<SNIP>

“I was supposed to meet the shrink here tonight. I can’t see anyone but a space siren. Might it be that I can pass the time with you then?” He smiled through to the eyes, his fedora just faintly shadowing them in the bar. “Have ye ordered yet, Nay?” He looked about for whomever looked like they were working the place even as he found a seat near her. He didn’t have high hopes for the service in the joint but he was always ready to be surprised.
- Nikki, COO

Akane felt her cheeks flush at Nikki’s compliment and a wave of excitement buzzed through her and sent a tingle down her spine. She beamed back at him and nodded as they took their seats at a nice quiet table out of the way. As he asked her if she had ordered, she shook her head and handed him a menu. “Not yet, but it looks good,” she grinned as she started perusing the choices. She delicately tucked a lock of hair behind her ear as she started to reach for Nikki’s hand but then bottled out and straightened the cutlery in front of her instead. She quickly cleared her throat and smiled coyly at him. “You scrub up pretty well Lt,” she said quietly, hoping she wasn’t being too awkward with him as she hastily focused back on the menu in front of her. It had been a long time since she’d been on a date and she was woefully out of practice.

Lt Sakai (CNS)

The lass could sure brighten up a room with her smile. So far he had seen her from this stellar shine to her virtual meltdown. Nikki concluded that she looked much better with a smile. Taking the menu, her finger brushed with his, bringing back his own battery of memories. In the novelty of the times of replicators creating realistic foodstuffs the replimats and the like had menus which were a novel in length, or ones which you built your own dish. Rapidly it had been realized that this was too overwhelming for most people and the ‘menus’ - even in a location that had thousands of recipes - swiftly collapsed into a single page option of ‘chef choices’. With ‘chef’ being quite loosely defined.

His eyes half read and half watched her. In that dress one could not do much otherwise. His opinion of the current fleet uniforms dove considerably in the wake of her dress. It took about two minutes before Nikki came to the realization that the dame was sweet on him, and, truth be told, she looked pretty tasty herself. His eyes took in the flick of her hair and the push of her hand and the sudden, impulsive retraction of it. Nervous? The dame was a counselor. He’d seen her all weepy. He was surprised that she was shy now, but the look she gave him as she spoke was enough to quicken his heart rate. He needed to batten down his own inner hungers lest he be shooting for a fourth head on his tattoo. But oh her gaze did invite one to throw caution to the wind. Not like he’d not done that before. But, he was not going to let her gaze go without a reply. She was bein nice, knowin that it was the same suit he was wearing. “Just like a new penny,” he said, smiling. He liked suits. They ‘suited’ him and he was used to them. Dressing down was, to him, only taking it down a notch or dressing for an occasion. Looking sharp was something that had been drummed into him - even when he was doing engineering things. “The uniform does nothin for ye, Nay, not compared to this jewel of a dress.”

Nay blushed again at his compliment and looked deeply into his eyes. She could see a wild rebellious glint in them like she’d not seen in anyone before. “You’re too kind Nikki,” she said softly, almost bashfully. It had been a long time since anyone had seen her in anything other than a uniform and putting modesty aside, she was enjoying the attention. “I guess you would have preferred it in Kirk’s era when the skirts were a little shorter?” she teased with a playful giggle.

Nikki gave a light snort. “Worst thing the ‘fleet did was change uniforms,” he said without a pause; evidently he had that thought in mind many a time. “Course if they were dressed like you nobody would get anything done.” His eyes quickly slid over her again and chuckled to himself as he remembered earlier when he did that and her reaction. While it had come across as a ‘snappy’ slap in the face it only had encouraged him. He wanted to know a little more about her, and the dress was a good start. “So dollface,” he said in his best Iotian accent, eyes amused as if testing her on his way of speaking, “When yer not actin official in uniform or lettin yer hair down like now, what do ya lounge about in?”

Nay giggled and absent mindedly tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “That’s probably why they changed them, too much time keeping an eye on the ladies instead of the sensors!” she replied with a cheeky wink. She raised an eyebrow at his dollface comment as she looked deep into his eyes and pondered a response. With a sultry smile she replied, “…maybe that’s for you to find out Lt…?” she whispered, surprising herself with the rather forward comment.

Shifting over in the chair to be, if only briefly, to be closer to her, he leaned in and, right hand on the menu and the left reaching out to lay lightly on her forearm to catch her attention, he caught her eye then asked, “What do ye think of the fish menu here? I’m a takin it that the ‘Latoli’ is a local fish, but it blackened and with the rice and greens, it looks pretty good.” His hand lifted to point to where he was reading on the menu. Her perfume was heady and she radiated a warmth that he could feel. Glancing back to her then to her menu he was curious what she was looking at.
- Nikki

Sakai felt an electric excitement as she felt Nikki’s hand on her arm and it momentarily caught her breath. As she felt herself relax a little she instinctively leaned in a little further. “I’ve not tried it personally, but it does sound lovely. I’m leaning towards the Palamarian sea urchin, I’ve heard that it’s quite delicious,” she added, smiling as she felt Nikki’s breath softly on her cheek.

Lt Sakai (CNS)

It was still fish and it did sound like something the family chef would pull out - depending of course on how it was made. “Ya favor fish, Nay?” he asked. If he had his own druthers, he’d pretty much stay with a vegetarian diet with fish mixed in - with, he added, the occasional lamb. In replicator-land of course he could replicate a glass of water and it would have whatever other nutrients he needed in it. Personally he thought that was cheating and no fun at all. To live on ice cream sundae’s and know that they were perfectly healthy was just wrong. With a last glance at the menu he tossed it down on the table. “That settles that. I’d suggest a Risan White from the Davison vineyards and,” he paused, thinking, “and Andorian ice wine te finish.” He glanced about at the place and mentally shook his head. It would be a miracle if they had the real stuff here, but in this place beggars couldn’t be choosers. He glanced about as if to make sure nobody was about then leaned in, “Between you and me I’m a sucker for the ice wine.” Whether by intent or not he had brought his lips in close to her ear. After having said that he winked and shifted back, but not as far away as he had been before.
-Nikki

Nay smiled as she thought back to meals at home with her family and she let out a little laugh. “I do indeed favour fish, my father would have disowned me if I didn’t! When I was a little girl, he used to take us out for hours by the lake to fish. My sister usually got bored and wandered off, my brother was very good though. For me it was more about time with my father though…” she said with a nostalgic smile. “Do you like to fish?” she pondered as she studied him. Nikki seemed like a man of action so she imagined he’d be pretty good with a fishing rod.

As Nikki leaned in, Nay’s heart skipped a beat as she caught the scent of his aftershave and felt his warm breath graze her ear. She gulped as she turned to face him so they were just a couple of inches away from each other. “I don’t believe I’ve ever had it…” she said softly, “but I’m willing to give anything a go…” she added as he pulled away. She lingered for a moment, almost willing him to lean back in as she subconsciously moistened her lips before withdrawing.

Lt Sakai (CNS)