Chulu Fic: Hot Mess

[bandearg_rois]

Title: Hot Mess
Author: bandearg_rois 
Rating: R
Word Count: ~7000
Warning: Underage Drinking (kind of), Underage Sex (kind of), fluff, and everything that goes along with it
Summary: Pavel Chekov led a very sheltered life before he left Russia, so it was only natural that he became a party animal once he turned 15. One thing led to another and he met Hikaru Sulu. Would there ever be a future from it?
A/N: This was originally put up at fanfiction.net, but I thought I'd try it over here.

 

Pavel Andreivich Chekov was not the most enlightened person, not even at university. So as soon as he turned 15 at the Academy, he crashed every dorm party he possibly could; many people wondered how he continued to be the top or near-top of his classes – he never came in third. But no one ever turned him in. He was emancipated at age 12, and according to international law he was legal 3 years after emancipation, and he never did anything stupid. Plus, he didn't screw the curve for the rest of them if he went to the parties.

He'd been going to the parties for about half a semester when he did his first stupid thing. He drank; well, more to the point, he drank more than his usual, but later blamed it on Irina and the good Russian vodka she had procured. His second stupid thing was dancing with a stranger; usually he would find a good friend if he felt the itch to dance. But he found himself dancing with a smoky-eyed Asian man, at least 3 years his senior.

The next morning he woke up tangled in sheets and golden skin with hazy recollections of the actions leading up to that moment. The man was staring at him with no recognition.

"You vere as drunk as I vas, da?" he asked, pulling away from the Asian and running a hand through his hair. The man looked vaguely amused, but mildly horrified.

"Maybe more," he rumbled in return. "I don't even think I got your name."

"Pavel Andreivich Chekov." He winced at the confusion in the man's face. "Is custom to introduce oneself with full name. Sorry."

"Hikaru Sato Sulu," the Asian replied with a sudden smile. He then looked around and groaned quietly. "Your shirt didn't survive the night," he noted, motioning to the torn remnants.

"Aiyah, it vas my faworite, too," Pavel lamented, then sat up. "Vell, it vill not be the first time my shirt vas ruined, though usually it is from spilled alcohol, not… vell, this." He suddenly felt self-conscious and very glad that Sulu didn't have a roommate or that said roommate was not present. "I should go. It vas nice meeting you, Hikaru." He got up and quickly pulled on his boxers and jeans, looking at the ruins of his shirt with slight dismay. Suddenly a shirt hit him in the face and he saw a brief-clad Hikaru standing near a chest of drawers.

"You can have it." The shirt was ratty but serviceable, proclaiming a dojo in the local area. He slipped it on quietly, hissing slightly as it brushed a bite mark on his shoulder. The night had to have been fun, then.

"Thank you. Vell…" He waved and stepped closer to the door after putting his shoes on. "I did have fun… I think."

"Me, too. Bye, Pavel." He made it back to his room, where his roommate stared at him in confusion when he carefully folded the t-shirt and put it in his drawer of sleep-shirts.

The encounter was mostly forgotten, until Pavel sat at the helm of the U.S.S. Enterprise two-and-a-half years later, expecting his usual partner, McKenna. Instead the pilot was a vaguely familiar stranger. He ignored the man in favor of checking his instruments one more time before Captain Pike entered the bridge so that he would have a report to give.

"Where's Ensign McKenna?" Pike asked when the pilot tried to put them into warp and they didn't move. Pavel could feel the shaking as the engines tried and succeeded to engage, but there was no movement other than that. He probably could have pointed out the mistake, but he honestly wanted to see how the pilot would handle the delay.

"He has lungworm, sir, couldn't report to his post. I'm Hikaru Sulu."

Had Chekov been a dog, his ears would have perked. That name was familiar. He snuck a look but couldn't tell if he'd ever seen him except in passing. Then Commander Spock made the comment about the external dampeners, and for some reason he recognized the look on the pilot's face as he released them. He didn't have time to process it before Captain Pike asked him to do a ship-wide broadcast. He flinched internally; someone in the upper echelon thought it was funny to give the Russian with the speech impediment an authorization code with two Vs in it.

He only had to repeat the code once, thankfully, but knew everyone would laugh inside, as the broadcast was almost strictly about the crisis on Vulcan. He could have sworn he heard a muffled snort from beside him as he began the broadcast and glanced over to see a tiny grin on Sulu's face.

Suddenly he was watching a veritable ping-pong match of a discussion between Captain Pike, Commander Spock, and a Cadet identified as Kirk. The conversation boiled down to the fact that the were rushing into a Romulan attack, not a rescue mission for a world in natural crisis. He spun back to his console quickly and brought up red alert, making sure the shields were at full power.

They dropped into the remains of a massacre. He could almost feel how hard Sulu was working to keep the ship in one piece, and he did all he could to help, instinctively course-correcting while the pilot maneuvered the ship. Then the Romulan appeared on the view screen. He was riveted; it was like a train wreck, he just couldn't look away. Then he was watching Sulu leave the bridge along with the Captain, First Officer, and Kirk. The Asian volunteered to be on the team to disable the drill because of his 'advanced hand-to-hand' training.

"Chekov, you have the con," Pike ordered as they got into the turbolift.

"A-Aye, sir." He hastily rerouted the other helm console readings to his own console and dispatched another pilot to the bridge before dispatching another Science Officer and pulling the command readings to his upper console so he could keep an eye on them as he continued to monitor the enemy ship. When Commander Spock came back as Acting Captain, he moved the command readings back to the upper right of the view-screen and pulled up all four officers' vitals on his upper console, directing a feed to the view screen. Pike's vitals remained steady, while Engineer Olsen's jumped erratically, Kirk's rose to a higher level and held steady, and Sulu's barely registered heightened activity as they jumped out of the shuttle and down into the atmosphere.

He was monitoring transporter controls out of the corner of his eye, and knew in the back of his mind that anyone else who looked at his console would be horribly confused. He had the vitals, the transporter and communication controls, and the monitoring equipment up, as well as the shields and weapons' display. He flinched and reported when Olsen's vitals disappeared from his monitor, and the other two in the Away Team had highly elevated heart-rates, indicating extreme stress.

He huffed in satisfaction when the controls came back online but quickly sobered as he brought the complete monitoring of Vulcan to the main of his console, blotting out everything else. His quick calculations painted a bleak picture; a singularity was forming at the heart of Vulcan, destroying the planet from the inside out. After he notified Acting Captain Spock, he once again gained the con, dropping the Vulcan monitoring window to the bottom corner of his console and maximized the vitals, enemy monitoring, and transporter controls.

The operator of the transporter started baulking when Sulu and Kirk fell from the drill and their 'chute failed, complaining that she couldn't get a lock. He knew the reason why and jumped up from his console, leaving everything as it was and threw a hasty "You have the con" at the pilot as he sprinted for the transporter room. Thankfully he was a runner and made it in record time, pushing the woman aside and taking manual control. Tongue between his teeth he inputted calculations at blinding speed and got a lock on them just in time to keep them from splatting to the deteriorating rock of the surface. They landed hard, and he heard a crunch that he hoped was broken glass before Spock kicked them off the pad and beamed himself to the surface of Vulcan to rescue the Vulcan High Council, among which his mother and father were members.

Moments later, Spock called for the beam up, and he locked on all of them and began the beam. As the transport started, the cliff under the woman's feet broke and he frantically pulled and pushed, trying to keep the lock on her signal. "I'm losing her, I'm losing her!" He frantically input commands, even as the rest of the party appeared on the pad. "No, I've lost her." The woman had to be Spock's mother; she was the only human signature. He winced at the hastily concealed look of anguish on the Half-Vulcan's face and could feel the accusing stares baring down on him. He couldn't breathe, he had to get out.

He pushed past everyone in his way to get out of the room, only stopping when Sulu grabbed his arm in the hallway. "Hey, you okay?" The man was covered in bruises and dirt and blood and he had the nerve to ask Pavel if he was all right.

"Is vhat I should be asking you, Lieutenant," he replied softly, staring at his hands.

"Ensign Chekov." Spock exited the room and came toward him. "Thank you."

"For vhat, Keptain?"

"For attempting to save my mother's life. Those were very advanced calculations that the computer could not assimilate in time."

"But… I failed."

"You made the attempt. Thank you." Spock then continued on, leading the Vulcans toward sickbay to get checked out.

"See? Blame this Nero guy, not yourself!" Sulu said, patting his back. "I'll see you on the bridge, Pavel." He returned to his post, puzzling over the name usage by the Asian, before pulling up the transport records, confirming what Spock had said; there simply wasn't enough time. The computer was slow, not him. Sulu returned to the helm and offered him a smile. He smiled back tentatively before continuing to monitor, watching in horror as the planet on the view-screen imploded, eyes only half on the readouts on his console telling him the rate of deterioration.

When Spock and Kirk were both back on the bridge, a conversation started about why the Nerada hadn't destroyed them and why Nero wanted Pike. It culminated in Kirk being marooned on Delta Vega and the Enterprise plotting a course to the rest of the fleet.

A very boring few hours later, he reported unauthorized access to water-turbine controls. Security was dispatched and suddenly Kirk and another man, identified as Mr. Scott were on the bridge, the latter soaking wet. Kirk forced Spock to react with a combination of insubordination and downright offense until Spock nearly killed the man after throwing him into Pavel's console. Thankfully the broken panel was not an important one.

Kirk then took over as Captain and set them all to finding a way to ambush Nero. He took over a work screen at the back of the bridge and quickly did calculations and course plotting until he was proud of the fact that he had a workable solution. He outlined his plan to the captain and was seconded by Scotty. The CMO, however, began to shoot him down because of his age, which had never been a detriment before.

Thankfully, before he had to violently protest, Spock returned to the bridge and confirmed his telemetry, and he and Sulu plotted a course to Saturn. "All stop in 3… 2… 1." Sulu typed in commands as the ship came to a standstill, causing Pavel to lurch slightly. "Give ¼ impulse burst for 5 seconds, I'll do the rest with thrusters." Pavel inputted his own set of commands. "On my mark."

"Aye." He waited, finger poised over the correct execution command.

"Fire." They rose slowly through the ion cloud around Saturn, both of them typing quickly to course correct until they were in place a few moments later. "Transporter Room, we are in position over Titan." There was a garbled reply from Mr. Scott, and then Kirk's voice came out over the small set of speakers in the center console, set up for the helmsmen only.

"Whatever happens, Mr. Sulu, if you think you have the tactical advantage you fire on that ship, even if we're still on board, that's an order."

"Yes, sir." Pavel heard the resignation in his voice and brought up the vitals on both of their consoles, and monitored Earth, as per instructions.

"Otherwise we'll contact the Enterprise when we're ready to beam back." Sulu pressed the communication command.

"Good Luck." The connection dropped and Pavel exchanged a look with Sulu that ended abruptly when Uhura reentered the bridge.

"Communications and transporter are inoperative; Sulu please tell me you have them." Sulu looked at Pavel quickly and slammed his hands on the console. The vitals display had malfunctioned when the drill was lowered, then come back online, but they had no idea where they were, just whether they were alive.

"Kirk and Spock are on their own now," the Asian finally said sullenly. Pavel quickly pulled the vital display over to his own console and continued to monitor the Nerada. A few minutes later, a small ship left the Mining vessel and destroyed the drill, bringing controls back up. He quickly worked with Scotty in symphony to lock onto Pike, Kirk and Spock and waited with baited breath for the signal. Suddenly the little ship went into warp and the Nerada followed. Pavel and Sulu quickly followed, emerging from warp just in time to destroy the missiles that were targeting the futuristic little craft. Just before the ships collided, Kirk called for the beam up and Pavel barely registered the energizing before the ships finally met.

"Keptains!" he called as Kirk and Spock returned to the bridge, turning to face them with a grin. "The enemy ship is losing power; their shields are down, Sirs!"

"Hail them now," Kirk bit out as the two continued to stand in front of the view-screen.

"Aye." As he worked on hailing the Nerada, he noted the budding singularity in the midst of the ship with a pleasant satisfaction.

"This is Captain James T. Kirk of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Your ship is compromised; too close to the singularity to survive without assistance, which we are willing to provide." Pavel looked at the other blonde incredulously, certain the man was crazy. Then he read the conversation between the Captain and Science Officer, and smirked.

"I would rather suffer the end of Romulus a thousand times. I would rather die in agony than accept assistance from you."

"You got it." Pavel dropped the conversation immediately, anticipating the orders along with Sulu as they began to ready all weapons. The last of the ship was destroyed by their phasers (which would have to recharge for several hours) and photon torpedoes (which they were out of afterward) just before the singularity stabilized slightly and began pulling them in. Even maximum warp wasn't getting them away from the gravity well.

Pavel's heart was beating too fast, and the hull was cracking and Kirk was yelling orders to Scotty and then suddenly he was shoved back into his seat as the explosion from the detonated warp core pushed them out into space, and they were free. For some reason his heart stuttered when Sulu turned the full force of his relieved grin on him, but pushed it aside; there was still a lot of work to do.

The only real problem Pavel had when they got back to the Academy was that he had no quarters. He had been assigned to the Enterprise months before so his dorm room was occupied. Admiral Decker, the officer in charge of Housing tried to put him in the only available officers' quarters; the quarters had belonged to a Lt. Commander on the Truman. He quickly went to the male cadets for an alternative.

As luck would have it, Sulu was the first person he found, but when he opened his mouth to ask, he got suddenly shy and changed his question.

"What's up, Chekov? Bored already?" the Asian asked with a small grin. Pavel could see the strain though; the pilot had probably lost many good friends in last few weeks.

"Nyet, not yet. Is there a place ve can talk? In priwate?" Sulu nodded and led him to an abandoned lounge.

"What did you want to talk about, Chekov?" Pavel sat down next to him on the couch and started at his hands.

"I… I need a place to stay."

"Huh?"

"The only place they have for me is a dead man's room." For some reason he felt tears welling in his eyes, but he couldn't control them as they spilled out. He started babbling about how the room still had the other man's things in it and how he didn't want to feel the man's ghost and then he was just crying, tucked up under Sulu's chin.

"Sh, you can stay with me. It's okay, I understand."

"Do… do you remember vhen ve first met?" he asked that evening as he unabashedly stripped to his boxers and pulled out his sleep shirt. He had realized that the shirt was the one he'd gotten from Sulu after that night.

"Vaguely. There was a lot of… is that mine?"

"You said I could hawe it!" Pavel protested good-naturedly, suddenly feeling awkward. Hikaru was his only one night stand, so he didn't know the etiquette, even years later, for interaction. He could feel the blush creep up his chest to his ears.

"Yeah, yeah I did." And just like that, they were all over each other, mouthing at exposed skin and ended up on a bed – whose, Pavel had no idea nor did he care. Suddenly he was glad to be in just his boxers. This time neither of them were drunk, and it was so much better. Pavel knew he would probably be sore, but that didn't matter as he lay on top of Hikaru, utterly sated and more content than he could ever remember being.

"So…" Hikaru sounded a little shaky, and Pavel was jerked from his euphoria.

"This does not hawe to happen again, Hikaru," he said softly, beginning to roll away. The arms around him tightened, holding him in place.

"So noble, Pavel," the Asian murmured, lifting his chin. "But we both know why this happened, and it will probably happen again. We're both mature, right?"

"Da. So… vhat are ve?"

"I think just friends wouldn't cover it, don't you?" Pavel found himself chuckling and swatting at the older man.

"Indeed, but ve only hawe a few things that connect us, so friends vould not be accurate either." He settled himself to listen to Hikaru's heartbeat, somehow so comfortable with him while they were discussing something so embarrassing. He chalked it up to surviving together and gave up.

"Ever heard of fuck buddies?" the question and its suddenness distracted him from tracing equations on the Asian's abs.

"Da… is that vhat ve are?"

"Close enough. I do wanna get to know you, though. Did you know I read your thesis on Fluid Dynamics?" Pavel's head shot up, and he stared at Hikaru, eyes wide.

"My paper? I vas only 14 vhen I wrote that!"

"Which means you're even smarter now," Hikaru teased. "I thought your paper was amazing, and the ideas worth looking into, even though the professor was using it as a 'this is wrong' example. I didn't think so and almost ended up failing because he didn't like my dissertation."

"Professor Newman, da?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"He tried to get my scholarship pulled because of that paper. He hates me, which means my thesis was right."

"Damn straight, it was brilliant." Pavel couldn't help it, he grinned widely, even though his answering yawn to Hikaru's cut through the middle of it. He laid his head back down and listened to Hikaru's heartbeat.

"'Night 'Karu," he mumbled, aided to sleep by the steady beat under his ear and the fingers gently combing through his hair.

A week later, classes started again, and so Pavel was left alone. And bored, so he decided to walk toward the library. About halfway there he got an insane idea and was speeding up, calculations and equations spinning in his head along with programming jargon. He was so into his own world, he almost missed his own name being called.

"…Pav!" He spun to see Jason, his ex-boyfriend. For some reason the image of Hikaru in their room popped up and he forced his attention back to the matter at hand.

"Jason, hi, sorry, vas thinking. Thought you were on the Space Station!" They had broken up after graduation because of their differing assignments, and neither of them wanted a long-distance relationship.

"They pulled all the extraneous personnel back to man the new ships," Jason replied, putting an arm around him. "Heard I have you to thank for the fact that all we got here was a lower tide than normal, huh?"

"It vas not only me… Keptain Kirk did most of it. And Sulu, the pilot. I just sat and pushed buttons."

"Bullshit. Hey, you wanna go get some lunch?"

"Oh, vell I vas going to the library. I have another paper to write." Jason stared at him for a moment, then let go of him and smiled wistfully.

"Who is he?"

"Pardon?" He honestly couldn't understand how talking about writing a paper turned into talking about someone else.

"You know what I mean." He realized that for the first time in a long time, he felt happier, and that Jason could read him like a book.

"Ve vork together on the Enterprise," he finally said, looking down.

"As long as he treats you right. See you around, Pasha." Jason hugged him again and kissed his forehead before walking away. Pavel almost felt like crying because he was misleading Jason, and then pushed it away and continued to the library and began working on the program for the transporter that would do what he had done and tried to do automatically, incorporating it into regular procedures, the only thing having to be done manually being actually moving the sensors to catch the signals.

Hikaru found him there 7 hours later, surrounded by book-PADDs and scowling down at another data-PADD that he was constantly fiddling with with the stylus. He jumped when the Asian sat down next to him, correcting the equation he'd just destroyed absently as he turned to his friend.

"Don't do that!"

"Sorry. You weren't at lunch and it's dinner time. What are you doing?"

"Fixing quantum physics," he replied as he minimized his process and shot a message off to Scotty who called him immediately on his communicator. "Do you have time to look over something for me?" he asked the Scotsman quickly. "It is a new program for transporter that incorporates your vork and it goes back to early quantum and…"

"After dinner? I'll also talk to you over dinner, but I need me sandwiches."

"Meet in the mess?"

"Got it. Scott out."

"Are you hungry now?" He growled in answer and went over to the librarian.

"Hello, Marlene, sorry to leawe a mess, but…"

"No problem, Pasha, as long as you're coming back after you eat." He nodded and grinned. Is Irina going to be with you?"

"N-nyet." He had fought with his best friend after they gradated and had found out that she was on the Truman. "She vas…"

"I'm so sorry!"

"Do not vorry about it, it is all right." He barely felt Hikaru's hand on his shoulder and Marlene looked close to tears. "Ve had a falling out and I vas not going to see her again."

"I'm still sorry, Pasha. Have a good dinner." He nodded and left the library with Hikaru at his side, feeling stronger than he thought he would when forced to think about her. They met Scotty in the mess, Pavel explaining his idea in between bites of the sandwiches Hikaru kept putting in his hands. Scotty was intrigued, though Hikaru looked lost and went to get his homework from the dorm before joining them at the same table in the library.

Pavel barely registered that he returned; he was in deep discussion with Scotty as they passed the PADD back and forth, finishing each other's sentences.

"Ve could-"

"But this here-"

"Da, and then-"

"Yeah and this here-"

"Of course!"

He came out of his nerdgasm to see Hikaru staring at a PADD, hair mussed as he kept running his hands through it in frustration. "Vhat's wrong?" He handed off the PADD to Scotty and turned his attention to his friend.

"I need help," Hikaru finally replied, looking embarrassed. He brandished the PADD and Pavel took it from him, looking quickly over the problem.

"Vhat is N?" he asked.

"45, I think."

"Right. Plug it in." He talked Hikaru through the rest of the problems until Hikaru understood it on his own.

"Thanks."

"You're velcome." He turned back to Scotty and opened his mouth only to have the PADD shoved under his nose. "Yes, but vhat about the-"

"Already worked in. We're done, lad," Scotty replied, grinning madly.

"I still hawe to write the proposal…"

"I'm free other than meals until dinner tomorrow. We'll get it written. Which reminds me, I have to resubmit my work before we can use it as a basis. I'll get with you in the morning."

"Thanks. Bed time, good night Scotty, see you tomorrow."

"Sure! Good sex!" Scotty said cheerfully as he left, leaving Pavel and Hikaru looking mortified for a moment.

"Well, that was awkward," Hikaru said as he helped Pavel put the book PADDS back on their shelves. When they got back to their rooms, Pavel shoved Hikaru roughly against the door and kissed him hard, scrabbling at the red cadet uniform he wore.

"You know, I'we been vanting to do this since I saw you get dressed this morning," he growled as he stripped the Asian, getting stripped of his old jeans and t-shirt in return.

"Been wanting to do this since I saw you in the library," Hikaru panted in return, walking them backward until Pavel fell onto Hikaru's bed, pulling him down as well. When they were both naked, he ground his hips upward, bringing their erections together. Hikaru made a whining sound in the back of his throat and bit at Pavel's shoulder, returning the thrust. It was hard and fast and a little painful, leaving them both panting and spent, but Pavel didn't care, even though he was going to be walking and sitting funny the next day.

"So, my reds are sexy, huh?" Hikaru asked once he got his breath back.

"Da, and me?"

"Your ass was made for jeans, Pavel." Pavel groaned as Hikaru started licking his way down his neck, getting hard all over again, though it was a little slower.

Pavel and Scotty's papers were shot down almost immediately by those who had originally published the ideas they were changing, which meant it was good, so they celebrated. Actually, the entire main bridge crew including Hannity, McCoy, and some of Pavel's friends all got together to celebrate two things: the paper and his birthday.

It was a party to remember, especially since Hikaru had gotten him new running shoes, proving that he had listened when Pavel had bitched that his old ones were falling apart. There was also a lot of alcohol. It was the best afterparty he'd ever attended; the sex was amazing.

However, he realized he was developing feelings for Hikaru, and that scared him. He found himself wandering around the botanical gardens, learning about the plants that Hikaru liked most while the Asian was in class so that he could understand the man's ramblings, and had gone so far as to buy him an ancient katana as a commencement gift. That had taken most of his savings, but it seemed like it would be worth it.

He cursed the fact that all he had to wear were his old reds; his new dress uniforms hadn't been finished yet. But he enjoyed watching Hikaru and the rest of the bridge crew graduate with honors, and to witness Kirk's commendation and posting as the Enterprise's new captain. He was also thrilled when he got word that he and Hikaru were to be the Chief Helmsmen, himself as Navigator, Hikaru as Pilot. He was the youngest ever to become a department head, and he felt giddy when Hikaru swung him around, laughing happily.

"We're gonna be working together, Pav, isn't that great?"

"Da, is amazing!" He couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive; his feelings for the Asian continued to grow.

That Friday, Hikaru surprised him by asking him to dinner at a little Russian restaurant that he loved. After dinner they walked in Golden Gate Park.

"Hey, Pavel, I know this is a little backwards, but do you want to go out with me?" Hikaru asked as he rocked them in an impromptu dance to music that was playing elsewhere in the park. In answer, Pavel kissed him, the first time they'd actually locked lips.

"Tonight vas amazing," he said when they got back to the dorm. "I almost vish ve could hawe stayed out." He was wracking his brain for a way to ask to just lay with Hikaru, but the Asian took the decision away from him when he tossed that old t-shirt to him.

"Don't get me wrong, I like the sex, I really do, but I kind of want to just hold you tonight." Pavel just pulled the shirt on once he stripped to his underwear and wrapped himself around Hikaru once they laid down. He woke up the next morning to a sleepy kiss and found himself grinning into happy brown eyes.

"Morning, Kasha," he murmured, almost giggling when Hikaru found a ticklish spot on his arm.

"Kasha?"

"Is nickname, like mine."

"You mean Pasha? I've been trying to keep myself from saying it."

"Vell, you don't have to, now. I'm hungry, are you?"

"I'd almost rather work up an appetite," Hikaru replied, hands sliding smoothly and gently south. The kiss they shared sparked with passion. When Pavel came back down, he realized that that was the best sex he'd ever had.

"Ya lyublu," he murmured when they went to breakfast, almost without realizing it. He had no idea if Hikaru knew those words or not. But confused brown eyes met his and he knew that Hikaru had no idea that he'd just confessed his love, and felt somehow relieved.

The Monday after their first date they packed up and headed back to the Enterprise to move in early and help with last minute repairs. Their rooms were connected; all shift partners were. There was already a flowering plant in Hikaru's quarters, with a note from Scotty.

As you asked, Pavel. GOOD SEX!

Scotty

Pavel blushed at the look in Hikaru's eyes, and squeaked as he was lifted and thrown onto the bunk. It was a very good night.

Four days later they were on the bridge, waiting for Kirk and their five-year mission. They gave their reports with a smile and were even happier when Spock came onto the bridge and became their First Officer again.

"Punch it, Sulu," Kirk said from his chair and they were off into the great vastness of space.
 

Three months into their mission, Pavel was once again forced to watch as Hikaru was chosen for the away team, and didn't stop quietly panicking until the pilot returned to the bridge unharmed. It was only the first of many times either of them had to watch the other in danger, but it was nowhere near the last.

There were many times that Pavel cried himself to sleep after being kicked out f sickbay by Bones, and there were a few times that Hikaru admitted to doing the same, though every time Pavel's pillow smelled faintly of salt and strongly of his boyfriend. Pavel's 19th birthday passed while he was in an induced coma, and Hikaru's 22nd passed in much the same way.

The rest of the crew discreetly ignored their relationship (except Scotty who cheerfully wished them 'Good Sex!' multiple times a week), though as soon as Pavel made Lieutenant, the ignoring ended and they were able to openly hold hands and cuddle on movie nights. Though their relationship had started before either had rank (hey, if you counted the first time they had sex), no one believed them.

"No way," Uhura said when Pavel told her. "You were only what, 15?"

"I was legal!" he protested, laughing. They were eating lunch and speaking only Russian, as the Communications Officer had taken to him and knew he missed the MotherLand. Uhura proceeded to call Hikaru a cradle-robber until he threatened to tell her boyfriend.

"Í don't have a boyfriend!" she protested in return.

"You are dating McCoy!" he accused, making her blush. "He is nearly 10 years older than you! At least there's only 3 between me and Kasha!"

Life continued as it always did, and he and Hikaru grew even closer. They celebrated when he and Scotty received word that their proposed changes were being put into effect and added to the current curriculum at the Academy, and also their first year together.

Both of them spent it in Sickbay, having been attacked while Pavel helped Hikaru classify some plants. But it was still sweet because they both said those three words, Hikaru having learned them in Russian from Nyota and he got teased tiredly by his Asian lover for saying it their first day together.

Suddenly their second anniversary was approaching and Pavel was becoming more and more nervous. He knew Scotty and Nyota and McCoy and even the Captain knew what Hikaru was planning, but no one would tell him anything. Suddenly he was being sidetracked with projects and work, and Hikaru was disappearing more and more. He hardly saw him for 2 weeks except on shift and at meals. He was always asleep when Hikaru came in at night, Scotty continually getting him to 'help' until he was worn out.

On the morning of their anniversary, Pavel woke up alone, the first time that had happened barring injury since they first started having regular sex. It was mildly disconcerting, but he pushed the hurt away, setting about to tidy up their quarters. Both of them had been remiss in cleaning and he couldn't live in a dirty room for long.

By lunchtime, he was mildly panicking, wondering where Hikaru was. He couldn't locate him on the ship's computer – he'd been blocked from finding that particular name. He had almost made up his mind to complain to Nyota on the bridge when Hikaru came in with a bouquet of alien flowers that were the most beautiful he'd ever seen, and an apologetic kiss.

Hikaru led him through the halls in a blindfold, making him sit still until he initiated a holo-deck program, and then suddenly Pavel could hear owlsong and faint music, and smell flowers, all of them from Earth. He took the blindfold off to see that they were in the middle of 'Golden Gate Park' in the moonlight, and before them was a table set for two.

"Um, that was here before I turned on the program… holodecks can't produce food," Hikaru said nervously as they sat down to eat. The food was the perfect mix of his favorite foods, and after eating, they walked hand-in-hand through the gardens until he recognized the stretch where Hikaru ahd first asked him to 'go steady.' Hikaru pulled him into a dance, the same music playing in the background. They danced for a long time, content just to be with each other, and then Hikaru dropped to one knee, pulling something from his pocket.

"Kasha, vhat – "

"Pasha, I think I've loved you since that first morning when you looked like I kicked your puppy because I tore your favorite shit. And I've definitely loved you since we took our first walk together. I want to be with you forever. Will you marry me?"

"Oh, Kasha, yes!" Pavel waited only until the ring was on his finger before attacking Hikaru. The last time their lovemaking was that savage was two years before, when Pavel had first seen Hikaru in his reds. They emerged from the San Fransisco night sometime the next morning, happier than they'd ever been.

Within 3 months, Kirk had agreed to officiate the ceremony and they finagled a 3-day honeymoon on Rigel 2, a resort planet. The joining was set for 5 months after their engagement, and the day was suddenly upon them.

Nyota had stolen Pavel the night before to help him get ready as the ceremony was set for early morning in the holodeck set up to be a beach in California. The good thing about that was that it meant no uniforms, but he had panicked for about three days before Nyota took over and helped him find something to wear. He ended up in a cream suit with a non-collared black shirt and simple sandals that he wasn't even going to wear them once he was on the deck.

He was a nervous wreck by the time he stood outside the deck, letting his sandals fall next to a pair of oriental slippers that probably belonged to that visiting dignitary. He almost baulked at the opening until McCoy dragged him inside. As the oldest ranking officer, he'd decided it was his duty to stand in for Pavel's father, who didn't even care. Once he saw his Hikaru, the nerves disappeared.

Hikaru was dressed in oriental splendor, his father standing at his shoulder. How they had gotten his parents there Pavel couldn't remember at the moment, but it was amazing all the same. Kirk was dressed in… something weird. He looked like a barefoot pirate.

"Good morning. If you aren't here for the ceremony, go away." Pavel found himself laughing at Kirk's opening lines. "This is not the first joining, I've officiated, but it is the most personal. I was amazed to find out that these two used to party harder than me!" Everyone laughed and then Kirk sobered, looking at both of them, and then out to the crowd. "Seriously, I've known Hikaru and Pavel for over 2 years, and they went from being competent helmsmen, to two of my closest friends. The only couple that might be more cloying than them are Uhura and Bones." Laughs again. "Anyway, onto the actual meat, why everyone is here this morning. If you two will please join hands?"

Pavel took Hikaru's hand, tears showing in his eyes as Kirk grinned at them. Hikaru's eyes were also suspiciously wet. "A joining is the modern equivalent of an ancient custom. It is a time-honored tradition to recognize the lives of two people becoming one. If anyone wishes to object to this ceremony, speak now or forever hold your peace." The only sounds were the waves touching the sand. "No objections. The two participants have written their own vows. Hikaru, if you would like to begin?"

"Pasha, our lives here have been anything but stable, and that doesn't look to change anytime soon. But I cannot picture the rest of my life without you by my side; can't imagine going into the unknown without you. You are the last thing I see before I close my eyes, and the first thing I see when I wake up. I've loved you for what feels like forever, and I want to love you until the universe comes to an end." Hikaru's voice was strong and steady, despite the tears running down his cheeks. Pavel had to close his eyes and clear his throat before he could respond.

"Kasha, there is nothing I can say that can express the depths of my lowe for you. I cannot say that ve vill grow old together, but I cannot see myself old vithout you. I do not vant to." He had to clear his throat again when Hikaru wiped the tears from his face. "I newer imagined this for myself, but now I cannot see any other path. Today is only the beginning." His voice cracked on the last word and even Kirk had a tear ready to fall when he took over again.

"Hikaru Sato Sulu, do you take Pavel Andreivich Checkov to be your lawful partner, in sickness and health, for rich or poor, until death parts you?"

"I do," Hikaru said softly, slipping another titanium band on Pavel's finger.

"And do you, Pavel Andreivich Chekov, take Hikaru Sato Sulu to be your lawful partner, in sickness and health, for rich or poor, until death parts you?"

"I do." He was crying openly as he put the band on Hikaru's finger.

"By the power vested in me by Starfleet Command and ancient Mariner tradition, I pronounce you joined. You may kiss the bride." Pavel didn't have time to be annoyed by being called a girl; Hikaru was kissing him and it was somehow the best kiss they'd ever shared. The reception afterward was in Ten Forward, and the first dance they shared was to that same song they'd always danced to in San Francisco. The moment seemed to last forever. And was broken by Scotty and most of Engineering giving a loud call of 'GOOD SEX!'


-FIN-