Almost no one gave a single, homeless man trouble.
Being Jim was safe.
...
Jamie was never safe.
Jamie learned early on that even in Federation space being a little girl is a dangerous thing.
Especially when your mother marries a drunk that looks at the other girls with looks that disgust Jamie. Especially when you are struggling to stay alive on a cursed rock of a colony. Especially when you get thrown into the foster system after being orphaned.
...
Jim was the stereotype of a guy, and is surprised that nobody sees through his BS.
He flirts, he jokes, he acts like nothing matters, keeping everyone at arms length, never letting anyone close.
He should have left the bar when he saw the red uniforms streaming in, but his curiosity and boredom made him stay.
Jim knows he's screwed when he finds himself on a shuttle to the Academy.
...
Jamie's able to keep up the charade for six months before she's caught.
A few whispers to the "wrong" people about Jim's supposed slut behavior is enough to ward off most people.
A few more whispers to other "wrong" people claiming that Jim is only there due to nepotism drove the rest away.
With that out of the way Jamie thrived, she had classes that for the first time in her life were actually stimulating and challenging.
True, she was lonely, but that was nothing she wasn't used to.
Not even her roommate knew.
Until that night.
Bones was supposed to be out of state visiting his daughter, and wasn't supposed to be back for another few days, so Jamie let her guard down.
Rather than the knee length shorts and long sleeved shirts she normally wore around the apartment, she'd worn just a pair of shorts and a sports bra.
She'd fallen asleep reading, so she didn't hear Bones returning, his yelling was what woke her up.
She was terrified at first, and the sight of her cringing away from him caused Bones to calm down almost instantly.
...
"You should have trusted me."
"I've never had a good experience with trusting men."
"I'm not men."
"Have you looked in a mirror."
"Smartass, you know what I meant. I'm your friend."
"A lot of people have claimed that... Every single one turned out the same. Jim is safer, nobody wants to see more of Jim than I want them to. You weren't supposed to be here."
"Yeah, well the Bitch 'forgot' that I was coming to visit and sent JoJo off to a camp off world."
"Please don't turn me in. I'll... if you don't turn me in I'll do anything you want me to. Just... please I don't have anywhere else to go."
"I'm not gonna turn you in, Kid. Just tell me the truth, that's all I want."
So Jamie did.
...
It's not until Spock has Jim by the throat that anyone else finds out the truth.
