something to do (Pavel Chekov)

3

Pavel sits alone for a long, long time. He doesn't know if ten minutes have passed or three days. Time feels like a thick soup and he's trying to swim through it in heavy clothing and concrete shoes. He stays still for just long enough to make his body fall into a state of paralysis where he can't move; though he isn't entirely sure if he's trying or not. His mind echoes the same four words over and over until they dig into his skin and bury themselves there, making a home amongst his internal organs.

You Let Her Go

Another lifetime of empty passes and there's more movement in the hallway. The black bars open and a figure crumples at the entrance. Pavel is onto his feet unsteadily but fast, making his way over to her and placing a hand tenderly on her back.

He realises he's repeating her name over and over but whether or not she hears, he can't tell. She stirs, mumbling something softly and he helps her sit up. Her eyes carry a ring of red that wasn't there earlier. She sobs into his chest and he holds her tightly. Her body shakes, he wonders if his lifetime in here alone has been even longer for her.

She stops sobbing and goes eerily silent. He wishes she'd say something, anything but the lack of noise becomes deafening and she asks him to help her onto the bench. He does, her whole body is a little limp and neither of her legs work like she wants them to. He tries not to scrunch his face up in pain as his ankle protests him walking on it.

"They beat me," she finally says. "They beat me and sent it to Starfleet."

She pulls her shirt up and she shows him the bruising on her chest. Her rib cage hosts pale purples, gentle blacks and even some blue through it. He brushes his fingers over the colours and she sniffs. Her lip is cut and bleeding. She still feels foggy from the cloth they put on her face. She stays with him for a long while trying to catch her breath. She realises that he still has his ankle and she apologises half heatedly.

"It's fine," he says softly. "I said from the start that we're in this together."

She nods, taking her jacket off and putting it on the bench as a pillow. She lies down and he keeps an eye on her, his eyes focused on the black bars. They're glowing faintly, he's sure of it.

Eadie wakes and rubs her eyes, muttering about feeling less dizzy than before. She asks him to turn around and he does so, leaning his head against the wall. His body feels exhausted. He has only slept a few hours since arriving nearly three days prior. She comes back shaking her wet hands and asking if he slept at all.

He shakes his head and she sits back down, gesturing for him to come closer and lay in her lap again. He hesitates and she wonders why he seems so uncomfortable with it.

"You need to sleep, Pavel. You've slept once since we got here. I don't mind you lying in my lap if it helps... If I'm just making you uncomfortable then-"

He cuts her off, telling her she's not making him uncomfortable. "I appreciate it. It makes it a lot easier for me to sleep. I'm not uncomfortable, just not accustomed to close contact like that I guess. But thank you, I don't think I said that last time. I do appreciate it."

She nods, he moves closer and lays his head in her lap. He stares up at the ceiling and she doesn't look to him.

"Does this help?" she says softly, running her long nails through his hair. Her voice melts into his ears. Her words feel so soft, so tender.

"It does," he returns softly. His eyes close and for a minute, he enjoys her touch, just until he slips under.

Pavel wakes to someone in the corridor and he stands up, despite Eadie telling him to get off his ankle. A figure comes to the gate and drops two more loaves into the box, and leaves. He sighs in great relief, sinking back down beside her.

"Good morning," she says coolly. "You finally slept for a decent amount of time. Are you feeling better now? You look a little better."

"I zhink so," he says, his accent super obvious when he's not paying attention to it. Eadie gets up and passes a roll to him. They eat in silence, glad to finally have something in their stomachs again. Pavel mutters about craving sugar and she just wants something hot like a soup. He finishes eating, asks her to turn the other way and comes back to put his ankle up.

They go back to their questions game, which just turns into random conversations and Pavel ends up showing her a cool birthmark on the back of his neck. He tells her about his love for space and the universe and she just listens. He talks with such passion as soon as he's on a topic he loves. He tells her about mapping the stars and how he used to make detailed posters for his room.

"You really love our universe, don't you Pavel?"

Out of the hundreds of questions she has asked, that one brings him the most warmth. He finds himself smiling at the thought, nodding and looking to her. She shares a smile knowing that for even just a few minutes of talking, he's somewhere other than the cell.

Eadie feels restless and stretches on the floor for a while. She does another handstand, smiling at him from against the wall. He stretches his good leg out and arches his back until it makes a low pop. She asks if his ankle is alright and he nods. It feels better after he's slept properly.

Someone enters the corridor and Eadie and Pavel look to each other. Their quiet space together suddenly becomes a lot darker and the footsteps seem far louder than they really are.

Two figures enter. Pavel stands in front of Eadie and the two figures grab Pavel, pushing him to the other side of the cell. They hold him down and quickly run a blade over his palm. He yelps in surprise and they let him go, sticking a sheet of thin paper onto his cut and typing something into a scanner probe. They leave him, coming over to Eadie and pinning her arms down. They do the same to her, running a blade across her palm and sticking paper on the wound. They loosen their grip and look to the scanner probe, muttering amongst themselves.

"What do you want from us!?" Pavel yells. They don't even acknowledge him. They walk out and close the bars behind them.

Eadie breaths out and Pavel asks if she's okay. She nods, inspecting her palm and going over to the tap to try and clean it. The paper disintegrates, she just hopes it doesn't get infected. Pavel comes over to wash his and she asks if he's alright as well. He doesn't give an audible answer, just nodding at her softly.

Eadie falls asleep and Pavel takes watch, putting his ankle up and crossing his arms.

"Pavel," she says softly, he looks over and she's still lying down.

"Yes?"

"I'm really glad you're here. I would have gone mad by now if I was alone. I'm really glad you're... That you are such a nice person."

"I'm glad I'm not alone. When you weren't here it was awful. Time felt so painful. We're in this together, though. We can look after one another."

"Yes," she agrees. "In this together. Do you think... do you think we can start sleeping at the same time? It's really hard sitting alone with nothing to do... if we both slept together and woke up together it'd be easier to pass the time."

"Certainly," he says softly, he was thinking the same thing earlier. She sits up and just pulls her jacket around her neck like a pillow, leaning against the wall and patting the tops of her legs.

"Are you certain that's not uncomfortable for your neck? I don't want you to get cramps or anything."

She tells him not to worry about it and he lies down, looking up at the ceiling. Her legs are warm and she starts digging her fingers into his hair.

"Goodnight Eadie. Sleep well."

"Goodnight Pavel."