Date & Dinner, Take 1

Posted on Tue Mar 3rd, 2020 @ 10:23am by Lieutenant Azusa Nakano & Lieutenant Trei Jansum

1,174 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Caverns of the mind
Location: Lounge

Trei was putting the finishing touches on his outfit. His brother and sister would be laughing at him if they saw how much trouble he was having just getting dressed. He had decided that his clothes on Betazed would be too formal. His t-shirts would be too casual, so he had his jeans, boots, and a dress shirt with an open collar. He put on a small splash of his cologne--spice and musk--and headed out to the lounge. That was where he said he would meet her. He had to admit he was a little nervous. Some of the thoughts she has are pretty loud, and sometimes they don't line up with what he thinks she wants.

"Women are crazy."

Mitchell, passing the other direction, said, "You have no idea."

Trei stopped short. "I thought you were human." he said to the chief.

Ty nodded. "I am. But you said that outloud, too. Better watch yourself, sir. Women will see right through it," he said with a grin.

The tall Betazoid blew out a heavy breath. As Trei entered the lounge, he looked around for Azusa, and saw that she was not there yet. He found a table, and sat and waited for his date.

Azusa turned up a little while later. She hadn't dressed really fancy, just a plain white top with a few frills on the short sleeves and a grey skirt. She looked around slightly nervously and wandered over to Trei.

"Erm. Hi..." she said. Her heart was pounding in her chest, she had never been good at this sort of thing. She just hoped it wouldn't get in the way and that she could relax soon.

Trei stood up and held her chair for her as she sat down, then, reaching down on the chair next to his, he gave her the flower he had brought: An Andorian glitterling with ice blue petals that shimmered in the light.

"You look nice tonight," he said.

"Thanks" Azusa replied shyly as she sat down. This was a bit unusual for her.

Trei flagged a waiter and ordered venison with pineapple casserole and Andorian beans, and a blackberry mead to top it off.

Azusa ordered something she was comfortable with. A simple Japanese dish that the replicators could make, Yakisoba which is noodles fried in soy sauce, with chicken, prawns and vegetables.

While they waited for their food, Trei tried to start some conversation. "So, I know you can sing and play the guitar well. What else do you like to do?"

"Erm" Azusa tried to think. "I'm dedicated to my music and Engineering..." she explained with a small smile. "I do write my own songs here and there"

Trei tried to think of something else they could do together. "I was wondering if you wanted to go to the Holodeck later. I know this one program of this garden that reminds me of home. It has some beautiful Mood Roses."

"Whats a mood rose?" Azusa asked. She still seemed to rather nervous. "I've... never been on a date before. Sorry, this is a bit new to me"

Trei frowned, then smiled. "Well, I'll just have to teach you, then. A Mood Rose is a flower from my home planet Betazed. It changes color with the emotions of the person holding it."

"How can it change colour?" Azusa asked. "How can a flower respond to an emotional state?" she asked curiously. "or is that some sort of joke?"

Trei shook his head. "I don't know. I'm not a scientist. But I have seen it first hand. I gave one to a girlfriend, and for a minute, it was a beautiful pink. Then she got mad at me for something I said, and it turend a bright purple."

Azusa wondered what the colours might mean. Finally the food came and Azusa seemed to chirp up a little. "Sorry for being a bit dull, its been a long day in Engineering. I only have a limited amount of staff to keep this tub running" she said her shoulders relaxing as she picked up her chopsticks and placed her hands together before closing her eyes.

"Ikadakimasu" Azusa said simply. She then opened her eyes and looked over at Trei. "You have no idea what... erm... that means do you?"

Trei smiled at her over his first bite of meat. "Not really." He put the food in his mouth, chewed and swallowed. "What does it mean?"

"Well, in English... it means. 'I Humbly recieve' its what we... Japanese say before a meal. Its to thank the ones responsible for the creation of the meal" she explained as she snapped open her chopsticks and began to twirl the noodled between them. "Its a Shinto thing" she explained. "Don't Betazoids do something similar with a big gong?"

Trei nodded, trying not to roll his eyes. "Some of the older generators do, yes. It has to do with thanking the Four Deities for our food. It is sounded with evrey bite that we take." He looked at her. "A lot of the younger generations don't do it anymore. We still honour our gods, but not with the gong."

"Interesting..." Azusa replied. It reminded her a little bit like home. She didn't have to thank everyone for the food, but it was an old habit that was practically forced into her personality by her parents. She knew fair well that the food was mostly replicated and probably came from energy and matter molucules she probably managed in Engineering this morning. "I just do it as an old habit, if I didn't when I was a kid, I would get a scolding" she smiled. "I imagine that I will probably end up teaching any children I have the same thing..."

She paused before turning a bright shade of pink. "N... N...Not that I'm thinking of having any just yet... I mean this is a first date right... bringing up that sort of stuff.... Oh god I suck at this!" she started to panic.

Trei smiled, suppressing a laugh. "I know you're not thinking of that. People say things like that all the time on dates. Even fist ones. It doesn't always mean that you are thinking of your date at the time."

Azusa nodded in response, her blushing slightly fading. She scooped up more noodles and chewed on them, the rich taste filling her taste senses. "Well, this program of yours. Does it have cats?" she asked.

His smile widened. "No," he replied, "but it has something called fireflies by a river, and a place in the garden where you can dance."

"Needs more cats..." Azusa joked with a cheeky grin. "Should we try going there after dinner, if the holodeck is free?" she asked.

Trei smiled at her. "I made sure of it."

"Then we'll go there after we eat" Azusa replied.

They finished their food, looking forward to the garden.

OFF:

Lt Trei Jansum
Chief Sec/Tac Officer
USS Aurora

Lieutenant Azusa Nakano
Chief Engineer
USS Aurora

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