Fanfic: Sands of Time [ 2 / ?] Reaper!McCoy / Reese!Chekov
Title: The Sands of Time
Rating: M
Fandom(s): Star Trek XI, DOOM, Terminator Salvation
Disclaimer: Okay, if I owned ANY of these (other than on DVD) would I be writing this? I think not.
Warnings: MASSIVE CROSSOVERNESS, AU, OOCness, m/m relations, language, violence
Summary: Kyle Reese, as a Resistance fighter, was practically made sterile due to nuclear radiation so had to become the test subject for a drug that would regenerate radiation damaged tissue… and as such became essentially immortalized. In the year 2046, he met a former Marine codenamed Reaper, recently fired from the RRTS after the massacre of the UAC base on Mars and they formed an unbreakable bond. Centuries pass and face a new future, a new set of lives, in Space as Starfleet officers. Will their bond survive the test of space travel and exploration with Starfleet?
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PART II - THE ACADEMY DAYS
YEAR ONE
Kyle Reese honestly had not expected this. While he was kinda used to people staring at him for being a mere kid (in appearance) in a world full of adults, he hadn’t expected to get a set of quarters all to himself that, from what he could tell, were nicer than most people got, simply because his entrance tests were that high. He supposed that it could have something to do with the fact that he had taken on a rather unique personality this time, given himself a challenge. It was a good thing he had prepared for the character he was playing over the last forty years or so. He doubted his accent would be all that believable otherwise.
Setting his bag next to the doorway, he stood for a minute, practically gaping at the small apartment he had been essentially given. He had never stayed in a place so nice. Every metal surface was polished and shone brightly and everything was tastefully decorated. The door had opened to the kitchen that had everything, including both a replicator and an old fashioned stove and had a small table and four chairs adjacent to the kitchen equipment that only needed a table cloth to look snazzy. There was a small couch, a TV and an arm chair and the far wall was made essentially of glass that had a door that opened up onto the balcony that sat over the courtyard. It was covered by blinds for some privacy and there were a set of stairs in a small niche next to the glass wall that, presumably, lead to the bedroom, bathroom and whatever else was provided upstairs. While most dorms had these lab-lights that lit up the place, making it look very sterile, this dorm was nicely lit by various lamps and although there was no carpeting downstairs, the new student was pretty sure there was some upstairs.
Of course, there was the minor issue of having to study hard and maintain top grades to keep the place but judging from the entrance exam, at least the intro classes would be a breeze. He closed his mouth and shouldered his bag again, heading upstairs and wondering to himself if the things he had had shipped to the academy were already here and were placed upstairs, just like he had requested. He had a few items amongst his things he really didn’t need these kids seeing, including his Vodka, cigarettes, twenty passports (all under different identities) and the guns he still kept from the war, all carefully cleaned and polished with enough ammunition to last him a decent while should some idiot start another war with the damn machines. After all, he was supposedly play the innocent, socially awkward little Russian kid with an intense like for computers and programming. Computer geeks did not have guns with live rounds in plain sight.
Once he got to the top of the stairs, Kyle set his keys aside on the desk next to his bedroom door and walked in, expecting to see what one usually thought of when they think of a college dormitory. He honestly thought he should have known better though. Not that he was complaining. No, far from it. The double bed he saw in the center of the room, resting against the back wall that had a painting of space one a silver frame hanging from it faced he wall where a large window let the sunlight stream in though the blinds and dance across the soft, forest green carpet. Most of the boxes that held his stuff were in the open space where his desk was resting so the room really had only the bed, a closet, a dresser within it but, once he was done, he knew that much would change. It was a good thing they had at least warned him about the bed size so he could the proper sized sheets and blankets for it.
Speaking of the bed… he was pretty sure he was going to have to ask John to help him break the thing in. It was only proper since they had been lovers for… how many decades now? At least fifty years, excluding the time he had just spent in Russia developing his character. John had spent some time with him in that but when the idiot managed to get his body into an accident severe enough to kill a normal person, he had to disappear again, this time deciding to go back to the States, in the deep south, to “relearn” his medical degree as he had to do every time he decided to become a medic for one of their little personalities. It was understandable that he would have to do so since the field of medicine kept changing every ten years or less as some new cure was found but still. It was irritating and lonely being pretty much by himself… almost entirely celibate, for forty years.
Of course, when they had separated at the time, they had promised each other they would meet up again in Starfleet once they got their new personas developed appropriately. He had sent a letter in Russian to the man shortly after he had been accepted, telling him to take the damn test so they could at the very least have a slim chance of being stationed together in space. While John was still leery about being anywhere other than Earth (who could blame him though?), Kyle was anxious for a change of scenery, even if it was as dangerous as space with some jackass as a superior officer who they would probably have to hide their relationship from. Oh well. That would just make things more interesting.
Setting his duffle bag down on the bed, the centuries old teenager began to put his things away and dig through his boxes for his sheets and pillows so he could simply make his bed and get some sleep. The shuttle flight may not have been very long compared to the same trip made with an old fashioned airplane but it was still exhausting. Besides, he needed to recharge himself before he started trying to bother plugging in what needed to be plugged, like his massive computer with it’s three hard drives, three monitors and three keyboards all attached to one another to essentially produce the one. It was a habit from the old days to multitask, even under non-stress environments and he was pretty sure that by the end of the academy years, it would turn into a high stress environment.
The clothes from his bag put away properly, Kyle turned his attention to his boxes and found his sheets, a set of white sheets with black trim and a black comforter with black and white pillow cases and a white throw with black designs. It was very simplistic looking but it was pleasing to the eye for him. He wasn’t setting out to impress anyone with his choice of bedding except maybe John but even then the man wouldn’t be so much impressed by the sheets as he would be fucking the physically younger man into them. Even after fifty years of being partners in bed, the two of them were far from bored of each other, a small miracle neither had thought would ever happen. Still, he thought with a sigh, that would have to wait until the man called him, letting him know that he was indeed at the academy, which should be no more than a few days.
Once the bed was made, the physically young man quickly stripped out of his clothes as he made his way to the shower, deciding that the calming feeling of water against his skin and a good hard jerk off was what was just what the doctor ordered. Tomorrow, he knew, he would spend the majority of the day putting his things away in their proper place and trading the desk he had been issued with the one he had brought, disassembled with him. Maybe he’d take the time to find a decent place off campus for dinner for when John showed up. It had been a very long time since they had been on a date and it was San Francisco.
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Class, Kyle decided, sucked major balls. No, not quite even that. See that would be pleasurable if done properly and could be hot if both participants were good looking. This… this was just inhumane torture. Even if he already knew the stuff the teacher was trying to explain -which he did- having to listen to that voice for more than twenty minutes in one go was starting to turn his brain into mush. Why did he bother getting up this morning again? Oh yeah, that’s right. This persona. Pavel Andreievich Chekov. He was really starting to hate the kid, even if he was a fictional character he himself had created. Then there was the Russian accent he had to remember to maintain at all times that was more than a pain in the ass…
Holding back a yawn behind his lips, he did his best to pretend he was paying attention while he scribbled something resembling notes on the PADD in his hands, trying to look busy. If he had actually been paying any more attention to the class, he would have missed the message that he had just soundlessly received. He looked around him discreetly, wondering if anyone was paying him any heed, before he opened it. Even with the persona firmly in place, he couldn’t help the small smile that touched his face. He would recognize that scrawled Russian anywhere.
“Got into town yesterday but was too busy unpacking and getting settled to call you. Sorry.”
Well that was hardly surprising. He paused for only a second to think of what he wanted to say in response, looking up at the teacher and lecture as if he was about to write something down, then answered in his own artfully done Cyrillic “It’s fine. You got some time tonight for dinner? I found a nice little Italian place nearby that could be our first official date as these new guys.” He sent the message and turned back to his notes, quickly adding a few more things just in time before the teacher changed the slide. Some guys were just assholes and spoke too fast in the class for anyone to take notes then didn’t bother to put up a copy of their notes online. While this was only the first real class of the semester he’d had -because he didn’t qualify computer programming a class- it certainly seemed like most command track professors had sticks so far up their asses that it made them have to turn their noses up. Pricks, the lot of them and only a few in anything close to go a good way.
The message icon flashed again and discretely, Kyle accessed it again. “That sounds wonderful actually. Been needing to get away from my roommate. The kid’s driving me nuts! How does 1900 hrs sound?” He almost laughed. Even after all these years the two of them still couldn’t get over using military time even though they hadn’t been soldiers in centuries.
He looked up at the lecture, verified that he knew what was being talked about, then answered again. “Perfect actually. I get out of class around 1830hrs. Make sure to dress in something you don’t mind me tearing off of you. I got a nice double bed that I need you to help me break in and no roommate to bother with.”
He had just sent the message when he heard the professor call on him, looking mildly annoyed and yet contemplative. Shit. “Da?” He looked at the board for a clue or the lecture. Fuck. It was a verbal question he was going to be asked. He could just hope that it wasn’t something way too advanced for this class to worry about.
“Would you care to explain the reasoning behind the change in status of Pluto in the early two thousands?”
Seriously? That was the question? He rattled off the answer without thinking about what he was saying, able to easily slip behind the accent he had taken a good chunk of years developing to make it sound like he was just a really good student instead of actually present when the event happened. The teacher bought it and a few students rolled their eyes. Oh he definitely wasn’t going to make friends in this place. Not that it mattered. He didn’t need friends anyway, not when he had John.
The class went on again and he turned his attention to his PADD and blinked at the incoming message. He didn’t hesitate to open it. “Is that a promise, boy? I don’t want to hear you complaining later when I’ve fucked you so hard you can’t sit down properly for at least two days.” Dammit! John knew what talk like that did to him. He shifted in his seat and looked up at the lecture, then the board, then looked at the nearest clock. Five minutes.
“Could you at least wait until I’m outta class and can do this properly?”
He looked up just in time to take a few more quick notes before the teacher turned off the projector, signaling the class was dismissed for the day. Since he was sitting against the wall on the far side, he thought it would be smarter to wait until everyone got out before trying to move. It turned out it was a wise decision to make. It gave him the time to save his notes and read the last incoming message. It was a good thing that there was enough noise to cover up his inward groan. Oh fuckin’ hell.
“So? You think that’s stop me from making sure you get so hard you can’t even leave the classroom until I get there? Don’t worry about it though. I’m waiting outside.”
Stupid, arrogant, cocky as hell… Kyle didn’t bother to finish the thought as he turned off the PADD and slipped it back into it’s protective casing, sliding it over his shoulder just in time to avoid being the last person out but also avoiding the rush. He wondered a bit about what changes John would have made to himself over the last few decades and what his accent would sound like. Well, at least he thought there would be an accent. It just wouldn’t be fair for him to have to work hard to maintain something as antique as a genuine Russian accent.
He sighed as he ran a hand through his curls to calm himself down. There was no point in getting any kind of uppity about this. He’d simply have to wait and see. Besides, how much could he really complain about any of this? He was getting laid tonight! He grinned to himself. Life wasn’t really all that bad.
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YEAR TWO
A year passed and in that time Pavel Andreivich Chekov and Doctor Leonard H McCoy became popular enough names around campus that they were easily recognized when they ran into someone. However, it was also a well known fact that Doctor McCoy was best friends with one James Tiberius Kirk and that Jim, as he was affectionately named, was one of these brats that managed to not only get into bar fights on a fairly regular basis but also fuck anything with an orifice he could reach. Kyle had done his best not to feel jealous when he heard all the stories of “Bones” and Jim having their little misadventures both on and off campus but he had a hard time of it since he only really got to see his lover when Kirk was most certainly not going to return to the room until well into the afternoon. It most certainly didn’t help when he heard some of the lady cadets giggling about how cute a couple they made.
Still, when he was with his fellow immortal on those rare nights that they had together, he didn’t bring it up, instead enjoying the other’s company. As much as he wanted to tell this Kirk kid to back the fuck off his man he also knew that the relationship he had with the good doctor was still rather illegal. After all, he was playing like he was sixteen. In order to make his doctor persona more believable, John was pretending he was in his early thirties. Therefore, if anyone found out they were bangin’ chances were John would have to be locked up for pedophilia and Kyle would have to go through more “therapy” than he should have to for being the adult that he really was.
The classes were getting more complicated and got to the point where he actually had to somewhat pay attention. His assignments didn’t take long unless he had to work in a group because he had to dumb things down for everyone else to follow, something that pissed him off as well as his teammates on some occasion. Whenever he didn’t have something stupidly easy, given his knack for computer work, Kyle was feeling his way through the temperament of Starfleet networks, just in case he needed to hack into them later and completely destroy shit from the inside. With his three computers, he made sure to carefully cover all his digital tracks when he did so and always wrote out what he did learn in a code he had spent a couple hundred years developing. These Starfleet hacks would have a hell of a time figuring it out, that was for sure., especially if the brass were anything like his classmates.
At least, he had to admit, the hand to hand combat classes were interesting. He had to work to keep it looking like he was a complete learner, make mistakes on purpose and let himself get thrown around a few times. At least the bruises healed up pretty quick and no one was rough enough to break bones at this level. It certainly didn’t help his mood that Kirk was the assistant for the hand to hand combat training classes though the fact he did have the class with John was some comfort. They could land blows against each other as hard as they wanted without worrying too much about the consequences, though the throws had to carefully calculated.
The phaser and ship weaponry classes were even more of a pain in the ass. He had been firing guns for years longer than these kids had. While he personally preferred his sawed off shot gun over their little phaser pistols and rifles, he didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. He missed his target quite a bit on purpose just to avoid attracting too much attention to himself, making his shots on the dummy look random indeed. At least that way they couldn’t pressure him into becoming a security officer instead. For god’s sake, did he look like that much of a fighter? Of course not. Cute little Pavel Andreievich Chekov had been designed to be a brainiac rather than a real fighter.
When he had the time off, and by that he meant the weekend, he would find himself some cigarettes, sit on his balcony and smoke until John was finished with what homework he had to do and could come by for a visit. Some evenings, he would cook for them, still relishing in the fact that the food he ate now was a million times better than the three day old coyote he used to eat with Star in LA when it was rubble the first time around. What it tasted like exactly he had forgotten but he did remember it being rather horrible sustenance to begin with. Besides, his Grim Reaper certainly enjoyed the home cooked meals once in a while. Must have come from being all married and shit. For a second or two he thought about Sarah Connor and wondered if they would have gotten married had she not believed him dead and all that crap.
Today was one of his free days, or rather, one of those days he had allotted to himself to be considered “free”. He had no hacking planned, no weapons or combat training and all his homework for his classes was done and turned in. He had no class until pretty late tomorrow and that meant he could stay up as late as he wanted, enjoying himself to the fullest extent. The sun was bright and it wasn’t too hot outside for him to sit at his balcony and just read one of his favorite old fashioned books. He still had a pack of smokes that he hadn’t opened yet and as long as he kept his comm nearby in case John or someone else wanted to get a hold of him, he could enjoy a nice smoke outside while he read. It was certainly one of his favorite ways to spend the afternoon.
So after checking to make sure he had his front door locked and everything he needed in his arms, Kyle Reese stepped out into the warm sun of the day, letting the wind brush his curls as he closed the screen door behind him but left the glass one open. He was dressed pretty casually in a pair of ragged old jeans that rested low on his hips and a silver dog tag that had once been Reaper’s back in the day resting on his bare chest. He didn’t have any shoes on so his feet were free to feel the wind and since he already had his chair, footstool and ashtray out there from last time, he only had a few things to carry. Setting the comm on the ground next to the chair, he stretched on the squishy cushions and took a deep breath before lighting up. Yes, on days like this, nothing tasted better than a clove cigarette.
He spent a few long minutes just enjoying the cigarette before he opened the book on his lap and started reading. He was about half way through it and was more amused by the author than actually taking anything seriously. After all, all these old science fiction stories tended to get everything wrong but it was funny to see what they thought would happen and when. It was a good thing none of these guys got to see what really happened. Poor fuckers would have shit their pants big time. He laughed to himself as he got knocked the ash off the end of his cigarette before taking another puff. At least the theory of aliens was party right.
Kyle managed to get through another chapter before the sound of someone knocking at his door, caught his attention. He put out stub he was still holding on to and marked his place before getting up, making sure to take both the book and the comm inside to set it on the table. While smoking indoors was against the rules, it said nothing against smoking outside. As far as he was concerned it had better not be the damn RA from the down the hall, come to ask him about the smell of cigarettes again. Stupid bitch had no idea what she was talking about.
Before he opened the door though, he looked through the peep hole, knowing better than to just open the door to whoever was there. It was something he had never really forgotten about and saw no reason to forget about it now, even if he could survive almost anything. He liked the life he had right now and really didn’t feel like getting phaser burnt badly enough to be pronounced dead. The person he saw through the peep hole wasn’t someone he recognized right away through the distorted sight though they were familiar. Maybe it was a classmate from one of his more basic classes coming by to ask for help? For a second he considered putting a shirt on to appear more like the kid he was supposed to be but perhaps this would be enough of a wake up call to whoever it was to not bother him on his official day off.
With a heavy sigh he pulled the door open, leaning against the frame watching his visitor. He couldn’t say he was overly surprised to see Kirk there but he could tell Kirk’s blue eyes were about ready to jump out of his head in surprise. He wanted to laugh, he really did, but restrained himself. He had a character to put on. “Can I help you?” he said, making sure to get the accent as heavy as usual. Cigarettes tended to make it a little bit harder to do but not totally.
It took a few more minutes for Kirk to regain his focus and it didn’t take someone of Kyle’s age and experience to know that look of desire. It was kind of a shame he was taken really. While he was sure this kid had nothing on John in the bedroom, he would have been a fun go. “Vhile you are zinking, vould you like to come een? Eet ees not nice to hawe a guest vait een ze hall.” It would give him time to drop off his cigarettes and lighter out of sight. Fifteen year old couldn’t get a hold of cigarettes easily in this day and age. It wasn’t exactly like the smell lingering on his skin could be erased but he didn’t plan to get close enough to this boy to let him smell it. Besides, he knew his lover had a thing for the smell of the clove ones anyway.
Turning away from the door, he went to the table and grabbed the carton and lighter, easily moving them to a drawer in the kitchen where he usually kept them. He heard the door close behind him though the lock wasn’t turned. Well that was good. At least he didn’t have to worry about fighting this guy should that mere look of desire turn into some kind of action. He could just run out of here and scream bloody murder. No need to expose himself this early.
“May I get you somezing to drink?” Pavel asked, turning to the fridge as if he was too nervous to look his senior in the eye, “Or perhaps somezing to eat eef you are hungry?” He watched the blond step closer from the corner of his eye but not in his personal bubble. Good. Only a rare few people were allowed to be there and this punk wasn’t one of them.
“Listen, Pavel, I got a few questions for you.” He tried not to twitch at the assumption this man could use his first name like they were friends or something. “And I need your completely honest answer, okay?”
Turning around, he leaned against the counter and crossed his toned arms over his surprisingly firm chest, his thin, blond eyebrow quirking up towards the longer curls that fell just into his face. “Eef eet ees not too personal, I vill do my best.” If Kirk was here then this meant it had something to do with his buddy Bones. As in Leonard H McCoy who was nicknamed Bones. If John had accidentally let their relationship slip…
The blond cadet who looked older than he did looked around, as if expecting someone else to be there. Chekov laughed softly. “I hawe no roommate. I liwe here by myself. Vhat do you need to ask?”
Satisfied by this, though looking surprised, Kirk leaned against the counter and licked as lips, as if thinking of how to ask his question. Kyle waited patiently for the other to start talking and after a long minute he did. “Do you know how to hack into Starfleet’s personnel files and academic files?” Well, that was an interesting question.
“I am vorking on zat. Vhy do you vant to know? I deed not zink zat you vould be failing somezing.”
“Oh I’m not,” the other man was quick to correct, “I just need to do some research on a certain someone who refuses to talk.” He seemed to realize how suspicious this sounded because in the next minute he rubbed the back of his neck as a nervous habit and bowed his head. “I am worried about him, you see, and since he won’t talk about it, I need to make sure I don’t step on the wrong crack and get him pissed enough to walk out on me.”
“And zis person ees roommate? Doktor McCoy?” The blush on Kirk’s face was more than enough to confirm this. Chekov smiled and Kyle sighed to himself. But of course this as the way things turned out.
“Vell, eef you giwe me minute, I can get dressed properly and see vhat I can find vit vhat I can find. I am scared you caught me on off day.” He pushed off the counter and dropped his arms, moving to walk around his guest to head upstairs. He certainly did not expect to have his arm caught, making him turn to face the blond, let alone a hand brushing up his chest to touch the dog tag he wore. “Meester Kirk?”
It was this guy’s turn to quirk and eyebrow. “A John Grim, eh? Marine at that.” Kyle couldn’t help but feel grateful that the old habit was to leave only the last two digits of the year instead of all four numbers. “Kinda old for you ain’t he? Late thirties by now. Old enough to be your dad.”
Oh yay! Time to play this game! “He ees good to me. In Russia, age make little difference. He ees good to me and zat ees all zat matters.”
James Kirk grinned at the mention of this and leaned closer. Damn it. He was close enough to smell the smoke. “Ah, smoke too? Not good for you.”
Kyle pulled away from both the touch to the dog tag and the grip on his arm. His resistance, frustatingly enough, didn’t deter Kirk. In fact, it just seemed to encourage him somewhat. How annoying but perhaps, how useful. Who knew how he could manipulate this relationship later?
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YEAR THREE
The classes became stressful but Kyle found a way to handle the workload and still get the grades he needed. He worked twice as hard, making sure to excel where this kid he was playing was supposed to while at the same time playing dumb in areas that required any kind of actual fighting skill. A couple of times he had to pull all-nighters to make sure he got his homework done and on particularly tricky assignments, he indulged in a smoke or two while he worked on them. It most certainly didn’t help his stress levels that John was equally busy both with homework and at the clinic, doing his residency for Starfleet. He was smart enough, at least, to find a way to ensure the smoke never reached the smoke detectors and that the cameras never caught him with it. He was supposed to be a modern student after all and breaking the rules was hardly the way to be that way.
However, because John was too busy dealing with his classes and work, whenever Kyle did get some free time, he called his new buddy Jim Kirk over, making sure to hide all his fun things from too far in the past to be explained away and had his fun tormenting the kid in his own way. He teased the blond boy with his body but never once gave it to him. After all, he had been with Reaper for years and knew the kind of damage that man had both in his mind and on his heart. It would do no good to piss the once marine off by cheating on him. Before he slept with this kid he’d have to get the man’s permission to do so and, as of yet, he didn’t have it.
About half way through the first semester of the third year, however, Mister Kirk asked him something even he found odd… which was saying quite a bit. “Have you ever taken the Kobayashi Maru?” What a stupid question. In fact, it was so stupid it was a bit odd coming from this guy.
“Da. Eef I vant to be bridge officer I must take eet.” He shrugged. “I deed not beat ze senario but I vas told I deed okay.” Well, he would have done better had he been allowed to be himself instead of this kid. “But you know zis.”
Kirk ran a hand through his styled blond hair and stared at the nearby wall for a moment, a wall adorned by standard issue decoration. He always did that when he was trying to think of how to phrase something. At least he had learned long ago that it was okay to use complex English words and phrases around him. Being Russian born (at least in this persona) didn’t mean he was completely ignorant to those. It made this thing process become exclusively reserved for when he was planning something that wasn’t completely legal. The last time it had been asking for help on figuring out how to hack a dorm code. The once Resistance fighter had an inkling of what it could be this time but wanted to make sure before he reacted to it.
“You think you help me rewrite the Kobayashi Maru?”
If he had been anyone other than who he was, he would have fallen out of his chair at the suggestion. Since it was him, however, he had come up with the idea before and had discarded it since he was playing the good student. Therefore, he settled on a middle ground and simply let his jaw drop at the mention of it. “Zat ees vhat you ask of me? You vant me to help you cheat on test?”
Kirk leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and lacing his fingers together while he turn his bright blue eyes and serious expression onto his host. Kyle had to fight back the stirring he felt in his loins at the intense expression and keep his focus on what the other was saying. “Doesn’t it bother you that no one’s beat that scenario? That, for all intents and purposes, it seems un-win-able?”
Ah, so that was what was bothering this guy. “Just because you do not find vay to vin does not mean test ees ze cheat you zink eet ees.” He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest and just watching the other man. He was tempted to grab a cigarette but somehow he knew that would just tempt this pretty boy even further and he didn’t need the help. It was bad enough found the farm boy eye candy already he could only assume it was reciprocated. “Eef ve are caught, zere are plenty of consequences for ze bot of us zat could get us expelled and arrested.”
A sly grin touched that handsome face. “Not if you’re good enough to not get caught and I happen to know you’re one of the best non-graduate programs at the academy right now.” Damn reputation…
“So? Zat does not mean zat eet vill vork. Hawe you zought zat perhaps I can not get passed zeir security or cower up my tracks vell enough?”
“I know your type Chekov. I’ve looked up your homework assignments and read through what stuff you’ve managed to publish under the radar. I know you can do it but just don’t want it public knowledge but let me put it this way.” He leaned further forward, as if he was about to tell a secret and unconsciously, Kyle leaned forward a bit too. “It’s a brand new challenge for your computer skills. You’re assignments are way too perfect to be done by any of those tools in your classes, meaning you’re bored with that this academy is giving you. I’ll take full blame if we’re caught and say I was using your computer without your permission.”
Reese tried to think about it from the perspective of his character. What would Pavel do? Would he accept the challenge or find the cheating distasteful? Or would he do this simply because this handsome man with bright blue eyes was asking him and he wanted the attention? He barely had time to think it over when hot hands found a place on his shoulders and began rubbing at the tension in his neck. Before he could help himself he groaned under their touch and leaned into them. He closed his eyes for just a second but opened them when he felt Jim lean in closer. “You do this for me and I’ll give you a backrub whenever you want until we graduate.” If Kyle really had been only fifteen he might have taken the words at face value but he could hear the double entendre in the words and stored it in the back of his mind for future reference.
“Vell, zis year has been stressful and John has not been able to visit me seence he ees ower seas still,” he muttered as if considering if it was worth it, despite having already decided that he was going to help him out. Why not? As far as he was considered this guy did have a point. “I suppose eef ve are careful enough, ve can do zees vitout getting caught.”
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“We have been called forth today to settle a troubling matter. Cadet James Kirk…”
Well shit. Kyle should have figured that this kid would be way too cocky to not get his ass caught. Hence they were all here though he tried not to be too jealous of the fact John was sitting next to his roommate while he was sitting a row or two up above. He had come with the other cadets from his advanced tactical class. He felt just a little uncomfortable being surrounded by burly stoic guys but he wasn’t about to attack them for being too close just yet. As long as he could keep an eye on John, he knew John could hear and keep a covert eye on him. He had nothing to worry about. At least not yet. It was hard to pay attention to the proceedings through his nervousness though. Damn aftereffects of war…
“I believe I have the right to face my accuser.”
He turned his attention away from his fellow conspirator to watch the other man who stood and cursed his luck. Of course Kirk just had to get the test issued by the fuckin’ Vulcan. The damn things were smart enough to crack through his codes if they were looking for such things as easily as one would crack an egg. However, when he had checked just before going to class, he found no trace of Starfleet ever tracing him back to the computers in his room. That could mean that they found no evidence or just figured that Kirk had used some other method to break in and rearrange the codes. As much as he loathed having someone else tae the credit for his hard work, he felt that, this once, he could allow it. After all what he had done was more than just a little illegal.
He barely heard the banter between the Vulcan and the cadet. He was too focused on the sound of the door opening and closing and the footsteps of a messenger hurrying down to meet with the admiral in charge and hand him something. While he could regenerate his cells pretty rapidly, he was still human in every other respect. Perhaps John could see what the message said since he was, genetically, superior. Either way, it couldn’t be good. He prepared himself to get up and get out of here. They were going to be banished out of here soon.
“All cadets are to report to hangers…” Fuck. Looks like things were starting a year earlier than anticipated.
Hurrying outside, he quickly pulled off to one side and waited for John. For all he knew, they weren’t going to be put on the same ship and if they were going to get the hell blown out of them they needed to come up with a planned rendezvous point. Even with their bodies with the abilities that they had, Kyle was pretty sure he wouldn’t survive in the vacuum of space. Reaper probably wouldn’t either. Damn it, why did they pick this as their occupation this time? Oh yeah, that’s right. They wanted to get off this pile of dirt and go elsewhere.
He didn’t have to wait long. McCoy walked out soon enough with Jim, both looking more than a little determined to get to the hanger as quickly as they could. It took a bit for him to think of an excuse to separate them but he was smart enough to keep close enough that he could grab “Bones” when he did. His soldier’s mind thought one up pretty quick. “Doktor McCoy!” he called, grabbing the other’s arm just tight enough to let him know exactly who it was. The man turned, both eyebrows jumping up. Ah so that’s how it was. Not the time to worry about it though. “I need to speak vit you for a second-” he turned an eye on Kirk before adding “-een priwate.”
John got the message fortunately. “You hurry on ahead Jim,” he dismissed, “I’ll catch up.” The hurt look on the blond’s face wasn’t hard to miss but he went on without another word. They waited until he was out of hearing range then dropped their voices even lower, switching to Russian. “What’s this about then, Pavel? We gotta hurry and get to the hangar.”
Kyle crossed his arms over his chest. He didn‘t think Reaper was that into pretty boy fine over there. “Fine but let’s at least make up a rendezvous point if we aren’t on the same ship.”
“You know we will be. The best of the best get on the flag ship and we’re both at the top of our class. We‘ll both get the Enterprise, I just know it.”
The confidence in that voice certainly made him feel better. After all, the man never said anything like that unless he happened to know it as a fact. Kyle felt a knot that had been building up between his shoulder blades release itself. “Still, we have to be ready with a back up plan. If the ship gets blown to hell and one of us gets pulled into Space…”
A large warm hand grabbed him by the back of his head and heedless of the other cadets swarming passed them, pulled him into a deep, hot kiss. Reese didn’t bother holding back, he had missed this, and reached up to pull himself and the other closer, to deepen the kiss and make it last. It couldn’t last all that long, not with the hurry they were in and so they pulled a part after a long moment, simply leaning their foreheads together, breathing each other’s air gently. It was John who broke the silence. “You take care of keeping us alive and out of their damn phaser fire and I’ll worry about keeping the crew alive. If I have to, I’ll take out whoever I need to to make sure I get back to you.”
“You better, soldier,” the resistance fighter said, ignoring the slightly worried note in his tone. They had been alive for centuries now. They had watched each other suffer through things that would kill any normal person. Why was this so much more terrifying to them? “As long as I am alive you had better well be.”
They gave each other one more peck before hurrying to their squads to line up. Kyle very nearly missed his assignment, his mind too ensnared by the sight and smell of his lover’s last kiss to him, but he heard it anyway. U.S.S. Enterprise. So the man was right. How completely unsurprising. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the man drag Jim Kirk off somewhere with an annoyed look on his face. He rolled his eyes mentally.
Quickly climbing onboard the nearby shuttle, the eternally 20 year old man worked on calming himself enough to slip back into the Pavel Andreievich Chekov persona he had spent the last three years building. This first mission, though technically not the five year mission he had signed up for, would be the test he needed both for this kid and for the man he was playing this Russian whose brain was far too big for his body. He could only hope John fared just as well with his own, Leonard H. McCoy.
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PART I - The Beginning
PART III - The Narada Incident