Fic: The Gift That Keeps on Vexing: Part One| Mirrorverse | NC-17

[ivycross]

Title: The Gift That Keeps on Vexing, Part One
Author: ivycross
Beta: pamdizzle but all mistakes are mine
Series: Mirrorverse
Rating: NC-17
Length: 4,198
Warnings: N/A
Summary: It is Solstice and Captain Kirk keeps receiving gifts from a secret admirer. The thing is Kirk doesn't want the gifts or an admirer, because it would be daft to think that there is someone who actually wants him and not his command.



A/N: Written for the 2012 ksadvent from this prompt: Mirror Universe - In the MU, gifts aren't a common occurrence unless you have a loved one or are being courted. When Kirk finds a gift in his quarters he thinks it's an assassination attempt. When the gifts keep coming he begins to wonder.
A big thank you to my beta and to the lovely mods over at ksadvent for running this event for every year. You guys rock!



Captain James Kirk paced in the corridor outside his quarters.  With each pass by his door, he curled and uncurled his fists at his side; he was outraged. He was livid. He was dumbfounded and confused, and damn near homicidal.

Someone had broken into his quarters.  He had strolled into his cabin after shift to shower before heading to the rec room for a drink, and to find date for the night, when he saw it sitting on his desk.  To some it may have looked like a harmless box wrapped in bright red paper with a large matching ribbon on top, but to any Starfleet Captain worth his salt it was an obvious threat. Any number of suspicious items could be in a box like that and a Captain that was too lazy, stupid or, god forbid, trusting, to suspect something was wrong, deserved neither his command nor his life.

The real issue though, was how did the box get into his cabin in the first place, and who put it there? Of course, no one saw or heard anything. Though, even if someone had, no one would admit it, knowing that when an empirical Captain gets taken out, everyone moves up another rung on the command latter.  The only thing to do was call in Security, but since Sulu was in charge of that department and Kirk couldn’t trust the ambitious Lieutenant an inch, he had called for Mr. Farrell, his person bodyguard instead.

Kirk knew that Farrell would scan the room for prints and any sign of DNA,  hoping the person responsible could be caught quickly. If there were any threat inside the box, Kirk knew too that Farrell would neutralize it and Kirk could go about his life commanding his ship. Of course, now there was nothing to do but wait, and so wait he did, out in the corridor…pacing.

"You're going to develop TMJ if you keep gritting your teeth like that," a voice drawled.

Kirk squeezed his eyes shut and balled his fists up once again at the sound of Doctor McCoy's voice.  Inhaling slowly and opening his eyes, he addressed the doctor, "Why are you here again?"

He stared at McCoy who was casually leaning against the bulkhead with his arms crossed over his chest and his blue eyes following Kirk's every move.

"I'm bored," he said, smirking at the Captain's growing irritation. Kirk glowered and continued his pacing.

"If you're bored, shouldn't be bothering your patients or something—anything else other than getting on my nerves?"

McCoy made like he was thinking about it and then smiled. "Nope."

Kirk stopped pacing and threw up his arms. "Fine. Stand there if you want. Just keep your mouth shut."

McCoy turned to pout. "Well that's no fun," he said. Kirk was about to reply when another voice interrupted him.

"Captain?"

Kirk whirled around to face his guard. "Well? What did you find?" He demanded.

 Mr. Farrell shrugged his large shoulders.  "Well Sir. Nothing."

Kirk shook his head in disbelief. "What do you mean nothing? There had to have been something." Kirk watched as Farrell shook his head frowning. 

"I don't get it, Sir. There should be something, and if there had been anything at all to find we would have found it, but your cabin is clean, Sir."

 Kirk took a moment and processed this. "Okay." After a beat, he finally asked, "What was in the box?"

Farrell held out a small, sliver object.  "It's a flask, Sir. There’s nothing in it, nothing on it, no traces of any chemicals anywhere. No organic material. But it does have your initials inscribed on it."

"What?" Kirk made a face and jerked the flask out of his bodyguard's hand.  He stared down at it. Sure enough the letters JTK were there carved in heavy stylized script.

From behind him, Kirk heard McCoy remark, "Well isn't that cute?"  Kirk cut the doctor a sideways look before turning his attention back to Mr. Farrell.

"Was there anything else?"

Farrell nodded. "Yeah. There was this note."  He held out a slip of paper for the Captain to take. It had been folded in half and when opened, it read:

"My Dearest Captain,

Please accept this as the first of many tokens of my affection. 

Keeping you in my thoughts throughout the Season.

Sincerely,

 Your faithful and besotted servant."

Kirk gaped at the paper unaware that his mouth had come open.  In front of him Mr. Farrell twisted his mouth uncertain of what else to say, and behind him Dr. McCoy leered. 

"Besotted? My my, Jim. Someone's got it bad for you."

Ignoring McCoy and finally realizing his mouth was indeed still open, Kirk closed it with a snap and balled the paper up in his hand.  He returned his gaze to Mr. Farrell, holding up the flask.  "And this was all you found?"

He steadied his voice, his mind slipping automatically in to captain mode.  Mr. Farrell immediately recognized this and stood to full attention. "Yes Sir."

Kirk gave a tiny half smile of approval.  "And you located no threat?"

"That is correct sir."

Kirk nodded. "Excellent work, Mr. Farrell. You will assign two of your men to my door for the remainder of the evening and the rest are dismissed for the night." 

Farrell nodded his understanding and turned to bark orders at the other men that had gathered behind him during his conversation with the Captain.  Kirk looked on, his arms crossed over his chest, the sliver flask and paper still gripped in a hand each.  From where he stood McCoy observed his captain as the man in the gold bolero watched the scene before him.

"Aren't you curious?" McCoy asked. 

Kirk refused to look at the doctor as he replied, "About what, doctor?"

"Oh I don't know. The gift? The note? The whole shebang?  You do know that there is only one reason anyone gives gifts during the Solstice? Aren't you curious to know who’s trying to court you?"

By this time, McCoy had moved into Kirk's field of vision and the Captain held his gaze. "I can't say that I am," He said coolly. 

McCoy raised a brow and huffed. "Really? Well then, I guess we’ll see when you get your next gift."

Kirk's shoulders tightened and his mouth turned into a straight line. "There won't be another gift. Whoever sent this will get the message that I'm not interested and forget any other stupid notions they had. Now excuse me. I'm going to take my shower and, after this debacle, wind down with a drink before bed."

As Kirk pushed past McCoy, he saw the Doctor smirk at him once more as he said, "If you say so, Captain," before heading down the corridor of the ship. Kirk didn't bother to watch him, moving into his cabin instead.  He stopped at his desk where the box still sat, now empty, tissue and wrapping paper tossed about everywhere. 

He sighed, setting down the flask and the note on the desk. He then set about picking up the torn pieces of wrapping and the tissue paper, which he noted were a pretty shade of red that matched the bow and the gift-wrap. 

With his hands full of paper, the thought entered into Kirks' mind that someone had put forth a lot of effort into this. They had picked a nice gift that was both useful and pleasing to the eye. They had made sure that gift wrap, tissue paper and bow all matched and looked tidy. They had even left a note. All to entice him.

For a moment Kirk frowned. It was a shame that whoever this person was, chose to waste their efforts on him.  One had to trust in order to love, and Kirk had never trust anyone too much or for too long.  That is how he had made it through the academy and how he had taken his command.

To trust was to court death itself, and Kirk had other plans. He hadn't busted his balls to get this far for nothing. One day he was going be Admiral Kirk and use his position of power to the fullest.  He had no desire for anything else except maybe his ship, the Enterprise.

Shaking his head again at how stupid some people could be, he disposed of the trash in the recycler before undressing to take his shower, leaving the flask and the waded up note abandoned on his desk.

*****

 

"Fancying seeing you here?"

Kirk whipped around, startled at the sound of Doctor McCoy's voice.  He was pacing outside of his cabin yet again, furious that his room had been invaded again, when the doctor snuck up on him. Of course Kirk would never admit as much—not if he wanted to keep his crew cowering from him in fear.  Kirk cleared his throat and pulled at the hem of his gold vest as he made a an attempt to act as if he didn't just jump five miles out of his skin, but McCoy just smiled, his expression telling Kirk that he knew better.

"What do you want?" Kirk asked, giving the Doctor his hardest stare. McCoy seemed to neither notice nor care. 

"I heard that your bodyguard was tearing apart your cabin again, so I assumed our dear Captain received another gift. I guess somebody didn't get the message that you weren't interested?"

Kirk snorted. "Well it would seem that the ship gossip has been slacking off."

"Hmm. I suppose so. If I see Uhura I'll be sure to her know that you're not happy with her."

Kirk shot McCoy a look that told the doctor that he damn well knew that the Captain was not referring to Lieutenant Uhura.   McCoy just seemed to smile even more.

" So... What is it this time? Flowers? Chocolates? Some sexy shorts?" McCoy waggled his eyebrows and leered at that last remark.  Kirk decided that since the doctor wasn't going to leave him alone he may as well indulge him.

"I don't know. Mr. Farrell hasn’t delivered his report yet," Kirk replied, turning back to face the door of his cabin.   McCoy, thrown that his captain was actually engaging him in conversation, frowned.

"Oh," he said lamely.

This made Kirk smile as the two of them stood in the corridor in silence, which McCoy soon broke.

"Do you think there’s another note?"

"Looks like we’re about to find out," Kirk replied as he saw Mr. Farrell step out of the cabin and walk towards him.

"Well?" Kirk asked tersely. Mr. Farrell just shrugged.

"Same as last night. Everything is clean and you were left a note with these items."  He held out to Kirk a tall pair of black boots and another folded piece of paper.  Kirk blinked in surprise as he took the items from Mr. Farrell's beefy fingers.

"Hey, are those leather?" McCoy asked incredulously.  Kirk ran his fingers over the boots.  He then lifted them up to his nose and sniffed—the scent was unmistakable.

"They're leather alright," he muttered.  He unfolded the note and read the message there, while McCoy leaned over his shoulder to see.

"To my beloved captain,

I know that you often complain of the standard issue boots hurting your feet, so I thought that these would be better suited. It is my fondest desire that they please you.

As always I remain your faithful and besotted servant."

This time Kirk did not ball up the note in his fist.  He refolded it and looked back to Mr. Farrell.

"And you found nothing?" He asked sounding skeptical. 

His bodyguard nodded. "No Sir. Nothing. Whoever this is, they’re good at covering their tracks."

Kirk nodded absentmindedly and then looked down at the boots in his hands. "Yes they are."  He turned his eyes back to Mr. Farrell and with more authority he added, "You know the drill."  

Farrell saluted. "Yes Sir."

Kirk saluted back and without another word, marched into his cabin.  He groaned as he saw that it was once again covered in gift wrap and tissue paper, this time a lovely shade of green.  A length of matching ribbon was draped around his desk and onto the floor.  Kirk shook his head. Who would go to the trouble of tying a bow when one could easily find them pre-made?

He set the boots down beside his desk, making sure to tuck the note into one before he set about cleaning up the mess.  He heard steps behind him and he turned to see that McCoy had followed him in.

"Are you curious now?"  The doctor's expression held the question out to Kirk. Kirk looked down at the wads of paper in his hands. 

"Does it matter? I just hope for their sake that they move on before they waste any more of their time or money."

McCoy raised an eyebrow and gave his captain an apprising look.  "It's funny that you say they're wasting their time. I figured you would be more upset about them wasting your time." 

Kirk ignored this, busying himself with clearing off his desk.  When he was finally able to see the surface, something glinted in the light of the cabin. It was the flask.  He picked it up and looked at it for a moment.  Not taking his eyes off the flask, he opened his mouth to speak when another voice cut him off.

"Captain? Doctor? I hope I am not interrupting anything?"

Kirk turned and saw the tall and slim figure of his First Officer, Mr. Spock.

McCoy waved a dismissive hand at the Vulcan. "Nah Spock. Just sorting through the mess and making a fuss over the fact the Captain has a secret admirer." 

Kirk rolled his eyes. "You make it sound like we’re a bunch of teenage girls swooning over a note left in my locker."  He watched as McCoy grinned and Spock raised a confused eyebrow.

"So it is true that you are being courted this season?" Spock asked, a hint of mild curiosity tinting his voice.  

Kirk set the flask back down on his desk and crossed his arms over his chest.  "So it would seem,  but the idiot is wasting their time."

Kirk waited, but when Spock said nothing else and he grew tired of watching McCoy make faces, he unfolded his arms and stepped up to the Vulcan. "Do you know anything about this, Spock?" He watched as Spock's eyes widened marginally and both brows shot up.

"Why would I know anything about this, Captain?" Spock asked, this time indignation creeping into his voice.

McCoy scoffed, "Don't take offence, Spock. You know how he gets."

"What do you mean by ‘how he gets’; what are you implying, Doctor?" Kirk narrowed his eyes and bared his teeth as he spoke.

McCoy simply rolled his eyes, but said, "Nothing. Captain."

"That is what I thought," Kirk said with a satisfied sniff.  McCoy took a breath to make a rather scathing comment but thought twice about it.

"Well I would love to stand around here all night exchanging pleasantries with you Captain, but I have work to do this evening.   Good night to you both."  He nodded his head to both Kirk and Mr. Spock and turned to exit the room.

Kirk said nothing as he watched McCoy leave.  He turned back to his desk and removed the last piece of trash. Behind him he heard Spock say, "There is no evidence as to whom this individual is?"

Kirk sat down in his chair and rubbed his face with his hands.  "None. Whoever they are, they're sneaky and clever. I hate dealing with sneaky and clever people."

Kirk sighed and picked up the flask again.  He Heard Spock's footsteps come closer.  "Do you really believe that this person is wasting their time on courting you, Captain?"   Kirk looked up at the Vulcan, his brow knitted in confusion.

"I have no interest in being courted. I have no desire to be a relationship, especially with someone on this ship. I would have to be incredibly naive to think that someone would genuinely want me and not the chance to take my ship."

Kirk saw Spock nod his head in understanding and he studied his XO for a moment . "You seem overly concerned. Any reason in particular, Mr. Spock? Worried someone might take me out before you do?"

Spock rinsed his chin and gave his captain a very lofty look. "As a matter of fact Captain, no.  As we have discussed before, I have no desire for command of the ship and it actually serves me better to see that no harm comes to you. Hence the reason for my concern."

Kirk smiled. He enjoyed winding the Vulcan up.  "Of course Spock. I'm just jerking your chain." When Spock actually frowned in his puzzlement, Kirk had to bite his lip to keep from laughing.  Once he felt it was safe to try and talk again he gave Spock an almost friendly half smile.

"Were you busy tonight Spock? I could go for a drink and game of chess."  Kirk waited while the Vulcan seemed to think about it. 

 "There was something I needed to attend to, but it can wait for a bit, I suppose."  Spock's goatee twitched as he almost smiled in return. Kirk outright grinned and stood to fetch the chess board.   "One quick game and we'll call it a night," he called over his shoulder.

Spock simply sat in the chair on the opposite side of the desk, folding his hands into his lap. "If you say so Captain." He answered diplomatically.

******

Kirk jerked awake in his bed and sat up noting that his cabin was pitch black.  He never kept his room this dark. It was easier to shoot at attackers when you could see them. He sat completely still, fighting to control his breathing. From the darkness he heard  a rustle and he reached under his pillow for his phaser that was no longer there.

"I moved it. I am sorry but I did not want you to shoot me before we could talk."  Kirk twisted in his bed at the sound of the voice,  peering into the darkness to where it seemed to come from, on the other side of his cabin. 

"Who are you? What the fuck are you doing in my quarters?"  As Kirk spoke he leaned toward his night stand. He remembered that he had left his dagger there as he undressed, yet the only thing his fingers touched was smooth surface.  There was a sound like a chuckle.

"I took that too. Do not worry, dear Captain. I will give everything back." The intruder’s voice held a rough, mechanical quality, infuriating Kirk that they’d thought to disguise it.  There was another soft rustle of movement and an unwelcomed panic sized Kirk.

"Computer, Lights a hundred percent," Kirk barked, but nothing happened. 

"Computer! I said lights up one hundred percent!"  Kirk felt his breath coming faster as he remained surrounded by  darkness. There was another odd sounding laugh. Only, this time it sounded a hell of a lot closer.

 “Please forgive me, Captain, but I disabled the computer controls in your room. The darkness better suits my need to preserve anonymity, after all,” the voice cooed.

It was much closer than before and Kirk moved his head, trying to glimpse as much as of the intruder as he could, “Show yourself—that’s an order!”

 There was another rustle of movement followed by another chuckle, “All in good time, Captain."  The voice was right beside his bed and  Kirk moved out from under the covers.  If he had to fight he didn't want to be caught tangled in his bed sheets.  He sat in his uniform pants and waited. There was another awkward laugh and the bed sifted under a new weight.

Kirk raised his fist and threw a punch in that direction.  A gloved hand caught his fist and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Oh dear Captain. Do you mean to fight me? Come now. That is not why I am here."

Kirk pulled back his fist and was surprised when it was released.  "We both know that's not why you're here, but make no mistake - you may be here to kill me, but I won't go down that easily."

"I should hope not. I would be disappointed in you otherwise. Not to mention angry with myself for having picked such a weak individual for a potential mate."  The weight on the bed shifted from the edge of the bunk closer to where Kirk sat in the center and he went in for a second punch which was also caught and released.

Kirk pulled his arm back in amazement, "It's you.  You're the one leaving the gifts. Why?"

"I believe that my intentions were made quite clear," the voice was right at Kirk's ear.  In the darkness, a gloved finger came up and stroked his cheek. In that moment, Kirk’s body was in shock at being the recipient of such a loving gesture. He sat still as it moved down his face to run its way along the line of his jaw and down his neck.

Kirk remained unmoving when the gloved hand pulled away and returned quickly, but this time bare, with the lightest of touches, caressing his shoulder. It then moved around to his collar bone before coming to a halt at the hallow at the base of his throat. Kirk swallowed hard and the hand was once again removed.

"I understand you feel that I am, quote, wasting my time but please let me assure you, my sweet Captain, that I am not. I am just…biding it. You will come around when you are ready and only then will you know who I am. Until then, I must hide even my voice from you."

Kirk smiled nastily in the dark, "Find someone else to entice—I won’t pity your disappointment. You’re obviously well aware that I have no interest in you or your intentions.”

"I am afraid that is not possible, James." Kirk's breath hitched in his throat at the sound of his name. It had been whispered and though the voice was still being modified, Kirk could hear the unmistakable tones of desire, admiration and devotion.  Below his waist, there was a stirring between his legs.

Kirk inhaled deeply, willing away his arousal, when a finger touched his lips.  "What are you...?" He started but the fingers pressed softly, silencing him.

"Shhhh. Please relax and don't speak," the voice intoned as the finger tenderly stroked his lips. It was quite distracting and Kirk found himself fighting the sensation. Finally he jerked  away from the questing hand. 

"Stop," his voice was full of indignant authority and it reverberated around the room.

There was a pause and then the figure spoke, “Very well. I apologize for my conduct. I had not planned to make physical contact with you."

"And just what were your intentions here?" Kirk had actually pulled the covers back towards his body and he gripped them like a shield.  It seemed that the intruder was aware of this even in the darkness.

The weight on the bed changed and then was gone as the intruder made to stand. "I have overstepped myself. I had merely come here to speak to you and let you know that you are very much worth my time.  I hope that you will soon see this as well. Good night, my dear Captain."

 Kirk heard soft footfalls move away from his bed towards where he knew the door to his quarters to be located. "Hey!" He shouted. "You can’t just come into my quarters, molest me and leave."  He was suddenly blinded as the doors parted to reveal the lit corridors beyond his quarters.  A figure stood silhouetted in the frame, their features hidden by a hood and cloak. Kirk noted that both hands were encased in black gloves.

The front of the hood, which was deep and covered completely the figure's face, turned towards him, “Perhaps then I shall return tomorrow?" 

Kirk gawked at the amusement which was clearly audible even with the use of voice modifiers, "What? No—do not come back here,” Kirk shouted after the figure, “Fuck off and leave me alone!"

The figure paused in the doorway. "You do not mean that. Good night Captain," and, with that, the figure was gone.  Kirk stared at where it the intruder had stood before bolting out of bed. He managed not to trip over anything and opened the door to the corridor.

He stood there, wide eyed and flushed turning his head this way and that to see where the figure went, but whoever they were, they were gone.  "Goddamnnit," he muttered to himself and then looked down to see both of his guards unconscious.  

Leaving the door of his quarters open for a source of light, Kirk made his way to his desk and punched the button on the comm, "Mr. Farrell. I need you at my quarters NOW!"

Part Two