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Kat had never been one for monogamy. She enjoyed relationships but she never saw why that had to mean sex with no one else. She liked sex with lots of partners and she enjoyed the variety of dynamics she could have with different people.
She had been especially enjoying it as admiral. She hadn't expected it, but becoming an admiral had given her a certain appeal among lower ranked Starfleet officers. People were attracted to power and authority and she enjoyed playing that role during sex. So when a Starfleet officer, especially one who she didn't work with regularly, expressed an interest, she tended to be happy to oblige.
Although it did mean she had to file paperwork. Presumably somewhere in the depths of Starfleet bureaucracy there was a record of every officer she'd fucked. But as long as it wasn't coercive, nobody cared.
So when she and Philippa had started becoming more serious, there had never been a need to discuss exclusivity. Philippa was well aware of Kat's tendencies, Kat would often tell Philippa of her latest exploits as a form of foreplay. Normally Kat didn't think much about who else Philippa might be fucking. Until now.
She’s in one of the parks at Headquarters and across the park, tucked into an out of the way spot, she can see Philippa. She has someone pushed up against a tree and is kissing them.
Seeing it is eating Kat alive. It's burning her up. She has never felt this way in past relationships, but now, seeing Philippa with someone else, all she wants to do is go over there and yank them apart. Of course she can't do that. So she deliberately leaves the park and returns to their quarters.
She tries to settle down, tries to get some paperwork done, but has little success. She's still on edge when Philippa returns home. When Philippa enters, Kat doesn't look at her. She gets off the couch and moves to look out the window instead. She stands stiffly, her arms crossed, her back facing Philippa.
After a moment, Philippa notices something is off, “Kat?”
“Hey.”
Philippa moves to her side, puts a hand on her arm. “What's going on?”
“Nothing.” Internally Kat realizes this is normally Philippa's role. She's being surly and unresponsive because she's upset. And normally it's Kat who has to coax out what's bothering her. Part of her feels ashamed, she should be acting more mature than this, but she can't seem to pull herself out of it. Another, pettier, part of her feels it’s only fair for Philippa to be on the other side of it.
“Kat.” Philippa tries to pull her to face her but Kat shrugs off her hands. “Kat, tell me what's going on.”
“I saw you kissing someone in the park.”
“So?”
“And it bothered me.”
Philippa's brow furrows, “But you're with other people all the time.”
Finally Kat turns to face her, “I know. I know. It shouldn't bother me, but it does. It bothers me so much. I…” She trails off and glances away.
Philippa puts her hand on Kat's arm and waits for her to finish.
“I don't think I can bear it if you keep seeing other people…”
“So you want me to stop seeing other people?”
Kat quickly adds, “I would stop seeing other people too.”
Philippa mulls it over for a moment, then says, “Okay.”
Surprised, Kat echoes, “Okay?”
“Yeah, okay. Although you don't need to stop seeing other people."
Kat's even more surprised now, “Really?”
“It doesn't bother me. Really I find it kinda hot. But…”
“What?”
Philippa looks uncomfortable and shrugs. “It doesn’t matter.”
Apparently it's Kat's turn to coax out feelings. “Tell me.”
“I… I'm different from the other people you have sex with, right? I'm not just one of the many? I mean I know I'm not but-”
Kat interrupts, smiling, “But sometimes it's nice to hear it? Of course you're different from the others, They're just about sex but I don't want to just have sex with you."
Kat's hands move to Philippa's waist, "I want to hold you. I want to fall asleep with you in my arms and wake up the same way.” Kat pulls her closer, “I want you to steal my breakfast and tell me about your day. I want to hear your snarky comments when I tell you about my day. I want…” Kat trails off and looks away, she's not sure if she should say what she's thinking.
Then she looks back up and says “I want you to be mine.”
Philippa's body freezes and she looks at her intently. She lets out a breathy little “oh.” She blinks rapidly a few times before leaning forward and resting her forehead against Kat's, "Oh."