Chakotay might have got one paper graded before he gave up trying to concentrate. It was futile.
He received a chime reminder on his desk computer. He was supposed to have dinner tonight at B'lanna and Tom at their new apartment.
Wonderful.
He found himself almost irritated that Kathryn had showed up so soon in the days following Seven's abrupt departure. It made him wonder if they'd planned it that way.
No. I think Kathryn's visit would have been a hell of a lot more awkward if that was the case.
Several hours later, Chakotay found himself in an equally awkward situation. Miral had gone to bed, and he was sitting on the couch. On another couch a few feet away, were B'lanna and Tom. He'd been unable to feign normalcy during the visit. It was painfully clear that he was feeling very preoccupied, and mildly dismal.
B'lanna and Tom tried their best, but it was pretty clear the fatigue they were feeling as new parents did not make them up to the task of pretense. So they waited in near silence, for Chakotay to get on with it and address the huge elephant in the room.
"Seven and I aren't seeing each other anymore," he said quietly.
"Oh, Chakotay," said Tom with sincere sympathy.
"Actually I'm kind of fine with it," said Chakotay, surprising himself. "The more I think about it the more I think it would have happened eventually anyway."
"Okay," said B'lanna slowly. "Well if you're fine with it, what's bothering you?"
Chakotay fell silent.
"Because clearly something is bothering you. It seems a little strange for you to be bothered but not by a breakup," she said. Seven years and B'lanna still couldn't express skepticism without a degree of condescension.
Chakotay was debating whether or not to get into the details.
"So what happened?" Tom spared him the decision.
"Well," Chakotay began. He took a deep breath. "She seems to be under the impression that I'm in love with the Captain."
B'lanna and Tom were quiet for what felt like a very long time.
"I see," B'lanna finally said.
"How exactly did she come to that conclusion?" Tom was doing a good job of leading him. At the moment, Chakotay couldn't think of any good reason not to let him.
"My personal logs," he said flatly.
"Oh that is JUST like her," B'lanna stood up and started to pace. Tom grabbed her hand before she could work herself up into a frenzy. "Well it is," she grumbled and returned to her seat.
"What did you tell her?" asked Tom, whose eyes had not left Chakotay.
"Nothing," said Chakotay. "It was very difficult to argue with her logic."
"Aint that the truth," said Tom, finally attempting to add some levity to the situation. "Why did she feel the need to go through your logs in the first place? They are called personal logs for a reason."
"She was disturbed by my lack of desire to discuss the prospect of us moving in together. She said she felt I'd been less than forthcoming about similar issues in the past and felt that trying to badger me about it would be an 'inefficient use of her time.'"
B'lanna scoffed.
"Weren't you bothered by her invasion of your privacy?" B'lanna said, still bothered by Seven's audacity.
"Honestly, I hadn't really thought about it," he said. "I suppose I should be."
"You suppose?" B'lanna's voice rose again.
"Is she right Chakotay?" Tom cut straight to the point.
Wordlessly, Chakotay reached into his pocket and brought out the box, handing it to Tom. His hand shook a little. No one else had ever seen it before, but finally getting to share it with someone was a huge weight off his shoulders.
Tom opened the box.
"Oh my God," B'lanna gasped. "Chakotay."
Tom whistled.
"Where did you get that?" B'lanna stared at the ring in awe, afraid to touch it.
"Sikaris," said Chakotay. Tom and B'lanna looked up at him in shock.
"You've had it for that long?" B'lanna's shock was almost funny.
"Actually I got the center stone on Sikaris. I made the setting myself in the Holodeck later that year," his voice actually swelled with a little bit of pride. He'd worked very hard on that setting.
"This wasn't going to be for Seven, was it," Tom said.
"No," said Chakotay. "I don't think it was."
"Did you ever tell her?" B'lanna's voice quavered.
"Of course not!" Chakotay was suddenly animated. "I didn't have the luxury of not working directly for the person I was in love with." Despite his frustration, it felt good to finally say that out loud.
"I'm sorry Chakotay," B'lanna said. "I didn't mean it like that."
"But you don't anymore," said Tom.
"No," said Chakotay. "Not anymore."
"So now what?" asked Tom, still admiring the contents of the box.
"I don't know," said Chakotay. "She stopped by my office today. We're supposed to have coffee in twelve hours. I didn't know how to tell her about Seven."
"Don't," said Tom suddenly.
"Why not?" Chakotay was surprised.
"Because women are usually more attracted to a man who appears to be unavailable," he said.
"Tom!" B'lanna smacked her husband.
"What!" he said. "It's true. It might sound unclassy but you can't argue with biology! Men and women who are desired by others become more attractive to members of the opposite sex. Besides, it sounds like Chakotay is going to need every trick in the book."
"For what?" Chakotay waited for an explanation.
"To get the girl Chakotay. What else?" Tom tossed the ring box back to him.