HELP HOW DOES I ANNIVERSARY

[boldygoing]

Brace yourselves, Nexus citizens. James Tiberius Kirk is back, after a somewhat lengthy absence. Not the one who went AWOL and scared the shit out of a lot of people, as he hasn't been gone nearly long enough to grow a beard to rival the Jim that is currently standing in the plaza looking concerned, confused, and very mildly alarmed. At the very least, he isn't behaving like it's an emergency, or like anyone's life is at stake. No, his problems are of a much more mercifully benign type today. Hooray for mundane difficulties!

"What the hell do people do for anniversaries?" he asks, once he's sure that Hunter isn't anywhere to be seen. It wouldn't do to make him seem unprepared, next week. Assuming he figures out what the hell he's going to do, that is.

Comments

[red_room]

"Breathe, first of all."

Natasha's slow drawl is a good sign that she's not taking this too seriously. She adjusts the shopping bag nestled in the crook of her arm before crossing in between the passers by and closing the distance between herself and the Starfleet captain.

"What kind of anniversary is it?"

[boldygoing]

Ha ha, Natasha. Jim self-consciously runs a hand through his hair, though he doesn't bother to pretend he's smooth and confident. If he was confident, he wouldn't be asking, would he? Pretty pointless to act otherwise, not if he expects to get helpful answers.

"My, uh, boyfriend and I first hooked up about a year ago," he says, and wow that word sounds weird coming from him. Not wrong, exactly, just... unprecedented. But it'd just be denial to call Hunter anything else anymore, and while Jim and denial are old friends, that doesn't mean they've gotta hang out all the time. "I've never had a relationship last this long before."

[red_room]

"Oh."

Looks like the two captains share more in common than Natasha first thought. She nods to herself after a couple of seconds. At least he's got the decency to ask for help rather than blunder through everything alone.

"Well, you came to the right place. Sit down, stay a while. You can braid my hair while we talk about boys we like. Or well, boys you like, at least." Natasha offers the captain a wink before slipping around him toward a seat.

"Why don't you tell me a bit about him? What does he like? How'd you meet?"

[boldygoing]

That comment earns her a couple of raised eyebrows, but what the hell, he did ask, and he joins her at the little table off to the side of the main plaza. That comment about hair-braiding had better be a joke; he doesn't have the slightest clue where to start if it's not.

Where to begin? "We met my first time here. He was selling some of his artwork at the bazaar and I didn't have anything to trade, so we met up for drinks as an IOU and things kinda... went from there." Honestly, it still boggles his mind sometimes that it's gone this far. So much for just being friends with benefits, right? "His name's Hunter. He's a twenty-first century guy, New Yorker, the gentle soul type. Real nice guy. If you've seen him around, you can't miss him - bald, lots of tattoos, really into roses." Jim lifts one arm, the sleeve of his jacket falling back enough to show off the copper bracelet encircling the wrist. It's skillfully handmade, a masculine design that is nevertheless engraved with roses, a tiny letter H etched into the metal as a signature. "He makes a lotta stuff like this."

[red_room]

"Relax, Kirk. It's a turn of phrase. Sleepovers, girl talk, that kind of thing. I don't expect you to actually do anything."

The roll of her eyes has the same affectionate exasperation Jim's seen on Uhura before. She offers a small enigmatic smile when Jim takes a seat and starts to answer her questions. A perfectly manicured fingernail taps against the table's surface while she listens.

"He's a romantic through and through it sounds like. You'd be best sticking to the classics. The Big Romantic Gestures, as it were. Flowers, chocolate, intimate lingerie, scented baths. Make him feel pampered and cared for. Especially since he's the type to make you things. He'll appreciate that kind of care and attention returned. Let me know if you need help buying anything."

[boldygoing]

Flowers and chocolate, okay, that sounds reasonable enough. Jim nods slowly, considering that and trying to figure out how best to integrate it into a date. One that won't be totally ridiculous, anyway. "Yeah, he's the mushy type," he says, although he doesn't say it like it's a bad thing. "I don't wanna overdo it either, but I've gotta start somewhere. So skip the taco cart and hit up a nice restaurant," he adds, a note of humor in his voice. Hey, he may be wildly out of his depth, but he can laugh at himself about it. "We did a drag bar once, but I don't know if I've got that kinda prep time."

[red_room]

"You seem like you've got this more or less in hand, from the sound of it."

Seems like all he needs is a gift, really. And if that's the case, then this is something she can help with. Wants to, even. Because when the multiverse gives you a chance like this you don't turn your nose up at it.

"Alright, come on. Let's go get you something nice and skimpy to surprise him with later then." Natasha's smirk says that she's going to be having fun with this. "I'll even help ease the embarrassment and get something myself. Fair?"

[quiet_librarian]

The question attracts the attention of a young woman, who is dressed in a Victorian-style outfit. Drusilla smiles softly.

"Are you speaking about a romantic anniversary?"

[boldygoing]

Jim's run into people from all sorts of eras here in the Nexus, so her manner of dress is definitely a curiosity but not anything he's gonna ask too many questions about. He's got bigger things to worry about, anyway. "Yeah, first one I've ever had."

[quiet_librarian]

"A first anniversary can be very special." Drusilla smiles. "I think it depends on the couple. I have heard of those who enjoy recreating how they met."

"However, that was not the case when I marked my first anniversary with Tyr'adn."

"Instead, he and I read by a fireplace. He brought me some new books, that he knew that I would enjoy."

"I think all that matters is that you do something that you both enjoy."

[boldygoing]

"Something we both enjoy, huh." Well, Jim can certainly think of at least one very specific thing, but if they do it all the time it's not that special, right? Not like he thinks anniversaries are probably supposed to be, anyway. "Did you talk about it first, or was it a surprise kinda thing?"

[quiet_librarian]

"We spoke about it first. Tyr'adn and I are from different cultures, so he didn't want to accidentally offend me. We spoke about what would feel right to us. And it was from that, we decided on a small picnic, and reading by the first."

"Most importantly, the time together is what I cherished."

[boldygoing]

Different cultures, she says. Jim and Hunter are both from Earth, and the same continent at that, but he's had enough experience to say that a couple centuries makes a difference. "Kinda in a similar boat, myself. It's not too different, but three hundred years of cultural development's hard to ignore."

[fiveofnone]

Oh, look, It's Jim. The only one he's met so far, although he's aware of the other one. Good thing he knows the difference between the two or he'd be chewing him out for making Adia worry so much. Even so, he's a little reluctant to approach. He may have helped fix up his boyfriend's apartment, but that doesn't make them friends by any stretch of the imagination.

Well, there's no food involved this time. Giving a 'what the hell' shrug to himself, he walks over, ready to impart some advice. Considering how things are going with Adia, he considers himself more than qualified.

"You get them a gift. Something classy, anniversaries aren't the time for corny jokes, unless that's your thing. And then you book a getaway if you can take the time for it." He smirks. "Not somewhere too interesting. You're gonna spend most of your time in the hotel room if it goes well."

[boldygoing]

Jim recognizes Caspar in turn, and he too is pretty damn grateful there's no food involved. It already plays an annoyingly huge part in his life, and there's not a single thing he can do about it. The more he can avoid making other people awkward about it, the better.

It's pretty tame phrasing by Jim's standards, but hell, he gets the point pretty easy, and a smirk tugs at the corners of his mouth. "A hotel room? That spoils like half the fun."

[fiveofnone]

He keeps the phrasing tame out of respect for his girl -- this anniversary idea isn't a hypothetical for him, and his eyebrow raises at the challenge to his suggestion. "Too conventional?" he asks, crossing his arms over his chest. "Trust me, when you live in a wood cabin, a quality Nexus hotel is a vacation all by itself."

[boldygoing]

"I was thinking about the great outdoors, actually," Jim says with a small grin. "Tropical beaches or whatever. But I getcha. Don't want the decor to be more interesting than the company, right?" At least, he thinks that's what Caspar is getting at, and this guy seems skittish enough as it is without dialing up the risquéness to find out for sure.

"I've never done this before," he adds, since that seems relevant when one is looking for advice. "Anniversaries, I mean."

[fiveofnone]

Caspar gives a lukewarm shrug at the suggestion of the outdoors. Atlantis has plenty of outdoors, and some of it frequently ends up indoors, no matter how many times he sweeps the floor. As for checking in with what Caspar was suggesting, that gets a small smirk to appear on his face. "That's impossible for me, but yes. Something like that."

Jim's admission gets another eyebrow raise before his expression softens a touch. "Me, neither," he replies. "But I figure, I know Adia well enough to know how she'd want to celebrate it. Should be the same for your man, right?"

[boldygoing]

There's a couple of ways that Jim could take that, and he can't decide if Caspar means that nature is boring as shit to him or that it just can't compare to Adia, which is sweet as fuck. Either way, he gets the point.

He gives that a little thought, running back over their various dates in his head. "Maybe," he says, not quite certain, but contemplative. "We've done a lot of different stuff together. Is it special if it's something we've done before?"

[smartass_captain]

"Called it."

Jim, that's not helpful. He won't be a tool for too long though. He remembers all too well how it felt when he was going through the same crisis for his first anniversary with Felix. Frankly, his younger counterpart is a lot less high strung about this than Jim was at the time.

That doesn't mean he's not going to tease a little bit.

"Congratulations on that, by the way. I wasn't aware it was official."

[boldygoing]

Who asked you, anyway. There's no heat in the rude gesture he sends his older counterpart, though, slipping almost uncomfortably easily back into the almost self-deprecating dynamic they'd had before. It's just a relief to see him back, honestly, after all that panic he'd caused. Typical Jim.

"Yeah, well, it sneaks up on you," he says, dropping his hand to rub at the back of his head. "I wasn't aware it was 'official' either but shit, sure seems that way. Where the hell did the last year go?" It's a rhetorical question; don't answer that. Jim would much rather pretend he's lost track of time for happier reasons than it being 'Everything Shit On Jim Kirk' Year. Again.

[smartass_captain]

"Aww, that's sweet but too weird even for Us."

Jim gets up from where he's been seated, drowning in a never ending stack of data pads that all need his attention or approval. The jackass smile falls with it when the younger captain rubs at the back of his head. He offers a shrug of his shoulders instead.

"Hunter's a 21st century American, right? This place is full of those, you'll be able to find advice easily. Besides, I got a chance to meet the guy and he seems really laid back. Any effort you put it is gonna impress the fuck out of him." A more sincere smile flits across Jim's face, mercifully short lived so as not to make anything weird between them.

"What've you got so far for ideas?"

[boldygoing]

Ugh, paperwork. Not a surprise that the other guy's got to deal with so much of it, but Jim's more than content to be a temporary reprieve from the mundane drudgery that is reports and requisitions, or whatever. And it's a conversation where they don't have to poke at shitty memories, so bonus.

"Besides the cliché of dinner-and-a-movie, not a hell of a lot. We do that all the time. This sort of thing's supposed to stand out, right?" Hey, that's right, other Jim is the voice of experience here. Lucky him. Although now that he thinks about it, he has no idea if that's how they do things in Tamriel. "I already took him to that art museum in Cedar Rapids one time, so that's out."

[smartass_captain]

Paperwork the younger Kirk is unfortunately familiar with since he's also just finished sorting through applicants for crew positions, inventory requests, upgrade approvals and the like for his own ship. A ship that no longer exists for Jim. Not something he's lingering on for more than a moment or two. As easy as it would be to lose himself in blame and guilt, this time Jim's trying to stay focused on the future. He's had enough of wallowing in his past and misery.

Focusing on his bearded companion's perfectly ordinary freaking out is a lot better use of his time and attention.

"Okay." He lets the other Jim finish his ramblings, arms folded across his chest. "What's the most important thing to Hunter about your relationship?"

[boldygoing]

The eyebrows go up. "Besides me, you mean," he says dryly. Then, a little more seriously, "I'm not sure. He always seems happy just to spend time with me." Jim's pretty sure he doesn't need to specify that they don't always get to do that as often as they'd like. Duty doesn't give a shit about if you had a date planned. "He's really interested in the Federation, all the non-Earth-based stuff. I took him out to this Bajoran place once and that was a big hit."