Dinner Guest Part I Jylliene entered her quarters after her shift and changed for dinner, then hit the communicator on the wall. “Jylliene to Nijil. Are you available? Did you have a preference as to where we should eat tonight?” In his own quarters, now only a few doors down, he heard the comm chime. He was holding some things and was unsure where to place them. He decided to hold on and hit the button with his nose. “I was having one of the midway locations deliver food to my room.” The sound of something falling, the crashing of metal, could be heard over the comm on Jylliene’s end. “Can you give me a minute?” Jylliene winced, and hoped her timing hadn’t led to anything too horrid. “Of course. I’ll be along in a few.” She closed the channel and figured at least that she could try to do something a little different with her hair. After walking to the bathroom, she looked in the mirror. Up? Well, it was already up anyhow. Different updo? Nah. Down, then? She nodded to her reflection, and pulled out the pins. Quick brushing...better. Nice, actually. Returning to the living area, Jyll checked the chronometer. A couple of minutes had passed. Barely. Jewelry? She glanced through the small box at her bedside table and found a necklace that looked promising. Putting it on, she went over to the mirror again, and nodded her approval. Back to the chronometer. That took...okay, now one minute later. Three minutes. Enough time? Maybe? Yes. She didn’t really want a lot of down time before dinner. She wasn’t really ready to process the possibilities of the mission ahead yet. The pleasant distraction of dinner with Nijil was indeed, very welcome. Jylliene exited her quarters and walked down the hall to his door, then rang the chime. “Just a second,” Nijil replied from the outer comm panel. That minute seemed longer, but it gave him time to clean up the mess and get the other things ready. Was there enough light or too much. Never mind she’s at the door, he thought. He ran to the mirror to see if he somehow hurt himself again. He walked back to the door and waited a bit. Jylliene waited patiently outside the door. Mostly patiently. She hoped that the crash hadn’t indicated ruined plans. Or a re-injured back. Or some new injury. “Is everything okay?” she called through the door. “Yes, please come in,” he said as he turned down the lights. Jyll entered and smiled as she looked around. “Very nice. Welcoming. Aefvadh..ing. Hm. What would that be? It’s good to see you, e’lev.” That word again. He hoped she used it like it meant, but now would not be the time to ask. All over the quarters sat candles. He heard they were quite mood setting, but after a while he wondered if it was supposed to be in the dozens. So many in fact he had to disable the fire suppression. “It’s good to have you here e’lev.” It felt good to say. Jylliene looked about again, and gestured toward the cushions surrounding the low central table. “May I?” she asked, approaching one of them. He nodded, “Please. Dinner will be here shortly.” A bottle of ale and two glasses were already set out. Nijil waited until Jy sat down. “Is this the infamous ale I’ve heard so much about?” Jylliene asked, glancing at the bottle on the table. “There was one in the cargo container I received. A note mentioned to save it for a special occasion and do not drink alone. I can think of no more special occasion.” Was he getting soft or less of a Rihan? He threw the notion from his mind. “I’m touched - hann’yyo,” she replied, softly, smiling at him. “Shall we open the ale, then? Or is it better with food?” “It’s strong with or without food.” He sat down opposite her. She looked...he had not words in Rihan or Standard. “You look nice.” “And you look refreshing,” she replied. “It’s good to see your face over dinner after finishing a shift. Or on a day at liberty. Anytime. I’m fumbling over my words now. May I ask for a glass of ale, then?” He touched her hand, “I’m having trouble with words as well.” He lifted his hand to open the bottle. He did not know the vintage, but then would not know what a good year was. The cork popped off. A whiff of its aroma caused him to go wide-eyed for a second. “Prepare yourself.” He poured his then hers. He raised his glass. “To...What is there to toast to?” “Life? Wait...no...how about...mnevher?” She glanced at him quizzically, not sure if that was quite the right word. “You are picking up the language well.” He raised his glass again. “May fortune favor our future.” Dierik ly beradar, she inwardly replied in her own tongue as she raised her glass. May it be. Part II Jylliene’s head swam a bit. The ale definitely had a kick to it. It likely didn’t help that she had already finished one glass - and dinner had not yet made it. Probably shouldn’t have downed it quite THAT quickly, she thought. Eh well. Live and learn. The door chime rang. “It’s here!” Nijil jumped up like a Ferengi leaping for latinum. After a few moments, he came back with several white containers of steaming hot food. “I searched for something I’ve never had. ‘Chinese’ I believe.” He smiled as he began to open the boxes. Some of the choices reminded him of home and others were foreign. “Oh, how inconsiderate.” He sat the boxes down so Jy could have first dibs. He took another drink. She looked in the boxes and selected one of the entrees, scooping some out onto her plate with her fork. Meat with what appeared to be little trees. Interesting. She also chose some rice, then gestured to the boxes for Nijil to take what he wanted. Jylliene took a bite, and smiled. “Good choice,” she said. “Thanks.” Each bite caused Nijil to pause to savor it. He nodded for some, not prepared for the spiciness of others. He looked up at Jy to see if the food was all right. “Sorry the quarters are still sparse. I’ve moved most of my things here, but it’s not setup yet.” He laughed. “My old bed and no couch. I’ve become a slob here.” His fork found another artificial schezwan chicken. “Not a slob. Someone who has just moved in. It takes some time to get things sorted out.” Nijil laughed again. He’d drank more than his fair share of the ale. “I’m a bit...tipsy. If that’s the right word. Oh and I lied to you earlier. You look really good.” He felt flush in the face now. The likelihood of him saying drink-encouraged things did not cross his mind. “So... Oh my. Well, has your family ever visited the station? I don’t hear you speak of them much.” “No, they haven’t. I’d not mind inviting them out, but almost as soon as I arrived, we went out on the planetary survey, then the other one, then the station retaking, then...” she paused. “Well, it just hasn’t necessarily been a good time to ask them to stop by. Wonder if it will ever be?” She grinned at this, but inwardly, did worry. Had she gotten herself an assignment that would never quite be a stable location? “I’m not sure if my parents would visit me here. They are people of the land not metal deck plates.” He paused. “Consider yourself lucky you can ask them. Ha, what would they think of me, enemy of the Federation?” Nijil no longer considered these people his enemy. “This is rather uncharted territory. Would that the circumstances leading to this had never happened.” She paused. “Though I’d hope we’d have met under some more favorable circumstances, somehow.” “You as my prisoner? Sorry sorry...” Nijil jokingly quipped. He started to look directly at her now. He looked a tad lit. She giggled. “No, no, you’re beginning to sound like our Daise security there.” Wait, did I just giggle? What am I, five? She eyed her glass. She didn’t remember having topped it off. Jylliene decided it would be a very good idea to finish her food before having more of the ale. She glanced at Nijil’s plate. “Would you care for more?” she asked, gesturing toward his empty plate with her fork. “Please before this drink goes to my head.” Jylliene nodded, and then looked about the table. Hm. They only had their forks, which they had been eating with now, to do so. Perhaps she could carefully empty some of the box onto his plate. Having decided to attempt it, Jylliene began well, but ended up with half the box on his plate in one sudden shift of the contents. She blushed, and quickly righted the box. “I’m sorry!” Nijil leaped up, thinking either he’d been hit with food or she got it on her hand. “Are you alright? Oh, I thought it got on you...like last time. She giggled. Again with the giggling? Really, Jyll, get a hold of yourself. “No, no, I just didn’t mean to dump quite so much out.” She eyed the mound of food. “Hope you’re still rather hungry.” She grinned. “I’ll manage,” He said smiling widely. … Nijil did manage. The two of them finished the last of the food. Either it was good or they were both hungry. One thing’s for certain, the Romulan Ale was a strong brew. Jylliene leaned back against the wall, a spare cushion behind her back, in a kind of makeshift chairback. “That was delightful.” “Nothing compared to the company,” he added without a thought. She grinned at him. “Is that you or the ale speaking?” “The what? What did I say? Oh no, I’m sorry to offend.” His eyes looked worried. Jylliene laughed. Oh good, not a giggle. Good good. “No, no, you’ve done nothing to offend me. You’re just a little more...forthcoming. It’s not necessarily a bad thing. And for the record,” she added, “I agree. Good food, but more enjoyable company.” “I have more things to say and more I’m thinking about. Uh, what am I saying? The ale is strong.” He could see the light from the candles flickering off her face. She seemed a little flushed herself. “I solemnly swear I will not hold what you say against you when we both clear our heads, provided you do the same,” she replied, grinning. “The ale is definitely strong. And good. My first taste of it. Hann’yyo.” He reached out with his hand and brushed her cheek with the back of his finger. “I’d really rather wait until I’m not floating, or you're not floating.” He retracted his hand. “I’m glad you liked it. Hard to get in the Federation does not mean everyone will like it.” He smiled broadly while looking into her eyes. Nijil was sleepy now. Wait, what time was it? He looked at a clock on the far wall. “Oh my, it’s nearly 02:00! When do you need to get up?” He asked in a lazy panic. She thought. “In...about five hours. Shift starts at 0800. I had better get back to my quarters if I expect to get any sleep.” Jylliene stretched. “How about here?” He nearly whacked his own head with his palm. “Nevermind, you’d not sleep well here, not in that lumpy thing,” he said pointing at his small bed in the other room. Nijil got up...whoa...and leaned a bit. The flushed Rihan held out his hand. She’d need it as the station was experiencing an attitude problem. He should inform the Chief. She took his offered hand and stood up. So far, not too bad. A little unsteady but - Jylliene slipped off the dress shoes. Much better. She’d make sure she had breakfast before the shift as well. “Will you be okay? Don’t forget to reactivate the fire suppression system.” “Yes. I’ll have the computer get all of that. I just wanted you to have a good evening, not a late morning.” “I had a wonderful evening,” she replied, smiling. “But we’ll try to keep evenings of this length to rare events. Before we end up falling asleep on duty.” “Agreed.” He escorted her to the door. “Do you need a walk home, down the hall? “Na, hann’yyo, e’lev. You can certainly watch me to my door from here, if you’ll feel better, though,” Jylliene replied, grinning. “Sure.” He remembered something she said earlier about not holding him to anything he said right now. Not sure she meant actions, he pulled her closer and laid a kiss on her. He figured he’d not feel loose enough to do this later. She smiled. “Perfect ending. Good night.”