LtCmdr Jovenan – Critical alert, adorableness overload!
Jovenan
((Jovenan’s quarters, Deck 3, USS Artemis))
Jovenan rose up to her toes to reach further up. Vitor made her job a bit easier and lowered his head so that she’d be able to give him a quick kiss. It was a type of greeting she loved, even if it had to be limited to places like this, at the doorsill between her quarters and a quiet corridor – she would have been in an even bigger problem if, besides wrecking the ship, she had made a public display of affection on the bridge and someone from the crew hadn’t liked that. Or maybe not. She wasn’t going to test that assumption.
Stepping aside and letting Vitor come in, Jovenan stood by the door a moment longer. She fidgeted with her fingers as he was faced with the state of her quarters. She hadn’t found time nor motivation to organise things after the battle with the Orions had thrown her stuff across the room. Luckily, she didn’t have too many items to begin with, so the room wasn’t quite as bad as she could have feared for someone else.
Jovenan: Sorry that it’s a bit untidy here. I didn’t have time to clean up properly.
Silveira: Honey, after what we been through it’s fine
She was happy that he didn’t think otherwise. He had never given her a reason to believe he would have thought less of her if her quarters had turned out to be an utter mess, but she was still insecure about putting in the effort while he kept showering her with surprises – dinners, gifts, games. The thought of the reason of his visit made her lower her eyes to what he was carrying. Tilting her head, she stepped closer and tried to figure out what could be in the box. It wasn’t like the basket of profiteroles he had last time.
Jovenan: What is it?
Vitor reached for her hand, and she took his.
Silveira: It's the surprise. But I have to ask you for one thing first.
Jovenan: Oh? Of course.
He winked. The mystery of the box and his request made the excitement grow within her. He had the skill and imagination to come up with absolutely anything, and he also clearly knew how to engage his audience and make them sit on the edge of their seat in anticipation – or maybe it was Jovenan who felt so strongly of his actions. Even then, he demonstrated knowing his audience of one.
Silveira:
You know that doll I gave you? I need it. It’s the only way the
surprise works.
Can you bring it to me?
Jovenan: Of course I remember it, I like it very much. It’s in my bedroom, I’ll get it.
He nodded, and they let go of each other as she stepped away and walked to the small room adjacent to the living area, puzzled by his request. The doll, with its brown hair and mischievous smile – the one she very much loved – was on her bedside table. That was where it had been guarding the room and her sleep and where it typically sat, except for when she had been in need of a hug. It had been half a year when he had given the doll to her, after they had found it in his holographic arcade. They had been friends back then, at least that was what they described themselves as, although now that their relationship was public, it was very clear that many others had been fully aware of their obvious feelings, including the Captain who at that occasion in the arcade had ordered them for a dinner date. It had been awkward, but in the end, it had been what they had needed, a kick in the right direction.
Holding the Vitor doll in an embrace, Jovenan returned to the living area and the real Vitor. She smiled and presented the doll to him; she wanted him to know how much she liked the toy. He took it and opened the box. She had to resist the urge to try to peek into the box before he could present its contents to her.
Silveira: I found the creator of Sil Doll and asked for something to match it.
Jovenan followed with her gaze as he pulled out a small object from the box and placed it on the doll’s hand. She couldn’t yet see what the miniature glove had to do with anything. At least, she didn’t remember Vitor often wearing gloves. He kept smiling, even when her expression kept fluctuating between excitement and puzzlement.
Silveira: This is an improvement to make them hold hands.
Oh, it’s an improvement, although she still couldn’t see how the glove would make it possible to… Them? Who? Vitor didn’t stop his presentation, but instead pulled another object from the box slowly. As the golden hair, pale skin and green eyes became visible, Jovenan’s mouth fell open, and her lips took a round form. When the doll in a blue dress was fully out of the box, Vitor brought the two toys closer together, and their respective hands snapped together with little magnets inside one’s hand and the other’s glove. He offered them to Jovenan, and she accepted them carefully, as if fearing that she would otherwise break them in excitement.
Silveira: I hope you like… Well… The two of us…
Jovenan: Yes! Oh, look at them, they’re adorable! The little eyes, the smiles, and they’re holding hands!
It was probably childish of her – she was a senior officer, a department head and an adult, after all – but she had always loved cute little things like this, especially puppets and dolls. Even the emergency medical muppet from years ago had looked adorable to her, and the Vitor doll had been a better gift to her than she was willing to openly admit. Now she was holding something that was objectively adorable, and she didn’t hide her feelings.
Silveira: Response
Jovenan: I love them. Thank you.
Silveira: Response
She took the two dolls apart from each other, only to make their hands meet again and snap together, as if to test how the magnets worked. Not wanting to let go off the dolls to hold her real Vitor’s hand just like her doll counterpart was doing, she instead leaned in closer to him, allowing him to hold her if he wanted to. She turned her head to look up to his face.
Jovenan: Will you take the Jovenan doll to your quarters? I’d like it to keep you company, like your doll has been to me. ::pause, looks at the dolls:: Although it would be a shame to separate them.
Silveira: Response
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Lieutenant Commander Jovenan
Chief Science Officer
USS Artemis-A
E239911J11