************************************* Disclaimer time once again!  Tenth 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.  :) It wasn't my fault.  I didn't want it to have a plot, but it insisted. Those with phobias regarding large pieces of furniture should go no further.   This has less than nothing to do with anything I have ever written before. And no, this isn't the 'epic'.    I *wish* Many thanks go to Carla, for beta-reading this for me.  Any errors are strictly *my* fault, she did a *hell* of a job! 'Consecration' by Amirin ************************************** Tom wandered away from the festivities, feeling downright unfestive.  He was so tired of 'overhearing' people speculate on his lovelife, specifically who he was with *this* week . . Like he could remember the last time he'd been with *anyone*. Thunder was rumbling slightly in the background and he was feeling just petty enough to hope it rained on his crewmates' parade, and rained *hard*. Going back up to Voyager was an option but not one he really wanted to consider.  They hadn't been off the ship for nearly a month. Stircraziness had set in with a vengeance, prompting Janeway to actively search for a planet to let her crew loose on. At first, this one hadn't seemed too promising.  The Administrator had lost his wife less than two of their years ago and the world was still observing a mourning period.  All this had been relayed to them through Adea's second in command, Tane, before Adea had taken over the comm himself and extended a personal welcome to the Voyager crew. Now, they were all staying at the Domaine in shifts of a few days each and still only half the rooms were occupied.  Tom had gotten lost several times, as had the rest of the crew, the most recent being just the night before.  He'd known at the time, that running into Henson hadn't been a good thing.  The man had taken most of the current day to let everyone in earshot know about Tom's roaming the halls the night before, looking for an 'unlocked room, *anybody's* unlocked room'.  Tom sighed; he *had* been trying to find Harry's room, to talk or whatever, but never made it.  He couldn't help but be disappointed.  Harry had just arrived yesterday and Tom was leaving in a couple of days. He'd hoped they might be able to spend some time together but now wasn't sure that he'd be fit company for anyone.   He exited, almost unseen, and headed along the upper balcony, watching the storm come in.  Tom was so unaware of his surroundings, he didn't even notice the gray-green eyes that tracked his movements. Adea had been watching this one for the last couple of days. Not much of a socializer, often by himself, lost in thought.  The young Administrator had heard some of the ruder comments made by a loud minority in this man's crew.  When with them, Tom was seemingly immune to the jokes and barbs, but when alone . . Adea watched as the lighthaired man walked slowly along the balcony.  He never once stopped to look in the windows at those inside, just continued on his way until he reached the stone steps then started down and out onto the huge expanse of lawn.  Adea came out of the shadows and quietly followed him. This just might work, he thought, if he could approach the human the right way.  Perhaps both of them could leave the covenant better off than when they had entered into it. Tom looked up at the sky.  It was odd, the clouds were simply a darker greenish gray then the sky itself.  Adea's eyes were that color, as was his hair.  Tom noticed after the other man had noticed that *his* hair and eyes weren't even close to the same color.  Adea had seemed to be intrigued by the idea, at the time.   A particularly loud rumble from above was joined by lightning flickering across the sky.  It was beautiful, bright and loud, until the rain came. When the first drop hit Tom's upturned face, he flinched.  What the hell? The sky was raining *oil*?  It was really coming down now and Tom held his hands open to catch it.  It wasn't really oil but it felt pretty damned similar.  He started chuckling, then laughed outright.  The stuff was disgusting and would completely gross out most people but Tom was not most people.  He'd never get it out of his clothes, no way in hell, he thought, as he dragged his hands over his face and flung the stuff at the ground. Splat.  Oh, man, he'd love to get Harry out in this, it would be hysterical. He took a running start, then stopped, but the slickness and forward momentum carried him about forty more feet. Better than mudslides, by far. The child in him was having a wonderful time, while still waiting for a grownup to come and ruin it all for him.  He took another run and slid a satisfying distance until his feet caught on something that sent him tumbling to the ground. In his current state of mind, that was even funnier, so he lay on his back and roared with laughter, feeling the stuff going down his neck, soaking into his shirt and slacks, and generally making him uncomfortable.  How in the hell was he going to get clean, without tracking this stuff into Adea's palatial home? "Aw, shit," he muttered, head whipping around at the sound of someone laughing behind him. Adea put a hand up in apology.  "I'm sorry, forgive me.  I didn't mean to intrude on your . . activity," he said with a slight grin on his face. Tom started to stand up but his feet slipped out of under him and he took another dive.  "Hell with it," he sighed.  "I'll just stay out here tonight."  He looked up at Adea and caught the bemused grin on the other's face. "What, don't tell me you've never done this, before?" he asked, respect for the man's position mixed with some teasing incredulity. "It's been a long time," Adea stated with amused regret. "Hey," said Tom, "it's never too late, and you're never too old." Adea cleared his throat and looked at the long sweep of soft, feathery, gray grass.  He shot a grin at Tom before taking off at a dead run, then sliding an impressive distance further than Tom had, while remaining on his feet. "Not bad," Tom acknowledged, carefully getting to his feet, then running full out, to slide past Adea with a careless grin on his face. They kept at it for a few more minutes, each outdistancing the other, until the 'rain' eased off and it became harder to slide at all.  Adea looked down at himself and sighed, breaking into reluctant laughter.  Oh, there were some individuals in his circle who would love to see him now.  It was worth it, though.  If for no other reason than for the first genuine smile he'd seen yet, on Tom's face. Tom realized the fun was over.  He'd had a wonderful time regressing but adult practicalities were weaving their way into his mind.  Namely, how to get cleaned up.   Adea held out a hand to him. "Come on, we're going in and get this mess off of us." Tom hesitated.  "Is that really a good idea?" he asked. "Don't worry about it; I know the owner," Adea shot back with a wicked grin, as he grabbed Tom's hand and they started back toward the Domaine. Tom was wondering how they could get inside without anyone seeing them when Adea lead them to the back of the steps he'd come down earlier.  Son of a gun, convenient place to put a door, he thought, as Adea pushed it open and Tom followed him inside.   Winding their way around, Adea took the opportunity to observe Tom, again. Such a man of contrasts, he thought, as they went up a seldom-used set of stairs and emerged into Adea's private chamber, coming out from behind the tapestry on the wall beside his desk. Tom gaped.  Man, what quarters!  The mess hall could fit in here, easily, with room to park a shuttlecraft or two, as well. Adea smiled at the awe on Tom's face, as he headed for a bathing facility, tossing a plush, thick cloth and what looked like a robe at Tom and motioning him to go ahead. It didn't take a genius to figure out how everything worked or, Tom thought with a self-directed smirk, he'd probably be in there all night.  He emerged, at last, clean and glowing, and headed back into Adea's room. Hmm, no Adea. He wandered around a bit, looking for him, until he came to what had to be the bedroom.  Of course, the bed was sort of a giveaway.  Wow.  That four-poster sucker had to be at least nine by nine feet, with a canopy over it, yet.  Dark, gray-green cloth streamers spiraled around the two posts at the head of the bed, each post about as big around as his thigh and as least as tall as he was.  Yikes.  He heard Adea behind him and turned to see him in a robe much like Tom's dark gray one, only his was dark gray-green, like the streamers.  Like the clouds.  Like his eyes. "Sorry, just wanted to let you know the bath was free," Tom said quietly, looking around but trying not to be obvious about it. Adea grinned.  "I've already been," he said and proceeded to answer the question in Tom's amazingly colored eyes.  "Four baths." Of course, Tom thought, mentally whacking himself.   Adea walked over toward the low table near the bed.  "Hungry?" he asked. "Yeah, now that you mention it . ." Tom replied, joining the other man as Adea pulled up a long cushion for them to sit on, and settled down next to him. "I think you had more fun tonight than you've had since you arrived," Adea started casually, splitting open some fruit for them to share. "I didn't realize you were paying such close attention," Tom responded, with a slight challenge in his voice, before taking the piece Adea offered him and biting into it.  Rather good, actually, he thought. Adea didn't get to be the man he was by missing things like the tone of Tom's voice.  "I meant no offense, Tom.  And I do pay attention; it's part of my duties to make sure that my guests have a wonderful time here," he finished gently, relieved to see Tom relax.   "I'm sorry, Adea," Tom said sincerely.  "I didn't mean to be rude." "You weren't being rude, Tom, you were being honest. And I appreciate that.  Honesty is a trait far too few of my associates care to possess," Adea said regretfully, beginning to get an idea of how to broach the subject to Tom, the one he needed to speak with him about so badly. "Much the same way some of your associates don't seem to possess common courtesy or compassion," he added, looking at Tom, who flushed, slightly. "A lot of what they say, I let myself in for," he began, biting into another piece of fruit. "And a lot of what they say about you is no longer true," Adea stated firmly, like he knew. "How do you know that?" asked Tom, curious. "If it were still true, it wouldn't bother you," Adea said, as if stating the obvious. Tom shrugged.  "Not much I can do about it.  I can't change my past." "Actually," Adea began, chewing slowly, "what you need to do is change their perception of you." "How do I do that?  A lot of them see what they want to see," Tom groused, wondering why in the hell he was talking to a total stranger about it. "Tom, I have a proposition for you," Adea said carefully.  "I truly need your help and, perhaps, I can help you as well." Tom knew this wasn't a pick-up line, the man next to him looked far too troubled for that. "What sort of proposition?" he asked cautiously. "When my wife died, I truly never thought that I could fall in love again. And yet I have. He's been at my side for years and only recently have I realized that, with him, my heart is still capable of love," Adea mused, as if to himself. Tom nodded.  "Your second?" he asked, willing to bet he was right. Adea seemed astonished.  "How did you figure that out?" he asked, impressed. "Tane is way too protective of you," Tom answered, slowly.  "But mostly, it's in the way he's always got an eye on you, making sure you're okay.  He knows what to do to make you lighten up, what to say to make you smile, just stuff like that." Adea shook his head.  "I didn't know we were so obvious about it." Tom shook his head.  "You aren't, not really.  I just know it when I see it," he paused, taking another bite of fruit. "So, what can I help you with?" Adea sighed.  This was it.  "I need someone to help me consecrate my wife's bed and take it with him, offworld, so that I may begin a new life, with Tane." Tom almost choked.  The *words* sounded like a line . . but Adea's *voice* didn't. "You want me . . in your bed . . with you," Tom barely got out, trying to make sure he understood. "It isn't my bed," Adea explained.  "It became my wife's when she took me in it," he sighed, knowing he was saying this badly, judging from the look on Tom's face. "And you're asking me because you figure I'm the one, based on the opinions of certain of the crew, who'd be good for it," Tom grated out, beginning to get more than a little angry, and hurt. Adea's eyes flashed.  "That is *not* what's happening here, Tom, at all," he bit off, then sighed.  "I need someone to consecrate that bed with me, before I can go to Tane and share the consecration of his bed, with him. So that he can be my first." Tom stared at him, wide-eyed.  "Your *first*?" he asked, incredulously. "How can he be your first?" "When the consecration takes place between two people, those that came before no longer have any hold on the one giving himself.  My wife took me in that bed and those I had before her, ceased to be, for me.  When she possessed me, she possessed the bed, the site of our consecration.  I cannot allow it to fall into another's care on this world.  It is a sacred place for me, Tom.  And I can't just give it away to someone.  Many people would want it, but few would need it as I believe you do. If you will let me give myself to you, you take us both.  And when the time comes for *your* consecration in it, those you've had before the one you give yourself to, will cease to be for you, as well, and he, or she, will become *your* first," Adea finished, waiting for Tom to work through what he'd said.  He had no idea what his reaction would be. Tom was floored at the thought but it seemed that Adea believed he was doing this for *Tom*, as much as for himself. "How does that work?" asked Tom, more than slightly dubious.   Adea sighed.  A least curiosity wasn't a 'no'.  "Stay with me tonight," he started.  "Just to sleep," he assured the other man. "And give me your answer in the morning.  No harm will come to you; I will not lay a hand upon you, I give you my word." "I haven't slept in a bed yet, that I didn't have nightmares in," Tom muttered, almost as a warning to Adea of what might happen. "Then, this shall be your first," Adea said simply, smiling gently at Tom's disbelief, his smile widening as Tom nodded slowly. What the hell? Just sleep, maybe a whole night's worth.  Maybe he would do what Adea asked of him, after all.  It *had* been a hell of a long time since he'd been with someone.  He ignored the voice inside that berated him for thinking of himself that way, ignored the way that voice seemed to sound like Harry. "All right.  Just for the night," Tom agreed quietly, as Adea lightly stood and made his way to the enormous bed.  Tom didn't think the thing would fit in his quarters, anyway, and as big as it was, he wouldn't even have to know that the other man was there.  He stood to follow, shrugging out of his robe, when Adea tossed him some comfortable clothes to sleep in.  He tried not to watch as Adea changed for sleep but couldn't help noticing. Slender, almost sharp features matching those on his face, very long torso, due to two extra ribs per side, long limbed, and kind of ethereal-looking. Tom shrugged; different, yet beautiful. He yawned and crawled in next to Adea, but still a good two feet away and looked up at the inside of the canopy. "Oh, my god," he whispered, as he saw the stars on the underside, the way they seemed to move, like he was flying through them.  They *were* moving, he realized, as his hand shot out to grasp Adea's arm. "Relax, Tom, it's all right.  Just let go.  Pick one and head for it and I'll see you when you wake," Adea said softly, watching the other man's eyes focus on one star, then lose focus as his eyes closed.  He couldn't resist, he told himself, as he leaned over Tom and brushed a soft kiss on his lips.  "Heaven's night," he whispered, before falling back and letting himself fly toward sleep.                  <<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>> Tom woke the next morning to feel sunlight on his face and was momentarily puzzled, as there were no windows in Adea's bedroom.  He cautiously opened one eye, to see the sunlight coming from the underside of the canopy.  "Oh, wow," he breathed, before grinning like an idiot.  He turned his head to see Adea leaning on his elbow, looking down at him, backlit by the sun. Big wow, he thought, letting his smile light his face. Adea thought, personally, that Tom should do that more often, his smile was beautiful.  "How did you sleep?" he asked, knowing the answer, already. Tom saw that the other man had no doubts about the sleep he'd had.  It had been a good one, better than good, actually, wonderful.  He felt as though part of his past had released its chokehold on him, he realized.  And not only did he not have nightmares, he'd actually had *good* dreams, for the first time in years.  He smiled at Adea and reached up to stroke his hair. Greenish-gray was a good look for him, Tom thought, as it occurred to him that the other man was still waiting for an answer. "I slept beautifully, thank you, as you well know," he said quietly. "Good, I'm glad," Adea said simply. "About Tane," Tom started, wondering what was making him go on with this. At Adea's eyebrow quirking upward in query, he continued, "He's okay with . . what you're planning on doing . . without him," Tom stumbled. Adea's hand hovered over Tom waiting for his permission to let it touch him. At Tom's nod, he placed it lightly on the man's chest, feeling the heartbeat beneath it.  "It was actually his idea," Adea began, seeing Tom's eyes widen.  "And, yes, he's 'okay with it'.  This is how it's done among us, Tom." Something had just occurred to Tom.  "What you're asking of me, it would be considered an honor, among your people, wouldn't it?" he asked quietly. "To be the one, to help you . ." he trailed off as Adea nodded, mercifully keeping him from having to finish. "Yes, it would, but I do not want that to play any part in your decision, Tom," Adea said firmly. He lay down next to Tom, watching the clouds roll by beneath the canopy.  "I know you have done things, in the past, and I know that the consequences have been harsh for you.  How do they seem to you, this morning?  The mistakes you've made?" he asked softly. Tom didn't even cringe from thinking about it, which was new.  It almost seemed as if a whole lot of time had passed, making the memories not as soul-rending anymore.  Like looking back on his life from about fifty years in the future, he saw everything as it happened and was able to put some perspective on it all.  The weight was gone and most of the pain, he found, when he looked inside himself.  The regret was no longer agonizing, but faint and distant, as well.  He was silent for a moment, feeling like tears should be coming to his eyes, though they remained dry.  Peace, at last. Gods, what he owed Adea for this!  In that instant, his mind was made up. "I have some regrets, still," Tom admitted.  "But one thing I would regret for the rest of my life, would be not helping you achieve the closure you need to go on with *your* life.  If you still want me to, I would be honored to help you consecrate this bed." Adea closed his eyes for a moment, then looked into Tom's.  He smiled, shakily.  "Tonight," he whispered. Tom nodded, certain he was doing the right thing.  "Tonight."                  <<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> They spent the day together, enjoying one another's company. No one bothered them, not even Tane, who seemed to understand that Tom was uncomfortable with his presence.  It would not be so with his own people, but he respected it.  He knew how important this was to Adea, to have Kayna's bed taken offworld, so that none here would be consecrated in it. It made sense to him and the realization that soon Adea would take him in his own, made him glad for the human's willingness to do this for them. Adea had explained how Tom needed to be freed from his past as well, so that he could start over with his first.  And, being perceptive, as his station required, Tane didn't miss how the beautiful, dark-haired Ensign kept his unusual eyes on the pair, as Tom and Adea walked around the grounds, talking about everything under the suns of both their worlds. They had reached a moment of companionable silence, and stopped to enjoy the peace and quiet.  Tom sighed, and Adea looked at him, quizzically. "You have a beautiful home, here, Adea," Tom said softly, not wanting to disturb the tranquillity around them. "I have never been anywhere else," Adea said simply.  "So, I have nothing to compare it to." "I wish I could show you mine," Tom replied. "You can," Adea said, continuing to respond to the question in Tom's eyes. "Tonight the bed will change for you, to *your* skies, *your* heavens, so that it should be yours, and you can show me then." Tom smiled.  That hadn't even occurred to him, that he could spend every night sleeping under the alien stars in the canopy and wake each day to a peach-colored sun in a grayish-green sky.   Tom never even noticed Harry's eyes on him as he and Adea went back inside later that same evening, to begin their consecration.                <<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>> After dinner, and a lot more talking, Adea went over to his version of a replicator and paused, feeling Tom come up behind him. He smiled as the man wrapped his arms around him, hugging him back against his chest.  Adea reached up an arm and turned his head for a kiss.  Gentle fingers touched his face, then moved into his hair, as his lips opened and the kiss deepened, and Tom's tongue caressed his own.  He sighed. "You're really very good at that," he said, breathlessly, hoping Tane would not be insulted when Adea taught him how to kiss that way. Tom smiled, another one of his real ones, he knew.  He wondered if he'd still need the smirk when he got back to Voyager.  Part of him hoped not. "Whatcha doing?" he asked, running his tongue over Adea's ear. "I'm trying to decide what color for you," Adea said huskily, driven to distraction. "What color for what?" Tom asked, barely paying attention to the conversation. "The ties on the posts are mine, they stay with me, to use on Tane when he and I consecrate his bed.  We need to find ties to use on me, to replace them." Tom was still processing that when what Adea said finally penetrated the fog inside his mind. "Ties to use on you?" Tom froze, not too sure he liked the sound of that. Adea paused.  Surely he'd mentioned . . well, maybe not.   "I tie you to the bed?" Tom asked, his voice barely there. "It's more of a symbolic tying, Tom.  If I wish, I can still get loose. But I will not wish to.  I am giving myself to you, totally and without reservation.  You take from me that which gives you pleasure.  You will control our joining, Tom.  Nothing will happen that you don't want to," Adea explained gently, feeling Tom relax against him, once more. "Blue, then, soft royal," Tom said, as Adea gave voice to the command. Blues and purples, along with reds, were not common on his world and at one time he'd thought them garish. But, as he looked into eyes only slightly less intense than the fabric he held, he thought them to be anything but garish. Adea led them over to the bed and handed the ties to Tom, who looked at them dubiously, sighing. "What's next?" he asked, softly. Adea smiled.  "Whatever you want," he said gently and he saw Tom's eyes widen. Tom reached out with a shaking hand to undo Adea's shirt. Okay, he could do this, he thought, as he stroked the other man's chest, felt his soft sigh. He looked into now familiar eyes and saw reassurance there. "Can you undress me?" he whispered.  "Or do I have to do it?" "I can do whatever you want me to, Tom.  It would be a pleasure to undress you," Adea said quietly, enjoying the man's touch on his skin. Tom nodded, and he moved his lips to Adea's throat.  "Take my shirt off, then," he breathed, feeling gentle hands undo the fastenings and slide it from his shoulders, to fall to the floor. He ran a hand over Adea's back, dragging his fingers down the sharp backbone, lightly scratching with his nails.  He reached out to take off the other man's slacks, not needing to bother with shoes; neither were wearing any.  Gently pushing Adea back onto the bed, he finished stripping off the rest of the man's clothing, then ran his fingers carefully up long, slender legs.  He quickly got out of his own and knelt on the bed next to him, picking up one of the blue ties. "How do you want to take me?" Adea asked in a whisper, watching, stunned, as Tom's eyes actually seemed to darken. "What's wrong, Adea?" Tom asked huskily, seeing the man's eyes widen in startlement. "What does that mean? When your eyes go dark like that?" he asked softly, touching a hand to Tom's face. "With me, right now, it's a signal of arousal," Tom answered, thinking . Adea smiled.  "Good.  So, how do you want to take me?" he asked again, hiding his amusement as Tom's eyes grew even darker. "I want to see you," Tom remarked softly, and Adea lay down on his back under him, stretching his arms over his head, before he looked up at Tom.   "Just wrap the tie around my wrist once, then bring both ends around the back of the post.  Cross them in front and tie them off," Adea instructed gently.  This was not usual, but necessary, as Tom hadn't done this before. Tom was relieved, Adea could get out of them, easily, if he wanted to, he thought, as he tied off the second one.  The illusion of having the other man at his mercy was doing funny things to his heartrate and he softly stroked the smooth, golden skin, hearing the quiet sigh.  He lay next to him and simply admired.  Different, yet beautiful.  He traced a fingertip around one nipple, watching it harden, as he bent his head slowly and laved it with his tongue.  He traced the other one as well, moving across Adea's chest to suck on it, feeling the man groan low in his throat.  He moved his finger down his lover's body, following closely with his tongue, until he got to the hard cock.  He licked it lightly, wandering around the head with his finger, then sucking off the liquid collected there, watching as Adea's eyes narrowed.  He grinned, leaning down to take Adea's cock in his mouth, circling the head with his tongue and the other man writhed under him. Utterly delicious, Tom thought, sweet-salt and wonderful. Adea watched Tom pleasure him and thought of stopping him, but it felt too good.  The whole idea was for Tom to take his pleasure from him, not make *him* insane with pleasure.  He said nothing, convincing himself that it would be a learning experience for him, when Tom proceeded to take him down to the root and he bucked upward, gasping.   he wondered dizzily, as Tom continued to let his mouth savor him. Tom backed off when Adea began shaking, noting the stunned look in his eyes.  Obviously, he'd never done *that* before.  What on earth were these people thinking?  He hoped, suddenly, that (no pun intended) he wasn't blowing any cultural taboos to hell, although from the look on the man's face, he didn't seem to mind. He moved upward, a little, feeling Adea's legs come around him, the coiled strength within their leanness making him harder than he'd been just a second ago.  He moved one hand under Adea, lightly stroking the cleft of his ass with just a finger, feeling the other man go crazy below him. Bringing one finger to his mouth, he sucked it into wetness and his lover quivered with anticipation.  Tom gently moved it into him and Adea's back arched off the bed before he groaned aloud.  Tom added a second finger and watched the man's head raise up, his eyes closed tightly, his fingers clenched into fists around the ties.  Adea gasped when Tom brought his mouth down onto his cock again, while he thrust into him with his fingers.  Tom realized that lube seemed to be unnecessary, it was like Adea's body was manufacturing it naturally.  Jeez, would that ever come in handy . . Adea was now certain that Tom was trying to make his brain explode, it was the only reasonable explanation.  His head thrashed as Tom raised himself up and brought Adea's legs onto his shoulders, before positioning himself just outside of his body, then easing gently in.  Adea cried out, he couldn't help it. Tightening his legs around Tom, he heard the other man groan. Oh, he could get used to that sound. Tom began thrusting into the slick heat of his lover's body. Gods, he was hot, nearly burning in the heat coming from the man. He debated for a second about bringing Adea off with his hand then decided against it.  He had other ideas.  Tom watched the other man moving up to meet his thrusts and sped up slightly, feeling Adea shaking beneath him. Leaning down to devour his lover's mouth, he found it as hot as the rest of him and he kissed him over and over again.  He thrust a little harder, and just a bit faster and felt his orgasm move through him. His eyes met Adea's as he came with a shout, shuddering convulsively, as he spent himself completely in his lover's body. Adea felt Tom slowly slide down him and wrap his mouth around his cock again.  This had nothing to do with taking, he realized. Tom was giving, and giving . . Oh, he was giving him such pleasure.  Tom's tongue was swirling intricate patterns around the head of his cock, then moving slowly up and down the sides.  His lover's head came up briefly, although he never let him go.  The eye contact was indescribably intimate, so different from his people, and what Tom was doing with his mouth, oh, sweet skies.  He sighed as incredible heat filled his veins and knew he wasn't long in coming.  It hadn't ever been like this, it wasn't *supposed* to be like this.  His breathing was speeding up as Tom did and his hands tightened around the ties that bound him. For the first time ever, he wished he could let himself out of them, if for no other reason than to touch the beautiful man below him. Tom felt the change in Adea's body, the tightening of his legs as his hips came off the bed.  He moved a little faster, and just a little rougher, as his lover coiled like a spring.  His ears caught the gasp ground out between soft lips just before Adea came into his mouth, the spring snapping altogether.  He placed a light kiss on his lover's now spent cock, then eased himself up the bed, to rest against Adea's chest, listening to his heart gradually quiet and his breathing ease. Adea was more than a little stunned.  Different and wonderful and how was he going to get Tane to try this?  He shook off thoughts of his future, something had gone wrong in the present, for there had been no change in Tom or in the bed. Had Tom's taking of him been too giving? Tom moved slightly, careful to keep his weight off his lover, as he collapsed to the side, then reached up, intending to untie Adea. "Tom," Adea's voice halted him softly.  "Those have to stay until I truly belong to you." "*What*?" Tom asked, surprised.  "I thought we just took care of that.  And anyway, you don't belong to me, you're Tane's, or you will be, as soon as I leave." Adea smiled slightly.  "No, we didn't just take care of that.  You never took me, you gave yourself to me. This you did for me, and I thank you. But, the next time must be for you."  He hoped that's all it was.  If there was another problem, he didn't know what it could be. "What, I was supposed to take you and not let you enjoy it?" Tom asked, in disbelief. "No," Adea smiled, silently relieved that it *didn't* mean that. "But, you never really took, you gave.  And it doesn't work that way.  I enjoyed the gift of your pleasure.  I will enjoy your taking it from me.  And I will remain tied here until you do." Tom looked at him with something akin to horror on his face. "You mean you have to stay tied to the bed until then?" his voice rising slightly at the end. "Well, the day is mine, but, yes, the night is yours, to do with me what you wish, until you've taken me, *truly* taken me. Until you are convinced that I belong to you," Adea finished. "Okay, how do I convince you that I'm convinced?" Tom asked, wondering if he could possibly fake his way through it. "I will know, because you will change," Adea stated simply. Tom eyebrows made a quick journey to his hairline.  "I will *change*?  How will I change?" "Just as you did last night.  You felt it this morning, the difference within you," he reminded Tom as the other man nodded slowly, remembering. "You will feel ready to give yourself to another, to begin your own consecration, so that you may start your life with *your* first," he said softly. "So, what do we do now?" asked Tom, running his hands through his hair. "Now, we sleep, if you want, or we start again.  Whatever you wish," Adea stated. "Sleep," Tom murmured.  "Can you really sleep like that?" he wondered, nodding at the ties wrapped around Adea's wrists. "Yes, I will sleep just fine," Adea answered quietly, smiling at Tom's need to care for him, even now.  He felt Tom's sigh escape across his chest as his lover wrapped himself around him, burrowing into his side, before kissing his chest. "Goodnight, then," Tom said softly, not needing to pick a star tonight to fall asleep into. Adea felt the man relax against him. He'd known it wasn't yet over when he saw no difference in the skies above his head, as should have happened when Tom claimed him. Hopefully tomorrow night the change would occur; Adea didn't know what to if it did not, or if something else was the reason. Tom was set to leave the day after.                 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Tom woke the next morning, just as he had the morning before, with peach sunlight streaming down at him from underneath the canopy.  His head was still lying on Adea's chest and he looked upward to see his lover smiling at him. "Now, can I release you?" he asked, motioning to the ties still circling Adea's wrists. Adea nodded, and sighed with remembered pleasure as Tom moved across his body to unwrap his wrists, leaving the streamers still attached to the bed. Yes, he could free himself, but traditionally, he could only be released by the one who claimed him. Even if, apparently, he hadn't yet been taken. He looked at Tom.  The man looked troubled, even as he gently rubbed the faint marks on Adea's wrists.  Although the gesture was unnecessary, Adea liked the feeling of being cared for, tended to in this manner. He was pleasantly distracted from his thoughts by a gentle kiss on his lips.  He smiled as he responded, the man had the most amazing mouth. He let himself touch Tom now as he hadn't been able to do the night before.  Oh, how he had hated denying himself that pleasure.   Tom sighed under Adea's hands. It had been way too long since the last time someone had touched him like this, he thought, as he let his own hands caress the other man's body.  Threading his fingers through Adea's on one hand, he left the other free to explore.  He liked the way the man responded to him, as if no one else had ever touched him like this before. He thought his green-gray eyes were beautiful and his hands, elegant, yet strong.  He loved the feel of his skin, the beat of his heart.  He liked his humor and warmth, his compassion and his sensitivity. He liked the sound of his voice, deep and gentle.  Tom grinned slightly; he even liked the timbre of the other man's groan. There was a lot about Adea he could fall for, and fall hard. Trying to be honest with himself, he realized that maybe he already had. Attraction was definitely there, friendship, a rather large quantity of lust.  He wasn't too sure about the love issue. It had been awhile since he'd felt like that for anyone, especially the 'morning after'.  He trusted the other man and genuinely cared for him, that much he knew.  Maybe, somehow, he had fallen for him. Adea would be greatly missed, when Tom finally left, of that he was certain.   Adea didn't miss the softness that had come to Tom's eyes, as he looked down at him. Such expressive eyes and, although the color was wrong, they reminded him almost of Tane's and how he'd looked at him like that, with warmth and love.  Love. Consecration in love and body . . Oh, sweet heavens.  Had *that* been why . . last night . .?  Oh, he was a fool. And an even bigger idiot. Tom saw the play of emotions across Adea's face, saw him come to some grand realization about something, then saw his face grow dark in what Tom knew to be embarrassment. "Adea, what is it?" Tom asked him quietly, seeing the other man deliberately avoid his eyes. "Oh, Tom, I'm sorry.  It didn't even occur to me and it should have," Adea mumbled. "What?  Have I done something wrong?" Tom asked, relieved to see Adea shake his head. "No, you've done nothing wrong.  This is my fault, entirely," he began, finally able to meet Tom's incredible eyes.  "The consecration is to be made in love and body, always.  It's just taken for granted, that those involved . . that it would be a taking of hearts as well as bodies, especially for the one doing the taking.  It has always been so and it didn't occur to me . . " Adea trailed off, miserable. "You're saying the reason it didn't work as it should have last night was because I didn't take you in love, only in body, right?" Tom asked, trying to smother his smile as his lover nodded. "Well, how much love is needed?" Adea gaped at Tom, seeing the soft smile on his face, the tenderness in his eyes that hadn't been there the night before. His own closed as Tom's hand stroked his face, fingers gliding smoothly over his forehead, his lips, his nose.  He felt warm breath over his neck and opened his eyes to see Tom leaning in to kiss him there.  The golden head raised and Adea saw Tom's eyes, dark as they'd been the night before.  Arousal, he remembered.  He brought his arms up over his head, looking at Tom expectantly. "Again," he whispered, enjoying the way Tom's eyes reacted, as the man reached over him to rewrap his wrists in the streams of blue fabric. "Again," Tom agreed huskily, placing soft kisses along Adea's brow, threading his fingers through soft gray-green hair. He rolled the man over, carefully, letting him place his crossed arms in front of and beyond him, out of the way, as Tom nipped slowly down his back, nuzzling each hard knot of his backbone. Adea bowed his head as he felt Tom's mouth coast across the back of his neck, until gentle teeth nibbled his ear, making him groan.  He felt Tom settle in between his legs and enjoyed the warmth of the man's hands as they caressed the backs of his thighs.  A hot, wet tongue followed the crease behind his knee then traveled slowly up the leg, teeth nipping here and there. Tom was getting hooked on the taste of the other man, as he caressed a sharp hip, then lightly slid a finger into the narrow channel, riding out Adea's upward arch.  He stroked and eased a finger into the tight opening, smiling at the other man's deep groan.  He worked another finger into him, feeling Adea rear back to impale himself on Tom's fingers.  Gods, this was heady and Tom was quickly losing his grip on patience as he brought himself just outside the other man then quickly thrust into him. Adea heaved himself back against Tom as he felt the man enter him, moving onto his elbows, able to keep his balance with his arms still crossed before him. Tom's hands grasped his hips and thrust into him deeply, making him gasp.  It was perfect, how well they fit, he thought, as Tom increased the speed and strength of his thrusts, while caressing Adea's hard cock with one hand, teasingly light touches.  It was driving him to distraction, those soft strokes along his flesh, in direct contrast to the force of his lover's thrusts into his body.  One particularly hard and fast move drove another harsh gasp from his lips as he moaned. Tom sped up again, moving with increasing force into the other man's beautifully responsive body.  They moved so well together, like they'd been lovers for months, if not years.  Oh, how he was going to miss this. "Adea . . gods, *yes* . . ohhh . . oh, *yes*," he chanted, feeling the other man tighten around him, muscles working him toward rapture. "More . . Tom . . yours, oh, yes . . . take me . . *take* me," Adea moaned, feeling Tom move faster and knowing he had to be close to completion. Tom felt the familiar tension within him and he groaned, Adea clenching around his cock, driving him over the edge with a cry, and he came, filling his lover.  He rested for a moment, placing tender kisses on Adea's back before he fell off to the side and Adea rolled over, nestling into him, Tom coming to lay against his chest. "I want to feel you in me," Tom stated, hoping he was done being the taker. "I *need* to feel you inside me, please, Adea." Adea sighed.  "If we consecrate this bed, that would put me right back to where I was.  I can only be inside you if you leave me tied and you control it," he finished, hearing Tom's groan of frustration. "*I* have to control *your* making love to me?" Tom asked, sighing, as he saw Adea nod.  Hmmm, actually, it might not be so bad, he thought, as he caressed his lover's chest, thinking it through, before he grinned. Adea wondered that Tom didn't seem too bothered by it, as he felt a strong, gentle hand caress his hardening cock.  Tom's slick fingers stroked him all along his shaft, blue eyes glittering at him. He watched, as Tom straddled him again, moving forward to let his hardness rest at the entrance to Tom's body. Tom moved backward slightly, gasping, then groaning, as Adea's cock throbbed, feeling itself moving slowly inside him. He groaned again, gods, it had been so long, he thought, as he worked his way patiently, driving Adea deeper into him with every push backward and down.  Tom's back arched in pleasure and he gasped aloud, feeling his lover settle into him, deeper and deeper.   Adea was mesmerized, watching him. The flush of his skin, the tendons tightening on his throat as Tom moved himself, riding him, hard and fast, losing himself in the ecstasy of it.  Adea watched Tom's cock harden again and saw him take it in hand, stroking himself firmly, as he rode Adea's. Absolutely stunning, gods, the sheer wantonness of his actions, was making Adea wish he could turn himself loose, to bring Tom to orgasm.  For the first time in his life, did he feel truly and regretfully bound by the traditions of his people.  This was so unfair, incredibly arousing to watch, yes, but still unfair. He saw Tom throw his head back in delight, the moans and sighs coming from him vibrating through Adea as he watched Tom's hand move faster, saw his face tighten as his climax came upon him. Adea felt Tom pulse and burn around him and grasped the ties binding him in both hands, to keep himself from throwing them off and fucking Tom like the man was begging to be fucked. Oh, he couldn't take much more of this, he thought, as he felt Tom begin to shake and saw Tom's hand move faster and rougher on his own shaft. Adea started thrusting up into Tom and watched as startled blue eyes came open to see him. The two began moving harshly against each other, Adea thrusting up hard into that beautiful body, while Tom brought himself down fast, onto Adea.   Tom exploded first, but just barely, shooting over Adea's chest when he came, actually screaming for the first time in his life, before he felt Adea tense underneath him, driving himself upward into Tom. Adea felt Tom tighten around him almost unbearably and couldn't hold back, as he let himself splinter, coming deep inside his lover, crying out at the intense release. Tom slumped onto Adea's chest, then carefully eased off, crashing by his side, before releasing him from the ties, again. He heard Adea softly inhale and he glanced up to meet his eyes. Adea was delighted, and surprised, as he looked upward into the canopy.  "I had no idea," he breathed.  "You didn't tell me your eyes were the same color as your sky." Tom rolled over onto his back and looked at the underside of the canopy, and slowly grinned.  His sky and sun, with white, fluffy clouds rolling gently by in an unseen breeze.  And his stars, tonight.  He felt hot tears inexplicably fill his eyes and he buried his face in his lover's neck. Adea wrapped long arms around the man shaking against him and held him close.  This release was perfectly normal, even among his own people, and he knew from experience that it could take awhile for Tom to recover. Even after several moments, Tom couldn't tell why he was still crying.  The tears simply wouldn't stop.  He cried for every relationship that didn't work, that ended in ugliness, or anger, or indifference.  For everyone who had left him, made him feel deserted and alone.  Finally, he cried for the joy in having someone really love him, as he knew he deserved to be loved, and all he could think of was Harry.  He stopped, wondering why the hell he didn't feel guilty for thinking about starting a relationship with one man, while he was in bed, naked, with another.  He burrowed deeper into Adea's arms and lifted his eyes to see gray-green ones smiling down at him, knowingly, and with tender understanding. "You have changed," Adea said softly, seeing the wonder and dawning surprise in Tom's eyes.  "Now you understand.  Those before your first will be as though they never were." "I took you, why do I feel as though I've been taken?" Tom asked, tears making his voice rough. "Not taken, prepared.  You are now ready to plan for your own consecration, with he who will be your first," Adea explained softly.  "What you feel is the bed adjusting to your claim of it, and me. You come to your first empty, Tom, for him to fill. You have made the site of your consecration, yours, and sacred," he finished, as he leaned over to untie his green-gray streamers from the posts. Tom reached up to spiral his blue ones around the posts, as Adea's had been.  Gods, he felt good.  Not exactly empty, but healed, from the pain and disappointment of a lot of failed love affairs.  He smiled and saw it answered on his lover's face. "Now what do we do?" he asked, knowing their time there was done. "Breakfast first, then we'll change and bathe and celebrate the day, together," he answered, grinning, seeing Tom's delight in his response.                     <<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>> They made their way, slowly, through the Domaine, Tom asking questions after Adea assured him no offense would be taken at simple curiosity.  He explained much of their history, and tradition, and the whys behind the traditions.  They talked all through lunch and after, walking along the balcony, past the open windows, when Adea paused. "Your first," Adea started slowly, then continued as Tom's eyes lit up. "What color for him?" he asked, truly curious if Tom would know. Tom knew, all right.  "Red," he answered simply.  "A red so red it almost hurts to look at it.  I'll get you a sample, so the color will be exact, if you'll make the ties for me," he finished, grinning at Adea's wide eyes. "Then red it shall be, for your consecration," he said, seeing Tom's shiver of expected delight.  Adea smiled.  So it had been for him, may it be for Tom, he hoped, as they headed down the stairs, to the lawn they'd had such fun on, in the rain.  Neither noticed Harry listening inside, with puzzled attention to their conversation, before he moved away from the window and headed for his room.                    <<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>> Tom was walking down the corridor with Harry and B'Elanna, all the crew finally having returned from the planet that day, including Harry, and Tom was in the mood for something different.  He had a holodeck program of Killian's Corridor that just might fit the bill.  It was a small area of space between two large moons in a synchronized orbit over Morateo Four, which had incredible solar drafts blowing through it.  With breathing gear, one could actually surf in space on the eddies coming through the Corridor. Harry was excited, B'Elanna was withholding judgement, as usual, when they finally got to Tom's quarters to grab the program chip.  They had just nodded a greeting to Janeway and Chakotay as they passed, when Tom opened the doors and proceeded to hunt for that program. Chakotay had just finished an observation about how relaxing shoreleave had been when B'Elanna's voice roared up and down the corridor. "Great Kahless, Paris, what the *hell* is that?" she gasped, shocked by the sheer enormity of the bed taking up most of Paris's bedroom. "It's a bed," Tom calmly answered, as though explaining to an idiot. Janeway and Chakotay came in at a pretty quick clip, then stopped as though they'd both hit walls.   Harry simply stood, speechless.  It had to be the most glorious piece of furniture he'd ever seen in his life, he thought, as B'Elanna got the oddest grin on her face, holding up a handful of China red fabric that she'd scooped off the end of the bed. For an instant, Harry wondered how the hell the belt from his robe had gotten into Tom's quarters, until B'Elanna ran it through her hands and he realized that there were *two* pieces, each about six feet long or so.  They were roughly the same width as the blue strips winding their way up the head posts. B'Elanna opened her mouth to make a crack, then saw the calm, amused look on Paris's face. She cleared her throat and handed them to him, noting how he carefully laid them on the stand by the bed.  Gods, what a bed! "Okay, where'd it come from?" she asked, bluntly, as Janeway walked a little closer to it, looking at the woodwork and detail in awe.  Seeing the Captain in awe was slightly disturbing, so B'Elanna focused on Paris, waiting for his answer. "It was a gift," he said simply, as though that should be the end of it, moving aside to let the Captain look her fill as he pointed underneath the huge canopy. Janeway gasped, seeing the golden sun and blue sky of Earth, and wondered how Tom had managed to warrant such a gift as this. "From whom?" breathed Harry, right next to the Captain, as he took in the sky and sun of home. "Adea," Tom answered, seeing the sharp look from Harry followed by something that almost looked like sorrow.  "It's for starting over," he finished, thinking that it was the simplest way to explain.  He caught the gentle smile from B'Elanna and realized that maybe she knew exactly what he was talking about, as least in general terms. "I thought Adea's color was the gray-green of his world," B'Elanna mused quietly, indicating the blue streamers. "Those are mine, B'Elanna," Tom replied.  "Put there when I became the owner." "So, who's Red?" she teasingly asked, smiling slightly, not noticing Harry's head whip around, or seeing the light dawn in his eyes, as he remembered part of an overheard conversation. "Ah," said Tom, mysteriously.  "That remains to be seen."                 <<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>> A few days later found Tom simply laying there with his head at the foot of the bed, not trying to fall asleep or anything; it was still too early.  He was just watching the stars of Earth move over his head, when his doorchime sounded. "Come," he called, rolling over, watching Harry enter.  A grin lit his face, he couldn't help it. "Hey," Harry said, seeing Tom in his robe, noting how it matched the fabric which coiled up the posts of the bed. "Harry, what's up?" Tom moved as though to sit up, but Harry waved him down.  Tom looked at him thoughtfully, puzzled at the man's stillness. "How're the stars tonight?" Harry asked quietly. Tom moved over a little and smiled.  "Come and see for yourself," he said, sighing, settling down again. Harry hesitated for just a second before taking him up on it.  He got on the bed next to Tom and lay back, still a couple of feet from his friend. Tom had been laying in this spot and he could feel the warmth from the man's body seeping into his own.  He sighed, looking at the night sky of home. "This is beautiful," he whispered with heartfelt appreciation. "Yes, it is," Tom agreed quietly, knowing Harry had come for some other reason than simply to stargaze with him. Harry decided to jump right into it.  "You've changed, you know, since shoreleave.  There's something very different about you now." "You noticed," Tom said, only faint wonder sounding in his voice.  He should have expected Harry to know, he realized. "I'm not the only one.  Megan was pretty surprised when you turned her down, that day." Tom remembered back to Megan's offer to help him break in the bed.  He smiled gently at her, seeing her eyes widen at something she saw in his, before he'd told her, quietly, that red was not her color.  He hadn't said it loud enough to be overheard and was glad she didn't make a scene about it.  She simply accepted it and told him if he ever changed his mind . . He'd told her that more than his mind had already changed and that was why he wasn't going to take her up on it.  He'd even gotten a tentative proposition from Jenny, as well, and told her the same thing.  Word had gotten around that Paris seemed to be off the market, if not off his rocker. "I haven't been with anyone in the crew for more than eight months, Harry. I don't know why they're surprised." "They're just now comparing notes," Harry said wryly.  "Tell me, if you can, if you want to, what happened, what changed." Tom sighed.  What the hell. "Adea needed someone to consecrate this bed with him, his wife's bed, and take it with them when they left, so that he could go on with his life with someone new.  The bed made the changes possible, Harry. Somehow . . it makes it so that you can start over, with the person you consecrate it with.  They become your first and those who came before, cease to be, for you.  So you can start with a clean slate. If you have nightmares, it eases the grief behind them.  Makes it seem that whatever happened to make you have them, took place so long ago that it just doesn't hurt you anymore.  Things stop eating at you, it gives you peace, and allows you to let them go."  Tom exhaled carefully, trying to keep his emotions in check.  "It helps you put things in perspective, as it soothes the regret and the guilt . . " he trailed off. "Adea is a wise man," Tom continued after a moment, "and he recognized, in me, someone who needed these things, needed them desperately.  I was exactly what he needed, as well. Someone who could help him begin a new life, even as he gave mine back to me. And it was important to him that Kayna's bed be taken away, so that no one on his world would ever be consecrated in it.  He and I were a perfect match," Tom grinned, slightly, remembering, "in a lot of ways." Harry just listened, and sighed.  "Then I'm happy for you, Tom. I'm glad you've found the peace you needed.  The gods know, you deserve that," he said, quietly. Tom turned his head to look at Harry and smiled.  "Thank you, Harry," he replied softly. Harry found himself more than a little stunned at the change in the smile on his friend's face, as well.   he thought, as he sighed, pulling himself upright, before placing a gentle hand on Tom's arm. "I'll see you later," he smiled back, then rolled off the bed, leaving Tom there, more than slightly bemused as Harry headed back to his own quarters. Tom had almost expected him to press for the identity of 'Red', as that mysterious person was called around the ship, now, with speculation flying fast and furious.  He didn't know if he should be relieved or disappointed that Harry hadn't even mentioned it.                   <<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>> Tom sighed and belted his robe as he made his way out of the bathroom, towel-drying his hair, looking forward to a long night's sleep filled with pleasant dreams.  He halted dead in his tracks at the sight of Harry, in his own red robe, leaning against a bedpost, arms crossed over his chest. "If I've misread this, if I've made a serious error, I can leave now," Harry whispered.  "And I will not mention it again." Tom swallowed hard and let his eyes fall shut.  He opened them and saw Harry was still there.  Gods, was this how Adea had felt, with him? Tom had known, however, what he'd been getting into; Harry had no idea. "You don't know what you're letting yourself in for. There's more to it than just having sex," he started to explain, quietly, as Harry walked slowly toward him. He didn't want to discourage him, gods knew he wanted this, needed for Harry to take him and become his first, but Harry had to understand what was involved. "When you consecrate that bed with me, I give myself to you; you take me in it," he began, watching Harry's eyes.  "When you do, the bed becomes yours, as do I.  You own me, you own it, and the colors get changed from my blue to your red.  It will be yours and if you leave, if we end, you take it with you.  You become my first, Harry.  You will change, it will change you, prepare you, for your own consecration, for when you are taken by the one who shall become *your* first." He stopped, seeing Harry nod in thought. "What happens if I want to consecrate it with you?" Harry asked. "What if I want you to be my first, be taken by you, owned by you?  What if I want to give myself to you, so that I will belong to you?" Tom froze in surprise.  That was something he hadn't thought to ask Adea, and although he remembered the man explaining a shared consecration, it was a lifetime commitment, though, and not common.  Both colors would weave around the posts and those consecrated would belong to each other for the rest of their lives, there would be no more consecrations for either of them.  They would be one another's firsts, and lasts, for the remainder of their days.  Only if death took one, would the other be free, the survivor's color remaining, though the bed would belong to the one who'd died.  Adea and Kayna had had that kind of consecration and Adea was planning on it, again, with Tane. "Harry, a shared consecration's permanent, for a lifetime," Tom said, shocked, as Harry nodded. "Good, that's how I want it," he said firmly, but softly, seeing Tom's blue eyes go wider.   "But, that's forever, Harry!" Tom exclaimed, half ecstatic with joy, half scared out of his wits. "We deserve forever, Tom," Harry said quietly, laying a light hand on Tom's chest.  "And I *want* forever." Tom shook his head, only to find Harry nodding back at him, smiling. "One thing at a time, though, all right?" Harry asked, more than willing to wait for Tom to come around to his way of thinking.  He would, Harry was sure of it. Tom nodded.  Maybe he could make Harry understand later how impossible a shared consecration would be for them.  And it would be impossible. Wouldn't it? "So, what happens now?" Harry asked, seeing the smile on Tom's face at the question. Tom couldn't help smiling.  This was so damned familiar.  He decided to take the path Adea had been good enough to blaze for him. "Whatever you want to have happen," Tom said softly, seeing Harry blink. It was time to go for the kill.  Gods, he was enjoying this! "How do you want to take me?" he asked softly, seeing Harry swallow hard. he thought with delight, eyes riveted when Harry licked suddenly dry lips.   Harry chuckled, then sighed, then chuckled again.  "Whoa," he muttered. "Makes quite an interesting picture, doesn't it?" Tom asked gently, with total understanding. Harry knew Tom wasn't making fun of him; he'd been here, before.  He stepped closer and drew a cautious hand down Tom's chest, slipping his hands under the soft blue fabric as he slowly untied the belt and let it fall to the floor. Placing a gentle hand under the silky material on each shoulder, he slid it off Tom, letting it slip down the man's arms to land at his feet. Harry sighed with quiet pleasure, seeing Tom naked before him, glowing in the low light of the room. "Whatever I want?" he asked for confirmation, as Tom nodded. "Anything you want, Harry," Tom said softly, barely finishing before Harry's lips touched his. When Harry gently took his hand and brought it to the red belt of his own robe, Tom got the hint and undid it.  As the belt fell to the floor, Harry brought Tom's hand to his chest. "Touch me," he whispered against the soft lips on his, as Tom began stroking him, moving up his torso, feeling the silkiness of Harry's robe against the back of his hand. "Take it off, please," Harry breathed, kissing Tom's throat as careful hands removed the robe, tossing it across the foot of the bed, before returning to the body it had covered.  Harry heard Tom's groan as he made his way over the rapidly beating heart, swiping a hot tongue across a nipple before taking Tom's hand and leading him back to the bed.  Harry flung the covers back and gaped.  China red sheets, to match the ties. "Holy shit." Tom burst into laughter.  "That color is just . . so *you*, Harry," he sighed, a genuine smile covering his face. Harry snorted, shaking his head.  Sighing, he looked at Tom. "Get in," he told him, still grinning.  Gods, that much red was enough to give him a headache.  How had Tom put it?  "A red so red it almost hurts to look at it," he said quietly, watching Tom's eyes widen in remembrance of what he'd told Adea about the color. "You knew," Tom said softly, laying back against the pillow. "Even then?" "I overheard part of your conversation with Adea," Harry admitted, getting in next to him. "And I recognized the color when I saw the ties, when B'Elanna picked them up.  But, I didn't know what any of it meant until you told me. Not for sure. I was hoping I was right, that it was me you wanted.  Gods, I was hoping," he paused, wondering if Tom was angry, or worse, felt like he'd been manipulated. "Why were you hoping?" Tom asked, remembering why it hadn't worked with Adea the first time.  It wouldn't work this time, either, unless . . . "I wanted you, too," Harry admitted, staring up at the stars above them. "I didn't think you'd been with anyone recently, you hadn't said anything, but everyone else was always talking and wondering who the flavor of the week was.  When I saw you with Adea, I wondered how the hell you could move so fast. I wasn't judging you," he hastened to explain.  "I just didn't understand it. Then you were so different, quiet, thoughtful . . And I saw how happy you seemed, finally.  You know," he looked at Tom, meeting his eyes, "I almost thought you'd end up staying there, with him. I could see the love in your eyes when you looked at him, that last day, and I could hear it in your voice . . " Harry trailed off, leaving Tom more than a little surprised. "What you saw was fondness and affection, and gratitude.  I could've fallen for him, gods, it would have been so easy . . And I did, a little.  But his destiny lay with someone else.  Harry, after he and I consecrated this bed and I was laying here with him, all I could think about was you.  How I wanted you to be where he was, next to me," he paused as Harry rolled toward him, their faces just inches away from each other. "The consecration had changed me, prepared me for my own, as he'd said it would, and I couldn't *wait*.  I wanted it to be with you from the beginning.  If it hadn't been you, I don't think it would've been anyone else.  You were the one I wanted to be my first, my *only*, Harry.  Adea said I would come to my first empty and that is exactly what I want.  To come to you empty, to give myself to you and have you fill me, to make me yours and yours alone." Tom only had to wait half a heartbeat before Harry was in his arms, kissing him like the ship would blow up tomorrow.  He leaned away from Harry and saw instant misunderstanding.  He moved his arms over his head, stretching them out a little towards the posts.  "They're in the stand," he said quietly, watching awareness flare in Harry's eyes, along with something else. Harry rolled over, then reached out, opening the drawer and taking out the long pieces of fabric, as well as the lube he found there, which he tossed on the bed.  He smiled, sighed, and shook his head, as he made his way back to Tom. "Now, how do you want to take me?" Tom asked, seeing Harry swallow hard. "I want you on your back, for now.  I need . . to see you," he tried to explain, as Tom just nodded, stroking his face. "Whatever you want," Tom assured him, as he relaxed back into where he was and  continued down Adea's path. "Wrap the tie around my wrist once, then bring both ends around the back of the post.  Cross them in front and tie them off," he instructed, as Harry followed, relieved to realize that, yes, Tom could free himself if he wanted to.  He hadn't been aware he was mumbling aloud until Tom responded. "I won't want to, Harry," he said.  "I give myself to you totally and without reservation.  Take from me that which gives you pleasure," he finished, Adea's words ringing loudly in his head, as Harry leaned forward to kiss him, again. "All of you gives me pleasure," he murmured against Tom's lips. "Then, take all of me," Tom replied, as Harry pulled back with a smile. "Ohh, I intend to," he said softly, as he drew his hands over Tom's chest, playing with the fire-gold hair he found there.  He glanced up to see the stars still moving overhead.  It was an odd feeling, making love to this man under the stars of Earth. He wondered if they'd both be around long enough to do it for real.  He hoped so, Gods, he hoped so.  He bent down and kissed Tom, lightly.  It felt so wonderful, he did it again.  And again.  He continued his long strokes on Tom's body, touching his arms, trailing fingers down his chest, across his abdomen. Watching the rapid rise and fall of Tom's chest, he bent down to take one nipple into his mouth, tongue caressing it into tightness, before moving slowly to the other one.  Tom's hardening cock was crying out for attention, so Harry covered it with his hand, lightly rubbing the top and undersides, fingers skipping along the smooth surface.  He moved his mouth up the body before him, enjoying the texture and taste as they burst together on his tongue.   Tom kissed Harry back like he'd been waiting forever to do it. Oh, how he wanted to run his hands through the coal-colored softness of the man's hair, touch his skin, it was driving him mad.   Harry never dreamed Tom would be so responsive under his hands.  If his fingers could achieve orgasm, they would've by now, from the total delight of stroking the other man's body.  He let his tongue wander over hot, flushed skin, winding his way down Tom until he reached his erection.   Tom threw his head back and gasped out loud when Harry took him into his mouth and proceeded to engrave his initials on Tom's cock with his tongue. Tom's hands wound around the ties binding him, knowing if he didn't hang on, he'd turn himself loose.  That was the last thing he wanted.  Harry inside him was definitely the first. Harry drenched Tom with his mouth as he gently explored the tight entrance with a hastily-lubed finger. He watched Tom for any signs of discomfort and saw none.  A second finger soon joined the first, as he slowly thrust them into Tom's writhing body, bathing the man's navel with a curious tongue, teeth nipping the inside of his long thigh, before adding a third finger. Tom's groan was doing wonderful things to his own cock, as he licked his lover's.  He moved his hand out of Tom and began smoothing lube onto his shaft, hushing Tom's moan of protest as his awakening body became aware of its loss. Tom drew his knees up, opening his legs for Harry to move between again. His back bent nearly in half when Harry entered him. He cried out, like he could help it, as Harry moved slowly in and out of him. Tom was shaking so badly, he thought it was probably a good thing he was tied to the bed.  It almost felt like fear, maybe uncertainty, moving through him, as anticipation waged war with it, inside him. For crying out loud, it wasn't like he'd never done this before.  Or was it?  Oh, good gods . . . Harry's hands didn't miss the shivering in Tom's body, as his eyes flew up, meeting the startled blue ones staring back at him. The question of concern flew out of his mind, as Tom smiled shakily.  The tears in the other man's eyes almost gave Harry pause until the man they belonged to spoke softly. "Don't stop, Harry, please.  Take me," Tom pleaded, desperately needing Harry to get rid of the hollowness within him. He was overwhelmed at the feeling of being glad he waited for Harry, that he'd waited all his life for this one man. Only a small part of his mind had problems was the revisionist history, the rest was ecstatic that this moment, with his lover, had finally arrived. "All my life I've waited for this, wanted you.  Don't deny me, Harry.  Take me, make me belong to you.  My first, forever," Tom murmured. Harry swallowed, hard, knowing the truth he heard in Tom's words was in direct conflict with his lover's past.  Until he remembered that he was exactly that, Tom's first. The knowledge made him thrust harder into his lover's body, consecrating it, removing those who'd come before him with every loving stroke.  He saw Tom's erection before him and watched the man's eyes fly open with a moan as he closed his hand around it and began pumping it in time to the powerful thrusts.  He soon had to remove his hand, needing both of them to support himself as he moved in and out of Tom faster and harder. His heart was about to burst, the tension building in his body, his urgent need taking him as thoroughly as he was taking Tom. Looking at his lover proved to be too much for him; the tightness in the beautiful features, his flushed, hot skin, the dark, dilated eyes, all hit Harry at once, making him plunge toward oblivion with the next slick stroke into Tom.   Feeling Harry start to come, Tom instinctively clenched himself around the hot cock so deep inside him, and that was all it took to bring Harry over the edge, crying out as he emptied himself into his lover's body with the next few thrusts. Harry slowed to stopping, then nearly collapsed onto Tom as the man's legs lowered themselves to the bed once more, stretching out on either side of him. Harry tiredly rolled himself over one long leg, after a kiss to Tom's chest, and curled up next to him. He felt Tom's lips against his hair and wondered why his lover's arms weren't around him, until he remembered that he hadn't yet released him. Reaching over them, he gently unwrapped Tom's wrists, caressing the faint marks the ties had left on each, before falling down again by his lover's side.  Harry sighed with pleasure as Tom wrapped himself around him, feeling sated, and sad, somehow.  He felt the tears come to his eyes and knew it had nothing to do with how beautiful it had been with Tom. Tom heard Harry's breathing change from exhausted to something he couldn't identify until he felt hot tears on his chest. He held Harry tighter, as Adea had done with him, and waited for the storm inside his lover, his first, to reach its conclusion. He felt exhilarated, wonderful.  He felt like laughing out loud, but this was not the time.  Gods, the joy and awe were coursing through him like warp energy, it was amazing how *good* he felt.  He placed another soft kiss on Harry's head, feeling like crying himself at the change in his lover.  Indulging the earlier desire to touch and stroke the man in his arms, Tom marveled at how perfectly they fit together, moved together, loved together.  Harry seemed to be calming as Tom pulled back slightly to kiss the tears from below the inky lashes. Harry smiled softly. "Now I understand," Harry whispered, as Tom nodded.  "Now *I'm* the empty one, Tom.  Don't leave me like this, please," he pleaded, fresh tears coming from his eyes in relief as Tom nodded. Tom gently kissed the tears away from Harry's face, drawing a finger lightly over swollen lips before kissing them, as well.  He moved black hair off his lover's forehead, smoothing it back, as he followed with his mouth, tracing over eyebrows, nose and cheekbones.  Harry's breath was warm and soft on his face and he sighed, letting caring hands touch the man's jaw before caressing his neck, stopping to lick and nibble on his journey down the body so close to him. He pulled away for an instant, hushing Harry's half-formed protest, to unwrap the blue streamers from the posts, leaving them still tied at the bottom. Harry watched quietly, touching every part of Tom he could reach, enjoying the way muscle moved under skin as his lover moved over and around him. He relished the moment, knowing soon he wouldn't be able to touch the man at all. He couldn't help the grin on his face.  "So, my love.  How do you want to take me?" Tom swallowed audibly, before seeing the merriment in the devilish eyes of his lover. "I want you right where you are, Harry.  I want to watch you come." It was Harry's turn to gulp, seeing the intensity in Tom's blue ones, as well as the amusement.  He moved upward to kiss that incredible mouth, allowing his hands the delight of touching Tom. Tom sighed with pleasure, letting his own hands roam over the heat that was Harry, until tenderness became rougher with need.  He drew one of his lover's hands over his head and wrapped the blue fabric around it, kissing his way back to the shoulder from the wrist now circled with blue.  He met Harry's eyes and saw them answer the question his own were asking. Yes, Harry wanted this. "I love you," Harry said, so softly, he barely mouthed the words. Tom couldn't have heard them any clearer if he'd shouted, Harry realized, seeing the blue eyes close for a long moment, then open, wide and brilliant, accompanied perfectly by a beautiful smile. "I love you, too," Tom replied, as Harry's smile echoed his own. He stopped tying Harry up to take him in his arms, kissing him over and over again, until he felt Harry's breathless laughter beneath him. Harry brought his free hand up to rest against Tom's face, sighing as his lover turned his head to kiss the wrist.  He raised his head briefly to kiss Tom, before he lay back, letting Tom finish surrounding his other wrist with the second blue tie.  His breathing sped up slightly as Tom brought loving hands down his body, not missing an inch, teasing him into arousal again.  He grabbed the ties and held on, his body trembling under the delicious onslaught of his lover's mouth and hands. Tom saw his lover's body shaking and eased up until the strokes became more soothing than foreplay.  Harry relaxed gradually, sinking into the bed, moans replaced by sighs, as Tom continued to touch him everywhere, until his hand finally caressed Harry's hardness.  Gods, he was perfect.  His hands followed Harry's thigh to the inside as Harry bent his legs, raising them up, granting Tom access.   Harry squirmed as fingers gently caressed the backs of his thighs, slowly going under his ass, just a little ways, as Tom began to trace small circles around the entrance to his body. Very easy, welcome touches and he breathed deeply, willing his body to loosen up and enjoy.  He didn't know why the hell he was so nervous and uncertain all of a sudden, it wasn't like he'd never done this before, was it?  Oh, good gods . . . Tom heard the sudden intake of air and glanced up to see the beautiful, and very wide, brown eyes of his lover looking down at him. He smiled reassuringly. "It's okay, Harry.  Trust me. I'd never hurt you," Tom whispered. "I love you." "I know, it just feels so . . unknown.  You know?" he tried to explain, seeing Tom nod, relieved he understood. "It's supposed to, remember?  I'm your first," Tom reminded him. "And my last.  My only.  I give myself to you totally and without reservation.  Take from me that which gives you pleasure," Harry said softly, watching Tom's eyes darken, gasping as a slender finger entered him. Tom's hands weren't completely steady as he squeezed out some more gel, then returned to Harry's body, feeling his lover clench around his finger as he added a second.  Watching Harry arch off the bed was doing some pretty amazing things to his cock as he stroked himself with his other hand. A third finger found its way into Harry, and he knew he couldn't wait any longer.  Moving his lover's legs upward gently to his chest, he leaned in to kiss him tenderly, tongue loving his mouth as he slowly entered Harry, and they both groaned. Harry was kissing Tom, feeling the hot, wet silk of his tongue caress his own, while his lover's cock stretched and filled him. His own erection was throbbing again, as Tom moved easily in and out of him, while continuing the kiss.   Tom looked up to see Harry, eyes shut tight, thrashing against the pillow. Gods, he was beautiful.  The red ties still lay above Harry's head and Tom had an idea.  He never stopped thrusting, but he couldn't keep kissing Harry's sweet mouth, not for the moment. He reached up and wrapped the red fabric around Harry's wrists, the man not even noticing.  He made the circles deliberately loose and, after loosening the blue ones already there, slipped his own wrists into them, both streamers around each of his wrists, blue and red, together.  Threading his fingers through Harry's, then pulling toward the middle, he cinched them both to one another.   Harry's eyes flew open when Tom sped up.  His fingers tightened in Tom's and he felt an answering pressure.  He arched up into Tom and groaned as the pace quickened. Tom felt the familiar tension in his core and moved harder and faster within the slick heat of Harry's body. Harry knew Tom was close, could feel it; he tightened his muscles around his lover, sending him into total, glorious fulfillment, as he shouted Harry's name.    Tom lay on Harry's chest, completely worn out, until fingers squeezed his own.  He raised his head and captured Harry's mouth with his, while twisting their wrists, together, to unwrap both sets of ties, releasing each other.  Shaking off the streamers, they let themselves caress each other to their hearts' content, wrapped up only in one another now. Harry chuckled.  He couldn't stop himself; he felt so . . exuberant.  Tom nuzzled his neck as he played with his lover's hair, the sheets bringing out a lot of the red in the strawberry-blonde color. "Gods, I feel good," he murmured, content. "I'll say," Tom replied, laughing, as Harry growled at him. "So, we belong to each other now, huh?" Harry asked. Tom twisted up to look at him. "What, second thoughts, already?" he queried, only half-kidding. "Never," Harry said, softly.  "I am exactly where I want to be, with the one I want to be with.  You.  How I love you," he barely got out before Tom's lips came to his, effectively cutting off all further conversation. Tom finally tore his mouth away, the need for air momentarily outweighing the need for Harry.  "I love you, too, Har.  Always."                    <<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> B'Elanna shifted impatiently from foot to foot, waiting for Tom to finish changing from his uniform to casual clothes so they could join Harry for some pool.  She felt a little odd about being in his quarters while he was undressing but she was dying to get another look at that bed. "Paris, what is *taking* so long?" she called out, hearing an amused snort coming from the other room.  "And what is so damned funny?" "Nothing, B'Elanna.  I'm almost ready, sheesh." Tom finally emerged in his usual blue shirt and dark gray slacks, carrying a pair of soft, lace-up boots that matched the deep gray. "So, how's the bed?" B'Elanna asked, grinning at Tom's sudden freeze before he answered. "The bed is fine. I would invite you to visit but it's resting comfortably right now," Tom replied, amused.  Before he could stop her, she was around the corner, taking in the changes, gaping. The blue and red streamers were wrapped around the posts, crossing over one another, tied at top and bottom.  Well, now, she thought, as she slowly strolled back into the living area, where Tom was finishing getting the boots on and done up. "Satisfied?" he asked. She looked closely, seeing he was more amused than anything, not really angry at all.  "No, I'm not," she shot back.  "Give, Paris.  Who the hell is 'Red'?" "I'm not saying anything, B'Elanna.  See?  This is me, not saying anything," he drawled, heading for the door, with her right on his heels. She badgered him all the way to the holodeck, all through getting Sandrine's up and running, and all during his racking the balls on the table, before she gave up.  Damned infuriating man. When the hell had Tom Paris become a clam? She was so busy glaring at him, she didn't notice that Harry had come in. She saw Tom's reaction, though, the brief lighting, then softening of his eyes, the warm smile, as she slowly turned around. There stood Harry, black slacks and rich red shirt, smiling back at Tom. B'Elanna did a quick double-take from one to the other, before a grin appeared on her own face. Starting over with each other, from the look of things.  She smiled at them both as they turned to her, blue and red, together.  Happy as she was for them, she *really* envied them that bed. ******************************************end