(Untitled)

[nawigator]

Who: Pavel Chekov & Hikaru Sulu [Kinda closed? Not really though/INCOMPLETE]
When: Post-shift
Where: Science Lab A5
Warnings: Awkwardness, fake first dates, potential PG-13 situations

Comments

[lt_swashbuckle]

Unlike Pavel, Hikaru had been in a good, healthy amount of relationships in his life. Real relationships, with affection, infatuation and monogamy. He knew the steps well enough, and yet this made him nervous. It was, really, illogical that he would get nervous at all. He was Hikaru Sulu with nerves of steel. He worked well under pressure, but now he was afraid he would do something stupid. He had been thinking about it, though, convinced himself he had made the right decision. The nerves would just have to take a backseat

[nawigator]

Pavel watched Hikaru interact with the somewhat dangerous looking plant as if it were a kind of baby animal and raised an eyebrow.

"You are befriending a plant called a 'Strangler'?" He questioned, obviously not quite sure it that was a good idea or not.

He set his books and PADD down on the nearest table and came closer, peering at the dangerously named plant from a safe distance.

"Botany was the only class in the academy I almost failed," he confessed, turning his attention from the writhing vines of Figaro back to Hikaru and smiling sheepishly. "I think I am much better with numbers than I am with living things,"

[lt_swashbuckle]

"It strangles to kill its prey. We're too big for it, so it's not really a threat." Hikaru commented with a chuckle on his tongue as he fingers continued to absently fiddle with Figaro's vines.

Beckoning Pavel to come closer, he smiled at him and held out hid hand. "Everyone can learn to be good with living things. Besides, I can't imagine you hurting anything, accidentally or not." It was a silly statement, given that their job occasionally required firing all weapons, so he corrected his statement. "Well, nothing that could be a pet. Come on, he's pretty lucid right now. You could probably touch him and just get a little squeeze."

Hikaru really loved his plants. They were the best pets he could imagine, even if not typically considered such. Somehow, the idea of Pavel and his plants in the same sentence made him feel warm inside.

[nawigator]

"I could hurt things!" The navigator defended himself almost automatically, the habit of dealing with so many insecurities day in and day out, "I would just...Is not something I ever want to do," he finished, wrinkling his nose.

To be completely honest, the idea of having to take a life made him a little woozy. He could not imagine being on an away mission where he had to do so and the idea of Hikaru being in that position again made his heart leap into his throat.

There were times when he just didn't want to deal with how dangerous the reality of this job was, and now was one of them.

Pavel looked as though he wasn't quite sure what to make of the writhing plant as he stepped closer, standing nearly shoulder to shoulder with Hikaru as he reached out his hand. Figaro's vines coiled around his first finger tryingly and snaked up to his palm, making his hand tingle. The vine tightened for a second, almost painful before Pavel pulled back, laughing under his breath.

"I do not think he likes me very much,"

[nawigator]

Pink cheeked and smiling, Chekov chewed absently on the inside of his lip.

"Maybe I do," he would have shrugged but he didn't feel the need to keep the conversation on physics any longer.

"I lied, a moment ago," Pavel confessed coyly, "When I said I would have been jealous of you at the academy. I was jealous of you. Sort of." He laughed at himself, remembering just how awkward he'd been all of 15 and in his classes, fumbling around trying to both do well and not be noticed at the same time, "You are so funny and handsome and popular, I did not think I ever had a chance,"

[lt_swashbuckle]

Hikaru was not used to people being jealous of him--no, that wasn't true. Hikaru was not used to people telling him they had been jealous of him. In the ego department, Hikaru had the equivalent of the fat child complex. He had been a completely underwhelming kid, and while he was quite impressive now, the feeling still stuck with him. He could play extremely confident very well, but really? He knew what he could and couldn't do. The idea of Pavel of all people, the resident genius who wasn't even 18 yet, being jealous of him was a bit confusing. Still, he supposed he had been quite a social person at the Academy, and still was.

Frankly, he was having a bit of high school deja vu. Oddly enough, this was not the first time while on the Enterprise. Maybe it was just a thing that happened with this specific group of people.

"Pavel, you have no idea how awkward a child I was." He assured him, "And don't make me remind you of the difference in our IQs." Hikaru wished he could tell Pavel that he felt similarly while at the

[nawigator]

"IQs are not everything," Pavel shook his head. He'd heard that before - Well, he'd heard that a lot, actually, it seemed to be one of the only things people remembered about that.

Not that that was a bad thing - He liked that people respected how smart he was, but, he wished there were other things people recognized about him too. The grass is always greener, they say.

"Sometimes, I wish I was not so smart, so I could just be normal," he laughed under his breath and shook his head, "Well, I suppose that is not very true. I do not think being normal would be very interesting, but it would be easier." It didn't sound as bad in his head as it did when he said it aloud, "I mean," he sighed, "Well, I guess I do not know what I mean."

He offered a self depreciating and shrugged. Some genius he was.

[lt_swashbuckle]

Normal was an interesting word. It implied so much that didn't really exist. To Hikaru, being normal was in the same strain as useless. After all, what use could you be if you were just like everyone else? Of course, he also believed that almost no one was normal. Everyone had their own thing to add to the human machine.

"Pavel, if you were normal..." With the slight tilt of a frown, Hikaru put his hands on Pavel's shoulders and kissed him again. "If you were normal, I don't think I'd like you as much. You're perfect the way you are."