by AgentStarlight
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Disclaimer: Tom and Harry and the ship are not mine, they're Paramount's. Everything else is mine though, so don't touch!

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"Rise and shine, Harry!" Tom called out in the darkness of his friend's quarters. Harry bolted up in bed and peeled back the little black mask covering his eyes. "Bad dream?" Tom asked jokingly.

"Tom! How'd you get in here?" asked the surprised Ensign.

"Oh, you'd be surprised what you can learn in prison, Harry," Tom replied in a quiet voice. That's when Harry noticed in the dim light, that Tom was only wearing his boxers and a tanktop.

"Tom, what are you doing here?" Harry asked with a hint of aprehension.

Tom sighed deeply and sat on the edge of the bed. "Harry, we really need to talk."

"All right. .. Let me get dressed, and we can head for the mess hall. Early breakfast maybe?" Harry said, starting to get up.

"Wait, Harry. . ." Tom said hurriedly, placing a hand on his shoulder that sent goosebumps across his skin. "Let's stay here. It's the middle of the night. . ."

Harry wanted to argue. He wanted to say, 'Which is why we shouldn't be here. . .' But he didn't. Harry just kept his mouth shut, like he always did.

"I just wanted you to know. . . Jenny Delaney broke up with me. . ." Tom said slowly.

"Oh, Tom. . . I'm sorry." Was all Harry could think to say.

"I'm not. . ." Tom replied. He was silent for a moment, studying Harry as if thinking of what to say next. "Harry, I need to get one thing cleared up, because we're going to be working together for a long time now." Harry just gave Tom a puzzled look. "Harry, are you really straight?" The look Harry's face shifted to suggested it was too late at night to be asking that question, but Tom's look pressed for an answer.

"Yeah, Tom, I'm pretty sure I am. I mean, I think so. . . why?" Harry answered.

Tom sighed again. "Harry, girls just don't seem to get to me anymore. But then, I mean, oh, never mind. . . It's stupid," Tom stammered, lowering his head.

Harry could almost see Tom blush in the dim light. His mind was racing. What exactly was Tom trying to say? He almost thought he knew, but he had to hear Tom say it. "Just say it, Tom," Harry whispered, taking hold of his arm.

Ice blue crystal eyes bore into Harry's dark mysterious ones, searching for any sign of understanding. "Harry, I. .. I just can't. . ." he replied, turning his gaze away again.

Harry loosened his grip and pulled Tom's eyes back to him. For a minute, they were both silent, speaking without words. Harry knew what his friend was trying to say. "I just need to hear it from you, Tom. . ." He heard himself say before he even knew it was spoken out loud.

"Harry. . ." Tom took the younger man's soft, slender hands in his own. "I love you. . ."

Even in knowing what Tom was going to say didn't prepare Harry for the emotions that assaulted him when he heard the words echo in his ears. Tom read those emotions when they flooded the pair of coffee- colored eyes that stared back at him.

Then tears came, and they seemed to wash away all the doubt in Harry's mind. When Tom's gentle touch brushed the teardrops away, Harry found himself leaning into the touch.

"Harry? What do you say?" Tom whispered. Sensing the confusion, he continued. "You've been my best friend, my only real friend. We did everything together. We-"

"When did you realize it?" Harry cut in.

"Oh, I think when we were at the Ocampa home world, and I didn't think I'd ever see you again. My first real friend. I thought that I had lost something so much more than a friend, when I wasn't sure you'd ever get off that planet..."

Harry looked down for a second, arguing with himself silently. "I guess I felt some kind of attachment to you, too." He said in a muffled voice. "From the minute we met, and I. . . I just didn't know what it was. . ."

"Harry, whenever we're apart, I feel so incomplete. So empty. I was just too afraid to tell you. But then I decided, since we're in a completely unexplored, dangerous territory. . . I just couldn't wait. I couldn't hold back on my fears until something terrible happened to one of us. I had to let you know, before it was too late. Even if you didn't share my feelings. . ."

Harry still had his head bowed, and when Tom gently raised his eyes to meet his own, he found the soft tan cheeks streaked with fresh tears. "Harry, I didn't mean to hurt you. Please don't cry. . ." Tom whispered softly.

"I'm not crying Tom. . ." Harry said after a moment. "I'm rejoicing. . ."

Tom choked back a happy sob. "Oh, Harry. . . Are you sure? I want to be certain this is real. . ."

"This is as real as it gets, Tom. I love you too. . ." Harry had never seen such vulnerability before in his life. Tom almost looked like a boy again.

They shared tears and took turns kissing them away. They reveled in their new found passion for as long as they dared, and the weariness of the next day's duty shift was well worth it.

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End