Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Pavel Chekov has always been abnormally smart, he knows that. He developed skills fast when he was a kid. Things like talking, walking, writing, drawing, and practically everything else that got thrown at him. He excelled in almost everything even remotely science or math related to the point where he skipped so many grades that he was graduating at only 13 years old.
He never had many friends so he spent most of his time by himself or with his mother. Even at his graduation, as soon as he was allowed out of formation, he ran off the field to his mother. She was so busy congratulating him that neither of them noticed the uniformed man who had come up behind Pavel.
"Mr. Chekov, Mrs. Chekov, my name is Christopher Pike. It's a pleasure to finally get to meet you." The man began, holding his hand out to shake their's. They both looked at his hand then back at his face. Pike smiled and lowered his hand, "if you don't mind, ma'am, I would love the opportunity to speak with you and your son. See, I'm a commander under Starfleet in the United States. I was informed of this young man by a recruiter who had seen his records. His is... truly a brilliant boy." Pavel looked at his mother as Pike spoke, his voice friendly and soft. Pavel was hardly paying attention, too busy wondering how this man who was, apparently, American spoke Russian so well. Pike crouched down and looked at Pavel with a small smiled. "Hey, kid."
Pavel's mother held onto his shoulders tightly, cautious of the man, "What is your badge number, Christopher Pike? What do you want with my Pasha?" she asked quickly, keeping Pavel close just in case this man tried anything. Pike chuckled a bit and stood back up.
"Mrs. Chekova, if you allow it, I wish to give Mr. Pavel here the entrance exams to get into Starfleet Academy. I came here to recruit him." Pike explained slowly.
She hesitated before replying, "Mariana. That is my name." She started softly, "I will let you test him but only if you will allow me to be there with him while you do. I will not leave him alone with a stranger. He is still only a child."
Pike nodded in agreement "of course. I expect he would feel more comfortable to have family with him anyways." Pavel looked between the two of them as they spoke as if he wasn't right in front of them. He crossed his arms and pouted. They finally looked down at him in response to his huffing.
"I am not an object or belonging for you guys to decide what to do with. It is my choice what I do and don't do, including your stupid tests. I do not appreciate being spoken about as if I'm not every here." Pavel said sharply, much to the surprise of the other two. Pike looked down at him for a moment before chuckling. He knelt down to get on Pavel's level.
"I apologize for being so inconsiderate." Pike began, a friendly smile on his face. "I suppose the final decision should be your to make. Pavel nodded confidently, arms still crossed tightly over his chest. "so, what do you choose?"
Pavel paused, thinking for a moment. He took a deep breath before replying, "Fine. I'll take your test. But when I pass, don't expect that to mean I'll instantly leave to America with you." Pike chuckled and held his hand out to shake Pavel's.
"Deal."

Chapter Text

Mariana waited, watching Pavel and Pike through a large window. The room they were in was sound proof and dimly lit so she could hardly make out what was going on inside.
Pavel wrote quickly on a sheet of paper, answering questions as he read them. Pike watched him with his eyebrows raised in surprise and intrigue. This thirteen year old boy was breezing through this exam faster then any adult Pike had ever watched. Pavel finished the thick packet exam within thirty minutes, not even bothering to check over his answers before sliding it back over to Pike. He took it into his hands and slowly read through it with a blank face. After a few minutes, he set the paper down and looked Pavel in the eyes, folding his hands on the table.
"Well.." Pike started, "it looks like you got every single question" -he smiled and Pavel tilted his head curiously- "completely correct." Pavel smiled. "If you'd allow me to share this exam with the board, you would for sure be excepted into Starfleet Academy." Pavel nodded slowly. "So, where do you wanna go from here?"
Pavel thought for a moment, looking through the window at his mother. "Starfleet is based in America, yes?" Pike nodded "so, I would have to leave Russia. And I would have to learn English." Pike nodded again, leaning in towards Pavel. He hesitated before speaking again, "I'll do it." Pavel whispered as he looked Pike in the eyes. They both smiled and Pike nodded.
"Alright. I'll keep you updated. The new cadets fly in next week." Pike stood up and Pavel followed.
"Next week?" Pavel repeated, a little surprised.
Pike raised a brow, "is that a problem?"
Pavel shook his head.
"Good."

Chapter Text

Pavel stood nervously just behind the boarding station with his mother. She ran her hands through his hair gently as they waited for Pike to come and get him like he had told them he would in his last message. Pavel had agreed to join Starfleet a week ago and Pike had been sending them daily update messages on things like when he would leave, what he would need to bring, where he would need to go, which plane he would be taking and everything else they needed to know. They stayed there for about ten minutes before Pike jogged over.

He greeted them with that same smile that he had when they had first met him, "you ready, kid?"

Pavel shrugged and looked around
"This is a lot different from school..." he mumbled in broken English. Pike smiled wider, like a proud father.

"You've been practicing." Pike took this as a chance to switch from Russian to the English that he was a lot more used to speaking. Pavel nodded slowly.

"I want to be able to talk with person... persons..?" Pavel spoke with uncertainty and Pike nodded.
"People." He corrected gently.
Pavel nodded, "yes. People." he hesitated before speaking again nervously "I am not too... young to be here?"

Pike chuckled softly "Kid, you've got more smarts then 90% of the people here." -Pavel smiled slightly- "Come on, we gotta get you boarded. Don't mind any stares you might get. You do just look like a kid after all."

Mariana cleared her throat and Pavel turned to look at her. She whispered something in Russian and kissed Pavel's forehead. Pike patted Pavel's shoulder and gestured for him to follow him to the plane door. Pavel cleared his throat and nodded, following Pike closely.

As he boarded, he noticed a few things. The seats were in tight rows that were so close together that he wondered how some of the cadets had even managed to squeeze their way in. It was stuffy, hot, and smelled like a boy's locker room.
Pavel adjusted the collar of his shirt as he search for an empty seat. Just at Pike warned, several people stared and whispered as he walked past. That was not helping his nervousness.

He found an empty space right next to a large, scary looking man. Pavel opened his mouth to ask if he could sit there but, before he could, the man growled and spread himself out into the seat. Pavel sighed and frowned at the man who simply crossed his arms, flexing his muscles. Pavel turned to keep walking with a defeated pout when a soft voice spoke up from just a little down the isle.

"Hey, kid. You. Blond boy." Pavel looked in the direction of the voice and saw a nice looking girl. She had straight blond hair and a sweet smile. Pavel looked around and then back at the girl. "You. The kid who looks confused. Come here." Pavel walked forward hesitantly. The girl patted an empty seat beside her.

"Me?" Pavel pointed to himself as a way to confirm what he was saying. She smiled and nodded. Pavel looked around again before sitting down, his entire body tense as he tried his best to keep completely to himself.

"Relax. I won't bite." She nudged him with her elbow gently. "I'm Christine. Starfleet MD. Well, in training." Pavel narrowed his eyes slightly and nodded.

"'MD'? Is..?" Pavel tilted his head a bit to the side, making an attempt to physically express his confusion.

"Oh, it means medical department. I'm a nurse in training." Christine smiled, "You seem a little young to be here, yeah?"

Pavel shrugged and looked down at his knees, brushing some dirt off his pants, "Pike asked for me."

Christine leaned forward to hear Pavel better and put a hand on his shoulder, "Wait Pike? Like Christopher Pike? The captain of the Starship Enterprise?" Pavel leaned back slowly, causing Christine's hand to fall from his shoulder. "I heard about him in school. He recruited you?" she pulled her hand back into her own lap but kept her same smile as Pavel nodded in response. The plane doors closed and Christine decided to speak up again. "You ever flown before?"

Pavel looked at her and shrugged. "I have never been in a plane before." Christine nodded and nudged him again.

"So, how long have you been learning English?"

"One week." Pavel mumbled, tugging on his seatbelt a bit as the plane started to move.

Christine's eyes widened slightly, "Only a week? And you're this good? Impressive." Pavel nodded. "So, you're from Russia then?"

"Yes. Born and not left once." Pavel looked back towards Christine and smiled.

Before either of them could say anything else, they heard the distinct sound of someone throwing up and the splat onto the floor that followed. Almost everyone in the plane groaned. Christine gagged and picked her feet up onto her chair.

Pavel looked at her in disbelief, "Are you not a doctor?"

"Nurse." Christine corrected, her eyes squeezed shut, "and I'm working on... that."

"How can you be a nurse if you can't handle womit-" Christine put her hand over Pavel's mouth, cutting him off.

"I'm working on it." She pulled her hand away slowly, "Also, is that some kind of speech defect? Not to be rude or anything."

Pavel stuck his tongue out and made a noise, wiping his mouth. "Your hand tastes like...perfume.."

Christine scoffed playfully, "are you avoiding my question?"

"What question?"

"Why'd you say the 'v' word like that?" Christine leaned closer to Pavel. Pavel shrugged.

"I always talk like that. It has been a problem since I was young. I learn to get around it."

Christine tilted her head slightly and frowned, "have you ever tried speech therapy? It's gotten way better over the years."

"Do you think I need to fix it? I do not see any problems with it. It does not make my life harder most times. So there is really no point in putting in so much effort to fix it." Pavel looked at his hands as he fiddled with his seatbelt.

"There's nothing wrong with it. I think it's unique." Christine smiled and Pavel smiled back slightly.

The person down the isle threw up again and Christine rolled her eyes. "At least you don't sound like that. That guy is lucky he's not sitting with me. He needs some fresh air and I'd be more then happy to give that to him!" She shouted down the isle and Pavel shushed her, trying to hold in laughter.

"Stop that. You will get in trouble." Pavel whispered, gently poking Christine's arm.

"Oh, they don't care about empty threats." Christine waved a dismissive hand. "Besides, most of these people have already been through bootcamp so they should have thick skin. It's a useful skill. Especially if you ever face enemies. If you're at war with someone, I can guarantee that person won't be worried about your feelings."

Pavel's eyes drifted down to the floor again as he processed what Christine was saying. She looked over at Pavel, finally pulling her attention away from the sick passenger. "I was told that Starfleet was meant to bring peace and unity. Not... war." Christine frowned at Pavel's words.

"I didn't mean it like that. Starfleet does bring peace and unity. That's their goal. But, sometimes, some people don't want peace. They don't want to be united. They want to be alone and have their own laws and rules that can cause harm to others. We never want to engage in war but.. sometimes it's necessary." She whispered softly, trying to reassure him.

Pavel nodded slowly and they both stayed quiet for a bit. Then, they hit some turbulence as the plane began landing. Pavel gripped his seatbelt until his knuckles were white, his eyes shut and his shoulders tense. Christine placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. It reminded him of his mother.

"Hey, just try to relax. Starfleet has never once had one of these planes crash." She said in an attempted comforting tone.

"Oh, great, then we will go down in history as the first." Pavel said sarcastically, not opening his eyes at all.

"That would be pretty cool. That could put it on our headstones. 'The victims of the first ever Starfleet cadet plane crash.'" Christine laughed. Pavel smiled a bit and shook his head.

"I would like this not to be my last experience in life." He whispered, his smile widening.

The plane wheels hit the ground and Pavel let out a breath. "See? We're fine." Christine ruffled Pavel's curly hair which was already messy enough. Pavel nodded and opened his eyes, letting go of his seatbelt.

"I would like to not ewer do that again."

As the people filed off the plane, they were directed into lines by two scary looking security guards. Christine and Pavel were two of the last people off and the guard barely paid them a glance before speaking in a tired voice

"Ladies line that way." He started to walk off and Christine looked at Pavel then back at the guard. She cleared her throat and the guard turned back around. "Problem?" He asked sharply and Pavel felt the strong urge to hide behind Christine.

"Yeah, I've got a problem. He's a boy." Christine held Pavel in front of her and he gave an awkward, nervous smile and wave.

The guard looked Pavel up and down and laughed. "You sure about that?"

Christine scoffed and crossed her arms. "I'm positive about that. So, how about you point him towards the right line and stop picking on children to make yourself feel better about your insignificant role here." The guard and Pavel both looked at Christine in disbelief before the guard cleared his throat and pointed in another direction. Pavel nodded and Christine patted his back as they silently said goodbye.

Pavel walked towards the line of men much bigger then him and took in a deep breath, straightening himself as much as he could in hopes that maybe he would magically grow a few inches. He stood nervously in the back of the messy line, watching as some guys pushed and spoke loudly over each other. He was already regretting this. But, hey, no going back now.

Chapter Text

Pavel slipped into the boys' line, which was a lot messier and louder than the girls'. He made a quick effort to keep to himself, trying to be as small and unnoticeable as possible. At the front of the line, a big man in a sleek uniform turned towards everyone and shouted with a gruff voice, "Attention!"

Everyone in the line went still and the noise died down almost immediately.

"When you hear your name, step forward!" the man commanded aggressively. Pavel shivered slightly at the hostility in his tone. The man called two names and two men stepped forward from the crowded line. An alien, presumably a female, with lots of hair and an odd looking facial structure approached each of the two men with a folded uniform and a sheet of paper. The men walked off as the angry man shouted two more names. Pavel stood on his toes, trying to see where the men were going but there were too many people that were much taller than him blocking his view.

The same process was repeated over and over again until only two boys remained. Pavel and a boy who looked on the younger side as well. Definitely not as young as Pavel but he wasn't near as old as most of the other men. Pavel stared a little longer than he probably should have and the boy took notice, glancing over at him. Pavel quickly looked away.

The man spoke up again "Puh-vel chee-cove" he annunciated rudely, absolutely butchering the pronunciation. Pavel raised a brow and looked around before the man shouted louder "chee-cove!"

Pavel hesitantly stepped forward, raising his hand just a bit, "uhh, do you mean Chekov?" he asked, his voice hardly above a whisper.

The man scowled down at Pavel "you talking back to me, boy?" He growled sharply.

Pavel shook his head "no, I am only saying how it is actually." he stuttered out nervously and the man leaned down, putting his face close to Pavel's.

"I'll give you a pass this time for being incompetent. But next time I won't be so kind... Chee-cove." he punctuated the name aggressively and Pavel frowned.

"I do not see how it is 'kind'?" Pavel replied with a shrug and the boy beside him widened his eyes in surprise. The man stared at Pavel in silence for a few seconds before standing back up straight.

"Huh... Quite the kid we've got here." he glanced at the woman with the uniforms before looking back into Pavel's eyes, "that attitude will get you a lot of places, not all of them good." He turned to the other boy and looked him up and down. "Hikaru Sulu. Are you going to talk back as well, boy?"
The boy shook his head quickly, "no, sir."

"Good." The man nodded. "Now, the board decided that we can't in good conscious put either of you in a room with a grown adult. If it were up to me, you two would be far, far apart. But, unfortunately, it's not. So, you're roommates. For now." Pavel discreetly rolled his eyes as the woman handed each boy a uniform and a sheet of paper. A map.

"You expect us to find our room on our own?" Hikaru asked, staring down at the sheet of paper as if he had never seen a map in his life.

"Easy." Pavel turned and started walking off, his eyes fixed on the drawn out path. Hikaru looked at him in disbelief before hurrying to follow.

"Easy? You're joking." he fell into step with Pavel, watching his face as his eyes traced the path slowly.

"No joke." Pavel shook his head.

Hikaru sighed and the two walked in silence for a few minutes before he spoke up in a friendly tone. "I'm Hikaru." He smiled.

"I heard." Pavel said blankly, not even looking up.

Hikaru frowned. "And, you're Chekov?"

Pavel suddenly stopped and Hikaru followed suit. "Here." He looked over at a door with the number 539 engraved in the metal.

"Huh... I guess that was easy."

"You did nothing but walk." Pavel finally looked at Hikaru. "Call me Pavel." Hikaru smiled again and nodded.

"So... where are you from?"
Pavel grabbed the door handle and swung the door open. "Why?" Hikaru followed him into the room, looking around the small space. He shrugged.

"Curious." He replied softly as he set his uniform down on one of the two small, uncomfortable looking beds.

Pavel watched Hikaru and repeated his actions, sitting on the other bed. "Russia." he dusted the bed off a bit. "I am from Russia."

"Woah, cool." Hikaru nodded, pausing for a second. "I have no idea where that is..."

Pavel looked at him and made a face, "how did you test into Starfleet?"

"Geography isn't my strong suit..." Hikaru gave a nervous smile.

Pavel raised a brow, "then what is?"

Hikaru let out a small laugh "uh botany and flight sim.."

They stayed quiet for a few seconds before Pavel laughed. He covered his mouth quickly. "Sorry.. Sorry." He mumbled, voice muffled a bit. A smile slowly formed on Hikaru's face before he burst out laughing as well.

"A Starfleet officer brought a flight simulator to our school.." Hikaru explained between laughs, "and they said I got a higher score than the average Starfleet pilot." He rubbed his eyes.

Pavel took a breath, calming himself slightly before replying, "impressive.." he nodded, a smile still present on his face.

Hikaru shrugged with mock cockiness "what can I say? I'm a child prodigy." He joked.

Pavel's smile slowly faded and he nodded again. "So..." He looked at a particularly noticeable hole in the wall and sighed, "family?"

Hikaru's smile turned more soft and he nodded, "yeah.. You?" Pavel shrugged and Hikaru frowned.

"I mean, yes." Pavel showed a quick smile. "A mother." Hikaru watched Pavel's eyes as he looked down at the ground.

"Well.. It's late." Pavel nodded in agreement. "So um... I'll talk to you tomorrow?"

Pavel laughed softly, "do not really have a choice.." Hikaru laughed as well and laid down on his bed. Pavel did the same, staring up at the ceiling.

"Nice to meet someone around my age." Hikaru whispered. Pavel flinched slightly as the lights automatically shut off, leaving them in quiet darkness.

"Yes." He closed his eyes and let out a slow sigh. "Nice."