something to do (Pavel Chekov)

6

Perhaps I should have started the story with this, but I would like to add a warning here for mature content. Read at your own discretion.

Two days later Eadie's prediction comes true. She goes with Pavel's idea, though her cheeks blaze profusely. She doesn't have the energy to exercise and she sits on the bench, watching Pavel. Her stomach aches and she clenches her eyes shut, wishing she had some sort of medication to regulate the pain. Her arms are crossed over her stomach and she sighs.

"Period pain?" he guesses, and she just gives a small nod.

"I haven't gotten it this bad in a while. My entire lower half is paralysed. Is it cold or am I imagining it?"

"It's not cold but you're probably low on iron after only eating bread for so long." He stands and takes his jacket off, wrapping around her shoulders. She thanks him softly and pulls it tightly around her.

"You know, you singing would make me feel better," she jokes, giving him a soft smile and sitting up a little. He clears his throat and she cocks an eyebrow at him.

"I'll sing if it will make you feel better," he says, noting her slightly confused expression. One part of her wants to tell him not to do that just to make her feel better but she wants to hear, even if it'll be awkward for a few minutes. "Maybe we can sing something together though? Just so your voice drowns mine out a little. I'm not a great singer but I'll sing if it's the two of us."

"Any requests?"

He thinks for a while and tries to run his mind through any songs she might know. She watches him furrow his eyebrows and starts singing, picking a random song in the vague hope he'll know it. She has a good feeling about it and he smiles as she starts singing, waiting a few counts and singing with her. He sings softly, not wanting his voice any louder than audible.

For just a minute or so, they're somewhere other than a small, dark cell. Eadie closes her eyes and imagines being back on the balcony in her apartment. Pavel dreams of standing in the snow and looking up at the stars. He misses the sky as much as he misses warm meals and clean clothes. They finish their song and sigh, going silent. Eadie wipes her eyes, noticing frustrated tears that weren't there a few minutes prior.

"They'll come get us, right Pavel? Starfleet, they'll come back for us right?"

"They will," he says firmly, though for the first time since they were captured, he doesn't quite believe it.

A few songs later they go back to their daily routine of learning languages and talking about their lives. Pavel tells her about the first time he got lost in San Francisco and about falling off his sled when he was seven and breaking his wrist. Eadie tells him about a pet rabbit she had as a child and about one time her sister cut her hair hen she was fourteen. 'It was a big deal at the time,' she tells him, reminiscent of how she refused to talk to her sister for a week.

"Have any siblings?" She asks, surprised that of all the questions they've asked that this hasn't come up already.

"I'm the youngest of five."

"Five??"

"Three brothers and a sister. All my brothers work as miners. My sister is a surgeon."

"Are your brothers as intelligent as you are?"

"I think the three of them share an IQ of about seventy. They're not bright. My family jokes about my sister and I getting all of the brains that my brothers should have had. I get along with my sister alright but I only talk to my brothers at family gatherings."

"Must be hard being the youngest of five. I just have one sister and it's more than enough."

"They teased me a lot."

"Did they tease you about not talking to girls? Is that why you're scared?"

He goes quiet and shakes his head. "It wasn't them."

"I had this thought a while ago but are you asexual? I'm not judging you or anything, Pavel. I'm just curious."

"I'm not asexual either," he says flatly. His mind is ticking and she can tell he has something on his tongue. "I don't know if I can talk about it," he mutters, running a hand through his hair. "I trust you, don't get me wrong but this has never left my mouth. I feel like I want to tell you because I don't know how long I'll be here but..."

"If you're uncomfortable, you don't have to. There's no harm done in not telling me."

"I was eleven," he blurts quickly. His hands and gripping the material of his pants and Eadie feels like she may have started something she shouldn't have. "I... I need to tell someone," he says, looking over to her. He gets up off the floor and sits opposite her on the bench. His breathing is a little laboured. "I was eleven. I was staying over at my cousin's house. The rest of my family was travelling to go to a funeral but I had an exam so I had to stay in the area. It was the last night I was staying. I was up studying and my uncle came into my room. I thought he was going to tell me to go to bed."

Eadie gets a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach and Pavel pauses. He's going through it again in his head and she can see the pale fear in his eyes.

"I closed my textbook and... My uncle shut my bedroom door. He said he needed to talk to me. We sat down together. We talked for ages. I told him about my exam and everything. I was a little nervous about it and he said he'd help me relax... We had hot chocolate for a while but I felt funny after drinking it... He... He..."

"Pavel, please don't tell me he..."

His eyes are clouding over now and Eadie shakes her head, waiting for him to tell her anything but what she's thinking.

"I yelled out but my aunt and my cousin are deaf... I couldn't push him off me! He... He started grabbing me between my legs... I... Eadie, I can't keep going. I can't say the rest. I don't want to remember it again."

She puts a hand on his shoulder and he quickly dries his eyes, drawing a deep breath.

"I need to tell someone, or it'll eat me alive. I need to tell you Eadie, I need to get it off my chest. He... He grabbed me through my jeans and told how pretty he thought I was. I started crying and he just got angry. I barely remember the rest. Whatever he gave me just made everything go fuzzy. I got dizzy and kept crying and he pulled my pants off."

"Pavel," she says, her voice barely a whisper. "Pavel I'm so sorry."

"He raped me," Pavel finally says, his voice shaking. "My aunt asked why I was throwing up in the morning. She asked why I refused to go to my exam. My hands were shaking so bad I could barely sign. She asked why I was acting so strange. I signed 'nightmare'."

She moves his hair from his eyes and pulls him close. He cries and his hands shake, he tries to apologise and Eadie tells him to just try and get some breath into his lungs.

"I feel better. I feel better telling you. I knew I would. I... I don't have to hold it anymore. Thank you, for listening."

She wipes her own eyes. She's crying for her friend, for a boy who went through something no one should ever have to go though. Her heart aches deeply for him and she rubs her hand in gentle circles on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry you went through that. I probably shouldn't have kept asking but as long as you feel comforted in telling someone."

He nods, leaning back against the wall. He asks if they can sing again for a while. She has no objections. 

(Author's Note)

I hope you're enjoying. I love a good character study and exploration of personality.

Would love some feedback 😊

Clover ♪