Summary:
Tom and Chakotay get caught with their hands on each other
and are forced
to become a not so happy couple.
"Tom Chakotay!" Called his own personal cheering section.
"Hey Neelix."
Tom waved as he walked across the grass. Winding
through a
multitude of round weather beaten wooden tables, he bellied
up to where
the Talaxian was standing at a long makeshift bar.
Neelix had
been talking to the scruffy looking man behind the long
table covered
with bottles and a large steel keg at one end when Tom
had entered
the holodeck.
"Nice place
you've got here Neelix." Tom rested his butt on
the `bar'
and smiled congenially at his colourful friend. Neelix
beamed at
his compliment.
"Do you like
it? I thought I'd go with a little Irish charm for your
party."
The Talaxian said in a poor rendition of a local accent.
"Yeah it's
great" Tom looked out beyond the bluff to the blue of the
Atlantic Ocean.
It was more than great. He took a deep breath
taking in
the sharp saltiness of the sea and the rolling hills of
sweet clover
in the distance. The conflicting scents made for a
refreshing
mix. It made his nerves tingle while at the same time
cleared his
head. He looked back to Neelix also taking note of a
homespun band
setting up and a row of wooden outhouses along one side
of the cliff
top clearing. "But why Ireland?"
"You know I
thought long and hard about what theme to go with but
with the two
of you it was a tough choice. You're both so different."
"No argument there."
"And then I thought about the day you were married."
"The day?"
"Saint Patrick's day. I think that's supposed to be lucky."
"From your
lips, Neelix. From your lips." Tom repeated again
looking up
to a nameless deity and into the bright programmed
sunshine.
"So you really like it?"
"I love it
my friend, I really love it." He gave his host a playful
punch on the
arm. "I'm proud of you Neelix. This looks to be one
hell of a
party."
"Thanks Tom."
Pink suddenly became the predominate colour on the
Talaxian's
face. "Harry helped a lot with the programming." Neelix
handed him
a glass of dark red draught. "And B'Elanna did her part."
"B'El helped?" Tom almost spewed his beer.
With his golden
eyes directed to the holodeck's arch, the Talaxian
answered absently
as if it was no big deal. Crewmembers dressed in
period costumes
were starting to arrive. "Yes, she re-routed some
extra power
reserves to the holodeck as a wedding present."
After giving
a pleasantly surprised Lieutenant Chakotay a quick hug,
Neelix flitted
off to greet his new guests. Tom wandered over to the
edge of the
bluff and sipped thoughtfully at his beer.
B'Elanna had
accepted the marriage. Redirecting some of Voyager's
energy to
his wedding reception may not seem like an overture gesture
of goodwill
to most, but for the proud engineer who hoarded every
last proton
her precious warp engines generated, it was tantamount to
a big wet
sloppy kiss of congratulations. It was probably the best
wedding gift
he'd receive all day. Tom finished his beer and in a
fit of glee,
whipped the empty glass over the edge of the cliff into
the ocean.
He was feeling
good and flying high. Soon the holodeck would be full
of people
in the mood to celebrate and for the first time since his
marriage,
he felt like joining them. Having B'Elanna's disapproval
lifted from
his shoulders, gave him the freedom to really enjoy the
happiness
of being Chakotay's husband. And he was, despite the shaky
condition
of his marriage, happy.
Tonight, if
the big man ever stopped working and got his ass down
here, he was
going to do his best to make his marriage strong and
real.
He would lavish Chakotay with all the love he'd been hiding.
He felt brave
enough now. What with had happened the previous night
and B'Elanna's
subtle acceptance, Tom felt ready to conquer the
world.
There was no way in hell Chakotay would be able to fight
him.
There would be no more playacting. His husband would have to
fall in love
with him now. Tom took another deep breath of the
intoxicating
air and walked back over to the bar to greet his
guests.
He was smiling.
It was going to be a good party.
********
"Come." Chakotay called irritably.
He had just
wasted the last half hour trying to figure out how to
wear suspenders,
and didn't have time for company. He was still
wrangling
with getting the twists out of the straps and cursing both
Neelix and
Tom for giving him cause to wear this ridiculous outfit
when his office
door chime had gone off.
"You look like you're ready for a party."
"B'Elanna."
Chakotay stopped fighting with his costume. The braces
snapped painfully
over his chest when he let them go. "What can I do
for you?"
He said through gritted teeth.
The engineer took a seat on his lounge. She wasn't wearing a costume.
"Do you remember
introducing me to your mother Chakotay?" She asked
while looking
at him earnestly with her big brown eyes.
"Yes."
He replied carefully. This was the first time they'd been
alone since
his marriage to Tom and the innocuous calmly asked
question confused
him. Chakotay had expected their initial encounter
to be a screaming
match. B'Elanna should be flinging much deserved
accusations
at him right now and not speaking of his mother.
"She thought
you were interested in me romantically. Did you know
that?"
"No."
But he never did know what the feisty woman that gave birth to
him was thinking.
Maria was a lot like Tom that way.
"I was flattered.
You were this big strong Maquis warrior who had
given me a
home and for her to think that maybe someone like you
would be interested
in me well," She paused. "I didn't have a very
high opinion
of myself back then. It made me feel good and it made
me think of
you as more than my savior."
Chakotay leaned
back on the edge of his desk and remembered. It had
been an opportunistic
move to bring the recent Starfleet dropout into
their cell.
The contacts he had maintained within the Federation had
alerted him
to her above average abilities and her anger. Both had
been assets
back then and he'd recruited the talented engineer to
their cause
the first chance he'd gotten.
"I had a crush on you for years."
Now that was news. Chakotay shifted uncomfortably.
"You did?"
"Yes, I used
to dream about the two of us together. Well I did until
a certain
smart mouth blond came along."
"Tom."
B'Elanna nodded.
"And then with him, I started to dream about other
things.
Marriage, family, things like that but he didn't want those
things, at
least not with me. I knew then he belonged to some one
else."
"I'm sorry."
"That's easy
for you to say. You've got him." B'Elanna said
bitterly as
she bowed her head.
"Not as much
as I want." He said honestly and B'Elanna looked up
him.
This time her eyes were not so serene.
"Don't try
to make me feel better by degrading what you have with
him. That's
not what I came here for. Don't make me hate you." She
snapped angrily.
"He married you Chakotay and Tom doesn't do
anything he
doesn't want to."
"I'm aware
of that B'Elanna. Oh spirits, am I ever, but just because
Tom married
me doesn't mean he loves me. There were circumstances of
which I'd
rather not talk about that forced him to accept me. He
didn't do
it because he wanted to." Chakotay stopped to swallow a
lumped in
his throat so big it hurt before continuing. "I'm not the
one he wants."
He finished in a pained whisper.
The words may
have been quiet but B'Elanna heard them loud and
clear.
The fire in her flashing brown eyes dampened and her voice
softened.
"Oh god, you
really love him, don't you? He's what your mother
called, your
Poocuh or your spirit mate, isn't he?"
"Yes, it took
a while for me to understand that but he is." Chakotay
replied solemnly.
It had been only lately he'd taken to calling Tom
by the ancient
endearment but he'd been saying it silently with his
body for years.
It had just taken a little time for the translation
to come through.
"Then how could
you believe there's someone else?" B'Elanna gave him
a pointed
look. Chakotay had seen the incredulous expression on the
engineer's
face often when she dealt with Seven of Nine but it was
the first
time he'd seen so much exasperation directed at him. "If
he's your
soul mate, aren't you his? I didn't think your spirits
made mistakes
like that."
"They don't
but I doubt the spirits have ever come across a more
contrary soul
as Tom Paris. He's an enigma, a wild combination of
hard and soft."
"I've never seen the soft, Chakotay. Have you?"
"Yes, in glimpses. It's beautiful."
B'Elanna huffed.
"And you're complaining? Give me a break,
Chakotay.
Be thankful for what you have and stop inventing excuses
for not deserving
it. You do. Both of you are the most influential
men in my
life and it's only right that if I couldn't have either of
you, you should
have each other."
"That doesn't make sense B'Elanna. Just because.-"
"HitlhochQo!'
If I say it makes sense, it does!" B'Elanna rose from
the lounge
and deftly untwisted his suspenders. "Now I believe you
have a party
to go to, right?" She finished with a not so gentle
slap to his
back.
"Right."
Chakotay replied meekly with a straight face while fighting
the urge to
smile.
One did not
disagree with an angry Klingon, half human or not,
especially
when she was B'Elanna Torres giving you her blessing on
your marriage.
It just wasn't wise.
********
This quaint
Irish setting wouldn't make a half bad holoprogram, Tom
mused while
standing at the bar drinking his second red lager.
He'd upgrade
the characters, give them more life and maybe create a
town for them
to live in. Tom took another sip of his beer. A pub
where he could
drink this more of this fabulous brew would be the
first building
on his creation list. Tom had half the program
parameters
already formulated in his head when he was distracted by a
much more
fascinating project, his husband.
In a white
button down shirt and slim fitting dark gray pants held up
by matching
suspenders, Chakotay stood by the holodeck's entrance
speaking to
Neelix.
Only half the
buttons were used on the older man's shirt revealing a
vee of bronze
skin and the trousers pulled seductively across his
groin as his
stance shifted when others came up to greet him.
Handsome didn't
even begin to describe his husband, Tom thought. He
set down his
beer, it's full-bodied taste forgotten in the wake of
his husband's
tasty full body. Over Jenny Delaney's head, Chakotay
noticed his
scrutiny.
Caught in that
gorgeous dark gaze, Tom felt his pulse quicken and his
cheeks burn
hot. Oh shit, he had to be in love if it all it took was
one look from
those smoldering eyes to make some one as jaded as him
blush.
When a slow smile formed on Chakotay's generous lips, Tom
rolled his
eyes and tried to send back a sneer but it came out more
like a smile.
Asshole.
Feeling half
on fire, Tom removed his vest keenly aware that
Chakotay,
while chatting amicably with his fellow shipmates, was
watching his
every move. He let the garment slip from his shoulders
and fall to
the ground unconcerned. If they'd been alone, Tom would
have carried
on with his shirt and trousers but instead settled for
giving Chakotay
a quick glimpse of his hickey. His husband's
eyebrows shot
up at his boldness but his smile did not lessen. If
anything,
it got wider. Tom cursed him again affectionately and
decided he'd
had enough of teasing from a far.
Rolling up
his shirtsleeves and undoing a few buttons of his own, Tom
set out for
his dueling Casanova.
********
"Thank you Ms Delaney and yes, it was sudden."
Chakotay gave
his now formatted answer to the question he'd heard
numerous times
since stepping on to the holodeck. Jenny's sister
Meghan approached
and together, without thankfully any input required
from him went
on to discuss how they had both seen the signs of he
and Tom's
budding romance. Chakotay pushed their conversation to the
peripheral
and concentrated on the tall blond standing on the other
side of the
deck by the bar.
Spirits he
was beautiful, a fine lean body with such a wonderfully
expressive
face. In Tom's steel blue eyes were truth and his smile,
a reflection
of his moods. Chakotay, after three long years of
foolish indifference
was slowly learning to interpret both and was
enjoying the
venture. Taking the time to see all the sides of this
complicated
young man and putting them together, fitting the pieces
was a wonderful
journey of discovery. That's where he'd found the
man he loved,
his Poocuh. He stared intently at his husband just
drinking him
in.
Tom blushed.
Chakotay's
mind automatically sought to curse the mysterious Tiger
before it
stalled. The blush was for him. A gradual smile formed on
his lips as
the realization set in. It was his gaze that had made
Tom react,
not some old lover, his. He owned those pink cheeks and
the sexy smile
that followed. Oh yes, Chakotay claimed that too and
as if they
were telepathically linked, Tom legitimized his thoughts.
In a highly
provocative move, the blushing groom began to strip.
Chakotay felt
his own hands itch to start removing his own clothing
as he watched
Tom's vest fall to grass behind him. Subconsciously he
remembered
that he was in a room full of other people but he swore to
himself that
wouldn't matter if his husband didn't stop. He intended
to get naked
right along with him. However thankfully or not, Tom
did put a
halt to his strip tease and did so spectacularly. Tom
flashed him
his mark. It was an acceptance to Chakotay's unspoken
claim.
He willed the younger man to come to him and again Tom seemed
to read his
thoughts.
Weaving through
the round tables now filled with celebrants, his
beautiful
husband approached. Chakotay held his breath.
"Good evening
ladies." Tom said cordially to the two women Chakotay
had forgotten
were there.
As the sisters
rained down a flurry of well wishes upon the tall
blond, Tom
moved behind him and wrapped his long arms around his
waist.
Chakotay could feel the beginnings of erection pressed into
his butt.
He quickly folded his hands over the front of his trousers
to hide his
matching response while Tom thanked the sisters and
recommended
they visit the bar to try the beer. When they left, the
younger man
hugged him tight and kissed his temple below his tattoo.
The affectionate
gesture generated a wave of aahs from the guests
around them.
"Can you feel
what you do to me?" Tom whispered into his ear as he
rubbed his
solidifying cock into him.
"If you look
down you'll see what you do to me, so I'd say were
even." Chakotay
lifted his hands a fraction away from his pants and
Tom laughed.
The pleasant sound did nothing to ease his growing
reaction to
his husband's closeness.
"Well that's what you get for flirting with the best."
"I wasn't flirting with you."
"You were looking at me. I saw you."
"Yes, but that
wasn't flirting." Chakotay forgot his pants problem
and brought
his arms up over Tom's and squeezed. "It was simple
admiration."
"Admiration?"
"Yes Poocuh,
you're very beautiful. It's hard for me not to look at
you."
"Oh god, Chak."
Tom buried his head into his shoulder and Chakotay
took the opportunity
to kiss his golden temple. They stood quietly
just holding
each other until a voice full of mock outrage broke
their silent
homage.
"Oh please gentleman! This isn't a private party."
Tom brought his head up smiling. "Hey Captain."
"Kathryn."
Chakotay said trying to keep the tremble out his voice.
He had been
very moved by his husband's humble reaction to his
compliment.
"So I'm guessing
an annulment's out Commander." She said her hazel
eyes sparkling
with good humour.
"Oh yeah, way, way out." Tom answered for him over his shoulder.
"Is that right Lieutenant Paris?"
"Yes ma'am and it's Chakotay, Lieutenant Chakotay."
"Well Lieutenant
Chakotay, how's about getting your commanding
officer something
to drink?"
"Yes ma'am!"
Tom turned his over bright eyes to him. "You want
anything baby?"
"No, Poocuh.
I'm fine." Chakotay replied very aware of Kathryn's
amusement
at their pillow talk.
"Okay," Tom
released his waist, gave his tattoo a quick kiss and said
with a smile
before leaving for the bar. "Be right back my big
handsome tiger."
"Tiger?" Chakotay whispered to his retreating form.
TBC