by KRA
---

Disclaimer:

Not mine,
getting no money,
no offense intended,
try and sue,
I'll ignore you to death.

Warning: Well, it is P/K; it is m/m; it is a little on the sweet side.

---

"Come on, Harry! It's just over the next ridge!"

"That's what you said at the last three ridges."

"Well, I can't remember exactly where. . . but I'm positive. . . and I'm right! Harry! Hurry up!"

Tom Paris turned a dazzling smile to his out of breath friend, then held his hand out to help him up the rest of the way. Harry Kim took the hand with a shake of his head, wondering what was so wonderful that he just climbed a mountain. He gasped and clutched the hand in his harder.

Below them was the most beautiful valley he had ever seen.

"Come on, Harry!" Tom still had him by the hand and was dragging him down the other side.

---

"This is spectacular!" Harry exclaimed as they lounged under a tree much like a weeping willow with purple and white foliage. "When did you find this?"

"When I was down here yesterday."

"I thought B'Elanna was checking out some mineral readings on the other continent?"

"Yeah, well," Tom handed him a lavender fruit that the tree produced. "I'm not wasting my shore leave hunting down minerals. I found this place on the sensor readings and just had to show you once I saw how beautiful it was."

Harry smiled over at his friend as he munched on the fruit. Tom grinned back, waiting until he finished, then he stood and started stripping down to his briefs.

"Hey, Har! Last one in the lake has tube worm breath!"

"No fair! Wait up!"

---

"Tom, why didn't you wear sun screen?"

"Ow! That's cold! Because I didn't expect to strip down and go for a swim. I was just planning on sitting under the tree and talking to you."

"Ok. Now. Why don't you just go to sickbay and let the doctor fix you up?"

"He threatened to make me pull double shifts there if I let this happen again."

Harry shook his head in sympathy and continued to rub salve into Tom's red shoulders.

---

"This is <humph> so embarrassing."

"It's ok, Har," Tom said gently as he rubbed the younger man's back.

"Why do they bother <gag> to let us out on leave <gasp> any more?"

"It's not your fault that the native alcohol doesn't agree with you."

"I don't see you having any problems."

Tom smiled and began to massage the tension out of Harry's shoulders.

"You done worshipping the porcelain god?"

"Huh?"

"Archaic phrase. You done vomiting?"

"Um, yeah."

He handed his kneeling friend a glass of water to rinse his mouth out with and gave him a hand up.

"Good," he said as he wrapped an arm around Harry's waist to steady him. "Voyager's finally back in range. Let's get you to sick bay."

---

". . . and on a lighter note, I'd like to congratulate Tom and Harry for returning from yet another shore leave, beaming directly to sick bay."

The rest of the senior staff burst out into mock cheers and Tom grinned at a still pale Harry from across the briefing table. The captain smiled at her two favorite troublemakers and dismissed the meeting.

"Hey, Har," Tom called so his friend would wait for him before heading to their duty stations. "Still nauseous?"

"A little," he smiled back weakly.

"Well, you won't be able to stomach Neelex's cooking tonight. How 'bout I treat you to a bowl of soup in your quarters and then tuck you in?"

"Aren't you going to be with B'Elanna tonight?"

"She has a date with the warp core," he shrugged.

"She's been spending a lot of time down there, hasn't she?"

Tom just shrugged again and headed to the conn.

---

"Are you sure you can't eat anymore?"

"Sorry, Tom. I'm still pretty sick."

"You should have stayed in bed."

"You're right. I'm exhausted."

Tom, good to his word, helped Harry to his bed and tucked him in. The ensign smiled sleepily and settled down into the warmth.

"Thanks, mom."

"You're such a comedian," Tom grumbled playfully. "I'm letting the Doc know you're not going to be able to make it to duty shift."

Harry heard him, but didn't reply. As he drifted further into sleep, he felt fingers brush lightly over his cheek.

---

"Are you sure you're ok?"

"Why wouldn't I be? I'm the one who ended it, after all."

"Yeah, but that was only two days ago and now. . ."

"Yeah."

Harry absentmindedly reached under the table and laid his hand over Tom's as B'Elanna and Lt. Franklin walked past them in the mess hall. The new couple didn't seem to notice anyone around them. Harry turned back when he realized that Tom was returning the grasp to his hand. He expected to see pain in those eyes, but instead they were sparkling at him.

"It really is ok," he said. "Besides, I still have the codes to her room."

"No."

"Yes."

"No!"

"Ohhhh, yes!"

---

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this," Harry hissed up at Tom.

"Shhh! She'll come out any minute now."

They stood at the bend of the corridor, peering around the blind spot towards B'Elanna's quarters. Harry was crouched over, Tom standing over him, their bodies pressed together. That was the last thing on Harry's mind.

"Is it wise to be pissing off a half Klingon?"

"Well, now that you mention it. . ."

"Ahh!" B'Elanna came storming out of her quarters wearing nothing but a towel and a fair amount of fire retardant foam. "Tom! Harry! I know this is your doing!"

"F. . ." the never formed word barely left their lips before they were scurrying down the corridor.

Too bad they tripped over each other. They might have escaped her.

---

Harry sat on a bio bed while Tom ran a dermal regenerator over his eye.

"Why is it that I'm the one who always seems to get hurt during your pranks?"

"Because, you suffer so well," Tom replied with a smirk.

"Speaking of which," the doctor interrupted, "none of you have suffered any major injuries. I trust no charges are being pressed?"

"Against who?" Tom laughed. "We hurt ourselves!"

At the doctor's confused look, B'Elanna spoke up from a bio bed across the room.

"Oh, I was going to get them, but they tripped over each other, I slid on the foam and into them, Harry went down face first on Tom's knee and I think I broke my finger trying to keep my towel on."

"That's. . . good," the doctor still wasn't quite sure that he got all that, but he didn't want to hear anymore. "I'll just leave you to finish up and get out of my sick bay."

After he left, B'Elanna, in sick bay jammies and not too happy about it, jumped off her bed and walked over to Tom and Harry.

"I know you're mad at me," she said to Tom, "but why? Yes, the breakup wasn't that long ago, but we've been drifting apart longer than that. We both moved on with our lives rather quickly."

"What are you talking about? I haven't started dating."

B'Elanna looked from Tom to Harry, and then pointedly at Tom's arm resting around his shoulders so casually. The confusion on their faces was priceless.

"Yeah," Harry chimed in. "He's not dating. He spends all his spare time with me."

She managed to suppress a laugh.

"Ok, um, I'm sorry. I just thought you were."

Tom tilted his head to the side, looking at her quizzically. She looked like she was about to choke.

"It's alright," he finally said. "You had every right to start dating. I guess I was just feeling spiteful."

"I shouldn't have been waving it in your face. I guess no matter how mutual a break up is, it gets a little nasty."

"Yeah."

The room grew silent and B'Elanna realized that Harry had wrapped his arm around Tom's waist as if to comfort him. Neither man seemed to notice.

"The foam was funny," she said, breaking the silence and letting out some of her laughter. Tom and Harry quickly joined her.

"It sure was," Harry agreed.

"You should have seen the look on your face!"

"You liked that, Tom? Good! Keep picturing that as the two of you are cleaning out my shower."

---

"That's the last time I listen to you."

"You keep saying that, but you never go through with it."

"Well, this time I am."

"What's the matter, Harry? Too messy for ya?"

With that, Tom flung a gob of foam into his hair.

"Hey!" Harry picked up a handful and pelted it right at Tom's face.

"That's it, Harry!" Tom exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. "Your going down!"

Tom tackled him, rolling them both in the foam. After a little more struggling, they were sitting up, Tom's arms around Harry, pinning his hands behind his back.

"Whatcha gonna do, now?" Harry asked sarcastically. "Give me another black eye?"

"Aw," Tom said in exaggerated baby talk. "Did I give my Harry a boo-boo? Wan' me kiss it make it better?"

"No, Tom, that's ok."

Tom started kissing the offended eye. Sloppily.

"Tom! Ah! You're getting my face all wet!"

"Poor wittle Harry."

"Tom! Hey! That tickles! Ug! Stop it!"

Tom had dried up the kisses to his eye but had started blowing quick streams of cold air into every opening available. Harry was struggling, but not very hard.

"Stop it, Tom," he said through clenched teeth. He had already been blasting air into his ears and up his nose, Harry didn't feel like choking.

"Poor baby," Tom said, still using the annoying voice. He pressed his mouth against Harry's but didn't kiss him. "Harry?"

"Huh?" Harry, slightly surprised by the situation, relaxed his mouth and began to lean into him. He parted his lips ever so slightly. . .

. . . and Tom blew into his mouth. Harry jumped back in shock, breaking Tom's grip on him and sputtering.

"Hey!"

Tom was rolling around in the foam, laughing so hard he could barely breath. Harry attacked and began to tickle him mercilessly.

---

It had taken them awhile, but they had finally finished cleaning out B'Elanna's shower and cleaned themselves up as well. They sat in the back of the near empty mess hall, staring out the observation window at the stars.

"Why don't you just go to sick bay?" Harry asked for what seemed like the millionth time.

"Because the Doc gets upset if I'm in there more than once a day," Tom replied. Again. "If you're so concerned about that bruise you gave me, why don't you kiss it and make it better?"

"What, and have a repeat of how I gave it to you?"

Harry eyed the nasty bruise on the side of his best friend's mouth with some guilt. He hadn't meant to do it, but they had a tendency to play rough. One of them usually came away bruised somewhere.

"Ok, Harry," he said in his lofty, sarcastic, 'you're gonna regret it later,' sort of way. "But if I die because of this, you'll always live with the knowledge that you have saved me, but didn't."

Harry rolled his eyes and stifled a laugh.

"Fine."

He wrapped his arms around him and gently kissed the bruised area.

"Hurt anywhere else?" he joked. "How about your chin? Or your cheek?"

"Naw, just the mouth. And you didn't get over far enough."

"You are such a whiner." He kissed him again, lingering a little longer.

The only two other people in the mess hall walked up to them.

"We heard you two were together, but we weren't sure if it was true," Samantha Wildman said, startling them.

"So, when did the romance start?" Jenny Delany asked.

Harry didn't know what to say. He had known he and Tom were a little friendlier than most buddies, more so lately. But he had just assumed it was due to Tom's floundering love life. He hadn't realized. . . well, he knew he was attracted. . . but how would. . .?

Tom pressed his forehead to Harry's and smiled gently, looking into his eyes.

"Funny, I'm not really sure."

He pulled them closer to together and kissed him full on the lips.

---

End