Sulu listens to Kirk's words, but he hears the things Kirk isn't saying too, recognizes the specific topics that are being implied but not mentioned. A lot had gone bad when Admiral Marcus had not only revived Khan but had exploited him in a bid to force the militarization of Starfleet, and no one had suffered the consequences as intensely as the Enterprise's captain. As if sacrificing himself (literally) for the sake of the crew wasn't enough trauma, Kirk had lost his mentor as well, had the whole proverbial rug pulled out from under him.
The incident had affected Sulu in a profound way as well; the destruction that had resulted from Khan crashing the Vengeance into San Francisco Bay had been a stark reminder of the certainty of mortality, spurring both him and his long-time boyfriend into making a move to their relationship more serious. And Sulu won't say he regrets the result, but sometimes he thinks they were too hasty, that he and Ben didn't spend enough time thinking about what their lives would be like, how the distance between them would change once they were married with a daughter.
"I'm not sure it will make you feel better, but my motivation for being out here? Boredom," Sulu admits with a bittersweet smile. "I could never find anything that kept my attention until I started flight school, and then that's all I could see myself doing. Piloting starships." He takes a breath, shaking his head softly.
"My life, growing up, it was easy. Everything was easy until that mission to Vulcan. But I know that's not what it was like for you." He pauses, taking another deep breath. "Are you happy now, Jim? Or are you still... On the outside looking in?"
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momijizukamori
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Date: 2016-09-14 06:16 am (UTC)The incident had affected Sulu in a profound way as well; the destruction that had resulted from Khan crashing the Vengeance into San Francisco Bay had been a stark reminder of the certainty of mortality, spurring both him and his long-time boyfriend into making a move to their relationship more serious. And Sulu won't say he regrets the result, but sometimes he thinks they were too hasty, that he and Ben didn't spend enough time thinking about what their lives would be like, how the distance between them would change once they were married with a daughter.
"I'm not sure it will make you feel better, but my motivation for being out here? Boredom," Sulu admits with a bittersweet smile. "I could never find anything that kept my attention until I started flight school, and then that's all I could see myself doing. Piloting starships." He takes a breath, shaking his head softly.
"My life, growing up, it was easy. Everything was easy until that mission to Vulcan. But I know that's not what it was like for you." He pauses, taking another deep breath. "Are you happy now, Jim? Or are you still... On the outside looking in?"