LtCmdr Jovenan – This is coming a bit sooner than I thought, but yes. I do.
Jovenan
((Sadar-Aqila quarters, Deck 6, USS Artemis))
Jovenan: Did I already say that you look charming in that suit?
She looked up to him. Their hands were joined in the middle of the table, and his gentle squeeze sent pleasant warmth across her, radiating from the tips of her fingers to the very top of her head and to the toes. He tipped his head after she added a smile to follow her compliment. In the suit Vitor had donned that day, he truly looked like an Earth gentleman of the centuries past, with the charming manners to follow. He looked different from when he was in his uniform, a brave, heroic and skilled officer who could turn into a mischievous boy just by adopting his adorable smirk. She really loved all those sides of him.
Silveira: You did, thank you. As do you my love
Jovenan lowered her gaze for a second, as if bashfully dodging the compliment that made her feel good, but raised her eyes quickly back to his. She would never get tired of those captivating blue eyes. Being allowed to fall into them and hold his hand, without needing to fear that he may not feel towards her that way or to consider what other thought of seeing the two. They were a couple – that thought alone was enough to exhilarate her – and they didn’t have to hide it from anyone, not from each other, not from their friends or strangers.
Speaking of whom… Jovenan allowed her gaze to wander off from the depths of Vitor’s eyes to the shared friend sitting next to them. She pressed her lips together for a moment, remembering where they were before she had been caught up with her admiration of him. Doctor Sadar awkwardly looked down to her soup while waiting to begin the ceremony, which ironically, considering the cause of the delay in the beginning of it, was her way of celebrating the “coupling” of the two friends: an “evaluation” of their “compatibility”. As much as the idea of being tested for the role of Vitor’s girlfriend puzzled her, she was happy that their friend wanted to support their newly-began relationship, and besides, she wanted to learn more of the Mizarian Doctor’s culture.
Jovenan: Apologies, Doctor. Please begin.
Sadar: Y-Yes Sir! ::clears throat:: Today, the colloquy to establish the successful union of Lieutenant Commander Jovenan of the Science Department of the USS Artemis-A and Lieutenant Vitor Silveira of the Tactical Department of the USS Artemis-A will be observed. I sit here today as a friend of Vitor Silveira, and a loyal subordinate ::uncomfortable clearing of throat:: a-a-and... F-Friend, of Lieutenant Commander Jovenan.
Doctor Sadar’s hesitation at defining their relationship as “friends” caused Jovenan to raise the corner of her lips, turning the smile to a smirk. She dropped the expression to the polite smile soon after; she, indeed, had considered Doctor Sadar a friend for a long time now, and she had sought to make her feel more comfortable with her, but Jovenan also understood the importance of hierarchical decorum to her – hence her choice of address to Doctor Sadar. The same value reflected itself in the serious nature of the ceremony. It was almost alien to her Edo culture to do anything at this level of formality, especially when it came to celebrating a relationship, which were in themselves something less clearly-defined and exclusive in nature when compared to the Mizarians and the most humans. She knew that most human cultures, including the Portuguese, had several rituals surrounding the formalizing the relationship of a couple, and while she didn’t know much about those, she wondered what Vitor thought of the comparison.
Silveira: I am honored to have you, Gila Sadar, as a friend.
Jovenan: I, too, consider you a friend.
Sadar: Sil-net, in the truest words in your heart, what do you hope for from the future?
While Doctor Sadar addressed Vitor, Jovenan turned to look at him as well. It was a serious question, one that she didn’t expect him to have a clear and definite answer already thought through, but he surprised her by not hesitating responding as soon as he got a word in from Doctor Sadar.
Silveira: I hope to be able to protect, help and love Jovenan.
Jovenan blushed again. He was so confident, so open, so passionate about the love he had for her. She reciprocated the love and the desire to protect and help him, and she was confident of her feelings. Still, the way he could state that without thinking and without his other dreams and pursuits causing him to falter was stunningly beautiful. She didn’t know if she would hold him up to that promise forever, after all, if he ever could find happiness somewhere else but on her side, she wouldn’t want to stop him from seeking it, but now, right now, his words felt right.
Sadar: Do you believe that the coupling with Lieutenant Commander Jovenan will be conducive to bringing you happiness and satisfaction of your goals?
Silveira: Yes I do
Vitor’s expression brightened even further when he replied. His smile, as infectious as ever, caused Jovenan’s to widen as well, but when Doctor Sadar turned to her, she forced the grin back to its contains – barely – and readopted the polite smile more appropriate with the formal nature of the ceremony.
Sadar: Lieutenant Commander, you have heard the truest words of Sil-net, a friend of mine whom I hold very dear. Assure me, p-please, with no uncertainty or cloud, that it is your intent to honor and defend his goals, as though they were your own.
I… Wait. Honour and defend his goal to protect and love me, or did it flip? To protect and love him? And how would she assure the Doctor of her intentions when she struggled to find certainty in many other parts of her life? She supposed she couldn’t respond with only a few words, and since it didn’t look good for her to think and hesitate for so long when Vitor could respond immediately, she turned to Vitor. She spoke to Doctor Sadar but, with barely a faint of a smile on her lips at first, she looked at him while she spoke.
Jovenan: I’m not sure if I can assure you that I can defend his goal to protect, help and love me. I have placed myself in danger to protect what I’ve promised to defend, and considered the sacrifice of my own life in exchange for others’, and bound by my duty, I will do so again if I must. And a-after so long of thinking I’m… I’m unlovable, I can’t assure you that I can retain what he loves of me forever, because I don’t fully understand the source of it. But I want to do all those things. I want to come back to him after a mission without having to ever think if he would cry for me if I didn’t. I want to feel his embrace when carries me away when my strength has failed me, like on that one day. And I want to hold him, to kiss him, to feel his love for as many days our relationship and our lives permit us.
She turned to look at Doctor Sadar. There was more that she wanted to say, much more, but she didn’t know how to mould it all into words.
Jovenan: And I want to promise the same to him. The most in my life, I want to protect and help and love him. I don’t seek even scientific understanding more than that, I don’t want command nor fame nor prestige. I want to be his strength if he ever lacks it, I want to support him and embrace him when he needs it. That goes beyond our relationship, it won’t change. And I want to love him for as long as I only can. I do.
Vitor’s hold of her hand tightened, and she turned back to face him. She wasn’t sure how he would take her words, after all, she couldn’t bring herself to say the same words as he did with the same certainty as he had. But looking at his expression now, his face… she wanted nothing more than to kiss him. However, they were in the presence and in the home of their friend, to whom he turned.
Silveira: That’s… Is there more my friend?
Jovenan pressed her lips together. She hoped that she hadn’t ruined the structure of the ceremony or driven Doctor Sadar out of it by her silly and ill-considered monologue. Maybe it would have been more considerate of her to respond with short, formulaic responses fitting to the ritual nature of the ceremony and the stage of their relationship.
Sadar: Response
Silveira: Well, I am going to take a risk and say we are a good match… What do you think Sada?
Sadar: Response
Jovenan dropped her gaze and nodded. Doctor Sadar’s evaluation and comments were entirely fair and accurate. Soon, she raised her gaze up to Vitor, who winked at her.
Silveira: Then my friend, since we are in your quarters, will allow me a display of affection and let me kiss my girlfriend. ::He looked at Nan’s sparkling eyes.:: My love?
Turning to Doctor Sadar, Jovenan’s face signalled both her wish to apologize to her and of asking for permission. Her understanding was that in the Mizarian culture, the attitude towards the public expressions of affection was somewhat more restrictive than her native Edo culture, and she didn’t want to subject the poor Doctor to anything that may cause discomfort to her in her own home. In all its peculiarity, her expression was as if trying to say “you don’t have to watch”.
Sadar: Response
With that, Jovenan turned back to Vitor. She tried to lean in closer, but with the table between, she had to take support from it and lift her body up with her knees on the chair. Over the bowls of soup, they met for a kiss. When they parted, she stopped to look at him just centimetres away from him. His eyes were still striking and wise and blue.
Jovenan: Love you.
Silveira/Sadar: Response
Jovenan sat down back to her chair. She hoped that they could stop making Doctor Sadar any more uncomfortable than she already was.
Jovenan: Thank you for officiating that, Doctor, it was lovely. I hope you weren’t forced to change the procedure too much for us.
Silveira/Sadar: Response
Jovenan: Again, sorry for not telling you at some other occasion. ::looks at her soup:: You probably had a lovely dinner date planned for all of us even without this twist.
Silveira/Sadar: Response
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Lieutenant Commander Jovenan
Chief Science Officer
USS Artemis-A
E239911J11