Interlude – Dinner with the enemy
by (G) Arrain - Lieutenant Arrienye t'Merek & (G) erie'Riov - Sub Commander Rianni Monteros-t'Khellian
Post Details
::ON::
Walking down the Promenade, his girlfriend's hand in his, Maiell briefly glanced at the Box of Delights as they passed. "Let's go somewhere else," he told the Bajoran. "I've heard bad things about this place around the Consulate. Apparently, it's become very Cardassian-centered and my people aren't exactly welcome," Maiell explained honestly. He'd known Yolanthe since she arrived and while she didn't strike him as a xenophobe, he had seen a lot of Cardassians in her bar recently and wasn't about to take any chances.
"Okay, love." Ma'erlit smiled, she wasn't afraid of the Cardassians, in fact she would've enjoyed making them all uncomfortable, but she wanted Maiell to be comfortable.
He'd reserved a table at another restaurant, a small, intimate setting on the upper decks of the Promenade, overlooking the Arboretum.
~And this is much better anyway.~ Ma'erlit nodded in silent approval before speaking, "It's beautiful, Maiell. It looks like we have the best table in the place, too."
"I called in advance," he said with a smile before sitting down next to her. "So, what have you been up to today?" he asked her after the waiter left with their wine order.
"Well, work was a nightmare today." Ma'erlit laughed, "Lt. Dunham is great but the paperwork seems to be overwhelming him. I think he'll grow into the job nicely though once everyone is over losing Rianni. Oh, and I applied for some advanced training, try to pick up my Petty Officer's stripes."
Maiell smiled brightly. "That's great," he said happily. "How long do you think it'll take?" he inquired.
"Shouldn't be too long." Ma'erlit smiled, "And the promotions should come pretty quickly after that. The last person who graduated from advanced training in the wing got promoted twice in ninety days, became a PO1 about six months later and should make Chief next year probably."
"Excellent," he said with a nod before leaning over and giving her a soft peck on the lips. He was happy that she was ambitious and wanted to improve her career. It was the way everyone should be, in his opinion. As the waiter brought over their wine and Maiell thanked him, he caught sight of something in his peripheral vision. Turning his head a bit, he frowned slightly at the sight of Arrienye making her way into the restaurant.
He sighed, his eyes widening as he saw she was heading over to their table, looking formal in a way he knew spelled trouble.
"Good evening," Arrienye greeted them as she stood next to their table. "I apologize for interrupting but I wished to share a word with Crewman Ma'erlit," she said, turning to Amalia and completely ignoring her cousin. "I was surprised at being suddenly introduced to you the other night and I didn't get a chance to speak to you. I wish for the two of us to have dinner. Tonight, 20:00 hours," she said firmly. It didn't sound like an invitation, though Maiell knew it was.
"Hope to see you then." Arrienye then nodded towards Amalia and then turned to Maiell, giving him a salute before turning to leave.
"I see you still salute me," he couldn't help but comment, looking up at her almost hopefully. Arrienye stopped and turned back to him. "With all due respect, erie'Arrain, I am a professional soldier. I was taught and trained to salute your position and rank. If you hung your uniform jacket up in the corridor, I would salute it. Good afternoon," she finished, knowing he would get her point, and finally left.
Maiell looked down with a sigh, whatever good mood he had now gone.
Ma'erlit reached over and took Maiell's hand, squeezing it lovingly, before laughing, "What the frack was that?"
Maiell didn't laugh with her. "That was Arrienye asking you to have dinner with her tonight. And, since she didn't give a location, it means in her quarters," he explained.
"Well she's got a surprise coming." Ma'erlit shook her head, "And only a surprise because I'm not."
"But you have to go to dinner," Maiell told her. "She's my cousin."
"And she treats you and me like dirt." Ma'erlit sighed, "No way I'm going to eat with that woman."
"She doesn't treat you like dirt. She's just looking out for me in that sweet, passive aggressive way she does things," Maiell explained, looking down the way his cousin left. "As for me, I deserve it. I should have told her about us."
"No, baby, nobody deserved the way you were treated!" Ma'erlit disagreed vehemently, "And there's nothing in the universe that would get me to go eat with that woman."
Maiell sighed, then looked up at her. Hiding a small smirk, her widened his eyes slightly, giving her that wounded, puppy dog look with his rich brown eyes. "Please," he told her softly, even adding a small, begging pout.
"Damn it, except that!" Ma'erlit groaned, "Okay, okay, I'll have dinner with her tonight, even though I would rather eat with Getal, to be honest. But, for you, I'll do it."
Suddenly, all poutiness gone, the sneak's mood lifted and he flashed her a winning smile before moving to sit closer to her. He leaned over and kissed her softly, almost sensually. Just as he felt her melting into the kiss, he pulled away. "Thank you," he whispered.
"You owe me." Ma'erlit sighed, "Huge!"
"Oh?" Maiell asked innocently enough, raising an eyebrow at her. "And what, if anything, may I do to repay my debt?" he asked her, taking a sip of wine but not breaking eye contact.
"Oh, trust me, I'll let you know." Ma'erlit giggled sweetly, "And it's going to involve some hard, but rewarding, labor."
"Well, I am known for my hard work," he replied, sitting back in his chair and giving her a knowing look.
"Well, we'll see if your work matches your reputation then." Ma'erlit smirked sexily, "Yes we will."
Maiell returned her coy smirk, taking another sip of the dark purple wine. He kept his eyes locked onto hers but kept quiet, letting the tension rise between them. "You know," he suddenly said, his tone low and only slightly suggestive. "I've also been known for getting a very early start on my projects," he told her.
"Really?" Ma'erlit smirked, "Well, they say why put off until tomorrow what you can do today?"
"They do say that, don't they?" he asked, looking at her coyly, then paused, looking at her. "Don't wear that outfit when you have dinner with Arrienye," he suddenly told her, breaking whatever mood they were building up.
"Okay." Ma'erlit nodded, feeling as though Maiell had just poured ice water in her pants, "What should I wear? I mean, I guess I could always go in uniform or something."
"What? No," he shook his head. "Alright, um..." he looked at her critically. "Don't wear anything too short, too tight, too revealing and nothing green."
"Okay." Ma'erlit sighed, obviously annoyed at the level to which Maiell seemed to want her to put on the proverbial dog for someone she hated intensely, "Anything else? I mean, I want to make sure I pass inspection and all." ~Wonder if she's going to check my nails for dirt?~
"Don't call her by her first name, of course. Why are you looking at me like that?" Maiell asked, finally noting the look on his love's face.
"Because you're acting like you're prepping me for inspection by the Chief of Starfleet Operations or something." Ma'erlit replied, "I don't see any reason I should kow tow to that woman and I don't think you should want me to."
"But she's my cousin," Maiell told her, confused. He couldn't see what the problem was. Of course, he and Arrienye weren't on good terms, but she was still family.
"Yes, she is your cousin, but you're acting like I'm supposed to go there and kiss her royal ass, Maiell." Ma'erlit shook her head, "And that ain't happening."
"I don't want you to suck up to her. Just be nice, she's family. Very important to me."
"And you're very important to me." Ma'erlit began, "But, if she's going to accept me she's going to have to accept the real me. And right now it's going to be all I can do to be civil to her considering how she's treating you, let alone treat her like a superior. I will go to this dinner, and I will be nice, but I'm not going to dance for her."
"I wouldn't want you to. As for the way she's treating me, no matter what you say, I deserve it for what I said to her that night," Maiell explained, taking another sip of wine.
"For what? For defending me? For putting the Princess in her fracking place?" Ma'erlit sighed, "No, she got what she deserved. And, honestly, I'm a little worried about the future of our relationship if you're going to beat yourself up about defending me when I'm attacked. You defend me, I defend you, we take care of each other, that's how it works in Amalia's world, honey."
"I have no problem with defending you, Amalia," Maiell told her, resting his hand on hers. "But when I resort to hurting one of the most important people in my life while doing it is something that should not be tolerated. Arrienye has every right to react the way she is."
"How did you hurt her?" Ma'erlit asked, "Baby, I really do not understand, help me out. If you tell me what's wrong I might be able to help fix it."
"I can't tell you that. Let's just say I brought up something I shouldn't have and leave it at that. And for the love of all that is holy to you, don't mention it to her," he begged.
At that point Ma'erlit saw something in her lover's eyes that she had never imagined possible: heartbreaking guilt coupled with the sort of shame only a dark secret could bring, ~But it's not his secret, is it? What the hell could it be?~ "Okay, no problem. Nothing too short, tight, revealing, or green, and don't ask what you said that set her off."
Maiell gave her a small smile before leaning over and kissing her cheek. "Thank you so much," he told her sincerely. He knew she didn't understand, but he couldn't exactly explain anything without making things worse between himself and t'Merek. The fact that Amalia was willing to play along despite her feelings only increased the amount of affection and respect he had for her.
"You're welcome, and you owe me huge." Ma'erlit laughed, though she had every feeling he was going to have to do a lot of making this up to her.
-OFF
2nd Lt. Maiell tr'Tahn
Tal Shiar, IRW Dhelan
&
Crewman Ma'erlit Amalia
Wing Clerk, DS5/A Very Compassionate Lover
by (G) Arrain - Lieutenant Arrienye t'Merek & (G) erie'Riov - Sub Commander Rianni Monteros-t'Khellian
Post Details
| Title | Dinner with the enemy | |
| Mission | Interlude | |
| Author(s) | (G) Arrain - Lieutenant Arrienye t'Merek & (G) erie'Riov - Sub Commander Rianni Monteros-t'Khellian | |
| Posted | Fri Sep 10, 2010 @ 8:12pm | |
| Location | Promenade | |
| Timeline | SD31 - Noon |
Walking down the Promenade, his girlfriend's hand in his, Maiell briefly glanced at the Box of Delights as they passed. "Let's go somewhere else," he told the Bajoran. "I've heard bad things about this place around the Consulate. Apparently, it's become very Cardassian-centered and my people aren't exactly welcome," Maiell explained honestly. He'd known Yolanthe since she arrived and while she didn't strike him as a xenophobe, he had seen a lot of Cardassians in her bar recently and wasn't about to take any chances.
"Okay, love." Ma'erlit smiled, she wasn't afraid of the Cardassians, in fact she would've enjoyed making them all uncomfortable, but she wanted Maiell to be comfortable.
He'd reserved a table at another restaurant, a small, intimate setting on the upper decks of the Promenade, overlooking the Arboretum.
~And this is much better anyway.~ Ma'erlit nodded in silent approval before speaking, "It's beautiful, Maiell. It looks like we have the best table in the place, too."
"I called in advance," he said with a smile before sitting down next to her. "So, what have you been up to today?" he asked her after the waiter left with their wine order.
"Well, work was a nightmare today." Ma'erlit laughed, "Lt. Dunham is great but the paperwork seems to be overwhelming him. I think he'll grow into the job nicely though once everyone is over losing Rianni. Oh, and I applied for some advanced training, try to pick up my Petty Officer's stripes."
Maiell smiled brightly. "That's great," he said happily. "How long do you think it'll take?" he inquired.
"Shouldn't be too long." Ma'erlit smiled, "And the promotions should come pretty quickly after that. The last person who graduated from advanced training in the wing got promoted twice in ninety days, became a PO1 about six months later and should make Chief next year probably."
"Excellent," he said with a nod before leaning over and giving her a soft peck on the lips. He was happy that she was ambitious and wanted to improve her career. It was the way everyone should be, in his opinion. As the waiter brought over their wine and Maiell thanked him, he caught sight of something in his peripheral vision. Turning his head a bit, he frowned slightly at the sight of Arrienye making her way into the restaurant.
He sighed, his eyes widening as he saw she was heading over to their table, looking formal in a way he knew spelled trouble.
"Good evening," Arrienye greeted them as she stood next to their table. "I apologize for interrupting but I wished to share a word with Crewman Ma'erlit," she said, turning to Amalia and completely ignoring her cousin. "I was surprised at being suddenly introduced to you the other night and I didn't get a chance to speak to you. I wish for the two of us to have dinner. Tonight, 20:00 hours," she said firmly. It didn't sound like an invitation, though Maiell knew it was.
"Hope to see you then." Arrienye then nodded towards Amalia and then turned to Maiell, giving him a salute before turning to leave.
"I see you still salute me," he couldn't help but comment, looking up at her almost hopefully. Arrienye stopped and turned back to him. "With all due respect, erie'Arrain, I am a professional soldier. I was taught and trained to salute your position and rank. If you hung your uniform jacket up in the corridor, I would salute it. Good afternoon," she finished, knowing he would get her point, and finally left.
Maiell looked down with a sigh, whatever good mood he had now gone.
Ma'erlit reached over and took Maiell's hand, squeezing it lovingly, before laughing, "What the frack was that?"
Maiell didn't laugh with her. "That was Arrienye asking you to have dinner with her tonight. And, since she didn't give a location, it means in her quarters," he explained.
"Well she's got a surprise coming." Ma'erlit shook her head, "And only a surprise because I'm not."
"But you have to go to dinner," Maiell told her. "She's my cousin."
"And she treats you and me like dirt." Ma'erlit sighed, "No way I'm going to eat with that woman."
"She doesn't treat you like dirt. She's just looking out for me in that sweet, passive aggressive way she does things," Maiell explained, looking down the way his cousin left. "As for me, I deserve it. I should have told her about us."
"No, baby, nobody deserved the way you were treated!" Ma'erlit disagreed vehemently, "And there's nothing in the universe that would get me to go eat with that woman."
Maiell sighed, then looked up at her. Hiding a small smirk, her widened his eyes slightly, giving her that wounded, puppy dog look with his rich brown eyes. "Please," he told her softly, even adding a small, begging pout.
"Damn it, except that!" Ma'erlit groaned, "Okay, okay, I'll have dinner with her tonight, even though I would rather eat with Getal, to be honest. But, for you, I'll do it."
Suddenly, all poutiness gone, the sneak's mood lifted and he flashed her a winning smile before moving to sit closer to her. He leaned over and kissed her softly, almost sensually. Just as he felt her melting into the kiss, he pulled away. "Thank you," he whispered.
"You owe me." Ma'erlit sighed, "Huge!"
"Oh?" Maiell asked innocently enough, raising an eyebrow at her. "And what, if anything, may I do to repay my debt?" he asked her, taking a sip of wine but not breaking eye contact.
"Oh, trust me, I'll let you know." Ma'erlit giggled sweetly, "And it's going to involve some hard, but rewarding, labor."
"Well, I am known for my hard work," he replied, sitting back in his chair and giving her a knowing look.
"Well, we'll see if your work matches your reputation then." Ma'erlit smirked sexily, "Yes we will."
Maiell returned her coy smirk, taking another sip of the dark purple wine. He kept his eyes locked onto hers but kept quiet, letting the tension rise between them. "You know," he suddenly said, his tone low and only slightly suggestive. "I've also been known for getting a very early start on my projects," he told her.
"Really?" Ma'erlit smirked, "Well, they say why put off until tomorrow what you can do today?"
"They do say that, don't they?" he asked, looking at her coyly, then paused, looking at her. "Don't wear that outfit when you have dinner with Arrienye," he suddenly told her, breaking whatever mood they were building up.
"Okay." Ma'erlit nodded, feeling as though Maiell had just poured ice water in her pants, "What should I wear? I mean, I guess I could always go in uniform or something."
"What? No," he shook his head. "Alright, um..." he looked at her critically. "Don't wear anything too short, too tight, too revealing and nothing green."
"Okay." Ma'erlit sighed, obviously annoyed at the level to which Maiell seemed to want her to put on the proverbial dog for someone she hated intensely, "Anything else? I mean, I want to make sure I pass inspection and all." ~Wonder if she's going to check my nails for dirt?~
"Don't call her by her first name, of course. Why are you looking at me like that?" Maiell asked, finally noting the look on his love's face.
"Because you're acting like you're prepping me for inspection by the Chief of Starfleet Operations or something." Ma'erlit replied, "I don't see any reason I should kow tow to that woman and I don't think you should want me to."
"But she's my cousin," Maiell told her, confused. He couldn't see what the problem was. Of course, he and Arrienye weren't on good terms, but she was still family.
"Yes, she is your cousin, but you're acting like I'm supposed to go there and kiss her royal ass, Maiell." Ma'erlit shook her head, "And that ain't happening."
"I don't want you to suck up to her. Just be nice, she's family. Very important to me."
"And you're very important to me." Ma'erlit began, "But, if she's going to accept me she's going to have to accept the real me. And right now it's going to be all I can do to be civil to her considering how she's treating you, let alone treat her like a superior. I will go to this dinner, and I will be nice, but I'm not going to dance for her."
"I wouldn't want you to. As for the way she's treating me, no matter what you say, I deserve it for what I said to her that night," Maiell explained, taking another sip of wine.
"For what? For defending me? For putting the Princess in her fracking place?" Ma'erlit sighed, "No, she got what she deserved. And, honestly, I'm a little worried about the future of our relationship if you're going to beat yourself up about defending me when I'm attacked. You defend me, I defend you, we take care of each other, that's how it works in Amalia's world, honey."
"I have no problem with defending you, Amalia," Maiell told her, resting his hand on hers. "But when I resort to hurting one of the most important people in my life while doing it is something that should not be tolerated. Arrienye has every right to react the way she is."
"How did you hurt her?" Ma'erlit asked, "Baby, I really do not understand, help me out. If you tell me what's wrong I might be able to help fix it."
"I can't tell you that. Let's just say I brought up something I shouldn't have and leave it at that. And for the love of all that is holy to you, don't mention it to her," he begged.
At that point Ma'erlit saw something in her lover's eyes that she had never imagined possible: heartbreaking guilt coupled with the sort of shame only a dark secret could bring, ~But it's not his secret, is it? What the hell could it be?~ "Okay, no problem. Nothing too short, tight, revealing, or green, and don't ask what you said that set her off."
Maiell gave her a small smile before leaning over and kissing her cheek. "Thank you so much," he told her sincerely. He knew she didn't understand, but he couldn't exactly explain anything without making things worse between himself and t'Merek. The fact that Amalia was willing to play along despite her feelings only increased the amount of affection and respect he had for her.
"You're welcome, and you owe me huge." Ma'erlit laughed, though she had every feeling he was going to have to do a lot of making this up to her.
-OFF
2nd Lt. Maiell tr'Tahn
Tal Shiar, IRW Dhelan
&
Crewman Ma'erlit Amalia
Wing Clerk, DS5/A Very Compassionate Lover