A Second Encounter

Posted on Fri Feb 24th, 2017 @ 9:50pm by Ensign Jonathan Forrest & Petty Officer 3rd Class Avery Stiles
Edited on on Sun Oct 29th, 2017 @ 7:51pm

Episode: Preparations
Location: Ships mess

Jonathan had been on the ship for a couple of days now and was just starting to get acclimated He was excited about the new upgrades to the system and his part in them. He had been poring over a couple of technical journals and schematics and has missed lunch. He wasn't going to miss dinner and he didn't want to be in his room, by himself, a minute longer. So he changed into a pair of gray slacks and black crew neck tee shirt and headed to the ship's mess.

He stepped in and went to a replicator where he got himself an apple walnut salad with chicken, then looked around for a place to sit.

Avery pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a groan again. He usually thoroughly enjoyed working for Lt. Commander Reynard but while he was away at command school, that left a very unpleasant women in charge of operations. So far she had demanded the complete defragging of at least a half dozen systems, despite Avery and the other crew member's insistence that a few subroutine edits would fix the problem. He took another swig of his drink and looked up to find Jonathan standing there. Avery swallowed hard, after his encounter with the young man in the gym, he wasn't really sure what his next move was going to be. Hell, he wasn't even sure it Jonathan was interested in him in that way.

What would Theo tell him to do? Avery thought. He'd probably tell you to stop acting so juvenile and just ask the man to sit down.

"Jonathan," Avery said, raising his hand. "Hey, man there's a free seat over here."

Jonathan turned his head slightly and he smiled when he saw who had called his name. He grabbed a glass of tea and crossed the room to sit across from Avery, "Hey good looking," he said with a cheeky smile, "How have you been?"

This time Avery was able to fight back the temptation to blush and duck his head. He also took note of the way that Jonathan called him good looking, which he could have been doing just to be nice... wait was that thing? Did guys do that?

"I've been okay," Avery said. "How are things going in your department?"

Jonathan took a small sip of his tea before replying, "A little hectic trying to learn the new system, I'm sure everything is going to work out. I just needed a break And, I may be misreading things, but you're it's okay didn't sound too, you know, okay."

Avery shrugged. "I like working for Lt. Commander Reynard, he's tough, fair, and listens when I have suggestions. Our acting ops chief is pretty much ignoring everything that we tell her... its like she is going out of her way to make things more complicated. Just makes the work a little harder to get done."

"Sorry to hear that Avery, so where is Commander Reynard and who is the replacement person?" How long is she going to be around?"

"He's off at doing some command school courses," Avery said. He took a bite of his sandwich. "As for the replacement, she's as good as gone when he gets back. Also, the replicator cannot make a Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich to save its life."

Jonathan took a bite of his own food, chewed, swallowed then responded, "The replicator isn't nearly as nice as real cooking. If you could get me a real stove and oven. I could show you."

"Another cooking aficionado?" Avery asked, with a raised eyebrow. "I thought that I was the only one on the ship that actually enjoyed preparing food by hand. I have a full-service kitchen in my own quarters."

"Wow, nice, so what's your favorite thing to cook?" Jonathan could have made a smart ass comment about spending time in Avery's quarters, but he thought that might be a bit over the top, so he kept his comments innocent.

"Anything classic Americana," Avery responded. "Which is difficult considering its a problem getting all the fresh ingredients on a starship this size."

"Yes, I'm spoiled I guess. I was on a starbase, a rather large one for four years. We got fresh ingredients on a regular basis."

"You are spoiled then," Avery said, shaking his head. "I have a small garden down in the hydroponics bay but even that limits me. I'm stocking up on what I can to put in stasis for when we shove off for our first mission into the Delta Quadrant."

"What are you trying to collect? Maybe I can help."

Avery shrugged. "A variety of spices I suppose... honestly, I haven't really looked at my list in a while."

"Make me a list, I still have friends on Obsidian Command,  I'll see what I can do. Do you like oatmeal raisin cookies?"

Avery tried to keep his eyebrows from rising off his face and then from letting his brain race away on a tangent that might just nothing but a flight of fantasy. Why was he offering to get items for him?

Because he's being nice and looking to make new friends, a part of Avery's brain told him. And you're acting like a total ass, Theo would be seriously pissed at you right now.

"Um, sure, yeah I can do that," Avery said, with a nod. "And who doesn't like cookies?"

"Well, I reach out to my friends then as soon as I get that list from you. And I love cookies too. Oatmeal Raisin are my favorite. I do have the ingredients for a batch or two with me.  Could I swing by your place and bake some? I'll share with you."

"Um.. yeah sure, I guess that's cool," Avery responded, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry, that sounds less than enthusiastic. You're welcome to stop by anytime."

"How about tomorrow, after I get off shift?"

"Sure, sounds good."

"Great, I'll see you then." Jonathan started eating again, "did you want to have dinner together then?"

Avery swallowed hard. "Um, dinner?"

"Yes, dinner, that meal you have after breakfast and lunch," Jonathan said with a wicked grin, "it can be long and lingering, with plenty of time for, exploring your options."

"Yeah, sure, dinner sounds fine," Avery said. He checked his watch and then stood. "Um, I'll see you later. I need to get back to work before she hunts me down and cuffs my, ears or something. Just shoot me a message about what time dinner is."

"Sure," sounds good," Jonathan said, "I wouldn't want you to get hurt, I'm looking forward too much to our dinner."