Title :: In The Presence Of
Rating :: K+ (for some swearing and some alcohol drinking.)
Characters :: Jim/Pavel friendship, mentions of Bones and Spock.
Inspired by :: The fact that I don't think these two get enough friendship time together, and them with Gaila&Uhura (who were going to make an appearance, but then decided to ditch me at the last second) as BFF's just fills me with happy goodness. C:
WARNINGS :: Slight OOC. Jim ranting. Some very brief mentions of slash (Bones/Pavel, Spock/Jim). Alcohol drinking. Pavel being a stereotypical smartass teenager. ;)
Beta'd :: Nope. I claim all mistakes as my own.

EDIT (08/11/09) :: Updated the A/N.

THISISTHESTUPIDLINETHATSEPERATESTHESTUPIDAUTHORSNOTESFROMTHESTORY

It's late, oh so late (or early, depending on your point of view), and as Jim Kirk lay on his bed staring up at the ceiling in his dark room, he can't help thinking that he's going to be hella tired and snappish on the bridge tomorrow. He's hoping that telling his brain this will maybe be the secret code to his body just shutting down and letting him get to sleep, but nothing. He's still staring at the ceiling, not tired in the least.

He sighs in defeat and sits up, rubbing the heel of his hand into his eye and scrubbing the other hand over his face as he swings his legs over the edge of the bunk.

The sweet chime of the doorbell is unexpected, but not entirely unwelcome, so Jim calls, "Come in," with only the slightest bit of hesitation.

A large curly mop of brown hair, followed by cautious blue eyes framed in girlishly long lashes comes through the door, and although Jim should be surprised to see his whiz-kid Russian Ensign Navigator in his doorway so early in the morning, he isn't. The teen may be younger than everyone else, but the captain enjoyed socializing with him when Spock and Bones were getting on his nerves, and the last few days with them had been a complete and utter nightmare.

He can feel the large grin erupt on his face when his gaze travels lower and he realizes that Pavel has brought a large bottle of vodka with him, and he knows that it's real vodka and not the cheap, wannabe vodka the replicators spit out.

Pavel immediately makes himself comfortable, grabbing the shot glasses from Jim's cabinet and settling himself on the bed next to the older man, pouring him a shot and handing it to him with a raised eyebrow.

Jim grabs the glass and downs it in one shot, licking his lips afterward out of habit and loving the burning of the drink as it slides down his throat.

They drink in silence for a while until Pavel suddenly turns on the bed to face Jim, nestling his glass into the comforter snugly to make sure it doesn't tip over, then puts his elbows on his knees, lays his cheek on his palm, and leans forward.

"So. What's wrong with you?"

It had definitely taken Jim by surprise the first time he realized that most of Chekov's accent was faked, with only his i's sounding a bit like ee's, and mixing up his v's and w's sometimes, but when he called him on it, Pavel just shrugged and answered smoothly, "It's fun to pretend."

Jim hasn't brought it up since then.

He sloshes the drink in his glass as he twirls it lightly, then takes a sip as he thinks, eyeing the determined Russian across from him with interest.

"Nothing's wrong."

The scoff doesn't surprise him.

"Liar. Why are you lying to me? I'm no Doctor McCoy, but I've also spent enough time with you to tell when you're lying."

He could call Chekov on his manners, reprimand him for speaking to his captain in such a blunt manner, but even though they're in Jim's quarters, he just isn't that type of guy, and technically they're off duty anyways.

Of course, the fact that Pavel is his best friend's boyfriend probably doesn't hurt either.

"You can't let them get to you, you know. They're only doing it because they care."

Ah.

Pavel is a smart boy, of course he'd figure it out.

Jim knows this, he knows they're only doing it because they care, but it's driving Jim up the walls, all of the mother hen-ing and bitch fighting going on. Bones and Spock are both grown men, and so is Jim, and the sooner they understand this the better off they will all be.

"But that's just it, Pavel. Me and Spock may be involved and Bones may be my best friend, but that doesn't give them the right to fuss over me and snap at each other all the time!"

He can hear his voice rising in volume as he grows more and more agitated as he rants, can feel his hands being tossed in the air and the vodka raining down on them from the glass he's still holding, but he is on a roll now, and nothing short of the ship catching on fire is going to stop him.

"Like, the other day, Bones said something to Spock about being a logic obsessed, green blooded, pointy eared, computerized bastard, and Spock started into this speech about how logically unappealing his face was, and then they were at each other's throats in seconds! I mean, who does that?! Not to mention earlier today when I got back from that planet exploration after falling down the cliff. They about tripped over themselves trying to get to me first and make sure I was okay! It's really starting to piss me off."

The captain ends his rant by bringing the glass to lips and drinking, or trying to anyways, even though there's nothing left in the actual glass because he flung it all over the room during his wild gesturing.

A pale, slim hand waving in front of his face draws his attention from his empty shotglass, and he looks up at the Russian with a curious gaze.

"Yes?"

If anyone asks later, he will deny it, but the sound of glee that the white chocolate in Pavel's grip draws from him is definitely a very girlish squee.

"Pavel! You are amazing, have I ever told you that?"

The teenager snorts in amusement.

"Well, saying it more often wouldn't hurt."

Chekov ducks the hand that comes flying towards him just in time.

"Don't be a smartass."

"Better than a dumbass."

Pavel doesn't manage to move fast enough this time, and the hand catches him squarely on his bare arm.

"Ow! Fine, see if I ever give you chocolate or vodka again... or offer to give you a massage."

Jim looks confused.

"You didn't offer to give me a massage."

"I was going to, but then you physically assaulted me, so now I don't think I will."

He does nothing but raise an eyebrow, and then he's chuckling as he strips his shirt off when the teenager sighs.

The older man lays down on his stomach and closes his too blue eyes as he munches on his chocolate and hums in contentment.

A light weight settles on his lower back, very close to his hips, and then long, talented fingers start working on the knots of tension that have gathered at the base of his neck, and he hums again.

After that, everything takes on a dreamy, hazy quality, and time has no place in his state of utter peacefulness.

Therefore, he isn't sure exactly when the soft heat moves from sitting on his back to curled into his side, but he decides that he doesn't really care as he drifts off into a deep sleep, the troubles of the past few days forgotten in lieu of the pleasant dreams swimming behind his closed eyelids.

THISISTHESTUPIDLINETHATSEPERATESTHESTUPIDAUTHORSNOTESFROMTHESTORY

So, there was actually going to be a second part to this where Bones and Spock go looking for Jim and Pavel (who missed their shifts) and find them curled together on the bed and Jim missing his shirt with the room smelling of vodka (from when Jim flung it all over the room in his ranting) and chocolate, and them, y'know, jumping to conclusions, but I guess I'll let you guys decide. (: Just drop me a line; that'd be awesome.

Also, more song naming after. In The Presence Of... (Deepfreak Remix) by Jette-Ives feat. Jette Kelly and Holmes Ives. The song has absolutely nothing to do with the story at all, but it makes me want to dance, which is kind of fabulous. ;)

P.S. The thought of Jim being a closet chocoholic and Pavel "hooking him up" makes me giggle hysterically, thus, of course it had to squirm its lovely little way into the story.

P.P.S. Spock thinking McCoy's face is logically unappealing is credited to FMLmccoy on Twitter.

SUPER IMPORTANT NOTE BELOW!!! Please read.

Due to the fact that school is starting tomorrow and my schedule's hell this year, (All honors class (Chemistry, Algebra II and English), along with AP World History, Japanese II and beginning stagecraft as well as ADL peer training and Anime Club duties (Treasurer/Secretary)) I probably won't be updating or uploading anything new for the next couple of weeks. I'll do what I can to make sure I don't just abandon anything like I tend to do when I'm really stressed - and school really stresses me out, unfortunately - but I'm afraid I won't be making any promises.

/end rant.

tl;dr :: No updates for a few weeks, because school is lame and time consuming.

See you all in a few weeks!