Chapter 2 added on 27 Dec 2001
Disclaimers are in part 1.
Rating: PG13
"Learning to accept Your Nature"
"Hello, darling."
B'Elanna entered astrometrics as she had been longing for Seven ever since the two of them had had their first kiss in her quarters. Since then, three days had passed in which the two women hadn't seen each other as B' Elanna was on an away mission.
"I am glad to see you are back, Lieutenant," Seven replied, still facing the screen.
"Oh, Seven, you needn't call me Lieutenant any more. Honey, we're in love, so, the least you can do is call me 'B'Elanna'... or you could even call me by a pet name!"
"I do not see the necessity of calling you by a pet name... such names are irrelevant. Lieutenant is your rank aboard this vessel, so why shouldn't I call you by it?"
"Seven, this is not about a rank, this is about our relationship. This is about the two of us being in love. We needn't be that formal any more."
Seven addressed B'Elanna directly now, "I am willing to accept that the nature of our relationship has changed, Lieutenant, but I will not let it affect my work. Please come back if there is something relevant to talk about."
"Alright," B'Elanna replied, sounding furious. She went to the door with the intention to leave astrometrics, but then she suddenly changed her mind and went back to Seven.
"Why do you behave that way?" she asked her with an angry expression on her face.
"I don't know what you are talking about." She took a deep breath as she did know what B'Elanna was talking about, but she didn't want to talk to her about it, although she truly loved B'Elanna. Seven didn't understand what was going on with her herself. She had no idea why she was treating the woman that held her heart in her usual cold, ex-borg manner.
"About your way of treating people and how you manage to piss everyone off!"
With those words B'Elanna left the astrometrics lab. She was angry because she had expected a little more from Seven after not having seen each other for three days than a talk on why it is appropriate not to call her by a pet name... or at least by her first name. She was angry because Seven neither even seemed to care about B'Elanna's wishes nor about the feelings B 'Elanna had developed for the former Borg. B'Elanna was longing for a normal relationship with Seven that would be filled with hours of pleasure and harmony for the two women, but she realized that with a woman like Seven a relationship like this might be impossible - unfortunately. Nevertheless she was willing to learn to accept Seven's nature.
~~~
Somebody was at B'Elanna's door. "Come in," she said with an angry tone in her voice. She still hadn't forgotten the talk her and Seven had had three hours ago in astrometrics.
Seven of Nine entered B'Elanna's quarters, who was surprised at the sight of the young woman.
"Seven..." she said and put the engineering report she had been reading aside. She wanted to get up from the sofa she was sitting on, but while looking at the beautiful blonde woman she felt as if she was hypnotised and fell back into her seating position on the sofa.
"Hello, Lanna," Seven said in a soft voice.
B'Elanna didn't know what to say, how to react. She was absolutely surprised - Seven neither called her "Lieutenant", nor "B'Elanna", but "Lanna". For B'Elanna this was like a confession of Seven's feelings for her, as she knew how serious Seven takes the hierarchy aboard the starship.
"Is my calling you 'Lanna' sufficient?" Seven asked B'Elanna.
"Oh yes, darling," B'Elanna replied and made a gesture which indicated that Seven should come nearer. Seven did so and let herself slide down on the sofa next to her lover. B'Elanna started caressing Seven's hair with her fingers. She felt that it was as soft as silk and she smelled its lovely scent.
But suddenly Seven pushed B'Elanna away. "I have work to complete in astrometrics," she said and got on her feet.
"Can't you complete your work later?" B'Elanna asked in a harsh voice.
"No, it can't wait," Seven said and left B'Elanna's quarters. B'Elanna felt the same anger coming up again that she had felt only a few hours before. She couldn't understand why Seven treated her that way. The only explanation she could find for this behavior was that Seven might be afraid - afraid of loving...
~~~
B'Elanna entered mess-hall where Seven was sitting all alone at a table.
"We need to talk", the brunet woman said and set down opposite the woman she loved.
"What about?" Seven asked.
"About what has happened this morning and then afterwards in my quarters." She took Seven's hands into hers and looked deeply into her blue eyes. "Seven, I love you. Please don't treat me like that."
Seven tried to get her hands out of B'Elanna's. "Leave me alone," she said. In a way, she loved feeling B'Elanna's soft and warm hands upon her own, but then again she was somehow afraid. Of what, she did not know.
B'Elanna didn't understand what was going on. She loved Seven so much, but she was hurting or upsetting her again and again, and B'Elanna was no longer willing to feel the pain and anger that arose in her every time her and Seven met. She tried to take Seven's left hand again. "Seven, I..." she started, but Seven interrupted her at once by standing up and shouting "Leave me alone!"
B'Elanna left the mess-hall. If the door wouldn't have been automatic, she would have banged it. How could Seven hurt her that way? Didn't she know how important it was for B'Elanna that her friends know how happy the two of them are?
Suddenly she stopped walking. She saw Tom coming around the corner. He was reading a status report, so he didn't see B'Elanna. Somehow she felt the urge to get his attention.
"Hello, Tom", she said and made him look up from the report.
"B'Elanna. Hi. Doing okay?" he asked her, feeling a little strange as the two of them hadn't talked to each other ever since they had broken up.
"Yes, I'm... just a little dizzy, you know."
Tom looked to the ground. He didn't really know what to talk to B' Elanna about, although he wished to tell her that his heart still aches for her and how much he misses her. While he looked at her, he saw the same glittering in her eyes which he had always seen when the two of them still were a couple. While looking into those eyes, he suddenly knew that she was struggling with the same weird thoughts as he was.
"I miss you, Tom," B'Elanna finally said and let herself fall into Tom' s arms. He pressed her against his chest, happy that his suspicion had turned out to be true.
To be continued....