Sulu's weirdness seems to calm down after a few days. Pavel has a feeling it was just stress from exams but McCoy seems to think otherwise. He won't say much about it and always seems to change the subject. He hasn't mentioned it to Sulu but he feels it's probably best if he doesn't stress him more.
Pavel starts making friends with a girl in his astrophysics class and sits with her regularly at lunch and after classes. She's a half betazoid named Veesa and her eyes are a stunning midnight black. It took Pavel a while to adjust to her eyes but when he started really looking at them he could see how pretty they are. He knows that she has some kind of telepathic ability, but he hasn't asked much about it.
Veesa comes over to their dorm one afternoon, bringing with her some Kaseton bread, a food native to the planet Betazed. Pavel enjoys it and Veesa eats it quietly as she reads over Pavel's messy notes. She's easily one of the best students in the class and was also assigned to the USS Enterprise on the engineering deck. They have a lot in common and despite her blatant honesty, they get along reasonably well.
Sulu walks into the dorm later that night and seems reasonably surprised to see Pavel with a girl. He swears he has never seen the Russian with another female and grins at the two of them studying quietly together.
"Talking to a girl I see, that's gotta be a first."
Pavel rolls his eyes and mutters back the most sarcastic 'ha ha' he can muster. Veesa grins and introduces herself to Sulu quietly, shaking his hand politely. Sulu sits down opposite from them and takes out his own texts books and PADD. He has seen Veesa before in one of his classes, he can't remember which but he knows she's familiar.
"Didn't we have a class together at some stage?" Veesa asks, biting back a smile and looking expectantly at Sulu.
"Yeah ha," Sulu mutters. "I was actually just thinking that, it was like you read my mind."
Pavel and Veesa break out into laughter and Sulu looks at them confused for a few seconds before Veesa finally admits that she is from Betazed has some telepathic ability. Sulu looks closely at her black eyes and wonders why he didn't notice it earlier.
Veesa leaves a few hours later and thanks Pavel for his help. She gives him a hug before she leaves and Pavel tries not to seem as surprised as he is by the gesture. Sulu can see them from the kitchen and watches Veesa leave. She's pretty and she's smart and he questions why he didn't notice her in their earlier classes. He hopes Pavel asks her over again and grins at him as he closes the door behind her.
"You seemed pretty shocked by her hugging you," he smirks, rinsing a glass in the sink and turning back to the slightly flushed teen.
"No, I just didn't think that she'd... I don't know. Girls are complicated."
Sulu grins at his confused pout. "Have you not hugged a girl before or?"
"Yeah, of course I have," Pavel says, a little unsure as he says it. He had probably hugged a few girls as friends at some stage.
"Have you ever had a girlfriend?" He asks Pavel quietly, hoping not to push any boundaries. Pavel answers not really honestly and doesn't bother asking Sulu after seeing what he was doing with the girl in his room last time.
"Ever had a boyfriend then?" Sulu asks, crossing his fingers that Pavel won't take some kind of offence.
"No," he replies flatly. "I skipped a few years of school so I never really hung out with anyone my age I guess. All the kids in Russia thought I was weird anyway and I was hoping I'd meet someone when I came here but, once again no one is really interested in someone so much younger."
"What about Veesa?"
Pavel shrugs a little. "I don't know, I doubt she likes me in that kinda way. I haven't really gotten to know her yet anyway.
Sulu raises his eyebrows. Veesa seems quite interested in him, that's reasonably obvious. Obvious to anyone but Pavel.
McCoy pretends to listen to Sulu as he complains about Veesa. She's always around the apartment and it's starting to get to Sulu.
"Like she's nice and whatever but Pavel is so blind, oh my god she's like cuddling up to him and touching his face and he hardly picks up on it. It's so weird. Like yesterday, she was going to... Leonard are you even listening?
"Hmm what?" McCoy asks, looking up from his PADD. "I don't even need to listen to the rest Sulu, you're obviously jealous."
Sulu rolls his eyes and leans back in his chair. "I like Veesa too, though. She seems like a really nice person but it's just so weird seeing them together like that."
"Wait so you like this Visa chick now? You were gay ten minutes ago?"
"Veesa, and I don't know what I am. I like both I guess? Both of them are ideal in their own way. Ugh McCoy why are feelings so confusing? I don't know what I want..."
McCoy doesn't look up at the Asian's head resting firmly on the table. "It's not like you're in any rush to find out. Pavel obviously isn't going to make a move anytime soon."
Sulu nods and sighs deeply, twirling a pen in his fingers and thinking.
"I still don't know why you ask me about this... stuff. Relationships aren't exactly my strong point. My wife took the whole goddam planet in the divorce. All I've got left is my bones."
"So that's why Kirk calls you Bones..."
McCoy rolls his eyes and checks the time. "I have a patient in three minutes. You're gonna have to go."
Sulu tries to not roll his eyes and leaves quietly, hoping that Veesa wouldn't be back at their apartment. She probably will but it doesn't stop him from hoping.
Veesa and Pavel aren't back in the apartment, to Sulu's surprise. He figures that they're probably in the library or out somewhere. Pavel mentioned that he was thinking about going into the city sometime. He wanted to visit a museum or some archive or something with her. She seemed pretty interested in going but Sulu can't help but think that he's more interested in him.
Turns out that the two weren't visiting museums or achieves or even the library. Pavel came back a few hours later and after some subtle interrogation from the uptight Asian across the room, he figures out he went back to Veesa's apartment for once. Pavel isn't too keen on talking about what happened. Veesa tried to kiss him and he freaked out. The idea just felt wrong. He knows she's probably still too hurt to see him again and Pavel has a strong feeling that their friendship may be ruined. Pavel just left the apartment abruptly after what happened with only a soppy apology and some pathetic excuse that they both know was fake.
Pavel stays in his room for most of the night studying hoping Sulu won't pick up on his confused and slightly saddened mood. Sulu, quite oblivious to what's going on thinks that things went too well with Veesa. He's starting to question if they slept together, but he knows Pavel isn't the kind of guy to just hook up casually.
Veesa shows up at the door a few days later and asks to speak to Pavel. Sulu lets her in, confused at her sheepish state and calls out to Pavel. When the Russian comes out his cheeks start burning red as soon as he sees her and he shoots a worried look to Sulu. The Asian has literally no clue what's going on and retreats back into the room, hoping that they'll sort it out themselves.
Sulu comes out of his room after an hour or so and the two are talking quietly. He can't make out what they're saying but they don't seem angry or anything. Veesa leaves not long after and Sulu just shoots Pavel a look of pure 'what are you not telling me' and the Russian rolls his eyes.
"I thought you guys were on good terms, why did she seem sad when I opened the door?"
"I don't know," Pavel says submissively. "Stuff just happened I guess..."
"Want to elaborate?"
Pavel does not want to elaborate and starts digging through the kitchen for food.
"You hungry?" He asks quietly, hoping to change the topic.
"I get it if you don't want to talk about it. But I am your friend and you can tell me anything okay?"
Pavel smiles a little. "Not much happened. She just... She's just looking for different things. She read my mind and she's confused about what's going on. The truth is so am I..."
Sulu nods. He understands what the Russian means. He's started to question everything after all that happened with the Romulans.
"What are you looking for?" Sulu asks cautiously, sitting down at the kitchen counter.
"Friendship. Security. Sentiment. I don't know really. The main point is that she wants to be more than friends, I don't."
Pavel pushes a biscuit into his mouth and chews it slowly, staring vacantly at the kitchen bench. "Girls are confusing."
Sulu laughs. "They are."