A/N: This is a companion piece of sorts to my Cheap. I hope it does Chakotay's thoughts some justice. Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
You have plenty of time
He had promised her that once: time.
But then, he had promised her a lot of things over the years: to always be by her side, to put her needs first, to make her burdens lighter.
Stupid.
That was what he was.
He had done all that, and more, only to decide he felt stifled, smothered. He had even started to blame her for how he felt.
Stupid.
It wasn't until they got home, and he was with Seven, that he realised how wrong he was.
He wasn't lost when he was with her: it was only then that he knew who he was. He wasn't stifled and smothered by her: he had never before felt so free.
She gave his life purpose.
How ironic that he figured this all out now. After he had stopped trying, stopped hoping.
After he had betrayed every spoken and unspoken promise he had with her.
He had promised her time and he had given up on her.
He had promised to put her needs first and then promptly forgotten that she even had them.
Worst of all, he had promised to always be there and then left.
Of everyone on board the ship he should have known how much it cost her to keep their hope alive, to keep them all together. He should have known how he had the power to make or break her. She had given him that power years ago when they were both stranded on a deserted planet.
And he had forgotten.
Stupid.