bakerstreet | (no subject)

(no subject)

the last night.

dusk has fallen, and your nerves are on fire.

you are not looking forward to tomorrow, for whatever reason - perhaps you're in the ending stages of war and the final battle is imminent, perhaps you'll be leaving for an extended period of time, perhaps you're set to go into a risky surgery. whatever's going to happen, it could be the very last night you have, whether it's in this city, in this dimension, in this life. how are you going to spend it? will you say your goodbyes to your loved ones, spend time reminiscing, or just go about your everyday life and try not to think about it?

the choice is yours, but you'd better make it soon. you don't have much time left.

instructions →
1. post with your character.
2. tag others.
3. spend your last night wisely.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only | Expand All

[After their sixth time that night, Jim left, and Carol returned to her life and work. It wasn't hard to forget him -- well, not really forget him, but she didn't have the time or the attention span to think about him. A few days after their night together, she was transferred from the USS Eagle to the Research and Development section of Starfleet. She was barely given any information on whom to report to and what she was expected to do there. All she was given is that this was top secret and to report in two months.

The hem of her dress is rucked up around her upper thighs and, besides a heel laying haphazardly next to the door and her knickers flung somewhere, she's still dressed. They met in a bar on a small planet a few light-years away from Earth after two months of separation, talking and flirting like strangers. Carol had leave until now so, after tidying up some loose ends, she sought out Jim Kirk. Whatever she's leaving to do, it sounds important, long, ominous, and she doubts she'll see him again. This last meeting would allow her to decathect from him and focus solely on her work.

Carol can hear Jim moving around in her small, hotel kitchen, after muttering that he'll need some caffeine if they were to continue (i.e. do it again). Sitting up, she smoothes down her dress, kicks off her other heel, and pads out to the kitchen. Even if they were strictly "friends with benefits", Carol can't help but hug him from behind, resting her cheek against her back.]

Hi. [It's quiet; loud enough for him to know it's her, but soft enough for him to know that she doesn't really want to talk.]

Edited 2013-01-12 02:55 (UTC)

[Kirk... kind of never expected this to happen. At least not so soon. Maybe they'd cross paths in a year or two, and get some dinner and fall into bed together and go on with life. So he was pleasantly surprised when this worked out, because he really does like her as a person and the sex is great and it's easy. That's it, it's just easy.

He's not going to think about why, or about how the intimate way she's holding him doesn't bother him.]

You want some?

Thanks, but six is my limit. [Carol turns her head, nuzzling her cheek against his back.]

How are you, Jim? [This is the first time she's asked him that since they met, honestly. He was too busy shooting "witty" one-liner after another at her, and she was too busy trying to keep a smile on her face, to remember to ask. Apparently, they're comfortable enough with each other, that they can skip the pleasantries and be none the wiser. She kind of wants to hear his voice right now, though.]

[No one really asks him that. George does, when they talk, but that's rare enough that it doesn't really count and to be fair, so does Bones. In so many words. Usually there's more name calling. And Kirk is so used to thinking about how his crew is doing, what needs to be done for them that he rarely thinks about himself and he doesn't have a deep answer right away.

Kirk lifts one shoulder in a shrug, and looks over his shoulder at her as best he can.]

I'm good. [You are just as good as he remembered.] Business as usual. You know how it is.

[He spends so much time taking care of others that he forgets to take care of himself. She can be like that sometimes too, if the right people come along. Jim needs to be taken care of, and she says that not as the someone who'll do that and mother him, but as a reminder to tell his crew that. Even if this is their last night together and she plans to detach and forget about him, she can't help but worry about him a little.

And ditto. A slight, coy smile as she, reluctantly, drags her arms away from him and moves next to him to see his face better.] No, I don't. I'm not a captain after all, and I doubt I'll ever become one.

[Kirk would be the last person to admit that he needs someone to watch his back. It's hard to shake that habit. After his brother ran off, Jim got used to doing it for himself. McCoy keeps a pretty close eye on him but they both know that he can't stop Kirk from doing something if he really wants to do it.]

Selling yourself a little short, aren't you? Besides, you live on a starship, you know how it is.

[She glances over at him as she stands on her toes to grab a glass.] I have few desires in life, Jim. Becoming a captain is not one of them. [A few of them are, a good vodka, some cheese toast, discovery, and now some water. She turns the faucet on, fills her glass, then takes a quiet sip, her eyes carefully watching Jim's movements.]

I was hardly on the deck of it, though, where I hear most of the excitement takes place. [Carol's unsure if she wants to tell him what's really going on; why they were able to see each other so quickly again, why it seems like she's treading on egg shells around him, and why it seems like her voice is sadder, like someone just died.]

[Jim pauses in pouring himself a cup of coffee took at her, because he caught that tone in her voice. Usually girls didn't sound depressed after sex and she definitely hadn't after the first six times.]

I think that depends on your captain. [He picks up his mug, blowing on it and turns towards her.]

Are you okay?

My opinion on becoming a captain was already set in stone before I met that jackass. [Honestly, it surprises Carol that Jim picked up the tone in her voice, because, really, it wasn't that noticeable. Well, she doesn't think so, at least.

She frowns, thoughtfully, and struggles to find something to say that's not going to sound depressing.] I'm... okay. I've been better, let's say that. [And then Carol decides to tell him. Why the hell not? He's an adult, she's an adult, it's definitely not the end of the world if they won't see each other for... oh, a few years. Who knows, how long she'll be gone.

She leans in, voice low as if someone's listening to them.] Can you keep a secret, Jim?

[Sometimes Kirk is observant. He doesn't really have anything to distract him right now.

He blows on his coffee for a moment longer, before taking a sip to test it and burning his tongue in the process. Okay then, putting that mug off to the side for a couple minutes.]

Sometimes. [He's trying for a joke to lighten the mood a little.] Usually not on Tuesdays.

Today is Tuesday, Jim. [A slight frown creases her features. She's going to tell him anyways, because Carol doesn't really need a spoken confirmation that he'll keep her secret. She knows he will.]

Two months ago, I was transferred to the Research and Development sector. I've had leave until now so that I could "tie up loose ends", as they said. [Don't ask, she doesn't exactly know who "they" are.] Whatever it is they want me to do, it's top secret enough that they haven't even told me. They did tell me, though, that I'm not allow to have contact with the outside world for the duration of my service, however long that may be.

[So basically, it's unlikely that they'll see each other anytime soon, or ever again. Yes, it was also unlikely that they would have seen each other soon if Carol was still on the Eagle, but at least there was a slight chance they could have.]

[So it is. He is good at keeping secrets though, obviously. He has the security codes for the Federation in his head and all kinds of other clearanced stuff. It's not really like he talks about Carol with... anyone actually. There's nothing to say because they're just friends, right? And so what if he's met up with her more than once?

Whatever secret he'd been expecting... that was not it. For a moment, Kirk couldn't figure out if he was feeling disappointed or not. This was fun, wasn't it, and this was a perfect way out. She had work, and he had his ship and they'd just go separate ways.]

Did you ask if they're going to kill you at the end of it? Because it sounds like you should. [Another joke, to stall whatever serious conversation might be coming.]

Can you please stop making jokes, Jim? [Not because she wasn't on the mood or they were having a serious discussion, but because they were unfunny. Carol's known to make a joke or two when a situation turned awkward or serious, either to lighten or diffuse, or to avoid emotions and decisions and talking about them. But at least hers are funny.

She lets out a soft sigh, part annoyed, part sad. Carol wants him to know why she's telling him and for him to know that she likes him and will miss him.]

I'm telling you this as a friend -- [~~And a lover.~~] -- because this is our last night together for... God knows how long.

[He's funny, what are you talking about. But right. Okay. Serious. He can do that.]

Well, thank you for telling me before you disappeared. And I think it'll be good. You're brilliant.

[At times perhaps, but his jokes right now aren't very funny. She softly smiles at Jim, carefully edging closer to him.]

You probably don't understand what I'm saying half the time. Thank you though. You're brilliant too, in your own charming way. [A short pause]

So... [She dumps the reminder of her water into the sink.] What do you want to do until tomorrow? Our record is six, do you want to try and beat that?

Edited 2013-01-16 16:44 (UTC)

[That's true. Half the time he doesn't really understand what she's saying. He's a genius according to his tests but there are definitely areas where he isn't very good and advanced biology is one of those.]

You know I never turn down an offer like that from a pretty girl. [He smirks a little at her.] It's your last night of freedom, your wish is my command.

[It's okay. If he ever started talking about the ship and tactical maneuvers, he'd lose her. Never did very well in those type of classes, unfortunately. She softly chuckles.] Why do I get the distinct feeling that that isn't the first time you've said to a woman?

[Jim seems like the type of guys women try to spend their last night of freedom before marrying, or joining Starfleet, or moving away. He seems like the type of man who can get over a woman just as easily as he picks them up.]

[Jim just smiles at that, and doesn't really offer any real confirmation or denial. Maybe he is, maybe he's done that, maybe he doesn't like being used.]

Does that really matter?

[She shrugs and shakes her head in response.] No, not really. I'm merely still trying to get an accurate picture of you as a person.

[He lets out something like a scoff and a laugh.]

You're right, I've said it before. I still mean it.

[She lets out a soft huff of a chuckle and Carol's close enough to him that she only has to lean forward a little to close the gap between her and his lips. Her hand reaches down to grab his, tugging him forward as she pulls away.] Let's go. Come take this dress off me.

[And Kirk proceeds to do just that. Probably should've done it the first place but they really had nothing lacking in the enthusiasm and passion department.

They don't end up breaking the record, and that's mostly because he takes his sweet time the second to last time and they simply run out of time, really. But that's fine, really because he's not really in a record breaking kind of mood. It's more about making some memories to last him a few months until he forgets her.

Like he actually will. Jim is in that strange place between wishing she wasn't leaving and glad that she is because it's less messy that way. That was part of why he was being quiet, as he ran a towel over his wet hair. And he's horrible with saying goodbyes.]

[Carol doesn't mind not breaking the record. She just wanted to be with him and touch him. That second to last time was great; it was slow and intimate and nice. Just being with him is nice and it makes her more reluctant to leave in the morning.

Her damp blond curls are tied in a ponytail and she has her undergarments and skirt on as Jim dries his hair from their shower together. She's rubbing moisturizer on her face when she notices how quiet he is. Glancing at him from the mirror;] Something wrong?

[Kirk hums softly in response, looking over at her before what she asked really registers. He shakes his head after a moment and throws on one of his easy smiles. It's easy to see through if you know him pretty well.]

What makes you ask?

[Her eyes remain on him in study for another second, the white cream of moisturizer still visible on her cheeks, before she returns to massaging it in. That smile isn't fooling anyone.]

You're too quiet. And you look like I just took away your favourite toy. [Well, she's not, but Starfleet and circumstances are. Carol looks down to wash her hands.]