August 22 - First Day
Title: First Day
Author: koohii_cafe
Rating: FR7
Crossover: BtVS/Star Trek: The Original Series
Disclaimer: Since I am a poor chickadee with no wealth to speak of, I think it's safe to say that neither BtVS nor Star Trek: The Original Series are mine. ^^;
Written for: TtH August Fic A Day Challenge
Summary: She was the new kid on the block all over again, except this time there wasn’t anyone waiting for her, no Willow to find later and talk to about how their first day had gone, no mom to call and report back, no Xander waiting at the Bronze later.
Author's notes: Part of my 'Bound in Story' series.
~*~*~*~*~
She was carried along by the crowd, cadets pushing here or there as they scurried towards the dormitories, the administrative buildings, the classrooms, the training facilities- wherever their destination lay. It reminded her all too much of her first day at University of California: Sunnydale, and she had a moment of homesickness. She was the new kid on the block all over again, except this time there wasn’t anyone waiting for her, no Willow to find later and talk to about how their first day had gone, no mom to call and report back, no Xander waiting at the Bronze later.
Except- that wasn’t quite true, was it? Winona had told her to call that evening, after she’d been through her first day, and she knew Peter would be eager to talk to her too, since he’d been considering going to the Academy himself. Leonard had made her promise to send him a message, since he was going to be out of contact for awhile, and- then there was Jim.
And- literally, there was Jim. The crowd of cadets was parting like the sea before Moses, a murmur of whispers and awed exclamations, and he was moving towards her in the midst of it all. His look was formal, in his admiral’s uniform, although there was a hint of a smile playing around his lips, obvious to anyone who knew him, and Buffy certainly knew him well enough to catch it. Part of her wanted to groan, because the way the other cadets were staring at him, she knew that the fact that he was going to come over and talk to her, the new girl in town, was going to leave an impression, but really, she was happy to see him.
“Cadet,” he intoned as he approached her, the other cadets watching with undisguised interest and curiosity and, remembering herself, her new status, and his rank, Buffy straightened and saluted, only half trying to hide her smile. He nodded and added, “At ease, Mr. Summers.”
“Thank you, Admiral,” she answered, and the words felt strange to say. He was Jim, not ‘Admiral,’ except here, in this new path she’d chosen for herself, he was both. A high ranking officer in the military force she was going to train to be part of, and her friend Jim, the man who’d brought her back from hell and helped her settle into this world. And at the same time that it felt strange to address her friend like that, to salute to him, it also felt weird to salute at all.
“Walk with me, Cadet,” he asked, a shine of amusement and understanding in his eyes, as if he knew how weird she felt with the interaction, and he probably did. She’d told him about her past, about how things had gone with the Initiative, and he knew that she had been a leader- a general- for so long. But here she was only a cadet, one of many, and she was going to have to work her way through Academy and through the ranks the way he himself- and everyone in Starfleet- had.
“Yes sir.” And, as the volume of the whispers grew around them, she stepped into place beside him and followed as he led them off through the crowd, and she thought she remembered seeing gardens this way, places where they could perhaps get a moment of privacy to talk. A mere cadet, someone nobody knew, being led off by a legendary captain turned admiral. Oh yeah, this was going to be quite the impression to make on her first day, but she found she didn’t care. She was going to work her way through the Academy on her own merit, not by riding the coattails of the famous admiral she called friend, and anyone who tried to judge her based on who she knew could get over themselves. Jim was her friend, just like Winona and Peter and Leonard were, and that was all that mattered.
Author: koohii_cafe
Rating: FR7
Crossover: BtVS/Star Trek: The Original Series
Disclaimer: Since I am a poor chickadee with no wealth to speak of, I think it's safe to say that neither BtVS nor Star Trek: The Original Series are mine. ^^;
Written for: TtH August Fic A Day Challenge
Summary: She was the new kid on the block all over again, except this time there wasn’t anyone waiting for her, no Willow to find later and talk to about how their first day had gone, no mom to call and report back, no Xander waiting at the Bronze later.
Author's notes: Part of my 'Bound in Story' series.
~*~*~*~*~
She was carried along by the crowd, cadets pushing here or there as they scurried towards the dormitories, the administrative buildings, the classrooms, the training facilities- wherever their destination lay. It reminded her all too much of her first day at University of California: Sunnydale, and she had a moment of homesickness. She was the new kid on the block all over again, except this time there wasn’t anyone waiting for her, no Willow to find later and talk to about how their first day had gone, no mom to call and report back, no Xander waiting at the Bronze later.
Except- that wasn’t quite true, was it? Winona had told her to call that evening, after she’d been through her first day, and she knew Peter would be eager to talk to her too, since he’d been considering going to the Academy himself. Leonard had made her promise to send him a message, since he was going to be out of contact for awhile, and- then there was Jim.
And- literally, there was Jim. The crowd of cadets was parting like the sea before Moses, a murmur of whispers and awed exclamations, and he was moving towards her in the midst of it all. His look was formal, in his admiral’s uniform, although there was a hint of a smile playing around his lips, obvious to anyone who knew him, and Buffy certainly knew him well enough to catch it. Part of her wanted to groan, because the way the other cadets were staring at him, she knew that the fact that he was going to come over and talk to her, the new girl in town, was going to leave an impression, but really, she was happy to see him.
“Cadet,” he intoned as he approached her, the other cadets watching with undisguised interest and curiosity and, remembering herself, her new status, and his rank, Buffy straightened and saluted, only half trying to hide her smile. He nodded and added, “At ease, Mr. Summers.”
“Thank you, Admiral,” she answered, and the words felt strange to say. He was Jim, not ‘Admiral,’ except here, in this new path she’d chosen for herself, he was both. A high ranking officer in the military force she was going to train to be part of, and her friend Jim, the man who’d brought her back from hell and helped her settle into this world. And at the same time that it felt strange to address her friend like that, to salute to him, it also felt weird to salute at all.
“Walk with me, Cadet,” he asked, a shine of amusement and understanding in his eyes, as if he knew how weird she felt with the interaction, and he probably did. She’d told him about her past, about how things had gone with the Initiative, and he knew that she had been a leader- a general- for so long. But here she was only a cadet, one of many, and she was going to have to work her way through Academy and through the ranks the way he himself- and everyone in Starfleet- had.
“Yes sir.” And, as the volume of the whispers grew around them, she stepped into place beside him and followed as he led them off through the crowd, and she thought she remembered seeing gardens this way, places where they could perhaps get a moment of privacy to talk. A mere cadet, someone nobody knew, being led off by a legendary captain turned admiral. Oh yeah, this was going to be quite the impression to make on her first day, but she found she didn’t care. She was going to work her way through the Academy on her own merit, not by riding the coattails of the famous admiral she called friend, and anyone who tried to judge her based on who she knew could get over themselves. Jim was her friend, just like Winona and Peter and Leonard were, and that was all that mattered.