Chapter 24: Triangle
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek. This is for fun. Enjoy and stay ethical.
Previously...
Data stated, "I need to keep my distance from Fenix. I do not know what came over me. When she was near me, I had deep urges to connect with her." Lore scowled and sighed. "I could take a look at Data; it'll be safer for... everyone." Geordi suggested.
Data looked at his quarters and began fixing his coffee table. A bell rang and commanded the person to enter. "Data! I've never seen your room like this before. This is some rearranging, personally, I think it looked better before." Riker jokingly commented as Deanna and Tasha inspected the room with dismay. Data stopped fixing his table and answered, "Long story short. Fenix from another timeline accidently drifted into our timeline temporarily. I was not aware of that fact at the time. She seduced me, made me feel pleasure. We made love all night... on everything... It was a wonderful experience. I have never felt a connection like that before. I could not hold back... I was rough with her though she claims she enjoyed it." Deanna's eyes widened in shock as Riker grinned like a Cheshire cat and laughed. Tasha cast her eyes down, her eyebrows knit together feeling a sting of jealousy and silently left his quarters as Geordi entered looking at the trashed room. "She meant it when she said you guys trashed the room..." Riker then asked with a grin, "Tell me, how many times?" "Will!" Deanna scolded. Data grinned mimicking Riker and replied, "15 times." "OHHH!" Riker applauded. Deanna shook her head and rolled her eyes. "You guys! Data, it's not nice to kiss and tell." Deanna chided. Geordi chimed in, "Actually, I don't think 'Fi' would care. She said in her timeline, her Data and Lore were having threesomes all the time." Deanna and Riker's eyes widened in shock; their mouth agape. "Next time I see her, I don't think I could look at her the same." Riker confessed. "Deanna I must speak with you in private." Data stated. "Okay." Everyone nodded and left his quarters.
"When Fi activated the pleasure component program, I felt other things along with pleasure. I could not put into words exactly what it was. But I felt a connection to her. I thought Fi was Fenix when we were... intimate. Even though I have been fixed, I cannot stop thinking of Fenix. I never felt desire until then. I still... I think I still desire Fenix." Data confessed. Deanna looked at him with sad eyes and tried to find her words, "Data... What Fi did to you was wrong. She was from a different universe or timeline. It wasn't the Fenix that you know that you were intimate with." Data looked down and replied, "Yes, I am aware. But it still does not change the fact that I am feeling something." and he looked to Deanna. "Logically I understand the Fi is not Fenix, but this feeling, it will not subside. The feel of her skin, the way she tasted, her voice, the smell of her hair, the vision of her... My experience with her is coursing through my neural net. She said that she loved me." Deanna looked at him with sadness seeing how confused Data was acting.
Lore and Fenix were back in their quarters. Fenix paced around as she vented, "That whole thing totally wigged me out. A kingdom made of bones for the children of Soong? I was such a nut-bar and so... cold. The part that disturbs me the most is that... I could've easily ended up like her. I knew how she felt, I felt it many times before. I felt it when I was in the asylum, during the civil war, when I was getting experimented on, and when I was exiled to Omicron Theta. That stinging bitterness of hate towards humans. I bet you anything she didn't fix 'duster Lore'. I saw how he looked at me. That's how you looked at me before I fixed you. I remember it very distinctly... Lore, what did she do to you?" She asked innocently. Lore sighed and answered, "She kissed me and tried to seduce me. I knew it wasn't you by the way she kissed me." Fenix raised her eyebrows and answered, "Huh. 'Duster Lore' knew I wasn't Fi by the way I kissed, too." Lore added, "I grabbed her neck and threw her out of the room when she kept taunting me." Fenix chuckled and Lore added, "Those two are back where they belong. We shouldn't let them affect us." And kissed Fenix, he smiled into his kisses feeling the familiar movements of her lips.
He finished the kiss but Fenix still unable to shake off that looming feeling of disgust from what Fi had told. "Lore I can't stop thinking about what Fi said. Am I destined to eventually become like... that? A psycho? She also crossed paths with one of your ancestors, who started exploring cybernetics... the very birth of you, Data, and B4. Destiny has a strange way of connecting the dots. The more I think, the deeper the rabbit hole gets. Ugh... My brain hurts." She covered her face in frustration. Lore watched her as he listened and thought the same thing as her. "Fenix, listen to me. I know you want to know, because I'm just as curious as you are, but it's futile to dwell on the possibilities. Fi mentioned how I'm not that different from 'her Lore', that irked me just as much as you meeting your alternate self. We are here now, in this timeline; where we're supposed to be. You and I, that's all that matters." See sighed and looked at him and smiled. "You're right. It's not logical to try and understand the alternate timeline. But it's also human nature to wonder the possibilities, isn't it? After all, curiosity is a human trait. There's also that saying, 'curiosity killed the cat'." The way Fenix looked at Lore and how she enunciated reminded him of Fi for a fleeting moment. Then she smiled, she was once again Fenix. She walked over to Lore and embraced him.
"Fi knew me... then again... essentially, I am her. Just not as seasoned. I'm not a skilled kisser like her from what you and 'duster Lore' have mentioned." Lore chuckled and answered, "She's been alive for a lot longer than you have, I believe she said she was at least 370 years old. That's a lot of years." Fenix laughed and commented, "Even though she was mental, she looked good for her age, I liked her outfit, it was badass." They both laughed.
Data fixed his room yet he found the room distracting. He walked around his quarters; every inch of the room reminded him of Fenix even though his encounter was with 'Fi'. He replayed the scenario over and over until he had to leave the room. He wasn't sure where he was going, he was on auto-pilot. He ended up in front of room 3650; Fenix and Lore's room. What am I doing here? No. The last thing I need to do is to see Fenix. I must leave. Before he could, the door opened to see Fenix standing right in front of him. His yellow eyes widened. "Oh Data! We were just going to come get you to see if you wanted to hang." Data looked down momentarily before answering, "Fenix, I am sorry for my erratic behaviour earlier. It was simply inappropriate, had my brother not hit me, the situation would have most likely escalated." Fenix gently touched the side of his face and kindly smiled, "Data, bro, it's okay. It wasn't your fault. This whole event must've been confusing for you, too. I know it totally threw both me and Lore in for a ride." Data's eyes widened as he stared into her purple eyes, he felt her gentle small hand on his cheek, he understood what he felt. Her dainty hand is very soft, it feels... pleasant on my skin. It feels... I feel... I am feeling. What else am I feeling? It is not only the pleasing touch of her hand on my face... it is deeper... What is this? This feeling? Love. It is love I am feeling. I am able to feel love. I am able to feel love. I am able to feel love. He gently took her hand that touched his cheek, he nuzzled his cheek into her palm, and kissed the top of her delicate inner wrist. Fenix's eyes widened at his response. Lore stood behind her looking at Data in disbelief as he understood exactly what Data was experiencing. His nightmare was coming to fruition right in front of his eyes. Fenix's voice snapped him back to reality, "Data. I think we need to go to Geordi to check over you." she looked over to Lore who nodded in acknowledgment as he tried to compose himself from the ironic reality.
"Well, he's totally fine guys." Geordi confirmed. Data, Lore and Fenix weren't convinced and she asked, "Really? I'm not undermining your skills but let me look at him." Geordi reconfirmed, "Knock yourself out, but I'm telling you, he's totally fine. Now why are you guys being so weird?" Fenix and Lore looked uncomfortable as Lore answered dumbly, "No reason." Geordi sighed and confronted in sarcasm, "Yeah, that sounds really convincing, Lore." Data stepped in and answered, "Geordi, I am feeling things. I was apologizing to Fenix of my earlier actions; she kindly forgave me and touched my cheek. A gesture of understanding and kindness. Her palm felt pleasant on my face and I also felt something deeper. I believed it to be... love. I am able to feel love, Geordi. I am able to feel love." Fenix tried to recover by saying, "Well I am your sister-in-law, I'm sure you feel the same way about Lore. We're family." She quickly winked at him without Lore seeing the exchange. Data understood and nodded, "I suppose you are right, dear sister." Lore eyed Data with calculating yellow eyes as he tilted his head feeling unconvinced. Fenix sighed, "Sorry about that Geordi. I had to see for myself, and you're right; he's totally fine." Geordi sighed and concluded, "Maybe there's residual energy left behind from the pleasure program... That might be why you feel things. And honestly, I don't know if it will dissipate over time or it's also possible that this has triggered you to start feeling more emotions. Just make sure you monitor yourself closely and make note of any changes, okay Data?" He nodded. Data insisted he needs to go to the bridge, Lore told Fenix he needs to do a diagnostics test so he was returning to their room. Fenix was left behind in engineering.
Geordi spoke up, "I caught that wink you sent Data." She sighed and answered, "I didn't want things between him and Lore to get tense, you know? They're on good terms now, I didn't want Data's confession to jeopardize their relationship. And I know how sensitive Lore can be. Besides, he probably does just feel familial love towards me, right?" She tried to convince herself. Geordi chuckled as he spoke, "Oh please! Anyone can see Data has feelings for you, even me, and I'm blind! Nothing's worse than a love-triangle that involves brothers. Girl, you're in hot water now." Fenix grumbled incoherent words as she face-palmed and pouted, "It's all Fi's fault. And why didn't Data notice it wasn't me when they boinked?" she vented. Geordi looked incredulous as he answered, "Really, Fenix? It's Data. And, he probably already had feelings for you before Fi came along and boinked him. Everyone noticed how he acts differently around you. I've known him long enough and he's never touchy feely like he is with you." She looked at him wide-eyed and her mouth ajar and took a moment before she growled, "WHY? I didn't do anything! I never encouraged him or hit on him. Sure, I think he's cute but... it's Data! He looks like Lore but has the personality of an innocent kid! Of course, I think he's cute, duh! But that doesn't mean I'm going to do anything. Get the net?" Geordi laughed at her rant and responded, "I know you didn't do anything. He was interested in you we went to Omicron Theta and saw those um... what are those called...? polaroid pics of you and Lore. He stashed a few photos to take back with him." Fenix double face-palmed, "Cut me some mother-fucking slack, please... Why did things have to get so freaking complicated? WHY? Enough. You know what, I'm going to the holodeck and dance my little ass off and this whole thing will all blow over. Give me the benefit of the doubt, Geordi." He smiled as he shook his head and reassured her, "It will all blow over, Fenix. Now go dance your little ass off." She smiled and fist-bumped him as she left for the holodeck. Geordi chuckled and mumbled, "Damn, poor Data. You just had to fall for your brother's wife."
Back in room 3650, Lore was brooding over his brother's revelation. Well isn't this just peachy. My nightmare is coming true. Silly Fenix, I know she tried to rectify the situation but there's no recovering from that confession Data preached. I see how he looks at you. He's smitten. I know she didn't do anything to encourage Data. Maybe I should've trusted my initial instincts and kept him away from her back on Risa? But that insufferable brat persistently kept insisting we get along because we're brothers. I listened to her because I love her. I am love's bitch, aren't I? This once great and magnificent Lore has become nothing more than love's bitch... Whipped by a mere woman-child... no she's not just a mere woman-child, she's a goddess, she's incredible. Hell, I even married her so she'd have that ring on her little finger so no man would ever dare try to take her away. Then again, Data isn't just some ordinary man. He is, unfortunately my equal, father even confirmed it... It just had to be Data. Of course. Destiny just loves to fuck with me. Always has and always will... Oh Fenix... what are you? Are the Soong men destined to fall for you? Even Fi insinuated that my ancestor; Arik Soong was obsessed with her in her universe, how 'that genius, old man would do anything for her'... he too was love's bitch from the sounds of it. What is it with you Fenix? What makes us Soong men so helplessly drawn to you? Was this destiny? Was this all predetermined? Tell me! Fenix... My Queen... Hell... Data got to fuck Fenix, no, not Fenix, Fi. I'm married to Fenix and I haven't even... No... She's working on it. She's getting over the asylum incident. She told me she wants to make love to me. She loves me. She loves me. She. Loves. Me. I remember our first kiss... how it feels so long ago... things were simple when it was just you and me on our planet, our little sand-box we both liked to play in... I wish I could whisk you away to that moment again, when there was no Data. Data... Why must you always try to take what is rightfully mine!?
Data made his way back from the bridge back to his quarters but stopped dead in his tracks in front of the holodeck. He neared closer to the door and put his hand on it and leaned his forehead and against it and closed his eyes, he sensed Fenix. Meanwhile, Fenix mindlessly danced in the holodeck surrounded by a hologram of strangers. She danced with everyone. People from her past, to new friends, Data and Lore, even Vaum and Strenn, strangers, anyone. She didn't care as long as the music kept playing for her to keep moving her body. Data, dragged his hand that rested on the door knowing that she was inside. He looked once more and closed his eyes and takes a breath; he walks in.
He walked into a dark room with colourful flashing lights. The bass was pumping, music was loud. One side of the room had a bar. There were a lot of people dancing and drinking. He recognized his fellow hologram crew members, he saw himself and Lore, and many strangers he didn't know. He set his vision to infrared vision and spotted Fenix instantly. Her body temper was high due to strenuous movements. She was break-dancing in the middle of the dance floor as everyone made a circle around her. She and another boy kept taking turns. Everyone cheered them on. Data made his way to the circle to watch her dance. He snaked his way through the crowd and found a good spot where he wouldn't be seen but he could see her. He returned to his normal vision as he watched her acrobatic movements. She never ceased to amaze Data, he enjoyed seeing her dance. Eventually the next song started to play as she finished and everyone went back to dancing normally including Fenix. She was smiling knowing that she was victorious dancer. He watched her every move, some movements reminded him of when they made love.
She was currently dancing with hologram Lore as she ground her hips on him. Data observed closely, learning how to dance so he can sneak in and dance with her. She switched partners and danced with a Vulcan boy. She was singing along as she danced, cheesy dance music was her guilty pleasure. Her energy was high and infectious. She danced with everyone. She would randomly grab someone by the hand and dance with them for a while, she kept switching people over. She danced closer to him smiled, grabbed his hand and unknowingly started dancing with him. He smiled warmly and went with it. The music slowed down giving it a mysterious sensual ambiance. He loved the feeling of her body as she made contact with his own. Her back was flush against his chest as she softly swayed her hips; his hands gingerly resting there. She is short. Five foot three. She is shorter than most females and will never grow any more than this. He inhaled her scent, as he nuzzled into her hair and gently grazed his lips over her delicate ear. Fenix blinked a few times; momentarily feeling that something was amiss, then brushed it off and continued to dance. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the dance.
Uh, what are you doing, Fenix? Oh, I'm just dancing with a hologram of my husband's brother. No biggy. Uh-huh. She didn't dare turn around and face him.
It's just a hologram. It's just a dance. So what? if I'm just a tiny bit attracted to Data, always have been. He looks identical to Lore with a more sincere personality. It only means that I'm just THAT attracted to Lore. Besides, it's nothing more than just a 'he's cute' kinda thing. I don't have a crush on Data. He will get over his little crush. It will all blow over and everything will be back to normal. I came here to dance! Not think about anything, God. Get a grip, Fenix! I'm so pathetic, as soon as Data showed infatuation in me, I act like a stupid little slut, kind of like Fi. Lore... I wonder how he's doing? I feel like I'm cheating on him when I dance with hologram Data. I need to stop this.
"Computer, end program." Fenix commanded and watched everything dematerialized except for Data who she was just dancing with. Her purple eyes widened in shock.
