The following morning, what is usually the infamous morning after, brought none of the characteristic awkwardness commonly felt by humans following an intense coupling such as theirs. The android and his Feeonix felt nothing, but a wonderful calm as they shared her morning ritual of coffee, and Starfleet reports.
They were sprawled on her bedroom floor, she in a delicate, silk kimono, and he, a thin blanket around his waist, each reading from a Mark padd, racing each other to see who could read faster. The winner was obviously Data, who, even though his report was nearly twice the length of hers, finished several seconds ahead of her, and began delivering his summary as she slammed her padd onto the carpet in mock annoyance.
"Every time," she said in pretend anger and quickly smiled at him, her eyes dancing playfully.
He laughed gently and leaned in to kiss her just as the door indicator chimed. They both jerked their heads towards the sound, and then looked at each other, eyes wide with a sudden rush of panic.
"I had not anticipated a visitor at such an early hour," Naseema said, barely above a whisper.
Data looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "If it is Ambassador Jagger, I theorize he will be most upset to find me here," he said.
Naseema shook her head. "It is not Jagger. I would know if it were him," she replied, a little perplexed. She had expected it to be Jagger but she couldn't sense his energy or hear his thoughts. The visitor was someone else.
"Perhaps I should get dressed," he suggested.
"Perhaps." She nodded in agreement before springing to her feet as the indicator rang again. She hurried into her main living space, calling out a greeting, and bidding the visitor to enter. Her door whooshed open, and Geordi LaForge took a step inside, and a smile crept across his face as he saw her.
"Oh, uh, good morning Naseema," he said. "Is Data here? He's not answering his communicator."
The Chief Engineer was attempting to curtail his grin. It was certainly not the first time that his android friend had spent the night in the beautiful ambassador's company, but this morning was different. It was obvious he had interrupted something. He tried his best to play it casual as Naseema quickly answered,
"Yes. He is- ahem, he is just-" Perhaps I answered a little too quickly, she thought and cleared her throat, her face flushing. "He will join us momentarily," she finished, attempting feebly to regain her composure, smoothing the front of her robe.
A fully dressed Data entered the room at that instant and both Geordi and Naseema turned to look at him. Naseema let out a tiny breath of relief.
"Good morning, Geordi," the android chirped. "Is there something you need my help with?"
Geordi paused briefly before answering, needing to swallow down a laugh. He has no idea how awkward this situation should be, he thought, trying more successfully to be serious.
"Yes, I do," he replied, straightening his expression. "There was a malfunction with one of the decoupling units about an hour ago, and I think I'm going to need your help to repair it." The amused smile crawled back up his face. "Unless you're busy, of course."
Data looked at Naseema for acknowledgment, and she blushed faintly again as she shook her head.
"Certainly, I would be happy to be of assistance," he said and motioned for Geordi to precede him out the door.
The Chief Engineer exited into the hallway as Data leaned over, and kissed the Feeonix's forehead, smoothing her hair, and whispering something to her, making her smile and blush more obviously.
She gave Geordi a small wave which he returned as the android joined him in the hallway, and the door closed.
The two Starfleet officers strode down the corridor in silence for the first moment and Geordi began to feel badly for being so clearly amused at the awkward situation, but his curiosity finally got the better of him and he asked,
"Data, are you sure I wasn't interrupting anything back there?"
The android blinked at him, innocently. "I do not believe so," he replied. "The ambassador and I were merely reading reports, and drinking coffee when you arrived."
Geordi looked at him. "The reports I can see but since when did you start drinking coffee?" he queried with mild surprise.
"It is Naseema's daily ritual, and I decided to experience it with her today," he answered.
Geordi found he was a little disappointed with his friend's response. While it was a good start, if he wanted more details, he would have to press for them. "If you say so, but it sure seemed like you were experiencing more than coffee and reports," he said teasingly.
Data furrowed his brow. "How do you mean, Geordi?"
"Well," he began tentatively, "Naseema appeared to be a little...disheveled," he took a breath before asking, "and what exactly, were you doing in her bedroom?"
"Naseema was not expecting your visit to her quarters which I believe explains her state of appearance, and as far as what I was doing in her bedroom, I was getting dressed," the android replied. He was normally fairly candid, and Geordi should have expected the same this morning, but the abrupt revelation shocked the chief engineer, and he blurted out,
"Getting dressed?!" His astonishment seemed to escape Data, who gave him a quizzical look.
"Yes, Geordi. You inquired as to why I was in the ambassador's bedroom and that is what I was doing," he said.
Suddenly ashamed, Geordi straightened himself up. "Data, I'm sorry, I shouldn't pry into your private life. You and Naseema are adults and it's really none of my business," he suddenly felt very guilty for trying to get the dirt on his friend's personal life.
"It is alright," Data replied. "I believe I am aware now of how our situation appeared to you this morning. I consider you my best friend, and I trust you will not reveal any inappropriate details of our conversations to anyone."
Geordi sighed and relaxed some. "No, of course I wouldn't. I wouldn't be much of a friend if I did that," he said.
"I care a great deal for Naseema, and our relationship has changed. Your suspicions are correct, we were intimate."
Geordi nodded, and there was a brief pause in their conversation as they waited for the turbo-lift before he finally broke the silence again, asking with a raised eyebrow and a cheeky grin, "So, how was it?"
Data looked wistfully into nothing, and a shy smile appeared on his pale, shimmering face. "I believe I can accurately state that it was the most exhilarating experience of my life," he answered. "She was exciting, passionate, and incredibly generous."
"So, good then?" Geordi asked jokingly, and Data turned to him and arched an eyebrow.
"Very," he nodded.
Geordi laughed at the android's unexpected attitude as they boarded the turbo-lift. Once inside, Data turned to his friend, and asked, "Geordi, may I inquire how you knew that Naseema, and I were not just drinking coffee as I had initially told you?"
Geordi smiled and laughed gently. "Her hair," he replied. "It was her hair."
"I see," Data said, still obviously confused.
"No woman ends up with her hair looking like that unless she's either been tossed through the sheets or caught in a tornado," Geordi elaborated, laughing, "and we don't encounter too many tornadoes in space."
Data's expression became even more confused. "Tossed through the sheets?" he repeated, perplexed.
"Yeah, you know...sex?" Geordi elaborated further.
Realization suddenly struck the android, and he nodded. "Ah, yes. I believe I understand. Next time I will have to make sure she tends to her hair before she answers the door," he replied.
Geordi had to laugh again. "That would certainly help...for next time." He paused briefly again. "So there's definitely going to be a next time?"
Data thought for a second. He hadn't considered the notion that their coupling would be a singular experience. He remembered his previous encounters vividly and accessed the details, which were drastically different from his most recent foray into sexuality.
"I believe so." he responded with confidence. "Naseema did not ask me to leave afterward, and she has not yet told me that it did not happen."
Geordi's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "Data, is that how women have treated to you in the past?!" he exclaimed in disbelief. "That's terrible! No wonder you never seemed to have any interest in them!"
"I was incapable of being hurt emotionally in those instances so it really does not matter now," the android shrugged. "I do not reflect on those circumstances with regret as I believe they ultimately led to my intimacy with Naseema, and that was unlike anything I have ever experienced before, Geordi. She is able to elicit physical responses from my positronic relay as if I were flesh and blood."
Geordi's disbelief grew exponentially with Data's last statement. "She can what?!" he gasped in a hoarse whisper.
"She can elicit physical responses from my-" Data repeated until Geordi cut him off.
"I heard you, I heard you! It's just that, well, that's pretty incredible...and potentially dangerous! How did she do it?" he asked.
"Well, first she removed my clothing-" Data began, and Geordi threw his palm up.
"Whoa!" he cried, and Data gave him a look, raising an eyebrow and shaking his head before continuing,
"and when I absorbed her energy through my skin, it stimulated my neural cortex and my sensory inputs were able to experience pleasure. The sensation was similar to when the organic skin had been grafted to my arm. It was...indescribable."
"Oh...and wow," Geordi replied, slightly embarrassed.
Data smirked. "Geordi, did you think that I was about to reveal intimate details of last night's experience to you?"
The chief engineer dropped his eyes. "Yeah," he admitted.
"My manners are better than that," the android replied.
Geordi sighed. "I know. Sorry, I kind of jumped the gun there," he apologized.
The two officers reached engineering, which was mostly still deserted due to the early hour, and approached the consoles they needed to complete their task.
"So, Data, don't you think you should be a little concerned about these energy emissions of hers, and the effect they have on you?" Geordi asked. "I don't begrudge you wanting to feel physical pleasure, especially while you're engaging in, well, you know, but aren't you in the least bit worried that she might inadvertently overload your positronic matrix? Never mind how awkward that situation would be, she could seriously damage your internal functions, maybe permanently, if you aren't careful."
Data tilted his head just slightly as he processed Geordi's concerns. "I had not thought of that," he admitted. "I must confess that while I am normally proficient at processing multiple variables simultaneously, during the acts themselves,"
Data's choice of words caused a sudden thought to flash through the chief engineer's mind. Did he just say acts? Plural?! but he chased it away, and focused his attention back to the issue at hand.
"I found I was unable to think of anything else," Data confided.
Geordi's face softened and he gave the android a gentle smile,
"That's kinda the way it's supposed to be," he said warmly and then his expression grew more serious. " That's also what worries me. You could suffer an overload or a cascade failure, and by the time you realized it was happening, it could be too late. I know it's a pretty package, but what's underneath the blonde hair and the blue eyes is some pretty powerful stuff."
Data mulled over Geordi's points for a minute before replying, "I see the validity in your argument but I believe the absorption rate of her energy is not substantial enough to harm me. I must simply ensure that I take the appropriate amount of time required to properly process the increase in sensory information."
Geordi had to stop himself from laughing at the absurdly simple solution Data had decided on. "So, you're going to take breaks? I have to say, that's probably a pretty good solution," he replied. As ludicrous as it sounded, his seemingly inexperienced friend seemed to know exactly what he was doing, and the chief engineer had to agree that taking sufficient breaks would probably be enough to prevent a system overload. He cautioned his friend anyway. "Just be careful, okay?"
He then silently reflected on the conversation that had just transpired, and never in his wildest imagination would he have guessed that one day he would be discussing his best friend, the sentient android's, sex life with him. Nor could he have ever guessed that virtually indestructible Data would have to be concerned about a five foot five, one hundred and ten pound alien harming him. Now that the subject had come up, Geordi began to recall other things he'd heard about the Feeonix, and his curiosity piqued.
"Data, do you mind if I ask a personal question?" Geordi started, a little hesitantly.
Data kept his eyes on the console, his fingers dancing across the controls. "Certainly," he nodded, "proceed."
Geordi took a quick breath. He knew he shouldn't continue prying, but he was dying to know if the legend was accurate, and if it was, well, he supposed he would worry about that afterward. "I've heard some crazy things about the Feeonix, and since you're probably the only person in existence that's in the position to know...is it true that a Feeonix will..." he trailed off, his embarrassment getting the better of him.
Data raised his head to look at his friend, his eyes reflecting the chief engineer's anticipation. "Please continue Geordi," Data said patiently.
Geordi took a quick breath and asked his question quickly before he choked on it again. "Is it true that a Feeonix will burst into flames when they...become excited?" The embarrassment in his voice was obvious as he formed the final word in his question.
Data stopped moving his fingers and cocked his head, but didn't respond right away.
Geordi's question hung in the air, and his eyebrows were raised. His anticipation was palpable.
"Well," Data began, a sly smile spreading across his lips. "I am sure you would like to know," he replied with a cocky tone.
Geordi's eyes widened, and he found himself both dumbfounded and impressed by the android's reply. After a few seconds, his amusement took over, and he laughed.
"Wow, Data, whatever you two did last night," he chuckled, crossing his arms, "it seems to have infused you with a new confidence and I have to admit, I think I like the new mysterious you." Geordi smiled and returned his attention to the engineering console.
Data gave him another sly grin and an arched eyebrow. "Thank you Geordi," he said, also returning his attention to the computer. "I believe I like him as well."
In a comfortable silence, the two men finished repairing the decoupling unit.