Angels (Pavel Chekov)

33 - Food Flat

After an hour or so, Pavel wakes up with a jolt and starts hyperventilating. Vienna sits up and puts her hand on his back, trying to straighten his posture so he can get more air into him. He sees her and starts sobbing, wrapping his arms around her and muttering in fast Russian.

"Your ship got blown up," he says, trying to calm himself down. "I... It was right on my viewscreen and I knew you were on the ship but it just got his by this blast and I knew..." His breath starts catching again and she encourages him to breathe with her.

"You're alright," she says softly. "It was just a dream. You're okay. You're here with me."

"I love you," he mutters, hiding his face in the crook of her neck. "I love you, Enya."

"And I love you, Pavel. Come into the kitchen and we can get something to eat, hm? You need some good food in you."

He nods, going with her into the kitchen. She passes him a glass of water and he thanks her, nursing it slowly. She makes a start on cooking and talks to him as she does. She tells him a little about her trip and about fighting with her sister again when she was there. She visited a few friends and her grandfather came over to see her. He likes hearing her stories, sitting there with his chin resting on his palm.

She asks if he's been writing in his journal still and he nods, reaching across the bench to grab it. He starts filling in from today and he reads back over the last few days, realising just how messy his head has been.

"Even your writing looks a little different in the past few pages. I'm sorry I wasn't here with you these past few days."

"It's not your fault," he mutters, turning back to today's page. "I should have gone to see McCoy again after my first few messy days."

"Just how bad was it?"

"I was upset over everything. I dropped a spoon and started crying. It was awful."

"Sounds like me when I'm on my period," she mutters, giving one of the pots a stir. "I cry over everything if I'm not on some kind of medication. I used to purposely not take this medication I had to regulate it, because it gave me really bad acne. I know what it's like. It's horrible."

He smiles a little, glad that she understands. He writes as she cooks and listens to her soft humming. Whatever she's cooking smells nice and he realises just how hungry he is. He hasn't eaten any real sort of food in the past few days. He's been living off eggs, porridge, toast and a few other minimal cooking meals. She passes him a bowl and she takes a seat beside him.

"Thank you," he says softly. She's made some kind of soup and he doesn't know what it is but it smells divine and he kisses her cheek before tasting it. It warms his whole body and he takes a second just to savour it.

She sees him hovering his spoon over the bowl and frowns, worried that he doesn't like it. "You don't like it?" She asks, trying not to seem to disheartened.

"No, not at all. It's really good, I'm just... I haven't had a proper meal in a week. This is... It's just what I needed."

She smiles, sticking her spoon back into her own bowl and shuffling her chair a little closer to his. He finishes the whole bowl and goes back for a second, Vienna smiling to herself as he does. He finishes the second bowl not long after and feels a million times better.

"You look better," she notes, watching as he puts their bowls in the sink. "Maybe you were a little food flat."

"I feel better," he mutters, stretching his arms above his head. "A lot better. I feel warm and full."

She smiles a satisfied smile, glad to see an improvement in his mood. He cuddles her on the couch and they watch a movie. He tightens around her waist a little and tells himself things won't be near as bad with her around.

Pavel, however, is wrong. He wakes up feeling better but goes out for a walk with Vienna and everything gets worse very quickly. They're walking together, hand in hand and walk right into Damien and a few of his friends. They swallow uneasily and notice that Damien lacks the smug aura he usually carries. He seems angry and looks menacing, his lips pursed tightly together.

"Do you remember what it was I said last time that we ran into each other, Jerk-off?"

Pavel swallows. "I do," he says simply, standing tall and trying not to look half as scared as he feels. "You told me that Vienna would never love me. And it turns out you were wrong."

Vienna looks at Pavel with the softest hint of a smile and Damien frowns at them.

"Last time, I gave you a warning. I told you to stay away from her."

"Listen," Vienna bites, taking a step towards Damien. "That is not for you to determine. Don't go ordering Pavel around as if you have any kind of say in who I spend my time with. I'm not yours and I never will be. I am my own person, I'm not some sort of toy that you don't want to share. I'm not interested in you. I am in love with Pavel and your threats aren't going to change that."

Damien smiles as if that's exactly what he was wanting to hear.

He takes her arm and pulls her away, just out of hearing distance of Pavel. He lunges forward at Damien but his friends keep Pavel in place and he starts freaking out.

"You listen to me," Damien grunts, his tone dropping. "You're going to be mine eventually, whether you like it or not. I'm not letting another Chekov get in the way this time. He's just another obstacle to me. I could get rid of him in a heartbeat. Don't push me. I'm giving you one month to end things with him, or I will end him. Got it?"

Vienna goes silent and takes a step back from him.

"What are you saying, Damien?"

"I'm saying, if you like your little Russian over there, leave him. For his safety."

"Not going to happen," she bites, walking away. She pushes past Damien's friends and takes Pavel's hand. They go to walk away and Damien sticks his foot out, managing to catch Pavel's ankle as he goes. Pavel falls face first into the grass and they laugh, heading off in the other direction. Vienna helps him up and he steps away from her, brushing the dirt off of him and wiping his eyes. There's a defeat in his eyes and Vienna sighs.

"I want to go," he mutters. "I want to go back."

She doesn't argue, just walking with him back to his room. His lips are tightly pursed and he is yet to make eye contact. They get back and Pavel walk straight into the bathroom.

"Pasha," She calls out, realising he's not going to come back out. She can hear the shower turn on and she sighs against the door, wishing their relationship wasn't as challenging as she's finding it. She takes a seat on the sofa as she waits and finds herself getting teary. She doesn't know what she's doing. She's anxious, she's tired and she wants some space. She picks her bag back up and looks at the door.

"What are you doing, Vienna?" She asks herself, running a hand through her hair. A voice in her head tells her to leave before she just upsets him further. She takes her bag and goes, messaging his PADD on the way out. She wipes her eyes and keeps walking, telling herself to stay strong.

(Author's Note)

Had writer's block for a week or so but I think it's clear now which is great. I'll be in Japan for the whole month of February and don't know if I want to take my laptop with me. I'll still be uploading regularly because I have so many chapters written ahead.

Hope you enjoy ♪
~ Clover