The Perk | Saturday Afternoon

[pursuedthestars]

The last time Jim had been on the island had been when it'd been in full bloom and filled with all kinds of lustful students, teachers and townies. It hadn't been a bad time at all. Coming to the island today didn't evoke any of those feelings in him but he didn't mind all that much. It was still a good enough place to get away from his life back in Iowa.

He wandered into the Perk, flirted a bit with the pretty girl behind the counter before taking his drink and sliding smoothly into a seat near the window. He kicked one foot up into the air and slouched backwards. Being here was a nice way to run away from the issues back home. It was nice to ignore that he was going nowhere and doing nothing. Not that anyone knew that about him. He kept it pretty securely to himself.

It was a good way to try and not think about Starfleet and his father and how that seemed to be one of the few things that was actually keeping his attention. That wasn't supposed to happen. Not now, not ever.

Jim sighed and sipped the drink.

[Open]

Comments

[wrongkindofsith]

Cara tapped the window near Jim's head. Sure she could have just gone in to talk, but she wanted to get a reaction out of him.

[pursuedthestars]

At the sound of the tapping, Jim turned his head and was totally not surprised to see Cara standing there.

"You always seem to find me when I'm on the island," he said, raising his voice so she'd hear him.

[wrongkindofsith]

"It's a gift," Cara drawled, the effect being somewhat lost on account of the muffling. "Besides I didn't see you last time."

All things considered, that probably wouldn't have ended well.

[pursuedthestars]

"Last time?" Jim said, smirking. "You would have either kissed me or kneed him in the junk. Both would have been bad in the end."

[wrongkindofsith]

Cara started making her way into the building, because having an extended conversation like this was ridiculous. "You think there'd have been an 'or' involved with the knee?"

[pursuedthestars]

"Optimism," Jim said, shrugging. "I always have it."

[wrongkindofsith]

"Even if I hadn't." Cara sounded very doubtful about that. "You really think your charms would've worked on Surreal afterwards?"

Though it'd be amusing enough to to watch him try.

[pursuedthestars]

"Never know without trying," he replied, shrugging. "Maybe she's a teddy bear."

[wrongkindofsith]

Well, Cara certainly liked cuddling her at night. "Are those the ones that rip men's faces off with their claws?"

[pursuedthestars]

"Sure there are versions like that out there somewhere," he said, shrugging. "You sure do love bringing her up whenever I talk about flirting or anything close to it. Don't worry, I'm not gonna encroach. Don't want to."

[wrongkindofsith]

"Maybe I just like talking about her." Because Cara was very good at talking about things like that. Yes.

"It's not like I actually think she'd stab you." Threaten to, maybe. "You're not that irritating."

[pursuedthestars]

"So, talk about her," Jim requested. "And not in terms of what she'd do to me if I flirted or did something else untoward."

[wrongkindofsith]

But sex and violence were easy to talk about, which is probably why she shouldn't have given Jim the opening.

Cara focused on the tabletop, tracing patterns with one gloved finger. "I... like her." Sadly that was more than she'd managed to say to Surreal in the beginning.

[pursuedthestars]

"And that's a good thing," Jim told her, nodding. "Like her a lot?"

[wrongkindofsith]

You were worse than night-wisps, Jim. Or Kahlan.

Cara nodded, not trusting her voice.

[pursuedthestars]

Jim, for his part, didn't tease her. He just sat back and smiled.

"That's a good thing," he finally said. "You deserve it."

[wrongkindofsith]

Given the massive heaping of emotional insecurities that Cara was great at pretending didn't exist, she probably could have dealt better with teasing than someone telling her she deserved nice things.

"Who are you and what have you done with Jim?" she asked, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

[pursuedthestars]

"Um, I'm always nice," Jim told her, making a face at her before smiling again. "And you know it. And I care about my friends. I was happy for you. People deserve happiness."

[wrongkindofsith]

"Did I say you weren't?" Cara asked, and shrugged. "I just expected at least one joke." She was better at that than earnest.

[pursuedthestars]

"Not in the mood for jokes," he told her, shrugging. "Besides, I know what my joke would be answered with. A very blunt threat that would make me laugh and you scowl."

[wrongkindofsith]

"Like threatening you would do any good," Cara muttered. That would be due to a combination of his death and realising your threats against him were pretty empty.

"Why aren't you?" she asked, shifting to poke his lower leg with a foot. "I can't have made you that happy."

[pursuedthestars]

"Why are you questioning this?" he asked, kicking her foot lightly with his. "It's been a long couple of months. I was glad to hear something good."

[wrongkindofsith]

Cara rolled her eyes. "Because I care about my friends," she dryly parroted back. Largely because it was one of the few ways she could actually admit he was one aloud. "If I'm in a better mood than you something's wrong."

[pursuedthestars]

"Oh, I'm in a fine mood," he said, waving a hand at her. "Just glad to be away from home for awhile. It's boring there."

[wrongkindofsith]

Cara wasn't really buying that, Jim. "Not enough livestock around to practice seduction techniques on?"

One of them had to make jokes around here.

[pursuedthestars]

"Gross," Jim said, wrinkling his nose. "I don't want to know how you'd go around seducing people in my shoes. I prefer human or humanoid people to seduce, thank you."

[wrongkindofsith]

Successfully was how she'd do it. "So do I, but you were the one who said he was bored."

[pursuedthestars]

"I'll leave the farm animals to you since they're obviously on your mind," Jim told her. "Let you get the practice."

[wrongkindofsith]

Cara actually tried to kick his leg this time. Not particularly hard though.

[pursuedthestars]

"Stop it!" Jim said, feigning pain. He turned to the barista and said, "She's assaulting me. Mind banning her from this place forever?"

[wrongkindofsith]

"No use, I come in more often than you," Cara replied smugly.

Meanwhile, the barista was doing her best to ignore the two children masquerading as adults.

[pursuedthestars]

"That just means you need a hobby," Jim told her. "Spending all your time in a coffee shop? For shame."

[wrongkindofsith]

Jim-pot meet Cara-kettle. "And how exactly were you planning on spending the afternoon?"

[pursuedthestars]

"Drinking this and then heading home," Jim told here. "Probably drive around once I'm back there."

[wrongkindofsith]

Cara could see why he was bored. "And after that?"

[pursuedthestars]

Jim shrugged. "I don't make plans that far in advance. I enjoy spontaneity!"

[wrongkindofsith]

"You must have something you do." Cara might have had trouble filling her free time, but she at least had a daily routine and a whole two days a week accounted for.

[pursuedthestars]

"I find stuff to do," Jim told her, shrugging. "Maybe I'll go to a bar or a club. Maybe I'll see if my mother's in town so we can have dinner. Maybe I'll go to the gym but I just haven't made plans."

[wrongkindofsith]

"And that's it?" Cara asked. "No working on farms or whatever people do where you're from?"

[pursuedthestars]

"I'm hanging out." Yes, he knew how it sounded. "Please, like I'd work on a farm. I'm happy doing other things."

[wrongkindofsith]

He sounded like he should be clawing his skin off from distraction by now.

"I can believe that, but you don't seem to be doing them," Cara said. "Only a fool is happy with nothing to do, and death wish aside, I don't actually think you're one."

[pursuedthestars]

"You a psychologist now?" Jim asked her, tilting his head. "I'm fine."

[wrongkindofsith]

"I'm Mord'Sith, you think we don't know how to get inside a person's head?"

[pursuedthestars]

"Well, don't do that," Jim told her, making a face. "I'm fine."

[wrongkindofsith]

"I'm not asking if you're fine." Because she used the exact same tactic. "Are you happy?"

[pursuedthestars]

"Sure." He smiled pleasantly and leaned forward. "So happy."

[wrongkindofsith]

She didn't believe him. "Fine then."

[pursuedthestars]

She was smart but Jim wasn't going to tell her that. Instead, he sat back and toasted her with his drink.

"Cheers!"