Bones breathed deeply to calm himself. He was standing outside Kirk's dorm door, composing a 'welcome back' speech. That morning, Uhura had insisted that he visit Kirk individually so as not to overwhelm him with too many people. Bones was beginning to think that Uhura had failed to consider his plummeting confidence levels at approaching Kirk by himself. Exhaling, Bones steeled himself and knocked on the dorm door.
Silence.
He stood there for what seemed like hours but rationally, Bones knew it had only been minutes. Shifting his weight to his other leg, he stood awkwardly outside the door, which had so far emitted no response to his knock.
*Beep-beep-beep-beep*
The noise from his communicator shattered the deafening silence and Bones jerked upwards, startled. Overcoming his original shock, he fumbled for his communicator and flipped it open.
'Hello...?' He said cautiously.
'Bones,' a weary voice replied.
Bones was instantly alert.
'Kirk?' He stared at the door in front of him as if it'd turn it transparent if he looked at it long enough.
'Yeah... are you outside my dorm?' He asked.
Bones blushed.
'Ah... Yes... But if you want to be alone that's fine, I understand,' he blurted out.
Dammit, Uhura he thought, if my friendship goes downhill because of this I'll make you go first next time. Then the door suddenly opened to reveal a very disheveled Starfleet cadet.
'Hey,' Kirk attempted a half-hearted smile, 'come in. Can't have you standing out there looking like a lost Roylan.'
He turned and retreated back into his dorm. Bones gingerly followed, nudging aside an empty beer bottle with his foot. There was a muffled 'clink!' as it collided into another bottle. He squinted through the dim light and made out a moving silhouette that sat down, heavily onto the bed. Assuming it was Kirk, Bones maneuvered through the rest of the glass hazards and seated himself next to his friend.
'Miss me?' Kirk asked sarcastically.
Bones frowned.
'Of course,' he said, 'why wouldn't I?'
Kirk shrugged and let himself fall back onto his bed, he propped his head up with his arms and moved his feet up next to him.
'Probably because I'm a deranged lunatic who has anger management problems,' he mused.
Bones snapped his head around to look at Kirk. Kirk saw his expression and rolled his eyes.
'I do watch the news you know – not as reclusive as everyone thinks' he snorted.
Bones shrugged inwardly. It'd be impossible for Kirk to not know what the media thought about the incident. After all, he wasn't a child – he would've eventually found out regardless whether anyone tried to keep him in the dark or not.
'The media tends to exaggerate, don't base your worth on reputation,' he told Kirk.
Kirk smiled slightly at Bone's advice.
'Funny, an old friend told me something along the same lines not too long ago,' he murmured.
Bones stayed silent and stared at the opposite wall. He didn't know what to say to Kirk that didn't involve reminding him of his new status.
'Are you going to start classes like normal then?' Bones finally asked.
Kirk shrugged.
'Guess so,' he told the ceiling, 'I couldn't think of anywhere else I'd be useful so I came back here.'
'That'll be interesting,' commented Bones.
He recalled the treatment he'd been getting from the academy since Kirk's departure and felt extremely sympathetic towards the tirade of unwanted attention Kirk was about to receive.
'Yeah, tell me about it,' said Kirk scornfully.
He was silent for a moment.
'I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. You shouldn't have had to found out like that,' he whispered.
Bones didn't need to ask; he knew that Kirk was referring to his past on Tarsus IV.
'It's ok; you had every right not to tell me. Something that personal should be kept a secret,' he reassured Kirk, remembering what Uhura had told him yesterday.
Kirk smiled.
'You're a good friend Bones,' he said.
Then he grinned.
'Go on, class starts soon. Don't want you to get tardy cause of me.'
Bones smiled ruefully.
'I'll wait for you outside,' he said before walking away to do just that.
5 minutes late, Kirk re-appeared from his dorm. He'd cleaned up so that he now appeared more average and less noticeable. The pair walked outside which was unfortunately, fairly crowded with other cadets making their way to various classes. In a way, the numbers helped Kirk meld into the background – just another uniform against a backdrop of red. Kirk resisted the urge to walk at a brisker pace; fast movement would only attract attention amongst a relatively slow moving crowd. Bones was thinking similarly, he knew that it would only take a single set of eyes to spot Kirk and alert the rest of the academy to his presence. Thankfully they made it to class in time – stragglers were often noticed and reprimanded by their instructor in front of the class. There was a small increase in the whispered conversations when Kirk entered the room. The teacher glanced briefly at the cadet but his face betrayed no clue to his thoughts. Sitting down Kirk bent his head and fixed his eyes on the top of his desk, refusing to meet anyone's gaze.
'If I could have all your attention to the screen,' the teacher said waiting for the noise to die down.
Once the students – save for Kirk – had complied, he turned to face the front of the classroom.
'We'll begin by looking at the...'
Kirk's mind gradually drifted away as the teacher began the lesson. As his words grew fainter, the whispers in the room became louder. What's he doing back here? I feel sorry for him… Maybe he knows what happened to my brother… Do you reckon he's right in the head? Kirk squirmed in his seat, he was beginning to regret coming to class. Should've waited longer he thought. But then what? It wasn't as if the academy was going to forget who he was in a few measly days. He sighed in exasperation. Grow up he told himself, you're Jim Kirk who doesn't answer to anybody and loves the spotlight... ironically...What're a few stares compared to a life cooped up in an office? Would you rather explore space or explore paperwork? Satisfied with his self-motivation speech, Kirk cautiously raised his head – just enough for him to see the content the teacher was teaching them. Thankfully, no one noticed him come out of hibernation from his desk. Inwardly, Kirk sighed – this was going to be a very long day...
Kirk groaned as he saw the usual sea of cadets streaming into the cafeteria. Bones heard the expression and grimly clapped his friend on the back.
'Quit complaining, you should've seen what I had go through when you were gone,' he told Kirk before striding into the beckoning doors of the cafeteria.
Conversely, Kirk regarded them as a giants mouth waiting for him to fall into its trap. However, before he could make a tactical retreat to his dorm he spotted a cadet walking purposefully towards him in his peripheral view and hurried to follow Bones. Apparently, his friend warded off inquisitive cadets.
Kirk burst out of the cafeteria doors, gripping his food more securely as he stumbled slightly from the extra momentum he no longer needed. He had spent the last 10 minutes struggling through a mass of bodies, questions and stares just to obtain dinner. Finally free of the attention, he hastily moved towards the nearest exit before it could catch up to him again. Bones had disappeared into the crowded cafeteria and Kirk had long since given up on finding his friend – to do so would mean spending more time in there. Entering the proximity of the door sensor, he walked outside and spotted a drumstick tree that appeared to provide adequate shelter. Walking over he sat, leaning against the tree trunk and took a mouthful of the food he had secured himself.
'Mind if I sit?'
He turned around and had to crane his neck to see the face behind the voice. Cadet Uhura looked downwards, expectantly at Kirk as she waited his answer.
'Sure, why not?' he replied.
Kirk figured it was safe enough to talk to her. Unlike the lunatics in the cafeteria, she had actually asked for his permission instead of launching straight into a verbal assault. Uhura sat down across from him and began eating the food she had brought with her.
'So you're back then,' she stated.
Kirk nodded.
'Starfleet is practically my life, I'd go mental if I got stuck with a desk job for the rest of my life,' he said.
'That's understandable. Although, I wouldn't be too surprised if you received the same fate getting dinner,' she said innocently.
Kirk scoffed.
'Guess you saw the miniature war back there, huh?' he asked.
Uhura smiled and shrugged her shoulders.
'It was a bit hard to miss,' she admitted.
'Finally! I've found you!' a voice announced.
Kirk flinched but then relaxed when he recognized the person who had spoke.
'Bones,' he said as his friend lumbered over.
'If I'd known you were out here I wouldn't have wasted my life looking for you in there,' he grumbled, jerking his thumb towards the cafeteria.
He notice Uhura and nodded his head towards her in greeting.
'So I suppose the tumult was inadvertently caused by you?' he said to Kirk.
Kirk nodded.
'It was crazy, they just kept coming at me,' he grumbled.
'As I recall, it's usually the other way around; now you know what it feels like,' Uhura smirked.
Kirk rolled his eyes.
'Yeah but you women always seem to want attention anyway, never remembered anyone who complained – besides you that is,' he countered.
Bones waved his arms between the quarrelling pair.
Bob the mosquito buzzed lazily through the evening air. He had been flying around the area and his stomach was now 0.05mm fatter that it had been an hour ago. He spotted a drumstick tree a few metres ahead and more importantly – three blood filled specimens. Eagerly, he made a beeline for the nearest of the three. As Bob homed in on his target, he inhaled the distinct aroma of blood. His mouth began to water in anticipation for – WOOSH! – Without warning, something blotted out the setting sun and Bob's tiny brain barely had time to react to this new threat before he was knocked out of the sky.
Bones frowned slightly as he felt something small bump against the back of his waving hand but he dismissed the thought and concentrated on the matter at hand.
'Ok you two, point made, you can stop now,' he said.
Uhura glared at Kirk but acknowledged Bones and ceased from talking. The trio sat in silence for a while, enjoying the waning light of the sun. Uhura yawned.
'I'm going to head up to my dorm, catch an early night.'
She waved goodbye as she walked away. Bones glanced surreptitiously at Kirk whose eyes were fixed on the eastern horizon.
'I've got some lab work I need to get done tonight,' he began hesitantly, 'do you think you'll be alright by yourself?'
Kirk rolled his eyes.
'Of course, I'm not a kid I can take care of myself,' he said amusingly.
Bones scoffed.
'Yeah, right, tell me that when you get into another fight and I have to patch you up again,' he said sarcastically.
Bones stood up and dusted himself off. He trudged towards the general direction of the lab. Kirk kept his eyes on the horizon until the moon rose into the night sky. Somewhere, he knew Kevin was looking at it too.
