The BLTS Archive - The Opposite of Revulsion...
by Rob Vrablik (rvrablik@ma.ultranet.com)

---

Archive: ASC, RIF, others by request

Timeline:  Some point well into a relationship between Harry and Seven
(Yes, somewhat AU...).

Spoilers:  Concept based on incidents in Voyager episode "Revulsion"

Disclaimers: Paramount owns the characters, and I'm sure disowns the
rest.  I claim copyright to anything not theirs.  You sure as heck
won't see this in an episode....

---
"Then you wish to copulate."

Seven of Nine, 'Revulsion'
---

Seven was distracted from her conversation at the mess hall table with
Harry and Lt. Commander Tuvok by the approach of Neelix.  While she
often found that Neelix had the ability to disrupt her concentration,
this time the reason for the distraction was unique.  He was obviously
heading to their table, and was smiling what appeared to be one of his
conspiratorial smiles.  That in itself was reason enough for caution.
He also appeared to be carrying some sort of cylindrical brown
confection.  She looked at Harry, and found he had noted Neelix's
approach, and was also smiling at her.  It did not bode well.

Neelix arrived, and set the object down on their table.  "Here you go,
Mr. Kim, just as you requested.  One small chocolate cake."

Seven looked at the confection skeptically, "And the reason for this
is?"

Neelix's enthusiasm got the better of him, and he interrupted before
Harry could answer, "He wanted to surprise you!  I just love it when
couples do things like this for each other."  Then Neelix, always
searching for an excuse for a party, started to dig.  "So tell me,
what's the occasion?"

Harry realized this might be difficult.  Since Seven and he had been
together, he had successfully avoided making the two of them the
excuse for, and therefore the brunt of, one of Neelix's parties.
However, Neelix had caught on to the avoidance, and had been pressing
even harder of late.  In addition to his normal tendency to throw
parties, Neelix seemed to want to celebrate their relationship very
publicly, much to Harry's chagrin, and Seven's severe discomfort.  The
problem was that this time, there really wasn't any special occasion.
Harry'd just had an idea, and followed through on it.  Not that he was
going to have any luck convincing Neelix of that.

"No occasion, Neelix."  He held up his hand to forestall the beginning
of a protest, and continued, with emphasis, "Really.  I just remember
the Doctor mentioning that Seven didn't partake of human pleasures
enough, and decided that a little spontaneous sensory stimulation
might be a good idea."  He looked at Seven with a smile, and shrugged,
"And besides, It occurred to me that you may never have had chocolate
cake."

Seven answered evenly, allowing Harry to handle Neelix, though also
smiling slightly in return "I have not."

Harry looked back up at Neelix, hoping that would be enough, "See?"

Neelix looked at Harry with doubt, obviously not to be easily
dissuaded.  "I know better than to grill you, when you're like this, I
can't count on getting a single straight truth out of you."  He turned
to Seven, and smiled like someone about to move for checkmate,
"However, I can always count on an honest answer from your partner.
So, Seven, is it your Birthday?"

Seven resigned herself to the encounter.  "No."

Neelix was obviously surprised.  "No?  I would have bet on it.  A
special anniversary?"

Seven, cornered, rolled her eyes, and answered, "No."

"Well, it has to be some sort of anniversary."

"It is not."

Neelix kept probing, "Anniversary of your first date?"

Seven began to be annoyed, "No."

"Meeting for the first time?"

'No."

Neelix put his hand to his chin and briefly contemplated, "Hmm,
thinking of it, considering you were completely Borg back then,
probably not.  It has to be the anniversary of -something-?"  He
leaned in conspiratorially, "You can tell me."

Seven looked pained for a moment, then contemplated Harry.  A small
smile entered her eyes, along with something else.  Harry, who knew
her well, realized Neelix was in trouble.  Neelix, not recognizing her
expression, didn't.  Seven answered evenly, still looking at Harry,
"The closest would be approximately three months ago."

Harry's face became thoughtful for a moment as he tried to recall the
event, then his eyes went wide when he understood what she must be
referring to.  He leaned his temple on his fingers, a small smile on
his face, and watched as Seven closed in for the kill.

Neelix leaned in with anticipation, the beginnings of a plan for that
evening's party already forming in his mind, "And that would be?..."

"The anniversary of our fist physically intimate encounter."

There was a long silence.  Neelix remained frozen in place while he
attempted to absorb, then recover from, the answer he had received.
Seven's table mates simply waited him out, Tuvok acknowledging the
comment with simply a raised eyebrow, and Harry with a knowing smile,
a mixing of humor and appreciation at the artistry with which Seven
had handled Neelix.  They waited.

Neelix straightened up, obviously still trying to handle the
statement.  His mouth opened to say something twice, and each time
quickly closed again.  Harry looked back at Seven, smiled and shook
his head.  He turned his head for a moment to hide his grin, but
couldn't stop.  He looked back to see Seven watching him.  As their
eyes met, a spontaneous smile washed across her features as well.  He
marveled as she stoically regained her composure, then looked back up
at Neelix, all business, classic Seven.

"Is that a sufficient anniversary for your needs?"

Harry watched as a brief look of horror flashed across Neelix's face,
and wondered if the concept of actually celebrating such an event had
momentarily flashed through his mind.  Neelix finally decided he'd
lost this round, and did his best to extract himself.

"Uh.... yes, ...of course.   Um.... Very important that."  Neelix
tried to put the best on a bad situation, but still choked on the
concept.  "Happy quarter anniversary of your.... intimacy."    He then
beat a hasty retreat, "Oh, look, I'm needed in the kitchen.  Excuse
me.  Enjoy your meal."

Harry contemplated Seven, smiling, his elbow on the table, chin
resting on his hand.  At Seven's inquiring eyebrow, he responded
approvingly to what he had just witnessed.  "That was ... inspired.
Remind me to sic you on Neelix next time I get cornered."

Tuvok, silent through the proceedings, finally spoke, "It was quite an
effective technique for regaining your privacy.  Was the approach
intentional?"

Seven looked from Tuvok to Harry, and after a moment responded, eyes
alight,  "It is possible that my time with Harry has allowed some of
my human spontaneity to assert itself."

Harry grinned like the Cheshire cat.  Seven fought to keep her own
smile contained, lost, and they shared a moment of knowing, intimate
humor.

They continued with their discussion, and meal.  Harry convinced Seven
to partake of the cake, and even Tuvok acceded to accept a piece,
though Harry suspected it was out of tact.  Their discussion, prompted
by Neelix's visit, ranged into anniversaries.  Harry inquired about
Vulcan observance of such events, and Seven began to contemplate her
relationships with Harry as she absorbed Tuvok's answer.

---

Seven observed Harry as he discussed anniversaries.  It was
interesting how situation altered perspective.  Harry was, externally,
not significantly different than he had ever been in the time she had
been on board Voyager.  But observing him now was a very different
experience than it had been in the past, before their relationship.
She now found her perception significantly altered by associated
memories, experiences, and emotions.

They had been dating for 7 months, and physically intimate for 3.
Contemplating this, she was forced to keep her features composed,
suppressing a small smile, as the memory of their physical
interactions briefly brushed through her mind, and body.  Yes,
memories did affect perception.

For a moment, she reflected on her current situation.  Here she was,
sitting at a table in the mess hall, having a discussion with Harry
Kim.  This in itself was not significantly different than what would
have occurred previously.  But there were differences, ones she could
not have anticipated.  Her earlier discounting of human mating rituals
had denied one simple fact: She was Human.  Pleasure affected her as
it did others, and she was drawn to interact with those around her.
These facts had finally forced a change.

And those changes had caused the subtle differences in their
interactions, the difference between before and now.  Before, Harry
Kim had been occasionally distracted by her presence.  It had affected
his performance and been a source of minor annoyance to her as he
compensated by chatting about irrelevancies while they worked.  She
had considered this a probable detriment to her own performance,
though she had never been able to quantify any resulting loss of
productivity.  Then, over time, she had discovered she welcomed those
discussions.  Now, with their relationship, Harry seemed to have
settled.  He was not as distracted as he had been then, and though he
did smile 3.4 times more frequently than he used to, and 4.6 times
more frequently on mornings following intimacy, his performance and
productivity had actually increased by 8.2 percent.

Her productivity, on the other hand, had decreased.  She found herself
distracted at times by his presence, by thoughts about time they had
spent together, or by thoughts of what she would like to do with him.
She flushed again slightly at the thought, and steeling herself,
brought her thoughts back under control.  These interludes were hard
to deflect, and had been consuming a measurable part of her time. Each
time she realized she was thinking such thoughts when she should
instead be working, she would take hold and redirect her attention
back to the problem or task at hand.

Or would try to.  As physical intimacy had entered into the
relationship, and their time together had lengthened, she had found
these interludes occurring more and more frequently.  She had also
found it more difficult to return her attention to the proper focus.
After one incident where she had tried three times and failed, she had
approached Harry and asked for his techniques, since she knew he had
for a long time successfully managed his frequent distractions.  His
answer, after looking at her with an exceptionally large grin, had
been a combination of experience, determination, and what sounded
significantly similar to some of Commander Tuvok's meditation
techniques.  It had not been what she had expected, but it had helped.
Some.  She was still distracted at times, but the problem was now at
least manageable.

However, some aspects of their relationships had not changed.  Even
though they were intimate, she was still uncomfortable with how
vulnerable the intimacy left her.  She had found it disconcerting to
simply accept him as a part of her day to day existence, and to accept
and relax into being a part of his.  She had reservations, that by
completely adapting to his presence, and by accepting, integrating him
into her routine and thought, she would be irretrievably loosing part
of her own identity.  So she still retired, alone, to Cargo bay 2 at
the end of their evenings, as he retired to his quarters.  This
delineation of her own space helped her define and defend her own
existence.  She felt this strengthened it, by keeping it separate from
his.  It preserved her.  And though he appeared to wish otherwise, he
did not argue at their partings each evening.

Harry and Tuvok's discussion had evolved to the possibility of
collaborating on the creation of a few new historical reenactments for
the holodeck.  The reasoning seemed to be that the existing ones had
been fairly well utilized by the crew, and some new ones were
required.

Tuvok noted the time, and began to stand, "If you will excuse me, I
have a duty shift in ten minutes.  I will produce a list of
possibilities by tomorrow, and will send it so you may add it to your
own.  We may want to consult with the captain to see if there are any
she has a preference for before we commit to creating any particular
scenarios.  Good day."

As Tuvok left, Harry asked Seven if she would be interested in
participating in a recreation.

She did not understand the point, and said so.  "I fail to comprehend
the purpose of historical plays on the Holodeck."

Harry smiled.  He swore, half their relationship was made up of
discussions like this.  If they ever saw eye to eye on human
relationships, he was afraid they might not have anything left to talk
about.  "Um, you do realize it's for, uh, entertainment?"

She gave him a look.  "Allow me to restate myself, since you have
answered the obvious.  I do not see why people enjoy such simulations,
why they are used for recreation."

OK, he admitted to himself it was a dumb thing to check, but
occasionally he wasn't quite sure.  "Sometimes it's interesting
playing the role of another person.  It allows people to step outside
their normal personal bounds, and do things they would otherwise not
allow for themselves.  They get to put on another personality for a
while, see what it feels like to be someone else."

"But if they wanted to act differently, there is nothing preventing
them from doing so."

He smiled.  "Actually, there is.  People act the way they do because
they are comfortable within the bounds they have set for their own
behavior.  But sometimes, they might want to try out being different,
say a little more forward, or sensitive, but are not sure how.  Trying
on other personalities through play acting allows them to do it
without risking how others see them."

Seven considered, "It allows them to refine their interactions with
others."

"Right.  There is also another reason for them.   Sometimes people
just enjoy recreating historical events.  By playing the roles of the
people involved, it is possible to see how the events unfolded, how
the decisions were made.  It can be enjoyable to make decisions
yourself, to see how things can play out differently."

"I still do not understand how this could be enjoyable.  Historical
records exist.  You can analyze them to see what decisions were
correct and which were not.  How would pretending to participate in
the event be any different than this?"

Harry was silent and thoughtful for a moment, and then Seven watched
as his features began to show a change of emotion.  They lit up with a
smile, though his eyes were still unfocused, indicating his attention
was still with his thoughts.  A bit of tension built in her as she
recognized from experience what was happening.  He was having another
of his "creative ideas".    These ideas of his usually were successful
in accomplishing his goals, and were most often pleasurable for her,
but often required her to push her personal limits, resulting in brief
periods of anxiety and stress.  She waited.

Harry refocused, and started the obvious, a huge grin on his face,
"I've got an idea.  We've got that holodeck time reserved for tomorrow
night.  Instead of another Velocity game, how about I come up with an
historical play we can both participate in.  It'll give you a chance
to experience how an event from the past might have played out
differently."

Seven was hesitant.  Though she understood the concept, she was
inexperienced with playing roles.  "I am not sure I would be able to
successfully portray a character in such a simulation.  I have not
done so before..."

Harry barreled forward, completely undeflected.  "Not to worry, I'm
absolutely positive you can play the role I have in mind.  Yes?"

She considered for a moment.  She could not see how Harry could be so
sure she could do this, but she had learned he had good insight into
her abilities, and had been very successful in the past.  She had
learned to trust him in these instances, though that still did not
make accepting easy.  She took a deep breath and let it out to relieve
some of her tension, and acquiesced, though not necessarily
enthusiastically.  "Yes."

Harry was still completely sure of himself, and tried to encourage
her, "I know you will enjoy this.  I promise."

Seven was skeptical, but intrigued, "Very well.  Since this is an
historical recreation, what should I wear?"

She watched as Harry's face showed hidden humor that his subsequent
answer did not reflect.  As she had heard Lieutenant Paris say,
something was definitely 'up'.

"I don't want you to have to do too much for your first recreation, so
why don't we stick to something simple.  How about that silver-blue
jumpsuit of yours you haven't worn in a while.  It will fit in
perfectly."

She could not believe that one of her jumpsuits would 'fit in' in an
historical simulation.  "You are sure?"

Harry grinned, wide, enthusiastic, and infectious.  "Oh, I'm sure."

Seven felt a sinking feeling at the smile.  She knew, even as it had
its effect on her, that it was hard for her to resist him with that
smile, regardless of the circumstances.  It was good that he did not
know it, or she would have even less control over their activities.
"Very well.  Where shall we meet?"

His eyes indicated he was thinking for a moment, then returned, "I'll
come by and pick you up, same time we were planning for velocity."

Seven did not know whether to look forward to their evening with dread
or anticipation.  So she did both.

---

She prepared for their evening, and at the appointed time, instead of
Harry showing up as specified, she instead received a note from him:

"Seven, everything is ready.  Remember, you are playing a character in
an historical recreation. Please meet me in the holodeck."

She had not understood why he had altered their agenda, having
expected him to pick her up, but assumed he had a good reason.  He
usually did.  She also did not understand why he would feel the need
to remind her what their evening's activities entailed.

Arriving at the Holodeck door, she noted there was a privacy seal on
it, allowing no one but her or Harry to open it.  The simulation was
already running, with Harry inside.  She took a deep breath, prepared
herself, and instructing the Computer to open the door, entered.  The
door closed behind her, and she found herself in .... the mess hall.

Harry was sitting at a table with a set of PADDs scattered here and
there.  He was not wearing anything unique, simply his normal uniform.
The room was dimmed, the kitchen area closed, obviously in after hours
mode.  They were the only two present in the simulation.  Seven was
puzzled, since this was supposed to be an historical play.

"Harry, I do not understand.  We are supposed to be participating in
an historical play, correct?"

Harry's eyes shone with internal humor, as he stood up, a huge grin on
his face as he stated, "Seven I'm sure you are wondering why I asked
you here."

She had come to trust that look implicitly.  His eyes were telling her
to play along.  She hesitated, then said what seemed appropriate,
though it ended up sounding more like a question, "Yes, I am wondering
why you asked me here?....."

Harry sat back down, and started speaking, his smile even larger, if
that was possible, "I had this midnight inspiration about
reconfiguring astrometric projectors.  I hope you weren't
regenerating."

Seven, unsure of what she was supposed to be doing, tentatively said
she wasn't.

Harry continued, "This is tricky stuff.  It could use your touch. Your
way of looking at things?  A fresh perspective?"  Harry handed her a
PADD indicating she should look at it.

Still unsure of what she was supposed to be doing, Seven took it, and
looked down at the contents.  To her surprise, there really were
specifications and design specs there.  She began to scan through
them, and soon realized that the modifications were not based on the
current configuration of the sensors.  Instead, they were based on the
design specification proposals they had been working with when they
had originally set up Astrometrics.  These were the design
modifications they had made at that time.

At that time.

Harry sat and watched as Seven looked through the data on the PADD.
The look on her face grew more confused as, he surmised, she found
that the baseline for the design changes did not match the current
Astrometrics configuration.  Come on, Seven, figure it out, figure
it....

Seven suddenly looked up at him, her expression changing.  The first
light of understanding showed.  Slowly, the confusion disappeared from
her features, replaced by consideration.  He waited.

Harry felt a rush as Seven's eyebrow went up, and a small smile
appeared on her face.  Oh, yeah, she had it now.  He grinned as she
suddenly took on a role he had not seen in quite a while.

She stood straighter, less casually, and achieved the stiff parade
rest that had been normal for her for so long, as she demanded, "I
wish to see the data."

The rush Harry got from her stepping into her old dominant mode was
incredible. Oh, yes, this was going to be fun.  Though, it would have
been a lot more intimidating if the corner of her mouth hadn't kept
ticking into a smile, her eyes alight.  He took a deep breath to
overcome the rush, and resumed the play.

Harry handed her a batch of data PADDs, "Why don't you sit down, get
more comfortable."

Seven almost sneered, eyes drilling into him, "Comfort is irrelevant.
I prefer to stand, thank you."

Harry noted that Seven was reveling in the role of her former self.
She was creating almost a caricature of how she had interacted back
then, though it was a sign of how much she had changed that she didn't
realize how out of character the 'thank you' had been.

Seven looked up from the PADD, and glanced around the room,
complaining, "This light is insufficient."

Harry, grinning, out of character himself, leaned forward and said
smoothly, meeting her eyes, "It's relaxing, don't you think? After
hours, quiet.  Voyager isn't all jeffeJefferiess and cargo bays, you
know. Tell you what, when we're done here I'll take you to the
Holodeck. We'll run the Ktarian moonrise simulation. It's beautiful."

Their eyes never leaving each other, Seven continued, "Beauty is
irrelevant."

There was a pause, then she continued, the acid in her voice gone,
"Unless...  you wish to change the nature of our affiliation."

Harry slowly stood and moved to her, face to face, his voice overly
innocent as he said, "Whatever do you mean?"

Seven looked into his eyes.  His humor began to mute, replaced by the
same feelings she felt as he moved to her, knowing what they were
doing.  She continued, "I may be new to individuality but I'm not
ignorant of human behavior."  She then softened her voice, "I have
noticed your attempts to engage me in idle conversation."  Then,
allowing herself a small knowing smile and a raised eyebrow at the
irony, "And I see the way your pupils dilate when you look at my
body."

Harry really smiled at that, glanced appreciatively at her form, then
meet her eyes again, giving his eyebrows a flick of admiration,
"Really?  Are you sure?".

Beginning to loose her composure, Seven barreled back into character,
sounding again as her former self, "Obviously, you've suggested a
visit to the Holodeck in order to create a romantic mood."  Her voice
then softened again, already knowing the answer to her next question,
"Are you in love with me, Ensign?"

Harry paused, looked at her softly, and put his hand to her face.  She
relaxed into the touch as his fingers caressed her face, temple to
cheek.  Very softly, he responded,  "Well... yes"

Seven closed her eyes, reveling in the touch, turning her head into
his hand.  Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes again, and
reaching out with her own hand, lightly brushed two fingertips down
his cheek and lips. As an afterthought, she continued with the script,
as the familiar feelings coursed through her, whispering, "Then you
wish to copulate." In the historical play, this had been a question.
Now it was not.

Harry's answer as he cupped her head and pulled her mouth to his was a
simple, whispered, "Yes."

The kiss was a long one.  Her hands moved to his head, his body,
embracing him, pulling him to her as his arms enveloped her as well.
The familiar warmth was overwhelming, the sensation of his body
against hers always as sensual as the first time, if not more so.
After a few moments, he ended the kiss, and began to explore her neck
with his lips.  Her eyes closed, head back, as he slowly moved up to
attend to her ear.  She continued, whispering haltingly as he
distracted her, "All of these elaborate......  rituals of
deception...."  The fingers of one hand moved up her back, and began
to run themselves through her hair.  As the combination of his mouth
moving up her neck while his hand was caressing her scalp, he
gradually destroyed her ability to concentrate.

She allowed her hands to find their way to his head.  They held him,
relaying the tension and distraction as she tried to caress her
fingers through his hair at the same time she pulled him to her.  She
tried to concentrate on caressing him, but was continually distracted
by his attentions, bringing all efforts to a halt as her focus was
snapped back to the sensations he conveyed.  His kiss.  His fingers.
His body pressed against hers.

She attempted to distract herself to prolong this period of enjoyment,
tension and anticipation entwined.  She returned to her lines,
remembered from years before, their flow interrupted by the small
distractions he continued to administer.  She slowly uttered them in
small, halting fragments, "I didn't realize...    becoming..... human
again would....   (uhh!).....  be such....  a challenge...."

Her body gave in to a new sensation, as a wave, almost like a fluid,
began to work through her in anticipation of what was to come.   Her
fingers tensed, her breathing deepened.  As she began to be more
sensitive, she became more aware of his presence.  Her skin hummed
with sensation.  She became aware of each point of contact,
individually, and all at once.  The pressure, tension, began to build
toward her limits, and she sensed the approach of loss of control.

Wanting to prolong this time of intimacy before physical need took
over, she closed her eyes, and marshaling her physical responses,
suppressed them, as she had often seen him do in the past.  She took a
deep breath, let it out, then opening her eyes, "Sexuality is
particularly complex."  Smiling at him, she stroked his hair, watching
her fingers run though it, and continued, "As Borg, we had no need for
seduction, no time for single-cell fertilization."

She pulled Harry's head to hers, deeply desiring to hold him to her,
pressing her mouth to his.  After a few moments, she pulled back, and
looked him in the eye, lust in every molecule of her being, voice
husky, "We saw a species we wanted and we assimilated it."  She placed
her hand on his chest, and began to caress him. "Nevertheless, I'm
willing to explore your ... humanity."  Sensing him respond to her
touch, she continued,  "Take off your clothes."

Harry reached for his slacks, but seven stopped him, intercepting his
hand.  She slowly brought it up to her mouth, and kissed it, nipped at
the soft part of the palm, then placed it on her breast, closing her
eyes as she did.   She relaxed into his caress for a few moments, then
opened her eyes, looked into his, and smiled.

She leaned in and kissed him, open mouthed.  It began simply, two
mouths pressing together, but from inside both, the desire grew.  It
worked through them, building, driving them from gentle intimate
kissing to passionate, desperate need.

It was becoming impossible for her to ignore her own desires, her body
screaming for him.  Unable to hold off, she broke with a small noise
of frustration and surrender, and pulling away from him, began to pull
at his shirt.  He began to reach for the clasp of her suit, as
desperate for her as she was for him. Her hungry mouth moved back in
to devour his, as she continued to attempt to remove his clothing, but
this impeded her progress.  Breaking her kiss, she reached down with
her hands, fumbling with his clothing in her haste.

Succeeding in flinging their garments off, they moved back together.
As they began to pleasure each other, Seven puled back for a moment,
and smiled at him, an evil glint in her eye, "Don't be alarmed, I
won't hurt you."

Harry grinned back, and proceeded to do his best to make sure that she
would.

---

When they were finished, they lay there in each other's arms,
exhausted.  Harry lay with his head on her shoulder, nuzzling.  He
became aware again of the feel of her body against his, her chest
against his, pressing, her arms encircling him, holding him.  For
Harry, nothing surpassed the sensation of being with her, the feel of
her body against his.  The moment of contact always brought a sense of
belonging, completion, whether in repose or passion.

He brought his hand up, and caressed her hair, her temple, kissed,
then nibbled a little at her shoulder.  One of her hands began to
move, caressing his back slowly, tentatively, though her eyes were
still closed, her breathing short and shallow.  Eventually he sensed a
difference in her, and she took a deep, long breath, then slowly let
it out.  After a moment, one hand moved to his head, and as she turned
it to her, she kissed his temple, his forehead, looked into his eyes
as she caressed his face, then kissed him, gently.  She lowered her
head back down, and laying his head back on her shoulder, held him
there.

They lay there, sharing each other's warmth, until reality intruded,
and they had to prepare to leave.

---

They walked in silence, still sharing each other's presence, to
Seven's quarters in cargo bay two.  Reaching the door, they paused.

Harry kissed her gently, squeezing her hand, "Good night, Seven."

She was about to reply in kind, when she realized she really did not
want him to go.  She had been sensing this desire for a number of
evenings, and though she had resisted it, it had remained.  Tonight,
however, it wasn't something she could just ignore, turn off.  She
wanted to stay with him, and it pulled at her.  Conflicted, she said
what was indicated, what she had been saying for days, "Good night,
Harry."

Harry smiled, began to turn away for the trek back to his quarters,
but stopped when Seven did not release his hand.  He turned back, a
question on his face.

Seven looked down at her hand, betraying her like this.  She wanted
him to go, needed for her own sake for him to go.  But that was no
longer just a simple act.  Her time with him these weeks had opened
her up to her own needs.  Once acknowledged, she could not simply put
them back again, ignore them.  Her mind might say he must go, but her
needs had finally said he must not.

After a few moments, she looked at him.  "Harry Kim.  I would...
appreciate..."  She paused, then tried again, "May I accompany you to
your quarters?"  With a small smile she continued, "Regenerating,
alone in my alcove, no longer seems an appealing place to spend the
remainder of the evening."  She thought for a moment, and continued,
"I have thought that by keeping you separate, it would protect me,
keep my identity strong, but instead, I find the enforced parting is
no longer what I truly desire."

Harry seemed to understand.  "I would love to have you.  Are you
sure?"  And, as he always did, he tried to lighten things with just a
little humor, to make her more comfortable.  It didn't actually matter
whether she found it humorous or not, his attempts were usually
reassurance enough.  "I wouldn't want to threaten your identity by
forcing my way in."

Seven paused, and smiled, "Perhaps it would be better if I bent my
identity just a little, to make some room."

Harry smiled back, nodded in acknowledgement, and escorted her back to
his quarters.

They slept in each other's arms till morning.

---

The End