Title: Something Else
Rating: G
Pairing: Er... sorta Scotty/Chekov, but nothing sexual, as you can see by the rating.
Disclaimer: Not really.
Summary: Written for prompt on st_xi_kink meme on LiveJournal.
"Really?"
Sulu couldn't believe it, and Chekov wasn't even embarrassed by it. Seventeen years old and not even interested in sex? Impossible!
"Yes, Sulu, I em a wirgin."
Sulu's mouth was still gaping – he hadn't even known virgin's existed anymore! …Okay, maybe that was an overstatement. But at seventeen! "Seriously?"
Chekov laughed at him, a bright sunshine smile. "Of course. I em not eenterested in sex. Ees it so hard to beliewe?"
Sulu shook his head hurriedly. "No, no. That's not what I… Well, it's just, you know. It's not often you come across someone who's…. well, like you, I suppose."
People did not understand his choices, thought maybe it's because he was scared of the unknown, maybe he was just pretending, maybe it was for attention… Nobody believed that he did not want sex. He was seventeen after all, and most people in these days and times were well experienced by the time they were fourteen.
Chekov had never met another virgin but that was because nobody wanted to be a virgin. Sometimes, he felt very alone. He had been in relationships before, but his partners had always what Chekov couldn't give.
Sometimes he thought maybe he was saving himself for marriage – it was a sweet notion, if slightly old-fashioned, and didn't seem very realistic. He'd thought about just getting it over with, prove what he knew he didn't want, but he did not want to betray himself.
Sulu's reaction was only normal.
Kirk's had been much the same, as had the doctor's. Uhura had thought it was sweet, in a strangely feminine way. Spock had merely nodded in acknowledgment. Scotty had been… Scotty.
"Oh, tha's great, Pavel! Savin' y'rself till you know yo'r ready. Wish I had done tha'. Lost mine one evenin' o' drinkin' too much." He was fixing something beneath tactical, chatting in the late hour to keep them awake. "Not interested, though? Well, I s'pose everyone's dif'rent. I m'self wasn' interested till I was twenty or so. 'S not that abnormal, Pavel."
It was reassuring to know that, perhaps, he was not alone. Chekov smiled down at Scotty, pressed his hand into the tangle of wires when asked. It was silent on the bridge until the engineer hit his head on Chekov's knee. They both cursed in their respective languages until they were both chuckling.
"So, wanna grab a san'wich after shift?" Scotty asked suddenly in a rush of breath, leaning over the consol to make sure it was properly working.
"Ah…" Chekov didn't know what to say. Hadn't he just explained that he didn't really do relationships?
Scotty seemed to see his mistake. "Oh, no, Pavel! Tha's not what I meant – I mean, well, I'd like lunch together, o'course. But relationships – I know where yo'r comin' from." He smiled shyly, happy that the gesture was returned. "Companionship, though, I think we could both use some. What d'you say?"
Companionship. It wasn't something Chekov had ever thought about. A relationship that wasn't a relationship but was, with someone who understood you, someone who… It wasn't romantic, wasn't sexual. And it was a bit tiring, being lonely all the time, without someone to talk to who wouldn't judge him.
"Okay," Chekov nodded, watched as Scotty returned to the engine room, humming softly.
He ran his fingers across the consol, rechecking figures and watching the time. Chekov almost laughed. It wouldn't really be lunch they shared, but he figured that breakfast would do just as well.
And maybe one day, he would want sex. Maybe, but he didn't want it now, at seventeen. Wasn't interested in sharing his body with anyone, but things changed. Maybe he would too.
Just maybe.
