by Astarte
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This is a snippet I wrote in honor of the day. It only took me about an hour and was not beta read, please pardon any errors.

As always, no copyright infringement is intended. Characters and concepts are property of Paramount/Viacom. The story itself is my own.

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As Harry entered their quarters he felt immense relief at finally being home. Beta Shift was training a new person on the Ops station and she had asked Harry so many questions that he was nearly an hour late.

"Tom?" Harry called out for his lover. Getting no answer, he tried again, "Tom?" Obviously Tom hadn't waited for him. That made Harry feel bad, somehow. Making his way into the bedroom to change Harry found a note on the bed, on a large, red, heart shaped piece of paper.

"Meet me in Holodeck four at 17:00 hours. Wear the jeans & shirt on the chair." Harry looked up and noticed the jeans & black, velour tee-shirt laid out on the bed. He had only 20 minutes before he was supposed to meet Tom, but Harry felt grimy so he quickly threw off his clothes and took a quick shower.

After quickly toweling himself off and dressing, Harry took a moment to look in the mirror. The black velour tee-shirt was sleeveless and very tight and showed off his well muscled chest and arms. The shade of black, with the shine of velour, matched his hair perfectly. Taking a deep breath Harry left their quarters and made his way to Holodeck four.

Upon entering the holockeck, Harry was surprised not to see Tom. He had entered the foyer of a large, very elegant restaurant. A man approached.

"You must be Mr. Kim. Please follow me."

Harry followed the man through the restaurant and out onto the balcony. The view left him breathless. The restaurant was situated at the top of a cliff overlooking the ocean. It was early evening, the sun would be setting in a couple of hours. It was a warm, but not unpleasant day. Harry turned to follow the man off to his right and finally saw Tom. Tom was dressed similarly to his lover, only the shirt was a deep, royal blue and set off his fair skin and blue eyes. Harry felt stirrings in his groin.

The two men were seated in very comfortable chairs at a small table decorated with candles and flowers. "Tom, what is this place?"

Tom grinned. "This is a restaurant outside San Francisco. It's popular with Starfleet's Top brass. My father used to bring me here to meet and greet the 'important' people. I almost always ended up sneaking out here with a daughter of one of the 'important' people, to watch the sunset."

"Yeah, I'm sure you were only watching the sunset, Tom," Harry grinned, "What's the occasion?"

"Today is an old earth holiday called St. Valentine's day."

"Oh, I've heard of it. You're supposed to give candy and flowers to your true love, right?"

"Something like that. It is a day set aside for lovers to remind each other of why they are together. We don't need a specific day, but I thought it would be fun."

Harry grinned and looked out over the water. Tom reached across the table and took his lover's hand. That sat together in silence for several minutes, enjoying the sounds and smells of the ocean. After a few minutes a waiter appeared with a large tray. He placed a covered dish in the center of the table. After placing small plates and glasses of white wine in front of each man the waiter uncovered the center dish and stepped away.

"Tom! That smells wonderful! What is it?"

"It's our appetizer." Pointing to the various piles on the plate Tom explained, "Roasted garlic, peppers and greens sauteed in oregano and marjoram, goat cheese and crostini." He took a piece of the crostini, spread goat cheese on it and placed a clove of garlic on the top. Leaning over the table he offered it to Harry.

"Yum!" exclaimed Harry when he was done, "this is excellent!" Harry began to serve himself and tried some of the peppers and greens, which he thought were wonderful. The two men quickly polished off the appetizer. The waiter appeared as if out of thin air, and removed the plates and used utensils from the table.

Tom raised his glass and indicated to Harry to do the same. "To love."

"To love," Harry repeated, his heart warm.

A few minutes later the waiter appeared with the salad. Harry found himself distracted from his food by the vision across the table from him. When they finished their salads the waiter again appeared as if by magic and cleared the table. The lovers chatted about ships gossip while waiting for the main course. When it appeared Harry was once again impressed.

"Fettuccine in a delicate herb sauce with peppers, greens, pomegranate seeds and pine nuts," Tom explained. Harry found the dish delicious.

After a fabulous dinner, feeling full but not over full, Harry and Tom went for a walk along the cliffs and watched the sun set. When the sun was just a bright golden sliver, casting rich golden hues on the water and delicate pinks in the sky, Harry turned to Tom and offered him a small, velvet box.

Harry's heart leapt into his throat as he opened the box to reveal two thin, golden bands. He looked up questioningly at his lover.

"Harry Kim, you're the best thing that ever happened to me. You saved me from loneliness and despair when we first found ourselves so far from home, by being my friend. Later, you filled my heart with love and joy. Every day I've spent with you has been more wonderful and precious than the one before. I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life, in this quadrant or any other, with you and only you. Will you be my husband?"

Harry was speechless. He took the rings out of the box and noted that they were slightly different sizes. He held them out to Tom who took the larger of the two. Harry held out his hand and Tom placed the ring on his finger, then held out this own hand for Harry to place the other ring on his finger. Looking down at his finger, the ring flashing in the vanishing sun light, Harry was filled with joy and love for the beautiful golden man before him.

Looking up, Harry saw the question, still on Tom's face. Finding his voice, he answered, "Yes, Tom. I will be your husband, you wonderful man!" The two lovers embraced and kissed in the dying light.

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End