"What's that roaring noise?"
"It sounds like water – a river maybe"
"Sounds like a pretty fast moving river".
They moved as one towards the sound of the water, hand clasped in hand - despite the apparent end of the visions their proximity remained beyond their usual barrier, but they were so comfortable with it that neither of them appeared to have noticed. Their relationship was so easily falling into something more, and the tipping point was now mere inches away.
When they reached the bank, the reason for the abnormal loudness of the water became clear – away to their left the river disappeared over the edge of a precipice.
"Head straight to the fall. When you get there you'll understand."
"A waterfall". Chakotay glanced to his left deep in thought. As he stood there trying to interpret everything that he'd heard over the past few hours, a strong feeling compelled him to step to the edge of the water. It was quite calm and slow moving here, so when he looked down his reflection was as clear as looking in a mirror.
"You can't find the answer until you know what the question is."
He'd forgotten about the daubed markings on his face, but now the strange look the Thulan had given Kathryn made sense. Despite being in mirror image, the 'K' on his cheek was unmistakable.
When he looked up at Kathryn, who had stepped to his side whilst he was looking down, he couldn't stop himself from smiling. Her expression was one of mild embarrassment, but there was also a glint of hope in her eye, a glint that he realised had been there all the time but that he was only now able to truly see.
"Everything you seek is here. You just have to know how to look."
Once more he took her hand. She allowed him to lead her towards the waterfall, slowly and purposefully. Without uttering a word they both knew that this was the moment of truth.
At the edge of the precipice, a series of flattish stones led out from the river bank into the centre of the flow, to where a large boulder rested where the water began to fall away.
"Do you see now Chakotay? Do you know what you have to do?"
Afterwards, neither of them could remember clearly the short journey to the centre stone, but they had clearly made it. Finally he turned to Kathryn, both her hands held in his.
The second their eyes locked it all became clear; the truth washed over him like a turning of the tide. He stood here on the edge of something momentous - this woman was the love of his life, the answer to the question he hadn't known existed, and all he had to do was have enough faith in himself to make her his. To reach out and take what she was offering freely.
"It's all about faith."
He broke the silence,
"I've been so lost Kathryn. I knew for a long time that my life had become little more than a desperate search for answers. And I was a very frustrated and angry person because no matter how hard I tried, where I went or what I did I couldn't find those answers".
She rested a hand gently against his arm, "Oh Chakotay, love doesn't require an explanation". But she allowed him to continue,
"Up to now, there was only ever one decision I made in my life with any conviction, and that was joining the Maquis. Being honest, I only even did that out of anger and a desire for revenge - I did it for others rather than for myself. I've always struggled to make my own choices Kathryn - doubted my own judgement. Even the moment I decided to follow you was because I wanted someone to lead me, to decide for me so I didn't have to do it myself.
"But now, for the first time in my life, there's something I could not be more sure about. I want this. I want you... and I think it's what we both want".
He paused, cupping her face in his hands, gently stroking his thumbs along her jaw.
"It is what you want isn't it Kathryn?"
Tears welled in her eyes as she looked up at him, pride and love radiating from her face,
"Of course it's what I want. I stopped loving Mark so long ago I can barely remember what it felt like. It's only you Chakotay, it's been you almost since the day we met. But wanting and doing are two very different things - that difference has kept us apart for years and the last day has rammed it home. I think you realise the point of this whole quest for enlightenment now, don't you? I realised it a while back." She paused momentarily, searching his face for confirmation then continued,
"Isn't it embarrassing when an alien race you just met understands you better than you understand yourself?"
She glanced down towards the cloud of water vapour at the bottom of the falls, then looked back up at him,
"So Chakotay the real question is, are you ready to take the plunge?"
He took a deep breath, feeling a smile creeping unbidden onto his face as he formed his reply,
"I am if you are".
"Oh I'm ready". And she dived off the edge.
"Fear exists for one purpose; to be conquered "
He stared after her, the much faded voices echoing her question through his head,
"Are you ready Chakotay? Are you ready? Are you ready?"
And for the first time, he heard his own voice, strong and loud, replying with confidence, "Yes!"
With only a momentary glance towards the pool far below, he followed her.
He felt a dragging sensation in his stomach as he plunged toward the water below. For a second it was unpleasant; he was waiting, tense, for the impact with the water but then something from within forced him to surrender to the feeling and it was the most freeing thing he'd ever experienced. Suddenly, he wasn't afraid any more.
When the water did rise up to meet him it embraced him, and he swore that over the roar of the churning maelstrom all around he heard his father's voice.
"You finally decided Chakotay, after all this time. You finally decided to live your own life."
Turning himself over he kicked towards sunlight, freeing himself from his sodden trousers as his legs worked against the current.
The water was warmer than he'd expected, and once he'd reached the surface he looked around for Kathryn. She was standing in the shallow pool just out of the strongest current, water up to her waist, wet linen shirt sticking to her and accentuating her figure. She had also lost her loose slacks in the water, and they floated not far from where she stood.
"I'm glad you finally joined me" she said. There was a distinct air of seduction in her voice.
"I was only a few seconds behind". He grinned as he said this, playful and teasing, moving through the water towards her.
"You know what I mean Chakotay."
"Of course I do", he said and pulled her to him, the spray from the edge of the falls running in cascades down her face as he took a few seconds to drink her in.
Then, he kissed her. This time not waiting for her to lead him, but using the kiss to tell her how he'd finally made up his mind - to show her his choice in the brush of his lips, to commit to her with the caress of his hands, to wordlessly begin the story of them with the press of his body against hers.
The water continued to cascade down upon them as they melted together, washing away the bonds of duty and allowing their love to breathe, to grow and expand to fill the space between them, closing it forever.
She was so soft, so perfect, everything he'd ever dreamt and more. He felt her relax into his arms, submit to him for the first time and it was indescribable. What had he been afraid of?
His fingers twined in her hair, that beautiful auburn hair, which had the power to distract him from even the simplest of tasks. Now here it was for him to touch, to run through his fingers, and even wet and clinging to her skin it was divine.
His hands brushed lingeringly over her breasts as he ran them downward to begin undoing the buttons of her shirt, tight in the buttonholes of the wet material. She arched into him as he peeled the fabric away from her glistening skin and dropped his head to her chest, pressing his tongue into her cleavage. His thumbs circled and flicked over her nipples urgently.
Her moan turned into, "...Chakotay...", and hearing the way her lips caressed his name with unrestrained passion was startlingly erotic. He trailed kisses up her chest and neck, returning to her mouth for another taste of her, moist and yielding.
Pausing for breath he gasped into her mouth, "I love you Kathryn". The words came of their own accord, not planned or forced but just the simple truth. Too simple, too easy, too perfect. But still the truth. Had it really been this easy all along?
"I know". Her reply was filled with so much patient affection, but her hands betrayed less patience, running firmly down his back and gripping his tight ass cheeks, pulling him close against her. This time she pressed herself into the feeling of his hard length against her stomach, relishing it instead of pulling away. No more waiting.
"Tell me what you want Chakotay", she panted into his damp neck, hot breath branding his skin.
His mouth millimetres from her ear he whispered,
"I want to see how you lose control", and he thrust a hand between her legs.
She gasped and bit down on the sensitive flesh between his neck and shoulder, and he grunted at the pleasurable pain.
He explored her with his fingers, varying his pace and pressure, being guided by her breathing, learning what she liked. All the while she kept her mouth clamped against his shoulder working her tongue and teeth against his salty skin, as he kept their chests pressed together with a strong arm around her back.
He was muscular and strong, his cock steel hard against her thigh, fingers probing, teasing skillfully inside and out - good God he knew what he was doing. Vague regrets about how long she'd denied herself... this, were chased away by the next wave of sensation, building on the previous ones and she knew it was only a matter of time before the tower came crashing down in a glorious haze.
She vocalised her pleasure with a high urgent whimpering in the back of her throat, catching on each ragged breath. It was a very feminine yet primal sound that fast tracked from his ears straight to his groin and he found himself groaning in response.
"Kathryn, please look at me".
Her eyes snapped open and locked on his, dark and burning with raw sexuality. The intensity of their connection almost seemed to crackle in the air between them, tangible, lucid. He had never felt such an intimate bond with another person.
It lasted for only a second until her eyes rolled back, her head fell onto the surface of the water and she let out her unabashed cry of release to the sky, clenching around his thrusting fingers.
He dropped his face to her chest, kissing her softly, following the flush of orgasm as it receded up her neck until he found her lips. He nuzzled against her, gentle and tender - holding her against him as she trembled, breath rapid but gradually slowing.
It was tough to swim, hard and aching as he was, but somehow he guided her to the shallows by the grassy shore and lay her back on the edge, their legs still partially submerged in the warm water. Recovering slightly from the shaky weakness after her orgasm, she palmed his erection through the tight undershorts, eliciting a sharp groan as he twitched beneath her touch.
She pulled his shorts down as far as she could and he removed them the rest of the way; there was a new urgency in how she tugged at the material, a desperation that spoke of her need to touch him, skin to skin. Curling her fingers around his rigid shaft she began to move her hand slowly up and down, feeling the way the fever-hot skin slid smoothly with her; flicking her thumb over the head, watching his every muscle contract at the intense sensation; how hard he was; the pounding of his blood under her hand. His face contorted, and he struggled to speak,
"Kathryn... please, stop... I can't..." a pin prick of blood appeared on his lip where he was biting it to try and stop himself from coming right there in her hand.
With a long, slow stroke she took her hand away, tracing fingertips up his body, along the sparse line of hair that rose up the centre of his chest until she cupped the back of his neck. Then she pulled him to her.
Brushing her lips softly against his, she whispered breathily,
"Take me. Make me yours".
As their lips moved against each other he maneouvered himself into position, and as his cock pressed against her opening he could feel her hot and moist now that they were out of the water. A few tentative movements of his hips and then he thrust into her hard; she cried out as she arched up to meet him, wrapping her legs around his back.
Oh God she was slicker and tighter than he ever imagined she'd be, and he didn't know how long he'd be able to last. It was too much, being inside her after all this time, the unbearably delicious friction as he moved, the building pressure; so rapid, so intense. She knew, he could see it in her face as she watched him, soft eyes telling him it was okay and not to hold back any longer. The love he found reflected reassured him there would be plenty of other times to take it slower.
A few more strokes and he lost control; the explosion started in his groin and spread upwards until it peppered his vision with stars, disoriented him wholly; there was no up, no down, he even forgot his own name. Nothing remained in his world but white, hot ecstasy and a pair of crystal blue eyes.
Twilight basked the southern plains of the beautiful Inerian homeworld, so reminiscent of Earth, in a golden glow dashed with the blues, greens and pinks of the ongoing ion reaction.
The haunting cry of a bird akin to a hawk echoed from far above as Chakotay lay on his back with Kathryn nestled against his side, her head resting on his shoulder.
He watched the raptor as it lazily rode the thermals of this warm planet's lower atmosphere, and a broad smile slowly lit up his face.
"Listen to him Chakotay. Do you hear what he says to you?"
Yes. No matter where he went from now on, as long as Kathryn Janeway was with him he was home.