Go the Spoils

Posted on Thu Feb 28, 2019 @ 11:26am by Lieutenant Nicole Anderson & Lieutenant JG Camille Lévesque PhD

3,080 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Plaga Navis
Location: Camille's Quarters

Nicole walked down the corridor confidently and swiftly. Her dress was fluttering in the wake of her stride as she came up to Camille's quarters. She was usually in uniform, but she'd decided that something informal would be more appropriate for what she needed to do. She walked up to the door...and went right past.

She was three doors down when she finally turned on her heel and almost physically yanked herself back to her destination. *C'mon, girl, get a grip." She rang the chime and stood patiently.

Camille was sitting in one of the chairs of her quarters, reading one of the latest xenobiology papers from some discovery in the Alpha Quadrant when her door chimed. She was out of her uniform, in a simple gray sweater and leggings, going for comfortable for a relaxing evening in.

She put her PADD down and stood. “Entrez,” she called towards the door. It slid open, revealing Nicole in a beautiful dress. She’d never seen her wear anything aside from her uniform, even on the girls’ night when they were first together. “My god, Nicole. You look fantastic.”

Nicole blushed heavily as she stepped inside. "Thanks." She smoothed the frock self-consciously. "Just a simple farm dress from home. Thought I'd go traditional tonight." She'd been torn between her preferred shorts and tees and something more formal, but opted for plain yet comfortable. She needed her mind on the situation, not her clothes. "You look amazing as well," she said, smiling a bit.

Camille grinned and blushed as well. “Merci, but these are just for comfort.” She gestured into her quarters, inviting Nicole to come in and take a seat on the chair next to hers. She sat as well, leaning forward. “I’ve been reading a bit before going to bed. But you’re here for a reason. Qu’est-ce que c’est?” She gently put her hand on Nicole’s.

Nicole sat down, tucking her legs under herself, holding Camille's hand but not quite meeting her eyes. "We um...." she swallowed hard. "We said we should talk at some point. I kinda need to talk."

“Bien sur,” Camille said. “You look troubled. Are you okay? What happened?”

"After I got out of quarantine...something happened. I had an encounter with....Major Crowe. We ended up back at his quarters and...." She stopped and choked up a bit, blushing hard.

“Oh,” Camille said. She blushed a bit, too. She had a sudden pang of intense jealousy, like that time she had heard the rumour from Jim, which she had mostly put out of her mind. But did she have the right to feel that? Nicole was up front with her about what she wanted during the quarantine. But Cassandra told her that her feelings were to be acknowledged and assessed. She was upset by this revelation. More proof that her feelings for Nicole had changed. And Nicole was telling her this now. But why? They’d had their exchange on the holodeck not long ago. Nicole had told her a bit about her past relationships, opened up to her about her changing feelings. Camille had done the same. It was the start of something. Was this more of that? Or was this bad?

As her mind raced, she didn’t notice that her hand had unconsciously slipped off of Nicole’s.

“Why are you telling me this now?” she asked, not entirely certain how long she sat in silence.

Nicole had never realized how much physical pain not holding someone's hand could cause until that moment. "A few reasons," she said, quietly, holding her now empty hand to her chest. "First and foremost, what's going on with Penny. I couldn't keep living with myself doing something and not telling you. I respect you and care about you too much. Also...things have changed."

She looked at Camille and then back at the floor. "Unless I'm gravely misinterpreting what's been said and done, this has moved on to a more serious level. I...I want it to, and I know I can't unless I'm honest with you."

She sighed. "And then there was this morning. I woke up and rolled over and you weren't there." She felt her eyes water and she blinked the tears away, determined to stay in control. "I was so...sad. I felt so alone. I almost grabbed a pillow and headed for your quarters."

She shook her head. "I've never spent the night in his quarters, and he's never even been to mine," she said. "Letting him in that far just never felt...right. My bed was our space, yours and mine." She bit her lip and looked back at Camille. "I'm so sorry I didn't say anything before now. I never wanted to hurt you."

Camille’s eyes began to water as Nicole laid her cards on the table. She had only just begun giving herself permission to feel these feelings, and hers lined up with Nicole’s.

“When I woke up in the lab with you, using your thigh as my pillow...it felt right. I could’ve gone back to sleep utterly content. When we went snow shoeing and talked about past relationships, you opened up to me, after freezing your nose off just to spend time with me, doing something special with me.”

She shifted her chair to be closer to Nicole’s. “During quarantine, we said we wanted to keep it casual. You did nothing wrong with Victor, and I appreciate your honesty. I have no right to feel jealous. But I do feel jealous. I...I want us to be more serious. I want to wake up next to you, too.” By this point, her cheeks were wet.

Nicole was crying too. She mentally kicked herself for going soft like this. She wasn't often the mushy type, but certain people could drag it out of her. She smiled and reached out for Camille's hand again, then frowned as a thought hit her. "Aw shit..." she said.

Camille took Nicole’s hand, but cocked her head at the odd phrase. “What’s wrong?” she asked, hoping this wasn’t about their relationship.

"If we're going to do this the right way...I have to inform Commander Hunter of the relationship," Nicole said.

Camille’s brow furrowed. “Oui. That’s standard practice, especially for senior staff. Do you not want to tell him?”

"No, I'm just not going to enjoy spending 30 days in the brig after I punch the smirk off his face," Nicole said, her usual tone creeping back in as she smiled slightly.

Camille grinned widely and laughed. With her free hand, she wiped the tears off her cheeks, and then touched Nicole’s, using her thumb to gather the moisture. Her smile faded a moment as a question came to mind. “Victor,” she said. “Do you still want to see him? Have you spoken to him yet?”

"He's aware there's someone else in my life," Nicole said. "And I don't know. I don't want to hurt him, but I know what I feel for him, and what I don't. It's just been a physical thing and a close friendship but I worry he wants more, and I can't provide it."

Camille nodded, and took a deep breath. “I know I can’t be everything you need,” she said. “No one can be someone’s everything. It’s selfish and possessive of me to want you all to myself.” She smiled a bit sadly. “I do want you all to myself, but if the price of being with you is that you also get to play with him sometimes, then I think I can live with that. Or I can learn to live with it. I won’t give you a ‘me or him’ ultimatum.”

Nicole wasn't sure how to respond to that, but she took it as a place to start. The idea of multiple relationships was relatively normal where she was from, but she knew humans viewed it differently. Still, she wasn't the kind to go bed hopping. She stared at the floor so intently as her thoughts whirled, she was surprised a hole didn't bore into the deck below.

“Nicole,” Camille said, jostling the other woman from her thoughts. “Before you came, I was going to replicate myself something to eat. Would you have dinner with me? And then spend the night? I’d like it if you stayed with me tonight.”

Nicole smiled. "I would love to," she said. She sat back in her chair, and her smile turned a mischievous. "You pick dinner," she said, "I pick dessert."

Camille smiled and nodded. She stood, gave Nicole a firm kiss on the lips, breaking it slowly and letting it linger before she walked to the replicator. She thought a moment about what would be an appropriate meal. She smiled and looked to the replicator. “Mussels in white wine sauce, for two, side of french fries. And two glasses of an appropriately paired synthehol wine.”

A tray was replicated. On it were a pair of large bowls. One contained fully cooked steamed mussels, opened, and the sauce underneath. The other was empty. Two small plates, forks, and tongs for picking up the shells were on the tray too. A single plate of fries and two wine glasses appeared as well. Camille carried the tray to the table, set out the utensils and wine, put the food between the two seats, and sat back down. “Something I loved to eat back in Paris.” She picked up her wine glass. “What shall we toast?”

"How about--" Nicole stopped as her nostrils flared at the unexpected scent and she recoiled slightly. She looked down at the bowl in confusion. "What are 'mussels' exactly?"

“They’re small mollusks from Earth’s oceans,” Camille explained. “They’re cleaned and then steamed in a flavourful broth, in this case one made of white wine and garlic, and some other ingredients too. They open as they steam. If they don’t, then you throw them away, though I expect the replicator didn’t give us any closed ones.” Camille put her glass down and used the tongs to grab one and demonstrated. “Use a small fork to fish the meat out, dip in the sauce, and eat. They can be a bit chewy but I love them.” Despite the toast not being made yet, she put the small morsel of food in her mouth, closing her eyes as she enjoyed the taste. She then grabbed her glass again.

Nicole's nose wrinkled. "They're...pungent. My sense of smell is rather heightened, so I suppose they're hitting me harder than normal." She took her fork and the tongs and pried one free experimentally. She put it in her mouth and chewed. "Interesting," she said. "It's similar to something we have on Rigel, but the texture is different." She put her fork down and raised her glass. "To learning more about each other."

“I’ll always drink to that,” Camille clinked her glass and then took a sip of her wine. It tasted nice. She didn’t have muck knowledge of wine despite her years in France, but she knew what tasted good. And she didn’t want her senses dulled, so a synthehol was a good choice.

“I think I mentioned I lived in Paris?” Camille said. “For about five years, through an accelerated PhD program at Université Pierre et Marie Curie. One of the foremost science-focussed universities on Earth. Have you been to Paris?”

"No," Nicole said, shaking her head. "I actually haven't spent much time on Earth. I was in Hawaii once, visiting Penny and her parents. That place was paradise, although I learned I have limits on spice. I don't know how familiar you are with Indian food, but her mother was serving dishes so hot I was openly crying at the table."

Camille couldn’t help but laugh. “I’ve never been to Hawaii! And Québec food isn’t spicy.” She ate another mussel. “Paris is considered one of the most romantic cities on Earth. The lights of the Eiffel Tower. Romantic cruises on the Seine. Thousand year old buildings and centuries-old works of art. There’s a bridge where lovers write their initials on a metal padlock, lock them to the frame of the bridge, and throw the key into the river, to symbolize their everlasting love.” She smiled and sighed. Her time in Paris was among the best years of her life, and while she had had a girlfriend during much of that time, whatever this was with Nicole was different. “I’d love to take you there sometime. After the snow shoeing of course!” She quickly ate another mussel, savouring it.

"Of course," Nicole smirked, eating a few more bites as well. "It sounds wonderful. We've got a few nice vacation spots on Rigel; however, they're all a bit rural, and a bit remote. However, there's one spot a bit north of the Soul Clan's commune, up in the hills, where the views of the sunset are beyond description."

“That sounds beautiful,” Camille said.

The entrees finished, Nicole cleared the plates and recycled them, returning instead with two bowls filled with bone-white spheres and a spoon each. "I'll give you three guesses as to the flavor," she said, setting the bowl of ice cream in front of Camille and sitting down with her own.

Camille picked up her spoon, scooped a bit of the ice cream and put it in her mouth. It started sweet and creamy, like any good ice cream. What surprised her, prompting her eyes to shoot open, was the savoury flavour that followed. Smokey. Something roasted. Utterly delicious. “I could eat this after every meal,” she said without hesitation. “Is it roasted garlic?”

"Got it in one!" Nicole said, grinning. She took a spoonful as well and sighed, feeling her shoulders relax. She hadn't realized how tense she'd been till then. "I haven't had this since..." she paused and a slight cloud passed over her face, but she pushed it aside. "It's been some time." She took another spoonful and sighed contentedly. "It's nice to have it back though."

Camille saw Nicole’s change of expression, but decided it was not the time to ask a follow up question. She knew how hard it was for Nicole to have told her about Michael in the first place. Nicole would share more when she was ready. In the meantime, she would continue to enjoy the ice cream. “So what’s Rigelian cuisine like?” Camille asked. She was increasingly curious about Nicole’s culture. And learning about each other was what they were toasting tonight, after all.

"Cosmopolitan enough in Ancient Grace," Nicole said. "We're not exactly the cuisine capital of the sector, but the restaurants featured some exotic foods from Vulcan, Bolius, Betazed, et cetera. The clans are all farmers, so plenty of fruits, vegetables, fresh baked breads and meats of all kinds. We will take any excuse for a party and can get a spit turning at the drop of a hat." She snickered. "My mother couldn't wrap her mind around it sometimes. A culture freely open about sex and delicious food everywhere; the very antithesis of her British heritage."

Savouring another bite of ice cream, she smiled and nodded at the description. “That all sounds fantastic,” she said. “We love a good party, too, back home. In the smaller towns, family is the most important thing. If I came home today, with you on my arm, thirty Lévesques and as many Huards would beam in from all over to see me and meet you, and there would be a dinner to rival the ones on Rigel. Maybe not a spit roast, but foods imported from dozens of cultures that made Québec their home.” She took her last bite of the ice cream; a bit more melted now, a small amount dripped down her chin.

Nicole grinned. "You..um.." she motioned to her own chin, then suddenly leaned over and kissed Camille lightly before taking it off her chin for her. She sat back and blushed, smiling. "That's nice, having a family like that," she said after a moment. "My mother and I were all we had...well now I have honorary family by the dozens, but not much in the way of actual relatives. You must enjoy it immensely."

Camille giggled at the kiss and removal of ice cream from her face. It was simultaneously sweet and incredibly sexy. Camille stood and picked up the empty dishes, bringing them to the replicator. “The extended family visited rarely,” Camille said. “Mononcle Maxime, Père’s brother, was a common sight whenever he was on-planet. Mère’s sister, Matante Amélie, was very close, too. I lived with her for five years, before university. Otherwise, it was just me, my parents, and my two sisters. The others were spread thinly, but distance is meaningless when you have a Transporter, so we’d all congregate for big things. Weddings, baptisms, first communions, the annual summer reunion. Increasingly, as younger people moved offworld, we’d even celebrate prodigal sons and daughters.” Still standing by the replicator, she turned to the still-seated Nicole. “Can I get you anything else?”

Nicole was pretty sure she only understood half the words Camille had said, but she didn't care. She stood up and walked over, pretending to think hard on the matter, then pulled Camille in and hugged her tightly.

Camille returned Nicole’s embrace. Slightly shorter than the doctor, she rested her head against Nicole’s shoulder and closed her eyes. Here in the embrace of the woman with whom she was now in a serious relationship, she was perfectly content.

Nicole had a thousand things to think about, but none of them mattered. A plague was out there, but that didn't matter either. Not even her condition mattered to her anymore. All she cared about was how long she could hold that moment.

In her quarters, Cass closed her gold compact and smiled. At that moment, stars were bursting into supernovas, planets were colliding, a galaxy was being ripped apart by a black hole, one war was started, another ended, people were born, killed, and countless other random, chaotic events swirled around, but for her one, small pocket of the universe, things were finally, completely fine.

 

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