Housewarming ('Descent' Backpost) (Part 1)

Posted on Wed Aug 2nd, 2023 @ 4:14am by Ensign Lynette Bishop 'Highlander' & Captain Elizabeth F. "Liz" Beurling & Petty Officer 1st Class Yoshika Miyafuji

1,054 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Starship Graveyard
Location: Miyafuji/Bishop quarters
Timeline: After 'O Captain, My Captain'

With her new Captain rank pip fastened to her uniform, Liz made her way to the quarters she had helped Ensign Bishop move into, a bottle of Canadian whiskey in hand. She was just hoping that the two of them wouldn't be unnerved by Liz being the highest ranking person there.

Reaching the door to the quarters, Liz pressed the chime and waited for somebody to answer.

She didn't have to wait long before the doors snapped open, revealing (a rather surprised-looking) Ensign Bishop.

"Um.... Buerling, was it?" she began somewhat awkwardly. "I hope I'm getting that right..."

"You got it right." Liz said. "Sorry to drop by unannounced, nobody told me you were moving quarters until the day it happened, and I wanted to drop by and give you a housewarming gift."

Liz presented the bottle of whiskey.

"I hope you're whiskey types." She added. "I wanted to get you something distinctly Canadian, but wasn't sure how well you'd take to something stupid like a curling set."

"Curling set?" Yoshika asked curiously as she approached the newcomer. "Is that some sort of sport?"

"Indeed it is:" Liz said. "It's very popular in Canada, though I personally much more prefer ice hockey. Damnit, I knew I should've gone with my gut on that one..."

"The place is still a mess..." Yoshika said. "We're still unpacking"

"Any way I can help?" Liz asked.

"U-um, well... I suppose if you're offering and all, we wouldn't mind the extra help..." Lynette replied, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. "Please, come in."

Accepting the invitation with a nod, Liz stepped over the threshold and into the quarters to get a better idea of what the situation was like:

Yoshika stepped aside to let them in with a smile.

"L-let me take this for you," Lynette offered, politely taking the whiskey and placing it on the counter. "You'll probably need both hands for this..."

"Both hands?" Liz asked. "Are you suggesting there's no place for me to set this?"

Sensing a hint of disappointment in the Marine's voice, Lynette began to fidget uncomfortably. "W-well, I just figured it was going to be heavy, and that you may want to-!"

"Help you ladies unpack?" Liz completed Lynette's sentence. "Well, that was the idea, but surely there has to be at least a few square inches of space to set a bottle? I've never heard of a new home being such a mess that there wasn't space to even set a housewarming gift."

"If you like. I don't really have that much stuff, it seems Lyn does though..." Yoshika said with a smile.

Lynette blushed at that. "I-I mean... I don't have that much stuff, do I?"

"Is it enough stuff where there's no space to set a housewarming gift?" Liz asked, her tone of voice conveyed irritation that neither Yoshika nor Lynette had directed her to a spot where she could place the whiskey. "I mean, all I need is a few square inches of space, just point me where you want this and then I can help you."

"Oh!" Yoshika said. "Put it on the kitchen worktop," she said pointing to a mini kitchenette area complete with sink, stove and oven as well as a replicator. "I asked to have a small cooking area installed so I can make proper meals," she told them.

"I do like to cook, as replicated recipes don't seem to taste as nice. There's no love in them..." Yoshika began to blush.

Lynette nodded and quickly moved the whiskey over to the kitchen worktop, hoping that would (at the very least) help to ease some of the tension that was lingering in the air.

Liz smiled at Yoshika's remark about cooking.

"I must admit, replicated food just doesn't taste the same." She said. "One of my favorite parts of being in the Brotherhood was the cookouts. Of course, with the guys being bikers and all that, most of the food I prepared was barbecue. Yup, I got pretty good at cooking just about everything on a grill with maple. Have either of you ever tried maple-glazed burgers? So good; my favorite way to make it is to melt some chipotle gouda cheese on it, really kicks things up a notch."

"My Mum was on duty a lot, so my older siblings and I learned to cook for our younger siblings in her absence," Lynette smiled. "We were fairly well off because of her position, so we used to go into town every month and hit up a used bookstore for some cookbooks; always managed to keep our younger siblings invested when we shook things up with something new and different."

Yoshika smiled. "Cooking for me was different. We had no replicators in my house. My grandmother hated them, but we were also an old fashioned medical clinic," she explained.

"Your grandmother sounds like one tough cookie." Liz commented. "Not that I blame her, though; I remember when replicators were a brand new invention, my folks at first thought they were food synthesizers with a new coat of paint. Now there's something for perspective; replicator flavor is certainly a lot better than those of a food synthesizer."

Yoshika nodded in agreement. "Well, I grew up in the countryside. Rural Japan is very different, even today," she said with a smile. "Nothing will beat the long summer days near the rice paddies and walking in the ancient forests."

Liz nodded.

"Japan sounds like a lovely place to visit." She said. "Probably not in the summer months, though. I've found summers south of what was once the US-Canada border to be quite incredibly hot. Though anywhere on Earth is much cooler than Vulcan, and I say that in regards to the physical temperatures."

"Japan is a beautiful place," Yoshika replied fondly. "Yeah it gets hot, but that only allows all the gis to wear more revealing clothing which...." she stopped herself from continuing on. She quickly turned away using, since she discovered her own sexuality and came 'out', she had been making slip ups in conversation. Usually she kept such things to herself, but now they started to emerge more naturally.

To be continued...

RSS Feed