Title: Best Friend's Night

Author: Britta

Series: VOY

Codes: C/P

Rating: NC-17

Archive: Fine with me, just tell me where.

Disclaimer: Someone else owns these folks. I just let them do whatever they want. Money being made? You have got to be kidding. It's a labor of love--theirs. May contain m/m sex, if you don't
like, take a hike.

Best Friend's Night
by Britta

"Chakotay?" Tom manually dialed the lights up to thirty-five percent.

"Mmm?"

"You know Harry is my best friend, right?"

Chakotay mumbled, "Right."

Tom propped himself on an elbow, stared into the still-sleepy, dark brown eyes of his lover, and asked, "Who's yours?"

"You." Chakotay's expression didn't change, yet his voice sounded different to Tom's ears.

Tom spent a few moments absorbing that fact while Chakotay closed his eyes, as if unwilling to share the thoughts behind those words. It didn't take long for Tom to realize that he'd inadvertently hit a sore spot.

He leaned down and kissed Chakotay, sending a silent apology to the man he loved beyond all reason. The lips beneath his own opened and welcomed him inside as they always did, nearly forcing him to lose sight of his objective.

Chakotay's shivers and shuddering breaths told Tom that he was on the right track to banishing his lover's doubts yet again. Tom moved to lie on top of Chakotay and figured he'd explain what he had in mind, eventually. For now, Tom concentrated his efforts on showing his other half how much he was loved, in a non-verbal way.

He nuzzled his way down the strong, dark body that was his alone to pleasure, giving every erogenous zone his complete attention. When he finally reached the magnificent, proudly jutting erection, a sigh escaped him. He relaxed his throat and took the hard flesh deeply inside himself, satisfied that he could, indeed, breathe cock.

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Chakotay lay in bed with Tom draped over him, snoring gently, after their early morning passion-fest, and wondered what Tom was up to. He knew Tom was planning something because he'd seen the recent and very frequent visitation of the thoughtful, sometimes crafty expression on Tom's face. It meant Tom was being devious.

He pondered Harry and questioned himself about his jealousy over Tom's friendship with the ensign. Kim was a good man, a stable officer, and a loyal and supportive friend of Tom's. Perhaps, he wasn't jealous on a personal level, but wished he had a buddy like that of his own.

Sure, he had a few friends from the Maquis, but he was still their captain in some unconscious way, and his relationship with Kathryn had its own limits, for different reasons. He stroked Tom's hair and fully realized why Tom was his best friend; Tom could understand both sides of him--the Starfleet experience and the rebel actions--everything.

Chakotay reached above his head, turned off the lights, and drifted back to sleep still speculating on why Tom had brought up the subject of 'best friends'. What wily scheme would Tom pull him into next?

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Tom paced nervously in Harry's bedroom while listening to the shower. He kept running over the conversation he'd had with Chakotay at lunch:

'You want me to do what?' Chakotay had asked, confusion evident in every syllable.

'Invite Ayala to join us for a picnic on the holodeck tonight.'

'Why?'

Tom had ignored Chakotay's suspicious tone and answered quietly, 'I will bring Harry and the four of us can celebrate Best Friend's Day.'

'Ayala and I aren't best friends.' Chakotay had frowned at him then.

'I know. But that doesn't mean he won't find a best friend there,' Tom had replied with a teasing smile. 'Harry's had the hots for Ayala since we got together. I think he wants a tall, dark, and
handsome man of his very own.

Chakotay's expression lightened then, and he'd inquired smoothly, 'Is there anything special I should tell him?'

'Just say he's going on a blind date.'

And now, hours later, Harry was tapping Tom's shoulder, bringing him back to the present. Tom saw that Harry was dressed and ready for an adventure. He said, "Looking good, Harry. Let's go."

Harry clapped a hand on Tom's back, asking, "Go where exactly?"

Tom shrugged off the heavy hand and moved to the door. "To meet your date."

"What date!"

"The one you're going on tonight." Tom pulled Harry out the door and continued, "You'll have a good time, don't worry."

At Harry's sudden halt in the corridor, Tom added, "Chakotay and I will be there. Relax and enjoy, okay?"

The trust Harry placed in Tom was clear in his voice as he replied, "Okay," and resumed walking. A few moments later, as they approached the turbolift, Harry asked, "Do I even like this person?"

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Chakotay and Ayala were busy setting up the picnic near a lake in one of the ubiquitous 'picnic by body of water' holoprograms that every starship had on file. They were almost finished when Ayala asked, "Chak, why did you invite me here tonight?"

"You'll see." Chakotay hesitated to explain until he saw how things went according to Tom's plan. Giving his friend a reassuring smile, he went to chill more wine and prayed that Tom knew what he was doing.

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Tom and Harry entered the holodeck and meandered through the trees until they came upon the other men. Harry stopped dead in his tracks and said in a low voice, "I can't believe you set me up with him."

"I can read your mind, Harry," Tom smirked.

Smiles were exchanged and the two strode forward into the clearing.

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Chakotay and Ayala hopped to their feet as soon as they spotted Tom and Harry. Nervousness abounded, thickening the very air with its inherent uncertainty. Tom moved forward and into Chakotay's arms for a hug and a kiss.

The other two men stood awkwardly until Harry offered his hand to Ayala. Chakotay released his hold on Tom then and they turned to extend their greetings to the others.

"I've never been here before," Harry said.

Ayala smiled but did not release Harry's hand. "Would you like the grand tour?"

At Harry's nod, Ayala faced Tom and Chakotay, saying, "We'll be back in about an hour," and led Harry away.

Chakotay let out a huge breath of relief and sagged in Tom's arms. Gods, this matchmaking business was not his forte. Best to leave it to Tom; he seemed to know how to pick them.

Tom held him close for a moment, then eased him down onto their blanket, and said, "Now it's time for me to celebrate Best Friend's Day with my other best friend."

"Other?"

"Of course. I had to make sure Harry had someone else to celebrate with before I could concentrate all my attention on you."

Chakotay raised his eyebrows at the concept that Tom could have two best friends. He would have said something about it except for the fact that Tom replayed his actions of the early morning--only in double-quick time, sucking him into the next plane of existence. And for some reason, that made him forget to worry about who was a best friend to whom. In fact, as long as Tom was willing to stay with him, Chakotay didn't care how many best friends his lover collected.

THE END