The Game By Morticia Part Ten "I feel guilty," Chakotay said softly. "Guilty?" Tom repeated nervously. "That I'm enjoying myself so much with you tonight." "Because I should really be working, huh?" Tom demanded. "No, because you should be resting. That was the whole point of my changing your shifts, Tom. It wasn't so I could spend more time with you. At least I hope it wasn't," Chakotay added worriedly, as he wondered whether his decision to talk to Kathryn against Tom's own wishes had indeed been motivated by personal greed. He had certainly reaped the benefits of the decision over the last couple of weeks. Now he was no longer constrained by his heavy schedule, Tom had adjusted his life around Chakotay's own gruelling timetable so that although they now only saw each other every *other* night, they now spent quality time together. Their relationship had moved on from mere mindblowing sex to genuine companionship. They shared private holodec time, visited the resort together, attended the gym arm in arm or simply watched Tom's collection of old vids *before* the sex now. Tom flushed hotly in the sudden silence between them. "Spending time with you *is* resting for me, Chakotay. When I'm with you, everything else just becomes irrelevant." "That's another thing I feel guilty about, Tom. You aren't seeing Harry any more. He's your friend. You should make an effort to spend time with him." "I'd rather be with you," Tom replied firmly. Chakotay grinned. "I'm glad to hear it, but even so, you *are* neglecting him. He sat with me in the Mess Hall this lunchtime, while you were helping B'Elanna with those adjustments to the Port Nacelle. I said he looked tired and he said that he was just depressed because he's lonely. He's obviously missing the way you and he used to spend time together." Tom stiffened. Fuck. What the hell was Harry playing at? He saw Harry all the time. Ever since he had done his `swooning with tiredness' routine, Chakotay had started to put his foot down and send him home at midnight whenever he had an early shift the next day. Since Tom *never* slept more than 4 or 5 hours a night, he had been going to Harry's for a couple of drinks every night on his way back to his own quarters. *That* was why Harry looked tired. "So," Chakotay continued. "Since Harry inadvertently reminded me of how much I am monopolising your time, I changed his shift so that he's off-duty tomorrow. You can both spend some time together." Tom's mouth gaped open. "But tomorrow was supposed to be *our* day, Chakotay," Tom protested. "I know Tom, but because Jackson volunteered to take over in Sickbay, it's left a vacancy for an Ensign's position in Astrometics and I have still got two dozen crew evaluations to complete before we can make the decision about the promotion." "So, it's because of me that you can't take the day off, after all?" Tom asked miserably. "Of course not, Tom. It was my idea to relieve you of Sickbay duties. It's not your fault that it has created some paperwork problems. Anyway, like I said, you'll have fun with Harry. It will do you good. Harry's booked holodec 2 for you both. He said he thought it was time that Captain Proton saved the galaxy, or something." "Yeah, great. Thanks Chakotay," Tom mumbled, wondering what Harry was going to look like with Captain Proton's rocket-pack rammed up his ass. ~~~ "You little weasel," Tom spat. Harry grinned unrepentantly. "Yeah, well I learnt from the best, didn't I?" Tom's mouth quirked, despite himself. Harry was right. *He* would have done exactly the same thing in Harry's place. Even so, he had been looking forward to having a whole day off with Chakotay for weeks. His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Hang on a minute, Haz. I know I didn't pay for this holo-time, and your ration account was wiped out when I arranged that dinner for Chakotay. So how the hell did you book this program?" "I didn't," Harry replied smugly. "Chakotay paid for it. He said he felt so guilty about having to cancel his day off that he would pay for whatever we both wanted to do together." "Chakotay paid?" Tom asked in a dangerously quiet voice. "Yeah," Harry laughed. "I've got to hand it to you. You're a class act, Tom. I mean you tricked him into getting you out of Sickbay duties, which meant he had to bring the whole crew evaluation schedule forward three months, and now he's so far behind on his work that he has had to cancel his own day off, and *he* felt so guilty about it that he paid me to entertain you for the day." Harry was laughing so hard that he didn't immediately notice the color draining out of Tom's face at his words. "So, now you've got him twisted around your little finger, how long do you think it's going to take to get your pip back?" Harry asked. "I, um, I don't know, um, I, I," Tom stuttered, as an unexpected wave of nausea swept though him. "Hey, you alright Tom? You look awful!" Harry exclaimed. "I, um, I feel sick, something I ate, I'll, um," Tom pressed his hand to his mouth, turned and ran for the arch. ~~~ "I told Neelix not to put grated leola in the breakfast rolls," Harry commiserated as Tom finally stopped retching and emerged from the bathroom on shaky legs. "Yeah, well, I should have known better," Tom replied, with an attempt at a casual shrug. "So I guess you don't feel up to fighting Chaotica, after all?" Harry queried miserably. Tom smirked. "You gotta be kidding, Haz. Captain Proton may have chucked up his guts, but he's still able to save the Galaxy. Let's go." Harry grinned with relief and followed Tom back to the holodec. ~~~ "What will people think?" Tom asked nervously. "Who cares?" Chakotay asked. "I can't believe you said that," Tom exclaimed with a delighted laugh. Chakotay chuckled. "You're obviously a bad influence on me, Mr. Paris." "Oh, I don't know. I seem to be a good influence on at least *one* part of you," Tom sniggered, sitting back on his haunches to drive Chakotay's cock deeper inside him. Chakotay snaked his hands around Tom's chest and tweaked his nipples teasingly. Just then the deck shuddered beneath them, causing the Command chair to judder. "Oh shit, that's good," Tom gasped, as Chakotay jerked inside him. "I think we just lost shields," Chakotay replied. "Oh good, that means we're in for a really bumpy ride," Tom sniggered. Chakotay grasped Tom's hips and began to guide him up and down on his lap. "Incoming," Tom howled as a blast of phaser fire ripped across the viewscreen. "Oh, yeah," Chakotay agreed, as the bridge shuddered violently under his ass. He began to slam Tom up and down in time to the wild tossing of the ship. "FUCK!" Tom screamed, as the consoles exploded around them at the precise moment that Chakotay erupted into his ass. A final explosion rocked the bridge and Tom and Chakotay tumbled to the floor as the Command chair disappeared and the bridge reformed into the black and yellow grid of the hollow deck. Chakotay guiltily snaked out his hand towards Tom's groin. "It's okay, big guy. I had a case of spontaneous combustion," Tom sniggered, grabbing Chakotay's hand and guiding it to the sticky proof that covered Tom's stomach. Chakotay grinned in relief. He always tried to be a thoughtful lover, but sometimes Tom's antics just caused his brain to go on strike as his cock went into over-drive. "You were right, Tom," he chuckled when he finally regained his breath. "Battle simulations *can* be an interesting way of keeping fit." "It would have been more fun if you'd let me keep the holographic crew on line," Tom sniggered. "Talking of the crew," Chakotay hinted. Tom stiffened in his arms. "I'm sorry, Tom. It's obviously too soon. Forget I asked," Chakotay said sadly. Tom's mouth opened and uttered the word before his head had a chance to stop it. "Yes," he whispered. "Yes?" Chakotay repeated hopefully. "Yes, I will move in with you," Tom agreed. ~~~ "Harder, Tom. Please, oh yeah, that's it, oh god, yeah," Harry squealed. "That good?" Tom purred. "Oh yeah. Oh shit, I've missed this," Harry wailed. "Harder?" Tom asked. "Please," Harry begged. Tom pushed his sweat-drenched hair back from his forehead so he could see what he was doing. "Arghhhhh!" Harry screamed, as Tom's knuckles ground into the gap between his fourth and fifth vertebrae, causing the discs to realign. "FUCK! That hurt!" he whined. "It always hurts before it gets better," Tom snapped. "I know," Harry agreed, cautiously moving his spine and then sighing with relief. "You really ought to go see the Doc about your back, Harry. I'm obviously not doing something right. This is the third time this week that you've trapped a nerve," Tom complained. Harry smirked into his pillow. "Okay, I've gotta go home. Chak expected me hours ago," Tom sighed, rising off Harry's bed and bending down to lace his boots up. Harry sighed, turning sideways to ogle Tom's ass. The only problem with the "trapped nerve" thing was that it hadn't yet occurred to the pilot to strip off more than his boots before straddling Harry's ass. On the principle that a constant drip of water could wear away the toughest stone, Harry repeated his usual mantra. "You sure you don't want to stay for a quick fuck, Tom?" Tom just grinned as usual. "I guess that means your back's feeling better, huh?" he snorted. He slapped Harry's naked ass a little harder than was strictly a friendly gesture, picked up his jacket, and headed for the door. But this time, Harry wasn't prepared to let him go. Belatedly, Tom's words had registered. Tom had said, "I've gotta go *home*." When Tom had moved in with Chakotay the month before, he'd said it was just to get the Commander more tightly under his spell. The two of them were actually living together, it was the talk of the ship, and despite Tom's assurances that it was only a temporary arrangement until he had gotten what he wanted out of Chakotay, Harry hadn't seen any evidence of `progress', and now, to add insult to injury, Tom was actually referring to Chakotay's quarter's as his *home*. "Tom?" Tom hesitated in the doorway before turning his head warily. "You love him, don't you?" Harry accused bitterly. "What?" Tom demanded nervously. "Chakotay. You've fallen in love with him," Harry spat. "Don't be stupid, Haz," Tom snapped. "I'm *not* stupid, Tom. It's been nearly three months and now you act like I don't even exist. Shit, I'm lying here with my ass bare, begging you to fuck me and all you can think about is getting back to *his* bed." Harry's audible pain struck Tom like a physical blow. He gripped the door frame for support. "You know that's not true, Haz. It's just taking longer than I expected to sort things out. You don't expect me to give up, do you? I'm so close I can taste that Lieutenant's pip now." "Really?" Harry asked tearfully. "Really, Haz." "And then you'll leave him?" Harry demanded petulantly. "Don't I *always* leave them?" Tom replied. Harry chewed over Tom's words and then a hesitant smile spread over his face. "Yeah, you do," he finally agreed. "Well then," Tom replied. "You promise?" Harry asked suddenly. "What?" "Promise me that you'll leave him after you get your pip back, Tom, and I'll never mention it again, no matter how long it takes," Harry swore. Tom took a shuddering breath. Harry was his friend. His only *real* friend, and sure he lied to him sometimes, but that wasn't serious stuff. Lies were what made the world go round. Everyone lied. Like when the Captain had cut her hair off and everyone said it looked good. Which had been a blatant lie since her long hair had been her only attractive feature in his opinion. Hell, he'd even played tongue hockey with her once himself, just to get his fingers in that hair. Even Tuvok had lied about her short hair being an improvement. Unless the Vulcan just had fuck-all taste, of course. Lying was an art form that Tom had learnt in early childhood and had perfected with dedication through the ensuing years. He had honed the art by simply listening to every diplomat and politician who had come to dinner at the Admiral's house. But promises were different. Promises were real. As Tom remained silent, Harry began to cry. Quietly at first, but his sobs gradually grew louder and more plaintive. "Don't cry, Haz. Please," Tom begged miserably. "It's okay Tom. I shouldn't have said anything. I had no right. It's your life. If you love him then that's okay. Really. As long as you are happy. That's all that really matters," Harry sobbed. "You're my friend. That's enough. It's enough that you're my friend." "I promise," Tom said abruptly. "What?" "I promise I'll leave him if I get my pip back." "You mean it?" Harry gasped. Tom shuddered but forced a smile on his face. "I promised, didn't I?" TBC