(no subject)

[hikaru_sulu]

The common meeting areas on the Enterprise are really quite nice, but for some reason Sulu doesn't find himself visiting them very often. They're always quiet, much of the crew opting to socialize in the larger gathering spaces or the privacy of their own quarters. It's because of that tendency that Sulu isn't worried about his meeting the captain here to talk; the chance of them getting interrupted here is very minute, and Sulu thinks they'll both feel more comfortable in a neutral location, considering the topics at hand.

Sulu arrives first – he's early, as usual – and he takes a seat in one of the two chairs at a small table, using the few minutes he'll get alone to relax and breathe. He's not exactly nervous, and he considers Kirk a friend, but he's never really spent a lot of time with the captain in a social setting, and he wants to be sure they're speaking as equals, that he's not viewing Kirk as his superior in this situation.

Comments

[willrevile]

"I guess vidcall sex would be easier if we ever got reception out here," Jim says, and then makes a face at his own lack of grace with the subject. The look he gives Hikaru after is slightly apologetic, but also: he's probably got a point. Though they do occasionally install subspace relays on their explorations, it still takes a while to get regular messages through - emergency calls and conferences with Starfleet Command get allotted the power to make them operate in realtime, but not much else.

"I don't know how you do it." Staying away from his husband, and his kid. Jim sips his coffee. "Being apart and also-- like, you have somebody who loves you and who's putting up with this. That's incredible. So many of you seem to be able to pull that off and it's just... sort of blowing my mind routinely, because I've never been able to get anywhere near it. Even if it's rough you have something really amazing."

[hikaru_sulu]

Sulu huffs a laugh, and Kirk doesn't know it, but the last time he and Ben had attempted something like that, the connection had experienced such a delay (on top of enough quality issues that it was difficult to see what was going on anyway) that both of them had fallen asleep before anything remotely sexy had taken place. The best they've managed recently is video recordings sent back and forth, but as much as it's better than nothing, it's nowhere near as fulfilling as communicating in realtime (or being physically in the same place).

"I don't know how we do it sometimes either," Sulu replies with a rueful smile and a shake of his head. "I mean, Ben and I fight to make it work because of what you just said, because we love each other, because what we have when we're together is worth it. Demora is worth it," he tries to explain, and he's not bitter, he's not. He and Ben both went into this with their eyes wide open, no disillusions about what their lives would be with Sulu's enlistment in Starfleet.

"I, uh. I know so people have contingencies," he goes on, though he cringes even as he chooses the word. "Or, more like... Relationships that are more open," he amends. "Because of what I was just talking about, the distance and the loneliness." He pauses, taking a breath as he considers whether or not to go on.

"We've, Ben and I, we've talked about it ourselves," he offers after a beat, feeling the same uncertainty he always does when thinking about this particular topic.