You had just finished eating, and had to go back to your work station. You walked out of the mess hall, and pressed the button for the lift. You waited patiently as it came from a few decks down. When the doors slid open, you had a mini heart attack when you saw who was inside.
Who was inside, one may ask? Only your biggest crush, Hikaru Sulu. When he saw you, he smiled warmly, as you walked in, and the only other person walked out. The doors began to close as you reached over and pressed the button for deck 6.
"So, (y/n), how's life in engineering?" He asked, making small talk. Perhaps now would be a good time to mention that the two of you were pretty good friends in the academy. That was of coarse, until you decided to take engineering classes. The two of you weren't really close since then.
"Eh, it's alright, I guess. It can get kind of hectic though. How's the bridge? Have you left the parking brake on again?" He smiled in embarrassment.
"No, I haven't. Still have that sense of humor, I see. "You smile at that, it felt good to talk to your old friend, but you knew he'd moved on. He'd made new friends, he didn't need you anymore.
The lift continued to travel in silence, neither of you really talking. Suddenly the entire ship jerked, knocking you in to sulu. The ship jerked again, causing the lift to completely stop, and red hazard lights take the place of the normal lights. "Hikaru, what just happened?"
He standed up, and tries to press on of the buttons, but it doesn't respond. You were about to get up and help him, when your communicator chirped. "(Y/n)! Where are you? We need you down in engineering!" Scotty said, in the background you heard what sounded like a lot of people talking.
"I can't Scotty, I'm stuck in the lift. It looks like I'm gonna be here for a while too." You reply, watching Sulu take out his communicator, and put it to his ear.
Scotty mumbled an incoherent word, "Well isn't this great! The lifts broken too!"
"Don't worry about me Scotty, fix the more important parts of the ship first. I'll be fine."
"All right lass, just be careful, I don't want my best engineer getting hurt, just 'cause she was trying to get out of a bloody elevator."
"I will Scotty, see you in a bit." You hung up, and looked back at Sulu. He was still talking into his communicator, he said bye, then hung up.
"That was the bridge. Apparently the ship was attacked by some Klingons. No major damage though."
"That's good, I was just talking with Scotty. We're going to be stuck in here for awhile.
Might as well get comfy." You said, leaning back against the wall. He put his communicator back in his pocket, and did the same on the other side of the lift.
Both of you sat in silence for about fifteen minutes, until you blurted out a question that had been on your mind since the academy. "Hey Hikaru, why did you stop being my friend?"
He looked surprised by the question. You looked down at your shoes, why did you have to say anything?
Tears began to form in your eyes. You jumped a little when he finally answered. "Because you..." he stopped and rubbed his chin, "you were doing so well in school. I didn't want to distract you. I didn't want you to get hurt."
"What do mean? When you stopped being my friend, it hurt. A lot. And without you, I got bullied. People said it was because you didn't want to be humiliated by me." You pulled your knees up to your chin, and hugged your self.
"Do you remember that one kid, Jackson Hoffman. He was really mean?"
"Yeah, he kept on asking me out. In fact he got arrested when he and his friends beat me up." You rubbed your wrist, an old habit from when you broke it as a kid.
"Yeah him. Well, he found out that... That I liked you. He told me he'd hurt you if I didn't stop being your friend. I guess he still did it anyway." He crossed his arms in shame, and you could see tears falling down his cheeks,in the dim lights.
"You liked me?" He nods his head and looks at you. "I liked you too. I still like you." You mumbled that last part, self consciously pushing your hair behind your ear.
"I still like you too." You were about to say something back, when the lift shifted slightly, then the regular lights came back on. The doors slid open, to reveal Scotty, his hands in the control panel. He looked up and smiled.
"Ha! Told ya I'd get ya out of there!" You stood up and hugged him. He continued to mess with the jumble of wires in his hand, eventually giving up, and putting them back in the panel.
"Thanks Scotty. How's the rest of the ship?"
"Almost completely repaired. " he looked over at Sulu, "you are needed on the bridge. But, I suggest you use the emergency ladders and stairs. Never know when the lift might break down again."
Scotty walked away, tending to some other broken thing. "Hey, (y/n)? I was wondering if maybe you'd want to go dinner with me?"
You felt yourself blush, and nodded vigorously. He smiled, and walked away, using the emergency ladders to get to the bridge. Behind you, Scotty laughed. " 'Bout time he asked ya out! You're all he ever talks about ya know."
"Come on, let's get to work." You say laughing. The entire rest of the day, Scotty kept wiggling his eyebrows at you, making you laugh. "I lost a friend, " you thought to your self "and gained someone more than a friend. Someone who loves me." You smile at that. He loved you. It was obvious, and you loved him too. After all, he tried to protect you, that proved it.
And now, you had a date with him.
