The Light She Leaves Behind
Summary: Everything's gonna be fine one day. Or so they tell him.
Characters: Chakotay
Codes: Janeway/Chakotay
Disclaimer: Characters are Paramount’s. No infringement intended.
Notes: I was challenged by Helen8462 to write an angsty 100-word drabble based on Seether's Fine Again. So I did. This is not really a flabble as there's nothing particularly fluffy about it.
Also, if you spot the Easter egg, I'm impressed. (You'll need to be familiar with Kirsten Beyer's short story 'Isabo's Shirt' or her novel 'Full Circle' to get it.)
Rated K
When he dreams, it’s of lamplight dappling her skin.
In the polished surface of his Starfleet boots his reflection appears colourless, distorted. The metaphor, he concedes, is appropriate. Without her there is no colour, and nothing makes sense.
Doubt, once a stranger, is now his torturous companion. His fingers close over the object in his pocket: a broken shard of mirror, wrapped in protective cloth. He unwraps it, holds it up, squints into refracted light.
Look at me. Freshly shaved, hair shorn. A uniform I may never fit again. For her, though, he’ll try. For her memory.
Here I am.