Greetings, everyone! So, it seems that I've decided that, almost 20 years after Day Of Honor and Revulsion aired, I needed to put in my two cents (that's right—I'm that old and still into the fandom). I actually started writing this about a year ago and got just a few pages into it, and most of that was notes. A year later, I picked it back up and we're around 40 pages now. I'm still finishing it up, but it shouldn't be much longer than that. I didn't expect it to be a monster of a story, but it happens sometimes, and I hope it's all worth reading. I had to find places to make breaks, again, because I didn't set out for it to be multiple chapters, so if it seems like it just stops at times, that's why. I also write in the present tense, as you'll find out. Don't know why. It just works for me. Please enjoy the story!

Our bodies are pressed together. Tom is kissing my neck. He likes to do that. My memories of going through the pon farr are fuzzy, but I do remember him kissing my neck an awful lot.

A shiver runs through my entire body, and a smile breaks out across my face.

He's really good at it.

I can feel him smile against my skin as his lips work their way back up to my mouth, kissing me tenderly. I moan in the back of my throat, my fingers digging into his back to keep him close to me. I must be hurting him. I have to be hurting him. He hasn't said anything, though. He hasn't so much as flinched. Maybe he's made of tougher stuff than I ever expected.

I slide a hand beneath his undershirt, dragging my nails up and down his back a few times before I push the shirt up to his shoulders—most of our clothing disappeared some time ago, the need to remove barriers, both literally and figuratively, overwhelming. He leans up a little and I swallow in anticipation, but he just grabs my hands and pulls them to his chest.

"What's the rush?" he whispers.

"Rush?" I ask with a laugh. "We've been dating for months. I'd hardly call this rushing anything."

"So we were dating, were we?" he teases. "Never knew it on my end."

"Well, Tom, we had lunch or dinner together nearly every day, usually without anyone else around. I don't know what else to call it," I answer, sarcasm dripping from my voice. I credit him with that particular trait.

He leans down and kisses me softly. "Just never thought I'd hear you admit to us actually dating. Still…doesn't mean I want to rush this moment." He lies against me gently, wrapping his arms around me. "Will you think less of me if I tell you I just want to be with you like this for a little while?"

I take in a long, slow breath and release it just as carefully, bringing myself back under control. "No, of course I won't think less of you." The man has been endlessly patient with me for months—how could I not be the same for him now?

He traces his fingers down the side of my face, tucking my hair behind my ear. My entire body vibrates, surprise rolling through me. I'm not used to a simple gesture like that making me feel more things than I have in entire relationships.

What does this man do to me? How does he do it to me?

"We only get one first time, B'Elanna," he tells me softly, his usually pale blue eyes startlingly dark as he gazes down at me.

"And you want it to be special?" I ask slowly.

His brow furrows in confusion. "Don't you want it to be?"

I shrug. "I've never thought of it that way, I guess."

"Ouch."

I laugh a little, leaning up to kiss him. "I didn't mean it the way it sounded."

He tightens his grip on me, chasing after my lips and kissing me slowly. Truthfully, the "romance" aspect of relationships has always escaped me, and I've certainly never really considered taking my time when the clothes do come off. And it's definitely not the case that sex hasn't been enjoyable thus far, because I usually have a good time. Even with the human guys I've been with—it's usually pretty obvious they've read one too many books about Klingons and their mating habits, but it's always sort of fun to go along with it. The couple of Klingon men I've been with haven't exactly taken it easy on me, either, usually laughing at me initially for thinking someone with only half of their blood could keep up with them, then being pleasantly surprised when I did.

I've only really started delving into the world of romance since Tom started chasing after me. Actually, it was when he showed that he was going to keep chasing me. "Romance" is hard to pin down, though, and asking the computer to run a search on the subject nearly caused a system overload. I tried reading a few human novels on the subject, but the sentiment and…and…schmaltz was completely overwhelming and nauseating. That was why I turned to Klingon romance novels, and those were easier to stomach. Some were even downright fascinating. I hate to admit that I was a little touched when Tom decided to read one for tips.

This guy is really dedicated to the cause.

His fingers slide beneath my undershirt and my skin tingles everywhere. My body's reaction to him is completely unprecedented.

His lips trail down my neck again, nipping at the skin as he goes. It doesn't hurt, but it definitely sends fire shooting through my veins. What did I do to deserve someone like him?

"Why do you love me?" I ask suddenly, my insecure human side rearing her ugly head.

He stops completely, slowly lifting his head. "What?"

"Why do you love me?"

"What makes you think I love you?" he asks, a playful glint in his eyes. True, he hasn't said it yet, but that doesn't mean he doesn't feel it. I know he does. Honestly, I don't need to hear it right now, not if he's not ready to say it. I'm not going to force it out of him, but…I know he does.

"I'm a terrible person, and I'm always so horrible to you—"

"You're not horrible to me. You're horrible to yourself and sometimes it just…overflows. You're a good person, B'Elanna. You're loyal and honest to a fault, and you're the smartest person I've ever met, but you just expect too much out of yourself. That doesn't mean you're terrible—you just get upset when you feel like you fall short of where you should be."

"How do you know all this about me?"

"I've spent a lot of time with you the last few years, and I've spent even more time thinking about you. You're such a puzzle to me, and endlessly fascinating."

"That's not the first time you've said that. What is it about me that's so fascinating?"

"I don't know—maybe the fact that you're the most beautiful woman I've ever met, but you have no idea that you're even pretty."

"Tom…"

"You think no one likes you, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Everyone thinks you're pretty great, but I guess some people think you're a little, well, scary."

I can't help but grin at that. "Good. It wouldn't do to have everyone thinking I'm a giant pushover and that all I need is a few kind words and sweet sentiments to turn into a puddle of goo."

"A puddle of goo, huh?" I wiggle against him just a little bit, and his entire body tenses. My mouth makes its way to his neck and I nibble just on the other side of gently on his tender flesh. I have to admit—I do like this part. I've kept Tom at a distance for while, keeping our clothes on and never giving us a chance to really be alone for any significant length of time, but we have done a fair amount of kissing. Honestly, that's never been my favorite part of the whole courting/dating thing, but that was before I kissed Tom. I don't include the any time I might have kissed him while doped up on Vulcan hormones—I have vague recollections of it, but nothing concrete. However, when I finally decided it might not be the worst thing to let this guy take me to dinner and court me relentlessly, kissing was definitely part of the package.

I know I shocked the hell out of him the first time it happened. I surprised myself a little, too. It's not as if I planned it. But we'd gone to dinner, we'd spent a few hours sailing on Lake Como on the holodeck, we'd had a couple glasses of wine, and he walked me home and…I couldn't help myself. He was so sweet and so, for lack of a better term, gentlemanly, and he had no expectations. I think he was afraid to hope for too much. I hadn't been completely receptive to his advances before that point, so I don't know that I blame him. He was very gallant that night, though, and so tentative as he tried to figure out what to do with his hands while walking me to my door. I think he was afraid that I would bolt at any moment, and I can't say that I blame him for that. And I'd like to blame the wine for my actions, but I didn't have nearly enough that night to come close to clouding my inhibitions. It was definitely all me.

He was all set to drop me off and ask for another date, but all I could do was smell him. Not his aftershave or soap, but him. Whatever it is that makes him unique. Whatever it is that made set my sights on him when I had the pon farr. Something about his scent is completely irresistible and for the first time, I didn't fight it. I stood on tiptoe, wrapped my arms around his neck, and kissed him.

He didn't resist.

I didn't kiss him for hours or anything like that, but I think I kissed him long enough to let him know that he wasn't wasting his time with me. He definitely staggered for a few steps after that, too, before he regained his footing enough to walk to the turbo lift. After that, well, we didn't kiss at every opportunity, but it definitely happened after our dates, any time he'd walk me to my quarters or we parted ways. We didn't do it publically—exchanging saliva in the mess hall didn't seem like the smartest way to keep our blossoming relationship under wraps—but we didn't exactly do it in private, either. I wasn't entirely sure if kissing him in the comfort of someone's quarters would lead to something more, but I did know that I wasn't ready for that. Taking my time with him felt important. If what we were trying to become didn't work out, I didn't want it to end on horrible terms. We have a very long time left on this ship, and we work in together in close confines all the time.

What's really amazing is that he didn't push. He didn't try to steer me into his quarters or mine, though he would occasionally put the offer out there, just to check. His hands wouldn't wander unless mine did first, he let me take the lead and followed along quite happily. The only thing he would do that I didn't initiate was hold my hand. Not surprisingly, that was the gesture that made me the most uncomfortable. I didn't usually stop him from doing it, but that sort of casual affection wasn't something I'd ever done. He wouldn't even really do it publically, but if we happened to be sitting next to each other in the mess hall, his hand would inevitably find mine under the table. He started holding my hand when walking me home at night, and I, occasionally, stopped shrugging it away when we heard someone else walking through the corridors.

It's an interesting path we've been on.

"Where are you?"

His voice startles me out of my thoughts, and even though I haven't stopped working on his neck, it's been in a very distracted sort of way.

"Thinking about us, actually." He puts his hands on my shoulders and pulls away, looking at me skeptically, and makes me break out into laughter. "No, really."

"Do I even want to know?"

I scrunch up my face, trying to make a big show of thinking it over, and he digs his fingers into my sides, right at the edge of my ribs, managing to find just about the only ticklish spot on my body. I laugh in shock and my body twists, bucking so hard that Tom actually falls off the bed. Naturally, that makes me laugh even harder. I manage to crawl over to the side of the bed to find him propped up on his elbows, glaring at me. He's struggling not to laugh at the same time, so it's hard to take him too seriously.

"Are you okay?" I ask, trying to stifle my mirth just a little.

"This is really romantic for our first time," he answers, his lips actually forming a pout.

"But it's memorable, right?" Laughter bursts out of me again and I reach for him, dragging his face to mine. "I know I'll never forget this."

He rolls his eyes but I don't give him a chance to say anything before pressing my lips to his. He cups my face a moment later, and I feel him shifting about as he moves to his knees, crawling closer to the bed. This sort of thing—laughing so hard that I actually kick someone off the bed—isn't exactly typical for me, but I don't hate it. If it were with anyone but Tom, I'd be mortified.

He shifts again, and somehow manages to climb back onto my bed, keeping our lips fused together. We both wind up in a kneeling position, and I hear myself growl way in the back of my throat at the feel of him pressing insistently into my stomach. I grab his hips and keep him close to me, nibbling at his lower lip.

Somehow, he comes up for air, gasping just a little. He presses his forehead to mine and I open my eyes. I can see him smiling at me from this angle, and he reaches up to tuck my hair behind my ear.

"You don't have to romance me, you know," I finally whisper, managing to surprise myself. I didn't plan to say that.

He pulls back, his face crinkling in confusion. "Why would you think I have to? B'Elanna, I want to romance you. I would hope that's been pretty obvious by now."

"Yeah, but…weren't you just doing that to get me to this point?"

His eyes grow wide, and he pulls back even further. "What? You think I've been chasing after you just to get you into bed?"

I feel my own eyes growing wide and I shake my head. "That didn't come out the way I meant it."

"B'Elanna, you're not some sort of conquest for me."

"I know that," I answer, rushing to reassure him. At least, I'm pretty sure I know that. "I just mean…you've done all that work to get me here, and now that we are here, there's no need to do all…this. You've got me."

"Look—I don't know what sort of people you've been with up to this point. I would imagine, though, there must have been a couple of guys who thought you were some sort of novelty." To put it mildly. "I would also suspect that these were guys who'd read a lot of stereotypical stuff about Klingon women and their mating habits and went after you that way."

I sit back on my haunches and shrug. "You might not be that far off the mark."

"Well, I don't want us to be like anything we've done in the past. I don't want to rush the moment, like I've done so many times before. I don't ever want you to feel like you have to put on some sort of show for me. I just want us to be us."

I nod slowly, scooting just a little bit closer to him. "I think I'd like that."

He presses a gentle kiss to my lips, lingering for just a few moments before he pulls away, his hands sliding down to my hips and grabbing gently. "I've been waiting to romance you for ages now. Hell, this is my favorite part."

"Is it?" I ask, my tone skeptical even to my ears.

"Oh, yeah. The kissing." His buries his face in my neck again, his mouth caressing me gently. "The touching." His hand slides under the edge of my tank top, running delicately up the pronounced ridges on my back, and my entire body shudders. "All of it. I love it."

"Oh," I say weakly, clearing my throat. "Well, I know that human women can actually need that sort of foreplay, but I don't. Klingon women are built for sex." There aren't many times I'm grateful to be part Klingon, or that I appreciate any of the traits I have, but this is one of them. It's made my sex life a hell of a lot more satisfying.

"Well, you may not need it but…do you want it?"

I pause, taking time to genuinely consider it. True, I may not need the foreplay human women do, but so far, it's been a lot fun. Tom does have a point—we only get to have this moment once. This is a bigger deal than other "relationships" I've been in, and I want to savor it. "I do."

A/N…so there's chapter 1! If the mood strikes you, please let me know what you think. I love feedback (except the douchy kind—I mean, c'mon. I'm just writing fanfic over here), so reviews and PMs are always happily received. I suck at responding to them, though. If you're looking for a response or want to chat with me, definitely just let me know. I don't pick up on hints, unfortunately.

Also, the rating will go up on this shortly, but I figured I'd get a few more people hooked if I didn't jump right into the dirty rating.