tampered | anniversary

When; Friday, March 8th
Rating; PG-13
Characters; Uhura, Penny, the NPC Karaoke Adam, Zelgardis, and anyone else who wants to crash
Summary; Uhura realizes she's been in the City for six months. She decides to celebrate/mourn this by going drinking with her coworkers.
Log; Uhura downs a shot of whiskey, resisting the urge to peek at her device. She already knows what it says.

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR SIX MONTH ANNIVERSARY!

She likes to think she's adaptable, the kind of person who can take things in stride, but the City has seriously been testing her calm. Six months away from her home, her family, her friends, her life. Six months of curses and nightmares.

She doesn't normally try to drink away her problems, but ice cream and old movies aren't going to get the memory of Spock's rotting corpse out of her mind. But she did learn something from the incident four months ago. As much as she loves Chekov, she doesn't invite him along. Instead, she's brought her coworkers Penny and Adam to keep her out of trouble so she doesn't have to worry about it.

"Are you sure I can't get you guys anything?" she asks them.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Zelgadis doesn't need much sleep, and he finds walking around much more palatable in the evenings after many people have taken to bed. Not everyone, but the dim lighting also helps. He's not sure what he's looking for, but it beats sitting alone and doing nothing.]

[He almost turns the other way when he hears someone coming his direction, but he pauses long enough to confirm her identity] Nyota?

[She left Adam somewhere. Or did she leave her purse somewhere? She left something somewhere. Which is why she is here. And not somewhere else.

A small portion of her mind that is still sober says this is exactly the reason why she had invited Penny and Adam out. To keep an eye on her so she'd be safe while drinking.

So where did she put them?]

Zelgadis! [The sound of his beautiful and familiar voice derails her train of thought, and she throws her arms up into the air welcomingly, giggling as the momentum upsets her balance and she stumbles. God, she is so drunk.]

[Ack! He moves to grab her (as gently as possible) before she falls.] Are you all right? [It's not that he doesn't recognize a drunk person when he sees them, but she doesn't seem the type to frequently engage in... this.]

[And she's not the type...usually. At home, Uhura was always a responsible partier. She drank enough to have a good time but always stayed sober enough to keep an eye on herself and her friends. Occasionally she would drink to take the edge off of a bad day, but usually she relaxed with a hot bath and a good book instead.]

I'm fine! I'm fantastic! [She's also lying. Being in the City has almost completely thrown her, and her usual coping mechanisms aren't working, hence the unusual amount of drinking. Two nights of wild partying in six months do not an alcoholic make, but it's definitely not the ideal way to cope.

She leans on him.] Wow. You're sturdy. I bet you would be really good at American football.

[The lean is mildly embarrassing, but he's more concerned about her state than anything so he just wraps an arm around her shoulders to help prop her up.] I'm not sure what that is, but I think I have an unfair advantage. And don't hurt yourself on me. [Accidentally hurting people from something as basic as casual contact makes him feel all the more separate from humanity.]

Can I help you get home?

Good point. Good point. [She nods, agreeing emphatically, and pats him on the chest. It's like petting a mountain. She opens her mouth to blurt that out, but mercifully she's not that drunk. She snaps her mouth shut and shakes her head.]

No, no, I'm here with friends. I just...lost them. [frowns] Have you seen Adam?

[He shakes his head and tries to ignore the touchiness. It's not like she'd act like this normally.] I don't know him. Let's look around. [He moves to help support her a bit more so they can walk, his arm across her back.]

You should know him. Everybody should know him. He's perfect. He invented karaoke when he first sang along with the radio. [This sets off another round of giggles -- sorry, Welcome Center in-joke. They liked to tease Adam with jokes about how perfect he is.

She lets go of Zelgadis and gently pushes his arm off her back.] I can walk! But yes. We should look for Adam. You need to meet him, and I need to go home.

[He lets her go, but keeps close just in case. The subject of some 'perfect' guy isn't exactly his cup of conversational tea. He has quite enough of an inferiority complex on his own, thanks.] I do better keeping to myself.

[...But he can't just leave her alone like this, so.] But I'll help you find him before I go.

[It's too bad Zel wasn't around for Penny and Uhura's conversation earlier about how annoying perfect men can be.]

Thank you. You are a good man. A good man.

[She pats his shoulder emphatically.]

[He gives her a sidelong look that plainly says "you are a very strange drunk."] You don't know what you're talking about. And don't hurt yourself. [On his shoulder, he means.]

Edited 2013-03-26 23:19 (UTC)

I know exactly what I'm talking about! Don't you tell me what I don't know! [She thwacks his shoulder and winces.]

You're hard. [And then she starts giggling at the inadvertent innuendo.]

anniversary

after the bar

after the bar

no subject

no subject

I had to use this icon

XD best

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

this will teach me not to proofread after posting.

<3