"What are you going to wear tonight?" Chakotay asked the woman sitting next to him in her command chair.
"It's a surprise." She said smiling. "What are you going to wear?"
"It's a surprise." He teased with a smile. "Actually I don't know if I'm going to dress up."
"Where's your holiday spirit?"
He laughed. "I just don't know what to wear."
"You realize Neelix announced his plans for a costume party over a month ago, right?"
"I know and I've been trying to think of a costume ever since."
"Maybe you shouldn't have shown him that list of old Earth holidays. You should have expected him to do something like this." She laughed.
"Or maybe you should tell me what you're wearing and I could get some ideas."
"Nice try Chakotay but you're going to have to wait until tonight." She smiled.
He smiled back as a plethora of ideas of what sexy costumes she could wear invaded his brain. He knew she'd never wear 90% of the things he was picturing her in, but that didn't have to stop his imagination from having a little fun.
"I know what you could wear." She said pulling him out of his day dreams and back to the bridge.
"Oh yeah?"
"You could be a superhero, like the ones Tom is always talking about." She joked.
"I'm not sure that costume would be a good fit for me."
She knew he meant a fit for his personality but she couldn't help but picture him fitting into a spandex costume. "What about a pirate?" Afraid her silence might give away what she was thinking about, she said the first costume that came to mind. Chakotay shook his head 'no'. She giggled a little knowing he wouldn't like that idea. "I don't know what to tell you. I'm out of ideas."
"That's ok. I think I've finally come up with a costume."
"Really? What are you going to be?"
"I'd tell you but it's a surprise." He flashed her a cocky smile then turned to face forward and watch the stars as they passed.
~~a few hours later~~
"Wow." Chakotay said almost breathless as the captain entered the holodeck and approached him.
"Too much?" She asked looking down at her costume.
Chakotay took a little time to examine the costume she was referring to. His eyes started at the top of this yellow dress and slowly made their way down. The dress was virtually strapless. It had some off the shoulder type straps but they looked like they were more for decoration rather than keeping the dress up. He followed the curve of the top as it clung to her bust then narrowed in as it approached her waist. He appreciated the rare opportunity this dress gave him to fully admire some of Kathryn's physical attributes that are usually hidden beneath a Starfleet jumpsuit. Once the dress reached her hips it flared out then elegantly fell to the ground. He moved his gaze up to her face. She was wearing more make up than usual, Chakotay always loved those few occasions when she'd put extra effort into her makeup. Kathryn certainly didn't need make up, she is a beautiful woman without it, but she knew how to use it and how to accentuate every part of her perfect face. Her eyes had Chakotay so enthralled he almost couldn't speak. "You look beautiful." He finally got out.
"Thank you. You look quiet handsome, yourself." She looked at his costume and the tattoo that now covers his entire forehead and most his cheek. "An important figure from your tribe?" she guessed.
"Chief Matwau" Chakotay explained. "He was a great chief that accomplished a lot for our tribe. Many of the legends we tell to children involve him. He's one of the more famous chiefs."
"I would have gone with the pirate but whatever." She shrugged and laughed. "Look there's Tom and B'Elanna." Kathryn pointed across the room.
"Let's go say hi." Chakotay held out his elbow and waited for Kathryn to wrap her arm around his before they began to make their way over to their friends.
By the time the two of them made it over to the young married couple, there was a third person standing with them. He wore a long black cape with a collar that extended up and out past his ears.
"Captain," The man smiled exposing his pointed teeth. "You look lovely."
"Harry, you make such a charming vampire." She laughed.
"Chakotay, I like your tattoo." Tom said.
"Thank you, Tom. I'm glad I went with this costume instead of the other one I was considering. You don't know how close I was to wearing the same thing as B'Elanna. That would have been embarrassing." The crowd laughed as they looked at B'Elanna's little blue dress with the jagged bottom ridge.
"Tom was just explaining to Harry how we're the Flintrocks." She tried to explain.
"FlintSTONES." Tom clarified. "It's the Flintstones. And we're not the Flintstones we're their neighbors, Barney and Betty Ruble."
"I thought you said we were the Flintstones?"
"No the television show they were on was called the Flintstones." He reminded her. "It was very popular in the mid 20th century."
"My costume is also from the 20th century." Kathryn said surprised.
"It is?" Harry asked. "I thought you were an ancient princess."
"I am a princess." She explained. "When I was a little girl my grandma used to read me stories from a book her grandma used to read her. It was full of old fairytales about brave princes fighting dragons and rescuing damsels in distress; but one of the stories was about a woman who saved a prince. I used to have my grandma read me that same story over and over again. I loved hearing about the woman who spent all her time reading and didn't need to be saved by a man. She was one of my heros growing up. It wasn't until I got a little older that I found out the version of Beauty and the Beast my grandma had been reading me wasn't actually the original story from the 18th century but a version made into a kids movie in the late 20th century."
"Well you look beautiful." B'Elanna said.
"Thank you B'Elanna." She smiled. "Look there's Seven." She waved her and the doctor over to join them.
"Wow… Seven… you're very… sparkly." B'Elanna said as a glitter covered Seven joined the group.
"Do you like it?" The doctor asked eagerly. "I designed it myself."
"It's very… sparkly…and blue."
"The doctor insisted I wore a costume. I fail to see the purpose of this. The wings are not very comfortable and the glitter took far too much time to apply"
"The purpose is to have fun. Isn't it fun to dress up sometimes?" Kathryn asked.
"No." Seven said which made everyone laugh.
"What is your costume?" Harry asked the doctor.
"Doesn't anyone recognize my signature half mask?"
Everyone was silent for a moment until Harry finally broke it. "No"
"I'm the phantom of the op-er-a" He over enunciated opera as he often did.
No one knew how to respond and luckily before anyone had to they heard the voice of a certain tolaxian party host. "Captain, commander, you two are standing under the mistletoe." Neelix pointed up as he walked over to them.
Kathryn looked up and sure enough there it was. "I think you have the holidays confused." She laughed. "Mistletoe is a Christmas tradition."
"Are you sure?" He asked surprised. She nodded. "I could have sworn someone told me it was for Halloween." He shrugged. "Well either way you know the rule."
"You can't be serious." She said.
"Come on Kathryn, where's your holiday spirit?" Chakotay used her same expression from earlier.
"That's the wrong holiday, commander" She added 'commander' as an attempt to remind him why this was out of line.
"Don't be a Grinch." Tom laughed.
"I'm pretty sure the Grinch is a Christmas thing too." She pointed out.
"Whatever it is it's just a bit of harmless holiday fun." Tom said.
Janeway turned towards Chakotay who gave her the flirty smile he often shows her. She sighed "Ok, just a little-"
Chakotay wrapped his arm around her back and laid her back, causing her to lose balance and relying completely on his arm under her back to keep her from dropping back onto the floor.
"Ow-ow." B'Elanna howled as Chakotay proceeded to 'lay one on her'.
"-kiss." Janeway finished her sentence once Chakotay returned her to her upright position.
Chakotay laughed. "Happy Halloween."
The group talked for a while. Then slowly people started moving away and talking to other people until only Kathryn and Chakotay were left.
"You know, Kathryn, I wasn't completely honest when I was talking about my costume."
"No?"
"Well Chief Matwau did do a lot of good for my ancestors but that's not why I chose him. You see he had a bit of a reputation."
"Ok?" She said not quite sure where he was going with this.
"According to the stories Chief Matwau had a bit of a bad temper. In fact his name is used as a term for anger."
She nodded waiting for him to say something she'd understand.
"In other words, Chief Matwau is an angry warrior."
A smile crept on her face as she thought of the story Chakotay had told her while they lived on New Earth. She took another look at Chankotay's costume trying to lock this visual in her head. This way she'll have something to picture for the next time she thought of the story, as she frequently does. She moved her eyes up from the costume and into his eyes. They both stared into each other's eyes, neither of them saying anything but both knowing what the other was feeling. She pulled her eyes away from his and let her gaze fall onto his lips. She couldn't stop staring at those lips and how much she wanted them, for real. Not just that silly mistletoe kiss. She suddenly moved her eyes back to Chakotay's and didn't even try to hide her mischievous smile. She grabbed both of his hands and pulled him with her as she took a big step backwards. She let go of his hands and moved her own onto him as she began to kiss him, for real this time.
"What was that?" Chakotay asked as she slowly pulled away.
She smiled and pointed up at the mistletoe above their heads.
"Remind me to talk to Neelix about getting some mistletoe of my own." He joked.
"I don't think that we need any more mistletoe." She shook her head. "Because I don't think we need any more reasons to do this." She kissed him for the third time not caring who was around to see it.
That included Tom and Harry who were standing by the punch bowl talking.
"I believe someone owes me a couple replicator rations." Tom said.
"But you cheated. You talked her into it." Harry protested.
"Nowhere in the rules of the bet did it say I couldn't. I simply said that I bet by the end of the party Captain Janeway and Chakotay would finally kiss."
"I still thinking talking them into it was cheating and so was lying to Neelix, for that matter."
"I didn't lie to Neelix."
"Oh so you didn't tell Neelix about the 'traditional Halloween mistletoe'?"
"Ok so I stretched the truth on the holiday for which it was traditional. Don't be a sore loser, Harry."
Harry sighed. "Ok Lieutenant Cupid, you win."
"I'd say so." Tom laughed and pointed with his head at the captain and commander who were once again under the mistletoe. "It looks like that might have finally made them do something about all that flirting."
"Maybe all that sexual tension on the bridge will finally go away."
"Well if that happens, I'd say we all win."