☆ BONFIRE NIGHT PARTY ★ OTA!

[hischair]

When: Bonfire Night, November 5th.
Rating: Crazy kids mean this will be updated as needed.
Characters: EVERYONE \8U/
Summary: MCKIRK APARTMENT PARTY ahhhh. Please comment under the corresponding header for wherever your character is so we have a loose system! Assume the party's in full-swing when you arrive and handwave however you heard about it, the surprise all-day-long darkness mean the evening's activities just went into overdrive. Notifs are off, threadjack to your heart's content but remember to heed the post-it's in the bathroom: if you throw up, you're on clean up!

 

Comments

[directives]

The same way I know about the box of genuine Delavian chocolates Crewman Demers has in his quarters.

[ bet you didn't know about those. but she did. are we really that surprised? ]

[chakotay]

[ nope, not at all. ]

So you've developed telepathic powers and didn't tell anyone.

[ deadpan. ]

[directives]

[ just a coy look that seems to say maybe, maybe not. or maybe she just knows how to do things with the internal sensors that other people don't. something along those lines. proper authorization to do so, captain's prerogative, etc. ]

[chakotay]

[ lineface. gdit, kathryn. stop manipulating your ship to do every damn thing you want her to do.

and then he can't help but laugh. ]

Should've known I would be able to keep that from you for long. Now the only question is how safe will it be when we get back.

[directives]

Long, Chakotay? [ a laugh of her own, accompanied by a shake of her head. ] I've known about your cider for the past three years.

[ as for the safety of that precious case of alpha quadrant vintage... she's not saying a word either way. just shrugs. ]

[chakotay]

And you haven't said anything? [ wow, kathryn. w o w. ]

If I promise to split it with you, will you join me for dinner every so often?

[directives]

I was saving that knowledge for the inevitable mutiny. Surrender or the cider gets airlocked. [ only she could get away with joking about a maquis insurrection. it's a good thing she found humor in that holodeck scenario and can bring herself to laugh about things starfleet command would have an aneurism over. ]

Just as long as you don't expect me to cook.

[chakotay]

You know my secret. I guess I'll have to go along with your plans and follow your orders. [ only kathryn could get him to grin and joke about a topic like that. ]

I think I can fight with the replicator for you.

[directives]

Good, because we'll both be paying visits to the Doctor if you put the meal in my less than capable hands.

[ a pause, and then -- ] Yes. [ to what? he asked her a question a few years ago, one she refused to answer, because one of the privileges of command meant you didn't have to answer questions from those beneath you if you didn't want to. she hadn't want to then, now it doesn't matter as much as it did then. ]

[chakotay]

I'd rather not. We'd never hear the end of his lecture.

[ they both know the doctor would never stop, either.

that one word gets a curious and confused look out of him. yes? yes to what? he hadn't asked a question, so what does she even mean by that? ]

Yes?

[directives]

You asked me once if I would have been willing to serve under you had we ended up on your ship instead of Voyager. I refused to answer you then, and I had my reasons for it, but my answer was never no. If anything, the time between then and now has only reinforced the yes I wouldn't give you.

[chakotay]

[ oh. he actually hadn't expected her to say that. he'd wondered what her answer would be, but hadn't wanted to ponder over it, because he'd known if he had, he would have put too much thought and heart into it and that wouldn't be good. but to hear her admit that she would have followed him were their roles reversed... it's an admission of trust from her and that's huge. that's huge in a way that he barely even wants to think about.

yet, he can't imagine trying to lead her. he doesn't know how long they would have lasted in opposite positions. somehow they'd just fallen into these roles, roles that suited them. maybe that would've been the end result anyway. ]

Somehow, I don't think that would've worked out quite as well as our current situation. I think would I prefer to be your First Officer rather than your Captain.

[ which is an admission of trust from him. they might fight and have arguments and discussions that neither of them want to have, but at the end of the day, the mutual trust between them is fierce and difficult to break. their disagreement over how to handle the borg had been one of a very small amount of times where they hadn't been able to keep up that trust and he hopes that never happens again. ]

[directives]

[ it's a necessary admission, one that hopefully conveys what she meant for it to. things have been rocky between them since they emerged victorious on the other side of borg space, since kes' departure and seven's liberation. they've bickered and squabbled since arriving in this city, taken pot shots at one another that are specifically designed to hurt in the heat of the moment -- it's important to ensure that he knows she still trusts him explicitly, even when they're not getting along, even when she feels like she can't take something to him, so she takes it to kirk instead. ]

There's also the question of where we would've put the 140 people I had under my command. Your ship didn't appear to be what I'd call spacious, Chakotay -- but that's good to know.

[ she lifts a hand to his chest in a rare, open display of affection. it rests there for a minute, then falls away. ]

[chakotay]

[ the incident with the borg had rocked and separated them in ways they had never expected. it had been the giant wedge between them and even though it was gone now, some part of that incident would never leave. it had left its mark on them and that mark would always exist in some form. he suspects that mark has something to do with those pot shots they keep taking at each other and appreciates the bridge she's trying to build between them now. ]

I don't have an answer to that. The Val Jean wasn't designed to hold quite that many people. We might have had to stick them in the cargo hold.

[ it's nice to go back to teasing and a small, warm smile crosses his features at the teasing and the hand on his chest. it's extremely rare for her to offer him that and he treasures each and every moment. ]

[directives]

[ kathryn hopes he doesn't read too much into any of that. she's perceptive enough to know what he really wants from her, but unwilling to give it or even consider it due to their positions and the roles they must play. (nevermind the inevitable scrutiny she'll be under when they get back to earth just for making him her first officer. if it were more than that, the disciplinary board would have her hide and her pips. that had to be a professional decision, not a personal one.) ]

Could've always filled the room with bunk beds like the old starships.

[ she laughs at her joke, spotting kirk over his shoulder, situated in... is that an inflatable boat? she's curious enough to go have a look for herself. ]

Excuse me, Chakotay. [ off she goes. ]