#mirror!pike

“His genetic makeup is basically the same,” Boyce reported to those assembled in the ready room, “He’s certainly human, no one’s gone out of their way to clone you.” “Thank god. We can barely handle one of you occurring in this universe,” You grumbled. Pike shot you an unamused glance over where his mouth was being shielded by his hand. You’d managed to get the other Pike into a holding cell. You’d cuffed the man yourself, and had done your best to ignore the way his eyes had lingered on you the entire time; how his fingers had flexed and skated along the hem of your shirt before you could pull away. “I want him under twenty-four hour surveillance,” Pike ordered, lowering his hand, “And we’ll need to start working out ways to get him back to his...Origin point.” Delicately put. “It’s a wonder that this man has managed to make contact,” Spock commented from the other end of the table, “The chance of encountering an alternate form of yourself from another universe is less than .00186%.” You and Pike must’ve been particularly lucky. “I’ll take first watch with him,” You offered, sitting up. “No,” Pike said sharply. You frowned at him as he added, “Nhan will take first watch. And I have something I need to discuss with you, Commander. Let’s see what we can figure out and get him back as soon as possible. Keep me updated. Dismissed.” The others stood, clearing out and leaving you and Pike behind. “What was that about?” You asked. “I do not want you alone with him.” Your brows rose. “I--...What?” “That seemed fairly straightforward to me,” Pike shrugged. “I was more curious about the reasoning behind the direction than the direction itself.” “...He was watching you...Rather intently.” “Yeah, well. I’m cute.” Pike cut you a look, and you raised a brow. “Come on,” You added, “Nhan can’t watch him the whole time, she’ll have to rest at some point. You’re worrying for nothing.” Pike pushed a sigh out through his nose, lowering his eyes to the table. You leaned in a bit, folding your arms on the table. “Chris,” You said lightly, “That guy has no idea who I am.” You waited for him to call you out on the contrary, but clearly he didn’t hear what the other Pike had said to you in the hall. Instead, Chris argued, “Just because he doesn’t know you doesn’t mean you aren’t anyone to him where he’s from.” “Well if I’m someone good, then we may be able to get answers out of him faster.” “And if you’re someone bad?” “Then he’ll probably keep his mouth shut around me and we won’t have anything to worry about. Besides, he’ll be contained.” Pike didn’t like it; you could see it in his furrowed brow, and the purse of his lips. “I don’t want you alone with him,” He said firmly. “I’ll take shifts with Nhan and we’ll arrange shifts to switch off with the rest of the security team until we work out how to get him home. Satisfied?” You knew that he wasn’t, but he nodded regardless. -- When you entered the brig, Nhan was questioning the other Pike. He was standing before her, seemingly at attention. His expression was riddled with boredom; he wasn’t answering her questions. When he saw you out of her periphery, however, he tipped his head to the side to get a better view of you, tracking your movements. You tried not to let it trip you up, or to change the way you moved, but it was intimidating. “Hey-- I’m speaking,” Nhan snapped. You folded your arms over your chest, staring the man down in turn. He shifted his attention back to Nhan, brow raised. “I was wondering when you’d stop.” That was your Pike’s humor, but with a sharp edge. You had to bite back a smile. His eyes darted to you again. You walked closer to the wall of the brig and leaned back, out of his sight. You caught sight of Nhan’s eye, shaking your head a little. She wasn’t going to get anywhere with him. -- “Commander Nhan, you’re needed on the Bridge.” Your eyes snapped to Nhan as she was commed. She glanced over at you, then back at where he was. “...Are you going to be alright?” “Fine,” You waved her off, “Don’t worry about it.” Nhan took one more look at the man before she left. The room was quiet for a few moments, and then you heard the steady clunking of footsteps in the brig. You glanced back toward the sound, but refused to move from your spot beside the wall. “... Are you hiding from me?” His voice was soft, but nearer to you than it had been. He was close now - right up against the edge of the brig wall closest to you, he had to be. “What would the point of that be? You know I’m here,” You answered. “And yet you stay tucked away. Why?” Because the way you watch me frightens me. “I see plenty of you in my own universe.” He chuckled, soft, dark, warm - a sound that could wrap you up and drown you. “You see someone like me, perhaps, but you do not see me.” Damnit, you wanted to look. That gaze - you’d been mulling it over for hours - would it be just as intense now? You pushed off of the wall, then, and turned to stand in front of the brig. He seemed to impose and tower over you in a way that your Chris didn’t; he looked down his nose at you, set his shoulders with an air of superiority - and those eyes. Still calculating, but now they seemed just a touch less cold. “...What you said before, about me being ‘clever here, too’ -- what did that mean?” This man’s lips quirked into a small, satisfied smile. “Just what I said. Where I’m from, you… You were a quick one. Sized up situations quickly, tended to look for your escape routes before you settled into a seat, preferred to hang back and listen to conversations, make your observations rather than simply jump right in.” 

Your heart was pounding. That sounded oddly like how you approached situations here, now — but that was different. That was your job on the Enterprise. You didn’t know this man, you didn’t know who you were to him in another world, another universe.

“I was a quick one?” You repeated, “I take it I’m dead?” His smile faltered and his gaze dropped. You averted your own eyes. “Well, that’ll put you off your morning coffee.” This man huffed, shaking his head. “...What happened to me?” Chalk it up to morbid curiosity. You eyed his hands balling into fists at his sides, and you surmised it was fresh. “Never mind,” You added. He rested one of his hands against the brig walls. “...Who was I?” You asked next. “The Emperor’s daughter. My…” He trailed off. “Yes?” You pressed. Now you had to know. How could it be possible that one of you should end up with Pike in every single world but your own? His eyes lifted back to yours, alight with eagerness. “What should you have liked to be?” He murmured. “I don’t know what you--” “Don’t play coy,” He shook his head, “Maybe that works with him, but it won’t work with me. I know you a little too well for that.” “You don’t know me at all,” You snapped. “There’s that fire I’ve missed,” he murmured, and you took a step back, unable to help the shiver that tripped down your spine. 

“... Tell us where you came from,” You ordered, ignoring the shake in your own voice, “Coordinates, method--” “Anything, on one condition.” “What?” “You return with me.” You didn’t speak; he didn’t wait for you to fill the silence with your questions or answer, just pressed on, “You think it’s some accident that I’ve wound up here?” He shook his head, “No, dear one. I’ve been looking for you. You’re wasted here-- you’re wasted on him. Will he cherish you? Treat you the way you want to be treated?” You’re not sure you’ve taken a breath since he uttered his proposition. “-- You don’t know me,” You manage after a moment, “I’m not-- I look like her, I’m not her--” “And I’m not him. But we’re the closest to what the other wants that we’ll ever get. In my universe, you are revered. I’ll take care of you.” Why was it so goddamn tempting? His eyes lifted to the door behind you, and that was when you registered the sound of approaching footsteps. You turn your head to see Number One, Nhan, and Pike filing in. “Commander,” Pike’s tone, your Pike, was icy. This was directly violating his orders - you alone with this… This man that had just offered you what could very well be a lie. “Captain,” You answered, tone clipped. You took a step back as Number One and the Captain stepped forward to question the Pike that was in the brig. You retook your place just out of sight. “Any ideas as to how we can get you home?” Pike asked. “I already gave the Commander my terms.” You felt the full weight of everyone’s gaze shifting to you. “...Commander, a word,” Pike ordered. You grimaced, following him out of the room. “His terms?” Chris hissed once you were out of earshot. “Don’t start--” “This was exactly why I didn’t want you around him,” He tacked on before reeling away. He took a deep breath, steadying himself. “What were his ‘terms’?” He asked. “... I don’t-- You’re not going to agree to them--” “What were they.” “More importantly, I’m not going to agree to them--” “They’ve got to do with you?” You gave Chris a small nod. “...Humor me.” “You won't find it very funny,” You warned before adding, “He’ll tell us how to get him back if I go with him.” In that moment, you saw Chris, your Chris, shift into that same sharp man that was in the brig inside. “Wait, wait--” You reached out, catching hold of his shoulder as he turned to go back inside, “We can use this-- No not like that,” You added as you saw his face shift to shock, “Just because I go back with him doesn’t mean it has to be a one way trip. He didn’t say I had to go back with him and stay.” Chris’ hand came up to brace himself against the wall, and his shoulders stooped a little bit. “I don’t… I don’t like the idea of bargaining with this man in the first place, and I do not want to use you as a bargaining chip. We barely got you back from one other universe, I’m not risking it again.” The look he was giving you was heavier than a neutron star. “Come on, we’ll be fine. Long as there are no solar storms in the area.” You managed to get Chris to crack a small smile. “Look, just... Get Number One and Nhan out here. I’ll have to talk to him for a while longer, maybe a couple of days. He seems pretty sharp, if I just drift back in there and agree to go, he’ll know something’s up.” --