"Soul Food" by Ensign Mehdi Idrys and Commander Skyler A few days had passed since he had last seen Skyler and Idrys was as impatient as ever to see her again. The recurring dreams had increased in their intensity and frequency. He knew he loved her with every fiber of his body. And he couldn't stand being away from her. He went to the text-message terminal, typed out a quick note, Ready or not, Imzadi, here I come, so don't keep me waiting! and pressed SEND. He smirked, wondering how long she would have to pause before picking her jaw up off the floor when she read that. Or ... maybe that thought was a tad too vain. In any event, the way they had latched onto one another, the fierceness with which their unbridled passion had been awakened within, and unleashed upon, one another, had been a total surprise at the start for each of them and this would only be his second visit to her quarters. Wait! came a return message. I have to clean up this damned mess and I don't have a thing ready for dinner! He grinned and typed back, Don't worry about either. I'll take care of the menu myself. Trust me. Pauses could be SO annoying. ... It better be good, mister, just promise me that. He chuckled. Promise. On my way now! He paused before leaving to replicate some more roses. Red this time. Change is good. As he headed into the turbolift, he decided on what to order from the replicator when he arrived. If the foods were not programmed into her own, he could always upload the recipes from his quarters in a matter of minutes. The 'lift stopped and he soon found his way to her quarters and rang the chime. "Enter." He stepped in. "Are you so sure you want me in here? Last time I came ..." She laughed. "Oh, I remember. Don't rub it in. And what's that you have?" He brought out the roses. "What else would you think?" She came to him and kissed him passionately, hungrily, like one who has been imprisoned suddenly tasting freedom. "Mehdi ... Imzadi ... it's felt like an eternity without you." She took the roses and inhaled their scent languidly. "I'll place these somewhere suitable." As she began to turn away, he grasped her softly by the shoulder and then she heard his inner voice. ~I know, Imzadi ... and it has felt like æons here, as well. Go ... place them wherever you wish. ...~ She placed the roses in a vase and sat down on the couch. "So, come. And what have you planned for dinner, if I may ask?" He grinned and sat down next to her, holding her closely. "That, my love, is to be as much a surprise for you as the meal you prepared for me last time was ... fair enough?" He kissed her before she could reply. "Mmmmmmmmmmmmmpppppppphhhh ... oh, I'll say. More than fair, seeing as how you put it that way." She laid her head in his lap, closed her eyes and felt his fingers running through her hair and caressing her ... somehow, she knew this visit, like the last one, would be special. He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. "Now, if you'll excuse me a moment ... I have some food to fix." He smiled and walked to the replicator and chuckled as he began programming it. "Why, what's so damned funny?" asked Skyler. "Well, evidently we have some different tastes. Don't worry, though ... if you don't like this, you can always delete these recipes. Just give this a try is all I ask." "How do I know you're not going to try and poison me or something?" Idrys almost choked, then burst out laughing. "Poison? Oh, my, now why would I do such a thing?" Skyler wasn't smiling. "Imzadi ... wait a moment ..." He stopped programming the replicator and went over to her and sat down. "What are you trying to tell me?" She sat next to him and placed her hands on his shoulders, gazed into his eyes and then leaned her forehead next to his. "I'm trying to tell you," she began softly, "that you're ..." "I'm what?" Suddenly she began tickling him all over and he began laughing hysterically. "You're ... the victim of one of my Class-A pranks!" And the two of them fell to laughing until they were literally crying. "You nut," said Idrys as he kissed her and got up. "Heeeeeeeeeey ... I'm your nut!" "Right! ... and nobody else's!" A few minutes later, Idrys began taking some items from the replicator and setting them on the table before Skyler, who sat wide-eyed with wonder as they came. "What is this?" "Well," said Idrys, as he sat beside her, "this is a typical Indian meal. The food comes from all over the subcontinent, and some people think it's overly loaded with spices. That's a myth. Just to be on the safe side, I've toned down the spice content in each." He handed her a tall glass of Tamarind nectar and a small plate of vegetarian Pakoras and Samosas, together with some Naan and chutneys and Raita, and they commenced to eat. By the end, Skyler was wondering where she had been all these years. "We're going to have to have this again, Mehdi ... and not so bland, either," smiled Skyler as she finished her dessert of Gajar Halwa. "I'm glad you like it." "Like it? I love it!" "I guess you won't be deleting those recipes anytime soon ..." Suddenly Skyler picked up a couple of pillows and began throwing them at Idrys. "Are you going to stop that, and get into the bedroom and undress, or do I have to pull rank on you and take those clothes off of you myself?" "I dunno, hon ... the latter way sounds kinda kinky if you ask me." He ducked just in time, then grabbed her in his arms and kissed her passionately, then carried her into the bedroom. "Mehdi ... Imzadi ... I've been meaning to ask you something. It's been on my mind ever since you left." She sat next to him on the bed as they undressed one another, pausing every so often to exchange passionate kisses and ardent caresses. "What would that be?" "Well ... I know it would sound a bit premature just now, what with the ongoing investigation and all, but ..." "But what?" He was looking at her intently, wondering what might have occupied her time so much for all these days. ~Imzadi ... when we are through with the investigation, I want you to move in here with me. Seeing you leave is more than I can bear. It's not right to be apart. We need one another, desire one another ... don't we?~ ~Of course we do, Imzadi. We'll just wait until it's time, and then I promise, I will be here with you. You have my word on that.~ And for hours afterwards their fiery hunger for one another's passions was gradually satisfied. They knew they were soulmates. What they had experienced was truly food for their souls. ... to be continued ... Ensign Mehdi Idrys , MD Assistant Medical Officer, USS Avalon NCC-27926-B & Commander Skyler Executive Officer, USS Avalon NCC-27926-B Captain Keith Ketchum, Commanding Officer Celestial Prime Alliance Sim group Admiral Gem Rhee, Founder / Commander-in-Chief