LtCmdr Jovenan – Your turn, my turn
Jovenan
((Jovenan’s quarters, Deck 3, USS Artemis))
Jovenan: Yes! Oh, look at them, they’re adorable! The little eyes, the smiles, and they’re holding hands!
Being this excited about dolls or other toys was considered juvenile in most cultures, not appropriate behaviour for an adult. Although Jovenan had always liked cute little things, Vitor’s surprise was enough to cause her to abandon the adult-like pretence of indifference. The two dolls had their identifying features, from Vitor’s smirk to her hairband. And they were holding hands. Holding hands!
Silveira: I admit I was also surprised by that detail. I am glad you liked it.
Jovenan: I love them. Thank you.
Silveira: My pleasure.
Holding the two dolls, Jovenan tried out how the magnets in the hands worked by pulling them apart and then letting them meet again. She wanted to hold his hand like the dolls were doing, but since her both hands were occupied, she just leaned against him. He pulled her even closer, taking her into his embrace. She looked up to his smiling 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.
Vitor shook his head. Jovenan understood that the dolls were gifts for her, but she wouldn’t have wanted to deprive him of having her doll watch over him, just like his doll had done to her. Would she go so far as to insist him on taking it? Suppose there were worse topics for a couple to argue than which one could do something nice to the other.
Silveira: I have thought of a solution. Shared custody.
She squinted her eyes a little. Shared ownership didn’t solve the problem with where to keep the dolls, nor did any form of custody as a form of detainment.
Jovenan: How would that work? They still can’t be in different places at once.
He laughed and squeezed her in his embrace before kissing her forehead. She moved her arms over his so that she can reciprocate the squeeze somehow, and the kiss made her smile, even if she didn’t know exactly what had caused the reaction.
Silveira: For this shore leave and next mission they live in your quarters. At the start of the next shore leave they go to mine. That way we won’t keep them apart. What do you think?
Oh. Yeah, there were other forms of custody, those that Jovenan had rarely thought about. Giving both dolls to Vitor for a mission and a shoreleave would mean that she didn’t have either for that duration, although she supposed that she’d be happy to know that he’d see them every day in those times. Besides, she’d have one more reason to visit him once in a while.
Jovenan: Sounds fair.
Silveira: Well, how about we let them stay and go somewhere? I admit I want to hold your hands.
Nodding, Jovenan stepped off from his hold and placed the two dolls on the desk. They could stay there for a now, watch the silent quarters together for a while, hand in hand. She then walked back to him, stepping right in front of him and taking both his hands.
Jovenan: I have a place in mind. It’s, uh… You’ve introduced me to things that you like, like cooking and the arcade. I don’t really have any hobbies that would give me something to show for you, but there’s this one place on the ship that I wanted to take you.
Silveira: Response
Jovenan: Let me first check if it’s even available now, okay?
Silveira: Response
She released her hold of his hands and walked around the desk to the computer console on it, giving a quick glimpse at the dolls and ignoring the miscellaneous items she had left on the desk waiting for her to eventually put them in their right places again. As the Chief Science Officer, she had an uplink to the department’s main functions so that she could work from her quarters, allowing her to check the status of a specific facility. The Astrometrics didn’t show reservations for right now, not until the next day. She placed her reservation preliminarily for the next few hours, in case Vitor would be interested in coming with her. She also activated the holographic display in there, selecting a 1:3000 model of their current location, and enabled the low-gravity mode in the centre. Smiling, she closed the monitor and walked back to him.
Jovenan: We can go there. Would you want to come? It’s not much, but it would be my surprise for you.
Silveira: Response
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Lieutenant Commander Jovenan
Chief Science Officer
USS Artemis-A
E239911J11