Archive of Our Own ^beta

The view of the bay at sunset was breathtaking. The sky was a hazy mix of cool blue and warm pink. The sun set perfectly above the water, blinding light reflecting off the Golden Gate. There was barely a breeze, but a nightly chill already descended over Starfleet Academy.

Chakotay shivered. It was getting darker and colder by the minute. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could wait for--

The rustling of branches from the woods behind him interrupted his train of thought. He instantly jumped up from his seated position, unsheathing his blade. Silence rang loud in his ears. 

Then, from behind the trees, an amused voice called out, “It’s just me, Chakotay. You can relax.”

He let out an exhausted sigh. “Sometimes, I wish you weren’t so good at your job. You could’ve been a monster for all I knew.”

A small laugh echoed in the air before Kathryn stepped out into the clearing. Instead of her silver uniform, she wore a light red sweater, black shorts, and a pair of black army boots. Her bow was slung across her body. “I gotta be,” she said, brushing a loose strand of red hair out of her face, “Lady Artemis won’t have it any other way. Plus, the Mist covers this end of the bridge.”

“Barely.” Chakotay quickly put his weapon away, moving forward then to embrace his friend. “It’s been a while,” he whispered.

He felt Kathryn’s head bobbing up and down against his shoulder. “It’s been too long.”

They pulled apart after a few long moments, blue eyes locked with brown. A smirk pulled at Kathryn’s face. “Camp’s been good to you?”

“Can’t complain.”

“How’re your siblings?”

“Ah, Demeter kids will be Demeter kids. But Keiko’s good. Dating Miles now.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. He came to visit the cabin the other day, brought her some tulips.”

Kathryn groaned. “How cliché is that?”

“She did love them, though.”

“I’ll bet.”

Fingers barely touch each other, hesitant. Chakotay dropped his gaze. 

“Jadzia misses you,” He spoke slowly. “She says the Athena cabin isn’t the same without you there handling all of the others.”

Kathryn pursed her lips. “Jadzia and Jean-Luc are more than capable of ‘handling’ our brothers.”

“It’s not just your brothers. Apparently Jim has been sneaking in to see Spock, and Geordi has been sending a lot of gifts to Noonien--uh, Data. Right.” He looked up. “Sorry.”

Her expression went soft. “They know slip-ups happen, Chakotay. Thank you for respecting them.” She paused for a moment before her eyes began to sparkle. “Wait, wait. Spock and Data have boyfriends now?”

Chakotay let out a breathless laugh. “Yeah. Crazy, huh?”

“More crazy that things have changed so much in eight months.” Kathryn glanced down at her hand now intertwined with Chakotay’s. She didn’t pull away. “Anything else new?”

He swallowed harshly. “Uh,” he stuttered, voice rough. “Harry also got a boyfriend.”

Eyes went wide. “No.”

“Uh, yes.”

“Please don’t tell me--”

“ Yes. ”

“Oh no .”

“I’m not too worried. Tom’s been behaving around Harry.”

“I’m worried! Tom Paris is one of the most dramatic and mischievous Hermes’ kids I’ve ever met. And that’s really saying something, ‘cause I’ve known Jim and Quark for years!”

“But I don’t think any bad influence is gonna rub off on Harry any time soon. That kid still gets nervous about staying up past curfew. I doubt Tom’s gonna convince him to do something bad.”

“I’d guess you’d know better than me at this point.” Kathryn’s tone turned bitter. 

She let go of Chakotay’s hand and took a step back.  

Pushing down a swell of disappointment, Chakotay comforted her from afar. “No one could replace you here, Kathy.”

“But I’ve already been gone for so long.” Carefully, Kathryn lowered herself onto the ground, fluidly taking her bow off. She sat criss cross, rubbing her hand on the lower limb of her bow. “I can’t regret the oath I made,” she said softly, “and I am proud of the Huntress. But I always miss my family here.” She looked out to the sunset. “I miss what we could’ve had.”

Chakotay blinked. “Not exactly subtle anymore, huh?”

“Not exactly a secret though, is it?”

“Lady Artemis--”

“She knows.” 

He stumbled back a little bit. “...what?”

“She always knew. Even before I took the oath.”

“Then… why would she let you do it?” He took a knee, urgently placing a hand on her back. “Why would you still do it?”

Kathryn turned her head, red hair covering her face. The fading sunlight made her silvery glow--Artemis’ blessing--more and more visible. It seemed to taunt the both of them. “You know what she said to me when I met her?”

“Can’t say you told me.”

“She said she saw a warrior in me.” She chuckled. “I knew she was going to offer me to join her Huntresses. Bev hinted at it the last time she visited camp. It is an amazing opportunity scouted by Lady Artemis. I told her that I was honored--I was a bit pre-emptive, I’ll admit--but I was… I don’t know if what we had was love. But I had… feelings for you.”

Chakotay admitted quietly, “So did I.”

“I suspected, but I didn’t know it then.” She plucked at her bowstring. “Lady Artemis then basically said that a true warrior, a Huntress, sacrifices love for duty.”

“She challenged you to join the Huntresses.”

Kathryn sighed. “No, no. It… She didn’t say it like a challenge. It was more of a truth. At least, now it feels like the truth.”

“What do you mean?”

She turned to him, eyes soft. “I would do anything to keep you and the rest of my family safe. And if that means sacrificing any chance at love… I guess that’s it.”

Swallowing hard against a dry throat, Chakotay spoke. “You say it so easy.”

“Believe me, it wasn’t easy. But, it’s the choice I made.”

“Okay.”

“... I’m sorry, Chakotay.”

He instantly scooched closer to her. “Don’t be, Kathy. Please, don’t be.” He looked back out to the sunset, his breath again stolen from him from the view and from the intimateness of the moment here with his would-have-been love. “Let’s… Let’s just enjoy the view for a while, yeah?”

He felt her gaze heavy on him before joining his. “Yeah.” Her voice was low and somber. “Let’s.”

They sat there for hours.