SUMMARY: A bit of fluff. A short conversation over coffee.

CODES: VOY, J/C

RATING: PG

DISCLAIMER: Paramount owns the toybox, I'm just playing with their toys.

NOTES: Here is my response to a challenge I came across. Had to begin with the phrase "I had coffee with your mom yesterday," and I think it was supposed to involve angst. Don't know if I got the second part, I'm not good at angst. It probably has more sap than angst, but this is what poured out.

"Over Coffee"
by Liz VanZandt

"I had coffee with your mom yesterday."

"And you didn't invite me? How could you, Chakotay?" Kathryn Janeway's eyes sparkled as she teased the man sitting across from her in the small coffee bar. "How is Mom? I haven't had a chance to see her much with all these damn debriefings and trials."

"She's fine," Chakotay replied, sipping his coffee. "She wanted to know why you weren't with me."

"An excellent question. One I'd like an answer to myself," Kathryn replied.

Chakotay chuckled, setting his mug down on the table. "You mean besides the fact that you were in meetings all afternoon?" He looked down at the tabletop and began picking absently at the tablecloth.

Kathryn frowned at his uncharacteristically nervous display. She reached a hand over and gently placed it over his reassuringly. "Whatever it is, Chakotay, you can tell me. I'm your friend, remember."

He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "The real reason I went to see your mom yesterday is because I wanted to ask for your hand in marriage."

Kathryn stared at him for a long minute, just blinking. His announcement was the last thing she'd expected out of him. Not now, not after so many years. And certainly not so soon after their return. "Wh-what?" she finally stuttered.

Under her hand, his hand flipped over and gave hers a squeeze. "Kathryn, you know I've loved you for a long time now, and I want to give us a chance now that we're finally home. Please." The final word was barely louder than a whisper, a desperate plea straight from his heart..

"But ... marriage?" her hands waved around helplessly through the air as she searched for the right words to describe her feelings. "Chakotay, aren't you missing a few intermediate steps here? Like say, dating and possibly a first kiss or something? Or have I been following the wrong rules for relationships all my life?"

"I think maybe our time on Voyager served the same function as dating, and as for a first kiss ..." He stood a little, his chair pushing out behind him, and leaned over the table to take her face in his hands. Slowly he lowered his lips to hers in a gentle, almost worshipful caress. Her eyes had drifted closed when his intentions became clear, and a soft smile lit up her face as he pulled back and seated himself again. "How's that?"

Her eyes fluttered open, and the smile remained on her face, now a silly little grin. "Why the hell didn't we do that years ago?"

His laughter rang out through the nearly empty restaurant, attracting the attention of the other patrons.

"But seriously, Chakotay," Kathryn continued on, her senses beginning to return, "marriage ... that's a pretty big step. I mean, I'm not sure either of us is really ready for that just yet."

"That's exactly what your mother said when I asked her yesterday. But when I explained how much I love you and what you mean to me ... it was a short discussion after that."

"But marriage? Chakotay, do you have any clue exactly what you're proposing here?"

"I've given this a lot of thought, even if it may seem like just some half-cocked idea. It's not. I know you, Kathryn. I know all your silly little quirks, like the way you leave your boots laying all over the room, or how you snore in the middle of the night."

"I do not snore," she stated.

"What I'm trying to say is that I've seen you at your worst, Kathryn, and I haven't been scared of yet. I'm still here. Still by your side like I promised I always would be. I've already sworn my life to you, this is just formalizing that vow and telling the universe just how much I love you once and for all. We can do this, Kathryn."

"What about Starfleet? If we do something like this now, they'll question every decision we've made over the past seven years. They're giving me a hard enough time as it is."

"Kathryn, you've given Starfleet every minute of your life for the past seven years. Don't you think it's about time you did something for yourself for once." Chakotay stood and rounded the table. Once he had reached her chair, he dropped to one knee and took her hands in his. "Kathryn Janeway, will you marry me?"

Her eyes slowly rose to lock with his, and one look gave her the answers she was seeking. She knew she could trust this man with her heart; she already had years ago, he just didn't know it yet. Tears streaming down her cheeks, she nodded, forever sealing her fate with that of the man in front of her.

The End

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