Silent Study

PG-13

Rel Prince

Dedication: To Legally stolen sugar :)

Disclaimer: Yada, Yada, etc, etc… Voyage belongs to the forces of evil…. blah, blah…

Notes: I hate silence…especially silent study where I wrote this (hence the title) I could remember vaguely someone challenging me to write a fic where no one spoke and my sister Emma challenged me to write one where they play footsie. This is my answer :) and I guess a comment on how much on of communication is non-verbal. Having completely given away my…*cough* plot, I’ll leave you to read the story *g*

They’d never known boredom like it. Compelled to sit in complete silence will Admiral Miller droned on and on and on and on about completely inconsequential things like the recent rise in deuterium prices by the Ferengi. Janeway stifled a yawn. Opposite her Chakotay sighed, fidgeting in his seat, and glanced around the room. His gaze happened to come to rest on Janeway who, after a few seconds, met his eyes and smiled. He smiled back, glancing toward the Admiral and rolling his eyes exaggeratedly. Her smile widened and she nodded slightly showing she was in total agreement. Chakotay quickly looked around, contemplating having a bit more fun. To his surprise all the other Starfleet personnel seemed to be listening to Admiral Miller.  He yawned silently and, shutting his eyes, let his head drop onto his chest, seemingly asleep. Kathryn couldn’t help it; she let out a snort of laughter. Admiral Miller didn’t look up in time to see Chakotay’s performance but the overly innocent look on both Chakotay’s and Kathryn’s face suggested to him they hadn’t been listening to him. He gave them a dark look, reminding Chakotay of an instructor he’d had at the Academy who’d given him the exact same look when he’d been caught in one of the classrooms, without permission, with a girl. After a while the Admiral forgot to keep frowning at them and Chakotay ventured to look back at Kathryn. She was staring at the Admiral, looking bored. Chakotay made several movements to get her attention but she seemed oblivious. Finally, in desperation, he kicked her. Apparently it was harder than he had intended because she swung around, glaring at him. He held up his hands in a ‘please don’t hurt me’ gesture and smiled apologetically. She contemplated him before shaking her head and giving him a warm smile. Chakotay raised an eyebrow in a gesture that would have been very ‘Tuvok’ if it hadn’t been accompanied by a very sexy grin. She rolled her eyes, but was amused. Two could play at this game. She winked at him, before dropping her gaze down to the surface of the table, knowing if she saw his reaction she’d probably burst out laughing. When she finally did look up, he raised an eyebrow again, this time questioningly. She just looked completely unperturbed, as if winking at your first officer was a normal everyday thing. He looked away, finally attempting to pay attention to Admiral Miller. However his resolve didn’t last long and a minute or two later he glanced back. Kathryn blew him a kiss and grinned wickedly afterward. Chakotay just gave a look that made her feel slightly flustered, and a bit concerned that he was taking her seriously. Nevertheless after getting a grip on herself she continued with their game. Shifting a bit in seat she fixed Chakotay with an unwavering gaze and ran her tongue over her lips, as if in expectation of a good meal. Now it was Chakotay’s turn to be flustered and Janeway gave him a triumphant smile but he shook his head indicating they weren’t finished yet. Much to her shock he reached out with his foot, gently rubbing it down the side of her leg. Her eyebrows shot up expressing shock. Chakotay simply fixed her with a look that said ‘you asked for it!’  Janeway gave him a weaker version of her earlier glare. She considered leaving it there, knowing their ‘game’ was going a bit far, but her pride prevented her from letting him win. Slipping her boot off, she reached out mimicking Chakotay’s earlier actions. She felt satisfied when his face expressed shock and uncomfortable when it expressed desire. This was fun, it was exciting and a bit dangerous to be doing this under the Admiral’s nose, god knows what anyone would say if they noticed, it appealed to her sense of rebellion. On the other hand, it could have repercussions that would be…interesting to say the least. And she wasn’t sure if she wanted to confront her attraction to Chakotay, or have him confront his attraction to her. She felt Chakotay’s foot make contact with her leg again, this time minus the boot. This time she let her desire show in her face, staring openly into his eyes. She looked away for a split second and when she looked back, his eyes were no longer reflecting her longing. Instead they expressed shock and embarrassment. A horrible cold feeling filling her body she turned her head to find that Admiral Miller had stopped talking and that every single Starfleet officer at the table was staring at them. Mortified, she got to her feet and ran out of the briefing room closely followed by Chakotay, both of them forgetting one shoe. When they got out into the lobby she spun around with the intention of telling him exactly how it had all been his fault and she was never going to forgive him. Instead she found herself in his arms, being comforted. He didn’t say anything but she knew he felt exactly like she did. After a moment, he lifted her chin so he could look into her eyes. She gave him a weak smile but he didn’t smile back, instead studied her face intently. Leaning down he kissed her for the first time. And both of them realised there was no need for words.