Disclaimer time once again! Seventeenth verse same as the first . . everybody *sing*: I don't own these characters, (chorus) Paramount does! I don't own this venue, (chorus) Paramount does! I am making no money off of this, (chorus) Paramount does not either! This story involves sex between two men, aka: slash.  If that is *not* your cup of tea, sweet as it is, then don't read it!  (simple, ain't it??) Feedback is *very* much appreciated, and always answered.  Flames will be passed around to friends and chuckled over.  :) This is the sequel to 'Adversaries', and 'Allies'. Of course, there will be more. 'Acknowledgement' by Amirin **************************************************** All in all, it was a wonderful way to wake up.  Tom sighed, stretching, feeling Chakotay's hand rubbing his back.  He groaned as it moved firmly up his backbone, then exhaled heavily when the strong, gentle hand pressed into the back of his neck, fingers squeezing slightly. Tom moaned aloud; gods, he loved a good neck rub.  Most evenings, after duty shift, he was sorely in need of one.  It was yet another example of a time when your own hand just wasn't enough. He grinned at the thought *that* conjured up, and fluidly stretched again before crossing over to Chakotay and pouncing on him, kissing him soundly. Tom pulled back, sighing again, and lay on his crossed arms on Chakotay's chest, looking at his eyes. Chakotay grinned, bringing a hand up to play with his lover's sleep-tousled hair. His lover.  He sighed heavily, completely at ease with the feelings that term engendered.  It was still early, yet, and he wondered if maybe they could continue where they had left off last night. Tom watched the Commander's eyes as a slightly smoky look filled them. Perhaps they had time . . "Good morning," Tom said softly, leaning forward to kiss Chakotay again. "Mmmm.  Good morning," Chakotay replied, rolling over to pin Tom beneath him before ravishing his mouth.  A hot, wet tongue entered his mouth immediately, dancing with his own.  He groaned, settling between Tom's long legs, feeling the other man's arousal against his. Carefully keeping his weight on his elbows, he savored Tom, bringing his teeth to his lover's neck and nibbling gently. Tom shivered, a little tickled but more turned on.  He wrapped his legs around the Commander's hips, holding him captive right where he was, and moved shaky hands down the man's body from neck to ass.  He groaned with more than annoyance when his comm signaled. "Paris here," he tried to say coherently, while Chakotay apparently had no intention of stopping the frontal assault on his neck. "Mr. Paris, I need to see you for a moment before shift change, in my ready room," Captain Janeway's voice filled the air, making Chakotay delay his planned attack on Tom's ear, before she continued. "Commander Chakotay," she unfortunately paused, only to continue with, "Told me about your idea regarding the shield variances," at the same instant Chakotay responded automatically with, "Right here, Captain." Tom groaned quietly in the dead silence, covering his face with his arms. He almost *hear* Janeway's eyebrows crawling up into her hairline.  Shit. "As I was saying," the Captain went on, as if the interruption had never occurred, "Commander Chakotay has informed me of your idea and I'd like to discuss it with you, before your shift, Lieutenant. As soon as it's convenient," she finished, wryly. "On my way, Captain," Tom said, his voice unusually subdued.  The comm line went off right before he whacked Chakotay over the head with the pillow. "That was good, Chakotay, really good," he said sarcastically, thumping the man again, before attempting to make a break for the bathroom and get cleaned up. "Not so fast, you," Chakotay growled, face still flaming with embarrassment, as he grabbed the pilot, hauling him backward into the bed. "I don't care if she knows," he said firmly, somewhat startled to realize it was true.  "I don't care if the *whole ship* knows. I don't regret this, Tom, and I'm not going to hide the fact that we're lovers.  If you have a problem with that, tell me now." Tom looked up into Chakotay's eyes, stunned.  The man was totally serious. "I don't regret it, any of it," Tom admitted, quietly.  "And I don't have a problem with anyone, *everyone* knowing.  I just don't want the Captain to think the reason you brought the idea about the shields to her attention was because we're involved." "We weren't involved, then.  We hadn't even become friends, yet," Chakotay paused, seeing Tom's puzzled look.  He sighed, smiling gently.  "It was an off-the-cuff remark you made in one of those famous reports of yours, a couple of days ago.  About the shield frequency problems around tellanite compounds and 'gods help us if we run into a large quantity of them'," he paused, seeing Tom remember.  "You mentioned that maybe we should work on a new variance, and went into some pretty convincing detail.  I just told the Captain; it *was* a good idea, Tom," he grinned at the amazement on his lover's face. "You see?" Chakotay asked, caressing Tom's face, smoothing the stunned look away gently.  "I *never* hated you.  You made me a little uncomfortable, yes.  You're so damnably unpredictable," he growled, playfully, easing away the worry lines on Tom's forehead with his lips.  "And you're right, at least partly.  I *was* responding to your antagonism, using it to feed my own.  I'm so sorry; I never meant for you to think I hated you," he finished in a whisper against his lover's lips. Tom nodded.  "I know," he acknowledged quietly, returning Chakotay's gentle kiss with one of his own.  And another.  And then another.  Pretty soon all thought of seeing the Captain was being burned out of his memory, replaced delightfully by the welcome heat of Chakotay's kiss. The Commander sighed, easing away.  The Captain would be even *less* amused if Tom didn't show up soon.  Besides, they had all night, tonight. Chakotay opened his mouth to speak, only to have Tom attack it for a moment, before he pulled himself away, regretfully. "I've got to go," Tom said breathlessly, resting his forehead against Chakotay's.  He imagined that he could almost feel the tattoo burning itself into his own forehead.  He quickly kissed Chakotay again, then heaved himself, groaning, out of the bed and headed toward the bathroom to shower and shave. By the time he came out, in a damp towel, Chakotay was already up, and had breakfast waiting, wearing the darker of Tom's two blue robes. "Watch it, Commander," he growled softly into Chakotay's ear.  "A guy could get used to this," he finished, before Chakotay reclaimed his mouth.  Tom sighed, backing away, and grabbed some food before putting on his uniform. He couldn't find the jacket and it took him a minute to remember that it was still on the couch from the night before.  Picking one up, he tried to put it on, but noticed it didn't quite fit. Ah, Chakotay's.  Looking up, he met the Commander's amused gaze.  Tom grinned back, getting his own jacket, then sat down to pull on the boots. Finally presentable, he headed over to where Chakotay stood, watching him. Chakotay opened his arms, letting Tom walk into them and sighed.  Damn, the man felt wonderful. He caught a quick kiss, then released him. "See you on the bridge," Tom said softly, knowing the other man would soon make his way to his own quarters to shower and change.  He loved being so comfortable in Chakotay's presence, now, and he sighed, smiling, stealing another kiss before heading out the door and making his way to the Captain's ready room. Maybe they *had* gone too far, too fast, but he was beyond caring at the moment. Tom liked the feeling of being at ease with the man a hell of a lot more than the near-constant tension they'd been 'enjoying', previously. He found himself a little nervous at seeing the Captain, but her easy grin, with no obvious undertones, soon put him back in the relaxed state he'd been in since waking earlier that morning with a gentle, warm hand on his back.   Tom and the Captain talked for some time about the shield modifications he'd carelessly tossed into the report, and she gave him the go-ahead to work on them.  Harry would be giving him a hand for the next couple of days, until they were complete, and Tom found himself looking forward to it; the occasions he and Har got to work together were pretty rare.  They'd be starting first thing the next day, and Tom headed out of the meeting with both a larger-than-usual spring in his step *and* grin on his face, as he headed to take his post.   Chakotay was already in his seat and Tom turned, flashing him a nova-bright smile the older man couldn't help responding to. Harry missed nothing, from his post, and felt his gut clench.  Too late, indeed.  *Damn* it, anyway.  He struggled to keep his feelings from his face, to remain impassive, but it was harder than hell to do so.  He buried himself in work, studying the upcoming project with unusually devoted attention, just so he wouldn't have to watch Tom and the Commander interact. Duty shift seemed to crawl for all of them.  Tom was impatient to get it over with, so he could be with Chakotay, Chakotay was wanting it to be over, so he could be with Tom, and Harry was anxious to get the day over with, so he get away from *both* of them.   Finally, it was done with, and Harry all but bolted from the bridge when his relief showed up.  Tom and Chakotay left at a slower pace, timing things deliberately, so they could take the turbolift together. Neither noticed Janeway's interest in the goings-on.   She hadn't missed how wrapped up in work Harry had been making himself, or his flight from the bridge, and she wasn't missing how her pilot and First Officer were behaving, now.  Very interesting, indeed, but she felt for Harry, wondering when his feelings of friendship had changed for him and how Tom had remained unaware of it.  The Ensign must have been incredibly hurt upon realizing that Tom and Chakotay were now involved.  Janeway made a mental note to ask Kes to try and talk to Harry or just listen, if need be.  She sighed, wondering if she should talk to Chakotay, but decided against it, for the time being.  She'd wait, and watch.  At least for now. Tom and Chakotay parted ways, each heading to his own quarters to change, before getting together in Chakotay's.  They wanted tonight to be just the two of them, no uniforms, no rank, no past misunderstandings getting in the way. Tom grinned when he entered the Commander's quarters, again. Part of the smile was the memory of the visit a couple days earlier, part was how wonderful it felt to be there, now. Chakotay more than met his smile, as he crossed the room to Tom. His hand caressed his lover's cheek and he sighed when Tom turned his head to kiss the palm, before coming into his arms.  His quick kiss on the side of Tom's neck turned into a second, rapidly followed by a third when the other man groaned softly.  Dinner could wait.  Tom couldn't. Chakotay backed away, gazing fondly at the man wrapped up in his arms.  "I love your smile," he said softly, kissing Tom again. "You should," Tom replied breathlessly, angling his neck better for the Commander's touch.  "You put it there." Chakotay grinned, following the line of Tom's throat to his ear.  He curled around it with his tongue and felt Tom's shiver run through him. Strong hands held his head right where it was, and he obeyed Tom's unspoken request, lips and teeth making slight red marks all over that perfect, fair skin. "What about dinner?" Tom asked, huskily, just to tease.  He had no intention of letting Chakotay stop the wonderful things he was doing to him. "Life on board a starship is an uncertain thing," Chakotay breathed quietly into Tom's ear.  "So, I'm having dessert first." It took a few seconds, but soon Tom was shaking with more than arousal in Chakotay's embrace and the Commander pulled back to look at him. Their eyes had barely met before Tom erupted in laughter, lowering his head to rest against Chakotay's shoulder. Chakotay grinned, feeling Tom's body shuddering with merriment, as the pilot looked up at him. "And I love your laughter," Chakotay said quietly, still smiling. "And I love you," Tom said carefully, meaning every word of it. Chakotay found it difficult to breathe, suddenly, with the sweet vice tightening around his lungs.  He took Tom's face in his hands and rained kisses all over it.  "I love you, too," he returned, feeling Tom relax into him as the man sighed with relief.  "What, you had doubts?" he asked, a little disturbed. "It's all happened so fast," Tom assured him, hastily.  "I just wasn't sure if you were there, yet." Chakotay nodded his understanding.  "I'm there," he said simply, sighing against Tom's lips as the man kissed him again. Tom groaned as the Commander resumed nibbling on his ear.  "And I am *really* ready for dessert." Chakotay grinned and took his lover's hand, leading him into the bedroom before stopping by the bed.  He ordered the lights lower and rested his hand on Tom's chest, feeling the heart thudding under his touch.  He leaned forward, replacing the hand with his mouth, and felt fingers undoing his shirt, smoothing it off his shoulders.  He licked his way along Tom's collarbone, slowly, taking small bites at the warm flesh on the journey and watching his lover's responses. Catching Tom's hands in his own, he halted the man's efforts to get his own shirt off. "Let me," he whispered, drawing his tongue up the length of Tom's throat, tracing the outer rim of his ear.  Making short work of taking it off, he paused, fingertips caressing Tom's nipples through the red-gold curls.  His thumbs brushed over them, and they hardened into stiff peaks under his ministrations.  Leaning down, he laved one with his tongue and pulled Tom closer with a firm hand on the man's ass. "Unh, gods, Chakotay," Tom groaned, head thrown back when his lover switched to the other one.  He stroked Chakotay's stomach with the backs of his fingers, letting the tips follow along under the waistband of his slacks, then moving lower. Chakotay gasped against Tom's chest as the man's knuckles grazed the head of his cock, the accidental caress becoming more deliberate when Tom caught his lover's reaction.  He quickly toed off his shoes, his movements echoed by Tom, before he undid the man's slacks and let them drop to his feet. Tom impatiently kicked them aside and hurried to get rid of Chakotay's.  He found the simple fastening totally beyond him when a curious finger traced the curve of his ass, quickly finding the cleft and following it, up and down along the seam of his shorts. Another hand touched his cock through the soft fabric and, reflexively, he thrust against it, finally getting his fingers to cooperate and rid Chakotay of his clothing. Chakotay's sigh melted into a groan as the man returned his caress over his own cock. His closing eyes popped open when Tom slid down his body, lips and tongue efficiently mapping out the places that gave him the most pleasure.  Two thumbs hooked into his shorts and they were gone and gentle hands quickly rid him of the socks on his feet, before returning to his hips and holding on.  A hot, wet tongue touched the tip of his cock and he looked down, to see his lover take his cock into his mouth and start sucking gently on it.  He swayed and the strong hands grasped him more firmly, not letting him fall.  He ran a shaking hand down Tom's cheek, holding his face as he fucked the man's mouth. "Gods, Tom, yes.  Yes, baby, suck me. Ohh, *Gods*, yes," he gasped out, volume increasing as he felt himself nearing orgasm. He tried to step back, but Tom followed him, moving forward on his knees, refusing to let go. "Stop, Tom, please," Chakotay pleaded, breathing hard, watching as Tom reluctantly backed off, kissing him the length of his flushed, hard cock, before he sat back on his heels, looking up at Chakotay. Tom said, "I want you to fuck me," at the same time Chakotay said, "I want to fuck you." They looked at each other and both of their grins had something of an edge to them. Chakotay grasped Tom's arm and hauled him to his feet, quickly stripped the shorts off him, then backed him against the bed and pushed him down onto it.  He joined him immediately, and lay down on top of him. Tom's hands followed Chakotay's back all the way to his ass, and he returned the teasing touches he'd gotten earlier, tracing his lover's cleft until he found the small entrance to the other man's body and slowly pushed his fingertip inside.  As Chakotay began moving against him, he thrust in and out, just a little.  Just enough to drive Chakotay out of his mind. The Commander reached over Tom's head and grabbed the small tube inside the nightstand.  Quickly covering his fingers, he tossed the tube next to him and eased his hand between them. Tom let his legs spread open a little wider and brought his knees up, feeling the cool slickness of his lover's hand in direct contrast to the heat of his mouth, as it descended on his own.  Dimly, he was aware that Chakotay had risen to his knees, and before the other man could stop him, Tom rolled quickly over onto his stomach, stretching his arms forward toward the top of the bed. "You are so *damned* beautiful," Chakotay ground out, caressing the body laid out in front of him, hand going up the inside of a long thigh, around a hipbone until it was under Tom.  Pulling backward, he brought the other man up to his hands and knees and moved in behind him, bending over to kiss and nibble on the shoulderblades as he slid a firm but gentle finger inside his lover. Tom's back arched immediately and he shifted restlessly, thrusting against the Commander.  His movement brought another finger to join the first within him and he heard himself whimper softly, a short, harsh cry coming from his lips as a third entered him, stretching him. Chakotay watched Tom's head fall back, before it dropped forward, the man's face tightening in pleasure and desire. "Oh, gods, Chakotay *now*.  Please.  Fuck me. Gods, I need you, please," Tom ground out, before Chakotay hushed him, fingers thrusting into him, prolonging it on purpose, just to see Tom's unguarded reactions, his total surrender. Tom groaned in agitation and loss when Chakotay pulled out, before a new, slick pressure was felt, and it breached him, slowing working its way into him. His fists clenched into the sheets and he moaned through gritted teeth, eyes tightly shut, as Chakotay moved inside him. "Gods, you are so *tight*," Chakotay rasped, feeling the heat rising off of Tom's body, setting his own on fire. "And, you feel so *good*," he choked out as Tom came rapidly back into him, the harsh stroke driving the breath from his body.  He grasped Tom even tighter and withdrew until just the head of his cock was still inside, before he slammed back into his lover. A feral grin crossed his face as he saw Tom shake under him and he did it again, the sobbing groan of his lover echoing loudly in the room. "*Yes*, Gods, Chakotay, yes.  More, please.  Oh, pleasepleaseplease," and whatever Tom was going to say next got caught off when Chakotay granted his request, thrusting into him so quickly, he didn't have time to catch his breath. Chakotay's still-slick hand reached under Tom and took hold of him, and the man nearly came off the mattress.  He gasped as Tom tightened around him and moved faster and harder, taking his lover's groans as encouragement. Tom dropped onto his elbows, his arms too unsteady to support his weight, as Chakotay fucked him.  Coherent speech was far beyond him, but his lover seemed to know what he needed and how badly, and gave it to him. He moved forward into Chakotay's hand, then shoved backward to impale himself on his lover's cock and Chakotay sped up, harsh breathing signaling how close he was to release. Tom clenched around him again and grinned triumphantly as Chakotay cursed, the tempo increasing even more. The Commander stroked Tom hard and fast, both inside and out and another tightening of his lover's muscles around him threw more fuel onto the fire. He heard his own voice cry out, a low, loud wail and caught Tom's as the man shouted, bucked under him, and came, shuddering as he overflowed into Chakotay's hand again and again. Chakotay felt an almost vicious spasm around his cock, as Tom came, ripping his own orgasm from him and he climaxed, filling Tom in thrust after thrust, gradually slowing to a stop.  He rested his weight on his lover for an instant and the man collapsed under him. Chakotay tried, unsuccessfully to get his breath back as he pulled out of his lover, hearing the slight hiss at his exit, before he dropped next to Tom, covering the shaking body with his own.  He lay his cheek on Tom's back, tongue coming out to lick the sweat rolling off the man. Tom shivered at the touch, sighing as warm arms enclosed him, pulling him back against a heaving chest, rapid breaths stirring his hair. He crossed his arms over the ones wrapped around him and squeezed, turning his head to kiss Chakotay's shoulder.  He heard his lover groan as he shifted onto his back, taking Tom with him. Tom rolled over, snuggling into Chakotay's welcome heat, before the man, feeling the shiver that shook him, drew the covers over both of them. "You are incredible," Chakotay said, tiredly, kissing Tom's forehead, smiling into exhausted, blue eyes. "You're no slouch, either, you know," Tom retorted, smothering a yawn. "Shit, I'm too tired to eat." "Then I'm glad we had dessert, first," Chakotay grinned as Tom snorted. "We can nap a while, then eat later.  It'll keep," he said softly, brushing his lips across Tom's cheek, until the head turned and a sweet mouth caught his. Several long, slow, soft kisses later, they curled up around each other, and fell into sleep.  Dinner would just have to wait a while longer. *********************************