As soon as Kirk had noticed Pavel had left, so had Sulu. He dashed past the Captain and out into the corridor, wondering which way his (ex)friend had gone.

He wouldn’t have guessed right either had he not seen the shattered remains of a glass to the left of him. Sensing that was the way he'd gone, the Asian pursued the trail of broken glass and cola stains.

Pavel was just a little way ahead, leaning on a wall, his back to the corridor that led to the Rec. Room.

From the way his shoulders were shaking and the way he had both of his hands clasped over his face, Hikaru made a quick judgement that he was crying. Quite hard too.

He approached the young man cautiously, then placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

Pavel didn't even try to flinch away: he was too tired. Tired of running away from help, kindness, friendship…he'd been running all of his life. Why bother running any more when everything he ever needed or wanted was standing right behind him, trying to help?

But then the other half of his brain struggled it's way through the firewall he'd managed to hold throughout the morning and shouted, "you've got to be kidding! Hikaru? What has he ever done for you except hurt you and ignore you and break you up with Landon? You know the real reason she broke up with you; she said it just now. She knew he liked you, she knew you were gay and she knew you weren't going to tell anyone so SHE HAD TO TELL EVERYONE FOR YOU!"

Pavel clutched his ears and sank down to his knees, suddenly feeling the pressure he hadn't felt in the Rec. Room when everyone had stared at him aghast at the news.

No-one had ever thought that he could be 'that way'. No one. It was like hearing Jesus was a Hindu, or Hitler was a humanitarian.

"Pavel?" Hikaru had knelt beside him, "you okay?"

"Go avay." Pavel snapped, folding his hands in his lap. Hikaru hesitantly put a hand on his shoulder, then pulled it back as Pavel almost screamed, "look, just leaff me alone! Vhy ken't eweryvun just leaff me be? Just because I'm different, just because I have a stupid haircut, just because I'm Russian and have an annoying accent some people discard me causing others to try and help. Vell, I don't vant any help! From anyvun! I just vant to curl up and die and I vish eweryvun vould just let me get on vith it!" At the end he burst into a fresh volley of tears, pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them.

Sulu watched him with something close to affection, border-lined with consternation, thinking how much like an upset child Pavel looked.

"Why?" He asked eventually, running his fingers lightly across the span of the young man's shoulders.

"Vhy vhat?" Came the gulped answer.

"Why don't you want anyone's help? Why do you never want anyone's help?"

"Because…no vun has ewer tried to give me help before. My parents newer helped me. My teachers pretty much gave up on me. None of my relatives liked me. And…up until you and Uhura, I newer had any friends who could help me." Pavel's tone had calmed, and it was like he was in a trance whilst he spoke, "I don't ewen know vhat help is."

Another pang, the largest yet, sot itself through Hikaru's heart, and he reached out and put his arm around Pavel, who didn’t even try to resist that time. In fact, he shifted a bit closer and lent his head gently against the alcove between Hikaru's head and neck, a little shyly.

"If you don't know what help is," Sulu said after a pause, "why won't you let anyone show you?"

"Fear of the unknown?" Pavel stared at the wall opposite them, "I assumed it vas a bad thing seeing as though no-vun used it in my childhood."

"You must have had a pretty bad childhood then." Hikaru stated without really thinking about it.

"Yes." Chekov sounded a little defensive, "so vhat if I did? Lots of people do. No-vun has a perfect childhood, no-vun." His voice had taken on an angry pitch.

"That's not what I meant." Hikaru explained patiently, "I meant that you mustn't have had that many people who cared about you."

"I had vun. And she died vhen I as two." Pavel mumbled, feeling yet more tears well up, "oh, god, not again…"

He used his shirt sleeve to mop them away, then pulled away from Sulu, as comfortable as it was, and stood up, "I think ve're due back on duty. I ken hear people valking this vay." He said stiffly.

"Thank you, Spock." Sulu muttered sarcastically, "alright. But…"

"Vhat?"

"Why did you go out with Landon if you knew you were gay?"

"Because…I vas tryink to prove to myself I vasn't…dad alvays said that gay guys vere stupid and pointless…I believed him too, until I found out I vas a gay guy, that is. I figured I could…trick myself straight if I vent out vith enough girls. But…it didn't vork. I fell for somevun else. Somevun who vasn't….female."

"Oh really?" Sulu asked mildly, feeling a little jolt of excitement, "who?"

Pavel seemed to hesitate for a second, then said, "fifth vowel."

"Fifth vowel?" Sulu echoed as Pavel walked up to him, "A, E, I, O-"

"U." Pavel whispered, looping his arms around Sulu's neck and kissing his cheek, "in other vords, You."

THE END