Summary: Kathryn and Chakotay work through some tension.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of STAR TREK Voyager.

Rating: T+

Pairing: Janeway/Chakotay

TENSION:

Kathryn knew she should have stopped with one drink, and yet, having Chakotay across from her made her take a chance, let her walls fall down for just this night. They had laughed, talked about their life in the Delta Quadrant, made small talk, and now they were drinking. "So," It was late at night. "What now?" The loaded question lingered in the air between them. What was she doing? Kathryn had to be insane for stepping over the carefully drawn line she had set between them, between what had started to brew down on New Earth.

Chakotay downed the rest of his drink, set the glass on the table, and then tugged lightly on his right ear, as he was known to do when he was with Kathryn. "Depends," he angled his body towards her, "What do you want?" It was a question that he had been asking himself for months since they'd come back from New Earth. They had agreed to remain professional, yet he felt his heart pounding faster and faster each time she smiled at him. His blood flowed faster through his veins when he was near her.

"I want what I can't have." Kathryn confessed closing her eyes against the sight of his beautiful face. Yet, with her lids lowered, her mind conjured his face smiling at her. Immediately she opened her eyes looking right at him. Then, later she would blame it on the alcohol; she reached out and drew the tip of her finger along his jaw.

"I want what I can't have as well." Chakotay replied. He took her hand in his, holding her palm to his cheek so he could feel the warmth of her against his flesh. "So, let's have tonight, right here, right now, and in the morning we can go back after riding ourselves of this tension."

"Tension?" Kathryn slid closer. "Is that what this is?" She asked giving him one of her lopsided grins. Before her was a man, a very attractive man, who stood by her side day in and day out while some bond grew between them, stronger for all the trials they survived.

"It's what we'll call it." Chakotay answered inching closer to her. "We dare not say its true name." He was so close to her, his forehead resting against hers. Then an idea struck him, "Lie down and I'll be right back."

"Ok..." Kathryn felt a little confused, but she did as Chakotay asked, eagerly waiting for what he was getting. She listened to his moving around her quarters with a nervous smile upon her lips. What was he doing? What was he planning to do?

Chakotay moved to the replicator and tapped in a few commands. He replicated fresh strawberries and some cream. 'What are you doing Chakotay?' He thought taking the food back to the low table where Kathryn was stretched out on the couch. Setting the dishes on the table, he sat on the floor next to her. His hands were shaking like he as a teenager again. "Give me permission..."

Kathryn turned her head to look at him, "You always have it." She said in a breath then felt her breathing grow ragged when Chakotay reached up to the zipper to pull it down. The jacket parted over her quivering stomach. Her hands clenched reflexively.

Chakotay could see the way she was quaking at his touch. He took her left hand, placing it over his heart. "It ok, just feel the beating of my heart." She looked at him letting him see that she wasn't changing her mind. "Just breathe and let your mind take in all that happens." She nodded and closed her eyes again. Chakotay smiled at the sight of her. Moving from the floor, he sat by her thighs. Gently his hands tugged the blue shirt out from the hem of her pants. Kathryn stopped him, making him look at her.

Kathryn sat up, and without words, she shed her jacket and pulled the blue undershirt off exposing the standard issue tank top. She even went so far as to release her hair from the barrette she had taken to wearing. Lying back she smiled at Chakotay, waiting for him. She didn't have to wait long. His hands touched her sides, drawing the fabric up, and exposing her abdomen. He pushed the fabric up until it bunched under her breasts, but made no move to remove it. This left her giving him a questioning look.

Chakotay only smiled at Kathryn as he reached out for a strawberry. He dipped it in the gently whipped cream and then held it to her lips. She took a small bite of the fruit, chewing, still giving him a confused look. Then she gasped as the berry touched her stomach, drawing a line down. Scooting back, Chakotay leaned over her, his lips touching her skin, and then his tongue darted out following the line he drew up. Under the tip of his tongue he could feel her stomach muscles quaking in response to him.

Kathryn gaped forcing her body to remain pliant under his. The sensual glide of his tongue up her body, the wet heat of him had her digging her nails into the cushions beneath her. Teasingly his teeth bit into her skin, bringing another gasp from between her lips. This was making her 'tension' rise higher instead of releasing it. Stopping him, she sat up, and this time it was her hands that went to his uniform, the zipper being pulled down, and the restricting jacket being removed from him. The feel of his arms under her hands in this manner was something she had always wanted to experience.

Chakotay chucked darkly at the way she pushed his jacket off of him. With speed his divested himself of his uniform shirt and this time he waited for whatever Kathryn was going to do to him. He didn't have to wait long and with great relish he watched her pluck a strawberry from the glass dish. She dipped it in the cream. Where he thought she would bring it to his lips, she placed the tip to above his heart drawing a small symbol. Only then did she bring the ripe red fruit to his lips. Greedily he bit into it while he lips settled over the cream on his skin. Chakotay let his head fall back in pure rapture.

Kathryn could get addicted to this taste, she knew that now. Her tongue licked clean all traces of the delicate white cream she had painted on his silken flesh. Taking it a step further, she moved her lips up nibbling along his collar bone, up to the nape of his neck. Her tongue touched the thundering pulse and then she kissed the underside of his chin. She wasn't prepared for Chakotay to cup her face, for his lips to claim hers in fiery passion. The taste of him, wild and strong mixed with the sweet taste of the strawberry, invaded her senses, and for this night she knew she was lost to him.

Chakotay kissed Kathryn, moving her so she was being pressed into the cushions of the couch, his hard chest resting pressed to hers. She clung to him, her arms draped over his shoulders and her nails lightly scratching his back. Forcing himself to pull back, to breathe, he locked his eyes with hers and asked, "Do you…'" Kathryn didn't let him finish his question. This time she kissed him just as fiercely as he had. Keeping her lips fused to his, Chakotay sat up, brought Kathryn astride him and then gripped the back of her thighs; he stood up carrying her back to where the bed was. Tonight was all he had; he was going to make the most of it.

MORNING:

Kathryn awoke tangled in the sheets of her bed with the memory clinging to her body of all the tension she and Chakotay had released last night. It brought a smile to her face, and with it there as this sense than a huge weight had lifted from her shoulders. She felt content, like she was able to breathe again. Opening her eyes, she sat up holding the sheet to her body when she saw something on the pillow next to her. Chakotay left her a single rose. She brought it to her nose to inhale the scent with a sigh. Sadly she would have to be on the bridge. There was no time to bask in this feeling. It was back to being the Captain. Normally this knowledge would have pulled her lips into a small frown, but not this morning. Getting out of bed, she showered, dressed and had her first cup of coffee. This morning she couldn't wait to get to the bridge. She had to test to see if she could get through the day without desire coming in to cloud the air between them.

On the bridge Chakotay sat in his command chair trying to keep the small satisfied smirk from his lips as he tried not to lean back. On his back he carried deep scratch marks from last night with Kathryn. He couldn't imagine that she would have been so expressive, but she had been. Chakotay had the marks to prove it. He shook his head and focused on the duty logs from Gamma shift. But last night kept creeping into his mind. Chakotay had to shift in his seat, cross his left leg over his right knee and attempt to calm his body. The feeling of Kathryn was still branded into his flesh. This morning when he woke his soul felt unburdened. He felt refreshed. The events of the last few months just vanished from him.

Kathryn stepped off the turbo lift to see Chakotay already in his chair. She waited for the bolt of awkwardness to strike, but it didn't. Walking to her Captain's chair, Kathryn took her seat and smiled, "Good morning Commander." He turned to her, a smile on his lips as well as a twinkle in his eyes. "I trust Gamma shift was uneventful." Kathryn got right to it. She felt no need to covertly discuss what had happened between them last night. They worked through some tension and it had been beneficial.

"A few stellar anomalies but nothing to major to alter our course for," Chakotay answered handing her the data padd with the logs from last night. "All in all it looks to be a quiet part of space." He sounded chipper and upbeat. This ship was due for some uneventful moments and this gave him the chance to study Kathryn while she read the logs. It was normal for him, this did this every morning. She would scan the logs and he would wait, angled towards her, until she handed him the padd back. This morning Kathryn looked as relaxed as he did.

"Looks good, Commander," Kathryn handed the data padd back to him with a smile. "I think we could use some uneventful travel time." She added with a chuckle. He nodded letting his eyes linger locked to hers. This, again, was normal for them. Everything had seemed to have settled back to the way it was. There were no tense moments between them. All the charged energy was just simmering now, not the raging storm they had been fighting for the last few weeks.

"Whatever will we do?" Chakotay joked setting the padd aside. This good mood invaded every molecule of his body. His smile felt cemented in place, not even a phaser could remove it. Right now, he was going to bask in the glow, let it fill him up for as long as he could until the next crisis happened to test the mettle of the crew as a whole.

"Oh, I think B'Elanna would use this time to overhaul the warp core." Kathryn answered. "She's been saying, in her usual way, that it needs some thorough maintenance." There were more than a few projects the brilliant Klingon engineer had been voicing that needed to be done. For the last few weeks they had been dodging pirates, ill-tempered new alien races, and about a hundred other things. A small break would be good for them all.

"I think Gamma shift found a star system, uninhabited, that we could orbit while B'Elanna tends to the warp core." Chakotay suggested picking the duty logs up again. Quickly he scanned the data recorded and then said, "It's two light years away. We should take advantage of this while we can."

"Alright Commander, you win." Kathryn said jovially. "Mr. Paris, lay in a course for the uninhabited star system at warp four." She gave the order and her senior pilot complied. This was going to be just another day in the Delta Quadrant. Looking to Chakotay she asked, "Will you join me for a cup of coffee?"

"Sure." Chakotay answered not sure what motivated her to offer, but he would take it. She hadn't offered in a long while, so this was a nice surprise. Getting up to follow her, she turned the bridge over to Tuvok, and then they disappeared into her Ready Room. He almost thought he would feel a wall of awkwardness come between them, but it was still the light friendly atmosphere it had been a few moments ago. "Is everything ok?"

Kathryn replicated two cups of coffee, giving one to Chakotay, and then sitting on the couch with a sigh. "Everything's fine." She answered with a smile. "I almost expected it to be weird this morning when I stepped onto the bridge, but when I woke up I felt…"Her words died there. She couldn't accurately describe how she was feeling this morning.

"Light?" Chakotay asked sitting next to her. "I felt that way to when I woke up. It was like this weight had been lifted from my chest. It was like I could breathe again." He took a sip of the coffee and then set the mug aside. "You forgot the sugar and cream." Chakotay gently scolded her. He wasn't used to the strong black coffee like Kathryn was.

Kathryn rolled her eyes as she took a sip of her favored drink. Then, like he had, she set the mug aside. "Oh please," She chuckled and then because she knew she could, she moved closer to him so she could rest her head on his shoulder. "Are we supposed to act weird?" Kathryn asked, even though she knew that was how they were supposed to be feeling. "Isn't this supposed to change how we see the other?"

"I don't know." Chakotay sighed resting his cheek against the top of her head. "I don't feel like that right now, and I don't think I'll feel like that tomorrow." Gently he placed his hand on her thigh feeling nothing but the deep bond of friendship they had. In his heart he knew she would always be the woman for him, and last night had cemented that feeling for him. "What do we do now?" Chakotay asked genuinely curious about their future.

"We go on as we always have," Kathryn sat up, turning to him, "Together." She cupped his face, angling her head so she could kiss his gently. Then, resting her forehead to his, she said, "And if the 'tension' gets too much again, I think we're adult enough to release it together."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Chakotay draped his left arm across her shoulders and sat back on the couch. For right now, things weren't going to be changing for them. They were still the Captain and the Commander. They were together as friends. This would be how they would survive being the only humans in the Delta Quadrant.