Lieutenant Commander Talia Ohnari ~ Hole-some dinner conversation.
Roxanna Dorion
((First Officer’s Quarters, Deck 13, USS Khitomer))
Having brought dinner and curiosity to see the official first officers digs, Talia had brought herself, Statler, and a giant pot of Betazoid pasta to the door of acting Captain Nolen Hobart. As she suspected, the man had ignored the necessity of eating to do...well whatever he had been doing before she got there. The sterile and sparse surroundings reminded her of a generic, but high end hotel room. Nolen cared as much about decorating as he had to consume regular meals that weren't from the replicator in his office, or whatever she shoved in his face when they had meals together.
Ever the efficient engineer.
While she questioned his taste in decor, she had also discovered his extreme lack of basic cutlery, that is, until a familiar metallic paper caught her eye. The gift she had purchased for him so long ago that she'd forgotten it entirely. It was pristine, taken care of, but also sealed shut.
Ohnari: ::stammering:: Y-you kept it. ::blinking a bit, banishing the sudden moisture threatening her lower lids:: I...I guess I thought you would have just...tossed it out...
Hobart: I don’t toss anything out.
Turning, she looked at him with wide, curious eyes.
Ohnari: ::quietly:: Why...didn't you open it?
Curiosity would have eaten her alive. But, that was her. He probably had some convoluted knotted tapestry of reasoning that really boiled down to his chronic avoidance of all self reflection.
Hobart: I… just didn’t. There’s just been so much, and, well, it seemed like the least important gesture I could have made to you, below all the others that I should have. ::hesitant:: That sounds worse than… ah, sorry.
Truth be told, she was touched he kept it. But, if she wasn't careful, they would dip too low into the "big feels" territory, and with the inhibitor, she would actually get away with some minor deflection.
Ohnari: I see...so less sentimental and more of your minimalistic hoarding tendencies? ::placing her hand on her chest:: Be still, my heart.
While he had the inhibitor, she didn't. And she could sense the overanalyzing mind of his kicking in. As he pulled out the chair for her with an impressive flourish, she stopped to peck him on the cheek, hopefully enough to soothe his concern.
Hobart: I swear it wasn’t on purpose. Look, why don’t we open it together, over dinner?
Ohnari: ::smirking:: Open it now, that way it won't be taunting you the whole meal.
Talia was suddenly nervous. What if he thought it was stupid? It was just supposed to be a silly little thing to remind him where it all started, and heavily implied the start of them as well...but that didn't exactly work out...like, at all. Not until recently, so now her stomach churned that maybe the good intentions would fall flat. She chewed her lip nervously, that is until he flashed her a grin and she could sense the mirth.
Hobart: Oh, wow! The USS Yeager! I had this one in my room when I was a kid.
A surprised squawk blurted out as she stood up, lunging for the model. Had she made a colossal mistake and ended up getting the wrong ship? Or had the proprietor of the little hobby shop swindled her?
Ohnari: ::shocked:: What?! You've gotta be kidding me! Oh Nolen, I'm so....::from her position she could see the model was exactly what it was supposed to be. Her face scrunched up at him in annoyance:: I am so gonna kick you. ::sitting down with a huff, she mumbled:: You're lucky you're cute.
Hobart: Response
She had worried for nothing. And in typical Nolen fashion, he had to tease her. Rolling her eyes, she began plating their food. The Raixen was simple, but it was hearty. Although the Betazoid cuisine seemed to favor adding peaches for some reason. Considering she didn't have any peaches, and Amelia had looked horrified at the prospect of replicating one, she added garlic and a few other spices to make it a more savory option. Oddly, she could see how adding peaches to this as it was would improve it. Mental note made to head to the arboretum when they arrived at the Starbase.
Ohnari: I figured you hadn't been raised on Betazoid food, but it was easy and Amelia promised it was Kosher. ::smirking:: After I explained what Kosher meant.
Hobart: Response
The conversation moving towards Amelia sparked a memory. It was her turn for her lips to tip wickedly.
Ohnari: Oh yeah, she's already been discharged. Zerva too. You know? Poor dear had taken quiet the blast of Sencha radiation, she was terribly disoriented. Although...she did share her discovery of a certain...gaseous anomaly. It sounded fascinating...
Hobart: Response
The blast of incredulousness and the spiky-feeling of exasperation slammed directly into her senses, she couldn't help the snicker that escaped. In order to avoid bursting into further laughter, she shoved a large bite of Raixen. Blinking innocently at him all while chewing.
Ohnari: ::pointing her fork at him:: Shush you. She is whimsical and delightful. ::brightening:: You're still the acting Captain, right? You could always order her to name it something else.
That was another realization to hit her: She was having dinner with the Captain. One she was allowed to hug and it wouldn't be weird. Well, off duty and in private, of course. The last time she'd hugged a Captain, he grumbled the whole time. As dinner continued, several ideas bubbled to the surface. For the next several hours, she was dating a Captain. She began to swirl her finger along the top of her glass suggestively.
Ohnari: So...with you being acting Captain and all....at least for the next few hours....
Trailing off, even with the inhibitor, there was no way he wasn't picking up on her insinuation.
Hobart: Response
Ohnari: ::small pout:: Fiine. Finish your food, ::lowing her voice seductively:: Captain Hobart...
TAG/TBC
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Lieutenant Commander Talia Ohnari, MD
Chief Medical Officer
USS Khitomer
C239205ME0