Disclaimer: Paramount owns Voyager, Captain Janeway and Chakotay...more's the pity.
Notes: This story was originally written back in December 2004 for an online trivia/games group I still belong to. I used the words I garnered from one of the games to inspire me to write 'whatever'. This story was inspired by the words 'goad', 'hobby' and 'drip'...and by reading a lot of Voyager fanfic. This is not the first fanfic I've ever written, but the first I'm posting out here. It seems only fair, as Voyager/JC stories were the first fanfics I started reading.
Feedback welcome!
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"The Captain's Indulgence"
Kathryn Janeway sat at the desk in her ready room and sifted through the PADDs that contained the latest batch of reports from the various departments on Voyager. Not finding the one report she was looking for, she sighed and prepared to call Neelix on her com badge when the chime at the ready room door sounded.
"Come," she said and the door slid open to admit her First Officer into the room. Chakotay walked up to her desk, carrying a PADD in one hand while holding the other hand behind his back.
"Neelix thought you might be looking for this," Chakotay smiled as he handed her the PADD. "He apologizes for the delay, but hopes the contents of his report more than make up for it."
Chakotay nearly laughed aloud at the hopeful gleam that came into the Captain's eyes at his words. He watched Kathryn eagerly scan through Neelix's report, and he knew the exact moment when she spotted the item she had been searching for.
"He...found...coffee..." Kathryn said reverently, almost in a whisper.
Kathryn's love of coffee was legendary amongst her crew, and the impulse to feed his Captain's addiction (for a caffeinated captain was a happy captain!) led Neelix to keep an eye out for any possible Delta Quadrant equivalent. On trade mission after trade mission, on planet after planet, Neelix was there, ever vigilant - looking for coffee.
"Well, a reasonable facsimile thereof," Chakotay replied, bringing his other hand forward, which held a steaming mug of Neelix's coffee substitute. He gently placed the mug down on the desk, and nearly laughed again at how quickly Kathryn whisked it off the desk.
"Neelix didn't want to disappoint you, so he delayed writing his report until he was sure he'd found the best way to brew the berries. Looks like he succeeded," Chakotay commented.
"Mmmm," Kathryn hummed in agreement, eyes closed as she held the mug in her hands and inhaled the scent of the brew.
Chakotay teased, "I hear it's even better when you actually drink it."
He actually did laugh this time, unable to resist when faced with Kathryn's mock 'death glare'. She smiled at his laughter and lifted the mug in salute. "Only one way to find out," she said and took a sip.
Chakotay's throat tightened at the blissful look that crossed Kathryn's face at that first swallow. He would never have guessed, back during the angry blur of his years fighting the Cardassians, that he would end up once again on a Starfleet ship - and that his favorite pastime would turn out to be watching the Captain of that same starship indulge her passion for a cup of coffee. He supposed it would quickly become his second favorite pastime if Kathryn ever decided to indulge her passion for something - or rather, someone - else.
Kathryn quickly took another sip from the mug, and as she lifted it away from her lips, a little drop of brew trickled from the corner of her mouth and traced a trail down to her chin. Without conscious thought, Chakotay reached out and cupped a hand under Kathryn's chin to catch the drop before it fell.
She looked up at him in surprise and Chakotay tried to swallow past the sudden lump in his throat. "You were enjoying it so much, it seemed a shame to waste even a drop," he murmured.
"Indeed," she replied with an uncertain smile as she searched his eyes for something - then made his heart nearly stop when she tilted her head and kissed the drop of 'coffee' from his palm. "Thank goodness you're here, then."
Kathryn's throat tightened at the shocked, yet hopeful, expression that crossed Chakotay's face as he assessed the potential double meaning to her words. She would never have guessed, back during the strictly regimented years of her early Starfleet career, that she would end up in the Delta Quadrant, 70,000 light years from home - and that her passion for coffee would have been superseded by her passion for something - or rather, someone - else.
Perhaps it was time to indulge...