A/N: This was first posted in October 2015.
Original A/N: MissyHissy3 has been sending me prompts for the last week, trying to inspire me to write some J/C. This one hit the spot for some nice start-of-the-week fluffiness. So, thanks to her for both the prompt and her beta-read.
Shore Leave
In all of her four plus years in the Delta Quadrant, Kathryn Janeway had never been as close to total bliss as this. Above her, a warm sun shone out of a cloudless azure sky. Trees in full leaf provided plentiful shade as they rustled in a gentle breeze. The air that drifted against her face and bare arms was pure, not recycled and – best of all – she was lying in the mineral-rich and balmy waters of a hot spring so secluded it had taken her half a day of hard hiking to reach it.
Yes, she could have beamed directly here had she really wanted to, but actually the strenuous walk had been worth it. It had provided a transition, a clear movement from here to there that she rarely got to experience aboard ship no matter how far Voyager travelled. Besides, it had been good to stretch her legs properly for a change.
As Kathryn drifted quietly in the bright blue waters of the lagoon, she could feel the worries and pressures that so typified her daily life aboard Voyager taking a back seat. It couldn't last, of course, but she had granted the crew three days of shore leave on a planet as friendly as any they had yet encountered on their journey. Who knew when that would next be the case? She wasn't going to waste a minute of the time she had. Janeway shut her eyes and breathed in, tipping her head back against the smooth rock behind her and listening to the crash and flurry of the waterfall at the other end of the lagoon.
Valentalia's hot springs were renowned throughout the local star systems and were what had helped turn the small, peaceful planet into a successful vacation spot for the inhabitants of this system. A chain of dormant volcanoes ran around the planet's equatorial axis, dividing the world into distinct climates and terrains. Inside the ancient craters of the volcanoes had grown vibrant rainforests full of life and colour. This was where the planet's many famous hot springs could be found. Outside, the mountainous terrain sloped down via fascinating canyons and ancient rock-hewn dwellings to huge blue seas edged by endless, perfect beaches.
The planet really did have something for everyone.
Many of the crew had opted to split off into groups, wanting to spend their shore leave together. She'd been happy to hear this – it showed, to Kathryn, how close the crew had become, how much of a family. Tom Paris and Harry Kim had even gone as far as to include her in their open invitation to the Bridge crew to join them on an expedition they were planning to Valentalia's highest peak, but she had declined. Firstly that wasn't necessarily the way she was planning to spend her precious vacation time, and secondly she had the sense that they had mainly included her out of a feeling of obligation. It made her realise that she should probably absent herself from all the major vacation spots. Who wanted to let their hair down with their boss in attendance? She wanted the crew of Voyager to make the most of this rare opportunity for R&R, not to be looking over their shoulders to check whether their commanding officer was watching them.
So, she had asked their Valentalian hosts to recommend somewhere so remote that it was unlikely any of her fellow Voyagers would find it.
This hot spring and the small cabins hidden in the forest surrounding it had been the result, and it was certainly living up to its reputation. At the moment there were only four other people in the lagoon – both young couples who seemed eager to find corners as far away from the other visitors as possible. On honeymoon, perhaps, she thought. This would certainly be the perfect place for it.
"Ma'am?" said a quiet voice, above her.
Janeway sat up a little and twisted around to see one of the Valentalian attendants bearing a silver tray and an open bottle.
"My apologies for disturbing you," the waitress said, her voice held low to avoid breaking the peace of their surroundings. "Would you like your glass replenished?"
Kathryn smiled, then reached for her empty flute and held it up. "Yes – thank you."
The attendant refilled her glass with the clear, bubbling drink that Janeway had on first taste immediately identified with champagne before bowing slightly and moving away again. Kathryn stood up out of the water and sat on the meticulously clean rocks that edged it instead, trailing her toes in the lagoon and feeling the sun on her back as she sipped her drink. She made a mental note to be careful not to drink too much of it. As pleasant as it tasted, it was a long time since Kathryn had partaken of anything other than synthehol, and she didn't want to waste the second day of her leave recovering from a cracking headache.
Kathryn glanced down at the fully-charged PADD she'd brought with her, loaded with a whole cache of books she'd been planning and failing to read for too long. She contemplated beginning one of them, but the water was too inviting. She slipped back into it instead, dipping beneath the surface and feeling the bubbles of the spring burst against her skin as she made smoothly for the furthest end of the lagoon, where the waterfall churned the water as it joined the pool.
She came up just beside the walkway that led beneath the fall, and as she did so realised that they had been joined by another vacationer. The newcomer was doing what Kathryn had herself when she first arrived – standing under the falling waters, letting them drench him from head to foot. He had his back to her, and Kathryn unwittingly found herself staring.
Now, yes - it had been a while since Kathryn Janeway had seen any man in such a state of undress (the two others in the lagoon didn't count – they had been in the water since she had arrived and she'd barely cast them a glance), but ogling unsuspecting strangers really wasn't her usual modus operandi. Perhaps it was the relaxed setting, the holiday atmosphere, or the fact that she had just started her second glass of champagne – whatever the reason, she found herself having trouble averting her eyes. Her gaze started at his bare feet and worked upwards over bronzed skin and strong, toned legs, over a distinctly well-formed butt to his muscled back and broad shoulders. As she allowed her gaze to linger, the man swept his arms up, scooping back his short dark hair, hands over his face as he turned under the water. Janeway blinked as his torso came into view, noting the faint line of dark hair running from his bellybutton down beneath the waistband of his burnished orange shorts and rather helplessly taking in his muscular chest and stomach.
Kathryn felt a little light-headed. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been quite so affected by the physical appearance of a member of the opposite sex. Must be the alcohol, she told herself, still staring at the toned expanse of the stranger's chest and shoulders as he pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes, apparently decompressing in much the same way as she had, in much the same spot. Well, she amended – possibly the alcohol coupled with the recent confirmation of what she had long suspected: that Mark had found both the opportunity and the wherewithal to move on.
Opportunities…
She was free. She was now officially single. She was on shore leave for three whole days, in one of the most beautiful places she had ever been, and only a few metres away from, it would seem, one of the most beautiful men she had ever-
The 'stranger' dropped his hands, revealing a curlicue of inked lines at his temple, and Captain Kathryn Janeway very nearly screamed. She muffled her horrified reaction by dropping beneath the lagoon's surface, a flurry of bubbles the only indication that she had been there at all as she swam determinedly back to the other end of the pool.
Chakotay!
How was it that she hadn't recognised him sooner? And what was he even doing here? The last conversation they'd had, he'd been planning to join Tom and Harry's climbing expedition. Had he come looking for her? He can't have – she'd only told Tuvok where she was going. Was this really a complete coincidence? Was he going to be here for the next three days?
What was she going to do about the fact that her first reaction to seeing him in swimming gear had been to-
No.
No.
No.
Don't think it. It didn't happen. You haven't even seen him.
Kathryn came up for air and forced herself to breathe, her heart banging in her chest. She could feel herself blushing, the heat in her cheeks burning red hot. Swallowing hard, she hauled herself out of the water and sat on the edge, grabbing her glass and downing what was still in it in one go. What could she do? Perhaps she should make a run for it – get back to her cabin and clear out before he'd even realised she was there. As she glanced over to the waterfall though, she saw that would be impossible. He was already walking around the edge of the lagoon – to get to her little cabin she'd have to use the same path in the opposite direction, so they would pass if she left now. No, best to wait until he got into the water and then make a swift exit. She picked up her PADD and opened one of her books, blindly staring at the page, trying not to listen to the soft pad of his bare feet coming nearer.
Chakotay stopped. She could see his bare legs (Oh god!) out of the corner of her eye. She stared resolutely at her screen, pretending to be absorbed and hoping against hope that she wasn't what he was looking at.
"Captain?"
Dammit. For a split second she considered ignoring him in the hope he'd think he was mistaken and leave her be. But there were no places to hide, and blanking him was just going to make everything even more uncomfortable. So she looked up, blinking as if in surprise.
"Chakotay!"
"It is you!" he said, dropping to a crouch beside her. She tried extremely hard not to notice the rivulets of water flowing along the curves of his (Oh god!) naked muscles. "I didn't know you were coming here. Isn't it a beautiful place?"
She nodded. "It is. I didn't know you were coming here either – I thought you were heading out on Tom and Harry's expedition?"
Chakotay nodded, glancing out across the water. "I am, but that doesn't start until tomorrow morning. Someone told me about this place so I thought I'd visit for the afternoon."
Relief washed through her, sending her lightheaded for the second time in just a few minutes. "Oh I see," she said.
Chakotay smiled at her. "I don't want to interrupt your shore leave, Kathryn. If I'd known this was where you had chosen to hide out, I wouldn't have come. I'll leave you to it."
He went to straighten up, and she found herself saying, "No! Don't go, Chakotay, please."
Her first officer looked at her. "Really?"
"Of course," she told him, despite the internal voice that was yelling at her to get as far away from him as possible. "You've as much right to be here as I have. And as you said, it's beautiful. Just the place to soothe those aching muscles, I assure you."
She kept her eyes on his face to prevent them from straying.
Chakotay smiled, a beautiful expression that turned her heart over and made her think she'd just done a very stupid thing indeed. "Well, thank you, Captain. I must admit I'm dying to get into that pool."
The attendant appeared again with the open bottle and another glass. "Would sir like a drink?" she asked, as she re-filled Kathryn's.
"OK," nodded Chakotay. "Just one would be lovely. Thank you."
Once the attendant had gone they clinked glasses in the old Earth style. Chakotay took a drink, then put his glass down and smiled at her before slipping into the water and sighing in contentment.
"Wonderful, isn't it?" she asked, smiling at his reaction in spite of herself.
"Certainly is. We should get Tom to replicate this on the holodeck."
"Wouldn't be quite the same though, would it?"
"No," he agreed. "It wouldn't." Chakotay disappeared beneath the water for a moment before bobbing back up.
She looked away briefly, reaching for her drink. She felt his eyes on her and turned back just in time to catch him glancing down the length of her body. He flicked his gaze away into the middle distance with a slight frown, as if as scared of being caught looking as she herself had been.
Kathryn wondered what he made of the black bikini. If she'd known she was going to bump into a member of her crew, she would have chosen differently. It was certainly more revealing than anything else he would have ever seen her in. But then, so were those shorts of his…
She put down her glass and stepped into the water, as much to hide herself as anything else. The warmth washed up and over her and she tipped her head back with a sigh. When she straightened up Janeway saw that Chakotay was swimming to the other end of the lagoon, exploring their surroundings. She stayed where she was, not following but reaching up to reclaim her glass instead. This would be fine, she decided. They could enjoy the same space without crowding each other. He was only going to be here for a few hours, after all. And with him in the water all the way over there, she wouldn't be tempted to sneak another look at that undeniably attractive body of his.
Fate, she mused, was a cruel master. Under the most onerous of circumstances it had unexpectedly given her the best first officer she had ever served with. It had also seen fit to make him about as desirable as she had ever known a man to be, while ensuring they were in circumstances where it was impossible for her to do anything about it.
C'est la vie, she thought, as he came back towards her and surfaced with a smile, reaching for his drink.
The afternoon passed both lazily and easily. They talked and laughed and swam, and as they did so, Kathryn found herself settling a little. This was Chakotay, after all, her friend and confidant, the man she trusted most in the universe. She had always enjoyed his company, and this afternoon was no exception.
When dusk fell, the attendant brought them blankets and then platters of food – vegetables and cheeses, flat breads and various accompaniments that she guaranteed were suitable for a non meat-eater. As they shared the light meal, Kathryn looked around and realised they had the place to themselves. The other couples had gone.
When the twilight deepened, the attendant lit dozens of tiny floating candles and set them in the pool. The flamelight refracted from the water, casting beautiful patterns into the air. Eventually, their meal done, they sat side by side at the edge of the water and watched the play of light. Silence sank around and into them - comfortable, familiar. Above them, strange constellations pricked the velvet black. Kathryn leaned back on her hands and looked up at them. Chakotay was watching her, she knew – she could feel his eyes resting on her face. She didn't break the moment. She didn't want to. She wondered what the local names for these stars were, what shapes the first Valentalian peoples had conjured from their ancient light.
"I want to tell you something," Chakotay said, quietly.
Kathryn straightened her posture and raised her eyebrows. "That sounds ominous."
Chakotay laughed softly, folding his hands in his lap. "It's not. You might not consider it wholly appropriate, though."
Her mouth ran a little dry. She reached for her glass, took a drink. "Oh?"
He glanced out at the flickering, candle-lit surface of the lagoon before looking back at her. There was a smile deep in his dark eyes, though there was something intense there, too: something passionate, though chained. Her heart flipped over on itself.
"You're beautiful," he said, quietly. "And though in the past four years there may have been people who have told you that you are brave, and bold, and an exceptional Captain – all of which are undeniably true - that's the one thing I don't think anyone will have said in all the time that we've been out here. Not directly, without allegory, anyway. And now, after Mark's-" he stopped himself, with a shrug. "I thought it would be good for you to hear it, with no conditions or obligations attached. You are a very beautiful woman, Kathryn."
She tried to swallow her heart, beating as it had right up into her throat. Her eyes blurred, and she tried for a smile, which came out lopsided. "You, um," she began, and had to clear her throat. "You're not too hard on the eye yourself, Chakotay. In fact, I'm considering a change in the command colour," she quipped, searching for a way to break the tension. "Burnt orange seems to suit you…"
He laughed a little, quietly, staring down into the water.
If we were any other two people right now, she thought, still trying to put her heart back in its rightful place, we would follow this by reaching for each other. Why is that I can't do that? Why can't I just reach out and touch-
Chakotay turned to look at her. Their gazes met again, and her heart stopped entirely. Before she even realised what she was doing, Kathryn had stretched out her hand and pressed it over his heart. She'd made the same gesture many times, but this time it was his skin her fingers brushed, not the thick fibres of his uniform. He was warm and smooth, and the gesture was instantly so intimate that she felt herself falling, as if from a very great height. She had not touched another man in this way for almost five years. She was not sure she had ever touched any man in quite this way. Chakotay reached up and placed his hand over hers, then curled his fingers around her palm and lifted her hand to his lips, kissing her inner wrist. The kiss brushed against a sensitive point and she gasped. He must have been able to feel her heart beating out of control.
Still holding her hand, Chakotay looked at her. "I think," he began, quietly, "the fact that right now the thing I want most desperately is to stay probably means that I had better go. Immediately."
She laughed, a small, explosive exhalation released under unbearable tension as her eyes blurred again. "Oh, Chakotay-"
"Don't," he said, his voice still soft. "We can't do this. Not now, not like this. You'd regret it, and that would be far worse to me than anything else."
Kathryn gently withdrew her hand, looking towards the waterfall. She couldn't think of anything to say, and so eventually she nodded, instead. He stood up and she followed, feeling the pulse of hard disappointment settling in her gut. But he was right. And, once the magic of this place had faded, once they were back on Voyager and back on their journey, she would surely remember why.
She stood in front of him as he smiled down at her. "Thank you for sharing this place with me, Kathryn."
She smiled back, enjoying the way his eyes dilated just a little more as he saw it. "I'm glad you were here."
He nodded once, and then turned to move away.
"Wait," she said, helplessly, before he'd even taken three steps. "Chakotay-"
He turned back and before she'd quite realised what she was doing, she had stepped into him, reaching up on tiptoe to press her lips to his. Chakotay's arms came around her, warm hands stroking warm skin. She brushed the backs of her fingers against his stomach, feeling him quiver at the touch before pulling her flush against him. The kiss deepened and for several minutes they stood, wrapped around each other, entirely occupied.
When it ended, Chakotay rested his forehead against hers.
"If I hadn't at least done that," she whispered, hands pressed against his chest, "We really would have had something to regret."
He laughed gently. "I think you're right."
Kathryn forced herself to step back and put her hands behind her back. "Enjoy your climb tomorrow," she said.
"I will," he promised. "Enjoy the rest of your shore leave, Kathryn. I'll see you in a few days."
Chakotay stepped away, then faced her as he requested a beam-out back to Voyager. She watched him dematerialise, shimmering into nothing until she stood there alone.
Turning, she saw the attendant watching her from a discreet distance. The woman stepped forward with a small, inquisitive smile as she looked in Chakotay's direction.
"Will sir be returning, ma'am?" she asked. "I was about to offer you an upgrade for the evening. To a larger cabin. With our compliments."
"That's kind of you, but no. He won't be coming back."
The attendant hesitated. "Another time then. Perhaps then, he will stay?"
Kathryn smiled. "Yes," she said. "Perhaps. One day."
[END]