Be My Guest

[losthunter]

Hunter is hosting a few guests at his Nexus apartment tonight. Hunter had been planning this night for awhile, ever since meeting some of the crew members of Jim's ship, getting to know them better, and then telling them about the Nexus. He has been busy planning for the evening, including grocery shopping for some home-made recipes, and finishing some art pieces that will be given as gifts.

Hunter has arranged so that the PINpoint portal is basically connected to his front door. His open concept kitchen and living room will be the first thing that his guests will see, once they arrive through the PINpoint portal. There is a small closet located to the left of the door where they can place any jackets.

The dining room in the living room has been set with all the dining places for his guests. He decided against placecards, since it is more freedom to allow his guests to choose their own seats. On the island in the kitchen is a large plate of vegetarian-friendly appetizers, which features Lavash bread topped with Guacamole and red bell peppers, alongside crescent rolls filled with Jalapeño, mushrooms and asparagus.

The open concept living room immediately flows into Hunter's art studio, where he has a few pieces still being created. There is a large set of French doors that leads out from the living room to an outdoor patio, where there is a rose garden outside. The every-spanning Nexus can be viewed from the patio balcony. Right now, the Nexus is showing the lakeside, where Hunter had first appeared when he had needed support the most.

There are a few closed doors along one wall, one of which that leads to the bathroom, and the other of which leads to Hunter's bedroom.

As Hunter chills some wine, and checks on his main course, he is pretty ready for his guests to arrive. He is feeling excited and happy to be a host.

Comments

[boldygoing]

McCoy's voice will be the first one that Hunter hears, signaling the arrival of his guests. "And you do this all the time, do you?"

Jim's voice laughs easily, not taking any offense at McCoy's wariness. "Not all the time. It's perfectly safe. Trust me." Of course, he knows that McCoy does, because otherwise the doctor wouldn't have followed him through the transition into the Nexus.

As this isn't an official Starfleet function, none of Hunter's guests have subjected themselves to wearing their dress grays. Jim and McCoy have gone with button-down shirts, Jim in white and McCoy in dark blue, paired with appropriately dark pants. Spock is in black, his Vulcan robes less formal than he'd wear at a diplomatic function, but a small step up from his fellow officers' more casual attire. Uhura stands out among the men, wearing a bright red dress, decorated with African patterns in purple and gold, accented by a spiraling pair of gold earrings.

Jim has been here before once, so he feels more at ease in the apartment, his eyes seeking out Hunter while the other houseguests are still looking around. Fortunately, in a society where travel via technological teleportation is nothing out of the ordinary, it isn't disorienting at all to suddenly find oneself someplace completely different.


[ooc: I tried to find images to link but my iPod browser keeps crashing, so we'll have to use our imaginations for now. :P]

[losthunter]

Hunter is just coming in from the patio, where the main course is currently being barbecued. He had heard the voices of his guests, just moments after it had been time to turn everything. So it was good timing.

"Greetings everyone!" Hunter is wearing a button-down shirt himself. It is a light blue, which really sets off the dark tattoos on his skin. He is wearing a pair of dark blue jeans, which fits into the casual evening he had planned.

"I have made some punch." He gets the punch out of the fridge, where it had been keeping cool. It is a watermelon flavor, and is actually served in a bowl made out of a watermelon rind. "Please help yourselves!"

[boldygoing]

Jim looks Hunter over, enjoying the view. "You really went all-out, huh," he says, teasing a little as he takes one of the guacamole bread appetizers.

Spock raises an eyebrow appreciatively at the appetizers, sampling one of the rolls while Uhura gets punch for them both. McCoy sniffs the air as he gets a glass too, smelling the traces of smoke from the grill. "What's cookin'? Or is it a surprise?"

[losthunter]

"Nah... this isn't going all-out." Hunter teases right back.

"I have barbecue shish kabobs going. A chicken and shrimp version, and a tofu and pineapple version. I also have corn on the cob roasting up."

[boldygoing]

"Tofu and pineapple barbecue?" McCoy repeats, looking scandalized, as a Southern boy would. Though more out of reflex and Georgian pride than any real insult to Hunter's cooking.

Spock tilts his head, a faint glint of humor in those dark eyes. Mostly at McCoy's attitude. "Most intriguing. I look forward to trying it."

"I haven't had real corn on the cob in years," Jim muses out loud, before McCoy might feel moved to defend his home state's centuries-old traditions of barbecue. It's bad enough that opinions on what constitute 'real' barbecue varies depending on the state, even without having a few centuries of tradition separating them.

[losthunter]

"I have a Vegan friend who recommended the recipe." Hunter replies with a soft smile. He wanted to find a good balance between what he knew of his guests. And he knew that McCoy as a Southern boy would enjoy barbecue. But he also wanted to ensure that Spock had something enjoyable too.

"These should be nice and juicy, I had them boiling beforehand. I just have them on the barbecue to get a good crisp on them." Hunter is glad that he had selected something that would be a treat for Jim.

"And I have a salad prepared too."

"The dessert choice will be a surprise." He winks at McCoy.

[boldygoing]

"Your consideration is appreciated," Spock tells him. "The bread items are likewise satisfactory."

Uhura wanders towards one of the windows, sipping at her punch as she peers out into the Nexus. "I've gotta admit, this isn't what I expected from this place. It looks pretty normal to me."

[losthunter]

"This is just the view that I have right now. The outside view changes every now and then... it was a little weird to get used to."

"Some mornings I would wake up to the park, where I first arrived. Others, I would be looking down on the Nexus market. Or have a view of the millions of doors that open onto the common areas."

"There was even one day when I awoke to have a space scenery outside my window."

[boldygoing]

"Is the scenery changing, or is your apartment moving around?" Jim asks, curious. He takes a seat on one of the couches, making himself comfortable. McCoy follows him, not quite as much at ease in their surroundings, but he's used to that.

Spock, meanwhile, has another thought. "I must assume that your home was not exposed to vacuum."

[losthunter]

"I never really looked into that. But the Nexus apartments can adjust in size... so... anything is possible." Hunter sits besides Jim.

"No. It wasn't. And my roses still flourished, even though the outside was different than before."

[boldygoing]

McCoy shudders a little at the thought of being suddenly exposed to space. "God, that would freak me the hell out."

"Speaking of your garden, it's beautiful," Uhura says, smiling over at him. She's not quite ready to sit, content to stand and look out at the scenery. Spock stands at her side, and if it hadn't already been known that the two of them were dating, the Vulcan's closeness to her would be quite a clue.

[losthunter]

It is sweet to see the closeness between the two of them. Hunter smiles.

"Thank you. I had built my first rose garden shortly after my appearance had been changed. I started with red roses, but have explored with yellow and white roses."

"And I have even grown a few hybrids too."

Hunter nods towards his art studio. "I sometimes use the petals from my roses in my paintings. Or to make jewelry."

[boldygoing]

"You have experimented with your own hybrids, or grown existing breeds?" Spock asks, raising an eyebrow in scientific curiosity. He comes over to join the others now, and he and Uhura have a seat on an adjacent couch together.

[losthunter]

"A few of my own. Mixing some species from my dimension, with those available in the Nexus. Just to see what might be created."

[boldygoing]

"Interesting," Spock says.

"Probably a good thing we haven't told Sulu yet, or he'd be grilling you about roses for hours," Jim says with a grin. "Botany's kind of his hobby."

[losthunter]

"And I could talk about roses for hours. But I am sure there are better conversations to be had."

[boldygoing]

"So you live here by yourself?" Uhura asks. She's noticed that there doesn't seem to be any signs of anyone else in residence, in the decor or elsewhere.

[losthunter]

"Yes. For about a year now."

"It has been some time since I shared a place with anyone." There might not be signs of anyone else in residence, but there are random pieces of art work that were gifted to Hunter by his friends.

[boldygoing]

"And that doesn't get lonely?" McCoy asks with a slight frown.

"It's the Nexus, Bones," Jim answers, nudging the doctor. "Trust me, there's no shortage of people if you want company."

[losthunter]

"And sometimes, it is nice to have the place to myself. Blast my music. Work on my art. Walk around with paint or clay on my hands and my skin."

And if Hunter had wanted someone to move in with him, the person he would choose right now would not be in his best interest.

[boldygoing]

"Ah, civilian life," McCoy drawls, taking a drink from his punch.

[losthunter]

"It is the only life I know." Hunter laughs.

"So... care to turn some skewers with me?" He offers to Jim. But anyone is welcome to help out.

[boldygoing]

"Sure," Jim agrees readily. "Bones, you wanna supervise?"

McCoy gives Jim a look like he isn't sure if this is supposed to be a dig at his opinions on barbecue or if it's an insinuation that his mother henning is such that he doesn't trust the captain not to burn himself. "You know, I think I will," he says, muttering something under his breath about tofu.

[losthunter]

"And if you two would like, you can go through my music selection and make a choice for something to play." Hunter speaks to Spock and Uhura, gesturing to the sound system he has in the living room. There is a large CD tower that holds about 100 choices.

Hunter then leads Jim and McCoy out to the balcony outside. Tucked away on one side of the balcony is a hot tub, which is covered right now.

He lifts the lid of the barbecue, letting the smell of barbecue fill the air.

[boldygoing]

"That does smell pretty good," McCoy admits, as the scent of cooking meat wafts across the balcony.

"One of the only good things about being Earthside is getting real food," Jim agrees. Even though this isn't Earth, it still counts enough for him. He eyes the skewers, taking note of their levels of doneness and where the greater points of heat seem to be on the grill, so they can rearrange them to cook evenly.