Moving In Together

Posted on Wed Apr 19th, 2023 @ 7:05am by Lieutenant JG Nozomi Kusuda 'Gemini' & Ensign Lynette Bishop 'Highlander' & Captain Elizabeth F. "Liz" Beurling & Lieutenant Iowa Riverside 'Grey Ghost' & Petty Officer 1st Class Yoshika Miyafuji
Edited on on Fri May 12th, 2023 @ 1:24am

1,915 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Descent
Location: Ensign Bishop and Petty Officer Miyafuji's quarters, deck 11
Timeline: Some time after "The Gift"

Nozomi knew it was only a matter of time before it happened.

When it came to her attention that Ensign Bishop and Petty Officer Miyafuji were such a perfect match for one another (Nozomi always did have a knack for meddling in fates- not that she minded, of course), she knew it would be sooner, rather than later, that the two of them would submit a joint request to be sharing a set of quarters. It was only a logical progression of events, another stepping stone on the path to commitment.

What had surprised her was how fast their relationship had been progressing. In just six months, the two of them had become the closest of friends, almost as if they had known each other for years, rather than months. It certainly took Nico and Maki a lot longer to acknowledge they were anywhere near friends, let alone lovers, but they had their conflicting egos and bickered with one another frequently, so it took them a bit to warm up to the fact that they actually liked one another. for Yoshika and Lynette, the attraction was immediate, and the two of them were all in for this relationship- it was just that neither of them had been certain how exactly to make the first move.

It had only taken a few drinks for that initial layer of apprehension to dissolve, and once the two of them realized that their feelings for one another were mutual... well, let's just say it was the start of something beautiful.

The two of them were practically inseparable for the remainder of their shoreleave- so excited by the very concept of being in love for their first time, they cherished every moment together, almost as if it were their last; Nozomi would find them shopping together, picking out dresses and accessories (Lynette seemed to find anything Yoshika wore beautiful, much to Nozomi's amusement), taking long walks on the beach together, playfully nuzzling one another on the shoulder... young love could be such a pure and wonderful thing sometimes. Granted, Iowa had caught Nozomi staring on occasion and subsequently bopped her on the head for it, but knowing she'd had a hand in their eventual getting together, Nozomi had absolutely no regrets- their bliss was her delight.

And so, when the time came to return to the Tokyo, Nozomi knew it was almost inevitable that they'd approach Captain Aisaka to request a shared set of quarters. Fortunately for them, Captain Aisaka was in an unusually chipper mood that day, and was all too happy to grant their request. So, here they were, helping the two lovebirds move into a larger set of quarters on deck 11- a surprisingly spacious abode for just two, including a full kitchenette- but Nozomi had just chalked it up to the Captain being in a good mood and all.

"Alright, I think that's the last of them," Nozomi sighed as she set down another box full of Yoshika's personal belongings. "Where do you want this, Petty Officer?"

"Oh just over there..." Yoshika said indicating to an unoccupied area of floor.

Nozomi simply nodded and proceeded to move the box over to the area in which Yoshika had indicated.

The doors to the quarters swooshed open and in came Iowa Riverside and Liz Beurling. Both of which were carrying boxes of things. Liz had noticed the regs moving things and had asked what was going on. Iowa had told Liz that she and Nozomi were helping Lynette and Yoshika move in togehter, and Liz volunteered her help, as it was for a relative of Penney. Plus, it was something to keep her busy from thoughts that were nagging at the First Lieutenant's mind:

"Well, I believe these are the last two boxes from Bishop's bunk." Iowa proclaimed. "You know, it's amazing how much crap pilots can cram into their bunks."

"It's been a long time since I last lived in bunk style barracks. Good times, but I don't miss the lack of storage." Liz responded. "Anyhow, where do you ladies want this?"

"Over in the corner is fine," Lynette nodded. "And, uh... thank you again for all this..."

"Hey, if these two big galoots were busy, they wouldn't be offering to help, now would they?" Nozomi grinned, motioning towards Iowa and Liz.

"Hey, anything for a relative of Penney's." Liz winked. "Hell, if I'd have known sooner, I'd have helped sooner."

"Well, the pleasure's been ours, but I think we'd best leave you two to your business?" Nozomi suggested, wrapping her arms around Iowa and Liz and ushering them out the door. "Have fun, you two!"

The two of them watched as the door to their new, shared quarters closed behind them before Lynette's excitement got the better of her and she proceeded to glomp the older girl standing adjacent to her.

"We're living together!!! We're really living together!!!" she squealed, bouncing up and down excitedly.

Yoshika smiled sweetly as she made her way over to the small kitchen style area. "I requested a small kitchen" she told Lynette. "Usually ships like this don't come equipped with something like this. But Doctor Hinamori and Doctor Febin managed to pull a few strings for me. I want to cook nice food for us!"

"You and me both," Lynette replied. "We can finally make those meat pies that I'd promised we would make some day, or... ooh! perhaps we could even make some kidney pie, or a strawberry fool, or a knickerbocker glory, or banoffee pie, or-!"

"They're all very heavy..." Yoshika said. "But I can introduce you to Sushi Rolls, Aashimi, Miso soup and fried tofu" she smiled. She walked over towards Lynette. "We wouldn't want you getting fat!" she said as she playfully poked Lynette's stomach.

"But I thought you said I wasn't chubby..." Lynette pouted cutely.

"You're not" Yoshika replied in a soft reassuring tone. She placed both hands on Lynette's shoulders. "I'm the chubby one here" she teased.

The two of them stood like that for a few seconds before both of them burst out laughing.

"Okay, I suppose we should start out by making something light..." Lynette giggled.

"English or Japanese?" Yoshika asked with a smile as she took Lynette's hand and guided her towards the kitchen area.

Lynette put a finger to her lips. "Hmm... maybe some... Yellow Lentil & Coconut Curry?" she suggested, though she hardly seemed as enthusiastic about it as she did the Meat Pie.

"You'll have to teach me that one" Yoshika replied. "I'm not sure how to make that..."

"Well, I do vaguely remember making the dish for Lawrence and Eloise on rare occasion, but it was never really a hit with Katherine or David, so I didn't make it as often as much as some of the other recipes," Lynette recalled. "We used cauliflower in our recipe, which... come to think of it, may have been why Katherine and David weren't big fans of it in the first place; Lawrence and Eloise never really minded vegetables, but they were never Katherine's cup of tea, and David was always a picky eater, so vegetables were always going to be off the cards for him..."

She glanced over at Yoshika.

"Come to think of it, you don't mind cauliflower, do you?"

Yoshika shook her head. "Cauliflower is a bit different in Japan than yours. But I don't mind it." she told her. "As long as you're cooking it..." she blushed.

Lynette's face suddenly lit up as she'd just been hit with a bright idea. "I should still have the recipe in one of the boxes; I didn't use it all that often, so I wrote it down for reference somewhere..."

Yoshika watched as Lynette moved over to the far side of the room, carefully inspecting one box, then another.

"A-Ha!" Lynette shouted as she triumphantly pulled out a yellowed old index card. "Let's see, as far as ingredients go... we'll need 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil; 1 onion- it says "thinly sliced" here, but for a more authentic cooking experience, I'm not sure if we want to replicate the full onion... 2 garlic cloves, crushed; one piece of ginger, I described it being... about the size of a thumb? Anyhow; 3 tablespoons of curry paste; 200 grams of yellow lentil, rinsed- not sure if we want to use the opportunity to test out the sink, but I figure I ought to mention...1.5 Liters of vegetable stock; 3 tablespoons of unsweetened, desiccated coconut; cooked basmati rice and coriander leaves; and 1 cauliflower...

She glanced up at Yoshika as if she'd just had a thought come to her. "Since you mentioned it... do you think we should try using the Japanese cauliflower?"

"It is sweeter" Yoshika replied. "I don't mind either way. You're the chef tonight."

Lynette blushed at that. "W-well, I guess it couldn't hurt to try..."

After replicating the ingredients, as well as the utensils they'd need to cook it, the two of them set to work, with Yoshika handling preparation and Lynette handling the overall cooking. the first step of the process involved heating the oil in a large saucepan- a great opportunity to check out the burners, which thankfully worked just as they were supposed to. Once the oil was up to a simmer, Lynette added the onion, garlic, and ginger in one go. They gave it about five minutes to cook before adding the curry paste, which was then followed by another minute of stir-frying before the lentils, stock, and coconut were added to the mixture.

The next interval would be the longest out of the entire cooking process, a full 40 minutes. Towards the last 10 or so minutes of that interval, Lynette stirred in the cauliflower to cook. Once it was all said and done, they realized they had about four helpings' worth of curry, so they decided they'd save half of it for later. Lynette then proceeded to spoon what remained into two bowls, and sprinkled them with coriander leaves and a hint of coconut.

"Would you like some mango chutney and naan bread to go along with that?" Lynette asked as she set Yoshika's bowl down on the dinner table. "I used to make some for Lawrence, but he was the only one who really liked the chutney."

Yoshika shook her head. "Its not overly spicy. I think its nice without it" she commented as she picked up a spoon. "One more thing though..." She crossed the room to the replicator. She returned with a small tray on which sat a green bottle and two small glasses.

"Here" she said as she opened the lid on the bottle and poured out the clear liquid into two small glasses and handed one to Lynette. "This is a special type of Sake from where I grew up. Here's to our first meal together in our quarters!"

Lynette smiled. "To our new quarters," she replied, lifting her glass. "And our future."

---

Posting By (In Order Of Appearance):

Ensign Nozomi Kusuda
Fighter Pilot, USS Tokyo (NCC-91101)

Ensign Lynette Bishop
Fighter Pilot, USS Tokyo (NCC-91101)

Petty Officer, 1st Class Yoshika Miyafuji
Nurse, USS Tokyo (NCC-91101)

Lieutenant Iowa Riverside
Triumph Squadron Leader, USS Tokyo (NCC-91101)

1st Lieutenant Elizabeth Beurling
Marine Executive Officer, US Tokyo (NCC-91101)

 

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