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1.
“I’m going to need you to put on some underwear before you say anything else.“
“But Captain—“
“Now, Ensign.”
He unsuccessfully tries to hide his smirk, and waits for red-cheeked Harry and equally mortified Jenkins from science to pick up their clothing and vacate the room at warp 9.9. Only then does he risk a glance at Kathryn: and finds her fighting against an onslaught of laughter. “What?”
“I told you going to the most popular make-out place on the ship would be a bad idea.” She wraps her arms around his waist and smirks. “Computer, engage privacy locks…”
[Drabble: somewhere along the journey, in a much happier AU.]
2.
“Fuck, I feel like I got hit by a car…” He frowns and looks up at her face, and then to her sedan. “Wait… I did? And it was your car?”
She wrings her hands together, biting her lip against a wave of tears. “I’m so, so sorry, Robert! It was dark and I was tired and I didn’t turn my lights on and now you’re—“
“Hey,” he tugs at her hand until she sits in his lap, arms tight around his neck, stray tears falling on the skin over his collarbone, “it’s fine, Kate. I’m fine. You, however, are much too tired to drive. How about I take you home now, huh?”
She pulls away and bites her lip. “But we agreed we wouldn’t anymore, not when the boys are—“
He lets out a short laugh and kisses her nose. “Just to get some sleep, Mulgrew. We both seem to need it rather much. God, your mind really is filthy, you know?”
In reply, she gives him a look that makes him groan for reasons much different than a bruised tailbone. This woman will be the death of him—with or without the help of her car.
[Double-drabble: wishful thinking RPF.]
3.
“This skirt is short on purpose.”
He’s trying to sound angry, but the way his breath quickens just from the proximity he’s found himself in by leaning over her shoulder, she can tell he’s failing—and that he knows she knows he’s failing.
“Of course it is,” she whispers back, keeping her eyes firmly fixed on the High Council representative, currently droning on about the ‘marvels’ of his scalding desert of a world. “Do you realize how hot it is?”
“Oh, I do.”
His hand travels up on her thigh, and she smirks.
He most definitely doesn’t mean the weather.
[Drabble: a diplomatic mission somewhere along the journey, in a much happier AU.]
4.
“I’m 75% sure this won’t explode on us.”
He eyes the machine with due suspicion, taking a slow step back and hoping she wouldn’t notice.
But of course she does. “Hey! Rude!”
He can’t help but laugh, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her in for a reconciliatory kiss. “I simply happen to know your history with replicators.”
“Well, you’d better prepare yourself to be amazed, because this time it’s going to be—“
The sound of explosion doesn’t give him a heart attack—but only because he’d been… expecting it, wrong as it may have been of him. He looks at her face, covered in remnants of chocolate fondue they were supposed to have for dinner, and smiles wolfishly as his eyes follow the thick, brown paths down her neck and onto… “Fortunately, it wasn’t a complete loss…” he murmurs, and proceeds to silence all her protests.
[1,5 drabble: somewhere along the journey, in a much happier AU.]
5.
“You need to stop leaving dead bodies in my kitchen.”
She turns her head to the side, giving him a look of feigned innocence.
“I’m serious! I understand your life choices, and I’m trying to be supportive whenever I can, but this—this is too much. Every time I walk through the door I feel like entering a bloody warzone!”
He hears the soft clicking of heels a moment too late, and turns towards his other woman, currently sporting a dangerous grin. He grins back, slightly abashed, and pulls on his earlobe.
“Are you talking to the dog again, Chakotay?…”
[Drabble: post-Endgame, in the Every J/C Fan’s Happy AU]
6.
“I understand the whole sleep talking thing but what I don’t understand is the princess dragon dream and why I’m in it.”
“I thought it was all rather obvious.”
“Which one was I supposed to be, anyway? The dragon?”
“Hey! You’re offending my taste in princesses!”
“I never realized you had one to begin with.”
“There are quite a few things you don’t know about me—Commander.”
“Well then, Captain—would you like to share anything in particular?”
“Such as?”
“Where do you find yourself in that scenario?”
“Only if you be the dragon for a few more minutes…”
“Growl.”
[Drabble: somewhere along the journey, in a much happier AU.]
7.
“I’m sorry that I got way too into playing house and accidentally kissed you passionately.”
She snorts, detecting no remorse on his part. “Of course you are.”
“I’m serious! I shouldn’t have done it, especially not in that company… do you suppose there was some serious damage done?”
“I don’t think so, given the displays they’re probably being exposed to on a daily basis.”
He scrunches up his nose and shudders dramatically. “Now you’ve planted that thought in my head, and I can’t get rid of it. Thanks.”
The door opens before she can reply, revealing a grinning couple standing in the doorway. “How was it?” Tom asks, ushering his thoroughly relaxed wife in and giving both his former and current captain a look of profound gratitude. “Were they good?”
Kathryn gets up from the sofa with the most innocent of smiles on her lips. “Oh, yes. They certainly were.”
[1,5 drabble: post-Kirsten Beyer’s novel Atonement—I hope.]
8.
“Quick, catch that cat: it stole my commbadge!”
Kathryn opens one eye under the brim of her sunhat, and tries to determine what sort of an alien feline is Tom chasing around the beach. “Is that a second tail?”
Chakotay snorts, hardly looking up from his PADD novel. “Definitely not.”
“Oh. Well, that’s… impressive.”
“You really think so?”
She looks at him, trying so hard not to look hurt. A quick glance around tells her it’s safe to steal a quick kiss and a slightly longer squeeze. “Not as impressive as—“
“…Shall we beam back now?”
“Oh, yes, let’s.”
[Drabble: shore leave in a much happier AU.]
9.
“Please put me down; it’s just a sprained ankle!“
“Are you going to admit that turning on safety protocols is a completely normal and acceptable thing to do while running rock climbing simulations?”
“Well…”
“Thought so. You shall have to suffer the indignity for a while longer.”
“This is ridiculous! Put me down right now!”
“Don’t you get bossy with me! And be glad I’m not carrying you myself—that would make Neelix’s news in a flash.”
“Why does it have to be pink, though?”
“That was the only hover-bed available. Man up, Chakotay. People are watching you.”
“Aye-aye, Nurse.”
[Drabble: somewhere along the journey, in a much happier AU.]
10.
“Why exactly do you need chloroform at 2AM?”
“It’s not chloroform, it’s a—mild sedative, very safe.“
“I see. Once again: why do you need a—“
“Because I agreed to do something that turned out to be completely out of my league, alright?!”
“Calm down, and tell me everything, would you?”
--
“…I said I’d babysit, because I thought I had it covered! I used to watch my younger cousins all the time, and…”
“She’s not one of your cousins, Chakotay. She’s one-quarter Klingon with a passion for sports. Why didn’t you ask for help?”
“I—didn’t want to bother you. I know how tired you are these days.”
“Darling, I’m six months pregnant, not completely incapacitated. Now, put down that vial, and let’s go see what my goddaughter is up to, shall we?”
“Do you have any idea how much I love you?”
“I might have an inkling, yes.”
[1/5 drabble: post-Endgame, in a much happier AU.]