Angels (Pavel Chekov)

76 - Wakey Wakey

Things go beautifully for another three days. They wake up with each other on their minds and though they don't repeat what they did on the days prior, they still makeout, passionate and heated. They go to the beach, Pavel starts wearing short sleeves and stops worrying about it.

They head home with the faintest sunburn and a new love for one another.
Erik and Selwyn are glad to see them. They're developed quite a friendship over the past few days. The four of them stay in for the night and start drinking as they catch up together. Vienna sticks with soft drinks and watches Pavel take two drops of Selwyn's liquor on his tongue and quickly grin to himself.

Vienna tells them about the beach and Erik shows them a pair of shoes Selwyn helped him make.

"Not bad for a first attempt though," Selwyn mutters, taking a sip of his drink.

Pavel and Vienna smile at one another and Erik passes themselves shoe each for a closer look. Vienna suggests that Erik makes her a pair of dance shoes once he has the hang of it and he nods, looking to Selwyn who seems amused by the idea.

Things start to go back to a new normal and class dates are finally announced. They have a week to prepare and Vienna studies her new timetable. The classes have morphed into these odd hybrids with such a large portion of the student body no more after the Vulcan incident.

Erik has his timetable too and gets assigned a dorm room a few doors across from Selwyn. Vienna has a new roommate joining soon and she realises evenings with the four of them might come to an end. She loves having the four of them hanging in the same space and she cherishes the last week of it. On their second last night before classes start they drink again and even Vienna agrees to a very weak glass of butterscotch schnapps. She dilutes it with lemonade and both Selwyn and Erik try not to roll their eyes.

They play cards and get tipsy. Vienna doesn't drink anything strong enough to make her feel anything. Pavel finds himself on the floor after taking two drops of Selwyn's liquor. He starts explaining transporter theory (though no one asked) and Vienna silences him with a kiss. He smiles stupidly to himself for a while and lays in Vienna lap, humming to himself. Selwyn tells them a story of a near death experience he had on his home planet involving a creature not unlike a dinosaur and Erik and Vienna listen intently.

The afternoon after, everyone is sober again, though Pavel still complains of a headache. They sit on the couch and Selwyn seems to doze off after a few minutes. Erik tells them what he's heard about the new classes and the content they cover and Vienna and Pavel look at one another. They're excited to get back into classes, to try and take their minds off the last experience they had in space.

Pavel and Vienna bake a cake together for something to do and Erik sits at the kitchen bench. Pavel fails horrifically at cracking eggs and Erik just takes the bowl off him and cracks an egg perfectly into it.

"Jezzie taught me. She was fantastic at cooking."

"I feel like breaking something shouldn't be this difficult," Pavel mutters, barely acknowledging his brother's comment. He frowns at the third egg he's mutilated and Vienna rolls her eyes at him.

Erik goes into the bathroom and Pavel wraps his arms around Vienna's waist. He kisses her neck and she giggles, telling him to stop it before Erik comes back. He does, placing one more kiss on her cheek before letting her go.
"What do you want to do for your birthday?" Pavel asks, sitting at the kitchen bench and resting his chin on top of his hands.

"Oh," she mumbles, having completely forgotten her birthday in amongst all the other crazy things that have happened. "I haven't even though about it. Maybe the four of us can just order something in for dinner and we can drink a little. I don't want anything special."

Pavel just nods as Erik comes back out. Erik walks past Selwyn and stops, frowning at him. He leans in so to Selwyn and mutters his name, not getting a response.

"Vienna, his eyes are open but they're glazed over! Shit, Selwyn, come on, wake up," he says, patting Selwyn's cheek.

Vienna quickly comes over and frowns, shaking Selwyn's shoulder gently.
Selwyn stands up quickly and takes a few steps backwards and collapses.

Vienna focuses in and everything around her dissipates. He's still breathing, he has a pulse and she starts check for a head injury. She feels through his hair and her fingers run through something hard. She moves his hair and finds what looks like a horn. She runs her fingers over it to check for damage and there's a thick dark blue substance oozing from it. Selwyn's eyes shoot open and he pushes Vienna's hand away, making a soft noise of discomfort and shuffling back from her.

"What the-"

Vienna goes to check his hair again and he moves his head away, alert and asking what just happened.

"Your eyes were glazed over. We tried to wake you up and you collapsed!"

He looks at Vienna in the eyes and then notices the blue on her hands, his expression quickly changing. He looks away, a fear on his face that Vienna hasn't seen before.

"I'm fine. Please wash your hands. Now, please... Please go wash them Vienna."

"Why do I need to wash my hands?"

"Vienna," Selwyn says, his tone very serious, "You need to wash your hands. Now."

She nods and goes and washes her hands in the kitchen. She uses a lot of soap and Selwyn heads into the bathroom for a few minutes. Erik and Pavel share the same baffled expression.