Work Text:
"Kathryn! We're gonna be late!" She heard Will say from the living room, realizing they must be really late if Will used her full name.
"I'm almost done!" She yelled back.
"You said that fifteen minutes ago!"
Smiling, she applied a coat of lipgloss and closed her make-up case. Hurrying out of the bathroom, she grabbed her sandals from the bedroom floor and ran to where Will was. Dropping onto the couch next to him, she put them on before giving him a peck on the lips.
"Ready." Kathryn said, proud of herself.
"It's about time!" Will replied, mid exasperated.
"Is everything in place?"
"It is, Ms. Janeway."
"Perfect." She whispered before kissing him again. Will tried to get up but Kathryn didn't let him.
"Kitty-Kat, I don't want to hear our mothers and grandmothers deliver their speech about punctuality." He groaned when she didn't stop.
"We'll hear it anyway."
Will returned the kiss, his hand running up her leg. Kathryn sat down on his lap, straddling him.
"Why aren't you wearing a skirt?" Will asked between kisses. "You know how I love them."
"Wasn't in the mood to wear one." She answered. "But I have a surprise for you under these pants."
"New underwear?" He asked and she nodded in answer. "Fuck, now that's the only thing I'll think about all the evening."
"It'll be worth your wait."
"I hope so."
They lips met again, making them forget about anything else. A few minutes later, the chirp of a combadge interrupted them.
"Transport Station Twenty-Five to Lieutenant Commander Janeway."
Quickly, Kathryn jumped away from Will's lap and hurried to grab her combadge.
"Janeway here." She answered the hail.
"Ma'am, I have here a Gretchen Janeway asking for you."
"Katie! Where are you? We've been waiting here for twenty minutes!" Gretchen's annoyed voice filled the room.
"Sorry Ma, something came up. I'll be right there. Janeway out."
After pinning the combadge on her shirt, Kathryn grabbed her purse and looked at Will.
"Come on! Let's go, before my Mom murders someone."
The small lobby at Starfleet's Transport Station Twenty-Five was crowded. The people waiting were occupying all the available chairs while friendly chatting went on between them.
All the talk stopped when the doors flew open and a couple walked quickly inside.
"Sorry we're late." Kathryn said, apologizing. "Something came up at the last minute."
"Yeah, sure." Phoebe snorted while standing up.
"Shut up, idiot, and give me a hug."
The two sisters hugged fiercely after not being able to see each other for three months. After a quick kiss on the cheek, Kathryn left her sister and proceeded to greet the rest of the family with Will.
"Where are Theo and Alynna?" Kathryn asked her mother.
"They told me they'll be late. Send them the address and they'll be there as soon as they can." Gretchen answered.
"I'll call them when we arrive."
"Where are we going?" Kathryn's grandmother asked.
"It's a surprise, Kate." Will said.
"Well, then, let's go! I'm an old lady and I need to sit down somewhere more comfortable that these chairs."
Will offered her his arm and Kate gladly took it. They walked outside the station, followed by Gretchen, Phoebe, Betty and Kyle (Will's parents). Silvia Riker took Kathryn's arm before following the rest.
After walking for five minutes through San Francisco' streets, they arrived at their destination. Everybody was surprised, they expected to have dinner at a restaurant but they found themselves in front of a tall building.
"Well, we're here." Kathryn happily stated.
"Here? Is there a restaurant inside?" Kyle asked, shocked.
"No, there isn't." Will said, laughing at his father. "Let's go upstairs."
The group entered the building and went to the lift. In two turns, they went to the eighteenth floor. When everybody was in front of the door, Kathryn keyed the code and opened the door.
"Welcome to our home." She said, smiling.
One by one, they got into the apartment, shock written all over their faces. Will and Kathryn shared an smile, pleased that their surprise had gone as planned. After closing the door, the couple joined the rest of the family in the living room.
"Ok. Explain" Phoebe demanded.
"Well, you all know we've been living together since last August, while we've been on Earth, of course." Will began explaining. "At Christmas, we decided to search for an apartment of our own. With a little help of our friends, and after a lot of searching, we found this."
"We bought it in March." Kathryn continued. "We used our free time to reform and decorate it to our taste. We finally moved in last week."
"We wanted to surprise you, that's why we didn't say anything." Will finished.
"Well, you certainly surprised us." Betty said.
"Who wants a tour?" Will asked, grinning.
"You can leave your things at the study while I send a quick message to Alynna and then we'll show you the rest."
The small apartment was perfect for a young couple. It had a large bedroom with an outstanding bathroom, completed with a big bathtub that Kathryn totally adored and enjoyed whenever she could, sometimes with Will but usually alone. The second bedroom was converted to an study with two desks for them to work. The living room was also used as a dinning room since the kitchen was too small, even if it had everything they needed. The best part of the apartment, the thing that made them decide to bought it, was the balcony. It was big enough to have a large table for family meals or to invite some friends, but it also had space to accommodate two couches and a coffee table, converting a part of the balcony in a chill out zone.
After the tour, their family was pleasantly surprised and everybody expressed it; even Kate, who usually didn't like anything her granddaughter did, was delighted. Pulling over some chairs so everybody could sit, they sat down at the chill out zone of the balcony to enjoy some wine and conversation while they waited for the last guests to arrive. Will observed that almost all wine glasses were empty so he got up from his sit between Kathryn and his mother.
"Anybody wants a refill?" He asked.
"I'll help you." Kathryn said, getting up too.
"I'll go." Silvia ordered. "Sit down, young lady. If you two go to the kitchen, we don't know when you'll be back and we'll die waiting."
"Grandma!" Will and Kathryn exclaimed, shocked. "We're not that bad." Will defended themselves.
"Yes, you are." Gretchen laughed. "But it's great to see your young love."
"It is." Betty agreed with her.
"Talk for yourselves." Phoebe joked. "Someday I'll end at the hospital with a big case of hyperglycemia after watching all the sweet things between these two."
"You should be studying drama, not art, idiot." Kathryn said to her sister. "You're a big drama queen."
"And you love every minute of it." Phoebe replied before sticking her tongue out.
"Yeah, sure." Kathryn said, mimicking her sister's antics.
"See what I had to live with all those years?" Gretchen said, making everybody burst out laughing.
Will and Silvia took the opportunity to go inside and grab another bottle of wine and something to eat. They returned outside and sat down with the rest of the family. Nobody noticed the change in Kate's demeanor.
Thirty minutes later, Alynna and Theo arrived and, as the rest of the guests, were surprised and amazed after seeing the couple's new apartment. After a quick tour, with everybody's help, they set the table outside and brought out the meal. Food disappeared quickly, more wine bottles were opened, people were enjoying themselves. But, during the meal, Kathryn observed that her grandmother wasn't her usual self. She tried to make her participate in the conversation but Kate didn't seem to be in the mood and that surprised Kathryn; the older woman had been delighted at the beginning of the night. After a few tries, she decided to let it go.
Later, when everybody finished eating, Will and Kathryn cleared the table, denying her family offers of help to do it. They put all the plates and cutlery in the sink, leaving the wine glasses at the table for those who wanted to continue drinking wine. Will returned outside while Kathryn made some coffee and tea. She was leaning on the counter, sipping her wine, absent-minded while waiting for the coffeemaker to finish and the water to boil, when Phoebe and Gretchen entered carrying the last plates that were outside. They left them next to the other ones and joined Kathryn.
"Thanks." Kathryn said, her thoughts returning to Earth.
"Are you alright, Katie?" Her mother asked.
"Yes, I am." She answered, leaving her glass on the counter and going to check the water. "Phoebe, can you take the cups outside?" She said, pointing to the tray next to the sink.
"Of course."
When Phoebe left the kitchen, Kathryn turned to her mother and looked directly at her.
"Do you know what's wrong with Grandma?" She asked, concerned but hesitating at the same time.
"I think I do." Gretchen answered but didn't elaborate.
"Well?" Kathryn said.
"You know how your grandmother is." Gretchen began. "She doesn't like being second best to anybody."
"What are you talking about?" Kathryn asked, hurt.
"Katie, I know you don't do it on purpose, but ..."
"But what?" She interrupted her mother, exasperation growing inside her.
"You call Silvia Grandma, you always go to visit her when you're planet-side. Maybe your own grandmother is feeling a bit left outside. I suppose she didn't want to see it but, tonight, it was evident."
"Ma ..."
"I'm not reprimanding you, Katie. She's my mother, I know how she is. She's never been the most caring person of the world and Silvia is a lovely woman but, perhaps, you should spend more time with her. Show her you aren't substituting her lack of affection with another person, show her you love her anyway. She loves you, very much, even if she's never known how to express it."
"What's taking you two so long?" A voice approaching the kitchen interrupted them. "Little Phoebe said you were making coffee. Did you go to harvest the beans?" Kate asked.
"We were talking, Mom." Gretchen answered. "I'll take the tea outside."
Gretchen picked up the water bucked, poured the water inside the teapot and left the room. Kathryn stopped the coffeemaker and put the pot in another tray. She turned around and almost dropped it when she saw that her grandmother was still standing there.
"Are you ok, Grandma? You were quiet during dinner."
"Of course I am!" Kate exclaimed. "Why wouldn't I be, Little Katie?"
"I'm not little anymore, Grandma." Kathryn said, approaching her with the tray on her hands.
"You'll always be my Little Katie, dear." She said, softly caressing her granddaughter's cheek. "I think I've just realized that you have grown up."
"It's been a while."
"Yeah, I'm getting old." Kate joked.
"You're not the only one, Grandma." Kathryn replied, grinning.
At midnight, everybody had already left leaving Kathryn and Will to enjoy the rest of the night alone in their new apartment. While Will finished picking up everything, Kathryn went to the bedroom to change. She got out of her clothes and grabbed her black silk robe. She put it on, checked herself in the mirror, and left the room to go find her boyfriend.
She entered the small kitchen but stopped at the door, leaning on the frame with her arms crossed and a silly grin on her face, waiting for Will to notice her.
"You changed!" He exclaimed after turning around and seeing her.
"I did." Kathryn said, still grinning.
"You're drunk." Will observed, knowing fully well what her grin meant.
"I'm not!" She stated, sightly offended. "Maybe just a bit tipsy."
"Where's my present?" He asked approaching her, slowly.
"What present?"
"The one you promised before."
"This one?" Kathryn asked, opening her robe and showing him her new green underwear.
"Yeah, this one." He growled. "Come here, Kitty-Kat."
Kathryn walked the remaining steps but stopped just before he could touch her. Will, exasperated, grabbed her hand and pulled, making her crash into his chest. Quickly, he claimed her lips in a long passionate kiss.
"Tease." Will said after breaking up the kiss, when the need for air overpowered them.
"But you love it." Kathryn flirted, putting her arms around his waist.
"Tonight, it went well, don't you think?"
"Yes. I think it was the first time our two families had a meal together. They get along."
"I'm glad."
"Me too."
While kissing her again, Will slowly cornered Kathryn between him and the kitchen counter, their hands running all over each other's bodies. Feeling the hard surface pressing onto her back, Kathryn tried to move away but he didn't let her. Instead, he took her legs and helped her sit on the counter. He settled himself between her open legs and grabbed her waist to pull her closer to him. Kathryn squealed, making him laugh.
"Here?" She asked, surprised.
"Here."
"We eat on this counter."
"I'll clean it later. We need to christen all rooms. It's tradition."
"Who am I to mess with tradition!" Kathryn laughed. "Take the helm, Mr. Riker!"
"Yes, ma'am."