As always, big thanks to my beta readers, MaeMae, FemSlashUniverse, and LZClotho for being so wonderful. :)
Disclaimer gobbledygook: I don't own Seven, Kathryn, or William Shakespeare. No © violations are intended, this is for fun.
This was a quick little drabble between much longer projects. :)
No dead playwrights were harmed in the writing of this fanfic.
This work was originally published in 2020 and revised in 2022 to correct some structural errors. (Thank you for the help, LZ.)
With Love's Light Wings - Revised
P. Rhapsody O'Brien
Seven of Nine strode quickly into sickbay, her cerulean eyes flashing.
"Please state the… oh, it's you, Seven," The Doctor picked up a small recalibration unit and began to hold it up to her ocular implant. "I didn't realize your implant was…"
"It's not," she said, moving away from him as she held up a collection of bound papers in her hand. "I refuse to kiss him. I didn't realize when I agreed to help you with this project, that it would require me to perform that particular act with Commander Chakotay."
The Doctor's holographic eyebrows flew to the top of his forehead as the script waved back and forth in Seven's hand. "It's too late to find another Juliet, Seven. The play is three days from now. When Samantha Wildman bowed out, you were my only other option." He shook his head and began to pace in front of the surgical bed. "If you won't do it, we'll have to call off the play altogether and the crew…"
"The crew will adapt. However,"-her hard edges softened-"I did agree to help. The Captain would be disappointed; Romeo and Juliet is her favorite work by William Shakespeare. She has been looking forward to this performance."
He slid his arm around Seven's shoulder. "Yes, she has mentioned several times how much she has enjoyed my program of classical plays. I really would hate for her to miss her favorite one…"
"I will continue in the role of Juliet, but I will not kiss Commander Chakotay. You will fix it," she said, as she stormed out of sickbay.
Captain Janeway pinched the bridge of her nose between her fingers as the Doctor filled her in on what had happened in sickbay. She went to the replicator of her ready room. "Coffee, black."
Drink in hand, she walked up the ramp and lowered herself to the sofa, gesturing for the Doctor to join her. "I'm not going to make Seven do something she's uncomfortable with, Doctor. If she doesn't want to do the kiss with Chakotay, you're just going to have to find a creative way around it." She brought the cup to her lips and took a small drink.
"But Captain, it's Romeo and Juliet. There has to be a kiss."
Janeway's eyes narrowed. "Are you telling me you would put the play above the comfort level of a crewmember?"
The Doctor gasped. "No, of course not."
Since he had no need to breathe, Janeway didn't find the gasp very amusing.
"The crew is enjoying the classical program you've put together. I'll talk to Seven."
A wide smile split the Doctor's face. "Thank you, Captain. If anyone can convince her—"
Janeway held up a hand. "I'm not going to try and convince her of anything. If she doesn't want to do it, I'm not going to try and change her mind. I merely want to have a conversation with her about it."
The Doctor harrumphed. "Very well. I'll start thinking about alternatives."
The Ready Room doors swished shut behind the doctor and Janeway tapped her combadge.
"Janeway to Seven."
"Seven here, Captain."
"Please meet me in my quarters at 2200 hours. Janeway out."
After a very long day of personnel reports and crew evaluations, Janeway was more than ready to settle in for the night. She tossed her uniform into the recycler and then changed into her favorite nightgown. Curling up on the sofa, she picked the book up from the side table, looking forward to losing herself in the story. She was just about to turn in for the night when she remembered.
Seven of Nine.
She glanced at the chronometer on the coffee table, and then looked at the doors. The entry chime sounded precisely as the time flipped from 0959 to 1000.
An hour after leaving sickbay, Seven was still fuming.
"Janeway to Seven."
Seven slapped her combadge hard enough to hurt. "Seven here, Captain."
"Please meet me in my quarters at 2200 hours. Janeway out."
A sinking feeling enveloped her as she stood in the empty cargo bay. After searching her cortical node, she identified it as dread.
She left the cargo bay and headed for Astrometrics. Surely charting the upcoming region of space would lessen the uncomfortable lump in the pit of her stomach.
It didn't. As the ship's chronometer neared 2200 hours, she departed her station for the captain's quarters.
Standing in front of the Captain's door, she noted the time on her internal chronometer, 19:45 hours. As she waited for the proper time, she suddenly understood the human expression of time coming to a standstill. Raising her hand, she waited until precisely 2200 hours before pressing the chime.
"Come in, Seven."
Seven stepped through the doors of the Captain's cabin and found her curled up in the corner of her sofa. That, in itself, was unusual. What was even more out of the ordinary was that the Captain was clothed in something she thought looked similar to an option in the sleepwear database. The Captain's shoulders lay bare, aside from a thin strap attached to silky material that plunged into a vee shape, showing off a hint of cleavage and accenting her moderately sized breasts. Seven's ocular implant detected the fading heat signature from the book the Captain had apparently put down before answering the door chime. The Captain had been relaxing.
Placing her hands nervously behind her back, she said, "You wished to see me, Captain?"
"I did," she said, quietly. "Have a seat." She gestured to the empty space beside her on the sofa.
Tentatively, Seven walked over and sat on the edge of the cushion, back straight, hands folded neatly in her lap. She angled her body toward the woman beside her.
"I thought you might like to talk about why you don't want to do Romeo and Juliet as it's written."
The sound of the Captain's voice wrapped around her much like the throw the Captain was covered with; soft, soothing, and warm. She felt an unfamiliar heat suffusing her face and couldn't stop her hands from covering her cheeks.
"Oh, Seven," she said, reaching out and placing a hand on the younger woman's forearm, "I didn't mean to embarrass you. If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. I just want you to know you can… if you want to."
Seven turned her head and looked at the powerful Captain; her delicate lips were upturned, and her blue eyes contained the warmth of several G-class stars. She dropped her hands from blush-filled cheeks and folded them in her lap once more. "While you were conducting trade negotiations last week with the B'Rellians, one of the representatives brought a sub-unit on board, a young male. Naomi Wildman experienced her 'first kiss' ritual. After which, she recalled to me a conversation Samantha Wildman had with her regarding the experience." Seven shifted in her seat.
After several minutes of awkward silence, the Captain prodded her along. "And what did Ensign Wildman have to say to her… sub-unit?"
"She told Naomi that one's first kiss would always be remembered, even cherished as one grew older, no matter how horrible the experience was. She said that Naomi would never have a second chance to have that first kiss, but as she matured into an adult, she hoped Naomi would have more opportunities to have a first kiss with other individuals."
Kathryn nodded her head and smiled as a faraway look came over her. "I had my first kiss when I was about Naomi's age. It was with a boy named Cole. We were on a hayride with a bunch of other kids; it was October so the air was chilly, and Cole let me share his blanket. He pulled it up over our heads and gave me a little peck on the lips," she said, chuckling. "It was over in less than a nano-second, but I'll never forget it." She lifted her eyes to Seven, still slowly nodding her head and smiling.
Seven was astonished by the Captain's admission. Of course, she had been kissed before, yet, until that very moment, Seven had only seen her as the Captain. "I find it difficult to imagine you as an eight-year-old child, Captain, let alone permitting anyone to kiss you."
Kathryn arched her brows and then tossed her head quickly. "I suppose it would be. However, I'm still a woman underneath my uniform, Seven. I have the same desires as everyone else on this ship."
Seven took in the new information as the air became thick with silence. "If that is true, why do you not engage in romantic activities?"
Kathryn barked out an incongruous laugh. "Because it would be highly inappropriate for me to 'engage in romantic activities' with a member of my crew." As she spoke, her voice got quieter until the last word was almost a whisper.
"I hear the loneliness in your voice, Captain. When you first severed me from the collective, I was alone for the first time in my life. I am well acquainted with that pain." Seven's eyes were soft and gentle as they caught the Captain's.
"It's the life I signed up for, Seven. Being the Captain of this ship, getting this crew home, is far more important than meeting my own needs, even if I could. Now, enough about me, I asked you here to see if you wanted to talk about what's bothering you."
"It is all interconnected, Captain."
"Oh?"
"When Naomi Wildman discussed her first kiss, I realized I have not yet had mine."
Kathryn smiled. "I see."
"Do you?"
Kathryn uncurled her legs, angling herself toward Seven, and then she placed her hand on Seven's shoulder. "I do. You want your first kiss to be special."
"Yes. I want it to be with someone I care about, someone I admire, and respect."
"And you don't care about, admire, or respect Chakotay?"
"No. He betrayed you and severed the Borg alliance, and continues to try and undermine your authority in front of the crew." She sat up straighter as her voice rose in volume.
Kathryn shrugged her shoulders, "I can't disagree with you on those points, however, I will deal with him as I see fit. I don't need you to protect me."
"I am not trying to protect you, Captain. I am merely stating facts."
Kathryn reached out and squeezed Seven's shoulder. "I understand. I am saying that it's inefficient for you to become upset by something you have no control over. When the time is right, I will deal with Chakotay regarding his undermining my authority. Agreed?"
Seven stuck her lower lip out slightly. "I will agree to try and not be upset when those events occur. However, I do have control over whether I allow him to be my first kiss."
"You most certainly do, and I commend you for standing up for what you believe in."
"Then I will not have to kiss him?"
Kathryn let her hand slide down Seven's arm before it came to rest on the cushion between them, "No, of course you won't. The Doctor will simply have to find a work-around."
"I will proceed with the play."
"Thank you, Seven. I think I mentioned that it's my favorite work by Shakespeare," she said, smiling broadly.
"You have," Seven said, returning the smile in her Borg way. "You have also mentioned that you like it so much, you know the entire play by heart."
Kathryn nodded as she chuckled. "That, I do, Seven."
The Doctor flitted around the holodeck yelling, "Places everyone, places! We're going to pick up with the wedding of Romeo and Juliet. This is the final rehearsal before our dress rehearsal tomorrow, so I expect all of you to know your lines. Seven"-he turned to her and pointed at a place offstage-"and Chakotay, you are here. I, of course, am performing the role of the monk and will be here."
He waited for everyone to take their places and yelled, "Action!"
Seven listened backstage to the dialog between Romeo and the monk, waiting for her cue. When it came, she ran onto the stage and into the arms of Romeo. Rather than kissing her on the lips, Chakotay kissed her several times on one cheek, and then the other. Although that was still more contact than she was comfortable with, she had acquiesced to the compromise.
When the death scene came, she simply placed her cheek against the dead Romeo before plunging the holographic dagger into her chest.
The spotlight grew smaller and smaller until the stage went black. The house lights came on to the sound of clapping and shouts of praise by the small cast.
"Excellent, I'll see everyone here tomorrow for the dress rehearsal. Don't be late." The Doctor said as he smiled.
Seven put some distance between herself and the others. "Seven to Janeway."
"Janeway here."
"Captain…"
"Meet me in my ready room. Janeway out."
Janeway knew that tone. Seven had something on her mind.
"Tuvok, you have the conn. I'll be in my ready room. Send Seven in when she arrives."
She replicated another cup of coffee and awaited the arrival.
She was seated casually on the sofa when the chime sounded. "Come."
Seven mounted the steps and stood in front of Janeway, hands clasped behind her back.
"So," Kathryn began, "how was rehearsal?"
"It was… tolerable, yet not ideal."
Kathryn offered her a smile. "That's usually how it goes with a compromise. Chakotay behaved himself then?"
Seven's eyes seemed to find something on the carpet to study.
"Seven, please sit down. I'm getting a crick in my neck looking up at you like this."
Seven sat, still keeping her eyes fixed on the deck.
"Tell me what happened."
Seven slowly met her Captain's eyes. "Act One, Scene Five, the first kiss between Romeo and Juliet, Commander Chakotay did try to kiss me on the lips."
Janeway's eyebrows almost flew off her forehead. She had been very specific with the Commander about what she expected from him in this situation with Seven and he deliberately disobeyed her wishes, again. She clenched her jaw and nodded for Seven to continue.
"Just before our lips were... I turned my head. After we finished rehearsing the scene, I told the Commander if he tried to do that again, I would sever his lips and tongue from his body and flush them out of the nearest airlock." Seven dropped her head.
Kathryn quickly felt her anger dissipate and pulled her lips inside her mouth to keep from laughing.
After several moments of silence, Seven looked up at the auburn-haired woman.
"Captain, do you require assistance?" Her brow furrowed.
Kathryn lowered her head and held up her index finger, indicating that she needed a moment. When she finally had herself under control, she looked up at Seven.
"And, what did the Commander have to say for himself?"
"He stated that he was going to put me on report for threatening him."
Kathryn was no longer amused. "Thank you for letting me know, Seven. I'm sure it won't come to that."
Her entrance chime sounded. "You're dismissed, Seven, and I'm very proud of you." She gently squeezed Seven's hand. "I'm also looking forward to seeing you as Juliet."
"Thank you, Captain." Seven's lips curled into a barely discernible smile, which for her, may as well have been a pulsar.
"And Seven," she called just before she reached the door, "send Chakotay in on your way out."
Seven nodded and waited for Chakotay to get out of her way before telling him that the Captain would see him now.
"Kathryn…"
"I believe you mean to say, Captain, don't you?"
"...Uh, yes. About the Borg…" he said, gesturing toward the door.
"Um-hum, what about Seven?"
"She threatened to assault me today during rehearsal." He was so angry he was shaking. "I told you we couldn't trust her."
"Well, Commander, why don't you have a seat and we'll discuss this. I don't understand why Seven would do such a thing. Start from the beginning."
"I did exactly what you asked me to. When the script called for the kiss, I tried to put a very chaste kiss on her cheek."
And now you're lying to me… or Seven is. Frankly, I believe Seven.
"Mmhum, go on."
"After rehearsal was over, she threatened to rip certain parts of my body off and flush them out of an airlock!"
Kathryn didn't have to feign surprise or shock when Chakotay's eyes indicated the parts Seven had threatened were located at his crotch.
"I want to lodge a formal complaint against her."
"It's odd that you should say that, Commander, because I'm also considering lodging a formal complaint," she said as she slowly rose to her feet, "against you, for sexual harassment of a crewmember."
He jumped to his feet. "I knew it! I knew as soon as I saw her leave here that she would run to you and fill your head with her nonsense," he said, scowling.
"Commander, are you saying that I am being unduly influenced by a crewmember and lack the capability of conducting an unbiased investigation into this matter? If you no longer have faith in me to captain this ship, perhaps I should confine you to quarters and select a new first officer, or would you like to clarify your statement?"
His dark skin paled. "Of course that's not what I meant."
Kathryn raised her eyebrows and waited for him to continue.
"I was just angry; I shouldn't have said that. I apologize, Captain."
"That's what I like to hear. Go to your quarters, Chakotay. I'll call for you when I'm ready to discuss this further."
The more she heard from the cast members who witnessed the exchange, the angrier she got. Seven had, indeed, been telling the truth.
She fumed the entire way to the first officer's quarters and managed to calm herself down as she arrived. She pressed the door chime and waited for him to invite her in. She didn't bother taking the seat he offered her. "I've spoken with several of the cast members about the incident. They have all confirmed that you did, indeed, try to kiss Seven, in spite of the fact that I explicitly asked you to respect her wishes. What do you have to say for yourself?"
"I say they are lying." He stood tall and arrogantly defended himself.
"Really? What do you have to say about this?" She held up a PADD and pressed the play button.
The holo-recording clearly showed him dipping his head and slowly moving toward Seven's lips. At the last moment, Seven turned her head, just as she had said.
"Commander Chakotay, consider yourself on report. If I hear of anything like this happening again, you'll spend the rest of this journey in the brig. You lied to me. You disrespected a member of this crew. You expressly ignored my wishes and believe me, if I had ordered you, rather than asked you, to respect Seven's wishes"-she splayed her hands on the sides of her waist and paced in front of him-"you would already be busted down to crewman and in the brig."
She stopped in front of him and glared into his dark eyes. "Because she circumvented your attempted kiss, Seven refuses to press charges against you and is willing to give you the second chance you have never given her. She's a much better person than I am, Chakotay. You had better think on that before you report for duty in the morning," she growled.
Leveling one more glare at him, she left his quarters.
In the corridor, she tapped her combadge. "Janeway to Seven of Nine."
"Seven here, Captain."
"Meet me in my quarters, now. Janeway out."
Kathryn had resumed her pacing with a renewed fire when she let Seven in.
"I wanted to inform you that Commander Chakotay will be officially put on report and should no longer be a problem."
"That was a necessary course of action, I presume?"
"Of course it was, Seven. He practically assaulted you!"
"But he did not. I was in no danger. I was surrounded by members of the crew. He has never approached me in that manner before and I am confident he will never do so again. It seems to me, Captain, that your reaction may be disproportionate to the actual event."
That brought Kathryn up short. "What?" She breathed the word rather than saying it as she looked at Seven with her jaw hanging open.
"I said…"
"I heard you. It's just that… I…" She closed her eyes and shook her head before opening them again. Seven hadn't moved. She was still standing with her hands clasped behind her back, head tilted, and now wore a concerned look on her beautiful face.
He went against my wishes and that hurt. He lied to me and that hurt as well, but when I saw the Doctors holo-vid playback, saw him lean in and try to kiss her, that's when I really lost it. That's when I knew she was more than just a crewmember to me and that's when I decided to punish him for wanting her. Although I am well within Starfleet regulations in putting him on report, it was mainly because I was infuriated that it was him, and not me, who had the chance to kiss those lips. Jesus… When did this even happen?
"Captain? You have been silent for 20.6 seconds. Are you all right?"
Kathryn's eyes drank in the vision standing in front of her, the color of her hair, like a ray of sunshine poking its head above the dawn. Her eyes, as bright as the Indiana sky on a summer day. Her skin, as smooth and soft as Endorian silk. Her shoulders, stronger than the draft horses which used to pull the hay wagons of her childhood. Her arms, graceful, yet strong enough to carry burdens, as well as hold Naomi Wildman with a tenderness few had ever seen from her. I wonder how safe Naomi feels when Seven holds her… I wonder how safe I would feel…
"Captain? Shall I call for the Doctor? Your face is both pale and flushed."
When the Captain's eyes ceased their wandering and met her eyes, Seven sucked in a breath. It was as if the Captain had never seen her before, and was looking directly into her, pulling every secret part of her to the surface, one by one. She saw wonder and amazement dancing in the blue irises of the smaller woman and felt a pleasant chill chasing itself up and down her spine. Unbidden, she took a step forward as amazement bubbled over, simply because of the way the Captain was looking at her… into her. Time seemed to stop as she found herself falling more deeply into the Captain's eyes.
When the door chime rang, the Captain blinked slowly, yet made no move to answer it. It sounded again. Still, the Captain stood. It sounded a third time, and she slowly turned, keeping her eyes locked on Seven as she backed toward the door. And the fourth time, she smiled and answered. "Come in."
Tuvok entered and nodded to Seven, who was still trying to assess what had just transpired between her and the Captain.
"Captain, I have come to inform you that I concur with your assessment of the incident. How do you wish to proceed?"
"It has come to my attention that I may have acted rashly, old friend."
Tuvok raised an eyebrow.
"However, because you concur with my assessment, I am going to let the report stand. File it."
"As you wish," he said and then turned to Seven. "Is it still your wish that no charges be filed in this matter?"
"Yes. Commander Chakotay has been reprimanded and I am confident no other incidents will occur."
"Very well. Have a pleasant evening, Captain"-he dipped his head to her-"and Seven." He dipped his head to her as well.
"Good night, Tuvok."
"Good night, Commander."
The spell was broken.
"Thank you for being honest with me, Seven. I appreciate you, very much," she said, as she reached out and squeezed her forearm. "It's late and I need some time to unwind. I'll see you tomorrow."
Seven was sorely disappointed as she went back to Cargo Bay 2. She set the scene to run on a repeating loop before stepping into her alcove.
Regeneration Cycle Initiated.
Chakotay paced in his quarters, taking stock of all that had happened, and where it had all gone wrong. When he and Kathryn contracted a deadly virus and had been forced to stay behind on the planet where it originated, he thought they had shared something special. They would have had to spend the rest of their lives there. In time, he could sense a deeper relationship developing and was convinced Kathryn felt it, too. When Voyager came back with a cure, everything went back to business as usual; Kathryn never mentioned the planet again and evaded any reference he tried to make about the time they spent there. He should have known then that Kathryn didn't return his feelings. As time went by, he got angrier and angrier, but when she formed the alliance with the Borg in order to end the war with Species 8472, that was the end of his rope.
He plopped down on his sofa, knowing he had to put the one-sided animosity to rest. She was right to put him on report for lying to her, for disrespecting her authority and trying to undermine her every chance he got. When he took an honest look at his behavior over the past couple of years, he was surprised she hadn't done it sooner; she wasn't known for her patience, but one of the things that made her such a great leader was the depth of her compassion. He had been too blinded by his own hyper-inflated ego to see that she was giving him enough rope to either save himself… or hang himself. The choice had been his all along.
As he strode through the corridor the following morning, he smiled and nodded to the crewmen he passed. Upon arriving on the bridge, well before the start of his scheduled shift, he opened his mouth to ask for the report… no sound came out. He tried to speak again, yet nothing happened.
"Perhaps you should go see the Doctor, Commander," the duty conn officer suggested.
He nodded.
The Doctor ran every scan contained in his database. "Your vocal cords are functioning perfectly, yet you can't utter a sound. Curious. Are you feeling any pain?"
He shook his head.
"You could speak last night?"
He nodded.
"This just doesn't make any sense. You don't have laryngitis, Endorien flu, or any other illness that can trigger voice loss. You have no symptoms, other than the obvious, of course, and your throat appears to be perfectly healthy. I'm going to take a swab, open wide."
He placed the sample on a slide. "There's nothing more I can do for you here. I suggest you take the next two days… the play…" The Doctor's eyes opened wide. "You can't do the play." He began to pace. "We're going to have to cancel. No one else knows the role. I knew I should have insisted that Mr. Paris…"
Chakotay banged on the table and began mouthing words.
"Yes, of course, it's possible your voice could return. No, I don't want to postpone until you get your voice back; the crew has been looking forward to this play for months now. Absolutely not, a holo-Romeo would negate the entire purpose of crew involvement. Me? I can't play two parts at once, I'm the one who performs the wedding ceremony, remember?"
Chakotay shrugged and hopped off of the bio-bed.
"Yes, you'll contact me as soon as your voice returns. I'm looking forward to it," The Doctor snipped as the big man walked out of sickbay.
Regeneration Cycle Complete
Seven's eyes blinked open to the continual loop of the moment she had shared with the Captain. A warm flutter perfused her as she stepped off of the dais, and stumbled. She stopped the playback of her eidetic memory and tried to focus her ocular implant. She grumbled when she realized it was out of alignment as she carefully navigated her way to sickbay.
The Doctor was pacing when the doors swished opened.
Seven of Nine staggered in as if she had one too many Virlaxian Sundrops.
He steadied her as he led her to a biobed. "Your optical implant must be out of alignment," he said as he picked up the small micro-adjuster. "Well, I have bad news. Our Romeo has lost his voice. We're going to have to cancel the play unless it miraculously comes back in the next few hours. We have our dress rehearsal in less than five hours."
"I see no reason to cancel the play, Doctor. Captain Janeway knows the entire play by heart. Could she not play the part of Romeo?"
A big smile broke through the Doctor's grim expression. "What a wonderful idea, Seven! Do you think she'll agree to do it?"
A flood of tingles started racing through her as she thought of the Captain as her Romeo. "Yes. The play is important for crew morale. I believe she will say yes."
"Absolutely not, Seven. I haven't been in a play since I was in high school." Captain Janeway sat behind the desk in her ready room, shaking her head.
"Captain, you have more experience than many of the crewmembers in the cast. It would mean a great deal to them to see their hard work rewarded."
Janeway held up her hand, still shaking her head. "No. I won't do it. I'm sorry to disappoint the crew, but it will just have to be postponed until the Commander gets his voice back.
She was sorry she refused the minute she saw that Seven was one of the crew that was going to be disappointed.
"Captain…"
"Oh no," she said, getting to her feet, "don't you dare," she pointed an elegant finger at the taller woman, "I see it in your eyes and I'm ordering you not to say it."
Seven bowed her head slightly, raised her eyebrows, and quietly said, "Please?"
"Damn it," she huffed, slamming her hands onto the surface of her desk. Captain Kathryn Janeway, scourge of the Delta Quadrant, went and replicated herself a script and programmed the computer to supply her with all of the necessary costumes for her new role as Romeo.
"I suppose we'll have to run lines together; We may as well get comfortable," she said, leading the way to the upper deck sofa.
The Doctor flitted here and there, helping people make last-minute adjustments to their costumes before clapping his hands loudly. "Places everyone, places!"
Kathryn made last minute adjustments to the tight black leggings she wore as she cursed the fashion trends of the 1300's, considering they left nothing to the imagination. The mid-calf boots were comfortable enough, as was the white poet's shirt she wore, but the black, sleeveless tunic worn over it was thick, heavy, and far too hot for her liking. The one saving grace was that it fell to her mid-thigh, concealing the curve of her backside.
Kathryn slid into the role of Romeo Montague as if she was born to play the part. Every line, every nuance, was said with eloquence and ease, until the latter part of Act One, Scene Five.
Seven's hair was pulled back in a loose pony-tail, with a few tendrils framing her face, and she was garbed in an elegant dress of shimmering blue with a squared neckline that showcased her ample bosom, without being overtly improper. Kathryn found it hard to breathe, hard to think, as she stood trapped in the gravity-well that was Seven of Nine.
As she began, she lost all sense that she was merely playing a role and spoke from the unknown depths of her heart.
"If I profane with my unworthiest hand, this holy shrine, the gentle fine is this: my lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss."
"Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, which mannerly devotion shows in this; for saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss."
"Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?"
"Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer."
"O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do; They pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair."
"Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake."
"Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take."
When Janeway placed her hands gently on Seven's cheeks, Seven placed her hands on Janeway's and moved a step closer. Seven placed her hands over Kathryn's closing the gap between them. Their lips brushed tentatively, sending a shockwave down Seven's spine, through her arms, and into her hands.
As Kathryn's tongue slid over her bottom lip, a soft moan rose unbidden from Seven. A wave of uncertainty rolled through her as she tentatively met Kathryn's tongue with own. When Kathryn moaned into her mouth, her arms tightened. Kathryn slid her hands around Seven's shoulders.
When they parted, their chests were heaving.
"Thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purged," Janeway whispered.
"Then have my lips the sin that they have took."
"Sin from my lips? O trespass sweetly urged! Give me my sin again."
As Seven bent down to capture Kathryn's lips once again, the hunger in Kathryn's eyes made her gasp. This was more than anything she could have dreamed of. A tear slid from her eye as their lips met. Their tongues entwined in an erotic dance of heat, and promises. Seven continued to hold Kathryn steady after their lips parted, hoping she would never have need of another first kiss.
Janeway leaned against her heavily, causing Seven to tighten her arms even more, supporting the weight of her Captain.
When the dress rehearsal came to a close, the Doctor approached the pair and said to Seven, "I see you got over your kissing phobia."
"I did not have a phobia. I merely didn't wish to kiss someone I was not remotely attracted to."
Heat wrapped its way around Kathryn's neck and found its way to her cheeks as the Doctor huffed away.
"Seven… " she whispered.
Kathryn leaned into the touch as Seven ran her finger gently along her jawline.
"But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the East, and Kathryn is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, who is already sick and pale with grief that thou, her maid, art far more fair than she. Be not her maid since she is envious. Her vestal livery is but sick and green, And none but fools do wear it. Cast it off. It is my lady. O, it is my love! O, that she knew she were! She speaks, yet she says nothing. What of that?"
Hot tears spilled down Kathryn's cheeks. "If thou dost love, pronounce it faithfully. Or, if thou thinkest I am too quickly won, I'll frown and be perverse and say thee nay, so thou wilt woo, but else not for the world. In truth, fair Seven, I am too fond."
Kathryn slipped her arm through Seven's, leading them to her quarters.
"Computer, lights. Would you like something to drink, fair maiden?" she purred.
"Yes, I would like water, please."
Kathryn replicated two tall glasses of water, handed one to Seven, and then took her hand and led them to the sofa. They placed their glasses on the coffee table, and Kathryn suddenly froze.
"What is this?" She spotted a card, propped open on the coffee table. It seemed to be made of thick stock. Kathryn got up and brought a tricorder back, scanning the foreign object. "There's nothing harmful detected," she said, looking at Seven, who rose to stand behind her, circling Kathryn's waist with strong arms.
She picked it up and opened it.
You're welcome,
Q
~finis
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