Fan Fiction
TITLE: Tequila Twister
AUTHOR: Path
RATING: PG
CODES: C/T
DISCLAIMER: Paramount and Viacom own it. Nothing earned, nothing gained.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Meets one of the requirements of the first kiss challenge.
SUMMARY: There's a new twist on an old game and Chakotay and B'Elanna learn what that is.
"So you're not going."
She continued to stare blankly at the data pad in her hand.
"Changed your mind then."
With her elbow perched on the arm of the chair and her head cradled in her hand, her actions spoke louder than words. Clearly it was an indication to him on how he was to approach the matter and having traveled this road many times before he was well acquainted with just how to do it.
Experience was the teacher that he resorted to when confronting her on personal issues. Finding that her responses were far more acceptable if she weren't hard pressed into slamming up a force field in an automatic defense when she was attacked or accused. Tactically it was wiser to allow the warmth of his friendship to seep into his voice and be the vehicle of his delivery.
"B'Elanna."
It was soft and practically a whisper. But it seemed more like a command that drew her attention toward him. She glanced up only for a brief moment then returned her eyes to the padd.
"You know getting out again is the right thing to do," he counseled.
Finally she spoke only with mild irritation "Do you mind Chakotay? I have loads of engineering reports to filter through. I don't have time for this or that stupid party."
"You've been staring at that same page for the past ten minutes," he reached down and snatched it from her. "Tell me what it says." His eyes playfully twinkled.
At first she was caught off guard by his audacity, but that quickly washed over into a gradually rising annoyance. She shoved her arms across her chest defiantly.
"I didn't think so. Go get dressed," he neither pleaded nor commanded her. It was simply a statement." I'm a patient man, I'll wait here."
She hesitated.
"B'Elanna," his voice deepened slightly not in anger but as an announcement that what he was about to say should be seriously considered. " Why do you insist on giving a man you dislike permission to live rent free in your mind and heart?"
She blinked a couple of times digesting this, then reluctantly pushed herself up from the chair and headed to her sleeping quarters to change. She knew he was right.
When they stepped through the threshold into the messhall, B'Elanna's feet halted them sticking them both like glue to where they were. Chakotay responded instinctively by raising a protective hand and placing it to the small of her back, in physical and emotional support. It was gentle; yet it was also firm enough to prevent her from retreating back to the safety of her quarters.
He smiled, "If you want him, demand payment up front. Otherwise evict him and reclaim your private space."
He felt her back stiffen, and square her shoulders in false bravada, but he knew in time that there would be nothing false about it.
"Oh look Tommy," Jenny Delaney called out in a whine, just above the straw that she was drinking from and only loud enough for him to hear. "Here comes our very own battle cat."
Tom Paris looked up from the task that he was attending to, and then to the direction that Jenny's eyes were directing him to. "Fun," he thought.
"Well, she lives here too. She's entitled to enjoy ship's functions," he rebuked Jenny slightly. But secretly he wished Torres hadn't shone up. She always had a knack of deflating the wind in his sails.
Nelix bounded over to the new arrivals like an excited Ferengi about to acquire a brand new acquisition. Bringing his hands together to emphasize his enthusiasm he spoke, "I'm so pleased that you both could join us." He glanced from one to the other.
B'Elanna merely growled, while rolling her eyes. Chakotay on the other hand spoke, "It looks very interesting. What treats did you and Paris come up with this time?"
B'Elanna looked up to him and sneered as her back stiffened again beneath his hand. This time he was quite sure it was absolute aggravation, her response at the mention of Paris's name.
"Oh, Mr. Paris calls it a modified sock hop." Neelix leaned in conspiratorially, "But I don't understand why anyone would want to hop over socks. In any event I am glad that he didn't require us to wear period costumes. I don't know if I'd be able to get all that grease out of my hair." Neelix winked at Chakotay.
"Cha-kooh-tay," she said through gritted teeth stressing the syllables of his name.
"Nice to see you smiling again, B'Elanna." Chakotay dodged.
"So not funny," she glared at him again.
They walked over to the grouping in the far corner, "Commander! B'Elanna. Terrific," Tom slapped his hands together rubbing them in exaggerated pleasure. "How lucky. We needed exactly two more players!" he announced.
"For what?" B'Elanna tensed, on guard and at the ready.
"Twister." Tom proclaimed with an energetic smile dripping with challenge.
"He's going to make a fool out of us," she declared in a strained whisper to Chakotay.
"No, " Chakotay corrected returning the whisper. "He's going to make a fool out of everyone including himself." Diverting her attention he then asked, "He issued a challenge, are you backing down?"
The fire flared in her eyes, rising to meet the confrontation. " So Starfleet, how do we play this game?" She demanded crossing her arms in front of her.
After about twenty minutes of explanation, and the fielding of curious questions the players were assigned to the perimeter of the playing field.
"Mr. Paris, you said this game was modified. What enhancements have you done to achieve this?" Chakotay asked as Paris was set to begin the game.
B'Elanna still untrusting of Paris's methods and motives eyed him carefully waiting for his explanation.
Tom half turned and looked up over his shoulder. " Oh, nothing real extravagant Commander. I tweaked a data pad here and there to call out commands if there aren't enough players to have a controller. And if there were, enough players that is, the display would be available for the controller to read them. Then I decided to do away with the plastic mat with the painted circles because I thought it could be a safety hazard and of course for aesthetic appeal. And substituted these color discs that you see on the floor," he purposely left out one minor detail.
"What are they made of?" B'Elanna inquired suspiciously knowing that he was hiding something.
"It's just a simple titanium and carbonite blending. Nothing dangerous. I needed something with weight and something that would withstand high activity," Paris explained as a matter-of-factly.
Her jaw tightened still not convinced. She spent enough time with that man and knew when he was holding back.
"So are we ready?" Tom called out.
"I am," Neelix said with the enthusiasm the morale officer was know for. "The first command is right foot green. Everyone put your right foot on a green."
Tom looked up at Neelix slightly annoyed, "Thanks Neelix."
"My pleasure!" He beamed not getting Paris's hint.
B'Elanna leaned over to Chakotay while everyone finished getting situated, "This is going to be one long night and you're gonna owe me," she sneered.
Not taking the threat seriously he responded, "Oh, if I remember correctly, this is what I owe you."
She glared at him. Again.
Fifteen minutes later brought most of the crew well into fits of giggles and laughter. Some so hard that it caused them to topple over and forfeit the game. Reluctantly they moved out of the playing area and tramped off to sample the delicious buffet that Neelix had prepared.
For those left on the field, the various commands had directed the players into some pretty compromising positions. B'Elanna casually looked around and was so thankful that she didn't have an offending body part confronting her, as did Harry Kim.
"Poor Harry," she snickered to herself.
The man was as red as a beet; either way he looked, he was confronted with female anatomy.
Fortunately for her, it wasn't the case with her and Chakotay. Not that his body parts were offending, she just didn't need them sticking into her face. Thankfully their positioning hadn't compromised them at all, and it was relatively easy for the two of them to casually carrying on a conversation.
Chakotay out of habit had been searching for what Paris hadn't told them. He knew Paris always had something up his sleeve and he was sure to expect something now. One thing to note was that he did observe that this game was certainly a classier version of spin the bottle. Whoever had invented it knew that it could be a game of complete innocence or one fashioned into adult themes and play. And right now it seemed to border on a little bit of both.
Carefully he surveyed the area. Nothing really stood out. There was nothing out of the ordinary. Well, actually this whole situation was out of the ordinary. And the music itself left a lot to be desired. Most of the songs that played absolutely made no sense at all. For instance playing on the intercom system now was an instrumental that had a peculiar rhythm to it. And every couple of bars or so someone would shout out Tequila enthusiastically.
He turned to look at B'Elanna and noticed that she looked like she was in the "up" position of a push up and concealed a chuckle. No need to get her all worked up. He'd hate to have to calm her down especially if he was the cause of it. He'd never hear the end of it. Not for weeks, let alone months.
Chakotay turned his attention to Neelix, watching the Talaxian fidget with the padd before the next command was called out. Then it hit him, just as the Nelix announced left hand green the disk between B'Elanna and he changed colors. He caught the color change from the corner of his eye. Quickly, or so he thought he landed his left hand onto the soft flesh of another that was already occupying the space.
As he turned to look at B'Elanna again, his lips brushed feather light across the warm moist surface of B'Elanna's. Their eyes met, B'Elanna yanked her hand out from under his with such force that the energy of it sent her sprawling back on her bottom.
She looked aghast. Thankfully no one saw her mortification other than Chakotay. She got to her feet quickly making a hasty exit. Chakotay looked up at Nelix, then back toward the hatch. Now how was he going to patch this one up?
She was in the lift returning to her quarters. She pressed her fingers against her lips, and then pulled them away. Slowly she dragged her tongue across, savoring the spiciness Chakotay left behind. The doors swished open and she strode from it's interior with that spitfire confidence that was her signature. The only smile she wore was the one deeply embedded in her eyes. Cataloging the memory, and calculating how she'd make more.
