Archive of Our Own

“Are you okay?” Geordi’s brow furrowed as he looked at the android.

Okay. Adjective; correct, permissible, proceeding normally.

Geordi’s behavior had changed. When they had initially installed the emotion chip, Geordi had seemed as delighted with the results as Data had been, and just as eager for him to experience more feelings, more sensations. But in the last two weeks four days eighteen hours twenty three minutes and forty three seconds the engineer had seemed... dissatisfied. As if he had been anticipating a particular result and the eventual outcome had been counter to his expectations. Data worried that, somehow, he was a disappointment. He worried a lot, about all sorts of things.

The first week on the new Enterprise had been bewildering. Exciting, of course, but confusing. He reacted to things in ways that had no logical method behind them. He found out the meaning, the real genuine meaning, of the concept of ‘soft’, and Spot had fallen even more in love with her strange human, because he couldn’t stop stroking her silky fur. He discovered the delight of her purr, the rumbling thrum of her vocalization vibrating his hand made him laugh with joy. He thought he would never tire of the taste of strawberry, the zing of citrus, the mouth-puckering bitterness of coffee. He discovered that he didn’t like beer, or bubblegum, or peas. He had preferences, and he took equal delight in finding something he didn’t like as in discovering things he did. And then he discovered different degrees of like, and he found things that he liked, and things that he really liked.

The first time he tried to play the violin he had dropped it onto the floor in shock and then burst into tears. It had leapt in his hands like a living thing as he had set the bow to it, and its voice had sung out with a beauty that he was totally unprepared for.  In repayment he had dropped it, and the crack that it made as it hit the floor had sent a rush of guilt shooting through him so intense that it almost felt like a physical blow. Of course he knew, intellectually, that it was an inanimate object, that it couldn’t be hurt, and he could simply replicate another. Emotionally he was distraught. And when he had calmed down, he analyzed, as he had analysed every emotional reaction that he had experienced, categorizing them, putting names to them when he could. Embarrassment, humor, joy, anger, fear... He shunted them all into neat little boxes, filed and labelled like museum exhibits, so that when the next wave of sensation rolled him over he could say similar to, but not exactly and analyze, extrapolate, identify and categorize.

And then there was Geordi.

Data had discovered that the people around him made him feel different things about them. The Captain was (like being in a secure room) safe, Commander Riker was (like a game of poker) fun, Counselor Troi was (like a warm blanket) gentle.

Geordi was... (like Geordi). And when the engineer had asked, shyly, awkwardly, what Data felt about him, he had told him. He made him feel... something. It was just... (like Geordi).   It was an emotion that seemed to defy his efforts to categorize. It wasn’t at all like what he felt with his other friends. It was a jumbled, confusing melange of seemingly contradictory feelings and there was nothing in his databases that seemed to be comparable. It was just Geordi. The feeling was all his, an emotion that seemed to belong only to the umber-skinned stocky engineer with the quick smile and rapid chatter. It was a feeling when he turned and flashed his white teeth in a grin, or put his hand on Data’s shoulder as he leaned over him to look at the screen. It was entering a turbolift that he had just left and catching his scent. It was his bubbling laughter and quick wit. It was Geordi, and it made him feel... something.

And the worst of it all was that, when Geordi had asked, he couldn’t explain because, to his astonishment, he had felt embarrassed. And that had confused him, and all he could say was that Geordi made him feel something but he didn’t know what and the man had scowled and thrown his hands in the air and then it was two weeks four days eighteen hours twenty three minutes and forty five seconds later and he still didn’t know what to say.

“Yes, I am fine.” Which was a lie, which made him feel (like knowing that you have upset someone) (like doing the wrong thing) (like being laughed at when you do something foolish) ashamed, guilty, embarrassed.

“O...kay.” The pause indicated that Geordi was unconvinced, and that made Data feel worse, because Geordi knew that he was lying but wasn’t going to challenge him because he was a good friend and he wouldn’t pry. And, in a strange way, Data wanted him to pry, he wanted Geordi to bully the truth out of him so that he could try and work out what this (Geordi) emotion really was. And maybe telling Geordi, trying to explain, would help, because maybe Geordi knew what this feeling meant, this sensation in his synapses that felt (like the bubbles in a glass of champagne sound) (like standing next to the warp core) (like listening to a concerto) (like standing at the bottom of a very deep hole) (like being unable to scream) that made him want to be near him and also at the same time run very fast in the opposite direction.

“I apologize. I am...” (like being uncertain of a specific set of parameters) “Nervous.”

“Sure. Well, that’s understandable.” Geordi sighed softly. “It’s the first bit of scheduled maintenance we’ve had to do on you since...” Geordi waved vaguely at the android’s head. “You know.”

“Since the installation of the emotion chip. Yes.” Data glanced away. The first time that Geordi would have to remove his protective outer casing and check his internal workings. He swallowed.

“I don’t know how you’re gonna feel about this, so I’m gonna go slow, okay? And you-you just tell me if you need me to stop, alright?”

Data bobbed a nod and unzipped his jacket, shrugging it from his shoulders onto the couch. He crossed his arms over his stomach, gripped the hem of his undershirt, and discovered that he didn’t want to lift his arms up. His brow furrowed. His modesty program hadn’t activated. Why had his arms seemingly locked in place? Geordi coughed.

“You, uh... gonna take that off so we can get started?”

“I...” (like knowing that you are entering a dangerous place) anxious “I...”

“Look, Data.” Geordi blew out a huffing sigh. “If you want to do this another time, I’ve got other stuff to be...”

“No!” He blurted the word with more force than he had intended and then cringed in embarrassment as Geordi’s brows came together. “No, I... now is fine, please.” He told himself for the one hundred and twenty fifth time that he was in control of his emotions and dragged his shirt over his head before he could think about it anymore.

“Fine by me.” Geordi seemed in a particularly poor frame of mind today, which made Data worry about him, and if he was getting enough sleep and food or if the new ship had problems or maybe it was one of the new engineering team and then Geordi’s hands were on his stomach and he sucked a gasp of air between his teeth. Geordi snatched his hands back.

“Data? Everything okay?”

(like seeing a comet) “Fine!”

“If you’re sure.” Geordi quirked an eyebrow and put his hands to the android’s abdomen again, running his fingers along the smooth surface, looking for the dip where he could pry the bioplast open and access Data’s internals. He found the seam and dragged at it with his fingertips, watching it ripple and pull and then part. Data made another sound, and Geordi looked up sharply.

“Is this uncomfortable?”

(like hands, Geordi’s hands) “No, not... no.” It wasn’t discomfort, it was good but strange and it made him feel (like waiting for something which you know will be pleasant) and (like not knowing the answer to a question) with a bit of (like reciting an anecdote that you are not sure people will find amusing).

“You want me to stop?”

“No, really Geordi, I am fine.” Geordi shrugged and shook his head before stripping the pale skin away and gently disengaging the clamps to release the synthetic muscles and reveal the extraordinary circuitry, pistons, pumps, wires and tubes that lurked under the android’s white-gold exterior. He peered in, adjusting his visor minutely.

“Looks good at first glance. You doing okay?”

(like the modesty subroutine) exposed “Yes, feel free to proceed.” Liar, liar, synapses on fire, as Geordi’s hands entered his body (like watching a star go supernova) (like the first time tasting chocolate ice-cream) (like Geordi’s hands) and his fingers dug into the cushions of the couch and his legs shook as Geordi ran his hands over a cluster of wires adorned with sensors and he strangled a squeak of surprise at the jolt of sensation (like a static shock) (like popping a balloon).

“Uh-huh... Okay, good...” Geordi was muttering to himself as his nimble fingers delved into the android’s workings, a tug here to make sure the connection was secure, check that this part is lubricated properly... “Um... Looks like you’re needing some minor clean-up of some of the smaller hydraulics, want me to get on that now?”

“Yes, yes, please.” Data’s mouth was trembling, his eyes wide, a torrent of sensation bombarding his neural nets as the chip transformed simple pressure to something... something. Geordi carefully drew his hands out and sat back on his heels to wipe his fingers off on a cloth from his toolkit, regarding the android with suspicion.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I...” Data’s arms were shaking, he was breathing faster than normal, emulating a human’s response to a stressful situation. “It is not...” He pressed his lips together with a shudder. “I would like you to continue, please.”

“Look.” Geordi threw the cloth down irritably. “You’re starting to annoy me. Just tell me what’s wrong!”

“Nothing is wrong Geordi, I promise. I just feel... it feels like...” And there he stuttered to a halt again, because how could he find a single word with the correct emotional connotations to encompass all of the different sensations that coursed through his neural nets when Geordi ran his soft, warm hands over his exposed and vulnerable circuitry? “It feels like... something that I have yet to find a word for.” He finished lamely. Geordi rolled his eyes under his visor, his brows tightly knit.

“I’m trying to help you, Data, why are you making this so complicated?”

“I am trying, Geordi! I... I have no frame of reference for what I am experiencing!” Data squeezed his eyes shut tightly. “I do not wish for you to stop, and yet the sensations are... overwhelming.”

“Is it pain? Is that it? You’ve got to help me out here, I-I don’t know what’s going on any more than you do!”

Data shook his head rapidly, his eyes still shut, his brow deeply furrowed in his frustration. “It creates a... feeling in me, such that I... I want to get away and I feel embarrassed and uncomfortable but I do not want you to stop because the sensations are so pleasurable and I am not sure why and the disparity makes no sense because how could I simultaneously desire for a situation to persist and yet also wish for it to cease?”

Geordi rocked back on his heels as Data blurted his thoughts in one long unbroken sentence. It was as if, in his agitation, he had forgotten how to speak like a human. Geordi looked at the android for a long moment, absorbing his words, and Data shuddered again and hung his head.

“I am sorry Geordi. Perhaps you are right, we should not attempt to do any more until I have had time to analyse...”

“No way...” Geordi’s voice was barely a breath, and Data looked up at him, confused, as the man shot to his feet.

“No way! You’ve gotta be kidding me!” And now Geordi looked angry, and Data could only conclude that somehow the engineer had made a leap of logic that had thus far eluded him.

“I am not joking...”

“Are you seriously telling me that-that I was... that it turned you on?”

“I... I do not...”

“You were getting off on it!” Geordi blurted, waving his hands in agitation.

Data’s mind whirled. How could he ‘get off’ when he wasn’t on anything, apart from the couch, whist simultaneously being ‘turned on’ when he was already active?

“Oh God, Data, what if someone else had been doing the work?” Geordi spun around to stride across the room and back again with anxious tension etched on his face. “Some ensign who didn’t know you...”

“No!” Data’s hands gripped the edge of the couch as he shook his head. “I would never trust anyone but you to access my inner workings, and even should such an event occur I highly doubt that I would have the same emotional reaction to...” And he stumbled to a halt again, because there it was again, the (Geordi) feeling, and he knew, just knew, that it had been not just the sensation of the touch but the fact that it was (Geordi’s hands)...

“Data...” Geordi’s voice was low as he ceased his restless pacing to stand in front of the android. “Does this have something to do with... how you feel... about me?”

Data’s eyes snapped open. Apparently Geordi had been doing some analyzing of his own.  

“The way I feel...” (like the texture of a feather) (like the sound of a force field) (like an unexpected flash of light) “... about you?”

“You-you seem to be describing a similar... mental block, like when you were trying to explain... how you felt about me.” Geordi’s voice was halting, his face averted, and Data saw the flush of warmth suffusing the man’s cheeks as his capillaries enlarged. He was embarrassed.

“I have made you uncomfortable, and now I am ashamed, because I have hurt your feelings.”

“No, no, I’ve been too hard on you. I’m sorry.” Geordi crossed his arms, almost hugging himself. “I-I’m not... you haven’t hurt my feelings. I just... I want to understand. So, please, can you try to explain this to me?”

Data chewed his lip nervously as he looked up at Geordi. Why was he so afraid? It made no sense! He had known Geordi for so long... and perhaps that was the problem. Perhaps if he told Geordi and Geordi recognized the emotion and it meant something negative then they would no longer be friends. But if he did not tell Geordi, then he would lose his trust, and that would be worse. He drew a deep breath.

“It feels... like the waves on a beach sound. Hearing the voice of someone whose arrival you have been anticipating. Being given an unexpected gift. When I am with you, it is like a breath on the back of my neck, as if the turbolift has moved in an unexpected direction, like being trapped in the event horizon of a black hole. I do not know what these things mean, I only know that that is how I feel, and because I cannot understand what this emotion is, I am afraid.”

“Is that why you’ve been avoiding me?” Geordi mumbled.

Data opened his mouth to deny that he had been doing such a thing and then snapped it shut again. Geordi was right, he had been avoiding him. Because of these feelings and the way that not knowing what it meant made him afraid. He had been avoiding him.

“Yes.”

“Damn it. I’ve been such an idiot.”

Data’s brow furrowed. Geordi had made another leap of logic that he couldn’t follow. How could the fact that he had been deliberately avoiding him make Geordi less intelligent?

“I do not understand.”

Geordi sighed deeply and slumped down to sit cross-legged on the floor, shaking his head. “I thought... I thought you didn’t tell me what you felt about me because you found out that... that you didn’t like me.”

“Geordi!” The thought of it was such a surprise that for a moment all Data could do was stare at the man in shock. How could he not like Geordi? The very idea was anathema to him. “Of course I like you.” He said. “You are my best friend.”

“Sure, sure, I know.” Geordi sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I just figured that, if you were avoiding me... I’m sorry, I should have asked you sooner what was going on, instead of jumping to conclusions.”

“No, it is I who should apologize. You asked me what I felt and I could not describe it, and then I felt fear. I worried that these... feelings meant something. But I am sure that, given proper analysis...”

“Data, those feelings do mean something, but I-I’m not sure what... what to do... about it.”

Geordi was looking more uncomfortable by the minute. Data was becoming anxious. What could be causing the man such distress?

“Geordi, if you understand what I am experiencing, if you yourself recognise this emotion, then please tell me!”

“It’s... it’s complicated...” Geordi huffed a sigh and Data saw the heat rise to his face again. “Damn it, all the ways I thought this might go... Routine maintenance, for fuck’s sake...” Geordi shook his head with a scowl. “Data, I think that what you felt was... arousal. And from what you’ve said, it sounds like it’s because of me. And-and I... I really wanted it to be me, that made you feel that, but I wasn’t expecting...”

Arousal. Noun. The state of being sexually excited.

(like Geordi’s hands)

(Geordi’s hands)sexual (Geordi’s hands)sexual(Geordi) arousal(Geordi’s smile)sexual arousal(Geordi’s scent)arousal(Geordi’s hands)sexual(Geordi’s laugh)arousal(Geordi’s hands)

“Data? Data, what is it? Are you okay?”

“Oh.” He breathed. He felt as though some piece had fallen into the puzzle of his mind, but instead of completing the picture, the missing segment had revealed that he had been looking at the box upside-down.

“Data?”

“Oh Geordi, I am so sorry!” Data’s face fell, and Geordi scrambled up onto his knees.

“No-no don’t... don’t feel bad, I-I don’t mean that you shouldn’t be feeling... I mean I didn’t know that it would be like that for you, and...”

“I have put you in a terribly difficult situation, and you are my friend! I am so sorry to have made you uncomfortable, and I am dreadfully ashamed.” Data felt embarrassment wash over him in a sickening, roiling wave. Poor Geordi, to know that his friend, his best friend, was feeling arousal from his touch! He closed his eyes tightly, unable to bear looking at the man he had shamed, and Geordi suddenly lurched forwards and grabbed the android’s hands.

“No-no-no, please listen to me! I... I don’t mind, I want you to feel like that, I-I’ve wanted it for... I didn’t know if you felt...” Geordi looked down and away and drew a trembling breath. “I didn’t know if you would like me... the way I like you. A-and I think, maybe, you do, but I...” He seemed suddenly aware of their proximity and dropped Data’s hands to sit back on his heels. “I’m not good at... this sort of stuff.” He mumbled, his hands clasped in his lap, fingers twisting together anxiously.

Data’s head spun. Geordi’s stammering confession left him reeling. Geordi wanted him to be aroused? And he wanted it to be him that caused those feelings?

Analyze, extrapolate, identify and categorize.

He was sitting on the couch in his quarters, with his internal components completely exposed, and his best friend was kneeling on the floor in front of him having just awoken him to sexual arousal, and was now admitting to having similar feelings to whatever the (Geordi) feeling was that Data had for him.

And now they were both avoiding looking at one another, trapped in a dreadful, awkward silence.

“I do not know what to do.” He whispered. Geordi grimaced.

“Well, neither do I. I-I’ve fucked it all up, and I shouldn’t have been mad at you in the first place. I just spent so long imagining what it would be like, and... and now it’s happening and I’m doing it all wrong. It’s just... it wasn’t how it was supposed to go.” Geordi was staring hard at his own hands, picking his nails, twisting his fingers. Data couldn’t take his eyes away from those clever, nimble hands (hands)(Geordi’s hands)

“How is it supposed to go?”

Geordi shrugged awkwardly. “Well, dinner and talking, and then maybe a kiss, and... Oh, fuck if I know, I’ve never been any good at this.” He looked away miserably. “Shit.”

Data thought for a moment. “If you replace my musculature and bioplast sheeting I would be amenable to eating a meal with you.”

Geordi gave a breathy laugh. “No, no, you don’t understand, we’ve skipped all that and gone straight to the sex!”

“Oh.” Data pondered. “We were having sex?”

“Not the way I... Not... I mean, I know you’re different, but...” Geordi folded his arms tightly across his chest, turning his head away, avoiding Data’s gaze. “I-I mean, I want to do... I want to do the whole... sex... thing, but I just figured... that being intimate would just...” He hunched his shoulders as if he wished he could disappear.

“If we are both accepting of the idea, then why is it a problem?”

“Because I feel like I just walked into your room and shoved my hand down your pants!” Geordi blurted.

(Geordi’s hands)

The mere thought of it sent a hot wave of desire sweeping through his neural nets, and he shivered at the idea of what it might feel like to have (Geordi’s hand) somewhere so private, so intimate.

“I see.” Data rolled the concept around in his head for a moment. “Given the correct connotations, and under the current circumstance, I do not think that I would mind.”

Geordi gaped at him for a moment before shaking his head with a rueful laugh.

“That’s the most Data way of saying ‘get on with it’ that I’ve ever heard.”

The most Data way

How many times had Geordi used his name as an adjective? ‘Such a Data thing to do’, ‘A Data way of putting things’.

Did Geordi feel (Data) about him the same way he felt (Geordi) about Geordi?

In the mere moment that it had taken him to extrapolate and assimilate this new concept the man had pushed himself up and shuffled forward on his knees, and Data was suddenly aware of (Geordi’s hands) on his knees, and it sent a (like cold water running down your back) through him.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been an idiot about this. You’re right, if-if we both want this...” Geordi stammered to a halt, and Data felt his fingers tighten a little on his knees. He reached out and covered the man’s hands with his own and Geordi sighed and looked into the android’s eyes.

“You want me to try this again?”

“Very much, yes.” Data breathed, the (like knowing you are about to have something nice) sweeping through him.

“Okay. Okay, um...” The engineer took a deep breath. “Can I kiss you?”

“I think that I would like that, yes.”

Geordi leaned forwards.

Data had never thought about what it might feel to have Geordi’s lips pressed against his own. It was a situation that he simply could have never imagined happening, and he thought briefly about how many times he had watched the man’s mouth move as he spoke and experienced the (Geordi) feeling welling up inside him, and now he understood.

Sexual arousal.

Geordi’s mouth was warm and soft as he brought their lips into contact, and the man’s hands gripped his knees as he leaned over him, kissing him gently, chaste and close-mouthed.

(like solving a conundrum)(like a brush stroke on a canvas)(the color red)(smashing glass)(vibrating guitar strings)(nebula)(power surge)

Geordi leaned back, breaking the kiss with a small soft sound in the back of his throat.

“You okay?”

Data had his eyes shut, his mouth slightly open. His hands trembled where they rested on Geordi’s.

“Yes. Again, more, please.”

“God yes.” Geordi pushed the android’s legs apart to move in close as he slid one hand out from Data’s grip to place it on his chest, and the android gasped at the sensation of (Geordi’s hand) on his skin, and then Geordi’s lips was on his again and moving, the man’s mouth opening and closing and he was doing the same, lips sliding in tingling, singing contact, and then Geordi touched his tongue with his own and he couldn’t stop the small noises he was making, high pitched moans in short gasping breaths. Geordi slid his hand up Data’s leg onto his thigh and he shivered in delight, closing his eyes to focus completely on the (hot chocolate)(dancing)(sunset)(Sibelius’ violin concerto in D minor)(jumping to warp) that was fizzing in his mind.

When Geordi leaned away again he was breathing deeply, a slight sheen of sweat pricking his forehead. He slid his hand down Data’s chest towards the open panel.

“You want...”

“Please, please, yes.” Data’s own breath was coming in gasps, the flood of sensations making his body shiver and hum with anticipation and desire.

“Okay. Now, try not to move too much, I don’t want to slip.” Geordi put one hand on Data’s shoulder to hold him steady as he quested inside him with his fingers, and Data ground his teeth to bite back the sounds that threatened to burst from his mouth as (Geordi’s hand) began to gently caress the sensors surrounding his delicate internal workings.

“Don’t worry about making noises, I... I want to hear you.” Geordi’s voice was low and breathy, his gaze flicking back and forth between the android’s fragile circuitry and his face, watching the pale lips trembling, the golden eyes widening. He crooked his fingers, brushing against the wires, and Data leaned his head on the back of the couch and allowed himself a trembling moan.

“That’s it, just relax. Tell me if you want me to stop.”

“Please, do not stop.” The android’s voice had risen in pitch, his hands falling to his sides to grip the couch cushions. Geordi bit his lip as he coaxed another groan from Data, his clever fingers gently questing inside the android’s trembling body. He moved his fingers upwards towards the inside of Data’s chest cavity and the android gasped sharply before crying out, yellow-gold eyes wide in shock.

“There! Whatever you just... Yes, again!” Data’s knees came together spasmodically, gripping Geordi around his chest.

“Careful now.” Geordi gasped. “Don’t... don’t squeeze too tight. Just try... try and relax.”

Data forced his shaking legs to fall open, pushing his heels into the floor as Geordi’s fingers again found the cluster of sensors surrounding his core processors. The sensors were intended to warn him of internal damage and he had never received a signal from them before, and now they were singing their sensations into his mind. His head rolled on his neck as the engineer ran his fingertips across them in a hot burst of pure delight.

“That good?” Geordi’s voice had gone husky, his face flushed with heat. Data whined and raised his hand to paw at the man’s chest desperately. Geordi gave a breathy laugh. “I’ll take that as a yes. Tell me... tell me how it feels.”

“It... It feels like... Ah!” (Geordi’s hands)(GeordiGeordiGeordi) “Like-like-like-like Eeeeror generating simile no other comparable sensations exist on file Oh God Geordi!” He gripped the man’s jacket and pulled their mouths together, kissing him fervently, and Geordi yelped with surprise, pushing back on Data’s shoulder.

“H-hang on!” He gasped in a breath as Data broke the kiss to emit another shuddering cry. “I need to be able to see what I’m doing.”

“More, more, more.” Data’s legs were twitching, pedaling his heels into the carpet, and there was a soft ripping sound as his free hand dug into the couch.

“Oh fuck, this is... God, I-I’ve wanted to see you like this for so long.” Geordi panted, trying to focus on the movements of his fingers, trembling over the delicate wiring, faster now and firmer as Data arched his back, pushing the man’s hand deeper into his circuitry.

“Geordi please, please, again, more!” Data’s vocal processor seemed to be faltering, his utterances tinny and distorted as his neural net was bombarded by emotion, flooding his synapses with sensations so intense that almost all of his processing power was being devoted to their analysis. Geordi groaned and gripped the sensor cluster in his hand, rubbing it in his palm, and Data threw his head back and shrieked.

“Tell me how it feels.” Geordi gasped, and Data’s shaking hand released his jacket to clamp onto his wrist, pushing his hand deep into his inner workings.

“It feels... I-I feel... Geordi! Geordi!” Data howled, and his back bowed away from the couch, his body spasming as the pulsing, throbbing waves of ecstasy crashed over him, like nothing, nothing he had ever felt before, a purity of sensation so dizzying in its perfection that he thought that if he died right now, in this moment of gloriousness, he would leave this universe with no regrets. His whole body tensed and then relaxed, and he released the man’s wrist from his trembling grip, his chest heaving in great shuddering gasps.

Geordi pushed himself up and withdrew his hand as carefully as he could, but Data still gave a ragged cry as his hand brushed past his sensors.

“Are you good?” Geordi croaked, his own breathing heavy. Data nodded vaguely, scarcely able to move.

“Good, good, yes, very good.” He panted, resting his head on the back of the couch for a moment before looking down to regard the engineer with luminous eyes filled with wonder. Geordi laughed breathlessly, dropping his hands to rest them on Data’s thighs, and the android squirmed with a sharp moan.

“What is it?” Geordi’s brow furrowed in concern and he looked down at where his hands rested, before his eyebrows shot up as he noticed the tautness of Data’s pants. “A-are you... still aroused?”

“It is... different.” Data shifted uncomfortably. “My sexual behavior program has activated, but I did not deliberately access it.”

“Well, I guess the emotion chip makes your body... do things. This is... just a normal reaction to...” His voice tailed off as he ran his hands up and down the android’s things, his breathing harsh. “Totally normal.”

“I take it that it is a reaction to the situation that you also share, given your current condition.” Data’s eyes were bright as he watched the man subtly grinding against the edge of the couch, his lips pouting with his heaving breaths.

“Yeah. Yeah, I... um...” Geordi shook his head slowly. “Watching you... God, I can’t remember the last time I was this turned on.”

Ah. Turned on. Slang term for sexual arousal.

The wave of (Geordi) that flooded his mind was impossible to ignore, and so he chose to simply feel, to allow his emotions to dictate his actions. He reached out to grab the man by his upper arms and pulled their bodies together, fastening their mouths hungrily as Geordi’s hands slid around his back, pressing him close. The sheer (Geordi)ness of the moment was overwhelming, their tongues dancing and darting, the man’s hands sliding and digging into his back, the nearness of his body making him ache for more, more contact, more pressure, but then Geordi’s hands were pressing into his chest, pushing them apart. Data relinquished his grip on the man with a groan of disappointment.

“J-just wait a sec.” Geordi gasped as he shrugged his jacket from his shoulders, and Data couldn’t help but reach out and run his hands over the man’s chest, watching the way the fabric of his shirt rippled over his pectoral muscles and delighting in the shudder that ran through Geordi’s body at his touch.

“Hang on, hang on.” Geordi gently but firmly took the android’s hands and reluctantly pushed them away. “We should... cover your internal cavity if... if we’re...”

“Yes, of course.” Data was hazily astonished that Geordi could think so logically and clearly at that moment, when he himself had barely considered the ramifications of their actions. His mind was awash with anticipation, desire, lust, names falling into place as the emotions gained context. He curbed his reactions, keeping his hands to his sides as Geordi reattached his musculature, pausing a moment as he smoothed the bioplast into place, before trailing his fingers over the android’s shimmering skin. Data gasped and shuddered, the tingling touch awakening his skin into shivers of delight.

“God, you’re beautiful.” Geordi groaned. “The number of times I’ve had to stop myself...”

“Do not stop.” Data breathed.

“I-I’m not gonna stop, not unless you tell me to. Fuck...” Geordi sucked a breath through his teeth, his hands (hands) pressing, rubbing, trailing over the shimmering white-gold bioplast, his body moving impulsively. With a small moan the man dipped his head and pressed his mouth to Data’s chest, kissing the pseudo-flesh tenderly, and Data arched his body into the caress, groaning, his hands raising to the engineer’s shoulders, stroking his neck, trailing down his spine. Geordi exhaled a shuddering breath into his skin and it sent a thrill through both his body and mind.

With a trembling sigh Geordi straightened, but only to remove his undershirt. Data had only a moment to take in the sight of the man’s naked torso before Geordi pressed himself forwards once more, and Data gasped into his mouth as his fingers ran up his neck and into his hair. Geordi’s clever, nimble hands, so capable, and now all over his body, leaving his skin tingling and shimmering with sensation as their chests pressed together, hot and needy, slick with sweat. Geordi’s mouth found Data’s pale neck and he sucked and nibbled at the shimmering skin, making the android cry out loud.

Data felt almost (Polywater) about the whole situation, his mind spinning as he tried to commit every touch, every sensation to memory. And yet, as glorious as it was, somehow it wasn’t enough. There was a new yearning, a desperation, as if there was something incredibly important that needed to happen, and he only worked it out when Geordi’s hand skimmed over his thigh again and he gave a ragged cry.

“Please, please touch me...” He swallowed hard. Somehow he didn’t want to be explicit, it seemed in some way too crude for such a wonderful moment, and he decided to simply lead by example. He sat up, leaning into the man’s solid body, and rubbed his hand over Geordi’s sex. He reacted just as Data had hoped he would, by pressing himself close with a low shuddering cry and mimicking the android’s action, pressing his palm to the hardness he found waiting for him, and that was what he needed and he too pushed himself into the caress, dragging their bodies together, his mouth tasting the salt-spiciness of Geordi’s sweat, relishing the scent of his musk, glorying in the supple softness of skin over subcutaneous fat over muscle.

“Geordi, Geordi...” He whispered into the man’s neck, and Geordi gave a shuddering groan as he gripped the place where ivory neck met shoulder with his teeth before leaning back with a gasp.

“Okay, we gotta stop, you... You’ve gotta stop.” He panted, his body trembling.

“Why must we stop when it is so pleasurable?”

“Because it’s too pleasurable, and I’m... You’re gonna make me come.” He grabbed Data’s wrist and pulled his hand away, his breathing harsh and unsteady, his teeth grinding together as he sat back on his heels.

“Is that not the purpose of this exercise?” Data’s lambent gaze swept over the man’s body, drinking in the sight of his lightly furred chest with its sheen of sweat.

“Yeah, but not... not while I’m still in my uniform. I don’t want to have to go back to main engineering with...” and suddenly Geordi’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh shit! What time is it?”

“Eighteen forty three.”

“Shit! I-I was supposed to be back down there twenty minutes ago!” Geordi leapt to his feet, grabbing his jacket, and Data followed him up, gripping his arms.

“Please, no!” His voice was low with passion. “Please, do not go, not now! Tell them... tell them that the necessary work on me is taking longer than anticipated. Please, stay!”

“Are you... are you asking me to lie?” Geordi’s brows rose, if possible, even higher. “You?”

“Please, Geordi, do not leave me...” He leaned in and pressed his mouth to the man’s neck. The thought of Geordi going back to engineering, when he was so close to discovering what this (Geordi) thing was all about, filled him with nameless dread. “Tell them that it is an emergency. Tell them whatever you wish. But please stay.”

“Oh fuck.” Geordi breathed, before pushing the android back a pace. Data moved his hands from Geordi’s arms and up onto his bare shoulders, kneading with his fingers, and Geordi fumbled with his jacket for a moment before locating his communicator.

“La Forge to engineering.”

Data’s eyes roved his body, absorbing the sight, before deciding to give in to his curious nature. He wanted, needed to explore, to map every part of the man’s body, commit this wonderful moment to memory. He dropped to his knees to run his hands down the engineer’s thighs.

“Engineering here. Everything all right?”

Data’s hands were shaking as he began to undo the man’s uniform pants, and Geordi reached down and weakly tried to push his hands away.

 “Uh, no, no, I just... I’ve hit a bit of a snag, the work on... on Data’s gonna... gonna take me a bit more time than I thought.”

Data dragged the pants down Geordi’s legs and leaned in close to lip at the man’s sex, mouthing at the hardness through his boxers. Geordi hissed through his teeth as his trembling fingers pushed into the android’s hair.

 “That’s no problem, Sir, we’ve got everything in hand down here.”

Data tugged at the waistband of the underwear, and Geordi’s fingers tightened in his hair as the android drew his cock free from his boxers, exploring the length with his fingers.

 “O-okay, I’ll... be down as soon as... when we’re... done up here.”

Accessing his database of sexual knowledge, Data gripped the hard shaft with one hand and ran his tongue over the tip, luxuriating in the texture and taste of the man’s lust, the salt of his precum, the scent trapped in the thatch of soft tightly curled hair, the ridges of the veins under the skin.

“That’s fine Sir, we’re doing okay for now.”

The android’s head dipped down and he drew the head of the man’s cock into his mouth.

“God!-Good! Good to know! La Forge out!” He thumbed the communicator off and dropped the jacket to put his hand on Data’s head, pushing him away. “Fuck! S-stop, please!”

Data drew his head away, sitting back on his heels to look up at the man in confusion.

“Am I failing to adequately stimulate you?”

“God no, it’s too good.” Geordi was shaking, his chest heaving as he panted. “I’ll be finished before we’ve even started.”

“But I wish to please you. You gave me pleasure, it seems only fair that I return the favor.”

“And you will, but not... not just yet.” Geordi blew out a trembling breath. “At least let me get undressed properly! A-and maybe standing up isn’t such a good idea.”

“If you are suggesting that we retire to a more suitable location I am inclined to agree.” Data rose gracefully to his feet, running his hands appreciatively over the man’s chest. Geordi groaned.

“Good.” He growled, kicking his boots off. Data watched in mute fascination as Geordi dipped to drag his trousers and underwear off and then straightened to stand before him, naked but for his visor.

“You are... very handsome.”

Geordi chuckled, sending a shiver of (Geordi) through Data’s body. “Thanks, you too. Um, you gonna... finish undressing too?”

With swift efficiency the android divested himself of his remaining clothes, and the engineer’s eyes raked over his body as he hummed in approval.

“You have seen me unclothed before.” Data remarked, and Geordi quirked a grin.

“Yeah, but... it’s all about context, you know?”

“I am beginning to understand, yes. This does bear a marked difference to previous situations where...”

“Okay, enough talking.” Geordi closed the gap between them and leaned into Data’s chest to meet his mouth with his own, and Data strangled a cry as their naked bodies pressed together, sensors registering every thrilling, tingling millimetre of contact, (Geordi’s hands) on his body, the scent of the man in his nostrils, his soft pliant lips and mobile tongue, the slick of his sweat, and the glorious, heady rush of feeling their shared desire, the hardness against his own, overwhelming him with lust. Data wrapped his arms around Geordi and lifted him effortlessly to carry him with long strides to his small bed and lay him down, covering him with his body as their mouths explored and their bodies set their own rhythm, sliding, pushing, grinding. Geordi groaned again and Data answered it with a moan of his own as he measured the racing pulse in the man’s throat with his mouth, nuzzling into his shoulder as he pressed his shaking body against him.

“Slower.” Geordi breathed. “Slow down.”

“Why? I-I do not wish to slow down, I want to move faster.” Data panted. Geordi shook his head a little.

“I know, and I do too, because it feels good, but I-I want this to last, I don’t want... I don’t want to finish yet.”

“I understand.” Data sighed in frustration but did as the man asked, forcing his yearning body to a slower pace, the friction torturous. “Human males need a time of recuperation between climaxes. You fear that, should you experience orgasm, you would not be able to perform for some time, and that would curtail any further activities that you may be anticipating.”

“That’s about it, yeah.” Geordi’s legs twined with his own and Data kissed him again, slow and leisurely, relishing the texture of his lips.

“Are there...” Data plucked at the man’s lips again. “... any particular activities that you are interested in exploring at this moment?”

“I can think of about twenty.” Geordi shivered. “But, I want this to be about you. What do you want?”

Data pondered this for a moment, his body lapsing into stillness, eyes unfocused. It was all so good, and it was difficult to anticipate what sensations may arise from any given act, although he was able to hypothesize. He fixed his gaze on the man again.

“Whilst I am enjoying the closeness afforded by frottage, I find myself desirous of more intimate contact. Would you be averse to full intercourse?”

Geordi’s brow furrowed. “Um... well, not averse, no, but... I’ve never been... you know...”

“If you are not comfortable with being penetrated then I am more than happy to play the more passive role, as it were.” Data rolled his hips and the man groaned as the android nipped at his neck. “More than happy.”

“O-okay, okay.” Geordi gasped. “Roll over.”

Data did as he was bid, maintaining his grip on the man and dragging him over to lie on top of his pale body. Geordi laughed breathlessly, pushing himself up to break the hold.

“God, you’re impatient! Just slow down!” He paused a moment to simply breathe, his arms shaking. “Do you need to... do anything? I mean, to...  to prepare?”

“It should not be necessary. Although I have never been anally penetrated by another person, I have conducted my own experiments into...”

“Okay, okay, I get the idea.” Geordi grinned. "So, I don’t need lube or anything?”

“I produce my own bio-lubricant, as you well know, although I will forgive you for not having the implicit knowledge that I am able to...”

“Data...” Geordi sighed and sat back, pushing the android’s knees apart to kneel between his legs. “have you ever been told you talk too much?”

“Yes, many times.” Data said ruefully, and Geordi shook his head with a chuckle.

“This is one of those times when it’s best not to over-explain. Just... relax. I want to... find out what you like. So, try and keep the technical explanations for later and just let me know what feels good. Might give me a chance to cool down anyway.”  

“Very well. I will be sure to inform you should...” Data’s voice tailed away as Geordi’s hands trailed down the insides of his thighs towards his erection. “Oh...”

“Damn, but I love seeing you like this.” Geordi murmured, running his fingers along the pale length and watching the android shiver and gasp. “I-I want to try... I’ve never, um... given a-a man oral before, so I don’t know if I’ll be any good, but...”

“I anticipate that it will be most pleasurable.” Data sighed. Geordi gave him a tremulous smile before dipping his head and running his tongue experimentally up the length to the tip. Data shuddered from head to toe. He knew, of course, that his sex organ had more sensors than the rest of his outer casing, but at that moment it had never been more apparent.

“Huh, that good?” Geordi glanced up. “I can feel your pulse on my tongue, that’s... that’s pretty hot.”

“The temperature of my genital area is no higher than that of the rest of my body, and my fluidic system extends to...” Data’s voice rose in pitch and his sentence ended abruptly in a yelp as Geordi drew the head of his sex into his mouth and sucked firmly on the tip, sending the android into paroxysms of delight, his legs shaking and hands clenching into the sheets.

“I think I might have finally found a way to shut you up.” Geordi murmured with a grin before setting his mouth once more to the shimmering white-gold phallus and drawing it into his mouth, one hand around the base of the shaft. Data’s back arched off the bed as he cried out, the sensation of the hot wetness of the man’s mouth overwhelmingly erotic, the movements of his tongue and lips dizzying in their intensity as his mouth slid up and down the length. Geordi’s free hand drifted down to the cleft in his buttocks and he rubbed his fingers back and forth over the tight opening, and Data shrieked as his neural net lit up with glorious feedback.

Geordi drew his head back, the android’s cock leaving his mouth with a soft, wet sound. “Can I... Do you want me to touch you? Inside?”

“Please, please, yes.” Data panted shakily. Geordi looked up to watch the android’s face contort with delight as he slowly pressed his index finger into the puckered opening, sliding easily into warm slickness.

“How’s that?”

“It is... extremely pleasurable, yes.” Data’s chest heaved and he cried out again as Geordi’s other hand stroked his shaft, smoothing his fist up and down the hard length as his finger worked inside him.

“More?”

“Please... Yes, yes!” Geordi slipped his middle finger into the android’s anal cavity and Data bucked his hips, pushing himself onto the man’s hand and up into his fist, trembling with lust.

“Careful now.” Geordi’s voice was low and husky. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You-you will not, I want... There is a bank of sensors inside...” Data’s voice broke to a wild cry as Geordi’s questing digits found the place, and Data’s heels dug into the bed as he tilted his hips, trying to encourage the man’s fingers deeper.

“Oh fuck.” Geordi groaned, his clever fingers wringing such delights from the android that Data found himself almost incapable of speech and could only writhe and moan. “You’re so beautiful.” He slid his fingers from the android’s opening and leaned over him to kiss his trembling lips, catching his gasping breaths in his mouth. Data wrapped his arms and legs around him desperately, pressing their bodies together in frenzied abandon as all rational thought fled and the yearnings of his aching body swept through his synapses like fire. Geordi grabbed one pale leg and pushed it up towards the android’s chest and gripped his own hardness, guiding himself to the waiting warmth.

“You want...”

“YES! Geordi, please, please!”

Geordi pushed himself forward and groaned as the supple pale flesh yielded and he was enveloped in the soft heat of his shimmering lover, who responded by canting his hips and crying out, digging his fingers into the man’s sweat-slick back.

“Oh yes...” Geordi moaned into the android’s shoulder as he paused there, holding his shaking body in stillness for the space of a few thundering heartbeats, before beginning to move in slow shallow thrusts that made Data roll his head, his eyes wide in astonishment.

“God, tell me you’re enjoying this as much as I am.” Geordi groaned into his neck, one hand gripping the pale thigh, the other on his hip.

“I-I-I good, good, yes, very...” Data panted, and then screamed as the tip of the man’s cock found that place inside him and he bucked his hips urgently, driving himself onto his lover.

“Oh fuck, I’ve... I’ve imagined... It’s so much...” Geordi seemed to be nearly as insensible as he was, his gasping, panting breaths fragmenting his utterances into incoherence. “Fuck, you’re... so good...”

And here it was again, that feeling welling up inside him, like all the good things that he had ever experienced were all going to happen at once, a surging upswell of emotion that threatened to break over him at any moment and sweep him away in glorious sensation, so nearly there...

“Close, so, so...” Data pulled both of his knees up and tilted his pelvis, and Geordi took the invitation and buried himself up to the hilt in the trembling body of his lover with a yell.

“Oh fuck, I’m...” Geordi’s head came down to meet the android’s shoulder as he thrust himself into him, Data’s fingers clawing at his back as his peak rushed towards him. The man leaned back abruptly, his face gleaming with sweat, mouth open.

“I want to see you come.” He gasped, and drove himself into the android with long measured strokes as his hand came up to grip Data’s cock and stroke in time with his thrusts.

“Yes, yes, YES!” Data’s voice broke to a howling wail as his climax crashed over him, drowning him in a heady cocktail of sensation and emotion, a glorious ecstatic explosion of such magnitude that all he could do was scream his lover's name to the stars until the feeling ebbed away, dragging him into the undertow of satiation.

Geordi, meanwhile, had collapsed onto his pale chest and was lying there, panting and keening in his throat.

“You... you okay?” He gasped.

“Wonderful, incredible, extraordinary, glorious...” Data breathed, his arms and legs still tight around the man, pressing their hot bodies together, sharing the afterglow.

“Good.” Geordi’s breathing was gradually slowing, his voice approaching his normal pitch. “So... you think you’ve worked out how you feel about me?”

“I... I feel... Geordi.”

Geordi chuckled into the android’s pale shoulder and pressed a kiss to his neck.