i'm dancing in the room as if i was in the woods with you [OPEN]

[myheartglows]

WHO EVERRRRYBODY!
WHAT The benefit for the Bete Noire Fire Department!
WHEN Saturday the 8th, 7pm and onward.
WHERE A fancy building on the Hill, decorated for this purpose

Comments

Uhura and Jim Kirk [TOS]

[talentd_tongue]

Uhura still ached, but she was doing her best not to show it on her face. Honestly, though, she wasn't sure what she'd be doing right now without Jim for the support, both emotional and physical. When her driver pulled up to the red carpet, she just sat, waiting for Jim to come around, open her door, help her out. Not because she expected him to as her date, but because she genuinely needed the help.

[goldn_boy]

Jim hadn't wanted to go.

He'd already sent in his contribution, with a nice little card. And he figured it was the least he could do, but he could do no more by being there. He'd been hit hard, the past few weeks. And he'd showed his ass to more people than he wanted to admit. Nor did he feel like running into Tony and Benjamin, separately or together. But Uhura needed him--Uhura, the fool, had been ready to go without anyone at all--and that was the thing which had drawn him out and made him get dressed and drag himself to her place.

Once there, he'd been all solicitude, overcompensating a little because she was alive, and because he'd made a fool of himself (though outside her seeing). He'd have opened the car door regardless, and he hoped that made the fact she needed his help rankle a bit less. It was possible to get through this night with everyone thinking he was merely an attentive escort. And not that she'd been dead mere days before and really shouldn't be here at all.

He'd known better than to argue that point. Much.

[talentd_tongue]

The arguing had been useless mostly because Uhura agreed with him. She didn't want to be at the party. hell, she didn't even want to be out of the hospital. She was stubborn, not stupid. There was just no way around it. Glory had ordered her, so she was here.

She took his arm when he opened her door, did everything in her power not to wobble, and got out of the car. She didn't weigh much, which was a good thing, because she was leaning fairly heavily against him. In fact, he was taking even more of her weight because of her efforts to make it look like he wasn't taking any at all. She smiled, breathed as deeply as she could, and waved to the people taking her picture.

She could do this. One foot in front of the other, one step at a time.

[goldn_boy]

Jim ignored everyone else. He wasn't there for them, and if someone wanted her picture, well, they could have his as well. He could take much more than her weight, if needed, and by silent conspiracy they indeed made it show as little as possible.

"How long were you planning on staying?" he murmured, head bent. "She give you a quota?"

[talentd_tongue]

"She wants me to have a good time. I'm-- I'm not entirely sure what it means when she says that." Though... part of Uhura was here because Glory had seemed genuine for the first time she could remember. And that was something she wanted to encourage. "I'm thinking stick around mingling for a half hour after dinner and then beg off home with a headache."

[goldn_boy]

"All right," Jim said. "But don't push yourself, all right?" He squeezed her arm lightly. "I have to say it, even if I know you won't listen. You look lovely, by the way."

She did, but it was also just that Jim was overjoyed at seeing her at all.

[talentd_tongue]

"Even if I had a mind to, I know better. Collapsing in the middle of this thing is not the kind of publicity we need right now." Which was why she wasn't lingering. They weren't walking at too fast of a clip, but there was no pausing for photos, no stopping to answer questions. She kept walking, slow and steady, and if you couldn't get what you needed from her by the time she passed you, too bad.

The smile on her face grew more genuine, slowly, like a sunrise, and then it brightened to the point where she couldn't hide it. "And thank you. Cinna worked a miracle on a very unfortunate dress choice." She owed that man. Owed him huge. Still, she felt some pride. It didn't matter how fantastic the dress was if the person wearing it couldn't pull it off.

[goldn_boy]

"Well, I don't know anything about dressmaking miracles," Jim said. "But you're stunning, even without the recently-dead handicap." Then again, Jim thought Uhura would be stunning in anything, unfortunate or otherwise.

He tugged at his collar. "I always hated these," he said. "Well, not tuxes exactly. Dress uniforms. Are they so stiff, where you're from?"

[talentd_tongue]

"Worse, I bet. Singlet, turtleneck, and the starched jacket with the high collar." Uhura didn't mind them so much, though. They made her feel a part of something bigger than herself. They were a symbol, a badge of honour and a beacon of hope.

No, she didn't mind the discomfort. Of course, that didn't mean the discomfort didn't exist in the first place. "I'd still take that uniform over this dress, though." Mostly because it would mean she was home.

[goldn_boy]

Jim knew exactly what she meant.

"I know," he said warmly, pressing her hand where it lay in the crook of his elbow. "Me too." He laughed. "Then again, I probably couldn't pull off that dress. Shoulders, you know."