The gentle chime of the doorbell shook Kelly out of her daydream. Pushing down her emotions, and locking away her longing thoughts of golden skin and citrine eyes, she stood and straightened out her uniform.
"Come in"
Kelly felt her stomach do flip flops as she watched Lt. Commander Data confidently stride into her quarters. Her previous thoughts threatened to surface in her mind, but she clasped her hands behind her back and stood up straight and formal. She knew her attraction to her commanding officer was unprofessional, and she wasn't about to allow her career to go up in smoke over one little (or not so little…) crush.
"Commander, what can I do for you?" she was pleased that her voice sounded confident and cool despite the tension waxing and waning low in her abdomen. Data responded in a similar tone.
"Junior Lieutenant Gregorash, throughout recent events, you have demonstrated exemplary technical skill, innovative knowledge, and remarkable dedication. Without your idea to alter the Romulan cloaking systems into short range subsystems within the matrix of our exosuits, the away team would surely have been found, and captured. Captain Picard is aware of the impact you have made on this mission, and on prior missions. He agrees with me that your conduct has been a prime example for all officers within Starfleet, and warrants an immediate field promotion to full Lieutenant,"
Kelly's eyes widened as he spoke, and she fought back a powerful smile. Data paused briefly, noting the slight change in her expression, then continued.
"Under normal circumstances, it is the captain who would award this promotion alongside a group of your colleagues. Unfortunately as you are aware, we are not under normal circumstances. Your promotion is one that cannot be postponed until the captain's return. Thusly as acting captain, I will conduct an abridged pinning ceremony immediately, should you choose to accept this honor." Data paused and tilted his head slightly, awaiting her response. Barely able to comprehend the magnitude of what was being offered to her, Kelly blinked rapidly attempting to regain her composure. Climbing the ranks of Starfleet was one of her most cherished dreams, and to be alone in her quarters with Data was… overwhelming. She met his eyes again with renewed vigor.
"Yes Commander, I accept"
Data stepped closer to her, and reached up to the collar of her uniform to remove the hollow pip beside her singular ensign pip, and replaced it with a solid one, signifying her promotion to Lieutenant. His fingers brushed along her neck slightly, and Kelly's heart began to race, her skin tingled slightly in place of his unintentional touch. She broke eye contact, unable to control her emotional response to his sudden close proximity. Her eyes lingered down his neck and shoulders, and she found it to be no less helpful to her internal situation. Data stopped suddenly, his fingers frozen around the edge of her collar.
"Kelly, are you alright? Your heart rate and respiration rate have increased dramatically-"
"I'm fine" she responded quickly, abruptly. She leaned back a fraction of an inch, just enough to slip her uniform from his fingers.
"Have I made you uncomfortable in some way?" he queried. Kelly let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.
"No no, quite the opposite."
She saw Data's brow furl down, his eyes shift slightly from side to side, then his brow came up again. It was a series of expressions Kelly easily recognized as him processing information, and forming a hypothesis. His head tilted again, this time towards her, and he leaned in close, resting his right forearm against the wall behind them. She felt an intense heat rush through her chest and down through her legs, she had never been this close to him…
"Commander-"
"Please call me Data at this time," he interrupted her quietly.
"What are you doing?" she squeaked.
"27 days ago I witnessed an interaction between Commander Riker and Etta Havarlin, one of the refugees we transported from planet Kuwestik IV. Her behaviour and physical reactions to Riker's presence correlates to yours within a 95.789% margin. I am recreating his response with the intention of examining how similar, or different, your reaction is."
"So-" Kelly searched for words, struggling to focus on anything other than the curve of his lips. "So this is an experiment on human social interactions?"
"Correct"
"Commander-"
"Data." he softly corrected.
"You do realize that Riker was…" She looked down to left, trying to remove him from her field of vision, "flirting."
Data paused to consider her statement. "Yes, that would be a correct analysis."
"Then you also realize you are, in turn, flirting with me?" her voice faintly trembled. Data's lips curved up into a sly smile, one clearly designed to emulate that of Commander Riker's. He slowly dipped his head toward her, his lips parting slightly, his eyes closing languidly.
"Data!" she whimpered. He stopped just shy of her lips, his nose separated from hers only by a sliver of space. His eyes met hers, analytical and precise. "You're emotion chip isn't activated, is it?" she managed to choke out.
"No, not presently. I typically deactivate my emotion chip while on duty to ensure I maintain an objective and methodical analysis and reaction process."
Kelly laughed softly at his explanation. He was always so wordy. A quirk of his that annoyed others, but she found it endearing. "You need to turn it on. You're missing a great deal of context that may explain why I'm apprehensive about your 'experiment'". Data complyed, twitching his head to the side, and Kelly watched his expression change as his positronic brain was flooded with the emotions he was missing from their… intimate situation.
He spoke, shaky with a hint of embarrassment "O-oh…"
"Do you see why experimenting with this type of interaction isn't the best course of action?" she asked carefully.
"Yes, and I apologize-" he began to move back from her, but Kelly instinctively grabbed his uniform with both hands, surprising them both.
"Hey- hang on now-" she stuttered, "You don't need to be sorry. I just… I don't want to be close to you just because you want to study human behaviour." She risked a glance into his amber eyes. He met her gaze with longing, and a thousand questions flashing through his mind.
"Your choice of words suggest that there are other reasons you would want to be close to me. Is that true, Kelly?"
"If it were true… would it affect my career? You're my commanding officer after all... " her words were uneasy but she found herself pulling Data closer to her, and simultaneously to her dismay and elation, he gave her no resistance at all.
"I believe we can maintain a professional work relationship alongside a more… personal relationship," he spoke softly, allowing his hands to carefully slide up her waist and around her back.
"This won't be like any of your other personal relationships, Commander" she warned. His lips twitched up into an amused grin accompanied by a gentle laugh. "What's funny about that?" she implored.
"I am sorry, I meant no disrespect. I experienced a surprising emotional response to your statement." he exhaled, and Kelly wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Care to explain?" she said with a luring smile.
"I have repeatedly requested that you call me by my name rather than my rank during this encounter, as it would seem more appropriate to speak informally at this time. However… once I activated my emotion chip, and you called me Commander again… I felt… it…"
A surge of bravery pushed Kelly to make a daring statement.
"You're surprised to find it turns you on..?"
Data held her tighter, and gripped the fabric of her uniform. "Yes.." his breath heavy as he spoke.
"Hmm…" she tilted her head and glanced at his golden lips, "how naughty of you, Commander."
He crashed his mouth against hers in a hungry kiss.
A very different relationship indeed, Lieutenant.