Angels (Pavel Chekov)

61 - Crafty

When they're back at Vienna and Amahle's dorm, they eat together and Amahle leaves not long after. She winks at Erik before she goes and both Pavel and Vienna rolls their eyes. Vienna goes into the bathroom and when she comes back out Pavel and Erik are arguing. She stands there and watches them, feeling a sudden wave of anxiety. She can manage seeing Pavel upset but seeing him angry gets to her a lot more.

Pavel looks over and sees Vienna, his voice instantly quieting. Her eyes bare into him and he says her name softly.

"You two need to go for a little while. Sort whatever this is out and come back."

Pavel and Erik look at one another, a little surprised that she's acting so out of character.

"Vienna..."

"Nevermind," she says quickly. "I'll be back later." She picks her bag up off the floor and walks out, not looking at either of them. They stand there a little stunned as soon as she's gone and Vienna just keeps walking.

Vienna keeps walking and walking until she runs into someone. As soon as she goes to apologise, she recognises the figure in front of her.

"Selwyn?"

"Hey," he says softly. "Sorry, I didn't see you. Where are you heading to?"

"Anywhere," she mutters, fixing her hair. "I'm just walking. Are you busy? Do you want to hang out?"

"I'm going into the city to find some fabrics and a few other materials. If you want to come with me and consider that hanging out, then certainly."

Vienna thanks him and they start walking. She asks for details on what the fabrics before and he tells her that he's planning on making himself a dance bag that's actually big enough to hold his things without breaking. She's enjoys listening to him tell her a little bit about his culture and how they make the things they need and repair their things that are broken.

Selwyn seems to know what he's doing when it comes to choosing a fabric. Vienna goes by colour but Selwyn picks them by material and how suited they are to what he's looking for. She suggests one with prints of trains as a joke and he smiles at her, continuing to dig through the other fabrics. She watches him as he goes to play and it's then that she really notices how alien he seems. His shoulders are a lot broader than human shoulders and his hands are long and slender.

They stop at a few more stops before Selwyn has all he needs. He asks if she wants to stay in the city a little longer or give her a hand with starting on the bag and she chooses the latter, asking if she needs any sort of skill to be able to make a bag. He shakes his head and has a smug smile, asking if she's ever really made something before.

"I made a scarf with my grandmother once. It was only a teddy bear size but that should still count, right?"

"I suppose so," Selwyn smiles. "Incredible to think about the different lives we've lead. I've been making my own things since I was little. I made my first shirt when I was about three. I made my first pair of shoes at five. I made a table at eleven and a bed frame at fourteen. It's all so normal in my culture. Making things is usually a specific trade to Terrans."

"Crazy to think," she muses.

Selwyn introduces Vienna to his roommate, who's tending to the plants when they come in. His name is Hikaru Sulu and he seems to be reasonably quiet. Selwyn pulls a box from under the couch and it has all sorts of sewing tools and other items that Vienna barely recognises. He starts with a marker pen and draws out the patterns he needs from memory. Vienna is amazed they're all so even. They sit down and cut out the patterns together, Selwyn asking a little more about what Vienna's childhood was like. She tells him about sailing with her father and he seems intrigued by the idea of water sports. It's not common on his planet and he has a lot of questions. He's so much more talkative than Vienna first thought him to be. He reminds her a little of Pavel.

Vienna leaves after a while and thanks Selwyn for taking her mind off everything. He thanks her for helping with his bag and she can't wait to see it finished next time they dance together. She walks back to her room and gets a little lost in thought for a while.

Pavel and Erik aren't there when Vienna gets back. She doesn't know whether to message them or not. She has a shower and makes a start on dinner, humming to herself while she cooks. Her PADD buzzes and she has a message from Pavel, asking if she's okay.

Back at his own dorm room, Pavel gets a call from Vienna and he picks it up, sitting up a little. She asks if he wants to come over and he lets out a sigh of relief. He tells her he'll only be a few minutes and hangs up, telling Erik to stay put.

There's a few awkward seconds when Vienna opens the door and neither of them know what to say.

"Vienna," he says softly, realising that they can't keep standing there in awkward silence. She opens the door a little wider and lets him in.

"Vienna," Pavel says running a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry you had to see me like that."

"I... I just... I just took his hands Pavel, it wasn't a big deal..."

"Wait, what do you...? Oh, Vienna, no I'm not... I'm not upset at you. I don't care that you were skating with Erik. It's him that I was getting angry with...."

She sighs, feeling a weight fall from her shoulders. She encourages him to come sit down and she asks for more details. She wants to know why he was so worked up at Erik and Pavel seems a little reluctant to answer.

"Well," Pavel starts, pausing to think. "It wasn't so much the fact that he was skating with you and I know this sounds stupid but I was getting frustrated at the way he was looking at you."

"The way he was looking at me....?"

"Erik mentioned Jezzie, yes? How he was looking at you when you were skating, was exactly how he would look at her. Exactly. I needed to remind him that you aren't her..."

Vienna nods and leans back against the couch. "I don't like seeing you angry. It makes me upset."

He puts a hand on her knee. "I am not an angry person. I never have been. I've snapped a few times and I'm honestly sorry for that."

She sighs and shuffles closer to him, laying in his lap. He strokes her hair and asks if she's feeling alright. She tells him that she's feeling better now that he's here. A comfortable silence passes and Pavel breaks it by telling her he loves her. She tells him that she loves him in Russian and a warm red spreads across his cheeks.

(Author's Note)

Celebrating officially hitting 20k reads on this piece! I would never have gotten here without everyone's vote comments and support for this story ♥ I'm honestly so glad I rewrote it and can't wait to see the future of this story.

Thank you to all of you. Thank you for making me a better writer. Thank you for giving my hobby such a wholesome, meaningful purpose.

Much love,
Clover ★