'But is this really such a big deal?' Complained the young girl with long black hair, almost laughing with embarrassment.

'Oh it's bigger!' Assured the girl with green skin beside her.

'Bigger, Nyota; bigger!' Agreed a third girl with rosy cheeks.

Nyota Uhura tried not to smile, but an embarrassed grin was threatening to spread on her face- her mouth corners were tugging upwards awkwardly. She flipped her long hair behind her back, sighed and crossed her legs. The three girls were gathered upon the cold floor of the student chamber, sitting in a circle around an item that was currently the subject of eager conversation. It was a square white box. The box was unopened.

'I don't care about these things!' Laughed Uhura, 'honestly- it's just a stupid publicity stunt!'

'Oh it doesn't matter if it's a publicity stunt!' Said Janice, 'it obviously means a lot to the one who sent you this!'

'The mysterious phantom parcel-deliverer…', sighed Gaila, twirling locks of red hair around her fingers dreamily, 'can't we call him P.D for shor?'

'I'm sure P.D must look dashing…'

'Oh please!' Exclaimed Uhura and pushed the box away from her persona, 'this is so childish! The man whom I'd like to be with should be much more mature than this! This all seems more like the doings of farmer-boy.'

'Oh no, he would probably had sent you himself naked', Gaila said grimly.

'With a ribbon around his-', began Janice, but was cut off by Uhura throwing a pillow in her face.

'Okay, okay, not him! Another one of those kids who think they're grown up just because they've got chest hair.'

'Jim actually shaves his', Gaila pointed out.

'I don't even want to know why you know that, but the point is, I'm neither interested in all this Valentine's nonsense, in a relationship with Jim Kirk, or a relationship in general!' Argued Uhura, 'I'm a single lady, happy as can be, so bye-bye P.D- to the rubbish bin you go.'

As Uhura was about to reach her hands for the box, a sudden mass of yellow flashed before her eyes, and when she looked up, Janice was holding the box tight to her chest, shaking her head frantically.

'You mustn't! You mustn't Nyota!' She screamed.

'That's right- just because you've got a crush on commander boring-as-ass doesn't mean you can just throw other people's gifts in the trash can- damn it Uhura!'

Uhura felt her neck increase in warmth. The subject of her not-entirely appropriate feelings towards Commander Spock was a sore subject indeed. It was like a pebble in her shoe- if she tried to forget about it, she would eventually slap herself mentally for having thought "hey I managed not to think about"- and then pictures of his soft-looking hands and adorable nose would soon fill her mind, and in the end, it would all be useless. In class, she simply couldn't stop looking at the way his grey uniform jacket was perfectly tailored, hugging his figure with almost arousing precision; the way he would raise his eyebrow when somebody said the wrong answer, indirectly stating 'are you retarded?' in a vulcan way; the way his mouth would become just a tad thinner when he was embarrassed… those small kinds of things that nobody in their right mind would notice. Nobody except Nyota Uhura, to whom Spock's minuscule displays of anything resembling emotion, could brighten up whole days. Because of her helpless obsession, this had become sort of a taboo between the girls. But as awkward silence thickened the air, Uhura understood that Gaila had a point.

If somebody was as helplessly in love with her as she was with her commander, it would not only be extremely unjust, but it would also be distasteful to just throw away the present. Even if it was a childish one, it was a sort of confession of affection. Uhura wasn't as used to be given Valentine gifts as Gaila, or even Janice; but that gave her no right to just trash it. She groaned and rubbed her eyelid. Gaila and Janice were eyeing her expectantly.

'…Fine', she muttered, 'fine, I won't throw it away, it'll probably just be a stupid heart-shaped card or something like that…'

'Oh, so you're opening it, are you?' Gaila chirped, jumping up and down on her knees. Janice nodded enthusiastically.

'Yes, yes I am. I don't want to be mean to the poor guy…'

'It could be a girl', said Janice, 'but… let's just hope not, and, here.'

Uhura put the box upon her lap, and at once, the other girls hovered over it. They held their breaths; Uhura rolled her eyes and removed the white lid. Between four white walls of cardboard laid a lonely flower. A yellow tulip. Gaila let out a gasp.

'Well so much fuss about a flower', snorted Uhura and picked up the delicate botanic artifact.

'A yellow tulip, Ny; a yellow tulip!' Cried Gaila and waved her hands in the air rapidly, 'not just any flower!'

'Well I wouldn't know what that means', said Uhura, 'oh hey, here's a note as well.'

'A yellow tulip equals undying love! Obsessed love! Head over heels!'

'What does the note read?' Inquired Janice and leant over Uhura's shoulder to take a look at the bit of paper.

'Well, nothing much', said Uhura and frowned, 'it says "To miss Uhura".'

'Thanks captain obvious! Augh, geez P.D, of course it was for Ny, or else you wouldn't have put it in her mail transporter!'

'Maybe he was just trying to make sure', suggested Janice and shrugged her shoulders, 'either way, it's really sweet.'

'Weird, more like', reckoned Uhura, then she noticed something. When the rays of light reached the corner of the paper, an almost unnoticeable trace of erased pencil. Uhura squinted her eyes, and behind the original message, was the faintest trace of the letter 'B'.

'Hey you', mumbled Uhura and raised the piece of paper so that all the light from the window would reach it, 'I reckon it says something else behind.'

'What, like, a secret message?' Gaila wondered, 'well that's rich.'

'No, no; I think it's something he wrote before, something he erased for some reason', Uhura decided, 'now, what was it you didn't want me to know, P.D?'

'An "M"', blurted Janice.

Uhura turned around and narrowed her eyes in confusion at her friend, 'what?' She said.

'I think the first letter is an "M"', said Janice 'wouldn't you?'

Gaila chirped and clapped Janice's cheek, 'now that's the female detective skill! Go girl power!'

'Yay', Uhura said without the slightest trace of enthusiasm in her voice, '"M"… "Y"? M-Y, my? Yeah, that sounds just about right, given the situation.'

'Oh, Nyota give Janice some love!' Gaila pouted and hugged her blond friend, 'such a show off!'

'You're right, sorry Janice', Uhura said and put down her precious paper, smiling a bit, 'I'm just getting a bit- excited, about this whole deal. Totally against my will too!'

'That's alright', said Janice with a nod, 'next one?'

'B.'

'Yeah, definitely a "B".'

'Could be an "8" though', said Janice and tilted her head to get a different angle of view.

'Yes, because "My eight" makes so much sense', Gaila snorted, 'Don't listen, Ny- obviously a "B".'

'My… B', concluded Uhura, and then threw her head back and giggled, 'Maybelline?'

'My booty is your booty!' Gaila exclaimed hopefully.

'What's next, then?' Asked Janice and licked her lips, 'is that an "F"?'

'B.F! Oh my God, P.D wants to be your boyfriend! Your boyfriend Nyyyy!' Cried Gaila and clapped her hands together. Uhura frowned.

'No, there's kind of a…', Uhura squinted her eyes and turned the paper some degrees, 'sort of a line underneath- I'd say it's more of an "E"… as for the next letter… Oh I can't even read this!'

'What's the matter?'

'Does it imply something explicitly sexual?'

'No!' Uhura cried with red cheeks, 'it's just unintelligible! Completely unintelligible!'

'Oh', Gaila muttered with a disappointed tone and slumped shoulders.

'Guess we'll never know what P.D was trying to convey, huh?' Janice sighed and cupped her cheeks with her hands.

'No…'

'Ugh, it was all for the better', Uhura said, trying to cheer up the assembly of girls, 'your ovaries would've practically exploded Gai-', she blinked, 'wait a minute.'

'Can you read it, can you?' Squeaked Janice, 'does it seem romantic?'

'I can't read what comes directly afterwards, but look', Uhura said and brushed her index finger over the paper, 'after a sort of space, more letters are visible!'

'So, what, we're going to skip over a bit?'

'Yeah, we can work on that bit later', Uhura said, 'now, let's decifer!'

'Ooooh, this message's got you excited now!' Sang Gaila excitedly and pinched Uhura on the nose.

'Shut it! It's not like I'm going to know who it is anyway- I'm only in it for the excitement of decoding', snapped Uhura with genuine embarrassment.

'The excitement in P.D's pants, more like.'

'Gaila!' Cried Janice.

'Oh put a sock in it', Uhura frowned, 'let's see, oh, there's that "E" again!'

Janice closed on eye and bit her lip, 'you sure it's not an "F"?'

'Certain.'

'Ny is the genius of linguistics after all, she should know!' Assured Gaila, proud of her genius-proclaimed roommate, 'Commander Spock even gave her special praise for her de-coding!'

'Oh it's nothing, really' Uhura brushed away. She felt her palms go warm, because she remembered the way that Spock used to stand right behind her, breathing wetly on her neck as he praised her for her good work.

'He praises everything she ever does!' Gaila urged to prove her point, 'Gods, he's practically drooling over her.'

'I… hope you remember whom you're speaking of?' Uhura giggled, amused by the odd image of Spock drooling. Maybe in his sleep? Her skin felt hot underneath all of a sudden.

'Okay, maybe not drool, but I'm pretty sure I saw him almost-smiling', Gaila assured and pulled one of her mouth corners upwards with her index finger, creating a quite grotesque impression of a loop-sided smile, 'like this. That's like, the Vulcan equivalent of a boner or something. 'S gotta be.'

'Let's stop talking about that now! Geez!'

They were yet again, silent. Janice turned her head at the crimson-cheeked Uhura, and then at the pout-lipped Gaila. She cleared her throat.

'…So, where were we?' Janice inquired in an attempt to lighten the mood.

'Uh, right', Uhura said and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, 'My be-e- hey! After the "E", there's just one more letter!'

'P.D, here we come!' Gaila shouted with renewed energy and with her hands in the air.

'Next's either another "B" an "O", or…'

'A "D"!' Janice insisted and snapped her fingers.

'Yes, yes it's a "D"- you're right, Janice!' Uhura praised, 'then what we have is "My be…ed.'

They all frowned. Uhura closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. Then, at the same time, they all gasped and looked at each other.

'"My beloved!"' They screamed at the same time.

They got it, they had cracked the code. Uhura smiled broadly, and Gaila punched her lightly just above the elbow. Janice laughed. They all laughed. The message was wonderful, so very wonderful. Somehow, it made Uhura feel good inside. The feeling did of course not compete with what she felt every time Spock looked at her, but it was a merry feeling nonetheless. She was grateful for the one that held her so dear. Only one person would mean that to her though, and it was most certainly not the one who felt that way about her.

And he hadn't even wanted her to know of these words.

Between hugs and laugher, Uhura was thinking to herself who that person could be. The one who sent her the tulip. The tulip that means love.

She recognized that handwriting, she was sure of it. Somewhere, she had seen that handwriting.

Laughing, she put aside "P.D"'s box, the letter, and the rose, and decided to think about that later, probably sometime after eating the gigantic pizza Gaila just order from the food transporter to celebrate.