It had been a long day on the bridge without Sulu. There had been a mistake in scheduling and the young Asian pilot hadn't been scheduled for alpha shift today. Chekov had tried to convince his lover to go and have it changed, stating that it was "unfair for zhem to do zhis". Sulu had just chuckled and shook his head. He explained that it didn't make any difference when he piloted the ship and that it was only for one day. Pavel had pouted, but the discussion had been dropped.

And now, after six hours of missing Sulu and sitting next to an incompetent pilot, Chekov was in the mood to just curl up with his love and soak up in his presence. With a small, excited smile at the idea, Pavel walked quickly toward his shared quarters. Throwing in the entry code, he burst into the room. Only, it was empty. The lights were dim and the air cold. No one had been in here all day, as far as Pavel could tell. His heart sank for a moment before he shook his head. It was silly to assume that Sulu would just wait around their room all day for him to come back.

"He is probably in zhe biology labs," Pavel muttered before exiting and locking the room. Walking quickly, the Russian made his way down two levels to the science labs. He nodded respectfully to Commander Spock, who gave him a strange look before nodding back, and headed toward Sulu's private back corner of the labs. While it was Hikaru's responsibility to watch over all the plants in the labs alongside the other scientists, the Asian man kept a private corner of the labs sectioned off for his own personal plants and experiments. No one was allowed back there unless Sulu was with them.

Already, Pavel could see the mop of dark hair among the deep greens of the vines and leaves. It was moving side to side, flashing in and out of the aisles as Hikaru moved erratically. Worried that his love might be in trouble, or having a seizure, Pavel hurried to the door separating them. Opening it quickly, a strange sound greeted him. Mesmerized, the Russian watched as Sulu shifted from foot to foot, bouncing ever so slightly, and turning in circles.

A strange sound was coming from his mouth and it took Pavel a moment to realize that his love was singing. In a terribly out of tune voice, Sulu was belting out lyrics to a song that Pavel didn't recognize, while spinning and twirling up and down the aisles of his plants.

Turning in a wide arc, his arms shot out to his sides, Sulu caught sight of a bright gold shirt standing at his door. Freezing, the two men stared at each other as a bright red blush rose on Sulu's cheeks.

"P-Pasha! Oh my god. Uhh, hi, how's it going?" He was stuttering and stumbling over his words like a teenage boy as he straightened his posture and leaned against the table as casually as he could. Pavel continued to stare at him before an awkward cough fell from his mouth. A hand covered his mouth and tried, in vain, to hold in the giggles that continued to spill from his mouth. Soon, though, he was doubled over in laughter. Sulu's blush deepened and he glared at the bent over man.

"Shut up, Pasha!" he snapped as he half turned and crossed his arms over his chest. Embarrassment surged through him and left him angry and humiliated. Pouting and half glaring at his boyfriend, Sulu huffed. Slowly, the laughter died down, but Pavel kept the playful smile on his face. Approaching Sulu with his hands raised in surrender, he wrapped his thin arms around Hikaru's waist. He planted sweet kisses on Sulu's cheek, jaw, and neck.

"I'm sorry, дорогой, I didn't mean to laugh so much. It vas just so cute," he whispered softly into Sulu's ear before kissing it. The Asian's body stayed rigid for another moment before his breath left him in a huge sigh; his body seemed to deflate into Pavel's embrace. He turned to wrap his arms around Pavel's tiny waist.

"Vhy vere you singing?"

Sulu cleared his throat in embarrassment before looking away, staring at the green plants all around them.

"I like to sing to them," He finally muttered quickly, "They grow better if I sing to them."

Pavel ignored the part of his brain that wanted to point out how silly that was. Instead, he smiled softly and kissed Sulu's still pouting lips. Pulling back, he grinned.

"I'm sure they do love it, just as I vould love it."

Sulu smiled back as the blush faded.

"Maybe I'll sing to you sometime."

Pavel internally winced at the thought of that tone deaf voice again, but smile anyway.

"It is a date."

дорогой = darling