Author's Notes
Smoking is bad for you. In the following fiction, some 23rd century genius has long-since removed all addictive and harmful substances from cigarettes. They even smell good :-) Don't try this in the 21st century!
This story contains mild sexual content.
This story was written with Madonna's "Crazy for You" in the author's head.
No archiving or reproducing without permission, please.
A World Away
I see you through the smoky air / Can't you feel the weight of my stare
Trying hard to control my heart / I walk over to where you are
It was three deep at the bar this night. A popular local band had set up in the front corner of the bistro and the tables had been pushed together on one side of the room to make an impromptu dance floor. The small space was so crowded with couples that no one dared to dance outside the spot they’d found.
This was one of the most old-fashioned establishments in the city, all dark wood, from the original paneling and ornate bar to the new faux wood floor and the small tables, and it drew a like-minded clientele. Most of the select group who found this atmosphere appealing were likely to also appreciate old-fashioned cigarettes or pipes. In keeping with its theme, the bistro’s owners allowed smoking of tobacco in any form, as long as it was cannabis free, and kept only the briefest selection of synthehol. Many were taking advantage of the rare opportunity to indulge their eccentric habits, and, by this hour of the night, the room had a visible haze of smoke floating near the ceiling. The lighting was more a suggestion than anything else, with heavily tinted reproduction oil lamps creating small pools of light at each table where people sat with heads bent close together to be heard over the music.
At a table on the edge of the dance floor, a woman sat alone, chair facing the band. Everyone who looked at Kathryn Janeway--and most had looked--decided not to approach her. She seemed to be set apart, a step between or above her and the others in the room. She seemed completely absorbed in what she was doing, though she wasn’t doing anything, really.
She leaned back in her chair, almost slouching, with a hand on her drink, from which she only occasionally sipped. One fingertip toyed absently with the lip of the lowball glass. She tapped a finger of her other hand against the table to the slow beat of the music, to which she might be listening. Or maybe she was lost in thought. Her expression was lax and her blue eyes had that slightly unfocused look. It seemed disrespectful to interrupt her, to ask her to grant you her attention. She seemed like someone far too important to bother with small talk. She had that air about her, too, the air of a woman capable of and accustomed to making big decisions. She looked like a woman who could set you straight, if only you could bring yourself to ask her.
She wore a black dress that left her shoulders bare and displayed her cleavage in a teardrop framed by velvet strips that wrapped around her neck. The dress had a split thigh-high on the right and it fell open, revealing bare legs, crossed at the knee. Her feet were crisscrossed by tiny black satin cords, more ornamentation than shoes. The heels were three inches high and narrow. Her hair, the color of melted caramel and looking just about as rich, was swept up in a formal arrangement. Tendrils had escaped to frame her face, softening the style. Her lips were colored the red of strawberry flesh.
If you watched her for a long while--and many did--and were a good observer of human behavior, you realized she was watching the door, subtly, lazily, but watching. Her eyes occasionally made a slow sweep of the room, took in the dancing couples, the band, the line at the bar, but always they returned to the front entrance.
And that is where her eyes were when a tall blonde strode through the door and paused, practically posing, as she glanced around. Kathryn Janeway did not straighten in her chair or even move, but she still came to attention in that moment. Suddenly, the keenest of her observers could feel a new tension radiate from her. She seemed poised, as still and ready as a cat about to pounce. She slowly ran her eyes down Seven of Nine, taking in the white tailored shirt and tan trousers, and the curve of her neck was leonine as she lowered her chin. The edges of her mouth curled up in a self-satisfied smirk.
Seven briefly took in the band and the dancers, dismissed them, scanned the bar and easily determined Kathryn Janeway was not one of the crowd there. She turned her attention to the tables on her right, gaze moving over the seated patrons and the ones flowing around them. Kathryn Janeway slowly lifted her glass and sipped, eyes never leaving Seven. She returned the glass to the table and cupped it between her hands, fingers lightly stroking the surface.
Seven found her and their eyes met. Kathryn didn’t move. Seven smiled her tiny smile. She stepped forward under the weight of Kathryn’s stare and found herself holding that gaze despite the milling people in her path. Kathryn, whose expression hadn’t changed, arched a brow as she approached. Challenge, proposition. Seven was halfway across the room, moving slowly around human obstacles. Kathryn slowly dropped her gaze from Seven’s eyes and deliberately fixed her eyes on Seven’s breasts, the curve of her waist, her slightly swaying hips, her long legs. The slight but steady undercurrent of arousal she’d lived with all day began to stir. She ran her eyes back up Seven’s body, pausing on all her favorite features again, then met Seven’s eyes. One corner of her mouth twitched up in a crooked grin.
Seven was three feet away. Kathryn rose, her dress swirling around her legs, pressed her hands briefly to her stomach before moving them out over her hips, smoothing the velvet. Then Seven was at the table and Kathryn lifted her hands to her forearms and pulled her into a searing kiss, mouth open, licking Seven’s lips, sucking the full lower one. Kathryn pressed herself against Seven, grasping her narrow waist warmly, turned her face up. Seven obligingly dipped her chin and took Kathryn’s mouth again, this kiss more lingering.
“Nice pants,” Kathryn murmured when the kiss ended, hands playing over the soft material covering Seven’s hips. She stepped back, just far enough to meet the dictates of propriety.
“Your favorites,” Seven said, smiling. “You taste of whiskey. Chivas Regal. The eighteen.”
Janeway laughed. “Very good. Would you like a drink?”
Seven shook her head and Kathryn pulled a chair right next to her own. “If you walked to the bar to get it, you would only draw attention and I would have just that many more eyes to peel off of you. And possibly hands as well.”
Janeway laughed again, a throaty chuckle. She swatted Seven‘s arm playfully. “I’d rather have you peel off this dress,” she whispered as they sat.
“I will,” Seven promised. “When you have had enough anticipation.”
Kathryn grinned widely and knocked back some of her drink before returning the glass to the table with a thump. “I’ve had enough. I’ve been anticipating all day. I’m ready for you.”
Seven smirked. “Indeed?”
In reply, Kathryn took Seven’s left hand from her knee and pulled it under the slit in her dress. She pressed it against the inside of her thigh. “You don’t have to take my word for it . . .” She held Seven’s eyes.
Seven curled her fingers towards her palm, the tips barely caressing warm flesh. She allowed herself this brief indulgence, delighting in this spot, the softest skin of Kathryn’s body. Then she gently squeezed Kathryn’s thigh and withdrew her hand. “I trust you implicitly,” she said matter-of-factly.
Kathryn smiled, appreciating the sentiment she knew to be true, even if Seven was playing with her. Her smile also acknowledged her lover had set new parameters for their encounter and she conceded the first point in what promised to be a challenging round of their favorite game.
“How was your trip?”
“Uneventful,” Seven replied.
Kathryn smiled again, knowing Seven had passed the time impatiently. But to have said so would have violated the rules of their developing game. She took a sip of her whiskey and picked up a silver case from beside her glass. She flicked the catch with her thumb and opened it with one hand. She picked out a cigarette with two fingers and took it in her lips as she snapped the case closed.
Seven frowned. “I leave you alone for one day . . .”
Kathryn winked at her and lit the cigarette. “When in Rome,” she exhaled.
“This is not Rome,” Seven stoically pointed out, deliberately missing the idiom.
“Paris is even better,” Janeway said.
“Only because people still smoke in Paris.”
“You’ll just have to keep a closer eye on me from now on.” Kathryn grinned and brought the cigarette languorously to her mouth. “Pay more attention to your wife.”
“You have my full attention now,” Seven noted.
Kathryn pursed her lips, rather obviously pretending to hide a smile at scoring a point.
Seven ignored the look and continued with the appropriate argument. “And yet you are smoking. I think you take appointments here just to come to this bistro and indulge your eccentricities. Considering the Starfleet hierarchy, it would be more appropriate for anyone you meet here to come to you.”
“You are almost entirely correct, my darling.” Kathryn took another drag and exhaled before continuing. “I like the city itself quite a bit. I enjoy the museums, the architecture, the sense of the ancient. But, yes, this bar is my favorite part of Paris. No one in here takes note of who I am. And I take meetings here when I can to indulge a whim.”
Seven smiled warmly at her. “I am always glad when you do something for yourself, Kathryn.” She waited until Kathryn’s answering smile reached its brightest. “It spares me some of the usual work of indulging you.”
Kathryn laughed. “I’d rather come over when you can join me,” she said in a low intense voice. She leaned closer and laid her free hand over Seven’s, curling her fingers into the palm. “I was disappointed you couldn’t come for the evening. I’ve missed you.”
Seven closed her fingers over Kathryn’s. “I am sorry I had to work this afternoon. I was frustrated when I found out Admiral Hayes insisted on visiting then. I do not like to alter our plans.”
“I know.” Kathryn squeezed her hand. “Silly admirals.”
Seven’s lips curled up. “Yes, they can be most irritating.”
“Always having to have their own way,” Kathryn added, looking up at Seven through her lashes as she ground her cigarette out.
“Especially this one woman in particular--”
Kathryn’s head jerked up.
“This Kathryn Janeway--”
“Hey!”
“Who always insists on doing things her own way--”
Kathryn cut her off with a kiss.
“Yes, just like that,” Seven said when her mouth was free.
Kathryn just leaned back in her chair, shook her head, and drank. “You don’t like how I do things, hm?”
Seven hesitated and finally inclined her head. “I love it.”
Kathryn leaned back in, smiling.
“Usually,” Seven added.
Kathryn threw her hands up, laughing. “Fiend.”
She relented. “I love who you are, what you stand for, and how you do it. Even when you do something so dangerous it makes me ill, I still love the way you do it.” Seven smiled. “Telling you that is only going to encourage you, isn’t it?”
Kathryn shook her head. “I knew.” She spoke sincerely, their playful aloofness forgotten. She moved in again, curling her hands over Seven’s. “But encourage away. Tonight I’m going to do it the way you love it.”
Seven could feel her breath against her ear. “I always love the way you do that, Kathryn.” She turned to her and kissed her lightly.
“Good, ’cause I love doing it,” Kathryn murmured against her mouth.
“What sort of encouragement do you require?” Seven asked with her small smile and an arched brow.
“I’ve had all I need and then some. Ready to go?”
“Yes.” Seven rose obligingly when Kathryn pulled her up. “Do you have an early meeting in the morning?”
“Not too early,” Kathryn said airily. She slid the hand holding Seven’s up her arm and wrapped it around her elbow. “Have you had dinner?”
“Yes. How early?”
Kathryn reached for her cigarette case with her free hand and tucked it into her handbag. “Nine.”
“Kathryn! It’s three a.m. now.”
“It’s only six in San Francisco.” She urged Seven towards the door.
“Yes, but it will be midnight in San Francisco when your meeting starts.” Still, Seven covered Kathryn’s hand on her elbow with her own and moved out of the bistro at her side.
“And two p.m. in Bangkok.”
Seven rolled her eyes. “Nineteen hours since you slept.”
Kathryn moved her hand from Seven’s elbow to her waist. “And less than one since I made love to my wife. I’ve gone without sleep longer for far less.”
Seven smiled and pulled Kathryn’s arm more snugly around her, which had the happy result of pulling Kathryn flush against her. “Going without sleep is one of the things you do I don’t like.” Their heels clicked on the sidewalk.
Kathryn hugged Seven against her side. “But you love how I do it,” she purred.
***
Touch me once and you'll know it's true / I never wanted anyone like this
***
“Love it yet?”
Seven of Nine looked up at her captain and considered cursing. She was good at cursing, not as good as Kathryn, but quite proficient for someone who’d only been practicing the art for a year and a half. She could impress Kathryn but had not yet managed to shock her, unsurprising, she supposed, since she’d learned most of the curses she knew from her. And it had turned out Janeway knew the ones she’d picked up elsewhere, too. She briefly mulled over a few choice words, but decided it really was not worth the effort.
Sleeping dulled her cognitive processes in a way that Kathryn seemed immune to. Seven wanted to slip back into the foggy state of half-awareness she’d been existing in before her wife had jarred her with her weight on the bed. She blinked, her eyelids hopefully sinking together, but when she opened them, Kathryn was still there. Still leaning towards her, one knee on the edge of the bed, hair pooling on her shoulders, cheerful expectant smile on her face. Cheerfully waiting. Cheerfully naked. Just cheerful, damnit.
Seven blinked again, another slow melding of her eyelids, another blissful moment of floating without thought, and a another ponderous opening of her eyes. Janeway observed this with an undimming smile. If anything, she felt the smile widen; at least, she felt it in the increasing fullness of her chest.
“It is zero five hundred,” Seven said in a thick voice. “I love nothing.”
“Nothing and no one?” The words tripped lightly into the room immediately on the heels of Seven’s own. Each one seemed to pirouette merrily off Kathryn’s tongue. Janeway brought her other knee onto the bed and inched closer, lowering herself over Seven. She was a warm little sun, coaxing her partner to raise her head and meet the day.
Seven felt a little happier about being awake, safely and snugly covered by her wife. Kathryn’s hair brushed against her collar bone as the smiling face filled her vision. “I love you,” she allowed precisely, relenting. The smile took on that soft melted look and Seven’s mouth curled involuntarily.
“Even at zero five hundred?” Kathryn’s tone was teasing.
“Even then, Admiral,” Seven answered, snuggling into the covers.
Kathryn’s knees pressed lightly against her thigh as she draped her body over her wife. Seven sighed sleepily at the new source of comfort and warmth and wiggled to appreciate the softness that surrounded her, Kathryn on top and the bed beneath.
Kathryn nudged her jaw with her nose before sliding her face up to her cheek and pressing her lips there. She nuzzled her softly for a long moment. Seven turned her head slightly, encouraging the touch, nudging her nose and chin against Kathryn’s ear and hair.
Kathryn rolled off of Seven and onto her side, immediately snuggling close and covering Seven’s hips with her leg and her stomach with an arm. She nudged her face against Seven’s neck.
“Love you,” Kathryn murmured.
Seven wrapped her arms around Kathryn and hugged her. Her eyes sank shut again but snapped open when Kathryn planted a hard kiss on her jaw and sprang out of her arms. Kathryn propped herself up on one arm, still half-reclining on her side. “Well?”
Seven glanced through the space between Kathryn’s arm and her side at the bedside table. Yes, there was the china cup Kathryn had placed there for her on her way to shower, as she did every morning.
“Haven’t tried it,” Kathryn noted. “You’ll never appreciate it if you don’t try it.”
Kathryn flipped onto her other side, swung her legs off the bed, sat up fully, and took the cup herself for a healthy swallow.
Seven sat up behind her and leaned over to rest her chin on her shoulder. “When you swore I’d come to love it, you never said I’d have to drink it first.”
Kathryn’s slow laugh rippled up from her chest. “Yes, I suppose I was a little naïve in my assessment of the situation.”
“I love that you always bring it,” Seven said.
Kathryn eased away and turned to look at her. “Is there something else you’d like instead?”
Seven felt she could nestle into the warmth of Kathryn’s voice the way she’d nestled into the warm bed. She knew her wife was hoping to be able to bring her a drink she’d really enjoy in the mornings. She smiled. “Yes.”
Kathryn waited expectantly, eyebrows lifting encouragingly. Seven slid her arms around her waist and hugged her, snuggling her against her belly and chest. She dipped her head and Kathryn shifted down and back, Seven obligingly supporting her weight, so she could meet Seven’s lips. They kissed lovingly, mouths soft and slow, Kathryn catching Seven’s lower lip between hers and sucking it lightly before covering Seven’s mouth again. It was a melting kiss, one that caused them to sink into each other, first their mouths, then the rest of their bodies. The natural end of that fusion was for them to sink back onto the bed, but they both resisted, ending instead with a series of quick kisses, each of which seemed to pull them back into each other, before they finally separated slightly. Kathryn felt like her body was a circuit for a low-level energy current that had flowed into her from Seven’s mouth and was now trapped.
“Oh,” Kathryn drawled, the word lasting several times longer than usual, indicating she understood what Seven would like.
Seven smiled at her, inclined her head slightly in a nod. “Thank you,” she said. Kathryn cupped her cheek in her palm and slowly drew her fingers down her face, left her hand curled around her neck. She knew Seven meant for the coffee which she never drank. For a moment, Kathryn felt like the best wife in the world. They exchanged another short kiss. “Actually, you were right after all,” Seven said brightly. “I have come to love coffee. As long as it’s café au Kathryn.”
Kathryn laughed, a short flare of delight. She ran her hand back up, into Seven’s mane of hair. “Very appropriate since we’ll be in Paris this afternoon.” She reluctantly stood up. “I’d better get into uniform.”
Seven got up as well. “That was a wonderful way to wake up,” she said as she stretched.
Kathryn, who was at the dresser sifting through her underwear, looked over her shoulder and forgot what she was doing. She half-turned, watching her wife’s long, lean form as it arched towards the ceiling, head back, throat bared, breasts thrust forward, stomach muscles flexing. Seven lowered her head and quirked her mouth at finding Kathryn watching. A heavy moment passed in which they both acknowledged it. Nothing needed to be said, so Kathryn returned to her original thought as she bent to step into her panties. “Second only to waking up and going right back to bed, hm?” She fastened her bra and reached for her trousers.
When Seven didn’t respond, she glanced over. Seven had been waiting for Kathryn to look at her, catch her watching her dress. Now she responded. “Back to bed, but not to sleep.”
Seven actually saw the heat rise in Janeway’s face. She watched it with interest as Kathryn fastened her pants, eyes never leaving Seven. Kathryn padded over to her on bare feet, grasped her by the hips and pulled her to her even as she thrust herself against her. Her arms went around Seven. “You make my skin hum.”
Seven inhaled a bit sharply. Her face was lowered, eyes locked on Kathryn’s. Kathryn looked up at her just as steadily. Seven moved her arms around Kathryn and pressed her hands against her bottom. Kathryn gave her an answering squeeze and moved away. Seven sat down on the bed and followed her with her eyes as she finished dressing. Kathryn looked up from pulling on her boots and smiled to see Seven sitting with a slightly dazed expression. She stood and crossed to her. She nudged Seven’s knees apart with her legs as she edged between them. Seven leaned forward and rested her head on Kathryn’s chest. Kathryn’s hand played gently over the bare skin of her back. She cradled Seven’s head with the other. “Have a good morning, darling.”
“I already am,” Seven said.
Kathryn eased back slightly, then, and dropped to one knee, Seven’s thighs easily spreading to accommodate her. Kathryn pressed forward and lifted her face as Seven dipped her chin. As they kissed, Kathryn brought her hands up to hold Seven’s face and Seven grasped Kathryn’s shoulders. Their faces drew apart but they remained still for another moment, looking at each other. Then Kathryn surged gracefully to her feet, ran her hand over Seven’s hair, and kissed the top of her head in one motion.
“I’ll look forward to this afternoon,” Seven said softly.
“I’ll be crazy with wanting you,” Kathryn answered. She smiled crookedly, leaned sideways, and grabbed some hair pins from the bedside table. She began to draw her hair up, looking back over her shoulder, as she crossed the room. Seven rose, touched her fingertips to her chest, just over her heart, offered her tiny smile. Kathryn turned away, still smiling. As she walked out of the bedroom she tucked her hair into place. Seven went into the ensuite to shower. It was early to begin work in San Francisco, but perhaps she’d be able to leave to meet Kathryn earlier than she’d planned.
Author's Notes
If you are confused, the second section of this story IS set before the first section.
Lryics to Madonna's “Crazy For You”
Swaying room as the music starts
Strangers making the most of the dark
Two by two their bodies become one
I see you through the smoky air
Can't you feel the weight of my stare
You're so close but still a world away
What I'm dying to say, is that
I'm crazy for you
Touch me once and you'll know it's true
I never wanted anyone like this
It's all brand new, you'll feel it in my kiss
I'm crazy for you, crazy for you
Trying hard to control my heart
I walk over to where you are
Eye to eye we need no words at all
Slowly now we begin to move
Every breath I'm deeper into you
Soon we two are standing still in time
If you read my mind, you'll see
I'm crazy for you
Touch me once and you'll know it's true
I never wanted anyone like this
It's all brand new, you'll feel it in my kiss
I'm crazy for you, crazy for you
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