(Takes place between the Season 7 episodes 'Imperfection' and 'Drive'.)
BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP.
"Urgh...!" Harry Kim groans as he swats his hand down hard on his space alarm clock, stopping it's infernal beeping, he sits up and looks around his room, it was as dark as always, since night and day are completely artificial on a starship.
"Computer, lights." the schoolboy ensign orders as he gets up, the lights come on and he starts getting dressed.
"Today's the big day..." he says quietly to himself "I'm finally going to do it, I'm going to ask her."
Once he was dressed in his uniform, complete with the single pip on his collar that he's come to despise, he heads out of his room and makes his way to sickbay.
"Doc!" Harry calls as he leans in through the door.
"Laaa-la-la-la-la-la-la, la, laaaaaa-!" he finds the Doctor singing opera to himself again, he stops quite aruptly and turns to Harry "ah, Ensign Kim? why what an unexpected surprise, how can I help you today? did the captain beat you again? throttle, perhaps?"
"Not yet." Harry states all glumly "she may later though, but that's not what I'm here for, I was hoping maybe you could give me something to calm my nerves... please?"
"Tch-ch-ch." the Doctor shakes his head "Harry Kim, you know full well that there is no drug, enzyme, or hypospray in existence that can keep your nerves at bay."
"Oh..." Harry frowns, then gets angry "well thanks for nothing!" he snaps as he turns and leaves, heading for the mess hall, he gets there quick.
"Ah, Harry! what can I get'cha?" Neelix greets Harry with a big grin "the potent stuff?"
"You know it, Neelix." Harry smiles for the first time today, and probably the last.
While Neelix got busy behind the counter, Harry was surprised by a sudden hand slapping him on the shoulder.
"Ahh!" he turns in surprise and shouts in terror, relieved to see that it was only Tom, beautiful, perfect Tom.
"Whoa there, cowboy, hold your horses." Tom states because he's as American as apple pie itself, he then leans against the counter beside Harry and looks at his friend concerned "it's just me, what's got you so jumpy?"
"Oh, uh, nothing." Harry shakes his head, upset that he had embarrassed himself in front of the man of his dreams "just dreading another long day of work is all."
"Uh-huh, tell me about it." Tom nods understandingly "six hours of putting up with the captain's and Chakotay's backseat driving, never going my own route unless there's no time for them to command me, it's almost enough to make me hate my job, oh but how I don't..." he drifts off into dreamland over how much he loves flying the ship.
"Umm, was there something you were wanting to talk to me about, or were you just saying hello?" Harry asks, unhappy for two reasons, the first being that Tom can't even talk to him for ten sentences before doing his own thing, and the second being the fact that Tom is actually happy with where he is in life, a feeling that Harry has never tasted before even once after stepping on board this accursed vessel.
"Huh?" Tom barely snaps out of it "...oh! yes, there was something, um, what was it-oh yeah, I have a little bit of a problem that I just can't seem to solve on my own, and no matter how hard I try it doesn't seem to help or change anything."
"What is it?" Harry asks, his eyes widening a little with hope that maybe Torres wasn't doing it for him anymore.
"Well, you see, it's about B'Elanna-" Tom starts.
PLEEEEEEASE!? Harry's brain explodes with the excitement.
"-I really think our relationship is going great, amazing actually, and I really, REALLY want to make it go further, but nothing seems to-" Tom continues.
NOOOOOO! Harry screams in his head, drowning out Tom's next few sentences with repeated swears and more than once wishing Torres would die painfully.
"-so now I'm back to the original problem, what do I do?" Tom finishes "come on, man, you have a fiancé, I know you've gone through this before, help me out."
"I don't know, I've never done this kind of thing without having stolen the damn girl's diary first!" Harry snaps, his anger clouding his judgment and making him admit to things he normally would've taken to the grave "why don't you just marry her!?"
"Marry?" Tom repeats, surprised at Harry's outburst, but then he starts to seriously think about it "well, now that you mention it, there's not really a whole lot of risk doing that out here, hell, it's great insurance really, if we ever get stranded somewhere and need to build a new community it's us couples that'll shoulder most of the weight and benefits, sure there's the possibility of us making it back home and that screwing up everything but I mean what are the chances of that, not to mention the lack of consequence anyway, but back to our current situation, I suppose the Delaney twins already got hitched to What's-His-Name and What's-His-Face, so it's not like they're options anymore, and if everybody else is going to start doing it too then there's no harm in us jumping on board, and I do feel pretty confident in our ability to keep the relationship working, and if Janeway's moved onto Seven enough then maybe she won't mind, so maybe..." his voice steadily fades away as Harry loses interest.
"Here you are, Harry! enjoy!" Neelix smiles smugly as he slides Harry his pathetically small cup of the potent stuff.
"Ah, finally!" Harry gasps as he snatches it up and downs it immediately, it was still hot and burned his mouth and throat but he didn't care, so long as he was getting his fix.
"Huh, you know what, Harry? I think maybe I will." Tom nods, warmed up to the idea now "I'll talk to her about it later, thanks, pal."
"Hrhm?" Harry glances at Tom, now so high on the potent stuff that he's completely forgotten what they were talking about "oh, thanks!" he grins like the stupid schoolboy he is.
"Well, I guess I'd better be off-" Tom starts to get up.
"Oh! Tom, before you leave...!" Neelix says urgently as he pours a cup of coffee and presents it to Mr. Paris "the captain wanted you specifically to deliver her daily cup this morning, she seemed most insistent."
Instantly Tom's eyes go dead with internal fear and trauma, frowning down at the cup as if it was an old enemy come back to strike him in his moment of glory.
"M-me?" he stammers "you sure she didn't say, uh, Mr. Haris?"
"Who's Mr. Haris?" Neelix asks curiously.
"I don't know, somebody who's not me!" Tom stresses.
"Well, no, I'm pretty sure she said you." Neelix insists.
"No, she must've meant somebody named Dom, or Tam, or just somebody else who's Tom." Tom goes into denial.
"What's the big deal? it's just a cup of coffee-" Neelix starts.
"No! it's not!" Tom insists, suddenly grabbing the cup and smelling it as hard as he can with his eyes closed "...you put cinnamon in this, didn't you?"
"Why yes, the captain requested-" Neelix starts again.
"She only ever orders cinnamon if she feels like getting funky!" Tom freaks "ohhhhhh, WHY!? what happened!? where did things go wrong!? I... I guess Seven hasn't been putting out, and Janeway's taken as much as she can, damn it, and right after fixing my last love-life problem, ugh, that is, like, either that's the case, or... maybe... it's even worse, what if Seven actually did finally give in, but instead of being content with her alone, Janeway went and decided that she wants BOTH of us, in which case I'm screwed, in every way."
"Tsk, wow, the problems you live with, Paris." a crewman, Ensign Blain, sarcastically nods as he butts into the conversation "getting to bed both the captain and the most attractive woman on the ship, while also having a girlfriend who can't blame you for it and therefore can't hold it against you, wowzers, you know what? you really make the rest of us low-rung singles appreciate how lucky we have it."
"Know your place, background extra." Harry warns murderously, almost rising out of his chair as his psycho, bloodshot eyes flash.
"Hey! if you want to do it, then be my guest!" Tom eagerly slides the cup towards Blain.
"Uh, I'm afraid the captain requested you, Tom, you can't just pass it to someone else, even if they're of lower rank than you." Neelix reminds him.
Harry's nose flares a little at the mere mention of people who rank below Tom, since he himself is included among them.
"Yeah, besides, Blain's babies wouldn't be as cute as yours." Harry comments to get his mind off of his rank, while also trying to flirt.
Boom. Tom gives Harry a glare so dark and full of hate that it sends chills up Harry's grandfather's spine.
"Never, mention, the babies." Tom growls.
"I... uh... take it back?" Harry tries to do damage control "...sorry?"
"Ugh...!" Tom groans as he reverts to his old self and goes back to looking down into the coffee all distraught "what am I gonna do?"
"Take the captain her coffee?" Neelix suggests "come on, Tom, just get it over with, you'll feel better once it's done, then you can come back and I'll whip you up a happy day ice cream bowl, with banas and cherrish and all the rest of that gross Earth crap."
"But I...!" Tom starts to whine, but then trails off as an idea gradually forms in his head, he then slowly grips his right wrist with his left hand.
"Urghck-ah!" Tom gasps in pain as he suddenly twists his wrist as hard as his left arm can manage, making it snap and hang limp.
"AHHH!" everybody around him reacts in surprise, except for Harry, who's alarmingly calm.
"Ha! now I can't do it...!" Tom laughs as he cradles his hand, turning away and walking for the exit, "have fun telling Janeway about how I tripped and sprained my wrist! I'll be in sickbay if you need me!" he calls over his shoulder before disappearing.
"But I need you now." Neelix protests "somebody has to deliver the captain's coffee, or else we're ALL going to suffer!"
"Relax, Neelix." Harry sighs, still alarmingly calm "I'll do it, I wanted to talk to her about something anyway."
"*Gasp*! why that is very kind of you, Harry." Neelix tries to encourage such behavior.
"Don't mention it." Harry states all emo-styled as he picks up the cup and turns to head out.