Shrunk (A Takeshi & Donovan Side Story)

[Matty]

One cup per patient had the nerves alive and well in Takeshi. Five cups into his day and Takeshi was starting to consider asking for a rotating door to his office instead of the typical sliding metal and glass. 'Maybe I should write in for that'. The idea made Takeshi chuckle to himself, thinking that maybe having something more unorthodox would help lesson the tension for his patients, and himself. Takeshi Jimenez, only 23 at the time, had just started working as the districts lead psychiatrist only for a few months now, replacing the last one who had left for unexplained reasons. But, despite this, his rosewood desk was already littered with notes, books and patient profiles. Most of the patients were "manageable", but Takeshi was not specifically trained for dealing with police officers or military personnel. In his few months there Takeshi had realized that there was a large difference between those in active service and those who were retiring or about to. The former was incredibly reluctant to share their thoughts or feelings about their situations, usually resulting to platitudes while the latter was far more willing an eager to share their thoughts and feelings. It definitely made Takeshi's job more difficult. From the way some of the cops and detectives looked at him, Takeshi was beginning to suspect they did not trust him. Perhaps because he was the guy looking at their heads on behalf of their employer. That would make sense, Takeshi reasoned, as he glanced at the time on his arm comp.

The time was almost 5:30pm, thirty minutes after his next patients scheduled break. Between the exit of his previous patient and now, Takeshi had grabbed himself another cup of coffee to accompany him in tidying up his office. There was a large rectangle of a window that took up one side of the office, looking out onto the streets of Mega-City One, adjacent to it was a set of windows that looked into the bustling hallway. Out of consideration, Takeshi usually kept that set of windows covered with blinds, for the privacy of his patients. On the wall behind his desk was a single bookshelf filled with academic journals and scholarly texts, all pertaining to different forms of evaluation or observations of the mind. Between his desk and the empty wall on the other side were two chairs an a small couch of maroon and warm brown colors. Save for the white walls and large windows, Takeshi's office was furnished to be as earthly in color as possible, per his request, in hopes that exposing his patients to something less mechanical might relax them. He even bought his own plants to keep around the place, with some petunias on his desk and a variation of zz plants and lucky bamboo sprawled across that empty wall that lingered across from his desk. Whenever he left his office, Takeshi would leave classical music to play softly for his plants, thinking that they enjoyed the soothing waves of the old music. Now Takeshi was well into cleaning up the office, moving his papers and files into neat stacks and placing books back into their proper places. Of course, he made sure to bookmark places of interest with note ridden sticky notes regarding previous patients. He took another sip from his coffee, grimaced at its lack of flavor, his own fault, and began to water and hum to his plants as he went over the next patients file in his head.

Donovan Lyvon, once a beat-cop and now a precinct detective, was to be Takeshi's newest patient. Takeshi had seen the stunning young blonde around Authority HQ before but they hardly had a reason to interact. It felt strange to Takeshi, at first, to know more about his clients than they did him before they even walked through the door. But working at Authority HQ for a few months had started to desensitize Takeshi to what would otherwise be an invasion of privacy. It was just a part of the job after all. From what Takeshi could understand from Mr. Lyvon's profile, the young man was a bit of an aloof prodigy. The guy had only been on the police force maybe a year and he was already being promoted to a detective and had even married despite his young age. From what Takeshi had seen, to be a beautiful woman too, although Takeshi doubted her depth as a person. But he would reserve judgment until he had a clearer picture of the two. Takeshi tended to be quick to jump to conclusions just from seeing a single picture and because of his education, so he did his best to remain open to new observations to counteract this disposition of his. Mr. Lyvon, outside of his new partner and wife, did not seem to have any friends at the precinct, which was definitely strange. Most officers had a sense of commendatory between each other and, while Takeshi was not about to doubt that Mr. Lyvon felt some sort of kinship with his follow officers, Takeshi could not help but wonder if that was actually the case. All-in-all, Takeshi knew that Mr. Lyvon was rather cold and distant to just about anyone and, because of his quick accession of the ranks, that there had to be an intense mind behind that chilled demeanor. He would definitely be a hard egg to crack. . .But Takeshi was lost in thought as he hummed to his plants and pondered his new patient. Unaware of Donovan's approach.

Very professional. . .

Edited May 5, 2019 by Matty

[Neptune]

Donovan had arrived precisely five minutes before his scheduled appointment, having always preferred to be slightly early than late. He did not like lateness when it came to others, finding it to be quite rude and rudeness was one of his most hated pet peeves, especially in a professional capacity. So he had made sure that he had left enough time just in case the psychologist that he was supposed to see, was free. He had met with the previous one only once before the man had left, and a replacement came to take his place. He had not spoken much then, and he doubted he will feel any inclination to do so this time. 

As the receptionist directed him towards the office of the man he was meant to see, Donovan wondered not for the first time why he needed to come and see this psychologist. He knew it was regulation for him to see them, to ensure that there were no problems with the officers. But surely if he needed help, he should decide for himself to come and talk to a psychologist? He thought for a moment and remembered the name of the man, as Takeshi Jimenez. He had overheard another officer claim that the man was quite good, and knew what he was doing, making him a good replacement for the man that they had previously. Donovan had lost interest in the conversation after that. He wasn’t interested in knowing what the man had talked to Mr. Jimenez about. 

He came to a stop when he arrived at an open door, looking into a rather neat and spacious office. He had half raised his hand to knock on the door to announce his presence, but paused when he heard humming. He looked over at the current occupant of the office, and assumed that this was Takeshi. He remembered seeing him around the station a couple of times but they had never interacted. He was a lot younger than the previous psychologist, who had been getting on in years. He was surprised that his position was taken by someone so young. It would explain the other officers claim that the man knew what he was doing. He had to be good to become the lead psychologist at such a young age. 

He had an unusual appearance as well. Skin that was a rather dusky colour, with contrasting silver hair. It made Donovan wonder if the silver colour was natural, or if he dyed his hair to give himself a more eccentric appearance. He then took a moment to look around the office, to see that it was quite neat and organised. He took a note of the bookshelf behind the man's desk, filled with various psychology books. Nothing that looked personal in the slightest. His eyes then shifted to the desk where he noted that while there were neat piles of files, there was nothing personal such as photo frames. The previous man who occupied this office had pictures of his wife and extended family. Donovan had hated that about the previous psychologist. He had brought his personal life into this office. Clearly he used it as a means to try and endear himself onto his patients, but it wasn’t something that worked with Donovan.

The only personal touch this office had were the plants that were scattered about. They made the office more aesthetically pleasing, and more relaxing without being imposing. It was a personal touch, without being too forward. Donovan rather approved of it. Takeshi seemed to keep a professional attachment from his patients while at the same time, appearing to endear himself to them. Already Donovan preferred this man over his predecessor. His gaze returned to the man watering his plants before he knocked his knuckle against the door to announce his presence. 

[Matty]

Takeshi's humming was cut five minutes short by Donovan's early arrival. Not that it was a bad thing but, Takeshi was definitely caught off guard almost every time this happened. He did appreciate it though, finding it rather courteous of an individual to show up early rather than "on time". Besides, that meant the receptionist had actually listened to him when he asked for her to stop pinging him whenever a patient was approaching. He was plenty aware of when they were supposed to arrive anyways. The spare five minutes gave the two a luxury Takeshi liked to try to lead with, to have a conversation off the clock. Takeshi set his watering can next to his set of plants, straightened himself out and swept his hair back before opening the door. "Ah, Mr. Lyvon, great to see you here early," Takeshi greeted with a smile as he stepped to the side to let Donovan in.

He gave Donovan a quick once over as he walked in and then shut the door behind the two. Donovan was only slightly taller than Takeshi and was well dressed for a detective. Not all detectives elected to dress in such a fashion, some preferring a sort of "street-savvy" aesthetic instead. Takeshi noted this, figuring that the most obvious assumption was that Donovan favored professionalism and most likely took a sort of solace in the structure found within it. Already Takeshi was trying to analyze Donovan, pondering the links between an over-emphases on structure and latent mental illness given Donovan's rather cool demeanor and lack of social connections. Thus Takeshi decided that he would have to push the matter subtly if he wanted to garner adequate information without disturbing the possible data. Maneuvering that, however, might prove difficult as some were quick to catch onto a Psychiatrists wordplay. If that didn't work than Takeshi figured falling back on a more blunt and honest approach might prove fruitful. Takeshi made another mental note to himself an approached the side of his desk.

The coffee cup was starting to become lukewarm, and to Takeshi's dismay, was still no more flavorful than it was before. Takeshi took the cup of coffee, sipped with a grimace, and turned his body towards Donovan. He didn't motion for him to take a seat, saving that for the actual appointment. Instead, he tried to open to two up with something less medical.

"We have like, four minutes until we're on the clock, so we ain't gotta talk like we're on it just yet."  Takeshi said behind from behind his coffee. "How's it goin'? Miss bein' a cop yet?"

Edited May 5, 2019 by Matty
types e_o

[Neptune]

Donovan remained standing by the door for a few moments, watching Takeshi shift back further into the office after his friendly greeting. It had been a light greet, and Donovan noted that the man had a rather good voice. Quite smooth, with a relaxing quality to it. Not high and querulous like the previous owner of the office. Despite that, Donovan wasn’t going to let it lull him into a false sense of security, and he tensed up for a moment before forcing himself to relax. He continued watching as the man casually walked over to the desk, picking up his cup and drinking from it. It was only then that Donovan stepped into the office and closed the door behind him with a faint click. His gaze was drawn to the window, much like the first time he had come here. He quite liked the view of the bustling city beyond the glass pane, without letting too much of the noise in.

He was drawn from his gazing when Takeshi spoke again, causing him to look over at him with a slightly raised eyebrow. He then frowned a little. He had not come here for a friendly chat. He had come here for his appointment, nothing more. He wasn’t particularly interested in anything more than that. Still, he wasn’t rude and he wasn’t going to tell the man to fuck off with his small talk despite the fact that small talk was one of his greatest failures when it came to social interaction. It often made people think of him as cold and distant but he just didn’t like talking about mundane things that have no purpose. If he wanted to know about the weather, he could look out of a window, or check his arm computer. It was meaningless, and thus not really worth his time. He allowed his gaze to slide back to the view outside of the window as he replied in a rather stiff manner, “Things are going fine. And there are things I miss, and don’t miss.” It was obvious that he was quite uncomfortable with such small talk and would prefer to avoid it if possible.

[Matty]

Takeshi's brow furrowed at Donovan's response. "See, that? That right there? That's why you're here." He took one more sip of his bitter coffee, finding it to be quite the breath of fresh air compared to Donovan's attitude, and set it back down on his desk before shrugging off his regal blue jacket. His slender fingers handled his jacket with care, draping it over his desk chair before grabbing his pen and pad. Takeshi much preferred taking notes analog rather than using the arm comp. It was unconventional, but he preferred taking his own notes while his arm comp. recorded the conversation, it helped him remember things better. Takeshi moved, sighed, and slouched into his chair adjacent from the other chair. Takeshi motioned with his pen for Donovan to take a seat.

"You're all stiff in the jaw. And just take a look at your shoulders, yeesh." Takeshi spoke, waving his pen in a circle at Donovan's posture. Given the response he recieved, the psychiatrist figured that subject would be the quickest route to any conclusions. Rather than wasting any of their time, which Takeshi figured Donovan might appreciate after his curt reply, he decided to shift gears and dive right in. Even if the subject matter bothered the detective it would still provide ample data. "Normally I'd ask how's home life, how's the job, but I think we'll have better luck addressing that curtness of yours." Takeshi leaned back into his chair and crossed one leg over the other. His legs were quite noticeable in his jeans. Even beneath the pants they seemed sinewy from all of his walking and his thighs were rather pronounced against his hips that flared out from his waist. His shirt, on the other hand, did little to accentuate its form, just barely hanging off of his chest. "I'd ask if being so curt gets you far in life, but that'd be a stupid question, detective,"  he said with a chuckle. Takeshi amused himself. 
 

"Tell me, do you have anyone that you can rely on?"

Edited May 6, 2019 by Matty

[Neptune]

Donovan’s eyes twitched from the view of the window back to Takeshi at his response. The blonde male almost snorted. If he could help Donovan actually put up with small talk, then Donovan would openly call the man a miracle worker. His eyes switched back to the view as the man shrugged off his jacket, hanging it on his desk chair before picking up a pad and pen. Donovan watched the man as he sat down, slouching in his chair, looking perfectly comfortable. At the motion with his pen, Donovan sat himself down in the chair indicated. Unlike the other male, he didn’t slouch. Instead he remained sitting straight, as was typical for him, with his left leg crossed over his right. He shifted his jacket slightly so that it was more comfortable for him before he looked over at Takeshi again. His eyebrow raised a little at the comment regarding his stiffness. He had to privately admit to himself that he was feeling tense, but then he didn’t like psychiatrists and he certainly didn’t want one poking around in his head. The last one claimed that the fact that he was so distant from people, was due to problems he had with his parents in his childhood despite the fact that Donovan had always had a lot of respect for his parents, and felt lucky to have them. Thus, he did not have high hopes for this one.

The corner of his mouth twitched a little down when Takeshi spoke about addressing his curtness. There was no real mystery behind that. Takeshi was not only a complete stranger, but he was a psychiatrist and tried small talk with him. Granted, he should have perhaps covered his irritation a little better like he had been forced to do while dealing with the general public. It was why he was much more comfortable as a detective, as he wasn’t required to interact with people as much. He generally left it to his partner, Laura. People just saw him as the silent detective that worked in the background. A position he was rather comfortable with. Laura, on the other hand, was very happy to talk to people on his behalf. She was a people person, after all, and couldn’t go five minutes without chatting to someone about just about anything. He glanced down as he saw movement, watching as Takeshi leaned back and crossed one leg over the other as he seemed to get himself even more comfortable. 

Donovan let out a soft sigh through his nose, tempted to make a dry and sarcastic response to Takeshi’s joke. But he restrained himself, as it was often that people couldn’t tell when he was being sarcastic. And he doubted that Takeshi would cotton on, either. So instead, he concentrated on the question that was asked of him. He really didn’t need to even think of an answer to that, “My parents, little sister… my wife, and my partner.” He replied, keeping his answer short and to the point. 

[Matty]

What were soft and round eyes had shifted into a sharp, focused gaze. Takeshi pupils danced around from watching Donovan's shoulders, to his neck to his noes and brow and then to his lips. There was no mistaking it, Takeshi had irked the detective ever so slightly, which was a good thing. Any response, verbal of physiological, was something to make note of. It was clear to Takeshi that Donovan didn't appreciate his verbal observation, maybe because he didn't see anything wrong with it? If that was the case, a level of cognitive dissonance was taking place, something that happened when someone was made uncomfortable by conflicting observations of ones personal reality. 'If that's the case, this guy needs a reality check,' Takeshi thought to himself. There were a few mental disorders that Takeshi was considering, from Antisocial Personality Disorder, Antisocial PD to even Aspergers, but then there was also the distinct possibility that Donovan simply lacked proper socialization as a child. If his parents had reinforced that behavior, than that would be harder to deal with than anything that could be clearly diagnosed. Dealing with that with involved dismantling preconceived notions of what was and was not socially acceptable that had been made habitual over a lifetime of repetition.  But if it wasn't any of that then it was likely some disposition Donovan simply had with people in general. Perhaps he was misanthropic? That would be hard to deal with.

Takeshi was already scribbling a plethora of notes down onto his pad despite there being so little said between the two. He wanted to make sure he didn't lose his train of thought for the future. With a heavy hand Takeshi dotted his period, set his pen down between his thumb and pad, and kept his attention on Donovan. To no surprise, Donovan was still being short with Takeshi. But he was learning to deal with it, and gave a firm nod in affirmation. He gave his pad one more note, 'No friends outside of family', and put the pen back between the pad and thumb.

"How did you and your wife meet? And before you give me another short answer, Mr. Lyvon, please elaborate to a degree. It would help me to know how that relationship developed."
 

 

Edited May 9, 2019 by Matty

[Neptune]

Donovan watched as the pen twitched from one side of the pad paper to the other. He couldn’t see what was being written, but the man seemed to be writing quite a bit down. He didn’t let it show, but he was quite uncomfortable with that fact. He knew that right now, he was being judged on everything he was saying. And even what he wasn’t saying. As well as his body language and perhaps even the look in his eyes. He didn’t like being put under such a strong spot-light. It was one reason he disliked psychiatrists. Their entire career was based upon the judgement of people, even if it was supposed to be for their benefit. Donovan didn’t like that he was being forced into this position of having to sit here and be judged like this. He would have prefered to have done this on his own terms. Unfortunately, the job of a detective was quite demanding psychologically, thus the force required their detectives to have regular sessions to ensure that their work wasn’t causing them any harm. While Donovan was understanding of that fact, he still would have prefered to have approached this man himself. 

He was brought from his thoughts when the man asked another question. He was about to answer, when Takeshi told him to be a bit more elaborate. He almost wanted to grimace, but instead kept his face carefully blank. The one thing he really hated doing, was talking about his personal life. Mainly because he felt that it should remain private. He was silent for several moments before he said, “A… work party. My partner at the time… convinced me to remain behind for a party that was to celebrate the birthday of one of our work colleagues. Charlotte was there, with one of her friends that worked in the force. Her work colleague introduced us, and we seemed to get along well so we exchanged numbers and went on our first date a few days later.” 

[Matty]

Normally the people who came into that office lit up in some manner when asked about their significant others. Nothing extravagant, just a sparkle in the eyes when given the chance to talk about their relationship, or a shifting of the shoulders or the arms into a more relaxed posture. But Donovan had visibly tensed up, as though holding back, and Takeshi noticed that.  'Ah, so the friend brought Charlotte to meet Donovan,' Takeshi deduced, given the fact that her friend had introduced the two. Charlotte was the friend of a single cop, not multiple, making her rather out of place at that party unless she had simply decided to tag along. But that seemed unlikely to Takeshi since Donovan, of all the people there, was picked out. Someone as closed off as him didn't strike Takeshi as the sort of person to strike up a conversation so it seemed likely that their introduction was premeditated. Takeshi could see it in his head, one girl talking to the other about a handsome an aloof police officer who was a total prodigy at their job. A real looker, a total marriage candidate. Why else would a civi be brought into a cops party held by other cops? But then it struck Takeshi, if Donovan wasn't the sort of person to make friends. . .

"Mr. Lyvon, one last question about your wife, with two parts." Takeshi held up a finger, counting with himself as he spoke. "First, you said ya'll went straight into datin'. If that's the case, when did you two become friends? Not "lovers", friends." Takeshi continued, bringing up a second finger. "Second, how old were ya when you two married?" Takeshi's brow was creased with outright concern. His worry was that Donovan, with little social or dating experience, had dived into a marriage. For crying out loud, the guy wouldn't be finished mentally developing for at least another two years and here he was already married. Asking this line of questions, Takeshi suspected, would give even more insight into Donovan's social knowledge and skills. After that, he would need lay off, so as not to perturb him further on the matter lest Takeshi wished to risk making the subject difficult to continue in the future. But Takeshi's eyes were locked with Donovan's, now with the slightest tinge of feeling behind his gaze. Those intense emotions of his were starting to bleed into Takeshi's expression, despite his best efforts. If Takeshi's concern was not ill-founded, then Donovan was likely in dire need of social guidance, if not at the least some knowledge on the matter. If that was the case, then Donovan social interactions were more harmful to himself than beneficial, and just the thought of that tugged at Takeshi's heart strings.

Edited May 11, 2019 by Matty

[Neptune]

The fingers of Donovan’s right hand drummed against his thigh for a few moments before his eyebrows furrowed a little at the questions that were being given to him. He thought back to when he had first met Charlotte a couple of years ago. She had been the one to initially ask him out, and he had seen no reason to decline her invitation. While he wasn’t one to talk much about himself, she had certainly spoken enough for the both of them. She had never seemed to mind his quietness, claiming that it gave him a ‘mysterious’ quality that she found attractive. He had never thought anything bad about that, figuring she was into the quiet type. Along with that, he allowed her a great amount of independence. He never minded when she wanted to go and hang out with her friends, especially since he knew how much of a socialite she was. He would have felt it cruel to keep her from her friends. Despite the fact that he didn’t have anyone that he considered a friend other than Laura, he wasn’t about to begrudge Charlotte of her own. Despite how different the two were, especially when it came to social occasions, they had always worked around it.

He turned his attention back to Takeshi, seeing a look in his eyes that he couldn’t quite grasp. His brows were slightly creased as well, making the man look almost concerned. After a moment, Donovan dismissed it as merely professional concern; perhaps reading too far into things and judging not only him but also Charlotte despite the fact that he had never met the woman. It was his job, after all, although Donovan wished the man would move off of the subject regarding his wife. Answering the man’s question, Donovan said, “We became friends quite quickly, after our fourth date. At least, that is when I considered her a friend. I can’t speak for her, though. We’ve only been married for a couple of months, not long before my promotion. We’ve known each other for about two years now, and we got engaged eight months ago.”