Angels (Pavel Chekov)

72 - Always

Erik is asleep on the couch and they start on a meal together. Pavel chops up some vegetables for a curry and Vienna works on the rest. She's daydreaming a little when she feels a flick against her backside. She turns around and sees Pavel looking away with a smirk on his face and tea towel in his hand.

She grins at him and grabs another tea towel from the bench. She throws it over his face and sticks his fingers softly into his sides, making him squeal uncomfortably. He takes the tea towel off of his face and kisses her. She grins and takes the tea towel from his hand and wraps it around his wrists. She pulls him closer and kisses him again.
Pavel takes the tea towel and puts it on the bench, using both hands to brush Vienna's hair from her eyes. He places another soft kiss on her lips and the two of them hear a groan from across the room. Erik is sitting at the bench and they separate a little, smiling at one another.

"Gross," Erik mutters.

"You were worse," Pavel responds, remembering his brother and Jezzie. "You'd make out in the kitchen all the time."

"Yeah, that's true," Erik says, shrugging. "Jezzie and I couldn't keep our hands off each other."

Pavel leans against the bench and they wait for the curry to finish cooking. Vienna leans against him and tells Erik about her trip to Delaware. She leaves in a few hours and Erik asks if she's still okay with him staying here while she gone.

"You won't be alone here, Pavel's staying here too. I want you two to look after Selwyn as well. Make sure he's okay if he's still here. I want you two to behave as well. No breaking out into fist fights or anything."

"No promises," Erik smirks, "Pavel's pretty wild."

Vienna throws the tea towel at Erik and he laughs, promising he won't do anything stupid while she's gone.

Pavel walks Vienna to the transporter pad and swings her hand softly. He takes her hands before she goes and kisses her cheek, telling her just how much he'll miss her. She smiles at him, giving him a proper kiss on the lips. She sighs a little, knowing everything has been messy over the past few weeks. She knows they'll push through it. He hugs her tightly before she goes, whispering a soft goodbye and telling her to look after herself. She kisses his cheek before she goes and ruffles his hair a little.

It takes two days before Pavel starts feeling lonely. Erik can see it in his brother and decides not to bring it up. He spends longer than he should in her bed and gets up to go to engineering, only to return to her bed for a while. Erik waits another two days before telling Pavel to stop moping about.

"She'll be back in a week or so," he tells Pavel sharply, rolling his eyes. "Get a hold of yourself."

Pavel doesn't have the capacity to argue. He makes an effort to spend less time 'moping about' and more time working on physics and engineering. Erik encourages him to share a drink one evening and they drink a little more than they should. Erik gets drunk enough to tell Pavel he misses Vienna too. Erik thinks they should go back out to the family farm in Russian and drink out in a field just like old times. Pavel likes the idea. He wants to sleep out under the starts with Vienna. He'll suggest it when she gets back.

"Have you and Vienna had sex?" Erik asks, finishing the rest of his drink.

"I'm not answering that," Pavel says, drunk but still sober enough to feel his cheeks burn at the question.

"I remember when we were first talking with Vienna about the gypsy and she showed us that birthmark. You hadn't seen it before, which meant at that point you hadn't seen her topless before. That was ages ago now. That morning Amahle walked in, is that actually what you were doing? You can tell me."

"Erik," Pavel says, rubbing his hand on his face. "I was just kissing her that morning. Can we drop this conversation, I don't want to-"

"I swear I've heard noises coming from your room on other occasions. What about when I cut my hand?"

"Enough questions. I don't want to talk about it. Our private lives aren't your concern."

Erik watches as his brother finishes his glass and sits up, facing him. "Are you scared?"

Pavel looks up, a little drowsy. "Completely terrified," he laughs. "How did you know... How did you know when you were ready? With Jezzie, how did you know?"

"Because I loved her," Erik says, not even thinking. "I loved her and I trusted her. I wanted to share that with her and she wanted to share it with me. When it's time you'll know. When she's ready too, just make sure you talk to her. I know you love her Pavel, don't feel any need to rush it."

He nods, honestly quite comforted by Erik's words.

"Oh and Pavel?"

"Yes?"

"The first time is always shit."

(Author's Note)

Enjoy ♪