Disclaimer - Yeah, Paramount own them.
*
Somewhere in the Delta Quadrant, a few thousand feet away from the Starship Voyager, Captain Kathryn Janeway and Commander Chakotay were on the Delta Flyer.
Kathryn smiled as his hold around her waist intensified briefly.
They were in the back area of the Delta Flyer, having left the ship on auto pilot - they really didn't need anyone at the helm to just keep them hanging in space. They were resting on the cushioned bench just to the right of the door. Chakotay was sitting in the corner, his legs resting up on a chair he'd pulled next to the bench. Kathryn was sitting on the bench completely, legs stretched out on the cushioned surface, leaning back against him.
Head slightly lowered, he was nuzzling her neck.
Kathryn sighed and laughed, leaning her head to one side to allow him better access.
It had become - and as she had vowed, always would be - a weekly tradition. When they'd first become involved, getting any time along together on Voyager had been almost impossible. Still was, really. So one of them - she still wasn't sure who - had suggested this little 'escape'. Kathryn liked to think that it was her idea, but Chakotay vehemently insisted it was his.
Either way, it didn't really matter. They were here, together. Alone.
Whenever they needed some time away, needed to escape from the pressure, one of them would look at the other one and just say:
"Now."
Whatever they were doing, they would stop and immediately head for the shuttle bay. One of the perks of being in command.
It was a lousy excuse, it really was. They both knew that no one believed for a second that they were taking the Flyer out to test its space-worthiness when not in battle, but so far not a single person had questioned them. Not Tuvok. Not B'Elanna. Not even Tom.
Kathryn shivered as his lips touched a certain part of her neck.
Hell, they all probably thought they were having rampant sex over here. Which, admittedly, they did quite often. But not always. Moments like this were just...perfect.
Reaching with her left hand, she plucked his away from her waist and entwined fingers. She felt his lips move from her neck and she almost regretted it.
"I could look at your hands all day," She told him.
He peered over her shoulder. "I much prefer your neck."
"Hmm...something told me you might."
"Really? What gave me away?" He asked, words mumbling as he moved his attention back to her throat and continued kissing her skin.
"Oh," She began, still playing with his fingers. "Perhaps your lavish devotion to that part of my anatomy." She chuckled lightly as he nibbled on her ear. "Perhaps it's the way my neck is always covered with red marks after we have sex. Marks that - if it weren't for the Doctor and his dermal regenerator - Tom Paris would easily be able to identify."
Chakotay lifted his mouth only long enough to speak, his breath hot on her skin. "Is it my fault I'm so enthusiastic?"
Kathryn shivered, again. "No. Not at all."
"Good," He murmured. "Because you're the one who gets me so excited. It's entirely your fault."
"I know," She agreed, closing her eyes.
"You're a *very* bad woman," He breathed.
She laughed, and could feel him chuckling silently behind her.
"A bad woman, huh?"
"Absolutely. The things you've made me do to you in this room..."
Raising her eyebrows, she turned her head and met his gaze. "Things I 'made' you do? So remind me of something: whose idea was it to surprise me with a display of cushions and candlelight, hmm?"
"Do you have any idea how long that took to replicate? How many rations it took?"
"I hear you owe Tom Paris."
Chakotay snorted. "No. That was payback for the time I let him borrow my Kama Sutra."
"Oh stop that," She told him, smiling. "You're awful."
"Possibly," He admitted. "But you wouldn't like me if I wasn't."
She finally released his hand and it immediately gravitated back to her waist. "Possibly," She retorted, then breathing heavily. "I could stay like this forever."
He held her tighter. "Well, I'm not sure I can do forever, but I've certainly got the next twenty three minutes down."
Kathryn frowned. "Is that all?"
"It'll have to do," He told her, a little regretfully.
"Of course it will," She smiled. "Even one minute alone with you is time well spent."
He kissed her neck.
She moaned, frustrated. "Especially when you do that. You really have to stop teasing me, Chakotay."
"I don't think so," He whispered, voice warm. "I know you like it."
"Well of course I-" She stopped when he kissed her again. "Never mind."
They remained like that as time continued passing, wrapped around each other, his lips occasionally touching her skin, listening to the sound of their breathing mingling with the sound of the air-recycling system.
It really was quite beautiful, Kathryn mused, as she tried to await the inevitable hail from Voyager without a pang of disappointment.
~FINIS