Everyone raise your glasses!

[thenormalsquint]

When; Evening of Tuesday, August 13th
Rating; PG-13, at best. Angela's on her best behavior tonight.
Characters; It's Ginny's birthday party and everybody Ginny knows was invited. Let's handwave that and just show up. BTW, IT'S BLACK TIE. PUT ON YOUR SUITS, BOYS.
Summary; There's no legal drinking age in the City, but who says we can't party like there was one anyway?
Log;

This party was four years coming. The restaurant has set aside a large room just for this event and on short notice too. The food is plentiful and of various cuisines, with even a large selection of vegetarian options for those who prefer that. But of course, there is more alcohol than one has ever seen because Angela knows the people she invited and knows quite a few of them have liquor in their veins instead of blood. Rule of thumb: more liquid than solids every time.

Everything's set and ready for the birthday girl to make her appearance, so for the time being, Angela's flitting around the place dressed in more subdued colors than usual, choosing black because no one gets to stand out more than Ginny tonight, and socializing with the few guests that have shown up already.

Sadly, there are no strippers. Ginny nixed that one hard.

Comments

[chakotay]

[ as soon as he sees her, he makes his way over, a smile brightening his features. work or no, at least she's here. that's all he asked for.

he pauses next to her and indicates the closest chair. ]

Mind if I join you?

[ he still has to thank her for turning up, after all. he hadn't been sure she'd stick around if she did decide to humor him. ]

[directives]

[ she'd seen his approach out of the corner of her eye, but didn't realize it was him until he spoke up. the suit is... not something she's used to seeing him in. of course, like her, "formal" for them usually means pulling out dress uniforms and making sure the creases on your pants are as precise as possible. hell, the last time she wore something like this, it was at her sister's wedding. ]

Not at all. I was just trying to work through something that's been evading me for a few days now. [ aka she's obsessing. ]

[chakotay]

[ he takes the seat, shifting his jacket as he does so. there's nothing in there. nothing in the inside pockets at all. ]

There's nothing that will get you to take a few hours off, is there? [ said good-naturedly, but he knows her too well. ]

[directives]

That depends. [ she holds the phone like it's a PADD, tapping a bottom corner against the table like she sitting at the head of the conference table back on voyager. ] Have you found a stable wormhole that's not an illusion, the size of a pin, leads to the wrong time period, or is actually a spatial entity looking to devour us?

[chakotay]

[ he offers her a teasing smirk, falling into their teasing just as he would if they were on the bridge or her ready room on voyager. ]

Can't say that I have. Would you like me to check for you? [ raising an eyebrow at the phone. ]

[directives]

You just want me to give you the phone.

[chakotay]

What I want is for you to take one hour to relax.

[ he's not asking for a mirac-

oh wait.

this is kathryn. taking an hour off is totally a miracle. ]

Or do I need to ask you to dance to fulfill that?

[directives]

I am relaxing.

[ honestly, what does he want from her? she's here. she's wearing a dress, for christ's sake. she's been talking to people around fighting with this damnable equation that's refusing to sort itself out. this is relaxed. ]

Is that you asking me to dance or threatening to?

[chakotay]

I prefer to ask first, threaten later.

[ he does offer her his hand with a smile. she can either give him her phone or take his hand for a dance. or do something completely different. the choice is hers. ]

[directives]

[ any other person would likely be making a face at him right now. kathryn janeway? looks like she's in the middle of negotiation safe passage through hostile territory. ]

Then ask. [ she surrenders the phone, but they both know she's not beyond reclaiming it later if she has to dig in his pockets to find it herself. ]

[chakotay]

[ the phone is covertly tucked into an inside pocket of his jacket and he returns to offering his hand to her, a gentle smile on his face. ]

Kathryn Janeway... May I have this dance?

[directives]

[ she feigns careful consideration, like this decision could impact the whole of her ship, her crew -- but soon lets up with the poker face, shaking her head in a "i can't believe i'm doing this" fashion. kathryn places her hand in his. ]

You may, as long as you can guarantee you won't be stepping on my toes.

[chakotay]

[ she's relenting. he'll take it. gently closing his hand around hers, he rises from his chair, pulling her with him just as gently. if she's allowing it, he can run with it. once far enough away from tables and people alike, he readjusts his grip on her hand, placing his free one on her hip and drawing her close. they're firmly stepping over a line she'd drawn in the sand between them years ago, but he has no designs to press any further. to be honest, this is more than he ever expected she would give him.

once they've fallen into step, he leans close to her ear so he can whisper into her ear, soft enough that no one will be able to overhear. ]

What do you take me for, a warrior with facial ridges? [ aka a klingon. without saying as much. ] Your toes will be safe with me.

[directives]

[ she's not relenting, she's compromising -- proving a point, even. he seems to think she's incapable of relaxing, and this is her way of showing him that he's wrong. she can relax, she can be kathryn and not captain janeway, even if she's somewhat out of practice when it comes to being the former. it's been five years since she wasn't surrounded by nothing but subordinates. things don't happen over night, chakotay. risa wasn't built in a day. ]

No, but you were something close to one not too long ago. [ her hand's resting lightly on his shoulder, the other caught between his fingers. ] And I happen to like these boots.

[chakotay]

[ whatever it is, he'll take it. relenting, compromising, changing. one hour to relax and then he'll give up her phone and let her do whatever she wants to with her time. ]

Then you'd better hope I won't remember what that's like. [ for a myriad of reasons including but not limited to getting her boots scuffed and relieving her of her first officer and diplomat. ] They are very nice boots.

[ a part of him wants to tell her how lovely she is tonight, but another part of him feels that a) she's likely heard it already from someone and b) somehow she might not appreciate it as much if he bends that barrier between them even more. ]

Maybe you should dress like this more often. If you like those boots so much.

[ so he can't help a small mention of it. at least he didn't stare at her. ]

[directives]

[ a scoff. ] In case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly that kind of girl. [ not that there was anything wrong with wanting to dress up like this, but it wasn't her cup of tea -- especially since she liked coffee. ] Besides, the last time I got "dolled up," it was to masquerade as Queen Arachnia in Tom's Captain Proton holonovel.

[ she makes a face. she hadn't particularly enjoyed that, and had felt utterly ridiculous the entire time. ]

You, on the other hand. [ kathryn stops dancing for a moment, hands finding his collar and slipping down to fiddle with his jacket. she unbuttons it and tugs on the fabric, giving the illusion that she's straightening it out for him, when really she's checking to see if he's armed. once she sees the phaser holstered to his side, she buttons the jacket back up, smooths out his collar, and returns her hands to their proper places. ] Not bad for someone who I'm guessing has never had to suit up before. AT least, not in this particular manner. I don't imagine they had much use for tuxedos in the DMZ.

[chakotay]

Which you did quite well. Better than I could have.

[ it's a full opening for her to completely and utterly make fun of him, to turn the compliments to her back into teasing at him.

he doesn't move as she tugs on buttons and fabric, trying his hardest not to let anyone see either that she's actually looking for weapons -- which are there -- or that he's taking her little touches a little too personally. it isn't as though fantasy will ever become reality. not for him. so he pushes all of that aside and focuses on her words. ]

There's a first time for everything. [ meaning this is definitely his first suit. ] No one understood the need for suits like this. These would be too outdated and clumsy for our use. [ he pauses to retake her hand and resettle his other on her hip. ] And frankly, it's hot and heavy underneath. I don't know how anyone managed these for more than an hour or two.

[directives]

Oh, I don't know. I think you would've looked rather dashing in that corset.

[ kathryn laughs, pats his shoulder in mock sympathy. ] How terrible. I would've suggested you find the means to wear something else, but our esteemed unwelcomed guest has effectively ruled out that option for the time being.

[chakotay]

[ he'd gotten a laugh out of her. that was what this whole thing had really been about, getting her to loosen up and relax. now that he's gotten that much, however, he's not going to stop at that. ]

Why do I get the feeling the first chance we get, you're going to force me into that something else as payback for tonight?

[directives]

[ she shrugs, neither confirming nor denying. ]

[chakotay]

I'll make sure it's pressed and ready.

[ the hand on her hip tightens only slightly before he relaxes into their swaying. ]

Thank you for this, by the way. Attending the party. I know it means a lot to Ginny to have so many people turn up.

[ and it means something to him that she even agreed. he's already planning dinner, either tonight or another night, to make up for all of this. ]

[directives]

She's a sweet girl. [ she says, the "you're welcome" is implied. even if it took a certain amount of "please kathryn" and "dammit kathryn" to get her to consider, she doesn't regret attending. this is nice, actually. not arguing with physics equations like they're sentient and can understand her a well as voyager's bulkheads is nice.

too bad she doesn't have the luxury, nor the will, to get used to this. any of this. ] Speaking of our unwelcomed guest, I haven't seen hide nor hair. [ thankfully. ]

[chakotay]

I think I can consider her a good friend.

[ they can go back to work later, when the dance has worn off and their minds have slid back to business. for now, he's willing to do whatever it takes to give her even the tiniest respite and that includes being the frustrated "bad guy" of the operation.

he's just glad that designation isn't lasting. ]

Let's hope it stays that way. I'd rather not have a rotten egg ruining such a nice party.

[ totally going back to the egg analogy. ]

[directives]

[ a good friend. kathryn knew how rare those were, how often their people turned to holographic characters and people from other worlds while they were passing through their space, seeking out companionship (and sometimes more) from a series of photons and force fields, and those they would never see again, because otherwise it was something that could often be in short supply. there was an awful lot of camaraderie aboard voyager, but comrades didn't always mean friends. chakotay and tuvok sure as hell weren't friends, and kathryn herself had a hard time regarding even her senior staff as friends at times, save tuvok. and chakotay himself... well, they'd just recently repaired the damage done to their friendship by their disagreement over the borg, a professional matter that she'd made a personal one in a failed attempt to get him to agree with, and support, her decision.

because that had ended well. ]

Should that egg decide to stink up the room, you have my permission to use whatever means necessary to remove it. [ like she said: ginny was a sweet girl. if khan showed up and behaved himself, she'd tolerate it -- she wouldn't like it, but she'd tolerate it... and likely seek out kirk and his people to make sure everything was alright with them, to see how well they were handling such closeness. but if he caused problems... well, "keep firing until you hit something," comes to mind. ]

[chakotay]

[ chakotay was more than willing to ignore the whole borg incident, especially in a place like this, away from everyone else. they'd made it through, barely, and now he was happy to move forward with their repaired friendship. he'd hated arguing with her. it had been terribly painful, so now that they were getting along again and beyond what had happened back then, he was going to take it and run with it. and even if they had a similar disagreement in the future, he's confident they can at least learn from the borg. disagreements happen. what's important is that they understand and support each other.

for better or worse, that's what he's trying to do now. ]

If that happens, I'll even give you your phone back.

[ a joke, but it's true. he might even give her his phaser instead. he can fight perfectly well hand-to-hand if he needs to and would feel much better if kathryn were armed rather than him. khan's presence would have him more upright than tuvok on a vulcan holiday. more uptight than tuvok normally. and that's saying something. but he would follow kathryn's orders on this one. even if it meant outing them as starfleet. the important thing was that they keep as many people alive as possible. keeping their secret meant nothing if civilians died because of it. ]

You'll have to let me know if you smell it.