Trust Issues
Nov. 25th, 2017 11:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madimpossibledreamerMain Points:
Star Trek (the 2009!movie verse) Cambion AU
Summary: Pike and Boyce have a stern talk with Jim about his lone wolf heroics putting him in danger again...
Word Count: 1075
Rating: Teen, probably
Warning: aftermath of being drugged, relatively light and mostly concentrating on the families of choice but again warning for more informed reading choice
Star Trek (the 2009!movie verse) Cambion AU
Summary: Pike and Boyce have a stern talk with Jim about his lone wolf heroics putting him in danger again...
Word Count: 1075
Rating: Teen, probably
Warning: aftermath of being drugged, relatively light and mostly concentrating on the families of choice but again warning for more informed reading choice
“I don’t regret it,” are Jim’s first words once he wakes, and the thought briefly crosses Pike’s mind that that could probably be put on Kirk’s tombstone before he thinks about that and shivers. “I don’t know who exactly did it, only that it didn’t taste right. Did anyone else…?”
“No, but you’re an idiot. You taste the slightest change in taste, you report it, we deal with it.” Pike’s stern.
“I vaguely remember you mentioning that,” Jim yawns, and Chris steps forward, deliberately invading the kid’s space.
“I’m not just saying it. You’re a bright kid. You need to stop refusing to learn lessons. If they refuse to listen to you you escalate. But, Jim, if you can’t work within the system, can’t be the Captain I know you could be, I’m going to have to put my recommendation in for a ground assignment or something less than Captain. I’m not going to stand by and know I got your reckless self killed because I was too worried about hurting your feelings.” He’s been too nice so far, too indulgent.
Jim’s jaw clenches, and for the longest time he doesn’t say anything. “As Captain, I’ll have to trust in general, won’t I? Crew and Starfleet Command alike.” He sighs. “The problem is that most of the teachers all are trying to teach me in a way I don’t learn.” He grins, lopsided, but the diamond-hard look in his eyes is still there. “That’s why you’re awesome.”
“Well, I’m not convinced you’ve learned the lesson yet,” Pike says cautiously, and Jim shakes his head emphatically.
“Thing is, you explain why. All I need is a good reasonable explanation, but most of the time no one wants to explain. Their only justification is ‘because’ and that’s…that’s the argument of a five-year old.” He’s back to being frustrated again. Fair enough.
“Or bad parents,” Pike agrees, and they both shiver a little. “So, everything you were saying about a romantic relationship,” he continues, because it’s better to get off that topic as fast as he can.
“Oh, god, I was saying those things out loud, wasn’t I?” Jim groans. “I don’t even know why I was telling you. You’ve got better things to do than worry about my personal problems.”
“Chris wasn’t lying when he mentioned that he was a nosy bastard—yes, he told me about that—and I really don’t have better things to do,” Phil corrects. “Though we’ve only got ten minutes to gossip like we’re all yeomen before as doctor I’ll personally kick us all out.”
The kid’s eyes narrow. “You know, for a doctor/barman, you have the weirdest sense of humor.”
“I, in principle, agree with most of what he said,” Chris adds, because the idiot needs to know that they’re not making fun of his problems.
“Okay, yeah, I’ve been curious for a while, but I’ve only been able to get even remotely close to that kind of thing with Gaila. Something about being an Orion means she’s a little more immune to my particular brand of charms—and even when I get energy from it, she’s still got energy after, so.” He sighs. “She doesn’t understand monogamous relationships though. A few prize stallions or fillies in the stable, sure. Like, regulars, but sometimes you just want different things, and it makes no sense to limit herself. I can be a little romantic with her, but just being romantic without the possibility of sex is foreign to her and she doesn’t want it. Whereas.”
He frowns at his hands. “You know, I don’t actually know how it feels to be a normal person thinking about these things. I didn’t even think about it too much until recently. But it’s like…okay, sex is important for me, but it’s like eating food, really. Sometimes it’s just eating to stay alive. How it is for me doesn’t actually matter too much, though really good food is nice to have, obviously. I take some pride in making it good for my partner, because that’s just a basic courtesy. But those things like. You know, just holding hands or kissing or just being coupley, those are things I’ve not really done all that much.”
Chris glances at Phil, who looks intrigued. “This is fascinating.” He shrugs at the looks he gets. “Why do you think I went for CMO on a starship?”
Pike feels his face twist into a scandalized expression. “Because I would get into too much trouble without you, you said?”
“That’s just icing on the cake, Chrissie.” Boyce pats him.
Jim giggles, but there’s almost something wistful about the way he’s staring at Boyce’s hand, and—
Oh. He’s a complete and utter fool. Here’s a kid who’s been starved for attention of any kind. He hasn’t had friends, he hasn’t had family, and his relatively enthusiastic participation in the realm of sexual relationships is a matter of necessity and survival. Maybe someone else would be satisfied with such a shallow existence, but if the way he deals with his actual classes is any indication, the young ‘Kirk’ was as much of an overachiever as Pike had been.
He clears his throat, and the way those blue eyes snap to him, back to a serious expression, is so close to regulation that his parade teachers would probably have puffed up with pride. Or cried at the fact that they’d actually managed to train him. One of the two. “Never say never, kid. If Orions are capable of resisting your charms, then they’re probably not the only ones. It’s a wide, wide universe out there.” By the way Jim bites his lip and his eyes suddenly get suspiciously wet, he’s doing this right. “And if nothing else, well. It’s probably not true of everyone, but my style of command—which you’re doing decently well at emulating? You’re the paterfamilias—you’re the head of a family of at least four hundred people. It can be exhausting, but it’s rewarding, too.”
Jim’s grinning ear to ear by the end of it, and it’s this sort of moment that makes Christopher think he made the right choice.
Phil clears his throat. “Yeah, okay, time’s up. Out, Captain. And you—don’t think you get a pass. If you get yourself killed, who’s going to look after your crew?”
Chris stands and salutes a still grinning cadet and leaves. Phil’s displeasure isn’t enough to put a damper on that smile.
“No, but you’re an idiot. You taste the slightest change in taste, you report it, we deal with it.” Pike’s stern.
“I vaguely remember you mentioning that,” Jim yawns, and Chris steps forward, deliberately invading the kid’s space.
“I’m not just saying it. You’re a bright kid. You need to stop refusing to learn lessons. If they refuse to listen to you you escalate. But, Jim, if you can’t work within the system, can’t be the Captain I know you could be, I’m going to have to put my recommendation in for a ground assignment or something less than Captain. I’m not going to stand by and know I got your reckless self killed because I was too worried about hurting your feelings.” He’s been too nice so far, too indulgent.
Jim’s jaw clenches, and for the longest time he doesn’t say anything. “As Captain, I’ll have to trust in general, won’t I? Crew and Starfleet Command alike.” He sighs. “The problem is that most of the teachers all are trying to teach me in a way I don’t learn.” He grins, lopsided, but the diamond-hard look in his eyes is still there. “That’s why you’re awesome.”
“Well, I’m not convinced you’ve learned the lesson yet,” Pike says cautiously, and Jim shakes his head emphatically.
“Thing is, you explain why. All I need is a good reasonable explanation, but most of the time no one wants to explain. Their only justification is ‘because’ and that’s…that’s the argument of a five-year old.” He’s back to being frustrated again. Fair enough.
“Or bad parents,” Pike agrees, and they both shiver a little. “So, everything you were saying about a romantic relationship,” he continues, because it’s better to get off that topic as fast as he can.
“Oh, god, I was saying those things out loud, wasn’t I?” Jim groans. “I don’t even know why I was telling you. You’ve got better things to do than worry about my personal problems.”
“Chris wasn’t lying when he mentioned that he was a nosy bastard—yes, he told me about that—and I really don’t have better things to do,” Phil corrects. “Though we’ve only got ten minutes to gossip like we’re all yeomen before as doctor I’ll personally kick us all out.”
The kid’s eyes narrow. “You know, for a doctor/barman, you have the weirdest sense of humor.”
“I, in principle, agree with most of what he said,” Chris adds, because the idiot needs to know that they’re not making fun of his problems.
“Okay, yeah, I’ve been curious for a while, but I’ve only been able to get even remotely close to that kind of thing with Gaila. Something about being an Orion means she’s a little more immune to my particular brand of charms—and even when I get energy from it, she’s still got energy after, so.” He sighs. “She doesn’t understand monogamous relationships though. A few prize stallions or fillies in the stable, sure. Like, regulars, but sometimes you just want different things, and it makes no sense to limit herself. I can be a little romantic with her, but just being romantic without the possibility of sex is foreign to her and she doesn’t want it. Whereas.”
He frowns at his hands. “You know, I don’t actually know how it feels to be a normal person thinking about these things. I didn’t even think about it too much until recently. But it’s like…okay, sex is important for me, but it’s like eating food, really. Sometimes it’s just eating to stay alive. How it is for me doesn’t actually matter too much, though really good food is nice to have, obviously. I take some pride in making it good for my partner, because that’s just a basic courtesy. But those things like. You know, just holding hands or kissing or just being coupley, those are things I’ve not really done all that much.”
Chris glances at Phil, who looks intrigued. “This is fascinating.” He shrugs at the looks he gets. “Why do you think I went for CMO on a starship?”
Pike feels his face twist into a scandalized expression. “Because I would get into too much trouble without you, you said?”
“That’s just icing on the cake, Chrissie.” Boyce pats him.
Jim giggles, but there’s almost something wistful about the way he’s staring at Boyce’s hand, and—
Oh. He’s a complete and utter fool. Here’s a kid who’s been starved for attention of any kind. He hasn’t had friends, he hasn’t had family, and his relatively enthusiastic participation in the realm of sexual relationships is a matter of necessity and survival. Maybe someone else would be satisfied with such a shallow existence, but if the way he deals with his actual classes is any indication, the young ‘Kirk’ was as much of an overachiever as Pike had been.
He clears his throat, and the way those blue eyes snap to him, back to a serious expression, is so close to regulation that his parade teachers would probably have puffed up with pride. Or cried at the fact that they’d actually managed to train him. One of the two. “Never say never, kid. If Orions are capable of resisting your charms, then they’re probably not the only ones. It’s a wide, wide universe out there.” By the way Jim bites his lip and his eyes suddenly get suspiciously wet, he’s doing this right. “And if nothing else, well. It’s probably not true of everyone, but my style of command—which you’re doing decently well at emulating? You’re the paterfamilias—you’re the head of a family of at least four hundred people. It can be exhausting, but it’s rewarding, too.”
Jim’s grinning ear to ear by the end of it, and it’s this sort of moment that makes Christopher think he made the right choice.
Phil clears his throat. “Yeah, okay, time’s up. Out, Captain. And you—don’t think you get a pass. If you get yourself killed, who’s going to look after your crew?”
Chris stands and salutes a still grinning cadet and leaves. Phil’s displeasure isn’t enough to put a damper on that smile.
