Bones and Pavel spent a couple more hours in the barn before they knew they had to get back before people started looking for them. Both of them sat up on the hay pile and stretched, before hopping off. Bones guarded the weary and worn out Pavel out of the barn, wrapping him in a blanket. As they stepped out into the sun, Bones set Pavel against the structure of the barn so he could change. Quickly grabbing for his underwear he tugged them on, then he reached for his pants hurrying to jump into them, pulling the buckle on loosely. He wildly searched for his shirt, but couldn't find the white button up he had put on this morning. All he could find was his vest, laying sprawled out a few feet into the tall grass.
"Pavel! Have you seen—" Bones turned to ask Pavel if he had seen his shirt, but the young Russian had passed out against the plywood. He grunted with disappointment and continued to look for his white shirt. He looked at least fifty feet out into the grass, guessing that maybe one of the horses had taken it out. But there was nothing there. Bones couldn't find his shirt anywhere, so he resorted to just pulling on the vest over his bare torso. It would suffice.
He walked over to Pavel and squatted down, looking at the sleeping boy. His eyes were shut and he was breathing heavily, lips barely parted and curved into a half smile. Although his face was flushed red, he still had the angelic complexion of a young child. His curly hair was matted against his head and the wounds on his face were healing quite quickly.
"Hey…Pasha. Wake up." Bones gently shook Pavel awake, watching his eyes flutter open and meet the sun, guarding his face with his hand.
"Leo…are ve home yet?" He asked wearily.
"No. We haven't even left the barn. Come on. We have to get you dressed before we get back to town." Bones urged him. Pavel groaned and leaned his head up against the barn wall.
"I don't vant to." He whined.
"Dammit Pavel, come on. You want people talking?" Bones asked.
"No…but I eem tired. Please let me sleep." He begged. Bones sighed and got up, walking away from Pavel, going around the site, scrounging up all of Pavel's clothes. A shirt was buried in the grass. His pants were in the barn. His underwear were hanging on a splintered piece of wood near the base of the barn. And his shoes were hanging on the saddle of his horse.
It looked like Bones was going to have to put Pavel's clothes on for him. It was going to be like dressing his baby sister…when he was still in the family. Bones made his way towards Pavel when he was done fishing his clothes out of the tall grass. He was still laying there, half asleep, trying to stay awake with the blanket sliding off.
"Alright, I'm gonna have to dress you if you can't." Bones sighed, letting the clothes drop in a pile at his feet.
"I eem fine vith zat…" Pavel muttered, trailing off as he closed his eyes. Jesus, Bones had really worn the kid out, he didn't even mean to.
Bones squatted down and yanked the blanket off of Pavel who gave a short protest, but gave up quickly when he knew he wasn't going to win. Bones tried to be efficient with his work, tugging each article of clothing on correctly, but with hassle. Pavel wouldn't cooperate and was falling asleep as Bones dressed him. The shirt was easy to get on. All Bones had to do was pull it over Pavel's head and push his arms through and they were done. The pants were proven difficult though. Since Pavel was sitting, it was hard to get them to just slide right on. He would have to wriggled them on up until his thighs, then Bones would have to lift Pavel up and get them the rest of the way on. It was hard, but he managed to do it.
"Pavel…hey, where's your belt?" Bones asked as he saw that the pants were a bit too big for Pavel.
"Hm? Oh…uhmm…I dunno?" He shrugged, still half asleep.
"Dammit." Bones cursed under his breath.
"In Russia, we say that as chert poberi… Deed you know zat wodka vas inwented in Russia?" Pavel asked drowsily. It was like someone had drugged him, but it was just sleepy Pasha.
"Thanks kid…" Bones muttered as he looked around for something to tie his pants together with. For a second, he did think about tying a bunch of long grass together and make his own belt, but that wouldn't work. The material was too weak.
As Bones looked over the area one more time before something caught his eye. The shoes that Pavel had been wearing…until Bones had thrown them off in a fit of frustration just hours ago, had strings to keep the top of the shoe on the wearer's foot. Bones dropped to the ground and began to unravel the string from both shoes, tying it together in a thick, tough rope. Once he had his homemade belt in hand, he got back up and walked over to Pavel, who was awake, but still too lazy and sore to do anything.
"Come on." Bones grabbed Pavel's hand, pulling him up to his feet. "I've made you a belt." Bones grumbled as Pavel slumped his body against Bones, trying to sleep and rest his aching body.
"Mhmmnnn." Pavel mumbled incoherently, still not speaking full, intelligible sentences.
Bones grabbed Pavel's pants, looking for the loops, finding them and steadily guided the rope through the trousers, making his way all around and back to the front, tying the two ends together.
"Do those fit?" Bones asked.
"Da…" Pavel nodded. Bones knew that meant yes, so he carefully left Pavel standing there, swaying in his spot as he quickly grabbed the blanket from the barn, returning to Pavel and all his dishelvedness. To be honest, Bones thought they both looked a little messy. That would just make it all the more difficult to deny the fact that Pavel and him had just had sex with each other. Bones knew that Jim would ask that question if they ran into each other on their way back to the town center.
"Okay, we're ready to go. Do you think you could ride yourself?" Bones asked. Pavel looked at him, tired and swaying in his spot, almost ready to fall over.
"Does eet look like I eem able to ride?" Pavel asked with a weary attitude.
"Come on." Bones sighed and took Pavel by the hand, guiding him by the waist to his Bones' horse. "Get up there."
Pavel placed his foot in the stirrup and hoisted himself up, though nearly falling off. Bones was quick to get up on the horse and wedge himself behind Pavel while still sitting on the saddle. He reached his hands around the small figure of Pavel and grasped the reins, clicking his heels against the horse's side and began to guide the animal over to the other, lone horse. Bones reached out and was able to grab its' reins and tied them to his horse. Then they were able to start back to the town center.
When Bones rode into town with a weary Pavel, people literally stopped and stared at the two of them, angry glares flashed about their faces. Bones' face became flushed and he tried as hard as he could to avoid eye contact with them, succeeding. But of course, there were whispers and he couldn't ignore those, no matter how much he tried. Part of him felt ashamed, but part of him felt angry at the people for judging him. Of course people didn't understand what was going through his mind.
The looks and glares were taken off him when he rode into the stable to be met by a very impatient and peeved Jim Kirk, who had been there to muck out his horses stalls, but upon finding that two of them weren't there, he went all around town asking people if they had seen them. As Bones rode in, Jim shifted and assessed the situation, his frown turning into a small smile.
"Bones! Where have you been?" Jim asked. Bones looked away, guiding the two horses into the stables, steadily jumping off.
"Off…" He responded, carefully easing Pavel off the horse.
"Off…where?" Jim turned and walked into the stall next to Bones, unbridling the horse and carefully grooming it.
"A place. I can't talk about it…yet. So Scotty and I were talking—" Bones tried to lead the path of the conversation away from him and Pavel, but found that extremely hard, knowing that Jim would want to know what had happened. For a hard core border protector, he was very understanding and welcoming.
"No. Bones, where were you? Come on…don't lie. I can see the cold hard evidence right in front of my face…" Jim turned serious and crossed his arms. "As well as everyone else…Bones! What were you thinking?!" He scolded Bones roughly.
"It's not my fault. Well, I mean it was…but it's not as bad as you think." Bones fumbled with his words as he got Pavel off the horse, waking him back up. His eyes flitted open and looked around.
Jim grabbed Bones by the collar and roughly pulled him almost over the side of the stall. "Are you asking for a death wish?" He growled to Bones. Bones pushed Jim away and looked at Pavel who looked like a fawn just learning how to stand up on its own.
"No. But—"
"No! You have to be more careful! This is ridiculous. Come on, get Pavel back inside. We are going to have a talk." Jim ordered. Bones shot a look at Jim before turning around and taking the blanket off of the horse and putting it on Pavel, wrapping him tightly.
"Come on Pasha." Bones whispered, herding the tired boy out of the stabled and back out into the sun. Jim ran after them and stopped them both.
"Listen, just go around the back. No one will see you. I'll meet you in the house." Jim muttered to them before rushing off and away from the two of them. Bones knew that if he, Pavel or Jim were caught with each other, either of them would be killed or hung for being a homosexual. That's why Bones was partially frightened of the stranger clad in black. He had said that he would tell Sheriff Pike about him and Pavel. That would lead to a certain and inevitable death for either him or the both of them. It was hard trying to hide who you were. Bones knew that and he was lucky that he had found a small group of people who were accepting and loving like a family.
Bones quickly moved Pavel and himself around the back of the stores and houses, sneaking behind hay stacks and jumping over wooden fences so they wouldn't be seen. Bones caught the Sheriff's backyard just in his sight, hurrying Pavel along, trying not to push him too much, but good enough that he would go faster.
When they reached the backdoor, Jim was already waiting for them, hurrying them in and closing the door quickly. The rush of cooler air nearly brought Bones to his knees.
"Okay, do what you need to do with Pavel. Then we have to talk." Jim ordered. Bones sighed with compliance.
"Pavel, we have to get you back to bed. I think you need some rest." Bones told Pavel, who was still sleepy, but able to walk by himself.
"Nyet. I don't vant to." Pavel shook his head.
"Please. Moy milyy Pasha?" Bones asked in the Russian Pavel had taught him. A small smile cracked on Pavel's face.
"Da, khorosho. Yes, okay…" Pavel nodded and smiled agreeing with Bones. Bones smiled back at Pavel, his heart filling up with joy, replacing the dread.
"Okay, come on, let's go." Bones shuffled Pavel forward, through the house and to the stairs, guiding him up carefully to make sure he didn't fall over the carpeted steps. Once they made it upstairs, Bones showed him to their room and set him down on the bed.
"You get some rest." Bones told him anxiously. "Okay?"
"Da. Leo…I love you." Pavel murmured as he shuffled under the covers, the boots sliding quickly off on the way.
"Love you too kid." Bones leaned over and hesitated to kiss Pavel's forehead. Instead, he stood back up and left the room, closing the door and let out a huge sigh. His hands were shaking and his head was sweaty and clammy. He wanted to stay, leaning against the door and never go down to confront Jim Kirk.
"Bones! I'm waiting for you!" Jim called up from downstairs. Bones groaned and pushed himself off the door, heading lazily down the stairs. He felt like he was going to get scolded by his father for doing something wrong. Except this was a friend, not a father. And the thing he was doing wrong wasn't ensnaring the town cat, but a young Russian boy.
Bones made it down the stairs and saw Jim sitting in the front room waiting for him patiently. He cringed to himself. He knew that he was going to get scolded, yelled at, and maybe shunned by Jim if he walked into that front room. And Bones did.
"Bones, sit." Jim motioned to the empty couch before him. Bones looked down at the couch, remembering that this was where Pavel and Bones had their…second? first kiss. Bones sat himself down and leaned leisurely against the back of the couch, trying to stay relaxed and calm, but Jim could see that Bones was freaking out inside.
"Yes? You wanted to talk?" Bones asked smartly.
"Yes. Tell me, where do you go today?" Jim leaned forward and asked. He felt that this was going to be more of an interrogation than just a round of small talk between the two.
"I went somewhere I'm not allowed to tell." Bones snapped.
"Listen, you can fight me, but I am doing this for your own good…" Jim stated.
"My own good? I am fine thank you Jim." Bones scoffed.
"Please. I am doing this because…because I know what's going on between you and Pavel isn't socially correct, but I want to help you two as much as possible. Now please, where did you go?" Jim repeated his question.
Bones sighed and glanced around the house. "Pavel and I went to this place where he goes when he wants to be all alone."
"Okay…I'm guessing that you two…didn't just sit there and look at the sky or pick the flowers?" Jim asked, trying his best to be serious and not crack a small smile.
"No. We did not…" Bones' face became flushed and red, the heat on his body rose and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"It's okay Bones, you don't have to tell me. I know already. But do you know how bad this is for your social game?" Jim asked, leaning forward in the chair.
"I dunno… I think I've got a small sense, judging by the noose in the town center." Bones replied snarkily.
"Then you know why I'm talking to you. Please, you can't get caught. You'll get killed." Jim pleaded.
"I don't see why you…out of all the people, haven't arrested me and have me hung yet?" Bones inquired, relaxing slowly.
"Because. I don't want to turn into Sheriff Pike. I've seen so much bad around here, it makes me sick. We act like a quaint town to strangers, but behind that goddamned masquerade, we're just falling apart at the seams." Jim sighed, knowing that from when he was a boy to now, the town had just deteriorated slowly.
"And your followers?" Bones questioned.
"They follow in my footsteps. I'm their leader, so they learn from me, of course Spock is just…Spock and he's hard to deal with, but he understands." Jim explained. It was true, Jim was trying to teach Sulu and Spock how to be companionate towards others who were different.
"Okay…are we done talking?" Bones asked, eager to leave.
"No. Listen, we have to be more careful. When Sheriff Pike comes back, where are you going to go? What are you going to do? Where will you stay? Because if I remember correctly, you only got one night in that shack the Sheriff put you in. The rest of them were spent here." Jim looked around the house.
"Hey, how do you know that I stayed there one night?"
"I watched. I always watch people who peak my interest." Jim smiled.
"Hmph. Alright. Well, I'll go back there. I'll stay there until it's time for us to go." Bones shrugged.
"Us? What about it is us?" Jim asked, seeming intrigued by Bones' choice of words. Bones looked Jim in the eyes, making sure not to break eye contact.
"I told Pash—Pavel that we would go to Russia…" Bones whispered. Jim nearly flew out of his chair with shock, standing over Bones.
"RUSSIA?! RUSSIA?! You want to take him to Russia?! Do you know how many flaws your plan has? If you even have a plan? When did you come up with this?" Jim spewed so many questions, Bones wasn't sure which one to answer first, so he stayed silent, looking around the room.
"No…you didn't…you didn't promise this to him after…?" Jim eyed Bones suspiciously. Once again, Bones' face flushed red with embarrassment. "You did! Oh my god, you did! Bones, we have to talk about this, we have to—" Jim started pacing around the room in a fret when Bones stopped him.
"That's what I was trying to say. Scotty and I were talking about leaving as a group. Leaving the town. I mean, you don't really like it here. Hell, none of us do. We've all said it." Bones tried to explained without setting Jim off again.
"I still don't see why…why Russia? Why can't we go to any other place? The states?" Jim pleaded. Bones looked away. He knew why he couldn't go into the states. Soon, information would spread about his outlaw schemes and actions and they would reach all of the United States and Mexico. Then Bones would have nowhere to go.
"Remember when I said something about my past and that you didn't want to see that other side of me?" Bones asked, becoming very anxious that he was crossing lives and lines.
"Yeah? What was that about" Jim asked.
"You don't want to know yet. I'm just telling you, if you want to keep me as a friend, then we have to leave the States. Please." Bones confided in Jim, worrying that this might be the end of the line for him.
"And how should I trust you?" Jim sat back down in the chair, looking at Bones, observing him.
"Because I haven't shot you yet." Bones announced dominantly, never breaking eye contact with Jim. He looked scared for once. Fear burst through his body language and eyes. Bones cracked a small smile. "Don't worry Jim. I haven't shot anyone a couple days. I know I'm walking the line here, but I'm trusting you Jim."
"And I'm trusting you. If anyone shows up dead at my doorstep, I—I just might have to put you into a cellar for good. I don't want to, but I just might have to." Jim sighed and pushed himself out of the chair.
"It was nice talking to you. We'll get the rest of the group together to talk about Russia and what not." Jim started towards the front door, but before he stepped out, he turned around and said, "I'm really not sure they'll be keen on leaving the country with a man they just met and know nothing about. They've lived here for a long time, and you need to respect that. Good day Bones." And Jim disappeared out the front door, leaving Bones sitting on the couch, elbows on his knees and fingers steepled, thinking deeply about what Jim had said.
He sat there for what seemed like hours, but was probably only minutes. Jim was nearly right about everything he said. Everything…What was he going to do when Sheriff Pike came riding back into town? Where would he go? How could he smuggle Pavel out of the town, let alone sneak around town with him while rumours and whispers were flying around behind their backs? It stressed Bones out enough that he started to form a headache that was pulsing on his temples.
"Dammit." He muttered to himself and stood up, walking out of the living room and up the stairs. He needed to get his anger out somehow. And he knew just how.
Reaching their bedroom, Bones opened the door silently, making sure not to wake Pavel. He slid in and carefully tip toed across the wooden floorboards, trying his best to be stealthy. When he reached the bed, he gave a once over on Pavel to make sure that he was still okay. And of course, he was asleep. The sheets rose up and down as Pavel breathed in and out. Bones grimaced and sunk below the bed, reaching for his gun. Grasping the cold handle, he pulled it from out under and quickly slung it in his holster. He turned to leave the room, but hesitated and swiveled around to go back to the bed. Leaning over Pavel, Bones gave him a small kiss on his delicate lips. Pavel stirred slightly in his sleep. Bones smiled and left the room, closing the door soundly behind him.
Hurrying down the stairs, he checked the windows to see if anyone was coming. There was no one at all. He hurried around the house and locked the doors and windows, coming around to the back door, sneaking out and locking it from the outside. Once he knew that he was safe to go, he turned quickly on his heels and darted off, over the hay stacks, over the dead and the fence, and ran as far as his legs could carry him. He was going to the hay bales. He needed to relieve stress and the best way to do that was to shoot someone or something, now since Jim had said that if anyone showed up dead, he'd been in jail, Bones decided to use a target that didn't have a life or own a soul.
He was quick to arrive to the place where Pavel and Bones had shared their first real kiss. With no one around and by complete surprise. The thought made Bones giddy with pleasure. It also amused him, seeing as he thought he was straight as an arrow when he walked into this town, but was not going to come out that way. He laughed out loud to himself, enjoying the fresh air and the gun in his hand. Shooting had always been a stress reliever for him.