Chapter Three: Messing About in Boats

[smartamy15]

Authors: Smartamy15 and Ian
Universe: TOS
Rating: PG (this chapter)
Summary:  After Sulu and Chekov get into a spot of trouble during downtime, Kirk suggests that everyone take a shore leave at Yosemite National Park.  Hilarity and romance ensue for all.
Characters: Chekov/Sulu (leads up to it), Kirk/Spock/McCoy (pre-relationship), Uhura, Scotty
Disclaimer:  None of the authors own any Star Trek related characters, ideas, etc. and are doing this for entertainment, not personal profit.
 
When Sulu and Chekov reached the lake, they were surprised to find that the rest of the Enterprise crew had also decided to relax by the water. Dr. McCoy and Spock were sitting several meters away from Kirk, Uhura and Scotty, who were making an enthusiastic attempt at fishing. The Captain was staring fiercely at the bobber at the end of his line as if he was trying to will the fish to bite.

“So how come you’re not fishing, Spock? Not logical enough for you?” Dr. McCoy asked teasingly.

“No,” Spock replied coolly, “if I intended to eat the fish I caught, I would find the activity perfectly logical. However, Doctor, as you know, Vulcans keep a vegetarian diet, and therefore it would be illogical to hunt for food that I have no intention of consuming.”

McCoy’s grin faded slightly, replaced by his typical scowl.

“Why are you not fishing, Doctor?” Spock inquired.

“What? Me? Fishing? Spock, you must be joking,” McCoy chuckled.

“As you very well know by now, Doctor, the concept of humor is one that I do not comprehend,” Spock said with a slight trace of irritation in his voice.

“Well, in any case, I’m not fishing because I don’t want to contract some sort of local parasitic disease and spend my shore leave vomiting fish remains.”

Sulu had heard enough of Spock and McCoy’s bickering on the Enterprise to know that this conversation was going nowhere fast.  He walked over to Chekov, who was talking animatedly with Scotty.

“Hikaru,” Chekov said cheerfully, “Mr. Scott says he can lend us his retractable fishing wessel and fishing rods so we can fish on the lake!”

Sulu stifled a grin at his friend’s pronunciation of the word “vessel.” Pavel’s rather particular way of saying certain English words was one of the things about him that Sulu found endearing.

He glanced at Scotty, who also seemed a bit amused by what Chekov had said. “A boat? That’s great, Pavel! Are you sure you don’t mind, Scotty?”

“Of course not!” Scotty replied enthusiastically. “I’d be happy to let you lads take ‘er for a spin. Let me just help you with your bait…”

He pulled out a jar of a lime-green, fish-scented sparkly substance, unscrewed the cap and began to apply a small ball of it to the hook at the end of Sulu’s rod. “This stuff should do the trick!” he said.

Almost mesmerized by the bait’s iridescence, Sulu said without thinking, “Now, if I were a trout, I’d bite that.”

He looked up to see both Scotty and Chekov staring at him blankly.

“I mean…it’s so shiny,” Sulu explained lamely.

After a few minutes, Sulu and Chekov were ready to go. They hopped in the retractable canoe and Scotty pushed them out onto the lake. Sulu had the steering position in the back of the canoe, while Chekov sat in the front and helped him row. After a short time, they found themselves in the middle of the lake and decided to stop and drop their lines.

Sulu eagerly picked up his fishing rod and started to cast, but as he glanced up from his reel, he noticed Chekov staring blankly at the line dangling in his face.  Sulu suddenly understood, and lowered his rod.

“Do you want me to show you how to cast?” he asked.

Chekov looked up at him with a relieved smile and nodded.

“Here, it’s easy once you get the hang of it,” Sulu said.  Chekov listened and watched intently, determined to memorize Sulu’s every movement so that he would not make a fool of himself when he tried to cast on his own.

“…And that’s pretty much it,” Sulu said. “The trick is to make sure you don’t let go so quickly that your bait flops into the water too soon. And make sure you don’t let go too late, either, or you’ll have a lot of slack line.”

“All right, I think I understand now,” Chekov said. “Besides, ice-fishing was inwented in Siberia, so perhaps fishing is in my blood.”

“Yeah, yeah, just cast already,” Sulu said, giving Chekov a friendly cuff on the shoulder.

Chekov complied, and Sulu was pleased to see that he had taken well to his instruction and made a near perfect cast on his first attempt.

“Is that good?” Chekov asked anxiously.

“That was great, Pavel!” Sulu replied. “I’m delighted that you did so well on your first try!”

Chekov beamed back at him. “Well, let me see how well you do it, then.”

Sulu flashed him a playful grin and turned his attention to his rod. He adjusted the line, put the rod back over his shoulder and drew his arms forward in one swift motion. However, he was surprised to see his bobber and bait splash into the water with an unceremonious plunk only a meter or so away from their canoe.

“Is that all you’ve got, Hikaru?” Chekov asked teasingly. “Perhaps the teacher has become the student, no?”

“Hey, that was just practice. Let me try that again,” Sulu said hurriedly, and turned to cast again. This time the line extended a good five meters away from him before the bait fell into the water.

Sulu was somewhat nonplussed. It wasn’t that he’d never made a bad cast before; it happened all the time for a variety of reasons: the wind was too strong, he wasn’t in a good position, he was distracted…

I don’t know what’s wrong with me, he thought. Sulu closed his eyes tightly for a moment in an attempt to clear his head. I am distracted, aren’t I? he thought, suddenly flustered. But by what? What’s so distracting about fishing with Pavel?

Sulu considered the situation. He was sitting back to back in the small canoe with his closest friend. The air was calm and everything was quiet, for they were well out of earshot of the rest of the camping party. He was alone with Chekov, and for some reason, that was enough to make him lose his concentration.

He looked over his shoulder at his friend, who was staring out at the water with a placid look. Every few minutes, he tugged at his line to feel for bites, just as Sulu had instructed.

I’m alone with Chekov. So what? he thought. What’s so strange about that? We’re together all the time on the bridge…

But you’re never alone there, a nagging voice in his head countered.

Well, we’re alone other times…this shouldn’t be any different.

Sulu and Chekov, Chekov and Sulu: on and off the Enterprise, they had always been inseparable. Sulu trusted Chekov with everything, and he knew Chekov felt the same way. However, he understood now that his concern and affection for Chekov ran deeper than they would in a typical close friendship between Starfleet officers. He realized that there was a reason why he always felt particularly glad whenever Pavel walked onto the bridge, that he was possibly a bit too charmed by his smile…

Something was different. As much as he wanted to ignore it or explain it away, Sulu knew that the way he felt about his friend had changed. He wasn’t sure how long he’d felt this way; maybe since their fight before shore leave, maybe before that. Maybe he’d always had these feelings for Chekov, he couldn’t be sure.

He remembered how worried he was when he thought he’d hurt Chekov by putting him in a bad position with the Captain, how much he wanted to make it right…And that moment in the elevator, Sulu thought, cringing inwardly at the embarrassing memory. I should have realized… Sulu saw that there was no sense in making illusions about it at this point: he had some intense romantic feelings for Pavel Chekov.

How could I be so dense? he asked himself. Why didn’t I figure it out before I ended up alone in the middle of a lake with him? And sharing a tent with him on shore leave, no less.

He looked over his shoulder nervously again, and this time, Chekov caught his eye and gave him an encouraging grin.

“I have not felt any bites yet. How about you? Have you had any luck?” he asked cheerfully.

“Uh, no, not yet,” Sulu replied, trying to match Chekov’s upbeat tone.

“Well, maybe soon we will get something,” Chekov said, smiling at him again.

Sulu felt a warm rush of affection for the other man, followed by intense anxiety. He smiled back at Chekov and turned away, suddenly feeling lightheaded.

Damn, he thought. This is going to be an interesting shore leave…

But before Sulu could even check his line, Chekov started shouting.

“Oh! Hikaru! Hikaru, I think I’ve got something! A fish!” he exclaimed.

Sulu turned back to Chekov. “Really? Oh, wow! Reel in, Pavel! Keep reeling in!”

“I’m reeling, I’m reeling!” Chekov said excitedly. From what Sulu could tell, Chekov had caught something big. The rod was beginning to arch down with the strain, though Chekov was reeling as fast as he could.

“You can do it, Pavel! Come on!” Sulu said, moving closer to Chekov in the canoe.

Chekov continued to reel in vigorously, his rod straining against the strength of the fish. He started to crouch in the canoe with one foot on his seat to reel in from a better angle. Sulu moved even closer, putting a hand on his arm to steady him. He was suddenly very aware of their proximity.

“I think I got it! I think I got the fish!” Chekov yelled, and Sulu saw that he was right: a large rainbow trout suddenly surfaced, attached to Chekov’s line.

But just when Chekov had almost reeled the flopping, struggling trout all the way in, his foot slipped on the seat and he tripped on the edge of the canoe, causing him to fall head first into the lake. Though the canoe rocked dangerously, Sulu managed to stay in the canoe with Chekov’s rod and the thrashing trout.

Sulu was about to laugh at the spectacle of Chekov flailing in the lake until he realized that he didn’t know if he could swim.

“Are you okay, Pavel?” he called out. “Can you swim?”

“I can only dog-paddle!” he spluttered. “Help me!”

“Hold on, I’ll get you!” Sulu pulled off his jacket and dove into the water, realizing that if he pulled Chekov into the canoe while he was still in it, it would capsize.

He swam over to Chekov in a few swift strokes and grabbed him by the shoulders. “I’ve got you, don’t worry,” he gasped. Chekov only latched tightly onto his arm in response, clearly terrified.

If Sulu hadn’t been so concerned with getting Chekov out of the frigid water, this sudden, close contact with him would have been a pleasant, if not somewhat uncomfortable experience. He tightened his grasp on Chekov’s torso and began to swim back to the canoe in a belabored, awkward fashion, always being careful to keep Chekov’s head above water.

“Here,” Sulu said, breathing heavily as they reached the canoe. “I’ll hold it steady while you climb in. Be careful not to tip it over, we don’t want to lose your fish after all of this.” Chekov smiled despite himself, and carefully climbed into the canoe.

“Are you all right?” Sulu asked.

“Fine,” Chekov replied, completely soaked and somewhat out of breath. “I’m fine, thanks to you.” He smiled weakly at Sulu. “I am sorry I did not mention that I cannot swim, it was stupid of me to forget.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad you’re all right,” Sulu said. “I was worried about you for a moment there.”

“Aren’t you coming back into the boat, too?” Chekov asked.

Sulu thought for a moment, and realized that there was no way he could get himself back into the canoe without capsizing it and sending Chekov and his trout straight back into the water.

“No, I’ll tip you over if I try. I’ll just swim back to shore, and you can row the canoe. I think we’ve had enough excitement for one day, don’t you?” Chekov smiled and nodded. His hair drenched and plastered to his forehead and his clothing was dripping and disheveled, but that smile got to Sulu the way it always did.

He took a deep breath and started swimming towards the shore with Chekov close behind. 
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 (with links to 1 and 2) | Chapter 4 | Chapter Five