FIC: Duet [Star Trek XI]
Jun. 10th, 2009 02:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
darktrent182TITLE: Duet
DISCLAIMER: Star Trek XI doesn't belong to me – the universe belongs to Gene Roddenberry and so many people that if they were all to sue me, various descendants would be in debt up to their eyeballs. Written for entertainment purposes, no money made, please don't sue, yadda.
FANDOM: Star Trek XI
PAIRING: Scotty/Chekov pre-slash
WORD COUNT: 1,280
RATING: G
WARNINGS: Bagpipes! Auuugh!
SUMMARY: When you hear a lone violin in the night, you sometimes have to respond.
CHALLENGE: Written for the Star Trek Kink Meme, because I'm a sheep.
PROMPT: Click here for details.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Unbeta'd liek woah.
***
It was gamma shift, and Scotty couldn't sleep. Half-dressed in bed, he stared up at the ceiling and tried to empty his mind. There were times when he'd get too involved in a project -- this time, something was happening to the power distributors to make them misfire -- that he'd lay awake at night, equations and theories buzzing through his head, not giving him a moment's rest.
He was about to give up the ghost and sit down with a padd when he heard it.
A single violin in the night.
It was... lovely.
And it wasn't a recording. It was someone actually playing.
There was a richer tone to it, something that only came from a well-cared-for instrument. Recordings tended to remove some of the tones during the process, something that Scotty had always found a bit disappointing, but he couldn't hear it here in his bed.
The lone violin continued on, beautiful in the way the notes flowed into each other, the fluid quality of a master practicing his craft. It was slow and soft, nothing complicated, but it made Scotty close his eyes and think of the Scottish moors, think of cold winter nights when the rain pattered against the windows, think of shadows stretching longer than they had any business doing.
When the last notes faded away, Scotty exhaled slowly, not realizing he'd been holding his breath. Whoever that violin player was, they were very alone right now.
He wasn't quite sure why he responded as he did. He'd had his set of bagpipes sent to the Enterprise after Kirk had been officially made Captain, and while the crew had known he'd brought them aboard, no one had yet to hear him. Bagpipes weren't something that you did at the drop of a hat, Scotty felt. He was proud to be a Scotsman, sure, but when the whole of Engineering were giving you the fish eye as if you had your bagpipes in your trouser pocket, it tended to dampen one's enthusiasm. So, they were for special occasions.
It didn't take long for Scotty to find them and sit down in an armchair. He filled the bag with air, shifted it in his arms, and then he started playing.
It was a bit unusual, as Scotty hadn't really played for years, but somehow the lateness of the hour or having heard that violin calling out for someone -- anyone, really -- to respond had him playing 'Scotland the Brave'. Of course, he knew it was probably a bit cliche, but it had been the first song Scotty had learned on the pipes, so he was fairly sure he wouldn't mess it up too badly.
Part of him knew he was also playing it to make sure this lone violin knew Montgomery Scott was the one saying hello.
For the first minute of the song, the pipes were the only sound Scotty could hear, but when he kept going, the violin came back again, the notes bouncing along with him. It wasn't the best Celtic fiddling he'd heard, but this wasn't exactly a concert, was it? It was two musicians in the night, enjoying what they were doing and doing their best to complement each other. Scotty's eyes closed, and he could imagine the notes of the violin skipping and threading through the pipes, long notes where he had a slew of shorts, energetic shorts to running alongside the long notes he had going.
All in all, Scotland the Brave was four minutes long, and by the end of it, he was breathing heavily and grinning up at the ceiling, chuckling to himself as the violin kept up one long note before launching into something slower.
It wasn't another Scottish tune; this was something slower, from a very long time ago, if Scotty wasn't mistaken. He hadn't studied music all that much -- there hadn't really been time with all the engineering classes -- but this sounded quite beautiful.
That went on for about three minutes, giving Scotty a rest before silence fell. The violin had finished its eloquent speech, and there was something expectant in the silence.
Scotty smiled to himself, blowing air into the bag and responding in kind.
Bagpipes and violin kept going for almost an hour, trading songs back and forth -- the violin switching between folksy sorts of tunes and Scotty sticking to his favorites and every once in a while, the two would blend together in a duet or two where they came up with things on their own. It shouldn't have worked as well as it did, but by the end of the night, Scotty was grinning from ear to ear, and he gave a small little riff as a good night.
The violin responded in kind, and then all was silence.
***
When Chekov showed up in Engineering just before beta shift, Scotty was a little surprised to hear him humming 'Scotland the Brave'.
"Oh, you heard that last night?" Scotty found himself asking as he went back to his equations.
Chekov stopped for a moment before moving to stand behind Scotty's chair, looking over his shoulder like he'd done for the past few weeks. "Da," he replied, his eyes narrowing at the computer screen. "It has been a long time since I played a duet."
Scotty blinked, turning in his chair to shoot Chekov a surprised look. "You were the violin last night?"
Chekov frowned. "You sound surprised."
"I am," Scotty admitted. "I didn't think of you as the musical type."
Chekov shrugged. "Mama sent me to private lessons when I was small. I had to stop when I entered the Academy."
"No time?" Scotty asked sympathetically. The first time he'd tried to play his bagpipes, his roommate had howled about wailing cats being an undeserved punishment for getting smashed on Saturday night.
Chekov sighed. "Da. But it is good that I can practice again." He grinned at Scotty. "And to have someone to practice with, yes?"
"Aye, that it is." Scotty nodded, smiling himself. He turned back to his equations on the computer. "I've always thought that music's best played together. Wouldn't do to be lonely in a ship like this, would it?"
In the light of the monitor, Scotty could see Chekov duck his head a little. "You heard that too."
"Aye," Scotty acknowledged softly.
Silence fell, like it had the night before, but this time, it was a quiet companionship.
"Would you like to come to my quarters?" Chekov asked tentatively. "That way, we can practice and we can talk at the same time."
Scotty looked over his shoulder again, Chekov's bright blue eyes a bit closer than he'd anticipated. "That'd be lovely, but aren't your fingers sore from all that playing?"
Chekov smiled. "They are a little, but it is fine. We can talk instead of play, if you want."
Scotty saw something else in Chekov's eyes, something burning and more than a little hopeful. This wasn't just an invitation to come up and discuss theoretical physics, Scotty was sure. This was the violin, alone in the night, wanting someone there to share the night with. Quite possibly in more ways than one.
He knew he'd been attracted to Chekov for weeks now -- Scotty had always been attracted to brains more than what sort of wrapping they came in, and the young Russian had always been able to match him during his rambles and illustrate a point that Scotty had forgotten about while he was caught up with a beautiful ship like the Enterprise to play and tinker with.
"If you would rather sleep, I understand..." Chekov's hopeful look faded, and Scotty realized that he hadn't said anything.
Scotty shook his head quickly. "No, no, I'd like that," he murmured. "We can compare notes."
Chekov half-groaned around a smile. "That was terrible pun."
Scotty smirked, turning back to the screen. "You're welcome."
END
DISCLAIMER: Star Trek XI doesn't belong to me – the universe belongs to Gene Roddenberry and so many people that if they were all to sue me, various descendants would be in debt up to their eyeballs. Written for entertainment purposes, no money made, please don't sue, yadda.
FANDOM: Star Trek XI
PAIRING: Scotty/Chekov pre-slash
WORD COUNT: 1,280
RATING: G
WARNINGS: Bagpipes! Auuugh!
SUMMARY: When you hear a lone violin in the night, you sometimes have to respond.
CHALLENGE: Written for the Star Trek Kink Meme, because I'm a sheep.
PROMPT: Click here for details.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Unbeta'd liek woah.
***
It was gamma shift, and Scotty couldn't sleep. Half-dressed in bed, he stared up at the ceiling and tried to empty his mind. There were times when he'd get too involved in a project -- this time, something was happening to the power distributors to make them misfire -- that he'd lay awake at night, equations and theories buzzing through his head, not giving him a moment's rest.
He was about to give up the ghost and sit down with a padd when he heard it.
A single violin in the night.
It was... lovely.
And it wasn't a recording. It was someone actually playing.
There was a richer tone to it, something that only came from a well-cared-for instrument. Recordings tended to remove some of the tones during the process, something that Scotty had always found a bit disappointing, but he couldn't hear it here in his bed.
The lone violin continued on, beautiful in the way the notes flowed into each other, the fluid quality of a master practicing his craft. It was slow and soft, nothing complicated, but it made Scotty close his eyes and think of the Scottish moors, think of cold winter nights when the rain pattered against the windows, think of shadows stretching longer than they had any business doing.
When the last notes faded away, Scotty exhaled slowly, not realizing he'd been holding his breath. Whoever that violin player was, they were very alone right now.
He wasn't quite sure why he responded as he did. He'd had his set of bagpipes sent to the Enterprise after Kirk had been officially made Captain, and while the crew had known he'd brought them aboard, no one had yet to hear him. Bagpipes weren't something that you did at the drop of a hat, Scotty felt. He was proud to be a Scotsman, sure, but when the whole of Engineering were giving you the fish eye as if you had your bagpipes in your trouser pocket, it tended to dampen one's enthusiasm. So, they were for special occasions.
It didn't take long for Scotty to find them and sit down in an armchair. He filled the bag with air, shifted it in his arms, and then he started playing.
It was a bit unusual, as Scotty hadn't really played for years, but somehow the lateness of the hour or having heard that violin calling out for someone -- anyone, really -- to respond had him playing 'Scotland the Brave'. Of course, he knew it was probably a bit cliche, but it had been the first song Scotty had learned on the pipes, so he was fairly sure he wouldn't mess it up too badly.
Part of him knew he was also playing it to make sure this lone violin knew Montgomery Scott was the one saying hello.
For the first minute of the song, the pipes were the only sound Scotty could hear, but when he kept going, the violin came back again, the notes bouncing along with him. It wasn't the best Celtic fiddling he'd heard, but this wasn't exactly a concert, was it? It was two musicians in the night, enjoying what they were doing and doing their best to complement each other. Scotty's eyes closed, and he could imagine the notes of the violin skipping and threading through the pipes, long notes where he had a slew of shorts, energetic shorts to running alongside the long notes he had going.
All in all, Scotland the Brave was four minutes long, and by the end of it, he was breathing heavily and grinning up at the ceiling, chuckling to himself as the violin kept up one long note before launching into something slower.
It wasn't another Scottish tune; this was something slower, from a very long time ago, if Scotty wasn't mistaken. He hadn't studied music all that much -- there hadn't really been time with all the engineering classes -- but this sounded quite beautiful.
That went on for about three minutes, giving Scotty a rest before silence fell. The violin had finished its eloquent speech, and there was something expectant in the silence.
Scotty smiled to himself, blowing air into the bag and responding in kind.
Bagpipes and violin kept going for almost an hour, trading songs back and forth -- the violin switching between folksy sorts of tunes and Scotty sticking to his favorites and every once in a while, the two would blend together in a duet or two where they came up with things on their own. It shouldn't have worked as well as it did, but by the end of the night, Scotty was grinning from ear to ear, and he gave a small little riff as a good night.
The violin responded in kind, and then all was silence.
***
When Chekov showed up in Engineering just before beta shift, Scotty was a little surprised to hear him humming 'Scotland the Brave'.
"Oh, you heard that last night?" Scotty found himself asking as he went back to his equations.
Chekov stopped for a moment before moving to stand behind Scotty's chair, looking over his shoulder like he'd done for the past few weeks. "Da," he replied, his eyes narrowing at the computer screen. "It has been a long time since I played a duet."
Scotty blinked, turning in his chair to shoot Chekov a surprised look. "You were the violin last night?"
Chekov frowned. "You sound surprised."
"I am," Scotty admitted. "I didn't think of you as the musical type."
Chekov shrugged. "Mama sent me to private lessons when I was small. I had to stop when I entered the Academy."
"No time?" Scotty asked sympathetically. The first time he'd tried to play his bagpipes, his roommate had howled about wailing cats being an undeserved punishment for getting smashed on Saturday night.
Chekov sighed. "Da. But it is good that I can practice again." He grinned at Scotty. "And to have someone to practice with, yes?"
"Aye, that it is." Scotty nodded, smiling himself. He turned back to his equations on the computer. "I've always thought that music's best played together. Wouldn't do to be lonely in a ship like this, would it?"
In the light of the monitor, Scotty could see Chekov duck his head a little. "You heard that too."
"Aye," Scotty acknowledged softly.
Silence fell, like it had the night before, but this time, it was a quiet companionship.
"Would you like to come to my quarters?" Chekov asked tentatively. "That way, we can practice and we can talk at the same time."
Scotty looked over his shoulder again, Chekov's bright blue eyes a bit closer than he'd anticipated. "That'd be lovely, but aren't your fingers sore from all that playing?"
Chekov smiled. "They are a little, but it is fine. We can talk instead of play, if you want."
Scotty saw something else in Chekov's eyes, something burning and more than a little hopeful. This wasn't just an invitation to come up and discuss theoretical physics, Scotty was sure. This was the violin, alone in the night, wanting someone there to share the night with. Quite possibly in more ways than one.
He knew he'd been attracted to Chekov for weeks now -- Scotty had always been attracted to brains more than what sort of wrapping they came in, and the young Russian had always been able to match him during his rambles and illustrate a point that Scotty had forgotten about while he was caught up with a beautiful ship like the Enterprise to play and tinker with.
"If you would rather sleep, I understand..." Chekov's hopeful look faded, and Scotty realized that he hadn't said anything.
Scotty shook his head quickly. "No, no, I'd like that," he murmured. "We can compare notes."
Chekov half-groaned around a smile. "That was terrible pun."
Scotty smirked, turning back to the screen. "You're welcome."
END
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-06-10 07:07 pm (UTC)That was beautiful and very well written and kudos to you for not going with the (obvious crack). I mean, I love crack like any other person but this was perfect.
♥
no subject
Date: 2009-06-10 07:10 pm (UTC)I tried to think of how to make it porny, but my brain was refusing to run with it, so I ended up making it a bit more like the start of something awesome.
And yay, it didn't suck! \o/
no subject
Date: 2009-06-10 10:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-11 12:36 am (UTC)And yay, I'm glad you liked it. :D
no subject
Date: 2009-06-11 03:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-11 03:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-11 02:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-11 02:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-11 03:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-11 03:59 pm (UTC)If you go a third time, there's a tribble in a cage on Scotty's desk. It's when they pan the camera to show Scotty, look around the upper right hand corner? Ish?
no subject
Date: 2009-06-11 07:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-12 07:01 am (UTC)Oh, sweetness. With bagpipes! Lovely. I can completely see Mama Chekov sending wee Pavel out to violin lessons to make sure he's well-rounded. He'd be so adorable, running through the streets, violin case bouncing against his leg.
no subject
Date: 2009-06-12 07:05 am (UTC)Wee Chekov with violin lessons is made of love.
And yay, it worked! :D
no subject
Date: 2009-06-22 10:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-22 10:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-25 12:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-07 10:32 pm (UTC)"Aye," Scotty acknowledged softly.
I loved all of it, but these two lines I might take home and just cuddle.
no subject
Date: 2009-11-07 10:37 pm (UTC)Whenever I hear a lone violin, I keep thinking that it's the kind of instrument that would sound lonely without backup. *pets Chekov*
And dude! I wasn't expecting such a quick response! I thought you were happily Practice-ing?
no subject
Date: 2009-11-07 10:39 pm (UTC)And I'm totally with you on the lone violin thing. There's a reason I love the Patrick O'Brian duets so much.
no subject
Date: 2009-11-07 10:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-07 10:44 pm (UTC)