#Tom x B’Elanna

[lostinspacegay]

I’m doing a Star Trek voyager rewatch and I’m so unwell about it guys if you have any good fanfiction recommendations especially for Tom x belana please please let me know

I haven’t found a ton idk if I’m crazy and not reading a03 right but I can’t find much of them 😭😭

What if I just,,, become the fanfiction writer I wish to see in the fandom?? Could I handle the pressure and the time commitment with art school and raging adhd?? Hmmmmm

Me when I start live blogging my reactions to each episode from now on.. is this a good idea?? Hmmst idk

[lesbiancalkestis]

I would pay good money to see a recording of Robbie and Roxann performing Love Letters at whatever con that was.

[paris-torres-month]

LOVEmber Day 29: Memorial

“So what do you think?” “Oh! A television set.” “Circa 1956. I replicated the components, but I assembled it myself. This is the remote control. You select what you want to watch by pressing this button.” “A slight problem. There were no remote controls in the 1950's.” “I took a little poetic license.” “CARTOON!”

[subrosa03]

Voyager textposts!! 🚀

I watched Blood Fever for the first time the other day and I am. scarred.

However my red flag is that I actually kinda like B’elanna x Tom, even though I feel I should know better. I don’t like them in Blood Fever though. That was messed up bro.

[bourbonesneat]

Voyager should’ve had a baseball episode. Imagine if you will:

• Janeway and Chakotay picking teams. Chakotay picks Tuvok because he once saw him exit a baseball holoprogram and has been keeping this information to himself for the appropriate moment. Beating the Captain in a traditional American game just to annoy her is the appropriate moment

• Janeway picks B’Elanna immediately after that betrayal because she knows B’Elanna will be picturing Chakotay’s face on the ball

• Harry is a great shortstop and is a good contact hitter. He bats leadoff for Janeway

• Ayala is a utility player. Chakotay takes him as quickly as he can

• Tom brags about how good he is. He gets picked last and ends up on Janeway’s team. Chakotay promised her extra coffee for a month from his rations to avoid picking Tom

• Naomi Wildman is the bat girl. The helmet is too big for her and she can barely see but everyone notices her smile

• Tuvok is really good at baseball. It’s only logical to play a sport that humans love, and it turns out that it’s also logical to optimize your technique and master a 112 mph fastball. Vulcans have stronger ligament and muscle structure so his body can handle the strain. He throws a screwball, knucklecurve and a changeup. Harry is the only one to make contact until the fifth inning

• Janeway walks every plate appearance. Chakotay claims it’s because Neelix is too scared to call strikes, but it’s really because Tuvok can’t bring himself to strike out his friend

• Neelix is the home plate ump. He does not know what balls and strikes are but won’t let anyone explain

• Seven knows everything there is to know about baseball but refuses to play. The Borg assimilated a baseball player once but they were so annoying that Seven will never acknowledge that she knows anything about the sport. She keeps score. Later, every player will be anonymously sent a scouting report

• Chakotay is a power hitter and plays third base. He secretly loves baseball even if he’s doing this to mess with Janeway. He hits two home runs off Tom

• Tom strikes out every at-bat. He doesn’t even make contact. He misses worse and worse every time. He’s been drinking the postgame beers in the dugout. After Harry steals home, he showers him in beer

• The Doctor caught Neelix making a big batch of cracker jacks when three ensigns end up in sickbay. He makes him stop and then when he finds out about the baseball game, he makes himself an umpire

• The Doctor sings during the seventh-inning stretch. He goes on for an hour. Everyone (minus Tuvok) has opened up the beers

• B’Elanna hits the game-winning single past Chakotay. She never lets him forget it about even after they return to earth. She thinks he threw the game to make Janeway happy

• Years later Chakotay tells her he actually pulled a muscle in the third inning and that’s why he missed the ball. She asks the EMH to confirm. He does. She still doesn’t believe it

[tribblesoup]

[vorta-vortex]

Tom: We're talking about the greater good!

B’elanna: “Greater good”? I am your wife! I’m the greatest ‘good’ you are ever gonna get!

[european-love-hotel]

tom paris @ b’elanna

this perfectly came up on my pinterest feed like a prophecy…

[rosiesh0w]

I did something again

[raffaelamusiker]

Beyond Perfection

For the @startrekwintergiftexchange! This piece is for @gmo-fruit ����

Prompt(s): Soft Tom/B’Elanna/Harry and also a good helping of found family.

Note: Hello! I hope you enjoy this. I was very excited to receive a polycule prompt because I love them a lot! There’s also a sprinkling of B7 in here too because I couldn’t resist.

Click keep reading for the fic or follow this AO3 link!


Tom and Harry were up to something, B’Elanna knew that for sure. What it was, she was none the wiser but all the signs pointed to something. Neither of them were good liars; B’Elanna had figured that out years ago, and they both had their telltale signs when they were doing something they shouldn’t have been. Tom scratched the back of his neck and ran a hand through his hair when he was lying and Harry, her sweet Starfleet always got so nervous with his shuffling feet and avoidant eye contact.

B’Elanna had told herself that as long as whatever they were doing didn’t embarrass her or make her undertake extra repairs in Engineering, she didn’t care, but this time she was curious. Any spare time the two of them got together they scurried away scheming and B’Elanna could only guess what they were getting up too. She didn’t mind that they spent time alone together, especially when she’d had a long day at work and just wanted to sleep, but sometimes B’Elanna wished for their company when they were all off shift.

However, she was sure whatever they were doing would have a conclusion soon. Tom and Harry’s escapades always had a quick turn around, jumping from one interest to the next. B’Elanna wondered how they did it sometimes, how they found the energy to keep going with each new thing. Engineering was her love, her special interest, the thing that consumed most of her waking hours and she loved that about it. Being stuck in the Delta Quadrant and having to work tirelessly every day to keep Voyager running was a lot, but she wouldn’t have asked for anything else. This was her home.

So caught up in the daily runnings of the ship and the near constant threats they’d encountered lately, B’Elanna’s sense of time was non-existent. Time worked differently here. It simultaneously felt as if they’d been on Voyager forever and barely at all. Sometimes B’Elanna couldn’t believe it’d been nearly six years of her life, but despite everything that had happened to them thus far, she wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else.

Later on she’d account for her lack of time as to why she hadn’t figured out what Harry and Tom were up to. If she’d realised the significance of the upcoming date then perhaps it would have been easier to guess. Still, her ignorance was blissful enough that she could deal with the mystery for now and after another fourteen hour shift, right now she didn’t care what they were doing.

That was until the doors to her quarters opened with its familiar hiss and she found both of them inside, preparing for her return. The first thing that hit her was the familiar, homely smell of arroz con pollo coming from the dining table. It was a dish her abuela had made often and B’Elanna remembered it with fondness.

‘’What’s all this?’’ B’Elanna asked as the doors closed behind her and watched as Tom poured out three glasses of wine.

“Dinner.” Harry smiled brightly as he came over and swooped down to give her a kiss on the cheek.

B’Elanna’s brow furrowed slightly and she placed her hands on her hips. “What did you both do?”

Ever since she’d been dating both of them, these spontaneous shows of affection had increased but that didn’t mean she couldn’t be suspicious. A handful of times were because they were trying to make up for something. B’Elanna usually let them, because it did feel nice to be spoiled, but she was still wary.

“I’m offended that your first thought was that we did something.” Tom responded, not sounding very offended at all.

“Can you blame her?” Harry wrapped his hand around B’Elanna’s arm and gave it a little tug. ‘’I promise we didn’t do anything ‘Lanna, we just wanted to help you relax.’’

It was hard to even pretend to be mad at Harry for long, what with the sweet puppy face he always seemed to pull at her. Sighing dramatically, B’Elanna let him tug her to the table so she could sit down. Her stomach gurgled in appreciation at the food and she was ready to start eating immediately.

‘’You’re both sweet, thank you.’’ She finally grinned at the two men as they sat down with her. If someone had told her this was going to be her life six years ago, she’d have laughed in their face. Back then B’Elanna hadn’t thought she’d even survive that long, but now she wouldn’t change what she had for the world.

As they all settled down to eat, B’Elanna was oblivious to the looks Tom and Harry kept exchanging. The food was good, her appetite making up for not eating lunch and B’Elanna found herself quickly devouring her meal.

“How many credits did you use for all this?” She asked as she reached for her glass of wine to try and slow herself down.

“Not many.” Tom shrugged. “I had a few wagers to cash up on and I thought why not splurge, you know? It’s not like you’d ever decline a sit down meal like this.”

He was right of course, though B’Elanna wasn’t in the habit of telling him that. She was still getting used to the idea that someone would want to splurge anything on her, but with time and patience, both Tom and Harry had shown her that she was worth it. It made her feel special, wanted, accepted and B’Elanna couldn’t dampen the giddiness inside her even if she tried.

‘’You? Wagers? Why am I not surprised? What’d you bet on this time?’’ B’Elanna asked, amused.

‘’How many times Seven’s stated that something’s irrelevant during the last month.’’

‘’Oh I bet she loved that.’’ B’Elanna snorted.

‘’She did.’’ Harry took a sip from his glass of wine. ‘’She even bet against herself and somehow still lost.’’

‘’So tonights been paid out of Seven’s replicator rations?’’ When the two men nodded, B’Elanna grinned widely and had another mouthful of her dinner. ‘’This suddenly tastes ten times better.’’

. . .

Once dinner had finished they all cleared the table together and put the empty dishes and glasses into the recycler. B’Elanna felt content and sated by the lovely meal and the infectious happy energy that Tom and Harry both exhibited, and would have been more than ready to curl up in bed and fall asleep, but it seemed the two men had other ideas. Tom wheeled the old television set to the foot of the bed, telling her they would watch any of the twenty-first century tv shows she liked.

Now B’Elanna had a few shows she’d found on the database that had become guilty pleasures. Some she wouldn’t dare watch with anyone else, with fear of being judged, but others she didn’t mind the company. Some shows were simply meant to be watched as a group and B’Elanna had convinced them that Gossip Girl was one of them. It was trashy and ludicrous in some respects but B’Elanna loved the drama of it.

Settling down on the bed, B’Elanna in the middle with Tom and Harry either side of her, they’d made sure they had all the snacks they needed before starting. Earth’s twenty-first century television had truly been something else, and she marvelled over the fact that these artefacts had survived four-hundred years. She was glad they had though. B’Elanna couldn’t think of a better way to spend her evening.

They watched and talked, B’Elanna sat up with her back against the headboard and Harry laid on her lap facing the screen. She had one hand absent-mindedly stroking through his hair whilst the other was digging into the bowl of popcorn between her and Tom. As soon as she caught the first glimpse of one of the episode’s characters, she hummed in appreciation.

‘’Laurel’s so hot.’’

Tom groaned and nudged her. ‘’Of course you’d say that. You have a thing for minor characters.’’

‘’No,’’ B’Elanna retorted. ‘’I just have good taste.’’

‘’Yeah, it was exactly the same with that blonde in Law and Order.’’ Harry turned his head to smirk up at her, which awarded him a flick against the nose.

‘’Which one?’’ Tom asked as he tried to remember. B’Elanna’s list of tv crushes was extensive even though she still tried to deny she was a romantic.

‘’The one who was in like, three episodes.’’

‘’Ah! Patrice!’’

The boys sniggered together and B’Elanna let out a small growl, tugging the bowl of popcorn into her arms and holding it close to her body. ‘’One more word and you’re both banned from the popcorn and from my bed.’’

‘’But ‘Lanna,’’ Tom whined, shuffling down slightly where he sat so he could nestle his head onto her shoulder and nuzzle her neck. He knew exactly where she was ticklish and he’d use it to his advantage if needed. ‘’Admit it, you’d be lost without us.’’

That statement was truer than she was sure Tom understood. B’Elanna had always thought of herself as a lone wolf and not one by choice - at least not in the beginning. She had always wanted to be a part of something but no one had ever given her the chance to be. Now she was and she had two people who cared about her and loved her more than she knew what to do with. B’Elanna couldn’t imagine what her life would have been like if they hadn’t been stuck in the Delta Quadrant. Empty, she’s sure. Empty and lifeless and without these moments of peace.

. . .

Tom and Harry were up to something and they didn’t understand why B’Elanna hadn’t figured it out yet. They’d been tight-lipped and secretive, sure, but it didn’t take a genius to realise what was going on and B’Elanna was definitely a genius. Perhaps that was the problem. Still, they were amazed that their plans had gone undetected so far and with the finish line in sight, they hoped they could pull this off before B’Elanna got a whiff of what was happening.

To make sure everything was plain sailing, they’d enlisted the help of half the crew. What they were doing was important and they wanted it to be perfect. B’Elanna deserved perfection. She deserved a whole lot more than that, but neither Tom or Harry had figured out what came next, so it was perfection they’d settle for. They’d asked Naomi first, to help them with more artistic elements of the plan and she’d excitedly agreed. Next was each and every crew member who owed them replicator rations. Once or twice they even traded that for holodeck time. What they were setting up was going to be expensive, but it was worth it.

Tom hadn’t been lying when he’d told B’Elanna they’d wagered against Seven and she’d joined in. What he hadn’t said was how Seven had suspected they were up to something and demanded to know what it was. Tom hadn’t seen the harm in telling her but had been more than surprised when she’d offered her assistance.

It was known to everyone aboard Voyager how much B’Elanna and Seven didn’t get along, and although things had mellowed out over the past two years they weren’t two people who spent a lot of non-work time together. So it was a shock to both him and Harry when she suggested she’d help with their plan. That shock quickly turned into awe however as Seven began to give ideas on how to maximise the efficiency of their planning. Suddenly beyond perfection seemed reachable.

At this point the only thing that could go wrong was a red alert and Tom had specifically asked the Captain to try and avoid any more of those as the day grew closer. When the night before arrived and B’Elanna still hadn’t figured out what was going on, Tom had realised she must have forgotten what day it was. All the better for them, he thought, but it did make his heart ache. B’Elanna deserved the best day and he’d make it as memorable as he could.

If anything was perfect it was the three of them settled in bed together. B’Elanna in the middle as he and Harry cuddled close to her. Tom loved to hear her little giggles at whatever ridiculous thing was happening on the television and Harry could never get enough of the way her fingers felt through his hair. B’Elanna may think she was the lucky one in their dynamic but neither man had realised being a part of her orbit would be so fulfilling. B’Elanna was their gravitational pull from drifting off into the expanse of space.

The three of them slept through the night, B’Elanna curled up in the tightest ball with Tom and Harry tucked around her like the sides of a nest. They kept her warm and protected in the safe haven of their arms and all of them would agree it was their favourite way to sleep.

At six-hundred hours on the dot, B’Elanna’s combadge chirped. There was no response from anyone and exactly one minute later, it chirped again.

“Seven of Nine to Lieutenant Torres.”

B’Elanna shifted then only to hide her face in her pillow. If she ignored her then hopefully…

“Lieutenant Torres, I require your assistance in Astrometrics.”

She tried to pull the bed covers over her head, willing Seven to stop talking. There was silence for the next three minutes and B’Elanna hoped Seven had gotten the message to leave her alone.

Chirp. “Lieutenant Torres, one of the consoles appears to be smoking.”

B’Elanna didn’t know whether to scream or cry. She shoved her hand out of the bed covers and held open her palm for the combadge. Once she had it, B’Elanna pressed it with a growl. “What do you mean it’s smoking? What did you do?”

“Good morning to you too Lieutenant. I attempted to make some upgrades to the Astrometric systems and I appear to have…what is the expression? Hit a snag.”

“Upgrades?! I never approved any upgrades. What time is it?”

“It is currently 0605.”

“Why the fuck are you upgrading systems at six in the morning?” B’Elanna decided she wanted to both scream and cry.

“That is irrelevant. I require your knowledge on the matter. Unless, you would prefer for me to ask one of the less experienced engineers.”

B’Elanna ripped the covers off herself, Tom and Harry and climbed over Tom to get out of bed. She stormed across the room to the bathroom, grabbing her uniform along the way and missing the way the boys grinned at each other. Seven was playing into her part well.

“Don’t you dare, Seven. Give me five damn minutes.” B’Elanna scowled as she disappeared into the bathroom.

“As you wish, Lieutenant.”

B’Elanna decidedly took more than five minutes to get ready, wanting to make Seven wait even if it meant she would definitely comment on her time keeping. She wasn’t supposed to start work for at least another hour and normally she would have left it, but if Seven was asking for her help then it had to be a little more serious than usual.

That didn’t mean she had to be happy about it though. Storming back from the bathroom, B’Elanna took one last look at the space between Tom and Harry on the bed, and lamented the fact that fifteen minutes ago she’d been so warm and cosy there.

“Have fun ‘Lanna. Try not to kill her.” Tom called.

“I’m not making any promises.” B’Elanna glared as she moved to leave her room, ready to get this over and done with and perhaps find some satisfaction of complaining about Seven’s behaviour to the Captain later on.

Once B’Elanna had gone, Harry reached for his own combadge and tapped it to speak to Seven.

“Harry Kim to Seven. She’s on her way.”

“Good. With my attempted modifications, it should take Lieutenant Torres one hour and twenty-four minutes to fix the issue. I suggest you complete your task hastily as I also suspect Lieutenant Torres could finish the repairs in as little as one hour and thirteen minutes.”

“Right, got you Seven.” Harry sat up and paused. “Did you really just blow up one of your consoles?”

There was another pause, this time from Seven. “Irrelevant. Seven of Nine out.”

. . .

They decided to take Seven’s word for it and not waste time. They had a lot to do even with the help they were getting. Tom called everyone to their stations as he and Harry made their way down to Engineering. There were back up plans in case Seven couldn’t keep B’Elanna’s attention as long as they wanted, but they suspected she wouldn’t have a problem with that.

Naomi, Sam and Neelix were already down in Engineering when Tom and Harry arrived. The room was a flurry of action, Naomi conducting everyone effortlessly. In time everyone had grown to respect B’Elanna for who she was as a person and as a Chief. It was easy to want to do something nice for her like this.

Streamers and flags were put up against the railings around the warp core and on the upper deck. There were party hats strewn over every surface and a large banner had been placed across the open space, greeting anyone who entered. Naomi had painted the banner herself, with large letters across in B’Elanna’s favourite colours. It was adorned with stars and a great painting of Voyager. A table had been erected where anyone who had gotten gifts could place them and Tom had busted out his B’Elanna music playlist.

Time was ticking down rapidly and they were contemplating on a ton of confetti to go with the balloons that bounced around the place when Tom’s combadge chirped.

“Seven of Nine to Lieutenant Paris. Lieutenant Torres has completed the repairs and is on her way down to Engineering.”

“Thanks Seven. You’d better be on your way down here too.”

Tom heard an audible sigh and could be convinced she’d rolled her eyes at him. “Very well, I will be there momentarily.”

He and Harry began to usher everyone into their places, ready to greet B’Elanna as she entered Engineering. There was quiet around the room, only broken by the sound of the warp core and the odd shuffle or laugh.

And then suddenly the doors of Engineering opened and the room burst into a mixed chorus of “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” and “SURPRISE!”

B’Elanna stood there stunned for a moment as she took in the sight she was seeing. There was her crew, her friends, her two incredibly-pleased-with-themselves boyfriends, all grinning and smiling at her. Naomi came running up to her first, colliding with her as she hugged her tightly.

“Happy Birthday B’Elanna!”

Swallowing the emotional lump in her throat, B’Elanna hugged her back. “Thanks kiddo. Did you make that banner?”

Naomi looked up at her and grinned. “Yes! All by myself. Do you want to see?” Before B’Elanna could answer, Naomi was already dragging her closer to the centre of the room.

Truly she was in awe over everything and how everyone had taken their time to do this for her. B’Elanna had in fact forgotten it was her birthday up until thirty-two minutes ago, but she’d never imagined coming back to this. If she were by herself, she knew she would have cried by now.

Naomi took it upon herself to show B’Elanna every little thing they’d done. Music was playing in the background and everyone was helping themselves to the early morning refreshments Neelix had brought down. Finally managing to get a moment alone, she wandered off to where Tom and Harry were watching her.

“So this was your big secret huh?” She asked, arms across her chest as she tried to act serious. It was hard though, what with the way her chest was filled with giddy elation.

“What can we say, we’re masters of surprise.” Tom took a step forward and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Happy Birthday ‘Lanna.”

B’Elanna couldn’t help but melt into his touch, unfolding her arms and wrapping them around his neck. Standing up on tiptoes, she pulled him down and pressed a long kiss to his lips not caring for once that they were surrounded by everyone else.

“Thank you, you didn’t have to do any of this.”

“Sure we did.” Harry took a step forward and B’Elanna released Tom so she could go to him next. “You deserve it.”

She wasn’t so sure she could answer that so she hugged him instead until Harry pulled back so he could kiss her. How had she ever gotten this lucky? Maybe today wasn’t the day to analyse that. Today was a day of simply enjoying herself and spending time with those she’d started to call family a long time ago.

“Lieutenant.” A familiar voice sounded behind her and B’Elanna turned around to see Seven, holding out a present wrapped in silver paper, tied perfectly with a blue ribbon.

B’Elanna didn’t have the heart to tell her she’d spotted it earlier in Astrometrics in its very terrible hiding place.

“Happy Birthday.” Seven held the gift out to her and B’Elanna took it, trying to put on a scowl at the thought that she’d really blown up a console to keep her occupied.

“You’re still not forgiven for this morning, you know. Especially now I know you were a part of this.”

“Very well, B’Elanna. I can wait.” The corners of Seven’s mouth twitched into a smile.

B’Elanna missed the way Tom and Harry smirked behind her as she held Seven’s present close to her chest. She would enjoy today, because today B’Elanna Torres felt loved.

[curator-on-ao3]

First, of all--Happy Holidays!!

Second, are you taking any kind of prompt at all? Because the last several months, I've wanted something at the end of "Drive"--Tom and B'Elanna asking the captain to marry them and them getting married.

Just an idea if you're interested.

Again, I hope you have a wonderful holiday!

Happy holidays! I hope your holidays have been great so far, too, @marymoss1971. 💕

I normally wouldn’t write such a specific prompt, but this one rattled in my brain until I asked a P/Ter friend how many gazillions of fics have described this scenario. She said very few, which surprised me — and made me instantly more tempted to write it. When I finished the first draft and realized the fic also fit @voyagerwritinggame’s December prompt of a mysterious gift, then the two-for-one seemed sweetly appropriate for a wedding story.

So, thank you, thank you, @marymoss1971! I hope you like Tom and B’Elanna’s wedding and the very special gift they receive. 🤞

[trekkielibrarian]

While I don't think they almost broke up after Voyager, this is exactly why I appreciate the P/T relationship.

The whole point of their relationship is that they had issues with themselves and each other, like a real life relationship, and decided to work together.

-EXACTLY!

I know what a lot of people think about post canon voyager but tom paris is such a wife guy, he would never ever consider divorcing b'elanna. Ever. It would be super out of character.

Do I think there was a moment they almost broke up after voyager? Yeah! But I don't think either of them would let divorce cross their minds after that. They went through seven years of hell together! The whole point of their relationship is that they had issues with themselves and each other, like a real life relationship, and decided to work together.

I'm team Paris-Torres for life!

[paris-torres-month]

LOVEmber Day 28: Drive

“The holodeck will always be here. This race won't.” “I do not deserve you.” “You're right about that.”

Bonus anniversary repost of a great fic detailing 27 P/T kisses by the incomparable SeemaG:

[clementine-kesh]

b’elanna and chakotay get drunk one night just the two of them and she ends up showing him tom’s captain proton x buster kincaid slashfic (which she found while doing a deep clean of the ship’s computer after the doctor downloaded a virus via clicking on a “meet hot singles in your area” ad) and it’s of course the funniest shit ever to them and they spend the rest of the evening laughing at tom’s cheesy prose and blatant self-insertionism. chakotay later tells seven about this during one of their tom hate seshes and she immediately hacks into tom’s files to read it herself, which leads to her constantly quoting the more lurid bits of description from it in front of tom as a fun way of tormenting him. she’s like “ensign kim did you know your buster kincaid outfit accentuates the muscular curve of your posterior extremely well?”. harry just laughs it off as seven being seven but tom gets all weird and territorial about it because despite jerking it to said fanfic every morning noon and night the references fly right over his head and he instead thinks seven’s trying to hit on harry

[wicca-wicca-whack]

Human Behaviors

Tom Paris x Reader

2366 words

It wasn’t that you didn’t like Tom, per se. It was more that, from the time you had come aboard Voyager, the two of you just could not manage to get along. And, as the Powers That Be know, you’ve tried. You can’t quite hack it, though. From the moment you’d come on the ship, requesting asylum, he’d been nothing but borderline unkind to you, though he generally passed it off as a joke whenever anyone called him out.

He was borderline ornery most of the time, rolling his eyes when you spoke. You’d been on the bridge a few times to help with navigation, being essentially the only person on the ship who had any experience this side of the Nekrit Expanse, not to mention the wall of Borg they’d had to cross, and many of the things you said earned a sassy comment, which only proved to make you irate.

And, of course, almost everyone else was ever so kind, if not at least neutral. You and Harry were friendly, you would say, he would often check in on you when you crossed paths in the mess, offering you a seat at his table on occasion, an invite you never took, due to the snotty comments from the ever-irritating blonde.

Harry had told you, once, that you and Tom must have some kind of misunderstanding, but you weren’t sure what that would be. You could swear when you caught him staring, he was calculating how next to push your buttons. When he’d heard you’d decided to take up a role as Counselor, because you could tell this ship desperately needed one, you’d seen the way he’d frowned, and heard him telling B’Elanna you couldn’t possibly be much help if you didn’t really understand what anyone here was going through. You’d waved off Harry’s concern as B’Elanna had admonished the pale man, rolling your eyes as you left the mess.

Moments like this had led you here- sitting in the holodeck with Tom, B’Elanna, and Harry, along with many others, as a sort of forced birthday celebration. Harry, and, supposedly Paris, had gone out of their way to replicate one of your old hangout spots back home- a dingy sort of bar that you were sure no one here liked quite as much as they liked Sandrine’s, guessing by the looks on their faces. But Harry and Neelix were determined to keep on happy faces, Neelix even going so far as to try and recreate some of your home planet’s food. You thanked him, even though they were woefully overseasoned, and tried to decide if you could slip away unnoticed at your own celebration, though that train of thought was quickly interrupted by Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay coming to wish you a happy birthday, so you plastered a smile on your face as you tried to pretend you weren’t miserable.

Tom had been making jokes about you “being old” all night, and the more you drank, the more you found it ground on your ears. He could never just be nice to you, even on celebratory days, and you knew he knew very well you could hear him across the room. Not that he was loud, per se, but your species was well-known for having remarkably exceptional hearing, and your hatred for his voice meant you were able to pick him out quite well in crowds.

You broke when he made his way over to you, chatting with Ayala and Nozawa, the men chuckling about something or other he had said as crewman Anderson handed Nozawa a drink- you assume they must have come together. An interesting pair, but you didn’t intend to question them about it.

Tom clapped his hand on your shoulder, and it took everything you had not to pull away from him. “And here she is! The old lady of the hour!”

To your face. You absolutely could not believe he had the audacity to say it to your face.

You made to excuse yourself, upset that he could, supposedly, be so nice to everyone else, but could not even give you peace on a day that was supposedly “your day.”

As you made your way to the holodeck’s exit, you heard him call for you before you felt his hand on your shoulder, and you turned, and in one swift motion, tossed the contents of your glass into his face.

You heard multiple gasps, and watched Tom try to wipe his face off before you handed off your empty glass to an apprehensive Neelix, stalking towards your quarters with purpose.

You couldn’t even fathom that once upon a time, you had been attracted to him. It was shameful that part of you still was.

You often tried to rationalize it to yourself. He was, technically and objectively speaking, very attractive for a hu-mon. When you first met him, you were entranced with his blue eyes- nothing special, technically, as people on your planet had infinite eye colors, but something about his had caught your attention from the jump. And his stupid, pretty blonde hair… and his stupid, punchable pretty face.

You shook your head, stepping into your quarters and moving to change quickly. It was not as if you’d thought things between you and Thomas would go well today, but you were hoping for amicable. You were not so bold as to think he was attracted to you. You assumed if he was, he would be much nicer to you. Surely, something about you repulsed him. Otherwise, why would he be so kind to so many others, but show you nothing but unkind words?

The sound of your door pinging made you jump, and you called for whoever it was to come in, bracing for a lecture. To your shock, it’s only crewman Ktari from Engineering, and she’s giving you a look of sympathy as she steps in.

She asks if you’re okay, and something in you breaks. The two of you have spoken before, on multiple occasions, and she has been nothing short of kind each time, and you blame your weakness on that. You sit her down and get her a drink as you pour your heart out, and you find her to be very patient in the way she listens to you, and she uses your replicator to give you something called ice cream, claiming it’s common for women to gorge themselves on it when they’re upset. You’re surprised you find it soothing.

You are even more surprised when she begins to bash Tom with you, saying things about him being cute but having no social awareness, or things about him coasting by on his looks. It made you laugh, and it was late by the time she left, encouraging you to forget about him if he couldn’t bear to be even cordial.

You tried. Truly, you did. You spent a lot of time studying with the Doctor, still finding other time to go on dates. Or should you say one date. One date that very quickly went wrong.

You were in the mess, having dinner with crewman Fitzpatrick, a cute, former Maquis officer, and he’d been chatting away with you and complimenting you all night. He liked to joke, and you were having a lot of fun, spinning jokes and eating Neelix’s overseasoned food. You could just barely hear Tom complaining about something, but you did your best to tune him out. You deserved to have a nice night, and crewman Ktari spent hours encouraging you to have fun despite the sour night a week prior.

You must’ve tuned Paris out a little too well, because suddenly he was pulling a chair up and loudly asking if the pair of you were having a nice night.

You couldn’t help but frown, openly rolling your eyes at him. “We WERE having a nice night.”

His laugh made you cringe, and he looked at you like you’d said something funny. “You look nice.” 

Somehow that felt insincere.

“Not for your benefit. Can I help you?”

“I’m just chatting with a couple of my favorite people, what’s the harm?” “Favorite people?” You scoff, shaking your head at him. “That’s rich.”

“What, you don’t think I mean it?” He leans towards you, raising his brows.

“Absolutely not, how can I believe that?”

“I believe it. Favorite person on the ship.”

You scoff again, leaning towards him a bit. “Stop lying, Paris. It makes you uglier.”

He laughs, loud, rolling his eyes. “You don’t honestly think that.”

“Really, Paris, I would-” you look across the table, but Fitzpatrick is gone. In fact, you don’t see him anywhere in the mess, and you curse under your breath, frustrated. “You scared off my date.”

“Like it was hard. Fitzpatrick is so flighty at the best of times.”

“Don’t be a dick, Paris.” You move to stand, frustrated at the loss of your distraction.

“Oh, who taught you that phrase?” You can feel him move to follow you.

“Leave me alone.”

“Oh, come on, I did you a favor!” Another scoff from you. “Everyone knows Fitzpatrick is boring. Compliments are only fun for an hour, and that’s his only trick!”

“Oh, as if spending my dinner with you is so much better? Insults?”

“Insults?!” He sounds shocked as he follows you through the halls, and you try really hard to block out the people turning and whispering about the pair of you.

“Yes, insults, Paris.” You stop at your door, turning to him and frowning. “Goodnight.” “Hold on, shortstop.” One of his many nicknames to make fun of your height. He grabs your arm to stop you from going inside.

“Let go of me,” you try, skin warm from his touch.

“No, hold on and talk to me for a minute here. You think I’ve been insulting you?”

“Think? You have!” You tear your arm from his and give him a little shove back. He must have been surprised by it, because he stumbles back a little, and you escape into your quarters, sitting down on your couch with a sigh. You can hear him loitering outside your door for a moment, but he leaves, and you spend the rest of your night using the remainder of your rations for the week on drinks and ice cream.

Another week goes by, full of studying and, thanks to Tom’s interruption at dinner, no dates, as Fitzpatrick surely doesn’t want to see you again, and the men of the crew have decided Tom has some kind of claim on you, which is more than a little irritating. Ktari is as encouraging as she can be, trying to be the most supportive person, but it really does nothing to quell your irritation. 

Harry, your dearest friend, has a much different approach. “How about you and I get drinks tonight? We can boot up a fancy program, dress up nice, and drink wines that used to be expensive.”

“Harry, I dunno…”

“No, come on, it’ll be fun. You, me, holodeck two, 1900. Don’t be late,” he insists, and he takes off before you can even protest a little.

So, you resign yourself to your friend-date, dressing up nice as instructed. You enter holodeck two, promptly at 1905, and you’re a little shocked by how nice the program looks. You’re almost worried you’re going to have to break it to Harry that your friendship is strictly platonic, but then Tom is at your elbow, taking it and leading you towards a table.

“I thought Harry wouldn’t get you to come,” he almost looks a little nervous.

“I thought Harry was going to be here,” you argue as he sits you down.

“Uh, no. This is a date. I’d have asked you myself, but you’ve been avoiding me like a plague.” He sits across from you as a waiter comes by with two glasses and a chilled bottle of wine. “Drink?” “A date?” You’re skeptical, looking around for someone waiting in the wings to embarrass you.

“Yes, a date.” He pours you each a drink, sliding you a glass and taking a sip of his own. “I can’t want to take you on a date?”

“Based off my experiences, no.”

“You’ve got it all wrong,” he argues, sighing. “I’m not trying to be an ass.”

“Well you’re doing a shit job of being nice.”

“I’m just making jokes! It’s humor!”

“Being mean to me is humorous?”

“Yes! Well, no,” he corrects as you move to stand, and he moves to stand with you and grab your arm. “Wait, come on, just give me a second here.”

“You admitted you find making fun of me humorous!”

“It’s not like whatever you’re thinking, I’m not trying to make fun of you or be mean!”

“Mouse? Shrimp? Butterfingers? Dummy?”

“Those aren’t meant to be mean, its- okay, hold on,” he tries again as you try to pull away. “It’s part of human culture to give people nicknames that might come off mean, but I don’t mean them that way.” He tugs you closer, shaking his head. “I like you hanging around, you know. I like… you. God, that sounds lame.” 

You can’t help but just stare at him, taken off guard. “What?”

He tugs you closer, leaning down to kiss you softly as the band begins playing. Despite his grip on your arm, you definitely feel like you can pull away, but you don’t. Instead, you pull closer, and you can feel him relax as you return the kiss.

When you do pull away, he’s grinning, and he releases your arm. “Care to finish out the date with me? Big bottle of wine for a man to drink all alone.”

You chuckle at him, but sit back down. The pair of you talk for hours, or at least it feels that way, and he walks you home afterwards, kissing your cheek at the door.

It may take a little work, and a lot more getting used to the nuances of hu-mon behavior, but you think, just maybe, as he heads off to his own quarters and you head inside yours, just maybe, the two of you can make this thing work okay.

[rosiesh0w]

I said it before and I will say it now. the night we met by lord Huron is faces coded