I was a little nervous while I waited to speak to the Captain. Tom was late and I was doing some quick praying that he would get here before my turn came. Sure we decided to move in together but what if he had second or third thoughts? I took a deep breath, then another and another until I was calm again.

Tom dashed around the corner with his hair standing slightly on end as if he'd been running his hands through it. That's a good look for him. I smiled at him and he skidded to a halt beside me with an answering grin. "Sorry Gregor, I got held up in Sick Bay. The Doc is being fussier than usual. He had to have an inventory of our gel packs right -- this -- minute."

I chuckled at his imitation of the prissy doctor who took such good care of us. "No problem, Tom. She's running behind schedule. Tuvok is in with her now. Something about the Crystal."

He perked up. "Really? Maybe we should take some time to get back and connect with it?"

"After we move, I think that would be a very good idea." I leaned one shoulder against the wall and feasted my eyes on him. He was a ten-course meal to me and I had the sudden urge to taste him from his shell pink ears down to his cute little toes.

"Uh, Gregor, if you really want everyone to know about us," his voice dropped to that sexy drawl that turns me on quicker than anything. "Just look at me like that on the Bridge. Better than a PA announcement any day."

I don't blush easily but I did then. There's something about Thomas Paris that strips away all my protective layers and exposes me to the light of day. "I know what the ancients meant by the phrase 'love-sick'. And I never want to be cured."

Now it was his turn to blush and he shook his head. "We'll have to take care of each other then because I must have been infected the same time you were."

"Gentlemen." The Captain's voice broke into the shimmering silence between us and brought us back to the corridor. "Come in and solve a little bet that I have with myself as to why you wanted to see me."

"Yes, Ma'am." We said in unison and followed her into her office after nodding to Tuvok.

"You first." She sat behind her desk and smiled.

I took a deep breath. "We want to move in together."

"Somewhere on the hydroponics deck if that's possible." Tom added.

"I love winning bets." She chuckled and called up a schematic on her computer. "There's a cabin with extra storage and a small workroom off the main room. But it's only a one bedroom."

"Perfect." Tom said eyeing the display. "It's two doors down from Jilly and right beside hydroponics."

"All right with you, Lt. Ayala?"

"Anywhere Tom is, is perfect for me." I said honestly, watching him enthuse over the slightly larger quarters.

"Well said, Lt. Ayala, its sitting empty right now. I'll key code it to both of you so you can move tonight after your shift." And with a toggle and thumbprint mark, we were the proud possessors of 'our' new home.

I looked at Tom and caught him smiling back. It was going to take quite a bit to get this grin off both our faces. "Thank you, Captain. We appreciate the support."

"Oh you have that, gentlemen. I'm a sucker for a happy ending." She rose and offered her hand first to me and then to Tom. It had all the feeling of a ritual. "And remember that I am authorized to perform wedding ceremonies, too."

Tom blushed and I had the immediate urge to hold him but Janeway had been pretty patient with us so far and I didn't want to stretch her affability. Smiling shyly, Tom answered her. "We won't forget, Captain."

"I should hope not. Now get to work so you can start moving after your shift." And she dismissed us with a wave of her hand, her mind already moving on to the next matter that needed her attention.

We exited together than had to split up while I went down to security and he moved straight down the corridor to the bridge. It was going to be a long day, I thought with a sigh. But the end of it would be sweet indeed.

*******************

We collapsed on the floor while Harry and B'Elanna slumped on the sofa. "Thanks, you guys. We couldn't have done it without you."

"You're welcome, Gregor. But who knew you had so much to move?" Harry said plaintively.

"We seem to be pack rats, Har'." Tom chuckled tiredly.

"Hah!" B'Elanna snorted and raked the pair of us with a flashing look. "One of these days, I'm going to make you both move me to bigger quarters and then you'll know what a real pack rat is."

We all laughed at her jaunty tone and I found the energy to get up and go to the replicator to dial up some drinks. My eyes widened at the number displayed by my authorization code. "Hey, my credits are astronomical. When did that happen?"

B'Elanna's voice was smug. "I told you the crystal supply had been replenished. The Captain and Chakotay got together and totaled up what everybody would have gotten if we hadn't been so strapped for crystals."

Tom joined me at the replicator. "Wow, kind of like an early Christmas present."

"Or an early wedding present." I dropped my voice so only Tom would hear me.

He blushed and called up our drinks. But just before turning away with Harry and B'Elanna's drinks, he whispered to me, "Later, big guy."

The others didn't stay much longer although I don't think we were giving off 'go away so we can attack each other' signals. But we might have been because I know I was on a slow simmer. Every brush of his hand brought me a little closer to a boil and his glance was hot enough to start a forest fire.

Watching the door close behind them, I turned to see Tom prowling the new rooms with a grin that seemed permanently fixed. He couldn't seem to stay still and he'd obviously caught his second wind. Moving up behind him, I caught all that energy in my arms and just held him.

He turned to me, his arms going tight around my neck. His eyes were bright with tears and I kissed him gently, wondering if he was regretting the move.

"No, silly, I don't regret anything. It's just ..." he bit his lip.

And as if I could hear the words in my head, I knew what he hadn't said. "You never thought this would happen. You never thought you'd fall in love. Or be loved."

"Uh-uh, I'm not used to dreams coming true, Gregor." He laid his head on my shoulder.

I rested mine against him, inhaling his scent like an addictive perfume. "But this isn't a dream, Tom, it's as real as it gets, not a holodrama but real life. Come to bed and let me prove it to you."

"Yes, please. Make it real, Gregor." He pulled back a little so those beautiful blue eyes could look into mine. "Love me until I can't feel anything but you."

"Your wish is my command." And taking him by surprise, I scooped him up in my arms and carried him into our new bathroom, enjoying the sound of his laughter.

This bathroom had an old fashioned tub in it as well as the shower unit. B'El had given us a housewarming gift of a bottle of bath crystals for the tub that she swore wouldn't stain us odd colors or make us itch. In fact she'd winked when she handed it over so I watched Tom scatter a handful of the white crystals that quickly dissolved in the hot water and wondered what would happen.

"Well, it looks all right." Tom was swiftly removing his clothes but watching the tub fill at the same time.

"It smells like those white flowers that you put in that program." I wasn't far behind in clothes removal.

"Jasmine, Geron asked for it and it's always been one of my favorite flowers. Mom ..." he hesitated then continued on bravely, "Mom had a bottle of perfume that was called Jasmine d'Oro. I always think of her when I smell it."

I reached out and pulled him into my arms, holding him close and reveling in the feel of his skin against mine. "Would she have approved of us, do you think?"

He hugged me back hard. "I don't know. But I think she would. She loved beauty in all its forms."

"Ah, but you're the beautiful one, Tom." I kissed him and almost let the tub overflow while he kissed me back.

He pulled away and turned off the taps with a laugh. "We don't want to flood this level on our first night."

Stepping in to the hot water, I felt a little swirl around my right leg. Just a water current I told myself and steadied Tom when he stepped in. As we settled into the faintly steaming water, the scent grew stronger while the liquid seemed to thicken around us. Tom leaned back into my arms, his head on my shoulder and I ran the soap over his chest, paying particular attention to his rapidly hardening nipples.

"You're beautiful here." I let the soap float away while I rubbed them gently and then pinched one and then the other.
His strangled moan fed something deep inside of me. I wanted to hear that sound again. So I let one hand drift lower to brush against the rising shaft and he shivered all the way down to his toes. I could feel myself hardening beneath his moving hips and the weird swirls were getting stronger against our skin.

"Gregor, do you feel that?" He flexed his ass muscles and I shuddered.

"The crystals seem to pick up each movement and echo it. Too much?" I was flexing my toes and watching the ripples move up our legs.

"No, it feels like you've got four hands and a very interesting ... swelling." He wiggled back and I thrust up between his legs, nudging his balls. "Oh yeah, right there." He clenched around me and I thought I'd lose it.

"Damn, did you feel that?" I thrust up just a bit and he groaned, his hands moving behind him to my hips while he held on. "Are you okay with this, Tom?"

He turned his head far enough to catch my earlobe between his teeth and bite, not hard just enough to make me feel it. "I love it almost as much as I do you. Now move already."

I reached down and gloved his cock with my hand. It didn't take much just a slow glide up before the ripples started. We were both on the edge and every movement being tripled meant that we reached meltdown too quickly. He pulsed out into my hand while squeezing his legs together to provide a tunnel for me to climax in. The water was starting to cool a little when we finally decided to get out.

"Let's save that for some evening when we're really beat and only have a little energy." Tom said yawning into my shoulder while I toweled his back. "All I want to do right now is go to bed and sleep for a week."

"Sounds good. Ask the computer to wake us up in time for breakfast tomorrow. It's a good thing we made the bed up already." I stifled my own yawn and threw the towels into the hamper. Following Tom into our new bedroom, I smiled at the pictures we'd hung on the wall. There was Harry with Tom, myself with my two sons and one of us that Harry had just taken.

Sliding in beside my sleepy lover in our first home together, I gathered him into my arms and kissed him. "Sweet dreams, Tom."

"Always good with you, Gregor. Love you." And he was asleep.

Sweet dreams indeed.

***********************
End part six