Yes, A Discussion Of Pledge Tokens.

As we were leaving, Jalmethel put her hand on my arm and I paused.

"Yes, beloved?" I asked, and she turned me into a door alcove in the hall for a second, out of the way of the others exiting the room.

"We need to exchange pledge tokens." She said very seriously, and I touched my hand to her temple saying only "Explain."

We were suddenly in a holotheater and watching an info-metric on her universe's Romulan culture, specifically the section relating to marriage practices, and all was made clear. When a couple first became engaged, they gave each other a pair of custom-designed earrings that marked each other as a committed couple, which if you knew how to read the design told you a lot about the terms of the engagement, including if they were exclusive, and, if not, what the agreed terms were for approving extra-engagement partners. New earings were given with each anniversary, after a renegotiation of terms, but even though the terms almost always remained basically the same, the earings were different because another diamond was added for each year. (No big issue, artificial diamonds were ancient tech by Romulan standards...)

When the engagement ripened into marriage piercings were added to the area immediately above the genitals, spelling out further terms for child rearing and such like for those that understood, while the earings changed from stainless steel to gold, an important warning as marriage vows generally precluded the possibility of extramarital partnerships, though poly-amorous marriages were far from unheard of. Just because the marriage was bigger didn't mean the spice could stray though, you stayed within the polycule.

I dropped out of the mindscape and back into reality.

"Where will we go to get a design made?" I asked and Jalmethel smiled.

"First we need to decide terms, and I think the first one is that I want to be exclusive to you," Jalmethel said.

"That was very precisely phrased," I murmured. "You want to be exclusive to me, but don't mind my having sex with others?" I asked.

"Not for now, at this time, expecting exclusivity is illogical, but we will re-discuss when our one year anniversary approaches. However, I do want you to consult me before accepting any new partner's advances, or making advances of your own, understood?" Jalmethel explained.

"I understand, and for the record, I'm not especially interested in casual sex. If someone did approach me it would have to be with a serious offer of joining our relationship as a permanent or at least semi-permanent fixture: becoming a part of the engagement and hopefully eventual polycule." I explained, and Jalmethel visibly relaxed.

"I'm glad to hear that, but don't hold too closely to that ideal. Your sexual favors are useful medicinally at this time, and I both trust and expect you to use them responsibly. Just remember to save enough strength to give me a healthy dose every night, understand?" Jalmethel said in a tone that mixed both playful and deathly serious.

"Yes, I most definitely do," I said and gently placed her hand on my stiff phallus.

"You tempt me well soulmate, but we both have duties to see to. I'll meet you back in our quarters when your shift at the helm is over, and I want you to bring all this enthusiasm home with you!" Jalmethel said and walked away with a gait I could only describe as a 'strut'.