-- can't fight you this time ( kirk )

[LT. NYOTA UHURA]

toward beginning of shore leave - officer's lounge

Uhura sat in her quarters, a glass of water in her hand as she stared down at the floor, her dark eyes scanning over her things before she forced the glass of water to her lips. She knew that her previous activities have been less than noble. She was a young woman yet, her heart was easily mangled, and that was the state that her precious heart was currently in. Uhura wasn't the type to be weak or accommodating, but Spock had done a number on her this time.

"It would be best, if you would discard your feelings toward me."

Uhura scoffed in disgust as she closed her eyes, forcing the rest of her water down before getting ready for the day. She contemplated taking a shuttle to the surface, but she decided against it. That would take too much effort that Uhura wasn't willing to put forth. After a quick shower, the hung over Lieutenant left her quarters to make her way toward the Officer's Lounge. She figured that she could find something to eat that wouldn't make her feel sick to her stomach. She had dressed herself in a pair of sweat pants that hugged her slender hips rather nicely, a tank top with a Starfleet jacket over the top of it. Her hair wasn't straighted, so it hung in waves around her tired, yet beautiful face. She was by no means, in a state to be out in public.

She entered the lounge with a groan, not heading straight for the food right away. Instead, she found a nice place to sit as she folded her arms down on the surface of the table and rested her head on it.

[CPT. JAMES T. KIRK]

Someone really should have warned him that being captain also meant having to deal with idiotic members of his crew. Who let that guy in the red shirt in here anyways? Making a mental note to put Spock on any and all future inquiries or grievance airings, James Kirk did what was typical of him after a semi-stressful day, or in this case, two hours. He went to the lounge for some coffee, and by coffee he meant some hard liquor in a coffee mug. Appearances had to be kept up while he was on board...him being captain and all.

Slowing from his jog, James entered the lounge and headed for the nearby counter and cabinet. He was on his way to punching in the code to his personal storage, when he realized he was not alone. The dark figure he had caught a glimpse of from the corner of his eye, was just sitting there, begging to have his full attention. Diverting his course, he took a seat across from her, purposefully making a good bit of noise in doing so, and sat with his typical mischievous grin, waiting for her to greet her captain.

This was where being captain definitely had some nice advantages. Although he would find actually demanding, or ordering Uhura to show him respect a boring cop out, he liked knowing he had the power to do so. The last he'd seen of her, she seemed a lot less graceful than usual, and in the company of his main engineer, a fact which set many minds to wondering..but he was more amused by the way she was here. Laying her head down, looking miserable, and having an aura about her that spoke of a sensation he was all too familiar with.

She was hungover.

"You know, coffee will help with that headache of yours," he finally said, obviously amused. It showed in his tone, his smile, and the gleam in his eyes. He probably should say something about her being drunk, and how it was against regulations, but that wasn't his shtick. Spock could handle that too. No, he just wanted to have a little bit of fun with her. No harm in that right?

[LT. NYOTA UHURA]

Why? Why now? Why, out of all of the 800 plus individuals on this ship, James T. Kirk had to be the one to see her like this? On a normal day, Uhura wouldn't have minded terribly that Jim was around. She liked him, he wasn't all bad, but when he wanted to exploit something, oh he would. She knew that he would recognize her slumped demeanor and her anti-social crouch on the table. He knew what it was like to be a drunkard, why not know what it's like to be incredibly hung over? Despite the pills McCoy gave her last night, she still felt terrible. But then again, she shuddered to think what she could be feeling right now? She could be considered lucky.

She winced when Jim realized she was there, listening as he made as much noise as he possibly could to announce his presence. She made a mental note of his insensitivity for future use on him.

"You know what else will help, you not talking to me." She whispered to him, her eyes dark as she looked from him back to the table. Why? She would have preferred Spock coming in here and chastising her for being so reckless. What did he care? The thought made her scoff as she ran her hand across the surface of the table then looked back to Jim. She wouldn't have the strength, if he had his heart set on annoying her. He had finally found his perfect timing to get underneath her skin. Why not now? The man she loved wanted nothing to do with her and she was feeling like utter crap. Perfect timing. She looked away from him, her hand covering her face as she put up her front. She wouldn't dare cry in front of him. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

[CPT. JAMES T. KIRK]

"Awww..." Jim replied in a sort of coo, leaning in closer to her, totally blowing off the not so enthused glare she was giving him. "But don't you think that would be really rude of me? I mean here you are, alone, and obviously not feeling well, for me, as both a gentleman, and a captain to ignore that would just be downright...gross neglect!" Slapping the table as he said the last words, he grinned again.

Sighing lightly, he got up from the table, and went to the replicator, and soon after a nice steaming cup of black coffee appeared. Picking it up carefully, he went back to the table and slid it across to her. "Look, I know that you have this whole 'I-don't-need-a-real-man-I-can-take-care-of-myself-Jim-gives-bad-advice-pointy-ear fetish' thing going on, but if you want the headache to go away, drink the coffee." Sitting back, he crossed his arms over his chest, and waited to see if she would continue to be stubborn and grumpy. His momentary silence was short lived however, as a question that had been nagging at him for awhile came back to the forefront of his mind, and this seemed as good a time as any to ask it.

"What do you see in him anyways? Is it the sex? Although I hear Vulcans are really cold in bed..."

[LT. NYOTA UHURA]

It was a pipe dream to believe he would just leave her alone. Why would he when he knew that he could get a reaction out of her? She was here, in pain, it was time to take advantage of that. It was hard to believe that half of the women aboard this ship had their thoughts mainly on this man. Sure, he was a attractive, he was charming, but his personality just downright stunk sometimes. She could have gone her entire life without knowing him, but she had to deal with him now. He was her boss, which made her feel even worse. He could use that in anyway he could, and she felt that was even worse. He would use it if he really wanted to.

Uhura winced as he slammed his hand down on the desk, her temples pulsating her pain as she watched him rise from the table. She prayed that he would get destrayed by a cadet and just go after her, rather than continue to harass her. However, those hopes were dashed when the man returned, but slid a cup of coffee in front of her. She looked up from the table, listenin to him as he let out a strung out sentence that started to anger her even more. She looked at the coffee, her jaw setting as he mentioned Spock before he told her to drink the coffee.

The slender woman reached for the cup of coffee and started to sip from it before Jim had to open his mouth again. Tears welled up in her eyes as he went on about what she saw in him and with that, she couldn't take it anymore. It was childish of her, it was pathetic, but she didn't care. Uhura cried out, her hand clasping over Jim's mouth, halting his words. Her eyes glistened as tears brimmed her eyelids. She stared right into his baby blue eyes, her chin quivering as she prevented a sob from escaping her lips.

"Jim, please. Don't...talk about him." She said and with that, she faltered, her lips falling open as she realized what she had done. She let her hand move away from him and she sat herself back down and stared into the cup of coffee. She blinked rapidly, her tears not falling to her relief.

[CPT. JAMES T. KIRK]

Something was off about her. Something more than just being hung-over. Usually she was fun, their verbal sparring never boring or growing old, but now, he could just tell. Something wasn't quite right with her.

He must have finally gotten to her though, because as she was giving in and going to take the coffee, she stopped. He could swear there were tears in her eyes, something he never really expected to see from her in a non-life threatening situation. Before he knew what was happening, she made a disturbing sort of sound, and pressed her hand over his mouth. Yep. Definitely got to her, only not quite in the way he had hoped to.

He was somewhat at a loss staring back at her, the tears brimming in her eyes, women crying really made him uncomfortable. She spoke, pleaded almost, and then seemed to come to her senses pulling away quickly and drinking the coffee.

Still slightly stunned, Jim sat staring blankly at her, not at all enjoying the current awkward silence. Exhaling once, he ran his hand over his head, and then smiled at her. He needed to change the subject, get things all heated up again...back where he was comfortable...

"So would you rather I talk about me and you?"

[LT. NYOTA UHURA]

Uhura regretted grabbing his face in such a way. He may be an insensitive jerk, but it wasn't like he knew what was going on in her life. They weren't best friends that confided in each other about everything. He had no idea that Spock had kicked her to the curb, so why would he want to spar her feelings when he had no clue? Uhura drank the coffee, attempting to come up with an apology for the captain. She know that Jim was a good man, somewhere in there, he was a good person. But he was young, he still had a lot left to do in his life time. So when it came to doing whatever he pleased, it was his top priority.

She wished to block it out, go back to her quarters, and just stay there. No one was there, no one could bother her there, she could just wallow by herself. However, she knew that wasn't the best idea for her. She needed to keep herself afloat. She couldn't let her heart break keep her from functioning. However, it was doing a pretty decent job already.

She looked to Jim her eyes scanning over the man as he looked shocked. She sighed, closing her eyes as she tried to find the words to form a decent apology. However, when she reopened her eyes, she caught his smile and her guilty expression disppeared into one of shocked dismay as he spoke again. She groaned, rolling her eyes as she took another sip of her coffee.

"Jim, give it up. You're just embarrassing yourself." She said with an irritated tone, hoping it would get him to lay off a little. However, she knew better, and knew that he wouldn't give up, not when he knew it would engage a reaction. He was like a little boy who found someone to pick on. It was relentless, but the problem was, Uhura put up with it most of the time. She looked at her cup as she looked to Jim, her fingers gripping the cup tightly as she looked down into the dark liquid.

[CPT. JAMES T. KIRK]

"I'm not embarrassed," Jim shrugged, keeping up his gleaming smile. "Actually I am enjoying myself. You know, if you ever lightened up, you might enjoy yourself too." Leaning on the table again, so that he was closer to her, he shot her a quick flirtatious wink. "You also would enjoy yourself more with me..."

One thing about him, he never gave up, especially not when faced with a challenge. He would keep at her until she either admitted defeat, or he actually won her. He didn't really have a plan for the latter, but he was confident he could find his way. He still didn't know her first name, and sure, he could order she tell him, or look it up, but where was the fun in that? It would be much more satisfying to have her tell him.

Noticing her staring at the cup, he leaned forward further trying to look in too. "Do you need more, or did you just see your reflection and realize how hot you were?" His gaze was back on her, his blue eyes twinkling.

[LT. NYOTA UHURA]

Despite how frustrating he was, how annoyed and pained she was, she was secretly pleased to have the captain around. He may be a pig sometimes, but at least he wasn't afraid of who he was. He wasn't afraid to show what he was feeling, no matter how wrong it was. Uhura appreciated his honesty, even if it was annoying. Most of the women on board would have been thrilled by his advances, however, Uhura's eyes were for one man alone. At least, they used to be. She looked to him as he leaned toward her, winking and talking like the arrogant jerk he was. She reached up and placed her soft palm right in his face and pushed him back to his seat.

Then he returned yet again, wondering why she was staring into her coffee. She rolled her eyes at his comments before looking back to him, her dark eyes scanning his blue ones for a moment. They were nice to look at but she tore her gaze away from them straight away.

"I'm a bit distracted. A lot on my mind." She admitted vaguely before taking another sip of her coffee and looking away from him. She wasn't going to spout off her personal problems, because she had a feeling he would just ignore her pain and try and get into her pants, as usual. She sighed again, brushing her hair out of her face before looking to Kirk, feeling his eyes on her, as always.

"Nothing that concerns you of course." She said with a bitter, in no way happy smile as she turned back to her coffee, her eyes staring. She didn't really know what to do at this point, she couldn't seem to concentrate on anything.