Bones hurried out of the saloon, now partially sure that he was in love. All he needed to do to prove that he truly was in love was to go to Pavel's home and do exactly what Uhura had told him to do.
It wasn't a far walk, Pavel's house being literally right next to the Saloon. As Bones walked up the stairs, he remembered everything that had happened a day before. Sitting on those stairs with Pavel, telling him to stand up for himself. And by god, today he did. Except it was in a totally different way that he did not expect.
Bones brought himself to come face to face with the door, knocking heavily on it. Then he waited. The waiting was the worst. He didn't know what to do with his hands or were to place his feet. He assumed that was overthinking the situation. But then again, Bones always overthought things. From planning heists to waiting at a front door. It was how we worked; how his brain functioned.
The door opened and Bones flinched, looking forward to see Pavel standing there.
"Do you mind if I come in?" Bones asked. Pavel nodded enthusiastically while still holding a serious form.
Bones stepped inside the house and looked around. It was more cleaned up than it had been this morning. There was still some evidence of a fight but not much. The lamps had been picked up, the painting was now out of sight…
"Leesten, before you begin yelling at me, I vould like to say zat…I vas under pressure…I deed not mean to—" Pavel started to apologize, but Bones stopped him, put a hand firmly on his shoulder.
"No. Do not apologize. It's fine. I just thought that…we could talk about it…here." Bones said, trying to do as much of what Uhura had told him to do. He already had his hand on Pavel's shoulder and the kid hadn't moved away.
"Oh! Uh, yes…I suppose we can talk about zat. Uh…follow me." Pavel turned around quickly, mentally screaming inside his head as he guided Leonard to the front room. So he had returned! Leonard was coming back! He didn't run away! Pavel was beginning to think positively about Leonard's return, when the thought struck him. Maybe Leonard had returned to say that Pavel was a stupid child who needed to be watched at all times. And that there was no sense in him staying. Then, Leonard would leave his home and leave Enterprise, leaving Pavel alone with no one to talk to. No one to keep him safe…
"We can seet here." Pavel motioned towards the tiffany blue couch was yellowing white flowers that decorated the arms and back. Pavel hated that couch with a passion. It was ugly, it was old…it was the only thing of his mother's before she died. So he hated it.
"Okay." Bones nodded and rubbed his hands together, sitting down on the couch. Pavel sat next to him and the two were just quiet. Each of them had thoughts racing through their minds. All those thoughts were either to know if the other one hated him or loved him.
"So…what happened back out there…" Bones started, shifting in his spot. Pavel's heart leapt when he heard Bones speak up.
"Yes?" Pavel responded, turning to face Bones, hands neatly in his lap.
"I wanna say something, but I'm not positive you'll understand." Bones said.
"Oh! I am sure I vill understand! Just-just tell me!" Pavel became excited, hoping and praying for good news to come out of Bones' mouth.
"You're sweet kid…very nice, well mannered…and I…it's just…I don't know how to handle a situation such as this." Bones stumbled over his words, not entirely sure what to say.
"Well…zere are many ways to handle ze situation. Are you lost Meester McCoy?" Pavel asked, and he was being genuine. Despite helping Pavel out with safety and self defense, Leonard had been otherwise very distant.
It's when Pavel finally said it himself, that Bones began to break down inside. Yes, he was lost. He had been lost for a very long time. Stealing, pillaging, killing and burning were just outlets to make him forget that he was lost and alone.
"Yeah, I am kid. I really am." Bones responded softly. Pavel looked Bones up and down, examining everything about him. Instead of seeing the rough and tough distant man that he had been learning with, Pavel saw someone who was much more vulnerable, thought still rough.
"Vat are you lost with?" Pavel asked gently, timidly placing a small hand on Bones' knee. Bones felt the weight on his leg and looked up, remembing Uhura's words. He gently raised a hand of his own and placed it on top of Pavel's, ever so lightly squeezing it.
"A lot of things…a damn lot. I'm not sure if I'm in love…or…if I belong anywhere here." Bones responded. "Hell, I think I even need guidance." Bones laughed at himself.
"Eef you helped me, zen I can help you…" Pavel offered, but it was more of a statement on his part.
"I don't know how you can help someone such as myself." Bones shook his head, dropping it heavily in defeat. Pavel bit his lip and slid his hand out from under Bones', raising it up to his jaw, lifting his head up so that Bones and Pavel were eye to eye. Pavel's fingertips barely grasped the edges of Bones' jaw as he pulled himself into another kiss, nearly melting into Bones' lips.
This time, Bones wasn't shocked…or afraid. He greeted it warmly and responded positively. Though, it seemed that he responded with all the pent up lusty feelings that he had been holding for the past month to himself. Bones carefully pressed his mouth against Pavel's, enjoying the smooth feeling and the relaxing effect it had on him.
Pavel, ecstatic that Bones responded, grabbed both sides of Bones' face, feeling the rough stubble against his hands and amongst his upper lip. He tilted his head and pressed himself into the kiss, just had Bones done. It seemed that Bones had contracted his mouth around Pavel's, which Pavel did not mind one bit. He enjoyed the feeling. It was like nothing he had every experienced before.
"O, Bozhe..." (Oh god...) Pavel muttered in Russian as he felt Bones' lips move sensually and roughly over his own. He had never encountered something as breathtaking as this moment.
Bones, enjoying himself fully, took his arms off the couch and wrapped them around Pavel's waist, pulling the delicate boy in even closer. Pavel grinned and squirmed underneath Bones' grip, loosely straddling his lap. Bones ignored his movements and kept his lips on Pavel's for as long as he could. His hands ran through Pavel's thick, blonde and soft curly hair. His hands began to buzz and tingle and Bones couldn't have enjoyed this anymore than he was now. This was what he had been looking for when he kissed Uhura. The world outside seemed to melt away. He wasn't worrying about anything and he wasn't frazzled. He had been freed. He forgot about everything under sun except for the beautifully handsome young Russian that was sitting a top of his lap, kissing him.
Both of the men realized that they had been missing out on so much, for so long. They both realized that if Bones wouldn't have taken the exact route he did and if Jim Kirk and his group hadn't shown up, they would have missed each other and none of this would have ever happened. They would have lived on in eternal loneliness and pain. It sounded melodramatic to Bones, but it was the truth.
Pavel's hand left Bones' jaw and gripped his shoulder, which seemed tight from muscle tension. Bones nearly let out a pathetic whimper as he felt Pavel gently grip his tightened shoulder. He had thrown it out a couple weeks ago, only able to get it back into place by tying a rope to his own arm, replacing it in its original state.
"Sorry!" Pavel exclaimed, sitting up and letting go.
"No, no! It's fine." Bones shook his head, pulling Pavel by the shirt back down to his lips. Pavel grinned while kissing Bones, gently brushing his own hands over Bones' face, feeling every corner, wrinkle and line that he was allowed to find.
Pavel decided that he had helped Leonard in his mission to find his true self, so he peeled himself off of him and righted himself on the couch. Bones opened his eyes and realized that Pavel wasn't on his lap anymore. He quickly sat up and looked at Pavel.
"Deed zat help you?" Pavel asked.
"Yeah, thanks…Pavel." Bones responded, fixing his hair. "Though…you're only what, seventeen?" Bones asked. Pavel knew that his had been coming. He had it coming for him ever since he laid eyes on Leonard McCoy.
"Uh…yes sir…" Pavel's voice dropped.
"You do know that it might just be a little difficult hiding the age gap around here? The judgment that we'd be put through?" Bones asked.
Pavel looked up, surprised. "Vhy vould we want to hide eet?" He asked. "Are you really zinking about…staying vith me?"
"Well, yeah kid, I have to watch you. You're dad said—" Bones started.
"No. Like…you vould want to stay vith me?" Pavel asked and that's when Bones understood the question.
"Oh…kid, I don't know…I just—I just met you." Bones stood up, fixing his clothes and vest. Pavel jumped up in fear, grabbing Bones' arm.
"Please…Meester McCoy…do not leave…I—I want to talk!" Pavel burst out.
"About what?" Bones asked defensively.
"You said zat we could feenish the conversation about…how the townspeople ridiculed me. I was not done yet." Pavel told Bones. He didn't want Bones to leave. Not yet, not ever. Bones thought for a moment. Yes…he had said that. And he wasn't going to break that promise.
"Yeah…I did. Fine. Sit down." Bones groaned and he sat down, still feeling ghost hands on his jaw. His face burned a light pink.
"Uh…weel…I—where do I start?" Pavel asked, sitting next to Bones.
"Anywhere you want." Bones told him calmly.
"Uh…alvight. When my father leaves…zey come into ze house. I lock my bedroom door, but…they usually keeck eet down." Pavel glanced towards the stairs, trying not to remember the pain they had put him through. "They take me, drag me down ze stairs and out of ze house. Zere was these one time were I climbed out my window to escape, but they found me…I ran…I ran hard, but they caught me and dragged me through ze dirt."
"Where were Jim and his "crew" during all of this?" Bones asked, beginning to fully understand Pavel and why he did what he did and who he was.
"Zey are never zere." Pavel shrugged. "Zey are in ze town, but…I never see zem."
"Oh." Bones wasn't sure what else to say. He let Pavel continue to talk.
"They vill drag me all over ze town before they find a post to tie me to…I've come out of eet with scars and scrapes." Pavel pulled up his sleeve, revealing a nearly white scar in the shape of a crescent moon on his upper wrist. It was raised and rigid. Bones reached out his hand and lightly grazed his finger over it, feeling the difference between Pavel's unblemished skin to the scar.
"Most of zem go away…but not all. The whiplash goes away in a week or so…" "Whiplash?!" Bones asked, appalled.
"Yes. Didn't I teel you zat they whip me?" Pavel asked, pulling down his sleeve. "Eet hurts…a lot. But I've learned to ignore eet." Pavel shrugged, though his strength was quickly disappearing, about to leave him in a pile of tears.
"What else do they do? Huh? Who are they?" Bones asked, becoming defensive of Pavel.
"Zey…do not burn me…just singe my skin lightly. Ozzer zan zat, zey just punch…do you know that men you beat up at the bar?" Pavel asked.
"Yeah? Sure as hell I do." Bones nodded.
"He conducts all of eet." Pavel's voice cracked. "When you left, he vowed to me zat he was going to finally rid zis town of me…and my father…but me first. Leonard…zey were going to keel me zat night…" Pavel began to cry and tears rolled heavily off his face. Bones' mouth hung open in shock and disbelief. He scooted over to Pavel and enveloped him in a tight hug.
"Eef y-you wouldn't h-have come back…I-I would have been dead." Pavel hiccupped and cried some more.
"It's all right kid. I was there. I got to you in time." Bones whispered into Pavel's ear as he held him close. Pavel sniffled and kept crying, wrapping his small arms around Bones's torso. "It's alright." Bones repeated, brushing the kid's hair of his face.
"YA lyublyu tebya." Pavel said in muffled Russian into Bones vest, clutching it.
"What's that?" Bones asked. Pavel looked up at Bones, still crying.
"It means I love you. In Russian. You saved my life…I love you." Pavel told Bones. Bones' eyes began to sting and his throat closed up. He hugged Pavel closer and leaned over, kissing him on the lips quickly for the first time, himself.
"I love you too kid." He murmured, wiping the tears away from Pavel's face. Scotty was right. He had been right from the start. Bones was in love. He was in love with Pavel. Truly in love. He had never felt this way before, which something sad to say when he had been married for a while to a woman.
After Pavel was done crying, Bones sat up with Pavel. Both of them had their backs against the arm of the couch. Pavel's head rested heavily on Bones' front shoulder and Bones's arm was draped around Pavel's back. And never did Bones once leave his side.
"Eet ees almost night time." Pavel sat up and warned Bones.
"It's alright Pavel. You're going to be fine. I'm here and they won't touch you." Bones squeezed his arm around Pavel, letting him know that everything was going to be fine. He wasn't going to let anyone hurt him. "How about we take a distraction…think about something else. Let's do something else." Bones suggested.
"I can cook vith what we have." Pavel shrugged, not knowing if it would honestly distract him from something as horrifying as an impending death sentence.
"Alright, that sounds decent. I can't cook so…" Bones trailed off. Pavel smiled at him, throwing his arms around Bones' neck, speaking into his ear.
"It's alright…I still love you." Pavel came away and grinned again, hopping off the couch and running into the kitchen. Bones just sat there for a moment, thinking and smiling to himself. He was actually being loved. Even though he couldn't cook…even though he was an outlaw wanted in fifteen states…even though he wasn't perfect. Of course, Pavel didn't know about the outlaw gig, and he wanted to keep it like that.
Bones rose from the couch and walked into the kitchen, finding Pavel digging through his pantry, looking for something to pull together to make a decent meal for Bones and himself. Bones walked up to the sink and ran the water, running his hands under it.
"Thanks again Pavel." Bones said, turning the water off and grabbing a towel, drying his hands. Pavel pulled out a basket and set it on the table, smiling while he did.
"You are wery welcome. I hope you do not mind things such as dry chicken and apples. Eet ees all we have for right now." Pavel pulled food out of the basket, setting it on the kitchen table. Bones laughed.
"No, I think that will—" There was a knock at the door as Bones started to speak. Both Pavel and Bones stopped. Pavel's eyes widened with fear and worry. Bones knew what was going through his head. "Don't worry. I've got it. You just stay here…" Bones ordered Pavel. He gratefully nodded and stayed near the food, picking up an apple and playing with it.
Bones carefully rounded the corner of the kitchen, entering the hall. He pulled his gun out of it's holster and held it close to his heart. If anyone was going to come and hurt Pavel, they would have to beat Bones down until he was dead. Bones took a whole new initiative at keeping Pavel safe. It wasn't just for keeping the kid safe and sound, it wasn't for him being a good person. It was for Pavel…Bones knew that now…he was attached to this kid no matter what. Bound together by some kind of earthly force. Bones loved him and would do anything to keep him safe now.
Bones came to the corner of the hallway. Just beyond the wall, was the door and who ever was behind that door. Gripping his gun tightly and in position, Bones made his way to the door, grasping the handle. He took the safety off of the gun and swung the door open widely, letting it swing itself as he held the gun with both hands, pointed towards the person standing there.
"Whoa! Hey there! You wouldn't want to shoot a couple of comrades!" Scotty held his hands up in defense, while Uhura stood behind him. Bones let out a sigh of relief and put the safety back on, placing the gun in his holster.
"You gave me a good scare there. I thought you were those people that came to attack and kidnap Pavel." Bones shuddered and opened the screen door, letting the two guests into the house.
"We didn't mean to. We just came to see how you worked things out with Pavel." Uhura answered sweetly, entering through the door gracefully.
"Aw don't lie to him sweetheart! I couldn't help to see how things went." Scotty grinned and elbowed Bones cheekily. "Nice going there, cowboy." Scotty laughed. Bones' face went completely red with humiliation.
"Scotty! Don't do that to the man." Uhura scolded Scotty, then turned to Bones and asked, "What was your name? I didn't catch it."
"Ah, Leonard McCoy. My friends call me Bones." Bones nodded and closed the door behind his friends, still bright pink.
"Ah. You must be the man Spock has been talking about." Uhura told him. Bones listened carefully.
"Spock? He's been speaking about me." Bones asked, coming up to face Uhura.
"Yes. Well to me at least. He talks to me." Uhura smiled.
"Interesting." Bones nodded and turned around. "Well, if you'd like to stay, Pavel's been trying to find something for us to eat before the hoard of townspeople come to attack him." Bones groaned.
"Ah yeah…I remembered those nights." Scotty said. Bones stopped and turned sharply on his heels, glaring at Scotty.
"What? Were you a part of them?" Bones inquired.
"Oh! No! I wasn't. I just remembered the riots that would go off…bloody loud, they were." Scotty huffed. "It's good to see that young boy's got a protector." He winked at Bones and Bones just rolled his eyes.
"Yes. It is very good." Bones turned back around and continued to guide Scotty and Uhura through the house to the kitchen in the back.
"We'd be happy to stay if you wanted." Uhura offered.
'That would actually be pretty good." Bones said. It would be more relaxing if more people were in the house. He would have to ask Pavel if there were enough bedrooms in the house for all of them.
As they entered the kitchen, Pavel began to talk who he thought was Bones, by himself.
"Leonard, you are a…ah…uh…wonderful kisser. I never—"
"Pavel. Stop." Bones interrupted quickly. Pavel turned around, confused why Leonard would stop him. When he turned around, he quickly saw why. Scotty from the bar was with a woman and they were standing in his house. IN his kitchen. He backed up, bumping against the table.
"No! Pavel, it's alright. I'm friends with them." Bones reached a hand out to reassure Pavel. "And…don't call me Leonard…call me Bones…" Pavel smiled happily, coming away from the table.
"I don't know…eet doesn't seem like you…I vill call you…Leo!" Pavel thought of a clever nickname to call Bones, but couldn't think of anything clever enough. Bones groaned.
"Kid…you know what, do what you want to." Bones waved his hand once towards Pavel, turning towards Scotty and Uhura. Then he remembered their food supply condition. "Uh, Pavel, are we able to feed two more people?" He asked.
"Ah…I zink so. I can do zat." Pavel told Bones.
"Okay." Bones sighed and returned to his new friends. "Do either of you know how to use or carry a gun?"
Scotty and Uhura looked at each other. No one ever used guns here. Most of the fights were physical hand to hand combat fights. Bones looked at their expressions and was entirely let down and upset.
"Really? You all don't use guns?" Bones asked, surprised.
"No. Not really, unless we need them. When he usually need them is if war breaks out…or a mutiny." Scotty informed Bones.
"Yes, we really don't get in many fights." Uhura responded softly. Bones scoffed.
"You don't get in fights? You don't get in fights? Then what's with all this violence towards Pavel and his father?" Bones asked, crossing his arms.
"Now we just don't like his father. Pavel on the other hand is fine. We don't see or hear much of him except when his father is out of town. Other than that, it's a peaceful community." Uhura said. Bones was astounded.
"Alright then…Do both of you know how to fight?" Bones asked, hoping that they could at least do that.
"Ha! No. I work with mechanics and such." Scotty laughed.
"I just know linguistics. It won't help much here. Everyone speaks English pretty fluently." Uhura shrugged.
"Oh my god…" Bones shook his head. It was going to be a long night trying to protect the one he loved.