Chapter Three:
All went well for Pavel. His songs were finished and received well by the other members of the Brothers Grimm. They learned the chords and melodies and everything else ran smoothly. It was now the eve of the gig, and the band was practicing individually for a few minutes before Kirk would get them to bring it all in. Len had come up with the idea, but Scotty had seconded it, and so they were split off into individual practice rooms.
Pavel moved to another room with a piano in it. The space Spock rented out for them on weekday evenings was empty at this time, thanks to a little haggling from Spock, of course, so the rooms were all unlocked and up for grabs, even if the band only used the one.
Pavel sat down at the piano and stared at it for a moment before he put his fingers on the keys and pressed down, beginning to play something…
Scotty was having issues. Suffice to say, he also wanted to see Pavel without the other guys around him to make fun of him, especially Hikaru, who seemed to know something Scotty didn't. Scotty took the acoustic guitar he practiced on ("It's lucky if I practice on this one if I'm alone, you know?" he had said in an interview) and went to find the Russian whizkid, wherever he had gone to.
He was surprised to find that, past Hikaru's careful drumbeats and Kirk's soft strumming and even gentler voice, Pavel had gone as far from the other rooms as he could, even though each room was insulated and sound proof.
He got close to the door to listen and heard a small voice singing a rocking melody, with sweet words and careful keystrokes. Pavel paused every once and a while to figure out the chords, as if he was writing another song. But the lyrics, as Scotty stepped closer to listen to the enchanting song, seemed older than anything Pavel had written. It sounded like… like a lullaby from a different time.
Watch for the moon…
Watch for the stars…
…I'll always be with you wherever you are.
That seemed like the ending to the song, as Pavel sighed out and papers rustled. Scotty was about to knock when Pavel began again:
Hush my dear, close your eyes
Have no fear for dark skies
Watch for the moon
Watch for the stars
I'll always be with you wherever you are.
Sleep, my star, don't you fear
When you wake, I'll be here
With you in soul
With you in dreams
With you to fight off Nightmare's great schemes.
Watch for the moon…
Watch for the stars…
…I'll always be with you wherever you are.
Scotty finally opened the door (as it wasn't locked) figuring out that it was a lullaby. A child's lullaby, like nothing he had ever heard before. He wanted to congratulate Pavel for writing the music for it, but as he opened the door, he saw that the boy wasn't joyful for figuring out the notes in honor of his mother but… sad.
Pavel jumped and wiped the corner of his eye with the sleeve of the gold shirt he was wearing. "Scotty?"
"Pavel, I… was that a lullaby?" Scotty asked.
"Yes. It was my mother's and mine when I was smaller," Pavel said, his normally sweet voice dulled and almost annoyed.
Was… "I'm sorry, Pavel, but is your mother—"
"Please leave, Mr. Scott," Pavel replied, turning his back on the other male and wiping his eyes more.
"Oh, but I—" Scotty was tongue-tied, not only because of the gravity of the situation, but also because, well, he might have had a small, tiny, insignificant crush on the younger male…
Pavel suddenly stood, "Fine," he said, the air growing colder, as well as darkening as Pavel moved passed Scotty.
And Scotty stood there for a moment. Meanwhile, Pavel left early, taking out his phone to call Nyota.
One thing Pavel left was his lullaby on the piano's music ledge. Scotty took it up and looked at the words, the chords fresh in hid mind. "Pasha's Lullaby…" he muttered, even though the title was in messy Cyrillic Russian as oppose to Roman English.