Rowan was nervous, and had spent the better part of the afternoon trying to figure out what to wear. His uniform would’ve been a viable option, but that would look too formal.
A shirt and trousers would’ve been fine too, but that might look to casual for… well, for whatever this was.

It was dinner. It was set on a date. Did that make it a dinner date?

Honestly, he wasn’t sure.

And even if he wasn’t exactly ready his door chime rang. Jackson Smith was not an overthinker when it came to fashion. His younger sister was a fashionsita and had told him he looked good in green because it brought out his eyes. His older sister told him ‘always wear a tailored shirt that fits because it tells people you are put together.’ and his brother told him ‘wear mid brown slacks, they look great and hide stains.’

So a fitted green shirt with tailored mid-brown slacks, nice shoes (polished because that’s what gentlemen do) and a tie because his Dad always said a tie makes the man. He showed up with his entire family at his back, a smile on his face and his hair in a charming tousle.

“Hope I’m not too early?” Jackson offered as the door opened.

“Uhhh….” Rowan said, suddenly wondering where he’d taken the initial confidence to suggest their ‘dinner date’ from. Probably that encouraging cactus in his office. Now he’d very much like to have a word with said cactus, something along the lines of ‘Why didn’t you tell me to dress better?’ – but that wasn’t helpful. And would probably get him admitted as patient to counseling himself, so that was off the table.

Instead, he settled on just staring at Jackson for a bit, who offered a pleasant, calm smile. “For once I didn’t get lost, though I can do an extra lap around the block if you need more time!”

Actually Jackson had an incredible sense of direction, but he underplayed it all the time. He was simply very good at seeing things in real time and reacting. That included section signs and direction markers.

“I feel underdressed.” Rowan admitted. He wore back trousers, a black tunic, and black shoes. Because Rowan didn’t really understand how colors worked, so he combined what felt safe.

Jackson took a step back and considered the ensemble. “It fits, it matches, and black is classy. You’ll be more than fine for sushi.”

And then the young security officer made a mental note to introduce his newfound friend to the wonderful world of colors – that was so long as they remained friends after this dinner. He hoped they would and he hoped to manifest a great evening by sheer smiles and good cheer.

“Phew.” Rowan smirked. “Well then, let’s go?”

“Absolutely, let’s go!” he almost offered Rowan an arm so they could skip off like this was the yellow brick road, but thought that was probably too awkward for a first outing. Still, he thought about it and maybe that counted? As it was, Jackson maintained an easy, casual walking pace, perfect for talking. “Have you been to this restaurant  before?”

“Not myself, but a few friends went.” Rowan shook his head. “So if you were hoping for me to be your sushi-tour-guide – sadly no. How about you?”

He considered for a second, brushing a big of his shaggy hair away from his face in thought. “I was obsessed with sushi at the Academy. My roommate knew all the best places and we would go there in the middle of the night to study and rank the different kinds.”

“Oh, so you majored in sushi, got it!” Rowan grinned “Which one won you over?”

“I’m a simple man and I really like a good spicy tuna roll or a Tekka Maki – basically if it has savory tuna in it I’m sold!” Jackson smiled, eagerly. He was also more than willing to help rowan find his perfect sushi.

“Honestly, I eat everything. My mum is a ‘you eat what’s on the plate’ kind of person – that made me pretty adventurous when it comes to food of any kind — though I draw the line at things that are still wriggly.”

Ugh, wriggly. Fortunately most people who were not Klingons drew the line at wriggly. “I got an idea!” a crafty expression crossed Jackson’s features. “We can do a sampler platter – two rolls of all the most popular rolls at the restaurant. That way we can each try them and rate what we like the best.”

“Really?” he asked surprised. “That sounds amazing. I’ve always wanted to do that!”

This time Jackson did hold out a hand. For a moment, Rowan hesitated. Then he took it.

“Then come on!  Let’s go on a flavorous adventure with fish in space!” Jackson grinned.

And apparently there were times when the security officer could be rather theatrical. He blamed it on his siblings always wanting to pretend some fantastic story or other. Also the fact that he had a crush on an actor when he was in high school, so he sighed up for the stage crew and would find ways to be painting backstage while his crush was onstage.

“A flavorous adventure?” Rowan laughed. He shook his head, but couldn’t deny that there was a weight lifting off his shoulders. The past weeks – months, really – had been dark and complicated. This was easy and silly and precisely what he needed.

“It’s the kind of adventure I like – interesting and safe all at the same time!”