Rain

Title: Rain
Author: Ky (Venom_69)
Fandom: Voyager
Category: Romance, angst
Pairing: J/C, Tom/other
Rating: Teens & Up
Summary: Set during Future’s End. A missing scene, if you will.
Archive: My site. Anywhere else, sure, just let me know where so I can come visit.
Disclaimer: Don’t own them, never will. Promise to put them back in the state I found them. Song’s not mine either.
Author’s notes: Written for

dk2022. She initially wanted a CSI: Miami/Voyager crossover but Horatio annoys me too much to write him, so she got this instead. Suspend belief and pretend that CSI was on in '96! Hope you like it darl.
Date: 16/09/06
Copyright © to Venom, 2006

***

Don’t you go out in the rain
Don’t go out in the pouring rain
If you go out in the rain
You’ll never have that time again

***

”The man took off his sunglasses and thought, ‘This is going to be one big clear up.’”

“How do you know what he thought?”

“It’s written all over his face.”

Tuvok watched the screen carefully. “I see no writing on his face.”

Rein raised her eyebrow. “You take everything literally?”

“How else should I ‘take it’?”

While she was tempted to retort with something witty, Rein suspected that he was unlikely to get any reference that she made about sex and/or CSI: Miami.

They were waiting for Tom to get back from getting them some lunch. No doubt it was destined to be another Dodgers Stadium banquette, but Rein was so hungry that she would be prepared to risk her arteries and her waistline once more.

She and Tuvok had been sitting on the pier for almost half an hour. He wasn’t exactly the most thrilling conversationalist that Rein had ever met, but when he did say something, she’d found that it was usually something profound.

In a desperate attempt to entertain them, she had dragged him – quite reluctantly – into one of the larger stores nearby. They’d ended up in the Home Entertainment department and Rein was mildly delighted to discover that CSI: Miami was playing on their display televisions. The sound was turned down though, so she’d been giving Tuvok a running commentary of what was happening on the screen.

She’d been up to the part about Horatio making one of his signature moves when she’d been so rudely interrupted.

“Well fancy meeting you here.”

Speaking of interrupted… There was a man and a woman standing next to them, watching the screen. The one that had spoken, the man, was dressed in a dark grey suit. “Do we know you?”

“I do.” Tuvok bowed his head slightly, before addressing the woman in the white suit. “Captain.”

“Captain?” Rein repeated. The attractive woman before her didn’t look like she belonged in the USAF. Could this day, these people, get any weirder?

“Kathryn.” The woman corrected. Her hand rested on the arm of the man in grey. “This is Chakotay.”

“Rein Robinson. Nice to meet you.”

“You too.” Kathryn turned to Tuvok. “Mr Paris?”

“Attempted to find something to eat.”

“Understood. Have you been successful?”

“Not as yet.”

“I was!” Tom’s voice rang towards them and Rein had never been quite so glad to see another human being before. He held out two greasy bags. “Nachos. With cheese and hot chilli sauce. And guess what else I found?”

Rein smiled at the boyish enthusiasm. He might get some things a little wrong – groovy? – but what he lacked in normalcy, he more than made up for in effort. “What?”

“Simpson’s comic book!”

“Cool!”

“Totally!” Tom pulled something off the top of the book. “It came with a free glittery lip gloss… I thought you might like it.”

Rein took the pink tube from him, smiling shyly. “Thank you.”

A delicate cough interrupted them. “Mr. Paris?”

“Ah, hello Ca-Kathy.” He was grinning.

“Kathryn.” She replied firmly. “And I suggest we move this outside. The store employee over there doesn’t look impressed.”

“We have done nothing wrong.” Tuvok defended.

Rein pointed to a sign above one of the larger televisions. “No food allowed.”

They moved their bunch of mismatched people outside to one of the plastic table and chair sets by the railing. Watching the sea, Tom distributed the food around – both Kathryn and Chakotay declining – and Rein began to eat her nachos with a vengeance.

“Will you three excuse us for a moment?” Kathryn didn’t wait for a reply as she and Chakotay moved a few feet away.

“This is good.” Tom declared, ignoring their departure.

“I am fairly certain that the Doctor would not approve.” Tuvok stated, looking at the food before him distastefully. “I suspect this should be studied, not eaten.”

Tom shook his head. “Lighten up Tuvok. It’s good food.”

“Are they…?” Rein nodded towards Kathryn and Chakotay, who were standing with their backs to them.

Tom looked up from his nachos and followed her gaze, sighing a little before turning back to the cheesy goodness in front of him. “No.”

A dark hand moved to Kathryn’s back, not quite a caress and not quite a platonic touch. “You sure?”

Tom looked again. “Not really.”

Before she could enquire further, they returned, standing at Tuvok’s shoulder. “We’re going to take a walk,” Kathryn announced, pulling something from the bag that Tuvok had placed on an empty chair. “I think there’s something interesting on the beach.”

Whatever she really meant, Tom obviously got it, because he nodded. “Have fun, kids.”

Chakotay smiled softly. “You too.”

It was the first time that he’d actually spoken and Rein was startled by the soft voice that came form the big man. Tall, dark and handsome. She watched as Chakotay’s eyes followed Kathryn’s movements. And totally smitten.

The three of them sat at the table, eating quietly. The day had started to cool down a lot and Rein could see the clouds forming in the sky. There was a particularly ominous looking black one that was gathering above them and before she could say anything, Rein felt a light splatter on her cheeks. “We should go find your friends and get undercover.”

Tom nodded, looking towards the direction they’d gone. “Let’s go.”

“I will get the van.” Tuvok announced.

Abandoning their food, Tom and Rein walked to the steps of the pier. Lots of formerly happy beach goers were rushing past them, obviously with the same intention of keeping dry as the rain began to fall heavier.

When they stepped onto the sand, they both sank a little. Ignoring the fact that she was bound to end up with sand in her shoes, she followed Tom as he started walking.

They’d only been on the beach for a few moments when she felt a hand wrap around her own and Rein smiled, curling her fingers into his. “Where did they go?”

“I don’t see them… oh.”

“Oh?” She asked, following his line of sight to… “Oh.”

Kathryn and Chakotay were standing in the rain. They weren’t doing anything but facing each other. They were, perhaps, a little closer then would be deemed necessary for friends, but there was nothing there that suggested Tom and Rein were interrupting something.

Nothing, that is, until Chakotay’s hand raised to trace the droplets of water that trickled from Kathryn’s forehead. He followed them, beginning at her hairline and chasing them as they danced along her eyes, nose, cheeks, lips.

It was an incredibly intimate action and Rein almost felt like she was watching them make love.

Kathryn’s hand came up as well, following suit as she traced water from Chakotay’s hairline, her tentative fingers lingering over the tattoo above his eye.

“Oh.” Rein repeated softly. “What do we do?”

“We can’t stay in the rain.” Tom almost sounded sad.

“So…?”

“I don’t know what to… actually.” He stopped, released her hand and spun around to face her, his back to the couple several feet away. “AT-CHOO!”

Is he having a strange Secret Agencyish fit? “Tom?”

He didn’t get to answer her as the voice came from behind her. “Bless you, Mr Paris.”

Tom looked appropriately surprised as he spun around. Rein was impressed. “Thank you, Kathryn. Where did you come from?”

“We were looking at some… shells, over there.”

Rein wasn’t listening as their conversation continued. Her eyes focused on Chakotay’s face. How was it possible for a man to look sad, defeated, angry and incredibly happy all at once?

Oh yeah, she thought definitely ‘nothing’ there.

***

Later, when she was finally home, Rein dropped onto the couch with a sigh.

It had to have been the strangest few days that she would ever experience. At least, she hoped she’d never experience anything like it again.

Secret Agents? Disappearing cars? Men who couldn’t be hit? Tuvok’s ears? No thanks.

She sighed.

Kissing Tom Paris? Yes please.

With a small laugh, she wondered what his friends would say when Tom went back to them wearing glittery lip gloss.

***

Later, when he was finally home – if one could call the Delta Quadrant that – Tom dropped onto the sofa by the view port with a sigh.

Time travel was certainly one of the more interesting aspects of being a Starfleet Officer, that was for sure. While most of their time in 20th Century Earth had, well, ‘sucked’, he couldn’t help but smile at the memory of Rein.

For a 20-something women of the ‘90’s being forced to deal with the things he had brought to their little adventure, she’d done remarkably well. And that kiss…

His lips tingled, remembering a bit.

Remembering brought him to the beach... and what they’d seen.

He wasn’t callous enough to mention it to any of his friends so that it could be swirled along the grapevine,(The betting pool didn’t cover time travel, anyway.) but he couldn’t help feeling like they’d intruded on something intensely private.

Despite what he’d told Rein, Tom wasn’t sure if they were together or not.

No one was really sure.

If they were, then he imagined that they’d simply been trying to find a few moment of peace in the chaos that Voyager had managed to get involved in.

If they weren’t… God, he thought, what if they aren’t? What if that was…?

Sighing, Tom rose and moved to the bookshelf, picking up one that he’d replicated in his early days of trying to get B’Elanna to notice him

The Klingon-English dictionary hadn’t been much use to him with trying to get the girl, but he’d highlighted all of the profanity in there just in case.

Picking out the phrase he thought was the most appropriate, Tom left his quarters and walked towards the Turbolift with purpose in his strides.

He had to find out. He had to know if he’d ruined something or merely interrupted a private moment.

In the blink of an eye, he found himself at the First Officer’s quarters, his hand ringing the chime before he could talk himself out of it.

Heghlu'meH QaQ jajvam.

***

End

According to the online dictionary I read, Heghlu'meH QaQ jajvam means “Today is a good day to die” in Klingon.