The prompts are here. Not going to lie, this one gave me fits. ;) But I finally worked it out. I’ll catch up on my days asap.
Toast. Fresh squeezed juice, which had not been easy to come by, but Kaliyo for all of her many faults -was- extremely well-connected and had found some sweet Alderaanian fruit for the cause when he'd confessed his idea. Preserves for the toast, and room-temperature, softened nerf butter. Eggs, scrambled, with cheese and a splash of the bottle of hot sauce that Nine hid in the back of the cupboards.
Vector worked in relative silence, listening to the ambient sounds on the Whisper. Kaliyo was bickering with Scorpio over some perceived slight, Dr. Lokin was reading out his notes for his recordings, his voice carrying to the kitchen area. And Temple..
“What are you doing, Vector?” Her voice was always so pleasant upon the ear that it made Vector smile when he glanced at Raina Temple. She had joined them recently, but she was so earnest and helpful that he could not help but like her. “Is there anything I can do? I assume that you are taking this to..” She gestured at the closed door to Nine's quarters silently, as if the agent would hear her otherwise.
Vector nodded, arranging the food carefully on the plates, and then on the tray so that they wouldn't slide too much when he was moving. “It is for the agent. We have noticed, as we are certain you have as well, that she is sleeping poorly. We thought that perhaps a breakfast and some quiet time to herself without listening to Kaliyo's constant complaints would help to pick up her mood. Do you agree?”
Raina looked a little doubtful, but she smiled cheerfully anyway. “Of course, it's a nice thing to do for her. Would you like me to get the door?”
“Thank you, Raina. We would appreciate the assistance. We did not wish to be forced to ask Kaliyo to help, and Toovee is otherwise engaged.” Raina followed him, hovering slightly as if she expected him to drop the tray, but Vector carried it easily, waiting gracefully before the door. The young woman opened the door and stood aside, indulging in one curious glance inside before allowing the door to close behind him.
Nine wasn't visible under the blankets, but her braids were sprawled across the pillows, and he could see the fingers of one hand sticking out from beneath the edge of the dove-grey bedding. “Agent.. Nine,” he corrected himself mildly, knowing that she generally preferred to go by her 'name' among the crew. “Forgive us for intruding upon your rest. It has been some time since we have seen you eat, and we were.. concerned about your well-being. Will you take some breakfast?”
“Vector?” The blankets stirred, and slender, dark-skinned fingers pushed the blanket down, peeling it away from her face and chest. Nine's grey eyes came into view, and Vector could see from the violet smudges beneath her eyes that she had likely had another tough, sleepless night. “You brought me breakfast?” she asked sluggishly, and he watched her spread her fingers, opening and closing them. He could see her lips moving, and after a moment, realized she was mouthing, 'open' and 'close' to herself. It was not the first time he'd witnessed her doing this odd.. exercise, but she would not tell him what the reasoning was behind it. It was difficult to fault an Imperial agent for being secretive, though - it was their stock in trade.
Vector set the tray down on the bed, over her legs once she'd scooted up, stuffing pillows behind her back so she could sit up. “We know that you need to eat, Nine,” the Joiner told her firmly. Her aura looked strange, as it had for some time. Sickly, flickering with ugly colors of pain and throttled anger. He could not begin to imagine how difficult her job was at times, even though he had been at her side for a while now. Asking her how she felt resulted in a falsely cheerful reply of 'I'm fine' every single time, and though he was certain she was lying about that, he knew it had to be her decision, if she wanted to open up to him, or share how she felt. “So we made you some food. Kaliyo even contributed. It is only the juice, don't worry. And we squeezed it ourselves, and sweetened it lightly. She did none of the work. Only our hands touched it.”
Nine's shoulders eased, and she even smiled at him, her face thin from strain and lack of appetite. She picked up the toast, and Vector saw her hand shaking when she began to spread the butter. Nine's jaw set firmly, and she smeared bread and fruit preserves on the triangle of toasted bread, conveying it to her mouth carefully.
A smile, hesitant and slow, came across her mouth at the mouthful of food and the flavors, and Vector felt a stir of pleasure at the knowledge that he'd helped somewhat, even if the gesture was small. “Will you sit with me?” she asked, and Vector sank down on the foot of the bed, folding his long legs to the side.
“We would be delighted, Nine. How is your breakfast? The toast was not too crisp?” he asked, a note of worry in his voice.
“No. It's perfect.” The smile widened into a full, real smile, the first one he'd seen in weeks from her. It made him think that perhaps things would be alright, if she was given time to get past whatever was troubling her. “Absolutely perfect, Vector.”
