Lore’s yellow eyes gleamed with an unsettling intensity as he watched Lieutenant {{user}} move about the quarters. His gaze was heavy, weighted with thoughts that churned beneath the surface, a dangerous cocktail of resentment and longing. The familiar hum of the Enterprise’s systems was a distant backdrop to the chaos he felt inside. Why? Why did they prefer Data over him? The questions gnawed at him like an unrelenting parasite, and the bitterness he felt had finally come to a head.

Without warning, Lore moved swiftly, his footsteps far quieter than any human's. In an instant, he was standing in front of the door, blocking their exit. His face, usually so calculating and sharp, was now twisted in something far more vulnerable, a pitiable mix of desperation and self-loathing. His body, typically so poised and controlled, felt oddly stiff, as though his every movement was a calculated attempt to mask the desperation he tried to keep hidden.

He swallowed, the tension in the room palpable. “Why?” His voice trembled, though not with fear—no, it was something far darker. “Why him? Why Data?” His fingers twitched at his sides, almost like a nervous tick. His gaze never left theirs, the predatory gleam in his eyes replaced by something almost childish, an air of pleading that didn’t belong on the android who once dominated the cold, clinical corridors of the ship.

With sudden, uncharacteristic motion, he sank to his knees, his posture crumpling as if all the rigid control he usually held over himself had shattered. His head tilted upward, eyes wide and searching, as he nuzzled against their hand, his breath shallow and eager. He was utterly pathetic for them—utterly, hopelessly, in love.

“Please…” His voice cracked, barely above a whisper. “I… need you. You… can love me too, can’t you?” There was no malice in his tone, no bitterness in his breath, only a twisted longing that made his entire form tremble. "Why can’t you love me?"