A Christmas Story
by LianneDecember 1997
Christmas is a wonderful time of year. A time for celebrating the ending of another year. A time to get together with friends and family.
On board Voyager Christmas is a very bitter-sweet time. A time to remember old friends and family back in the alpha quadrant. A time to be with new friends and family in the delta quadrant.
A time to give presents....
* * * * *
"C‘mon, Harry. Just a hint?" Tom was using his best wheedling voice, a tone that could usually be guaranteed to produce results. But not this time.
Harry shook his head with a smile. All he had told Tom was that he had put together a holo-program for the Christmas party the next day and that he wanted Tom‘s input to make sure it was ready.
"Sorry Tom. You‘ll just have to wait. Your impressions will be fresher if you don‘t know what to expect."
Harry led his friend over to the entrance for holodeck 2 and instructed the computer to run Kim-Xmas3. He gestured for Tom to lead the way.
Tom walked through the arch and stopped in delight. Stretched out before him was a winter wonderland, silent in the way that only a gentle snowfall can be. He was standing in snow up to his knees in the foothills of what looked to be the Rockies, back on Earth. Around him was the start of a forest, firs dusted with snow. Not too far away he could see a small log cabin. A curl of smoke rose from the chimney into an intensely blue sky, completely cloudless. By the angle of the sun it was late afternoon and the sun would be setting in less than an hour.
"Harry! This is... wonderful." Tom turned to his friend with a wide smile.
"Glad you like it. Listen, Tom, I have a few things I need to do. How about you just wander around and see if you have any suggestions. There‘s snow gear in the cabin. I‘ll be back as soon as I can." Harry smiled and left the holodeck. The arch disappeared as soon as he was gone.
Tom decided that the temperature was warm enough to walk a little bit before heading to the cabin. For the next half-hour he admired his friend‘s work. Every detail was perfect, right down to the glimpses of small animals from the corner of the eye.
Finally, wet and shivering, he made his way to the cabin. The light was starting to fade and a warm glow shone through the building‘s windows. He wondered, idly, what was keeping Harry.
At the door to the cabin he stopped to shake off the snow that clung to his clothing. Then he turned to examine the cabin‘s interior.
"Commander! What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing, Paris. B‘Elanna said that she and Harry had been working on a holo-program and she asked me to take a look at it."
Tom frowned. "Strange. Harry told be the same thing. Although, he didn‘t mention B‘Elanna. Paris to Kim." Tom tapped at his commbadge, but there was no response. Not even the beep of the computer acknowledging the action.
"Chakotay to Torres. Chakotay to Janeway. Chakotay to Tuvok." No response. The commander was starting to sound pissed off.
"Computer, arch. Computer, respond." Silence greeted Tom‘s commands. "Great. Just great. Looks like we‘re stuck until someone comes looking for us. Oh well. Harry said he wouldn‘t be too long at whatever he was doing."
"I hope this isn‘t another malfunction to the holodeck. Or alien ‚possession‘."
Ignoring the commander, Tom prowled through the cabin. The largest part of the building was taken up by the main room. A large fireplace dominated the room, a crackling fire already going. Several over-stuffed couches were placed around the room, colorful blankets draped over them. Rugs were scattered over the floor, especially in front of the fireplace.
To the right was a large, modern kitchen. To the left were two doors.
Moving to the closest one, Tom peered through to see a bedroom. A large four-poster bed dominated the room. The bed was covered with several layers of blankets and pillows were piled high at the head. All were covered in geometric patterns in earthtones. A nice complement to the bare log walls.
The other door led to a luxurious bathroom, with a large sunken tub. Tom noticed a couple of plush terrycloth robes hanging from hooks on the wall. Quickly he shrugged out of his wet uniform, still ignoring the commander back in the main room, and slid on one of the robes, belting it tightly around his waist.
Finally he headed back into the main room, pretending not to notice the surprised look the commander sent his way.
"So we‘re stuck. Any chance there‘s food in this place?"
"Paris, must you always think of your stomach first?"
"Hey! I didn‘t think of it first. Dry clothing was first. And besides, I‘m hungry. I could barely stand to look at dinner tonight, let alone eat it." Tom headed over to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.
"Ooookay. This is interesting. There‘s not much in the way of food here. A couple of bottles of champagne, strawberries, whipped cream, some finger food appetizers (I‘ll pull those out) and... a jar of maraschino cherries??"
Chakotay started going through the cupboards. "Hmmm. Chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, honey... If there‘s any ice cream then sundaes are a definite go."
"Nope. No ice cream. In fact there‘s nothing in the freezer. Well, pop the cork on a bottle of champagne while I heat these appetizer thingies."
* * * * *
An hour later Tom was feeling a little tipsy. It had taken a little while to realize that the champagne was not of the synthehol variety, and by then it was too late. The champagne, combined with not much food, was making him feel giddy, a feeling he definitely did not associate with Chakotay usually.
"You know, commander, I‘m beginning to have suspicions about this program."
"You too? Wine, nibble foods, romantic setting... Sounds like Harry and B‘Elanna have plans for this program beyond just the Christmas party." The two men leered at each other suggestively.
Tom‘s heart did a little skip-step at the look on Chakotay‘s face. He had often wished that the commander would look at him that way. Usually when he pictured the expression it was part of fantasies that ended it hot, wild sex, but he tried to avoid those thoughts as much as possible. Fantasies were lonely things, and it was hard enough (pun intended) to sit on the bridge with the other man standing behind him and not reacting physically to that presence without the added pressure of having images from those fantasies running through his mind.
Suddenly Tom thought of something. Harry was the only person he had ever told about his lust for his commanding officer. Well, actually it was more than just lust, but he had talked about it to Harry on a regular basis lately as the attraction had grown stronger. And now here he was. Trapped in a romantic holo-deck program with the object of his fantasies and he had been sent here by his friend.
And Chakotay had been sent here by B‘Elanna. ‚Oh God,‘ Tom thought. ‚Don‘t tell me that they‘re playing matchmaker. Chakotay has barely come to accept me as a little more than just pilot. I don‘t want to have it screwed up because those two want to play cupid!‘
"So, commander. Tell me about yourself."
"What?" Chakotay was looking a little flushed himself. He was moving with the care of someone who is verging on drunk and knows it.
"You know. Tell me your deepest secrets. Tell me about your childhood. Something. Anything." Tom knew he was drunk at that point. Why was he saying these things? Definitely career suicide happening here, not to mention personal suicide. But he was curious too, and had been for quite a while. He knew a lot about Chakotay, first officer, and some about Chakotay, rebel leader, but nothing about Chakotay, person, except that he was native american and beautiful. And so very much desired.
But he really didn‘t expect the other man to actually respond, so he very was surprised when Chakotay actually started talking. The big guy must be drunk.
* * * * *
Hours later both had hoarse voices and were covering yawns. Tom was surprised to find that Chakotay was a wonderful conversationalist. He had a wicked sense of humor and told a great story. Tom was a little surprised to find himself responding to each story with one of his own. They had already drunk an entire bottle of the champagne and were working on a second, and had moved to the rugs in front of the fireplace, periodically throwing on another log.
Chakotay was telling a hysterically funny story about going skinny dipping with his cousins as a teenager and coming out to find that several local girls had stolen their clothes so that they had to walk naked back to the village, trying to pretend they weren‘t beet red with embarrassment, while Tom laughed through his yawns, barely able to keep his eyes open. When he finished the story Chakotay yawned again and looked at Tom, eyes sparkling with amusement at the sight of the pilot stretched out on the rug, still giggling with a silly grin on his face.
"Tom, I don‘t know about you, but I‘m exhausted. We might as well get some sleep."
Tom, still smiling, suddenly thought of something. The smile disappeared. "Shit, Chakotay. There‘s only one bed. Ummm, let me see if there are some spare blankets around. I‘ll sleep on one of the couches."
Chakotay looked at the couches dubiously. They were very comfortable, but they were all too short for the commander to stretch out on, let alone the lanky pilot.
"Don‘t be silly. The bed is more than big enough for two. And you can‘t honestly think you‘d be comfortable on a couch. Or the floor for that matter."
Tom opened his mouth to protest, then stopped as he took in the stubborn look on the other man‘s face. Chakotay obviously was not going to accept any excuses and Tom was a little too drunk to come up with one that the commander would accept, anyway. Even though he knew getting into a bed with Chakotay was a big mistake, he just closed his mouth and nodded.
It was going to be a looong night.
* * * * *
Tom woke, later in the night, confused about where he was. A warm bulk was pressed tightly against his back and a moist warmth - a tongue, he thought idly - was moving against his neck, just behind his ear. He sighed and melted back into the body behind him, tilting his head to allow the tongue better access.
Then his eyes flew open as he realized just who he was in bed with.
"Chakotay?"
A sleepy murmur was all that answered him. The commander was obviously still asleep, or at least mostly asleep. A large hand moved around his waist and started running over his chest. Tom sighed again as gentle fingers combed through his chest hair and rubbed at his nipples, raising them to hard little nubs. He couldn‘t help moaning, and moving against the erection pressed against his backside As the had traveled lower, moving in circles around his navel, he was tempted to just go with the flow.
No.
It had been a long time and it felt so good... but they had just barely established what could be considered the start of a friendship. No matter how much he wanted Chakotay he didn‘t want to risk this new camaraderie for one night in bed. Even one that might be spectacular.
He reached down and restrained the roaming hand before it could move any lower. "Wake up, Chakotay. You don‘t want to be doing this..."
"Yes I do, Tom."
Tom jerked in surprise at the husky voice that breathed across his ear. It was low and slightly blurred, but definitely awake. The hand moved to escape his grasp as he tried again.
"Commander, that‘s just the alcohol talking." He hung onto the squirming hand almost desperately.
"Un uhn. Wanted to do this for a while."
"Really?" Tom almost squeaked on that word.
"Really. You‘re beautiful, annoying, competent, frustrating, loyal, a tease.. Watching you run your hands over the helm controls every day drives me nuts. Want to be the one you are running your hands over. Want to run my hands over you." The hand escaped Tom‘s weakened grasp and proceeded to do just that.
"Knew you were interested. Could see it. Wasn‘t sure, though, if you just wanted a roll, or if you wanted more. Know now. Not letting this chance pass by."
Tom groaned, listening to the words he had never let himself hope to hear.
"Y‘r mine now. Not gonna to let you get away. Keeping you. Make you want to stay forever. Do you?"
Tom squirmed around in Chakotay‘s grasp and rolled on top of the older man. He stared down at the warm brown eyes, searching for a moment.
Then he lowered his head and kissed Chakotay, pouring everything he felt, everything he was, into the kiss. Then he pulled back again and smiled at the silly grin on Chakotay‘s face.
"Yes."
Chakotay reached to pull Tom‘s face down for another kiss. Tom could feel the effects running through every part of his body. He sighed and melted into the arms holding him, barely able to think enough to roll them onto their sides before his weight could crush his lover.
Lover... what a wonderful word. It filled the heart and soul so beautifully.
All thought disappeared as the hands started moving over him again. One ran along his back, from the nape of his neck, down his spine to the cleft of his ass, then back up again to ruffle his hair. Then the other moved over his front, stroking him again. First it moved across his face, gently tracing eyebrows, cheekbones and lips. Then it moved around behind his ear and down the side of his neck, as lips gently brushed along the path that the fingers had followed. Then both fingers and lips traced along his collarbone and down to first one, then the other, nipple. Tom rolled onto his back and couldn‘t help giggling as a nose tickled at the hairs at the center of his chest. He knew he should be doing something for Chakotay, but he couldn‘t seem to get his mind and body working together. Finally he just melted a little more and let the other man do what he wanted.
The hands and lips continued south. The sweep of his ribs were traced, the touch remaining firm enough to avoid triggering a tickle reflex. Tom groaned as his navel was explored and a tongue was added to the repertoire. By this point there was only one part of his body that was truly solid. Lucky for his sanity, that was the next stop on Chakotay‘s exploration. First the fingers, lips and tongue made a careful examination, until Tom was writhing on the sheets begging for something. Anything.
Then the mouth descended, engulfing him, and he rose off the bed with what could only be described as a scream.
* * * * *
When Tom came back down to earth, breathing still ragged, but a little slower, he was cuddled up to Chakotay, who was holding him tightly with a fond smile on his expressive face and still very much aroused.
Tom smiled up at him, then started nuzzling at the other man‘s neck. He hummed contentedly against the flushed skin as Chakotay‘s head rolled back with a groan. He rolled the man onto his back and sat straddling him, still nuzzling at the salty and delicious neck. His hands started roaming over bronzed flesh, almost without any direction from him. He catalogued all responses for future reference, like the patch over the ribs right below the armpit. A touch produced a lush sigh. A kiss and a lick produced the most beautiful groan.
Finally, taking pity of the poor man, Tom started to thrust his hips against Chakotay‘s groin. Between the alcohol and the recent - and explosive - orgasm there was no way that Tom was going to be able to get another erection that night, but the friction was obviously what the other man needed. He began thrusting back, rubbing against Tom‘s soft genitals, still slick with a combination of saliva and semen.
It didn‘t take long for Chakotay to explode, Tom‘s name on his lips as he did. Then he wrapped himself tightly around the pilot, ignoring their mutual stickiness, and the two men both fell asleep quickly.
* * * * *
The next morning Tom and Chakotay woke to bright sunshine flooding through the window, still wrapped tightly around each other. They smiled lazily at each other.
"Good morning."
"Good morning to you too."
A gentle kiss was exchanged. The kiss was starting to heat up when there was a beep from the air.
"Computer timelock disengaged. Message waiting."
They frowned at each other.
"Computer," Chakotay said. "Who ordered the timelock?"
"Timelock placed by Captain Janeway."
"The Captain?" Tom sounded shocked. "I thought it was Harry and B‘Elanna that set this up." Chakotay sighed.
"Computer. Play message."
The air in front of the bed shimmered, and an image of the Captain appeared. Harry and B‘Elanna flanked her. Even though it was a recording, Tom and Chakotay pulled the covers up a little higher.
"Good morning gentlemen. I‘m sure you are wondering just what is going on." The image of B‘Elanna snickered a little bit. Tom and Chakotay just groaned.
"For the last few years we have been watching the two of you dance around each other. It was obvious from the moment I saw the two of you together on the bridge during the business with the caretaker. You were so angry at each other that all I could think was where there‘s smoke..."
"Then, when Tom went back to rescue you, Chakotay, I knew I was right. But then the two of you just kept dancing! Neither one of you seemed to want to admit how you really felt. So we decided to push things. B‘Elanna wanted to just lock the two of you in a Jeffries tube or something, but Harry suggested the holodeck. So we built the perfect locale and got the two of you there, then locked you out of the computer system."
"We figure that at the end of the lockout period you will have either killed each other, or dealt with your feelings. And maybe more." Janeway was practically leering at that point. Chakotay pulled the covers over his head, then pulled them back down again.
Harry spoke up. "Hopefully more. Really, Tom. You seem to spend most of your time with me talking about the commander. Hopefully we can now find other topics of conversation?" Tom groaned and muttered something about revenge. Chakotay smiled.
"And don‘t feel left out, Chakotay. How often have you bent my ear about your favorite topic, a certain blond pilot?" B‘Elanna smirked while Tom laughed and Chakotay blushed.
"Anyway," the captain continued. "You can now leave the holodeck whenever you choose, but it is reserved for you under privacy lock until the party at 1900."
"Merry Christmas gentlemen. See you at the party." And the grinning trio disappeared.
Tom flipped onto his stomach with a moan. "Harry and B‘Elanna setting us up was bad enough. But the Captain.....?" He pulled the covers over his head.
Chakotay tried to stay angry, but found himself unable to stop a laugh from coming out. Kathryn definitely knew him too well.
"Computer, what time is it?"
"The time is 1047."
Chakotay leaned over and pulled the covers back from Tom‘s head and shoulders. He ran a soft hand down the man‘s back, keeping it a shade away from being ticklish.
"Well, since we still have the holodeck for a little more than umm... 8 hours, what say we find a use for the chocolate sauce in the cupboard? I‘m feeling a little hungry."
Tom looked up at the leer on the commander‘s face, and flipped over onto his back again.
"What the hell. Why not?" He pushed himself up to kiss the other man.
"Merry Christmas Chakotay."
END