Title: Press Release
Author: heeroluva
Pairing: Pike/Jim
Contains: mention of past torture, age difference
Disclaimer: I don't own them. I just like to play with them.
Summary: The press makes a big deal of Jim and Chris' relationship.
Notes: Gift fic for shinya_diey. Hope you like it! All mistakes are mine. Feel free to let me know if you see any. As always feedback is appreciated.
From the moment it came out that they were together, there was speculation. They speculated over whether Pike had played favorites with Jim at the Academy, speculation over whether Jim had an unfair advantage, speculation over whether Pike's decision to promote Jim to First Officer was clouded by their relationship—not that it had progressed that far yet, but no one cared to listen to them, convinced that they'd been fucking since the moment they'd met. People were even questioning whether it was fair that Jim had been promoted to Captain of the Enterprise. It didn't matter that Jim had saved Earth (at least a dozen times now). It didn't matter that Jim had Captained two successful five years missions and was planning on a third before the news came out.
It was funny, how quickly people could forget all the good a person had done in the face of scandal. And it shouldn't have been one. Jim didn't understand what the big deal was, not even when Chris had explained it to him. The fact that the sexy poster boy of the Federation, the most eligible bachelor and all around playboy was now off the market wasn't the biggest blow. No the issues were that his lover was decades older, old enough to be his father, male, and was his direct superior. Jim still didn't understand, and Pike, sighing in exasperation over how naïve he could be despite being a genus, had pulled him into a kiss.
The thing that had given them away was a simple little thing. It hadn't even been anything lewd for once. Jim had been caught in more compromising positions in the past, with both males and females, and on one memorable encounter both, had the pictures plastered all over the tabloids without nearly as much fanfare as this had caused.
It was a normal occurrence for Jim and Pike to be seen together while Jim was on Earth, knowing that Pike had been Jim's mentor during the Academy, and had become close friends since. Chris had needed the chair more and more during recent years, having never fully recovered from his encounter with Nero and the slug. It was just a simple day in which Jim had been helping himinto his chair, their hands clasped together, nothing overt, nothing spectacular. But the close proximately had dropped the chameleon ability on their rings, matchingrings, leaving them out in the open for anyone to see. And a picture snapped right at that instance had meant that plenty of people saw.
The press conference that they'd held to say that yes they were indeed together, and married, had been for years, did nothing to stop the wagging tongues. In fact it seemed the admittance that they had been together for years rather than their relationship being a recent occurrence had opened a can of worms better left closed, but it was too late them. The Federation pretty much told the press to shove it, and that they would accept no more questions on the subject and that the matter was closed.
When Spock had invited them both to visit the growing Vulcan colony, they had both accepted, happy to get away from the prying eyes of the press. They both had plenty of leave saved up. It was nice to get away for a while, and it was a relief to no longer have to hide. Neither had realized the strain that it had put on their relationship until it was gone. And when they finally returned to Earth they were happy to find that they were no longer the center of attention, and that the press had moved onto greener pastures. Finally able to relax, they made the most of their new found freedom, and when the occasional picture of them together being more than a little friendly surfaced, no one bothered to bat an eyelash.