DISCLAIMER: I do not own these characters. The others belong to Paramount and the other PTB. No intent to infringe, insult or profit is intended. The idea came to me today and had to jot it down.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
On the Gridiron
By Karjens40
"Seven, you made it," called out the perpetually cheerful Tom Paris. He smiled as the tall graceful woman entered the holodeck, dressed casually in the outfit she usually wore to play Velocity.
"Of course. I did say I would join you here, did I not?" Seven took a moment to look around the holodeck that had been turned into a large field covered in white lines.
Instead of being offended by her bluntness, Tom just laughed. "Yes, you did. Sorry. Anyway, I'm glad you decided to come.
"I admit I am unclear as to the purpose of this activity," she said, as they entered further into the holodeck program. He led her to where several other crewmembers were already gathered.
Seven immediately noticed the slender, dark haired form of B'Elanna Torres standing by the field, talking to Chell, the blue skinned Bolian. For some reason she couldn't explain, seeing her there made Seven glad she had agreed to attend. She suddenly found herself discomfited when B'Elanna turned her head and caught Seven looking at her. Nodding once in acknowledgement she quickly turned back to Tom, waiting for him to explain the purpose of the program.
"It's just football, Seven. It's a really great game of strength, strategy and teamwork."
"Explain," she ordered and Tom gave the former Borg a quick overview of the rules.
"…and then each team tries to move the ball into the other team's end zone," he finished.
"I see." Seven thought for a moment. The Borg did not pursue games or sports, but since leaving the collective, Seven found she occasionally enjoyed certain such activities.
"Very well. Proceed."
"Yes, ma'am," Tom replied with another laugh as he gathered the group around.
"OK, guys. Harry and I are captains, so we'll pick teams. Harry, do you want to pick first?"
Harry Kim knew what was what. Seven of Nine and B'Elanna Torres were the two strongest women, hell the two strongest people on board Voyager. He knew the likelihood of getting both on his team was impossible, but he didn't know which one to pick. He looked between the blonde and the brunette almost in a panic. He didn't want to hurt either of their feelings by selecting the other, nor did he want to anger them .
"Sometime today, Starfleet," called out the Chief Engineer, causing those around her to laugh at the young Ensign's hesitation.
"You pick first, Tom" Harry decided. He had a feeling he knew who Tom would pick first, so it would make Harry's decision a lot easier.
"It's comforting to know we have such a decisive officer on the bridge," B'Elanna teased.
"Funny, Maquis," he muttered with a blush. "Go ahead Tom."
"OK then, I choose B'Elanna." Harry breathed a sigh of relief, glad he had selected his former girlfriend.
"I hope you don't regret this too much, Harry," she grinned as she moved to stand next to Tom.
It was Harry's turn to grin as he smoothly called out Seven's name. He noticed the strange look on B'Elanna's face, somewhere between a smirk and nervousness, but didn't have time to pursue it.
Seven moved to Harry's side, not horribly comfortable with this random selection process, but she ignored it.
"This will be interesting," Tom grinned at his friend Harry.
"I'll say," B'Elanna added. "I imagine I'll be pretty thirsty when this game is over. I hope you guys can afford it," she jibed looking at Seven.
Seven raised her ocular implant and gave a small sigh. "Another wager, Lieutenant?" she asked Tom.
"Just a small harmless one. The losing team buys drinks for the winning team at Sandrine's after the game."
"I see. As our team will not be losing today, I don't believe we have anything to worry about," she said smugly at B'Elanna who merely grinned in response to the implied challenge.
"Get on with the choose, Paris," B'Elanna ordered. She was actually looking forward to the game, and to seeing what a former Borg could do with a football. The opportunity to knock the blonde to the ground as many times as possible was an added bonus.
By the time the teams got ready to take the field, Tom had added Adara, Chell, Nicolleti, Carey, and two other crewmen to his team. Harry had selected Samantha Wildman, Chakotay, Ayala, Baxter and two Ensigns to his team, and they moved onto the field.
"Okay. Just to make things more interesting, this is going to be tackle instead of touch. The safeties are on, so there's little risk of severe injuries, and the doc is here just in case.
But no cheap shots," he added seriously, looking at B'Elanna, knowing instinctively she'd be targeting the tall Astrometrics officer.
B'Elanna, seeing the look raised her eyebrows innocently and shrugged. "I don't take cheap shots, Paris."
He ignored that and continued. "Also, Neelix and Vorik and the Captain will be refereeing. Are we ready?"
"As soon as you stop talking," B'Elanna replied.
"Funny. Let's go."
After flipping a coin, the two teams took the field. Harry's team won the toss, so they got the ball first.
Seven lined up with her teammates, still somewhat unclear on what was expected. She looked across from her to see B'Elanna Torres giving her what could only be called a feral grin. As she waited for Harry's signal, she had a feeling she should have declined Tom's invitation.
"Hike!" Harry called. Seven moved to run up the field but only took two steps before a small Klingon hybrid body was laying on top of hers as she lay flat on her back.
"I like beer," B'Elanna said, her smile even bigger as she looked down at the flustered former Borg.
The next two plays had the same result. Every time Seven made to move, B'Elanna managed to knock her off her feet before she could get down the field. On the next play, however, Seven had managed to adapt to B'Elanna's style and avoided the initial tackle but she hadn't gone far when she was pulled down from behind, and the Lieutenant was lying on her back.
"Maybe I'll have whiskey instead," B'Elanna whispered in Seven's ear before she got off the taller woman. Seven heard a light laugh as she lay on the ground trying to catch her breath. She couldn't figure out if her inability to inhale came from being knocked down, or from feeling the Lieutenant's warm breath on her neck.
"You okay?" Harry asked offering her a hand. Seven looked up at her 'team Captain'.
"I am functioning normally," she replied. "However, I fear my abilities at this contest may be insufficient." She took the Ensigns hand with her human one and allowed him to help her to her feet.
"It's okay Seven. This is your first time playing, and Torres is not easy to get around. I'm just glad you're the one facing her and not me," he said with a grin. "Don't worry," he added patting her arm, "you'll catch on."
Seven looked over her shoulder to see the Klingon looking at her with an overly smug look on her face. An odd emotion swept over her, and she narrowed her eyes in return. Her lips lifted in a half smile and she saw the smirk fade from B'Elanna's face.
Uh-oh, B'Elanna thought seeing the focused look pass over Seven's face. Somehow she knew that the former drone had… adapted, and now it was time for paybacks.
Tom's team now had the ball and he led his team to the line of scrimmage, and yelled out "Hike!"
Sure enough, B'Elanna quickly found herself on her back, with a long body covering hers. She looked up into a pair of intense blue eyes.
"As I don't consume much alcohol," Seven said quietly, "this wager means little to me. However I shall attempt to come up with another form of payment." Not knowing why she did so, she slowly shifted her body so it rubbed lightly across the Chief Engineer's. She bit back a moan at the unfamiliar feeling, and then she had to bite back another one when she heard a sudden low growl coming from beneath her. She quickly rose to her feet and went back to her teammates.
And so it went for the majority of the game. The two strongest players spent most of the game tackling each other, but their distraction did provide opportunity for Ayala to run past the downed women to score the first touchdown of the game.
Chell, the large blue Bolian scored the next touchdown, and B'Elanna was ecstatic. She hated losing.
Harry sized up a grinning Paris and his teammates and noticed the fierce expression on the Klingon's face. Gulping slightly, he called his team into a huddle and gave them his plan. They took the line again, and once more Seven found herself looking at her small adversary. This time feral grin met feral grin.
"Hike!" Harry yelled and when Seven moved, B'Elanna immediately rushed forward and leapt at the taller woman. This time Seven was ready and she ducked, sending B'Elanna flying over her back. Seven smiled at the "oomph" she heard coming from behind her as she ran forward. Her long legs quickly outran Tom's team as she raced down the field. She turned and saw Harry pull his arm back and released the ball. As she caught the oblong ball in her hands, she saw an angry Klingon rushing forward at an amazing speed.
B'Elanna growled again as she saw the tall blonde rushing toward the end zone. As the holodeck time was running out, this was going to be the last play of the game, and if Seven scored, their team won and B'Elanna was not about to let that happen, plus she had an unreasonable need to feel the…she clamped down on that idea quickly. Seeing that none of her teammates were anywhere close to Seven, she forced another burst of speed.
Almost there, she thought, her breath coming harder. Seven was near the end zone now, and finally B'Elanna was just close enough. She dove at the other woman and dragged her down to the ground.
Seven's breath once more left her as she felt her stomach impact the ground and a firm body land on top of her. Holding onto the ball, she used her enhanced strength to twist around under B'Elanna and flip the engineer over to where Seven was now the one on top.
"Sorry Borg, I got you," B'Elanna grinned up at the blonde woman, breathing so hard she was nearly panting.
"Look again, Klingon," she whispered.
B'Elanna turned her head and saw they were laying half over the line of the end zone.
"QI'yaH!" she snarled, realizing her team had lost.
Seven smiled down into frustrated brown eyes. "Lieutenant. Such language indicates poor sportsmanship."
"Shut up," she muttered but without much heat. She looked up into eyes the color of the holographic sky. She knew she should be pushing Seven off of her, but was unable to move. She watched in fascination as the blue eyes traveled over her face and down between their bodies and back up to her eyes.
"I believe I have decided on what I want for payment," she whispered. She dipped her head close to B'Elanna's neck, but before she could touch, hands pulled her off the engineer.
"Way to go Seven! Great catch," Harry shouted, clapping her on her back. Her teammates crowded around her to congratulate her.
"Great job Seven," Tom called sincerely. "Pretty good for a first time, though I'm surprised B'Elanna was able to knock you on your ass so many times."
Seven glanced at the still dumbfounded brunette. "Yes, the Lieutenant does have an aptitude for…knocking one off their feet," she said suggestively. Only B'Elanna picked up on the implication and Seven saw her blush furiously. "I do believe however that now we are even."
B'Elanna's lips twitched at that. "I'd have to say you were right, Seven." She couldn't help but laugh.
So, what time are we meeting at Sandrine's?" Harry asked his friend with a smug grin. It was rare he beat Tom Paris at anything.
"Are you really going to hold us to that?" Tom asked, sounding like a pouting little boy, but the twinkle in his eyes, told the group he was playing.
"You know it," Harry said gleefully.
"Fine. How about in an hour?"
"An hour sounds good to me," B'Elanna chimed in, not taking her eyes off of Seven of Nine.
The rest of the group agreed then left the holodeck to go freshen up in their quarters, leaving only B'Elanna and Seven behind.
"Computer, end program," B'Elanna ordered. With a chime of acknowledgement the holodeck returned to its normal plain grid pattern. She saw Seven making her way to the doors and she quickly caught up to the taller woman before she could access them. She put a hand on her arm and turned her around.
"Seven, wait," she ordered.
"Is there something you need, Lieutenant?" The question was innocent, at least B'Elanna thought it was, but the images it sent racing through her head nearly made her swoon. She settled on one thought.
"Yes. I need you to finish what you started," she ordered softly.
"Lieutenant?" Seven sounded confused, but B'Elanna knew better.
"Nice try, but you know very well what I mean," she said tilting her head back and subtly exposing her neck.
Seven did know what B'Elanna meant, and was amazed this was what the Lieutenant wanted but she was happy to oblige. She lowered her head and instantly became aware of the hybrid's unique scent. Despite the physical exertion of the football game, B'Elanna still smelled sweet.
Inhaling briefly, Seven finally touched her lips to the silky skin of B'Elanna's neck, and she could literally feel the growl that came from the Klingon's throat. She had always found the sound of B'Elanna's growl rather fascinating, but to actually feel it was indescribable. Seven released her own moan and moved her lips from the throat, up to B'Elanna's jaw in a leisurely pace until the impatient engineer took Seven's hair in her fist and pulled the wandering lips to finally cover her own.
This was the first time that B'Elanna could ever remember enjoying defeat.
The End