Angels (Pavel Chekov)

102 - Avos'

Pavel's PADD is buzzing when they wake. He figures Erik is probably asking where he's gone and he sighs, picking it up and trying not to disturb Vienna. He messages him back, telling him they went for a walk and decided to sleep under the stars. He doesn't get a reply and he goes back to sleep, kissing Vienna beside him. She's still deep in a dream as he shuffles beside her. She's wakes up feeling odd and he asks what she was dreaming about.

"I... I was dreaming about us. It was a few years in the future and we were on a starship. We had kids... You were reading to them in Russian... I think it was that book I bought here... I was cooking and it was really calm."

"Maybe it was a premonition," Pavel muses. "Doesn't sound like a bad dream..."

"You know I don't really want kids, Pasha. I honestly think I can be happy without them. Plus, I wouldn't raise them on a starship either. I'd want them to be settled somewhere. Outer space is too dangerous to have a family in."

"Mmm," he says sleepily. "You never know what the future holds. I didn't think I'd ever get a girlfriend while at the academy yet here we are."

Vienna rolls her eyes and tells him they should get breakfast, hoping to avoiding going back to the kids conversation. They pack up and walk back together, a little sore from the ground beneath them. They talk about their day ahead and apparently Erik has something interesting planned. Erik and Selwyn are the only ones awake when they get back and Erik just smirks at them.

"Morning you two. Get much sleep?"

"Plenty," Pavel says coldly, rolling his eyes at his brother.

"Pavel said you've something exciting in store for us today."

"Well, I said it was exciting. I didn't say it would be for anyone else. I'm getting another tattoo."

"Oh, really? What are you thinking of getting?"

Selwyn interrupts by asking what a tattoo is and Erik takes off his shirt, showing Selwyn his paper plane. He explains the permanence of them and how having something in his skin forever makes him feel comforted. Selwyn asks to borrow Erik's PADD and he goes quiet for a few minutes. Erik shows them the idea for his next design. It's a planet and the ring around it is partially made up of faint writing. It's in Russian and Vienna sounds it out.

"Avos'?"

"It means blind trusting in pure luck. It's why I joined Starfleet. It's why I tried talking to Jezzie for the first time. It's been a motto of mine for a little while. I like the idea of having it permanently on me."

"Tattoos will stay on Kelzenone skin," Selwyn mutters. "I want one too. I want something from my home planet. Where do they put it? On your shoulder?"

"Anywhere you want. You can get whatever you want tattooed. Pictures, people, names, dates, objects."

Selwyn nods, digging into his bag and pulling out a book. He starts sketching and muttering about getting the design down so he can chose where to put it. Vienna asks if Pavel would get one and he shrugs.

"Anything that I feel is important enough for me to get etched into my skin is already on my mind all the time anyway. I wouldn't mind getting something but I don't think I'd cope well with the needle."

"Needle?" Selwyn asks, looking up.

"Yes, needle," Vienna mutters. "Tattoos are put on via a needle and they used to be super painful but now the skin is sprayed with a certain anaesthetic that numbs the area whilst it is drawn on."

"I don't have to watch, do I?"

"You can close your eyes or look away or whatever," Erik mutters, pulling his shirt back on.

Saxon appears and asks if Erik's putting on a show. Erik just grins and winks at him, lifting his shirt up the slightest bit as a joke and nodding towards him. They make a start on breakfast and Saxon asks Selwyn about the sketch he's doing and they catch him up on the whole tattoo plan. Saxon removes his own shirt and turns around, showing them a full back tattoo. It's their solar system, done in vivid colours and filled with stars and ending in geometric shapes. Selwyn asks if he can touch it and gently runs his fingers over the design.

"This is incredible! You can just put... Put art like this right into your skin? It's beautiful. The colours... I love it."

Saxon grins and Selwyn asks him to keep his shirt off for a few more minutes so he can brainstorm a few ideas from the design. Vienna shoots Saxon a look, knowing that he's probably enjoying the gentle touches Selwyn is leaving on his back. Saxon smiles back at her, seeing Selwyn too engrossed in tattoo design to notice their silent exchange.