Angels (Pavel Chekov)

15 - Last Boyfriend

Pavel wakes up with Vienna on his chest and he gently brushes her hair from her eyes. She's still asleep and he watches her for a while, smiling to himself. He wraps his arm around her and stares up at the ceiling, thinking about how different his life is with her around.

"Pavel?" She asks, her eyes blinking open. "You're awake. You're awake, you sleepyhead."

He grins and she rubs her eyes, yawning and readjusting herself a little.

"Good morning to you too," he says softly. He thinks about how much he loves it when she uses his name and kisses her forehead. They stay cuddled up for a while before Vienna gets up to go to the bathroom. Pavel stretches out as she's in the bathroom, taking his shirt off and tossing it to the floor. He inspects his arm, which looks better than it has in a long while. It feels good and one part of him has a deep wanting to get better, especially for Vienna. He looks up and sees her looking concerned in the doorway.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm good," he answers truthfully. "I'm really good. I... I haven't been like this in a while."

She smiles, heading into the kitchen. He lays back down and calls out to her to come back over. She finishes a glass of juice and smiles at him before climbing back into bed. She cuddles close to him and he starts thinking. He holds her as he thinks, words in his head that he's trying to sort out. He sits up quickly, opening his mouth to say something but closing it. He frowns, realising he's making himself look like an idiot.

"Pavel?"

"Please be my girlfriend!" He blurts out quickly, covering his mouth and swearing under his breath in Russian. "I mean... I mean... Ah, I'm sorry, that went a lot more smoothly in my head."

"You're blushing," she points out, sitting up to match his height.

He places his hand on his cheek, sighing to himself. "I'm sorry, I just get nervous and can't say what I'm thinking."

"Would you like to try again?"

He takes a deep breath, trying to figure out what he wants to say. "Vienna," he starts. "I care for you very much and... I've been trying to ask you for so long, I should have this thought out by now. You mean the world to me, I really want to be your boyfriend."

She smiles, kissing his cheek. "Yes. I would love you to be my boyfriend. I would love that. I've been waiting for you to ask. I was hoping you'd ask when we nearly kissed on your birthday."

"I'm sorry it took so long," he says, with an apologetic smile.

Her hands hook around his neck and bring their lips together. "Worth the wait," she mutters.

They spend a few days apart while the last of their assignments are due. Pavel finds himself fighting the urge to ask her over. He knows she's finishing an assignment, that she needs time to work on it, but he feels so lonely without the company. His roommate shows up for a few hours but it's not really the same.

Vienna finally comes over and Pavel hugs her tightly for what feels like ages.

"I haven't been gone long," she smiles, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek.

"I know, I know but it feels like forever. It's been lonely here."

"We should find you some friends. You need more company than just me."

He doesn't voice an opinion on the idea. She isn't sure if that's a good thing or not. She puts a bag down on his floor with some spare clothes. He asks if she wants to go out for dinner and one part of her just wants to stay in. It's starting to rain outside and she's tired from studying so much.

"I can't cook well," he admits.

Vienna smiles, a little amused. "I can cook. A little bit anyway. Do you eat eggs? And maybe toast too, something easy. Or pasta."

"I eat anything except mushrooms. I also had a reaction to a mango when I was four and I haven't tried it since but I'm sure I've probably grown out of it."

"Why not mushrooms?"

"The whole fungus and spores thing creeps me out. I don't remember them tasting nice either. Are there any foods you don't eat?"

She thinks for a second, nodding. "A few. I don't like seafood much. I can't stand zucchini. I don't really like tomato either. I'm also a little uneasy about alien foods. The rest of my family loved trying foods from different planets but I was always a little unsettled by the idea."

"You haven't told me much about your family," he points out, his eyes following her as she goes into the kitchen.

"You haven't told me much about yours either, have you? What about your brother? Are you close with him?"

He laughs a little at the thought, coming over and sitting on the kitchen bench. "Not at all. We are very different people. He's a huge flirt when he wants to be. We don't talk much but we don't hate each other or anything. Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"A sister. She's two years younger and her name is Sydel. I message her a lot. She knows about you. I hope you can meet her one day. She likes mathematics like you. I'm sure you two would get along. I lived with my mum and dad too. They know about you as well. As far as they're aware you're just my friend but I'll eventually get around to telling them that we're a couple. I'm a bit hesitant. They hated my last boyfriend."

Pavel looks up, a thousand questions swimming in his head. He realises he's making an uncomfortable silence. "Sorry, your last boyfriend?"

"Yeah... Back in high school. Only lasted like three months. Someone took a photo of him kissing an alien girl in a park when we were still together."

"If you don't mind my asking, was I not your first kiss?"

She shakes her head and he feels his heart sink a little. He didn't know why he assumed he was her first but something about her already having kissing another guy disheartens him a little. He wonders if he was a worse kisser than her first boyfriend and he starts hitting a dark spiral really quickly.

"Sorry," he apologises. "I just... I shouldn't have assumed that I was your first kiss. I don't know why I did..."

"Don't worry," she says, seeing his concern. "My kiss with you was a million times better than my kiss with him. I like you substantially more than I liked him as well. This feels a lot more real."

He grins, feeling his heartbeat pick up quickly. She gives him a smile and a peck on the cheek as she fills a pot with water. His cheeks redden substantially, and he asks if he can give her any help cooking. She shakes her head and puts the pot on the stove, turning it on and putting a questionably large amount of pasta into it. Pavel asks if she's added too much and she just rolls her eyes at him.