An Advanced Victorian Steampunk Roleplay discussion
Characters' Havens
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Vivian's New Start
"I didn't ask much about Father, but Anne didn't seem like she wanted to talk about him either. Anne seems as cheerful as ever. I'm glad she's been able to hold up despite what has happened since I've left," Joeri said as he untied his tie, preparing for proper evening dress. Then his fingers paused and he looked down. "I also found out my mother has passed away."
Vivian's hands froze on her calf as Joeri's news hit her, and she looked up at him with her wide green eyes as they welled up with tears. Then in a flash she was standing in front of him, her arms wrapped tightly around him."I'm so sorry, Joeri," she whispered.
His arms wrapped around her and his head bent down. "Me too," Joeri said softly, his voice rough with emotion. "She never knew what happened to me."
Vivian gave him an even tighter squeeze. "She knows now, Joeri," she whispered.
He nodded and pulled back, smiling slightly. "I guess so. I hope so. And I hope she knows that I found you."
Vivian smiled up at him and went up on tiptoes to drop a kiss on his nose. "She does," Vivian said firmly.She leaned her head on his chest and asked, "Would you...would you rather stay home tonight?"
Shaking his head, Joeri knew his mother wouldn't let him pass up such a chance to go to the theatre, especially since she'd been wanting to take him there after she found out his love for reading. "No. Let's enjoy tonight, especially since I'm leaving tomorrow," he replied.
"Okay." Vivian nuzzled the front of his shirt, then frowned at the damp spot her still-drying hair had left there and scrunched her nose up at him. "Where are we going for dinner?" she asked as she adjusted her towel around her slender frame and made her way over to her closet. "I don't want to be out of place with whatever I decide to wear..."
"You'd be out of place everywhere," he commented with a grin, hoping she'd understand what he meant.
Vivian looked over her shoulder at him and rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. She knew exactly what he'd meant."So you're not going to tell me?" she asked with a pout.
"If you must know, I guess there is no harm in telling you," Joeri said with an exaggerated sigh. "The restaurant I was thinking is called Little Stamppot."
Vivian had never heard of it, and she said, "It will still be a surprise because I don't ever recall seeing it." She gave Joeri a radiant smile over her shoulder and turned back to her closet, her arms crossed in front of her with one hand up to cup her chin, standing on one foot while the other rubbed the back of her stationary calf.
"Just like its name, it's a pretty little restaurant." It was tempting to knock her over playfully from behind, but Joeri decided it would be best in the meantime to dress into his good evening clothes. He tucked his watch into his vest and turned to see if she was ready.
Vivian, having finally chosen a dress, had disappeared behind her screen to change into it. Her damp hair dried quickly under a fresh towel, and the curls were tight and doubly bouncy from being freshly washed. The dress she had chosen was quite simple, with only a bit of sparkling embellishment on the cap sleeves, and it had a long, light train that could be easily draped up over her arm. She stepped out from behind the screen in no time at all and sat down to pull her hair back from behind her ears and secure it with a pearl clasp.
"Does this suit?" she asked as she stood up, giving him a view of the gown with a bit of a twirl.
((Vivian's dress:))
Joeri smiled and nodded, stepping closer after she twirled. "It suits beautifully. Though, I might have step up a notch," he replied.
"I...I did find you something when I passed through the shops today," Vivian said. She'd been unable to resist buying Joeri something special to mark his first-ever visit to the theatre.She disappeared into her room and returned with a box from the tailor's shop, square and black with gold lettering on the lid. Smiling shyly, suddenly hoping he would like it very much, she held it out to Joeri. "I hope you like it," Vivian said hopefully.
((She bought him this:))
He cast her a questioning glance, then opened it. Taking out a cravat with a blue paisley design on a black background, Joeri smiled. "Thank you, Vivian," he said sincerely. "Did you get it just for the occasion?"
"It's a special night," she told him, taking the cravat from his hands to put it on him. "And I figured you could wear it on other special nights, too." Vivian looked up at him as she tied the length of silk, knowing how to do it without looking after doing the job for her grandfather and Geoffrey for so long. "Do you really like it?" she asked timidly.
"Of course." Joeri held her hands in both of his and kissed them. "It's perfect for tonight."
Vivian beamed up at him, her smile radiant and soft and loving. She gave one last tug on the ends of his cravat and then tucked them in, straightening it ever so slightly before handing him his jacket. The blue in the cravat brought out the blue in his eyes, and as Vivian looked up into them with her wide green ones she noticed that despite a lingering sadness, Joeri's eyes were alight once again. She went up on tiptoes to give him a small kiss, and then said, "Well, are we ready?"
Grinning, he kissed her back, then offered his elbow. "Ready," Joeri confirmed. "The coach would be waiting outside."
"Coach?" Vivian said, confused as she grabbed her wristlet from the small table by her door before walking out into the hallway. "What coach? I didn't..." Her voice trailed off and she smiled up at him, surprised. "Did you...?"
Joeri gave a small shrug. "I hired a small coach and asked for it to wait outside for us. Since you got the tickets, it's only fair I make sure we have a ride and treat you to dinner," he said, giving her a wink.
Vivian laughed and stopped as Joeri continued down a few more steps. She tugged on his arm to turn him around, her face level with his. Smiling, Vivian gave him a sweet, lingering kiss. "You are lovely," she told him.
"Well, the cravat certainly helped with my appearance," he said jokingly, then leaned forward cup her face in both of his hands and kissed her gently. "But you are more lovely tonight and I'm afraid you are just another character from Shakespeare who might disappear from me. Vivian, you look beautiful."
Vivian smiled and nuzzled his cheek briefly before taking his hand again and walking down the stairs next to him. "Come along then," she said sweetly. "I'm anxious to see what this little restaurant of yours has to offer."
He led her down the stairs and opened the door for her. "You might not be as surprised when you find out the type of cuisine they serve," Joeri commented as he followed her out the door.
"Well, anything new is a surprise, isn't it?" Vivian chirped as he helped her into the coach.
Laughing, he gave a shrug in admittance as he took a seat next to her. "I guess that is so," Joeri commented. He knocked on the cab's wall to tell the driver that they were ready and they set off, the clopping of the horses' hooves echoing off the buildings.
Vivian smiled at Joeri, all her worries and anxieties forgotten, for the moment at least. She was quite happy to be with him, to be his Vivian and nobody else's, and she turned to look out the window at the city streets as they passed by.((Restaurants next?))
((Yeah, I'll post there.))*END OF SCENE*
Vivian stirred slightly, a soft early morning breeze coming through her open balcony doors to tickle her face. She could feel Joeri's body curled around her, his long limbs tangled her slender ones, and she opened her eyes slowly. Shakespeare was still puppy-snoring outside her bedroom door, and Joeri was still asleep.The clock read quarter to six, and Vivian gave a small sigh. Joeri would be back on duty by nine, and she was going back to work that afternoon.
After a few more minutes, Vivian looked at Joeri and nuzzled her nose along his brow to wake him.
His face scrunched up slightly, feeling a tickle, then slowly his eyes opened as he pulled out of unconsciousness. With his blue eyes looking at her, he smiled. Then it dimmed slightly as he remembered what the day held for him. Reaching out to brush her face with his real hand, he said softly, "Good morning."
"Good morning."Vivian tucked her head under Joeri's chin and dropped a kiss on his chest. "Did I wake you too soon ?" It wasn't quite six yet.
He gave a shake of his head. "No, you didn't," Joeri replied. "I'd rather spending my time awake than sleeping."
Vivian smiled and nodded, her hair brushing against his skin. "Me, too."After a long moment she pulled away enough to look at him, her real fingers pushing his hair off his forehead.
"As soon as you find out, you'll tell me when your visiting day for September is, right?" she asked quietly, knowing it wouldn't be until then.
"Of course," Joeri said with a smile. "As soon as I find out, I'll write to you."
Vivian dropped a kiss on the end of his nose before gently disentangling herself from him and sitting up to stretch and shake out her curls. She leaned over the edge of her bed to grab her silk robe off the back of her vanity chair and slid her arms through it, then got out of bed and began picking clothes up off the floor."I don't work until the afternoon," Vivian said as she shook out his shirt, "so would you like me to come with you to drop you off?"
Sliding out of bed, he quickly pulled on a pair of trousers, though he didn't bother to put on his shirt. Not yet anyway. "Yes. I would like that very much. And if you want, you could probably see Samuel again."
"That'd be nice - seeing Samuel again," Vivian said. "How is he? Has Kathleen written to him at all yet?"
Joeri gave a small shrug. "He's doing well, I think. I'm not sure if he'd received anything while I've been gone, but I sure hope so. I can't believe how hard he's fallen for her," he said with a smile, shaking his head slightly.
Vivian grinned. "Well. It takes one to know one, doesn't it?" she asked, tugging the sheets off the bed to bundle into a laundry basket later for Bridget.
Laughing, he gave a nod in admittance. "You got me there," Joeri replied, holding up his hands in defeat. He helped her with the sheets when one corner was tucked stubbornly and pulled it loose for her.
Vivian bundled up the bedsheet and stepped lightly around the bed to him, going up on tiptoes to give him a quick kiss. Then she dropped the sheet and threw her arms around him, hugging him close."I'm so glad you were here," she said, keeping it simple. Joeri would know what she meant.
Wrapping his arms around her waist, he hugged her tighter. "Me too. I can't imagine missing the chance to celebrate your birthday either," Joeri said, dropping a kiss on top of her curls. Every time he embrace her, Joeri felt his memory of her become more firm and making it all the harder to leave her.
Vivian squeezed him as tightly as she dared, wishing he didn't have to go as she fought back her tears. After a very long moment, when the danger of crying had passed, she relaxed her grip on him and pulled back to give him another radiant smile. "Let's get breakfast over and done with," Vivian suggested, "and we'll have enough time to head over to the Barracks leisurely."
She walked out into her dressing room and noticed that his uniform had been washed, pressed, and starched within an inch of its life, as ready as Joeri to report for duty.
He mmmed in agreement, following after her to retrieve his uniform. Then he stepped out of her dressing room, already moving quickly as he dressed. Though he wasn't in a hurry to change into his uniform, it was such a force of habit of dressing fast in the barracks that his body moved of its own accord.
Vivian quickly chose a simple but elegant dark green dress and got into it speedily, not wanting to keep Joeri hanging around waiting for her. "I think I'll drop in on Doctor Merriweather after I see you off," she told Joeri through the screen as she buttoned and laced herself up. "He doesn't live too far from there, and I would love to see how he's been. I haven't seen him in ages."
She stepped out when she was decent, already raking her fingers through her curls in an attempt to smooth them before giving up and sitting down at her mirror to comb and brush them out.
((Vivian's dress:))
Turning around and bending down to look at her in the mirror, Joeri smiled. "I'm sure he'll be delighted. He seems like a kind man and he really cares about you," he commented, putting on his hat.
"How is she? Do you have news of your family?" Vivian asked Joeri eagerly.