A Quiet Dinner At "Home"

Posted on Sun Nov 24th, 2024 @ 11:38pm by Captain Tristan Faust & Commander Lucy Heartfilia
Edited on on Sun Nov 24th, 2024 @ 11:39pm

1,157 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Mission 4: Through a Glass, Darkly
Location: Deck 5: Captain's Quarters
Timeline: M4 MD10 (2268.07.19) 1800

With the Midway with the parallel universe behind them and her battle damage almost repaired, the crew finally had some time to take a breather. The Captain had invited the Commander for a quiet intimate dinner in his cabin, away from the prying eyes of the Officer's Mess or the formality of the Captain's Mess.

Tristan sat in his Eames Lounge Chair, wearing a black polo shirt and grey flannel trousers with his typical cuban heeled Chelsea boots, waiting while dinner cooked. Although typically most meals were taken in the mess hall, senior officer quarters were equipped with a basic kitchenette and being the Captain not all of the ingredients were synthesized.

The chime on the door rang. Lucy stood outside waiting patiently to be let in.

The Captain stood up and walked over and opened the door, "Why, good evening commander," he said, seeing Lucy standing there looking beautiful as always.

Lucy couldn't help but smirk. "Oh, we're using ranks tonight are we... Captain?"

"Well... Only if you want to I guess," Tristan responded as Lucy stepped inside, "Never know who will be up in our business."

Lucy stepped into the quarters. She let the doors shut behind her. "Now we can drop the ranks." she said giving him a smile. "Nice to see someone making use of the kitchen area," she said.

"I suppose so," Tristan responded with a chuckle, "And yeah, we're suppose to get a chef one of these days, but for now it's just me with my cooking."

"Well," Lucy replied as she moved closer to him. "I look forward to trying it out. What have you got planned?"

"Nothing too crazy," Tristan responded, "Just Steak Diane, some rice and a Jello mold for dessert. And a fairly decent bottle of red wine."

"Sounds good," Lucy said. "Simple food for a first date..."

"Heh, well more than just sandwhiches or something," Tristan responded, "Although I know a few others aboard who can cook better... I hear Ensign Dienstag puts out a good spread at parties. And... The pool doesn't count?" He chuckled before turning off the cooktop.

The blonde science officer chuckled. "I'd call that more of a hook-up. This feels more official," she told him with a wink. "Speaking of which, what are the rules regarding... 'this'," she asked.

"Hook up, we didn't do THAT much," Tristan retorted, with a cocked eyebrow, "And I haven't really thought about it. Not with everything else that's been going on around here lately... Been too much to process." He sighed.

"Well, lets not think about work." Lucy said softly. "Now, do you need any help with the cooking?"

The Captain nodded and then said, "Dinner is finished, thankfully." He prepared two plates and then set them down onto the small surfboard shaped table, "Sorry, I didn't have a chance to throw an appetizer together," he added before sitting down.

"I don't keep this figure from eating appetizers" Lucy said with a cheeky wink.

"And most nights I have time for a sandwich and coffee, about it," Tristan admitted before picking up his fork, "Keep hinting to the Commodore about getting a chef, but in the end I probably would end up going to the synthesizer anyway..."

Lucy chuckled. "Maybe we should hold a cooking contest? See who amongst the crew might be suited to hold a position in the galley?"

"Ugh, I'd hate to force a trained engineer or someone into that job," Tristan responded, "Although Mr. Dienstag is a great cook..."

"Oh is he now?" Lucy asked with a smirk. "Has he been sucking up to you with food?"

"No, not really although he has catered some good parties aboard," Tristan responded, "His parents own a restaurant in Baltimore. Must be nice to have multiple talents."

"I never seem to get an invite..." Lucy replied with a slight smirk. "Apparently being First Officer makes me 'the big scary boss lady' huh?"

"Well, pretty much," Tristan admitted, "You can be quite intimidating especially to the younger members of the crew." He cracked a smile.

Lucy pouted at hearing that. "And what of the ship's Captain?"

"I'm the one fun at parties apparently," Tristan chuckled, "I don't know. They don't seem to fear me... Respect me sure, but I don't strike fear into the hearts of the midshipmen."

Lucy couldn't help but laugh. "So we run this ship like good cop and bad cop." She replied. "I guess that's good to know." She said as she picked up her fork and began to pull apart dinner.

"It's how it seems to be apparently," Tristan responded, "Just so long as the job gets done I suppose. Seems to work so far." He started to eat as well. It wasn't bad, at least the steak wasn't synthesized.

"So, what do we call this?" Lucy asked giving him a smirk. "Who's the good or bad cop in this situation?" she asked as she pointed to him and back to herself several times to indicate 'them'.

"Not sure, who do you think it is?" Tristan asked, "Not as though this is too much of a thing... At the moment anyway." They weren't really dating, at least not in his mind. This was only their second dinner date.

Lucy smirked a little. "I think it's a... getting to know one another a bit better... don't you think?"

"Well, I still know almost nothing about you, except what's in your service record of course," Tristan admitted, "Of course you probably know too much about me since I can talk and talk..."

"What do you want to know?" Lucy said in a more flirty tone added with a wink. "I suppose we can swap secrets..."

"I'm not sure I have many secrets," Tristan responded with a chuckle and a smirk, "I am pretty much an open book... For better or worse... How about you go first... Tell me something, the first thing that comes to mind?"

Lucy pondered for a few moments. "I can't really think of anything..." she said, then she snapped her fingers. "I guess a secret is that I use the ships gym in the middle of the night shift. Mainly to avoid contact with the crew. Some of the men aboard like to have 'wandering eyes'." she laughed.

Tristan chuckled at that, "So they do," he responded, "I do my 6am jog every day around the rim of the saucer, but I explicitly do it to be noticed. Of course it is the Captain's job to be noticed." He smirked as he returned his fork to his plate and took another bite, "Maybe one day we can do this overlooking the ocean or something," he day dreamed.

Taking another bite Lucy smirked. "That'll be nice. Although our ocean is full of stars."

"I suppose," Tristan responded, "Would be nice if this room had a window or something though."

Lucy laughed. "Maybe you can request one on a refit..."

 

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