NAME: Heart Strings and Musical Things
RATING: PG-13
FANDOM: Star Trek Reboot
CHARACTERS/PAIRINGS: Pavel Chekov, Montgomery Scott, Spock, mentioned, James T. Kirk, Nyota Uhura, Christine Chapel, Hikaru Sulu, Leonard McCoy | Scotty/Chekov, slight Scotty/Chapel
GENRES: Romance/Drama
SUMMARY: Pavel Andreyevich is going to the top international school in the world. The little pianist, once there, is paired off with the top violinist for a duet at the end of the year. But the love song they play isn't just for the audience…
PROMPT: 67: Playing the Melody
WARNINGS: Chekov's accent, Scotty's accent, slash, swearing, and fluff. Also a warning for Dvorak's "Four Romantic Pieces."
AU: Private high school and Scotty's about 17-18 compared to Pavel's 14-15.
When Pavel Andreyevich Chekov was accepted into the prestigious High School for International Musicians, his mother cried at the thought of her baby boy leaving her for school so early. His father, however, patted him on the back and hugged him before making him practice his piano again.
Pavel was excited and worried about leaving home so he could play at the school that had as many students as it took to have one large orchestra. And it was a large orchestra at that. But only three other students had gotten in that year: an African-American woman who played the flute, a Japanese drummer, and a saxophone-player from the American mid-west.
Now that he had gotten through his first week, he thought himself about ready to leave the nest forever if he could. But he wouldn't, for he did miss his parents back in Moscow.
One day, the conductor/teacher, a strange-looking male from the surrounding area (Switzerland) decided to mix the day up. "It has come to my attention," he said in English, which was the language of choice, as the Americans never actually knew any other language, "That there is one spot at our country-wide contest for duets. So, as well as your normal group rehearsals, some of you will have some time in the evening to practice your duets, just as the quartets and trios do…"
Pavel was mostly accompaniment at most of the practices, and he sometimes played with the choirs, so when his name was called along with one Montgomery Scott, from Aberdeen, Scotland, he was surprised and pleased.
"Mr. Chekov, Mr. Scott. You will be playing Antonin Dvorak's Four Romantic Pieces for violin and piano," Professor Spock told them, handing the older boy the folder containing their music.
Montgomery Scott was a senior, his darker brown hair matted on his forehead as he played, for he played with such fervor that a thin coat of sweat often appeared on his brow. His body was short but lanky, and he had a penchant for drinking whisky with the 18-year-olds (he was seventeen at the beginning of his senior year. Drinking was all right with adults, and 18 seemed to be an adult-like age), as well as the sandwiches from the cafeteria.
Pavel was only fourteen at the start of the year, with curly blond-brown hair and green-grey eyes. When he played his beloved piano, his face became calm and serene, gaining him the nickname of the angel of HSIM. Pavel didn't see it, but then again, he was often playing when the other boys and girls whispered to their neighbors about his beautiful disposition.
Scotty, as the older boy was known, smiled up at the professor and nodded, looking down at the young pianist, "Well? Shall we?" he hadn't lost his thick Scottish accent despite four years at HSIM.
"Shall ve vhat?" Pavel asked, his thick Russian accent apparent.
"It's supper time, laddie," Scotty replied, "If we're goin' ta be working together until the end of the year, we ought'ta be gettin' ta know one another a bit, don'tcha think?"
Pavel blushed, "Oh," he replied.
After that first dinner, the boys made it a routine to eat dinner with each other after their afternoon duties. Scotty almost always had a sandwich and Pavel liked to mix it up. Usually there was something delicious that the chefs always made fresh if you ordered it.
After dinner (which was often filled with laughter and never-been-told secrets), they would retire to a practice room set up by Professor Spock so that they wouldn't have to hunt one down every night with the prospect of being sorely disappointed. There they practiced their piece until they got the melody and harmonies pitch perfect and then some. That usually took a few tries, but only an hour to get. Then they would back to their dorm rooms to finish up the extracurricular homework (Reading, Writing, Math, Science, History and Geography) and get some sleep. The cycle repeated until Saturday, when Pavel practiced his part alone. Scotty was good enough to take a break and come back to it fresh and amazing.
It was February 14th that everything changed for Pavel. He had been crushing a little on Scotty since the beginning, but he was allowed, coming from a family that didn't really care what you were as a person. His father was bisexual, which was odd in and of itself, and his mother had a male form that expressed his views a lot. So it was all right for Pavel to crush on boys and be more effeminate than others might be.
Pavel had been crushing on Scotty since they had met, of course, but it was only after Scotty had told him he had broken up with his oboe-playing girlfriend, Christine, a week prior that Pavel began feeling more and more light-headed and fluttery-hearted around the older boy.
February 14th, however, was on a Saturday, and Pavel was in a practice room sitting at the piano and mentally preparing himself to play. Often when he was alone in practice, he imagined Scotty playing beside him on the violin. Scotty was beautiful especially when he played. He was all soft movements and closed eyes when he played. Pavel just couldn't look at that serene smile for fear he'd get giddy and fall out of sync with him.
Pavel was just getting into the second movement of the piece when he heard the door click open quietly. He stopped playing and turned to see who the intruder was. When he saw Scotty grin awkwardly and move to close the door and sit in a chair, he crooked his head to the side.
"Privyet, Pavel," Scotty said, butchering the Russian just a little, "don't mind me, eh?" he asked, making a motion for the younger boy to continue.
"You're not going to join me?" Pavel asked.
"Forgot me violin," Scotty replied after a few moments' thought. He was hiding something in the folds of his khaki school jacket.
But the older boy's violin was indeed not with him, so Pavel nodded slightly and turned back to his music, going about three bars before he was interrupted and playing the rest of the second movement before stopping and turning back to the Scotsman. "You newer come to vatch me practice on Saturdays."
"I know," Scotty replied, fiddling with whatever was being hidden.
He finally took it out. It looked like a warm scarf covering something. He handed it to Pavel, who took it and stared at Scotty like he had given him a bomb to disarm or something.
"Well? Uncover it," Scotty said, motioning the other boy to 'go on.'
Pavel uncovered the item, which turned out to be a cheesy white bear holding a valentine heart. The younger boy blushed a little at the gift, for the heart had, in a fancy script, the words "Be Mine" written in white. "Oh, Scotty…" the Russian pianist said, looking up at the older boy, "Vas… zis vhy you broke up vith Ms. Chapel?" he asked.
"Part of it, yeah. I was kiddin' meself in liking girls. But you changed me mind about havin' ta be straight with me mates and meself…" the other replied.
Pavel's blushed deepened only slightly, "Scotty… Vhat about somevone older zen me? I'm only fifteen and you're eighteen now…"
"Legal age of consent is sixteen in most European countries. As long as we don't do anything explicit until ya turn sixteen… we should be fine…" Scotty had done his research, that was for sure.
Pavel got up from the bench and sat next to Scotty on the other vacant chair, "I… I hawe vanted zis since meeting you, Scotty…" he said, but he wasn't smiling so much. He put the bear on the older boy's knee and got up again, gathering his music. "I can't do zis. Not now," he said, and bolted.
Scotty stood up, grabbing the bear off the floor to tear after the other, but when he got outside their practice room, the other boy had completely disappeared, and Scotty had no clue where the younger boy lived. So Scotty returned to his room dejected and somewhat sulky.
For the next few months, Scotty and Pavel passed each other in the halls, and had practice in the orchestra. But Pavel was always hanging out with his fellow First Years, and Scotty was content with his Fourth Year buddies. Pavel and Scotty still practiced their duet, but they were in different rooms and at different times from each other. Each hoped that by end of the year, when the contest came around, that they would be resolved and things wouldn't be so weird.
As luck would have it, they were still both very stubborn about the whole thing when May came around, but, as was tradition, if one was in a quartet, trio, or duet, you had to room together at the hotel they stayed at. The school being three hours away, this was the norm.
So Pavel and Scotty had to room together for a few days.
The room they had was a two-bedroom, and was comfortably furnished and homey. Pavel wondered if the trios had to sleep two to a bed, with the third sleeping alone. Quartets, of course, would have to sleep two to a bed. Duets were pretty easy, as each player got his or her own bed.
The first few hours in the room were pure agony for both Scotty and Pavel; until Pavel got up to go to the bathroom. He stood in front of the mirror for what seemed like hours, looking in the mirror at anything but himself. He hadn't slept in days, angsting over this arrangement and wishing Scotty had never asked him to be his.
There was a tiny knock on the door, and Pavel was glad to peel his eyes from the mirror to open it. Scotty stood there, looking quite nervous.
"Vhat is it, Mr. Scott," Pavel replied, keeping the distance by using the standard greeting between underclassman and upperclassman.
"Pavel," still standard talk between upper- and underclassman. "Are ye okay? Ye've been in there for awhile, and it looks like ya haven't been doing a beauty ritual or anythin'," the other pointed out.
"I'm… I'm just fine," Pavel said, and went to slam the door.
Scotty stopped him by putting his hand on the door. Scotty proved stronger than Pavel as he stepped into the bathroom, leaning down suddenly to the other as he whispered, "How can ya do this thing ta me?"
"Vhat… Vhat do you mean?" Pavel asked, shivers running down his spine.
"Ignoring me, giving me only awkward smiles in the hallways? I thought we had somethin'."
"Ve newer had it, Scotty," Pavel said, putting his hands on Scotty's collarbone slightly.
Scotty looked like an abused puppy for a brief second before Pavel added, "Because it's still zere…"
Both were at full blush as Scotty swept Pavel up in a deep kiss right there in the bathroom, his hands snaking around the younger boy as Pavel jumped up only to hook his arms around the older boy's neck.
Pavel and Scotty got first place in the duets, and went on to win Europe's continent-wide contest. Scotty graduated the next month, but promised he would visit Pavel when he got breaks from his music-oriented university (located in the next country over, Austria). They take turns visiting each other on weekends. Scotty's making plans to visit Pavel, in the upcoming summer of the boy's junior year, in his home in Moscow. Pavel and both his parents can't wait.
Christine Chapel is now at university in London. Hikaru Sulu has become Pavel's best friend at the school and since both joined the Jazz Band, Professor Spock is pleased to have a jazz pianist along with his prize saxophonist, James T. Kirk, and jazz flutist, Nyota Uhura.
Pavel won't do any more duets, especially with any newer violinists. Nothing can ever compare to his year playing with Scotty.
(And everyone lived happily ever after.)