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

Comments

[thecaptainkirk]

Not too much of a big deal, because Kirk was already shirtless after having given his to Angela earlier in the evening, when everyone had walked in on them - and, okay, no, not a thought he was allowed to have when he was about to be taking his pants off in front of more than a few of his officers.

He stood, hands on his pants fastenings and smirk planted firmly across his face. Opening the top buttons and zipper, Kirk's smile and hands came to a frozen halt. In their haste to dress, he had absolutely put his pants on without boxers, and he saw Angela in them moments later. Taking off his pants would leave Jim...absolutely naked. While part of him screamed at him to do it anyway - nothing he was embarrassed about, for sure.

But maybe this time, this time there were some things he shouldn't do. Like get naked in front of more members of his crew; Bones had already seen him naked, as had Angela, and he wasn't concerned about Spock's reaction. Mira and Janice, though...no. "Party foul, Spock," he announced sadly, buttoning and zipping his pants back up, "there's nothing under the pants. Nobody's getting a free show until I have a lot more alcohol in me." Personally toasting to that, he poured half a tumbler of whiskey and downed it, self-punishment for being the first to step out of a dare.

[sonofsarek]

The gracious acceptance of defeat was not one he expected, but the choice was certainly the one he hoped his Captain would make. Spock ignored the fact that he only resisted meeting the challenge due to a technical issue. He nodded in Jim’s direction and raised his own glass to drink with the man who just gained a little bit more of his respect.

“Hmm…so your truth. Was it you who pumped Orion pheromones into the male instructor dorm’s ventilation system in 2257?” The whole incident had been horrendous, and since the day he first heard Jim Kirk’s name he had wondered if it was him.

[first_donoharm]

Bones had watched the exchange between Spock and Jim with growing concern. First, it was because he knew he'd pissed off the Vulcan right and proper, and taking it out on Jim was funny but unfair. But then Jim, of course, had picked dare, and Spock, obviously had picked something so double-sided and calculating it made Bones head hurt.

Desperately, Bones began shouting to Jim in his head, hoping somehow his friend would hear. It had worked in the past, their close ties making them able to nearly read each others thoughts. Think about Pike, Jim. Think about our home -- we can't lose the Enterprise, not now. Not because of Spock. All this, and much more, Bones tried to relate to Jim as he stared at the man.

And then, he turned to glare daggers at the Vulcan. This was supposed to be a fun game, not some twisted moral test. Only someone as unfeeling as Spock would ever consider this an acceptable dare. "You never cease to amaze me, Commander," he said with all the respect he'd give an earthworm. "I knew we'd see that compassionate heart some day. Using us as ethics lab rats-- that's just so damn adorable" he growled, anything but amused. Bones didn't honestly care if he was picking a fight with Spock; he couldn't just sit by and watch the damn Hobgoblin manipulate his best friend like this. It just wasn't in his nature to keep quiet if he had something to say. As Spock had quickly figured out, Bones usually did.

Spock's follow-up question made him nearly forget his anger, if only because that was one of Jim and Bones' finest moments at the Academy. Bones had never minded when people assumed their pranks had just all Jim, and Bones had only tagged along to nag. They'd never know it was Bones who'd gotten a hold of the pheromones in the first place by setting up a weeks-log con where he convinced various labs across the country he was conducting a tremendous experiment and needed the pheromones from all of them. Really, how did people think Jim got away with it all? Now, Spock was assuming the same thing, underestimating Bones like so many others before him. Smiling into his drink, Bones sat back and enjoyed listening to Jim's voice weave the story.

[yeoman_jan]

Janice had quietly faded into the back ground during the game of Truth or Dare. It was quite amusing seeing the others interact. She wasn't nearly as intoxicated as the rest of the group, so she was sure she would most likely be one of the few who would remember the entire events at this happenstance meeting.

Janice was content with being a spectator as no one had challenged her yet. That's not to say she would say no if asked, she just wasn't over-eager to play as the rest of the crowd.

Her ears perked up when she heard mention of the Orion Pheromone incident. She wasn't at the academy of course, but she had heard about it through one of her girl friends an even that was second hand knowledge. It would be very interesting to hear a first hand account, especially from the possible mastermind behind the famous prank.

[thecaptainkirk]

Jim listened with joy as Spock announced his truth. It was, as most of the big pranks that he was blamed for were, absolutely his fault. He and Bones. The two had just been absolutely excellent - meticulous, even - in making sure most of the shenanigans they pulled couldn't be traced back to them. That didn't mean they weren't mostly blamed on him by others at the Academy, and that sure as hell didn't mean that Jim any less than thrived on the attention that blame brought him.

"All you need to know, gentlemen," he announced, adding a hasty 'and ladies' when Angela shifted in his alp, "is that our good Doctor here is a genius, and yes. There was a...there was a friend, at the Academy, showed me a map of the building the dorms were in. Found the ducts that controlled their wing, released it into their air systems." He sat back with his whiskey, proud of himself, and met Spock's eye. Jim Kirk, outright admitting to serious rulebreaking at the Academy. He wasn't sure how much Bones wanted credit for the prank, and smiled at his friend to elaborate if he wanted to admit his part out loud.

"Now, Yeoman," he said after a moment of looking around the table for a perfect next victim turn, and seeing Janice, who had come in late. "You haven't had the pleasure yet. Truth or dare?"

[yeoman_jan]

Janice smiled to herself. She was amused seeing the captain so proud of his antics back at the academy.

She was a bit surprised when Kirk called her next in the game, although she should have expected it. "Hmmmm," Janice thought, biting her lip slightly. "I choose..... dare." She was feeling a bit adventurous. Hopefully she wouldn't regret this decision.

[thecaptainkirk]

Jim only had to think for a second. One of his default dares, for people he was hesitant to go hard on so soon. Janice was still new to the game, and she hadn't drank nearly enough for the serious business dares yet.

"Janice," he said, finally able to use his hands so he could start sipping his straight drink again while he talked. "Sing us your favorite 20th or 21st century song. As much of it as you can remember." It was 200 years later, but Jim knew they all knew a song or two left over from an old movie or data disc.

[yeoman_jan]

There were so many different genres of music during the 20th and 21st century to choose from. Janice sang very well, but was somewhat shy about singing in front of others. She thought for a moment before standing up.

"Okay. My dad used to sing this to me when I was little. It always made me smile." Janice clear her throat. She started softly at first, but grew louder as she sang. "I've got sunshine, on a cloudy day. When it's cold outside, I've got the month of May." She thought of her father and it was hard to keep a smile from creeping on her face. "Well, I guess you'd say, what can make me feel this way? My girl. Talking 'bout my girl."

When she finished, Janice's cheeks flushed and she looked down embarrassed. She returned to her seat and took a sip of her drink.

Now it was her turn to pick someone. Angela hadn't been picked in awhile. "Alright. How about you, Angela. Truth or Dare?"

[setphasersto]

Angela's attention had started to drunkenly drift while the others had all take their turns. And now that Jim was free to use his hands, he was once again a distraction as playful teased her and put his arms around her.

So when it was her turn again, Angela'a face lit up. "Oooh!" she exclaimed, and without any hesitation, declared her choice. "Dare!"

[yeoman_jan]

"Okay, Angela. Go around the room and give everyone a kiss on the cheek," Janice said. She looked at the captain and winked, "And ONLY the cheek."

[setphasersto]

She looked at Janice, then Jim, and back to Janice, pouting a little. "No problem," she announced, and slid from Jim's lap.

Her eyes surveyed the room, stopping briefly on Spock, Fuck! and then again on Bones. Fuck again! Janice was crafty, and despite the dare being far less humiliating than the others handed out, it was terrible in its own way.

Janice, having dealt out the prank was the first to get a kiss, follow by Mira (as Angela had decided that was the next least awkward). Scotty had joined them, though in her drunken haze Angela didn't remember when, and he got a kiss too.

She approached Spock, and stood for a moment just looking at him. He'd gotten her good with the truth, and she was torn between being impressed at how crafty he was and being annoyed. Angela narrowed her eyes at him a little, before making a big production of planting a wet kiss on his cheek, complete with sound effects.

Now, there was the matter of Bones, that bastard. He didn't seem to like her, and well, Angela didn't like being disliked. She smirked at the pantless doctor, and warned him, "Don't get used to this," before kissing him as well.

With that, she returned to Jim's lap, and she planted a final chaste kiss on his cheek. "Well played, Janice," said said, and flashed a grin at the Yeoman. The Ensign had no intention of being so nice, and looked for her next victim.

"Spock," she said, "Truth or dare?" If he was going to play dirty, then she was going to get him back.

[sonofsarek]

He had locked eyes with Angela as she hovered above him and they both exchanged their disdain. At least, Spock was trying to portray his disdain but the room was definitely spinning and looking up wasn’t helping his wobbly self. When her lips met his cheek the only concern that was running through his mind is exactly where those lips might have been just a few hours earlier when her and Kirk were alone. He shuddered a little and kept his stoic and unamused stare as he wiped the remnants of her kiss away with his uniform shirt (if he used his hands it would have been 10 times more disgusting, thank you, Vulcan physiology).

When Angela said his name he knew that was not a good sign. He softened his features and gave her his usual stoic stare, albeit at the moment it was a little bit buzzed.

“….Truth.” He tried not to overanalyze it. She was going to mess with him either way.

[setphasersto]

Ha! Angela had hoped for him to say that. She knew exactly what to ask. She was going to enjoy this.

"Commander, I don't know how familiar you are with my academic records, but I was never a TA at the Academy." She paused, and took a moment to smile at him. "I understand that being a TA brings certain benefits for undergraduate students like access to special labs and additional course credits. So I'm hoping you can clear something up for me: is sex with the course instructor a typical privilege for TAs?"

[sonofsarek]

The question itself was sobering for him, even keeping the Ensign’s snide way of wording it aside. The fact of the matter is that was something that bothered him more even he realized. He spent so much time in his life doing what was logical, which in turn for him was right, except this one thing.

He leaned forward in his seat, resting his elbows on his knees as he closed his eyes and exhaled for a moment. The only person close enough to hear the annoyed, almost growl-like sound he emitted was probably Bones but he tried not to think about anyone else in the room. He wanted to just pretend he was talking to the curious, annoying and extremely clever Ensign.

A long, long moment went by before his eyes opened, fixated on her and slightly narrowed. He lifted his glass from the table, poured additional spirits into it and downed its entirety while never letting his gaze falter from Angela. Of course, she wasn’t one to falter under his Vulcan stare either.

This would be easier if he just told the truth.

“I took notice of her because of her academic achievements and the Xenolinguistics department’s need for an assistant in Advanced Phonology.” He dropped his gaze as he spoke. Angela’s eyes on him were making him anxious in his intoxicated state. “We had discussions together and she gave me an intimate gesture and I returned it. Much like any other couple would. I enjoyed her company, and I think in our species copulation is a predictable outcome of mutual attraction regardless of rank.”

He was not judgmental or harsh with his words, just sincere. Sitting back against the couch with his arms crossed over his chest and still staring down at the table before them while avoiding the searching eyes of his friends, or who he believed to be friends, he continued the games proceedings.

“Bones, truth or dare?”

[first_donoharm]

Bones had no idea if it was the incredible amount of alcohol he'd drunk, or some toxin in the air, or maybe having to watch Jim and Angela all over each other... he had no idea why, but for some reason he kept feeling the impulse to protect Spock from these intimate questions. First Jim, then Angela-- and both times, McCoy felt a hot spike of anger and sympathy in the pit of his stomach for the Vulcan beside him. It wasn't at all pleasant, and it was damn confusing; the dare he made Spock do hadn't exactly been kind. But it hadn't been personal either.

For all Bones enjoyed antagonizing Spock, he'd always done it to make Spock acknowledge and embrace his human side. When Bones looked across the table to the couple so obliviously wrapped in each other, he saw two people that didn't understand what it was like to struggle with their emotions. Jim and Angela had plenty of feelings, in fact were overflowing with them; they got swept away in them, but never tried to really understand them. And that was okay, they didn't have to; only now, Bones could see (hell, he could nearly feel) the hurt they were causing Spock.

Bones wanted nothing more than to comfort his fellow Science Officer. A part of himself hated that. The rest of him knew, with a sense of dread, this was just the beginning.

"Dare." Maybe causing Bones embarrassment would cheer Spock up. It wasn't as if he had any dignity left to lose.

[sonofsarek]

The level of discomfort that the sharing of personal information with people he didn’t necessarily know what well made the amusement level reduce in everyone. He didn’t even have to look around to room to feel it coming off of them. Getting a good dare in would help this.

But when he looked over to McCoy to give him the dare, he stopped and observed his reaction. He was still quite drunk and staring at him with a sad sort of look that he couldn’t put his finger on. He tried not to read the Doctors turbulent emotions usually for fear of being as confused as he was now when he tried to interpret them.

“Are you alright, Doctor?” The possibility of empathy was completely ruled out by him. Empathy for the personal boundaries of a Vulcan by a Human was illogical. Even Spock’s drunk ass realized that. The Doctor didn’t seem to share that sentiment.

“Well then, Bones, I wish to observe this courting process methodology that you refer to as ‘Southern Gentlemanly Charm’.” A smirk, which could be easily mistaken for a smile, grew wide on his face. “However, I wish for you to perform this demonstration on our good Captain.”