Work Text:
Pike doesn't like to admit it, but he's more than a little afraid of his first officer.
“It's good for you,” Admiral April had told him when he'd confessed one night over a poker game on Starbase 14. “She'll keep you honest.”
That much was true, although Pike doesn't like to admit that either. He cares about his job; that's unquestionable. He would have stayed up late after his ship to read mission briefings and personnel files and old captain's logs anyway. But he works just a little bit harder because he's so damned terrified that his perfect first officer will notice something he didn't. He wonders if she notices the dark circles under his eyes, and whether she would consider them an attractive measure of his work ethic if she did. He brushes the last thought aside; it doesn't do to think of his first officer that way, especially when he respects her as much as he does.
“We'll beam down in ten minutes,” he tells her. She's walking beside him, matching his pace perfectly, as always. “I'm taking Boyce and Tyler with me. I need you up here in case of an emergency.”
“Aye, sir, and do you have the supplies you need?”
“Two phaser rifles, a smart grenade, and a ceremonial pig.”
“Very good, sir. I believe you may want to consider one additional thing.”
She's standing in front of him now, looking slightly bemused. He likes the way it softens the sharp lines of her face.
“And what is that?” he asks. He hasn't missed anything. He's sure of it.
“You might want to zip your fly before you go.”