Pavel stirred around mid afternoon. He opened his eyes, blinking a few times to adjust to the light before sitting back up.
"How long deed I sleep?" He asked groggily, fixing his messy bed head.
"Long. Longer than I expected." Bones groaned as he popped his back. He had been supporting the sleeping Pavel for at least a couple hours. "Damn Pasha, for a small frame, you're pretty heavy."
"I know. Eet's Russian." He muttered, sliding off of Bones' lap. "Vhere do ve go?" He asked.
Bones scratched his head and looked around. "I'm not sure. We can go back to the town and see what Jim and the crew are up to." He suggested.
"Zat sounds…sensible." Pavel nodded.
Bones stood up, his knees and back popping as they realigned himself. Pavel blushed and stood up, wobbling slightly. Bones grabbed his hand and made sure he didn't fall to the ground. Pavel clung onto the hand, not wanting to let go.
"Vhen do you zink ve vill be allowed to hold hands een public?" He asked as they began their walk back to the town.
"I'm not sure kid. Hopefully soon." He sighed. There had been multiple cases where a couple of people had rounded up two men who had been seen together and lynched them. Of course, that was in the untamed wild, it never occurred in a town because…the men were wary and the town was sensible.
"I hate hiding. Eet makes me feel…ah, insignificant." Pavel searched for the right word to explain his feelings of hiding who he really was.
"I know, I know. Just hang in there. I'm pretty sure they make a law sooner or later." Bones smiled and squeezed Pavel's hand.
The two of them made it back to the town square right before the sun was beginning to set. They caught Jim slipping inside his house with the rest of the group parting ways. It was that time of day where you find out where you'll be staying for the next 4 hours until you go back to your own place. Sundown was when people became most cocky and dangerous.
"Come on, let's get you inside." Bones muttered, rushing the kid in front of him to hurry into the house. He always got an edgy feeling on the town during this time and place. And his fears checked out.
A bumbling, younger man, stumbled down the stairs of the Saloon, drunk out of his mind. His neck and face were flushed pink, his eyes were red and bloodshot and you could just smell the piss and alcohol emitting off the man. He stumbled over to Pavel, roughly grabbing him by the shoulder.
"Damn kid…" He uttered. "Fucking father's a whore…He leaves town to go sleep with women…" He pulled Pavel closer, eyeing him like he was a crown jewel. "Whoever your father fucked to get you must have been purty damn exotic and beautiful…" The man spat on Pavel's face.
Bones started forward, but the man glared at him, his hand grazing a knife handle that was sticking out of his pockets. "But you're a foreigner. You don't belong." He spat, reaching for the knife.
Bones whipped out his Revolver and quickly trained it on the man. "Hey! You don't lay a finger on him." Bones growled, wrapping his finger around the trigger. He remembered Jim's words and wanted to stay true to them, but this man was threatening Pavel's life.
The man looked up at Bones and saw the gun. Instantly, he threw Pavel to the ground and pulled out the shining, silver knife, waving it back and forth. He cracked a smile, baring only a few teeth.
"Whatcha going to do about it, cowboy?" He cackled and lurched forward, teasing the knife at Bones' stomach. He jumped away and flipped the safety on his gun on, holding the small barrel.
"I'm gonna turn you to mush, you bastard." Bones hissed. He stepped forward, propelling his arm forward. The butt of the gun met the man's forehead and he stumbled backwards. There was a pause as the man lifted his hand to his head and probed around. Blood seeped from an open wound that Bones had caused.
"Not if I get to ya first." He slurred, coming towards Bones, slashing and yelling.
"No!" Pavel cried out from the ground, unable to get up.
The man nearly hit Bones' abdomen, but missed by an inch. Bones' returned by taking the man by his collar and kneed him in the stomach, causing the man to keel over. That didn't last for long. He was back up on his feet again, swinging at an oblivious Bones, slashing his cheek.
"Dammit!" Bones curse outloud, holding his cheek while advancing towards the drunken slob. The man just stepped to the side, letting a shocked Bones stumbled over his own feet. It was then that the drunk saw his opportunity. Running towards Bones with the knife arched, right over his back, Pavel scurried forward, trying to block the incoming shot, but was instead caught in the crossfire.
The knife met Pavel's forearm, causing him to retract from the pain, crying out. Bones turned around and looked down at Pavel, bleeding and writhing on the ground, to the drunk who was staring at Pavel.
"Bastard." He cursed under his breath. Bones flipped the ends of the Revolver, unlocking the safety, finger on the trigger, barrel at point blank on the man's head. The drunk stopped and dropped to his knees as the gun was held to his head. Bones was ready to pull the trigger. He didn't care about Jim's words as of now. He just wanted to release and let go.
"No! Leonard! Please…" Pavel whined from the ground.
"Why shouldn't I? He's dangerous." Bones hissed, staring at the shaking man, who was now mumbling under his breath for forgiveness and mercy. He pressed the barrel farther into his head, making an indent.
"I know him…" Pavel muttered, holding his bleeding arm.
"And he tried to kill you." Bones reminded the kid. "Your loss of blood as making you woozy."
"Please, no! He ees ze only man zat does not attack or hurt me vhen my father leaves. Please!" Pavel begged, hugging his arm to his stomach. Bones glanced from the man to Pavel, seeing the truth coming from his large, blue eyes, as well as the physical pain.
Bones stepped away and hid his gun back away in his holster, watching every move the drunk made as he stepped towards Pavel. "Fine."
The man jumped up and ran away, into a small shack, hiding away. Bones looked down at Pavel, whose blood had seeped onto the dirty ground. Kneeling down, he took Pavel's arm, looking over it.
"Dammit." He muttered. "We have to get you to Jim's."
"Ees…ees eet bad?" Pavel asked. Bones pulled his lips tight, not uttering a word. He didn't want to scare Pavel.
"Come on." He whispered harshly, taking Pavel's uncut hand and lifting him off the ground. Pavel groaned slightly, holding his hand close to his chest. He felt the blood slowly seeping out his arm, staining his shirt, reaching his core, where he could feel the sticky warmth that it gave him.
"Leo…I'm going to be sick." He muttered.
"Just hold on. Please." Bones asked. He couldn't let Pavel pass out. Who knew where the kid would go. He was so small that enough blood loss could cause him to die.
"Leo…really, I'm sick." He groaned, beginning to trip over his own feet. The world was spinning underneath him and he couldn't stop it. The only thing holding him up was Bones and his hands. "Leonard…" He mumbled and then, his world went black.
Bones felt Pavel go limp in his arms. He stopped, nearly tripping over the unconscious Pavel. "Pasha…?" He asked, wondering if maybe, he had gotten lazy and just wanted Bones to carry him the rest of the way.
He let go of Pavel's arm, looking over outstretched body. "Pasha?" He asked again, gently stroking his blonde hair out of the way. "Pavel Chekov, say something Dammit." But Pavel didn't utter a word. That's when Bones knew that Pavel had passed out from lack of blood. Immediately, his mind went haywire, going every which way.
"Pasha…shit shit shit." He muttered. Bones doubled around twice before picking Pavel up in his arm and ran as fast as he could for Jim's home. When he got to the door, he mercilessly banged on the door, nearly tearing it down.
"Jim open up! Please, it's Bones!" Bones yelled to the door, hoping the Jim would swing it open any time. There was no response. Bones banged harder on the door, eventually kicking it open with his foot. He stumbled in, placing Pavel on the couch, staring frantically around the room.
"Jim!" Bones yelled, fumbling for his Revolver. When he pulled it out, he pointed it to the ceiling, pulling the trigger, letting a bullet ring out and puncture the ceiling. There was a sharp yell and then a thud from overhead. Footsteps hopped around a while before Bones could hear someone coming downstairs. He hastily paced back and forth, waiting for Jim to come down.
"Bones! What was that for? You almost shot my foot—did you break my door?!" Jim came flouncing down the stairs, angered and hair slightly ruffled, pants still unbuttoned, along with his shirt.
"Yes I broke your door because you wouldn't answer goddammit!" Bones cursed. "Pavel was cut and he's bleeding and he passed out." Bones explained quickly. Jim glanced over at the passed out Russian on his couch, seeing the blood soaked shirt.
"Holy shit! What the hell happened?" Jim asked, rushing over the Pavel, taking the injured arm and examining it.
"I got in a fight with some drunk and Pavel stepped in to intervene…he got himself hurt." Bones muttered as he let Jim observe the extent of the injuries.
"Yeah, we need to get him bandaged up. I'll be right back. You stay with him. Try to wake him up." Jim patted Bones' shoulder, rushing off to the kitchen. Bones took his place besides Pavel, kneeling down on the ground.
"Come on kid, you can't be dead…or dying not now. You're too young." He whispered. Pavel didn't move. Bones scooted closer. "Please, kid, you…you're the only person I've got left in my damn life. I don't want to lose you. You mean too much to me." Leonard McCoy could feel the tears beginning to escape him, burning and brimming in his eyes, slipping down the side of his cheek.
Bones held the knife wound shut, trying to keep it from bleeding. "Please…Pasha." Bones whimpered. He carefully and shakily leaned over and gently kissed Pavel's limp lips before retreating into a pile of tears and depression.
Jim came running back in with the kit, upon seeing Bones, an ice cold man, crumped on the floor, sobbing like a child. It physically hurt Jim as he saw Bones just laying there, giving up.
"Hey…I go the kit." Jim said softly, stepping next to Bones. Bones sat up and, quickly wiping the tears from his face, looking up at Jim.
"Great." He grumbled, standing up.
"Hey, I'm going to fix him. No worries." Jim assured Bones, squatting down next to Pavel, taking his arm. The gash was long and wide, something that Jim would have never suspected to see in the town.
"I need to go…get some fresh air." Bones shook his head, getting dizzy.
"Go. Pavel's in safe hands." Jim urged, waving towards the broken door. Bones nodded and silently left the house, stepping out onto the porch, taking a seat on the steps. For some reason, it felt strangely like Déjà vu. Then, he remembered.
Pavel and him had once been sitting on the Saloon stairs. It was Bones' first night in the town and he had just met the stunning, wide eyed, vibrant Russian. Bones had gone to leave for his small shack of a place when he had heard the fight…It was the fight that composed the setting for the rest of Bones' time being here. He had saved Pavel, they had gone to the steps and Pavel had vented, crying and sobbing about how he was mistreated.
"Vhy did you save me?" Pavel asked genuinely as he tried to find his balance. Bones tried to ignore the kid's question, but it was too hard. He didn't have a good answer. Hell, he didn't even have an answer for himself. "Meester McCoy?"
"Because! I wanted to! Alright? Don't ask questions. They get you in bad places." Bones grumbled, supporting the hobbling teen. They both made their way towards the door. The crowd of people were now forgotten by the two.
"No von has eever done zat for me."
No one had ever stood up for him before…he had thought that he didn't have a chance to make it in this world. Bones was the only thing he had from the beginning…
Seconds went from minutes and minutes went to hours. The sun was slowly setting behind a large building, the town center growing dark and cold. The wind blew wildly, messing with Bones' hair. A chill entered his body as he rubbed his arms to keep warm. There was still no response from Jim. Nothing, nada. From time to time Bones would hear a disgruntled noise come from the house, but that was it. The waiting was the worst part. Anything could be happening in there, and he wouldn't know about it until Jim came out and told him.
It was around ten at night when Jim finally came out of the house. The stars were shining and the wind had slowed down. You could hear a coyote howl at the moon from far off. The serenity would have been peaceful for Bones if he wasn't so worried about the cut up kid that he loved so dearly.
"Ahem…" Jim lightly coughed as he stepped out into the night air. Bones turned around, panicked, looking towards Jim for reassurance. His face was grim and there wasn't much reassurance in it.
"What happened?" Bones' voice was shaky as he stood up, looking inside the home from the window.
"Bones…he…he's still knocked out. Won't wake up, won't move…" Jim sighed, setting a bloody rag on the railing of the steps. His hands were plastered with dried blood. It was disgusting and gut wrenching for Bones. He froze though, when he heard that Pavel wasn't moving. The kid was a thrasher in his sleep, so to hear that he wasn't moving at all, frightened him.
"W-will he make it?" Bones asked as his voice cracked.
Jim hesitated, looking at Bones with sincere emotion. "I'm really not sure…" He shrugged. Bones let out a defeated groan and stepped off the stairs, looking up at the stars. Small tears formed at the corner of his eyes, his heart dropping and aching.
"Alright. I…I'm just going to go back to his house…sleep there for the night." Bones was too emotionally compromised to stay close to Pavel. Just thinking about him made his heart ache and burn.
"Are you sure? I've got a spare—" Jim started.
"Yes. I'm sure." Bones cut him off, snapping at Jim, heading off the stairs and out into the center of the town, leaving Jim to stand on the porch alone, with Pavel still in his house.
Bones was angry with himself. He had let all of that shit happen to Pavel. He could have prevented it. He could have stopped himself from fighting with the drunkard. He could have stayed with Pavel a little longer in the field and then they wouldn't have run into the man. He could have never walked into town and spared both of them. He would just leave their broken spirits alone.
Kicking the ground and giving a short yell of anger, Bones collapsed up against the water tower, bringing his knees half-way up to his chest. His head fell and his hands ran through the hair of the back of his neck. "Dammit…Jesus Christ…" He muttered to himself. He had been the cause of all of this. Bones quietly sobbed to himself, wishing that he was on the noose platform then rather there, sitting on the ground.
"Pavel…please kid. I don't want to pull and Romeo and Juliet shit. Please…Just let me know you'll wake up so I know that when I wake up tomorrow morning…I'll have someone to wake up to." His voice cracked and his head bounced up and down as he cried.
"It seems that our rough and tough cowboy has a soft spot. A weakness…" Bones heard Khan's voice, lurking around the corner. Bones shot up and looked around, seeing Khan, grinning. He wasn't covered in his regular black garb. His face was uncovered, revealing a long, shallow facial structure with intense eyebrows and dark eyes. His lips were small and pursed in a devilish grin. Black hair fell lightly over his eye.
"Go fuck yourself Khan." Bones growled. Khan chuckled and slowly pulled out a large gun and pointed it at Bones' head. He looked down the barrel, ready to go.
"Ah, that's not a nice thing to say…" Khan jokingly scolded him. "Well, I've had my fun, but I think I'm getting tired of playing with you."
"Go ahead, shoot me. Please. I dare you to." Bones half pleaded and threatened. Khan looked at Bones, confused by the man's erratic behavior. Bones just stared up at Khan, wanting Khan to shoot him.
"What? No fight? No curses thrown my way?" Khan questioned, nearly befuddled by the response.
"No. Khan, just shoot me alright? I've been waiting for a long time." He groaned, standing up to face Khan, looking him dead in the eye. "Just shoot me." He begged.
Khan put the gun down, a smile slowly creeping on his face. "Why would I shoot you when I'm enjoying seeing this pain on you?" He chuckled. Bones glared at Khan, reaching for the gun in his hands, but Khan was quick and whisked it away.
"Dammit Khan! I hope you go to hell for this." Bones cursed.
"Then I'll meet you down there." Khan joked, sticking the gun in the back of his pants, walking away.
"Don't you walk away!" Bones ran after Khan. "You said you were going to shoot me, then shoot me!" He snapped.
"Oh no, I enjoy watching this. I think I like this much better than telling the Sheriff about you two and your rendezvous." Khan laughed as he kept walking. Bones stopped and looked at Khan's back as it left the town center.
"I'm going to kill you! Even if it's the last thing I do!" Bones retorted, angered now with Khan.
"You can try, but you won't succeed." Khan sang out, his figure disappearing nearly into thin air. Bones hissed into the empty air, looking around. The only thing he could do was wait for that bastard to come back and shoot him full of lead before taking his own life.
Walking back into the center of town, he wandered over to Pavel's house. Tonight it would be empty. Just him. Tonight, Bones wouldn't be going to bed with a comfy body right next to him. Tonight, Bones would sleep alone, cold and desperate. Tonight, he wouldn't be able to sleep…
He made his way back to the house, stepping through the broken door, trudging up the stairs and to his room. He stopped though, when he reached the door. Turning ever so slightly, he caught a glance of Pavel's room; the mobile swaying in the wind.
Comforted by the sound of the clanking wood, Bones changed his course and headed into Pavel's room. As he entered, he left the door open, just begging for someone to come in and take his life while he slept.
Bones sat on the bed and didn't even bother to change. He just sat there, looking around. He saw the desk with the letter to Pavel's dead mother…he saw his journal, which was odd. He had never seen that before. Gently getting up and striding over to the desk, he tenderly picked the journal up, flipping to a random page. In it, he saw Pavel's handwriting.
Today I have met a man. Not just any man. Probably the perfect man. He is kind, gentle and sweet to me, even though he acts like he is tough. I've already spent a day with him and I love being around him. This man has taught me to be strong and independent, which is what my father never did. This man has taught me the meaning in my life. And to think that I was going to take my own life just days before…
Bones kept reading the new entry next to it, his eyes overflowing with tears as he silently sobbed and shook.
I went fighting with the man. His name is Leonard McCoy. I prefer to call him Leo. Today, I kissed him. He was doubtful in his response, but I think that he liked it. I can never be sure. I just hope that he excepts it and won't tell anyone.
Ah! He does like it! Later, after the first kiss, he came back to my house and kissed my all on his own!
The entries were all like that. Hopefulness, wishing, sometimes doubt. Based on what Pavel was talking about in further reads, Bones didn't want to read the entries from before he came into town. They sounded morbid and depressing.
With tears dripping down his face, Bones set the book down next to him and laid down on the bed, smothering his face into the sheets, breathing in the distinct scent that Pavel held with him.
That night, Bones cried himself to sleep, hiccupping at certain moments as he tried to rest. His body shook and he knew all hope was lost. He would pack up and leave the town. Of course he would have to stop by Scotty and Jim's place to say goodbye, but after that, Bones would be gone. He would leave any trace of his identity in that town. Maybe, he just might burn down the noose. Declare treason and ride off into the sunset…alone…without Pavel. Yes, that sounded quite pleasant actually. He could live with that. Never seeing the town of Enterprise ever again…forgetting Pavel, Scotty, Uhura, Spock, Jim and Sulu.