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syredronningCodes: Pike/OFC (Dael), Pike/Kirk/McCoy, various OCs and other pairings
Rating: NC-17; warning: much queerness, including hetero sex ;)
It's a lovely Saturday morning with the sunrays creeping in through the gaps in the sunblind, throwing interesting patterns onto the opposite walls. Pike is awake early, finding himself curled around Dael. For a while, he doesn't move, just listens to her regular breathing pattern. One of these days he wants to go riding with her again, because he really misses the desert, but right now it's too risky, for him and her peace of mind.
With a wistful smile he cautiously slips out of bed to take care of breakfast. It doesn't take long until the table is prepared; new, colorful dishes they'd bought together, crisped-up bagels, butter, honey, sausage, cheese – it reminds Pike of the breakfast routine he used to have with Nat. A lot changed in the meantime, but he still loves breakfast best and it's wonderful to have someone who shares his preference, even though Dael still eats like a sparrow.
As last addition, Pike decides to open the deluxe strawberry jam someone had gifted him with a while ago. He smirks as sudden interesting variations of what he could do with jam on Dael's body come to his mind, and hopes she'll join him soon because the kitchen is much too empty without her. But when he steps onto one normal chair to reach out for the jam on the highest shelf, in nothing but slack pants of course, his brain takes off a beat.
Completely taken by surprise, he crashes hard against the table with his ribcage before he lands on the floor, gnashing his knee caps. The double shock takes his breath away and brings tears of pain to his eyes as he bends over on the ground, the bright red jam spilling out of the broken glass next to him.
"Fuck," he gasps as he finds his voice again. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
With effort he pulls himself upright again, leaning heavily onto the table. And then he loses it completely, the continuing frustration about his fucking disaster of a brain and the goddamn falls and the way he starts to feel disabled because he fucking is disabled, a cripple who can't even prepare a breakfast table without making a mess. In a violent impulse he sweeps his arm over the whole of the table, sending everything sailing from its top. Dishes and food splatter all over the floor and against the wall, and he feels fucking good until he sees one of the cups, like in slow motion, smashing to a dozen pieces right in front of Dael's naked feet.
When he looks up at her face, there's absolute horror in her eyes.
"Dael -" he starts, but she's gone before he can say another word.
He finds her in the bedroom, where she sits on the floor in the corner farthest away from the door with arms tightly closed around her updrawn knees, her gaze terrified when he walks in.
At times, Pike has wondered what it would take to make her cry. He hadn't thought it might be him who would cause it, and it rattles him in his core. Years of dealing with terrified cadets hadn't prepared him for dealing with a terrified lover, the way she looks at him right now, wary and distrustful.
"I'm so sorry," he says, voice utmost controlled. "I lost it, because I fell badly. It's got nothing to do with you."
She doesn't answer right away.
"I'm really sorry. I won't do it again, I promise." He sits down on the bed because his legs shake, but not too close to her. She gives him a haunted look, curling a little more into the corner.
"I'm sorry if I reminded you of the past," he says after a while. He wishes she'd told him some details about her father - not that it would've changed much, probably, because smashing things in frustration is not his style to begin with. But maybe it would've given him more of a picture of the particular madness her father must have shown, and he might've chosen another outlet.
"It started with little things," she says tonelessly, wet eyes fixed onto the floor. "Many small, strange things. So slowly that I didn't get it at first. Then I started to understand. But that didn't make things better. I understood he was ill, but I still started to hate him for the things he did. I loved him and hated him at the same time."
Her gaze drifts up to Pike. "I can't deal with that kind of behavior. It makes me want to run away. I couldn't run away then, but I would run now. I can't live through something like that again." She tries to blink a tear away, then unlaces her tight grip on her arms and wipes the wetness from her cheek with one hand. "I don't care what you promise. Words are worth nothing. It's all in the action. I need to know what's waiting behind the door when I come home. I need to know that I can rely on you."
"It's not my usual style to lose it," he says, perfectly hiding his slight annoyance about getting such a speech for one momentary loss of control because he understands where she's coming from, and this isn't the time for discussion. This is only the time to fix the slight damage in the foundation between them, before it could turn into a crack.
"I've got a problem with random falls lately and it makes me tense and starts to dictate my life. I'm sorry that I took it out on things. I never did anything like that before." He captures her gaze, sees a hint of understanding. "Believe me – if you ever feel unsafe or unhappy with me, I want you to leave me. Promise me that you won't stay with me just out of love or some feelings of obligations. You aren't obligated at all. You don't owe me anything. You only owe something yourself and your future."
She chews on her bottom lip.
"Come to me," he says, calm and very gentle. "Please, Dael."
Heaving a shaky breath, she gets up from the floor and onto the bed next to him. He maneuvers them into a stretched-out position, face to face, and pulls a blanket over her cool, slightly shivering body.
"I'm really sorry, Dael. My love." He cradles her, and she buries her face into the crook of his neck, one arm around him.
"I'm sorry for overreacting," she says, her voice muffled and her emotional exhaustion tangible. "I know you normally don't act like that. I've known you for months, you never once… I was really shocked."
"I understand. I mean it, Dael – the day you realize that you'd be better off without me, you've got to leave. Promise me you'd do it."
"I won't promise anything," she mutters. "Don't push me away."
Just want to make sure you'll always be ready and able to live without me, Pike thinks.
"Why didn't you tell me?" she inquires.
"Didn't want to make it worse."
He can feel her frown in all of her body. A muffled "idiot" reaches his ear before she pulls her head out from underneath his chin to meet his eyes. "You keep saying we're partners. So act accordingly."
"I try."
She shakes her head and leans into the embrace again, muttering something about men, and while he doesn't have a sample for women, he fears she might have a point. He holds her until her breathing changes and she falls asleep again, then gets up and cleans the kitchen thoroughly, succeeding in removing everything but some damage that needs to be dealt with professionally. The next morning, he sends for a craftsman and in the evening, there's not a trace of his breakdown left on the wall.
It still takes some time before she's back to her usual ease with him, and he's nudging his aching chest as a reminder that losing her would hurt a lot more than a bruised rib.
*
"I'm sorry, Chris," Nogura says when the old man calls him into his office some days later, and turns his screen towards Pike.
"What's the matter?" Pike asks, then sees the headline. It's a rather long yellow press article, and it features him and Dael. He skims through it
Scandal at Starfleet Academy? - Admiral (54) takes cadet (20) as lover
Young enough to be his daughter.
He met her on a low point in his life.
What's the secret behind her mysterious tattoos?
How much does she really know about him?
The main image is a badly pasted collage of one of his latest publicity shots and a picture of her in uniform when receiving her Starfleet Medal for Commendation, with the tattoos retroactively manipulated onto her face. There's also an outside shot of his club with its name fully readable, and a snapshot of him and Dael shopping on a weekend, holding hands on the street.
"Starfleet public relations tried to keep it out of the news, but it seems something slipped through," Nogura says, then repeats, "I'm really sorry."
"It's not as if any of it is an outright lie," Pike says evenly. "I knew it would hit the news some day."
"I'm sure it will be all over the Academy soon. You should probably warn her. If she wants to take a few days off…"
"Thanks, Heihachiro, but I doubt she'll accept your offer." Pike smiles a little. "She's been forced to hide for years, she's very determined never to hide again. More determined than I would be, in her position."
"How are you both doing?"
"Fine." Pike's smile deepens as the usual, sweet warmth runs through him just by thinking of her. "Really fine, and this -" he waves his hand at the screen –"won't ruin it."
It doesn't, but there are definitely more people in the admiralty who give him a strange gaze, and some meetings in which discussions abruptly stop when he enters the room. For Dael, it's more well-meaning people who try to talk Dael out of this oh-so-wrong relationship, and more male students who try to hit on her, now that she's come out as bisexual. Compared to his original concerns, the repercussions are still laughable.
They decide to eat together in the officer mess once or twice a week, and he's grateful when he can place his dish on her tray without having to fear another humiliating fall onto his food.
*
Pike loves sucking her dick. It's been one of the best purchases ever, and making her come through it is perfect because this is his home turf, an action where he feels sure what he's doing. It's retractable and she sometimes wears it for clubbing, a bulge in front of her pants. Which is the moment when his knee protectors are the second-best purchase ever.
He talks her into fucking him, once, but it's nothing like expected. Everything feels wrong; she's too cautious, her hands are too small and her hold too weak. He can't get through it on his back because the addition of vulnerable position plus penetration plus her tattoos is too much of an edge play, and when he's on his knees, memories of his lovers creep in and it feels like betraying her. In the end he flips her onto her back and sucks her off, giving up on his own orgasm.
"You sucked a dick that was up your ass," she states a little disgusted when they're done, and doesn't want to get kissed.
"Yes, I did," he admits and puts a kiss on her chest instead, this fabulous chest with these fabulous tattoos. He's used to the doc having the same problem with his action at times, when the man's got too much brain left to think. "I'm sorry for liking it a little dirtier than most. Let's take a shower."
One day, he's going to tell her about his first time, when a fistfight in the barn with the neighbor's son ended with spontaneous making-out in the horse manure.
Or maybe not.
Pike still loves sucking her dick, but when it comes to penetration, he's always on top.
*
A week later an incoming transmission from the Enterprise finds Pike in his office.
"We're coming home to Earth," McCoy states with one of the brightest smile he's seen from the doc in quite a while. "Just for a few days, but that's better than nothing, right?"
"A wonderful surprise," Pike replies, a wave of warmth rushing through him. "When and why?"
"We'll attend a ceremony in a month. We'll send you the final dates once we know them."
From the background, Kirk's voice comes in, "Bones is Starfleet Medical's CMO of the Year!"
"Great news, congratulations," Pike says, amused about the blush on the doc's face.
"I don't know what for, but –"
"You're equally brilliant and modest, doc. I'm sure it's well-earned," Pike waves his lover's insecurity away. "I wanted you on my ship because you were one of the best, even back then, and you've only gotten better over time."
"You tell him," Kirk says a little breathless, as he leans over McCoy's shoulder. "He never believes me."
"It's just never good enough," McCoy says, avoiding Pike's gaze.
"We know, Leonard. Everyone in command shares that feeling," Pike says. "We only can try to give our best, and your best is always amazing." Damn, how much he wants to kiss the doc right now, underlining his pride with some physical token. His lovers need to end the call much too quickly, and it leaves him both with an incredible yearning and an incredible happiness.
When he comes home, he finds Dael on the couch in the living-room, hunched over a PADD. "They'll be here in a month," he says and pulls her up into a tight embrace. She hugs him back.
"Let's celebrate." He drags her into the bedroom, using his overflowing heart - damn, when did he start thinking in poetic terms? - to show her how much he loves her and possibly the whole damn universe right now.
Two days later, Pike makes a cam recording, hot and dirty, in which he tells McCoy very explicitly all the ways he's going to fuck him six ways from Sunday, before telling him in just as many details how much his ass is waiting for McCoy's dick. When Pike's spurting come accidentally hits the cam lens, it makes for the perfect ending of the recording.
"Miss you too," is all McCoy replies, and it's a sweet, sweet revenge.
*
In bed, he's Christopher, sweet and hot and hers. Outside of it, he's always the admiral, even with Kirk and McCoy.
"The admiral told me you'll be on Earth in a month," she says in a real-time chat with Jim a few days later, folded in the chair in front of her personal console. Pike shouldn't stand hidden outside the door to listen, but he can't bring himself to walk away.
"My Advanced Flight II class on Saturn starts soon but I should be back in time," she adds, and he can hear Jim's laughter.
"Knowing Chris, he'd personally change the Academy schedule, if need be."
"I guess he would," she agrees.
"I'm looking forward to meeting you, Dael," Kirk says. "The four of us together – it will be awesome."
"I'm looking forward to meeting you too," she says, a little reserved.
Kirk laughs again. "Don't be nervous. Between three command track people, we should be able to find a good solution for everything. And if we don't, we've got a man with a hypo with us."
As if they invented a hypo against the wrong emotions yet, Pike thinks wryly and then moves away from the door because his bad conscience catches up with him.
*
It's not one of Pike's best days today, and on top of it, he's still in the office at 2202. When he sees her incoming call, he answers it in the blink of an eye, more than glad for the interruption.
"We've got a date," Dael says without introduction.
"Do we?" he says, amused about the obvious order in her voice.
"2300, in the park behind building Alpha Delta Three. You know what I mean?"
"Of course."
"Don't be late," she says and hangs up.
The night is a little cool but not cold, and he deeply inhales the fresh air as he walks over to the appointed place an hour later. He's rarely been in that particular corner of the Academy grounds, but he knows the park is often used as a kind of impromptu sports ground by the students. At this time, it is empty and largely dark, only a few streetlamps illuminating the pathways between the trees. Her figure is lingering in the shadows, almost invisible. When she sees him, she walks out to meet him on the way.
"Where are we going?" he asks.
"It's a surprise," she says easily, and he follows her into the park. When she stops, he looks around. There are faint lines in the air, barely visible in the shady light that drifts from the path to this area.
"Ropes?" he says.
"Almost. They've built a slacklining corner here lately. The ground is rather soft, and the webbings are at hip height. It's fun and surprisingly easy."
"Dael…" Pike swallows. He would have loved to try in the past, but when he sees the ropes, all that comes to his mind right now are all the endless warnings of his doctors and the number that's become a constant, eighty-two percent of the former motor skills.
"You can only fall down," Dael says. "It can't get worse than that." She lifts his hand to her lips, pressing a kiss on it. "I'll hold you."
Of course she couldn't hold him if he really fell. Of course it could get worse if he fell in some stupid way, and his former luck has certainly run out with the Narada. But how do they say – it's the thought that counts?
And of course, he's become the master of falling and getting up again.
When he pulls away, it earns him a strange look from her, but he only strips out of his coat and puts it aside, together with his briefcase. He walks up to the closest, flat rope that's tied between two large trees, and lifts one foot to test its behavior and strain. It moves a little, but not as much as he had thought it would.
"Some are looser, but then they've got more of a trampoline effect," Dael says next to him. "I think this is one of the best."
"Give me a hand?" he asks and she holds his as he puts the weight on the foot that's already on the rope. Getting his other foot up there is all about being quick and determined, so he goes ahead and is suddenly up on the teetering rope – and just as suddenly down on the ground again, tumbling from the jump, but at least avoiding a fall.
"Once again," he says and puts his right foot on the rope once more. He's been a little too quick in shifting his weight – he definitely could do better. Taking a deep breath, he pulls up his second leg next to the other. The rope swings and his legs shake a little, but he manages to make two cautious steps before he loses his balance again.
He doesn't say anything when he gets up again, not needing her hold at all times but glad that she's always walking next to him, illogical as it is because if he fell, he'd probably just land on her. It feels like forever until he makes the length of the not very long rope, up and down and up again, pushing himself to his limits.
"Great idea," he mutters when he leans against her at last, both feet back on the ground but barely able to keep upright, thoroughly bathed in sweat. "Thank you so much." He kisses her. "And thanks for the perfect timing. It wouldn't do if anyone saw an admiral falling down this damn rope all night."
"Nobody but me," she agrees.
In the distance, he can see one of the digital clocks - it's 0108 and they both have a long day tomorrow. He withdraws to pick up his coat and briefcase. "Let's go home," he says and whips out his communicator. "Two to beam out. Coordinates are…"
"Abusing your admiral privileges?" Dael says with one risen brow when they materialize in front of their apartment block a minute later.
"Actually, this point-to-point beam account comes with my new disability classification as of today," Pike replies, and while he tries to sound matter-of-factly, he's sure she can hear the defeat underneath. He'd tried hard to avoid getting that terrible tag but Starfleet had insisted on updating his profile for various bureaucratic reasons.
"It's not the end of the world," the doc had said in their last chat. "If your health improves, it'll get removed again."
It may not be the end of the world, but it has taken a surprisingly large bite from Pike's hope that his mobility would get completely restored in the near – or even far - future.
Dael's hand finds his again, their fingers lacing before their gazes meet. There's always empathy but never pity in her eyes, and he loves her more for it every day.
"Then I guess we should go slacklining at midnight more often," she says simply.
Only twenty days until Jim and the doc will be on Earth.
***
Rating: NC-17; warning: much queerness, including hetero sex ;)
It's a lovely Saturday morning with the sunrays creeping in through the gaps in the sunblind, throwing interesting patterns onto the opposite walls. Pike is awake early, finding himself curled around Dael. For a while, he doesn't move, just listens to her regular breathing pattern. One of these days he wants to go riding with her again, because he really misses the desert, but right now it's too risky, for him and her peace of mind.
With a wistful smile he cautiously slips out of bed to take care of breakfast. It doesn't take long until the table is prepared; new, colorful dishes they'd bought together, crisped-up bagels, butter, honey, sausage, cheese – it reminds Pike of the breakfast routine he used to have with Nat. A lot changed in the meantime, but he still loves breakfast best and it's wonderful to have someone who shares his preference, even though Dael still eats like a sparrow.
As last addition, Pike decides to open the deluxe strawberry jam someone had gifted him with a while ago. He smirks as sudden interesting variations of what he could do with jam on Dael's body come to his mind, and hopes she'll join him soon because the kitchen is much too empty without her. But when he steps onto one normal chair to reach out for the jam on the highest shelf, in nothing but slack pants of course, his brain takes off a beat.
Completely taken by surprise, he crashes hard against the table with his ribcage before he lands on the floor, gnashing his knee caps. The double shock takes his breath away and brings tears of pain to his eyes as he bends over on the ground, the bright red jam spilling out of the broken glass next to him.
"Fuck," he gasps as he finds his voice again. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
With effort he pulls himself upright again, leaning heavily onto the table. And then he loses it completely, the continuing frustration about his fucking disaster of a brain and the goddamn falls and the way he starts to feel disabled because he fucking is disabled, a cripple who can't even prepare a breakfast table without making a mess. In a violent impulse he sweeps his arm over the whole of the table, sending everything sailing from its top. Dishes and food splatter all over the floor and against the wall, and he feels fucking good until he sees one of the cups, like in slow motion, smashing to a dozen pieces right in front of Dael's naked feet.
When he looks up at her face, there's absolute horror in her eyes.
"Dael -" he starts, but she's gone before he can say another word.
He finds her in the bedroom, where she sits on the floor in the corner farthest away from the door with arms tightly closed around her updrawn knees, her gaze terrified when he walks in.
At times, Pike has wondered what it would take to make her cry. He hadn't thought it might be him who would cause it, and it rattles him in his core. Years of dealing with terrified cadets hadn't prepared him for dealing with a terrified lover, the way she looks at him right now, wary and distrustful.
"I'm so sorry," he says, voice utmost controlled. "I lost it, because I fell badly. It's got nothing to do with you."
She doesn't answer right away.
"I'm really sorry. I won't do it again, I promise." He sits down on the bed because his legs shake, but not too close to her. She gives him a haunted look, curling a little more into the corner.
"I'm sorry if I reminded you of the past," he says after a while. He wishes she'd told him some details about her father - not that it would've changed much, probably, because smashing things in frustration is not his style to begin with. But maybe it would've given him more of a picture of the particular madness her father must have shown, and he might've chosen another outlet.
"It started with little things," she says tonelessly, wet eyes fixed onto the floor. "Many small, strange things. So slowly that I didn't get it at first. Then I started to understand. But that didn't make things better. I understood he was ill, but I still started to hate him for the things he did. I loved him and hated him at the same time."
Her gaze drifts up to Pike. "I can't deal with that kind of behavior. It makes me want to run away. I couldn't run away then, but I would run now. I can't live through something like that again." She tries to blink a tear away, then unlaces her tight grip on her arms and wipes the wetness from her cheek with one hand. "I don't care what you promise. Words are worth nothing. It's all in the action. I need to know what's waiting behind the door when I come home. I need to know that I can rely on you."
"It's not my usual style to lose it," he says, perfectly hiding his slight annoyance about getting such a speech for one momentary loss of control because he understands where she's coming from, and this isn't the time for discussion. This is only the time to fix the slight damage in the foundation between them, before it could turn into a crack.
"I've got a problem with random falls lately and it makes me tense and starts to dictate my life. I'm sorry that I took it out on things. I never did anything like that before." He captures her gaze, sees a hint of understanding. "Believe me – if you ever feel unsafe or unhappy with me, I want you to leave me. Promise me that you won't stay with me just out of love or some feelings of obligations. You aren't obligated at all. You don't owe me anything. You only owe something yourself and your future."
She chews on her bottom lip.
"Come to me," he says, calm and very gentle. "Please, Dael."
Heaving a shaky breath, she gets up from the floor and onto the bed next to him. He maneuvers them into a stretched-out position, face to face, and pulls a blanket over her cool, slightly shivering body.
"I'm really sorry, Dael. My love." He cradles her, and she buries her face into the crook of his neck, one arm around him.
"I'm sorry for overreacting," she says, her voice muffled and her emotional exhaustion tangible. "I know you normally don't act like that. I've known you for months, you never once… I was really shocked."
"I understand. I mean it, Dael – the day you realize that you'd be better off without me, you've got to leave. Promise me you'd do it."
"I won't promise anything," she mutters. "Don't push me away."
Just want to make sure you'll always be ready and able to live without me, Pike thinks.
"Why didn't you tell me?" she inquires.
"Didn't want to make it worse."
He can feel her frown in all of her body. A muffled "idiot" reaches his ear before she pulls her head out from underneath his chin to meet his eyes. "You keep saying we're partners. So act accordingly."
"I try."
She shakes her head and leans into the embrace again, muttering something about men, and while he doesn't have a sample for women, he fears she might have a point. He holds her until her breathing changes and she falls asleep again, then gets up and cleans the kitchen thoroughly, succeeding in removing everything but some damage that needs to be dealt with professionally. The next morning, he sends for a craftsman and in the evening, there's not a trace of his breakdown left on the wall.
It still takes some time before she's back to her usual ease with him, and he's nudging his aching chest as a reminder that losing her would hurt a lot more than a bruised rib.
*
"I'm sorry, Chris," Nogura says when the old man calls him into his office some days later, and turns his screen towards Pike.
"What's the matter?" Pike asks, then sees the headline. It's a rather long yellow press article, and it features him and Dael. He skims through it
Scandal at Starfleet Academy? - Admiral (54) takes cadet (20) as lover
Young enough to be his daughter.
He met her on a low point in his life.
What's the secret behind her mysterious tattoos?
How much does she really know about him?
The main image is a badly pasted collage of one of his latest publicity shots and a picture of her in uniform when receiving her Starfleet Medal for Commendation, with the tattoos retroactively manipulated onto her face. There's also an outside shot of his club with its name fully readable, and a snapshot of him and Dael shopping on a weekend, holding hands on the street.
"Starfleet public relations tried to keep it out of the news, but it seems something slipped through," Nogura says, then repeats, "I'm really sorry."
"It's not as if any of it is an outright lie," Pike says evenly. "I knew it would hit the news some day."
"I'm sure it will be all over the Academy soon. You should probably warn her. If she wants to take a few days off…"
"Thanks, Heihachiro, but I doubt she'll accept your offer." Pike smiles a little. "She's been forced to hide for years, she's very determined never to hide again. More determined than I would be, in her position."
"How are you both doing?"
"Fine." Pike's smile deepens as the usual, sweet warmth runs through him just by thinking of her. "Really fine, and this -" he waves his hand at the screen –"won't ruin it."
It doesn't, but there are definitely more people in the admiralty who give him a strange gaze, and some meetings in which discussions abruptly stop when he enters the room. For Dael, it's more well-meaning people who try to talk Dael out of this oh-so-wrong relationship, and more male students who try to hit on her, now that she's come out as bisexual. Compared to his original concerns, the repercussions are still laughable.
They decide to eat together in the officer mess once or twice a week, and he's grateful when he can place his dish on her tray without having to fear another humiliating fall onto his food.
*
Pike loves sucking her dick. It's been one of the best purchases ever, and making her come through it is perfect because this is his home turf, an action where he feels sure what he's doing. It's retractable and she sometimes wears it for clubbing, a bulge in front of her pants. Which is the moment when his knee protectors are the second-best purchase ever.
He talks her into fucking him, once, but it's nothing like expected. Everything feels wrong; she's too cautious, her hands are too small and her hold too weak. He can't get through it on his back because the addition of vulnerable position plus penetration plus her tattoos is too much of an edge play, and when he's on his knees, memories of his lovers creep in and it feels like betraying her. In the end he flips her onto her back and sucks her off, giving up on his own orgasm.
"You sucked a dick that was up your ass," she states a little disgusted when they're done, and doesn't want to get kissed.
"Yes, I did," he admits and puts a kiss on her chest instead, this fabulous chest with these fabulous tattoos. He's used to the doc having the same problem with his action at times, when the man's got too much brain left to think. "I'm sorry for liking it a little dirtier than most. Let's take a shower."
One day, he's going to tell her about his first time, when a fistfight in the barn with the neighbor's son ended with spontaneous making-out in the horse manure.
Or maybe not.
Pike still loves sucking her dick, but when it comes to penetration, he's always on top.
*
A week later an incoming transmission from the Enterprise finds Pike in his office.
"We're coming home to Earth," McCoy states with one of the brightest smile he's seen from the doc in quite a while. "Just for a few days, but that's better than nothing, right?"
"A wonderful surprise," Pike replies, a wave of warmth rushing through him. "When and why?"
"We'll attend a ceremony in a month. We'll send you the final dates once we know them."
From the background, Kirk's voice comes in, "Bones is Starfleet Medical's CMO of the Year!"
"Great news, congratulations," Pike says, amused about the blush on the doc's face.
"I don't know what for, but –"
"You're equally brilliant and modest, doc. I'm sure it's well-earned," Pike waves his lover's insecurity away. "I wanted you on my ship because you were one of the best, even back then, and you've only gotten better over time."
"You tell him," Kirk says a little breathless, as he leans over McCoy's shoulder. "He never believes me."
"It's just never good enough," McCoy says, avoiding Pike's gaze.
"We know, Leonard. Everyone in command shares that feeling," Pike says. "We only can try to give our best, and your best is always amazing." Damn, how much he wants to kiss the doc right now, underlining his pride with some physical token. His lovers need to end the call much too quickly, and it leaves him both with an incredible yearning and an incredible happiness.
When he comes home, he finds Dael on the couch in the living-room, hunched over a PADD. "They'll be here in a month," he says and pulls her up into a tight embrace. She hugs him back.
"Let's celebrate." He drags her into the bedroom, using his overflowing heart - damn, when did he start thinking in poetic terms? - to show her how much he loves her and possibly the whole damn universe right now.
Two days later, Pike makes a cam recording, hot and dirty, in which he tells McCoy very explicitly all the ways he's going to fuck him six ways from Sunday, before telling him in just as many details how much his ass is waiting for McCoy's dick. When Pike's spurting come accidentally hits the cam lens, it makes for the perfect ending of the recording.
"Miss you too," is all McCoy replies, and it's a sweet, sweet revenge.
*
In bed, he's Christopher, sweet and hot and hers. Outside of it, he's always the admiral, even with Kirk and McCoy.
"The admiral told me you'll be on Earth in a month," she says in a real-time chat with Jim a few days later, folded in the chair in front of her personal console. Pike shouldn't stand hidden outside the door to listen, but he can't bring himself to walk away.
"My Advanced Flight II class on Saturn starts soon but I should be back in time," she adds, and he can hear Jim's laughter.
"Knowing Chris, he'd personally change the Academy schedule, if need be."
"I guess he would," she agrees.
"I'm looking forward to meeting you, Dael," Kirk says. "The four of us together – it will be awesome."
"I'm looking forward to meeting you too," she says, a little reserved.
Kirk laughs again. "Don't be nervous. Between three command track people, we should be able to find a good solution for everything. And if we don't, we've got a man with a hypo with us."
As if they invented a hypo against the wrong emotions yet, Pike thinks wryly and then moves away from the door because his bad conscience catches up with him.
*
It's not one of Pike's best days today, and on top of it, he's still in the office at 2202. When he sees her incoming call, he answers it in the blink of an eye, more than glad for the interruption.
"We've got a date," Dael says without introduction.
"Do we?" he says, amused about the obvious order in her voice.
"2300, in the park behind building Alpha Delta Three. You know what I mean?"
"Of course."
"Don't be late," she says and hangs up.
The night is a little cool but not cold, and he deeply inhales the fresh air as he walks over to the appointed place an hour later. He's rarely been in that particular corner of the Academy grounds, but he knows the park is often used as a kind of impromptu sports ground by the students. At this time, it is empty and largely dark, only a few streetlamps illuminating the pathways between the trees. Her figure is lingering in the shadows, almost invisible. When she sees him, she walks out to meet him on the way.
"Where are we going?" he asks.
"It's a surprise," she says easily, and he follows her into the park. When she stops, he looks around. There are faint lines in the air, barely visible in the shady light that drifts from the path to this area.
"Ropes?" he says.
"Almost. They've built a slacklining corner here lately. The ground is rather soft, and the webbings are at hip height. It's fun and surprisingly easy."
"Dael…" Pike swallows. He would have loved to try in the past, but when he sees the ropes, all that comes to his mind right now are all the endless warnings of his doctors and the number that's become a constant, eighty-two percent of the former motor skills.
"You can only fall down," Dael says. "It can't get worse than that." She lifts his hand to her lips, pressing a kiss on it. "I'll hold you."
Of course she couldn't hold him if he really fell. Of course it could get worse if he fell in some stupid way, and his former luck has certainly run out with the Narada. But how do they say – it's the thought that counts?
And of course, he's become the master of falling and getting up again.
When he pulls away, it earns him a strange look from her, but he only strips out of his coat and puts it aside, together with his briefcase. He walks up to the closest, flat rope that's tied between two large trees, and lifts one foot to test its behavior and strain. It moves a little, but not as much as he had thought it would.
"Some are looser, but then they've got more of a trampoline effect," Dael says next to him. "I think this is one of the best."
"Give me a hand?" he asks and she holds his as he puts the weight on the foot that's already on the rope. Getting his other foot up there is all about being quick and determined, so he goes ahead and is suddenly up on the teetering rope – and just as suddenly down on the ground again, tumbling from the jump, but at least avoiding a fall.
"Once again," he says and puts his right foot on the rope once more. He's been a little too quick in shifting his weight – he definitely could do better. Taking a deep breath, he pulls up his second leg next to the other. The rope swings and his legs shake a little, but he manages to make two cautious steps before he loses his balance again.
He doesn't say anything when he gets up again, not needing her hold at all times but glad that she's always walking next to him, illogical as it is because if he fell, he'd probably just land on her. It feels like forever until he makes the length of the not very long rope, up and down and up again, pushing himself to his limits.
"Great idea," he mutters when he leans against her at last, both feet back on the ground but barely able to keep upright, thoroughly bathed in sweat. "Thank you so much." He kisses her. "And thanks for the perfect timing. It wouldn't do if anyone saw an admiral falling down this damn rope all night."
"Nobody but me," she agrees.
In the distance, he can see one of the digital clocks - it's 0108 and they both have a long day tomorrow. He withdraws to pick up his coat and briefcase. "Let's go home," he says and whips out his communicator. "Two to beam out. Coordinates are…"
"Abusing your admiral privileges?" Dael says with one risen brow when they materialize in front of their apartment block a minute later.
"Actually, this point-to-point beam account comes with my new disability classification as of today," Pike replies, and while he tries to sound matter-of-factly, he's sure she can hear the defeat underneath. He'd tried hard to avoid getting that terrible tag but Starfleet had insisted on updating his profile for various bureaucratic reasons.
"It's not the end of the world," the doc had said in their last chat. "If your health improves, it'll get removed again."
It may not be the end of the world, but it has taken a surprisingly large bite from Pike's hope that his mobility would get completely restored in the near – or even far - future.
Dael's hand finds his again, their fingers lacing before their gazes meet. There's always empathy but never pity in her eyes, and he loves her more for it every day.
"Then I guess we should go slacklining at midnight more often," she says simply.
Only twenty days until Jim and the doc will be on Earth.
***
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-26 11:01 pm (UTC)I still feel that there's something 'off' with the Jim and Bones relationship, maybe because this is Pike's POV and we don't really know what's going on with those two. But hmmmm. I wonder if they'll last, sometimes.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-28 03:29 pm (UTC)Jim and Bones... I just thought about including a ficlet from their perspective, but right now it's more rewarding to stay all in Pike POV so there can be more surprises. But as I noted somewhere before - this series is a showcase for functional poly relationships *winks*
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-26 11:24 pm (UTC)AND I AM GOING TO KILL YOU.
I SWEAR TO GOD, IF ALL OF THEIR RELATIONSHIPS DO NOT WORK OUT, THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY. AND BY HELL I MEAN "I WILL FIND OUT WHERE YOU LIVE AND PUT ITCHING POWDER IN YOUR UNDERWEAR. AND YOUR SHAMPOO."
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-28 03:30 pm (UTC):) Thanks for your awesome feedback - loved it :)
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-26 11:29 pm (UTC)Of course, having read it all in one go, I scarcely know where exactly to direct my bubbling joy over the way you've played this out. I love the space you've given Pike and Dael to develop as a couple especially now that Kirk and McCoy are coming back (and I'm beyond excited for that, omg), and that they've learned what works well between them and what their barriers are. It felt very naturalistic that problems do arise between them, and that they come to affect his relationship with Kirk and McCoy too.
And holy crap, but if anything in this story really drove me to the brink, it was Pike and McCoy and the tension that just pours out so invisibly yet it's so palpable and Pike's helplessness in the face of it was really heartbreaking. I like that McCoy's hang-up over Dael's age is simply an insurmountable flaw on his part - it makes his apprehension very human and brittle - but that moment where McCoy shoots back at him to just go "fuck his wife" really was a like a punch in the gut. I could sense McCoy's failed marriage in that anger, the sense of betrayal and insecurity that doesn't go away, and damn it hurt. Even with Kirk's usual cheery attempt to get everyone back on the same page, it just hurts because it can't really be fixed (though I can't wait to see them try in Draws X in every filthy detail *g*).
And I really do hope there's some attempt to reconcile what happened to Kirk and McCoy after that away mission. I like that Pike realizes how little he knows of their life as a couple, and the knowledge that there was (still is?) a rift between them feels like something worth exploring. Then again, so does this:
One day, he's going to tell her about his first time, when a fistfight in the barn with the neighbor's son ended with spontaneous making-out in the horse manure.
Minus the horse manure, I kinda love you for having pretty much the same sketch of Pike's first time as the one that lives in my head. But at the rate you write you'll no doubt get to that first, and I want details. *g*
Needless to say, I loved this. So very much. Thank you, thank you, thank you! *hugs*
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-28 03:36 pm (UTC)He, the horse manure - I always had Pike liking it a bit dirty (I don't write it too explicit but it's there) and I always thought it would have to do something with his first time because that's often so trend-building. And I'd love it if you wrote it (minus manure *G*) because I doubt I'll ever bring it up in detail :)
Pike and McCoy, ah, they will have interesting times. All of them, really. It's fun writing the next part, although it's also hard at time. And LONG again, wtf.
Thanks again for staying with this series :)))) It's really encouraging *beams*
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-27 01:24 am (UTC)I CANNOT WAIT!!!
Hee.
Another wonderful installment, though like a few other commenters I am a little worried about Kirk and Bones. (And I'm worried about Chris's leg problem. D-:)
I am somehow enjoying the tension that Bones feels as far as Chris and Dael are concerned -- his reaction feels really in character to me. Also enjoying the development of Chris and Dael's sexual relationship, and how different that dynamic is from his with the others.
And I cannot WAIT until you get the four of them together (not even sexually, just to see them verbally and emotionally play off each other). :-)
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-28 03:39 pm (UTC)Thanks so much for liking this installment. Glad that the character interactions and tensions work for you, it's so much fun to explore them all.
The four together will be intense, though not always justhappyandawesome. Cause that would be just too easy :)
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-27 01:27 am (UTC)Basically my heart is oozing blood at all the little razor cuts of sadness and hurt sprinkled through this part. Pike's sadness and confusion and fear at his current situation. His insecurities about Dael's other relationships even as he tries to pretend he doesn't have them. Bones and Jim's damaged relationship after Aranka, which I don't believe is really resolved, and poor old Bones's insecurities and hang-ups which seem to continue to wound him deeply.
*whimpers*
At the same time, my heart swells with love for Pike & Dael as a couple. It swells and aches for Jim wanting so desperately for all of them to be okay with one another because, if they aren't, he loses someone and he's lost so much all ready.
You're killing me in all the best ways, baby!
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-28 03:51 pm (UTC)Glad you like Dael, and yeah, Jim is trying really hard but hey, so far he's been right and the threesome/foursome works (in the first installments, Pike had always assumed it wouldn't work for long - now he's all on Jim's side and working for it to work!).
:))))))) Thanks again for the interesting feedback and the wonderful beta, you really saved me with it!
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-27 01:52 am (UTC)<3
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-28 03:54 pm (UTC)(And may I say here how much I LOVED to see your next installment, which I'll re-read before feedbacking properly? Just today I realized that our series share that ongoing world-building characteristics which makes the reader really invest into the characters, as opposed to one-shots. It's a damn work but also a great treat for all parties involved :)
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-27 04:18 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-28 03:57 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-27 05:14 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-28 03:59 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-27 06:23 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-28 04:02 pm (UTC)♥ Thanks for feedback!
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-27 06:30 am (UTC)First, I loved reading about Dael and Pike's first night together. How after spending such a long time developing the love between them, that when they finally did have sex the love just came pouring out. I feel blessed to be able to say that I have had a relationship progress like that once; we were kept apart for many reasons that were quite frustrating at the time, but that let the love grow, and then love and joy and sex all rolled together....
And I loved the new insights into the dyads and triads within the four of them:
Pike and McCoy....
"Some part of him knows that this is what he could feel with the doc if they ever really went there, leave the secure layer of rough actions and dirty words and dip into the lava beneath it, but that would mean facing the consequences."
Kirk and Pike and Dael:
"Of course, communication works like charm between Jim and Dael. Pike has never supposed anything else, and is more than sure that when these two will meet in person, spontaneous combustion will look lame compared to it"
BUT
"While he might be jealous of the time she spends with a woman, it makes him breathless to think that another man would ever have her. He knows he's in for a tough time when Jim's here."
McCoy and Kirk: after Aranka.... so sad. And stressed.
Oh, it is going to be quite interesting when they all get together.
Then there are the parts that were just great fun -- Dael trying on strap-ons! (fun irony that after all that Pike doesn't like bottoming for her). And it turns out that the Vulcans set them up! "t'sav'asha." - mentor-lover -- a great concept that we don't appreciate enough at least in modern US culture.
The mysteries -- what was it that Dael did that the bartender gossiped about? And what kinky things is she really into? Will Spock Prime ever show up with the xenopolycymia cure?
The characters being clueless -- Pike needs to realize that he isn't dealing well with the possibility that Dael has other partners. Perhaps some of his problem is in not knowing when and who it is....... As poly as I am, I want to know what his happening with my partners -- ignorance makes me a bit crazy (and getting to hear about your partner's other partners is half the
fun of being poly -- or maybe I am just weird with voyeuristic tendencies :) ) And then there is McCoy -- a lot seems to be going on with him that he isn't really facing up to.
I have always admired Kirk in this series, and this chapter is no exception. So generous, optimistic, perceptive..... I found myself thinking at times that he is being their "designated optimist", positive that everything is going to be just great.
I remember back in my quad and triad days that we tended to take turns being the "designated optimist", often while the others in the relationship were freaking out :). It helps to have an optimist, though I realize that sometimes I was actually just deluding myself.
Which raises the eternal question:
Why should it be so hard to just love each other?
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-28 04:17 pm (UTC)I'm not sure Pike would live better with knowing who her other lovers might be. As I wrote in that other discussion with you, in my mind he's mostly poly due to necessity and even though he's able to see and enjoy the positive sides of it too, it's not like he's emotionally aligned for it. Especially since the whole field of emotions is a little challenging to him.
Wonderful remark about the designated optimist, I didn't know that expression! We might see cracks of that at some time :) Jim feels responsible for a lot here, he brought Bones and Chris together, he supported Dael because he thinks it's the best for Chris, and it's all risky but he thinks the gain would outweigh the risk. He's determined in full Kirk spirit that this mission will go right. Hossa! :)
And regarding your question - there's always so much more than just love in the mix... wanting to be wanted, needed, supported, touched, cared for... and love should fix everything but it never will.
Thanks so much for your thought-provoking feedback! I love that :)
(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-27 09:35 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-28 04:17 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-27 05:56 pm (UTC)I can't wait to see how things will turn out for the four of them. Sounds like Jim's thinking that they're gonna share every...body- but will Chris like it?
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-28 04:20 pm (UTC)In any case, I feel honored that you got the account for commenting! Whoa. And he, I hadn't realized that I didn't allow anon comments. Oops.
The foursome will be very interesting. Pike definitely thinks Jim and Dael are going to share... we'll find out what Jim thinks :)
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-27 07:57 pm (UTC)I love all the entanglements of their relationships, the complications you brought in. They all feel very real. Fascinating how Pike/Dael is similar in intensity to Kirk/McCoy or Pike/McCoy yet so different. I'm so interested in seeing how it'll play out when all of the possible foursome are present. :D (thinking of McCoy's marriage-connected memories and Pike's jealousy of Kirk/Dael here, and of course, the possibly still unresolved Kirk/McCoy issues)
The scenes with Dael's cock were very, very hot *fans self* and I had a lot of fun reading their experience in the sex shop. *g* Dael's issues and Pike's health problems felt equally real and they both have me a little worried, I admit. Pike's cam recording was also hot and the ending totally cracked me up. :D
The scene with M'Benga (the elder) made me cry.
Slacklining! How on earth do you come up with these things? :D Now that you mention it, I think I've seen some folks practicing slacklining in parks around... It makes sense for Dael to think of Pike and his problems, yes, and the idea of Pike on one of these things has me giggling.
And add me to the line of people who are already anticipating Kirk's and McCoy's arrival. :D
P.S.: I've got a bit of a girl crush on Nat.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-27 08:19 pm (UTC)But I really want to see Dael top him (Pike)now, damn it. And I'm utterly protective of her too. I started off thinking that I wouldn't like her, but now she's my favourite.
(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-27 11:52 pm (UTC)I am so excited to see the fireworks when Kirk and McCoy arrive, although my heart is probably going to hurt too.
And I still love Dael, especially with all the feelings she is stirring up in Pike.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-28 04:26 pm (UTC)Glad you still love Dael! It's really important to me that she comes across as someone real, with good and not so good sides and all but that she's awesome with and for Pike. The fireworks will be good, yeah, including the hurt :)
Thanks so much for your feedback! :)
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-28 02:05 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-28 04:26 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-29 05:21 am (UTC)I love your Pike. I'm so enamored watching him glow with love and think he's adorable when he gets that smile on his face when he's thinking about Dael. I felt bad for all the folks that were telling him what a horrible person he was for the relationship, but he really is trying so hard to protect Dael that you can't fault him for it. He's being so sweet and caring and wonderful that I want it all to work out so badly for him. Including McCoy. *sigh*
You really broke my heart there with Aranka and knowing that it had to have been bad for them.
I like Dael, but I can't quite wrap my head around her yet. Not sure why. She's wonderfully drawn, so good for Pike, and beautifully quirky, that I should totally adore her. I think I'm anticipating angst and not letting the current happy place be.
Or something. Could just be the hellacious week and PMS.
Anyway, long comment is long without actually telling you how much I loved this and love the series even as I fret over Pike's random falls.
I greatly look forward to Draws X!
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-29 12:01 pm (UTC)Happy to hear you love Pike in this, and I promise I'll do my best that it all works out.
Dael - personally, I've known girls like her and I would keep away due to the many ISSUES these people have. But Pike is somehow exactly the kind of guy who fits and who knows how to work around the issues, OR has similar issues so that he knows where not to go (like the "pity shit" :). He doesn't poke, doesn't press for answers, doesn't feel like her big savior or white prince - which would all be no-gos for her. Other people might interpret that as "he's not interested in me" and she's been rather unsure for a long time IF he is, but for her it's really more in the action, and when she needs him, he's there for her. And there will always be surprisingly little angst between these two, as far as I can see in my drafts *G*
(Your comment made me think about Dael, maybe I'll write a little interlude from her perspective. Could be interesting, also for me :)
Thanks so much for your ongoing support and lovely feedback, I appreciate it so much!
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-29 06:46 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-29 07:47 pm (UTC)The four together will be intense, hot, complicated at times and still satisfying (I'll see to that!) :)
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-30 01:43 am (UTC)Thank you so much for sharing.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-30 07:44 pm (UTC)♥
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-30 03:22 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-30 07:45 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-30 10:16 pm (UTC)Loved it! Love the slow thorough exploration of the unusual relationship especially, in this part, Chris getting used to being with a woman, and the reactions of everyone around them which feel pretty realistic. And the long distance contributions of Jim and Bones. Also, the frustration of Chris as he deals with his disability is palpable and also feels very realistic.
Great job!
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-31 07:26 pm (UTC)♥
(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-01 06:06 am (UTC)I know it's slack of me.
I just had to say that this is absolutely amazing and I can't wait to find out what happens when they all see each other again.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-01 06:16 am (UTC)Thank you so much! :) The next part is in the works, I hope you'll enjoy it too :)
(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-02 02:06 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-02 05:22 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-14 05:30 am (UTC)Anyhow, I am still very very much enjoying this series and looking forward to seeing the way the four of them will interact!
(no subject)
Date: 2010-02-14 10:54 am (UTC)Glad to hear you still enjoy it! A wonderful compliment, and I'm working hard to have the next part just as realistic and well-working as this one :))
my triumphant finish
Date: 2010-04-10 04:32 pm (UTC)I think my reaction to the fic as a whole boils down to two things:
Jim--you make me love him, haha. And this is a BIG thing to say for me, because you know that I am often determined to make JTK into my enemy. I am sure that whatever JJ comes up with next will not be nearly as good as this gracefully matured, responsible but reckless, caring, intelligent human being you have made him into. But your fic gives me hope for his future. I almost hope ST:XII never comes out, b/c then I can keep pretending that this is how he will turn out (>_<)
Dael
I would not love Trek nearly as much as I do except for it's women, both the canon women and the OFCs, which are (in my opinion) sometimes a buttload more interesting. I LOVE DAEL. I wish I could open my door and she'd be standing there so we could go
makehang out. I love her backstory, and her weaknesses and strengths, and the way she says what she wants in the bedroom. I love imagining her spiky hair. She is a superfantastic look into the future of immigrants and growing up against a background of multiple nations. I died in the moments where she reveals the parts of herself rooted in Romulan culture, like the moments with Raol and when Pike says that he loves her, but in Romulan. I love that Pike is vulnerable to her. (eta) I also loved the skewed power dynamic in the relationship, because I think it is something that crops up in some most (every?) relationship in some form. And not just relationships between lovers, but between family and friends as well. One person is a little bit more in love, or is wealthier, or is physically stronger, or has a more prominent position in society. And yet it does not keep us from loving people, over and over again whether or not it is 'right' or healthy or whatever. So that is why I like it, not because it's equitable/perfect/fair but because it is so absolutely real.and maybe just a little because I have a bulletproof angst kink and kinda like when McCoy is sad b/c I can go "awwww woobie!"oh, and one more thing:
Pike's knee! I related to strongly to his disability. Well, not the neurological part, but the knee part, because my kneecap occasionally just decides, "haha, not today! going on vacation", and I think you very expertly captured the frustration and anger at one's own body that creates. And also some fascination too--the body is such a complicated thing.
Re: my triumphant finish
Date: 2010-04-12 06:54 pm (UTC)Thank you so much for your feedback! I'm glad Pike's knee problems are realistic; I know it would drive me crazy, and considering how much he hates the idea of being disabled, he's prone to fight against windmills here.
Jim Kirk - I admit that I probably have some TOS Kirk in the mix, regarding his competence and being a grown-up man. Reboot Kirk is different but I wanted to keep away from his jerk aspects. I love Kirk a lot and yeah, probably he's a little OOC here *G*
I'm super-glad you like Dael! She's quite a challenge, for me and for the readers - and for Pike. Having her in the mix, with all her backstory and issues and the possibilities she brings to the foursome really stirs things up. The power dynamics will definitely be discussed in the next part, and yeah, I'll gladly send it along to you for a first read when the draft is done, so that your critical eyes can give it a read and some poking.
Thank you so much for reading and commenting ♥
(no subject)
Date: 2010-04-12 03:25 pm (UTC)I know sexuality is a fluid thing for some people, which is why I completely buy McCoy's statement about being the only straight guy in the galaxy married to a man (great line, btw.) Maybe it's that I don't want anything to get between Chris and the guys--they're so good together. But in a realistic world, the world you're build with your story, it's cruel to deny Chris happiness (John is a tad sleezy, but he kind of redeemed himself later). I cannot tell you how much I'm looking forward to where you're going to take the 4 of them in the next story.
I hope you don't mind if I friend you so I can keep up and get to know you better. Cheers! Have a great day.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-04-12 06:48 pm (UTC)McCoy isn't half as straight (and un-kinky) as he likes to think of himself but we all like to have our pet images of ourselves *G*
It's totally okay to friend me, although I won't friend back right now (slight reading overload, need to cut back).
Thank you so much again for all your feedback, I'm very happy that you like the series, and I hope that the next part (which is slowly coming together and really hard to write) will be to your liking too!