a/n: my first star trek fanfic. just a short chulu-ish drabble. enjoy :-)
~x~
Sulu let out another sigh. "It's with a 'v', Pavel. 'V-ulcan.' Try it again."
Chekov furrowed his eyebrows in concentration. "W-wulcan." He shook his head. "I am finished for today, Sulu. I cannot do zis." He huffed loudly, rolling to the side of his friend's bed and began to stand up.
"Wait!" Sulu said. Chekov paused, and obediently sat back down. Sulu continued, "Come on! You can beat the Captain and Spock at chess, beam moving targets aboard a starship, and run the fastest in the fleet, and you're going to let a small thing like mixing up your v's and w's make you give up?"
Chekov's cheeks and ears turned a soft pink, and he awkwardly stared at the ground.
Sulu's eyes twinkled. "How about… you know, we can always ask Uhura for a little help? Maybe? She is the communications officer, after all. She could help you with your, ah, speech..thing" He smiled at his friend.
It was Chekov's turn to sigh. "It's called a speech impediment, Sulu, and, no. I do not need her help." He crossed his arms, trying to look angry, but only ended up like a wounded puppy.
"Okay. Um. How about this?" Sulu scooted to the edge of the bed by the ensign. "When you want to say a word that has a 'v' in it, just replace it with a 'w' instead, and vice versa."Chekov replied to his suggestion with a scrutinizing glance.
"Hey— quit being like that. Hear me out. When you say 'wulcan', you pronounce it like a 'w'. So, think of how you pronounce 'w's." Chekov made a 'v' sound for Sulu. "See!" Sulu proclaimed. "Just switch the 'v' and 'w' sounds with each other, and you got it! It's easy as pie."
Chekov uncrossed his arms, lips curved slightly upward, and nodded his head. "Okay. I can do zis. I can do zis," He whispered. "Okay, ah. W-wulcan. W-w...w-vulcan. Vulcan! Vulcan!" His face lit up and he stared at Sulu. "Vulcan! I did eet!"
Sulu laughed. "See, Pavel? Just replace the two letters with each other and you can pronounce it right!"
Chekov laughed along with his friend.
~x~
"Sulu, Chekov. Prepare for warp speed," Kirk said to them on the bridge the next day. The two friends shared a small smile.
"Well? Ensign?" Kirk asked, still impatient from the Mudd incident that had occurred a few days ago.
"Ready for ah…" he looked at Sulu for encouragement. Sulu nodded him on. "Ready for warp speed, Keptain."
The bridge went silent for a few moments. Sulu and Chekov smiled slyly at each other.
The crew smiled to each other, some even gave a happy chuckle.
"You're a good teacher Sulu", Kirk finally laughed, "Let's punch it."
fin.