Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/189447.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Star_Trek:_Alternate_Original_Series_(Movies)
  Relationship:
      Pavel_Chekov/Montgomery_Scott, James_T._Kirk/Leonard_McCoy, Spock/Nyota
      Uhura
  Character:
      Montgomery_"Scotty"_Scott, Pavel_Chekov, James_T._Kirk, Leonard_McCoy,
      Spock, Nyota_Uhura, Hikaru_Sulu
  Additional Tags:
      Technophilia, Technobabble
  Series:
      Part 1 of Nerds_in_Love
  Stats:
      Published: 2009-06-21 Completed: 2009-08-25 Chapters: 3/3 Words: 26369
****** Longing for the Melody ******
by MaxWrite
Summary
     The way to Scotty's heart (and into his bed) is through the ship.
***** Longing for the Melody *****
Commander Spock let out a little puff of air in exasperation. "No. I repeat:
'who' is used for a grammatical subject, where a nominative pronoun such as I
or he would be appropriate. 'Whom' is used as the object of a verb or
preposition."
Doctor McCoy, who was frowning at nothing in particular, considered this
explanation for a moment and then replied, "Say what?"
"He said you should drink more," said Captain Kirk.
"Oh." McCoy reached for his tumbler of bourbon and took a swig from it. He
swallowed and said, "I'm a doctor, not an English professor."
"Doctor, if you would learn your own language properly, I wouldn't need to
correct you," said Spock.
McCoy eyed him sidelong. "This is a side of you nobody likes, you know."
A snort of appreciation at the statement came from the fourth man at the table.
Kirk, McCoy and Spock turned their heads in unison to look at Scotty, who had
his nose buried in the PADD he had brought with him to the mess hall.
"Hey," said Kirk, reaching over to jab him in the arm. "Hey! What is wrong with
everybody today? You're still working, this one over here's giving English
lessons."
"My work is important to me," said Scotty distractedly, not looking up. "'S why
you love me."
"Yeah," said Kirk. "It's also why I bust your balls so much. I dragged you here
to unwind a bit."
"You dragged me here before I was finished what I was doing, didn't ya? You
interrupt me, distract me, and then later on you expect the bleeding impossible
from me! It's abuse, is what that is."
"Can't you have one of your people take care of that? – Oh, hey, here's one of
your people now."
"What?" Scotty finally looked up, twisted around in his chair and saw Ensign
Chekov practically bounding toward them, all bright-eyed and smiley.
"What's that you got there, Scotty, numbers?" asked Kirk, trying to see what
was on the PADD's screen. "Let the kid do it. He likes numbers." He tried to
take the PADD away, but Scotty yanked it out of his grasp with a frown.
"Captain," said Chekov when he'd reached their table. "Doctor, Commander,
Commander." He nodded at each one of them in turn. They each nodded back,
except Scotty who was frowning at his PADD again.
"What can we do for you, Ensign?" asked Kirk.
"I wanted to ask Commander Scott something, actually." Chekov was practically
bouncing on the balls of his feet before the chief engineer.
"What now?" asked Scotty, looking up.
"I am sorry to bother you, sir. It is about the warp field experiment. There
are a few details that need to be looked over."
"Oh," said Scotty, again distracted. He licked his lips. "Well, I'm working on
some things for that right now, actually." He held up his PADD. "The rest of it
can wait. We can do it tomorrow with everyone else."
"Oh, okay," said Chekov, his gaze losing its hopeful light and falling from
Scotty's face. "Yes. Of course. Sorry again to bother you, sir."
"No problem." At that, Scotty turned away and went back to tapping buttons.
Chekov nodded at the others, turned and left the mess hall.
Kirk looked at Scotty in disbelief. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"
Scotty looked up again, his mouth hanging open slightly. "What? We don't need
to go over the details today. Besides, he can get anybody else on the team to
help him with that."
Kirk pointed at the door through which Chekov had just exited. "That kid wants
to ride you."
McCoy choked on his bourbon, spluttered and began coughing.
"Captain!" said Scotty in shock. "He... I... What... Seventeen!"
McCoy regained his composure and snapped, "Dammit, Jim!"
"What?" asked Kirk innocently. "I can't be the only one to have noticed it, can
I?"
"Well, if we're talking about things you make up in that diseased brain of
yours, then yes, I'd say you'd be the only one to have noticed it!" said McCoy.
"No," said Spock calmly. "He was not the only one."
"Ah, not you too?" said Scotty to the Vulcan. "Aren't you supposed to be the
sensible one?"
"I am being perfectly sensible, Mr. Scott. Ensign Chekov displayed several
physical characteristics that effectively gave him away. He focused his
attention solely on you, for one thing."
"He came to ask me something. Where was he supposed to be looking?"
"I am not finished with my assessment. I also observed his pupils dilating and
his skin flushing when you made eye contact."
"How the hell could you possibly see all of that?"
"See?" said McCoy, jerking his thumb at Spock. "And you all wonder why it
freaks me out when he stares at me."
Spock only raised an eyebrow at him. McCoy raised one of his own right back.
"Now, how do you know he wasn't reacting to someone else in the room?" asked
Scotty.
"Ensign Chekov’s focus was obvious," Spock said simply.
"Well, this is all fascinating," said Scotty, "but none of it matters because I
like women. With breasts and everything. Women who are of age."
"He's of age," said Kirk, "on some planet someplace."
"Besides, Mr. Scott," said Spock, "You might dismiss Ensign Chekov because he
is male, but your body reacts to him in much the same way that his reacts to
you. And it appears to be without your knowledge. Fascinating."
"Oh, I'm gonna need another drink for this," said McCoy, and he stood up and
walked away.
"I beg your bloody, bleeding, sodding pardon, sir?" said Scotty incredulously.
Kirk was positively beaming. "I misjudged you, Spock. You are highly
entertaining."
"Indeed," said Spock flatly. "Denial is a very unhealthy state of being, Mr.
Scott. What I witnessed is undeniable."
"Well, aren't we the daft bugger tonight?" said Scotty.
"Hardly. Your skin flushed, your pupils dilated, and if I'm not mistaken your
mouth went dry, did it not?"
"Unbelievable," said Kirk, resting an elbow on the table and his chin on his
palm, staring at Spock with new-found respect.
"What'd I miss?" asked McCoy as he returned with a freshly-replicated tumbler
of bourbon. "Did Pointy Ears explain himself?"
"He did," said Kirk with a nod, a knowing smile and a gleam in his eyes.
"And the verdict?"
"Scotty's got the hot pants for our little Russian friend."
"I most certainly do not!" Scotty protested. "You take that back!"
"It really is nothing to be ashamed of," said Spock. "Even a heterosexual male
such as... yourself," Spock cleared his throat and Scotty narrowed his eyes at
him, "should be able to appreciate beauty in an attractive male."
"Yeah, but appreciatin' ain't what he's talkin' about!" said Scotty, jerking
his thumb at Kirk.
"Hey, what I'm talking about is a type of appreciation," said Kirk.
"If the pheromones are a match, there isn't much humans can do to counteract
them," said Spock. "There are certain individuals with whom," he glanced
deliberately at McCoy as he said this, "certain other individuals just, as they
say, click."
"See?" said Kirk enthusiastically, holding up his hands as though in surrender.
"It's a losing battle, Scotty. I'm afraid you're going to have to fuck him."
Scotty glared at the captain and then leaned forward, toward Spock, who was
sitting opposite him, and said in almost a whisper, "But he's a guy."
"Indeed," said Spock in a slow, deliberate way as though speaking to someone
much less intelligent than himself. "Your point, Mr. Scott?"
"My point? He's a guy!"
"Yes, but he's a very pretty guy," said Kirk. They all looked at him. He
shrugged. "What? He is. Right place, right time, I'd probably do him."
"Good god, man," muttered McCoy.
"Oh, like you can't appreciate beauty in a man," said Kirk.
"It's not that. And the fact that you'd defile the boy isn't the issue, either;
we all know you're a horn dog."
Kirk grinned from ear to ear.
"It's his age!" McCoy went on. "He's –"
"Seventeen!" said Scotty in something like a squeak.
"There is nothing wrong with finding Ensign Chekov attractive," said Spock.
"Frankly, it's illogical and futile to feel guilty about chemical reactions, as
there is nothing you can do about them."
"Listen to him, people," said Kirk. "The man is bestowing The Wisdom upon us
now, folks."
"I wasn't finished. However, it would be wrong to act on those chemical
reactions because a) Ensign Chekov is your subordinate and b) he is very young
and possibly cannot accurately predict the consequences of his actions. You,
however, can. To be with him would be to take advantage and –"
"Okay, that's enough," said Kirk with a wave of his hand. "You've stopped being
fun again."
"Finally!" said Scotty, throwing up his hands. "Someone's talking sense! Yes,
it would be very wrong!"
"If I may ask," said McCoy, "and if it's none of my business, feel free to tell
me to shut the fuck up, but when was the last time you got laid, Scotty?"
"Oh, I don't know," Scotty grumbled, looking back down at his PADD.
"If you don't know, it's been too long," said Kirk. "The kid wants you. Do the
kid."
"No," said Spock. "Do not 'do' the kid."
Scotty looked from Kirk to Spock, and then turned his eyes toward McCoy. "What,
don't you have a couple o' cents to throw in here?"
McCoy shook his head. "It's none of my business... but if you want to know for
sure what's going through the kid's head, you might want to make yourself
available to him."
"Yes!" said Kirk. "Yes, exactly! Make yourself very, very available!"
"Not that kind of available, you pervert," McCoy growled. "My kind of available
doesn't involve bodily fluids. What I meant was, if the kid wants to go over
some experiment details with you – with you specifically, when he can get
anyone else to do it – well, then..." McCoy shrugged and then downed his drink.
"Ah," said Kirk, nodding. "Offer yourself up and see what he does. I like it."
"I'm not offering myself up!" snapped Scotty. "I'm not a slab of meat, for
Christ sakes!" He stood, pointed at the captain and said, "You're a sick
bastard... sir. And you two," he said, looking at Spock and McCoy, "I expected
more from both o' ya's." At that, Scotty spun around, stalked off.
"Where are you going?" called Kirk.
"I have to... recalibrate... something, I don't know!" Scotty called back just
before exiting the mess hall.
Kirk shook his head. "There, but for the grace of God and a damn pretty face,
go I."
 
                                     * * *
It was ridiculous. It was preposterous! Chekov was practically a child! No,
Scotty wasn't even going to entertain the idea. Even if he hadn't been able to
stop thinking about it ever since it had been brought up yesterday.
It was very difficult to ignore the way Chekov's eyes seemed to twinkle, the
way he smiled, the way he bounded toward the Scotty whenever they found
themselves in the same room together. He was like a puppy, this one; all
excited and eager and go, go, go!
And he was quick; he picked things up as easily as if he'd been doing this job
for twenty years. With the ensign's help, preparations for the warp field
experiment went by in the blink of an eye. And when they were finished, when
all the other officers had dispersed, thankful to be finished, there was
Chekov, still at work, his fingers tapping incessantly away at the buttons of a
console.
Scotty stopped what he was doing and watched him for a moment. He was terribly
pretty, Scotty couldn't deny it. His creamy cheeks always seemed to hold just
the barest hint of a blush. His pink mouth hung open slightly as he
concentrated, his bottom lip pouting a bit. He was the epitome of youth and, to
Scotty's dismay, quite nice to look at. The head full of blondish curls didn't
help matters. Scotty had noticed more than a few of the other officers eying
the kid appreciatively, and he had a sneaking suspicion that it wasn't just
because Chekov was impressively smart for his age. The younger women couldn't
help but flirt; the older women didn't know if they wanted to flirt with him or
adopt him; the men were even more confused than the older women. Scotty had no
idea who might or might not swing that way, but some of the men had as
difficult a time keeping their eyes off the young ensign as anybody else did.
Perhaps Spock had a point; chemicals were chemicals, they didn't care about
sexual preferences. Youth, innocence and just plain prettiness were universal
languages.
Scotty smiled to himself as he wondered how many of those male officers were
disconcerted by their apparent interest in Chekov. He couldn't help but snort a
little as he tried to stifle a laugh.
"Sir?"
Scotty looked up again and found Chekov watching him. He must've heard Scotty's
little snort. And Jesus, he had that look on his face, that look with the
slightly raised eyebrows, the wide eyes. It was as though the kid was saying
"teach me" without saying anything at all.
Scotty's belly tingled. He quickly lowered his gaze before anything else could
begin tingling. "Nothing. Just... something funny I remembered from earlier.
Shouldn't you be off someplace getting drunk?" Scotty paused, looked up and
frowned, "Shouldn't I be off someplace getting drunk?"
"I like it here," said Chekov, making his way over to Scotty. Scotty had the
sudden urge to step back as Chekov approached, but he made himself stay where
he was. Something about this kid now, something Scotty hadn't noticed before
that ridiculous conversation in the mess hall, felt like fire to Scotty. There
was something about Chekov that seemed hot and dangerous, something that wanted
to engulf Scotty, consume him. That couldn't always have been the case, could
it? But it couldn't have just started either.
"You like it here, do you?" asked Scotty, still not looking at Chekov.
Chekov nodded. "So do you, yes?"
Scotty smiled. "You've noticed."
Chekov nodded again. "You are passionate about this ship."
"Damn right, I am." Scotty finally looked at him again.
"She is like, uh... your baby."
Scotty stared into the eyes, the big eyes that seemed to burn holes in his
skull like blue particle beams. They were focused on him with an intensity
Scotty hadn't seen Chekov focus on anyone else before, and those infernal
eyebrows were quirked upwards, questioning him, begging him.
Was it just him or was Chekov suddenly standing closer than he had been a
moment ago?
Scotty gulped and looked away. "Yes. She is. I know it sounds daft."
"No." Chekov shook his head, making the curls that spilled down onto his
forehead shake. "No, it does not." He touched his own chest and nodded. "I
understand."
Scotty hazarded another glance at him. "You do, do you?"
Chekov nodded again and this time his face broke into a huge grin. "Yes. Come,
I show you." Chekov turned and walked away. Scotty blinked at him in confusion.
"Come, you show me?" he muttered to himself. He followed Chekov to the stairs
that led up to the catwalk. Scotty followed apprehensively. He watched Chekov
trot on up the stairs as though gravity didn't exist for him, and when he
reached the catwalk, he gazed admiringly up at the warp core, which was pulsing
out its steady, comforting, thrumming rhythm. Something in his face, the wonder
as he stared at the pulsing lights inside the giant tube, had Scotty riveted.
He moved toward Chekov like moth to flame.
Chekov looked at him and positively beamed. "Tell me," he said, "about your
ship."
"Tell you? What's that mean?"
"Tell me," Chekov urged. He took a step closer to Scotty, faced him completely
and leaned his hip against the railing that protected them from falling down
into the warp core. "Tell me about your love."
"Oh," said Scotty, looking up at the glowing core. "Well, uh... when you spend
this much time with something, you know, it's hard not to become sort of...
affectionate towards it, you know?"
"Yes," said Chekov with a nod. Scotty could feel the teenager's heat, he was
standing that close. Scotty gulped and kept on talking.
"I work on her everyday, you know, crawl around inside her, listen to her, hear
her, feel her..." He reached out and laid a hand on the giant tube, watched the
undulating light pass beneath his fingers. A smile slowly spread across his
face and he nodded. "Aye... she's having a good day."
"She is warm to touch."
"Oh, yeah, definitely. But it's not a steady warmth. It sort of... pulses, even
when we're not in warp. Like a living thing."
Chekov stepped even closer. Scotty met his eyes and found the lad’s sweet
teach-me gaze focused on him in full force. The little tongue slipped out to
lick the soft pink lips, making them gleam slightly in the bluish light of the
warp core.
"May I?" asked Chekov. "Sir?"
It was a few seconds before Scotty realized he had been asked a question. When
his brain finally started up again, he stammered, "Oh, er... yeah. Go ahead."
He took his own hand off the tube, cleared his throat and glanced around
surreptitiously to see if anyone else was around. The floor below was empty.
They were alone. He had no idea if he was okay with that or not.
Chekov laid his hand against the thrumming core and was once again staring at
it in wonder. "Yes, I feel it," he said. He looked at Scotty again. "I notice,
sometimes, the way you touch. You pet. Like this." He moved his hand as though
petting the flank of a horse.
"Oh." Scotty felt his face heat up with an embarrassed blush. He rubbed at the
back of his neck. "Noticed that, have ya?"
"Yes," Chekov replied, and good god, his soft little 'yes' sounded like a reply
to a question that was much more intimate than what Scotty had asked. "Show me.
Show me what you do."
"Ohhh, I dunno 'bout that now. It's kind of... personal."
But the kid was looking at him with those eyes again and Scotty thought his
knees were going to give out. He finally agreed just to have something to do
besides look at Chekov's face.
"Right, then. Well, it's not anything complicated, really, I just sort of..."
He reached out again and laid his hand on the core. He held it there a moment
without moving.
"What are you thinking?" asked Chekov.
Scotty closed his eyes, if only to keep himself from looking directly into the
burning gaze of the young ensign. "Oh, just that she feels good today.
Everything's in working order. And, um, sometimes I'll sort of move my hand
around, like you said." He began to do this, sliding his hand in slow circles.
"And you can feel the different temperatures in different places if you're
really payin' attention. Most don't, of course. Don't think it's important,
most of 'em. They're only slight differences, you see, but they're there if
you're lookin' for them."
"You can show me?"
Oh, sweet mother of god. Scotty opened his eyes, but didn't look at Chekov just
yet. "Well, I'm sure you can feel it on your own if you try."
"I would like to feel what you feel. The way you feel it, sir."
Scotty gulped. "Well... all right, then." He retracted his hand and was
surprised when Chekov nudged himself in between him and the railing. Scotty
stepped back so his own body wasn't touching the ensign's. Chekov looked
expectantly back over his shoulder at Scotty, and Scotty had to immediately
avert his eyes from the kid's face. Christ, those eyes...
"Show me," Chekov said, and now his voice was barely above a whisper. Scotty
couldn't fight it any longer; he was starting to get hard.
He took hold of Chekov's hand, brought it forward and laid it against the core,
his own hand laid gently over top, each of his fingers nestled neatly between
each of Chekov's so that he could feel the core's warmth as well.
Unfortunately, doing this meant that it was impossible to keep his body
completely away from Chekov's. He managed to keep his erection clear of the
ensign's ass, but his thigh nudged against one of Chekov's pert little cheeks
and his right breast pressed against the back of Chekov's shoulder. Scotty
wondered if Chekov could tell he was sweating. He wondered if Chekov could hear
his heart pounding.
"Right, so, uh, feel that? The heat's kind of pulsing a bit."
"Yes, Commander." The boy's voice was so soft, not anything like it should've
been, not anything like that of an officer who was addressing his superior.
"Uhh..." Scotty said, trying to find his voice, which was threatening to fail
him, and trying to ignore the soft, clean smell of Chekov's curls, which were
currently right in his face. "So, then I slide my hand around." He began to do
this, gently moving Chekov's hand around on the smooth, shiny surface. There
was no resistance; Chekov completely gave him control.
"I feel it," whispered Chekov, and Scotty, who could see the boy's profile if
he leaned to the side a bit, could see that his eyes were now closed. And
unless he was very much mistaken, the weight of the ensign's body against his
own had increased. Chekov was leaning back against him ever so slightly.
"The temperature differences," whispered Chekov. "I can feel them."
"Really?"
"Yes, Commander. Right... there." And sure enough Scotty felt their hands pass
onto a slightly cooler area just as Chekov said that. "And... right... there."
And it happened again, this time onto a warmer area.
"Well, I'll be damned," said Scotty. "You really can feel them."
Chekov looked around at him again, looked right up into his eyes. "I do not
lie, Commander. Never."
Scotty felt as though his entire body was quivering with every thunderous heart
beat. He licked his lips and said, "Chekov –"
"You will call me Pavel?" Chekov asked, his voice just barely above a whisper,
and on the final syllable, his eyebrows quirked upward in the center, and
Scotty couldn't stop himself from shuddering.
Scotty pulled away immediately, took his hand off of Chekov's and stepped away.
He gripped the safety railing, hunched his shoulders and hung his head.
"Jesus Christ, lad!" he said.
"Have I done something wrong?"
Scotty could just hear the little pout in Chekov's voice. "No, not
technically." He sighed, straightened up and forced himself to look at Chekov.
"I'm your superior."
Chekov nodded earnestly. "Yes."
"You know that."
"Yes."
"Well... well..." Scotty gestured helplessly. "Well?"
Chekov looked down for a moment and bit his bottom lip (which really didn't
help matters for Scotty in the erection department). It was too easy for
Scotty's mind to wander, to imagine his own rough hand reaching out and
caressing the skin of Chekov's cheek. Chekov looked so uncertain at the moment,
Scotty was very tempted to do just that, if only to make him smile again.
Finally, Chekov opened his mouth and said, "Commander Scott, if there were to
be someone in this room right now who I found to be... intriguing... would that
be... would that be wrong?" And Chekov raised his eyes to meet Scotty's again.
Just his eyes; he kept his face mostly lowered, giving him a lost puppy sort of
look. Scotty hoped it was dim enough up here that his erection wasn't
noticeable.
"If there were someone in this room you found intriguing?"
"Yes. If."
"Well, no, that in and of itself wouldn't be wrong, no."
Chekov nodded at the floor. "And if I were to step a bit closer," which he did
just then, taking two steps to almost completely close the gap between them,
"would that be wrong?"
Chekov's voice was growing softer and the room was getting smaller and the
temperature was rising and Scotty's pants felt too damn tight and Chekov's
young body was radiating heat right at him and good GOD it was like standing
next to a blazing star.
Scotty gulped. "No," he squeaked. "That wouldn't technically be wrong."
Chekov hesitated but then finally said, "There is a lot I still need to learn,
Commander."
Scotty nodded. "And you're a quick study. Everyone's really impressed with
you."
"Everyone?"
Ah. He was asking if Scotty, specifically, was impressed with him. Scotty
nodded. "Yes. Everyone."
A soft smile touched the young man's lips and his eyes lit up with hopefulness.
"Is there someone," he continued cautiously, "who might be interested in
teaching me things?"
Scotty gulped again. "Things?"
Chekov nodded and Scotty could've sworn he was breathing harder. Their knees
touched and Scotty practically jumped. Undeterred, Chekov moved closer still
until they were pressed right up against each other. There was no hiding his
erection now, Scotty thought. But he soon realized he wasn't the only one who
was sporting one.
"I am very eager to learn," whispered Chekov, and suddenly his boyish teach-me
gaze was all hot and smoldering.
Scotty shook his head. "Why me?"
"Well, sir..." Chekov lowered his eyes, suddenly sheepish, and said coyly, "I
did not say it was you."
"Oh." Scotty couldn't help but smile. "We're still playing that, are we?
Laddie, you do know that your nob is poking me in the spleen right now, don't
ya?"
Chekov grinned and it was as though a solar flare had just lit up the entire
room. Of course nothing of the kind had happened. Scotty's pupils were simply
dilating like mad. If the lighting up here had indeed been better, and not
quite so blue, Scotty was sure he would've been able to see the boy's cheeks
turning bright pink. A youthful blush; something Scotty was sure he hadn't been
responsible for causing for many years.
"What things are you needing to learn?" Scotty asked, though he had an inkling
of what the answer was and it wasn't anything pertaining to Engineering.
Chekov bit his pouty lip again. Scotty wished he wouldn't. It was all he could
do to keep from leaning in and biting that lip himself.
Chekov shook his head. "I need to know first if this concerns you? If you would
be interested."
He wanted some kind of definitive answer to a question he technically hadn't
asked yet. Well, they both knew exactly what he was talking about. It was time
to stop playing dumb.
"I'm quite a bit older than you, you know."
"Yes. And wiser. And more experienced. And kind. And gentle. And –"
Scotty held up a hand and winced as though the compliments stung. "Okay, okay,
stop that. Sheesh, you've got it bad, don't ya? I didn't do anythin' to cause
this, did I?"
Chekov shook his head. "Not on purpose, sir."
"Well, good. Because I'd hate to think that anythin' I did made this happen."
"You speak of it as though it is a disease."
Scotty snorted. "A young thing like you lusting after me? Yeah, I'd call that
the result of a brain injury at the very least."
Chekov grinned again, and his eyes were so filled with admiration, Scotty
wanted to pat his curly head and tell him to snap out of it. Under any other
circumstance, Scotty would've enjoyed such attention. But the last thing he
wanted was to be responsible for some kid's heart.
"And you are funny," Chekov said.
"Well..." Scotty shrugged bashfully. He then fixed Chekov with a serious gaze.
"You could have anyone on this ship. Everybody loves ya."
Now it was Chekov's turn to be bashful. "I am sure that isn't true, Commander.
But it is you that I am intrigued by."
Scotty sighed. What to tell the kid now. He didn't want to hurt him. Maybe they
could just hang out, maybe Chekov could be happy with just that. He reached out
and patted Chekov's arm. "Come. Let's get out of here." He stepped around
Chekov and headed for the stairs. Chekov followed him without question.
Scotty had no idea where he was going when they left Engineering, but where
they ended up was Jeffries tube GNDN6-A. Chekov must've really trusted him,
because he didn't say a word the whole way there. Neither did Scotty. When they
had crawled to the very heart of the tube and sat down side-by-side, Scotty
finally spoke again.
"Do you know which tube this is?" asked Scotty.
"Yes. GNDN6-A, sir."
"Very good. And do you know why I've brought ya here?"
Chekov shook his head. "No, sir."
"Well, that's a shame. I was hoping you could tell me." Scotty sighed and
leaned back against the tube wall.
Chekov shimmied a bit closer. He was sitting on his hip, facing Scotty, with
his knees curled up on his side. "You did not want to take me to your
quarters."
Scotty looked at him in surprise. "Well, no. I mean... no, of course not. It's
not that I don't find ya attractive. It's just that you're so... you're so..."
"Young," Chekov guessed.
"Yeah! That!" Scotty exhaled heavily, puffing out his cheeks. "I know that you
want me to... you know... with you, and I'm very, very flattered, but I'm just
not that kind of guy. I don't take ensigns back to my quarters."
Chekov nodded. "I understand. You are a good man."
"Well, I try."
"You know, Commander, it would not be bad to be with me. I am not completely
inexperienced."
"I see."
"And I want you to be with me. I like you. But I do not want to, uh, how you
say push you."
At that, Chekov looked away and glanced serenely around the interior of the
tube. Scotty watched him with mild amazement. Scotty had tons more sexual
experience than he did, and yet it was Scotty who was freaked out by all this.
Chekov couldn't have been calmer.
"I like this particular tube," said Chekov suddenly. "It has nice, uh... I do
not know the word for this..." He frowned and gestured as though literally
trying to pull an answer out of the air. "Is, uh... when sound is good."
"Acoustics!" Scotty exclaimed, looking at Chekov in surprise. Chekov smiled his
sweet, excited little smile at him and Scotty's belly did flips.
"Yes! That is it! Acoustics! Sound is good here."
"You noticed that? I didn't think anyone else knew that."
"Yes, I notice. When I have to come in here to fix things," Chekov gestured at
a closed panel on the wall opposite them, "I sing to myself. Little song my
mama used to sing to me as a child."
Scotty smiled at Chekov. "You sing to yourself?"
"Yes. I cannot sing, but I sound almost good here in this tube only. And
sometimes," he added, glancing down and blushing prettily, "I like to pretend
the ship is joining me."
Scotty stared at him with his mouth hanging open. It was as though Chekov
somehow had access to his thoughts.
"You hear it, don't you, Commander?" asked Chekov, looking up into Scotty's
eyes again. "The hum of the ship. It has rhythm to it."
Scotty nodded. "Yes, I do hear it. All the time."
Chekov grinned again and nodded. "Yes. Sometimes I hear you humming along."
Chekov closed his eyes and hummed, "HmmmmMmmmmMmmmmMmmmm..."
Scotty just stared at him. Chekov was humming along with the ship, adding a
tiny little lilt to his tone every few seconds, just like the ship did. After a
few seconds, Chekov's voice seemed to meld with the ship's hum and Scotty had
the disconcerting auditory sensation that Chekov and the ship were one and the
same.
"Fucking hell," Scotty whispered. Chekov stopped humming and looked at him
quizzically.
"Commander?"
Scotty shook his head. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to curse, but... ya sound just
like her."
Chekov grinned. "The Enterprise?"
"Yeah. You've got the exact pitch and frequency right and everything. It's
eerie. In a good way."
Chekov grinned more. "You like?"
Scotty nodded. "Yeah. You noticed that I do that too, have you? That I hum."
"Yes. All the time you hum while you work. I like to listen. You have a nice
voice."
Scotty swallowed. His heart was pounding rather harder than normal, he felt
uncomfortably warm and the light suddenly seemed a lot brighter again. He
looked away and quietly said, "You're a really sweet kid."
Chekov scooted even closer. "Not kid. I am almost eighteen."
Scotty met his eyes again and he must have looked worried, because Chekov then
asked, "What is wrong, Commander?"
"I'm a little afraid of what you're making me feel here."
"What I make you feel?"
Chekov's face was once again unnervingly close and their breath was mingling
and this kid could hum like the fucking Enterprise and he had the most
kissable, petal-pink mouth Scotty had ever seen...
Scotty leaned toward him in jerky, nervous movements, and when their lips met,
Scotty was actually a little surprised, so much so that a tiny little whimper
escaped him. The kiss was soft and awkward and chaste and brief, and when their
lips parted, Scotty looked, wide-eyed, at Chekov while Chekov stared at him
with excited wonder in his big, baby's eyes.
"Please tell me that wasn't your first kiss," said Scotty a bit breathlessly.
"Because if it was, I'm so sorry I couldn't do better than that."
Chekov smiled broadly, his softly-blushing cheeks dimpling attractively. He
shook his head. "No, Commander. Not my first."
"Good."
Chekov's smile softened and then disappeared altogether and he looked at Scotty
with a sweet, almost coy look in his eyes. He cuddled up even closer, laid a
hand on Scotty's thigh and whispered. "Am I out of line, Commander?"
Scotty gulped and glanced down at that hand for a moment. Chekov clearly was
out of line. But Scotty knew Chekov wasn't talking about official protocol. He
was asking what Scotty wanted. "No," Scotty finally answered. "You're not out
of line."
Chekov nodded and his eyes dropped down to look at Scotty's lips as he leaned
in and kissed Scotty again.
This time Chekov licked inside Scotty's mouth, gingerly at first and then going
deeper, exploring, tasting. Guilt was still swelling in Scotty's chest, but
Scotty's rapidly growing lust was a formidable opponent. Scotty slipped his
hands onto Chekov's waist, the small part of his brain that still had blood in
it telling him No, don't touch, wrong, wrong, wrong! But then Chekov made a
soft, needy little noise and that little bit of blood left Scotty's brain and
headed South. Scotty made an answering noise, kissed deeper, pulled Chekov more
snugly against himself. And then they went down together. Scotty wasn't sure if
it was him pushing Chekov or Chekov pulling him.
Scotty laid on top of Chekov, careful not to put his full weight on him. He
pushed his hardness against Chekov's and Chekov pushed right back. Chekov was
pulling at his shirt and then finally got his hands up underneath it to caress
Scotty skin. Scotty shivered at the touch. He kissed his way down to Chekov's
neck, impatiently pulled the black neck of his uniform out of the way and went
about kissing the pretty, pale skin underneath. Chekov arched, offering his
neck to be sucked and kissed.
"Commander," he moaned. "Oh, Commander."
Fuck. Should Scotty allow Chekov to call him that during... this? He didn't
think it was the time to bring it up, not while Chekov was becoming
increasingly aroused, breathing faster and harder and moaning more and more,
not while Scotty was slowly working his way down Chekov's body, pushing his
shirt up to kiss the soft, delicate skin of his belly, dipping his tongue into
the naval.
His face was soon level with Chekov's crotch. He hesitated, looked up at Chekov
and Chekov looked down at him. The ensign's gaze was dark and hungry. Chekov
seemed to know why Scotty had stopped. He gave Scotty a little nod; he wanted
Scotty to proceed.
In his lust-dazed state, that was all the confirmation Scotty needed. He made
short work of the fastenings of Chekov's pants, pulled down the front of his
underwear and revealed his very hard prick. There was no more hesitation. He
leaned right down and licked a wet stripe right up the shaft.
Chekov, who'd propped himself up on his elbows to watch, gasped with pleasure.
Scotty watched his face while he took Chekov's entire cock into his mouth and
began to suck.
Scotty wasn't normally so eager to be with men. There had a been a couple of
alcohol-fueled incidents, but Scotty didn't talk about them. What was so
different about Chekov? Was it his youth? His sweet, angelic face? His
earnestness, his genuine enthusiasm? His intelligence, maybe? A combination,
Scotty suspected. Plus, there was all that business Spock had mentioned about
chemistry. As Scotty took all of Chekov into his mouth, all the way to back of
his throat, his nose dipped close to the soft bed of curls at Chekov's crotch.
Scotty inhaled and his eyelids fluttered involuntarily. If he'd been standing,
his knees would've given out. This boy's musky heat smelled like heaven.
Chekov had spread his legs around Scotty and was now reaching a hand toward
Scotty's face. He brushed the backs of his fingers down along Scotty's cheek
and then back up again, caressing him while he gently pushed up into Scotty's
mouth. He looked almost helpless lying there, spread out like that, and Scotty
felt that little twinge of guilt again, but then Chekov moaned and for a moment
hit the exact right pitch of the Enterprise's hum. Scotty stopped sucking and
stared at him, slack-jawed and completely smitten.
"What is wrong?" Chekov whispered, still stroking Scotty's face.
"Do it again," Scotty said. "The humming."
A soft smile touched Chekov's lips. "Now?"
"Yes, now. It's... I just... I like it," Scotty admitted sheepishly. He hated
to admit how much that humming coming from another living being actually did
for him. Judging by the slightly cocky look on Chekov's face, Chekov could
tell.
Chekov put his pretty, pink lips together, inhaled deeply through his nose and,
with that hint of a smile still on his lips, began to softly hum along with the
ship. The effect was immediate; Scotty's groin pulsed with need and his eyes
almost rolled up in his head. He felt thoroughly embarrassed that something
like that could affect him so strongly.
Chekov bit his bottom lip as he hummed and his eyes were absolutely smoldering.
Scotty needed to be closer to him. He got up on his knees and, with shaky
hands, got his pants undone and pulled out his hard cock. He'd intended to lie
down with Chekov again, but Chekov had other ideas.
He stopped humming and sat up, eyes glued to Scotty's erection. The smile
dissolved from his face and he shifted so he could shimmy closer to Scotty and
get his face closer to Scotty's hard-on.
"You don't have to," Scotty said. Chekov looked up at him, but said nothing as
he began to experimentally lick and kiss Scotty's prick.
And he started the humming again. Scotty watched him, watched that sweet face
with its pretty mouth perform one of the most intimate acts in the universe
(and god, the kid was looking right up at him with those big eyes of his while
he did it), and Chekov's voice melded with the ship's again. It shook a bit as
he really began to suck, but it was still enough to make Scotty's prick jerk in
his mouth. Scotty petted the soft curls on his head.
"Fuck, you glorious creature," Scotty whispered. He couldn't stand it any
longer, he needed Chekov in his arms. He cupped Chekov's face and carefully
pulled out of his mouth. The humming stopped. "Lie back down," he said. Chekov
went where Scotty guided him, eyes locked with Scotty's as they lay down
together. Scotty quickly lubricated them both with saliva and carefully lined
up their cocks. He stared down into Chekov's eyes as he began to hump him.
Chekov clung to Scotty's shirt and rubbed up against him too. He closed his
eyes as his rubbing became more urgent, his breathing quicker and more erratic.
He was coming undone.
"Going to... come... Commander," Chekov panted.
"Do it. Come for me. Fuck."
Chekov bucked up against him hard and began to come, arching his neck and
crying out, looking completely helpless and utterly delicious. Scotty couldn't
hold out looking down at a sight like that. He began to come as well.
Their voices echoed throughout the tube. Scotty vaguely wondered if anyone
might be passing by at that moment and hearing them, but he was too far gone to
really care. Chekov looked far too lovely unraveling underneath him for him to
care.
When Chekov opened his eyes, he found Scotty staring down at him. They stared
at each other as the pleasure died away, and then Chekov smiled lazily up at
him.
"Good for you?" Scotty asked.
"Very," Chekov whispered.
Scotty slid off of him with a grunt and settled next to Chekov, facing him.
"Feel like I should've bought you dinner first or something."
Chekov shook his head. "Not hungry."
Their eyes locked again and Scotty understood the hot, almost determined look
in the younger man's eyes. He laid a hand on Chekov's stomach and asked,
"You... want to go back to my quarters?"
Chekov nodded. "Yes, please."
That 'please' just about made Scotty's heart melt. He nodded and helped tuck
Chekov back inside his underwear. They cleaned up as best they could and
proceeded to crawl out of the Jeffries tube. Chekov went ahead, and once he was
clear, Scotty poked his head out and scanned the empty corridor. He had images
in his head of the captain's smirking face and knowing gaze peeking at them
around a corner, but there was no one around. Scotty breathed a sigh of relief
and crawled out.
Back at Scotty's quarters, Scotty discovered exactly how sensitive Chekov's
body was. When Chekov finally stood naked before him, all that soft, pale skin
offered up like the most wonderful buffet in the universe, Scotty reached out
to touch him, running his fingers down the ensign's chest and stomach. Chekov
sucked in a soft breath as Scotty's fingers grazed his nipples and Scotty
watched the little pink nubs instantly harden in his fingers' wake. Scotty's
fingers traversed the trail of hair leading down from Chekov's belly button and
Chekov shuddered. Chekov was still squirming as Scotty's fingers glided along
the edge of his pubic hair, over his hip bones and around to his back where
they traveled up along his spine, making Chekov arch and cling to Scotty.
Chekov was rock-hard again by the time Scotty got his own clothes off, and
Scotty's cock was waking up again too. He laid the teenager down on his bed and
kissed and touched him all over, delighting in the way Chekov squirmed and
whimpered and sighed the odd word or sentence in Russian. Chekov turned over
onto his belly, put a pillow beneath his hips to raise his ass up a bit, and
Scotty buried his face in him, greedily, but carefully, licking and probing
with his fingers, stretching him, preparing him.
"I am ready, Commander," Chekov suddenly whispered. He raised his head and
looked over his shoulder at Scotty with sleepy eyes.
Scotty stopped licking and blinked at him. "Yeah? You sure?"
Chekov nodded.
With a gulp, Scotty sat up, wiped his mouth and set to work lubricating
himself. Chekov twisted around more to watch, his eyes focused on Scotty's
dick. God, he looked so young.
Scotty positioned himself over Chekov's body, between his legs. Chekov put his
head down again and Scotty stared down at his profile. He looked calm enough,
Scotty thought, but he knew the boy must be nervous as hell. He had to be. Even
Scotty was feeling shaky and uncertain.
He nudged against Chekov's entrance. Chekov frowned and closed his eyes. Scotty
brushed his lips against Chekov's ear.
"You okay?" Scotty whispered.
Chekov nodded, the intensity on his face increasing as Scotty began to push
inside. He whimpered and turned his face into the pillow. His breaths came
harder and quicker and he groaned.
Scotty knew there was little he could do to prevent this from being painful for
him, at least at first. People did this all the time, he reasoned. He himself
had done this before. You get used to it. It would start to feel good after a
while. Chekov was young and resilient, he would adjust quickly. Besides, he had
experience, he'd said so. Maybe he had done this before.
Oh, fuck it all to hell, Scotty thought and he pulled out what little of
himself he'd managed to get inside. He lowered himself to the bed next to
Chekov. Chekov opened his eyes and looked at him quizzically.
"I can't," Scotty said.
Chekov raised his head again. "I can do it," he insisted, but Scotty shook his
head.
"No." He held his arms open to Chekov and, looking a little confused, Chekov
slid close and cuddled up to him. Scotty embraced him and said, "I'm sorry."
"What is wrong, Commander?"
"You're too young. And too... tight. I'll hurt you."
"It will only hurt for a while. I can take it."
"Well, I'm not sure I can."
"Would it help if I hummed?"
Scotty smiled. "It might. But I don't want you to change my mind, I'd just feel
guilty afterward." Scotty looked down at him. "There are lots of other things
we can do, though."
Chekov looked up at him while he moved a hand down between Scotty's legs. He
gripped Scotty lube-slicked length and began stroking him while looking
directly into his eyes. A little smile touched his lips and he began to hum.
"I'm not fucking you," Scotty insisted, but Chekov ignored him. He buried his
face in Scotty's neck and stroked him faster. The humming vibrated softly
against Scotty's throat. God, it was like the ship was inside him.
Scotty reached down and began stroking Chekov as well. "You do realize, lad,
that now every time I tune into the ship's humming, I'm gonna get a big
stiffy."
He felt Chekov smile against his neck and the humming was interrupted by a soft
giggle. Scotty held him tighter and they stroked each other until they both
came again, shuddering in each other's arms, Chekov's little hum dissolving
into shaky moaning, hard grunting and ragged panting. They finally came down
together with soft whimpers from Chekov and soft curse words from Scotty.
"You mentioned you already had some experience," said Scotty. "Was any of this
new to you?"
"Yes. First time with a man."
"Ah. Well, I'm sorry I couldn't follow through. I wanted to."
Chekov looked up at him. "It was beautiful, Commander," he whispered. "But we
are not finished yet, are we?"
Scotty's eyebrows went up. "I'm sorry?"
"There is so much you can show me, no? And... perhaps a few things I can show
you."
Scotty had to laugh. "Well, that's certainly intriguing. But you know, I'm a
bit older than you. My bits don't work the same way they used to."
Chekov grinned and nudged his head up underneath Scotty's chin. "I can wait. I
will be ready when you are."
Scotty snorted as he stroked Chekov's back. "I bet you will. Ah, youth."
END
***** Technobabble *****
Chapter Summary
     Chekov is still underage and Scotty simply cannot forget it. But age
     does become slightly less important when the ensign's tongue and
     pretty mouth are tripping adorably over words like "gravitational".
Chapter Notes
     Alas, I cannot take credit for the technobabble. It was created by
     the Treknobabble_Generator.
"Say it again," Scotty whispered as he brushed his lips against the delicate
shell of Pavel's ear. He heard the ensign laugh softly.
"Why should I say it again?"
"Because I want to hear it."
"It has something to do with fucking?"
"No, not as such..."
"Then why?" Pavel rolled over in Scotty's arms to face him. Scotty felt Pavel's
rigid cock press against his own and felt instantly like part of his brain was
shutting down due to lack of blood flow. He held Pavel snugly against himself,
his slender body feeling both delicate and solid under his touch.
"Because," said Scotty, "I like the way it sounds when you say it."
Pavel rolled his eyes. "Okay. I will say it once more." He cleared his throat.
Scotty focused on Pavel's sweet little mouth and his belly tingled with
anticipation. Pavel's tongue slipped out to moisten his lips, and yet another
quadrant of Scotty's brain went dead.
"You are ready?" asked Pavel.
"Uh-huh," Scotty replied, still staring at Pavel's mouth.
"Okay." Pavel licked his lips again, took a breath and breathed the word,
"Gravitational."
Scotty shuddered and emitted a needy little groan. Pavel giggled.
"What is that? Why do you like that so much?"
"Your accent, lad," Scotty murmured, cuddling Pavel even more.
"What about my accent?"
"I like it."
"Better than your own?"
"What? Don't be daft, I don't have an accent. It's you and everybody else that
has the accents."
"You are being silly," Pavel whispered, brushing his lips against Scotty's. "Is
this normal, this accent fetish? You are like this with everyone you have been
with?"
"No, lad, just you," Scotty replied, dragging his fingertips up and down
Pavel's spine, making the boy shiver and arch in his arms.
"I am special, then?"
"Damn right you are."
Pavel smiled against his mouth and continued to squirm as Scotty's fingers
danced teasingly all over his skin.
"What is it you like?" whispered Pavel as he rubbed himself against Scotty.
"What specifically?"
"About your accent? The Vs. I love the Vs."
Pavel nodded knowingly. "I see. You think it is cute how I pronounce things."
"Hot as hell, more like."
"So, you like when I say... graviton."
"Oh, yes," Scotty groaned, and he pressed his face to Pavel's cheek, kissing
and smelling his soft skin and hugging him tight.
Pavel wriggled in his arms and sighed with arousal as Scotty's hand glided down
over his ass, squeezing and massaging. "And you like when I say... verteron."
Scotty pushed against Pavel, gently at first, but quickly becoming more rough
as he nudged Pavel over onto his back and settled on top of him. "More," he
groaned into Pavel's neck as he humped him. "Say anything. Anything."
"What should I say, Commander?"
Scotty loved when Pavel called him that, especially while they were rubbing
their dicks together.
"Should I say something about the sub-atomic resonance of dilithium crystals?"
"Mmph," Scotty grunted as he sucked at Pavel's skin.
"Should I talk about the flow of the chronoton particles from the isolinear
data chips? Oh... ohhh..." Pavel arched his neck, pushing up against Scotty's
mouth. Scotty sucked greedily, determined to leave the biggest, reddest mark
against that achingly pale skin. This boy was his. This perfect little genius
belonged to him and he was beginning to not care who knew it.
"Commander," Pavel moaned, rolling his hips in a slow, circular motion. "Do you
remember the time we ionized the polarity of the anti-matter injectors to...
to... oh god."
"To what?" Scotty demanded, leaving a trail of wet kisses all the way up
Pavel's neck and along his jaw. His wet lips finally settled at Pavel's chin
where they kissed some more and his teeth nibbled. "To do what, love? Tell me."
Pavel whined. His eyes had grown sleepy and dreamy and the loveliest blush had
spread across his cheeks. "To create the quantum filament alignment in the warp
core."
"Oh, fuck," Scotty sighed and went nibbling all the way back down Pavel's neck.
"Remember that?"
"Yeah."
"You liked that, didn't you?" asked Pavel, and there was the slightest hint of
a growl in his sweet voice. "You liked doing that with me."
"Yes. God, yes."
"And you remember when we reversed the flow of phase-modulated chronoton
particles from the annular confinement beam?"
"Mm-hm."
"Why did we do that, Commander?" asked Pavel as he slipped a hand up and over
Scotty's thinning hair. Once upon a time, Pavel's age made Scotty quite self-
conscious about his own age and appearance. Those days were gone, however, and
never stood a chance, not when the boy writhed and moaned this way when Scotty
touched him, not when he spread his legs for Scotty at the drop of a hat, not
when he was always so eager to take Scotty in his mouth.
"Remember why we did that?" Pavel asked again.
"To... generate enough power in a phased carrier wave in the... nucleocentric
containment matrix," Scotty panted, and Pavel arched and emitted such a filthy-
sounding groan that Scotty was pretty sure what little blood had remained in
his brain had just drained away.
With a growl, Scotty rolled them over so that Pavel was on top. He gripped
Pavel's waist and pushed up against him in a rough, desperate rhythm.
Pavel put his mouth to Scotty's ear. "You pretend I am her sometimes, don't
you?" he whispered, rocking his hips in time with Scotty.
The question would have embarrassed Scotty if every sense he had hadn't already
been so preoccupied with the proceedings. "No," he breathed. "I wouldn't –"
"You are lying, Commander. I know you pretend I am her. You pretend my mouth is
one of her many little tubes when you fuck my face, don't you? That is why you
like me to hum like her when I suck you, isn't that right?"
"Oh, god. Pavel, I –"
"Is okay, Commander. I like to pretend with you." Pavel sat up a bit, took hold
of Scotty's hands and slowly moved them up and down the sides of his torso as
he gazed down into Scotty's eyes. "You like how smooth I am. Smooth and warm,
like warp core, no?"
Scotty's thrusts slowed as he stared and watched his large hands on the boy's
narrow body. If he closed his eyes he really could pretend it was the warp core
he was feeling (he was more than a little ashamed to admit he'd done it
before), but the sight of Pavel writhing on top of him was just too good to
ignore.
Pavel put his lips to Scotty's ear again. "Want me to hum for you?"
Well, Scotty always liked when Pavel did that, and he was tempted to say yes.
But no. Not this time.
"No," he said, caressing Pavel's back. "Not tonight."
"Why not?"
"Because I just want you, Pavel. I just want you and your sweet accent and your
words, okay? You don't have to be the ship for me every time."
Pavel looked at him. "But you like it when I hum like the ship. And how else
will I convince you to fuck me?"
Scotty smiled. "Not until you're eighteen."
Pavel pouted and rubbed against Scotty harder in frustration. "But that is
months away."
"Oi! You're lucky I'm in bed with you at all, young man, considering how wrong
this is."
Pavel smiled and snuggled Scotty, nuzzling his face. "Yes, I am lucky. I am
very, very lucky." He emphasized each "very" with a hard little thrust of his
hips. Scotty groaned at the friction and at the adorably incorrect
pronunciation.
"Talk to me, love," he whispered, wrapping his arms tight around Pavel's body,
determined not to let go until he'd made the boy shoot his load. "Talk more
about all the things we've done together."
"What is in it for me? What you will give me if I talk to you now?"
Scotty chuckled. "A negotiation?"
"Yes. I give you tech talk and I hum like ship lots of times for you."
"You're right. You're very good to me."
"Well then?"
Scotty laughed. "You're a piece of work, aren't you? Okay, do this for me one
more time and... we can renegotiate this waiting-until-you're-eighteen thing.
How about that?"
"What does this mean, 'renegotiate'?"
"You know what it means."
"I know what the word means. I want to know what you mean."
"I mean we can discuss moving the date up a bit."
"The date."
"The date that I finally fuck you."
"Ohhh." Pavel smiled at him. "You would do that? Really?"
"I might. If you're good."
Pavel pressed a soft kiss to Scotty's cheek and whispered, "I will be good,
Commander. I will be good and tell you how much I liked it when we reset the
positronic charge from the impulse engines. Remember that?"
"Ungh," Scotty grunted and resumed rubbing up against Pavel hard and fast. "I
remember. Fuck, you were so good."
"As good as when I suggested that we re-initialize the resonant frequency field
of the polaron beam?"
"Oh, yeah," Scotty groaned. "We did that to... counteract the field inversion
to the... to the... Say it, baby. Come on, say it for me, the field inversion
to the what?"
Pavel was all hot panting and moaning now, noises that made him sound somehow
younger than he was, all helpless and vulnerable, noises that went straight to
Scotty's groin, made him cling to Pavel even harder, made him want to protect
him and give him all the pleasure in the world. What the hell was he waiting
for? Pavel wasn't a child. What were a few more months, really? He was plenty
mature and more intelligent than most adults Scotty knew. He was the most
impressive young man Scotty had ever met. And he was gorgeous and wanted Scotty
to have sex with him, for Christ sakes! Scotty was starting to think he must be
quite mad to keep on saying no to him.
"We did that," Pavel whispered, "to counteract the field inversion –"
"Unnnggghuhghgn," Scotty whimpered.
"– to the gravometric vortex. Didn't we, Commander?"
"Oh, that did it, I'm coming. I'm coming... oh, shit."
Pavel's rubbing and wriggling became erratic and Scotty knew he was coming too.
Scotty held him tighter, one hand going up into Pavel's curls, gripping them
just tight enough to convey the ownership he felt.
"I'm gonna fuck you, love," he whispered, his voice shaking from his climax.
"I'm gonna give it to you good and hard, I promise."
"Soon?" Pavel whispered. "You will give it to me soon?"
"Oh, yeah, and I'm gonna fuck you so good, you won't have proper use of your
legs for a week afterward."
Pavel's body emptied all over Scotty's stomach, his come mixing with Scotty's
and lubricating their grind. Pavel made the most wonderful, lusty noises and
his tongue lapped at Scotty's neck in the most obscene way. There was something
terribly cute, but hot, and sweet, but dirty too, about this boy wriggling and
wallowing in the mess they were making together. Oh, yes, Scotty was definitely
going to fuck him. Eight ways from Sunday. Very soon. Maybe tonight. How he'd
resisted this long was beyond him. This was practically fucking anyway, what
they were doing right now.
They both finally relaxed and Scotty rolled them onto their sides, keeping
Pavel securely in his arms. Pavel lay there catching his breath, his eyes
closed. Scotty stared at him in awe of his undeniable youth, and then it hit
him, as it always did when they lay together like this, exhausted and sated,
the inhibitions seeping back into Scotty's brain. It always hit him like a big
sack of underage bricks: Pavel was seventeen.
"Ah, hell," Scotty grumbled and rolled onto his back. Pavel opened his eyes,
whimpered and chased after him to snuggle up again.
"What is wrong?" asked Pavel.
"Nothing."
"When you will take me? Tell me."
"What, you want an exact date?"
"Yes. Negotiation begins now."
"Christ, child, let me catch my breath first."
"No. And don't call me 'child'."
"Yeah, you're right. That is a bit creepy, isn't it?"
Pavel raised his head and looked at Scotty. "When? Tell me when."
That familiar sense of dirty-bad-wrongness was creeping into Scotty's chest as
he stared up at Pavel's boyish face. He'd never been one to go back on a
promise. But promises made during sex, during climax, didn't really count, did
they? Scotty sighed.
"Soon, Pavel, soon," he said, rubbing Pavel's back.
"How soon is soon?"
"Soon" was a subjective term. Pavel's birthday was in six months. That was
soon, wasn't it?
Scotty looked at Pavel apologetically, reached up and stroked his hair.
"Just... just soon. Okay?"
Pavel's shoulders slumped a bit. Scotty felt like the boy's eyes could see
right into him, see exactly what he was thinking. He had to force himself to
hold Pavel's gaze.
Finally, Pavel nodded, looking defeated. "Okay," he said and he put his head
back down on Scotty's chest.
END
***** The Places We Began *****
Chapter Summary
     They began with a pitch-perfect hum inside a Jeffries tube. They
     began with a not so innocent touch up by the warp core. They began
     with a little bit of hero worship. They began with a cut ankle and a
     little boy waving at a stranger.
The ship tipped violently. Structural integrity was degrading rapidly and they
were looking at total systems failure in less than five minutes.
Things did not look good.
The space creature (which Captain Kirk had named Bob back when it had seemed
harmless and even friendly) in orbit around the class M planet meant business.
The thing was, for some reason, protecting the planet with its life. Some
speculated that Bob was female and had decided the planet was its child; the
planet was certainly small enough, in comparison to Bob, to be the space
creature's offspring and was about the right color too. Unfortunately,
reasoning with the creature had proven impossible and no matter what the
Enterprise did, the creature thought they were trying to do harm. Two of their
men were still down on the surface. They needed to beam them back up before
they could retreat. The creature was having none of that, however, and was
currently sucking the life out of the Enterprise with some kind of tentacle.
Bob was huge, much larger than the Enterprise, and was mottled gray and blob-
like (ohhhh, Bob the Blob; Pavel just got that and would have laughed if he
wasn't currently fighting for his life). It could extend tentacle-like
appendages from its body when it needed to. It was like a giant piece of gum
that someone was stretching, except that gum didn't usually try to kill you.
"Transporters are offline, Captain!" said Hikaru – Lt. Sulu – shouting to be
heard over the sound of the ship falling apart around them. The bridge was
dark, the lights having dimmed a few minutes ago and replaced by the back-ups,
which weren't nearly as bright. "We'll lose power to the phasers in thirty
seconds!"
"They're pretty much useless against the thing anyway," said Kirk. "SCOTTY!
Where are you? What's going on?"
"I'm right here, Captain!" said the chief engineer over the comm system.
Pavel's heart skipped at the sound of his voice.
"Please tell me you've got good news," said Kirk. "We can't hang around much
longer. We need those warp engines and we need the transporters back online
pronto!"
"Uh, okay, I'm redirecting power to the transporters! Once we've got Gershey
and Harris I'll get the warp engines back online. I can give you approximately
one minute to beam them back up, after that I can't promise anything!"
"Do it, Scotty!" yelled the captain as a particularly ominous-sounding crack
came from somewhere off to the left. Pavel winced. Provided they got out of
this alive, the ship would be repaired and would be fine. Still, it hurt to
hear her breaking up. Every crack felt personal. In fact, Pavel was certain he
could feel the damage inside himself. He'd watched Scotty worship the ship
enough, watched his hands caress her and tinker with her with such a deft,
delicate and loving touch, that Pavel had come to see the ship as a living,
breathing and very sensitive thing. She wasn't a machine; she was an entity.
Down in Engineering, Scotty would be trying to drown out the sounds of his
precious lady bending and creaking ominously around him. He'd try to drown it
out so that he could focus on the task of saving her and everyone on board her.
Repairs could wait. She was a tough old broad, as he was fond of saying, and
she could manage for a while without his tender touch to soothe her. She would
hold on for him. Pavel took a deep breath, puffing out his chest. If she could
wait, then so could he.
Pavel remembered following Scotty around like a puppy in the early days, before
they'd gotten together, absorbing information, watching Scotty move
effortlessly around inside the ship like he was always supposed to have been
there. Pavel jumped at any opportunity for hands-on experience, letting Scotty
guide his hands deep inside access panels, letting Scotty hold his fingers to
regulate the pressure they exerted on the delicate insides of his ship. "Not so
hard," he'd gently say as his fingers entwined with Pavel's. "Just hold on...
hold on..." And they'd stay there like that, pressed against each other,
waiting for something, and Pavel would wonder why they were waiting, why they
weren't pulling or pushing or turning or switching, or whatever it was they
were elbow-deep in a panel for, but Scotty was always patient and watchful, and
his body and his hands were so warm and steady and knowing and reassuring, and
sometimes he'd close his eyes, as though cutting off one sense made his hearing
and touch that much more accurate, and then he'd say, "Wait for it... and...
now." And they'd slip a chip into place or flip a switch, and it was always so
perfect, and Pavel would let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding,
and Scotty would ask, "You shaking, lad?" with a chuckle that made his eyes
crinkle at the corners, and Pavel would have to dismiss the question with a
silly little joke, meanwhile his insides would be quivering.
Pavel knew it was a cliché, but it really did feel like an eternity from
Scotty's last word to the moment a report came in from the transporter room
saying that transporters were back online. Damage reports had come in from all
over the ship. Pavel's heart raced with each report. He was just waiting to
hear that Engineering had been engulfed in flames or had collapsed in on itself
or something equally horrible. Some evil little voice deep down inside him kept
on whispering that things had been going too smoothly between him and Scotty,
and since Pavel was clearly such an ungrateful little brat, some terrible
disaster meant to tear them apart was long overdue. He hadn't told Scotty he
loved him yet, though he was sure Scotty knew, just like Pavel was certain
Scotty loved him even though he'd never said it.
Pavel thought back to the moment he'd realized it. It had been months ago and
the two of them had been secretly locked away in Scotty's quarters. It was the
morning after a particularly spectacular night of lovemaking (without actual
penetration, of course) and Pavel had woken up alone in bed in the dark. Scotty
wasn't a quiet man. He snored when asleep, and when awake he hummed or whistled
or muttered little snippets of songs Pavel had never heard, so it was easy to
tell when Scotty wasn't around. The only noise was the ticking and barely
audible beeping of the various little gadgets, little side projects, Scotty had
scattered about. The tiny motion detector he'd constructed for fun sat whirring
softly on the bedside table, its little turntable spinning rather slowly
because Pavel was barely moving, and across the room on Scotty's desk, little
multi-colored lights blinked merrily at Pavel in the darkness.
Just as he was wondering where Scotty had gotten to, the man had reappeared,
stepping into the room and asking the computer to turn on the lights, his
movement causing the motion detector to whir more persistently. His hands were
full of breakfast-type items – bagels and muffins, little pots of butter
substitute and jam and a little basket of mixed berries – all wrapped in a tea
towel, bundled up and held in Scotty's fist by its ends. He was also carrying a
metal tray that held tea and all the things necessary for tea.
He'd come in, in his pajamas and slippers, big grin on his face, tea tray
rattling, stepping over the various items strewn across his floor (his and
Pavel's clothes and shoes, books, a coffee cup for some reason – the list went
on and only got stranger) and said, "Morning! Didn't want to wake you, so I
just nipped out for a bit to grab us breakfast." He'd set everything down on
the bed, sat next to Pavel, careful not to jostle things too much, and then
leaned over to kiss Pavel's cheek. "You know, they hate it when you sneak into
the kitchens and nick things. Dunno what the difference is; we'll be eating
that food anyway. You like grape jam, don't you? I prefer strawberry myself,
but I wanted to get you something you'd like. Oh! They had those infernal
blueberry bagels you like. Dunno how you can eat those, but I got you one
anyway. Never woulda pegged you for a blueberry bagel man, but it just goes to
show. You're like the ship, you know. I learned a lotta things in school about
optimum operating conditions and the right way to calibrate this or that, but
you don't know until you get there, really. You can learn basics, theory and
whatnot, but each vessel is different. What one ship likes isn't necessarily
going to tickle the fancy of another, and the Enterprise is the most unique
ship I've ever had the pleasure of laying my hands on." He'd smiled over at
Pavel then. "And I could say the same for you, you know, lad."
Pavel loved that, being compared to Scotty's ship. He'd practically squirmed
with delight in that moment as Scotty's eyes smiled at him. As passionate as
Scotty was about the Enterprise, it was high praise indeed.
Scotty had gone on and on like that, rambling while he prepared a cup of tea
for Pavel, buttering the blueberry bagel for him, pausing once to pop a
raspberry into Pavel's mouth just at the moment Pavel had been eying the
berries with interest. Pavel had sat there quietly, watching, and wondering a)
when Scotty was going to take a breath, and b) when Scotty had taken note of
little things like how Pavel liked his tea or the fact that he liked blueberry
bagels and preferred grape jam. Pavel had never mentioned these things. Well,
he supposed it wasn't so strange that Scotty would notice. Pavel had noticed
lots of things about Scotty that Scotty had never mentioned, like exactly how
he liked the subspace sensors calibrated and how he always craved this one
particular type of inky blue-black hard candy, especially in the early
afternoons, which Pavel had never heard of before. Scotty had actually been
quite surprised when Pavel had returned from that space station that one time
with the biggest bag of Icoberry Drops Scotty had ever seen. He'd been very
pleasantly surprised, because he'd never mentioned to Pavel what that candy
was, and Pavel had never asked or actually eaten one himself. All Pavel knew
was that they made Scotty's tongue taste all sweet and tangy... and blue. Not
just blue in color, but also in flavor. Yes, Pavel was quite certain now that
Icoberry fruit tasted like blue, which Scotty thought was rather amusing. At
any rate, Pavel had remembered that flavor and recognized it, even without that
special Scotty taste mixed in.
As he'd listened to Scotty ramble that morning and watched him prepare their
breakfast, he'd realized that he was in love with the chief engineer. Just like
that. He'd never been in love before, and he was certain that some would claim
he was too young to know anything about it. But they said you were just
supposed to know, didn't they? Well, Pavel knew. He could feel it. And Scotty;
his eyes twinkled as he'd handed Pavel his tea and fed him little pieces of
buttered blueberry bagel with his fingers, and Pavel was certain that he could
see his own feelings reflected in those grayish-blue eyes.
And that is how Pavel realized that they were in love. But he never said
anything. Because Scotty hadn't said anything. Maybe Scotty hadn't realized it
himself yet, and Pavel hadn't wanted to frighten him away. Now he might never
get to say it.
"We've got them, Captain!" came a frantic and relieved female voice from the
transporter room.
"Thank god!" Kirk cried. "Scotty, get us the hell out of here!"
"I'm on it, Captain! Taking transporters offline... rerouting power back to the
warp engines..."
They'd attempted to shake Bob's power-sucking tentacle with evasive maneuvers,
but that hadn't worked. The only way to lose him (Pavel was starting to think
of it as a he now, even though Bob seemed, for all intents and purposes, like
an angry mother) was to fly off at warp speed. At least, that's what everyone
assumed, anyway. It was possible Bob would cling even at warp, but they were
all betting that he wouldn't want to end up light years away from his beloved
planet baby.
"Structural integrity down to seventy-eight percent!" reported Hikaru.
"Captain, we can't stay here much longer!"
"I know! Scotty, work the magic!"
"I'm tryin', Captain!"
The ship rocked to the right and something like an explosion could be heard
over the comm. When they were relatively stable again, everyone went back to
what they'd been doing, but they were all waiting, waiting for damage reports,
death reports, waiting to hear Scotty's voice again.
"Mr. Scott!" called Kirk. "Come in, Scotty, do you read me?"
Seconds went by. Nothing. Pavel kept his mind busy because listening to the
silence hurt too much. He thought instead about seeing Scotty again, about them
all getting out of this alive so that he could tell Scotty exactly how he felt.
He thought about how nearly losing their lives would finally make Scotty
realize how ridiculous it was to force them both to wait for Pavel's eighteenth
birthday before letting Pavel have all of him. It was maddening and pointless.
They'd done everything else, so why wait for this one little thing?
But it wasn't a little thing (Pavel almost had to smile at the possible pun
there). Pavel wanted it so badly, despite everything else they'd already done
together, because really it was a big deal. He wanted that connection to
Scotty, he craved it. Not that he didn't feel connected to Scotty; Pavel felt
more connected to him than he ever had to anyone else. And sex wasn't
everything. Their relationship was beautiful as it was. Pavel shouldn't have
felt like something was missing, but he did. There was a certain completeness
that he craved and that kept eluding him. It shouldn't matter. It really,
really shouldn't. But it did.
And the thought that he was going to die without ever having had actual
intercourse with the man he loved was rather depressing.
He'd gotten rather upset with Scotty the last time they'd been together. They'd
been in bed and things had been getting all hot and steamy and Scotty had been
on his way down to pleasure Pavel with his mouth, but Pavel had stopped him.
"Please," Pavel had begged, kissing Scotty's face while his hands caressed all
over the older man's back. "Please put it in me. Pleeeeeease."
"We've been through this. No. It feels wrong."
"How?" Pavel had asked, his tone switching from intimate to exasperated. "How
does that feel wrong when all the other things we do together don't?"
"They feel wrong too," Scotty had argued, pushing up on his elbows. "You have
no idea how guilty I feel about all this."
"Then why do you do it? If I am such a fucking baby, why are you with me at
all?"
"You're not a baby. And I'm with you because..." Scotty had trailed off, made a
noise of frustration and rolled away, onto his back at Pavel's side.
"Because what?" Pavel demanded.
"Because... I can't resist you, all right?" Scotty looked over at him with a
soft, pleading look in his eyes. "Do you have any idea what it's like for me
having someone as smart and beautiful and under-fucking-age as you throwing
himself at me all the time?"
"Poor thing," Pavel had retorted. He almost winced at the memory of how
juvenile and obnoxious he'd been that night.
"No, that's not what I mean. I want you, Pavel. You don't know how much. But
you're young and what we're doing is technically against regulations, and I've
already been punished once, for a very long stretch of time, for messing with
something that I shouldn't have. I know that not going all the way with you
doesn't make me innocent, but something in me keeps telling me to wait. You
don't think I want to have sex with you? You don't think that I think about it
everyday, every night, all the bloody time? It's driving me mental! But... I
can't, okay? Some things are sacred and I just... I just can't. Not yet."
Pavel should have been understanding. He should have tried to see things from
Scotty's perspective. He did, actually, but something, his pride or something
stupid like that, wouldn't let him admit it.
"I am not a virgin, you know," he'd said coldly.
"I know."
"I have been with girls before."
"I know, Pavel."
"I could have had a man inside me before now. I could find someone to be with
me, really be with me, tonight if I wanted. Maybe even someone you know."
Scotty had looked away. "Is that what you want?"
"I don't know. Maybe. I am clearly wasting my time here with you."
"So, that's all this is to you, then, is it?"
No, that wasn't all it was. This argument had taken place the night before
last, months after Pavel had realized they were in love. But he hadn't been
able to stop himself. Something made him get up and start getting dressed.
Something made him call Scotty a coward and storm out of his quarters. This was
a perfectly reasonable response, he'd told himself, trying to appease his
conscience. What was unreasonable was Scotty expecting him to wait all this
time, what was unreasonable was the two of them doing just about everything
together except that one thing. It made no sense.
"Humans are often illogical when it comes to sexual and romantic matters," Mr.
Spock had told Pavel when Pavel had asked his opinion. Pavel considered
Scotty's behavior extremely illogical, and since the first officer was the
authority on logic, Pavel had sought him out. It had been at breakfast
yesterday morning and Spock had been sitting with Nyota. Pavel and Nyota were
friends, but he'd kept his relationship a secret from her up until that point.
"Hey, watch it," she'd said to Spock. "You've had your moments of completely
illogical behavior yourself."
"I do not deny that. A relationship can be difficult terrain to navigate,
especially for one as young as yourself, Ensign."
"Don't change the subject," said Nyota. She then said to Pavel, "When he and I
started dating, he refused to even kiss me on the mouth for about a month, and
it would've gone on even longer if I hadn't staged a protest."
"Courtship is often taken far too lightly," Spock said. "Becoming acquainted
with one another is an extremely important courtship ritual, and when
physicality becomes enmeshed in the process it can confuse one's emotions."
"He was just nervous about dating a student," Nyota said frankly.
"It caused me unease, I will admit."
Pavel thought back to the way he'd made Scotty aware of his interest. He'd
flirted and acted all coy and sweet and innocent while making it very clear
what it was he wanted, and when he'd thought the time was right, he'd pretty
much offered himself to Scotty. All of himself. There had been no courtship.
"Because... I can't resist you, all right?" That's what Scotty had said the
night before, before Pavel had stormed out. Pavel felt a knot of guilt forming
in his chest; he'd practically forced himself on the man.
"This guy you're seeing, he's older than you, right?" asked Nyota. Pavel
nodded. "He's just nervous, that's all."
"As well he should be," said Spock. "It is against regulations for an officer
who is above the age of majority to engage in sexual activity with one who is
below it."
"But the age of majority in my country is sixteen," Pavel protested. "And it is
the same in his country."
"That may very well be; however, your partner's nervousness suggests that the
age of majority as set by Starfleet has been thoroughly integrated into his own
personal code of conduct."
Pavel huffed and crossed his arms. "Well, it is ridiculous. No one is going to
find out."
"I would not be so certain, Ensign. You are, after all, discussing the matter
with Nyota and myself. It is far more likely that one will notice the signs of
a relationship when one is actually aware of said relationship's existence."
Pavel narrowed his eyes at Spock, suddenly suspicious. "If someone found out,
do you think they would tell on us? Because I do not think anyone should care."
Spock considered for a moment. "Perhaps not. Still, your lover has reason to be
nervous, depending, of course, on how much older than you he is."
"Meaning what?"
"The number of years dividing the two of in age is directly proportional to how
much others will care that he is involved with you."
Pavel cracked his knuckles and said nothing.
"How old is he, Pavel?" asked Nyota. Her voice was so sweet and loving, so
inviting, that Pavel was tempted to confide, but he wasn't about to be specific
about anything. Scotty was in his mid-thirties, and Pavel wasn't in the mood to
deal with reactions to that, least of all Nyota's. She'd only get all motherly
on him and probably set out to discover Scotty's identity.
"Old enough to worry," he finally said, and he left it at that. "Commander, if
I may ask... when you were resisting becoming more physical with Nyota, it was
because of the rules?"
"Not official rules, but rather my own personal rule set," said Spock. "It had
nothing to do with Nyota."
"Oh, honey, do you think it's you?" asked Nyota, looking at Pavel with her big,
soulful eyes.
Pavel wrung his hands. This had crossed his mind on many occasions and he was
fully aware that his own insecurity was partially to blame for his storming out
of Scotty's quarters. "Maybe," he said.
"I doubt it's you. This guy is lucky to have you. He's probably been waiting a
long time to find someone like you. Incidentally, approximately how long has he
been waiting, twenty-four years? Thirty?"
"Nyota," said Spock warningly. "He does not wish to reveal –"
Nyota sighed. "Okay, okay. Can't blame me for being curious."
Pavel smiled. "Perhaps you will be able to guess who it is by how he acts at
the party."
Nyota looked innocently at Spock, who simply quirked an eyebrow at her. "What
party?" she asked Pavel.
Pavel smiled knowingly at her. "Is okay, Nyota. I know about the surprise
birthday party you are planning for me."
Nyota's poker face was impeccable. Pavel figured it must be his imagination,
but he thought he noticed Spock watching her with a hint of pride. "I haven't
been planning any party, Pavel. Did you want a birthday party? Because I
distinctly remember you saying you didn't."
Pavel chuckled. "No, no. Is okay. Never mind. I take it back. Forget I said
anything."
Nyota gave him a funny look, but then shrugged. "Well, all right, then. But
seriously, Pavel, your guy's probably just being cautious." She smiled. "The
fact that he wants to wait until your eighteenth birthday is kind of sweet,
actually. Romantic, you know?"
Romantic? Pavel had never considered it to be a romantic gesture, but he
supposed he saw how it could be. Scotty was romantic, in his way.
"Where'd that come from?" Scotty had asked one evening as he and Pavel lounged,
half-clothed, in his bed. Scotty was sitting up with his back to the headboard
while Pavel was curled up on his side with his feet in Scotty's lap.
"Where did what come from?" asked Pavel without opening his eyes.
"This scar here. On your ankle."
Pavel finally pushed up onto an elbow to look. Scotty pointed out the smooth
little roundish scar just to the right of Pavel's ankle bone, on the inside of
the foot. "Oh, that. I did that when I was eight, riding my bike around my
neighborhood. I fell and cut myself on a little piece of glass."
"Aww." Scotty ran his thumb over the scar.
"It was okay. I barely felt it. I was too busy chasing Klingons."
Scotty had looked at Pavel, then, and frowned. "Beg y'pardon?"
Pavel grinned. "Klingons. I would pretend I was flying through space when I
would ride my bike. Did you not do things like that when you were a little boy,
Scotty? I would peddle faster and faster and I would say, 'Warp factor 5...
warp factor 7... 8... 9...' until I got all the way up to maximum. My brothers
made fun of me all the time and my papa told me I daydreamed too much and that
is why I had fallen and I should keep my head down on earth where it belonged.
My mama, though, she thought my pretending was cute. She would say, 'Dream,
Pasha. Don't let anyone tell you your dreams are crazy.'"
Scotty was watching him with a soft smile on his face, thumb still caressing
that little scar. "So, you always had stars in your eyes, then. Now I'm trying
to picture you as a wee one racing through your neighborhood."
"The neighbors, they would say, 'There he goes again. He never stops, that
one.'"
"People still say that about you now, you know."
Pavel sat up, took his feet out of Scotty's lap and shifted closer to cuddle up
to him. "I wanted to go into space so badly," he whispered as he idly fingered
Scotty's chest hair. "I did not care that people made fun. I knew there was
more out there for me." Then Pavel gasped as something occurred to him. "I just
thought of something. All those afternoons I spent pretending to travel through
space, all those nights I lay awake in bed dreaming of being up here; Scotty!
Maybe it was because of you. Maybe I was trying to find you without realizing."
Scotty laughed. "You are a dreamer, aren't you?"
"You were up here already, in space. Maybe you were pulling me to you."
"As magnetic a man as I am, I don't think that's true. Besides, you shouldn't
say things like that."
"Why not?"
"Do you know how old I was when you were eight?"
"Does not matter." Pavel cuddled him more. "We were meant to be together."
"You just love drawing attention to the age difference because you like
watching me squirm."
Pavel smiled to himself. Scotty may have had a point there, but Pavel didn't
admit it. "You visited St. Petersburg, though. When you were younger."
"Aye. I was twenty-seven. Me and my mates went there to see this exhibit of old
fashioned lightning detectors – the one thing you think was invented in Russia
that actually was, by the way – and we visited a few monuments; Peter the
Great's statue, for one." He shook his head and frowned. "Lost my camera on
that trip. I loved that camera."
"Oh!" Pavel said excitedly. "My family used to visit that statue every year.
When were you there? What month?"
"Why?"
"Maybe we were there at the same time. My family would go in June, usually. I
remember the year I was eight, I was running around with my brothers and the
cut on my ankle opened up again and Mama kept telling me not to run, that the
cut would never heal properly if I did not learn to stay still, but I had to
run. Always had to run."
Scotty squeezed him and kissed his forehead. "You must've been impossible to
control. You know, I used to think you ran on batteries, but now I reckon your
power source is a combination of enthusiasm and mad ideas."
Pavel laughed. "Scotty, be serious."
"Although, now you mention it, I seem to remember seeing some bratty, curly-
haired little kid, who wouldn't stand still to save his life, getting his arse
whipped by his mum when I was there."
Pavel punched him playfully in the stomach. "But Scotty, listen, what if we
were there at the same time? What if you did see me?"
"I'm sure I didn't."
"No, just listen, though. What if you did see a little boy with a cut on his
ankle? I know I saw a man, a dark-haired, young man with his friends, and they
all had backpacks with little flags sewn on, and I am sure one of them was
Scottish, and two of them were taking pictures."
"That could've been anybody."
"And our eyes met once, Scotty, I know you looked at me, right when my mama was
cleaning my cut, you were the one without a camera, and I waved at you and you
waved back, I know it was you."
Pavel laughed at the way Scotty rolled his eyes. Pavel was joking, of course,
but there was a little part of him that wanted his story to be true. He'd been
a friendly, outgoing little kid. He'd waved at strangers all the time, and
sometimes they'd waved back.
"And the scar, Scotty, the scar I have now is there to tell you that I am that
same boy and that I finally found my way to you. See? Meant to be. I told you."
Scotty had laughed and said Pavel was a silly dreamer and then had proceeded to
wrestle Pavel down onto his back and give him a blow job that had rendered him
useless for a good fifteen minutes afterward. Scotty would never admit to
wishing Pavel's story was true, but after that conversation, every time Scotty
had Pavel in his bed, he'd take hold of Pavel's right foot, raise it to his
face and give the little scar a kiss while giving Pavel a wink.
 
                                     * * *
Pavel's conversation with Kirk and McCoy had gone very differently than his
conversation with Spock and Nyota. He'd approached them in much the same way,
only at dinnertime later the same day.
"Here's what you do," said the captain as he chewed. "Wait for him in his
quarters wearing nothing but a big smile and some strategically-placed food
items."
"Jim!" McCoy had snapped. "He's just a kid."
"What? He's no virgin. You're not a virgin, are you, sport?"
Pavel blushed and shook his head. "No, sir."
"I don't care!" said McCoy. "I'm not advising some seventeen-year-old on how to
get some old pervert into his pants! Listen, kid. You wait until you're
eighteen and then you can go to town. Until then, keep it zipped. Got it?"
"Uhhh..." Pavel really hadn't known what to say to that. Not that the captain
and the doctor would've noticed if he had spoken, as McCoy had begun hissing at
Kirk about encouraging underage sex, and Kirk had then been forced to defend
himself. Kirk pointed to Pavel more than once and said things like, "But look
at him!"
"What's his face got to do with anything?" McCoy had asked.
"You can't tell me something that looks like that is expected to stay a virgin
until he's eighteen. That's just cruel and unusual."
"That's not the point! It doesn't matter how attractive he is –"
"The hell it doesn't! Chekov."
"Huh?" said Pavel, sitting up straighter. "Yes, Captain?"
"How long have you been seeing this guy?"
"Yeah, and exactly how old is he?" asked McCoy. McCoy was very much like Nyota
in that he seemed to feel responsible for Pavel for some reason. The only
difference was that the prospect of Nyota discovering Scotty's identity didn't
make Pavel fear for Scotty's safety.
"He is, uh, a bit older," Pavel said vaguely. "We have been seeing each other
for nearly a year. About nine months."
"So, it's serious," said Kirk, sounding impressed. "See, Bones? It's not some
little kid thing, it's a real, adult relationship."
McCoy scowled. Pavel couldn't tell if this was a bad thing or not, as this
seemed to be McCoy's reaction to just about everything. "Does he care about
you, kid?" the doctor asked.
"'Course he cares," said Kirk. "Nine months? You don't spend that kinda time
with someone you don't give a shit about."
"I was asking the kid. Listen, kid, nine months is nothing in terms of real
relationships. Do you know if this guy cares about you?"
Pavel thought about grape jam and Scotty traipsing through the ship in his
slippers to fetch him some. He couldn't help but smile. "Yes, Doctor. He loves
me."
"Loves you? Has he said so?"
"Well... no, but –"
"Then don't assume."
Pavel had to protest. "Doctor, with all due respect, he does love me. I know
this. And he is a good man. I think you would like him." He already did like
him.
"I wouldn't be so sure," McCoy grumbled, piercing a bit of asparagus on his
fork with unnecessary force. Kirk was watching him.
"Jeez, Bones, what'd the asparagus do to you? If that's how you treat
vegetables, is it any wonder Pavel doesn't wanna tell you who this guy is?"
McCoy looked sidelong at Kirk.
"What, you gonna give this guy a fork to the head if he hurts the kid?"
"Don't give me any ideas, Jim."
"Well," said Pavel innocently, "I think you will like him, Doctor. I think he
is someone who could be your friend, someone you might, say, invite to my
birthday party."
"There's no party," McCoy said without missing a beat and without even looking
up from his plate. He then promptly shoved a forkful of Salisbury steak into
his mouth. Pavel looked at Kirk, scrutinizing his face, but Kirk's poker face
was even better than Nyota's. He shrugged at Pavel and popped a bit of his
dinner into his mouth as well.
Pavel narrowed his eyes. "Oh. You are all very, very good."
Kirk grinned but remained silent.
"Anyway, as I was saying," McCoy went on, pointing his fork at Pavel, "never,
ever assume anything, especially in matters of the heart. Don't sleep with this
guy just because you think he loves you. You gotta be sure first."
"God, you're such a girl," Kirk muttered.
"Oh, well, that's a lovely attitude."
"Get him to say 'I love you' before giving him any? Okay there, Grandpa."
"It's about self-respect and dignity, Jim. Those are important things."
Kirk pointed at Pavel but kept his eyes on McCoy. "He's seventeen. And a guy.
What's important to him right now is –"
"Don't say it," McCoy interrupted him.
"Don't say what?"
"Whatever the end of that sentence was going to be, because I just know it's
something crass."
"God, you're uptight."
"You're an infant."
Pavel had snickered quietly to himself. Watching these two was like watching
his parents; they argued constantly, but the underlying affection was obvious.
Pavel wondered why they didn't go public with their relationship. They were
both of age, they were both senior officers. No one would think it strange or
inappropriate.
Pavel wondered if they'd told each other they loved each other. He wondered if
their last words to each other had been said in anger and if they were
regretting them now as they faced their own mortality. Pavel wondered if the
captain wanted to be telling the doctor how he felt over the comm rather than
yelling for Scotty, who still wouldn't answer. It had been less than a minute,
but it felt a hell of a lot longer.
Pavel continued to keep his mind off the disturbing silence from Engineering.
He thought about his conversation with Hikaru instead.
"So, let me get this straight," said Hikaru last night in their quarters as
they'd prepared for bed. "You've been seeing each other for nine months."
"Yes, Hikaru."
"And you love him and you think he loves you."
"I know he loves me. Yes."
"And you've been intimate."
"Yes."
"You've done just about everything; oral, fingering, rimming."
Pavel snickered. Something about Hikaru saying such things seemed odd. "Yes,
Hikaru."
"What's so funny?"
"Is nothing."
"No, tell me. You can lick the guy's asshole, but you can't talk about it?"
Pavel burst into hysterical fits of laughter, lying down on his bed and holding
his stomach.
"Pavel, seriously."
Hikaru wasn't laughing, but Pavel could hear the smile in his voice. He looked
over at him and saw Hikaru watching him, smiling, his head canted.
"It is not the words, Hikaru. It is you saying the words. You should not say
things like that."
"Oh, I shouldn't?" asked Hikaru, touching a hand to his own chest. "Why's
that?"
"Because you are... you are..."
"What?"
"Perfect."
"Excuse me?"
"No, I mean..." Pavel sat up and wiped his laughter-tears away. "I mean you
are, like... so... elegant. Proper. Gentleman."
Hikaru grinned. "I see. You think I'm some kind of delicate flower or
something."
"Well... you like flowers."
Hikaru chuckled. "Yeah, I do. But I'm a guy, Pavel, just like you. And I'm
older than you. I know about sex. I've even had it a few times, believe it or
not."
"Yes, I know."
"We've talked about sex before."
"Yes, but not as bluntly as that."
"Well, shit, maybe we should start if you think I'm so proper that I shouldn't
be saying things like 'rimming'."
Pavel smiled again, but he said, "You are right. We should be able to speak
frankly about such things. We are best friends."
"Exactly. So, as I was saying, you've done just about everything else, but he
won't fuck you."
Pavel forced himself not to smile... too much. "Yes."
"Because you're underage and he isn't."
"Yes, Hikaru."
Hikaru nodded. "Your birthday's in two weeks. You're in the home stretch."
"That is not the point. He can put it in my mouth, but not in my ass. What is
that?"
Now it was Hikaru's turn to smile at Pavel's words. "Okay, that was adorable,"
he laughed.
Pavel threw a pillow at his head, which Hikaru easily dodged.
"We are speaking frankly, no?" said Pavel.
"Yeah, we are. I'm sorry."
"What should I do? Should I simply wait? As you say, it is only two more weeks.
It is silly to make a big deal of it now."
"Well, I can see where you're coming from. You love the guy and things are
going well between you. I'd be frustrated too. He's worth it, right? This guy."
Pavel nodded, his eyes going all soft and dreamy as he thought about the scar
on his ankle, of Scotty's lips caressing it every time they were together.
"Yes," he said. "He is worth it."
"Then wait."
Pavel focused his eyes on Hikaru again. "You think so?"
"Yeah. Why not? It's only two weeks. And if you love him, you don't want to
talk him into something he's not comfortable with."
No, Pavel didn't want that. He supposed, as the seconds of silence from
Engineering ticked by, that if they died today, his relationship with Scotty
had been more than enough. It was more than some people got. He was lucky to
have found something so special at such a young age. He just wished he could
get a moment, just a moment, to tell Scotty he was sorry and that he loved him.
"Warp engines back online, Captain!" called Hikaru.
Scotty had done it. Whether he was still alive or not, he'd saved them, yet
again, at the last possible second.
"Plot a course for the nearest starbase, Mr. Chekov!" said Kirk.
"Aye, sir," Pavel said, his fingers flying over the controls, practically on
autopilot. He knew what he was doing but felt like he was in a dream. He felt
almost as though they were leaving Scotty behind, like some part of Scotty had
been extracted from within the ship by Bob's tentacle, leaving nothing but an
empty shell behind in Engineering, a shell that neither spoke, nor felt. Pavel
pictured it standing there in the middle of the chaos in Engineering, staring
blankly, able to hear but not respond.
Pavel didn't want to go until he heard Scotty's voice again, but that wasn't an
option. He laid in a course for Starbase 64. "Course laid in, sir," he said.
His own voice sounded lifeless to him.
"Get us the hell out of here, Mr. Sulu!" yelled the captain, and off they went,
leaving Bob behind. Pavel saw Hikaru glance at him in his periphery and he met
Hikaru's eyes. Hikaru was very obviously relieved, and Pavel could feel a bit
of tension releasing all around him, as though the air on the bridge had been
so thick with fear that it had been pressing in on all of them. But not all the
tension dissipated. Where was Engineering? Hikaru seemed to realize what Pavel
was thinking when he saw Pavel's halfhearted little smile. Had Hikaru figured
out who it was Pavel was seeing? He'd figured out they were currently in
Engineering at the very least. A look of sympathy crossed the pilot's face, and
Pavel had to look away. Pavel didn't want to see sympathy or pity just then.
Those things only made the possibility that Scotty was gone feel that much more
real.
And then there was a voice from above.
"Engineering to the bridge! Everyone all right up there?"
Pavel's face broke into the biggest grin, as did Hikaru's, and the captain
could be heard behind them whooping with glee and probably a good amount of
relief. Pavel could have jumped up out of his seat just then. He very nearly
did, but he managed to remain seated, merely fidgeting with barely restrained
giddiness and relief.
"We're fine, Scotty!" said Kirk. "Where the hell were you?"
"Communications were buggered for a bit, but we're all okay down here. A little
banged up, but none the worse for wear."
"Anyone down there need medical?"
"Yeah, at least one of us has a broken limb. We've already gotten word to
medical, they're on their way."
"So am I. Sit tight, I'm coming down."
Pavel glanced back and saw Kirk striding away from his chair. His stomach did
flips. He could sit there and wait. He'd be able to see Scotty soon enough,
after all. But he found himself popping up onto his feet and chasing after
Kirk, calling out to him.
Kirk stopped before the turbolift and turned to face him. "Chekov, what's up?
You okay, sport?"
Pavel normally hated the captain's little nicknames for him. He didn't mind it
so much now, though. His life had just flashed before his eyes, and Kirk's
nicknames and his playful little punches on the arm had never been so welcome.
"Fine, sir. I just wanted to know if I could... come with you."
"To Engineering?"
"Yes, sir."
"What for?"
"Because. I just... I need to check on something." Pavel didn't know what else
to say. He couldn't tell Kirk the truth. But Kirk was scrutinizing Pavel now,
frowning slightly as he searched Pavel's eyes. Pavel fidgeted and wondered what
he was looking for.
"Sir?"
"Someone down there you need to see?" asked Kirk.
"Uh, well, I would like to know that everyone is okay, of course."
Kirk canted his head. "You just heard that everyone's okay. One broken limb out
of all of them."
Pavel wrung his hands. "I know, sir."
Kirk stared at him for a moment longer and something in his face changed; his
frown diminished and his mouth curled into a lopsided smile.
"Yeah, you can come," he finally said. He slapped Pavel on the shoulder and
guided him into the turbolift.
The lights along the corridors were slowly flickering back to full brightness.
Pavel and the captain walked briskly and were mostly silent during the journey.
Pavel was thankful that Kirk walked so quickly, but Pavel still could have
walked a bit faster. Kirk noticed.
"You keep going ahead of me."
"Sorry, sir."
"You gotta slow down for old guys in their mid-twenties, like me."
"Sorry, sir."
"He's fine, you know."
Pavel glanced at him nervously. "He... he who, sir?"
Kirk was smiling again. "I mean, they. They're all fine."
Pavel nodded and looked away.
When they entered Engineering, there was a blanket of acrid smoke hanging in
the air. There were voices, but Pavel didn't immediately see anyone.
"Mr. Scott?" called Kirk, and a moment later Scotty poked his head around a
corner. He looked a lot lower to the ground than he should have been and he had
a little blood on his forehead, just off to the left. Pavel's stomach dropped.
Something was wrong. He was hurt more badly than he'd let on.
"Hello, Captain!" Scotty said, and then his eyes landed on Pavel and his face
broke into a huge grin that made Pavel's heart race. To Pavel's relief, Scotty
scrambled to his feet without difficulty and hurried over to them. He was
facing Pavel more than Kirk as he approached, but his face fell a bit as he
drew nearer, as though he had just remembered not to be too obvious, and he
simply nodded at Pavel before turning to the captain. "Everything all right?"
he asked them both.
"We're still getting damage reports up there, but so far, as good as can be
expected," said Kirk. "Who's the injured officer?"
"Josephson, sir," said Scotty, jerking his thumb back at the place he'd been
when they'd first arrived. "She'll be fine. You didn't have to come down."
"Nah, I wanted to check up on you guys. You scared the hell out of me."
"Well, everything's fine now. McCoy's here taking care of that broken leg."
"Oh, Bones is here?" Kirk asked innocently, craning his neck to look around.
"Yeah, just 'round the corner there. They're getting ready to take Josephson up
to sickbay."
"I see. Uh..." Kirk glanced at Pavel. "I'm gonna go and, uh, say hi or
something. See if everyone's all right." He gave Pavel a little wink and a pat
on the arm, and then departed. Pavel watched him go, finally realizing that
Kirk had probably come down to see the doctor, to make sure he was okay.
"Hey, you," Scotty said, grinning, and Pavel was relieved to finally be able to
focus on him. "What are you doing here?"
"I had to see you. Make sure you were okay."
"Oh, I'm fine," Scotty said with a wave of his hand. He then paused and
fidgeted a bit, looking down and shuffling his feet, making Pavel think Scotty
wanted to hug him but was restraining himself. "You all right?" Scotty finally
asked.
"Yes. Not hurt. But you..." Pavel's eye went up to the small cut on Scotty's
forehead.
"That's nothing. Have that fixed up in a heart beat."
"You scared me. When you did not answer."
"Oh. Yeah." Scotty's expression became more somber. "Sorry 'bout that, didn't
mean to frighten anyone. Dunno what happened there. We tried to reestablish
communications, but then getting the warp engines back took precedent."
Pavel nodded and swallowed down the lump that was forming in his throat as he
remembered that awful silence. "Of course. Scotty?"
"Yeah?"
"I need to tell you something. I am sorry about what I said the night before
last. I was... I was an ass."
Scotty chuckled. "Well, you were certainly a little shit, I'll give you that.
But it's okay."
"No, not okay." Pavel stepped closer. "I didn't mean what I said. I don't want
to be with anyone but you and that is all I could think about while I was on
the bridge and thought we were all going to die, just a few minutes ago." Pavel
heard his voice begin to quiver, but he couldn't stop it. "And you wouldn't
answer the captain and I thought about you and us and how I was going to die
without ever having the chance to really be with you and how terrible I was to
you and how –"
"Oh, hey, hey, hey," Scotty hushed him. He reached out, took Pavel in his arms
and hugged him tight. Pavel was more than grateful and melted against him, but
he was also quite surprised; Scotty had never so much as touched him in public,
not after they'd started seeing each other. He supposed almost losing their
lives made hugging a little more acceptable. And then Pavel realized that
Scotty was shaking. Pavel squeezed him and rubbed his back, trying to soothe
him.
"I thought about you too," Scotty whispered. "Thought about what a fool I've
been."
"No, you have done nothing," Pavel insisted. He loosened his grip so he could
look at Scotty, and before Scotty could protest Pavel reached up and cupped his
face so firmly that he squished Scotty's mouth a bit. "It was me, Scotty. I
have been immature and impatient and scared."
"Skirred o' whah?" asked Scotty as best he could with his mouth all squished.
"I was afraid to tell you something because I thought you might not be ready to
hear it, but now I know that it does not matter if you're ready or not, because
it needs to be said, because life is too short."
"Ookie," said Scotty, looking confused.
Pavel pulled Scotty's face even closer to his own and, ignoring the jumping-
off-a-cliff feeling he now had in his gut, he whispered, "I love you." He
finally released Scotty's cheeks as the words set his heart pattering
nervously. He busied himself brushing ash off of Scotty's shoulders and arms,
as though trying to distract himself from what he'd just said, and he avoided
Scotty's eyes. "I am in love with you. Okay, there. I said it."
Why was he so nervous? He knew Scotty loved him too. He was certain of it. And
yet he couldn't stop his hands; he kept on straightening and brushing at
Scotty's uniform until Scotty finally took hold of his hands and sandwiched
them between his own. Pavel allowed his eyes to land on Scotty's face, which,
to his relief, was smiling warmly at him.
"I said it," Pavel repeated, mostly to himself.
"I heard you. 'Bout time one of us said it, I guess, eh? Listen, Pavel, I have
been a fool. Because I haven't had the guts to say it to you either. And
because I've been insisting that..." He trailed off for a moment and glanced
around. Pavel followed his gaze and saw McCoy and a nurse moving the officer
with the broken leg toward the exit on a gurney. They didn't pay Pavel and
Scotty any mind, but the captain, who was following them out, glanced over at
the pair, eyes landing on their clasped hands for a moment. He smiled and
winked at them, gave Scotty a strange little eyebrow wiggle, and then was gone.
Pavel looked back at Scotty, who was staring at the door as it slid shut. Pavel
thought his face looked a bit uncertain, as though he was rethinking what he'd
been about to say, but then he seemed to relax. He took a breath and nodded to
himself as he squeezed Pavel's hands.
"Well, he knows," Scotty sighed. "The captain, he knows about us for sure, and
– Oi!" he suddenly shouted. Pavel followed his eyes again and saw the remaining
officers peeking around a corner, watching them. "What do you think you're
lookin' at? Not enough to do around here, is there? Not enough destruction and
almost dying happening around here for you? Get back to work!" The officers
scattered and Scotty muttered, "Think it's safe to say they know now too."
"Do you think someone will have a problem with it?"
"Nah, these guys here, they won't care. They're okay, really. Even if they are
a bunch of nosy bastards." The last two words were said rather loudly, and
Pavel heard another set of footsteps, the sound of which made him think they
belonged to Keenser, scampering away somewhere behind him.
"As I was saying," Scotty continued, "I've been insisting that it makes a
difference when we finally... you know. And it doesn't. I've been an idiot."
"No, you were just being cautious. I understand. It was me. My fault. I forced
myself on you."
At first, Scotty did a little double take, frowning at Pavel, but then a smile
slowly spread across his face. "I'm sorry, what?"
"I did, Scotty. I should have been more patient, I should not have thrown
myself at you the way I did. It was wrong of me and it made you uncomfortable
and I apologize."
Pavel didn't know what reaction he'd been expecting, but laughter wasn't it. He
blinked at Scotty in confusion as Scotty pulled him into a crushing hug and his
hearty laughter reverberated through Pavel's body.
"You think this is your fault because you threw yourself at me?" Scotty
laughed. "Oh, okay, yeah, uh... Oh, sweet Jesus, lad, that is rich. Oh, that's
good."
"What? What is good? What is wrong with you?"
"Nothing, nothing. I just..." Scotty composed himself and looked into Pavel's
eyes, his own twinkling with restrained laughter. "I love you. I love your
face, I love your voice, I love your weird little nose and your constantly
moving hands. I love that you eat disgusting blueberry bagels, and I love that
you hog the covers – no, wait, I don't like that very much. Or the knuckle-
cracking thing. But they're both kinda cute anyway. And I love your run-on
sentences and your endless enthusiasm for things that nobody else understands.
I love that you cry when you laugh too hard, and I love the way you say words
like 'little' and 'gravity field', and I love that you think that crazy scar on
your ankle is some kind of cosmic sign that we belong together."
Pavel was positively beaming as he said, "But it is, though, Scotty."
"See? I love that! And I love that you think my obsession with gadgets is sexy,
and I love your nimble little fingers." With one arm still holding Pavel firmly
against himself, Scotty took hold of Pavel's left hand and kissed the backs of
his fingers. He then clutched the hand to his chest and continued, "And I love
that you want me so badly. Someone like you shouldn't want me. I'm the luckiest
bastard in the universe. I've been stupid and misguided, and Pavel... I love
you. And, if you'll still have me, I think I'd like to make love to you
tonight."
Pavel stared into Scotty's eyes in wonder, and his breath caught in his throat
at Scotty's last words. Pavel could have laughed in that moment, for no reason
other than pure joy. He felt like an electric current was running through him,
charging him up, making him jumpy, making him want to break away and do laps
around Engineering. He decided to use that energy to kiss Scotty instead. He
didn't care the they were out in the open. He didn't care if he was
embarrassing Scotty with all his youthful exuberance. He was happy,
ecstatically happy and in love, and he'd just cheated death. Nothing else
mattered anymore; not embarrassment, not protocol, not regulations, not the
eyes of the other officers that kept focusing on them from across the room. All
that mattered was this man and his candy-flavored tongue and how adorably
vulnerable he'd looked as he'd said his last few words and the fact that,
despite being watched, he was kissing Pavel back with as much desire and pride
as Pavel felt.
Pavel had to stop himself before he got carried away. He pulled his mouth off
Scotty and clung to him as though afraid of falling over. "We should wait," he
said.
"What?"
"Is only two more weeks. It is nice that you want to wait. Romantic."
"Romantic?" Scotty asked in disbelief. "No, Pavel, you were right. I've been a
coward and just plain stupid."
Pavel shook his head. "I think it is sweet." He pressed a gentle kiss to
Scotty's mouth and murmured, "We should wait. Make it special."
"You're sure?"
"Yes." Pavel took a deep breath and smiled as he exhaled. "Okay?"
Scotty looked a bit uncertain, but he finally smiled too and nodded. "Okay."
"Okay. I have to go." He gave Scotty one final kiss and then tore himself away.
He walked toward the door with a little bounce in his step that he couldn't
have stopped if he'd wanted to, but then he remembered something and stopped at
the door. He frowned as he turned back to Scotty.
"What is wrong with my nose?" he asked, reaching up to feel it.
Scotty threw his head back and laughed. "Nothing, nothing. It's just cute. And
weird. But in a cute way."
Pavel huffed. "My nose is not weird." He couldn't really be annoyed, though.
Not now, after everything they'd been through. Not when Scotty smiled at him
like that.
 
                                     * * *
It was the longest two weeks of Pavel's life. And when the clock struck
midnight on September 19th, Pavel was wide awake and very tempted to sneak out
of bed and go knock on Scotty's door. Pavel lay in the dark, listening to
Hikaru's steady breathing and unconscious mutterings about a surprise party,
and idly tugged at his impatient erection. He had decided to stay away from
Scotty's bed for the last week before his birthday, reasoning that allowing
himself to miss being with Scotty would make it that much more amazing when
they were together tonight.
The first of the two weeks hadn't been so bad, as Pavel had pounced on Scotty
at every opportunity and spent nearly every night in Scotty's quarters. He'd
even groped at Scotty in out-of-the-way corners of Engineering, prompting
Scotty to declare on one occasion, "Christ, lad! I'm not a climbin' frame!"
Sometimes when he was able to convince Scotty that a little Engineering make-
out session wasn't the worst thing in the world, Pavel would catch glimpses of
Keenser perched high above, peeking at them. He didn't get the impression that
Keenser was getting off on watching (although, granted, it was kind of hard to
tell). No, he got the impression that Keenser simply liked seeing his friend so
in love and happy. Once, when his and Pavel's eyes had met, Keenser had given
Pavel the thumbs-up sign, which had caused Pavel to giggle into Scotty's mouth.
"What?" Scotty had asked, but he'd quickly followed Pavel's gaze and yelled,
"GET DOWN! Ya wee pervert!"
The second week, during which Pavel forced himself not to touch Scotty at all,
was brutal, but the ache Pavel felt every time he laid eyes on Scotty was the
sweetest ache he'd ever felt. Actually, he was happy he was depriving himself
because he thought his plan was working; the longer he went without being with
Scotty, the more he seemed to appreciate him. Every time he heard Scotty's
voice or laugh, his stomach fluttered. Every time he saw Scotty's smile, he
felt all warm inside. And every time Scotty met his eyes from across a room and
gave him a little smile or wink or knowing look, Pavel was certain there wasn't
a luckier officer on board, in Starfleet, in the whole universe, than himself.
Pavel caught himself humming more than once. Several times he caught his fellow
officers watching him curiously because he was whistling or smiling
mysteriously to himself. Once, Hikaru gave him the funniest look when he caught
Pavel punctuation all his hand movements and button punches with whistles and
funny little noises.
"What is up with you?" Hikaru had asked.
Pavel had blushed and replied, "Just happy. It is almost my birthday."
Hikaru had frowned, seeming to consider Pavel's answer for a moment. But then
his face had relaxed and he'd given Pavel a little smile.
"I see," he'd said.
"You see what?"
"Why you're so happy. You'll have to let me know how it goes."
Pavel had grinned. "How much will you want to know?"
"How much will you be comfortable telling me?"
"Anything. Everything."
"Will this be a... blunt and frank discussion?"
Pavel had had to bite his lip to keep from snickering at the memory of the word
'rimming' coming out of Hikaru's mouth. "I would not have it any other way,
Hikaru."
Then the eve of Pavel's birthday had come, and by that time the needy ache
inside him was practically a living, breathing thing that resided in his belly.
Still, he was happy. He whistled through the corridors, drawing stares and
smiles. That afternoon he'd run into Scotty, who was just coming out of the
transporter room.
"Hello, you," Scotty had said cheerfully, smiling his lovely, crinkly-eyed
smile as they continued down the hall together. "Where are you off to?"
"Lunch," Pavel had said.
"Ah. Eating with Mr. Sulu again?"
"Yes. And Ensign Urenio."
"Right, right. 'Cause, you know, I was thinking, it's been nearly two weeks
since we outed ourselves in Engineering and news spreads faster than Ankaran
flu 'round here."
Pavel had looked at him with concern. "Has someone said something?"
"No, no, nothing bad. Everyone's okay with it, actually. I think they all think
we're cute together or something."
Pavel smiled. "They do?"
"Yeah. 'Cause we speak the same language, you and I. We're both nerds." Scotty
grinned. "And we're both geniuses, of course. But anyway, as I was saying, I
don't suppose you'd want to blow off your usual lunch crowd, would you?"
"Blow off?"
"Eat with someone else for a change today."
"Oh... ohhh." Pavel had grinned sheepishly. "With you?"
"Yeah," Scotty had said with a shrug, trying to sound casual. "Why not?"
"But everyone knows about us. They will stare." They were already staring;
Pavel had noticed the little looks as others past by them in the corridor.
And then Pavel felt something touch his hand, and he looked down to find
Scotty's hand wrapping around his own. He looked up at Scotty, who wasn't
looking at Pavel, but rather staring straight ahead with his chin up.
"Let them stare," Scotty had said, and then he'd glanced sidelong at Pavel and
smiled. Pavel had tried to keep himself from beaming too much, but he didn't
think he'd succeeded.
 
                                     * * *
Pavel's surprise party that wasn't a surprise happened that evening. The bridge
crew was there, as well as Pavel's friends from Engineering and the Science
department. He did his very best to act confused as Hikaru led him to Nyota's
quarters, and then shocked when the door slid open, the lights came up and
everyone yelled "Surprise!" It didn't take much to act shocked, actually. He
was so pleased to see all their smiling faces, he couldn't help but beam at
them all.
There were lots of hugs, pats on the back, hand shakings and congratulations.
There were presents and Pavel's favorite cake and a toast to his country. The
captain went around pointing at Pavel and Scotty whenever they were standing
near each other, saying, "I got them together, you know. Oh, yeah. I set them
up. Totally my idea." Pavel thought this was rather curious, but dismissed it
as just another one of Kirk's jokes that he didn't get. For some reason,
though, Scotty kept pretending not to notice Kirk doing this.
Pavel spent much of the evening watching the other couples in the room. Nyota
and Spock barely touched each other and their interaction looked almost
completely professional. Most of the time. There were little moments when Nyota
would be obviously joking around with Spock, and Spock's gaze would soften and
his mouth would curl upward on one side. The captain and the doctor, on the
other hand, were like the oldest of old friends, constantly bantering back and
forth and poking fun at each other. Kirk's eyes did that twinkly thing that
they often did whenever he smiled at McCoy, and McCoy's expression when he
looked at Kirk was one of affectionate tolerance. At one point, Kirk attempted
to feed McCoy a bit of cake. Pavel very much enjoyed watching McCoy swat Kirk's
hand away and then try to flee as Kirk chased after him.
Pavel wondered what kind of couple he and Scotty looked like, now that they
actually looked like a couple. Scotty even gave Pavel a little kiss on the
mouth after Pavel had blown out his candles. But his hands were still hesitant
when he touched Pavel's back or arm, he still seemed a bit uncertain when he
and Pavel stood close to talk, like he was just waiting for someone to pass
judgment. Pavel imagined they looked like a shy, teenage couple on a first
date.
He caught others watching them a lot too. Hikaru and Nyota seemed to approve,
watching them with gleeful grins on their faces; it was impossible to tell what
Spock was thinking and, in fact, Pavel didn't catch him staring once; the
captain seemed rather smug, and Pavel still had no idea why; the doctor clearly
disapproved, but there was a hint of disgruntled acceptance on his face that
Pavel chalked up to him having to admit that he did indeed like and trust
Scotty. Still, Pavel scanned the area for forks and other pointy things within
McCoy's reach and calculated how long it would take for a) him to get his hands
on one of them and b) Scotty to get to the door from any point in the room.
It got later and later, and guests started saying their "goodnights", and Nyota
offered to keep all of Pavel's presents there until the following day so that
he wouldn't have to worry about lugging everything back to Scotty's quarters,
and Scotty began to ask, "What makes you think he's coming back to my..." but
the look on Nyota's face, a knowing sort of look, made Scotty trail off.
"Did you get the feeling that almost every single person in that room knew
exactly what we'd be doing tonight?" Scotty asked as he and Pavel strolled
hand-in-hand back to his quarters.
Yes, Pavel had definitely gotten that feeling. In fact, it was more than just a
feeling; when he'd looked back at everyone as he and Scotty had departed, he'd
found five very knowing gazes locked on the two of them. Pavel was regretting
having asked the advice of so many. He didn't like that so many people knew he
was going to have Scotty inside him for the first time tonight. He cracked the
knuckles of his free hand as he considered his answer to Scotty's question. He
finally decided to simply gloss over the question entirely.
"I didn't notice anything," he said casually. "But Scotty, what did the captain
mean by what he said?"
"Said about what?"
"He kept saying that he is responsible for our relationship. What did he mean
by that?"
Scotty cleared his throat. "Well, Pavel, the thing is... apparently your
interest in me wasn't completely unnoticeable. The captain could tell." He made
a face. "And so could Spock, which was really bloody weird."
Pavel could hardly believe it and felt his cheeks heating up with embarrassment
even though neither Kirk, nor Spock, was in the vicinity. "They knew?"
"Oh, yeah. Shocked the hell outta me, I'll tell you that. I had no idea."
"And the captain, he said you should be with me?"
"Yeah, he did. But that's not why I chose to." Scotty looked at him and gave
him a soft smile. "I decided to be with you because you're smart and gorgeous
and I'd have been a fool to turn you down. And like I said, I couldn't resist
you. And you knew it."
They finally stopped in front of Scotty's quarters. Scotty turned to Pavel and
took both of his hands.
"I did not know that," Pavel protested.
"Oh, come now. You know what you look like and you use it to your advantage. I
can respect that. You know, actually it was something McCoy said that made me
give you a chance in the first place. After Kirk told me you were interested in
me, I didn't believe it, so McCoy said I should let you be alone with me for a
while to see what you'd do."
Pavel thought for a moment and then grinned. "The warp core."
Scotty smiled and nodded. "The warp core. Dunno if I'd have gone up there with
you if I hadn't been curious about if and how you were going to make your move.
And what a move it was!"
Pavel blushed, grinning from ear to ear. "I did nothing."
"Lyin' sack o' lies is what you are. You knew exactly what you were doing."
Scotty released Pavel's hands and took him by his waist instead, pulling him
closer. "You knew exactly how to get me. You still do. I think that speaks to
how perfect we are for each other."
Pavel brought his hands up to Scotty's shoulders. "I think so too," he
whispered. He was already starting to get hard. He made that fact known by
nudging himself against Scotty, who nudged back, and Pavel felt evidence of an
answering erection. This was it. They'd finally made it here. They'd somehow
defied the odds for a relationship between two people in their respective age
groups and Pavel was finally going to have his lover. All of his lover.
They kissed right there in front of Scotty's door. It began as something slow
and tender but quickly started to escalate. Pavel's body was already humming
with need and nerves. He'd been picturing this night in his head for months. It
was going to be perfect, he just knew it.
They stumbled into Scotty's dark quarters, and the door shut, making it just
about pitch black, the only light coming from the various little gadgets Scotty
had scattered all around, their multi-colored pinpoints of illumination hardly
enough to light anything. They grabbed and pulled at each other as they
stumbled toward the bed, but they didn't quite make it there before tripping
over something in the dark and falling with grunts and curses to the floor.
"Ow! What the fuck was that?" said Scotty, who had landed halfway on top of
Pavel.
"I think it was... one of your boots," Pavel said breathlessly, tugging at
Scotty's shirt and pushing his crotch into Scotty's thigh.
"Yeah, probably right. Shouldn't have left that there. Ah, fuck it."
They continued kissing right there on the floor. Pavel opened up wide to accept
Scotty's tongue as he clawed at Scotty's skin. He was so ready for this. He was
so ready, he couldn't stop his body from rutting up against Scotty's. Things
were building so quickly – the heat, the desire, the pulsing pleasure in his
groin – and Scotty smelled so good and tasted so delicious and having Scotty's
tongue in his mouth was just about the hottest thing ever, and it already felt
as though he was going to...
Pavel grunted hard and next thing he knew he was coming in his pants. Scotty
stopped kissing him and was quiet while Pavel jerked underneath him. Pavel
couldn't quite see his face in the darkness, but he imagined Scotty looked
about as disappointed as he, Pavel, felt.
"Fuck," Pavel cursed under his breath as the last of his climax shuddered out
of him and he went limp.
"Did... you just come?"
"Sorry," Pavel panted. "I... didn't mean to... Sorry."
Pavel heard a little snort and then a giggle.
"This is funny?" he asked.
"Well, it's not not funny. Come on." Scotty groaned as he stood, and then he
groped around for Pavel's hands to help him up too. Pavel winced at the mess in
his underwear as he got up. "It's all right," Scotty said as he carefully led
Pavel to the bed. "You're young; you'll be hard again in about ten seconds."
Pavel laughed despite his embarrassment. "I am sorry, though, Scotty."
"Don't worry about it – OW!" They stopped when Scotty stubbed his toe on the
bed. "Son of a... I'm okay. Here, let's get you undressed."
Pavel allowed Scotty to help him out of his shirt. He then quickly got out of
his pants and wet underwear, and then proceeded to help Scotty out of his
clothes. He sought out Scotty's mouth after they'd removed his shirt, and
kissed him deeply as his fingers worked Scotty's pants open. He slipped a hand
down inside Scotty's underwear and felt his own body begin to respond again as
he wrapped his hand around the firm warmth of Scotty's cock.
Scotty broke the kiss so he could fumble out of his the rest of his clothes,
and then he took Pavel by his waist and began to guide him down onto the bed.
"The lights," Pavel whispered. "Want to see you."
"Mm-hm. I'll get them in a sec – Whoa!" Scotty lost his balance and fell the
rest of the way down onto the bed, losing control and heading straight into the
adjacent wall. Pavel heard the thud as wall and Scotty's head made contact. He
immediately sat up.
"Computer, lights, sixty percent," he said. The lights came up and there was
Scotty, naked, but for his socks, on all fours, his face screwed up in pain and
one hand pressed to his forehead.
"Son of a bitch," he muttered.
Pavel shimmied closer. "Move your hand." He pulled Scotty's hand away and
checked the area. "Are you okay?"
"Well, my head's throbbin' and I've just about no dignity left, but other than
that..."
"You will have quite a bump there in a little while."
"Oh, the captain'll love that," Scotty said as he took a seat next to Pavel.
"First time you and I have actual sex, and I come out with a giant lump on my
head." Pavel put his arms around him to comfort him, and Scotty immediately
noticed Pavel's erection. "Hey, look at that! Told you you'd be back in no
time." He sighed and glanced around the room. "You know, something doesn't feel
right. Well..." He winced and reached up to feel his forehead again. "Lots of
things don't feel right at the moment, actually."
"Meaning what?"
"It's not supposed to be like this. I mean, tell me this isn't how you've been
picturing it."
Pavel smiled. "No. Definitely not."
"Well, thank god, 'cause I'm not sure I can take much more... Hang on." Scotty
frowned off at nothing for a moment. He then scrambled away from Pavel and got
up off the bed. He started getting dressed again and said, "Well, come on, get
your clothes back on."
Pavel frowned in confusion, but did as he was told, putting everything back on
except his underwear. "Scotty, where are we going?"
Scotty grinned and winked at him. "You'll see."
It didn't take Pavel long to catch on. As he and Scotty padded down the
corridor in their socks, Pavel carrying a pillow and Scotty carrying several
blankets and a little tube of lubricant, Pavel recognized the route they were
taking before they'd reached their destination.
Pavel crawled into Jeffries tube GNDN6-A first. It wasn't the roomiest place on
the ship, but he supposed they wouldn't need that much room for this. And
besides, this tube was special to them. Pavel smiled to himself remembering how
Scotty had brought him here their very first night together, how Pavel had
shown Scotty, right here in this tube, how he could hum just like the ship and
how that had turned Scotty on in ways Pavel hadn't anticipated. He'd thought it
would simply impress Scotty and maybe draw Scotty to him a little more, but
Scotty's reaction had definitely been more intense than that.
They settled in the heart of the tube together, sat nestled in each other's
arms on the thin, makeshift mattress made of layered blankets.
"Thought it was only fitting," Scotty said, "since this is where we began.
Well, I suppose we actually began up by the warp core, but that would be quite
a public deflowering, wouldn't it? Speakin' of which, I really hope nobody
comes in here."
Pavel didn't speak. Instead, he pulled off his shirt and then scrambled out of
his pants and socks, and then sat there, proudly naked, very ready and
completely for Scotty, watching Scotty's face as he took in Pavel's body.
Scotty snaked an arm around Pavel's lower back, pulled him close and kissed him
so deeply, Pavel just about lost his breath for a moment and his body curved
into Scotty's, his back arching. As Scotty's free hand touched his chest and
then slowly made its way down to his groin, Pavel raised one knee to spread his
legs, to offer himself completely. He belonged to this man. He was certain of
it. He'd been drawn to Scotty from the moment the man had set foot on the ship.
He was brilliant and funny and sweet, and ever since they'd met, Pavel had been
aching for him, desperate to learn from him, to be in the presence of his
genius, to have those hands, the same hands that Pavel watched perform
something resembling a ballet over consoles and inside panels, perform delicate
dances over Pavel's trembling skin.
Now Scotty's hand lay lovingly over Pavel's erection, just gently cupping it,
and Pavel caressed that hand, telling Scotty with his touch and his mouth and
his noises that everything he touched here tonight was his and always had been.
Scotty laid Pavel down on his back, putting his head on the single pillow
they'd brought. He then sat up and began to undress. Pavel lay there with his
legs spread and touched himself while he watched. As Scotty peeled off his
clothes, Pavel reached out to touch with a little whimper, but Scotty took his
hand, kissed it and whispered, "Be patient. I'm not going anywhere." He leaned
over and kissed Pavel again as he awkwardly exposed his lower half, and then he
pulled away and sat up on his knees, caressing Pavel's thighs and admiring the
body laid out before him.
"I'm so lucky," Scotty whispered as he moved a hand down Pavel's right leg,
gripped the ankle and lifted it until it was by his face. He turned his mouth
toward it and pressed his lips to Pavel's little scar. He didn't wink this
time. He closed his eyes and caressed Pavel's foot, drawing the kiss out for
several seconds until he finally turned his face away and pressed the foot to
his cheek. It took a moment, but he finally opened his eyes and gave Pavel the
softest smile.
"You are thinking things," Pavel whispered. "Tell me."
"I'll tell you," Scotty said, lowering Pavel's foot to the floor and lowering
his face to Pavel's body. "Later." He licked all the way up the underside of
Pavel's cock, making Pavel gasp, and Scotty continued from there, appreciating
Pavel's body with his lips, his tongue and his fingers. He prepared Pavel in
much the same way he had their first night together, when Scotty had ultimately
decided not to go through with it; he turned Pavel over onto his stomach and
buried his face in him. He tongued at Pavel's hole, convincing it to relax, one
of his hands busy down underneath, playing with Pavel's leaking cock. Pavel
wished he'd just stick his fingers in already, and he whined and squirmed and
breathed Scotty's name, begging without real words for Scotty to fill him up.
But Scotty continued to take his time, gently laving at Pavel's opening until
finally Pavel felt a fingertip begin to push inside.
"We have done this enough times," Pavel whined. "You can go faster than this,
put two fingers in right away."
"Impatient thing," Scotty chuckled. "What did I tell you about that? Engineers
can't be impatient. And neither can navigators."
Pavel only moaned as Scotty's fingertip found his prostate. Scotty was right,
of course. Pavel shouldn't be so impatient, especially considering this was
supposed to be special. He'd waited long enough, a few more minutes wouldn't
matter. Or, actually, they would matter. They'd matter in the best way, in a
way that made Pavel's body shiver with need and anticipation, that drove him to
the edge of sanity with how unbelievably good Scotty's hands could make him
feel. Pavel shut his eyes and imagined Scotty's hands gliding appreciatively
over the solid, graceful lines of the Enterprise's state-of-the-art design,
meanwhile he felt Scotty's palm caress down his quivering thigh. He imagined
Scotty's fingers slipping into a crowded access panel as he felt Scotty slip a
second finger inside him. He imagined Scotty hefting the cool, heavy weight of
some big metal tool in his fist as he felt Scotty grip his hot, hard length.
"Now, Scotty," Pavel said, his voice trembling out of him. "Right now, please."
"Shhh, hold on," Scotty said, his voice soft and patient, his breath caressing
Pavel's skin. "Just hold on."
Pavel wondered if there was method to Scotty's madness, if this waiting really
served a purpose, or if Scotty simply enjoyed watching him unravel like this.
Either way, Pavel liked it. Even though it was maddening, he loved being able
to show Scotty exactly how badly he was desired. Pavel pushed up onto all fours
with his knees spread wide, his body clenching around Scotty's fingers. He felt
Scotty shift behind him, lean over his back and kiss his neck, one arm wrapping
around Pavel's middle as his fingers continued to burrow inside Pavel's body.
"You're shaking, lad," Scotty murmured, lips brushing Pavel's skin.
"Want you now," Pavel whispered, pushing back against Scotty's fingers and
bringing a hand to his cock to tug impatiently at himself.
"Wait for it, love," Scotty whispered as he reached for Pavel's dick, wrapping
his own hand around Pavel's. Pavel looked down underneath himself to watch
Scotty's hand cradling his own, slowing his movements, keeping him from rubbing
himself too quickly. It looked so perfectly right. It always did. Pavel forced
himself to relax, willed the excess tension from his shoulders and managed to
stop most of his quivering. He breathed deeply and shut his eyes.
"Aye, that's it," Scotty praised him. "Slowly, slowly. There you go. See how
well you're loosening up now."
Pavel felt as though he was hanging in a frozen moment of time, one perfect
moment with the man he loved. Scotty was right as usual; this was far better
than rushing. He could have stayed there forever, letting Scotty coax him open.
By the time Scotty slipped a third finger inside, Pavel's body accepted it
without protest.
And then Scotty was withdrawing his fingers and turning Pavel over onto his
back. He lubricated himself, and Pavel was so glad to finally be able to lift
and spread his legs up and around him, to feel the head of Scotty's prick
nudging against his loosened opening, to stare up into Scotty's eyes as Scotty
began to push inside.
Pavel made a little noise in the back of his throat as Scotty's girth stretched
him. Scotty stopped immediately and hung there, waiting. He closed his eyes,
and Pavel wondered if Scotty was listening to his breathing or concentrating on
the way his hole clenched around him, gauging, calculating, waiting for Pavel
to be ready for him to continue. That was exactly what Scotty was doing,
because the moment Pavel felt he was ready again, Scotty began to move. He slid
all the way inside with a soft groan, opened his eyes again and looked down at
Pavel.
"There we are," he whispered with a sigh. Pavel was already incoherent. Scotty
was finally really inside him, filling him up, stretching him, nestled inside
like he was always supposed to have been there. He was always supposed to have
been there.
Pavel wrapped around him, enveloping him with his arms and legs, as Scotty
slowly moved in and out, dropping his head down next to Pavel's, pressing his
cheek to Pavel's, his breathing already shaky from the pleasure Pavel's tight
heat was pressing all around his length, tightness that Scotty had to comment
on, his strained voice murmuring into Pavel's ear. Pavel didn't say a word,
only moaned unintelligibly, and Scotty just knew, knew when it was okay to move
faster, to push into him harder, and soon he'd built up enough speed to cause a
fine layer of sweat to coat his back, to cause a healthy blush to bloom all
over his face and neck and chest, to cause him to lose his breath a bit, and
then a little more, and then a lot. He was lovely, Pavel thought. His face was
glowing and slack with pleasure and so lovely.
Pavel's ankles, which had been hooked together at Scotty's lower back, fell
away from each other, his legs dangling wide now on either side of Scotty, and
it felt so good to let his legs fall open and just enjoy the pounding he was
getting. Scotty was watching him again. Pavel must have looked completely dazed
with bliss, because Scotty's mouth pulled up into a lazy, lopsided smile.
"Hope I'm living up to your expectations," he panted.
Pavel couldn't find words adequate enough to tell him that he most definitely
was, and before he even got a chance to try, Scotty changed his angle and made
Pavel's eyes roll up in his head.
"Oh, there it is," said Scotty. "Hang on. I'm gonna hit that spot a bit better
for you." He paused and shifted to bring Pavel's legs onto his shoulders. When
he began thrusting again, he sank even deeper into Pavel's body and nudged at
his prostate more firmly.
"Holy god!" Pavel cried out in Russian as stars popped behind his eyes, and he
heard Scotty groan above him.
"Love it when you do that," he panted. "Talk to me, love. Say more. Say
anything."
Pavel opened his mouth and all kinds of things came tumbling out in his mother
tongue, how sorry he was for having been such a brat, how lucky he felt right
now, how good he felt, what a beautiful man Scotty was, and how much he loved
him.
"I love you," he declared in Russian, not caring that Scotty had no idea what
he was saying. "I love you so much, and – Oh, oh, oh god!"
"Love you too," Scotty breathed.
Pavel stare up at him in disbelief with his mouth hanging open. "Huh?"
"I understood that, what you said there. The 'I love you' part, I understood
it." Scotty paused to shift again and let Pavel's legs fall back to their
original position before starting to thrust again, his hands caressing Pavel's
face. "I love you. And I think... I think it was me. That day in front of the
statue. I think it was me."
Scotty's thrusts had slowed now, and he was fucking Pavel in a gentle, steady
rhythm that made it difficult for Pavel to keep his eyes focused because of the
constant pressure on the sensitive gland inside him. But then Scotty's face was
right there, their foreheads and noses pressed together, and Pavel couldn't see
him properly anyway.
"Scotty," he whispered, closing his eyes. "Was just... joke..."
"Shhh," Scotty hushed him. "I think it was me."
Pavel had to swallow a little lump that was forming in his throat. His toes
curled as Scotty shifted his angle just a little bit once more and his thrusts
picked up speed. Pavel could tell Scotty was going to come soon; he knew
Scotty's noises and signals. He encouraged Scotty in Russian, knowing Scotty
would be able to interpret his tone, if not his words. He wrapped his arms
around him, held on tight as Scotty went faster, and he whimpered as he
repeated Scotty's last words in his head, that little lump in his throat
stubbornly returning.
"Want it inside," Pavel whispered, telling Scotty to come inside him in
Russian. "Inside me where it belongs."
"Yes... god, yes."
"Just like coming inside her, isn't it?" he added in English.
Scotty's thrusts slowed again and he pulled back a bit so he could look at
Pavel properly. His expression was one of concern. "Pavel, no, I only want you
tonight."
"Is okay," Pavel whispered, and it really was okay. Scotty's love and worship
of the Enterprise was a beautiful thing and Pavel liked that Scotty's love of
him was entangled with it. Perhaps it should bother him, but it didn't. He
stroked Scotty's back and whispered, "Is okay, I swear it. Come inside us,
okay?"
"Oh, sweet Jesus," Scotty whimpered, shutting his eyes and pressing his
forehead to Pavel's again. "You really shouldn't be encouraging this."
"Is okay. Listen. Listen."
Everything was quiet except for their erratic breathing, and Scotty was careful
not to let their skin slap together too much. Pavel could hear the gentle hum
of the ship all around them. It was always loudest here, in this Jeffries tube,
and he knew Scotty could hear it too. He wanted Scotty to hear it. The
Enterprise was part of them, part of their relationship, one of the reasons
they were so connected to each other. It was only fitting that she be included
now, and Pavel was only too happy to oblige.
He took a deep breath, filled his lungs completely, and then began the hum. He
made sure to start as quietly as possible so that his voice melded with that of
the ship. He let his voice rise just a little until he was a tiny bit louder
than the ship, so that his was the prominent voice in the chorus, and he knew
exactly when he'd hit the perfect volume, when his hum and the ship's had
merged in Scotty's mind, because Scotty emitted a helpless little moan, almost
like a sob. He pulled away to look down at Pavel again. The look on his face –
the sweet, almost pained look – clutched at Pavel's heart, making his voice
break, making his hum clearly distinguishable from the ship's once again, and
there was no chance to get the pitch back because that was when Scotty lost
control and pushed into him harder, faster, finally spilling inside him.
It was even better than Pavel had imagined it would be, feeling Scotty actually
coming inside him, feeling the liquid spurting in while Scotty tensed up in his
arms. This was what Pavel had been missing, connecting with his lover like
this, their bodies merging, Scotty filling the most intimate part of Pavel with
his come.
"God, I love you," Scotty moaned. "Sweet buggering fuck, you magnificent
creature! Love you so much... so much..." His string of praise and profanity
tapered off as his climax ebbed and then finally stopped. Scotty went limp,
panting hard against Pavel's neck. Pavel just hung onto him, staring up at the
low ceiling of the tube, and smiled to himself. Even this moment, this
anticlimactic moment in which everything came back down, was perfect.
He whined as Scotty withdrew and rolled off him. He lowered his legs and looked
over at Scotty, who lay next to him, red-faced and panting and covered in
sweat. Scotty looked at him as well and smiled tiredly at him.
"You never said if I lived up to your expectations," he said.
Pavel grinned back. "Oh, yes." He rolled toward Scotty and cuddled up to him.
"It was everything I wanted it to be."
Scotty found the strength to roll over and take Pavel in his arms. "Still gotta
make you come. I'm gonna... do that in a minute, love, just... let me catch my
breath a bit."
"No rush... Scotty?"
"Hm?"
"You said before, you said... you think it was you."
"Oh." Scotty looked down at him and smiled softly. "I think it coulda been,
yeah. You asked me what I was thinking before when I kissed your scar. Well, I
was sorta thinking... about the place where we really began, you and I. Let me
see here; that day, you were wearing jeans and a striped t-shirt in varying
shades of blue."
Pavel stared at him in disbelief. He didn't remember exactly what he'd been
wearing on that day in June, back in 2250, but he remembered owning a blue-
striped t-shirt back then. "I must have shown you a picture of me in that
shirt."
"Maybe. Is it creepy that I remember what you were wearing? You were a child
and I definitely wasn't, after all. Maybe it is creepy, I dunno, but it's not
as if I've been stalking you or anything. I remember what you were wearing
because you stood out. You were the little wee thing running around like a mad
man and you had the biggest 'fro I think I've ever seen on a child."
Pavel snorted and snickered. "That was not my idea."
Scotty laughed too. "Oh, I place the blame squarely on your mum, believe me.
And then your mum finally got hold of you and made you sit on a bench so she
could deal with your ankle, and that's when our eyes met. And your little face
broke into the biggest smile I'd ever seen, and you had a tooth missing. You
waved at me, and let me tell you I was in a foul mood that day. Lost my
favorite camera. Expensive, that thing was. And my feet hurt. And my pack was
heavy. But then you smiled at me and... things didn't seem so bad all of a
sudden."
Pavel couldn't tell if Scotty was joking, but he didn't interrupt. There was
something so soft and genuine in Scotty's eyes at that moment, Pavel was
riveted.
"You don't often get that," Scotty continued. "Smiles from perfect strangers
for no reason, I mean, not even from children. Everyone's so cut off, in their
own little worlds, you know. So when it happens, it's pretty refreshing, almost
jarring, but in a good way, like... you start to feel like maybe things aren't
so bad, like maybe you're not so alone. That's what you did for me that day,
you know." Scotty stroked Pavel's curls as he spoke. "You had no way of
knowing, but the simple act of smiling at a stranger made me appreciate
everything so much more. A smile from a kid made me miss my camera a lot less.
A smile from a kid made me realize that I was in a wonderful country with my
best mates and we were all alive and healthy. That smile made me feel more
connected to my fellow man. It made me snap outta my mood. It made me look
around and really see how beautiful everything was. That's what you did for me
that day."
Pavel just stared. His heart was beating quickly now and his mind was
frantically trying to remember that day, but he couldn't quite pull certain
little details out of the murky depths of his memory. It was frustrating as
hell. He was details-oriented by nature; he should be able to remember what
he'd been wearing.
But then Scotty brought their lips together and Pavel's mind went blissfully
blank.
Pavel said nothing for a long while as they lay there together in silence,
holding each other. His natural obsessiveness wouldn't allow him to just let go
of the mystery of his outfit on That Day. He wished he could simply relax and
enjoy the afterglow, but he couldn't shut off his mind.
"What're you thinkin' about?" asked Scotty.
"Nothing."
"Lies."
Pavel smiled. He decided not to tell Scotty the truth. The story was perfect.
He'd wanted it to be real, and now Scotty was playing along. Let it be, he told
himself. "I have a confession to make," he finally said.
"What's that?"
Pavel looked up at him. "I was born on September 19th, 2241, and the exact time
of my birth would correspond to exactly 23 hours and 46 minutes, ship time."
He stopped talking and waited, watching Scotty work out what he'd just said.
"And the time now is...?" asked Scotty.
"If I am estimating correctly –"
"And you probably are."
"– it should be about 23 hours and 10 minutes, Scotty."
"I see," Scotty said slowly. "So, technically –"
"I am still seventeen. Yes."
Scotty had agreed to go all the way with him two weeks ago after they'd all
escaped death, so this news shouldn't be a big deal, should it? Pavel watched
him nervously. Scotty was frowning slightly and Pavel couldn't tell what he was
thinking.
"Well, you know what that means," Scotty finally said with a sigh.
"No. What?"
"We need to hurry up and get in as much dirty, forbidden sex as possible before
you're officially an adult."
At that, Scotty's face broke into a big grin, and Pavel laughed with relief as
Scotty rolled him onto his back.
"You are okay with being a filthy old man, then?" asked Pavel.
"Shh," Scotty hushed him with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "Quiet, child."
And he kissed Pavel mercilessly before finally sliding down his body to take
him in his mouth.
END
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