…AND THE ONE PAIRING NOBODY BELIEVES

6. James T. Kirk: THE MAN WHO SLEEPS ALONE

Nobody on the ship believes it, even his friends, those who know him best, seem to have their doubts, but since he has taken command of the Enterprise six months ago, Captain James T. Kirk has spent every night alone in his quarters.

It isn't a physical thing. Sure, in the first few days, when he needed to get used to the sheer amount of his new duties, he was exhausted at the day's end. But now he has found his pace, and his young body is healthy, strong and, as the med computer likes to call it, "fully functional", thank you.

It isn't out of remorse for sins of his past. There aren't any. He has been with a lot of women, some men, and, at the Academy, a few beings who didn't fall in either category. All of them have given him joy and pleasure, and he has tried his best to give them the same. There were things he could have handled better, but there is nothing he has to be ashamed of.

It isn't lack of opportunity, not exactly. He has never taken what wasn't given willingly and freely, and will keep it this way. He would never play the "captain card", or, for that matter, try to break up other people's relationships just to get some fun. Both would be dishonorable. Not that Jim uses big words like that when it comes to friendship and sex, but that is how he feels, who he is.

But he knows there are many on this ship who would come to him (in some cases, again), if he just said a word. Of course there are regulations, too, he knows and respects them. But if he was sure it was the right to do for him and his partner(s)? Regulations, shmegulations. That's who Jim is, too.

It is just that he has a feeling that has learned and experienced nearly everything there was to learn when it comes to sex. (He hasn't had a long-lasting relationship yet, that's true, but that is something else and you can't plan for that, can you?) For now, there are other kinds of adventure that call to his insatiable curiosity and energy, that are even more exciting to explore: being a captain, and this new ship, new worlds, new life forms, all those wonderful, unknown things to discover and learn.

This is how he feels now, and it doesn't worry him, because in his heart he knows he won't feel this way forever. He will meet someone who will make him change his mind, maybe tomorrow night, or in the next weeks or months. He will know.

But for now, James T. Kirk sleeps alone.