He reached under the waistband of his Starfleet issued sleepwear, freed his throbbing erection to the night air and began to pump. He let out a sigh, the stimulation finally given such a relief that he was certain he'd come in no time. As his climax approached he forced himself up on his knees, leaning on the rock with one arm, stroking furiously with his free hand, getting all the more excited from the position he was in. He felt the tingle in his balls right before they contracted, his erection swell in his hand, a moan coming up from his gut... and he came, shooting ropey streams against the rock as blackness took over his mind, and waves of release took over his body. He pumped himself until there was nothing more to be given, wiped his hand off on the towel he'd brought, and dropped his head on both arms, panting, his ass still pointing to the sky.
How he'd been reduced to this was no mystery to him. It was directly and inexorably related to the man he was sharing a tent with on this away mission. The man he'd hoped would share his tent, and prayed wouldn't at the same time. Because somehow Harry'd known that he'd end up wandering the wilds in the middle of the night looking for a place to jerk off. Because the man sleeping on the other side of the small tent had stripped in front of him like it was nothing, shown his body like it was not the deity blessed beauty Harry knew it to be. Smiled and laughed, and ran his hand through that thick wavy hair on top of his head, making Harry's fingers tingle to do the same. And in the low light his deep dark eyes had sparkled as he told Harry a joke he'd overheard Telfer share in the 'lift. All of it, every last move, word, and grin had made Harry's cock twitch and grow and his heart flutter.
"Greg, what the hell am I going to do for the next four days...," he muttered.
~ ^~ ^~ ^~
When he climbed back into the tent, Greg Ayala stirred and rolled toward him.
"Everything okay, Har," he mumbled.
"Yeah, Greg, just had to pee, that's all, go back to sleep," he said. Oh yeah, everything is just fucking fine.
"Glad you're all right," the other man mumbled again and settled onto his stomach. His breathing evened out almost immediately.
Harry got into his sleeping bag and rolled to face the center of the tent. He couldn't help himself. He watched Greg sleep until he dropped off.
~ ^~ ^~ ^~
Greg heard Harry's breathing deepen and relaxed. His mind just wouldn't quiet down. Seeing Harry leave the tent earlier had really thrown him. He'd noticed the bulge in the man's sleepwear bottoms, and knew Harry was leaving to take care of that. It was his own reaction that was keeping him from the oblivion of unconsciousness. An ache had begun in his groin, an ache that went all the way to his lips. He'd wanted to jump up, grab Harry's arm, throw him down on his bedding and pounce on him. Kiss him senseless. Do things to him that he'd never contemplated doing with Harry before that moment. He was more than merely surprised. He wasn't even shocked. He was thrown. Harry Kim was as straight as they come, and Greg had placed the man firmly in the 'do not touch, do not think about in that way' category. Up until that night, it had worked flawlessly. Then Harry'd gotten an erection, in his presence - why - Greg had no clue. But seeing it had knocked all the pegs out of the board in Greg's mind. The truth was, he adored the man. He was funny, brilliant, loyal and sweet. The trouble was, he'd always been safe, too.
Harry woke up the next morning and knew he was alone before he opened his eyes. It wasn't the quiet, it was just the emptiness of the tent that he felt. He assumed Greg was in the shuttle, taking a sonic shower. Having some minutes to himself, he tried to ignore the image the shower evoked in an attempt to calm his morning erection. Instead, he directed his thoughts to leola root and let nausea do the trick.
Just as he was untangling himself from his sleeping bag, Greg returned to drop off his things, saying, "B'Elanna's using one shower and Sue's in the other, so you'll have to get in line." The man placed his folded sleepwear and toiletry case on the air mattress. "I'll see you later." He left.
It wasn't until he was gone that Harry realized neither of them had said 'good morning.' That was a first. Even seeing each other on board, at any point before lunch, they'd still say 'good morning.' The nausea returned, and it was not due to the remembered taste of Neelix's favorite foodstuff. Maybe, he thought, maybe Greg knew what he'd done the night before and knew why he'd done it. If so, then it was clear to Harry that he was the last person in the world Greg would ever look to for more than friendship. His heart sank. His stomach rolled.
An hour later Harry was sonically scrubbed, shaved and full of replicated breakfast. He gathered with everyone and listened to Tuvok's list of tasks. His attention, however, was firmly centered on the back of Greg's head as the man stood with both Gerron and Jenny. Greg had barely been able to meet his eyes, and Harry felt like sinking further and further into a hole each time it happened. So he was very relieved when they were assigned to be in different sectors of exploration. However, as everyone split up and prepared to leave the campsite, Harry looked to his right and dark eyes were looking directly into his. For a long moment, his heart ceased to beat. Then Greg moved away, leaving a confused Harry Kim behind.
~ ^~ ^~ ^~
He was resting in the afternoon, just sitting and letting the muscles of his back relax. Digging for dilithium had to be one of the worst tasks of their journey, and as far as Harry could see, they'd be doing it for years. Possibly for the rest of their lives. He opened up his water bottle and poured some over his head, hoping that might shock him enough to get up and keep going. He ran his hands through his hair, rubbing the water down to his scalp.
"Look like a drowned rat, Harry," B'Elanna said, plopping down next to him.
"Thanks," he said with as much sarcasm as he could muster.
"Hey, anytime." She poked him gently in the ribs. "You should be careful, or Sue might not want to date you quite so intensely..."
He almost groaned aloud. Instead, he took another drink of water. "And I keep telling you, I'm not really interested in dating Sue."
"Well, it's true she's not an alien, or a Borg, or even the wrong sister, she's just a nice woman who thinks you are adorable."
He snorted. "Adorable? Me? Hardly."
B'Elanna smiled seductively. "Yeah, Harry Kim, you. So just think about it. Again. Okay? I'm tired of seeing Sue mope around engineering every time you leave the place. It's getting on my nerves," she teased.
Harry sighed deeply. "Okay, I'll think about it." B'Elanna got up, patted his shoulder and left him alone again. He thought about it. Though Sue was round where he'd recently discovered he was lusting after hard, and she was short when he'd found he was attracted to tall, she was nice, and she was cute. She also had brown eyes. Maybe since he couldn't stare into one set of dark eyes, he could lose himself in another. He'd think about it more seriously.
Greg climbed back down the hillside, stepping carefully, and reported that from what he could tell, the animal in question seemed harmless. Medium sized, eating some vegetation and drinking from a small pond. Hopefully, therefore, an herbivore. While they discussed their next plan of action, his mind wandered, to the previous night. Where had Harry gone? Didn't the man realize that he might not have been safe? What animals had been lurking around their campsite in the middle of the night? If Harry got up to leave tonight, Greg told himself, he'd give the man a word of warning. Then he almost laughed out loud. He could see it all in his mind's eye, telling Harry to watch out where he jerked off or he might get hurt. He'd likely end up throwing him down on the bed for certain, then.
No. No. No. The man was off limits. Period. He'd keep his distance, before he did something really, really stupid and ruined the friendship they did have. For he knew that he very definitely was not willing to lose Harry's friendship. It meant too much to him.
So when they all returned to base camp, and Greg saw Harry talking closely with Sue Nicholetti he felt first and foremost a small sense of relief. He knew that Sue had been interested in Harry for the longest time, from Harry himself. He felt relief. Yes. Relief. Sue laughed out loud. He felt a stirring of something else. Harry's eyes met his. He was glaring back, but couldn't seem to stop himself. Embarrassed and confused, he stomped off, toward the shuttles, to do what, he wasn't sure. Just be somewhere else.
~ ^~ ^~ ^~
Harry watched Greg leave, his stomach roiling again. Why the hell was the man so angry with him? What, really, had he done? Even given the fact that he was so smitten with him that he'd had to leave their tent to relieve his frustrations - that was no reason to be staring with such undisguised anger. He should at least be flattered. Making his excuses to Sue and feeling a bit irritated at her that he had to do it, he left the crew, too. For one of the shuttles.
When Harry entered the craft, Greg turned quickly. He was drinking what looked like grapefruit juice with ice, one of his favorite drinks. But before Harry could say something, the other man spoke.
"Want anything? If you had a day like I did, you could probably use some liquids. Juice? Water?" He took another long swallow as Harry shook his head.
Again, he opened his mouth, but didn't get the words out fast enough.
"So, are you and Sue going to actually start dating now?"
Nicholetti was the topic furthest from his mind. "I don't know, haven't decided," he lied.
"You don't want to go out with someone who has the hots for you? Huh, Harry?"
What he wanted to say was right on the tip of his tongue. One deep breath, and he'd have the courage to say it.
The shuttle door opened behind them. B'Elanna came in, telling them that Tuvok had authorized the replication of swim wear, should folks need that - they were all heading to the woods and a large pond. To cool down, to wash off the grime of the day, to have some fun before dinner. Within a minute, more crew members entered to use the replicator.
B'Elanna asked Harry and Greg if they were going to join everyone else. Greg was enthusiastic. Harry shrugged his assent. All he could think was that he'd be seeing his friend in swimming trunks. He wasn't sure that was something to look forward to, or dread. His cock twitched, answering the question for him. Dread.
He'd been right to worry, Harry said to himself. Floating in the far end of the pond, where the rocks and cliff face came right to the water's edge, he contemplated his dilemma. If only the water were colder, then his half erect, willful, traitorous cock would shrink. He even wished it would shrivel, perhaps permanently. Wondering if he could have the Doc do something started to do the trick. Just the thought of the hologram's instruments heading for his groin was enough to send the thing into hiding.
Everyone else was cavorting at least ten or twelve meters away. Except Tuvok, who was back at camp, doing who knew what. Harry's attention kept drifting back to the tall man, with the dark eyes, broad shoulders and strong legs. Who was laughing with Gerron, and getting knocked over by Pablo, and sputtering as he rose from the depths, smoothing his hair back with both hands. Once again causing blood to surge into Harry's groin and his heart to skip. He groaned aloud.
Then he saw Gerron jump on Greg's back and wrap his small body around the larger man's, both of them laughing just before Pablo knocked them into the water. Harry's stomach turned over. Gerron? What the hell was Gerron doing being that, well, intimate with Greg? He closed his eyes in vain, the onslaught of pictures his mind was torturing him with almost too much to bear.
When he opened them again, he was caught in an eye lock. He had no idea, however, why Greg was staring at him, what he was thinking, or wanting. He was about to find out, for the man began to swim toward him. Harry's heartbeat danced in his chest. He propped his elbows on the ledge, trying to look as relaxed as possible.
~ ^~ ^~ ^~
Greg glided through the water, on a direct course. A beeline, as his grandmother used to say. To which he'd always argued, bees don't fly in a straight line. Maybe not, she'd answer, but they always head directly for the flower, for the sweetness. As he was doing right then, he thought. A thought immediately followed by a questioning of his own sanity. Harry was not the essence of sweet nectar, he was a friend who for some reason was hiding himself at the farthest end of the pond. Away from everyone. Greg wanted to know why.
He came up for air a meter away. Harry looked at him strangely, but he couldn't put his finger on what exactly was wrong.
"Hi," he said, shaking the water off his head and wiping his eyes.
"Hi," Harry replied.
"What are you doing down here?"
"Just hanging out."
"Any reason in particular? I mean, I thought you'd be with Sue..."
Harry interrupted him harshly. "I do not want to hang out with Sue."
He was feeling confused again. "Why the hell not? It seemed obvious earlier that you're interested in her, she's interested in you..."
"How do you know who I'm interested in?!" Harry's cheeks were starting to turn red.
"I know what I saw..."
He was interrupted a third time. "You think you know so much, Gregory Ayala?!" Harry shouted. "Well, what you don't know...." His voice faltered, and he finally made a growling noise of frustration and dove into the water, swimming away.
Stunned, he watched him leave. "What I don't know - what? Could fill a book? Could be put on the head of a pin? Is this some Starfleet saying? What?!" He suddenly realized that almost everyone was looking at him, and Harry. "Shit," he muttered. He leaned on the ledge, as Harry'd been doing, and tried to figure out what was going on.
The rains came that night. Harry lay on his air mattress, in the sleeping bag, shifting one more time. Trying to get comfortable. He listened to the water hit the top of the tent and slide down to the ground. A sound that was normally soothing, a sound he'd loved all of his life, that always made him think of the redwoods near his home. Hiking through them, smelling that sweet smell. Feeling somehow invincible, though dwarfed by the huge trees.
But tonight the sound just seemed to echo the relentless pounding of his heartbeat. He'd retired soon after dinner, leaving most everyone else to their stories and jokes. The rains had hit fast and hard and nobody was prepared. So Greg had come dashing in, soaking wet, laughing, dripping, tearing off his drenched clothing. Toweling off. Naked.
Harry had tried to keep his eyes closed, but desire had won out over self-preservation. He'd gotten quite a show. And quite an erection. So here he was, once more with the need to end it, only this time mere thoughts of surgery weren't helping. His brain was stuck. Once more the pictures in his mind were torturing him, slowly and surely. This time, they were pictures of a man, a naked man, a man he truly cared for, lying next to him. Close enough to touch. His chest, his hips, his face, his jutting cock.
Harry rolled toward the side of the tent and reached over his head for a towel. He quietly unzipped the sleeping bag and released his aching erection to the cool air. The rain pelting the tent was loud enough to drown out the noise he made as he stroked himself, imagining it was Greg's hand doing it, Greg's voice in his ear, Greg's lips on his neck, Greg's strong chest under his fingertips. He came quickly. Into the towel.
Though it was a physical relief, he felt tears pricking the inside of his eyelids. Sneaking out to roll down to the pillow. He listened to the rain and tried to breathe.
The rain didn't let up, and everyone complained while they worked. Still the mining continued, more dilithium was gathered but at a much slower pace than the days before. The tools became so caked with mud groups started assigning someone to do nothing but scrape. As the senior staff member of his group Harry was the one who decided which person was going to be lucky enough to go to a shuttle and get a shovel when one of theirs broke. He chose himself. He needed some alone time to think. About the usual topic that he couldn't ignore - the man in his tent.
Walking over the hilly terrain back to the camp, he didn't notice soon enough that the slope he was heading down was unstable. The ground gave way under him and he started to slide, trying to grab on to shrubbery as he went. He caught hold of one. Then with a sucking sound it gave way, too, and the force of the release caused his head to land on a rock. Blackness came to his mind. His body kept going down the hill until it stopped, in a pool of water.
~ ^~ ^~ ^~
Greg's stomach was nearly heaving as he ran into the camp toward his tent. Lieutenant Tuvok had commed him, as Harry's 'roommate.' Rain was pouring down his face and he swiped his eyes roughly, his hood having long since come off. Please, let him be okay. This was his mantra. It had carried him across this planet's surface to camp. Let him be okay, let him be okay.
He tore the tent flap open, raced in and stopped, his heart beating wildly against his ribcage. Tuvok was standing over Harry's bed. Samantha was sitting on it, repeatedly scanning the man lying there with the medical tricorder.
"Mr. Tuvok," he said. Tuvok turned to him.
"Lieutenant. It would be best if you were to remove your slicker."
Just tell me he's okay... He slipped off his jacket. "Yes, sir. How's Harry?" He approached the bedside.
"Ensign Kim has regained consciousness. He has a concussion, and suffered some cuts and scrapes which have been healed by Ensign Wildman. It is unfortunate that Voyager is still two days away - the medical protocols in our computer do not give the exact duration of time one should regenerate a bruise of the brain matter. It is logical to assume this is due to the variables such as the extent of injury and unconsciousness, and the seriousness of further damage that could be done to the specific area of the brain that has been injured. Variables that undoubtedly the EMH's systems have been designed to assess."
Not for the first time, Greg had to take a deep breath to calm his frustration with his direct supervisor. He respected and admired Tuvok, but he just wanted a straight answer. "And so what's being done for him?"
Samantha shut the tricorder and turned around. "Mr. Tuvok, if I may?" Tuvok nodded. "Greg, there are standard protocols for a concussion and they're fairly simple. Rest is the main thing. Harry's going to feel some dizziness and possibly nausea. He says his vision is fine and that's a good sign. I've given him a long-acting pain killer that should last until the morning. The most important thing that you'll need to do, if you're willing, is to make sure that he wakes up again once he's fallen asleep. You need to scan him every two hours - just so we know he hasn't slipped into an unconscious state. Additionally, he was slightly hypothermic by the time he was found. His body temperature is almost normal now and with a few more cups of tea or broth it should be fine. Do you have any questions?"
He didn't. He told them he was willing to do whatever it took. Samantha showed him how to read the tricorder, then left to get more hot liquid - tea, by Harry's request. Tuvok left with her. Greg squatted next to the air mattress, as he still had on wet clothes. Harry looked pale and tired.
"So," Greg said, teasing gently, "you'd do anything to get out of mining, wouldn't you?"
Harry smiled weakly. "Yeah. Kinda extreme, wouldn't you say?"
"Kinda. How are you feeling? Really?"
"I'm okay. Tired. Cold. Dizzy when I move my head, and I just keep wanting to sleep."
"Well, you can sleep all you want, Har, I'll be right here." Greg placed his hand on Harry's knee. "So who got you into bed," he said, teasing again.
"Tuvok apparently. I have some in and out memories of him taking off my clothes, washing me and putting my sleepwear on. Glad I was mostly out of it," Harry said, the fatigue clearly heard in his voice.
Sam returned with the hot tea and Greg took it from her. The two of them quickly made a schedule for the rest of the day and night, so that Greg could clean the mud off himself and get some dinner. Then she left again.
Greg helped Harry drink the tea, resisting the urge to smooth the hair off his forehead. When the man tried to balk at finishing the drink, he forced him to do it. His patient, his friend, someone who was possibly more than either of those two descriptions, was going to get better if it was the last thing Gregory Ayala did in this lifetime. No matter what.
~ ^~ ^~ ^~
Greg woke with a start, knowing something was wrong. He turned up the lamp over his bed. "Shit," he said, "what the hell are you doing?" He got out of bed as quickly as he could. Harry was weaving an unsteady path toward his own bed, swearing softly to himself with chattering teeth. Greg got an arm around his waist and tried to even him out. The man was shivering. "What the hell were you doing..." he said quietly.
"H-had t-t-to p-p-ee..."
"Yeah, well, you were supposed to wake me up, not go by yourself. Shit, Harry, you're freezing now. And you could have fallen over, too," he muttered, steering him to his bed. He held onto Harry's hands while the man lowered himself onto the mattress, then helped him lie down. Harry was shivering so strongly, he could barely cover himself up.
"C-c-c-cold-d."
"No kidding," he answered in frustration. He watched Harry pull the sleeping bag tightly around his chin, clearly getting no relief. Greg got the tricorder and scanned him. His basal body temperature had dropped three degrees. He shut the instrument and sighed. "Well, there's only one thing I can think of to help you out." He pulled off his sleepwear top, ignoring the man's eyes going wide. "Come on, we've got to get that top off you and I'll get in there..."
"N-n-no... N-not enough r-r-room..."
Greg put the tricorder down. "You've got a point there...," he said. "Okay, I'll just push the beds together and we'll open the sleeping bags. Come on, I'll help you up, you can stay wrapped in yours until I've got everything rearranged..." He reached down but Harry clung more tightly to his sleeping bag.
"N-n-n-no..."
"Yes, Harry. God, you're pigheaded sometimes - don't you understand? I've got to get your body temp up, and I don't think tea is going to do it. Besides, I don't want to go all the way to the shuttle when this will work faster, and better..."
"Am n-n-not p-pig headed-d."
"Yes, you are, but that's okay, because I like pigheaded men. Come on, let's get you up. Don't make me pull rank here," he said firmly.
Harry stared at him for just another few seconds, then relented. He got the still shivering man up, wrapped him in his sleeping bag, steadied him until his dizziness passed, then quickly pushed the two air mattresses together, opened up his bag and spread it out, fluffed the pillows, turned up Harry's lamp and shut off his own. He was warm by now, anyhow. He didn't allow himself to think about the fact that he was going to be holding the man he'd been trying so hard not to desire. Skin to skin.
He helped Harry lie back down, spread his bag over him and the other half of the bed, turned down the lamp a bit, then crawled under the quilted Starfleet issue bedding unit. He helped Harry take off his top, and they arranged themselves in spoon fashion, Greg wrapping his arms around the shaking man, pulling him close to his chest. Willing his body heat to transfer. After about ten minutes, Harry's skin warmed. His shivering stopped. Then and only then did Greg let himself feel the man in his arms. His heart skipped with the realization that Harry felt very, very good. His skin was smooth. They fit nicely together. He kissed the head that was right under his mouth without thinking twice. And in response, rather than moving away in disgust, Harry sighed and snuggled closer. Greg's heart began to pound. Blood started to gather below his waist.
~ ^~ ^~ ^~
Harry wasn't sure if he was in heaven or hell, now that his shivering had stopped. He knew he was, on the one hand, fairly out of it from the concussion. On the other hand, he wasn't immune to the sensation of this man wrapped around him. Holding him. The sparse hairs on Greg's chest touching his back. The puff of breath on his neck. The scent of him.
Harry's body, though injured, was still acting the traitor. He was getting hard, but not fully erect. And he couldn't seem to stop it, just barely keep it under control. Then Greg kissed his head, so tenderly, and sweetly, that Harry sighed and automatically snuggled more deeply into the embrace. Belatedly, he reacted. His heart began to pound, and his cock's growth rapidly became an erection. He was close to panicking when he felt the jut of an equally hard member against his ass. Oh my God.
Then Greg's hands began to wander, up and down his arms, across his chest, and as wonderful as the touch was, the panic returned as he imagined what the man would do if he ran into Harry's erection. Again the panic subsided, because Greg started kissing him more earnestly, on the head, then down to his ear, and finally on his neck. Harry moaned aloud as sparks traveled directly from Greg's soft lips to his groin. Oh my God. Please - don't stop...
~ ^~ ^~ ^~
Greg heard the moan and nearly lost control. Harry was enjoying this, Harry was liking this, Harry was wanting this. He was overcome by emotion, and by need. He continued to kiss the neck beneath his lips, feeling his tongue snake out of it's own accord and taste Harry's skin. It tasted very, very good. Then the voice of reality spoke in his ear. Harry was injured. Maybe the concussion was confusing him. He reluctantly stopped kissing.
"You okay," he said quietly, "about this..."
He could feel Harry smile and he raised his head and peeked at the side of his face. He was smiling. Then Harry took his hand and moved it down, gently placing it on a very obvious erection. His heart began to pound again. Butterflies tickled his stomach. His own cock throbbed.
Harry moved, rolling himself slowly onto his back, then made a small noise and closed his eyes, breathing deeply.
"You okay?" He asked more forcefully, worried.
"Just dizzy," Harry whispered. "Be okay in a sec."
He took advantage, and stroked his face, and his chest, and his shoulders, wondering if this was a good idea, but wanting it so much he could almost taste it.
Harry opened his eyes, reached up, pulled Greg's head down, and kissed him fully. Heat surged into every part of Greg's body as he succumbed, and they deepened the kisses, and he was hugged tightly, and he lost himself in it all.
~ ^~ ^~ ^~
Harry, through the haze of his senses, came to a decision. This was very definitely heaven. Greg's mouth covering his, their tongues reaching for each other, tasting each other, made him writhe in glorious agony. Push himself against Greg's hardness. Run his hands up and down the man's back, and arms, and sides, and through that thick, wavy hair. Heaven.
He was still a little dizzy, but no longer knew if it was from his head injury. He only knew he wanted more, needed more. He took his hands down further, to the waistband of Greg's sleepwear and slipped them inside, along his hips and around to that amazing ass of his. It felt so good. The man kissing him moaned as he caressed it, and Harry smiled. He pulled his hands back out and tried to get the waistband down but it wasn't until Greg rolled off slightly, still deeply kissing him, that Harry could free the erection and take the pants over his hips. Harry almost started to come touching Greg and wanted to keep doing it, but he was stopped.
Greg pulled away and their eyes met. He was seeing things he'd never seen before in those deep dark irises. His heart swelled. Greg finished removing his sleepwear and kicked it out of the way while their eyes continued to stay firmly locked. Then Greg reached for Harry's, and Harry didn't hesitate. He lifted his hips and within two seconds he was as naked as the man about to roll on top of him. He had never wanted anything as much. Not anything. He stopped breathing. His body ached for the contact. He was dizzy. And alive.
Greg cupped his face, leaned over and kissed him. A slow, tender kiss, that still lit him up from the inside. A kiss that quickly escalated until they were once again devouring each other, and just when Harry could wait no longer, Greg finally rolled onto him. The kisses stopped momentarily as the rush of body sensation hit them both. They both moaned... and came apart at the seams, moving everything at once.
Harry knew it wouldn't take long but he couldn't have cared less. He had never felt anything so heady, so erotic, so overwhelming in his entire life. He was hovering near an orgasm and could suddenly taste that Greg was, too. He clutched the man tightly, kept thrusting against him, and his climax hit so fast and so hard that he would've missed Greg's if it weren't for the deep groan going down his throat. The dizziness came back with force and blackness edged further and further into his consciousness. He held on and was gone.
~ ^~ ^~ ^~
Greg felt the strength of Harry's hold give way and moved off his neck to look at him. His rapid heartbeat began to skip with anxiety. "Oh, God, Har...," he said, stroking his face. But Harry wasn't responding. He pushed himself up, unsticking their bodies, wet with semen, and sweat, and crawled off the bed on shaky legs. Grabbing the tricorder he went back under the cover and scanned. The man was unconscious, but according to what Sam showed him, not deeply so. He got up again, brought towels back, and his water bottle, cleaned them both off, then placed a wet towel on Harry's face, wiping it gently. "Come on Harry, wake up. Please. For me."
Harry's eyes opened gradually. Greg dropped everything on the floor of the tent and quickly settled himself next to the man, gently wrapped himself around him, pulled the covers up over them and kissed him.
"What happened," Harry said with a wobbly voice.
"Shit, Har, you passed out on me." He kissed his cheek.
"...was too good..."
Greg chuckled softly. "Yeah. It was. How's your head?"
"Hurts a little, but not too bad. Can I sleep now?" Harry lazily ran his fingers through Greg's hair. "Will you stay like this?"
"Wouldn't dream of moving."
"Good. Don't want you to leave..."
Greg closed his eyes and tried to remember how soon the shuttle's computer was going to comm him for Harry's next scan. He figured it would be fairly soon but he didn't care. He wasn't going to budge until then. Not even to reset it.
"Greg?"
"Hmm?"
"I love you. But don't worry, you don't have to feel that way, too...just wanted to tell you..."
Greg's throat closed. He cleared it. "I love you, too, Harry. And don't worry, I'm not just saying that."
He felt Harry's breathing hitch and after a moment, the man cleared his throat, too. "Thank you," he whispered.
"Any time. Now go to sleep," he said softly,
stroking Harry's cheek with his thumb. Within just a few minutes, he felt
Harry's breathing slow down and deepen. He moved himself a little bit closer
and smiled. He heard the first drops of another rain hit the tent, accompanying
the soft sounds of his lover's sleep. He felt warm skin under his fingertips
and overwhelming peace in his heart. He succumbed again, and slept.
End.