tampered | (no subject)

(no subject)

When; Noon, May 22nd
Rating; PG
Characters; Kirk

lackingbeauty
Summary; Kirk has a lunch date with the reluctant Beast
Log; Kirk had left Mara's place that morning with plenty of time to head back to his own apartment to shower and change and be by Cafe Juliet by noon. While he didn't mind walking everywhere getting a bike would certainly be nice. Maybe something classic from the late 21st Century or early 22nd.

It wasn't that big of a deal though, he was at Cafe Juliet by noon, this time opting for being in full uniform. Ladies loved a uniform and generally felt more comfortable around them and Beast seemed plenty suspicious of him already. Not that Kirk couldn't be above reproach when he wanted to, but he'd have to turn in his man card if he didn't at least see how far he could get with a girl that had as gorgeous... assets as Beast.

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If Kirk looked his best, uniformed and sharp, it was altogether possible that Beast looked somewhat on to the side of worst.

Last night- She didn't want to think about it. Didn't want to think about Joker knowing what she'd done, about-

Didn't want to think about it.

Beast had nothing to change in to, newly arrived and without the money, and so it was simply her circus uniform, though he'd probably enjoy it, a man like that, now, wouldn't he? Low cut and laced, short skirt and bustle of bright crimson silk, with those matching fishnet stockings and gloves, one stocking of which did only little to cover the fact that her left leg was a slightly different color, that she had a ball joint in place of a knee.

But she didn't care. Beast didn't care about much, at the moment, not after- She'd left his scarf at home on her bed, left Doll to herself, because she had made a deal.

Now, if only she didn't arrive at the Cafe looking like someone had just died.

Kirk did like Beast's outfit, but he was sharp enough to know that she probably wouldn't appreciate being stared at by him, so he did his best not to stare. He did notice the artificial leg and it was impossible not to notice her chest but he was sure he didn't stare much. Besides, Beast did not look like she had the best of nights.

"It's good to see you," Kirk said, giving her an honest smile and offering her his arm. He'd found that was generally a good move to take as it had a similar meaning in every world that he knew of, or at least all the women he'd dated in the City so far knew what it was.

Oh, yes, she knew what it meant. And though it was a rather innocent gesture in and of itself, an escort- Beast couldn't. Even if it hadn't happened, even if she hadn't spoken to Joker the night before, the evidence of her tears and sadness covered by make up and a circus performer's guile, she couldn't bear to touch him.

So instead, she looked at his arm, and ignored it, her hand moving to awkwardly hold her arm close, a tight, defensive sort of motion.

"... thanks for the... show. Unicorns, 'n all." Her accent was a bit obvious, not as bad as some of their troupe, but commoner London all the same. "Doll had a right good time."

When she ignored his arm he just dropped it with a shrug. He'd certainly had worse rejections than that, and Kirk had bounced back from those.

"I'm really glad she did," Kirk said. He took another look at her then to the cafe, then back at her. "Do really feel like eating?"

To be honest, Beast always felt like eating. A conditioned habit, from living on the streets of London. When food presented itself, you ate all of it, and you damn well enjoyed it. But-

"Don't this place look a bit pricy?"

"You just got here," he said, shaking his head. "I can't expect you to pay when you haven't had a chance to do much work, it's on me."

Honestly, Kirk really had no idea how pricey it was but he figured that he could cover it regardless.

"Do you want to eat here or get something to go and eat it in the park?"

"... you sure?" Yes, she was skeptical, fingers tightening a bit over her arm, eyeing the place. It was a bit obvious she was unused to such a thing, and even though the cafe was hardly the priciest place in the city, it seemed like it surely must be, to someone like her, who spent her life travelling from town to town, calling a tent her home.

"... whatever ya want's fine." After all- he won the bet. Just... deal with it, right? Just stay calm.

And try not to let her utter inexperience with these things become too painfully apparant.

"I promise, I wouldn't have picked this place if I couldn't afford it," he reassured her. She really did look tense, or at least extremely uncomfortable with the situation.

"Why don't we go in and get something to go," Kirk said, opening the door for her. "Then we can go to the gardens and eat it."

"... alright." She was dreadfully unused to these things, and however she tried to act as though this sort of thing was normal for her, it most certainly wasn't. Beast had reached for the door herself, and nearly blushed to have it opened for her.

Another thing she wasn't used to- being treated like a lady.

A mumbled thanks, stepping inside, blinking at the place, the food, the patrons... some of whom looked ridiculous to her, letting go of her arm at least, crossing them under her breasts instead.

Kirk followed her inside and had to stop himself from putting his hand on the small of her back. He was pretty sure that he wouldn't be putting his hands anywhere on her, but that was okay.

Kirk looked over at her once they were inside and thought she looked like she had relaxed some, but he couldn't be sure.

"What looks good to you?" he asked.

It was a good idea that he didn't touch her, especially today. After all, Beast was always told she had something of a temper.

"... it all looks good." And she wasn't lying, either.

"Why don't I just order for us then?" he asked. Generally Kirk preferred food that was more along the lines of large quantities of cooked meat with alcohol to drink, but this didn't seem to be that kind of place. Plus, it was hard to get that sort of thing to-go.

"Last chance to tell me there's anything you absolutely don't want."

"Go ahead, Cap'n." He did look the part, didn't he, dressed all sharp like that. Beast hadn't had much contact with military, not working a circus, and not on the streets. But she knew the Queen's dogs and their looks, simply because their Circus' other purpose often brought her face to face with the law.

And he certainly didn't look anything like what she'd recognize. And didn't sound of London, either. Hell- not even her world, right?

Kirk gave a quick nod and went to the counter to order. He ended up with simple chicken sandwiches and two bottles of juice. Judging from her clothes and speech he would say she was from Earth, probably late 19th or early 20th Century or at least a time period that had those clothes, but the prosthetic was more advanced than that. Of course, she might not even be from his timeline. Whatever it was, Kirk was very intrigued by her.

"So what did you say you did back in your home world?" Kirk asked once he had the food, opening the door for her once again.

Again with the door, and she muffled her reaction, the desire to protest that thank you, she could open a door by herself. A hard thing, but she did it, following after him.

"'m an animal tamer." That was a safe topic, her work, tucking a curl behind her ear. "With the Noah's Ark Circus."

"That's very interesting," Kirk said, turning to look at her. It was actually the truth, even. He'd never met anyone who had a job like that.

"How do you become and animal tamer?" he asked. "It seems like the sort of thing you have to work up to for a long time."

A difficult question, when the honest answer was full of things she couldn't say? How did she become an animal tamer? Because Father liked the circus, because Father thought it was amusing, and he'd given them each a role, each a name, a moniker for their job, Joker, Beast, Dagger, Doll-

"You just learn, you know?" Another curl tucked back self-consciously, fidgeting only slightly. "Watch, apprentice- start learning, and any time the tiger bites, I reckon you're doin' badly."

Kirk noticed the curled in position again. Alright, so maybe talking about her job back home wasn't all that good of an idea.

"That sounds a little like how you get to be a starship captain," Kirk said. "Only you have to go to the Academy and class after class before you watch and apprentice."

Now that got her attention, drew her mind from Father, from the fact that one of her steps, in high-heeled boots, rung more hollow than the other.

"Starship?"

"The USS Enterprise, NCC 1701," Kirk said, with no little amount of pride. He loved that ship, from the tip of the saucer to the end of the warp nacelles. It was really the only woman for him.

"760 meters long, 190 meters tall and with a crew of 1100, it can make the trip to Vulcan in just over three minutes," he said, pausing when he realized that last part probably didn't mean anything to her. "It can travel between planets very quickly."

As he spoke, her steps slowed, and her brow rose in disbelief.

"Don't think I'm that daft, Cap'n." Scoffed, in utter inability to comprehend such a thing, what- travelling from Earth?

Impossible, right?

"Look where you are," Kirk said, spreading his arms wide and gesturing around them. "We're in another dimension where things like unicorns and dragons are real. Where I come from space flight between planets happens all the time. We even have technology to beam a person from one place to another."

Her discomfort with the idea, her trouble accepting it, was fairly obvious, lips pursed and shaking her head out briefly.

"Fine, you've a point." He did indeed. How could she deny that, when this place...

"Still seems awful far fetched, if you catch my drift." A vague gesture with her hand, crimson fishnets over painted nails. "'Sides, you're too young to be an officer, aren't ya?" By her memory of military, at any rate.

"Come on, what sort of things in your time would seem far fetched to people hundreds of years ago?" Kirk asked her. He really wished that he had some way to show her his ship, she seemed to need to stretch her imagination some.

"I'm the youngest captain in the history of Starfleet," Kirk said, slightly less proud about that than he was over his ship. "I was acting captain during a battle and promoted to full captain for exemplary service to the Federation."

It was easier to talk about his job. Beast had quite the idea that his job involved fewer lies than hers did. Had to, for him to be so... foppish.

"So what does Starfleet do, then?"