Author's note:
Takes place after "Chute". Just in case you haven't seen it, here's a synopsis: Harry and Tom are wrongly convicted of a bombing on an alien world (Akritiria), and are sentenced and thrown into an Akritirian jail, which is a huge, floating rig in space, with no possibility of escape. All the inmates, including Tom and Harry, are given implants in their heads (called 'the clamp') which stimulate aggressive behavior and eventually induce madness. It's a horrible place; starvation, disease, madness, yada yada, Tom and Harry go through hell. They work on an escape plan, which ultimately fails. Tom gets stabbed in a fight while protecting Harry, then begins to succumb to clamp-indued madness, and blood loss from the stab wound. Harry also starts feeling clamp-induced rage and comes to the point of bashing Tom's head in with a pipe after Tom destroys their only hope of escape. But of course Harry doesn't bash Tom. Instead, he fends off the other inmates from harassing/killing/scavenging Tom as he lies there delirious and dying. At this fortuitous point, the cavalry comes to rescue them, and all is well. Back on the ship, Harry expresses angst over having come so close to murdering his best friend ("I almost bashed your head in with a pipe! Remember?"). Tom reassures him of their friendship, and tells Harry: "What I remember is a voice saying 'This man is my friend. Nobody touches him.'" Aww. And off they go to celebrate their rescue. The (happy) end.
I really loved this episode because it gives some insight into Harry and Tom's relationship, away from the interefence of other crew members and without a crutch like a holodeck program (i.e. Captain Proton). And the way they look at each other in this ep… wow. Not to mention the sleeping in each other's arms (I'm serious!) Now, I've always thought that if anyone belonged together (slashily speaking), it would be these two. And having seen "Chute", I'm totally convinced. So here goes. My first slash fic, and it's a Tom Paris/Harry Kim pairing. Why doesn't anyone else write these? I just don't get it. They're perfect.
Anyway, POV is Harry's at first, then Tom's, and continuing in turns. I'll designate the switches by *~*~*~*~*.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Star Trek, in all its various incarnations, is owned by Paramount and Roddenberry (or whatever). Anyway it sure doesn't belong to me, even though I wish it did. So don't sue me, because when I say I own nothing, I REALLY REALLY mean it. =^)
*~*~*~*~*
"So what do you say, let's go blow a week's worth of replicator rations?"
He stood there smiling at me, forgiveness written openly on his sweet face. I gazed at him, trying to accept that he still cared about me, even after I had almost killed him – after I had wanted to kill him. Oh, God. How could I? My best friend… and more than that… but it was better not to think about that, especially now. I shook it off.
"Okay. What was for dessert again?" I made myself smile at him. It took all my self-control not to respond when he put his arm around me. 'Just a friendly gesture,' I told myself. 'He's your friend – and that's all you can ever hope for.'
"Cherry pie," he was saying. What? Oh yes… I remembered: the meals, the desserts we had imagined, to keep ourselves going in that hellhole. What had I said? Fudge ripple pudding.
"What happened to the pudding?" I retorted, as we walked around the corner, en route to the mess hall.
"Yeah, we can have that too, whatever you want, Harry." He was still smiling. God, did he have to keep his arm so close around me? It was hard enough not to think about him when we were twenty feet apart, with my console, the bridge railing and the presence of ten other on-duty officers separating us. Oh, Tom. If only you knew…
*~*~*~*~*
I told myself that I was just trying to show Harry that I forgave him, but I must have been overdoing it, because he was starting to tense up. Not that I could blame him, after what we'd just lived through. Still, I didn't want to add to his troubles, so I took my arm off of his shoulder, as much as it disappointed me. He seemed relieved: it was probably the right thing for me to do anyway. We stepped into the turbolift, and I spoke. "Computer, mess hall."
"Computer, belay that." I looked at Harry in surprise. Why didn't he want to go to the mess hall? He looked nervous. "Um, I was thinking, Tom, why don't we just go to my quarters? If we go to the mess hall Neelix will just try to stuff some leola root stew into us – he'll probably say how good it would be for us, after all we've been through." Harry smiled weakly, giving a nervous little laugh. "And if we just go to my quarters, we can avoid the whole hero's-welcome-back thing we'd get in the mess hall." He paused and his eyes fell. When he spoke again, his voice was soft and regretful. "I for one don't feel like much of a hero right now." He looked up at me hopefully.
I started to agree without thinking about it, but – wait a minute – his quarters? 'Oh, no,' I thought. 'Just what I need – Harry, alone with me, in his quarters… how the hell am I going to keep myself from telling him everything?' But it was too late to say no; Harry had seen me nod. "Okay then, " he grinned. It was good to see him smiling. "Deck fourteen."
So, what do you think? I love reviews, and adore my reviewers, so please please review!!!!! Thanks!
Takes place after "Chute". Just in case you haven't seen it, here's a synopsis: Harry and Tom are wrongly convicted of a bombing on an alien world (Akritiria), and are sentenced and thrown into an Akritirian jail, which is a huge, floating rig in space, with no possibility of escape. All the inmates, including Tom and Harry, are given implants in their heads (called 'the clamp') which stimulate aggressive behavior and eventually induce madness. It's a horrible place; starvation, disease, madness, yada yada, Tom and Harry go through hell. They work on an escape plan, which ultimately fails. Tom gets stabbed in a fight while protecting Harry, then begins to succumb to clamp-indued madness, and blood loss from the stab wound. Harry also starts feeling clamp-induced rage and comes to the point of bashing Tom's head in with a pipe after Tom destroys their only hope of escape. But of course Harry doesn't bash Tom. Instead, he fends off the other inmates from harassing/killing/scavenging Tom as he lies there delirious and dying. At this fortuitous point, the cavalry comes to rescue them, and all is well. Back on the ship, Harry expresses angst over having come so close to murdering his best friend ("I almost bashed your head in with a pipe! Remember?"). Tom reassures him of their friendship, and tells Harry: "What I remember is a voice saying 'This man is my friend. Nobody touches him.'" Aww. And off they go to celebrate their rescue. The (happy) end.
I really loved this episode because it gives some insight into Harry and Tom's relationship, away from the interefence of other crew members and without a crutch like a holodeck program (i.e. Captain Proton). And the way they look at each other in this ep… wow. Not to mention the sleeping in each other's arms (I'm serious!) Now, I've always thought that if anyone belonged together (slashily speaking), it would be these two. And having seen "Chute", I'm totally convinced. So here goes. My first slash fic, and it's a Tom Paris/Harry Kim pairing. Why doesn't anyone else write these? I just don't get it. They're perfect.
Anyway, POV is Harry's at first, then Tom's, and continuing in turns. I'll designate the switches by *~*~*~*~*.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Star Trek, in all its various incarnations, is owned by Paramount and Roddenberry (or whatever). Anyway it sure doesn't belong to me, even though I wish it did. So don't sue me, because when I say I own nothing, I REALLY REALLY mean it. =^)
*~*~*~*~*
"So what do you say, let's go blow a week's worth of replicator rations?"
He stood there smiling at me, forgiveness written openly on his sweet face. I gazed at him, trying to accept that he still cared about me, even after I had almost killed him – after I had wanted to kill him. Oh, God. How could I? My best friend… and more than that… but it was better not to think about that, especially now. I shook it off.
"Okay. What was for dessert again?" I made myself smile at him. It took all my self-control not to respond when he put his arm around me. 'Just a friendly gesture,' I told myself. 'He's your friend – and that's all you can ever hope for.'
"Cherry pie," he was saying. What? Oh yes… I remembered: the meals, the desserts we had imagined, to keep ourselves going in that hellhole. What had I said? Fudge ripple pudding.
"What happened to the pudding?" I retorted, as we walked around the corner, en route to the mess hall.
"Yeah, we can have that too, whatever you want, Harry." He was still smiling. God, did he have to keep his arm so close around me? It was hard enough not to think about him when we were twenty feet apart, with my console, the bridge railing and the presence of ten other on-duty officers separating us. Oh, Tom. If only you knew…
*~*~*~*~*
I told myself that I was just trying to show Harry that I forgave him, but I must have been overdoing it, because he was starting to tense up. Not that I could blame him, after what we'd just lived through. Still, I didn't want to add to his troubles, so I took my arm off of his shoulder, as much as it disappointed me. He seemed relieved: it was probably the right thing for me to do anyway. We stepped into the turbolift, and I spoke. "Computer, mess hall."
"Computer, belay that." I looked at Harry in surprise. Why didn't he want to go to the mess hall? He looked nervous. "Um, I was thinking, Tom, why don't we just go to my quarters? If we go to the mess hall Neelix will just try to stuff some leola root stew into us – he'll probably say how good it would be for us, after all we've been through." Harry smiled weakly, giving a nervous little laugh. "And if we just go to my quarters, we can avoid the whole hero's-welcome-back thing we'd get in the mess hall." He paused and his eyes fell. When he spoke again, his voice was soft and regretful. "I for one don't feel like much of a hero right now." He looked up at me hopefully.
I started to agree without thinking about it, but – wait a minute – his quarters? 'Oh, no,' I thought. 'Just what I need – Harry, alone with me, in his quarters… how the hell am I going to keep myself from telling him everything?' But it was too late to say no; Harry had seen me nod. "Okay then, " he grinned. It was good to see him smiling. "Deck fourteen."
So, what do you think? I love reviews, and adore my reviewers, so please please review!!!!! Thanks!