never really had the courage to find out if David existed in this world. If his time with Carol had produced him like it had in his first set of dreams.
“You lead by example. You acknowledge when you make mistakes. Because we all make mistakes.”
“That’s the hard part,” she said, honestly. “I mean...it’s hard to say you’re wrong. It makes you feel all weird, like you’re getting judged.” She shook her head. “I was never very good at admitting my mistakes.” She got a little thoughtful, thinking how it was easier in her dreams with the Doctor; she never felt like he was accusing her or upset; he just wanted her to understand a bigger picture.
“Leading by example...how did you get to be a leader in your dreams?”
“In, lets call them the Prime Dreams, it was just a natural progression,” Jim replied. He could get the not admitting mistakes thing. Jim preferred to call for creative solutions.
“I have an aptitude for it, for getting crewmembers to follow me, and it led to me becoming the youngest Captain in Starfleet.”
Rose couldn’t help but grin at how he rose up and why. “So humble too,” she said, although she didn’t doubt he was everything he said he was. If he was anything like his true self, she was sure Dream!Kirk really was as good as he thought.
“Was it something you had always wanted to be?”
“Yes. I always wanted to be in Starfleet, like my father, and I always wanted to command a Starship.” It had been very clear to him what his path was supposed to be, and from a young age.
A far cry from his life in Orange County or even the ‘genius level dropout’ in his second set of dreams.
“I always wondered what that would be like...knowing exactly what you wanted to do from a young age. When I was a little girl I wanted to be a baker. But I’m rubbish at cooking!” Rose really never knew what it was she wanted to do, but she knew she wanted to do something. It was just defining what that something was.
“Are you happy with what you’re doing here? Like...do you think this is what you’re gonna do with the rest of your life?” Rose realized she didn’t know what Kirk did here. They had hung out a couple of times, but it was really to try and forget the dreams either one of them might have had.
“Given enough time and practice I’m sure you could be a good baker. Or, you could get onto that Worst Cooks in America show.”Jim would watch it. Tape it. And then hang it over Rose’s head the rest of her life.
He felt like he needed another beer. “I don’t think I am. Going from teaching wilderness survival courses or self-defense classes, to Captain of a Starship?”
Shaking his head, he looked up at the ceiling. “I can’t even do that properly.”
Rose couldn’t help but laugh at his comment. “Yeah, I’d think to do better on the telly and hope to get some extra money that way! Jim, I’ve burned mac n cheese. The box kind. I’m a hopeless case!”
She glanced his way, just in time to see him staring up at the ceiling. She wasn’t sure if he was speaking about his real life or dream life, but didn’t question it. “Those seem like pretty cool things...necessary to be a Captain of a Starship.” She rolled her bottle between her hands, glancing down at it to make sure it didn’t spill. “What do you think you wanna do then? Now that you actually have your ship, do you think you actually wanna try and find a crew, have those adventures?”
“I’m going to submit your name, just you watch,” Jim promised. If they could turn some of those other people into chefs, they could turn Rose into one.
“As nice as it would be to get lost in the vast emptiness between stars, I don’t think there are enough people willing to leave it all behind for five years, or ten. It would take a long time to train everyone enough to be able to respond in emergencies. We can automate a lot, but I’d still feel uncomfortable with less than a hundred crew. We need over 400, optimally, though a lot of those can just be scientists.”
“Ta, you do that Jim and I’m draggin’ you along with me! You’ll be my assistant or somethin’.” She gave him a wink before standing up to set her empty bottle on the counter. “Another?” she asked, already heading into his kitchen to grab one for herself. She couldn’t help but laugh a little when he talked about how big of a crew he’d need. “I don’t think you’d have to worry about enough people bein’ ok with bein’ gone for so long. It’d be more about finding the right kind of crew.”
She came back in, a new bottle for herself and another for him. She hadn’t actually heard if he needed something else, but it was at the ready when he was. “I mean, the science-y type. At least I don’t know many.” She took a good chug from her drink and thought about it. “At least I don’t think so? I’m not, but I’d definitely go on that adventure with ya.” She grinned at him, holding the beer by it’s neck. “I dunno what use I’d be, but I’m a fast learner.”
“Yeah, another,” Jim agreed. The conversation was simultaneously inspiring him and depressing him. His dreams overlapped in his head sometimes. The Enterprise and crew that he’d spent nearly 30 years with, the death that had finally come for him. The alternate Enterprise and the crew that had been forged in fire.
God, but he missed them.
“I’ll give you some personal lessons,” Jim joked, winking at her.
Rose kicked his foot with her own, although she didn’t want to dissuade him from their flirtations. She wondered if there was much she could do to turn him off, but she wasn’t going to take any chances.
“Well, how could I pass up that offer? Count me in Captain!” She gave him a salute with her bottle. “When do the lessons start?"