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Data was giddy. That was the best word to describe it. Despite Geordi’s misgivings, and his own concerns about the way it would affect him, his emotion chip was functioning perfectly. He and Geordi had beamed over to the Amargosa Observatory to investigate, and hopefully pronounce the area safe for professor Soran to get back to work.
While there, Data had begun going through his memory files, searching back and trying to decide how he felt about the things that had happened to him. He had recalled several jokes, and they had made him laugh when he realized that what he was feeling was genuine amusement.
Data could tell that he was somewhat annoying Geordi with his constant laughter, but that was only because Geordi really didn’t want to be over here. He had mentioned it to Data just before they beamed over. ‘Something about Amargosa just doesn’t… feel right,’ he had said.
Data had cocked his head inquisitively, and then shrugged.
“I am sorry, Geordi,” he had said. “Hopefully we will be done with our mission soon, and then we can return and try to elicit more emotional responses from me.”
Geordi had grinned at him, and took off towards transporter room two. He nudged Data as they began moving and laughed a little bit, saying, “If I didn’t know better Data, I’d say that you were hitting on me!”
“I have not struck you, Geordi,” Data began, puzzled, “In fact, you are the one who –”
“No, no,” Geordi laughed. “I’m sorry. What I meant was that the way you phrased your previous sentence made it sound like you were flirting with me.”
Data opened his mouth to respond, paused, and tilted his head to the side. He was preparing to ask Geordi why it was assumed that he would not do that, but they had just entered the transporter room, and he did not think that Geordi would want him to do so in front of anyone else.
He did not think that the Amargosa Observatory would be a good place to bring up his earlier puzzlement, and besides, he was busy with remembering previous jokes and coming up with new ones. At any rate, he knew that he and Geordi had plenty of time to discuss that sort of thing later.
As Data continued exploring the concept of humor, he could tell that he was causing Geordi to feel some frustration with him. He didn’t stop though. Partially, at first he kept going because it genuinely amused him. He also kept going because he knew later that he would get to feel remorse at having annoyed Geordi, and he would get to offer a genuine ‘heartfelt’ apology.
Things did sort of slow down when his systems overloaded. He was definitely moved by some sort of emotion when he realized that even when Geordi was slightly annoyed with Data that he still dropped all annoyance to care for him. Then, that all came to a screeching halt when Soran hit Geordi. It felt like time had sped up and slowed down all at the same time, and Data knew that later he would be analyzing how emotions tied in to the human ability to perceive time non-linearly.
When Data finally returned to the Enterprise with Commander Riker, he laughed self-depreciatingly. When Riker turned to look at Data questioningly he just shook his head. The thought hadn’t been worth sharing. Will nodded and clapped a hand on Data’s shoulder.
“Get some rest,” he said, brusquely yet kindly, and Data nodded resignedly and turned to go to his quarters.
The thought that he had had was that he did in fact feel remorse at this moment in time, although it was not for the reasons that he had earlier anticipated. He had not even had an opportunity to speak with Geordi about his earlier comment on Data “hitting on him”.
Later, when the Captain had contacted Lursa and B’Etor, and they had found out that Geordi was still alive, Data felt a strange mix of emotions. He felt shame at his actions that had led to his friend’s capture, regret at the way that he had let Geordi down, and remorse for the pain that he had undoubtedly gone through. Data also felt an intense joy, though, at Geordi’s now known safety.
When Geordi was cleared from sickbay, and had reassured Data that he harbored no ill-will towards him, Data still felt an unpleasant sense of unease. He had been forgiven, yes, but he still wanted to discuss what had been said earlier. Data was unsure how to bring the topic up, however.
As Geordi left sickbay and headed to his quarters, Data paused, before turning and following him. They both had things to do, but Geordi wanted to change and rest for a bit before doing so, and Data urgently felt the need to speak with him.
He was not sure what it was about this topic that so compelled him. Data set his internal processors on the problem as the two of them walked, and hoped that he would come upon the solutions soon.
As Geordi reached the turbolift and realized that Data was coming along with him he smiled slightly, and waited for Data to catch up to him. They entered the lift, and Data stood in silence next to Geordi. He was acutely aware of how close they were standing, and of the warmth that he registered coming from Geordi’s arm and shoulder where they brushed against his.
Data added this information to his processing. He was not sure why it was that he was noticing this so acutely now, as looking back he discovered that this was a normal proximity for them to be from one another. The two of them stood in silence in the turbolift until Geordi chuckled, breaking the silence.
“Something on your mind, Data?” Geordi asked, leaning into him and bumping his shoulder companionably. Data looked at Geordi sharply, before letting out a sigh. He knew what that particular expression meant.
“I believe that the correct answer to your query is ‘yes’, Geordi.”
The turbolift opened then, and Geordi stood back, gesturing for Data to exit before him. He nodded, and they walked to Geordi’s quarters in silence. When they finally entered his room, Geordi went and flopped onto his bed bodily, groaning deeply into his pillow as he did. Data stood in the center of the room, much as he always had, but never before now had he felt any sort of unease while doing so.
Geordi rolled over slightly to look at Data, and a strange look overtook his features. He sat up, wincing in slight pain, and gestured Data over to come sit next to him. As Data complied, Geordi once again bumped into his shoulder with his own, smiling softly at him. Data wished that Geordi would always smile at him like that.
“What’s on your mind, Data?” Geordi asked gently, still leaning slightly against his android friend. Data paused to gather his thoughts together from the program that had been processing this specific issue. Ah. That certainly explained things.
“Geordi.” Data began, and then paused. He tilted his head slightly to the left. He knew what he wanted to say, but not how to say it. He was also nervous at how what he had to say would be received.
“Yeah?” Geordi asked, somewhat impatiently, but not unkindly. He had one eyebrow raised. Data hummed slightly.
“What did you mean, when you said, ‘If I didn’t know better Data, I’d say that you were hitting on me!’,” Data asked, perfectly replaying Geordi’s speech from that moment.
“What?” Geordi asked him incredulously. “When did I say that?” Data hung his head and sighed. While it was not necessary for him to take the extra breath, he found that sighing was an effective way to communicate many emotional states that he was now beginning to understand.
“Right before you and I began reconnaissance at the Amargosa Observatory.” Data paused, and Geordi made a soft ‘oh’ sound.
“Well, what was it that you had a question about?” Geordi asked him.
“I was wondering why it was that you found it so incredible that I would be attempting to engage you in communication of a romantic nature.”
Geordi sputtered a bit, sitting up and leaning back to look at Data more fully. “Well,” he began, “mostly because you’ve never seemed to want to do so before.”
“I have never had access to my emotions before,” Data responded evenly. He noticed with some interest that Geordi’s breathing and heartrate had both sped up slightly.
‘O-oh. Is that right,” Geordi said. The sentence sounded like it should be a question, but it was said softly. Data did not know what else to say, but for some reason he kept speaking.
“I greatly enjoy your presence, Geordi,” he began, “and I find that I miss you the most of all of my friends when you are not around. On occasion, even though being around you makes me feel wonderful, I am also nervous and unsettled.” He paused, and glanced at Geordi, who was now staring at him in rapt attention.
“I have dedicated my processing functions to this quandary for most of the day, and I can only concur that I do, in fact, have romantic feelings towards you.” Data paused again. “I now know that I have these feelings,” he continued, this time looking earnestly at Geordi, “but I find that I do not know what to do with them.”
There was a somewhat long pause, and then, Geordi took Data’s hands. “Oh, Data,” Geordi said warmly. “Data,” he repeated, “that was a very human confession.” He chuckled. “It was also a very sweet one.” Data cocked his head, and smiled slightly. Geordi continued, “Data, I’ve –” he cut himself off, chuckling again.
“Data, I’ve had romantic feelings for you for a very long time now,” he said finally. Data looked at him, eyebrows raised in confusion.
“Geordi, when did this begin, and why did you not say anything?”
“I don’t actually know, Data. It came on so gradually.” Geordi stood up and began pacing slowly. “It was- it was as if one day, I just woke up, and bam! I realized, ‘oh, I’m in love with my best friend’.” He shrugged, stopping in front of Data. “I never said anything because I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable with the thought that I was feeling something for you that you couldn’t reciprocate.”
Data sat still for a moment, processing Geordi’s words. He had had no idea. Geordi sighed, and sat back down on his bed, next to Data.
“What now?” Geordi asked, and Data looked at him appraisingly.
“I believe that now, we should engage in a romantic relationship.” Geordi’s eyebrows raised.
“Now?”
Data paused for a moment, and then replied, “Not at this moment. Now, I believe that you should rest. Later, after you have done so, and we have completed this mission, we can have a candid discussion about our relationship, and how to continue from here.” Geordi smiled. How very… Data.
“Sounds good to me,” Geordi replied, still smiling. Data stood up to leave, and return to his duties, but Geordi stopped him by grabbing hold of his hand before he walked away. “Data?”
“Yes?” Data raised one eyebrow along with his question.
Geordi stood up, still smiling, and kissed him, pulling him in close. He had meant it to be a chaste kiss, but that idea had flown out the window the moment that their lips touched. Geordi buried his fingers in Data’s hair, pulling him in close.
Data’s eyes flared open briefly in surprise, and then slipped closed. He stepped in closer, pressing his body firmly against Geordi’s, and bringing one hand around to caress his neck gently. They kissed like this for a while, before Data’s combadge chirped at him. Still, they kept kissing, until the combadge chirped yet again, and a voice came through insistently.
“Riker to Data.”
Data stepped back. He smiled at Geordi, and pressed a hand quickly to the badge on his chest. “Data here,” he responded.
“Mr. Data, report to the bridge.”
“On my way, sir.” He pressed his hand to the badge one more time, and it chirped slightly as it turned off. Data looked at Geordi again. “Rest now, Geordi,” he said. “We will have time to talk about this soon.”
Geordi smiled widely at Data, nodded, and watched him leave with a wistful sigh. “Computer, lights off,” he said, settling into bed and removing his VISOR. Finally, he could rest, although he would be needed in Engineering soon. He couldn’t wait to be done with this mission, and to have more talks like that with Data.
From their ship, Lursa and B’Etor looked at one another in horrified disgust. Soran’s little modification to the human’s VISOR had better well pay off. There was no way they were going to suffer quietly through having to have seen that and not get the shield frequencies to the Enterprise.