Without You

[divinemissem13]

Title: Without You
Fandoms: Star Trek TNG, Star Trek Voyager
Pair: Beverly Crusher/ Kathryn Janeway
Content Warnings: N/A
Prompt: seasons change

The smell of autumn is in the air, despite the late summer heat. Scent is one of the things that the holodeck never gets quite right, but it's easy to forget what it's really like when you've spent so many years on a starship. Now, Kathryn sits on the front porch of the family farmhouse, breathing in the earthy aroma and admiring the reds and oranges and golds of the changing leaves scattered throughout the green trees.

"Room for one more?" Beverly asks, appearing at Kathryn's side.

Kathryn looks up and smiles. "Always," she says, stretching her arm across the back of the porch swing to indicate Beverly's seat.

Beverly slides onto the bench next to Kathryn and kisses her on the cheek as she hands her an iced coffee (black, of course).

"My hero," Kathryn sighs, taking the coffee gratefully. Iced coffee is another thing that she forgot she enjoyed over all those years. There's no need to sully your coffee with ice when you live in a temperature controlled environment. But on humid days like this, she welcomes the crisp chill of an iced beverage — especially when Beverly makes the coffee extra strong.

"I bet this view is incredible when all of the leaves turn," Beverly muses, her hand coming to rest comfortably on Kathryn's knee while she looks out at the expanse of oak and maple trees that reach far beyond the boundaries of the Janeway property. "And then in the winter, covered in ice and snow…"

"What makes you think you'll get to see it in the winter?" Kathryn teases.

"Well if I'm not here, who's going to bring you coffee?" Beverly teases back without missing a beat.

"Replicator," Kathryn replies with a shrug.

"You're going to live off of replicated coffee again?" Beverly asks, suddenly turning away from the view to face Kathryn. "Kathryn, are you going back?" her playful tone has turned to worry and there are creases of concern around her eyes and forehead.

Kathryn turns away from the view as well and looks at Beverly. She gazes into her eyes, the exact shade of blue as the sky on a fresh spring day. She runs her fingers through softly curled hair, streaked through with oranges, reds, and golds more beautiful than any autumn leaves. Her fingers skate down Beverly's cheek, over skin as smooth and flawless as a newly frozen pond. Finally, she leans in, and gently presses her lips to Beverly's, reveling in a warmth more welcoming than the summer sun.

"I'm not going anywhere," Kathryn murmurs her reassurance. She leans her forehead against Beverly's and feels the muscles there relax, a smile blooming on the cheek still being caressed by Kathryn's fingers.

Kathryn knows she'll go back eventually — the pull of the stars is still too great — but she also knows she won't go without Beverly. Because the number one thing she missed — the thing she never was able to forget for all those years — was what it feels like to hold this woman in her arms. Autumn and nature and iced coffees be damned, Beverly is the one thing she will never again be without.