Yeah, but she's my witch".
Phoebe Janeway snorted at the response.
"Chakotay, you keep deluding yourself if it makes you happy but I assure you, my sister is nobody's witch but her own". He laughed slightly,
"I wouldn't have her any other way. I love her because she's Kathryn Janeway, not in spite of it".
They were sitting in Gretchen's kitchen – it was first thing in the morning and the sun was just beginning to rise above the porch rail, casting a soft golden glow across the worktop. Chakotay was preparing a tray with breakfast to take up to Kathryn, who had not yet risen, fussing about the pastries and coffee, arranging and rearranging a little vase of flowers. He switched positions of the various elements on the tray almost anxiously, as Phoebe looked on with a critical eye.
"What's with you this morning? You're as jumpy as a jack rabbit".
They heard the side door to the kitchen close as someone made their way out onto the porch. Glancing out of the window as the slightly silhouetted figure moved around to the front of the house, Chakotay saw that it was Kathryn.
"Well I guess I'll be taking her breakfast out there then", he said, dodging Phoebe's question as he picked up the tray and headed to the door.
"Just ask her Chakotay". Phoebe smiled as he turned back towards her, and there was a moment of intense eye contact between the two of them – the look on her face was one of understanding and encouragement. Curse the Janeway intuition. He took a deep breath before stepping out on to the porch.
Kathryn was sitting on the top step, chin resting on her hand, watching the sunrise across the cornfields. Pausing with the tray before him, Chakotay took a few moments to just enjoy looking at her. The firm set of her slim shoulders, the fall of her hair – she'd allowed it to grow a little longer over these past months since Voyager's return – the long slender fingers resting against her jaw. All of it was so familiar and yet new at the same time; he'd been surprised how much difference he felt in the way he saw her now. Kathryn Janeway his lover was a massive change from Kathryn Janeway his captain and confidant, despite the unspoken attraction that had existed between them for so many years.
He moved slowly forward – Kathryn turned back slightly at his approach and shifted across on the step to make room for him. He sat down to her left, holding the tray out towards her.
"Morning". She smiled as her eyes roamed around the array of delicious treats before taking it from him.
"Chakotay, this is very sweet of you". She planted a soft kiss on his cheek before picking up the coffee cup and sipping almost absentmindedly as her eyes turned back towards the view, "Isn't it magical? I always loved looking out over these fields, but I appreciate them all the more now after so long thinking I'd never see them again".
"It's perfection", he replied, and despite the breath-taking scenery his eyes were drawn to the way the light played over the wisps of Kathryn's hair like flames, his fingers coming up to trace the same path.
She looked over at him, eyes soft, mouth sticky with jam and pastry crumbs. He realised instantly why he was seeing her so differently now – she was less guarded, more prepared to show him her vulnerability. He couldn't resist kissing the crumbs away, the tender brushing of lips quickly becoming more heated as her hand wound into the back of his hair; tongue pressing insistently into his mouth.
They remained like this for some considerable time before breaking away, she returning to her breakfast and he to his thoughts. The silence that followed was a comfortable and contented one, Chakotay enjoying the warm breeze and the press of Kathryn's thigh so reassuring against his.
She finished eating and set the tray aside, but not before Chakotay had plucked a bright blue cornflower from the vase and tucked it into her hair just behind her ear. She took hold of his hand before he withdrew it, and they sat together for more long minutes in blissful silence, her thumb rubbing softly against the back of his hand. He wasn't sure what she was thinking about, but he was just content with the quiet companionship, the enjoyment of being together without pressure, without red alerts or alien attacks or crew crises. She was the one who finally broke the silence, but not in any way he'd expected,
"So I'm a witch am I?" She laughed at him instantly – he was horror struck at the fact that she'd overheard and he had no idea as to the look on his face, but it had clearly amused her and she batted him playfully on the arm. It took him a few seconds to realise she was only teasing, but once he did he laughed along with her, and tears were soon streaming down both their cheeks. Their mirth was about so much more than Kathryn's amusement at his comment – it spoke of burdens lifted and long sought freedom.
Once they'd finally calmed down from their near hysteria, his reply mirrored the one he'd given Phoebe earlier.
"Yeah, but you're my witch. At least, you certainly cast a spell on me". The joy of the morning and the relaxed ease with which they enjoyed one another had emboldened him. He reached into his jacket pocket, revealing a small red velvet box. Opening it and moving around in front of her, resting his knee against the first step, he held out the ring to the increasingly astonished woman before him.
"Kathryn Janeway, will you marry me?"
The stunned look slowly turned into a broad smile as she nodded rapidly and pulled him into her arms.