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She should have expected him to find her here.
His strong arms wrap around her waist and she leans back into his chest, feeling the warmth of him surround her. Their hips begin to sway lightly to the faint music whispering through the mess hall. She closes her eyes to the stars before her and sinks further into his embrace.
“Can’t sleep?” he asks, his breath tickling her ear.
“No. It seems my mind doesn’t want to shut down.” She hums lightly in her throat. “How did you know I was here?”
“This is always where you retreat to when you can’t sleep and don’t want to disturb me.”
She slowly turns in his arms, reaching up to tangle her fingers in the short hair at the nape of his neck. “You know me so well, don’t you?”
He smiles in answer and pulls her in close to him as another sultry jazz song begins playing around them. Their hips meet in tandem, swaying back and forth.
“May I have this dance, Kathryn?”
“Well it seems you already do, my dear. Please don’t stop now.”
One hand spreads low on her back, as the other slowly moves its way over her hip, caressing the side of her breast through her grey undershirt. As he slowly traces her bare arm, wrapped around his neck, a shiver runs through her. She feels his hand grip hers and hold it tightly to his chest. His movements become more deliberate and they begin to slowly dance their way along the viewport, their bodies silhouetted by stars.
She melts easily into his arms, trusting him to maneuver her body without incident. Her trust in him has always been unwavering, as is his in her. She’s discard her boots and socks at some point in the evening, and without the additional height, she’s small enough to lean her head against his chest.
Barefoot and wearing only her undershirt and uniform pants, she knows she should feel substantially underdressed in such a public area of the ship. But instead, she finds she doesn’t care who could walk in and see them. Over the years together, they have slowly relaxed their guard when it comes to personal moments in public view. She has realized that her crew enjoys seeing the human side of their captain, and Chakotay seems to relish being able to draw her out of her shell in front of the others.
The music quiets around them and another, slower song takes its place. Chakotay releases her hand from his and circles his arms tighter around her waist. Taking advantage of her free hand, she skims it up his chest and neck, taking pleasure in the small shudders moving through his body. Her fingers lightly dance at the edge of the black ink over his left eye. She sees his eyes close and knows that he is as lost in her embrace as she is in his.
Their dancing slows to a gently sway, hips undulating lightly against each other. The gentle rocking motion has her eyes closing of their own accord, as sleepiness finally takes over her mind. He must have felt the change as she hears him whisper into her hair, “Think you’ll be able to sleep now, my love?”
She takes a deep settling breath, “I never want to move from this place for the rest of my life.”
A low chuckle reverberates through his chest, “Well, I think Neelix will have a word or two to say about us monopolizing his mess hall while he’s trying to serve breakfast in a couple hours.”
“You’re right. Let’s go to bed.”
She steps back from him only enough to sink into his side as they both head towards the door.
“Oh, I forgot my shoes. Give me a second.”
“I thought you seemed a little shorter.” He snickers.
“Well I wasn’t planning on a 3am dancing session with my first officer. I thought I may as well be comfortable.”
“I find barefoot Captain Janeway quite endearing, so please don’t ever wear shoes on my account.”
“Ah, but I think a barefoot captain won’t have quite the same effect on hostile aliens as a fully dressed one.”
“Never underestimate the power of the Janeway glare. I’ve seen it do enough damage over the years that you could be in a towel and still command the deck.”
“Oh, now that would be a sight!”
As they walk through the door and into the corridor, she turns just in time to see a gleam enter his eye.
“Yes. It most definitely would.”
She lightly smacks his arm, knowing the direction his thoughts have taken. Maybe she won’t be getting any sleep tonight after all. She can’t hold back the crooked, sultry smile as she silently decides that sleep is overrated anyway. She’d much rather spend the next few hours in the arms of the man she loves and adores with all her heart.