The BLTS Archive- A Close Encounter by Joanne Collins (luchenbackoutlaw@gmail.com) --- Disclaimer:  Tom, Harry and the Jeffries Tubes, as well as anything else mentioned that pertains to Star Trek or Voyager belong to Paramount.  But seeing that they seem to refuse to see what's in front of them, we have to fill in the blanks .  The story is mine, copyright October 1997. A while back on the C/P list, a challenge was issued for stories of a "first time" in a Jefferies tube, preferably during red alert.  I took that challenge, and wrote a C/P version, but then I got an idea for a P/K version . This story is set soon after the episode Twisted.  You remember, the one where the ship literally turned itself inside out?  There's a *very* interesting P/K moment in that ep ;-), and I've decided that that was when Tom finally realised.....(at least in *this* story ).   Apologies for the wholly unoriginal title.  But I suffer extremely badly from titler's block, that's why my song stories have the song titles. Oh, and I'm also *hopelessly* untechnical, so my technobabble is even less coherent than the show's.  Not that that's easy to do . ASC archive:  Yes. BLTS:  Yes. R'Rain's archive:  Yes. Anywhere else (except personal use, sharing with friends, etc):  Ask first! I'll probably say yes. This is, for those who haven't realised yet, slash, which means that it contains sex, in intimate detail between two men. If this turns you off or you're under eighteen, don't read it, 'kay?  And if you do read it, don't bother flaming me, 'cause I warned you. This is for Rachel, who initially issued the challenge for C/P. --- "Let's see if we can help B'Elanna," Tom suggested, as the ship shook again. "Good idea," Harry gasped out, breathless after banging his elbow on the turbolift wall. "Engineering," Tom ordered the lift, praying in the back of his mind that it was still working.  He didn't want to be stuck in here for longer than he had to be, and it was nothing to do with claustrophobia, he was lucky enough not to suffer from that affliction. The problem was,if he were alone with Harry for too long, he might be tempted to do things that his best friend would never forgive him for. The lift began moving, to Tom's relief.  He managed to compose himself again, thinking that before he'd fallen in love with Harry, he'd never noticed how small the turbolifts were.   Then again, there were a *lot* of things he'd never noticed before he fell in love with Harry. He'd never noticed the light in Harry's eyes when he smiled, or how his skin glowed after a workout.   "Oh boy," he thought, "Here I go again.  Think of warp core breaches, Tom," and he started thinking of the most prosaic, boring things that he could. Tom managed to get his thoughts under control again, and before Harry inadvertently caused him to think of things that he could never have again, the lift arrived at Engineering. Engineering was in a state of controlled chaos, luckily the stabilisers were still working, and B'Elanna looked completely frazzled. "What can we do?" Tom asked, when she paused. "Well, getting out of the way would be a good start.  Seriously, you can check that all the Jefferies tubes are clear and closed at both ends." "Okay, B'Ela," Harry said, pulling Tom toward the tubes.   The first few tubes were clear, and all that needed to be done was close off their end.  The fifth tube, however, was open at the top as well as at the bottom.  Harry swung himself up into the tube, and Tom couldn't help taking a lingering look at his buttocks and legs as he disappeared into the tube, rationalising to himself that Harry couldn't see him, so it didn't matter. Tom busied himself checking the closure near him, noticing that it was set up to close automatically on calls of red alert. "Tom," Harry called, "I need some help here." Tom pulled himself into the tube, not sure if he wanted to be this close to his friend right now, but unable to think of an excuse that made sense. "Besides," he thought to himself, "You managed to keep yourself from betraying your feelings when you thought you were about to die, now should be a piece of cake," and he asked Harry what he could do.  Harry put him to work, and the friends worked side-by-side for a few minutes.  Just as they were almost finished, the ship shuddered again, more violently than before, and the red alert klaxons sounded. Tom remembered the tube closure, suddenly, and looked toward the bottom of the tube.  Too late, because just as he looked down, the closure slammed shut. "Damn!" he cursed. "Hey, Tom, it's okay.  I'll call Hogan and he'll transport us out of here. Kim to Hogan," Harry hit his combadge. "Hogan here. What is it, Ensign?" "Lieutenant Paris and I are trapped in a Jefferies tube.  Can you get us out of here?" "I'm sorry, Ensign, but that last shot decimated the transport coils. Emergency beam-outs only.  If neither of you are injured, you'll have to wait till this is over, or until we're in desperate need of your services." "Fine.  Just don't forget we're here," Harry half-joked. "Hey, Ensign, you and the Lieutenant get a nice long rest while we fight whichever race has decided to attack us this time," Hogan joked back, then cut off the link. "So," Harry smiled at Tom in the semi-darkness, "What will we find to do until this is over?  No pack of cards, so we can't play poker.  How about we talk for a while?  Nothing else to do." "Well," Tom thought, "It would be better than just sitting here, trying to keep my hands off you." "What do you want to talk about, Harry?" he asked aloud, bracing himself for mention of Libby, or home in general. "Life out here in the Delta Quadrant.  On Voyager.  I've finally accepted that we might end up living our lives out on this ship, whenever it ends.  I think that encounter with whatever it was that twisted our ship brought it home to me. And of course, that experience in the alternate reality.  I was never so glad to hear anything in my *life* as I was to hear you were still on the ship when I got back here, Tom." "I still wonder why you ever left that reality, Harry.  Hell, if it were me, with the life you left behind, it would have been a very difficult decision." Tom missed the shadow that crossed Harry's face at that comment, and Harry spoke. "Let's talk about something else, Tom.  So how about Jerron and Ayala?  I'd never have picked them for a couple." "Because they're both men?" "No, not at all.  I just never would have thought that they would end up together.  Or that it would have happened before we ended up out here if it were to happen." "I think Ayala was still mourning his wife.  She was killed by Cardassians. I met her once, a lovely woman.  But then I was captured..." Harry didn't say anything to that, deciding that a change of subject was in order. "So, Tom, have you ever been with a man? I mean, I know all about your escapades with women, but you've never mentioned men." "Sure.  There was a medical student at the Academy, and a pilot. But I haven't been with many men.  Why do you ask, Harry?" "Just wondering.  I've had a couple of male lovers, too.  One was my Academy roommate. And there was someone just before Libby.   She was my third female lover." Tom found this interesting.  Maybe there was a chance for him, after all. If he was patient, and waited for Harry. "Harry, are you asking me this for a reason?" "Yeah.  I guess I was being pretty obvious.  There's someone on this ship I'm interested in.  I mean, if we're stuck out here, we should find our happiness where we can." "Who is it, Harry?" he asked, thinking that he'd eat his phaser if Harry said B'Elanna. "I guess I didn't make it obvious enough, did I?  Tom, it's you." "Me?" Tom squeaked.  He hadn't meant to, really, but he was so shocked that he couldn't help it. "That wasn't," Tom could see Harry's smile, "A squeak, was it, Tom?" Tom couldn't answer.  He was too stunned to move. Harry felt something for him.  Even if it were only desire, maybe it could work between them. "Harry," he managed to get out, "I think we need to talk about this." "Gods, Tom, I'm sorry.  I never thought, maybe you don't have the same feelings.  I should never have told you that I'm in love with you, before finding out how you feel." "You're in *love* with me?" Tom was literally more shocked than he'd ever been in his life, and it showed in his voice. "Tom, there's no need to be so shocked.  I'm not about to leap on you," Harry said, quietly. "Pity," Tom said, without thinking. "I'm sorry?" Tom took a deep breath.  If Harry could say it... "I said that it was a pity that you weren't about to leap on me. I'd really quite like you to." "Oh, yes?" Harry smiled, and the semi-darkness lit up, "So does that mean that you aren't *entirely* indifferent to me?" "Harry, are you teasing me? Or do you truly not know?" "Know what, Tom?" Harry was suddenly serious. "Know how much I love you.  How much I've loved you since the moment we met. How much I've wanted to take you into my arms and kiss you.  How much I've wanted to strip off your uniform and kiss and caress every inch of your beautiful golden skin.  How much I've wanted to hold your hand in the Mess Hall.  Everything." "Tom, I had no idea.  None.  I wish I had. We could have had longer...." "No, Harry.  Now is the time it was meant to happen. I think I'd have picked a more....romantic place if I'd had the chance...." "You don't think a Jefferies tube is romantic?" "Not like my holodeck program of Galkeria IV.  Ever been there?" "No.  I hear it's beautiful, but I wouldn't have chosen *any* other place than right here and now." "Then neither would I." "Come here," Harry whispered, taking Tom's hand in his, pulling the older man to him. Tom couldn't do more than be pulled along, his mind was still reeling from discovering that his feelings were returned.  He looked deep into Harry's brown eyes, and pressed his lips to his best friend's for the first time. Oh, yes.  The warmth of Harry's lips, the sweetness hidden within that Tom tasted with his tongue, the soft whisper of Harry's breath. "Harry," Tom whispered, pulling back from the kiss, "Oh, Harry." "Tom.  I need you so much." "I need you too, Harry." "If only we didn't have to wait...." "Why should we?" "What?" "Why should we wait?  Hogan said that we'd be in here until things quiet down, and I *certainly* don't want to spend all that time just talking." "But Tom, a *Jefferies tube*?  What a place for our first time!" "Well," Tom grinned, "It's a lot more unique than the usual bed, that's for sure.  But, what the hell, we're here, we've got some time to kill, and I *want* this." Harry didn't protest any more, he wanted this too.  Instead, he reached for the fastenings on Tom's uniform, Tom doing the same to him, and soon, they were both naked.  Tom carefully spread the uniforms under them, so they'd have something more comfortable than the cool metal alloy to lie on.  They kisssed again, their bodies pressing together, a gentle friction causing shocks of pleasure to ignite wherever they touched.  Tom smiled, and began making his earlier statement of kissing every inch of Harry's skin slightly less romantic nonsense and slightly more heated reality. "Tom," Harry said, moaning as his neck was lightly bitten, "Tom," he said a second time, wanting to say something. "What is it, Harry?" "We can't...." "Have sex?  No, not without lubricant.  Although....no.  But we *can* make love, and that's what's important." Harry just looked at Tom, unable to say anything. "Don't tell me I've left *you* speechless, Harry.  This is *too* much," Tom said, and went back to the assault on  Harry's neck. "Not speechless, Tom, just...amazed," Harry managed to gasp out between moans, "I never thought....that you'd be so sweet." Tom stopped the delicious things he was doing to Harry's neck. "I told you, Harry.  I *love* you." "But you were never like this with Megan....." "Because I wasn't in love with Megan.  She's very sweet, but you know it didn't work out. Because I *was* in love with you." "*That's* why it didn't work out with Megan?  Tom, why didn't you tell me?" "Because I thought that having your friendship was better than you never coming near me again.  I didn't know how you'd react if I told you that I loved you.  I don't think I could have ever said anything if you hadn't spoken first." Harry reached up and gently kissed Tom. "Then I'm glad I did," he said softly, trailing kisses all over Tom's face, moving over the sharp angles of his cheekbones, placing gentle kisses on each of his eyelids, kissing his forehead gently, moving down to lick an ear. "Oh, Harry...." Tom sighed. "You like that?"  Harry teased, still licking the ear, moving a hand down to caress Tom's chest, catching briefly in golden curls, searching for and finding the tight buds hidden underneath.  Tom gasped as Harry's fingers started to drive him wild, moving over the heated skin of his upper body, then lower, fingertips lightly caressing the smooth skin of his stomach, then moving lower, feeling the heat of his arousal, touching lightly and gently, Tom thrusting into that gently insistent touch, Harry gripping him just a bit more firmly, Tom gasping for breath, then kissing Harry again, Harry moving his hand faster and faster over Tom until Tom came with a soft cry of pleasure.  He collapsed against Harry, completely satiated. "Wow." Harry couldn't help it, he laughed, gently.  Tom blushed, and hid his face in Harry's shoulder for a moment. When he had the feelings under control, he spoke. "It's *never* been like this before, Harry.  If I did anything like that with a lover before, it was never as intense as that.  But I don't think I *have* done anything like it before.  Not like it is with you," and he was kissing Harry again, his neck, his shoulders, his chest, tonguing the nipples into hard points, moving lower, swirling his tongue over and into Harry's navel, and finally taking Harry's hardness into his mouth.  Harry began thrusting into the wet heat of Tom's mouth almost involuntarily, then began moving in a familiar rhythm, thrusting forward when Tom was taking him in, back when he was moving off him. This was too much for Harry to take for long, and soon he was moaning and shaking, wanting release desperately. Tom sucked him hard a few more times, and Harry was coming, filling Tom's mouth with his seed. "Oh, my." "You liked it?" Tom asked. "Oh, yes.  But you knew that already," Harry smiled, and leaned down to kiss Tom's hair. "Again?" he asked, teasingly, knowing that neither of them was recovered enough yet. "Not just yet, Tom.  I think we'd better get dressed, though.  What if we're beamed out of here naked?" "It would be just our luck to find Commander Chakotay or," Tom blushed deep red at the thought, "Captain Janeway in the transporter room, wouldn't it?" So the two friends, now lovers, slipped back into their clothes.  Just in time, as it happened, because just as Tom got his boots on and Harry zipped up his uniform jacket, the familiar hum of the transport started. Commander Chakotay had no idea, waiting in the transporter room for a report, why Lieutenant Paris and Ensign Kim burst into laughter when he asked them if they had been bored during their enforced stay in the close quarters of the Jefferies tube. --- The End