three sheets to the wind [open]

[first_donoharm]

After the endless stream of hungover officers, the emotional confusion that had been Ensign Martine and Lieutenant Romaine, the always-draining conversation with Jim, and the absolute clusterfuck of a confrontation with Spock in the officer's lounge, McCoy well and truly needed a drink. Maybe five. He wasn't sure yet how many he needed, but he'd

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[first_donoharm]

There was some sort of movement at the door Bones didn't really follow, and then Janice was there. "Janice!" he said, throwing his arms out. "Excellent, another fine woman with expertise." He favored the Yeoman with a rare lopsided smile. After all, she'd been the one to bring him coffee. Bones didn't forget things like that, and made a point to make sure she settled in with a drink. She was the lowest-ranking officer in the group, and he didn't want her feeling uncomfortable.

Then, he was hit with a Kirkian-idea. He grinned at his best friend over everyone's heads. He grinned the grin he gave Jim right before proposing they somehow find a way to change regulation skirt length to be an inch shorter. (And, two months later, they did, but that was another story.)

"Ladies, you all say you can drink me under the table. You all had the foolish notion to challenge me. Well, you've said your piece, now I'll say mine." Without further ado and thanking his granddaddy for teaching him the good old ways, Bones took a shot and-- head still back from the first-- opened his mouth and with the other hand threw back a second. For a long moment he let the alcohol hit his system, then tilted his head back down, opened his eyes, and slowly smiled at the women watching him.

"Challenge accepted, darlin'," he told Angela, voice low and rough from the shots.

[setphasersto]

"Excellent!" she approved with a grin. He had a solid head start, and Angela half hoped he would get blacked-out and pass out so she could win by default. She ignored the fact that he seemed to be drunk enough that he was hitting on all the women, because it was kind of weird.

Angela lined up her own shot, and tossed it back. "Okay, but here's the thing. We can just sit around like a bunch of alcoholic losers and do shots all night, or we can have fun."

She paused (which she imagined to be for dramatic effect. "We should play a game." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. She was also pretty sure it was the best idea she'd had all night.

[first_donoharm]

People tended to forget that Bones grew up in the deep South, where drinking was not only a pastime but an art. Alcoholism, he thought wryly in the voice of his gran, ain't nothin' but a family thang. But thankfully, it also gave him the upper hand during aggressive plays at bars. Or, in this case, captain's quarters.

"I've played games you haven't even heard of, missy," he told her, accent slurring his words together into a constant drawl. "List the rules, name the stakes. Ain't a game you can name me an' Jim haven't beat 'afore."

Which was, for all intents and purposes, true. While Bones couldn't match Jim for women, he could more than keep up in the booze department. Some of their craziest ideas had been in the midst of extraordinary benders.

[thecaptainkirk]

Jim laughed so hard he was shaking, listening to his two friends challenge each other to drinks. Angela acted with Bones unlike anyone he'd ever hooked up with; acknowledging Bones was there, but not demanding Jim choose between the two of them. She could hang out as a friend - that part was new.

"We absolutely should," Jim agreed, throwing an arm around Angela's shoulder and toasting to Bones' apparent agreement. Bones was right, he and Jim had played them all and tended to win. By a lot. And drinking games were like...instant bonding. "Pick your poison." He stood up to get another bottle from his mini-bar, so there would be enough for continued shots, and bring it back to the table.

[sonofsarek]

Spock contemplated the possibility of a game, though he was certain it was nothing like the complex strategy games he preferred while sober. There was no way in hell he would be able to think straight enough for anything like that anyhow, and by the looks of his wobbling crew mates, they weren’t going to be able to either. Besides, humans preferred their games to be fun and not challenging, which Spock found quite lame.

“Twenty-first century drinking games include Never Have I Ever, Kings Cup, Fuck the Dealer,” he said that one carefully. “and Quarters.” His research usually came in handy, and he sat there with his arms folded over his chest, looking as smug as a stoic Vulcan drunk off his ass could (while not falling over).

[miraromaine]

With a few drinks already circulating through her system, Mira sat back, smiling at the enthusiasm coming from everyone.

Then, as Spock expertly listed off his knowledge of Twenty-first century drinking games, she couldn't help but laugh out loud. She knew all of those games, but there was one he hadn't mentioned- one she was always the most fond of, especially during her own academy days.

"I'm impressed, Commander," she said, "But I think you left out one of the best games- Chicken." She turned away from the inebriated Vulcan, and looked over at Bones with a flicker of mischief in her eyes. "And the rules: basically the same truth-or-dare, only you can refuse to participate if you drink instead." She ended her suggestion, smirking, challenging the rest of her crewmates to play.

[setphasersto]

"Yes!" Angela agreed with Mira, a little more enthusiastically than was really needed. "That sounds like an excellent game!"

She raised an eyebrow, surveying her companions. "One important question: who is up first?" Her eyes stopped on Kirk. "Jim, you're the Captain. I think you should be in charge of the first round. It's Starfleet regulation 4747.69," she announced, and wondered if there really was a 4747.69.

[first_donoharm]

Chicken was one of the more popular games at the Academy, as more than half the campus had egos the size of planets and enjoyed proving how tough or strong they were. Bones liked to take advantage of those people; it was just preparing them for the real world. He was doing them a favor, really.

On the other hand, chicken tended to get out of hand when Jim Kirk was involved. The time Bones had shaved his head... the time Jim climbed naked onto the library roof... There wasn't much in the way of things they hadn't done during chicken, now he thought about it.

Bones was pretty sure there was a Starfleet regulation 4747.69, but he was also pretty sure it had to do with the standard-issue toiletries. Still, he wasn't going to call the young Ensign on it without proof unless someone else could back him up on it.

Turning to the Vulcan, who still had an arm thrown around Bones, he said, "Isn't that regulation about toiletries? I think it is. You've got all 'em memorized, right?"

[sonofsarek]

It must have been an odd sight seeing Spock sloppily draped over Bones and neither of them caring to change that. Get a few drinks in him and some of that Vulcan inhibition went away, something he had overheard Jim refer to as being a ‘cheap date’. Spock failed to understand the Earth analogy.

Even with some of his ability to think logically being shot his memory still remained. “Regulation 4747.69 states that standard issue bath towels not be used for locker room horseplay, including but not limited to ‘rat tailing’. Though I don’t thoroughly understand the purpose of it.

[first_donoharm]

"Ah!" he pointed a finger at Angela. "See, knew he would know it!" He turned to grin at Spock. "Bet you know all sortsa things. How many digits of pi do you know?" Bones had to stop and think about all the useless information that was probably stored in Spock's head. It was a bit overwhelming. "You probably never forget a birthday, though," Bones said, a continuation of his thoughts. "Do Vulcans celebrate birthdays? We have cakes. And candles. And sometimes hats." Completely oblivious and lost in thought, Bones started thinking about the last birthday party he went to, Jo's second. She'd been so damn adorable in her sundress. He smiled, softly, thinking about how happy she'd been.

[sonofsarek]

Spock thought for a second, saying digits of pie to himself, which were actually being murmured by him out loud also. “3.1415926535897932384626433832795… Uh most places? I believe I’ve only made it to 100,000 but I could calculate it for you if you require?”

Pauses for a little too long thinking about birthdays. “When I was a boy on Vulcan, my father told me the festivities my mother engaged in on my birthday were of Earth origin. Sometimes…there were hats.”

[first_donoharm]

"Alright, Spock, I believe you," Bones laughed at the Vulcan's rapid recitation. How he could just recall that when so obviously drunk was beyond him. "I don't require anything." He reconsidered. "Well. Maybe another drink. Hand that cup over."

He raised an eyebrow at that. "Do you have different birthdays because of the differing calendars?" Bones didn't even know how he formed that sentence, let alone articulated it. He hated when Spock mentioned his mother. It made Bones feel horrible, like watching a patient waste away. "In the south, Spock, we'd say: your mom, she was a class act." It was the least he could offer.

[thecaptainkirk]

Multiple shots later, a tipsy Jim Kirk was putting the alcohol down for a second. Chicken was an excellent idea. This was crew bonding in the best, most unexpected way. The only way it could be better, he thought with a smile, was if Angela were still in the bedsheet.
"Nope, definitely says highest ranking officer gets to ask first. So," he said, turning to Angela. Because he was curious about her. "Angela. Truth or dare, ready go."

[setphasersto]

She grinned wide at him, and took a moment to consider. "Shit, okay, I pick dare," Angela declared.

[thecaptainkirk]

Of course she picked dare when he'd been hoping for truth. Jim leaned back a bit in his chair, thinking, looked down, then looked back up with a smile on his face. "C'mere," he said, gesturing at her. "You're sitting in my lap for the next three turns." He was the captain, he was allowed to be selfish sometimes.

[sonofsarek]

"Captain, the particulars of this game escape me, but don't dares require things the opponent would typically not do voluntarily?" Spock asked, a bit confused.