Gambit Before Countergambit
The door whooshed; and for a split-second, as she stepped through, Lieutenant Uhura's shape was silhouetted against the bright lights of the Bridge.
Again, Jim found himself wondering what she was thinking of, her eyes on the floor.
A few steps from the doorway, she looked up and saw him waiting – lurking - there in the corridor. She hesitated. (And he was a little sad to see it.) Her chin lifted stubbornly, however, and she made as if to march right past.
He wondered whether she would – could. Nyota Uhura was possessed of formidable discipline.
She almost made it. He almost let her go.
But he didn't.
When he stepped up alongside her, walking at her shoulder, she turned her head, and nodded. "Captain Kirk," she said repressively. Then she smoothly moved a little to the side, so that he was the one walking at the center of the corridor, and she was the one off a shoulder.
Impressive.
Really impressive. She had well and truly put him in his place.
He wondered if she had been taking lessons from his ever-correct First Officer: It really was impressive. He grinned. "Miss Uhura," he said, "You can call me 'Jim'."
She wasn't having any.
Her mouth tightened into a line, and he could feel her growing defensive – angry, even. "I am not going to do this with you."
"What?"
"I'm not."
"It's just lunch," he said, turning on the charm. "You were going to eat, right?"
She didn't reply, and he knew that in another moment he was going to lose her.
"C'mon, Uhura, it's just another lunch, okay?" He deliberately tried to make his voice gently persuasive, soothing – but it might have come out wheedling. He hoped she'd pick up on the 'soothing' bit, and ignore the rest. He smiled, with 50, then 100 watts. "Lunch."
She didn't look over at him; but after a moment, she said, grudgingly, "Lunch," her voice still a little tight.
He almost chuckled with relief. "Just lunch. Honest."
He couldn't resist: He crossed his heart. "Captain's Honor."
(Seriously, did she really just snort?)