[Fanfic] Kira and Dax Go Camping (Star Trek Winter Gift Exchange 2025)

[spacedogfromspace]

Kira and Dax Go Camping

Star Trek Winter Gift Exchange 2025

Art

Kira agreed months ago to go on this camping trip with Dax, but now that the time has come, she is a little bit apprehensive about it, mostly because she has a huge unrequited crush on Dax, and being alone with her for two nights sounds like torture. She decides to not disappoint Dax by cancelling last minute, and spoiler alert: they both have a wonderful time.

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Fandom(s): Star Trek DS9
Character(s): Jadzia Dax, Kira Nerys
Tags: Kiradax, Shore Leave, Camping, Smores, Skinny Dipping, Crushes, First Kiss, Getting Together

Rating: Teen+ Audiences
Content Warnings: N/A
Word Count: 4457
Type: Oneshot, Standalone

Notes: Written for startrekwintergiftexchange for neil-armsloth

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Kira was dressed in civvies with a duffel bag hanging from her shoulder, heading for the docking bays. She regretted that she had agreed to go on this trip, when Dax had suggested it a month ago, but it was too late to back out now.

There was a rush of footsteps behind her, and Kira turned her head in time to see Dax catch up to her, falling into step with her.

"Hi!" Dax chirped. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah," Kira said.

Dax frowned. "You don't sound too enthusiastic."

Kira considered lying, but she wasn't very good at it, and knew Dax would see right through it. So she sighed, and told the truth. Well, one of the truths. The lesser one. "It's not that I don't want to get away from the station for a bit, or that I don't want to spend time with you, it's just that I have to admit that camping isn't my favourite activity," she said. "I'm a little apprehensive."

She kept the real reason to herself— that she had a huge crush on Dax, that was most certainly not mutual, and that spending two days and nights alone with this woman from way out of her league was going to be torture.

"Oh," Dax said. "Why didn't you say anything back when we planned this trip?"

Kira smiled sheepishly. "I guess I was just too excited by the prospect of getting away from the station."

Dax chuckled. "Well, we don't have to go if you really don't want to. I won't be offended."

"No, no," Kira said quickly. "You've been looking forward to this all month, I'd never dream of cancelling on you." Which was true. She would hate to see Dax disappointed, and hate it even more if she was the source of said disappointment.

"But if you don't want to—"

"I do want to," Kira insisted. "I want a little vacation, I want to spend time with my good friend Dax, and I'm... not super keen on camping. Two out of three is pretty good."

"We could do something else?"

"Dax, you love camping," Kira said. "I'm not taking this away from you. Look, pretend I never said anything. I'm good to go camping. I'm excited to go camping. If you're having fun, I'm having fun."

Dax smiled. "Alright."

They reached docking bay C and boarded the Rio Grande, which was their transport to their destination. They tossed their luggage into the little room with the cramped bunks, then returned to the cockpit to do their pre-flight checks.

With everything good to go, Dax took the pilot's seat, Kira taking the navigator's spot.

"Rio Grande to station control," Dax said, tuning the comms to the station. "Permission to disembark."

"Permission granted," Sisko's voice answered. "Have a nice trip."

Dax grinned. "Thank you, Benjamin."

There was a clank as the docking clamps released, and under Dax's skillful piloting, they were underway.

"So," Kira asked conversationally. "Where is our destination?" Dax had kept it a secret, but now that they were on the way, and Kira was sitting at navigation, she thought Dax might spill the beans.

Dax did not spill the beans.

"You'll see," Dax said slyly.

"Great," Kira said flatly, and leaned back in her seat to enjoy the ride, since clearly she wasn't going to be needed.

The Rio Grande made a smooth turn to a new heading, and Kira squinted out the window.

"Dax, why are we heading towards the wormhole?"

Dax didn't answer, but Kira saw her lips curl into a smug smile, which despite being irritating, made Kira's heart flutter a bit.

"Dax," Kira said again. "Are you taking me camping in the Gamma Quadrant?"

Dax's smile grew bigger, but she kept her silence.

"Jadzia Dax!" Kira exclaimed. "Does the Commander know about this?"

Dax laughed. "Of course he does," she said, waving her off. "It's approved and everything. Don't worry, we aren't going too far."

"The Gamma Quadrant is pretty far, if you ask me," Kira said.

"Pssh, not with the wormhole it isn't."

"Well, yes, but I'm talking about physical space."

"When we say we aren't going far, are we talking about the physical distance, or how long it takes us to get there?" Dax posited thoughtfully. "Far may be relative."

"Maybe it's close and far at the same time," Kira suggested.

"Perhaps," Dax said.

As they neared the wormhole, it bloomed open before them.

"Every time is like the first," Kira said. "You know, seeing the wormhole."

"It never gets old," Dax agreed, and they flew into the wormhole.

Their passage through the wormhole was silent. Dax was concentrating on getting them through to the other side safely, and Kira was watching the haze of blue clouds and sparking lightning, revelling in being this close to the Prophets.

Once they made it to the other side of the wormhole, Dax set a new heading, and steered the Rio Grande off into the Gamma Quadrant.

"You still aren't going to tell me where we're going, are you?" Kira asked.

"Nope," Dax said. "But don't worry, it won't take us too long to get there."

Kira sat back and enjoyed the ride. As Dax had promised, it didn't take too long to get to their destination— a beautifully green and blue Class M planet that was yet to be named.

Dax put the Rio Grande in a parking orbit around the planet and programmed some coordinates into the transporter while Kira fetched their bags.

The planet was beautiful from orbit, and Kira expected that it would be beautiful from down on the planet's surface as well, but she wasn't prepared for just how beautiful it would be.

The two of them beamed down into a meadow clearing in a tropical looking forest. The appearance of a jungle made Kira think of a hot and humid climate, but the air was slightly cool, which was a pleasant surprise. Camping would be much more tolerable for her without the hot mugginess of a rain forest.

"Dax," Kira said, doing a turn to take in the sights. "This is beautiful."

Dax grinned. "You haven't seen nothing yet," she said. "Come on, I have a campsite picked out that's a short walk from here. It makes this spot look like a barren wasteland by comparison."

Kira raised her eyebrows. "Well, I'll believe that when I see it."

Dax lead the way into the forest. There were no trails, but there was a narrow game path that Dax followed. It was rough terrain, full of steep inclines and declines, and crossed with tangled roots, but at least they wouldn't get lost.

A new sound caught Kira's attention. She focused on it for a long moment as she walked, trying to identify the faint ambient noise.

"Is there a waterfall up ahead?" She asked Dax.

"There is," Dax said, for once not being mysterious.

Kira listened to the sound of the waterfall get louder as they walked. She wondered if the waterfall was their destination, but knew that if she asked, Dax wouldn't answer.

Suddenly, the thick forest around them dropped away as they stepped out into a clearing. Kira gasped at the view.

They stood on a stretch of thick, vibrantly green grass that lead down to the edge of a sparkling blue lake. Across the lake was a cliff face, and the waterfall Kira had identified earlier by sound glistened in the sunlight as it poured down from atop the cliff into the lake. The edges of the lake, aside from the patch of grass where the two women stood, were lined with thick vegetation, which reached out over the water in spots, providing shade. It seemed like the only place to view the lake was from where they were standing, it was the only break in the vegetation around the whole lake.

"Dax," Kira said. "This is amazing."

Dax winked. "Told you you'd like it." She dumped her luggage on the grass and stretched her arms over her head. "Bet two nights camping doesn't seem so bad now."

"Ugh," Kira said, dropping her own bag. "I could live here!" She put her hands on her hips, breathed in the fresh, clean air, and gazed out at the lake. "Well, I've learned to trust your instincts when it comes to picking out camping spots."

"Thanks," Dax said. "Now how about some dinner?"

Most of what they packed for food was packaged, non-perishables that were basically field rations with more sugar. But Dax had secretly replicated them a fresh dinner just before they beamed down from the Rio Grande. Much to Kira's delight, Dax had chosen hasperat.

They sat in the grass, eating their dinner and watched as the sun set over the waterfall, casting the sky in brilliant shades of pink, red, and orange, the stars slowly beginning to peek out.

"I should start a fire before it gets too dark," Dax said as she polished off her hasperat.

"I'll help," Kira said, starting to get up, but Dax waved her off.

"No, no, you stay and relax. This won't take me long."

"Well, if you're sure," Kira said, sitting back down uncertainly.

Dax smiled at her. "I'm sure, don't worry."

By the time Dax had gathered firewood, arranged it into a small pyre surrounded by stones she had found by the lake, and got a flame started, the sun had vanished behind the cliff. The sky was a deep blue, quickly fading to a pitch black, thick with stars.

"Wow," Kira said, looking up at the night sky. "It's almost like there's no atmosphere, that's how clear the stars are."

"It's amazing what a lack of light pollution can do," Dax replied.

"The stars don't even look this clear from the station."

Kira watched the stars, breathing the cooling night air, relishing in the light breeze that came across the lake. She thought that with scenery like this, she might be able to keep her thoughts off her feelings for Dax for the duration of her trip. Maybe.

The tranquility was interrupted by a rustling sound beside her, and she looked to see Dax wrestling with a bag full of rounded white things.

"What are you doing?" Kira asked.

Dax had the packaging between her teeth and her answer was muffled beyond comprehension.

"What?" Kira asked.

Dax finally tore the package open and spat out the chunk that was in her mouth. "I thought we could make smores."

"What are smores?"

"They're these things Benjamin told me about. Said they're classic camping fare. Basically, you heat up a marshmallow over the fire," she held up the bag of white things, "then sandwich them between two of these graham crackers with a piece of chocolate and eat them."

"What are marshmallows?"

Dax held up the bag of white things again.

"Yes, but what are they?"

"Oh," Dax said, thinking. "I have no idea. Anyways, I found us some sticks to roast them on," she said, taking out the long thin sticks she had gathered along with the firewood. She used a pocket knife to quickly whittle down the ends into sharp points, stabbed a marshmallow onto each of the sticks, and handed one to Kira.

Kira took the stick gingerly, unsure what she was supposed to do with it. When Dax held the stick so the marshmallow was close to the fire, Kira copied her.

Dax yelped when her marshmallow caught fire, and waved her stick around to put out the flames. She studied the blackened sweet and shrugged. "Still good," she decided.

"If you say so," Kira said. "I'm still not so sure about these things, burnt or not."

"Honestly, me neither, but they've been hyped up so much by Benjamin and Jake that I have to try them or I'll die of curiosity." Dax picked a graham cracker out of a box, and put her marshmallow on top, placing a thumb on it so it would stay put while she pulled the stick free. "Ow!" She said as the marshmallow burned her. She set the stick aside and sucked at her thumb. "Mmm," she said, getting a taste of the marshmallow. "So far so good."

Kira decided that her golden brown marshmallow was done, and copied Dax as she constructed her smore, putting a piece of chocolate atop the marshmallow and squishing it all down with another graham cracker.

"Cheers," Dax said, raising her smore in a toast. Kira mirrored her, and then they both took a bite into the unfamiliar treat.

"Mm," Kira hummed thoughtfully. "It's sweet."

"It's delicious," Dax said dreamily. "Benjamin and Jake weren't exaggerating. These do taste like heaven."

"They're very good," Kira admitted. "But they might be a little too sweet for me. I probably couldn't eat more than two at most."

Dax polished off her smore. "Do you want another?" She asked. "I could certainly go for another."

"Well... Oh, what the hell, I'm on vacation," Kira decided. "Another one won't hurt."

In the end, Kira stopped after the second smore, but Dax managed to put away eight in total, much to her stomach's dismay.

"Oof," Dax said, stretching out in the grass beside the fire. "I'm going to be bloated for days."

"Something tells me you don't know much about moderation," Kira said.

"How'd you know?" Dax joked.

The sky was a pitch black, and the reflection of starlight glittered off the lake. The warm glow of the fire illuminated the two women as they lounged in the cool night air.

"Well, how about I set up the bedrolls?" Kira asked.

"That would be great," Dax said. "I don't think I can move."

Kira got up and grabbed their sleeping bags, shaking them out and laying them on the ground beside the fire, placed so the heads would be close together. She grabbed her pajamas from her bag and moved off into the shadows to change and brush her teeth with some bottled water, before returning to the fire and getting into her sleeping bag.

Dax dragged herself over and laid down on top of her sleeping bag. Apparently, disturbing her stomach by getting up to change wasn't worth it.

The two of them lay on their backs and stared up into the stars. A streak of white light burned past, a meteor skipping off the atmosphere of the planet.

"Make a wish," Dax said drowsily.

Kira silently wished for Dax to return her feelings, but she felt guilty the moment she thought it. It felt selfish. Instead, she wished for her and Dax could to friends for a long, long time.

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The next morning Kira woke with the sun rising behind them and shining onto the waterfall, casting prisms of colour in the mist. She sat up and looked over to Dax, who was still asleep. Apparently, the fire had been too warm for her, because she had rolled away from it and off of her sleeping bag, and was crashed out in the dew-damp grass.

Deciding to let Dax sleep in, Kira got up quietly and stepped past the burnt out campfire to her bag, where she retrieved a set of clothes to swap her pajamas out for. She changed, drank some of the water they had brought, and walked the short way down to the lake-side with bare feet.

The lake had a small but sandy beach, lacking in sharp rocks or clusters of algae or slimy water grass. Kira stuck her toes into the water and found that it was surprisingly warm. Not like a hot spring by any means, but it lacked the chill that the lakes she'd visited on Bajor had.

She rolled up her pants to just below her knees, and waded out into the lake, keeping her eyes down on the lookout for any curious creatures that might approach her. She spotted a couple of small fish that darted by, and wondered at what else lived in the lake.

"Fancy a swim?"

Kira jumped at the sound of Dax's voice, and turned. "I didn't know you were awake," she said.

"Just rolled out of bed," Dax said, stretching. She was still wearing yesterday's clothes, which were rumpled from sleep and damp with the morning dew.

Kira raised an eyebrow at her. "I think you rolled out of bed far earlier," she said, referring to finding Dax sleeping in the grass instead of on her sleeping bag.

Dax laughed. "Yeah," she admitted. "So. Swim?"

Kira shrugged apologetically. "Didn't bring a swim suit," she said.

"Me neither," Dax said.

Kira was about to ask why she had suggested swimming if she hadn't brought a swim suit when Dax started to pull her shirt off. Kira quickly turned away to face the lake and away from the topless Dax, a harsh blush rising to her cheeks. Skinny dipping had not been on her camping bingo card. And it was not conducive to her 'avoid thinking about her feelings towards Dax' plan.

There was the sound of splashing water as Dax walked into the lake. As she passed into Kira's line of view, Kira saw that she was wearing nothing but undershorts, which were patterned with little pictures of Deep Space Nine. Kira vaguely remembered Quark selling the same underwear as souvenirs a few months back, and didn't think anyone had bought them, but it appeared that she was wrong. Luckily, thinking about this particular business venture of Quark's distracted Kira from Dax's near-naked body.

Dax waded deeper into the water, then dove under it. When she resurfaced, only her head was above the water, which made Kira feel much less embarrassed to be looking in her direction.

"Come on in!" Dax shouted to her with a big grin. "The water's fine!"

"Alright!" Kira called back nervously. "Just... give me a second." She looked from side to side, searching for a place nearby that would offer her some privacy as she changed. Or rather, stripped. She spotted a clump of tall reeds and headed for them, stepping out of the water and through the sand.

She shook her head at herself as she ditched her clothes. She was not usually so modest. She was plenty used to changing clothes— and even bathing —in front of other people, due to the nature of fighting with the resistance. She was also used to seeing other people with less clothes than is usually considered decent. But she knew that this was different. With Dax it was different.

Which is how she found herself cowering behind a clump of reeds in nothing but a scant pair of blue undershorts, arms wrapped over her chest, trying to gather the courage to step out of her hiding place and join Dax in the water.

"Kira!" Dax shouted from the lake. "Where'd you go?"

"I— I'm coming!" Kira shouted back.

"Okay, just making sure you didn't get eaten by feather serpents!"

Kira took a deep breath, then marched out from behind the reeds into the open. It was awkward to do so while walking, but she kept her arms crossed tightly over her chest as she waded into the water, until the water rose to her neck. She swam out to where Dax was treading water, but kept her distance. The water was very clear, and any closer would allow her to see certain things.

"See? Told you the water was nice," Dax said.

"Yeah," Kira said awkwardly, treading water. She thought for a second. "What's a feather serpent?"

"Oh," Dax said. "It's an animal that lives around here. It's like a big snake, but with feathers. And wings. They can fly."

Kira gave her a look. "You didn't mention that there were deadly flying snakes here before you took me camping here," she said.

"Pssh," Dax said, waving a hand, which meant she accidentally slapped the water a bit. "They're harmless! Entirely harmless! Promise!"

"You said you worried I got eaten by one!" Kira protested.

"I was joking!" Dax laughed.

Kira pouted, putting on an angry expression. Then her face broke into a laugh and she swiped the surface of the lake, sending a splash of water at Dax.

Dax cackled and splashed her back. They giggled and shoved water at each other as if they were children for a while, until Kira's hair— which had been dry until the splash war began —was soaked through and plastered down to her scalp.

They calmed down after a while, and spent a while exploring the lake. It wasn't particularly deep, and the water was clear, so they spent some time diving to the lake bed and searching for shells, interesting rocks, or even small animals to bring to the surface and show off.

"Check this out," Dax said at the surface on one such occasion. She held up a shell for Kira to see. It was a spiralled cone of a bright orange, with cream stripes.

"It's beautiful," Kira said from her safe distance of two meters. Far enough that she wouldn't see anything untoward, but close enough to see a pair of curious little eye-stalks and legs emerging from the shell. "Looks like someone's home."

"Huh?" Dax said, turning the shell to see what Kira was talking about. When she saw the little crustacean staring up at her she yelped and dropped the creature, which gladly floated back down to its home on the lake bed.

Kira laughed at Dax's start, and Dax stuck her tongue out at her before joining in.

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When they tired of swimming, they walked out of the lake and back to their bags. The sun warmed their skin, but you wouldn't know it from Kira, who stood hunched over with her arms wrapped around her. Dax, however, spread her arms to the side, basking in the sunlight. Kira tried to keep her gaze averted, but couldn't help notice that Dax's spots went all the way down. A flush crept up her neck, touching her ears.

Dax knelt by her bag and produced two towels. She tossed one to Kira, who gratefully wrapped it around herself.

"You didn't bring a swim suit, but you brought towels?" Kira asked.

Dax shrugged coyly. "An oversight, I guess," she said in a way that suggested it was in fact not an oversight.

Kira turned around to hide the blush on her cheeks that came with the implication, and towelled off.

Once they had dried off and changed, they sat in the grass— now dry with the afternoon —and enjoyed the sun.

Dax took a bottle from her bag and squirted out a large glob of something white onto her hand before offering the bottle to Kira. "Sunscreen?"

Kira took the bottle. "Probably should." She hated the feel of sunscreen, but she had been horribly sun burnt on multiple occasions during her time in the resistance, and didn't want to repeat that experience while on vacation. Remembering how her skin peeled in those days, she caked on a particularly thick layer of the lotion.

"Get my back?" Dax asked after Kira had finished applying her sunscreen.

"Hm?" Kira asked.

"I can't reach," Dax said. Kira looked over and saw that Dax's shirt dropped rather low in the back.

"Oh," Kira said. "Yeah, sure." She scooted closer to Dax, put some sunscreen in her hand, and started to spread it across Dax's skin. Dax's velvety skin sent a shiver through her, and she hoped Dax didn't notice. Dax also felt warm. Warmer than the sun should have made her.

"You're hot," Kira commented.

"Thanks," Dax said.

"Uh, I mean—" She wanted to clarify that she meant she was hot temperature wise, but also didn't want to deny that Dax was hot looks wise.

Dax laughed at Kira's flustered state. "I'm kidding," she said. "I know what you meant. Trill run a bit hotter than other species. It's normal."

"Oh," Kira said. She finished massaging the lotion into Dax's back, and sat back down beside her, wiping the excess lotion from her fingers into the grass. She made a choice. "You're... also hot in the other way. For the record," Kira said. She had done many a brave thing in the resistance, but this felt braver.

Dax smiled warmly at her. "Why, thank you," she said with a dramatic flare. Then, somewhat more seriously, "I think you're pretty hot, too."

Kira blushed hard, and was at a loss for what to say. Dax looked back out towards the lake to give her some privacy. "You know," she said thoughtfully. "I think I'd like it if you called me Jadzia."

Kira cleared her throat nervously. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," Dax said. "If that's okay with you."

"Yeah, that's okay with me," Kira said. "Jadzia," she added, tasting the name on her tongue. It felt good. It felt right. "If you want, you can call me Nerys," she offered.

Dax smiled, and looked Kira in the eye. "Alright," she said. "Nerys it is."

Kira had never heard Dax say her given name before, and hearing the two syllables that belonged to her spoken in Dax's voice made her feel warm, and dare she say, fuzzy, on the inside. She couldn't help the pleased and bashful smile that crept onto her face. She froze when Dax leaned in to kiss her.

The surprise must have read on her face, because Dax looked at her worriedly. "I'm sorry, I—"

"No!" Kira butted in. "No, it's fine, I'm fine, it's just..." She struggled for words. "I didn't know you felt that way."

Dax blinked at her. "I invited you camping, just the two of us," she said slowly. "I brought you to the most romantic location in the Gamma Quadrant— probably —and tricked you into going skinny dipping with me, got you to rub sunscreen into my back, and it took me kissing you for you to realize I liked you?"

"I— I guess," Kira stammered out. "Wait, you planned all of this because you like me?"

"Uh, yeah," Dax said. "Gotta be honest, I thought we were on the same page until just now."

"I just assumed we were friends?"

"Well, we are friends, I just hoped maybe we could also be something..." Dax waved a hand nebulously.

"Oh," Kira said, the last few months recontextualizing themselves in her brain.

"I mean, no pressure or anything," Dax said hurriedly. "Friends is also good. Friends is awesome."

"Friends is good," Kira said slowly. "But... something a little different might also be good?"

"I think it might be good," Dax said. "If you want to try, Nerys."

"I think I want to try, Jadzia," Kira said, and this time when Dax leaned in to kiss her, she met her halfway.

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