With You Fairy Tales Come True
TITLE: With You Fairy Tales Come True
BETA: oldwillow_brook and chocolatcocaine
RATING: PG13
WORD COUNT: 3998 words
SUMMARY: Pavel's an assistant at Kirk's Books and one rainy day Leonard McCoy and his daughter walk in to purchase a fairy tale book, little do either of them know a fairy tale of their own is about to start.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: oh my goodness! this piece was so hard to write! i had so many other ideas i wanted to write, but this piece physically took a tool on me D: i dont know why! i dont even think it came out the way i wanted to because i had to cut a lot of scenes out for the word limit, but i hope everyone enjoys~
On nights when the wind blew so hard that it rattled the roof and fat raindrops beat ominous messages in Morse code on the glass of his bedroom window; Pavel’s grandmamma would come tuck him into his bed. He pulled the covers up to his nose so that the only things visible were his soft blonde curls and big, blue-green eyes, which were wide, full of fear.
“Oh, there is nothing to fear about the storm, my Pasha!” she would tell him smiling and chuckling a little.
“You see when it rains it means something amazing is about to happen, and heavens are confused! They do not know whether they should cry joyously or cry out in jealousy; so you see, the harder it rains, the more amazing and incredible things are about to happen!”
She then would tell him fairy tales that her own grandmamma would tell her before going to bed.
One of Pavel’s favorite stories was a tale of an unlikely prince who was given a mission; to track down a golden bird that had eaten a fruit from the king’s garden. Along the way he befriends a giant wolf that lends his back for the prince to ride through the cold terrain.
Perhaps it was because it was Pavel’s favorite fairy tale as a child that he automatically drew a connection between the story and the customer who had just walked in through the door of Kirk’s Books.
‘Prince,’ Pavel thought as the tall, dark, and handsome man in his dark evergreen raincoat walked in with his arms full of a beautiful little girl geared in her own bright yellow raincoat and boots.
‘King,’ Pavel titled the little girl in his head as she smiled at the man who held her and pointed to a bright picture book that was displayed on the window.
“I want that book, daddy!” the little girl happily exclaiming, bouncing up and down in the man’s arms.
“Alright. Alright Darlin’. Let me just put you down real quick,” the man spoke a lot like how his grandmamma had spoken to him so many years ago.
Pavel sat on the edge of his stool seat, as he watched the handsome man place his precious bundle down and walked towards him. Pavel gasped a little at how dark and deep the prince’s eyes were; the exact shade of a dense forest he had conjured up in his mind when he was a little boy listening to his grandmamma’s stories.
“Hi, can I see that book by the window?” the prince asked as he swept raindrops out of his thick dark hair. Pavel would have leaned over the counter and run his own hands through it if he didn’t have any self control.
“D-da, I mean yes!” Pavel stuttered as he nearly fell out of his stool to lean over to his right to grab the book on display at the window. It was only when Pavel retrieved the book he realized the irony of this whole situation.
“Ivan Tsarevich, The Firebird, and The Gray Wolf?” the prince said with a brow raised at the book, “That’s a mouth full…”
“It is a Russian fairy tale,” Pavel provided, “about a prince that goes on a -journey to find a golden bird for his king.”
“Is it now?” the prince drawled in an accent that was not from San Francisco and made Pavel lean forward on his stool.
“It is also my favorite…” Pavel added.
“Daddy, please can I have it? Please?!” the little king pleaded.
It was exceedingly clear that this little girl that Pavel had labeled as king in his head was truly the only ruler of this man’s heart. The way the man looked down at his daughter and his dark forest eyes softened a little but still so lively… Pavel smiled at the small gesture he had caught and wished that maybe someone like this man- tall, handsome, and strong could look at him in that way.
“How much?”
“Ah- I believe that particular book is 8.75.”
“8.75…” the man dug out his wallet out of his coat and looked inside, “Damn, you guys take card?”
Pavel nodded as the man handed him the dark blue, plastic card with the name, “Leonard H. McCoy” engraved on it.
Pavel stared at the card as his thumb ran over the punched out letterings of the prince’s name.
“You need my I.D.?” the prince, Leonard McCoy asked. Pavel looked up and blushed.
“Ah, no -- sorry,” he said as he rushed to run the card through. Pavel took the book to wrap it in glossed brown paper as the register printed the receipt.
“Here you go, now it’s safe from the rain,” Pavel said as he tiptoed over the counter and handed the book to the little girl who giggled and took the book.
“You talk funny!”
“Joanna, what do you say?” Leonard McCoy warned his daughter.
“Thank you!” the king, Joanna said.
“Sorry, she knows better,” McCoy said as he signed the receipt.
“No, its fine,” Pavel said looking down at the little girl and smiled, “I am from Russia. It has a lot of snow there, very cold,” Pavel said as the little girl tip toed towards the counter with big green eyes and a wide toothless smile.
“Snow? It snows in Georgia too, but we don’t live in Georgia anymore,” the little girl explained excitedly. The older McCoy chuckled sheepishly as he placed his receipt in his wallet, placing it back in his coat pocket.
“Alright, Darlin’ I don’t think… umm, sorry what’s your name?”
“Ah, Pavel Andrievich!” Pavel nearly shouted out, blushing at his outburst.
“Pavel Andrievich… everything from Russia a mouth full?”
Pavel laughed at the Leonard McCoy’s open comment.
“Only the wonderful things-“Pavel beamed.
“Can I call you Mr. Pav?” the little McCoy asked with a bright smile that made it hard for anyone to say no.
“Of course! You can even call me Pasha-"and little Joanna McCoy giggled then repeating his nickname.
“Alright, baby come on-"Leonard McCoy said, “Let’s get home and out of the rain,”
“Bye, Mr. Pasha!” Little Joanna said as her father lifted her into his arms placing her yellow hood over her head. Leonard McCoy gave Pavel a sincere smile and a nod before heading out the door.
It was only after the doorbell rang, after their exit that Pavel remembered to say, “Come back soon.”
A week and a day later (not that Pavel was counting) McCoy walked into Kirk’s Books again, only this time Mr. Kirk was manning the counter and Pavel was in the back rearranging the “mystery” section
“Pikachu! There is a customer here for you!” Mr. Kirk called out.
“Customer?” Pavel asked while emerging from the shelves then recognized the older McCoy who had one of his brows had risen up to his hairline and his thick plump lips in somewhat of a scowl towards Mr. Kirk.
He wore a light blue dress shirt with jeans and light beige overcoat.
“Hello!” Pavel greeted warmly and McCoy’s dark, earth green eyes traveled to Pavel’s, his scowl unlocking gently into a smile.
Unlike before, it was a bright day. The lights hazing through the store window gave Leonard McCoy a glowing effect as the light beamed off his light-colored apparel.
‘White and brilliant, it’s Father Frost,’ Pavel thought.
“How come that man over there calls you Pikachu, Mr. Pasha?” Joanna asked breaking Pavel’s stare at her father. Today she had her dark, rich hair tied in a small red bow that reminded Pavel of little holly berries.
‘It's an offering to Father Frost, Pasha,’ his grandmamma had explained to him one winter as she hand-weaved holly into a wreathe for their front door.
They would both sit in front of the fire place; his grandmamma on her rocking-chair. Pavel sitting at her feet, looking up with big eyes filled with excitement as she told him the story of the little girl sent out to the woods by her evil stepmother in the winter to die; only does she befriend Father Frost and be gifted beautiful silk and golden ornaments.
“Because he looks like a pikachu,” Mr. Kirk explained to Joanna who looked up to the blonde man and giggled in agreement. Pavel caught Leonard McCoy rolling his eyes at Mr. Kirk’s antics.
“Sorry to bother you,” Mr. McCoy drawled, “Just that Joanna really liked that last book- thought maybe you’d have something to recommend again.”
“I really like the Russian story, Mr. Pasha!” Joanna beamed, making Pavel smile at the child’s interest in his home country.
“Do you really?” Pavel asked closing towards Joanna, “Come! There are more in the back corner!”
Joanna smiled and took Pavel’s hand pulling him towards the back of the store. Pavel glanced back at McCoy to see if it was safe for him to take his daughter and was rewarded with a simple nod from the older man.
Pavel radiated as he helped Joanna; but he really couldn’t say that he was smiling solely because he took such joy in immersing the girl in one of his favorite topics. Not if the warm fulfilling sensation felt when he received from a simple nod of trust from the older man had anything to say about it.
The McCoy’s become regular customers of Kirk’s Books, coming in every other week for a new book for Joanna.
“She made me read the last book at least four times before going to sleep the other night,” Leonard said referring to his last purchase, Peter and The Wolf.
“She liked it? I was afraid it might have been too dry for her,” Pavel said, a bit relieved.
“No, she liked it,” said Leonard as he nodded over to the back where Joanna was picking out her next book by herself.
“Ah that is good… I thought maybe she didn’t like the last book, and that is why she wanted to go pick out a book by herself,” Pavel said. Leonard chuckled at Pavel’s worry.
“No, don’t take it personally. Apparently since she’s six now, she’s a full-grown lady. She doesn’t need help picking out her clothes or picking out books.”
Leonard’s reassuring words made Pavel smile as Leonard also gave a small smile back in return. Suddenly, Pavel felt like he was the farm boy who had successfully made the princess who did not smile, smile. Feeling flustered he looked over to Joanna who had a determined and focused look on her face.
“You are very close to her,” Pavel stated slowly peering over at the older man.
“Well, it’s just me and her now. Her mama died a couple years back -- cancer,” Leonard explained, “There was too much of her left in Georgia. So we decided to come to the opposite end of the damn country for a fresh start. Apparently, there can never be too many corners in California,” Leonard said smiling wirily. Pavel couldn’t do much other than to give a small, weak smile.
“Sorry if I over shared…” Leonard quickly said, sensing Pavel’s discomfort.
“No! It’s not that; just that it must be hard. You seem to work very hard every day, yet you make time for your daughter. Joanna is very lucky. I had two parents but they never gave me as much attention or support as you give her and I see that and it makes my heart swell,” Pavel quickly explained then blushed as he noticed the older man stare at him intently.
“You know, saying things like, ‘makes my heart swell,’ isn’t something a good looking guy should say to a widowed father; that kind of line would definitely make a person swoon a little,” Leonard drawled out only for Pavel. He turned red, swearing in Russian silently.
Pavel thanked whatever god that had possessed Joanna to have impeccable timing, as the six year-old ran as quickly as her little legs could carry her holding a hard cover book of, Repunzel.
After Leonard and Joanna had left, Mr. Kirk teased Pavel, saying things like, “man, there is one DILF you cannot let slip through your net, Pikachu.”
Pavel had to text his best friend Hikaru to find out what d.i.l.f exactly meant.
“Hikaru… what does dilf mean?”
“oh my god… hahaha don’t text me things that will make me lol in the middle of microbiology class! Hahaha!!!”
“Hikaru~don’t tease me!”
“it means, DAD I’D LIKE TO FUCK”
After that, it was harder not to blush every time Leonard came into the shop.
Whenever Leonard walked into the store with Joanna, Hikaru’s text would make its presence known in Pavel’s consciousness, tensing up his body till he was flushed all over.
The word ‘Fuck’ bounced in his brain like a crazy ball his grandmamma would buy for him when he was Joanna’s age; and the thought of his grandmamma adjacent to the thought of Leonard McCoy having his way with him was another new level of wrong in itself.
Making eye contact with the man was virtually impossible so Pavel would keep his eyes trained on Leonard’s collar or his hair when speaking with him. Apparently, his boycott of making direct eye contact with the older man did not go unnoticed by Leonard.
It was roughly three weeks after Pavel obtained a new urban vocabulary when Leonard asked Pavel if he was all right.
“Yes, I am well. Why?” Pavel asked as he quickly glances to the man’s face before looking down and reaching for whatever was closest to him to keep his hands busy.
“It’s just that… you seem more distant with me,” Leonard said and Pavel could hear the disappointment in his voice.
Pavel’s head snapped up, making eye contact with the expressive pair of evergreen eyes. “No! Not at all… it’s… ummm -"Pavel stuttered but was cut off by a ringing.
“Sorry, let me get that,” Leonard said as he dug out his phone out of his pocket and answered.
“McCoy.” Then a pause, “Yea, I told you like I told that hobgoblin partner of yours. The DNA was an inconclusive match -- it was too damaged… Well yea, if I had another sample I could run it again. Yeah? Right now? It can’t wait? No, Nyota, I do not want this guy to walk, what kind of question is that?!” He tapped his hand on the counter, “dammit, I’m a forensic specialist, not a D.A! The time frame is not of my- fine; fine… let me see if I can find a sitter for Jo. Yes I know… You owe me,” then with a sigh Leonard ended his call and ran his hand through his hair with frustration.
Leonard scrolled down the pearl of his Blackberry, indicating he was scrolling down his contact list.
“Do you need a sitter?” Pavel asked timidly.
Leonard looked up from his phone to Pavel.
“You… don’t mind?” Leonard asked cautiously.
“No! I don’t… unless you don’t mind.,”
“I don’t mind…”
They awkwardly just stared at each other till Joanna then came padding down with a copy of Hansel and Gretel, in her hands. Leonard broke their eye contact slowly.
“Baby, Pavel is going to going to babysit you for a couple of hours. Daddy’s got to go down to work again for something important,” Leonard explained gently.
Joanna frowned at the news but looked at her father. “You going to help catch bad people, Daddy?”
“Yes, Sweetheart. Can you be good for Pavel?”
“Yes, Daddy!” Joanna said smiling, “is Mr. Pasha going to come to our house?”
Leonard looked up at Pavel.
“I close in a little bit, I can take Joanna home, if you don’t mind,” Pavel offered gently.
Leonard looked Pavel straight in the eye and said in the most sincere tone Pavel has ever heard anyone say anything, “no, I don’t mind,”
If Pavel didn’t blush at the sincerity of Leonard’s words or the serious look in his eyes, the brush of their fingers when Leonard passed Pavel his house keys certainly did the trick.
By the time Pavel closed up shop and bundled Joanna safely in the back seat of his eco-friendly Prius, heavy drops of rain started to fall from the dark San Francisco sky.
The McCoy household was a small San Franciscan two-story house, cozy and decorated with various pictures of Leonard’s hometown. Pavel gently directed Joanna to wash as he explored the kitchen.
Pavel followed the directions left by Leonard to warm up the leftovers in the fridge then he and Joanna happily ate while talking about what Joanna had learned in school and how stupid Lorain Stevenson was. After dinner, Joanna sat at the countertop as Pavel washed the dishes.
“Is your mama still alive, Mr. Pasha?” Joanna asked quietly.
Pavel looked up at the six year-old girl, “yes… but we are not so close.”
Joanna frowned at Pavel’s answer, “why?”
“Hm… I think it is because when I was growing up, my parents did not take the time to know me, and when I grew up, we were too different from each other,” Pavel explained gently, “Joanna is very lucky that her Papa takes such good care of her!”.
“Daddy is the best!” Joanna happily exclaimed.
“Yes, he is!” Pavel said, giving a little laugh.
“You know, my Daddy likes Mr. Pasha too!”
“O-oh?” Pavel asked as he turned to the dishes at hand trying to ignore the heating of his cheeks.
“Are you mad at Daddy, Mr. Pasha?” Joanna asked, and suddenly Pavel felt ashamed that his behavior had sent the wrong messages to the McCoy’s.
“No I don’t think I can be angry at your Papa, Joanna,” Pavel answered honestly as he finished rinsing off the last of the dishes.
“Oh good, cause Daddy thought that maybe he said something and it made you not happy.”
“I am not unhappy because your papa said something.”
“But you are not happy?” Joanna asked with a curious expression on her face and Pavel smiled at how intuitive and quick that this little girl was.
He wiped his hand with a small towel and picked her up from the counter. “It is getting late! We should get you to bed,” said Pavel as he set Joanna down.
She smiled and took his hand leading him to her bed room squealing, “bed time story time!”
‘Déjà vu,’ Pavel thought as he tucked in Joanna after reading her latest book, her nose tucked underneath the blanket so that all that was visible was her earthy jades and locks of her chocolate hair.
There was a flood of warm feelings filling the inside of Pavel’s heart and for a moment, he wondered if it was the same sensation his grandmamma had felt when she had tucked him into bed.
Then there was a flash of bright blue light and a clash of thunder to follow. Joanna screamed a little in surprise as she jolted out of her covers and clutched Pavel’s arms.
“No, Mr. Pasha! Don’t leave!!!” Joanna exclaimed into Pavel’s chest.
Pavel held the little girl and smiled gently. “Oh, Joanna, that was just thunder, you have nothing to fear,” Pavel said as Joanna peered up from his chest.
“But it’s scary!”
“Did you know when it rains it means that the heavens are laughing and crying at the same time?” Pavel said as he gently pulled the girl away and setting her back onto bed.
“Why… why are they crying and laughing at the same time?” Joanna asked as Pavel pulled back the covers to tuck the little girl back into her bed.
“Because something amazing is about to happen and they don’t know whether to laugh out happily or cry out because they are jealous,” Pavel tried to explain like how his grandmamma had explained to him.
“Why are they jealous?” Joanna asked as Pavel settled back into his spot on the bed.
He blinked at the six year-old girl and looked at her.
“I… don’t know; I never asked my grand mama that,” Pavel said sheepishly and laughed a little making Joanna ease up a little.
“Is your grandmamma there?” Joanna asked, “in heaven…”
“Yes. I like to think so. I remember asking my parents if she went to the place she had told stories about after my grandmamma passed away- they thought I was crazy,” Pavel said earning a laugh from Joanna.
“Is my mama up there? Do you think she’s laughing or do you think she’s crying?” Joanna asked.
“If she is anything like you and my grandmamma, I think she will be laughing so hard she is crying,” Pavel said making Joanna smile brilliantly.
“Now bed. You have nothing to fear,” Pavel said then kissing Joanna’s forehead.
Joanna gave a smile then closed her eyes and within minutes she was asleep. Pavel watched the little girl’s chest rise up and down slowly and smiled at the image in front of him.
“Amazing things are gonna happen, huh?” a dark smooth voice asked from the doorway.
Pavel turned around to see Leonard leaning against the doorframe with a lazy smile. He looked tired and worn, but the smile he wore seemed to be radiating warmth through his eyes.
“Something my grandmamma would tell me on nights there were storms in Russia,” Pavel said as he gently rose from the bed and made his way out the room and stood there by the doorway as Leonard kissed his daughter on the forehead and quietly slipped from the room, closing the door behind him. .
“Thanks,” Leonard said only after they climbed down the stairs and made their way into the kitchen, “I saw that you even did the dishes for me.”
“I enjoyed time with Joanna. She is very special and smart,” Pavel said quietly.
Leonard stepped closer to Pavel,“back at the store you were about to tell me something. Don’t think I’ve forgotten- I can see it on your face now that you wished I’d forgotten it, but I didn’t.”
Pavel looked up at the man then to the floor, suddenly staring at the McCoy’s kitchen tiles with great interest.
“I need to apologize,” he said, his eyes on the ground, “I gave the impression that I was uncomfortable with you but the only thing I was uncomfortable with was myself, I think.”
Pavel peered up a little and saw Leonard’s patient expression, giving Pavel time to say what he needed to say. “I behaved the way I did because I didn’t know how to react to you. You were a customer who walked in one day and I just started feeling… and I didn’t know how to stop it. I thought if maybe I ignored it…” Pavel finished miserably.
Pavel hung his head down staring at the tiles again then a new pair of feet came into view. Pavel didn’t dare to look up, but a gentle hand pressed onto his chin, tilted his face up ever so gently, until he was met with Leonard’s soft smiling face.
Leonard drew a step closer as another large hand made its way to cup Pavel’s face, the pad of its thumb making smooth round patterns onto Pavel’s temple. Dark green eyes scanned Pavel’s cupid face as if drinking in the sight of a newly discovered treasure.
They met each other halfway and as if the heavens reflecting their exact sensations, an electric streak ran through the sky. When the kiss broke, a thunderous clap followed contradicting their ever so sweet chaste kiss. Their noses gently caress each other’s and their breaths mingling into just one space.
It was a dark and stormy night. The winds blew hard shifting the shadows from the trees to dance rather macabre like, and lightning flashed through the sky with a large crashing thunder following in suit.
The heavens were laughing, the heavens were crying.
Wonderful and amazing things were about to happen…
Almost as if it was the start of a fairy tale.
comments are REALLY appreciated !
^_____^!!
BETA: oldwillow_brook and chocolatcocaine
RATING: PG13
WORD COUNT: 3998 words
SUMMARY: Pavel's an assistant at Kirk's Books and one rainy day Leonard McCoy and his daughter walk in to purchase a fairy tale book, little do either of them know a fairy tale of their own is about to start.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: oh my goodness! this piece was so hard to write! i had so many other ideas i wanted to write, but this piece physically took a tool on me D: i dont know why! i dont even think it came out the way i wanted to because i had to cut a lot of scenes out for the word limit, but i hope everyone enjoys~
On nights when the wind blew so hard that it rattled the roof and fat raindrops beat ominous messages in Morse code on the glass of his bedroom window; Pavel’s grandmamma would come tuck him into his bed. He pulled the covers up to his nose so that the only things visible were his soft blonde curls and big, blue-green eyes, which were wide, full of fear.
“Oh, there is nothing to fear about the storm, my Pasha!” she would tell him smiling and chuckling a little.
“You see when it rains it means something amazing is about to happen, and heavens are confused! They do not know whether they should cry joyously or cry out in jealousy; so you see, the harder it rains, the more amazing and incredible things are about to happen!”
She then would tell him fairy tales that her own grandmamma would tell her before going to bed.
One of Pavel’s favorite stories was a tale of an unlikely prince who was given a mission; to track down a golden bird that had eaten a fruit from the king’s garden. Along the way he befriends a giant wolf that lends his back for the prince to ride through the cold terrain.
Perhaps it was because it was Pavel’s favorite fairy tale as a child that he automatically drew a connection between the story and the customer who had just walked in through the door of Kirk’s Books.
‘Prince,’ Pavel thought as the tall, dark, and handsome man in his dark evergreen raincoat walked in with his arms full of a beautiful little girl geared in her own bright yellow raincoat and boots.
‘King,’ Pavel titled the little girl in his head as she smiled at the man who held her and pointed to a bright picture book that was displayed on the window.
“I want that book, daddy!” the little girl happily exclaiming, bouncing up and down in the man’s arms.
“Alright. Alright Darlin’. Let me just put you down real quick,” the man spoke a lot like how his grandmamma had spoken to him so many years ago.
Pavel sat on the edge of his stool seat, as he watched the handsome man place his precious bundle down and walked towards him. Pavel gasped a little at how dark and deep the prince’s eyes were; the exact shade of a dense forest he had conjured up in his mind when he was a little boy listening to his grandmamma’s stories.
“Hi, can I see that book by the window?” the prince asked as he swept raindrops out of his thick dark hair. Pavel would have leaned over the counter and run his own hands through it if he didn’t have any self control.
“D-da, I mean yes!” Pavel stuttered as he nearly fell out of his stool to lean over to his right to grab the book on display at the window. It was only when Pavel retrieved the book he realized the irony of this whole situation.
“Ivan Tsarevich, The Firebird, and The Gray Wolf?” the prince said with a brow raised at the book, “That’s a mouth full…”
“It is a Russian fairy tale,” Pavel provided, “about a prince that goes on a -journey to find a golden bird for his king.”
“Is it now?” the prince drawled in an accent that was not from San Francisco and made Pavel lean forward on his stool.
“It is also my favorite…” Pavel added.
“Daddy, please can I have it? Please?!” the little king pleaded.
It was exceedingly clear that this little girl that Pavel had labeled as king in his head was truly the only ruler of this man’s heart. The way the man looked down at his daughter and his dark forest eyes softened a little but still so lively… Pavel smiled at the small gesture he had caught and wished that maybe someone like this man- tall, handsome, and strong could look at him in that way.
“How much?”
“Ah- I believe that particular book is 8.75.”
“8.75…” the man dug out his wallet out of his coat and looked inside, “Damn, you guys take card?”
Pavel nodded as the man handed him the dark blue, plastic card with the name, “Leonard H. McCoy” engraved on it.
Pavel stared at the card as his thumb ran over the punched out letterings of the prince’s name.
“You need my I.D.?” the prince, Leonard McCoy asked. Pavel looked up and blushed.
“Ah, no -- sorry,” he said as he rushed to run the card through. Pavel took the book to wrap it in glossed brown paper as the register printed the receipt.
“Here you go, now it’s safe from the rain,” Pavel said as he tiptoed over the counter and handed the book to the little girl who giggled and took the book.
“You talk funny!”
“Joanna, what do you say?” Leonard McCoy warned his daughter.
“Thank you!” the king, Joanna said.
“Sorry, she knows better,” McCoy said as he signed the receipt.
“No, its fine,” Pavel said looking down at the little girl and smiled, “I am from Russia. It has a lot of snow there, very cold,” Pavel said as the little girl tip toed towards the counter with big green eyes and a wide toothless smile.
“Snow? It snows in Georgia too, but we don’t live in Georgia anymore,” the little girl explained excitedly. The older McCoy chuckled sheepishly as he placed his receipt in his wallet, placing it back in his coat pocket.
“Alright, Darlin’ I don’t think… umm, sorry what’s your name?”
“Ah, Pavel Andrievich!” Pavel nearly shouted out, blushing at his outburst.
“Pavel Andrievich… everything from Russia a mouth full?”
Pavel laughed at the Leonard McCoy’s open comment.
“Only the wonderful things-“Pavel beamed.
“Can I call you Mr. Pav?” the little McCoy asked with a bright smile that made it hard for anyone to say no.
“Of course! You can even call me Pasha-"and little Joanna McCoy giggled then repeating his nickname.
“Alright, baby come on-"Leonard McCoy said, “Let’s get home and out of the rain,”
“Bye, Mr. Pasha!” Little Joanna said as her father lifted her into his arms placing her yellow hood over her head. Leonard McCoy gave Pavel a sincere smile and a nod before heading out the door.
It was only after the doorbell rang, after their exit that Pavel remembered to say, “Come back soon.”
A week and a day later (not that Pavel was counting) McCoy walked into Kirk’s Books again, only this time Mr. Kirk was manning the counter and Pavel was in the back rearranging the “mystery” section
“Pikachu! There is a customer here for you!” Mr. Kirk called out.
“Customer?” Pavel asked while emerging from the shelves then recognized the older McCoy who had one of his brows had risen up to his hairline and his thick plump lips in somewhat of a scowl towards Mr. Kirk.
He wore a light blue dress shirt with jeans and light beige overcoat.
“Hello!” Pavel greeted warmly and McCoy’s dark, earth green eyes traveled to Pavel’s, his scowl unlocking gently into a smile.
Unlike before, it was a bright day. The lights hazing through the store window gave Leonard McCoy a glowing effect as the light beamed off his light-colored apparel.
‘White and brilliant, it’s Father Frost,’ Pavel thought.
“How come that man over there calls you Pikachu, Mr. Pasha?” Joanna asked breaking Pavel’s stare at her father. Today she had her dark, rich hair tied in a small red bow that reminded Pavel of little holly berries.
‘It's an offering to Father Frost, Pasha,’ his grandmamma had explained to him one winter as she hand-weaved holly into a wreathe for their front door.
They would both sit in front of the fire place; his grandmamma on her rocking-chair. Pavel sitting at her feet, looking up with big eyes filled with excitement as she told him the story of the little girl sent out to the woods by her evil stepmother in the winter to die; only does she befriend Father Frost and be gifted beautiful silk and golden ornaments.
“Because he looks like a pikachu,” Mr. Kirk explained to Joanna who looked up to the blonde man and giggled in agreement. Pavel caught Leonard McCoy rolling his eyes at Mr. Kirk’s antics.
“Sorry to bother you,” Mr. McCoy drawled, “Just that Joanna really liked that last book- thought maybe you’d have something to recommend again.”
“I really like the Russian story, Mr. Pasha!” Joanna beamed, making Pavel smile at the child’s interest in his home country.
“Do you really?” Pavel asked closing towards Joanna, “Come! There are more in the back corner!”
Joanna smiled and took Pavel’s hand pulling him towards the back of the store. Pavel glanced back at McCoy to see if it was safe for him to take his daughter and was rewarded with a simple nod from the older man.
Pavel radiated as he helped Joanna; but he really couldn’t say that he was smiling solely because he took such joy in immersing the girl in one of his favorite topics. Not if the warm fulfilling sensation felt when he received from a simple nod of trust from the older man had anything to say about it.
The McCoy’s become regular customers of Kirk’s Books, coming in every other week for a new book for Joanna.
“She made me read the last book at least four times before going to sleep the other night,” Leonard said referring to his last purchase, Peter and The Wolf.
“She liked it? I was afraid it might have been too dry for her,” Pavel said, a bit relieved.
“No, she liked it,” said Leonard as he nodded over to the back where Joanna was picking out her next book by herself.
“Ah that is good… I thought maybe she didn’t like the last book, and that is why she wanted to go pick out a book by herself,” Pavel said. Leonard chuckled at Pavel’s worry.
“No, don’t take it personally. Apparently since she’s six now, she’s a full-grown lady. She doesn’t need help picking out her clothes or picking out books.”
Leonard’s reassuring words made Pavel smile as Leonard also gave a small smile back in return. Suddenly, Pavel felt like he was the farm boy who had successfully made the princess who did not smile, smile. Feeling flustered he looked over to Joanna who had a determined and focused look on her face.
“You are very close to her,” Pavel stated slowly peering over at the older man.
“Well, it’s just me and her now. Her mama died a couple years back -- cancer,” Leonard explained, “There was too much of her left in Georgia. So we decided to come to the opposite end of the damn country for a fresh start. Apparently, there can never be too many corners in California,” Leonard said smiling wirily. Pavel couldn’t do much other than to give a small, weak smile.
“Sorry if I over shared…” Leonard quickly said, sensing Pavel’s discomfort.
“No! It’s not that; just that it must be hard. You seem to work very hard every day, yet you make time for your daughter. Joanna is very lucky. I had two parents but they never gave me as much attention or support as you give her and I see that and it makes my heart swell,” Pavel quickly explained then blushed as he noticed the older man stare at him intently.
“You know, saying things like, ‘makes my heart swell,’ isn’t something a good looking guy should say to a widowed father; that kind of line would definitely make a person swoon a little,” Leonard drawled out only for Pavel. He turned red, swearing in Russian silently.
Pavel thanked whatever god that had possessed Joanna to have impeccable timing, as the six year-old ran as quickly as her little legs could carry her holding a hard cover book of, Repunzel.
After Leonard and Joanna had left, Mr. Kirk teased Pavel, saying things like, “man, there is one DILF you cannot let slip through your net, Pikachu.”
Pavel had to text his best friend Hikaru to find out what d.i.l.f exactly meant.
“Hikaru… what does dilf mean?”
“oh my god… hahaha don’t text me things that will make me lol in the middle of microbiology class! Hahaha!!!”
“Hikaru~don’t tease me!”
“it means, DAD I’D LIKE TO FUCK”
After that, it was harder not to blush every time Leonard came into the shop.
Whenever Leonard walked into the store with Joanna, Hikaru’s text would make its presence known in Pavel’s consciousness, tensing up his body till he was flushed all over.
The word ‘Fuck’ bounced in his brain like a crazy ball his grandmamma would buy for him when he was Joanna’s age; and the thought of his grandmamma adjacent to the thought of Leonard McCoy having his way with him was another new level of wrong in itself.
Making eye contact with the man was virtually impossible so Pavel would keep his eyes trained on Leonard’s collar or his hair when speaking with him. Apparently, his boycott of making direct eye contact with the older man did not go unnoticed by Leonard.
It was roughly three weeks after Pavel obtained a new urban vocabulary when Leonard asked Pavel if he was all right.
“Yes, I am well. Why?” Pavel asked as he quickly glances to the man’s face before looking down and reaching for whatever was closest to him to keep his hands busy.
“It’s just that… you seem more distant with me,” Leonard said and Pavel could hear the disappointment in his voice.
Pavel’s head snapped up, making eye contact with the expressive pair of evergreen eyes. “No! Not at all… it’s… ummm -"Pavel stuttered but was cut off by a ringing.
“Sorry, let me get that,” Leonard said as he dug out his phone out of his pocket and answered.
“McCoy.” Then a pause, “Yea, I told you like I told that hobgoblin partner of yours. The DNA was an inconclusive match -- it was too damaged… Well yea, if I had another sample I could run it again. Yeah? Right now? It can’t wait? No, Nyota, I do not want this guy to walk, what kind of question is that?!” He tapped his hand on the counter, “dammit, I’m a forensic specialist, not a D.A! The time frame is not of my- fine; fine… let me see if I can find a sitter for Jo. Yes I know… You owe me,” then with a sigh Leonard ended his call and ran his hand through his hair with frustration.
Leonard scrolled down the pearl of his Blackberry, indicating he was scrolling down his contact list.
“Do you need a sitter?” Pavel asked timidly.
Leonard looked up from his phone to Pavel.
“You… don’t mind?” Leonard asked cautiously.
“No! I don’t… unless you don’t mind.,”
“I don’t mind…”
They awkwardly just stared at each other till Joanna then came padding down with a copy of Hansel and Gretel, in her hands. Leonard broke their eye contact slowly.
“Baby, Pavel is going to going to babysit you for a couple of hours. Daddy’s got to go down to work again for something important,” Leonard explained gently.
Joanna frowned at the news but looked at her father. “You going to help catch bad people, Daddy?”
“Yes, Sweetheart. Can you be good for Pavel?”
“Yes, Daddy!” Joanna said smiling, “is Mr. Pasha going to come to our house?”
Leonard looked up at Pavel.
“I close in a little bit, I can take Joanna home, if you don’t mind,” Pavel offered gently.
Leonard looked Pavel straight in the eye and said in the most sincere tone Pavel has ever heard anyone say anything, “no, I don’t mind,”
If Pavel didn’t blush at the sincerity of Leonard’s words or the serious look in his eyes, the brush of their fingers when Leonard passed Pavel his house keys certainly did the trick.
By the time Pavel closed up shop and bundled Joanna safely in the back seat of his eco-friendly Prius, heavy drops of rain started to fall from the dark San Francisco sky.
The McCoy household was a small San Franciscan two-story house, cozy and decorated with various pictures of Leonard’s hometown. Pavel gently directed Joanna to wash as he explored the kitchen.
Pavel followed the directions left by Leonard to warm up the leftovers in the fridge then he and Joanna happily ate while talking about what Joanna had learned in school and how stupid Lorain Stevenson was. After dinner, Joanna sat at the countertop as Pavel washed the dishes.
“Is your mama still alive, Mr. Pasha?” Joanna asked quietly.
Pavel looked up at the six year-old girl, “yes… but we are not so close.”
Joanna frowned at Pavel’s answer, “why?”
“Hm… I think it is because when I was growing up, my parents did not take the time to know me, and when I grew up, we were too different from each other,” Pavel explained gently, “Joanna is very lucky that her Papa takes such good care of her!”.
“Daddy is the best!” Joanna happily exclaimed.
“Yes, he is!” Pavel said, giving a little laugh.
“You know, my Daddy likes Mr. Pasha too!”
“O-oh?” Pavel asked as he turned to the dishes at hand trying to ignore the heating of his cheeks.
“Are you mad at Daddy, Mr. Pasha?” Joanna asked, and suddenly Pavel felt ashamed that his behavior had sent the wrong messages to the McCoy’s.
“No I don’t think I can be angry at your Papa, Joanna,” Pavel answered honestly as he finished rinsing off the last of the dishes.
“Oh good, cause Daddy thought that maybe he said something and it made you not happy.”
“I am not unhappy because your papa said something.”
“But you are not happy?” Joanna asked with a curious expression on her face and Pavel smiled at how intuitive and quick that this little girl was.
He wiped his hand with a small towel and picked her up from the counter. “It is getting late! We should get you to bed,” said Pavel as he set Joanna down.
She smiled and took his hand leading him to her bed room squealing, “bed time story time!”
‘Déjà vu,’ Pavel thought as he tucked in Joanna after reading her latest book, her nose tucked underneath the blanket so that all that was visible was her earthy jades and locks of her chocolate hair.
There was a flood of warm feelings filling the inside of Pavel’s heart and for a moment, he wondered if it was the same sensation his grandmamma had felt when she had tucked him into bed.
Then there was a flash of bright blue light and a clash of thunder to follow. Joanna screamed a little in surprise as she jolted out of her covers and clutched Pavel’s arms.
“No, Mr. Pasha! Don’t leave!!!” Joanna exclaimed into Pavel’s chest.
Pavel held the little girl and smiled gently. “Oh, Joanna, that was just thunder, you have nothing to fear,” Pavel said as Joanna peered up from his chest.
“But it’s scary!”
“Did you know when it rains it means that the heavens are laughing and crying at the same time?” Pavel said as he gently pulled the girl away and setting her back onto bed.
“Why… why are they crying and laughing at the same time?” Joanna asked as Pavel pulled back the covers to tuck the little girl back into her bed.
“Because something amazing is about to happen and they don’t know whether to laugh out happily or cry out because they are jealous,” Pavel tried to explain like how his grandmamma had explained to him.
“Why are they jealous?” Joanna asked as Pavel settled back into his spot on the bed.
He blinked at the six year-old girl and looked at her.
“I… don’t know; I never asked my grand mama that,” Pavel said sheepishly and laughed a little making Joanna ease up a little.
“Is your grandmamma there?” Joanna asked, “in heaven…”
“Yes. I like to think so. I remember asking my parents if she went to the place she had told stories about after my grandmamma passed away- they thought I was crazy,” Pavel said earning a laugh from Joanna.
“Is my mama up there? Do you think she’s laughing or do you think she’s crying?” Joanna asked.
“If she is anything like you and my grandmamma, I think she will be laughing so hard she is crying,” Pavel said making Joanna smile brilliantly.
“Now bed. You have nothing to fear,” Pavel said then kissing Joanna’s forehead.
Joanna gave a smile then closed her eyes and within minutes she was asleep. Pavel watched the little girl’s chest rise up and down slowly and smiled at the image in front of him.
“Amazing things are gonna happen, huh?” a dark smooth voice asked from the doorway.
Pavel turned around to see Leonard leaning against the doorframe with a lazy smile. He looked tired and worn, but the smile he wore seemed to be radiating warmth through his eyes.
“Something my grandmamma would tell me on nights there were storms in Russia,” Pavel said as he gently rose from the bed and made his way out the room and stood there by the doorway as Leonard kissed his daughter on the forehead and quietly slipped from the room, closing the door behind him. .
“Thanks,” Leonard said only after they climbed down the stairs and made their way into the kitchen, “I saw that you even did the dishes for me.”
“I enjoyed time with Joanna. She is very special and smart,” Pavel said quietly.
Leonard stepped closer to Pavel,“back at the store you were about to tell me something. Don’t think I’ve forgotten- I can see it on your face now that you wished I’d forgotten it, but I didn’t.”
Pavel looked up at the man then to the floor, suddenly staring at the McCoy’s kitchen tiles with great interest.
“I need to apologize,” he said, his eyes on the ground, “I gave the impression that I was uncomfortable with you but the only thing I was uncomfortable with was myself, I think.”
Pavel peered up a little and saw Leonard’s patient expression, giving Pavel time to say what he needed to say. “I behaved the way I did because I didn’t know how to react to you. You were a customer who walked in one day and I just started feeling… and I didn’t know how to stop it. I thought if maybe I ignored it…” Pavel finished miserably.
Pavel hung his head down staring at the tiles again then a new pair of feet came into view. Pavel didn’t dare to look up, but a gentle hand pressed onto his chin, tilted his face up ever so gently, until he was met with Leonard’s soft smiling face.
Leonard drew a step closer as another large hand made its way to cup Pavel’s face, the pad of its thumb making smooth round patterns onto Pavel’s temple. Dark green eyes scanned Pavel’s cupid face as if drinking in the sight of a newly discovered treasure.
They met each other halfway and as if the heavens reflecting their exact sensations, an electric streak ran through the sky. When the kiss broke, a thunderous clap followed contradicting their ever so sweet chaste kiss. Their noses gently caress each other’s and their breaths mingling into just one space.
It was a dark and stormy night. The winds blew hard shifting the shadows from the trees to dance rather macabre like, and lightning flashed through the sky with a large crashing thunder following in suit.
The heavens were laughing, the heavens were crying.
Wonderful and amazing things were about to happen…
Almost as if it was the start of a fairy tale.
comments are REALLY appreciated !
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