LtCmdr Jovenan – A recent alteration in our relationship parameters requires the introduction of pet names
Jovenan
((Sadar-Aqila quarters, Deck 6, USS Artemis))
Silveira: This is amazing Sada… I have eaten fish and seafood all my life but this is one of the best soups I tried. ::He took another spoonful, closing his eyes as he tasted it. He smiled at Nan before speaking again:: Honey you have to try it, it's phenomenal.
Jovenan had been captivated by the way her boyfriend was eating the soup. His facial expressions revealed the pleasure the Mizarian dish had granted him. He even made a hand gesture to compliment the food and its creator. Food was always an experience to him, both making it and eating it. Jovenan found it fascinating and positively adorable that he had discovered his passion and could draw such intense enjoyment out of it; she wanted to see him this happy at all times.
Focused so deeply in her boyfriend, she partially missed his comment on the food, and him accidentally slipping the word “honey” didn’t register to her either. Or rather, she did notice that, but it had in this short while become so natural to them to with affectionate terms that she didn’t realise that Doctor Sadar just next to them would not know about the changed nature of their relationship and would be confused.
Jovenan: Oh, I must! ::takes a spoonful but doesn’t eat it all:: Ooh, sorry, hot!
It appeared that despite them formalizing their relationship, Vitor continued to distract Jovenan and make her do silly things in his presence. She had, somehow, managed to forgo any inspections as to if she could just ram the spoonful of recently boiled soup into her mouth. As the hot soup hurt her tongue and the interior of her cheeks, she tried fanning with her hand – without making any noticeable difference – while both Doctor Sadar and Vitor jumped off their seats to assist her.
Sadar: Oh, s-so sorry, I should’ve warned- d-drink something, please!
Silveira: Nan? You alright?
Gesturing them down, Jovenan took the glass of Mizarian Bimai milk and brought it quickly to her lips. The cool drink helped alleviate the heat in her mouth, although she would have preferred another kind of introduction to the milk. She didn’t drink milk often, hardly ever, so the consistency and the taste of it was rather weird to her. It was cool and stopped her from burning herself any further, but between the drink and the food, she’d only comment the food for now.
Jovenan: I should have been more careful! Let me try again. ::takes a spoonful, blows, eats:: Mmh! You’re right, sweetie, it’s amazing!
Silveira: Sada is a wonderful cook
Jovenan nodded approvingly and had another careful spoonful. She and Vitor were enjoying their time together, while at the corner of her eye, Doctor Sadar appeared somewhat dumbfounded. At one point, she had been eyeing her two guests without uttering a word. Had she been so taken away by the unexpected compliments that she didn’t know what to say? The poor thing had been nervous the entire time, and knowing her anxiety that, at least in Jovenan’s experience, often mixed with self-doubt, Jovenan wondered if the compliments – no matter how genuine – were the correct way to advance the conversation. She decided to take the discussion to the matters of fact, those were usually easier for nervous blueshirts.
Jovenan: May I ask, are all these foods traditional Mizarian dishes, or did you experiment on them?
Sadar: Huh? Oh. Uhh... Th-They’re traditional. I-I’ve had to substitute some ingredients, because a lot of Mizarian ingredients aren’t programmed into the replicator yet, b-but it’s far more expansive than last time we cooked together.
Jovenan’s gaze rose to Vitor, who was smiling at her, and she responded with a similar smile before they both turned to their respective soups. Before taking the spoon to her mouth, her eyes darted at him again. She wanted to see him enjoy every spoonful with his expressive mannerism.
Silveira: That’s good. And again thank you my friend. From the appetizer I am foreseeing an excellently exquisite meal.
Jovenan: I believe we’re in for a treat with the rest of the meal!
Sadar: Quite... ::narrows her eyes:: L-Lieutenant Commander, Sil-net, I-I don’t mean to be pry, but... I-Is everything quite as it’s meant to be?
The question caught Jovenan off guard – had they given Gila something to be worried about? had they forgotten her birthday or some other culturally significant event? – but so it did to Vitor too, and his reaction was stronger than hers. He spilled his food and began to cough, a sign that was never a good one on a dinner table.
Jovenan: Are you alright? Did you get food stuck in your throat?
Vitor, however, extended his thumb in an age-old human gesture of… well, a lot of things, but in this case Jovenan interpreted it as him being okay. Him choking in the soup would have been a grim turn to the lovely evening, although as Jovenan turned to Doctor Sadar again, she wondered if her question would change the conversation anyway.
Silveira: I am fine, I was just surprised. It's OK. I am good. ::He tipped his head to Sada:: Why are you asking Sada?
Sadar: W-Well, i-it’s just... I-I’ve never known you to call each other by ‘honey’ and ‘sweetie’ before?
Oh. They had been doing that, had they not? Vitor was just about to say something before turning to Jovenan. Fighting blushing, Jovenan shrugged. It might have been silly of them to expect that Doctor Sadar would have been unable to catch them hiding such an obvious thing behind a transparent screen. The Doctor was probably the smartest person in the room, while Jovenan and Vitor couldn’t even keep their eyes off of each other when needed. Vitor shrugged too and smiled. Jovenan joined the smile, albeit a bit shy.
Silveira: Well… It’s a new thing… ::Leaning forward and reaching for Nan’s hand.:: Maybe we should tell Sada…
Jovenan: ::taking Silveira’s hand:: I think that’s what we agreed. It’s only fair.
She turned to Doctor Sadar and considered how to tell it in terms that Doctor Sadar might understand and approve. “We kiss and hug and call each other silly names. It’s an Edo and/or Human thing.” Underestimating her there again. “We have unanimously decided to alter our relationship status…” No, she was socially clumsy, not a Vulcan. None of them were!
Jovenan: We, uh, we’ve started dating.
Sadar: Response
Vitor next to her nodded. There was some peculiar twist in the way he smiled. Was he proud? Jovenan was feeling a bit shy about sharing something so intimate with a third party, but admittedly, she could see where the pride was coming from. She was, indeed, declaring this amazing person her boyfriend!
Silveira: It’s something that took its course and, honestly, with all we've been through it ended up happening naturally. As that old expression goes “The heart has reasons that reason itself does not know”.
That was a good description of their feelings, she supposed. There was little logic to forming a relationship with Vitor, after all, there was a reason to why so many high-ranking Starfleet officers distanced themselves personally from their colleagues and the civilians. But she loved him too much to ignore it any further. She squeezed his hand as he did to hers.
Jovenan: It felt the right decision in the end.
Sadar: Response
Silveira: I admit I wasn’t the most discreet with my feelings. I am surprised you only now noticed something.
Jovenan laughed a little.
Jovenan: Apparently, we were obvious to some other crewmembers long before we decided to start dating. The Captain even tried to set us up for a date together. She did succeed too, so I suppose we should thank her.
She probably wouldn’t. As much as her relationship with Captain MacKenzie had improved over the years, she didn’t know if she could just go and talk about personal things with their Commanding Officer. Hopefully, the Captain would make the deduction herself, hear the rumours, or Vitor would tell her if needed. Jovenan didn’t know if she’d order Vitor to do the telling as his girlfriend or as his superior officer in that instance.
Sadar/Silveira: Response
Jovenan: We only, um, formalized our relationship a few days ago, but you could say that it has been a long time coming. ::looks at Silveira:: I guess it became harder to hide my feelings by the Frontier Day, but I felt too unready to start a relationship at that time.
Sadar/Silveira: Response
Jovenan turned back to Doctor Sadar. They had properly managed to derail the dinner, for which she felt bad. Doctor Sadar had invited them to her quarters and made them a delicious meal, and all they could do was keep looking at each other’s eyes and hold hands, while not giving their hostess the attention she deserved.
Jovenan: I’m sorry, Doctor, I hope this news doesn’t change the dinner plans. We considered telling you later, in case you had something else important, but there was no reason to deny it after you asked about it.
Sadar/Silveira: Response
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Lieutenant Commander Jovenan
Chief Science Officer
USS Artemis-A
E239911J11