It started with the headaches. Whenever he walked into a room, the light would blind him and unbearable pain would build behind his eyes. So he started to wear sunglasses to stop it. They helped a little, but people would ask why the captain of a starship was wearing sunglasses while inside of said starship. "Because it's cool, and I look good." Was always his answer. Most people believed that was just his personality. They didn't see through the façade he'd built. His best friends never believed him though. They could see when he was James T Kirk, and they could see Jim Kirk. They weren't most people after all.
"Hey Jim why don't we-" Bones started, interrupting the walk Jim had taken to clear his head.
"Dear God! Bones, I'm fine. I don't need to go anywhere you can jam anything into my neck." James said, exasperated. He was tired of the constant badgering.
"Guilty conscience, huh? Naw, I just wanted to know whether you wanted to go to the mess to get some lunch." Bones said.
He nodded, though he regretted it immediately. "Sure, sounds great. I am kinda hungry."
Once they reached the mess, Jim knew that Bones was thinking of how to get the sunglasses off. He always was. So to spare himself the fight scene, he set his jaw and took the glasses off, putting them in his pocket. Just like he knew it would, the pain exploded behind his eyes and it took everything he had to not curl up in a ball and cry.
"Oh good God! You've been hiding your eyes for so long I forgot what color they were." Bones joked.
"Ha! That was so funny I forgot how to laugh. Are we gonna eat, or just stand here and ridicule me?" Jim snapped. He cursed himself. He never snapped at Bones, well, not when there was any hypo.
"Sorry. I guess I'm more tired than I realized." Jim mumbled.
Bones looked at him with worry and concern written all over his face. Being the good friend Bones was, he easily forgave him. "That's what happens when you work for twenty straight hours."
Jim snorted and chuckled quietly.
"What's your next shift?" Bones asked suddenly.
"Uh, Alpha like you. Why?" Jim answered.
"Because I'm sure Spock wouldn't mind switching with you, since he's on the Beta. He'd do anything for you." Bones added that last part in mockery.
"So you and him are nothing alike." Jim teased, knowing it would really get him.
"(Snort). Good one. And I'll ask him. And do you want to stop before your drink overflows?" Bones asked, pulling Jim's hand away from the dispenser.
"Oh sorry." Jim murmured, but Bones didn't hear him. Instead, Bones simply reached into his pocket and pulled out Jim's sunglasses. Jim stiffened while Bones unfolded them, put them back over his eyes and the pain slowly ebbed away.
"Let me guess. You started wearing them so no one saw how red your eyes were, or the bags under them." Bones said.
Jim nodded. The explanation was close enough to the truth. They ate in silence after that, Bones watching his every move. Once they were done, Jim said 'good night' and walked away from Bones. He got to his quarters fairly quickly but forgot to lock the door.
After brushing his teeth and stripping, he climbed onto his bed. He sat on his ass and tried to think relaxing thoughts. His eyes rolled up inside his head and fell against the pillows. After a few seconds, he cracked his eyes open. Damn, I really was tired. He thought, then tumbled headfirst into a long, deep sleep.
Three hours later, just before the Alpha shift, Spock opened the door. Noticing the door wasn't locked, he stepped lightly over to the sleeping Captain. Doctor McCoy had already informed him on the Captain's situation. Overwork, and exhaustion were silent battles Captain Kirk fought every day, especially in recent days. The room was shrouded in darkness, a complete mess yet extremely neat. Clothes were on the floor, but they were n it strewn, they had their own pile. Everything from crushed drinking cups to wet/dry towels was messy but in it's own place.
Spock maneuvered around the room until he reached the bedside table. The Captain was snoring softly, sprawled out on his bed. Reason told him that Kirk would have been too tired to remember to reset his alarm clock. He was right, so his task done, he backed out of the room the way he came.
"Sleep well, Captain." Spock whispered, and locked the door behind him.