Wedding Bells
Fandom: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series
Rating: FRT, for language and implied sexual content.
Pairing: Chekov/Sulu
Length: ~1,250 words
Summary: Chekov and Sulu get married.
Pavel proposes to Hikaru.
This is counter to what pretty much everyone onboard expects. Sulu is widely regarded as the hopeless romantic, and Chekov the cynic with long-held reservations regarding the ‘social contract,’ so when they submit their marriage application to Starfleet-and dutifully CC their too-talkative Captain-it takes the crew a few days to realize their mistake. During that time, Hikaru is the confused recipient of several wordless handshakes in the officer’s lounge, and Pavel suffers a chorus of questions at every turn: ‘How did Sulu do it?’ and ‘Is there a ring?’ and ‘Did you cry?’
“Of course I did not cry! Hikaru, I do not understand these questions. Were they expecting you to say ‘no’ to me?”
“No, Pavel. Just-shut up and kiss me, okay?”
Uhura is Hikaru’s best woman, and Scotty is Pavel’s best man. They arrange for two concurrent bachelor parties-Chekov’s in Engineering and Sulu’s in the Xenobotany Lab-and the crew of the Enterprise spend the evening shuffling between an elegant wine tasting (complete with gourmet buffet and tasteful live jazz accompaniment) on the Science Deck and an absolutely insane dance party on the Engineering floor.
The events of the evening quickly become the stuff of Enterprise legend. It is discovered that, after about three glasses of wine and at least two shots, Doctor McCoy plays a mean Jazz piano. Chief Scott’s moves on the dance floor are so revolutionary that all video recording of it has been banned from the Starfleet extranet (but Crewman Mhasalkar can get you a copy for twenty credits). Carol Marcus outdrinks every single member of the Security complement, and then provides a short, informative demonstration on how to disarm an armed tactical device while hanging upside-down, blindfolded, from a steam pipe.
Pavel and Hikaru are both provided a discreet surveillance detail to prevent them from sneaking out to see each other. They’re under constant supervision throughout the night and are never unaccounted for, but somehow photos end up on the extranet the next morning of Chekov and Sulu making out on the dance floor in Engineering. Also, there’s a suspicious curly head of hair right next to Sulu (but just out of frame) in several pictures from the wine tasting.
“How the hell did they do that? No really, how the hell did they do that?!”
Hikaru personally provides the floral arrangements for the reception: long-stemmed Polluxian white lilies, all still potted, of course, because he isn’t going to kill these flowers just to make his wedding look nice. (“But, I mean, I can transplant them into the wide-neck pots if you think they’ll look better?” “I think they’re fine just as they are, Hikaru.”) Pavel contributes several recordings of his mother during her years as a professional pianist, to be played during the ceremony. (“I wish you could have met her. She would have loved you. I know she would.”)
Spock bakes the cake, which is massive and three-tiered and so perfect that it looks like it’s come out of a catalogue. The trim is decorated with delicately iced imitations of Hikaru’s flowers. (“That’s why you demanded an audit of the Xenobotany Department?” “I-assumed that the surprise would lend the gesture a romantic sentimentality. Was I wrong?”) Someone-and no one is naming names, but if they were, the name would be ‘Kirk’-procures two dozen bottles of Romulan Ale. (“Jesus, Jim.” “I know. Awesome, right? Gonna be the Best. Wedding. Ever.”)
Scotty carves the rings out of the Enterprise herself, using titanium from a replaced hull plate. They’re simple bands: polished to a shine, but otherwise lacking decoration. But on the inside of each is a small inscription: ad infinitum. (“I applied a thin electrolensic coat to the inside, so that the inscriptions cannae wear away. So what do you think? Aw, hell, laddie, don’t you start crying, or I’ll tear up, too!”)
Hikaru’s family comes aboard for the ceremony: his mother, father, three sisters, and a recently-acquired brother-in-law. Pavel has met them all before-during leave time between the first and second five-year missions-but he’s somehow still nervous, still worried that they won’t like him. Hikaru finds him an hour before the ceremony pacing in his quarters, pulling at the hem of his tuxedo jacket and mumbling to himself in frantic Russian.
“Hey,” Hikaru says, putting his hands on Pavel’s waist. “What’s wrong?”
“What if this was the wrong thing to do? My family is nothing like yours. My father, my aunt, my grandmother, we are not-“ Pavel motions with his hands, trying to communicate something that he doesn’t have the words for. “We are not made for happy things. And I am tying you to us, and your family to us, and what if I ruin you? What if I bring that down upon you? Hikaru, what-“
“Hey,” Hikaru says again, and he puts his hands to Pavel’s face. “Do you love me?”
“Yes,” Pavel vows.
“Do you believe that I love you?”
“Yes,” he says, with equal fervor. “But-“
“Then we’re kind of already tied together anyway, right?. The rest is just words.”
“But-“
“No. Pavel, if you don’t want this, we won’t do this. But it’s just about you and me, okay? They’re all just here for the free drinks.”
Pavel runs his fingers through his hair, but he nods. Hikaru kisses him and wraps him up in a hug.
“I hear Kirk has a whole freaking case of Romulan Ale,” Hikaru says into Pavel’s hair.
“Two,” Pavel corrects, on a shaky laugh. “But it’s okay. My aunt sent me true Russian Vodka, not replicated. You and I-we, at least, will drink well.”
Hikaru laughs, loud and bright.
If Pavel is still nervous by the time the ceremony has begun, it doesn’t show.
Kirk officiates, and his speech is a little unorthodox-there’s an anecdote about that time that Hikaru caught the Thubian Flu and Pavel nursed him for a week, and a bit about ‘boldly going,’ and an extended metaphor about pilots and navigators that has both Pavel and Hikaru rolling their eyes-but it’s also heartfelt. Hikaru cries (“Oh, I teared up, that’s all.”), and then Scotty cries (“What was I supposed to do? That bastard Sulu was standing across from me, sobbing!”), and somehow it ends with McCoy standing in a corner telling everyone that walks past that he’s got something in his eye (“I HAD SOMETHING IN MY EYE.”).
It’s a beautiful ceremony. And a beautiful reception. The groom and groom are both radiant. They eat and drink and dance and generally make themselves obnoxious to everyone else with how ridiculously in love they are. The warm and bright feeling in the air isn’t just the alcohol working; it’s an outpouring of well-wishing and cheerful congratulations so thick that you could breathe it, and Hikaru and Pavel are, together, perfectly and absolutely happy.
When they finally retire to their quarters for the evening, they discover that someone-and, still, no one is naming names, but if they were, you'd damn well better believe it's 'Jim fucking Kirk’-has dropped a recreational dosage of sex pollen on their pillowcases.
CREDIT: This was written for captwingcdrhastheconn, who submitted the prompt: "Chulu wedding on the Enterprise presided over by Capt. Kirk with nervous Pasha and flower crowns?" But in the continuing epic of failing to meet request expections, I couldn't make flower crowns happen. And it was, like, token nervous!Pavel. And the wedding was like two paragraphs. I'm sorry I suck.
Rating: FRT, for language and implied sexual content.
Pairing: Chekov/Sulu
Length: ~1,250 words
Summary: Chekov and Sulu get married.
Pavel proposes to Hikaru.
This is counter to what pretty much everyone onboard expects. Sulu is widely regarded as the hopeless romantic, and Chekov the cynic with long-held reservations regarding the ‘social contract,’ so when they submit their marriage application to Starfleet-and dutifully CC their too-talkative Captain-it takes the crew a few days to realize their mistake. During that time, Hikaru is the confused recipient of several wordless handshakes in the officer’s lounge, and Pavel suffers a chorus of questions at every turn: ‘How did Sulu do it?’ and ‘Is there a ring?’ and ‘Did you cry?’
“Of course I did not cry! Hikaru, I do not understand these questions. Were they expecting you to say ‘no’ to me?”
“No, Pavel. Just-shut up and kiss me, okay?”
Uhura is Hikaru’s best woman, and Scotty is Pavel’s best man. They arrange for two concurrent bachelor parties-Chekov’s in Engineering and Sulu’s in the Xenobotany Lab-and the crew of the Enterprise spend the evening shuffling between an elegant wine tasting (complete with gourmet buffet and tasteful live jazz accompaniment) on the Science Deck and an absolutely insane dance party on the Engineering floor.
The events of the evening quickly become the stuff of Enterprise legend. It is discovered that, after about three glasses of wine and at least two shots, Doctor McCoy plays a mean Jazz piano. Chief Scott’s moves on the dance floor are so revolutionary that all video recording of it has been banned from the Starfleet extranet (but Crewman Mhasalkar can get you a copy for twenty credits). Carol Marcus outdrinks every single member of the Security complement, and then provides a short, informative demonstration on how to disarm an armed tactical device while hanging upside-down, blindfolded, from a steam pipe.
Pavel and Hikaru are both provided a discreet surveillance detail to prevent them from sneaking out to see each other. They’re under constant supervision throughout the night and are never unaccounted for, but somehow photos end up on the extranet the next morning of Chekov and Sulu making out on the dance floor in Engineering. Also, there’s a suspicious curly head of hair right next to Sulu (but just out of frame) in several pictures from the wine tasting.
“How the hell did they do that? No really, how the hell did they do that?!”
Hikaru personally provides the floral arrangements for the reception: long-stemmed Polluxian white lilies, all still potted, of course, because he isn’t going to kill these flowers just to make his wedding look nice. (“But, I mean, I can transplant them into the wide-neck pots if you think they’ll look better?” “I think they’re fine just as they are, Hikaru.”) Pavel contributes several recordings of his mother during her years as a professional pianist, to be played during the ceremony. (“I wish you could have met her. She would have loved you. I know she would.”)
Spock bakes the cake, which is massive and three-tiered and so perfect that it looks like it’s come out of a catalogue. The trim is decorated with delicately iced imitations of Hikaru’s flowers. (“That’s why you demanded an audit of the Xenobotany Department?” “I-assumed that the surprise would lend the gesture a romantic sentimentality. Was I wrong?”) Someone-and no one is naming names, but if they were, the name would be ‘Kirk’-procures two dozen bottles of Romulan Ale. (“Jesus, Jim.” “I know. Awesome, right? Gonna be the Best. Wedding. Ever.”)
Scotty carves the rings out of the Enterprise herself, using titanium from a replaced hull plate. They’re simple bands: polished to a shine, but otherwise lacking decoration. But on the inside of each is a small inscription: ad infinitum. (“I applied a thin electrolensic coat to the inside, so that the inscriptions cannae wear away. So what do you think? Aw, hell, laddie, don’t you start crying, or I’ll tear up, too!”)
Hikaru’s family comes aboard for the ceremony: his mother, father, three sisters, and a recently-acquired brother-in-law. Pavel has met them all before-during leave time between the first and second five-year missions-but he’s somehow still nervous, still worried that they won’t like him. Hikaru finds him an hour before the ceremony pacing in his quarters, pulling at the hem of his tuxedo jacket and mumbling to himself in frantic Russian.
“Hey,” Hikaru says, putting his hands on Pavel’s waist. “What’s wrong?”
“What if this was the wrong thing to do? My family is nothing like yours. My father, my aunt, my grandmother, we are not-“ Pavel motions with his hands, trying to communicate something that he doesn’t have the words for. “We are not made for happy things. And I am tying you to us, and your family to us, and what if I ruin you? What if I bring that down upon you? Hikaru, what-“
“Hey,” Hikaru says again, and he puts his hands to Pavel’s face. “Do you love me?”
“Yes,” Pavel vows.
“Do you believe that I love you?”
“Yes,” he says, with equal fervor. “But-“
“Then we’re kind of already tied together anyway, right?. The rest is just words.”
“But-“
“No. Pavel, if you don’t want this, we won’t do this. But it’s just about you and me, okay? They’re all just here for the free drinks.”
Pavel runs his fingers through his hair, but he nods. Hikaru kisses him and wraps him up in a hug.
“I hear Kirk has a whole freaking case of Romulan Ale,” Hikaru says into Pavel’s hair.
“Two,” Pavel corrects, on a shaky laugh. “But it’s okay. My aunt sent me true Russian Vodka, not replicated. You and I-we, at least, will drink well.”
Hikaru laughs, loud and bright.
If Pavel is still nervous by the time the ceremony has begun, it doesn’t show.
Kirk officiates, and his speech is a little unorthodox-there’s an anecdote about that time that Hikaru caught the Thubian Flu and Pavel nursed him for a week, and a bit about ‘boldly going,’ and an extended metaphor about pilots and navigators that has both Pavel and Hikaru rolling their eyes-but it’s also heartfelt. Hikaru cries (“Oh, I teared up, that’s all.”), and then Scotty cries (“What was I supposed to do? That bastard Sulu was standing across from me, sobbing!”), and somehow it ends with McCoy standing in a corner telling everyone that walks past that he’s got something in his eye (“I HAD SOMETHING IN MY EYE.”).
It’s a beautiful ceremony. And a beautiful reception. The groom and groom are both radiant. They eat and drink and dance and generally make themselves obnoxious to everyone else with how ridiculously in love they are. The warm and bright feeling in the air isn’t just the alcohol working; it’s an outpouring of well-wishing and cheerful congratulations so thick that you could breathe it, and Hikaru and Pavel are, together, perfectly and absolutely happy.
When they finally retire to their quarters for the evening, they discover that someone-and, still, no one is naming names, but if they were, you'd damn well better believe it's 'Jim fucking Kirk’-has dropped a recreational dosage of sex pollen on their pillowcases.
CREDIT: This was written for captwingcdrhastheconn, who submitted the prompt: "Chulu wedding on the Enterprise presided over by Capt. Kirk with nervous Pasha and flower crowns?" But in the continuing epic of failing to meet request expections, I couldn't make flower crowns happen. And it was, like, token nervous!Pavel. And the wedding was like two paragraphs. I'm sorry I suck.