AN: Au inspired by the anime Kobato
Jim inspected himself in the mirror. He looked ready to tackle the day in his opinion. His roommate on the other hand looked like hell warmed over. The older man never was a morning person, or an afternoon person, or an evening or night person. You could say Leonard McCoy didn't like much of anything. That didn't bother Jim from befriending him as quickly as possible. Jim was doing well in his new lifestyle in his opinion. He had befriended the grumpiest person he knew, enlisted in starfleet, and decided to work part time at the pub down the street. Had he been successful in what he set out to do? Not quite.
He played with the holo-locket that hung from his neck. It had been quiet his first five days. Other than an explanation of what he was supposed to be doing, and where he needed to go he had gotten virtually nothing out of the man who spoke to him through the two-way neck charm. Jim pressed a button on the locket to reveal a holographic gauge. It was completely empty. The boy let out a sigh and sat on his bed. Leonard looked over at Jim with his usual grumpy stare.
"What's got your spirits down, kid?"
"Just bored out of my mind. I don't have any classes today and my shift doesn't start for another 4 hours. I feel like I'm dying. Throw me a bone here Bones," Jim laughed slightly at his own joke which caused the older man to roll his eyes.
"Why don't you walk around campus and see if you can get any of these girls to go for your act. I'm sure someone will find you charming."
"Oh, I'm charming now? Who knew you would warm up to me so quickly Bones," Jim said with a smirk. He sat up and looked over at the man.
"Sure, We're about as close as two tribbles, let me tell ya," Leonard's voice dripped with sarcasm as he picked a book off of his nightstand and began to read. "Go find someone else to bug."
"Fine," Jim said, getting up off of his bed and exiting the room. He headed out into the courtyard where many of the other recruits were enjoying the warm spring afternoon. There were a lot of people he could choose to strike up a conversation with, but instead he chose to sit in the shade of a tree and spectate. Nearly everyone was with someone else and seemed to be having fun. He was the odd one out, sitting by himself, but he couldn't say he wasn't having fun. The warm breeze carried with it a taste of bliss. It was enough to make even Bones feel happy. The thought made Jim laugh.
A soft sniffle shook Jim from his thoughts though. His eyebrows knit together as he listened for it again. It came from behind him. He leaned to look around the tree and saw a small figure curled into a ball, facing away from the courtyard, hoping not to be seen. Jim scooted next to the girl and lightly touched her back. She looked up at him in surprise, her face stained with tears. He gave her a kind smile which she failed to reciprocate, but she did not scoot away. Jim rubbed her back slightly, comfortingly.
"It is going to be okay," he whispered.
"I don't know," she sniffled.
"Trust me, I know it will. Everything hurts for a while, but then you just have to stand up and realize that because you have hurt, you have become stronger. They were probably a dick anyway."
The girl laughed lightly, "I guess they were, kind of." She wiped her tears and sat up straight. She turned to Jim and reciprocated his soft smile.
"See? That is better. It is already starting to become okay. Tell ya what, stop by the pub down the street this evening and I'll give ya a drink on the house." Jim grinned from ear to ear.
"That is alright, I don't really drink, but thank you." The girl stood and brushed off her uniform. "My name is Tamie, by the way. Thanks for cheering me up." She held a hand out to Jim which he took and stood.
"Name's Jim Kirk, if you didn't already know," he winked.
"Oh I know," she giggled. "The whole world knows."
"Yeah," Jim scratched his head sheepishly. "Wish it was for something a little less crappy, but hey, I'm famous. How about I walk you back to your dorm and you can tell me about your Ex?"
"I would like that," Tamie said softly.
Jim followed the girl, happy to finally have found something to do with his afternoon. He laughed whole-heartedly at the stories Tamie would tell him about her previous relationship. Tamie actually swung for the other team, which was a slight disappointment to Jim, but he was glad to have another friend. Her girlfriend had broken up with her that morning via text and she didn't have anyone to talk to about it because all of her friends were back home in Wisconsin, and her roommate was always out. She expressed her gratitude to Jim for him saying such kind words to her. Jim smiled sheepishly and brushed it off as nothing, which she just laughed at. When they arrived at her dorm door Jim pulled her into a hug.
"I really do believe everything will be okay. Trust me, I have a whole lifetime of not okay to wallow over, and well, I'm doing pretty okay," he laughed and kissed her forehead lightly.
Tamie smiled, "thanks Jim." She turned and walked into her dorm with a wave.
Jim stared at the door with a smile. His brows knit together again. He was not sure why he had given her a kiss on the forehead. He normally never showed such affection to his friends. It felt right for him to do it though. He shrugged his shoulders and walked out of the girls' dorms and back towards the boys'. His hand mindlessly played with the locket. He pressed the button to reveal the gauge and stopped in his tracks. At the bottom of the gauge was a small line of blue. He looked back toward the dorms he had just exited and a grin filled his face.
"Thanks Tamie," he muttered lightly.
The hologram of the gauge was replaced with the face of a man. He looked pleased to see the boy.
"Jim, I see you have cured someone's ailments. Though at this rate it will take you longer than a year to fill the gauge, and a year is all you have," the man spoke sternly.
"Come on Spock, I'm just getting settled in. I'll have the gauge filled in no time, don't you worry." Jim winked at the older man as he continued walking again.
"I believe in you Jim, but remember what this is riding on."
"I know," Jim sighed. "Hey Spock, if there is another me in your universe, does that mean that there is another you in mine?"
"I do not know Jim, perhaps. There is a strong possibility."
"I wonder if he is as much of a stick in the mud as you," Jim laughed lightly and the man in the hologram nearly rolled his eyes.
"You two are so much alike it is hard to believe that you live such different lives," Spock spoke tenderly.
"Hey, because of this whole thing, would it be possible that your Jim could in some way affect me?"
"Perhaps, why do you ask?"
"I just did something this afternoon that I normally wouldn't. It was actually to the girl I helped out. I had kissed her forehead, and it was nice, but weird."
The older man in the hologram smiled. "It was how my Jim's mother would show him affection when he was scared or sad when he was younger. I am not surprised that it would go through to you. Do not worry though, you are still you."
"That is good," Jim sighed. he glanced down at his watch and silently cursed. "Hey, I have to go, my shift at the pub starts in about thirty minutes. I'll keep you posted."
"Live long and prosper," Spock said as Jim closed the locket.
The blonde raced back to his dorm and changed into his bartending outfit. He waved to Bones who rolled his eyes at the boy, unsurprised that he would be rushing to get to work on time. As he raced across the pavement he had to dodge around quite a few people before making it into the pub with five minutes to spare. He clocked in a walked behind the bar almost out of breath.
"Great timing there cutie," the other bartender laughed lightly. She had bright ginger hair and fluorescent green skin. Jim smiled at her. "I'm Gaila by the way."
"Jim Kirk," Jim said as he went to work.
"I know," Gaila gave him a smile as she mixed a few drinks.
"Not surprised," Jim winked and took some orders from customers that began to file in.
Jim was too busy mixing drinks to really carry a conversation with any of the customers or his co-worker. He liked the atmosphere though. Everyone was lively and the music was upbeat. A few of the customers offered to buy him a drink but he would politely decline, not wanting to get fired after just starting. Gaila would laugh lightly every time someone offered. Jim could tell she had been working here a while. No one tried to mess with her and make her break the rules even with her excessive charm.
A familiar face made its way up to the counter through the crowd and Jim couldn't help his grin.
"Uhura, good to see ya."
"Of course you work here," she laughed lightly and rolled her eyes. "Give me two Kardassian sunrises, and hold the flirting. I'm here with a date."
"Oh really?" Jim started mixing the drinks. "What's his name? And he can't be more handsome than me," he winked.
"Oh trust me he is, and you aren't getting anything out of me," She took her drinks and with a flick of her long ponytail, retreated into the crowd. Jim's eyes followed her to the table she sat at with her date, but the man's back was to him.
"Dammit," Jim cursed.
"Jealous?" Gaila asked smugly.
"Hardly, I just want to know who her date is. Says he is hotter than me, but I don't believe it," Jim said with a wink.
"Well, why don't you go and bus some tables for me and find out?" Gaila winked.
Jim smiled, "you sure you can manage by yourself?" he joked, though he knew she could. She just rolled her eyes at him and tossed him the dirty dish bin before waving him off.
Jim stepped out from the bar and started to make his way around the room, picking up dishes here and there and wiping off tables. He was still too far off from Uhura to see her date. He decided to make a loop around the room and pull in closer from behind Uhura so he could have the right angle to see the man. After stumbling past a few customers and nearly dropping the dishes three times Jim was close enough to catch a glimpse of the pointy-eared, dark eyed, bowl cut features of Uhura's date. Along with his surprise Jim had to admit that the man was handsome. He wasn't sure if it was more than him, but he was aesthetically pleasing. He chuckled lightly and finished cleaning. Upon his return to the bar Gaila bombarded him with questions.
"So is he handsome? Or is he weird? Alien or Human?"
"Alien, Vulcan to be precise. He has that weird Vulcan haircut going on, but he makes it work. He is handsome, but I'm not so sure he is more handsome than me, of course I am pretty hard to beat, but he gives me a run for my money. Of course I only saw him from a distance and in low lighting. I'm not a perfect judge," Jim chuckled as he turned and gave more customers their drinks.
"I'm not sure if you are being modest or pompous right now," Gaila laughed.
"A little bit of both. I can admit when someone is pretty good looking, but look at me?" Jim gestured to himself with a wink.
Gaila laughed and went back to serving. The night went on with the two trading off busing tables and both serving drinks. By eleven thirty the crowd had thinned to a small pool of people. Uhura and her date were among them. Uhura seemed to be waning a bit over her tipsy mark, but her date looked almost unaffected even after consuming almost twice as much as her. Jim had started ushering others out of the pub while Gaila cleaned up, getting ready to close. He approached the table Uhura and her date sat at and gave them a smile.
"Will you be fine taking her back to her room?" Jim asked politely.
"I can adequately escort her back by myself, thank you for your concern." The man spoke as he stood. He handed Jim some money. "That should cover our drinks for the night."
"Thanks," Jim muttered. "Oh yeah, Uhura failed to mention your name, she is kind of a friend of mine and I just wanted to know who she was with."
"Although it is none of your business, as Miss Uhura has informed me, my name is Spock." With that the Vulcan lightly pulled Uhura from her seat and guided her out the door.
Jim smiled to himself as he cleared the rest of the pub and cleaned up with Gaila. When everything was done they clocked out and headed back for the academy. Jim walked Gaila to her room which he found out she shared with Uhura after bumping into Spock on the way into the building. He bid Gaila a good night and went back to his dorm to get some rest before his morning classes. Though laying in his bed he could not find sleep. He mindlessly played with his locket and thought about the man in the hologram. Then he thought of the man at the bar and in the hallway of the girl's dorms.
Older Spock told him of the close relationship he had with his Jim. A friendship that had actually led to the situation he was currently in. He had found the Spock in his universe. He seemed to be very similar to the Spock he talked to through the locket and it made him smile. Jim wondered if he could have a relationship with this Spock as the other Spock had with his Jim. Perhaps, he thought to himself as he pressed the button to pull up the gauge. The thin blue line cast a glow around the room. He had so far to go and only a year to fill it. He let out a sigh and rolled over, turning off the hologram. He slowly drifted into a restful sleep.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
Shadowy figures stood about, and soft sobbing rang through his ears. Figures that seemed to be made of light approached from the other side. Both sides looked grim and regretful. The sobbing continued and all of the faces turned to look above him. He as well looked up and could see the contorted and tear stained face of his best friend, his brother, his soulmate. He reached up and lightly touched the man's cheek and wiped away the tears.
"It is alright T'hy'la, everything will be okay. I promise," his voice was strained as he spoke comforting words.
"Jim," the ever emotionless Vulcan could not stop his sobs. He held the man close as the dark and light figures watched with remorse. They could not believe what had happened.
Jim moved carefully in Spock's arms and kissed the man's forehead. "Everything will be okay."
Spock nodded softly as the man let out his last breath. He looked out at the crowd of alien figures for an answer. The leaders looked to each other then back two the men, only one answer could solve this.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
Jim awoke groggily and shook his head. His dream felt so real. He looked around his dorm room and found Bones to be awake before him, which was unusual. He smiled over at the man who glared back. The man had yet to have his morning coffee.
"What crawled up your ass and died?" Jim asked playfully.
"Your weird muttering in Vulcan is what," Bones snapped. "Woke me up."
"Sorry," Jim chuckled. "I was having a pretty vivid dream. Felt more like a memory than a dream though."
"I don't have time for your cryptic, night time, fantasies," Bones muttered. "Get dressed so we can go to the mess hall. I need my morning coffee."
"Sure thing," Jim said as he slipped on his cadet uniform. He fixed his locket to sit comfortably under his shirt and thought about the other Jim. He looked into the mirror and wondered if he looked as much like the other Jim as Spock looked like other Spock. After hearing grumbling from Bones, Jim turned away from the mirror and slipped on his shoes before being pushed out the door and to the mess hall.
After arriving in the room Bones immediately went for the coffee and got himself a cup. Having the earliest medical class he waved to Jim with his coffee and set off for his lesson. Jim got himself some eggs and toast as well as a cup of coffee and sat by himself. He pulled his locket from under his uniform and opened it to call Older Spock. The man answered with a smile.
"Good morning, Jim."
"Morning Spock, I have a question. Along with a few personality quirks, would it also be possible that I may see some of your Jim's memories?" Jim asked as he shoveled eggs into his mouth.
"It is a possibility. Have you seen some of his memories?"
"I think so. I had a really vivid dream last night," Jim's attention was caught by someone walking just outside the mess hall windows. He smiled to himself which caught the attention of the man in the hologram.
"What was the dream about?"
"Ah," Jim turned his attention back to the hologram. "There were dark figures and light figures, and you were there, and you were crying over me or something like that." Jim chuckled. "It isn't really important. I did meet the Spock from my universe though. You two look so much alike."
"Fascinating," Spock said with a curious smile. "Well Jim, you work on filling the gauge. And do tell me if you become friends with your Spock.I must go now though, I have terms to negotiate on an alien planet. Live long and prosper."
"See ya," Jim said as he closed the locket. He watched the dark haired figure round the corner, enter the mess hall, and grab some fruit before sitting at a table by himself, his eyes scanning over a PADD. Jim contemplated going over and sitting by him with a smile.