riverviewlogs | ( closed ) I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain

[ Jim has to admit, the trip there is half the fun. More than half, possibly, although his opinion may change later on, when he gets to sip on some hot cocoa and eat a delicious cinnamon bun straight out of the oven.

He grins and laughs when she spreads her arms out wide. Far be it from him to tell her not to do that, because really, while it's a little crazy and reckless, it's very much along the lines of something that Jim himself would do.

Either way, she's clinging to him soon after, and without him ever losing balance or control. He speeds up again, going faster down the straight road, slowing down only near a curve. After a few turns and long straight roads, he starts on his way back to the city. ]

[Freya maps their path and mentally makes a few notes about the landmarks that line either side of the road. She's been in the city for a month or so and, while she has an excellent sense of direction, there are some places that she hasn't seen yet and a few locations that she wants to inspect more closely.

She's always careful when she moves, shifting her weight with an expert skill so she doesn't throw off Jim. She doesn't currently have a motorcycle in Quarantine but she has a lot of experience with different models and how painful crashing can be.

Having an understanding of physics makes anything possible.

Freya is tempted to lean forward to try and talk to Jim but the wind is passing too quickly and anything she might say would be swept away as they speed forward. She can guess that they're going back to the city and the thought makes her stomach growl.]

[ To be fair, the city itself isn't that big, so provided she's the type to wander around and explore, it shouldn't take her very long to get to know the place like the back of her hand. The rest of the moon is a whole other matter entirely, though. Jim knows the surrounding forest fairly well, the Abandoned City and the waterfalls too, but anything beyond that is still a little spotty, even with a shuttle at his disposal.

He doesn't really have a specific bakery in mind, so he ends up driving through the streets for a while, until he finally spots a cute little place, tucked away in a corner, with a few tables and chairs out. He slows to a halt and parks nearby, kicking the stand and turning off the engine before nodding towards it. ]

That the kind of place you had in mind?

[Freya eyes the sign with a warm smile before slipping off the back of the bike. Her fingers run through her long hair a few times before she gives up and allows it to be a stylish messy tangle.]

Perfect! It looks like have hot chocolate too.

[Which is delicious.]

Are you going to get anything?

[ Jim takes off his gloves and goggles, then climbs out of the bike. There's a small pouch strapped to the rear of the bike and he puts his things away there, smoothing his own hair before leading them towards the bakery. ]

Mm, hot chocolate sounds pretty great— with little marshmallows on it, of course. I think I'll go with that.

Sweet buns and hot chocolate.

[That sounds like a wonderful combination.]

You grab a chair and I'll get the food.

[Without waiting for argument, Freya spins on her heels and steps inside the small cafe-esque place. She beelines for the counter and asks for two hot chocolate and two sticky nutty sweet buns that look like they've come from Cinnabun but without the icing. Being the eccentric that she is, Freya gets the mini-marshmallows on the side and asks for a small cup of icing and cinnamon to make their treats ideal.

She stands at the front counter for a bit, waiting for the clerk to get everything together.]

[ Well, he'd have offered to pay, but he also isn't going to push if she's offering. Shrugging as she heads into the place, he gets them a table outside. It's sunny out and the weather's nice and inviting, so hopefully Freya won't mind sitting outside either.

He glances over his shoulder every so often, and once he sees she's headed his way, he gets up and at least helps hold the door open while she carries their food outside. ]

Mm, that smells great...

I think it'll taste great too.

[Frey passes over a hot chocolate, a small plastic container of mini-marshmallows, a cinnamon pastry and then a cup of icing before placing what's left in front of her. While her intention had been to go get two cups of hot chocolate, he might notice that her cup is filled with a hot white liquid instead of brown.]

I put the mini-marshmallows on the side because otherwise they would have melted before I got here and, I don't know about you, but I love watching those suckers melt in hot drinks.

[ He hums as he lifts up his mug and takes a whiff, then a small sip so he won't burn his tongue. It's still pretty hot. ]

Mm, I do too. Sometimes I like drinking the chocolate while they haven't melted yet, though. They just fall apart in my mouth. [ There's a pleased little sound at that, as he sprinkles his chocolate with just a few marshmallows for now. He nods at her drink in the meantime. ] What did you get?

It's a white chocolate mocha coffee. [She smiles as she tosses some marshmallows into her drink.] There isn't any actual chocolate in it because I am allergic but fancy places like this always have cute alternatives.

[And, to Freya, this is still hot chocolate. Just without chocolate.]

It's good and sweet. Two things that are perfect after a bike ride.

That's almost tragic. [ Not that he can talk though, he's allergic to strawberries so. ] But that looks good too. I'll remember it for next time.

[ His own drink is pretty delicious, though, and he takes another sip happily, then reaches for his pastry. ]

It's not usually what I go for myself, but— yeah, it works out pretty great.

I hear that a lot but I have never had chocolate so I don't know what I'm missing. [She flashes him a smile and takes a sip of her drink. It's warm, thick and sweet.]

I like sweets on occasion but not all the time. I'm a savory kind of person but when I do enjoy sweets, I go all the way.

Mm, I feel you. People tell me the same about strawberries but the only memory I have of it is a swollen tongue and having a really hard time breathing. So I'd rather skip on that. [ He understands the sentiment, at least. He likes chocolate though, so he's really glad it's not one of the things he's allergic to. ]

I don't get to indulge a lot, where I come from. Rations can become scarce, and we never know how long it might be until we can stock up on supplies. I'm kind of like you, though. When I get to, I definitely indulge.

[ He nods at her. ] So what's your favorite food? Sweet or otherwise.

Rations? [Her eyebrow raises in a curious arch.] Sounds like you were with the military. [Or at least with a government based organization where everything is strickly controlled.

It's so stiff, which isn't how she see's James.]

Pizza is my favorite food but I am also a fan of stake and other meaty treats. [She likes savory over sweet foods though Freya will indulge from time to time.] One thing I miss about home is the greasy foods that you could find at any street corner.

What about you? Favorite food?

Mm, no. [ He shakes his head. ] Granted, Starfleet ranks are based on the old US Navy ranks, but it's not a military organization. We do have battle training and various weaponry, but it's strictly for defense purposes. Being out there in the galaxy, you can't very well expect everyone you meet to be a friend.

[ And really, it'd be too idealistic, even for Jim, to assume that they'd never have to fight. Conflict always happens, even when they're aiming for a different purpose. ]

Big bacon cheeseburger and fries, a chocolate mint milkshake, and a caramel sundae to top it all off. [ He lets out a drawn-out hum. ] Delicious.

So you're a government organization at a time of peace. [He can't be so nieve to think that Starfleet won't become a military once a war breaks out, having weapons proves that their asking for someone to attack them. It's not as if merchant ships are known for having weapons. Though, historically, that's why that had escorts at sea.] Interesting.

[She isn't going to argue with him but Freya doesn't trust government bodies.]

That sounds good. you know, switching out all the chocolate bits.

Not strictly a time of peace. Earth is largely peaceful, but we don't just make friends out there in the galaxy. [ There's no open war so to say, at least not involving humans directly, but Jim has seen his fair share of conflict, and he knows better than to think that friendship with some people (Klingons come to mind, for one) would be so easily achieved.

Doesn't mean he doesn't believe in that possibility. But then Jim's a little too idealistic for most people, here at the very least. ]

Mm, yeah. Milkshakes in general are great, of any flavor.

I like strawberry milkshakes best. If it's really strawberries and not that weird syrup. If it's the weird syrup then I'd rather do vanilla which is boring but also a classic and I don't think people should knock the classics.

[She continues to pick at her food with a bright smile, tearing off pieces with her thumb and forefinger before popping the sugary bread into her mouth.]

What's your favorite part of your galaxy?

[ He frowned and stuck his tongue out just a little bit. ] You can keep all the strawberry in all its variations and shapes, thank you very much. Vanilla's pretty great, though, and you can mix it with just about anything.

[ He takes a sip from his chocolate, grabbing a spoon to scoop up a few of the marshmallows and pop them into his mouth. ]

Mm, tough answer. But— I'll always have the same answer to that: Earth.

[Freya snickers softly.] Okay, you can't stick out your tongue because it's adorable. Too adorable. [She doesn't consider Jim particularly adorable, sexy... maybe, but not adorable.]

That is true. Vanilla is like the blank canvas of desert.

[Her smile widens.]

Where on Earth? It's a pretty big place.

Hey, I like being adorable. Suck it up. [ He purses his lips and shrugs, wholly unapologetic. Jim's probably living proof that one person can be both adorable and sexy as hell, and he's very much okay with that. ]

Can't like the planet as a whole, can I? Hmm.

[ Pretty loaded question there. He'd like to say he loves the farm, but God, he hated Riverside growing up. He doesn't miss the farm, the corn fields or any part of Iowa at all. His mom, maybe, but that's about it. ]

Then... the San Francisco skyline at night. There are a lot of natural parks and remote places I like, but... you know, in my time, a lot of places look very different. We had something of a climate crisis a few centuries back, a lot of the world changed then. Iceland's still gorgeous, though. New Zealand, too.

[Freya rolls her eyes at him. She's not actually upset but it's a little annoying. No one is allowed to both sexy and cute. It's like cheating at the game of LIFE.]

Oh that's a good place. I've seen San Francisco but not Iceland or New Zealand. I'll put them on my map as places to travel. [She'd like to see the whole world one day but she's taking it slow. Right now Freya's been through most of the US and Canada and then a few places in Asia.

Most of her long distance travels were on accident.]

Wasn't Lord of the Rings filmed in New Zealand? I definitely want to see that.

[ It's not cheating. It's called inventive winning. He did the same on his Kobayashi Maru test, it's totally a thing. ]

I've never been much the type for long vacations, but having shore leave on Earth gives me the opportunity to choose from a number of different places. Figured I'd take the chance to go to a few different cities, places I'd never visited before.

[ He knits his eyebrows together as she mentions Lord of the Rings, then hums. ] Ah, yeah! God, that was a long time ago. But yes, it was. So were The Hobbit movies. I like those, they're fun.

[Freya finishes her sugary pastry and then begins to focus on her drink. It isn't as warm as it had been when they first started eating but its comforting and delicious.]

I liked the Hobbit too though I remember that book more than the movie because I had a copy for a very long time. [Another reminiscence of her older brother.]

Does that mean you're like from my future or something?

I have a copy too. Somehow. It's a miracle that I got my hands on it.

[ It's kind of an old copy, though thankfully not so old that it's falling apart. Probably because Jim always tries to take such good care of all his books. ]

A possible future, yes. We can't know for sure if your world will eventually become mine, but it's a definite possibility.

( closed ) I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain

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