Rrromantic Dinnerrr - Part 1

Posted on Saturday December 19th, 2020 @ 19:07 hours by Kala Marika & M'erah

Mission: Safe Passage
Location: Main Engineering
1656 words - 3.3 OF Standard Post Measure

It was almost 1800 hours as Kala put a few final touches together for her and M'erah. A candle lit dinner beside the warp core seemed cheesy on so many levels, and perhaps a bit presumptuous about M'erah's intentions. Besides finding a table for them to use was hard enough. So in the end she'd settled for a picnic of sorts, a blanket laid out on the floor near the core. The glow would cast a nice color on the ground, and the soft thrum M'erah professed to enjoy would fill the space as they ate and talked.

She'd dressed casually, comfortable and not formal, but still an outfit that was flattering, not the baggy sweats and oversize top she wore in the privacy of her quarters. Those were for comfort, she wanted to look casual but still flatter her figure. Yeah this wasn't a romantic dinner, so she assumed (even if she hoped it was), but a girl could still wear something that flattered her figure, made a guy keep his eyes on her.

M'erah had been worrying and doubting about this for the entire day. Then he had stood in front of the replicator and worried and doubted some more. Should he bring something native to her homeworld? Should he bring something he liked from Cait? That seemed fairly self-centered. In the end he had opted for small bites from both cuisines. A smorgasbord of familiar tastes for both.

Making his way over to the engineering bay, he had both hands full carrying the stuff over, he wondered what Kala had done to set up their dinner. Would she be wearing something really nice? Then there came the doubt again. Did she consider this a romantic date? Should he be wearing something really nice? He had showered and changed after his shift, but he had opted for a loose-fitting t-shirt showing a late 2370s Cait rock band and a pair of black jeans. What if he was woefully underdressed? It was too late to change now, he was carrying warm food and already approached the engineering bay.

Kala had left the door open in case M'erah had his hands full. Of course the doors did respond to somebody walking in front of them, but older ship, she wasn't about to bet his luck on the door opening. She'd just finished getting a few finishing touches done for this date. She'd decided to call it a date, what else could you call a private get together with a guy? On a ship like this you could just as easily share a meal in the wardroom, a public place, but taking the effort to find a quiet place, rare as they were, suggested something more to Kala.

When M'erah came in, holding a couple of boxes of food from the replicator, Kala ushered him in, before closing and locking the door. She didn't want some random crewman walking in and spoiling the moment if they did get romantic. Taking one of the boxes from his hand, she took his hand in hers. She realized she was taking a risk, between the kiss earlier, holding hands now, she was making moves on the guy, and if he wasn't that interested in more then being friends, it could be awkward.

"I decided a picnic seemed best, nice casual dinner together." She said as she led him towards the area she'd laid out for them. She had some drinks waiting for them, spring wine for herself, and something a little weaker, she knew some Caits couldn't tolerate strong drink, the last one she'd dated didn't drink alcohol at all, something about low tolerance.

M'erah was a bit stumped, she was taking it a lot faster and more romantic than he had anticipated. This could've gone a great number of ways and this was a very pleasant surprise, "You look stunning," M'erah complimented her, giving a toothy grin. He remembered the quick peck on his cheek he had gotten from her in the lift and wondered for a moment if he should give her one now.

He remembered that someone had once called him out on not taking the lead enough, and not taking chances with them so he leaned in and planted a kiss on her pale cheek, "I've brrrought some nice things that maybe rrreminds you of home." He took up a seat next to the spread-out picnic blanket and reveal the contents of the things he was carrying, "and some Cait delicacies."

Kala blushed slightly when M'erah kissed her cheek but otherwise kept her composure. She helped him place the boxes with the food he replicated, letting him open each to show her. She was touched, even if his words about home were not entirely accurate, but she'd grown up on the expat version of Bajoran cuisine, so close enough. And when he opened a box with Caitian delicacies she grinned. "Thank you M'erah. I'd like to try a few of the Caitian dishes, been a while since I've had." As he laid them out she reached for a glass. "I've got Spring Wine, and also a few lighter unfermented choices, I know Caits sometimes can't tolerate alcohol, even synth."

"We'rrre cheap dates, that's forrr surrre," M'erah joked he took one of the more lightly fermented choices. One sip of actual wine or something stronger would make him tipsy, let alone a whole glass, "You should starrrt with this one." He offered one of a spring role type dish to Kala, holding it between his thumb and finger.

Kala took the spring roll from his fingers and popped it into her mouth, savoring the first few bites. If that was his first choice of dish, then Kala knew they were in for a delightful evening. She took a sip of her wine, "I wouldn't say cheap M'erah. Cheap is being able to drink but refusing to." She leaned over a little, glancing at the other choices he'd made. "You can't, and in some ways that's probably for the better." She picked one item from the other box, what looked like a small cracker topped by some sort of meat. She forgot the name, but knew it was a favorite among Caits. She handed it to M'erah, "My first choice for you."

M'erah took a bite and his face immediately twisted a bit, he wasn't really expecting the tang that came with the bite he just took, "That has a strrrong, distinct, taste." He laughed a bit and washed it away with his drink. He should've known better too, Bajorans really had quite exotic tastes when it came to food and the Cait pallet wasn't really evolved for that. He figured there had been too many poisonous plants in his evolutionary history for that.

"A lot of Bajoran dishes are, kinda like some Terran foods from the tropical regions, the spices preserve the food, and mask any slight off taste." She popped one into her mouth, savoring the taste, she did like the slight tang to the dish, the reason she'd chosen it first. "Did you bring some (butchered pronunciation)⁽¹⁾?" She asked, "A favourite dish." She smiled up at him, seeing how he'd react, she'd not really said much about her familiarity with his species, that was information that'd come out in time.

M'erah twitched a bit at the attempt at the pronunciation of the dish's name, "I did..." he dug around the box a bit to find the thing she was asking for, "though you might not want to call it that anymorrre unless that's how you rrreally feel about my sisterrr."

Kala blushed a little, she knew her pronunciation was rusty at best, and she's never mastered his language. "R'sohl teased me about that a little when we were dating. Bajorans, and humans don't have the same vocal range as Caits do so it's hard not to accidently say 'naughty' things."

"I imagine that if I trrried Bajorrran I'd make a fool of myself as well," M'erah remarked, he then leaned in, "how much of those naughty things arrre accidental, though? That's always the question."

Kala paused, still blushing. "Not all of them were accidental M'erah." She leaned in a little closer, dropping her voice, "Some in fact, I am told are best not said in public." She paused, a little grin on her face. "Arr kerrosat derrina H'rassh M'erah" she said softly. "mmerrv prrre irral Caet, b'rrel."⁽²⁾

M'erah almost choked in the egg roll he had been stuffing his face with, his eyes widened, looking over at Kala. She was clearly more familiar with Caitians than she had led on previously, he coughed and stuttered as a response, not being able to get a proper sentence out in response.

Kala gave his leg a pat, grinning a whole bunch more. "I know a bit more Cait then I let on at times. I was also that kid growing up who'd poke a mrr'vt's (hornet's) nest to see what would happen. Now I just tease handsome Caet." She took one of the Cait delicacies and popped it in her mouth.

M'erah was thankful for the fur on his cheeks, he was burning up underneath them. His ears flicked back and forth and had his tail had free reign it would join them, "Well, downside to poking mrr'vt's is that..." He leaned in a bit, having his head a couple of centimeters from hers, "you might get stung."

"That is a risk," Kala remarked, looking into his eyes, "I am willing to take," she said as she closed the gap between them, kissing him, her free hand going to stroke his cheek.


:END:

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OOC Notes for the reader:
⁽¹⁾ Some Cait words are hard to pronounce properly, a limitation of the Bajoran and Terran vocal cords.
⁽²⁾ Rough translation: She's expressed her availability and desire to mate.