Welcome to the Liar, Liar series! This is the second story, which is actually a series of short glimpses that together paint a picture of Captain James T. Kirk and how he presents himself to the world.
Disclaimer: Don't own it, am not profiting from it, do not intend to otherwise publish it. Go stifle creativity elsewhere.
This is a follow-up (per many gracious requests) to Comfortable Lie.
Title: Easy Smiles, Hard Eyes
Characters: Kirk, Bones, Spock, Uhura, various crew and guests
Rating: T (in cautionary prep for later chapters)
Summary: The lies come easy to Jim. The truth, not so much.
-Chapter One-
I'm Not Okay
Jim sits in the captain's chair, sprawled comfortably across it, keeping a proud eye on his bridge crew.
Dead bodies with painfully familiar faces, screams that echo endlessly around him.
They're safe.
Failure roiling in his chest, throat sore from screaming in agony, not at his own pain but at theirs, tears burning behind his eyes.
Of course they are. They weren't down there on the godforsaken planet with him. They were up in orbit, safe aboard the Enterprise, working to find him the whole time.
Harsh painful light as the line between reality and simulation is clearly drawn. Clinging desperately to one of many he never thought he'd see again.
"…Okay, Jim?"
"It's okay, Jim. It's okay."
"Jim, are you okay?"
"No." Not remotely.
"Just fine, Bones. Scotty, how're those patch jobs holding up?"
If he can deflect long enough, they'll give up, stop asking questions he doesn't want to answer, stop caring.
They always do.
Bones isn't any different. Really. Just because he hasn't yet doesn't mean anything.
If only he could believe his own lies.