Chocolate Disclaimer: I welcome any and all comments, but be aware that all flames will be given to my dragon, so that he may stoke his furnace, and defend his mistress... Harry and Seven belong to Paramount, who don't seem to want us to think that their characters have personal lives; Hershey's Chocolate and the 'H' belong to the P.A. Hershey Company; the story belongs to me. ***** "Mmmm. That was wonderful. Seven, I didn't know that you could cook like that." A slight smile crossed Seven's face as she answered Harry. "I cannot; the Captain suggested that I use the replicator. I receive the same rations as the rest of the crew, but I have not been using them. My account currently contains 2237 rations." Harry seemed to be thinking carefully before he asked, "Ummm, Seven, have you used *any* of the rations alloted to you since you came on board?" "Only a few. I have not had need of them, since I have only recently began to eat, and my clothing does not wear out as quickly as Starfleet uniforms." "Oh...I was just curious. So you asked the Captain about cooking? Rumor on board is that she's an awful cook. When she and Chakotay were stranded on New Earth, he had to do all of the cooking. No wonder she told you to use the replicators--" Harry was brought up short by an awful thought. "You didn't tell her *why* you needed a picnic lunch did you?" Looking into Harry's face, Seven sighed as she saw that he was flustered--he was flushed and the worry line between his eyes was back; it had only been a few short minutes since it had disappeared. Seven did not understand why he was worried; after all, it was not as if the Captain was angry when she had told her that she was planning on taking Harry to the Holodeck for a picnic. As a matter of fact she had even helped Seven to choose some of Harry's favorite dishes, and had placed a foil wrapped parcel in the basket, telling Seven that it was an Earth delicacy called chocolate, and that she would enjoy it very much. Seeing that Harry was still distressed, Seven related her earlier conversation with the Captain, taking a small parcel labeled with the words 'Hershey's Milk Chocolate' from the basket as she spoke, and showing it to him. "I'm sorry, Seven, I just want to keep this," Harry said, waving his hands around in the air, "to myself for a while. I don't want to share you with anyone." Giving her a sheepish grin, he continued. "Don't you want to have time to ourselves before we have to tell the rest of the crew?" "I believe that most, if not all, of the crew already know about 'us', and that they are...pleased...that we have begun a relationship. As a matter of fact, this was B'Elanna's idea; I overheard her telling Ensign Henley that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach." This brought a perplexed smile to Seven's face as she contemplated the strange anatomical configuration that would lead to the truth of such a statement. Seeing that smile and knowing what was coming, Harry leaned over and kissed her, while reaching around to pull the pins from her hair, effectively putting an end to the torrent of questions before it could come pouring out of Seven's mouth. As they broke the kiss, Seven sighed and asked, "Why do you always do that to my hair? I prefer to wear it away from my face, but you are continually pulling out the pins. You asked earlier if I had used any of my replicator rations. Of the rations I have used, more than half have gone to making new hair pins." The first time that Harry had loosened her hair, she had searched in vain for the pins, thinking that they had fallen into the spaces between the cushions of Harry's sofa. After many long minutes, she had been unable to find them. Secretly, she thought that Harry had kept them. Later that night, before she had left his quarters, Harry had braided her hair. He had secured it with a twisted piece of wire from his work bench. When she had gotten back to Cargo Bay Two, she had taken the small loop of wire from the end of the braid, and placed into the container that contained a dried rose, and a holo-picture that Neelix had taken of them during one of his monthly parties. "Oh god, Seven, why didn't you tell me? If you want me to leave your hair alone, you should have said something. I'm so sorry." With that he began to crawl around in the grass, looking for the dropped pins. Seven turned to watch Harry as he searched for the pins, and upon seeing the musculature of his slim form dip and bend as he moved, she was filled with a now familiar wave of longing. She grasped Harry's hair to pull his head up, so that she could look into his eyes, and she drew his mouth to hers. Brushing his lips with her tongue, she pressed it forward to demand entrance. His lips parted under hers, and their tongues met in a heated dance. As their kiss deepened, Seven pressed herself against Harry, wrapping her arms around him, clutching him as hard as she dared. Each time that she touched him, she felt this need to never let him go, and it frightened her as much as it excited her. Harry broke away first, gasping for air. "Wow. What was that for?" "I am sorry. I only wanted to touch you--was it wrong?" "Noo-oo, not wrong, just intense. Come here." Harry reclined on the grass, and opened his arms to Seven, who lay down next to him, pillowing her head on his shoulder. Harry's hand wandered to her hair again as they held each other, and he spoke aloud as he stroked its golden length. "I'm sorry about losing your hair pins. I just...I like the feel of your hair as it spills down over my hands. I like the smell, and the texture of it against my skin. If you don't want me to take it down anymore, I won't. I only did it the first time to see what it looked like; after that it was because doing so pleased me." At the thought of denying Harry anything, Seven felt a lump in her throat. Swallowing hard, she murmured, "It is alright, Harry. As long as we don't lose any more pins, it is alright." With that, Seven snuggled closer to Harry She could hear Harry's heart beating below her ear, and could feel the subtle play of muscle under her cheek as Harry's arm tightened around her. As she lay on his shoulder, she noticed again how good he smelled. After a time, his hand stopped moving in her hair, and Seven raised her eyes to look at his face. Asleep. He was sleeping. His face was relaxed, the worry lines smoothed from between his eyes, and from his forehead. His mouth was turned up in a slight smile, and the tight line of his jaw was softened. Seven had believed that his features were nearly perfect, but relaxation had improved them beyond reason. After placing a soft kiss on his lips, and arranging his hands across his chest, Seven rose to begin cleaning the area, and to re-pack the over-sized picnic hamper. As she cleaned, she came across the parcel of chocolate that the Captain had slipped into the basket. Curious, she opened the package, and broke off a small piece. It seemed unremarkable, a brown and slightly waxy square with an 'H' stamped in the middle of it. When Seven brought it to her mouth, the most wonderful smell drifted from it. She placed the square close to her nose, and inhaled deeply; deciding that anything that smelled this good must taste good as well, she put the square on her tongue. Wonderful was not a word that Seven used, but it was the only word that she could think of to explain what she was tasting. As she broke off another piece of the chocolate, her gaze wandered to Harry. Her hand stopped on it's way to her mouth as a thought flashed through her mind. *Harry* smelled good...would he taste good as well? Shrugging, she ate the chocolate, and moved on hands and knees to Harry's side. As she lowered herself next to him, she thought that there was only one way to test her hypothesis. Tentatively, she ran her tongue over the knuckles of his hand, liking the feel of his smooth skin. The taste was that of grass, and clean air, and running water, and of...Harry. There were no other words to describe it; the taste was like nothing else that she had ever tasted... Casting a glance at his face to see if he was still asleep, Seven ran her tongue along the length of his index finger, and sucked the digit into her mouth. At that moment, Harry came awake with a gasp, and in surprise, Seven bit down on his finger. "Oww! Seven, what are you trying to do to me?" Almost as soon as her jaw muscle had contracted, Seven let go of his finger. Her eyes were wide, and her face deathly pale, as she asked Harry if he was alright. Shaking his finger, Harry replied, "Yes, but that doesn't tell me what you were doing...or do I even want to know?" Seven turned to retrieve the forgotten chocolate, and said, "I discovered that chocolate has a pleasant smell, and taste. I have noticed that you also have a pleasant smell, and I wanted to see if you tasted as pleasant as you smell. I am sorry if I have damaged you. I was startled, and did not mean to hurt you." Halfway through Seven's speech, Harry began to smile. By the end, the grin on his face was so large that Seven thought that Harry would injure his facial muscles. One look at her confused expression, and he burst out laughing. "Seven, if you wanted to taste me, you could have just asked..." Harry trailed off in a fit of giggles, falling back into the grass. Seven did not understand what was so funny, but she did want to taste Harry again. She pounced on his chest, landing dead center. Harry stopped laughing as the wind was knocked out of him, and looked at Seven with no small amount of trepidation. Seven stared back, allowing him to catch his breath. When he was again breathing normally, Seven pushed a piece of chocolate between his teeth and said, "Ensign Kim, I wish to taste you." ~Finis~