Chapter Text
The Q and the Grey
Q disappeared, taking his full face tattoo with him and leaving Kathryn and Chakotay alone in the blissfully quiet ready room. Kathryn sunk into her desk chair with a sigh and tried to stave off the Q-shaped headache by rubbing her hand over her forehead.
“Something tells me that won’t be the last we see of Q today,” she grumbled.
Chakotay, dear, sweet, wonderful Chakotay placed a fresh cup of coffee on the desk in front of her and asked gently, “How long do you think we have before he pops in again?”
Kathryn breathed in the strong aroma of the coffee and took a fortifying sip before replying with a shrug.
“Who knows? And no place is safe. Last time he was here, he ‘popped’ right into my bed - while I was in it!”
Chakotay closed his eyes and tried not to picture Q in Kathryn’s bed. After all, this had been before he and Kathryn were together and he really had no right to be mad or jealous. He opened his eyes again to find Kathryn’s eyes sparkling with amusement.
“Everything alright, Commander ?” She teased.
“I’ll survive,” he grinned, “That’s just not the image I want in my mind when I think of your bed.”
He wiggled his eyebrows at her suggestively and succeeded in drawing a crooked smile and an eye roll from his beleaguered captain.
“Ok, Captain , meet me on Holodeck 2 at…” Chakotay quickly glanced at the schedule on his padd, “1400 hours. I have a surprise for you.”
Kathryn sighed, “I think I’ve had enough surprises for today, thank you.”
“Trust me. You’ll like this one,” Chakotay reassured her with a twinkle in his eye.
“I have too much work to do –”
“Call it a training exercise.”
“I can’t just lie to Tuvok and leave him in charge for the afternoon!”
“Who’s lying?” Chakotay asked cryptically. “I’ll see you at 1400 hours. Wear something you can move in.”
Before Kathryn could protest again, Chakotay was through the doors and back on the bridge.
Kathryn leaned back in her chair and sipped her coffee, wondering just what Chakotay could possibly have planned.
***
Promptly at 1359 hours, Kathryn arrived at Holodeck 2 to find Chakotay waiting in the corridor. She took advantage of the spare minute to take in the sight of him in a fitted gray t-shirt and gym shorts, both of which put his muscular bronzed limbs on display. She wondered again what exactly he had planned for her… and how much of it could really be considered training.
Her eyes moved up his body and finally came to rest on his eyes which were following a similar path up her own body. Kathryn blushed, suddenly very glad that she had chosen to wear the blue workout tunic that she knew was his favorite color on her. His eyes met hers and he gave her a sheepish smile, realizing that he had been caught.
“How’s your headache?” he asked, attempting to dispel some of the tension.
“I haven’t seen Q since this morning, so it’s much improved,” she joked.
The holodeck doors slid open and two ensigns exited, giving a respectful nod to their commanding officers before resuming their chatter about the program they had just left.
“Glad to hear it, Captain. Let’s hope the trend continues,” Chakotay responded formally and gestured for her to enter the holodeck in front of him.
Kathryn stood in the middle of the bare gray room and watched skeptically as Chakotay called up the control panel and began entering commands.
“What are we doing here, Chakotay?” she demanded, having had just about enough of the suspense.
“Just one more adjustment… there!”
Chakotay activated the program with a flourish and suddenly they were standing in a boxing gym. There was a ring roped off on one side of the room and the rest of the floor was covered in thick blue mats. Mirrors lined one wall and there were punching bags of various sizes and heights hanging from the ceiling. The dingy fluorescent lights cast a yellow-ish pall on the room and it smelled faintly of sweat.
Kathryn raised an eyebrow at their surroundings. “Romantic,” she commented wryly.
“I told you, we are here for training ,” Chakotay responded, crossing the floor to stand behind Kathryn.
His hands came to rest on her shoulders and he began massaging her neck, eliciting a small whimper as he worked on a particularly stubborn knot. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to relax under the deliberate movement of his magical hands.
“Not like any training I’ve ever done…” she sighed.
His motions slowed and eventually stopped.
“Just making sure your muscles are nice and loose. Can’t have you pulling anything,” he winked at her in the mirror and then led her over to the lowest and smallest of the punching bags.
“Put out your hands,” he ordered, and picked up some fabric to start wrapping them. “Have you done this before?”
“Just the basics in combat training at the Academy. It’s been a while,” Kathryn watched with interest as he finished her right hand and then moved on to her left.
“There. Make a fist. Is that too tight?”
Kathryn flexed her hands a few times and shook her head. “Feels alright.”
Chakotay held out a boxing glove for Kathryn and she slid her hand in, rotating it so that he could easily reach the laces. Once both gloves were on, she let her arms drop to her sides and shook them to make sure the gloves were secure.
Chakotay watched her with a smile as she stretched her neck from side to side and bounced on the balls of her feet. She already looked more relaxed than she had since Q first turned up the previous day.
“Ok, put your fists up and let’s see your stance… Pretty good! Just a few minor adjustments…” Chakotay stepped behind Kathryn again, this time placing his hands on her hips.
He rotated them slightly and then stepped even closer, pressing his body into her back so that he could line up her arms and legs in the correct position. Satisfied with her form, he stepped away, leaving Kathryn’s back exposed to the cool air and she shivered involuntarily.
For a moment, Chakotay considered abandoning the whole boxing idea and sweeping her up in his arms instead. But that’s not what she needed at the moment; the determined look in her eyes confirmed it. Besides, she might never forgive him if Q were to ‘pop in’ and catch them in a compromising position. And the lock on the holodeck doors would not be a deterrent to the omnipotent pain in the ass.
So he returned to holding the punching bag and instructed Kathryn on how and where to hit the bag. He was unsurprised to see that she was a quick study and by the time they moved over to the speed bag, she was pummeling it like a pro.
“Kathryn?” Chakotay tried to get her attention, but she was still very focused on beating that speed bag to a pulp.
“ Kathryn! ” louder this time, but still no response.
“CAPTAIN!” he finally resorted to her rank, knowing that her years of training would kick in. Sure enough, she did finally stop punching, though she remained in a ready stance and her eyes were still trained on the bag.
“Kathryn,” his tone was soft again, “our hour is almost up. Time to call it a day, I think.”
Slowly, Kathryn nodded her head and lowered her hands. She still seemed a bit dazed as she turned to Chakotay and offered her gloves for him to untie, but the tension from before was gone from her face and so Chakotay called it a win.
“Feeling better?” he asked her with a smile, yanking off the first boxing glove.
“Much,” she confirmed. “I can see why you like it. Surprisingly therapeutic to repeatedly punch Q in the nose.”
“Q?” Chakotay asked, freeing her from the other glove and starting to untie the wraps.
Kathryn treated him to an especially sly smile. “I was picturing his face the whole time.”
Chakotay let out a full throated laugh and pulled her to him, “That’s my girl!”
“No, don’t! I’m so sweaty!” Kathryn tried to wriggle away, but his strong arms held her tight and finally she gave in and leaned into the embrace.
“You could be covered in leola root puree and I’d still want to hold you,” Chakotay murmured into the top of her head.
Kathryn pulled back just enough to cup his cheek in her hand and gaze into his warm brown eyes. “Oh… oh, Chakotay, what did I ever do to deserve you? How do you always know exactly what I need?”
Chakotay leaned down to kiss her softly. “Because I know you , Kathryn.”
Her blue eyes gazed up at him, brimming over with so many emotions that she couldn’t put words to them. Instead, she let her hand drift down to rest over his heart. He covered her small hand with his large one and they shared another tender kiss that did the talking for them.
“AHA! I knew there had to be someone else!” Q’s disembodied voice echoed loudly through the holographic gym. “Why else would you deny ME? But Chuckles? Really??”
Kathryn’s head dropped to Chakotay’s chest with a groan.
“Q! GET. OUT.” She growled.
“You don’t have to tell me twice! I have some errands to run… See you later, Kathy my darling! *mwah!*”
“Well,” Kathryn sighed, “it was nice while it lasted.”
As if on cue, the computer beeped to signal the end of their hour and the holo-gym faded back into the unremarkable gray walls of the holodeck.
Hand in hand, Kathryn and Chakotay walked toward the exit. Just before they activated the door sensor, Chakotay stopped and brought her hand to his lips, the romantic gesture eliciting a soft smile. Then, he released her hand and together they walked through the sliding doors and re-entered reality.