Status: Complete
Series/Sequel: No
Rating: PG
Pairings: C/P/K
Date: 09/19/99
Category: First Time

Disclaimer: Paramount and lots of lawyers own the boyz. I just stole them away to play in my own little fantasy world. I'll return them sometime in the next millenium.

Thanks to Cedara and Indigo for their beta services. I tried to listen to them but all mistakes are mine.

This story is dedicated to Amirin who mentioned that she wanted a threesome that wasn't a parody.

Ensign Tom Paris stood near his best friend Ensign Harry Kim. Behind them sounds of merriment ensued as Ensign Woodard, assigned to Stellar Cartography, celebrated her birthday.

"Do you miss it, Har?"

Harry sighed. Tom was in an introspective mood. He had been in the same mood for the last four standard months, ever since their last run in with Species 8472.

"Miss what exactly, Tom?" The ensign on the left executed a lopsided gesture, "Miss the Alpha Quad? Yes. Miss my parents? Yes. Miss all that is safe and familiar? Yes?"

The sigh from the ensign on the right was heartfelt. "I don't know anymore."

Harry turned to Tom, "You don't know anymore?" Ensign Kim's voice was intense.

Tom blinked and focused on the smoldering man next to him. "What's up, Har?"

The look on Harry Kim's face was priceless. Ignoring the partygoers, Harry moved. Shifting around his companion, nudging the taller man, until Tom was facing him his back pressed against the bulkhead. Harry positioned his body in front of his friend blocking Tom's escape with a hand on either side of the trapped man.

"I have had enough Tom." The young man was exasperated. "I miss it. I miss all of it. We all do, but this has been the grandest, most glorious experience of my life and," Ensign Harry Kim leaned forward and tilted his face up a tiny bit. His eyes closed and he pressed an exploratory kiss on Tom's open mouth, "I have been privileged to have experienced it all with you."

Executing a perfect, snap salute, Harry Kim spun sharply on his heel and walked away. By the time Tom clawed his way back to reality, the ensign had wished Carlene Woodard, the Deltan, a happy birthday and had left the Mess Hall.

Tom brushed his index and middle fingers against his lips. He expected them to be branded, burning hot from that soft brush of Harry's lips, but they remained cool to the touch. His lips were fine. It was his insides that had just been rearranged.

"What going on, Paris?"

"Harry just kissed me, B'Elanna." Tom's voice at least reflected some upheaval, sounding slightly raspy.

The half-Klingon woman stared at him, "I noticed. Was it..."

"Did anyone else notice?" Tom interrupted to ask urgently.

"Just about half the crew here." B'Elanna confirmed dryly. "As your ex-girlfriend, I must say, my successor is...."

"Did she see?"

The chief engineer arched a brow in query.

"Seven, did she see?" Tom asked again.

"I don't know," B'Elanna admitted reluctantly, "She might have. She was talking to the doctor. Why?"

Tom Paris rubbed his eyes, whisking away any tiredness that might have been responsible for his eyes tearing a little. "Because B'Elanna, I think he's trying to make her jealous."

B'Elanna Torres, chief engineer of the USS Voyager, stared at her crew mate. She looked around and spotted Seven of Nine, still engrossed in her conversation with the EMH. The former borg appeared oblivious to the by-play in their corner of the room.

"Why?" She asked baldly.

Sighing, Tom straightened to his full height from the slouch he'd slumped into after his friend's kiss. "Harry's been interested in Seven forever. I think the...err...this is his way of getting her attention. I just wish," Tom swallowed around the lumpy mouthful of cake that somehow had managed to revisit his throat, "I just wish he'd have told me, ya'know. I could've been better prepared, put some real action into the kiss." Scornfully Tom finished, "That little kiss wouldn't rattle anyone."

B'Elanna looked at the pilot carefully. Tom Paris was barely holding onto his cocky persona. He was rattled. The last time B'Elanna had seen him like this, he had come to her quarters to break it off with her. She had felt sure then that there was someone else. It was a couple of nights after he and Harry had returned from their mission to Chwillnnwwyythywth, a near-unpronounceable name, even for a Klingon. The people, though, were pleasant and did not turn their guns on Voyager. In his report Tom had talked about his inadvertent participation in some male-bonding-type ritual with the natives while on the surface.. He had joined a long line of young males who were approaching an elder seated in a curtained alcove. Each male alien spent a few minutes with the elder. When Paris had tried to leave the line, he had been told he had to stay where he was. To leave the line would be a mark of great disrespect. In his report, Tom told the bridge crew that the elder had told him to pursue happiness.

The engineer grimaced. Two words and Tom decided to make some changes in his life, divest himself of some deadwood. The ensuing scene had not been pretty as she, the deadwood, was shed. That they were still friends months later was mostly due to the continuous, subtle pressure from Harry who always suggested activities that included the other. That and the fact that Voyager was too small a ship to have old grudges fester for long. They all needed each other and the pilot and the engineer had to work too closely on the Delta Flyer not to communicate with each other.

B'Elanna had waited to see who was the new person in Tom's life. Deep inside her heart, she felt that all the events that occurred after her Day of Honour had been orchestrated by that damnable species that had been using them as guinea pigs for their genetic tests. This had never occurred to Tom, or if it had, he'd never mentioned it. Analytically, she felt that it was reasonable to assume that if some of their testing had been on pain and other negative emotions, then some must have been on the physiology of love, a very positive emotion, and she and Tom had been the chosen pair. Events had moved far too quickly after that alien encounter.

Long months had passed and Tom dated no-one. However, with this latest evidence, she would have to come to another conclusion. Tom may not know it, there *was* someone else and his name was Harry Kim.

Touching the pilot's hand gently, B'Elanna nodded agreement, "Except you, Tom. It rattled you."

Tom Paris was stunned. He blazed bright red, then went pale. Only then did he make for the door of the Mess Hall. Head down, intent on making his escape safely, he left the party quickly. Approaching the turn, he headed for the nearest turbolift. If it didn't break every protocol to do a site-to-site transfer within the ship, he would have attempted it. Rounding the corner, Tom Paris slammed into an immovable object. Commander Chakotay.

Tom Paris was against him full length. One sweet moment of contact and Chakotay savoured it. Placing one hand on the pilot's sinewy arm, the larger man helped Tom regain his balance. "Slow down, Paris." The first officer was concerned, "Is there a problem in Medlab?"

"No, no, Sir." The Ensign vibrated with poorly concealed urgency while he tried to exchange pleasantries with his superior officer.

The commander's face cleared. Dimples peeked out as Chakotay smiled at Voyager's pilot. "Tom, you don't need to travel everywhere at warp speed."

Tom spoke quietly, "I'll try to slow down. Sorry, Commander."

The hint of desperation in his eyes drew the other man. Acutely attuned to Voyager's crew and even more so to a special few, Chakotay left his hand on the pilot's upper arm. Face becoming nearly stern, the first officer asked, "What's wrong Tom?"

Ensign Tom Paris pulled himself together. This would never do. He had worked hard to cultivate his insouciant image. Grimly, he patched the crumbling facade. "I'm fine, Commander."

But Chakotay, always hyper-aware of the brash pilot, knew something was wrong. Quietly he repeated, his voice pitched only for the Tom's ears, amidst the sudden swirl of activity around them as some new partiers tumbled from the turbolift. The group steered around the still couple. In the sudden silence as the Mess hall door slid shut behind them, Chakotay asked gently, conveying all the concern he could manage, "What's wrong?"

Gritting his teeth and firming his jaw, Tom Paris for one millisecond wished that he were still a pariah on Voyager.

"Nothing Commander, Harry tried to make Seven jealous but I don't think it worked." The pilot's chuckle was forced, "I think I should give him some pointers y'know."

Chakotay rocked back on his heels and asked confusedly, "Make Seven jealous?" he parroted.

Taking advantage of the sudden release in the commander's restraint on his arm, Tom fled, calling back, "Thanks for your concern Sir." As he reached the turbolift, though, he turned back and smiled. It was a small smile, but a smile nonetheless. "You'd better hurry Commander, I heard a rumor that Bateheart was gonna substitute real alchohol for the synthale."

Long after the turbolift doors closed, Commander Chakotay remained motionless in the corridor, a thoughtful frown wrinkling his brow. He remained there until a slight dark-haired figure brushed past him, "Chakotay, aren't you coming to the party?"

"B'Elanna, hello. Coming or leaving?"

"Leaving, I'm on duty in ten minutes."

"Torres?"

The chief engineer walked back to the tall man. "Yes, Chakotay."

"Is Tom OK?"

An annoyed frown chased across her features, "I don't think so Commander." She shrugged, "I'm not sure...."

"What did he mean about Harry making Seven jealous."

Observing the mulish cast to B'Elanna's features, Chakotay continued, "In my capacity as de facto ship's counselor I can make that request for information an order."

"Harry kissed Tom. Most of the crew saw. Tom thought Harry did it to make Seven jealous." B'Elanna recited the facts dryly, her tone non-judgmental.

Like a pool cue scattering balls in a first break, Chakotay's emotions spun wildly out of control. Maintaining a calm facade was very difficult but with the sharp-eyed engineer in front of him, he managed it, just barely.

"Thank you B'Elanna. I appreciate you telling me. Don't forget I need those monthly evaluations from you tomorrow after shift."

The petite half-Klingon woman scowled, "You do know how to depress my mood Chakotay. I don't like doing those." She held up a hand to forestall the first officer's words, "They'll be done by tomorrow. I promise."

Chakotay exchanged a fond smile with B'Elanna. He knew exactly how much she disliked doing evaluations. She told him how much, each time she submitted them. Turning around, he continued on to the Mess Hall. His face remained inscrutable, none of his chaotic thoughts visible.

Circulating through the crowd, after wishing the Deltan birthday wishes and pausing for a warning to Bateheart, Chakotay found a corner where he could observe the crowd. As soon as Janeway arrived and he exchanged pleasantries with her, he would leave. It was a ritual of sorts, one he and the captain participated in each time there was a party on board.

Sipping his replicated orange juice, Chakotay, smiled blandly at everyone and no-one. Idly he stood musing, comfortable in his mystic warrior pose.

"Chakotay," The captain smiled at her first officer, "Any reason why you aren't socializing?"

Dimpling, the taller man responded, "I am socializing. I am communing with the wall."

Pretending to scan the room, Janeway moved closer to Chakotay's bulk. "Now who would you be socializing with hidden away here in the corner."

Fondly, Chakotay replied, "I never knew you had a mean streak Kathryn."

Voyager's captain did not pretend to misunderstand. Leaning in even further and gifting him with a sweet smile, she whispered, "It makes the crew happy."

Maybe it was the sudden opening up of possibilities that made him curt, "It suits your purpose to pretend, but what do I gain from it?"

Rocking back Janeway asked, "I didn't think...is there...." Realizing that if she did not stop and regroup, she would insult her first officer, Janeway paused, "Has it been so bad Chakotay?"

Picking his words carefully, the first officer responded. "New Earth was enlightening. You were very honest there." Aware of the glances they were drawing while they carried on their private conversation, the first officer murmured, "It's never mattered before."

"But it might now." She concluded. Kathryn Janeway made a mental note to have a talk with Neelix very soon. Next to Naomi Wildman, Neelix was the most informed person on the ship. Often he did not make the connections, but the snippets he discussed with her kept her apprised of all of her crew's doings. Touching Chakotay's forearm, she led him towards the doctor. As the group eddied around them, she wondered who had caught Chakotay's interest.

She waylaid Neelix on his next pass, "Wonderful party, Neelix."

"Thank you, Captain." The Talaxian grinned, a broad smile spreading over the homely face. "I wanted to go with a more Deltan theme, but Tuvok mentioned that he didn't think it was a good idea."

Dredging through her memory stores, Janeway drew a blank.

"When I mentioned to Mr. Vulcan how interesting I found it that the Deltans celebrated their birthdays upon attaining majority with sequential lovemaking..."

Ah, now she remembered, "Say no more Neelix. Tuvok was right. I don't think I want my crew to line up outside Ensign Woodard's quarters waiting for a turn."

Neelix was puzzled, "But Captain, if it is a Deltan custom, why wouldn't we want to honour it?"

She seized the opportunity that presented itself, "Why don't we have breakfast early tomorrow morning in my ready room and we can discuss it?"

"It would be my pleasure, Captain."

Chakotay smiled pleasantly as the captain moved towards Tuvok. That was his signal to leave. Exiting the Mess Hall, he paused outside the doors. Maybe it was what B'Elanna had told him. It sounded as if Harry was finally making his move on Tom. For a moment, he slumped, losing his erect posture, what he wanted, what he hoped...it was not to be, not for him, not with those two, not ever. They were young, vibrant men who complemented each other so perfectly that it was non-productive to even follow that train of thought. Standing tall once more, Chakotay, walked to Holodeck two. He needed to pound a few holographic opponents. Maybe then this want, this need, this unrequited desire would be suppressed again.

*********

Harry surveyed his room. It was pristine. Admiral Owen Paris could hold a full inspection with the white gloves and he would pass. Well, he amended judiciously, his room would.

"Dammit, you're a fool Harry Luyan Kim. You've just ruined whatever friendship you may have once had with Tom Paris."

Making a quick circuit around the room, Harry realized there was nothing more to clean. Still he was filled with pent up energy. He had to do something. His mind immediately supplied delicious images of what he could do and the couple that he could do them with. Harry marvelled at himself. He was getting downright brave. He had just made his intentions clear to his best friend and was ready to make advances to another person before he went to bed. His mind would not be stilled The images flowed fast into his brain and there was nothing left to clean.

"Maybe something else would help," he was talking out loud to himself. He tapped his commbadge, "Computer, is there a free holodeck."

"Negative," the melodious voice answered.

"How much time before there's a free slot."

"Holodeck two will be free in five minutes."

"Reserve it for me. Kim out."

Grabbing his swim trunks, he left his quarters. Maybe he could exhaust himself then get some sleep. He was on alpha shift this week. Harry arrived at Holodeck two with a minute to spare. One minute passed, then another and yet another. Shifting on the balls of his feet, Harry wondered when the occupant of the holodeck would emerge.

"Computer, who is using Holodeck two?"

"Commander Chakotay is in Holodeck two."

Harry sighed and waited. Another five minutes and still the commander had not emerged. Maybe something had happened to Chakotay. "Computer, is the Commander ok?"

"The Commander is functioning according to normal parameters."

"Ensign Kim to Commander Chakotay."

There was a brief pause before the first officer responded and when he did, the man was out of breath. "Yes."

More images crowded into Harry's mind. Physical activity. No, not that kind. Swimming. He needed to swim right now. "Commander, will you be using the holodeck much longer?"

There was no response.

Maybe it was his mood, a combination of restiveness and guilt but Harry Kim did something uncharacteristic. Checking the holodeck protocols, he realized that Chakotay had not placed it under privacy lock, and he stalked into Holodeck two. And found himself in nearly complete darknes except for a raised boxing ring which was spotlit.

Harry Kim wasn't a boxing fan, but he became one immediately. Chakotay was wearing red trunks, gloves and protective face gear. The rest of his body was olive hued, bare. He knew the Commander wasn't fat, but he was a large man and from what he could see, and that was a lot of Chakotay's muscular body, he was very toned. Still, sexy looking man or not, the first officer was cutting into his time. "Commander."

Distracted, Chakotay turned around and his opponent scored a lucky strike. Chakotay toppled backwards.

"Damn." Harry ran the short distance to the boxing ring, "Computer, end program."

"Damn, Damn." Harry checked the unmoving man on the floor.

Chakotay groaned. "Harry?"

"Yes, Sir. Sorry, Sir."

The older man struggled to sit up. "Wha'dja do that for?"

Dropping his trunks on the floor, Harry helped the commander to his feet, aware of the firm body plastered along his side, sweat soaking into his 'fleet uniform. "Sorry Sir. It's just that, I had reserved the holodeck and you hadn't left, so I...."

Chakotay held up his hand, halting the tumble of words, "It's ok Harry. I didn't realize I'd used up my allocation."

The first officer looked around the featureless grid. "I can't think this was your program. What did you have planned?"

"Err," Harry stuttered. Chakotay had not moved away from him. "Water, err, pool. I was gonna do some swimming."

"Sounds good. It might be just what I need to cool off. May I join you?"

Harry gaped, but the commander had turned away. He was stripping off his gloves. "Harry, what're you waiting for?"

"Err, right, pool." Harry wondered if he might push his luck a little more tonight. "Computer, run program, Kim Epsilon45."

*******

"Computer, locate Ensign Kim."

"Ensign Kim is in Holodeck two."

Running his hands through his hair, Tom Paris came to a decision. If Harry wanted to use him to make Seven jealous, that was fine, but maybe he could give him a few pointers. Whatever it took, he didn't want to lose his best friend.

Swallowing, he commed Harry. "Hey Har, you want some company." Not really expecting a negative response, he was surprised when Harry did not answer him immediately. Tom wondered who was sharing Harry's holodeck time. If it was Seven, he would not stay long, just long enough to be sure the couple were doing ok. Harry made such a mess of things sometimes.

"Sure Tom. Bring your swim gear."

Tom opened his closet. He reached for a sedate black pair of swim trunks when suddenly a wicked smile lit his features. His hand shifted right and he picked up a navy thong. He closed his hands around it and chuckled. Seven was in for a shock. He squelched the thought that Harry would also be shocked.

A short while later, Tom entered Holodeck two. Harry's pool program was a replica of the large underground gym at the Julliard Academy of Music, the young ensign's alma mater. He had shared this program before. Stepping into the program, he found himself in the male locker room. He stripped off his clothing and grabbed a clean white towel from a handy stack. For a moment, just a moment, his conscience twinged. So Seven would get an eyefull. It was all for the best. Maybe she would eventually convince Harry to wear one like it. Carrying the towel, Tom sucked in his stomach and stepped into the main pool area.

The air whooshed out of his lungs. Harry's companion was Chakotay. Tom turned to leave. However, Harry spotted him and waved him over. Tom felt his face warm. Somehow knowing it was Harry and Chakotay waiting a few yards away was...unnerving. Strategically positioning his towel, he took a deep breath and walked across the plascrete.

Tom was nonchalant and called out when he was halfway across the distance. "How did you convince the commander to come into the basement? The last time I ran into him, he was headed for Ensign Woodard's party."

Harry smiled, he'd heard his friend's teasing about his program already, "For the hundredth time Paris, this is not a basement."

Chakotay grinned, "I wished Ensign Woodard happy birthday then left. As I left, Neelix was discussing Deltan customs with the Captain. I think she passed on the sexual orgy." He shook his head fondly before continuing, "Anyway, this place is a big improvement over our gym."

Tom finally reached the couple. He plopped down on the plastic seat next to Harry and arranged the towel across his front modestly. Pasting a patented look of disbelief on his face, he teased, "Com'on Chakotay, any gym is better than this."

"When I was growing up, our gym was outside. During the fall and spring, the water in the pool would be freezing. None of these temperature adjusted pools for frontier children. We had to build endurance."

Tom shivered in sympathy, "Brr."

Standing Harry walked to the edge of the pool. "Last one in pays my bar tab." He waggled his eyebrows comically.

Chakotay's eyes lit up. One minute he was sitting, the next he was sprinting to the edge of the pool. Harry saw the first officer's long strides eating up the distance between them. He turned and dove. The two men splashed into the water the same time. Harry rose to the surface first, his hair slicked down to his skull. "I guess you pay my bar tab, Tom."

Tom shifted discreetly on the hard plastic chair. "You don't have a bar tab, Har," he answered fondly.

In the presence of these two men, Tom would sit in that uncomfortable chair forever if he could. The two men he desired were splashing in the water. Which reminded him of his earlier unanswered question. "I didn't know you and Chakotay shared holodeck time." Tom was pleased that his tones were even and the raging jealousy he felt was not apparent.

Treading water next to the ensign, Chakotay's dimples appeared. "I was cutting into Harry's holodeck time. He generously invited me to share this program with him."

Slapping his hand on the surface of the water, Harry splashed Chakotay. "That's not how I remember it," he teased.

Suddenly there was a charge in the atmosphere. It originated from the two men in the water. Two men making a realization about themselves and each other. From his postion poolside, Tom saw the changed body language...between his friend and his first officer. It was his cue to leave. Wrapping the towel around his lean body as he stood, he tried for a smile. "I'll see you both later."

That shattered the eye communication between the Chakotay and Harry.

"Wha...?"

"Tom?"

Chakotay was a man finally faced with one of his private dreams becoming reality. Something between Harry and himself had been acknowledged a few moments ago. He would not allow Tom to leave until he had spoken. "Hold it right there, Mr. Paris."

The command voice halted the blond-haired pilot in his tracks.

Tom did not turn around. "Look, you don't need me here."

"Why not, Tom? I invited you." Harry didn't want Tom to leave not when he finally had both men in the same place. He risked a glance and the commander. The two men came to a decision without uttering a sound.

Harry, pulled himself up on the side of the pool. Next to him, Chakotay was doing the same thing. Harry spared a second to let his eyes roam appreciatively over the powerful body of his first officer.

Unaware of the events occuring behind his back, Tom struggled to answer the question, "It's just that I thought Seven was in here with you and...." Tom swallowed, "I know you kissed me, to make her jealous and I thought...err, thought that I could help, y'know."

"Help how?" Harry's voice sounded in his ear. Tom jumped and spun around. He also lost his firm grip on his towel.

Three men looked down.

Harry gulped. Audibly.

Chakotay, a man with slightly more experience, managed mildly, "So that's what you were hiding."

Licking his lips, Harry visually tracked the ruddy flush that was crawling over Tom's lighter skin.

"Sorry, Har, I just wore this because I wanted to pay you back for the kiss." Speaking in a rush, Tom explained as he looked around for an exit. Flanked by Harry and Chakotay, short of bolting, he had to see this through to the bitter end. When his humiliation was complete, he would go to Sandrine's and get drunker than he ever had in his life. "I thought I could embarrass you in front of Seven, but..." Paris shrugged as his words surrendered to the silence.

"Huh?" Harry pulled himself together. "That is some interesting gear Tom."

With both Chakotay and Harry invading his space, Tom panicked, "I know you guys don't want me here."

Harry cast a sidelong glance at the commander and moved even closer to Tom, "I want you here," he coaxed softly.

Emboldened by Harry's encouraging glance, Chakotay also stepped closer to Tom. "I know, I want both of you here," he stated starkly.

"Sir?" Tom squeaked. He felt a wave of weakness overcome him. His dreams never came through. OK, sometimes they did. He did pilot Voyager and he had gotten permission to build the Delta Flyer. So was Chakotay saying what he thought he was saying?

"Yes, Tom."

Tom raised his eyes, only as far as the commander's well shaped lips. He saw the lips move, but the roaring in his ears drowned out the words. "I don't-" He tried again, "I don't understand."

Harry pressed his damp body against Tom, "I want you. I thought you would've guessed after the kiss."

"But, Seven?" Tom was confused.

"That kiss was all yours."

Chakotay drew Tom into his embrace, "I want you both, always have."

"Wow!" Tom cheered weakly.

Two hands encountered each other on the slippery navy pouch. Three pairs of eyes looked down again.

Smooth, creamy white skin contrasted sharply with the navy and the fading red of Tom's all over body blush. Harry's hand was covered by Chakotay's. Tom grinned, regaining his insouciance. His hand joined the other two on the now stretched navy thong. "I'm a pilot. Let me steer."

*******

Three months later - Delta Flyer

Harry completed another frustrasted circuit in the tiny confines of the shuttle. Turning around, Tom looked at his companion and chuckled. "Take it easy, Harry. We didn't build the Delta Flyer to withstand such extensive pacing."

"He should've contacted us by now," Harry snapped.

"Give him time."

"Four hours?"

"It's a date." Tom checked the status of his instruments and began putting each one on auto-op. "These things can't be rushed. They've probably just finished dinner, a couple of drinks. Now they're moving past the polite stage."

Harry rested both hands on the narrow walkway that marked the entrance to the piloting station, "Polite stage? The last 8472 I met tried to dissolve me from the inside out."

"It was only trying to get to know you better Harry." Tom ignored his lover's sarcastic response. "You can't fault a person for that." Tom spun the pilot's chair around and faced the worried young man, "Look, Chakotay can take care of himself, and if he can't who better than us to come to the rescue?"

Harry leaned against the Ops console and crossed his arms over his chest. He was not mollified.

"Tell you what, Har. Why don't I take your mind off Chakotay for a while?" Tom stood and advanced on the ensign purposefully. A scant few minutes later, he had Harry in his favorite position.

The com chirped. Lost in the wonder of Harry's lips, Tom licked its outline.

"Tom,"

"Yeah, Har?" The voice was filled warm and filled with love.

"I think," Harry drew a shallow breath, somewhat distracted by his lover plastered full length along his body as while his facial features were mapped with a darting pink tongue, "I think Cha's comming us."

"Let him get his own. I've got you, now. He can have Species 8472."

"Not sharing?" Harry asked.

The com chirped urgently again.

Tom kissed the tiny mole on Harry's jaw, positioned close to his ear.

"Cha was just a bit too happy to go down and romance that alien. He can wait while I make it up to you."

Harry's insides flopped over. He tilted his face. Tom's lips met his and pressed gently.

"I love you," Harry answered, "Now get up and go talk to the other man in our lives."

"Hmph!" Tom rolled off his cushion with ill grace.

"Whaddaya say, we ambush him when he returns?" Tom chuckled.

"Yeah," Harry agreed from his position on the floor, "Let him prove his love tonight." The supine man smiled dreamily, "Yeah, he should have to do that again."

Sharing a smile of fond remembrance, Tom agreed.

THE END.

Please send feedback to the author at mlogick@hicom.net