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Pavel Chekov didn’t know what he was getting into when he showed Lieutenant Sulu the flower. Honest, he didn’t.
*
Chekov willed the flush from his cheeks as he shifted his weight from foot to foot outside Hikaru’s door. The minute wait between him buzzing and the door finally sliding open seemed like an eternity, and he fussed with the iridescent blue buds as though he could somehow make it grow bigger and better through willpower alone. It was probably for the best that he was giving it to Sulu, Pavel had never been particularly good with plants.
The door opened, finally, and Pavel froze. He smiled sheepishly up at Hikaru, who had his eyebrows raised at the obviously nervous ensign now thrusting a plant towards him.
“For you,” Pavel said simply, pushing the plant into Hikaru’s hands. He stared resolutely at the ground.
“Wh…” Hikaru trailed off, tentatively passing a finger behind one of the petals and being shocked when he saw it clear as day behind, impeded only by a network of pulsing blue veins. “You- this is for me?” He said, incredulously, staring down at Chekov with his eyebrows raised and a look of pure surprise on his face, as though he couldn’t understand why someone would do this for him.
Chekov nodded.
“Would you just take it?” He asked, cheeks an adorable shade of red, practically begging. Hikaru snapped into action, taking the plant from him. Pavel’s shoulders slackened, finally relaxing a little.
“Thank you, Pavel, really,” Sulu said, eyes studying every inch of the plant. He couldn’t wipe the grin from his face. A waxy green stem shot up from the soil Chekov must’ve planted it in, and from it hung five separate flowers, all a shimmering blue. The transparent quality was inherent in all of them, and if Hikaru squinted he could see the network of pathways inside all leading to the centre of the flower, where a large golden spray of pollen hung down. It wasn’t unlike Earth’s orchid, if you ignored the alien colouring.
“Where did you get it?”
“Betalora II, yesterday,” Chekov replied, now smiling a little himself. “Thought it’d make a good addition to your collection, so I took a cutting and hid it in my sleeve. Lucky the transporter didn’t filter it out, I guess. Anyway, I planted it last night - just a little sapling - and this morning it’s like this!” Hikaru grinned as Chekov went on, “And, I mean, I am terrible with plants. Not like you at all. So it must be made of some real powerful stuff if it can grow like this in a night, but also grow after whatever I did to it.”
“I’ve never heard of anything like it,” Hikaru admitted, a little breathless, gaze switching between the adorably nervous ensign and the plant. A beat passed between them.
“Do you want to come-“
“Well, better go!”
They stared at each other, Chekov’s flush deepening. “I- uh, I have… duties,” He sputtered, before giving Hikaru a lopsided smile and starting off down the hallway. Hikaru watched him leave, grinned at the plant, and brought it inside.
*
Pavel was asleep. Asleep on the bridge. It was a particularly slow shift, stars drifting by in a monotonous blur. This wasn’t unusual for bridge duty, however the blow was usually softened by being able to talk to Sulu. Today, however, the pilot seemed unusually on edge and whenever Pavel spoke to him the conversation died soon after. So he’d given up, rested his head in his hands, and promptly fell asleep.
“Chekov!” Hikaru hissed, shaking the ensign’s shoulder and looking around to see if they were being observed. No one was paying them any mind. “Wake up!”
Chekov woke with a start, head slipping off his hand and banging onto the console in front of him. He muttered some Russian curse through his teeth, quickly sitting to attention and cradling his wounded head.
“Shit, Hikaru!” He hissed, before seeming to realise where they were. He glanced around. No one had seemed to notice his little… slip up. Sulu was grinning at him. Chekov was about to make some comment about how in Russia waking people was punishable by death, when something caught his eye.
A sliver of blue, almost invisible, fading in and out in the overhead light. Chekov’s breath caught in his throat. It was a petal - a petal from the flower he gave Hikaru - and he’d pressed it. Hikaru had pressed it and pinned it to the underside of his collar. He broke regulation. He thought, dumbly, mind struggling to keep up. Hikaru looked at him with a funny sort of expression.
“Hardly. They won’t notice,” He said, and Chekov startled again.
“Huh?” Had he said that out loud? Now it was Sulu’s turn to blush.
“Nothing, don’t worry,” He amended, quickly turning back to his post and busying himself with a screen Pavel knew hadn’t changed for hours. Pavel rubbed his forehead. Maybe he’d hit it harder than he thought.
Sulu’s shift ended and he left the bridge before Chekov could get a word in edgewise. The ensign was a little put down - usually they made plans or at least said goodbye - so when his own shift ended an hour later and he spotted Hikaru walking ahead of him in the corridor, he considered approaching. Should I say hi? Ask if he wants some lunch? He wondered, but remembered how wound up he’d seemed earlier. He didn’t want to crowd him. Just as he’d decided against making himself known, Sulu swung around.
“Oh, Pavel!” He exclaimed, smiling. Chekov stopped dead in his tracks.
“Sulu, hi,” He responded.
“Want to get some lunch?” Sulu asked, eyebrows raised. Chekov grinned.
“It’s like you read my mind,”
*
“Argh!” Chekov groaned, scrubbing a hand down his face. He hated how warm his cheeks were, and how messy he’d probably made his hair. He paced back and forth across his quarters. The problem: his little crush on his best friend was becoming harder and harder to ignore, ever since he’d given Hikaru that stupid flower.
In the days that followed after Chekov spotted the petal on Sulu’s neck, it was like the pilot could see right through him. Even worse - it was like he was enjoying it. Sulu would do something, and Pavel would feel the usual rush of ‘oh, that’s hot’ and suddenly Sulu would be doing it ten times more. It was entirely overwhelming. It was like he tried to reduce the ensign to a flushing, stuttering mess in the corridors, the cafeteria, the turbo lift. Pavel was just glad he hadn’t pulled anything while they were on duty. Then it hit him. If Hikaru could play dirty - why couldn’t Pavel? He glanced at where one of the original offcuts from the plant lay discarded on his desk, miraculously still living. He bit back a grin.
An hour later, Pavel was walking onto the bridge, a delicate petal tickling his neck. It gave him confidence as he made his way past the captain to his post.
“There’s the ensign, he’s late,” Kirk said, suddenly, from behind him. Chekov whipped around, eyebrows furrowed.
“Late, sir?” He asked. He could’ve sworn he was on time… Captain Kirk glanced up from a PADD, eyebrows raised.
“Only by a minute, Mr Chekov,” He replied, and Pavel felt multiple eyes on him.
“But you…” The captain just stared. “I see. Apologies.” He turned around again with a curt nod and sat next to Sulu, utterly confused. The lieutenant was staring at him.
“Does he…” Sulu’s voice cut clean into his mind, and Chekov snapped his head up. “Oh, shit,” Sulu exclaimed without moving his mouth, eyes wide, and busied himself at his station. Pavel’s head hurt. Did he just… hear people’s thoughts? He knew he should go to medical, get it checked out. But the thought of spending a day with Bones… he decided against it. It was probably nothing, after all.
The rest of his shift passed relatively easily (being an ensign meant people didn’t think of you all too often) and Sulu seemed particularly guarded. Chekov thought he knew why. For that reason, he excused himself at the end of his shift and scurried back to his quarters similar to the way Hikaru had a few days ago.
*
Pavel drew in a deep breath as he took his position on the bridge the next day. He could do this. He would go and see Dr Mccoy after his shift, and it’d all be over. Hikaru smiled at him.
“He must’ve showered, his hair is all fluffy,” Hikaru’s voice echoed in his head, and Chekov shifted a little, forcing a smile off his face. I have got to stop enjoying this. He thought, then noticed Sulu’s pleased expression and realised he probably heard that. He turned to his work and concentrated harder than he ever had in his life.
They were finally doing something - delivering supplies to a colony - so keeping himself busy was surprisingly easy. Pavel had almost forgotten that he seemed to be able to hear when people were thinking about him. Almost.
“Wonder how his hair would look after I run my hands through it…” Floated through his mind, and he froze. He snuck a glance at his best friend, who was staring resolutely at his panel. This was just unfair. “Bet it’d feel soft. It looks soft. Bet he’d smell nice too… gotta find a way to test that,”
“Mr Chekov, have all the supplies been replicated for the colony?” The captain called, and for a moment Pavel forgot he was supposed to answer things and not just listen. There was a beat of silence, the ensign watching a grin split over Hikaru’s face, before he answered.
“Um, supplies? Yes, sir. I mean no. But they will be ready within the hour.” He stammered, a blush crawling up his cheeks. He cursed inwardly as the captain raised an eyebrow.
“I see,” He said, before turning to a yeoman. Chekov breathed out, staring angrily at Sulu.
“That is not fair!” He exclaimed, projecting the thought. Sulu heard.
“Didn’t realise it’d affect you so much,” Hikaru replied, and Chekov could feel the smugness in his voice.
“Yes you did!”
“Seeing you mess up in front of the captain was worth it anyway.”
“So you’re praying for my downfall?”
“No, I just like when you get all flustered,”
And if that didn’t send him over the edge. Chekov turned scarlet (really, he had to stop blushing, it was getting out of hand) and bit his lip.
“Cute.”
“Stop!” Chekov exclaimed aloud, exasperated. The crew were staring. He ran a hand through his hair - was Hikaru watching? - and scrunched his eyes shut.
“How about you two take your lunch break?” Kirk said, seeming both confused but also entirely understanding at the same time. Chekov thought he could have married him in that moment.
“Yes, thank you Sir,” He said with a nod, before following Sulu into the turbolift.
They didn’t say a word the entire walk to the cafeteria, and Chekov made an effort to keep his thoughts resolutely away from Hikaru. Hikaru, and his apparent soft spot for Pavel’s hair. Dammit.
As he sat down with his tray, the ensign suddenly had the alarming notion that Sulu might not sit with him. Sure, Chekov had been embarrassed on the bridge, and was still coming to terms with this new… development in the turbolift, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t opposed to what Sulu seemed to think. And it certainly didn’t mean he was ready to give up his best friend. Suddenly feeling as though he’d made a mistake, Chekov scanned the room for the pilot, mentally preparing what he’d say. Finally he found him. Sulu was walking across the room right to him.
Pavel just stared as Hikaru sat down, and Pavel shuffled nervously, went to speak- when Hikaru broke into his signature grin. Chekov sighed, visibly relaxing, and shook his head with a smile.
“God, I thought I’d messed up,” He muttered, as Hikaru started into his bowl of pasta. He looked at him quizzically.
“You? How?” He asked, mouth full. Chekov stuck his tongue out.
“Gross. I thought I might have seemed upset earlier,”
“Please,” Hikaru laughed, “You seemed a lot of things, but upset wasn’t one of them,”
Chekov blushed furiously.
“Hikaru!” He whined, and Hikaru laughed.
“And here you are, proving my point,”
Pavel rolled his eyes, watching Sulu eat. That pasta actually looks really good… He stared down at his own sandwich with a frown. Hikaru looked up suddenly, and smirked. He nudged his bowl over to Pavel.
“What…”
“Just have it,” Hikaru smiled, "I don't want it anyway.
Chekov grinned, eagerly taking the bowl and swallowing a mouthful. It tasted as good as it looked. He smiled.
“Worth it.” Floated into his mind, and he noticed Hikaru watching his expression. He actually cares how I feel. Chekov thought, fork hovering forgotten in the air. It was something he’d always assumed, what with them being best friends, but hearing it was a different type of confirmation.
“Of course I do,” Something about that statement, ‘of course’, convinced Pavel. He was done dancing around it. He took a deep breath, and of course Hikaru received some notion of what Pavel was about to do telepathically because he leaned in a little, hand inching closer across the table.
“Hikaru, would you want to-“ He was cut off by the screech of an alarm, and the cafeteria lights bathing them in red. They startled, jumping away from each other, and got up.
“Red alert. All crew to battle stations.”
Chekov stared, wide eyed, at Sulu. Their communicators chirped simultaneously.
“Mr Sulu and Mr Chekov, report to transporter room two,” The captain's voice ordered, and they lurched into action.
*
Pavel held his breath as he and Sulu materialised in the unfamiliar lab. Spock had filled them in - the Romulans had attacked a Federation research post orbiting a moon with unusual properties, and left it defenceless and dying. Out of the fifty occupants, twenty life signs had shown up on the Enterprise’s scanners. They were to search their section of the base and provide aid to any injured.
Chekov breathed out as he glanced around, seeing a definite lack of casualties or people of any kind. He steeled himself, reaching for his tricorder and moving around in a slow arc.
“No life signs in this area,” He informed Sulu, who was moving slowly ahead with a phaser in one hand. Having hand-to-hand combat experience qualified him for these sorts of missions, and Chekov? He supposed it was all just another part of his training as an ensign. Despite the feeling of safety Sulu managed to instil in him, if he could get through this without seeing an injured person, he’d sleep easy.
“They must all be in the other sections,” Hikaru said, completing his sweep and slipping the phaser back into his belt. Pavel’s heart rate slowed.
They were in a large room, fluorescents flickering in an uneasy pattern of red, to white, to nothing. An alarm droned in the distance, and the tang of smoke hung in the air. Exposed wire trailed from the ceiling, throwing sparks over abandoned test tubes and petri dishes littering the surfaces. They had been assigned both this room and the medical bay next door, connected by a thin corridor. Said corridor was currently blocked by a large metal beam, groaning under the weight of other debris and the ceiling of the corridor itself, whose supports had collapsed. Pavel walked towards it, and suddenly his knees buckled and he went flying forwards as he stumbled over a chunk of steaming metal.
“Pavel!” Shot through his mind, quick as a bullet, and a hand gripped his arm and righted him before he could fall. “Is he okay?”
“I’m fine,” Pavel smiled, and Sulu seemed to breathe again, nodding. Chekov turned back to the corridor and bent down, holding his tricorder to the entrance.
“Looks like there’s a passage through,” He said, and Sulu frowned.
“You sure? Doesn’t seem stable to me,”
Sulu pushed experimentally on the beam, first a little, then practically threw himself against it. It didn’t budge, just emanated a few more creaks. Hikaru raised an eyebrow, and Chekov grinned.
“Come on, I thought you liked danger!” He teased, already crawling into the gap. Metal scraped at his waist and cut his palms, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. The passage was almost pitch-black, but Pavel followed the faint pulsing red of the med bay ahead as he shuffled in.
“Yeah, yeah,” Hikaru grumbled, but followed anyway. His mind gave him away. “Not when you’re in it”. Chekov smiled, and pushed on.
“Just a few more metres!” The ensign called, and Hikaru made a noise of assent behind him. The light had grown to about the size of a trap door, and Chekov was glad to be out of that confined space. He wasn’t claustrophobic by any means, but his knees were aching and his hands were raw. A low, screeching noise echoed around them and they froze, unable to even turn in the small space, as metal pinged against metal and a low rumbling echoed around them. Chekov watched in horror as the roof of the med bay began to collapse, sparks flickering along the floor and glass screens shattering into daggers. The room became a plume of brown smoke, and debris cascaded down in a curtain all the way up to the mouth of the tunnel.
“Hands over your head!” Hikaru shouted, and Chekov followed the order blindly as the sound of phaser fire ricocheted above him.
A piece of concrete was plummeting towards him and Pavel realised with startling finality that he was going to die. At least he would die with Sulu. A beam of orange shot out at the brick seconds before impact, pulverising it to dust, and suddenly there were arms wrapping around him and he was being tugged and he held on for dear life because it was Hikaru, it was Hikaru and he was alive and he survived and they were okay.
*
Pavel couldn’t say when the sound of grinding debris was replaced by ragged breathing, or when the smoke finally stopped stinging his eyes enough that he could crack them open, or when he realised that he was not in the afterlife, but a very smoky cavern. And Sulu was here, Sulu was shaking, and coughing, but he had his arms tight around Chekov and the danger had passed. Slowly, slowly, Chekov unwound himself, taught muscles loosening, and Sulu gasped a little, seemingly remembering where he was. He let go, and immediately turned to Pavel. The avalanche of sorts had left them in a space just big enough for both of them to sit cross-legged, with a domed roof formed by metal tubing and supports. Dust was settling around them, and they were alive. Chekov opened his mouth to speak, but his throat burned. He thought it instead.
“Are you okay?” He projected, and Sulu stared at him, wide-eyed. He gulped, and nodded.
“I’m fine, you?”
“Fine”
There was a beat of silence, before Chekov broke into a sort of incredulous, relieved laugh. Sulu stared for a moment, before joining in.
“God,” He said when they were finished, bent double and wheezing. He pulled out his communicator, listened to static, fiddled with the buttons.
“Sulu to Enterprise, Sulu to Enterprise, come in,” He repeated, when suddenly the speaker crackled to life.
“This is Enterprise. Status report?”
“Mr Chekov and I are trapped under debris. We aren’t injured, and the situation is not critical.”
“Understood, Mr Sulu. Stand by,”
A beat.
“The debris is interfering with the transporter lock. There are emergency medical evacuations taking place in other parts of the station, but when those are finished a team will place pattern enhancers around your location and we’ll beam you up. Estimated forty minutes.”
“Understood. Sulu out.” He said, and flipped the device closed. Chekov leaned back against a smooth sheet of metal.“So now we wait,”
Sulu nodded. “Now we wait.”
They caught their breath for a moment, and Chekov spoke.
“I can think of worse people to be stuck with,” He grinned, and Sulu smiled.
“Agreed,” He nodded, before pushing himself off the wall and shuffling towards Chekov. And then he was reaching out, and Chekov couldn’t control the flurry of what is he doing he’s so close is he going to touch me why is he- when Hikaru brushed a hand across his shoulder and a cascade of white dust tumbled off with it. He grinned, now inches away from Pavel’s face.
“Relax. I’m not about to kiss you.” He smirked, moving to brush down the front of his shirt and his other shoulder before pausing, hand raised half way to Chekov’s hair. He winced, and rocked back on his heels.
“We should probably talk about this whole mind-reading thing, huh,” He said sheepishly. Chekov sighed.
“Um, yeah. I- I guess you’ve heard what I… um, how I feel,” He mumbled. Hikaru nodded.
“Same goes for me. But, I didn’t really try to hide it,”
This time they were both blushing and staring directly at the floor. Pavel glanced up, took Hikaru’s hand in his.
“Oh” Flashed in his mind, and this time he wasn’t sure which one of them thought it. He guided Sulu’s hand (soft, warm) to his own hair, and Sulu grinned, closing the gap himself and carding a hand through the soft strands. He watched, engrossed, as he busied himself with picking out the pieces of rubble and dust which had accumulated there. Chekov sighed, closing his eyes, and leaned into the touch like a cat. Hikaru filed the sight and feel away for later.
Emboldened by Chekov’s reaction, he slipped his hand down, down, across his forehead, brushing along his nose, his cheek. Tracing his jaw. His gaze followed his fingertips as he mapped Pavel’s face, watching the ensign’s lips part and his pupils dilate. He traced a line gently over Pavel’s lower lip and Pavel gasped. Hikaru smiled, and he was tilting Chekov’s face up and leaning in and this was really happening when-
“Oh shit! Hikaru!” Chekov exclaimed, taking hold of his best friend’s wrist. Hikaru stopped, frowning, but he couldn’t stay disappointed at the excited look on his face.
“When did the mind thing start for you?”
Sulu was more than confused.
“Um, about… five days ago now?” He responded.
“Aha! And two for me!”
Hikaru frowned. “So?”
“So, five days ago you put that petal on your uniform, and look,” Pavel pulled back the hem of his shirt, revealing the shimmering petal pressed there. “Two days ago! It’s the flower!”
Hikaru gasped. Stared at Chekov.
“Wait… you wore one too?” He asked, and Chekov flushed. Hikaru loved it.
“I- um, I wanted us to be connected.” He mumbled, “No matter. We can remove them, and then we’re back to normal!” He smiled, reaching for Hikaru’s collar. Hikaru took his hand before he could and intertwined their fingers. Chekov swayed a little, ending up on his knees a little clumsily between Hikaru’s legs.
“Fuck, he’s cute” Drifted into Chekov’s mind.
“Sorry,” Hikaru stuttered, “I just- I don’t know if I want you to remove it.”
“Hikaru,” Pavel breathed, staring at him, and they were so close and fuck I want to kiss him can I should I would he kiss me would he want to and then Hikaru was surging forwards and he had a hand on Pavel’s jaw and a hand on his waist and Pavel gasped and they were kissing.
Eyes fluttering closed, Pavel’s hands automatically sought Hikaru’s face and he cupped his jaw, causing Hikaru to smile into the kiss. One of his hands wound its way into chestnut hair and Chekov gasped, Hikaru taking this opportunity to deepen the kiss. He licked into Pavel’s mouth, cataloguing every inch, breath fanning across his skin as he pressed Pavel against the wall. The ensign whined, tugging Hikaru closer, and he bent his knees until his legs were pressed against Hikaru’s sides, keeping him there. He moved his thumb to Hikaru’s chin and pulled gently, opening the other’s mouth a little wider. Hikaru gasped and Chekov’s grip only tightened.
Suddenly the whir of particles echoed around them and the light was blue behind Pavel’s eyelids and he realised with a start that they were being transported and it was too late. As they rematerialised on the solid plastic of the Enterprise’s transporter pad they jumped apart, hastily untangling themselves and staring shocked at both each other and Dr Mccoy, who’d brought them there. And who currently looked entirely unsurprised and unimpressed.
“Oh, lovely. I’m here dealing with dozens of casualties and I hear some of my officers have gotten trapped, so I run down here and what do I find? You two are making out and have no injuries whatsoever.” He grumbled, giving them both a once over with his tricorder for good measure before rolling his eyes at their stupefied expression and striding out of the room. The two just stared at each other: mussed hair, kissed-red lips, skin grey with rubble. They burst into laughter.