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“I do appreciate your assistance in this matter, Lieutenant,” Data said, watching as Geordi sealed his chestplate closed.
“Anytime, man, you know that. And we’re off duty. It’s just Geordi, Data.”
“Of course. Thank you, Geordi.”
Geordi smoothed Data’s pseudo-skin back over the seams of his chest cavity, rendering it invisible once more. “I just don’t know how you can sit still through it.” He made a discomforted noise. “Makes me shiver just watching.”
Data cocked his head. “While I do have pressure sensors to indicate when things are misaligned or there is enough force that I may become damaged, I do not feel pain in the same way that you would. I find no discomfort in the opening of my chest cavity, nor in the repairs you complete.”
“No, not that.” Geordi huffed a laugh, turning away to gather up his tools. “I just meant– I don’t know what I meant.”
Data looked down at his chest, tracing over the hidden seams of his chest compartment just as Geordi had done moments ago. He imagined how the gentle touch might feel if he had nerve receptors, why it might make one shiver. He ran a search through his databases, sifting through the information far faster than a human (or any other biological creature, for that matter) ever could.
Ah. Data understood what was happening, now.
“Geordi?”
“Yeah, Data?”
“Are you perhaps ticklish, by any chance?”
Geordi sputtered, fumbling with his tools and sending one crashing back down to the table. He whipped his head around to face Data. “ What ?”
“Ticklish,” Data repeated, cocking his head once more. “Sensitive to being tickled, which is to lightly touch a person or body part in a way that causes an itching sensation and often laughter. To my understanding, most humans–”
“No, Data– I know what tickling is. I was just surprised by your question.”
“Oh, I see. Are you?”
Geordi huffed another laugh. “You know, most of the time you’re not supposed to just come out and ask it, not unless you’re poking fun at someone, teasing them. It can be embarrassing, for most people.”
“I did not mean to offend.”
Geordi waved him off. “I know. Just caught me off guard, I wasn’t offended.” He shuffled his feet, turning back to his tools and clearing his throat. “And I am, for the record. Just a bit.”
“Interesting. May I try?”
The tools clattered again. “ What ?”
“May I try? I have never witnessed a reaction to tickling before, I find myself curious. I wish to know how one may react to it, in a more personal sense.” Data paused, running through his database again. “And from my research, I found that it is a form of bonding. We are friends, are we not, Geordi?”
“I– right, yeah. We’re– friends.” Geordi’s voice was strangled.
Data blinked. “Have I said something wrong?”
“No, no. It’s just not everyday that your, ah, friend asks to tickle you.”
“It is not a common experience?”
Geordi shook his head, finally managing to get his tools put away and crossing his arms over his chest as he turned back to Data. His eyebrows were raised, visible above his visor. “Most people don’t ask, not unless they’re teasing, like I said. They just do it.”
Data did another search, the word tease in conjunction with tickle . “Teasing, because the use of it heightens the embarrassment and therefore the emotional aspect of the action, which can in turn heighten the physical sensation for some.”
“Right.”
“I am teasing you, right now?”
Geordi shifted his weight. “I mean. Clearly not intentionally , but…”
“But you still find yourself embarrassed by my words and actions.”
“Yeah.”
They lapsed into silence for a moment. Geordi fidgeted with his hands, then sighed, then moved towards the lounge area of his quarters.
“Alright, let’s get this over with.”
“Geordi?”
“Come on, tickle me.” Geordi flopped on the sofa. “Do your research, or whatever it is.”
Data slowly approached, cataloguing how Geordi warily tracked his every movement, more with sound than with sight despite the presence of his visor. Perhaps even this could be a tease. “Are you certain? I would not want to make you uncomfortable, or cause you anymore undue embarrassment.”
“Yeah.” Geordi lifted his arms, crossing them comfortably behind his head despite the way his biceps twitched like they wanted to come down. Data hadn’t even moved yet. “I– I trust you, you know. I can take it for a bit. For you.”
Data sat on the edge of the sofa, near Geordi’s hip. “Then, if you are certain, I will begin now.”
Geordi tilted his head up and away, biting his lip. Data reached out and hovered his hands over Geordi’s torso, hesitating. He brought up images and videos in his mind’s eye, examining the techniques used. Some even had tools in order to create particular kinds of ticklish sensations. Seeing as he didn’t have anything of the sort on hand, and this was a preliminary gathering of information anyway, Data carefully lowered his hands to Geordi’s sides and wiggled his fingers.
Geordi jumped, a grin leaping onto his face with the action, but did not laugh. He shifted his hips a little where he lay and his arms tensed in their raised position, but he did not squirm anymore than that.
“Does this tickle?” Data asked.
Geordi huffed. “Teasing, Data.”
“Apologies.”
“It’s fine, you can tease. And, uh, a little. I’m not very ticklish there.”
Data tilted his head. “Where are you ticklish?”
Geordi laughed outright, though it had nothing to do with the touch on his torso. “I can’t just tell you, that’s part of the fun. You have to figure it out yourself.”
“I see. I will continue my search, then.”
“Go for it.”
Data contemplated the situation that led them here – Geordi was perturbed regarding his chest compartment. The compartment itself took up most of his torso, where his stomach and sternum and parts of his ribs would be if he had them. Data examined Geordi’s midsection, referenced the data he had pulled up regarding tickling methods, and created a plan of attack.
If he tickled more than one spot at a time, he wouldn’t be able to tell which was causing the laughter and squirming. Those particular methods would have to be saved until after he had discovered where Geordi’s “tickle spots,” as they were colloquially known, were. Some areas, typically softer ones, were able to be squeezed, while almost anywhere could be poked and prodded and subjected to wiggling and skittering fingers. Mouths were apparently an option as well, but Geordi was certain to have boundaries and Data was not willing to cross them simply for the sake of experimentation.
Perhaps it would do well to move inward, then upward. He would attempt Geordi’s stomach next and seek out sensitive spots there. Kneading and basic wiggling fingers seemed to be a commonplace method for this body part. Then, he would move up to Geordi’s ribs and chest. Squeezing was less common here, though not unheard of, but Data thought the lighter touches seemed the most comfortable. He didn’t quite have nails that grew out like many biological species, and which seemed popular in the act of tickling, but in the attempts to make him as humanoid as possible, he did have a short, blunt set of well-kept nails. Perhaps alternating between those and his fingertips would work best for Geordi’s ribs. Seeing as touches upon the torso were the instigator to this conversation, Data did not know whether to plan past that, or if Geordi would request they stop the gathering of information once the area was covered. Data decided to stop there, and create a plan “on the fly,” so to speak, if he was permitted further exploration.
Plan concocted, Data slowly converged his wiggling fingers inward toward Geordi’s stomach, paying careful mind to trace around the edges of the area where the seams of his own chestplate would be. Geordi flinched inward, looking as though he was fighting to keep his arms from flying down to protect himself, and, based on the sliver Data could see under the visor, squeezed his eyes shut.
“Shit!”
“Are you quite alright, Geordi?”
“Peachy!”
A split-second search, a reminder in which Geordi had used the phrase previously and what it meant, and Data nodded. Although Geordi’s throat and face seemed strained, it didn’t seem as though he was in any active distress. In fact, it seemed almost like…
“It is clear that you want to laugh. Why are you holding back?”
Geordi shook his head, his face contorting in what was probably a very amusing manner. Data hummed, switching to squishing the area around Geordi’s belly button. Geordi wheezed and folded in on himself, trapping Data’s hands between his knees and torso.
“Data! Teasing !!”
“I thought you said that the teasing was permitted?” He massaged his hands near Geordi’s hips and the edges of his stomach.
“Data, come on ! Please !” Geordi wheezed. His grin was beginning to look painful.
Data paused. “Are you certain you’re alright?”
Geordi heaved out a breath, collapsing backwards onto the sofa once more. He covered his face with his hands for a moment, hiding his lingering grin. When he appeared to have composed himself, he crossed them behind his head once more.
“So, protesting is kind of a given when it comes to tickling.”
Data cocked his head.
Geordi pursed his lips, seeming to be picking his words carefully. “It’s such a powerful feeling, being tickled, that it can be unbearable – even if you don’t actually mind it. So sometimes, your body fights back and tries to get away or your mouth says things you don’t actually mean in a bit of a panic.”
Data absorbed this information. “Your pleading was not a sign of distress. You were simply overwhelmed by the sensation, and your mind and body were searching for an outlet.”
“Exactly, yeah. I’ll probably say a lot of things I don’t mean when I’m getting tickled.” He turned his head and muttered into his bicep, probably not meant for Data to hear, “Especially by someone as ruthless and methodical as you.”
“And the teasing, this has also been acceptable?”
Geordi squirmed, despite there being no hands on him at the moment. “Yeah, it’s all fine.”
“In that case, how will I know when you are truly in distress, or when you truly want or need me to stop?”
“You can trust me to express when I really mean it, instead of it just being ticklish babbling. Like if I say ‘seriously’ or ‘enough.’ Just… listen closely, yeah?”
“I always listen closely to you, Geordi.”
Geordi cleared his throat. “Right, yeah. Carry on, then.”
Nodding at the permission, Data picked up right where he left off – massaging his fingers around Geordi’s hips and lower stomach. Geordi folded in half again almost instantly and grabbed at Data’s wrists, apparently unable to stop his bark of laughter this time.
“I wasn’t ready!”
“You had indicated that you were. Plus,” Data slipped a smug note into his tone, taking note of his research still running in the back of his mind, “perhaps it is better that you were unprepared. The surprise seems to have finally forced your laughter out.”
“Shut up !” Geordi’s words were now completely infused with laughter, drawing them out and removing their bite.
“I do not think that you mean that.”
Finding the massaging motions particularly effective in this area, Data moved upwards once more. Massaging around the edges of Geordi’s stomach had him rolling toward whichever side he felt was being targeted more, wiggling around in an almost worm-like fashion. Massaging the center of his stomach and around his belly button had Geordi letting out snorts between his laughter, which seemed to heighten his embarrassment as it won out over his instinct to fight back, and he released Data’s wrists to cover his own face. Massaging the area between Geordi’s belly button and sternum kept him giggling, but he was able to lie back on the sofa once more and catch his breath – a similar level of sensitivity to his sides, it seemed. He switched to lightly tapping and wiggling his fingers here, enough to keep Geordi’s nerves on edge but give him a well-deserved break at the same time.
“How are you doing, Geordi?”
Geordi let out an incredulous, high-pitched giggle, completely unrelated to the ticklish ones still spilling out of his mouth. “I think I am getting the most thorough tickling I’ve ever had in my life . I don’t think anything has ever tickled this much, ever .”
Data paused, just resting his fingers on Geordi’s torso. “Is that a compliment?”
Another one of those high-pitched giggles. “Yeah, Data, it’s a compliment. I’d call you a tickle monster, but I doubt a monster could be even half as precise as you.”
“If you are amenable, I would like to continue.”
Geordi’s head thumped back against the sofa. “Knock yourself out.”
Data hesitated.
Geordi chuckled, raising his arms up once more. “That means go for it.”
Without further preamble, Data shifted his hands to Geordi’s ribs, attacking with fingertips first. Instead of the bubbly sort of giggles Geordi put forth when he was catching his breath, the giggles that escaped him now were borderline hysterical. His feet drummed against the cushions of the sofa and he gripped the cushions above his head to keep his arms from crashing back down. The higher Data went, the more frantic the giggling became.
“You seem exceedingly ticklish here.”
“Data, please ! Cut it out!!”
Data hummed. “No. I do not think you mean that, either. However, please let me know when that changes.”
Geordi groaned through his laughter, scrunching his knees up to his chest before extending them outward again.
Satisfied with his preliminary fingertip exploration, Data moved back to the bottom of Geordi’s ribcage and began again. This time, he slowed down, carefully tracing and scribbling with his fingernails to get a more detailed set of data. Tracing between each bone led to Geordi’s squealing and kicking out his feet with even more vigor. Scribbling along the bones as far as he could before the couch blocked his access had Geordi near-cackling. His biceps trembled as they fought to stay up, his knuckles going pale where they gripped the cushions.
“That’s worse !” Geordi howled. “Light tickles are worse !”
“I believe that is the point. However, your input is noted, and very helpful to this gathering of information. Thank you, Geordi.”
“Screw you, Data!”
“I will take that as a panic response to the tickling, and the teasing being used to heighten your current state.”
Once again, the response only became more frantic the higher up Data moved. The cackling and squealing got louder and panicked, Geordi’s feet were going haywire behind him, and the mirth brightened Geordi’s expression beyond anything Data had ever seen. Slightly above the halfway mark, Geordi let out a particularly loud shriek and slammed his arms down over Data’s hands, pressing them tightly to his own torso.
“Please, Data, please . It’s gonna tickle so bad, come on man. Don’t do this.”
Data paused his hands, considering, and let Geordi catch his breath for a moment. He still seemed unable to stop giggling, or to free Data’s hands from where he had trapped him despite the fact that he kept flinching at their touch.
“Are you truly asking me to stop?” Data asked. “Or is this another instinctive protective response to an overwhelmingly ticklish sensation?”
Geordi made an aborted move, like he was going to cover his face before his arms remembered what they were trying to protect. “Instinct,” he mumbled.
“I see. Shall we continue, then? We may stop now, if you prefer.”
Geordi seemed to consider it. “We– we can keep going, but I don’t think I can take anything more after you finish this out.”
“That is perfectly acceptable. Whatever you are comfortable with. I would not want to cross your boundaries.”
A sheepish, almost embarrassed smile rose to Geordi’s lips. “It was kinda fun, actually. I didn’t mind it.”
“Is that so?”
“Shut up, Data.”
“Do you mean it this time?”
Geordi remained silent.
After a moment, Data twitched his fingers and Geordi yelped in response. “You said you were willing to finish out your ribs?”
Geordi squirmed under him, not facing him. “I don’t know if I can just… let you, like I was managing before. Whatever you’re doing – it tickles like hell .”
“So you would like to stop?”
“No, no. I just might need a little help is all.”
“What is it you propose?”
“You might have to pin my arms out of the way,” Geordi said. “Just for this last part.”
“So long as you are comfortable with it.”
Geordi huffed a laugh. “I’m the one telling you to do it, aren’t I?”
Data slipped his hands out from under Geordi’s arms, enjoying the new wave of frantic giggles it provoked. Once Geordi had composed himself, Data carefully grabbed each wrist and pinned them above Geordi’s head, stretching out his torso and leaving his ribs vulnerable. He could see Geordi swallow.
“I will have to do them one at a time,” Data said, “as I now only have one free hand.”
Geordi twisted and tugged at his wrists, but it seemed more born of nerves than a true attempt at escape. “I can’t tell if that makes it worse or not.”
“You will have to inform me after.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Data touched his fingernails down against Geordi’s ribs once more. He had taken note that Geordi responded especially well to the unexpected tickles, and this was no exception. Data believed “leapt out of his skin” would be an apt expression to use for the way Geordi reacted, his laughter loud and bellowing and desperate. His pleading started up again almost immediately, but he never used a tone or phrase that indicated an immediate need for the situation to stop, so Data continued.
“You seem especially sensitive here,” Data said. “What does it feel like?”
“It tickles dammit!”
“That much I can assess, yes. You’ll have to provide me details on the sensation once you are more cognizant.”
“ Data !!”
Geordi was practically screaming by the time Data reached the top of his ribs, and it left him endlessly curious about the ticklishness of the underarm just beyond. He and Geordi had a deal, however, and he was not about to break Geordi’s trust. Instead, once he deemed he had enough information (and that Geordi had been well and thoroughly tickled out on that side), he switched to the other side of his ribcage. The renewed wave of pleading was even more frantic than the last.
“Worse! It’s worse, it’s worse!”
“Oh? How so?”
“Means more tickles – Data please ! No more!”
“Do you need me to stop?”
Instead of an answer, Geordi simply wailed out, “It tickles !” which Data supposed was answer enough.
Sensing Geordi’s exhaustion, Data made quick work of the second side, or at least quicker than he’d done with the first side. When he was finished, he released Geordi’s wrists, and they immediately crashed down to wrap around his torso in protection. Geordi curled himself up into a giggly little ball, and Data waited patiently while Geordi regained his composure. Or, as much composure as a disheveled, tickled-out man could have.
Once Data deemed him cognizant, he couldn’t help but ask, “Might we continue this experiment another time. After all, it hardly seems finished, only gathering information about your torso.”
Geordi groaned out an exhausted laugh. “You’re a menace.”