Kathryn stood behind her chair at the head of the table and watched her senior staff file out of the briefing room after their latest debriefing. She took a deep breath and stretched her neck, thanking whatever entity might be responsible for their latest near miss. Species 8472 would be heading back to fluidic space with a message of peace and the captain hoped 'Boothby' would be successful in talking the fluidic aliens out of an invasion.
"Could have gone a lot worse" Chakotay clipped from his position, still seated in his chair to her right. Kathryn let a small smile curl the side of her mouth.
"I'll say" she said. She took another deep breath and turned toward him. "Hopefully we can mark it as one of our weirder days on the job and safely forget it." Chakotay dipped his head in understanding. Barely hiding the smile that dimpled his cheeks.
"Seeing 'Boothby' again was a trip." He sighed. Kathryn let a small chuckle escape.
"I hadn't thought about the man in years" she said softly. "It sure felt real, didn't it?" Kathryn watched Chakotay's head dip again as another smile -no- a smirk spread across his face. Kathryn's eyes narrowed and she took another step closer to her first officer.
"What?" Chakotay asked as he caught her look, trying in vain to school his features.
"You kissed her again, didn't you" Kathryn said. It wasn't a question, the accusation was written all over her face. Chakotay shrugged a shoulder in dismissal but the smirk continued to battle for prominence over his face as his eyes met hers. Kathryn's eyebrows lifted as her right nostril twitched in the most infinitesimal of sneers. "Ugh" the small huff of disgust escaped from her throat against her better judgement.
"What!?" Chakotay tried again. This time battling his smirk into submission and meeting her gaze with a poker face.
"Ugh" Kathryn sighed again, this time with a roll of her eyes.
"Kathryn," Chakotay defended "you told me to get closer to her!"
"Ugh" Kathryn huffed again, this time throwing her hands up before settling them on her hips with a classic Janeway glare. "You're incorrigible." She muttered. This time it was Chakotay's eyes that narrowed.
"Are you... jealous?" His smirk formed again as he stood from his chair and stepped into her personal space.
"Of course not" Kathryn laughed, taking a step back from him and moving towards the door to the bridge. "Don't me ridiculous" Chakotay's laugh answered hers lightly.
"If you must know, she kissed me" He said, staying put at the head of the table. Kathryn stopped her movement toward the door and sent another eye roll over her shoulder.
"Ugh" she said again, pausing dramatically before moving again toward the door.
"Kathryn" he stopped her. She turned just before the door sensor caught her movement and met his gaze with her brows up in skepticism.
"All you have to do is ask" he grinned wolfishly at her, his gaze dropping to scan her body in a move that would surely land him in the brig if he'd misjudged her mood. To his relief, a small smile tugged at her lips and her eyes sparkled with flirtation.
"Ugh" she huffed again, before moving to trip the door sensor and escaping out onto the bridge. Chakotay chuckled to himself as the door closed behind her and took a deep breath.
"Ugh indeed" he said to himself before following her out to take his place beside her on the bridge.