Holiday ficlets for RP game
[OOC: A couple weeks ago I asked for prompts, and this is what popped out. Hope you like them, bbs. It's been a great year, and I enjoy playing with you all so much. ♥♥♥]
For cso_spock - prompt: post-mission/older
Blessings - a future OT4 ficlet
(2297)
They stood out from the others, the four of them. Three children wasn't necessarily a large family among such a long-lived species as Vulcans, but having them so close together in age wasn't common.
But then again, neither was Spock's brood.
Leonard stood in the well outside the auditorium where the acceptance ceremony took place, just watching. Spock and Sovar in their formal robes, Silas in his best shirt and pants. Only T'Mira in her cadet reds stood out from the men, but standing there with her hands behind her at parade rest, she reminded him most of her father, so many years ago.
He felt someone settle next to him, but it wasn't Jim's voice. "T'Mira hoped he'd join her in San Fransisco."
"I'm a little surprised he didn't," he answered, knowing how close her two youngest children were.
"Silas wanted to stay close to home," Nyota gave a little chuckle as she linked arms with Leonard. "I don't think he likes space travel much."
Bones laughed at that. It shouldn't have been possible, with both Spock and Nyota's coloring, but Silas Jackson had his eyes. He knew that there was some genetic tweaking behind it and for that, more than anything, Leonard was eternally grateful to the two of them. "He looks so grown up," he murmured, his heart aching.
"It all happened too fast, Leo," she said sadly, knowing that he more than the others would understand.
She was right. "There is something wonderful and tragic about watching your baby grow up and away from you." He'd watched Joanna grow up into a beautiful woman, now with children of her own but he still mourned the missing years, when she was small. And now Jackson was all grown up.
"You can't understand how proud Spock is of him," Nyota told him. "He'd never admit it, but Jackson is the child of his heart. He would have allowed him almost any indulgence, but," she sighed, watching them talking quietly in the distance, "Jackson is the one who seemed to want his approval the most. I don't know who was more pleased when the notification came, being accepted into the VSA so young."
"He works hard." Had to, to keep up with the others, Leonard thought as he watched the four walk toward them. Sovar seemed so like his father, both men brilliant yet tempered by Nyota's gentleness. Then T'Mira, with just enough of Jim's genetics and genius to keep the family on their toes - no one surprised when she chose Starfleet. "You have a beautiful family, Nyota."
She took his hand, squeezing, her brown eyes bright with happy tears. "We have a beautiful family, Leo."
For kirk_george - prompt: snow
White Christmas
A white blanket covered the Mojave, as far as Leonard could see. His back was turned but he could tell George was staring at him, one eyebrow raised in a familiar look.
Leonard sighed and closed the door. "Okay, George. I'm sorry I ever doubted you," he said, turning to see the 'I told you so' look on his father-in-law's face. "Clearly, it snows in the desert."
"Of course it snows here, just like I said. I hope this teaches you a lesson," George laughed in his good-natured way. "Why would I make something like that up?" Standing, he opened up the closet door and started putting on some outwear. "C'mon." George tossed a jacket at him. "Let's go play in it. The horses need some exercise."
The air was crisp and cold as they stepped outside. "Jim will be pissed he missed it," Bones said, seeing his breath in the air around him. The rocks and brush all sparkled white with the snow cover, the cactus dazzling in the bright sunlight.
"Chris won't. He hates this stuff." George started heading to the stables, waving his arms around him. Clearly he loved this weather. "Serves them right for working while the rest of us are on vacation. Jim could have postponed the meeting a few da-" WHAP. George's words stopped as the snowball hit him square in the back of the head. Turning, he saw Bones packing more snow in his hands, making another ball and aiming it, this time at George's chest.
Soon the two of them were trading volleys back and forth, until they were out of breath from laughter. They spent the entire day outside in the snow, riding out along the edge of the property and back, discussing their last mission, their families. They talked about Jim, how he was really doing since that last away mission, the scary one. George told him what the latest physician recommended for Chris' back.
They were warm and drinking cocoa by the fire by the time Jim and Chris got back to the ranch, joining them with stories from the meeting. It was good, really good, and that night when Leonard stepped outside before heading to bed, he wished upon a star (he hoped it was a star and not some errant satellite) that maybe they'd be able to make it back to Earth for Christmas again sometime soon.
For lt_paula - prompt: ribbon
All Tied Up
"You could just use a gift bag, you know."
"Those are impersonal. There is nothing quite like the feeling of tearing open pretty paper from a present," she said from her chair, propped up by pillows so that her injured leg wouldn't be jostled too badly.
Giving her a look, Bones sighed and picked up another, handing it to her. "Well I know they have those little bows you can just stick on, you know. They're sticky."
She picked up his hand and put his finger back in place, tying an impossibly perfect looking bow on the gift. "This is more personal. Getting to untie the bow, feeling that sense of anticipation is like..."
"Foreplay?" Jim called out from his corner where he was wrapping packages. He lifted the small paper-covered box, inspecting the creases he'd just made and smiled approvingly. "Bones doesn't get stuff like that..."
Bones rolled his eyes at that, but then turned back to Paula. "This isn't sexual, is it? 'Cause-" he looked down at the gift and sighed. "That's a little perverted, even for me."
"It's not about sex," she told Leonard, picking up the present Jim handed to her, selecting a contrasting yellow ribbon to the dark blue paper Jim had selected.
Jim snorted, standing behind her and rubbing her shoulders. "You sure?" he asked, bending low to whisper in her ear. He leaned over her and grabbed at the ribbon Bones was using - "Hey!" - and covered her beautiful eyes with it. "C'mon, Bones... would you rather see her covered in a shapeless gift bag, or all that," he nodded at the piles of ribbons she was using.
Two hours later, Leonard had to agree that the colorful ribbons - in her hair, around her breasts, on Jim's dick, around his eyes - it was the process of unwrapping them, pulling at them until they fell apart and opened, and Bones knew he'd never look at a Christmas bow on a present the same way ever again.
For ltlbtovik - prompt: Bones introduces Nora to beer, and she introduces him to some strange alien rock music.
Pub Crawl
"What do you think?"
"I can't hear you," Leonard told Nora, watching as she pulled up a chair to his table in the corner of this nightmarish night club Jim had rented for the evening.
She just grinned at him as she sat down. "I said, what do you think?"
"I think I'm gonna be deaf if they don't turn this shit down." Leaning back in his chair, Leonard's eyes looked out in the crowd, where he could glimpse bits of the others dancing, enjoying their shore leave. Jim was having a great time, but that went without saying - Jim could make friends in a lion's den. Nyota and Christine were moving slowly together, and even Spock seemed to be enjoying himself, sliding gracefully to whatever it was that was playing.
"Why aren't you out there?" she asked him, and he sighed.
"I don't like this music."
She looked a little shocked at that admission. "This is great stuff! I mean, it might not be what you're used to, but its very good for Tellarite rock." Peering over at him from the lip of her bubbling drink, she asked, "What don't you like about it?"
He changed the subject. "Why are you drinking that stuff?" he asked, pointing at her glass of iridescent fizz. It faintly reminded him of old pictures of nuclear radioactive material.
"Because it tastes good," she hummed, punctuating that sentiment by taking a long sip from a straw.
"Do you even know what's in it? For all you know, it could kill you."
Nora choked a bit. "You're a real good time, you know that?" she said.
He arched an eyebrow, and she arched one right back. "I don't like dancing," he admitted. "And even if I did, this -" he pointed at the dance floor, "this isn't music. Shit, maybe I am getting old, but I can't even make out the beat."
"That's because there are," she listened carefully before continuing, "five separate beats going on. If you don't have the aural capacity to process all five at once, and its okay," she told him, "most Terrans can't, then you're supposed to just pick out one, and - well here." Nora picked up his hand and turned her head to the music. "Here's one," she said, tapping his hand against the tabletop to a quick three beat rhythm. "Tap-tap-tap, tap-tap-tap," she murmured, and after a few moments concentrating he could pick it out, like a colored thread among a group of white strings. "Then there's this one," she found another completely separate beat line, "this one's a four-count with some long notes in there." Tap- tap tap, tap tap, tap- tap tap, tap tap.
"How do you know this?"
"How don't you know this? Modern music, Doctor," she grinned at him again. "And I didn't just study every weekend. I had some fun on weekends at the Academy. You?"
"I was working." But he had fun when he was younger, sown his own wild oats in his youth... but listening to the beats of music wasn't something which he was even remotely interested. Looking back out at the floor, he could see the others in their group, and between her taps on his hand and the movement of their bodies, slowly he began detecting which beat each of his friends was following in their movements.
Nora's eyes were lighting up. "Come on, you know you want to," she said, tugging at his hand.
He snorted. "No."
"Please?"
Damn. He hated that look girls gave when they wanted something. "Look, I'll go out there if you promise to stop drinking that shit."
She stood up. "Done and done. Order me something better and then let's go."
"Sit down, I need another drink before I go break my neck out there." Leonard headed to the bar, coming back a few minutes later with two Budweiser Classics.
"Adventurous soul," she said wryly. "You do like taking chances, don't you?" she asked, looking at the familiar Earth beverage.
"At least I know what's in this. Barley, rice, and hops - grains, my dear, grains. Good old-fashioned processing, nothing that is gonna mess with your system." Handing one to Nora, he continued speaking. "They all come sealed, so you can watch the bartender uncap it. It's got a small neck, hard for someone to put something in your drink to mess with you." He took a long drink and waited for her to try it. "See?"
And try it she did, then made a face. "Ug."
"What?" he asked.
"It doesn't taste good."
"So what? It's damn near healthy for you, grains and shit. And," he told her standing, "that's the problem with all that fruity crap that tastes so good. Before you know it, you've had six or seven and your freinds are pouring you into my sickbay. This, you'll probably have two and not want any more."
"That makes no sense," she told him deadpan, but Leonard just grinned, taking another long sip. "But you know what else is nice about these bottles?" she asked. "Gives you something to hold on to so you can dance with your drink."
"I don't think that's safe."
"C'mon," she said, taking his arm and pulling him out onto the floor, and while he's not the most graceful dancer out on the floor, Leonard has to admit - its more fun that sitting and watching.
For kirktastic, who knows where this prompt came from. ♥
Atlanta
"You're weird."
"Its not weird."
"It's bizarre and weird."
Bones stopped walking long enough to face Jim. "Just because you haven't heard of something doesn't make it weird." Then Bones started walking fast again, a clue as to how excited he was about his 'mission'. "It's pretty popular around here, lots of people enjoy it." They'd been walking about ten minutes up and down the Atlanta streets, and Jim began to doubt whether Bones really knew where he was going or not. Then the doctor's eyes lit up as he spotted it. "I promise, Jim, you're gonna love it."
Jim followed him inside the old brick building, the walls covered with historical memorabilia, old photos of people sitting in the booths and tables. He trusted Bones, really, and on most topics of conversation. "I mean, I don't have to eat them at the same time, do I?"
Bones told the hostess he needed a table for two, then rolled his eyes at Jim. "No, of course not. They're just on the plate at the same time."
Sure enough, at that moment a man walked by carrying a tray with three plates on it, all of them full of fried chicken and waffles. "I'm still not sure about this..."
"You stare down Romulans on a regular basis, and a chicken and waffle dinner bothers you?"
"I promise you, Bones, I have NEVER heard of this. Never."
"He's never heard of chicken and waffles," Bones mused to the waitress who was showing them their table.
She turned her head to Jim, giving him a big 'd'awwww' sort of grin. "You're gonna love it, sugar," she told him, dropping off a basket of bread at their table before taking their order.
Half an hour later, she was back, looking over at the two men and their empty plates. "Anyone want to look at the dessert menu?" she asked, refilling their glasses with sweet tea and stacking up the empty plates.
Bones wiped his mouth with his napkin, and waited for Jim to answer. "Well?" he asked.
Jim tossed his own napkin down on the table. "I'm man enough to admit when I'm beat," he grinned, giving Bones a dirty look as he turned his face back up to the waitress. "It was delicious, all of it," he said slowly, "and I am stuffed."
"We have six-layer chocolate cake," she began reciting dutifully, as if she hadn't heard him. "Vanilla ice cream with a rada plum reduction, and our famous peach cobbler."
The two men looked at each other, Bones biting his lip and shaking his head, chuckling. "Chocolate cake and some cobbler," Jim groaned, as if the words were being pulled from him. "Wrapped to go, please."
As they left the building, their desserts tucked neatly into a bag, Bones nudged Jim with his shoulder as they walked down the street back to their hotel. When he got no response, he nudged Jim again.
"Okay, maybe not so weird after all."
For cso_spock - prompt: post-mission/older
Blessings - a future OT4 ficlet
(2297)
They stood out from the others, the four of them. Three children wasn't necessarily a large family among such a long-lived species as Vulcans, but having them so close together in age wasn't common.
But then again, neither was Spock's brood.
Leonard stood in the well outside the auditorium where the acceptance ceremony took place, just watching. Spock and Sovar in their formal robes, Silas in his best shirt and pants. Only T'Mira in her cadet reds stood out from the men, but standing there with her hands behind her at parade rest, she reminded him most of her father, so many years ago.
He felt someone settle next to him, but it wasn't Jim's voice. "T'Mira hoped he'd join her in San Fransisco."
"I'm a little surprised he didn't," he answered, knowing how close her two youngest children were.
"Silas wanted to stay close to home," Nyota gave a little chuckle as she linked arms with Leonard. "I don't think he likes space travel much."
Bones laughed at that. It shouldn't have been possible, with both Spock and Nyota's coloring, but Silas Jackson had his eyes. He knew that there was some genetic tweaking behind it and for that, more than anything, Leonard was eternally grateful to the two of them. "He looks so grown up," he murmured, his heart aching.
"It all happened too fast, Leo," she said sadly, knowing that he more than the others would understand.
She was right. "There is something wonderful and tragic about watching your baby grow up and away from you." He'd watched Joanna grow up into a beautiful woman, now with children of her own but he still mourned the missing years, when she was small. And now Jackson was all grown up.
"You can't understand how proud Spock is of him," Nyota told him. "He'd never admit it, but Jackson is the child of his heart. He would have allowed him almost any indulgence, but," she sighed, watching them talking quietly in the distance, "Jackson is the one who seemed to want his approval the most. I don't know who was more pleased when the notification came, being accepted into the VSA so young."
"He works hard." Had to, to keep up with the others, Leonard thought as he watched the four walk toward them. Sovar seemed so like his father, both men brilliant yet tempered by Nyota's gentleness. Then T'Mira, with just enough of Jim's genetics and genius to keep the family on their toes - no one surprised when she chose Starfleet. "You have a beautiful family, Nyota."
She took his hand, squeezing, her brown eyes bright with happy tears. "We have a beautiful family, Leo."
For kirk_george - prompt: snow
White Christmas
A white blanket covered the Mojave, as far as Leonard could see. His back was turned but he could tell George was staring at him, one eyebrow raised in a familiar look.
Leonard sighed and closed the door. "Okay, George. I'm sorry I ever doubted you," he said, turning to see the 'I told you so' look on his father-in-law's face. "Clearly, it snows in the desert."
"Of course it snows here, just like I said. I hope this teaches you a lesson," George laughed in his good-natured way. "Why would I make something like that up?" Standing, he opened up the closet door and started putting on some outwear. "C'mon." George tossed a jacket at him. "Let's go play in it. The horses need some exercise."
The air was crisp and cold as they stepped outside. "Jim will be pissed he missed it," Bones said, seeing his breath in the air around him. The rocks and brush all sparkled white with the snow cover, the cactus dazzling in the bright sunlight.
"Chris won't. He hates this stuff." George started heading to the stables, waving his arms around him. Clearly he loved this weather. "Serves them right for working while the rest of us are on vacation. Jim could have postponed the meeting a few da-" WHAP. George's words stopped as the snowball hit him square in the back of the head. Turning, he saw Bones packing more snow in his hands, making another ball and aiming it, this time at George's chest.
Soon the two of them were trading volleys back and forth, until they were out of breath from laughter. They spent the entire day outside in the snow, riding out along the edge of the property and back, discussing their last mission, their families. They talked about Jim, how he was really doing since that last away mission, the scary one. George told him what the latest physician recommended for Chris' back.
They were warm and drinking cocoa by the fire by the time Jim and Chris got back to the ranch, joining them with stories from the meeting. It was good, really good, and that night when Leonard stepped outside before heading to bed, he wished upon a star (he hoped it was a star and not some errant satellite) that maybe they'd be able to make it back to Earth for Christmas again sometime soon.
For lt_paula - prompt: ribbon
All Tied Up
"You could just use a gift bag, you know."
"Those are impersonal. There is nothing quite like the feeling of tearing open pretty paper from a present," she said from her chair, propped up by pillows so that her injured leg wouldn't be jostled too badly.
Giving her a look, Bones sighed and picked up another, handing it to her. "Well I know they have those little bows you can just stick on, you know. They're sticky."
She picked up his hand and put his finger back in place, tying an impossibly perfect looking bow on the gift. "This is more personal. Getting to untie the bow, feeling that sense of anticipation is like..."
"Foreplay?" Jim called out from his corner where he was wrapping packages. He lifted the small paper-covered box, inspecting the creases he'd just made and smiled approvingly. "Bones doesn't get stuff like that..."
Bones rolled his eyes at that, but then turned back to Paula. "This isn't sexual, is it? 'Cause-" he looked down at the gift and sighed. "That's a little perverted, even for me."
"It's not about sex," she told Leonard, picking up the present Jim handed to her, selecting a contrasting yellow ribbon to the dark blue paper Jim had selected.
Jim snorted, standing behind her and rubbing her shoulders. "You sure?" he asked, bending low to whisper in her ear. He leaned over her and grabbed at the ribbon Bones was using - "Hey!" - and covered her beautiful eyes with it. "C'mon, Bones... would you rather see her covered in a shapeless gift bag, or all that," he nodded at the piles of ribbons she was using.
Two hours later, Leonard had to agree that the colorful ribbons - in her hair, around her breasts, on Jim's dick, around his eyes - it was the process of unwrapping them, pulling at them until they fell apart and opened, and Bones knew he'd never look at a Christmas bow on a present the same way ever again.
For ltlbtovik - prompt: Bones introduces Nora to beer, and she introduces him to some strange alien rock music.
Pub Crawl
"What do you think?"
"I can't hear you," Leonard told Nora, watching as she pulled up a chair to his table in the corner of this nightmarish night club Jim had rented for the evening.
She just grinned at him as she sat down. "I said, what do you think?"
"I think I'm gonna be deaf if they don't turn this shit down." Leaning back in his chair, Leonard's eyes looked out in the crowd, where he could glimpse bits of the others dancing, enjoying their shore leave. Jim was having a great time, but that went without saying - Jim could make friends in a lion's den. Nyota and Christine were moving slowly together, and even Spock seemed to be enjoying himself, sliding gracefully to whatever it was that was playing.
"Why aren't you out there?" she asked him, and he sighed.
"I don't like this music."
She looked a little shocked at that admission. "This is great stuff! I mean, it might not be what you're used to, but its very good for Tellarite rock." Peering over at him from the lip of her bubbling drink, she asked, "What don't you like about it?"
He changed the subject. "Why are you drinking that stuff?" he asked, pointing at her glass of iridescent fizz. It faintly reminded him of old pictures of nuclear radioactive material.
"Because it tastes good," she hummed, punctuating that sentiment by taking a long sip from a straw.
"Do you even know what's in it? For all you know, it could kill you."
Nora choked a bit. "You're a real good time, you know that?" she said.
He arched an eyebrow, and she arched one right back. "I don't like dancing," he admitted. "And even if I did, this -" he pointed at the dance floor, "this isn't music. Shit, maybe I am getting old, but I can't even make out the beat."
"That's because there are," she listened carefully before continuing, "five separate beats going on. If you don't have the aural capacity to process all five at once, and its okay," she told him, "most Terrans can't, then you're supposed to just pick out one, and - well here." Nora picked up his hand and turned her head to the music. "Here's one," she said, tapping his hand against the tabletop to a quick three beat rhythm. "Tap-tap-tap, tap-tap-tap," she murmured, and after a few moments concentrating he could pick it out, like a colored thread among a group of white strings. "Then there's this one," she found another completely separate beat line, "this one's a four-count with some long notes in there." Tap- tap tap, tap tap, tap- tap tap, tap tap.
"How do you know this?"
"How don't you know this? Modern music, Doctor," she grinned at him again. "And I didn't just study every weekend. I had some fun on weekends at the Academy. You?"
"I was working." But he had fun when he was younger, sown his own wild oats in his youth... but listening to the beats of music wasn't something which he was even remotely interested. Looking back out at the floor, he could see the others in their group, and between her taps on his hand and the movement of their bodies, slowly he began detecting which beat each of his friends was following in their movements.
Nora's eyes were lighting up. "Come on, you know you want to," she said, tugging at his hand.
He snorted. "No."
"Please?"
Damn. He hated that look girls gave when they wanted something. "Look, I'll go out there if you promise to stop drinking that shit."
She stood up. "Done and done. Order me something better and then let's go."
"Sit down, I need another drink before I go break my neck out there." Leonard headed to the bar, coming back a few minutes later with two Budweiser Classics.
"Adventurous soul," she said wryly. "You do like taking chances, don't you?" she asked, looking at the familiar Earth beverage.
"At least I know what's in this. Barley, rice, and hops - grains, my dear, grains. Good old-fashioned processing, nothing that is gonna mess with your system." Handing one to Nora, he continued speaking. "They all come sealed, so you can watch the bartender uncap it. It's got a small neck, hard for someone to put something in your drink to mess with you." He took a long drink and waited for her to try it. "See?"
And try it she did, then made a face. "Ug."
"What?" he asked.
"It doesn't taste good."
"So what? It's damn near healthy for you, grains and shit. And," he told her standing, "that's the problem with all that fruity crap that tastes so good. Before you know it, you've had six or seven and your freinds are pouring you into my sickbay. This, you'll probably have two and not want any more."
"That makes no sense," she told him deadpan, but Leonard just grinned, taking another long sip. "But you know what else is nice about these bottles?" she asked. "Gives you something to hold on to so you can dance with your drink."
"I don't think that's safe."
"C'mon," she said, taking his arm and pulling him out onto the floor, and while he's not the most graceful dancer out on the floor, Leonard has to admit - its more fun that sitting and watching.
For kirktastic, who knows where this prompt came from. ♥
Atlanta
"You're weird."
"Its not weird."
"It's bizarre and weird."
Bones stopped walking long enough to face Jim. "Just because you haven't heard of something doesn't make it weird." Then Bones started walking fast again, a clue as to how excited he was about his 'mission'. "It's pretty popular around here, lots of people enjoy it." They'd been walking about ten minutes up and down the Atlanta streets, and Jim began to doubt whether Bones really knew where he was going or not. Then the doctor's eyes lit up as he spotted it. "I promise, Jim, you're gonna love it."
Jim followed him inside the old brick building, the walls covered with historical memorabilia, old photos of people sitting in the booths and tables. He trusted Bones, really, and on most topics of conversation. "I mean, I don't have to eat them at the same time, do I?"
Bones told the hostess he needed a table for two, then rolled his eyes at Jim. "No, of course not. They're just on the plate at the same time."
Sure enough, at that moment a man walked by carrying a tray with three plates on it, all of them full of fried chicken and waffles. "I'm still not sure about this..."
"You stare down Romulans on a regular basis, and a chicken and waffle dinner bothers you?"
"I promise you, Bones, I have NEVER heard of this. Never."
"He's never heard of chicken and waffles," Bones mused to the waitress who was showing them their table.
She turned her head to Jim, giving him a big 'd'awwww' sort of grin. "You're gonna love it, sugar," she told him, dropping off a basket of bread at their table before taking their order.
Half an hour later, she was back, looking over at the two men and their empty plates. "Anyone want to look at the dessert menu?" she asked, refilling their glasses with sweet tea and stacking up the empty plates.
Bones wiped his mouth with his napkin, and waited for Jim to answer. "Well?" he asked.
Jim tossed his own napkin down on the table. "I'm man enough to admit when I'm beat," he grinned, giving Bones a dirty look as he turned his face back up to the waitress. "It was delicious, all of it," he said slowly, "and I am stuffed."
"We have six-layer chocolate cake," she began reciting dutifully, as if she hadn't heard him. "Vanilla ice cream with a rada plum reduction, and our famous peach cobbler."
The two men looked at each other, Bones biting his lip and shaking his head, chuckling. "Chocolate cake and some cobbler," Jim groaned, as if the words were being pulled from him. "Wrapped to go, please."
As they left the building, their desserts tucked neatly into a bag, Bones nudged Jim with his shoulder as they walked down the street back to their hotel. When he got no response, he nudged Jim again.
"Okay, maybe not so weird after all."