Faded History

Author: CK

Rating: R / P16

Summary: Set during Future's End. Even if the past faded, it still was never forgotten.

Author's Note: This is what my muse does to me. First, she gives me writer's block, and when I beg her to let me write again, she provides me with... *this*. And since I got stuck with my Secret Santa story for VAMB, I gave in...

Warning: There's not much of a plot. There's a first time for everything, and this is my first PWP...

Cut for site policy reasons. Please visit my site for full version and download as PDF. Thanks.

"Chakotay?"

In a hotel room in 1996th Los Angeles, a man, well-muscled, dark-haired and golden-tanned, looked up from the magazine he had been reading and to the door that led to the adjoining bathroom.

"Yes?"

"Could you please help me?" A female voice rang from the other room, and the handsome man got up and walked over to where his assistance was obviously needed.

Chakotay and his female companion Kathryn Janeway, who was recently occupying the shower cubicle in the small bathroom of their hotel room, were explorers, scientists, soldiers; they were highly intelligent, well-trained and fearless. But: They were from the 24th century. And if there was a real challenge for people from an age where a whole five course menu was produced from thin air within minutes, where people were transported distances of several hundred kilometers in a matter of seconds, and where showers didn't work with water anymore, but with sonic waves, it was the 20th century.

Involuntarily thrown into this time, commanding duo of the Starship Voyager, Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay, together with Voyager's crew, had tried in vain to find a solution for their problems; a way back to their century. And in the course of their actions found themselves stuck on an Earth that was in every way different from what they knew.

When they had beamed down, the plan had been to find the man who had brought them to this wrong year, and get him to help them get back. But as plans went, some things had gone wrong, unsurprisingly so, and both officers had suddenly been forced to find shelter for the night on a 1990's North American continent's city. Thanks to their ship's pilot, Mr. Paris, they at least had enough money, those strange pieces of paper and metal people in this century used to pay for all kinds of things, and so they had been able to afford a hotel room that was acceptable enough.

Now Janeway was trying out the ancient shower, while Chakotay had chosen to wait and spend his time with some historic literature called The L.A. Times. There was some news, and there was gossip, but mostly it was the science news that amused the 24th century man.

When his captain and friend had called, he had immediately put away his reading material and dutifully followed her request for help... never expecting what would happen next.

He entered the bathroom to find the shower curtain closed, only the vague outline of her body recognizable behind it. So far, so good. But then a thoughtless moment happened, and while Chakotay was focusing on the shower, Janeway busily opened the plastic drape.

And thus the captain stood completely naked before her first officer.

While she could only do so much not to panic and pull the curtain back quickly while trying to grab her towel that was seemingly lying just out of reach, Chakotay, after the first shock, found himself completely, and strangely, calm.

"Here," he said and took the towel she was trying to reach from her position, "let me help you." She took the towel gratefully from him when he gave it to her, and then vanished behind the curtain, managing a "Thanks." while wrapping the towel around herself. As soon as she was covered she felt incredibly relieved.

"I only wanted to ask if you could help me... I can fly a spaceship, but this shower really beats me," she explained, smiling sheepishly and really trying to ignore his hungry stare. He eyed her for a moment, then slipped off his shoes, and, pulling the curtain aside, stepped in behind her - in recently purchased T-shirt and pajama bottoms, no less.

"I think I could even show you," he said, and she was too shocked - again - to react in any other way than by watching his arms as they appeared from behind her along both her sides, and his hands as they worked on the shower controls.

"What exactly are you doing, if I may ask?" she wanted to know after clearing her throat, and was all too aware of his strong body shaking behind her when he chuckled.

"Helping you," was his very simple answer, and then he fingered the controls while explaining them to her. "This one you use for getting hot water," he pointed at the clover-shaped handle marked with a red spot, "and this one for cold," he put his hand against the other that had a blue spot, "now, the trick is to open both faucets just enough, but not too much, and to mix hot and cold so that the temperature is comfortable." His voice was low, causing a tingle to form in her stomach, and his breath grazed her right ear, making her shiver. She straightened in a vain attempt to regain some composure she hadn't realized she had lost, and to chase the upcoming goose bumps away. He chose just that moment to shift even closer to her, pressing up against her from behind.

Time to pull the emergency break.

"I think I understand it now, thank you," she attempted to get him out of the shower. He, however, didn't move even a single muscle. "Chakotay, will you let me try this now?" Obviously he didn't. Or did he?

"Try. I'll instruct you. Can't have you get burns or a cold from handling the controls wrong." His words were more a rumble she felt than a sound she heard.

"I really think that is enough. I think you're crossing a line here, commander," she said in her best captain's voice, sternly stressing every word.

"And that's something I should have done on New Earth already." His answer was as plain and simple as the way he turned on the water with a flick of his wrists. Kathryn squealed when the flow hit her - that, after all, at least had just the right temperature - and soaked her towel she now had to clutch to her body because it became too heavy. Angrily, she swirled around - or tried the best she could to do so in the small space they were in - and faced him, about to reprimand him for his inappropriate behavior, but by the time the words had made it up her throat, his mouth had already descended upon hers, making those words morph into a long moan when he kissed her longingly. His tongue thrust into her mouth, exploring every inch of it, and she could do nothing else than to give in to his ministrations, the skilled movement of his lips against hers.

The water from the shower still rained down on them, the stream warm and embracing, like summer rain after a burning hot day in July. Whenever their lips parted for fractions of a second, droplets ran over them and made them slippery, and they desperately crushed against each other, wanting the kiss to last forever.

When Chakotay let go of her again, Kathryn, having forgotten to breath, needed so desperately to fill her lungs with air that she sucked in some of the water running over her, what made her cough. The man still holding her quickly turned off the stream and then stepped from the cubicle, lifted the panting woman into his arms and carried her back into the main room. He sat her down onto one of the chairs that belonged to an ensemble of one small square table and another chair, and went to get her a dry towel that he wrapped around her shoulders.

"You should get rid of the wet towel," he commented, and, having finally calmed down a bit, she stared at him incredulously.

"What did you think you were doing, Chakotay? What has gotten into you?" she complained, her voice raspy from her coughing while she still tried to get her breathing back into a normal rhythm.

"I meant what I said... something I should have done while we were in our... exile on New Earth," he repeated, his hand coming up to caress her cheek. She pulled away from his touch.

"That's not right, and you know it."

"That was exactly my impression when you kissed me back in there," he pointed at the bathroom door standing ajar, "that you think it's not right." His face was neutral; he wasn't making fun of her. He was serious. And she wasn't sure what would have shocked her more. So eventually, the deep frown on her face softened into what could only be called sympathetic expression.

"Chakotay... You know we can't..." He pressed a finger to her lips to silent her.

"We're not on Voyager. We're not in the Delta Quadrant. We're not even in our time anymore. Here, we are just another two people among billions, waiting for the night to pass and the day to arrive, so we can continue our way, wherever it may lead us. No one here knows us. Let us be someone else. Let us be... us. The real us. Be the Kathryn I saw on New Earth, just for one night." She sat there on her chair and stared at him as he crouched before her, looking so fragile, so much like the woman he knew was somewhere behind the façade of a brave Starfleet commandant; it was the woman he had sworn to protect and always be there for, no matter what.

Janeway shivered, the wet towel around her slowly turning into an icy blanket, and the man before her rose, taking her hand and pulling her up, and then carefully, so she would be able to resist if she wanted to, pulled her hand holding the soaked cloth away. Heavily it fell to the ground, and he wrapped the other, mostly dry towel around her and began to rub and massage her damp skin and hair with it.

Her eyes never left his; he could still see the inner battle she was fighting, her mind contemplating whether this was, could possibly be, right, while her body showed that it had already made a decision for her. When she stopped shivering, he used the chance to get rid of his wet clothes as well, pulling his shirt over his head and pushing down his bottoms. No doubt, in that moment, and hopefully the rest of the night, the captain was gone; there was just Kathryn, who almost shyly took in his now equally naked appearance.

The second her hands touched his skin, he knew for sure that her decision was made, and he pulled her to him, enclosing her with his arms, and claimed her lips in another kiss, gentle this time, caring and full of love, and she melted into him, her hands buried in his hair, holding him to her as her hunger grew.

He walked her over to the queen-sized bed, and letting himself fall onto it, pulled her atop him. Right then he thought that feeling the weight of her delicate form on him, her bare skin on his, was the most wonderful thing he had ever experienced. He was, however, sure that there was still a lot more to come.

...

After her climax, Kathryn fell into his arms weakened, and Chakotay closed them around her, finding the sheet to pull over their still-joined forms, as they hadn't yet left the edge to oblivion, but tip-toed at it and maybe, just maybe, hoped they would, they could fall into it.

Somewhere in a moonlight-illuminated hotel room in 1996th California, in an urban area fondly called City of Angels, two lovers lay embracing each other, holding on tightly, wishing for the night never to end.

Because what else could one passionate night in the past ever be to people from a faraway future than fading history?

END