Unfortunately, I won't be able to update every day from this chapter on, thanks to school :(
Instead, updates will be limited to once a week, over the weekends!
I wasn't actually planning on posting another chapter today, considering I still need to pack for school, but, oh well! Star Trek is better for my mental health!
Rachel :/
PS. How old should Gary Mitchell be, considering he dated Spock two years ago when Spock was 16/17?
Chapter 20
Unfortunately, Bones was right in his examination, and after a brief morning check-up, Jim found himself walking to class once more the next day.
His ribs still ached, and his head was throbbing, but after the no-nonsense tone the doctor had taken when explicitly telling him just what he'd do with a needle and a pair of gloves if he skipped class?
He wasn't taking any chances.
And so, this was how he found himself on a Thursday evening, slowly packing books into a backpack that he already dreaded carrying back to his room, as the other students all emptied the room... all, except one.
Jim glanced up as a shadow fell over his desk, only to find a familiar brunette standing over him.
Gary Mitchell.
"I've noticed you've been watching me".
Well wasn't that quite the conservation starter?
Jim smirked up at him, "What can I say? I have a refined taste".
The man laughed, and the blonde found his chest strangely warm.
"You know, that's the part where most people blush and try to deny it".
"I'm not like most people".
"... You're right. You're not" He replied, before suddenly holding out his hand, "Gary Mitchell".
"Jim Kirk. And I... uh... I don't really do the whole touching contact close stuff".
"Well that's a shame" He said, taking a seat on the edge of Jim's desk, "Because here was I, hoping you and I could get very close".
Mitchell gave him a lecherous smile, leaning closer and closer until the boy could smell the mint on his breath, "Any chance of making an exception?"
He shook his head to clear it, "Probably not".
The brunette grinned, a brilliant flash of too-white teeth, "Then will you at least tell me why?"
"Definitely not".
He chuckled, seeming amused by the blonde's resistance, and Jim could taste the fascination and hunger in the air.
Mitchell's laughter died the exact moment he felt pressure on his mind.
Once he realised there were no cracks in the boy's mind, he pulled back, and Jim raised a single eyebrow at him.
The man smirked, "I'm impressed. Telepath?"
"No".
"Mind control?" He tried again.
"Nope".
"Psionic Manipulation?" He guessed.
He shook his head.
Mitchell studied him curiously, "... Then how the hell is your shield so good?"
Jim smirked, "Honey, I'm good at everything".
The man grinned, and stood up once more, "Then at least let me walk you back to your room?"
Bones's warning echoed in his mind.
He smiled and pushed it down.
"Why not?"
They walked back to the dorms chatting animatedly to one another.
Mitchell told Jim about his life, about how he came from a long line of telepaths and telekinesis's, and how his own powers were just slightly more powerful than that. He spoke of his town growing up, Eldman, about how he had always wanted to leave the place. And he said how he had ended up here, at the Starfleet Academy, learning to master his powers and use them to reach his full potential.
By the time they reached Jim's room, he had forgotten all about Bones's warning.
"-and that's how I found out she was a lust manipulator!"
Jim laughed, shoving open his door and thankfully dropping his bag.
"Well, I suppose that's one way you learn" He commented, and the man gave a winning grin in return.
He paused, leaning awkwardly against his doorframe, "So..."
"So" Mitchell agreed, still smiling at him, "Aren't you going to invite me in?"
"Don't you have homework to do?"
"We could do it together" He suggested, "You're in a few of my classes, between us it shouldn't be that hard".
Jim smirked, "Our own little study group, huh?"
"Will there be snacks?"
"Sorry, I'm the only part of the deal".
Mitchell grinned and took a step closer, well within the blonde's personal space, "Well then, I suppose I'll just have to make do".
The boy rolled his eyes, smiling, and placed a hand on the man's chest to push him away, "And I suppose I'll just have to take a raincheck on this little homework club of yours. I've got a test tomorrow, and unlike you, I actually want to study for it".
"Study for it later".
"I've got a doctor's appointment later".
"Then don't study for it all. Wing it. You're new, the professors will give you some leniency".
He raised a hand to shove the brunette away as he stepped forwards once more, "Gary, come on, I'm serious".
"As am I" He replied, voice suddenly cold, "And I insist that you invite me in".
Jim blinked as a sudden fog seemed to clear from his head.
In front of him, Mitchell was frowning, concern flickering in his dark eyes, "Hey, you okay? You kind of just... zoned out on me for a minute there".
The blonde frowned, shaking his head to remove the remains of the mist, "Yea, yea, I'm... I'm fine... Must have taken too much aspirin, I guess".
"Yea, I guess" He echoed, and Jim abruptly straightened up, "Hey, do you... do you want to come in?"
Mitchell smiled, seeming oddly... satisfied.
"I'd love to".
McCoy looked up as the infirmary doors were thrown open and a grinning blonde waltzed in.
He scowled, "You're twenty minutes late".
"I know. But guess what?" Jim asked excitedly, jumping up on the hospital bed the man pointed at, "I made a new friend!"
"Oh really?" He asked dryly, pulling on a pair of gloves, "Good for you, kid".
"I know, right?" He grinned, strangely giddier than usual, "He's awesome".
"Shirt. Now".
The blonde's smile faded, "... What?"
"Shirt. Take it off".
"... Do I have to?"
"Considering I'm trying to examine your ribs, then yea, you have to".
"Can't you just... you know... hold it?"
McCoy stared at him in disbelief, "No, I cannot just hold it. And also no, before you ask, neither can you! It'll interfere with my examination, and I don't want to hear you whining about your arms getting tired. So off with it. Now".
Jim sighed, but reluctantly tugged at the hem of the grey shirt, pulling it up and over his head with a wince.
Immediately, the doctor's eyes were drawn to the hickies and love bites that littered the boy's chest and neck.
He swallowed thickly as his jaw clenched, "... Made a new friend, you said?"
"Yea. I did" the Blonde replied defensively, "Problem?"
"Oh no, I've no problem at all with the fact you've only been here five days, two of which you haven't even gone to class for, and therefore could in no possible way have a relationship established in that length of time".
"We made out! So what?" He snapped, and the man's face darkened, "And was that all you did?"
"Yes, doctor, that was all we did".
Bones studied him closely, searching for any signs of lying, of deceit, of something that would tell him that no not everything's as it seems... but he found none.
"Alright" He finally replied, "Alright, okay, fine, I just... I was just looking out for you, that's all. So come on, who's the lucky guy?"
Jim chewed on his bottom lip nervously as the man began poking and prodding at his ribs.
"... You're not going to like him".
"Kid, I'm not some father checking out the first boy his son brings home. I'm asking as a friend, that's all".
"It's... It's Mitchel. Gary Mitchel".
McCoy froze.
"... I thought I told you to stay away from him".
His voice was like ice, and Jim automatically flinched back.
"You did... But I have a brain too, you know. One that's perfectly capable of sorting out the wrong type for myself, thanks".
"Well obviously not if you're dating him!" Bones snapped, sharply looking up, and Jim glowered back at him, "Who I date, is none of your concern!"
"So you are dating him?!"
"I never said that".
"No, but you implied it!" He snarled, "... Has he told you what he does?"
"Of course he has!"
"And have you heard of this new thing called lying?"
Jim glared at him, abruptly standing up, "I think we're done here, doctor. But please, feel free to insult me some more".
"Kid-"
The door slammed in his face.