NAME: Too Cute
RATING: K+
FANDOM: Star Trek: Reboot
CHARACTERS/PAIRINGS: Scotty, Chekov, off-screen Kirk | Scotty/Chekov, hinted Spock/Kirk
GENRE: Romance/Hurt/Comfort/Sci Fi
SUMMARY: Scotty and Chekov stay up a little late tinkering with the Enterprise.
WARNINGS: Chekov's accent, Scotty's accent, slash, fluff, and the fact that the author may make up complete lies.

AU: Uhura/Spock never happened.

Author's Note: I absolutely love this pairing now. So here's another attempt at fluff. I'll get to some… heavier things when I get more comfortable writing them.

Hope you enjoy!

Something told Scotty that it was supposed to be well into the night for most of the ship's inhabitants. Scotty had made night a time to gather his thoughts as he looked over the engines and chambers and whatever else he was looking over. He thought nothing else of his late tinkering.

But there was another in the hull with him, a young ensign by the name of Pavel Andreevich Chekov. As the ship made its orbit around a small planet somewhere just outside the Andromeda Galaxy, Pavel was sent down the hull out of curiosity, to help some of the engineers. Maybe Chekov had ulterior motives for being so curious about the hull and its inhabitants, but Scotty didn't think too hard about these. With Kirk, Uhura and Sulu down on the planet below them, Chekov might have been bored and wanted something to do besides twiddle his thumbs or whatever else he did up in the bridge or in his room.

"Meester Scott," Pavel's voice suddenly said from inside a control box, "It seems all ze vires have become tangled. Vould zat complicate ze controls elsevere?"

Scotty tried to push the young officer to the side to take a look. Upon contact, Chekov jumped a little, taking his head out of the box like an ostrich who's just dug into the sand and suddenly realizes a rattle snake is coming to eat it.

That was… cute, Scotty heard himself think.

"Och, sorry, lad. Didn' meanta startle ya like that," Scotty said quickly.

Chekov breathed in and out slowly to calm himself, "No, I'm sorry for acting like a rabbit with a fox… not zat I sink you are going to eat me or anysing, Meester Scott…" the boy replied sheepishly.

Scotty gave the young officer a grin, "You don' nee' to apologize, Mister Chekov. I didnae know ye coul' be startled like tha'," Scotty replied.

Chekov looked up at him for a brief moment before he looked down into the box, "Uhm… ze box, Meester Scott?"

"Och, right," the older male replied, peering into the dark.

Chekov handed him a flashlight and Scotty took it graciously, flipping it on and looking around the box, "Wow, ya really cannae tell where one of 'em begins an' where another starts!" he said, handing Chekov the flashlight, "Hold this, please."

He began unhooking wires and slowly untangling them. Chekov wondered for a moment what was happening to the ship as Scotty's fingers worked. Like it actually mattered, as it was the middle of the night for most members of the ship. Night… Chekov suddenly yawned, putting his hand over his mouth just as Scotty finished untangling and neatly bundling the group of wires.

Scotty noticed the tired look in Chekov's eyes. "Lad, you ought to be gettin' to bed, you know…" he said.

"No, I'm fine, Meester Scott. It's not too late," Chekov replied, smiling. His mouth betrayed him, though, as another yawn escaped. The boy sheepishly covered his mouth with his hand again, and wouldn't take it away when he was finished.

"Aye, lad, and I'm Mary, Queen of Scots…" Scotty replied, his grin forming into a small smirk.

"But, Meester Scott, I don not vant to go to bed just yet!" Chekov nearly whined.

"You cannae never know when the Cap'n and the others will ge' back. You need to be ready for their return, Mister Chekov," Scotty chided.

"If…" here Chekov bit his bottom lip, and it was all Scotty could do to stop himself from cooing like mother with her child, "If I lie down and close my eyes down here, vill you vake me up in ze morning?" he asked. "You vill still be vorking, da?"

"I… I dunno lad, I migh' take me own advice an' ge' to bed soon," Scotty replied.

Chekov's face fell, which didn't do much for Scotty's self-esteem with the kid. For some odd reason, the older male wanted to please the Russian whizkid as much as he could.

"What are ye afraid of in yer room, lad? Do ye want me to check fer monsters in yer closet or somethin'?" Scotty joked.

Chekov managed a small smile, but shook his head, "It's not ze monsters I'm afraid of, Meester Scott," he said, his voice small and younger then his seventeen years.

"Then wha' is i'?" Scotty asked, his smile fading.

"Nosing important to you, Meester Scott," Chekov replied, and set the flashlight down on the top of the box. "Just… sometimes at night, ven ze ozers are on ze planets we wisit, I vake up in cold sveat, sinking we lost some of dem…"

Scotty remembered when Chekov had lost Spock's mother. He had learned of the incident shortly after taking a small shore leave after the Narada incidents, before this five-year mission started.

"That… wouldnae be your fault, Pavel," Scotty replied, his voice soft and kind.

Chekov looked up at him finally and tried to smile, "I know, Meester Scott… but I can not control my dreams…"

"I guess not," Scotty replied. "It… sounds like ya need to know you're not alone…"

"Vat?" Chekov asked, the confused look on his face pulling at the heartstrings in Scotty's chest.

Scotty looked around them and found a suitable piece of wall. He beckoned the younger boy to him. "I's not comfortable in the least, but…" Chekov sat down next to Scotty as he sat down as well. "At least all the idling engines keep the surroundin's warm, eh?" he asked.

Chekov still looked very confused, "I do not sink I understand, Meester Scott," he told the older male.

"Lie down or sit up, close your eyes, and get some sleep. Perhaps knowin' tha' I'm around will help with the nightmares," Scotty explained. "I remember when I was young, falling asleep with me mum sittin' on my bed was the best thing for me gettin' to sleep…"

Chekov flushed deeply at the prospect that the older male would even think to help him like this. "You don't have to do zis, Meester Scott, I'd much razer stay up vith you and help you vith the engines…"

"Nonsense, lad. A good night's sleep makes ya more alert an' cheerful the next day," Scotty replied, winking at the younger officer.

Chekov turned away for a brief moment. Scotty watched him almost in awe. The kid might have been seventeen, but his youth made his actions quite innocent, quite… cute. "If ya want, I can take to your room and sit with ya…"

"Oh no, no sank you," Chekov replied quickly, patting the ground lightly, "I'm fine here…"

"Suit yehself," Scotty replied and looked forward.

After a few minutes, Scotty began to feel tired himself. Sitting down wasn't good for him if he wanted to make his late night rounds. But he liked the kid, and he wanted the kid's good health and future happiness. At least, he kept telling himself that. The Scot felt his head nod forward a bit, and was about to doze off when he felt something on his side. Startled awake, the older male looked down to see that Chekov—quite in his sleep, I might add—had dropped his head on Scotty's shoulder and had grabbed tiny fistfuls of the engineer's shirt.

Scotty recognized this as a sleeping habit—he had often woken up tangled in the sheets. It was something the body just did on its own in sub consciousness. But Chekov's habit was almost invasive to the Scot. And yet, waking Chekov wasn't going to help him in the least. Heart pounding unnecessarily, Scotty found his arm gently snaking around the younger boy's waist to pull him closer. Chekov stirred, but didn't wake as he cuddled up close to the older male, murmuring something fearfully.

"No, no, lad. You're no' alone…" Scotty said quietly, "We're all here… and we're all safe and sound…"

Chekov relaxed once more into fitful sleep, and something in Scotty's heart—and not the parental controls—felt the need to comfort the younger male even further: so Scotty gently leaned down, moved Chekov's bangs aside, and kissed his forehead. A few moments later, Scotty himself drifted off again into the dream realm.

When Chekov awoke, it had been the best sleep of his life aboard the USS Enterprise. He didn't wake up feeling alone or like something was missing. He felt whole. As his eyes opened, he noticed he had fallen asleep in the hull of the ship, and not in his bed. And instead of his hand gripping the blanket, as he often woke up doing, he had fistfuls of… someone's shirt.

Looking up into the eyes of Mister Montgomery Scott, Chekov immediately backed off, unhanding the older male and almost shrieking. "Oh, god, I'm sorry!"

"Wha' about it, lad?" Scotty asked, standing and following Chekov as he tried to run away.

"I forgot about my strange sleeping habits, Meester Scott! I inwaded your space as I slept!" Chekov replied.

"Calm down, lad! It's perfectly fine…" Scotty replied, "In fact… I kind of enjoyed it…"

Chekov blushed and tried to speak, but something caught in his throat and made him stand there, gaping like a (very cute, very Russian) fish.

Scotty chuckled, "Pavel Andreevich Chekov, you are too cute."

And, leaning down, he expertly kissed the other boy straight on the mouth. Chekov squeaked upon contact, but decided he liked the kiss very much (and liked Montgomery Scott very much as well), and finally closed his eyes and pushed back a little. This surprised Scotty a little, but he wasn't about to complain.

There was a sudden noise from Scotty's belt as their captain's voice was clearly heard. "Everything is settled down here. Beam us up, Scotty."

Scotty pulled away right as he heard the voice. Chekov looked slightly disappointed at the sudden loss of contact.

"Sorry about tha', Pavel," Scotty said, "Not about the kiss. Believe me, I don' regre' that." He thought for a moment, "I obviously have to go. Stay here, and I'll get back to you later, okay?" he asked.

Chekov blinked, "But, I may be needed on ze bridge, Meester Scott… zere are people zere and—"

"Pasha," Scotty said, using the Russian diminutive of Chekov's first name (and making the teen blush wildly, as only his mother and three of his Academy-days girlfriends had called him that), "if the Cap'n and his Vulcan boyfriend can get handsy every time they're around each other, I think I ca' kiss ya without people gettin' their knickers in a knot."

Chekov looked off to the side as his cheeks tried to return to their normal color. "Err… okay," he said, looking back at Scotty.

Scotty quickly kissed his cheek and ran off to the transporter room.

Before he ducked into the room, the engineer peeked to where he had just been. He saw Chekov standing there, looking at the floor and lightly touching his cheek, then his lips—where Scotty had kissed them. He chuckled quietly to himself.

"He really is too cute…" he said softly as he readied himself for the arrival of his captain and shipmates.