DISCLAIMER: Paramount owns 'em, no question. We just play and give
'em back later. No money earned.
NOTES: I thought I might do a little series called At Home
With... all standing alone, but depicting some aspect
of our two at home. So here's the first.
At Home With...
By alastria7
Number 1
"Why won't you let me see?" pleaded B'Elanna, as she lunged once again at Seven in their living room.
"Because I believe you will do exactly as you are doing now, and shout at me," stated Seven, reasonably.
"So, what's the difference? I'm shouting anyway! Oh, you can be so frustrating at times," B'Elanna grumbled as she considered she'd just have to find another way around this one. "Been like it long?" she said at length, in an almost disinterested way, "only I haven't noticed it before."
"For precisely two days, although it has worsened this past two hours."
"Well, for goodness sake, let me look!"
"The word 'no'," said Seven nonchalantly, "may have been created to be used by people who didn't want something to occur."
"I'd noticed that."
"Well, I've employed it some five times thus far. I shall not employ it again," stated Seven as her nose climbed in the air, just a little.
"Just take your damned shoe off, huh? What harm's it gonna do? Let me look."
Seven simply glared at her and limped off into the bedroom. "Well, I'm not having this," her partner muttered as she followed her in, "why haven't you seen the Doctor about it? Surely you don't mind him looking."
"I find it a source of embarrassment that my nanoprobes are not dealing with this situation."
"Uh huh," B'Elanna was stumped. She felt she had tried everything and was about to give up when suddenly her face lit up, "Well I'm gonna see it later," she said, delighted with herself, "unless you intend to sleep with your boots on!" Triumphantly, she went and busied herself with a little outstanding work.
Seven retired to the couch, ordered a gentle piece of music from the computer and put her feet up. Closing her eyes, she smiled to herself about having won that round.
"Bedsocks?" Bedsocks? Since when did you start wearing bedsocks!"
"Since you became insatiably interested in the welfare of my foot."
Totally frustrated now, B'Elanna lunged at Seven's right sock, but the ex-Borg's superior reflexes were no match for her.
"Missed," smiled Seven, as she attempted to get comfortable. B'Elanna lay beside her, staring up at the ceiling: she kept quiet for a while and then couldn't help herself, "Look, if it's nothing to worry about, why won't you let me see?"
"Because you are driving me mad, B'Elanna Torres. I believe I am employing a reaction I learned from your good self."
"Oh? And what's that?"
"Stubbornness!" Seven looked pleased with herself - smug and pleased.
"Oh, well. That does it." B'Elanna threw herself at Seven who put up a very good fight. Giggling the two of them rolled off the bed onto the floor as B'Elanna repeatedly tried to de-sock Seven's right foot. Failing, she then turned to Plan B, which had never yet been known to fail.
"You are being unfair, B'Elanna," giggled Seven.
"I'm being unfair, am I? Well, maybe that's how I like it sometimes. Why?"
"You have a `weapon' against me that you know to be effective."
"Yeah, I know. Works too, doesn't it?"
"That remains to be seen," squeaked Seven as she practically dissolved into helpless giggles.
"Oh, I'd say it was working. It was a good day, when I discovered you were ticklish."
Seven stood the torture for approximately three more seconds and then shouted, "All right! I'll show you. Just, please, stop!"
Instantly, B'Elanna rolled off Seven and looked at her, putting both hands up in the air as she cried, "OK."
Seven sat up and slowly, with B'Elanna's eyes widening, she started to remove the right, pink, fluffy bedsock. "These are extremely warm and pleasant," she said, pausing in her task."
"Seven." warned the Lieutenant.
Seven continued to remove the sock and B'Elanna fell upon the offending foot, searching it thoroughly for any cause as to Seven's limp. Finally she ended up studying the outside of the little toe, drawn by the fact that it was red with a little white centre; she pushed her finger onto it.
Seven winced, "Please don't."
B'Elanna stared at her, her mouth open and her eyes wide and said, unbelievingly, "It's a corn!"
"I have seen pictures of corn, it is longer, with ears."
Ignoring her sparring partner, B'Elanna explained, still with a look of wonder on her face, "This is what you get when you rub the skin so much it has to defend itself. What have you been doing?"
When the woman didn't answer, B'Elanna looked at Seven's boots beside the bed, and picked one up. She took it over to the wardrobe and picked up the same foot of an older pair, yet to be recycled. "Well, no wonder," she said, comparing them sole to sole.
"What?" asked Seven, not understanding.
"You lunk, you replicated the wrong size. They're smaller. It's a wonder you're walking at all."
B'Elanna went over to the replicator and used her own rations to replicate a perfect-sized pair of boots for Seven, and then went and dropped them in front of her, on the floor.
"Tomorrow. Doctor. Remove corn," she ordered, as Seven looked at the new boots, smiled her thanks to her partner and sheepishly returned to the bed.
"I will comply, Seven promised and sat replacing the right bedsock, (which definitely managed to look cute on her)as B'Elanna joined her.
"You're putting that back on?"
"I am. I had no idea of the comfort they would provide." Reaching over to the bedside cabinet, Seven took a matching pair from the drawer and threw them across B'Elanna's chest.
"What!" B'Elanna stared at the socks.
"Try them," began Seven, turning it into a gentle plea when B'Elanna simply glared at her. "For me, please?" Seven stroked her love's arm, causing a ripple throughout the entire length of the Engineer's body.
Staring at her tormentor, with the beginnings of a smile on her face, B'Elanna picked up the socks. "The things I do for you," she said as she began to put on two pink fluffy bedsocks, to a chorus of giggles. "I'm not modelling them," she warned.
In the dark, one pair of pink bedsocks found the other pair and they got on rather well - except for a small "Ouch" from the owner of one of the pairs, as a small corn was located.
"Serves you right, for keeping it from me," laughed B'Elanna, as they both set about forgetting the foot, at least until the morning.