Angels (Pavel Chekov)

80 - Obstacles

Vienna turns out to be right and half an hour later there's an aftershock that's just noticeable enough to make everyone jump again. Vienna keeps an eye on Pavel but he's okay a second time around. As soon as it's finished Vienna wants to know how Selwyn can feel them before everyone else. On both occasions he was on his feet before anyone else even felt tremors. Selwyn doesn't actually know why and puts it down to just being a Kelzenone thing.

That night everyone returns to their own dorms for a while and Pavel asks Vienna if she'll stay over. David isn't around and they feel like a little time to themselves might be nice. He swings her hand as they walk and Pavel mentions that Hikaru was the pilot for the Enterprise. When he fell off the drill, Pavel was the one who caught him and Vienna smiles at the thought of Pavel saving more lives.

Pavel manages to cook pizzas without them burning and grins to himself madly when Vienna tells him it tastes good. He kisses her while they eat and he tells her about everything that has been happening in engineering. He gets lost in his own little world and Vienna smiles as she listens.

Vienna stays the night and starts kissing along Pavel's neck when he gets into bed.

"It's your turn this time," she whispers softly.

"Oh," he mutters, his voice laced with uncertainty. He panicked last time. He worries it'll just happen again. "Maybe another time? I'm really tired after today..."

"Another time," she agrees softly, kissing his cheek.

His body aches in protest but he cuddles up to her and tries to sleep. It's like his lower half is screaming at him to take the opportunity but he doesn't, knowing that alarm bells he feels going off are there for a reason.

Vienna wakes up to find Pavel in the kitchen downing a full water bottle. She's seeing him in shorts for the first time in forever and he notices her standing there.

"Good morning," he says softly. "I'm all sweaty, I'm going to have a shower."

"How far did you run?"

"Ah... Maybe three kilometres? I don't know, I'm not tracking how far I run. I just go until I feel better then I come back and shower."

"I need to have a shower too actually. Do you want to have one together?"

"Yes, yes I would," he smiles, putting his water bottle down.

He follows her into the bathroom and she shuts the door, pulling her shirt off and tossing it to the floor. Pavel removes his own shirt and watches her turn the tap on. He removes his shorts while she's not looking. He's in his undies and she's in her pyjama shorts without a top and she smiles at him before he gets in. He apologises for being all sweaty and she tells him she doesn't mind as she takes her own pajama shorts off before getting in. He lets the water run through his hair and she ruffles her soft fingers through his curls.

They sit on the shower floor together and Vienna shampoos his hair, biting back a laugh as he makes soft noises of appreciation. She does his back after and her hands make him forget all of the things busy in his mind. He feels the knots in his back untie and he lets himself think about the other ways she could make him feel this good.

When they're standing up again, Pavel watches the water run over Vienna and presses her against the shower wall. He kisses her hard and she wraps her arms around his neck. They're pressed up so close together. He starts kissing along her jaw and neck and she lets out warm breaths against his ear.

"Enya," he purrs, one hand on her hip bone and the other one holding himself up against the shower wall.

"Pasha," she moans back, "Pasha, can we... Can we..."

"Definitely," he breathes, turning the shower off and grabbing a towel.

As they get back to the room they look at the clock before looking at one another and sighing. They have fifteen minutes before class starts and they're not even dressed yet.

"Are you free this afternoon? What time do your classes finish today?"

"Around 4pm," Pavel mutters, starting to dry his hair with the towel. He doesn't understand how the time passed so quickly. He frowns at the clock and kisses Vienna's cheek, apologising quietly.

"Back here, 4:30," she says, putting a finger on his breastbone. "I'll be waiting. I'll be here, and I'll be waiting."

"Understood," he says, fixing his posture. She looks him up and down and give him a wink, kissing his cheek and disappearing back into the bathroom. He sighs, fixing his hair and telling himself he needs to try and pull his mind back to his studies.

Midday comes around and Vienna and Pavel are tasked with an obstacle course for their physical training class. Vienna isn't concerned. She can climb and jump over things with minimal issues but Pavel looks either nervous or unfocused. She isn't sure which.

As soon as their group is sent to start Vienna finds out why Pavel seems anxious. He's fast, and a great runner but any obstacle that he encounters is a real challenge for him. Vienna passes him on the second obstacle and tries to focus instead of feeling bad for him. She does well, making it up a rock climbing wall pretty quickly to find another wall she has to scale. She works quickly and makes it all the way to the top, feeling a little dizzy when she realises just how high up she is. The trainers look at each other and note a few things on their PADD. She catches her breath as she waits for everyone else to catch up and she realises that she was one of the first five to get up there and she smiles to herself at the thought.

Pavel is one of the last to make it up the wall and he moves away from the edge as soon as he's over. He looks annoyed and Vienna decides not to point it out.

They have to do another obstacle course and it involves all sorts of different tasks. Vienna has to spider climb twenty meters and makes it to the other side, breathless. Pavel gets five meters before his hand slips and he falls to the mat below with a soft grunt. The class is dismissed a little later and Vienna and a few others are asked to stay behind. Pavel heads out without looking to Vienna and she wonders if he's jealous.

The ten of them that are asked to stay behind are tasked with doing the first obstacle course again one by one and the training staff seem to be timing them. Vienna pushes herself to do the obstacle course as fast as she possibly can and she feels like she does well, getting up the walls much faster than she did earlier.