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[dendarii]

"This is Miles. Leave a message and I'll respond to you at my earliest convenience."

The line has gone silent; any messages sent to this name only return an error.

Comments

[dendarii]

... I mean I get attached too easily. You've seen that.

[overemotionally]

I told you at the time that was because of how I am. Besides, I think we managed pretty well after that.

[A beat.]

...Right?

[dendarii]

[ Finally, shyly, Miles reaches out for Jim's hand. Offering to open the link. ]

Of course. We did just fine. That's exactly why I can't sleep with you any more, Jim.

[overemotionally]

[Well it wasn't like he didn't see this coming. It's happened too many times before for him to be too disappointed but he had no right to expect anything of course. His own doing by choice. He hesitates a bit before taking Miles' hand, opening the link.

Only now his mindscape was a lot more ordered from the few days before when he had last opened a link with Miles--less raw emotion lurking around, only slight barely-there traces of his disappointment leaking through. He had been working on his meditation and concentration quite thoroughly recently. There's still the general warmth that he now seems to allow through instead of it just existing everywhere all at once.]

Figured as much.

[dendarii]

[ Miles, in contrast, is rather disheveled. With a great big wedge driven into the abyss that marks his self-worth, diverting the flow of any thoughts he's having about Gregor. The decision isn't quite as set in stone as Miles had made it sound; he aches for distraction now, like he'd managed with Spock ... a brief mental image of straddling Spock's lap, mouthing at the underside of his jaw.

But mostly he truly is sorry. He doesn't want to hurt Jim, dammit, and he still cares for him deeply. ]

I'm sorry.

[overemotionally]

[There's a slight flare of heat, not knowing how to organize Miles' mindscape to its usual, instead attempting to soothe. Miles had nothing to be sorry for. Grateful that Miles is still here in fact when many others have simply walked away and never looked back. Not that Jim blamed them either.

...All of his thoughts screech to a halt though when that image flashes by.

And then there's a long mental stillness from Jim's side.

What the hell was that?]

[dendarii]

[ Miles stops too. Wait. Did he just - oh, he did. Embarrassment suffuses his mental landscape for a moment.

Er ... well, I may have slept with Commander Spock. ]

[overemotionally]

You slept with Spock?

[Some things needed to be said out loud. Or some things were too shocking to remember that you could get the idea across telepathically just as well. Mostly there's shock coming across the link...tinged with curiosity too.]

[dendarii]

[ Okay, so there's no anger yet. That's ... hopeful, he thinks. He'd hate to have messed something up for someone else. ]

Yes, I did. It just sort of - happened.

[overemotionally]

[He's now leaking an equally tinged mixture of shock and curiosity.]

Holy shit. You now know more about Vulcan sex practices than the vast majority of Federation space.

And Spock of all people. That doesn't "just happen". How--?

[dendarii]

... I asked. Politely.

[overemotionally]

[Jim just stares for a long moment. And then starts laughing.]

[dendarii]

What? What. It worked. Just because you clearly haven't thought to try it yet.

[overemotionally]

[Jim stops laughing abruptly at that.]

Why the hell would I--?

[Does that deserve to be finished? No. But mostly because Jim can't even properly think of the right words to form to that]

[dendarii]

[ Miles, meanwhile, just sort of gives him a look. Both mentally and physically. ]

Don't you want to sleep with him?

[overemotionally]

[He meets that Look with pure bewildered confusion both physically and mentally.]

Where the hell did you even get that idea?

[dendarii]

[ Huh. Was he wrong? He's usually keen on this sort of thing... ]

... My mistake, then.

[overemotionally]

...I'll say. Or did you forget the history between us?

[On top of the 50 other reasons.]

[dendarii]

[ Miles shrugs a bit. Mentally going through them ... and discarding the ones he knows about, anyway. ]

Of course not.

[overemotionally]

[He fixes Miles with a bit of a Look himself but then plows onward.]

So you literally....sat down and asked him politely to have sex with you.

[This is the important shit right here, not whatever Miles had wrongly perceived.]

[dendarii]

[ Taking notes for the future, Jim? Miles can't help the faint thread of amusement that drifts across. ]

Essentially, yes. I said I wanted a distraction and asked if he would accommodate me. A one night stand.

[overemotionally]

[Mental equivalent of gently slapping that away--why the hell are you so amused Miles, he's supposed to be grilling you and making you squirm.]

I can't believe you had a one night stand with a Vulcan.

[His own amusement leaks through his more carefully ordered mindscape as he tries and fails to suppress a laugh again.]

[dendarii]

[ What. You're amused, Jim. Miles just stubbornly brightens more instead, not even acknowledging that he shouldn't be amused for some reason. ]

Which part's harder to believe? Me or him?

[overemotionally]

[Jim actually has to think about that for a second (shamelessly in plain view of Miles). Miles for restraining himself that much apparently but...]

Him. What was that even like? Casual sex doesn't sound too logical to me.

[dendarii]

[ Oh Jim. He makes an incredulous sort of mental noise across the link. ]

It worked out just fine. We both needed a distraction.