Angels (Pavel Chekov)

57 - Blame Game

Erik disappears into the bathroom and Vienna asks if Pavel ever told him about the Damien incident. Pavel shakes his head and Vienna sighs.

"Listen, he needs to know. I'd appreciate it if you told him because I don't want to relive it again but he needs to know."

"I need to know what?" Erik asks, raising an eyebrow at Pavel. Pavel looks to Vienna, who nods in encouragement and the three of them sit down. Pavel starts explaining in Russian but Vienna still shivers when Pavel mentions Damien's name. Erik listens without interrupting and Pavel slows down a little as he chooses his words carefully.

Erik looks to Vienna with a sadness in his eyes, looking back to Pavel and saying something in Russian. His tone sounds bitter and Pavel goes silent. Erik repeats what he said and Vienna looks to the two of them, trying to figure out what's going on. Pavel seems to snap and he says something back to Erik in the same bitter tone. Erik stands up angrily and Pavel does the same.

"Wait, what are you two-"

They look like they're about to get into a fight and Vienna stands as well, pushing the two apart and putting herself in the middle of them.

"Someone needs to explain what is happening because I refuse to have you two break into a fist fight in my dorm room. Both of you sit down."

They both glare at one another and sit down. Vienna stays standing, crossing her arms across her chest and asking them again to explain. Pavel looks to her and sighs, realising that he'll have to explain.

"I explained what happened. Erik is saying that I should have done more. That I shouldn't have let it happen."

"What would have happened if the doctor hadn't have shown up, Pavel? You tell me, what would have happened to Vienna? Go on, say it. You won't, will you? You let him in that door, you let him right in without even thinking! Damien wouldn't have been able to get through that fucking door if you'd taken half a second to check who was on the other side. You're damn fucking lucky that the doctor showed up when he did or we all know what Damien would have done. Maybe you should fucking think next time, genius."

Before Vienna can snap at Erik, Pavel does, standing up again and yelling at him in Russian. He takes a deep breath and switches to English, his fists curling by his side. "Whose fault is it that Damien has a Vendetta against me to begin with?? You were the one who started this, not me! You put me in this position in the first place!"

Erik stands up again and Vienna steps in between them. "We are not playing some sort of sick blame game! Both of you sit the hell down before I make you sit down. Pavel isn't at fault here. Don't go insulting him because he opened a door. I would have made the same mistake. I refuse to sit here and play 'what ifs' with what happened because it's over now and I replay the whole thing enough in my head without trying to worry about all the worst case scenarios that didn't happen. Pavel, you and I both know it's no one's fault but Damien's."

Vienna sighs and sinks back down into the chair, her mind going through everything over and over again. Pavel sits down with her and wraps and arm around her, pulling her in close. She wants to go to bed and forget about their conversation.

"Pavel and I might head to bed. You're welcome to stay on the couch if you don't have somewhere else organised, Erik."

"But Vienna," Pavel starts, quickly noticing her exhausted glare and deciding not to argue. He rolls his eyes at Erik, who thanks her and bids them goodnight.

Vienna lays down on the bed and sighs, watching Pavel as he removes his shirt. She does the same and he's too busy trying to remove his shoes that he doesn't even notice. Vienna finds the shirt that she normally sleeps in and holds it over her chest as she removes her bra. She tells Pavel to close his eyes for a minute and he does so, not questioning it. She removes her skirt and replaces it with shorts as well and kisses him on the cheek when he can look again. He starts taking the other shoe off and yawns, a little agitated that Vienna let Erik stay.

Pavel and Vienna sleep surprisingly well. Pavel is up before Vienna and he holds her for a little while, thinking through the day before. They had such a beautiful afternoon and Pavel worries that his fighting with Erik spoiled it all. He gets out of bed and lets her sleep a little longer, feeling that she may need it.

After waking up alone, Vienna finds Pavel in the kitchen talking to Erik. They seem to be reasonably calm, she wonders if Erik apologised. They're eating porridge and Vienna just comes up behind Pavel and hugs around his waist.

"Good morning, Enya," he says softly.

"Good morning," she yawns back, kissing his cheek and sitting next to him.

"Enya?" Erik asks, raising an eyebrow at Pavel. Pavel goes to explain and Erik interrupts, muttering something in Russian and not making eye contact with either of them.

Pavel ignores him and turns to Vienna, asking if she slept well. She nods and tells him that she was dreaming about an alien planet that had moving lights on its soil. She's still a little dazed and yawns as Erik and Pavel continue their conversation from earlier.

Vienna makes some toast as she listens to Erik and Pavel and she realises she's picking up more words than she used to. Most of what she picks up are question words and pronouns but it's a start at least. They speak a lot faster than she's prepared for, but she still loves listening to the language.

Erik heads out into the city while Vienna and Pavel get ready for classes and as soon as they're alone, Pavel takes the opportunity to kiss her again. They have another twenty minutes before they need to be in class and Pavel plans to make the most of it.

"Did I ever tell you that cadet red really suits you?" She smiles undoing the top button on his collar. He feels his cheeks going the same shade as his uniform and he pulls her in closer, kissing along her neck.

"We're going to get all worked up right before class," she mutters. "That's probably not a good idea. We can go back to your room after if you want to be away from Erik. I don't mind."

"Yes, later," he agrees, doing his button back up. "I'm sorry about last night. I was really upset by what Erik said..."

"He was really out of line."

"Listen, Vienna," Pavel starts, looking into her eyes. "The thing is, he's right. I should have checked who was on the other side before opening it. It would have taken a split second and you wouldn't have had to..."

"Pav," she says softly. "I don't blame you. It was a simple mistake. Don't get hung up on it. I probably would have done the same thing. Don't let Erik make it into something bigger than it is."

Pavel takes a deep breath and nods, taking her hands and squeezing them. They get their things ready for class and walk together, glad that the tension has died down enough.

(Author's Note)

Good morning from Tokyo y'all
Hope you enjoy ✌️