Disclaimer time once again!   Thirty-second 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 assumes 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.  :)

Rated 'R' for language.

This is the sequel to 'Adversaries', 'Allies', 
'Acknowledgement', 'Argument', 'Advantage', 'Attrition', 
'Awakened', and 'Assertiveness'.  <whew>

'Absolution' by Amirin


*****************************************************


"This is getting ridiculous," B'Elanna groused, watching Tom 
and Harry flirting adorably.  "Someone needs to tell them 
that excessive cuteness may induce vomiting."

"I don't think they care," Chakotay said with quiet fondness, 
watching the younger officers teasing and laughing as they 
played pool.

"You okay?" B'Elanna asked with some concern, wondering 
if she should be biting her tongue right about now.

Chakotay nodded.  "Okay, and getting better all the time," he 
smiled at her quickly, one of those 'now you see it, now you 
don't' kinds of smiles.

B'Elanna just looked at him, eyebrow arched pointedly.

"He's happier now," Chakotay said, like that made all the 
difference in the world.  Maybe it did.  "He's much better off 
with Harry than he ever would have been with me." 

"That might have been true weeks ago, but you've changed," 
B'Elanna said with quiet certainty, laying a hand on her 
friend's arm.  "You're not the same man you were when you 
and Tom were together."

"You mean I'm not the same jealous, over-possessive, 
raging maniac I was when Tom and I were together," 
Chakotay corrected her with a reluctant grin.

"You were *never* a raging maniac," B'Elanna said archly, 
then fell into a calculated silence before she snorted into 
laughter, taking Chakotay with her. 

"Thank you," he said good-naturedly, still chuckling at her, 
shaking his head and looking up as a shadow crossed their 
table.

"He *beat* me," Tom said, looking perplexed and bemused.

"Oh, poor *baby*," B'Elanna said sarcastically, glancing over 
at Harry, who was making 'come here' motions with his 
hand.  "It just wouldn't do to leave your replicator rations in 
his possession," she said quickly, rising.  "I'll go and see 
what can be done about transferring them to someone more 
deserving."  And she was off, leaving Chakotay alone with 
Tom.

Chakotay waved him into a seat and grinned quietly.  "How 
are you?" he asked softly, pleased to see Tom leaning 
towards him over the table and not away from him, like he 
had a few weeks ago, when they'd still been a couple. 
Gods, how could he not have seen . .?  He shook himself out 
of the past and focused on the present, as well as the man 
sitting across from him.

Tom grinned at Harry and B'Elanna, who had their heads 
together, no doubt plotting something, before he turned his 
full attention back to his former lover.  

"I'm . . good, actually," Tom answered honestly, like he 
hadn't really thought about it recently.  "How are *you* 
doing?" he asked, eyes zeroing in on the Commander with 
merciless intensity.

"Much better," Chakotay acknowledged quietly.  He sighed, 
regret clouding over his features.  "Tom, I'm so . ."

Tom's hand, shooting forward to rest on his own for a 
moment, startled him into silence.  

"Don't, Chakotay," Tom said, shaking his head sorrowfully. 
"I know, all right?  So, just . . don't."

Chakotay's eyes dropped to the table before him. "I can't 
blame you for not wanting to hear it," he began, only to get 
cut off at an exasperated sigh from the pilot.

"That's not how I meant it, Chakotay," Tom said, running a 
hand over his face in agitation.  "You were forgiven a long 
time ago.  I understand.  I know you didn't mean it.  I know 
you didn't realize.  And as soon as you did, you let me go 
and got help," Tom said in a near-whisper, moving closer. 
"Quit beating yourself up for this, all right?  It's okay, really
it is."

"Thank you," Chakotay said sincerely, explaining at Tom's 
puzzled look.  "For giving me the chance to be your friend, 
for not cutting me out of your life completely."

"Everyone deserves a second chance, Chakotay," Tom said 
with humor in his knowing eyes.  "I'm just glad we can *be* 
friends.  I've missed you."  And Tom honestly meant it. 
"There's no way I could ever cut you out of my life," he said 
with a warm smile, feeling slightly nostalgic, but noticing that 
the want and lust and need were no longer there, pulling at 
him.  He didn't know about Chakotay, but it was a relief for 
*him* to know the old feelings no longer had a hold on him. 
"Friendship is grossly underrated," he said with a faint smile, 
before turning slightly to see what Harry and B'Elanna were 
up to.  Nothing good, judging by the looks on their faces.  

Chakotay saw the tender smile on Tom's face as he looked 
at the Ensign and, for once, his stomach didn't tie itself into 
knots at the sight.  "I think someone should go and see what 
those two are up to," he suggested, giving Tom leave to do 
what he knew the man wanted to do, anyway.  Be with his 
lover.

"And that someone would be me, huh?" Tom asked, sighing 
like a martyr as he slowly got to his feet.

"One of the joys of command, Lieutenant," Chakotay said 
with a genuine smile.  "Delegation."

Tom laughed as he pushed the chair in and went over to 
wrap his arms around Harry, who looked back over his 
shoulder at him with some surprise, then "Mmm"ed gratefully 
into the short kiss that followed.  B'Elanna took the hint and 
headed back over to where Chakotay was sitting.

Harry turned in Tom's arms and kissed him back with all the 
love and passion he'd been holding in check, publicly, for the 
last few weeks until Tom eased away, looking thoroughly 
stunned and breathless.

"Where'd that come from?" he asked as Harry grinned and 
kissed him again.

"Been saving it for a special occasion," the Ensign mumbled 
against his lips.

"And what occasion would that be?" Tom asked around 
Harry's mouth.  "Closure," Harry replied succinctly, smiling 
gently as Tom grew still in his arms.

"You are amazing and I love you," Tom said reverently, 
awed by his lover's generosity and perception.

"And I love you," Harry answered instantly, his serious 
expression giving way to pure mischief.  "Take me to bed?"

Tom's laugh was a choked bark at the look on Harry's face. 
"Who could resist an invitation like that?" he asked, once he 
recovered.

Harry shook his head, sighing.  "Not you."

Tom shrugged in agreement.  "No fool, I."

Harry linked his hand through Tom's and waved belatedly to 
B'Elanna as they headed out of the holodeck.

"You okay?" she asked Chakotay, as they watched Tom and 
Harry leave, realizing she'd asked him that same question 
about ten minutes earlier.

"I'm okay," Chakotay said, smiling, feeling much less 
weighted down by guilt and regret than he had a few 
moments ago.  "And getting better all the time."


                 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


Chakotay looked down at the padd in his hand and smiled. 
He couldn't help it.  Another one of Tom's reports, blisteringly 
correct, but with a note attached to the end that offered 'more 
of the story' if the Commander was interested.  He 
immediately sent Tom a message saying that he was and 
included a dinner invitation before he thought about it.  Or, 
rather, thought about *Harry's* reaction to it.  Oh well, if Tom 
didn't think it was a good idea, he'd refuse and they'd meet 
someplace more neutral than Chakotay's quarters.  It had 
been a while and he was definitely looking forward to it.  This 
time, there was more to the story than even *Tom* 
suspected.


                 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


Tom showed up promptly for dinner, looking extremely 
comfortable, but he was still a little edgy on the inside.  Not 
that he didn't think this was a good idea, he knew it was. 
But, it reminded him of the last time he and the Commander 
had done this.  And how it had ended, that night.  With a 
kiss.

He shook himself sharply and focused on ringing the 
doorchime, smiling warmly at Chakotay when the man 
stepped aside to let him enter.  Dinner was set and ready to 
go at the table and he grinned when he saw the glasses of 
cactus juice at each place setting.

Chakotay found himself unaccountably nervous and 
indicated to Tom that he should sit down while he went and 
got a pitcher of the juice from the replicator so he wouldn't 
constantly be needing to refill the glasses.

"This smells incredible," Tom commented, sliding into his 
seat.  "And it looks even better."

He was a little surprised at how much effort Chakotay had 
gone to and would have been a little concerned if the fare 
had been more formal than it was.  However, everything 
smacked of just a couple of friends getting together to enjoy 
each other's company and he relaxed.

Chakotay took his seat and they traded bowls and plates 
back and forth until they had some of everything.  He was 
worried that he might have gone a little overboard, but he 
and Tom hadn't really been together long enough for him to 
know the man's tastes in food and he wanted to share some 
of his favorite things, so the variety seemed appropriate.

They exchanged small talk about the day's goings-on over 
the tortilla soup and didn't really get to the low down behind 
Tom's report until the black bean salad, Spanish rice and 
spiced squash were all but gone.  Tom cleared the table 
while Chakotay refilled the pitcher.  The pilot had delayed the
telling of the tale deliberately until they were done, not 
wanting Chakotay to choke on his dinner.  

He set the background story slowly, going into detail about 
Henley and Ayala's battle of wills, and practical jokes, and 
how it had looked like some bizarre courtship ritual between 
the two.  After losing a bet on the relationship status of a 
couple in Geometric Sciences, Henley had made 
double-fudge, triple-chewy brownies for Ayala, but had 
added a little something to make his teeth stick together the 
instant he'd bitten into one.  The epoxy resin she'd used had 
taken the Doctor nearly an hour to dissolve, without harming 
Ayala or rendering his taste-buds virtually useless.

His retaliation had been a lovely bouquet of flowers that 
Henley hadn't touched until she'd checked them out for 
explosives, sharp objects, and annoying bugs.  It wasn't until 
she'd put them in water that the foul cloud of gases had been 
released, the side-effect of turning everything in her quarters, 
including her, a burnt orange, merely a fortunate 
happenstance.

They'd declared a truce, but someone had started the rumor 
that Henley wasn't going to give up, which made Ayala 
paranoid about everything from turbolifts to Jefferies tubes 
and he'd decided to 'get her before she could get him'.  He'd 
made a duplicate of her quarters on the holodeck, then 
installed a security lock-out, so that once she'd left, she 
couldn't re-enter.  Then he'd beamed her into them, into her 
bed, sound asleep.  Her morning routine proceeded as it 
always had, with one slight exception.  What she thought 
was her sonic shower was actually the arch and instead of 
entering the stall, she'd left the holodeck.  Naked. 
Screaming.  And unable to get back in.

Tom paused, letting Chakotay, who had his head in his 
hands, shoulders shaking, recover somewhat, before he 
finished.

"Needless to say, Henley, still in a state of, um, undress, 
went after Ayala, whose casual, and *loud*, comment about 
appreciating her bluntness and, yes, he *would* take her up 
on what she was so obviously offering, was met with a sharp 
slap, before they disappeared into Ayala's quarters," Tom 
said, grinning.  "When security showed up, they were *both* 
in a state of, um, undress, and declared the battle to be a 
stalemate."

Chakotay bit his lip, wiped his eyes and looked at Tom.  "So, 
how did you get into this?"

Tom leaned back in his chair and tossed his napkin on the 
table.  "Who do you think started the rumor that Henley 
wasn't going to give up?" he asked, smirking.

Chakotay's jaw dropped.  "You didn't," he breathed, peering 
at Tom through the fingers on the hands covering his face.

"I *did*," Tom said, with false modesty, before continuing.  "I 
also made a substantial wager that Ayala's next move would 
get Henley naked and in his quarters."

"You didn't," Chakotay groaned.

"I *did*," Tom said, flicking the napkin with his finger, 
grinning.  "And I won."

"You cheated!" Chakotay exclaimed, laughing.

"Details, details," Tom dismissed the comment with a wave. 
"And I didn't cheat.  Not really."

"What *did* you do?" Chakotay pinned him neatly and 
refused to let him off the hook. 

Tom had the grace to *almost* look embarrassed.  "I helped 
Ayala override the transporter commands, so he could beam 
Henley to the holodeck," he muttered.  "And I initiated the 
security lock-out once she got there."

"Tom," Chakotay growled at him, bringing the pilot's head up.

"*However*," Tom stressed.  "I turned over my winnings to 
the two of them, minus a slight percentage for my efforts, of 
course . ."

"Of course," Chakotay murmured, smiling, interrupting.

"So that they could set up housekeeping after moving in 
together," Tom finished, looking insufferably pleased with 
himself.

"What else?" Chakotay asked, knowing there had to be 
more. 

"What makes you think that isn't the end of it?" Tom hedged. 

"Hmmm," Chakotay said with mock-thoughtfulness.  "Maybe 
because I know you?"

Tom laughed.  "I also collected on a major bet that Ayala and 
Henley would be cohabitating before the month was over," 
he said softly, grinning.

"A much larger bet than the first," Chakotay guessed, 
correctly, judging by the look on Tom's face. 

"Much," Tom said simply.

"You set up this whole thing, just to win the bigger bet," 
Chakotay said, sighing, running his hands over his face.

"Got it in one," Tom allowed, buffing his nails on the front of 
his shirt.

"You are evil," the Commander sighed, before he smiled. 
"Nice going.  Those two drove me crazy in the Maquis.  I'm 
delighted to see them finally together."

"Thank you," Tom said, smiling uncertainly at the look of 
mischief of Chakotay's face. "What?"

"Of course, I expect to get my share of your winnings," 
Chakotay said nonchalantly, burying an evil smile at the 
stunned look on Tom's face. 

"*What*?!?" Tom exclaimed.

"After all, where do you think the recipe for the brownies, 
including the epoxy resin, came from?" Chakotay said softly, 
grinning at the shocked smile on Tom's face before the man 
exploded into laughter.

"*You* started it," Tom breathed, awed.

"No, *you* started it, I came in, in the middle, and you 
finished it off, brilliantly, too, I must say," Chakotay corrected 
him, laughing.

"Damn, this couldn't have come together more perfectly if 
we'd *planned* it," Tom said, joining the Commander in 
laughter, as the doorchime signaled.

"Come," Chakotay was barely able to say as the door 
opened and Harry walked in.  He sobered quickly.

"Hello," Tom called out, motioning Harry over to the table.

"I just stopped by to say good-night," Harry said fondly, 
knowing by the flushed look on Tom's smiling face than his 
lover was having a wonderful time.

"B'Elanna and Seven finally let you go, huh?" Tom 
commiserated, grinning.

"Nope," Harry chirped.  "I just escaped when their backs 
were turned."

Tom chuckled.  "Smart man," he acknowledged.  "Off to 
bed?"

"Yeah, I'm beat," Harry said, stifling a yawn.  "I just wanted 
my good-night kiss before my head hit the pillow," he said, 
smoothly leaning in to do exactly that.

Tom sighed at the feeling of Harry's mouth opening under 
his and he was drawn in, helpless to resist, not that he really 
wanted to.  They parted at the same time a moment later, 
both a little breathless and grinned at each other.

"Good-night, Har," Tom said softly, brushing the black silk of 
Harry's hair out of his eyes.

"Night, Tom," Harry returned, kissing him again, quickly, 
before heading to the door.  "See you tomorrow, 
Commander," he waved and was gone.

Chakotay's throat clearing recaptured Tom's attention.  "Do 
you need to leave?" he asked, carefully.

Tom shook his head.  "Nope.  I've got second shift tomorrow, 
so bedtime for me isn't for a while, yet," he said, with a 
dreamy expression on his face, before the fog cleared. 
"Unless you need to get some sleep," he added hurriedly.

"No, no," Chakotay said quickly.  "There's plenty of time." 
He grew silent under Tom's watchful gaze.

"What's wrong?" Tom asked, before he thought about that 
kiss.  Right in front of his ex-lover.  "Oh, Chakotay, I'm sorry."

Chakotay looked astonished.  "No, it's fine, really," he said. 
"The two of you are great together.  It doesn't bother me, not 
any more." 

"Then, what's wrong?" Tom asked him cautiously.

"This didn't bother Harry?" the Commander waved at the 
remains of dinner between them, somehow also 
encompassing the entire evening.

Tom sighed as he realized what Chakotay was really asking 
him. "No," he said simply.  "He just came to say good-night, 
because he knew he'd be asleep by the time I got back.  He 
wasn't telling me it was time for me to leave," Tom told him, 
gently.

Chakotay sighed and started to find Tom's hand in his. "This 
is better, isn't it?" the Commander asked, nodding to their 
joined hands.  "As friends, much better," Tom agreed 
instantly.

"It should've stayed like this," Chakotay said, his voice oh, so 
quiet.  "I pushed it . ."

"*We* pushed it," Tom corrected him quickly.  "I think the 
relief that we didn't dislike each other any more got away 
from both of us.  We went too far, when we should have just 
remained friends."

"It's not too late . .?" Chakotay asked hesitantly and trailed 
off.

"No.  No, Cha," Tom said immediately.  "It's never too late. 
Never."

Chakotay nodded, oddly relieved.  "It contributed to a lot of 
the possessiveness I felt with you," he said, explaining when 
Tom looked puzzled.  "Knowing that our relationship was 
rushed into, that it shouldn't have gone as far as it did, made 
me incredibly reluctant to let you out of my sight.  Like I was 
afraid that if you had the time alone to think about it, you'd 
realize it was a mistake.  I knew it, too, but I didn't want to 
admit it."

"I don't regret it," Tom said honestly.

"Neither do I," Chakotay said instantly.  "I'm still working on 
the jealousy."

"How's it going?" Tom asked him, caring and concern 
coloring his voice.

"Slowly," Chakotay admitted.  "I didn't think I could be that 
way, that irrational, that unfair.  But, I'm working on it."

"And you'll deal with it, next time," Tom said, his certainty 
making the Commander smile.

"Next time won't be for a *long* time," Chakotay grinned. 
"I've still got a lot of work to do."

"It'll be worth it," Tom told him. "When you can know, really 
know, that whoever you're with absolutely adores you and 
you've got no reason to be jealous.  It'll be worth it."

Chakotay nodded, thinking over Tom's words even as they 
both brought the conversation onto other subjects.  They 
were still talking and laughing a couple of hours later, when 
Tom finally rose to leave.

"This has been wonderful," Chakotay said with heartfelt 
affection as he hugged Tom good-bye.

"Yes, it has," Tom agreed instantly, pulling back to see the 
warm smile on the Commander's face. 

"Can we do this, again, sometime?" Chakotay asked lightly.

"Absolutely," Tom said quietly.  "There's so much that goes 
on, on this ship, that you, as First Officer, really should be 
aware of."

"I'll have to rely on you to keep me informed, Lieutenant," 
Chakotay said, grinning.

"It'll be my pleasure, Commander," Tom said and, with a 
friendly salute, headed out the door and back to Harry's 
quarters.

"For me, as well, Tom," Chakotay sighed, turning back to 
clean the table.  "For me, as well."


************************