"Kim to Voyager. Voyager, respond," Harry repeated for the hundredth time since leaving Voyager that morning. He and Tom had been sent on a simple reconnasance mission. Just explore the diluthium traces within the asteroid field, find out if they were worth mining.

But when they'd returned to Voyager's coordinates.... it was gone. No debris, no signs of battle, nothing. Not even a stale warp signature.

"Any luck?" Tom asked from behind him.

"Nothing," Harry replied, frustrated. "There are no signs of inhabitable planets for light years around, and we haven't encountered any sentient species for over a month. This is dead space, Tom, What could have happened to them?"

"I don't know. But we seem to be on our own. We've been looking for over a week, Harry. If we don't take on supplies soon, we're not going to live long enough to find them. I'm hungry, and tired, and they're not here."

"How can you just give up like that?!" Harry demanded. "These are our friends! our family! How can you just write them off?"

"I'm not writing them off, Harry, i just think we should move on. We can set down somewhere for food and suppplies, and then look around some more if you want. We're not going to find anything, Harry. We should just head for home. If they've been forced backwards somehow, they'll catch up. They move a whole lot faster than we do. If they're ahead of us, then maybe they're looking for us, too. We need to do something, Harry, and sitting in this damned asteroid field staring at an empty comm screen isn't helping us!"

"OK!" Harry exploded. "Okay. You're right. I just can't—"

"I know, Harry. We need to go. We'll stop at the first ihabited planet we come to and ask about them, but we have to leave, now." Tom crumbled at the sight of Harry crying, and instinctively wrapped his arms around his best friend. "Come on, Harry. Let's get the hell outta here."

"Yeah," Harry said indistinctly. He gently extricated himself from Tom's embrace, and seated himself, punching in probable coordinates from memory, just to see what came up.

"There's an uninhabited class M a few light years from here. It looks like a good food xource, based on preliminary scans done by Voyager. We can stop and pick up supplies there. We should probably ration the replicators."

Tom let out a theatrical groan, and was rewarded by a slight smile from Harry. It'll be all right, Harry. You'll see."

"Yeah," Harry said softly, looking down at his console. But he didn't sound as if he believed it.

"Harry, what happened to those carrots we found last week. They cant have gone bad already." Tom asked, searching the shelves in what was formerly the suit locker.

"Did they look like carrots?" Harry asked from the bedroom. "I don't remember any carrots."

"No, they tasted like carrots. They were green and purple..." Tom replied, giving up.

"Can't help you, Tom. I was too busy vomiting to remember that planet." Harry said dryly, fastening his shirt as he walked. "Did we ever find out what i was alergic too?"

"No. After a certain period,, i thought it might just be a good idea to forget it and just leave. That would be the point where you stared yelling at me to forget it and just leave already." Tom replied dryly.

"Oh Really?" Harry answered, eyes bright, "And do you always follow my orders, mister?"

"Only when there's the threat of vomit to clean up."

"Oh, you poor baby. I had to clean up after you when you ate those roots that disagreed with you so much a few months ago," Harry pointed out.

"Well, i thank you, from th bottom of my heart," Tom replied theatrically. He went down on one knee and opened his arms wide, as though offering Harry everything he had. "And you know what?" he added, rising.

"What," Harry asked.

"I don't know what i would do if i lost you," Tom replied, looking serious.

"I know," Harry said softly. "Me, either."

Tom scrolled through the scanner readings of the night before, hoping to find something the comuter had somehow missed. Harry sat curled at the side of his chair, head resting on his knee.

"Anything?" he asked wearily.

"Not yet," Tom replied. "We'll find something, Harry. We've been hungrier than this before and come out of it alright."

"I know, Tom" Harry replied. He dragged himself to his feet so he could look over Tom's shoulder. "How about that? We could create replicator material from thoe compunds," He said, indicating an uninhabited world not too distant.

"It'd take us too long tos set up a converter. We'll starve before we get the process moving," Tom replied quietly.

"Be a good iea to have one for the future, though," Harry said. "We'l have to put one together anyway. Just as soon as i can work up enough energy... wazzat?"

"What?" Tom replied, scrolling backwards.

"That," Harry repeated, "Right there. There are traces of vegetation there."

"Nothing that looks edible, Harry. There was some kind of disaster there recently. Maybe an asteroid." Tom replied, examining the information.

"Sensors are indicating an incmplete scan, Tom. We might find something useful there," Harry replied urgently.

"Harry," Tom began, looking up into Harry's drawn face and hollow cheeks. "Okay. It looks like our best bet, anyway. It's a three day trip, we'd better divide our rations to plan for 5, and hope we find something quickly."

Harry nodded, headed back toward what the euphemistically reffered to as the "larder".

"And Tom?"

"Yeah, Harry? Tom asked, looking back over his shoulder.

"Thanks," Harry said softly. Tom just smiled at him in reply.

Harry lay on his bunk, staring up at the ceiling. They had food and water, all the diagnostics had been run, everything was in as close to perfect working order as he could get it with his current equipment. There was nothing left to do but think. He had a lot of thinking to do. About the way Tom had been looking at him lately.

It had been over two years since they'd lost the Voyager, and just as long since they'd had any contact with anyone other than each other. Sex was almost unavoidable, eventually. Harry wondered why he hadn't thought of that bbefore. Well, to be honest, he had thought about it. Even dreamed about it sometimes. Particularly at those times when he knew why Tom was taking so long to get up in the morning.

But to actually take that step? Did he love Tom that much? Tom and he were going to be together for a very long time, what if Tom decided he didn't want to continue the relationship. That he wanted to begin one, that much Harry was certain of, but his past record was a bit questionable, to say the least.

On the other hand, Tom didn't really have any other options. Harry knew he loved Tom, but did he love him that much? And he wanted a family; did Tom even like kids? He wanted a big family.

Should he be considering this as a lifelong commitment? They'd come this far, surely at some point there'd be other sentient species out there to interact with, the relationship might only last until there were other people to talk to.

Harry tried to imagine that, but found that he couldn't picture his life without Tom being the main person in it any more. He couldn't remember what it was like to talk to anyone else. Sure, there were memories of past conversations, but what did it feel like to talk to someone who didn't reach out and touch him every other second; who didn't wake him up in the middle of the night to quiz him on quantum mechanics, just to see what he would do?

"Hey!" Tom said, sticking his head around the doorjamb and rapping sharply on the wall. "You gonna get up sometime today?"

"Why? Do we have something pressing to attend to?" Harry asked lazily.

"Well, no, but—"

"But nothing. I'm relaxing today. We work too hard." Harry replied firmly. "Besides, i've got some thinking to do."

"Thinking about what?" Tom asked quietly. Harry realized that Tom couldn't go more than a few hours without talking to him, touching him, engaging in some sort of contact. Harry'd never realized how much he missed Tom when he wasn't around because Tom didn't allow that to happen very often.

"'bout us. Where i want to take those looks you've been giving me lately," Harry replied, stretching thoroughly and enjoying the way Tom watched him.

"Any decisions yet?' Tom asked.

"No. What if i decide no?" Harry replied, looking at him.

Tom shrugged one shoulder. "Then i'll just keep admiring you from afar. And taking longer to get up in the morning," He added, grinning wickedly.

Harry grinned back, then made lazy shooing motions with one hand. "Go away. I can't think about this stuff with you standing there staring at me."

"Okay," Tom replied, backing out.

"Hey, Tom?" Harry said quickly.

"Yeah?"

"Make some noise or something. I get lonesome when i can't see you."

There was a resounding crash, then, "How's that? Does that make you feel better, Harry?"

"Yeah," Harry replied, laughing. "Actually, it does."

Harry sobered. "Tom?" he called.

"You know, for someone who wants to be alone, you sure require a lot of attention," Tom called back.

"Do you like kids?" Harry asked, ignoring the comment.

"The very thought is terrifying. I'd be afraid they'd end up like my father."

"But do you like them?" Harry asked.

"Yeah," Tom replied after a moment. "I do."

"Do you prefer women over men?" Harry asked.

"What is this, the spanish inquisition?" Tom demanded. "I don't know. I think i just prefer you, okay?"

Harry didn't answer, assimilating this. He had one more question, but he wasn't sure he should ask.

"Tom?"

"What?"

"What... what happens if we find Voyager again?"

Tom reappeared in the doorway, looking at him for a long moment.

"I love you," he said finally. "I am in love with you. This," he waved his hand around to indicate their whole situation, "This didn't change anything, i've been in love with you for years, it's just that now..." Tom let out a short laugh, trying not to cry. "now i think i have a shot at getting you," He finished, not looking at Harry.

Harry took that with a grain of salt. Not because he thought Tom was lying, but because Tom had a tendency to blow all of his feelings way out of proportion.

It didn't really matter, though. He knew Tom wasn't going to leave him now, no matter what happened. Tom did love him, he was sure of that much. And he loved Tom.

He'd never believed in falling in love. Love wasn't something that happened to you. You found someone you could be friends with, who you loved, and who loved you, and who made you happy and then you just did that for the rest of your life.

And sex. You had lots of sex.

"Yes."

"Yes, what?" Tom asked. "Everything?"

"Everything," Harry agreed. "Come here."

"Why?" Tom asked, suddenly shy.

"Let's see if we can arrange it so i can get a full nights sleep," Harry replied. "And you can get up early tomorrow," He added, smiling seductively.

"I think i could do that," Tom said slowly, traveling across the room. He gently pushed Harry down on the bed, covering the warm, soft lips with his own.

Harry was suddenly very, very glad he'd said yes.

end.