Hey - so this is my first ever Star Trek story, so you're going to have to bare with me on this one. I've never written a fanfic before and I have no idea where I am going with this! Hope you enjoy. I only own my OC.
When I first entered that bar, I did not expect any of the following to happen.
"Hart, can you come help me with the drinks?" Uhura asked me, as she swanned into the bar, greeting our fellow cadets as she made her way over to her table.
"Sure," I called to my friend and roommate over the club music and people talking and getting drunk. We'd been granted a final night off from our breaks back home before we had to regroup at the shipyard in Iowa to get a shuttle back to the Academy the next morning. It was pretty obvious from our bright red uniforms that a good 80% of the bar's patrons that night were all Starfleet. Smiling to myself, Uhura and I reached the bar where she proceeded to reel off a long drinks order whilst I browsed over the bar's extensive drink menu.
"Hi, I'd like a Klabnian fire tea, three Budweiser classics, two Cardassian sunrises and a…" she trailed off as she looked over my shoulder at the menu I was holding. Smirking, I raised my eyebrows as I wondered who the hell the Cardassian sunrises were for. The barman chipped in.
"Gotta try the Slusho. It's good." Zoning out of the conversation, I leant back to survey the scene in the bar that night. Plenty of people were jammed in in the small space, crouched around tables, playing drinking games and some had even ventured onto the dance floor at this point. I spotted my friend Erikson from engineering trying to chat up another cadet I didn't recognise, but I could tell from her plain expression that she was definitely not into him. Shaking my head, I let my eyes drift back to the bar where I saw the back of a guy sat beyond another that was perched at the bar. He was wearing a leather jacket and it looked as if he was drinking alone. I thought that was strange, as almost everyone in here knew someone and was drinking and chatting away merrily to each other.
"That's a lot of drinks for one woman," I realised he addressed Uhura, to which he leant forwards to get a better view of her. Uhura made eye contact with him before I leant forwards, resting my elbows on the sticky bar in front of me. He was drunk, I knew Uhura could tell by the flatness in her voice as she replied to his remark.
"Two women, actually." I grinned to myself as his jaw dropped a little as I appeared from behind her.
"And two shots of Jack, straight up please." I asked the barman as he assembled our hefty order.
Without missing a beat, the guy spoke. "Make that three, their shots on me." Uhura shook her head, making her long, dark hair swish behind her. She picked up the tray of drinks the barman and placed in front of us a few moments previous and turned to walk back to our table.
"Good luck with that one, Hart." She winked at me before sashaying off, expertly evading drunk cadets that were stumbling around the bar. Turning back to the guy, who's eyes were trailed on Uhura's figure walking away from him, I replied.
"Not happening, homeslice," I responded to him as I handed over credits to the barman to pay our bill. His attention swung back to me as I continued to speak. "Keep your shot. You're gonna need it." I warned him as I downed one of the shots that were placed in front of me, savouring the warm burn as it slid down my throat. God, I wasn't going to feel as buzzed as this in a while when I went back to the Academy.
"Why's that?" He said as he leant across towards me, a little too close for my liking, and for the guy in between us. I could smell the alcohol on him making me grimace internally.
"None of these Starfleet girls will go home with you tonight. We're leaving tomorrow. Early. You'll just have to get really drunk instead." I explained to him over the music that was pumping out of the speakers all around us. Since that last shot, it had only seemed to get louder, and I found myself wanting to yank Uhura up out of her seat and dance with our friends on our last night of freedom.
"Oh," the man said, as he looked from the top of my head down to my shoulders. "Well don't you at least want to know my name before you completely reject me on behalf of all the women in here?" I shrugged as I picked up the final shot of Jack and swallowed it, not breaking eye contact with him.
"Jim. Jim Kirk," Jim told me, a smirk plastered on his face, which actually looked a lot prettier than I had first thought - the alcohol was burning through my blood as I suddenly felt myself tip off my level of soberness, and into a much more tipsier one. I am most definitely a lightweight. "Are you going to tell me your name?"
"My name is Alex," I answered Jim's question as I waved down the bartender. "Another shot of Jack, please."
"That's a nice name, Alex. Please, let me buy you this one." With his trademark charming grin, I caved in. "Sure, but you're buying all my friends a shot too as you've kept me from them." I raised an eyebrow at him as the bartender slid the shot down the bar at me, and then held his hand out in front of Jim.
"What? That's not the-" He sighed as he placed some credits in his hand as I raised the shot in the air, making a toast.
"To Jim, Jim Kirk." I smiled as I swallowed the shot and straightened myself up. Great. I was definitely feeling it. How was I going to explain to Uhura how I got considerably drunk in three minutes? I let my eyes settle back on him, and he was watching me, his mouth slightly open and his eyes twinkling in the lights.
"Do they not have last names in your world?" He finally found something to say. He was probably feeling just as intoxicated as I was right now and was struggling to keep up with our conversation.
"My world is the same as yours. I'm from Brooklyn," I scowled at him.
"Alex from Brooklyn. Wonderful!" He explained as he gestured to me with both of his hands. I couldn't help but let out a giggle. Unfortunately enough, he got out of his seat and wondered around the patron who we'd just had an entire conversation over to stand next to me, drink in hand. I couldn't help but marvel at how tall he was, and actually how good he smelt, despite the earlier stench of alcohol and booze washing over me.
"So, you're a cadet, you're studying. What's your focus?" As he leant his elbow on the bar, I couldn't help but notice how close he was.
"Astrophysics," I replied. He nodded, his lips curling upwards slightly. "You know what that is?" I asked.
"The study of astronomical objects in the universe that employs the principles of chemistry and physics." The words rolled of his tongue, slightly slurred. I turned to face him more directly, an impressed look all over my face. It was clear Jim knew what he was talking about. "It means that you're clever. And that cadet uniform would look better accelerating towards the floor at nine-point-eight meters per second per second."
I let my eyebrows rise, smiling ever so slightly and his cheesy attempt to get me to go home with him. "That was impressive," I looked him up and down and noticed how tight his t-shirt was underneath that leather jacket he wore. "For a moment there, I thought you were just another dumb guy who drinks himself to death and spends every night with someone else," I let out a sigh. "Turns out you're kind of a clever guy who drinks themselves to death. You surely can't pick up girls with lines like those, can you?" I questioned him, a hint of mischief glinting in my eyes and my smile.
"Well, you'd be surprised. I have a long roster, as well as other... things." He smirked at me, raising his nearly empty glass to his pink lips. Rolling my eyes, I let out a laugh.
"That's really unattractive." I smiled up at him once again, where he started to join in my laughing.
"This townie isn't bothering you, right?" One of Uhura and I's friends, Joe asked me. He was a large stocky guy, but still only a few months older than myself, and probably Jim. I waved him off.
"Unbelievably so, but don't worry. Jim Kirk here isn't anything I can't handle." I straightened out my uniform as I glanced over to Uhura, who was waving me over. I raised my pointer finger, telling her I'd be over in a minute. Jim grasped my raised hand, causing me to whip my head around to face him, an intense look on his face.
"You could handle me. That's an invitation." I let out a loud laugh as I shook my head. This guy was unbelievable, but I couldn't fault his perseverance.
"Hey, you better mind your manners." Joe interrupted, squaring up a little to Jim. Jim shook his read in response.
"Relax, Cupcake. It was a joke." He offered him a forced smile as he patted 'Cupcake' on his shoulder. Wrong. Move. Joe pulled Jim's shoulder back, spinning him around to face three other cadets that had joined Joe. Well, shit. It was obvious these guys were looking for a fight. Nothing uncommon with the security cadets. I glanced over at Uhura to try and get her help in diffusing the tension, but she was too engrossed in another conversation to notice me.
"Hey, farm boy," I winced at the lame insult Cupcake threw at Jim. Even I knew that wouldn't offend Jim in the slightest. This was cringe worthy. "Maybe you can't count, but there are four of us, and one of you."
Without missing a beat, Jim squared up to him. "So get some more guys, and then it'll be an even fight." Ending his comeback, he playfully slapped Cupcake on the face, before smiling and turning back to me. But before he could even lay eyes on me, Cupcake spun Jim around, and landed a hefty right hook in Jim's face. Everyone in the bar stopped what they were doing, all eyes were now on the brawl.
"Hey, guys! Stop it!" Uhura yelled as she made her way over to me. She looked at me, silently asking me if I was alright. I rolled my eyes in return as Jim straightened up from the blow, and planted a solid kick into Cupcake's stomach, sending him flying into a nearby table. Gasps filled the bar as me and Uhura stood there, trying to get everyone to stop and calm down. Soon, Jim was swarmed with guys, fending them off impressively considering how much alcohol he'd consumed. Glasses were being smashed and people's drinks were knocked on the floor. All of a sudden I felt my earlier drunken buzz dissipate out of my body.
Jim stumbled towards us, his hands reaching out in front of him, grabbing Uhura and I's chests as he stopped himself from falling completely. Gasping, Uhura shoved him off whilst recoiled my fist back and punched him in the forehead, aiming to wipe that smug smile off his face. He flew backwards into the arms of the other cadets, and it wasn't long until Jim was outnumbered, being beat on mercilessly.
"Guys, please stop!" I tried to urge the onslaught to finish. This wasn't just a bar brawl anymore, but was an assault on a pretty defenseless guy.
"He's had enough," Uhura spat, only to be ignored. Suddenly, a whistle echoed around the bar, and everyone in the bar stopped, motionless. All our eyes met Captain Pike, stood surveying the scene that had just played out in front of him, disgust all over his face. Jim laid helplessly over a table, blood running down his face, groaning.
"Outside. All of you. Now!" Pike ordered. We didn't have to be told twice. Everyone scurried out through the exit as fast as we could, mumbling about how their night had been ruined and their wasted credits. I walked slowly past Jim, assessing the damage. I patted him discreetly on the chest, turning back at the doorframe to look at him one more time, sprawled out over the table. He only winked at me, and sent me one of those trademark smiles.