A Bar Somewhere in Iowa | Thursday FT

[pursuedthestars]

Christmas had been a quiet affair so Jim was hoping the New Year's Eve would be less so. He'd invited McCoy along with him but the older man had begged off, saying he was too old for this shit or something. Uhura and Spock were spending time together so it was just Jim and a bar full of people he didn't know.

He was about two drinks in and he'd taken up residence in a corner booth in the back, sitting there alone. There were tons of beautiful women around and he just didn't want to flirt with them right now. Maybe after he got drunk he'd be better prepared but right now, he just wanted to be alone.

[NFB but open]

Comments

[pursuedthestars]

"Envy," he said in exasperation. "Sorry, a name change is bound to have some mistakes attached. I knew you as Natalie for a long time."

[whenshewasnice]

"Mm."

She didn't seem pleased. But she let it go, because at least he wasn't trying to argue the point with her. Everyone was allowed at least one slip-up.

Well, some people, anyway.

She brought the glass to her lips, and glanced away. "There's not much to tell. We fought, we broke up. No more band and no more relationship. It's over. They're both over."

[pursuedthestars]

"I'm sorry," Jim said and meant it. "You love music, though. Are you not doing that anymore at all? Not even on your own?"

[whenshewasnice]

"Of course I'm doing music." She didn't say that unkindly or snappishly. It was that old favourite: a factual statement. "I just don't have a band anymore."

Or the clear trajectory that one could give you.

[pursuedthestars]

Jim nodded. "It's too bad you don't have a band. You were good. I liked seeing you do things that didn't require you to sit behind a desk."

[whenshewasnice]

"What's wrong with sitting behind a desk?"

That was a little more insincere now than it would've been just a relatively short while ago. Or a lot more. She'd gotten a glimpse of something else in her future, something that was hers and not in the shadow of another brilliant person.

She was struggling with letting it go.

[pursuedthestars]

"Nothing," he told her, shaking his head. "You just looked good up on the stage. That's all."

[whenshewasnice]

"Mm." Well, at least she looked vaguely pleased at him for saying that. It appealed to her ego.

(She belonged on that damn stage.)

"Anyway," she said after a pause, "how have you been? What've you been doing?"

[pursuedthestars]

"Nothing as exciting as you," Jim said, shrugging. "Drills, training, learning. Boring stuff."

[whenshewasnice]

Envy looked quietly amused.

"Is it really that boring?"

[pursuedthestars]

"It can be," Jim said, shrugging. "I'd rather be doing stuff than just sitting on my ass."

[whenshewasnice]

"I thought maybe you were just too intelligent for it."

Flattery had its uses. She sipped her drink once more.

[pursuedthestars]

"Well, I am," Jim said, smirking at her. "Still gotta do it if I wanna get my own command. One heroic act isn't enough for Starfleet apparently."

[whenshewasnice]

"Well, I'm sure you have plenty still up your sleeve, Jim," she replied, tilting her head. Her feet shifted under the table. "Just have to tough it out with the necessary evils. Even if they're beneath you."

[pursuedthestars]

"What are you doing here tonight, Envy?" Jim asked her quietly. "What's going on?"

[whenshewasnice]

Envy's gaze was steady. Her voice bordered on sweet. (It made it a little insincere. It was also the kind of tone that made a lot of people forgive that.) "Like, do I have an ulterior motive? I'm not allowed to just come see my friends?"

[pursuedthestars]

"You're allowed," he said, finishing his drink and sitting back. "Do you have ulterior motives, though?"

[whenshewasnice]

"You're very pretty and I like you?" she offered lightly.

It was better than saying she was sad and lonely.

[pursuedthestars]

"There was a question mark at the end of that sentence," Jim pointed out easily.

[whenshewasnice]

"Because I was offering that up as an explanation," she replied without getting flustered. "Would you like to hear it without one?"

She leaned forward towards him.

"You're very pretty, and I like you."

[pursuedthestars]

"That's very good," Jim told her, smiling easily. "Are you here to celebrate the new year with me or just for a drink?"

[whenshewasnice]

Envy's red lips curved back into a smirk. "Oh, the first thing," she said. "I wouldn't have bothered just for a simple drink."

[pursuedthestars]

"I was just going to sit here and drink one year into the next," Jim told her, smiling at that smirk. "You got better ideas?"

[whenshewasnice]

Of course she did. She was piling them on top of the hole in her chest.

Her smile had that predatory tilt again. "You, me, champagne, hotel room, and this dress on the floor."

[pursuedthestars]

"You think you can get a hotel tonight?" Jim wondered, arching an eyebrow. "Seems to be a popular thing to do. Might be booked."