done_in_3 | The Vow au bc I love this plot twist and Aqua/Jim are adorable

Three years, nearly four, of wedded bliss. Jim was calmer, more focused and honestly a better captain. He had his wife, his beloved Aqua to thank for that, she was his light, his heart, his whole world. She kept him grounded and morally upright and he honestly took fewer stupid risks with his life thanks to her. The crew ran better, the Enterprise had better records, life was good.

Jim had bought them a house for when he was on Shore Leave on Earth, it barely got used but when Enterprise was docked, well they needed to crash somewhere. It was a nice place in San Francisco, in the heart of downtown and worth every penny of the millions it was worth.The property values were sky high but Jim was a veteran captain and got paid accordingly. He used his money on very little else besides charity so he was happy to spoil his wife with a comfortable home. Besides, if and when they had kids... well if their house just happened to be in an ideal school district he wouldn't call it an accident.

Everything was perfect, which begged for it all to come crashing down soon enough. Jim wouldn't remember the crash or the drunk kids in a truck behind him and Aqua on the road, he wouldn't remember that he shouldn't be alive, his wayfinder had saved him....but he doesn't know what this anymore. All he knows is he's laying in bed, he feels numb.. and he's waking up in what sounds and smells like a hospital.

"Mmm... mm." he was so tired and yet his mind was racing with questions. 'Where am I? What happened? Where's my ship?'

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From:

watersacrificed

"And I have a tendency to steal the covers." A little bit of information before she finally got settled in. She loved the fact he was a snuggler. They both craved affection from the other, especially at night. They wanted to make sure the other was there, holding onto them so they wouldn't slip through their fingers. At least, that's how it felt for Aqua.

She fell asleep next to him, cuddling against his form. Her sleep, while refreshing, is dreamless. When she began to stir, she found herself still snuggled up against him with her head tucked underneath his chin. The events of yesterday haven't quite sunk in. Aqua knows she's in bed with her husband and starts off the day she normally would; burying her face in his chest, breathing in his scent and tilting her head up to kiss right underneath his jaw.

"...morning.."

From:

done_in_3

He didn't react to the kiss as harsh as he thought. In fact he was halfway into kissing her on the mouth in response before he caught himself.

"Morning." he blinked... but leaned in awkwardly, nuzzling her head. Well he had to do something now that he'd initiated some motion to get closer to her.

"How'd you sleep?" so he could be the man he was before, he seemed to have muscle memory if nothing else, but that only worked while he was unaware of what he was doing. As long as he was paying attention he was distant and estranged. He stretched, trying to relax with her the way he'd been just seconds before but it was lost, he was a different man now, stiff and awkward around her.

From:

watersacrificed

Aqua sleepily stared up at her husband. Confusion was written on her face when he pulled back. She blinked her eyes several times, trying to figure out what happened when reality hit her. Right...he had amnesia. He didn't remember anything, which meant her being in bed with him and kissing his...probably made him feel awkward.

"I slept fine.." she murmured, voice raspy from just waking up. Aqua began to pull back, brushing away her bangs from her face.

"You?"

From:

done_in_3

He looked guilty and a bit frustrated about the sudden shift in mood. Everything had been comfortable and nice... He allowed her to move away from him and started to get out of bed himself. He didn't want to disappoint her any more than he had to.

"I slept great, better than I have in years actually.... ah... sorry about that earlier." he looked away. Should he have finished it and just kissed her? Maybe for her sake but then he might think he was doing it out of fondness or love and that he'd remembered. But while he thought she was nice, he wasn't in love with her by any stretch of the imagination. He didn't want to lead her on which was a bigger sign of him caring than just being physically attracted to her.

From:

watersacrificed

"It's alright. I was still waking up and.." Thought you were...you..

"And thought everything was fine." She got out of bed, already preparing to make it so it would be ready for the next time they used it. The task didn't take her long, she was an expert about it by now. After fluffing the pillows one final time, she looked over at him.

"Would you care for breakfast? You got to show off your cooking skill last night. I think it's my turn to do the same." Maybe if they could start their normal routine, things would come back to him. She just had to act like nothing was wrong or a miss and he'd slowly fall back into the grove of things.

From:

done_in_3

He nodded at her aborted statement. She was being normal, forgetting where she was for a minute. He felt guilty.

"Sorry..." it was strange to be the one honestly not interested in and kind of put off by the advances of a beautiful woman. Here he had this girl and maybe it was just that he was 'supposed' to love her than he felt forced in this situation. He knew his crew, well at least Bones, would be very disappointed in him if he did anything to hurt her but he just didn't see how he fit back into his life now and he kind of resented being expected to fall back in line.

But he'd fall for her again no doubt. It worked once right?

"Breakfast would be awesome but I will be judging you." he smirked.

From:

watersacrificed

"Don't apologize, it's not your fault." Really, it wasn't. Nothing was his fault since he couldn't remember anything. The accident was an accident, not his fault or anyone else's. He didn't have to feel guilty.

"Then I'll do my best to make it a memorable breakfast," she smiled back, a small but genuine smile. She was going to give it her all. Besides, the best way to win him back was through his stomach, right?

She went to work in the kitchen, leaving him to his own devices. If he wanted to explore anything else in their home he was free to. There were no secrets between them, at least physically there weren't. She wasn't about to tell him about her magic, not yet. Her mind was focused on making a great breakfast, preparing fresh squeezed juice, eggs, bacon, pancakes just how he liked it. Everything looked perfect.

"Jim, breakfast is ready!"

From:

done_in_3

He smelled her food before she called him. He was rummaging around his own bedroom looking through his things. He'd never been a diary keeper but he'd hoped for some kind of journal or notes of any kind. He found his phone and immediately read his history of texts with Aqua. Everything was almost stupidly corny but it was obvious he didn't care about that. Well it was obvious to him that the Jim Kirk who wrote these messages was happy. He didn't consider himself unhappy but he could certainly use a boost now and then.

The whole thread was choked with jokes, puns, shallow jabs at one another. Even their fighting was... well it seemed tepid at best. He couldn't believe he just folded so easily into compromise or sacrifice. Maybe it was more intense in person than over a phone but it struck him as odd. "I love you" and "Whatever you want" came up enough times in his messages it made his head spin. Could he really be that smitten with her? Could he be that smitten with anyone?

There were so many photos, which didn't surprise him in the least. He loved taking pictures, but Aqua was in nearly all of them. He took a lot of selfies with her asleep against him too... with silly captions like 'well movie night has improved. I'm free to watch Ghost Rider and I have a snuggle buddy!'

He'd sent it to the crew in an almost braggart fashion with the results he'd expect. Uhura was supportive but sacrastic, Bones was flippant, Spock was confused as to wha a snuggle buddy was, Chekov and Sulu were both charmed, Scotty was openly jealous of the bonny lass.

He smirked, feeling a bit closer to his crew... then Aqua called him. He headed downstairs staring at the phone like a teenager, flipping through his folder of selfies. Did Aqua even know he took photos of them while she was sleeping?

"Woah... you went all out. Smells delicious." he was eager to bite into....everything.

From:

watersacrificed

Aqua knew Jim had a penchant for taking photos. She didn't mind in the least as it made him happy. His happiness was all she ever cared about. While she knew he took pictures of her when she wasn't looking, she didn't realize to what extent. It wasn't until they lived together and she saw one of the photos with some silly caption of a snuggle buddy that she told him to not do that again. Or if he had to, pick a better caption.

Their bantering, their teasing, it was all part of their courtship. Not to say they didn't do that now, before the accident, but there were so many memories there. Memories that she wished Jim had or could give back. She made a mental note to herself to research memory spells and hope it would work.

"I figured you'd be hungry and if you're going to judge me, might as well go all out." She twirled the spatula between her fingers before setting it down on the kitchen stove.

"Go ahead and dig in, I need to wash my hands first."

From:

done_in_3

"Me too." he walked over with her and washed up at the kitchen sink.

"Are you... okay?" he didn't know how to ask 'how is my noticeable absence in your life affecting you?' but that's what he wanted to know. Once his hands were clean he'd dig into that breakfast with gusto... and slow down immediately to savor it. That's how it was obvious to tell if he actually liked something. He could say anything, for politeness or to avoid hurt feelings. But he ate foul things fast, he ate things he liked slowly.

"This is really good..."

From:

watersacrificed

"I'll be fine.." That was Aqua's go-to answer for everything. Especially when things were bothering her. She didn't want to lean against Jim for hep, especially now since he had no clue what their relationship meant to each other. She had survived worse and would get through this--both of them would.

A smile danced along her lips watching him slow down to eat his food. Good to know she could still make a meal that could leave him wanting to lick his plate clean. She prepared a small plate for herself. For some odd reason she didn't feel like eating much this morning.

"I tried my best. It took me forever to find the right ingredients, given your allergies. But, it was worth it." She took a little bite of her eggs.

"What about you? Are you okay?"

From:

done_in_3

"Me? I'm great, I have a pretty wife, an awesome house, and delicious food. This is what I always wanted as a kid." when he was poor and living in Iowa under the abusive thumb of frank and mourning his runaway brother and dead father.

"But you aren't fine. You might be fine later but you aren't now. I know that's mostly me... so let's try to do something new. Maybe my memory will come back and maybe it won't but in the meantime let's do something new. For both of us." that would be a way to bond without him feeling like he was supposed to have a specific reaction. He could be himself.

From:

watersacrificed

Aqua forced herself to look away from him, a bit displeased that he could see right through her rouse. Memories or not, he always could read her like a book. That was something that would never change.

"Somethings will never change.." she murmured to herself, turning her attention back to him.

"We could do something new. Though it's pretty limited here and no, we're not going on back on your ship..." she let her sentence trail on, trying to think of something they haven't done before.

"What would you like to do?"

From:

done_in_3

"Hey I have to be good at reading people, it' part of my job. But let's go somewhere we never went before. We don't spend that much time off Enterprise I bet and you know it as well as I do by now so... let's explore San Francisco. There's got to be somewhere we didn't go before. It's a huge city. There's got to be a museum or a store we haven't been to. Come on." he finished his meal with a smile on his face, renewed vigor in his heart.

"You're my wife and I don't really know you so... let's go out." clearly this was going to be great given his grin. He couldn't be faulted for lack of enthusiasm.

From:

watersacrificed

Aqua raised an eyebrow at his idea, not because it was silly or anything. But because it sounded cute and how excited he got...it was like he was a puppy, filled with energy and unable to keep it to himself.

"If I didn't know better, I'd swear you were asking me out on a date," she teased, taking a final bite of her food before getting up to clean the table.

"Alright. Let's go, but again, I'm driving. Go shower and change, I'll clean things up here."

From:

done_in_3

"I am." he said proudly "You're the prettiest girl around here and I want to take you out." honestly he felt much more comfortable now, embracing his lack of memories rather than trying to force them to return. Even if he got his memory back this would be a good moment for them, and if they didn't come back then he'd have to start over and the sooner the better.

"Alright." he rushed upstairs and showered, then dug through his closet and found something cool, it was nice to have good clothes for when he wasn't in uniform. He headed downstairs and smiled at her. "Alright, we're just going to go wherever we want. But it has to be a place neither of us has been, that's the only rule. And no lying saying you've never been when you have ok?"

From:

watersacrificed

Aqua smiled brightly at him, embracing his idea and him. He might not get his memories, but she had to make the most of it. If being around familiar things didn't help, then maybe doing something new...it could help him out. If anything it would give him new memories to hold and realize he did love her.

She finished cleaning the kitchen and breakfast plates while he was upstairs. While he was gone she felt her stomach started to do flips. Her stomach was just fine when she was eating breakfast. Was she nervous? Or was her stress manifesting itself in a different way? She tried to put it out of her mind, taking two antacids.

"Why would I lie to you? Hm?" she teased, moving past him to head back up to their bedroom. "Give me a moment to get ready."

It took her less than ten minutes to get herself ready for the day, coming down the stairs in jean shorts and cute shirt. Something that made her look ordinary, minus her blue hair.

"Alright, where to?"

From:

done_in_3

He waited patiently, filled with nervous excited energy himself. He smiled at her when she reappeared. "You look cute."

He wondered as he headed to the car. "Uuuuhm where do we even go?" he looked briefly on his phone. "I remember there was this tea house Sulu talked about one time... actually nevermind, we probably went there. Actually let's just get in the car and drive. We'll stop wherever looks interesting."

From:

watersacrificed

A faint blushed appeared on her cheeks when he called her cute. She shook her head at him, tucking a stray lock of blue behind her ear.

"Unless you drag me out I don't go anywhere that's not on the ship. I have a tendency of being a...bookworm." It was true, one part of the house she loved a lot were all the books they had in different rooms. She hoped into the driver's seat, buckled up and left their home, driving down the road to no where.

"But, we haven't really explored much of our own area. I mean, aside from the restaurants. The coastline isn't that far from here, but further ahead is the city and if we drive a bit longer we'll be in the country side."

From:

done_in_3

He'd planned on making her an extension to the house to be a personal library but he didn't remember that. He had plans in his brain and even a draft saved on his padd that he hadn't yet searched through.

"Well we could go to a book store or-- hey I remember an old cafe that was held in a musty old bookstore, they keep their money in the books too. It's funny. But maybe for lunch. Okay what about museums, you like those?"

From:

watersacrificed

The bookstore caught her attention instantly. They hadn't been to one in ages and she didn't recall Jim mentioning that specific one. It would be thrilling to go to back to her roots in a sense. To be back in a place where there was nothing rows and rows of books, parchment and hard covers. Where there were lamps and chairs every other row.

"That sounds fun. We could do that today." As for the museum...

"Yeah, I do. Haven't been to one in a while, but what about an antique store? I know you like collecting unique and interesting things. I think there's one a few miles from here." It would give them a chance to explore something they both enjoyed. A place where they could find anything and possibly everything.

From:

done_in_3

His eyes lit up. Antiques?

"Yeah, that sounds awesome. Maybe we can find antique books, that's something we'd both like a lot right?" he got into the car eager to get going like a child or better yet, a dog.

"Let's spend money, I love doing that. Then the museum, then lunch in that bookstore and we can read until dinner and then we'll find some place we never went before and eat there. If it sucks we come home and I make dessert and if it's good, well that's self explanatory."

From:

watersacrificed

"We can spend money, but not too much." they did have this thing called 'bills' that they had to pay off every month. Much to his disinterest. Better to keep paying said bills unless they wanted to live without electricity and food. But his enthusiasm is great. He's excited thereby getting Aqua excited too.

"But, we have a pack day a head of us. I hope you can keep up." A tease, a playful jab to get him even more riled up. Maybe get him to see how and why he fell in love with her. They drive up the city, passing various streets and shops along the way. In about ten minutes they get to the antique store with the old, hand carved sign out in the front.

"We're here."

From:

done_in_3

"Phh, lady I was BORN for this. Let's go!" he eagerly dove into the store once they were inside, only to immediately slow down and carefully step around the aged antiques. He respected their age and their history and he was immediately lost to the stories they held. If Aqua wanted any attention at all she'd have to interrupt him.

He finds an old painting called The Singing Butler that he looks at several times as he tours the store.

"I think I like this. Let's get it. We can pretend it's us."

From:

watersacrificed

Aqua smiled, trying to resist the urge to yell at Jim to slow down and not hurt himself as he jumped out of the car. No, she couldn't do that. Not when he was having fun and being himself. She followed right behind him, staying quiet and thoughtfully admiring each antique that caught her attention. They were both lost in their own little worlds until he spoke up.

"Oh?" she looked over the painting, taking note of the color and the subject matter. Two people dancing...was he remembering something?

"Why do you want this one? I thought you would've glanced over it."

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done_in_3

September 2023

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watersacrificed - lol its okay

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