> Day four, morning.
B'Elanna tried to calm her breathing. Kahless that had been intense. She could still see images of Seven flash across her closed eyes. Just imagining looking down and seeing Seven look back up at her as she was putting her mouth to good use. Just imagining seeing that eagerness. Not seeing the cold bitch that had been in her fantasies before. Not seeing the blonde that she shoved against the wall and fucked until she liked it. No, instead she saw the Seven she had gotten to know here. To see that smile she now knew Seven could give if she smiled broadly. To hear that warm tone in her voice instead of the ice she had known from on the ship.
B'Elanna had seen Seven's face in bliss as she ate some new kind of 'really bad for you but oh so great' food. She had heard the blonde moan in approval. And it were those images that filled her mind. Back on the ship, it had been so much fun to imagine bending the blonde over a table and just taking her. Now she found that those kind of thoughts only entered her mind in a flash as she realized that she was not thinking them in detail.
She closed her eyes again as she tried to catch her breath. It was a mistake. Because now she saw that sweet smile as she imagined Seven slowly lying back on the bed. Now she heard that soft voice urge, "love me," as she held an inviting hand in B'Elanna's direction.
B'Elanna surrendered and let her mind drift with the fantasies as she once more lowered her hands to her center.
~~~
> Day four, morning.
B'Elanna left the shower not really sure what to expect. She had showered at least twice every day in the last three days, and yesterday she had even taken an extra shower after they had gotten back from their exploration. So she knew that Seven knew only too well how long a shower lasted. And that this one had lasted double as long.
And the interesting part was, as much as she didn't know what to expect, she also didn't know what she wanted. Her rational mind told her that what she wanted was for Seven to not react at all to the prolonged time under the shower. But she had to admit that she had come to like Seven's bold comments about sex, so she had to admit that now, with the interaction between them, she sure wouldn't mind some of Seven's blunt sex comments.
In the back of her mind, she could already hear Seven ask her if she had been any good, since both of them would know only too well what she had been thinking of, and what she had been doing. She realized that she was somewhat looking forward to that, more than a total ignoring of the fact that this morning had started different from the rest.
And then, Seven did the one thing B'Elanna hadn't thought of, but really should have. She looked up from the table she was setting and gave B'Elanna a long look with a ghost of a smile. A look that stated very clearly that she knew all the things B'Elanna was thinking of. And once that point had been make absolutely clear and that pretending that nothing had happened was impossible, Seven threw it all out of the window by masterfully not mentioning it, and yet acknowledging it. And of course, put in a small dose of her superior 'I know everything' attitude.
"I took the liberty to prepare the breakfast," Seven said as she sat down. "I had anticipated a shift in morning procedure and adapted. Your pancakes should be at exactly the temperature you like them. Before you ask, I used the pattern you uploaded yesterday, so it should be eatable."
B'Elanna chuckled. Kahless, it was so easy to like that woman if she allowed you to like her. "Think you know me so well that you can time me, Blondie?"
A blonde eyebrow lifted. "Of course I can, but anticipating is much more fun. I anticipated when you would leave the shower. As has become normal, I will take my shower after our breakfast so that you can digest the food a bit, as you like to do."
B'Elanna tried some of the pancakes. It really was amazing how Seven could be so good at everything, except for getting food out of the replicator. As Seven had said, B'Elanna had stored this program, the pancakes should be tweaked just as she liked them. And yet somehow they managed to still taste like the default setting. She looked at Seven who was trying some of the pancakes as well and saw the frown start to form. "Don't do that. It's pretty good. I think we can survive you replicating the food if it's from patterns I stored. And hey, that it doesn't taste exactly like mine is a plus. That way mine will always be better and you will be more inclined to come visit me for breakfast. Um,"
"When we are back on Voyager you mean," Seven said in understanding. "And, you would not object to such visits?"
B'Elanna thought for a moment. The words had come out without her realizing what she had been saying. But wasn't that an indication all by itself? She decided to just go with it. "That depends on who would come by. The person I got to know here and who I am more than happy to call a friend, a best friend even, or the ice bitch that worked so hard to make my life a hell on Voyager."
Seven smiled, loving the answer. "Well, breakfast would be before work, so I could be inclined to show my nice side. There would still be more than enough time to make your life a hell when I am on the job and informing you of your many errors."
"Ooh, I would get the Ice Princes on schedule?" B'Elanna teased back. "That might even make it bearable, now that I know that you can play nice if you want. That might even make me be willing to hang out with your after work."
"I would like that," Seven said sincerely.
"Good," B'Elanna said before stuffing her mouth with food. Where the hell did those comments keep coming from? Hang out with Seven?
After a moment of silence, Seven offered, "And I also like the fact that after such statements I can clearly see you thinking, 'did I just say that'. I like that it is the result of us getting to know each other instead of some calculated reasoning."
B'Elanna frowned. "Why would I calculate that? I go with what you give me. Or more to the point, I react to what you give me. Before we got stranded here, you were a bitch to me, so I was a bitch to you. Simple as that. Well, a little before that. Recently we were more civil than that. I think it's over four months since I last shouted at you."
"I worded my statement badly," Seven admitted. "And I cannot correct it without making it sound worse. Let us just, drop it, you would say?"
That made the Klingon frown again. "You know damn well I can't do that. I would wonder for days. So what did you mean?"
Seven didn't reply with words. She merely looked at B'Elanna before darting her eyes to the corridor where the wet room was located.
The proverbial light went on for B'Elanna. "I see. Not nice Seven." When she saw Seven lower her eyes, B'Elanna admitted, "But, there is a reason why you would think that, isn't there? You know enough of me to know that I do have that in me. I'm not a saint, and I can be a lot more cunning than most people give me credit for. Yeah, it would not be past me to be nice to you so that I could end up fucking you. Well, my focus would be more on getting you to fuck me actually. You did look damn hot in my fantasies as you were going down on me and looking up to see how much I liked it."
She put a surprisingly gentle hand on Seven's. "Don't worry, I like you too much for that now. If it comes down to that then I much rather have you in my fantasies then use you like that. I think... I think that window passed the day before yesterday. At night, when we had gone to bed? I was horny then. I think that was the time where I liked you just enough to have been able to talk myself into believing that this situation would kinda be like that casual sex thing. You know, casual sex without a relationship? I could have made me believe that it would be alright because we are stuck here, and once we are back you go back to Kathryn and I would just forget it ever happened."
Her assurance had the desired effect, and Seven gave her a clear look of appreciation. Then she frowned. "You would forget that it ever happened? Do you think I am that bad, that forgettable?"
B'Elanna opened her mouth, only to then close it and narrow her eyes. "You setting me up again?"
"Yes," Seven admitted. "However, it is not as much fun now that you seem to be able to recognize that I am."
"Bitch," B'Elanna said fondly before starting to finish her food.
~~~
> Day four, noon.
They were taking another long exploration walk around the shuttle. Surprisingly, both of them liked to stroll through the wilderness. Since they were really only just passing time they didn't drive on, didn't need to make 'good time'. No, they just picked a direction and started to walk until they had enough. Then they would simply use their communicators to order the shuttle's computer to beam them back. But for now they were still moving on.
The tree and plant grow was bountiful, but just like the rest of the planet it gave a measured feeling. The plant life and grass was such that it covered the forest ground, but the high plants and trees were far enough apart that people could walk besides each other. And, to B'Elanna's utmost surprise, they talked. They talked about Voyager, about their friends.
B'Elanna was surprised to hear Seven talk about the people she really liked. Everyone knew that Seven and Naomi were friends, so it was easy to assume that the blonde liked the kid. And since Seven and Kathryn were sleeping together it was also easy to assume that she liked the Captain. But it was quite a surprise to hear her talk about others. Others, that had gotten to the privileged position of being liked because they did something right.
Harry had been nice to her from the beginning, and Tuvok had always been there for her, yet never pushed her. But who would have thought that Seven really liked Crewmen White because he always took a few minutes to chat with her if he needed to get something from the cargo bay and she was there. And especially for leaving a short message in the log that he had been there if Seven had been regenerating. Just so that she knew, just so that he didn't intrude on her privacy more than he had to. Or that she liked both Delaney sisters because they sometimes invited Seven to the holodeck.
B'Elanna hadn't even known that. And she was sure that most of the crew didn't either. It seemed that the sisters liked running programs with Seven because the blonde had the right combination. As in, she didn't think that just because the sisters were twins that they were bound to have sex with every guy that wanted some.... at the same time of course. She didn't think that the sisters were stupid. And most importantly, Seven didn't roll her eyes at some of the programs the sisters wanted to run.
"I thought you didn't like the holodeck," B'Elanna noted.
Seven shook her head. "Then you misunderstood. I do not mind being on the holodeck. I can enjoy the programs there. It is merely that I will always know that the people are not real. While I can act along with the scene, I cannot loose myself in it. Or more to the point, I cannot loose myself in the holographic people. However, Megan and Jennifer are real. So it is actually fun to do things with them." Seven hesitated for a moment before adding, "I believe what you were referring to was what you and Kathryn talked about. The fact that I cannot have sex with holographic people. I know they are not real, and in that case I would much rather just masturbate and stimulate myself exactly how I want to be stimulated."
"She, um, told you we talked about that?" B'Elanna stammered.
"She did," Seven assured. "However not in detail. I believe her main focus was on making me realize that you have shown an interest in me." Now it was Seven that hesitated before adding, "You do realize that Kathryn thinks we would," She stopped, not really sure how to finish that.
"That we would make a great couple," B'Elanna finished. "Yeah, she has been pushing me a bit. I teased her, asked her if she was tired of you that she wanted to load you off on someone else. That kinda shut her up. Well, not really, Kathryn is hard to shut up if she wants to talk. But she did drop the matter after that."
"I see," Seven said slowly. "Do you believe that? That I am someone that is easy to tire of?"
"I just said that to shut her up," B'Elanna reminded.
Seven nodded her head. "Yes, however, it is my experience that in order to say something, a person has to think it. Even if they believe that they do not mean it, they still must have thought about it deep down, or else they would not have talked about it. In that, I think those people on that planet you described did have a point."
B'Elanna waved her off. "Neh, true as that may be in general, you have to add the 'why' factor. I did not think that you are easy to tire off. But Kathryn made those comments so then the mind goes looking for reasons why she said that. In other words, the thought is triggered by having to think of possible answers, and not because the thought itself already existed. There is a difference there. It's like... I dunno me suddenly asking you now what you would think of me painting you blue from head to toe. Your second thought would probably be that I have gone insane, but your first thought would be, why. It is often the answer that makes you start thinking of what the question might be."
"I see," Seven said slowly as they moved on.
Eventually the talking moved back to the small stuff. They talked about all and nothing, and somehow B'Elanna found herself talking about her childhood. She had never talked to anyone much about her life before Voyager. At best just some comments to explain why she felt a certain way about something. And yet, she heard herself tell Seven all kinds of child stories. About the time when her father was still with them and at least pretended that he still loved them. About her mother trying to teach her just what it meant to be a Klingon.
Eventually they finally came across prove that the forest did live by the laws of nature and wasn't kept by some ghostly groundkeeper. A fallen tree that blocked their way. It wasn't that hard to climb over it, was it not for the small fact that Seven was still wearing her bio-suit with its half-high heels. She slipped and would have fallen flat on her face if B'Elanna hadn't steadied her in time. Her hand had reached out and gripped the blonde's arm. Once Seven was standing steady on her feet again, something weird happened.
Somehow B'Elanna's hand lowered over Seven's arm until she had reached the blonde's hand. She had fully intended to let go once Seven had found her footing again. And yet somehow, in a way that neither of them truly knew how it happened, they ended up holding hands.
They stood in silence for a moment. And then they both looked down at their entwined hands. B'Elanna snorted and then decided to continue telling the story she had been painting. "You should have seen my mother's face when she found me standing in the neighbor's chicken coop with a knife in my hand and a determined look on my face, wanting to be the fierce Klingon I thought she wanted me to be."
Seven continued to listen as they strolled on, holding hands like schoolgirls with their first crush. But, but somehow it felt so damn right to feel that hand in hers.
~~~
> Kathryn filler.
"Are you trying to get me drunk?" Onarsa asked amused as Kathryn ordered them another drink.
"No," Kathryn chuckled. "I just want to make this meeting last. After all, we are just business partners, and the business deal is pretty much over. I want to get to know you a bit more before you hop on that ship of yours and run off."
"I'm not running anywhere yet," Onarsa informed. "Since I didn't know how long it would be before my ship's repaired I didn't take on another contract. Instead, I sent the crew home for a nice vacation. I can be generous like that."
Kathryn frowned. "I thought you had ordered that part and were expecting it to be ready for you? That you in fact needed it to continue your business."
Onarsa smirked. "Come now, you don't really believe what I told Brann, do you? I know the general traders rules of this base. But that sure doesn't mean that I wasn't about to try to still get the part. Which I actually did, funny enough. Just that it happened in a different way."
"I'm glad that the crystal in my device was still good enough for you to use your engine reliable," Kathryn said sincerely.
"But why didn't you use it?" Onarsa wondered. "I mean, sure, my crystal is better, but the one you had was good enough."
"Ah, but you have to keep technology in mind," Kathryn reminded. "Your ship is of the same kind of technology type as the resonator. It's just a case of plugging the new one in. But my ship has a different technology. It's enough trouble that we have to use technology that isn't fully compatible with ours, no way am I going to enhance the problem by also making it bad quality technology."
"Hmm, good point," Onarsa had to admit.
They were interrupted by Kathryn's communicator beeping before Tuvok's voice could be heard. "Tuvok to Captain Janeway."
"Excuse me," Kathryn apologized before opening the channel. "Yes Tuvok?"
"Captain, you asked to be notified when we heard of B'Elanna and Seven."
"Ah, yes," Kathryn agreed. "Anything noteworthy?"
"No, Captain," Tuvok informed. "They merely informed us that they had reached the planet and were starting the landing as soon as they sent the message. They informed us that the temporal disturbance still measured the same, so they expect to contact us again in six Federation days, once they left the planet."
"Alright," Kathryn said, before adding, "Keep an active scan on their frequency, in caser they leave earlier and send a message that they need assistance. Janeway out."
Kathryn smiled at Onarsa. "Sorry for the interruption."
The tall woman waved her off. "Temporal disturbance?" Onarsa asked, her voice rolling on the 'por' and 'tur' parts of the words. "Please don't tell me you sent your crewmembers to Argus."
"Um, I have no idea what the planet is called by people from this sector," Kathryn admitted. "When we told the station's commanders that we were going there they told us that my crewmembers were going to die. After that, I thought it best to not broadcast too much that we were going there. To make sure we didn't get attention we didn't want. So, I was never told the name."
"Well, Argus is the only planet I know of that has a temporal anomaly," Onarsa informed. "And if your crew members really did go there, then they really are going to die."
"I see," Kathryn said slowly.
"No, I don't think you do," Onarsa disagreed. "Argus is the homeworld of my people; where we Draenei evolved. We aren’t making this up about people dying. As I told you before, once we were millions, but our goddess found us lacking and destroyed most of us. And while that could be explained away by all kind of fancy modern explanations, the result continued to this day. Sure, you could say that it was some other species that killed off all our people and then transported the last few thousand survivors. But a life sustainable planet is not something to ignore. People went there in the past, trying to claim it.... they never came back, and scans of passing ships prove that there also is no sentient life on the planet. So, they died. The last time someone tried was... a little over ten years ago, I think. Two ships full of refugees were fleeing the war and came past Argus. They found it too tempting and decided to land to start a life there. The first ship started to land and moments later sent a mayday. They came as far as informing that the ship was being torn apart. After that, it was silent. The other ship scanned for them and saw some debris before the temporal difference became too great and they could no longer find the pieces of the first ship."
Kathryn nodded slowly. "So, the temporal anomaly, it always existed?"
"Yes," Onarsa said. "Some scientists believe that it's the reason why our bodies don't age after we reached full adulthood. Like the temporal influence messed with our body clock, basically stopping it. I personally have issues with that explanation. After all, it was five millennia ago that my people were taken off the planet. If it was true, then why do people like me not get old? I never been on the planet, and yet I don't age."
"Could still be the temporal influence though," Kathryn said thoughtfully. "Kinda like cancer. Once you have cancer it doesn't just go away again. You need a doctor. Well, with the scan technology we have these days cancer is hardly ever heard of anymore. It's normally caught in a stage where just taking a few pills will take care of it. But the point is, if you don't have the medical knowledge, it doesn't stop. Maybe it's the same with your people. The temporal influence changed your people's DNA. But once they were off the planet, there is nothing that stops the changed DNA from going on. It gets passed on the children because then it's no longer a disease, but how 'nature' made you."
"Interesting way of thought," Onarsa admitted. "So, are you going to call your crew members back?"
Kathryn thought about that for a moment. Then she shook her head. "No. For two reasons. First, if we had always listened to stories people told us we would be dead now, or at least still stuck about fifteen-thousand light-years from here. We are explorers. We want to see things with our own eyes."
"Dangerous," Onarsa noted.
Kathryn nodded. "We lost some people along the way because of it. It is hard, but we also found some people because of it. In the end it all balances out. Not if you look at the one person who just died, but if you look at it from a distance with unemotional eyes, it all evens out."
"And what is the second reason?" Onarsa wondered.
Kathryn gave her a humorless smile. "Because it won't make much of a difference. All the things I heard, even what you just told me, it is all about people dying as they try to land."
"And your people already tried to land," Onarsa said in understanding. "You have my condolences."
"Why not save those until we see bodies?" Kathryn suggested. "One thing I learned in this business, never assume it's over until it truly is. People assumed dead have saved my life more than once."
Onarsa chuckled. "Well, if you want to look at it that way, care for another drink?"
~~~
> Day four, midafternoon.
They stopped walking when suddenly Seven's tricorder beeped.
"Problem?" B'Elanna asked.
Seven looked at the screen. "That depends. Are you superstitious, do you think that people only have a certain amount of luck?"
"Um, well, I am superstitious on some level," B'Elanna admitted. "I'm an engineer, I have seen too many things happen that should not have happened to not be superstitious. But I don't let myself be guided by it, if that's what you mean. I don't walk under ladders not because it's bad luck; I don't walk under ladders because something can be dropped by the person on the ladder, get it?"
"I believe I do," Seven affirmed. "In that case I can inform you that we are extremely lucky. It seems that right below our feet is a deposit of the dilithium we are looking for."
B'Elanna looked at the ground. "Really, here? That one in a billion chance we could find it around the shuttle, and we walk right over it?"
"One in a billion is not the chance I gave," Seven felt she had to inform. "But yes, we indeed found a spot."
B'Elanna snorted. "Now I know why you asked about me being superstitious. With that amount of luck, surely we just wasted all the luck we need for being rescued. Eh, don't worry, I don't think that way. So how deep is it?"
"We will need the drill," Seven informed. "The deposit is almost one-hundred meters down."
"Still not too bad really," B'Elanna said happily. "But now the question is, is it worth digging for?"
"What do you mean?"
B'Elanna rolled her eyes. "I mean, is it enough to justify the effort of digging for it? As in, is it just enough to set off the sensors in your tricorder, or is it enough to power not just Voyager but the entire Starfleet feet?"
"That would really have annoyed me a few days ago," Seven informed, not answering the question.
"What?" B'Elanna asked confused.
"You rolling your eyes at me. It is just as if you want to tell me that I am not even worth a verbal reply."
"Oh, sorry," B'Elanna mumbled, taken aback.
Seven gave her a ghost of a smile. "Do not be. I said that it would have annoyed me a few days ago. Now however I realize that it is just you. It still is a way of communicating. Just one without words. Now I know you better I do not mind the silent communication. It is, after all still communication."
"Your weird," B'Elanna grinned.
"Yes, but you like me that way," Seven shot back.
"Yes, actually I do," B'Elanna agreed before really realizing that she said. She covered quickly by asking, "So is it worth it?"
Seven looked at the screen once more. "I do believe that it is worth the dig. It is not enough to power the entire Fleet of Starfleet; it is in fact not even enough to power Voyager for the rest of its planned life. However, it is definitely enough to power it for the next fifteen years or so."
B'Elanna waved away a bee. "That repellant is wearing off. So let's come back tomorrow and get it out of the ground."
Seven looked around them. "I do not believe that the repellant is wearing off. It is more a case of there being a lot of bees that are angry for some reason. Eventually anger will overcome the smell of the poison. I believe that we must be close to a nest."
B'Elanna looked around as well before extending a hand to lean against a tree. "Well, I don't see a whowzer." The last word was said as she felt her hand pass through the bark of the tree. She pulled it back and found it covered with a sticky substance she guessed to be honey, but more importantly, also by about a hundred bees.
"I believe you found the nest," Seven said amused. Then she saw B'Elanna lift her hand. She guessed why and tried to warn, "No!"
But it was too late. B'Elanna shook her hand to get rid of the bees and as much honey as she could. "What?"
"I believe that was extremely unwise," Seven informed. "The bees were angry before, now I think you could classify them as pissed, to use your words. I believe it is best if we move away, now."
"Don't be such a baby," B'Elanna said as she saw some bees landing on the hand again. "See, they are more interested in getting their honey back. Ow!"
"B'Elanna?"
"A bee just stung me. Ow!"
Seven took hold of B'Elanna's arm and pulled. "I believe that the bees are communicating an intruder by using pheromones. We should move."
This time, B'Elanna seemed to agree and they started to move away. Unfortunately, this seemed to mark them even more as targets and more and more of the bees started to follow them. Both of them were stung several times before they had moved far enough away from the nest for the bees to stop following.
"Are you alright?" Seven wondered as she saw B'Elanna rub several of the places where bees had stung and where lumps were starting to form.
"Yeah," I'm fine," B'Elanna assured. "I'm half Klingon, it takes a lot more than just a few bee stings to bring me down. I hope that they calmed down by tomorrow. That, or we have to destroy the nest."
"I am confident that the bees will be calmer by then," Seven assured. "It remains to be seen if they are also calm enough then to leave us alone as we drill. Are you certain that you are alright? Maybe we should beam back to the shuttle to have you checked out." When she saw the Klingon open her mouth to speak, she explained, "I am asking because the bee poison in my body is at a deadly level for humans. If I did not have my nanoprobes that are neutralizing the poison as we speak, I would be dead within an hour."
"Oh," B'Elanna said, somewhat deflated. "I feel fine, honest. Maybe my Klingon genes don't care about bee poison. After all, on Qo'noS there are insects that could kill a human within seconds, but we Klingons just get a rash at best. But tell you what, if I start to feel weird, we beam back to the shuttle, alright?"
"Very well," Seven relented. "However, I believe that it would be best if we start walking back regardless. We want to make sure we are back before dark, and also while we actually still feel like walking."
"Good point," B'Elanna agreed as they slowly started to stroll back the way they had come.
~~~
> Day four, midafternoon.
"Bzzz."
"Excuse me?" Seven asked as she glanced at B'Elanna.
B'Elanna waved her off. "It's nothing. Private joke."
"Very well," Seven allowed as they moved on.
"Bzzz."
Seven looked at the Klingon once more.
"It's nothing," B'Elanna insisted. "I'm just wondering. Bees and bzzz sounds so much alike. So I wonder if someone went' oh, a bug, how would we call it. Ooh, it makes a bzzz sound. Hmm, bzzz, how to write that? Bzzz, nah, doesn't look cool written down. How to write it fancy? Beeezzz... beessss. Ah! Bees, that's it."
"I see," Seven said slowly.
"I don't think you do," B'Elanna disagreed emphatically. "I just realized that it will get us off this planet."
"It will?" Seven asked amazed.
B'Elanna nodded. "Yes. You see, if we know how to say their name juuuust right, they we can pretend to be friends. After all, we know their name, right? Friends know names. So we pretend to be their friends and then in the right moment, bang, we capture them all!"
"Are you alright?" Seven asked, trying to find some sense in the statement. "You seem to be swaying."
"I'm fine," B'Elanna insisted. "Listen, don't you get it? Once we caught them, we tie strings around their body, see? And the other end we tie to the shuttle. And once we have enough bees they can lift the shuttle. I guess that five or six hundred should do. We only need a few meters, once we are off the ground we can activate warp."
Seven reached out and steadied the Klingon, who by now had to make the occasional sidestep to not fall over. "Your theory is flawed. You cannot enter warp while in an atmosphere, remember?"
B'Elanna tapped her nose, or tried to, but ended up tapping herself on the cheek with the finger. "Ah, that's what they say at the academy. But we should not believe them. I went Mantis... um, Markings... um, underground, yeah, underground, for a reason. They are out to trick all of us. They don't want us to learn anything."
"Starfleet does not want its students to learn anything?" Seven asked. "At the academy they themselves created? I believe we should beam to the shuttle; I believe you are not fine at all."
"Don't you get it?" B'Elanna shouted. "It's all a trick. They want us to stay dump. They don't want us to know stuff. I, mean, did you ever hear them teaching that you can easily lift a shuttle with bees?"
"No, I did not," Seven admitted honestly as she reached for her communicator.
B'Elanna grabbed her arm. "Don't. We can't go back to the shuttle. They have spies there."
"Who?" Seven asked confused. "Starfleet, or the bees?"
B'Elanna's eyes went wide. "Oh, good point, I never thought of that. They kept me dumb too! It's the bees, they are secretly in control of Starfleet and want us all to become some kind of super drones. After all, we have big hands; we can gather a lot of flowers."
Seven lifted her hand once more to the communicator and just as she was about to tab it, B'Elanna started to cry.
"Traitor!" B'Elanna said as she wiped away some tiers. "I thought you were my girlfriend, and now you are going to hand me over to the evil bees."
Seven's mouth dropped when she heard what B'Elanna called her, and it sure wasn't the 'traitor' that has that affect. It was because of this, that she reacted too slow and B'Elanna fell over.
"Hey, why is the world tilted?" B'Elanna asked from her position on the ground.
"Because you are lying on your side," Seven informed as she reached for her communicator again.
"You calling me a liar?" B'Elanna asked, new tiers forming.
"No, I meant you were lying, not lying. As in," Seven stopped and cursed herself for not doing the important thing. She tapped her communicator. "Computer, two to beam directly into the shuttle."
~~~
> Day four, late afternoon.
B'Elanna slowly became aware of being in the rain. More to the point, sitting in the rain, she realized as she saw her legs stick out in front of her. "Why am I sitting in the rain?" She wondered out loud.
"It is not rain, it is the hydro shower in the shuttle," Seven said from behind her.
B'Elanna nodded. "Ah, that would explain the walls. So why are we here?" As she asked this more of her surroundings registered. Yeah, this definitely was the shower alright. But one thing that also registered was that she was sitting against someone and that arms were holding her. And seeing that Seven had just talked, it was an easy guess who the someone was. Well, that and the small fact that they were the only two people on the planet.
"You were stung by bees," Seven reminded. "The toxin had an... interesting effect on your body. As scans have shown, it would not have killed you. It did, however make you sick and delusional. You also developed a fever of sorts. You were feeling cold and hot in turns. I first tried to counteract it with blankets and the shuttle's climate control. But it did not compensate fast enough. So I decided that placing you in the shower with the water being at your body temperature would be more effective."
B'Elanna had to admit that the water didn't feel as nice as the occasional hot rain shower she had been caught in as a kid; too much pressure behind it. But those arms around her felt all the better. "And here I thought you just wanted an excuse for holding me."
Seven merely signed.
"I'm on to you," B'Elanna persisted. "So why don't you just give in and hold me like you really want to hold me? Show me your feelings."
"You are still delusional," Seven stated.
"I feel pretty coherent," B'Elanna disagreed.
"You did as well when you came to the last time. When you kept calling me David and insisted that if I did not study better I would fail the make-up exam as well," Seven informed.
"I did not," B'Elanna stated in disbelief.
"Yes you did."
"Did not."
"Yes y... just take my word for it, please?"
"Oh, alright," B'Elanna relented. "But it means that you are in good company. David was my first love. You know? The first time you realize that you are having more than a crush? We were a couple for three months. He was good in bed too by the way."
"What happened to him?" Seven asked.
B'Elanna shook her head. "Nope, I'll only tell you if you do what I told you."
"Which is?"
B'Elanna placed her hands on those that were holding her upright. "Simple. Hold me like you want to. Not just to keep me from falling over, but how you really want to."
"You are delusional," Seven insisted. "I do not want to use that situation to my benefit."
"Ah, but Seven," B'Elanna said triumphantly, "If that is really true than I won't remember it anyway, so why not make my moment now feel better?"
Hesitantly the arms moved. Where before they were clearly just holding her upright, now you could call the hold nothing other than a loving embrace.
B'Elanna felt generous and didn't say 'I told you so'. Well, she also realized that Seven would probably not like it. Funny how she once wondered what Seven would not like, and now wondered once more what Seven would not like, but for an entirely different reason. Before, it was to make sure that she would do it, now it was to make sure that she wouldn't. Tweaking Seven a bit would be fun. But deliberately trying to make her life a hell would no longer be fun. "As for David, well, I guess we just grew apart. It was one of those relationships where you do know you love each other, and there just isn't much more. He had different classes than me, and eventually we both just took less and less effort to see each other. One night we did the normal thing, had some loving, ate dinner, and then realized that we both really wanted to be out spending the night with our separate friends. So, we called it quits. All nice and tidy. No drama. I helped him pack the few things he had in my room, we shared a last kiss, and off he went. I only saw him around the campus occasional after that. Just someone you said 'hi' to with a smile."
"You had a room for yourself?" Seven wondered.
B'Elanna chuckled. "Seven, remember, I'm the dangerous half Klingon. Yeah, they gave me a two person room all to myself and said that it was simply because they had an uneven number of students that year. We all knew what the reason was. Nobody wanted to share a room with a half Klingon. By the time I did make a few friends that wouldn't have minded to share, well, I kinda liked to have my own room by then." She looked at the shower walls once more before asking, "So how come we are doing this the old fashioned way of letting the poison run out instead of just replicating some anti-venom?"
Seven gave in completely and pulled the Klingon against her. She placed her head on B'Elanna's shoulder before explaining, "Because there is no anti-venom. The computer could isolate the toxin and analyze it, but it could not offer any anti-venom. The option was to battle the symptoms. The fever now, your nausea before. I managed to stop that by a hypospray injection of muscle relaxants that are aimed to the digestive system."
"I was puking?" B'Elanna wondered.
"Yes, however, I am certain that the bio-suit will be easy to clean."
"Hu?" B'Elanna wondered. She didn't wear bio-suites. Then she remembered who did. "Oh, um, sorry. Sent me the cleaning bill?"
"Cleaning bill?" Seven repeated.
"Joke, Seven. A joke."
"I see," Seven merely replied. After that, they sat in silence. Both enjoying the feeling of holding and being held in a warm embrace.
~~~
> Day four, early evening.
B'Elanna woke slowly. She looked around her and noticed that she was back in the shuttle, back in her bed. She thought back, how did she get here? What was the last thing that happened? She was sure that something had happened. Her entire body felt like it had ran out of energy, yet her mind was awake like she had just spent a week sleeping.
She looked at Seven's bed and saw that the blonde was there lying on her side facing her, and vast asleep.
So, last thing she remembered... Seven's tricorder beeping, she did remember that. And that was pretty much it. Only that it wasn't. There were some floating memories, things she remembered just like one does remember the last pieces of a dream at the moment that they also realize that in a few seconds even those last images would will gone.
She remembered a part of the dream that had felt wonderful. She had been sitting in the rain and Seven was behind her, holding her. The rain had felt nice and warm, and they had cared too much about their closeness, their contact, to even try and seek shelter.
She had to admit that she really liked the idea. Things with Seven... they had grown. Slowly but surely. She had never held hands with anyone while walking around, and yet, with Seven she had. She had been in short relationships where she or the other person already said the 'I love you' even before the first kiss. With Seven there had been no kiss, and definitely also no words of love. With Seven, there had only been talk about sex, and... and what? A feeling. A feeling had started to grow that them, the two of them, was right. That they belonged together.
B'Elanna could still vividly remember when Seven had started on work on Voyager. Not when Seven had joined Voyager. Well, she remembered that too, but that was not the important part. That had just been another event. Just like they had saved other people, or just like they had almost been killed on other times. No, when Seven starting to work, being put on the Alpha shift, when B'Elanna had to interact with her. That is what B'Elanna still clearly remembered.
She had hated Seven, with a passion. The reason for the hating wasn't important really. It, or they, tended to shift depending on the day of the week. Seven did things without asking permission, Seven acted so superior, Seven had called a valid decision point irrelevant. The reasons for the hate had been easy. But the thing was, the actual thing was, B'Elanna had felt that hate because Seven stirred something deep inside her. And clearly, since Seven had been a Borg drone, an enemy, it must be hate. Right?
But time had moved on and Seven had just become, Seven; another crew member she had to deal with. But it was now, on this forsaken planet, that those same feelings were back. Problem was, she now no longer hated Seven. So what were those feelings then? And after a long moment where thoughts jostled for position, one old phrase came to mind. 'There is a thin line between love and hate'.
B'Elanna signed. 'Kathryn is sooo going to kill me.' And then, before she could even try to change her mind, She got up and moved to Seven's bed.
Since that first night, things had not changed. The temperature in the shuttle was still at a level where B'Elanna liked it, and so did Seven, just that Seven preferred to sleep on top of the blanket. So it was easy for B'Elanna to lie down on the bed and wiggle back a bit until she was lying against the blonde.
After a moment of tense silence, B'Elanna smiled when she felt an arm take her in a one-armed embrace. But, wanting there to be totally no confusions, she said, "You are awake, you little cheat."
"And you just moved into my bed," Seven countered.
"Well, there is that," B'Elanna agreed. "Want me to get out?"
B'Elanna had expected a hesitation before the answer, but didn’t get it. Only a fraction after she was done talking the 'no' came.
"I knew it," B'Elanna said triumphantly. "It took me until now to realize it, but you have no idea how to flirt. You don't know how to show an interest, other than saying, 'get naked'. So all the sex talk you did, that was your way of showing me that you are interested in me."
"I thought I was very clear," Seven pointed out.
B'Elanna contemplated turning around so that she could see Seven's eyes. But decided not to. She liked how they were lying now. She liked feeling Seven's body against her back. "Sev, here is flirting lesson 101, brought to you by a half Klingon I might add. If you want someone, you actually don't talk about sex. At least not in the beginning. If you do, it will only give the impression that all you want is sex. And you don't want that."
"I do not?" Seven asked, wondering, hoping that B'Elanna really understood. "May I remind you that I offered to have sex with Harry, I am in a relationship based on sex with Kathryn,"
"Were," B'Elanna interrupted. "I don't share. But that's the thing. You had the sex, and it taught you that you want the thing that I said was the only thing I would accept; a relationship. You want the whole package. You want someone that also does things just because you like to do them. Someone that finds that a good enough reason. You want someone that things that you are more important than a ship. And you want someone that thinks you look beautiful, and not just that you look hot."
"And you think,"
"I most certainly do," B'Elanna said even before Seven was finished. "Oh, I think we both know that I find you hot as hell. But I also find you beautiful. When I find myself sneaking peeks at you, it's your face that I look at; not your boobs. It's those small smiles you sometimes give me that make me want to smile as well, and not the fact the position you are happen to be in when you smile is sexy as hell. Ah, and besides thinking that you are hot, and besides thinking that you are beautiful, yes, I also happen to think that you are sexy as hell. That, my dear is what I think."
"And if that is what you think, than what is it that you want?" Seven wondered.
B'Elanna chuckled. "What I want, is you. But what I want in relationships, that changes per relationship. We will find out the details along the way. But for now, all I want is you. For you to realize that I don't just want to fuck you, but that I want to love you. That I'll want you just as you are, but that I'll have one big condition."
"Which is?"
"I already told you," B'Elanna said gently. "I don't share. Even if Voyager rescues us this very minute even before we explored all the boundaries, I don't share. So no more sex with Kathryn, no sex with some alien on some away mission. You just kiss someone in any way that is more than a friendly kiss in greetings, on the cheek, then you better prepare for a damn heavy storm."
Seven pulled B'Elanna a little closer. "Interesting, you say you don't share, you say what you will not accept, and yet when you state the outcome of me still doing so, you only talk about a storm. You are not saying that it would end our relationship?"
Now B'Elanna did turn around. She gently touched Seven's face before placing a kiss on her forehead. She really wanted to kiss Seven, but this relationship was not taking the normal route. If it had been normal they would be kissing now, and having sex in a few minutes. They would most definitely not be doing much talking. But somehow, with Seven, it felt that doing the talking first seemed to have the major priority. "No, I'm not saying that because I have life experience. I myself have been so drunk once that I screwed someone and didn't care one bit that I was in a relationship. It ended the relationship when I remembered the next morning what I did and told my boyfriend. I'm not saying that it's cool, but I am saying that I, and I hope you, will look at the situation."
Seven thought about that for a moment, trying to see if she understood what B'Elanna was trying to say. "You said that you do not share. So if I were to still have sex with Kathryn, that would end the relationship. However, if I were captured and managed to escape by having sex with a guard and getting my freedom as a reward, then,"
B'Elanna placed a finger against Seven's lips. "Then I would even compliment you on getting out. After all, I would still have you. I much rather have a partner that is alive and with me because she was smart enough to use her body to escape, than to have to morn a partner that died because she feared my reaction to having to use her body to escape. And on the flip side. When I got drunk and screwed around, one of the reason why that drink was so popular with the people at that Maquis hideout was because it made you not care for anything but the then and there. I would hope that my partner would consider that fact as well. So, not just have the thinking be, you screwed someone else; we are done. But more a,"
"You knew that this drink would make you not care about things," Seven offered her version of an argument she would have made. "And yet you drank it, with this result."
"Yeah," B'Elanna agreed. "He just saw that I hadn't been faithful. And when I tried to explain it, he said that it was still my fault for getting drunk. So, in such a situation I would ask you the 'why'. And just like I would ask you why you had not been faithful, I would hope for the same treatment and that depending on the explanation, we can go on."
"I agree," Seven said. Then she smiled. "You do realize that if Voyager does rescue us, that you will have to suffer Kathryn's smirking for a long time?"
"Oh yeah," B'Elanna agreed. "But to be honest, I'm glad for that. I'm glad that she was trying to push us together and will smirk at me with an 'I told you so' look. Instead of being pissed at me for stealing her girlfriend."
"You called me your girlfriend," Seven said with a gentle smile.
"I did? When?" B'Elanna asked, only to then add just to be clear, "And you are by the way. I don't do secret stuff. It will be very damn clear to all that you are my girlfriend as soon as you move in with me. There is no way that I'm letting you stay in that cargo room. More so now that I know that you don't need to regenerate. I have to admit that I'm a bit peeved at Kathryn for letting that go on."
"She let it go on because I asked her to," Seven pointed out. "As you might know, I do not collect personal possessions, I do not need room to keep things. And I do not need free time to do hobbies. I worked, I went to regenerate and then worked again. The only change in this is when I started to visit Kathryn, then I would sleep at her place before I went to work again."
"Guess you got a point," B'Elanna relented. "Still, I'll make it very clear that you live with me. I'm not hiding stuff. If you can't take that, you better say so now."
It was Seven who finally breached the small distance between them. Their lips touched softly and there was a small and gentle kiss. "I will most definitely not mind if people know that we are in a relationship. In fact, I will take great pride in the fact of having them know that you are all mine."
B'Elanna returned the kiss, gently caressing Seven's face at the same time. "That I am. So, I called you my girlfriend, hu? Funny, I thought I would have gone for partner or Mate. Girlfriend is just not me. Yeah, I think I'll call you my Mate."
"You were not fully yourself then," Seven pointed out before starting to explain to the Klingon the idea she had of putting the bees to good use to get off the planet. She was glad to see that B'Elanna was amused by the stories of her antics and not embarrassed. And it was exactly because of that, that Seven decided to not tell B'Elanna that she had been crying as she had said some of those things. Seven had a feeling that knowing that would manage to embarrass the Klingon.
Not much later, while they were still talking, B'Elanna started to drift off. Apparently the tiredness of her body won out over her brain being on a high from the new twist in their relationship.
~~~
> Day five, morning.
B'Elanna woke and had a moment of confusion when she realized that she wasn't in her own bed. She took stock of her body and realized that she was lying on her side, but more importantly, that another body was lying against her.
She had never liked the 'spooning' position for sleeping. The idea of it just felt too damn cheesy for her. And yet, here she was.
Memories of last night came back to her, and a smile formed. She wondered if she should tease Seven a bit, pretend that she couldn't remember. But then she kicked herself mentally for even thinking that. But, she did notice that there was a distinct lack of reaction coming from the blonde. B'Elanna guessed that she must have slept for twelve hours or so, because she did remember that it had been early in the evening the time she finally started to think clearly again. And a glance to the cockpit showed the gray light of morning. So there was no way that Seven would still be asleep. That left only one option; that the blonde was wondering, maybe even fearing, that B'Elanna would also not be able to remember the things from last night. The kisses, the admittance that they were in a relationship... The very noticeable lack of declarations of love, B'Elanna realized.
That, she decided, needed rectification. The last thing she wanted was for there to be confusion on Seven's part. She took the arm that was draped over her and placed its hand over her heart. "Feel that? It's beating for you."
There was no reply in words, but she did hear a sniffle. B'Elanna smiled. "You know that they say that Klingons have two hearts?"
"A falsehood," Seven said in a strained voice.
B'Elanna took the hand and brought it to her lips to place a gentle kiss on it. "Shhh baby, don't do that. Don't try to keep your emotions out of your voice. I'm glad that realizing that I still remember makes you cry. Crying from joy is alright."
"Klingons only have one heart," Seven said, not replying to the statement with words, but all the more with the tone of her voice. There was a huskiness in it that B'Elanna liked, a lot.
"Yeah, one big eight chambered heart," B'Elanna agreed. "But Federation doctors that came across the first Klingons thought that it were actually two hearts. But the thing that probably kept that story alive the most is that even Klingons say that they have two hearts. Just that most people don't understand the difference. Klingons don't do emotions that well, so when they are talking about their second heart, they are talking about an emotion one. An emotional heart that a Mate can own."
She placed Seven's hand back over her heart. "My heart beats for you, and my heart is all yours if you want it."
"I want it," Seven stated confidently. She placed a kiss on B'Elanna's neck. "And you most definitely do emotions very well."
B'Elanna grinned as she turned around to face the blonde. "Ah, but I'm only half Klingon. I know how to do the mushing stuff when it's needed." The grin turned to a smile. "It's easy to say the words all people say, and I will. I will tell you that I love you. But that's just words."
She once more placed Seven's hand over her heart, something that was a bit harder now because they were facing each other with very little room between them. "Words are easy, but know one thing, as long as we are in a relationship, know that as long as this is beating, it beats for you."
"As long as we are in a relationship," Seven repeated. "You assume that this is temporary?"
B'Elanna flinched. "Eh, bad choice of words when I'm trying to be sappy. No, I don't think it is, I don't hope it is. But can you look into the future? I can't. All I wanted to say with that is, and I do hope that this is forever, but if ever an end comes to this thing between us, know that you will never have to worry. That as long as I didn't say it's over, it isn't for me. I don't do staying in relationships that I'm not fully behind. It's another reason why I broke up with Kathryn. Know that, as long as we are in a relationship, this is beating for you. And if one day I feel that my heart is no longer beating for you, I will tell you."
Seven moved, pushing the Klingon back a bit until she was lying on her back. Looking down on her new partner, Seven wondered, "But how can you know what I feel in the future? How can you know that I still love you and have not moved on to merely liking you enough to stay in the relationship for the sex? After all, you did state clearly that you do not want to be in a position where all there is to a relationship is a convenient sex partner. Therefore, if I would still like the sex I would have to deceive you."
B'Elanna put her hand behind Seven's head and pulled her down for a kiss. "There you go flirting in the Seven way again. Talking about sex when we haven't even done more than share some kisses."
"It is a reasonable argument," Seven persisted, though the kisses they were sharing definitely had an effect on her and thinking rationally was getting harder with each kiss.
"No it isn't," B'Elanna disagreed. "Because I'm not an easy person to live with. Oh, I'm worth it in a whole package. If there is enough love to tolerate some things. If there is enough understanding to accept my stubbornness. If there is so much feeling that seeing me do something the hard way because I'm too damn stubborn to do it the easy way is endearing. But if that's not there, if it's really just the sex, then frankly I'm not worth it. I have no illusions. I know that I'm good enough in bed to be very satisfying, but that I'm also nowhere near as good that my skills in bed alone are worth having to deal with me the rest of the time."
"I would have assumed that you are actually very good," Seven admitted. "You do all with passion. I do not see why this would be different with sex."
"Passion doesn't equal good," B'Elanna pointed out. "You are right; I'm damn passionate. But I also drink alcohol with passion; still doesn't mean I can hold my drink." She hesitated for a moment. "Alright, so that's a bad example because you have seen me drink. But the point still stands. Hell, a few days ago we talked about how long the sex between me and Kathryn normally lasted. Don't you think that forty minutes already proves that I'm not that great?"
Seven smiled. "Or it proves that you are very skilled indeed. That this time is all that is needed to wear Kathryn out. Either way, we will find out eventually."
"We will," B'Elanna agreed with a smile. Despite the kisses they were still sharing, and despite what they were talking about, and despite the fact that Seven had clearly indicated that she wanted B'Elanna, despite all that, the Klingon still didn't feel the urge to have sex now. And that was really the point. She didn't want to have sex. What she wanted was that when the time came, they would make love. Simply because the situation had resulted in it, and not because it was planned or even somehow expected.
She kissed Seven again. "But my point still stands. Alright, let's say that we are... compatible... as you would call it. Let's say that we make love for an hour every day. That still leaves 23 hours in the rest of the day. 29 hours here. Even if you deduct time spent apart because of work, or time where we are sleeping, that still leaves a lot of time for us to be together. And frankly baby, if you don't love me for real, the sex just won't be worth the hassle."
Seven nodded. Indicating her acceptance of the point, and that this subject was done, for now. "We should get up, there is breakfast to prepare, and we have dilithium to mine."
B'Elanna stopped her from moving away. "Ah, wait a minute there. While you are right, there is a tradition I want to start."
"Which is?" Seven wondered, more than willingly allowing B'Elanna to pull her closer again.
"A proper morning's hello," B'Elanna explained as she kissed Seven again.
"I see," Seven said, sure not minding the idea.
"Proper," B'Elanna repeated before teasingly running her tongue along Seven's lips.
Seven parted her lips, letting the tongue in and moving her own along it, around it. Then she moved her own tongue into B'Elanna's mouth, where it was most eagerly received. After a moment, they broke apart and looked at each other with a shared smile.
"You sometimes have the most excellent ideas," Seven approved before lowering herself for another kiss.
~~~
"Can I ask you a personal question?" Seven asked as they were eating breakfast.
B'Elanna chuckled. "Sev, you are my Mate now, all between us is personal. You don't have to ask me if you can ask me something personal."
Seven dipped her head a little. "A good point. Nor do you from now on. I was wondering, I never asked Kathryn, but seeing that we are in a relationship now, I am curious about your previous relationships. The thing I am most curious about is, how did you and Kathryn start a relationship? She was already captain of the ship when you two met, and she deliberately keeps a distance from the crew."
Since most of their breakfast was down anyway, B'Elanna put down her fork and pushed the chair back a little. She crooked her finger at Seven, becoming her to come closer.
Seven got the idea and moved around the table. She straddled B'Elanna's legs and sat down.
They shared a few wonderful kisses before B'Elanna put her arms around the blonde in a loose embrace. "It's the away missions, I tell you. There now is us, and Kathryn and I started off on an away mission as well. Much the opposite of this one though. We, you and me, had to connect emotionally. We had to realize that we love each other, and I most definitely do love you baby. We are in a relationship now, and yet the most intimate thing we did was kiss. I've seen you nude but haven't even touched you."
Seven very pointedly looked down at the arms around her.
"You know what I mean, bitch," B'Elanna grinned. "With Kathryn and me it was the other way around. We first screwed like bunnies and only then started to realize that we also loved each other."
"You had sex without being in a relationship?" Seven asked. "You, the one that said that she will only have sex with strangers, but with people she knows she has to be in a relationship."
"Well, I didn't say it quite like that," B'Elanna objected. "But yeah. It's, well, there was just the two of us and we didn't know that the people we were negotiating with used certain pheromones as air fresheners. To them it was just a nice smell. To us it made us horny as hell. So when the first break came in the negotiations and we went to our room to talk in private. We, well, let's just say that Kathryn closed the door and I pushed her against it and stuck my hand down her pants. I made her come right there."
Seven smiled. "And knowing Kathryn she did not want to be outdone."
"Nope," B'Elanna agreed, glad that Seven was apparently liking the story. "She basically ordered me into bed. Hell, we both had come twice before we finally took the time to take our clothes fully off. We screwed like crazy those first two days. I lost count after love session sixteen. It's only on day three that we came to our senses a bit, and that was simply because that day they were using a different air freshener. Luckily for us we still had rational minds in the talks, just that we were hornier than Tika cats in mating season. I don't think that our host even noticed that something was going on, other than the fact that we always took them up on it if they suggested a break."
And once the pheromone was gone," Seven said in understanding, "the two of you had the option to either pretend it never happened, or,"
"Or, just go with it," B'Elanna finished. "And so we did. I'm still glad I had the time with Kathryn, and I'm even glad that you two had some fun. After all, it was that fun that made you realize that you want more."
"And you have more," Seven agreed.
B'Elanna grinned. "Well yes; I got you. Kathryn just has to go find another play partner."
"Who says that she has not already?" Seven pointed out. "She is at a starbase where there are a lot of interesting people to be found. People that she can have some fun with because she will never see them again once Voyager leaves."
B'Elanna looked shocked. "And you would not mind that?"
Seven shook her head. "No. More than likely I would even ask her to tell me about it; enjoy second hand you might say." She saw the look of total disbelief and smiled. "You need to remember that Kathryn and I are not in a relationship like you and I are now. I do not care if she sleeps with someone else. The only reason I might care, if we still had our agreement, would possibly be because she cannot sleep with me when she is sleeping with someone else and therefore I would lose out. Though even there, I would probably just end up contacting her and ask if they would be interested in sex between three people."
She leaned down and kissed the stunned Klingon, who nevertheless was clearly coherent enough to return the kiss. "You need to understand, the reason why I can, could, sleep with Kathryn is that sex is just a physical activity I enjoy a lot. I do not have a problem with the other person also enjoying that activity with someone else. However, it did show me that I also want more. I want a relationship. I want what you are offering me. And that means that things change. You said that you do not share, neither do I in a relationship. This because I want all of you. If you were to have sex with someone, you would be nice to that person too, you would kiss, you would say nice things. In other words, you would give that person things of you that I do not want to share. So I do not want to share not because you might be having sex with someone else, but because by doing so you are cheapening what we have because you are also letting other people see the part of you that I want fully for myself; your soul."
Now B'Elanna grinned. "You are nuts. But, hey, as long as the end result is what we want it to be, who cares." She tightened her arms a little to give her next word more meaning. "Mine."
"Yours," Seven agreed. "And you are all mine."
B'Elanna nodded. "That I am." She ended the embrace and put her hands on Seven's hips. Then, looking deep into wonderful blue eyes, she moved her hands up along her Mate's sides. She reached Seven's breasts, and while still having her hands mostly to the sides, she moved them over the ample mounts with undisguised boldness.
Seven smiled down at her and leaned into the touch, which made B'Elanna decide that a bit of fondling wouldn't be too bad.
"I definitely have to try and convince you to start wearing shirts," B'Elanna said amused when after a few moments of wonderful touches she decided that stopping would be the best course of action. The last thing she wanted to do with Seven was to also push her against the wall and screw like bunnies. Well, later on that would be fun. But not until they were well established and it would be just another love session instead of their first.
"Why?" Seven wondered, slightly surprised that B'Elanna was stopping her actions. Seven had been sure that it had been a prelude to them making love, and she was more than ready for that.
"Because with these damn bio-suits there is no way I can run my hand under them and feel you skin to skin."
"I could take it off," Seven said, letting there be no confusion about her willingness to do a lot more.
B'Elanna shook her head. "Naw, too obvious." She lowered her eyes down to Seven's breasts. "Oh, you definitely like this I see." She moved her thumbs over the two points that had started to show through the fabric. "You getting excited baby?"
"I am," Seven admitted. "And I would never have expected you to be a teaser."
"Teasing can be fun," B'Elanna pointed out. "But no, at the moment my temptation is too big to do teasing and not move on to more. I like to tease while making love, just so that you know. But I don’t really see the point in teasing and then not do anything with it."
"I see," Seven said as she looked down at her covered nipples that were still being gently stimulated. Then she decided to be a bit daring and leaned down for a kiss. After that she seductively whispered into B'Elanna's ear, "I can smell you. You are aroused."
B'Elanna laughed and went from teasing a bit to boldly cupping the breasts and squeezing them gently, very glad to see that once again, Seven moved eagerly into the touch. "Baby, I think we would have a real problem if I wasn't getting excited. You know I have fantasized about having sex with you, and on top of that I'm touching you like this for the first time. You bet your ass I'm aroused. I can't believe I'm actually doing this, that I'm actually touching you. So much better than any fantasy. But,"
She reluctantly moved her hands to Seven's hips again. "Let me explain something to you. I had five lovers in my life, thirty-five if you literally count every person I had sex with. But I for one don't really call an alien I screwed on some shore leave a lover. But the thing is, with all of them the first time, and as I said with most the only time, I had sex with them, it happened in one of two ways. Most went basically just like with Kathryn. Get horny, screw. A few, three of those five I shared a relationship with, the first time we made love was considered something very special. A time was chosen, the scene was set. And you know what? Normally I wasn't even really in the mood but didn't mind making love because I loved them."
"But is it not normally always one of those two ways?" Seven wondered. "Either you give in to temptation on the spot, or you try to make it special by setting the environment. Even my first time with Kathryn was of the first category."
"Ah, but there is a third option," B'Elanna disagreed. "An option that I never used before, but that we can use now because we already know that we are in a relationship, that both of us want to make love. Sev, I want my first time with you to be special in the way that it's something I never did before."
"Which is?" Seven wondered.
"To just let it happen," B'Elanna explained. "Not because we are horny at the moment, being horny can be ignored if needed. We can always act on being horny all those other times that come after that. So what I want is not to get laid, nor do I want to set a scene. What I want is for us to just do our thing until at some point the moment is just right. That without being horny a kiss leads to another kiss, and to more. That there isn't this nice set scenery, but that the moment just feels right. There in the middle of that forest, or here when we preparing to go to bed. And if it doesn't happen before Voyager finds us, then on the ship. Maybe when we are moving stuff around in my quarters to make them our quarters. So, are you willing to join me on that little experiment?"
Seven nodded with a smile. "Should be interesting." Then she started to get up. "And in that case we should also start moving now."
"One more kiss," B'Elanna suggested.
One kiss turned into a lot more and they spent the next half hour just kissing and relishing the feeling that they actually could.
~~~