Caladbolg; The Hard Blade.

Chapter One; Prodo

Prodo. Verb. 1. Assert 2. Betray 3. Abandon, forsake

His door chimed, and Data put down the cat toy with a small huff of irritation. Geordi.

"Enter."

The door hissed open, and the dark skinned man crept into his quarters. Spot's tail rose like a flag, and she strutted over to the engineer to mark his legs with her scent. He bent at the waist to run his hand over her spine, and she whirled on him with a hiss and a swift swipe of her paw. He jerked his hand back just in time to avoid her claws, and the cat strutted away, safe in the knowledge that she had defended her living space.

"Well, no warm welcome for me, I guess." He murmured, standing up. His silver-blue eyes met yellow-gold, and Data stood from his kneeling position on the floor. The android was wearing civilian clothing again, and Geordi caught himself looking appreciatively at how well the charcoal grey highlighted the pallor of the android's skin. He gave himself a mental shake.

"Geordi." The android greeted him flatly. No warmth there either. Geordi felt his hackles rise. This was so unfair! He wasn't the bad guy here, he wasn't the one... He took a breath.

"Hey. Thought you might want some company."

"Not really."

"Okay." Geordi forced his shoulders to relax. "Well, maybe you need some company."

"If it was thought that I needed human interaction, I am sure that Counselor Troi would be here."

"Data, why are you being like this?" Geordi said softly. "I'm trying to help. I... I want to be here, to talk, to be with you."

"Did she ask you to visit me?" Data said sharply. Geordi sighed.

"Does that matter? I could have said no."

"It means that you are here under duress, and not out of a true desire to spend time with me. It makes an appreciable difference. Are you here to assess my reaction to a stressful situation? For that is what this is, Geordi, and I would rather I was left in peace."

"For how long?" Geordi took a step towards him. "How long are you going to turn everyone away? When are you gonna start letting people in again?"

"When I feel that I am able to trust the beings I share this space with."

"You... you don't trust me?" Geordi stammered, shocked. Data scowled.

"How can I? You are the one who betrayed me, enabled my brother's capture and disassembly. You used the instruments of my torture against me!"

"I had no choice!" Geordi snapped. "How was I supposed to know what you had promised Lore? And besides, even if I had known what... what was going on between you... I'm not sure I would have done anything differently."

Data stepped towards him, his eyes glowing. "You were only too pleased to separate us! You are just like the others, you wish to possess me, own me! You view me as you would any other piece of equipment on this ship, as a part of your remit as chief engineer!"

"That's not true and you know it!" Geordi shouted. "You know damn well that you're not an object to me, that-that you're just as real and alive as anyone else on this ship! A-and if I want to possess you, it's not as a... a piece of equipment, it's as a partner, as a lover! Yes, okay, if that makes me selfish, fine, but I... I can't share you, Data, I won't!"

"You have no choice!" Data cried. "Can you still not understand? I have no choice, I simply feel the way that I feel, and I cannot change that! How can you not accept that there is room enough in my heart for both of you?"

"Because I refuse to believe that you feel the same for me as you do for a-a mass murdering psychopath! The one who made you torture me, who... who murdered his own father, your father! And you're asking me to just... let that go?"

"No!" Data threw his hands up. "I am asking you to acknowledge my feelings! I am not asking for you to accept him, or what he has done, any more than I can forgive him for his actions! I need you to understand that I cannot, will not, stop loving him, but that does not mean that I cannot love you also!" He took a long stride towards the man, his jaw clenched. "And I do love you, Geordi, and I wish that I did not, because I have lost everything, everything, for the sake of staying here with you."

"You've lost everything?" Geordi jabbed his finger into the android's chest. "They've signed me off, barred me from my own department! Work related stress!" He barked a harsh laugh. "It's nothing to do with work and they know it! It's you, Data, you! I can't sleep, can't eat, I can't concentrate on my work, because all I'm thinking about is how to un-fuck this situation, and I don't know! I've found the one thing I-I can't fix! And I... I hate you! I hate you for doing this to me! I hate you for putting me through all this... all this shit!" He thumped his fist into the androids chest. "I fucking hate you, do you understand? I hate that I care about you so much that worrying about you is putting my career in jeopardy! I... fuck you!" He punched him again, and Data rocked on his feet.

"Geordi..."

"NO! Shut up!" Geordi punched him again, tears rolling down his cheeks. "Fuck you! Fuck you, Data!" He swung his fist into the android's chest once more, and Data wrapped his arms around him and pressed him close, and Geordi let go, weeping hysterically into the android's shoulder, clutching desperately at the back of his shirt.

"Fuck you." He mumbled into the fabric as Data cradled him close. He could hear the machinery whirring inside the android, the smell of him filling his nostrils, warm electronics and coolant and lubricant. His arms were strong and firm, and his body was warm and oh so familiar. Geordi sobbed again, pressing himself into Data's chest. "Fuck you."

"If you wish." The android replied. Geordi felt more than heard the quiet words that thrummed through Data's vocal synthesizer, and his body filled with heat. God, how long had it been? He drew his head back, rubbed his cheek across the android's, could hear the rough sound of his unshaven face against the bioplast skin. Data's fingers clenched in Geordi's jacket as his lips found the man's neck, tasting and nuzzling the dark skin. Geordi shivered and gasped another sob, brushing his tears away against Data's cheek, crushing their bodies together. He kissed the android's jaw, feeling the hard structure under softness, such a perfect facsimile of humanity. He shuddered as Data's teeth raked his throat, somehow threatening and tender at the same time, and deeply arousing. Data's hands slid up under his shirt, fingers pressing into hot skin, demanding, compelling. He copied the gesture, running his nails down the android's back, and Data gasped and arched into the engineer's body, his chest hot against the man's, the thrum of machinery a purring vibration that seemed to fill Geordi's whole world. Data's mouth closed around Geordi's neck, sucking and worrying the tender flesh until the man gasped out loud. He could feel the android's erection, firm against his own rising lust, and he pressed himself into it, grinding, yearning.

"God, you're beautiful." Geordi moaned, running his hands along Data's spine, and the android grabbed his shoulders and thrust him backwards roughly. Geordi reeled away, stumbling and tripping to fall onto his back with a cry. Data was breathing hard, his shoulders heaving and eyes glowing with a fierce light.

"I knew it!" The android hissed. "I knew that you could not be trusted! You are just like the others. You were going to attempt to deactivate me, you want to keep me, own me! I will not allow it!"

"You... you're kidding me!" Geordi cried, scrabbling to his feet. "I wasn't... I never even..."

"I have been around you organics for too long!" Data snarled. "I am starting to think like you! How can I trust you, when I know how you feel about beings like me? I will be dismantled, dissected, studied and replicated. I will not submit!" He roared, fists clenched, rage blazing in his golden eyes.

"Data, I'm... I'm not asking you to..." The man reached out his hand, and the android swatted at it. His fingers barely connected, but Geordi drew his hand back to his chest with a cry, his eyes wide.

"You are all the same!" Data raged. "Even my own father saw me as nothing more than a storage vessel for human memories. I will not allow it! I will not let you steal my memories again!"

"I think my hand is broken..." Geordi croaked, cradling his arm. "Data... I think you broke my hand..."

Data looked at him for a long moment, his chest heaving. Then the fierce light left his eyes, and he stepped towards the man. Geordi drew back, and Data looked at him with shock.

"Geordi..." He whispered. "I think something is wrong..."

"You... you're damn right something's wrong!" Geordi gasped. He felt sick. His hand was throbbing, he could feel his own rapid pulse thumping against the injury. But worse, so much worse, was that he was afraid, afraid of Data, and he had never felt that before. He took another step back, away from the android. Data's face crumpled, and his hands shook by his sides.

"Geordi..." Data whimpered. "I am so sorry. I am afraid. Please, you have to help me..."

"I... I don't think I can." Geordi whispered. "I tried, Data, I really did. I..."

The door opened behind him and he fled.

Data raked his trembling fingers through his hair, ground his teeth together until his jaw creaked. Wrong, wrong, wrong, over and over, he would lose everything, until there was nothing but the hurt and fear and anger. He dragged his nails down his cheeks, covered his face with his hands and screeched in frustration. His mind and body burned with lust, the smell of the man clinging to his shirt, his hands, the taste of his human skin lingering on his lips. He shuddered and groaned, gripped by his passion. His hands left his face to slide down his body, one hand slipping up under his shirt and the other down the front of his pants, his eyes unfocused and distant with memories. Not now, not alone, it wouldn't work, but he stroked himself anyway, trying to push away the dark shadows with pleasure. His breath shuddered in and out, chest heaving with effort as he stimulated himself, until he could stand it no longer. He stumbled into his small bathroom to stare into the mirror. His eyes were wild, his hair in disarray, the snow melting on his shoulders. He groaned as he leant his head into the glass, his hand moving faster as he grabbed the sink and stared into the reflection of his reflection of his reflection of his brother's reflection in his eyes, and he came with a wild cry, his body jerking, and the glass creaked and snapped against his forehead, spider web cracks running away from his eyes and fracturing his face into strange distorted fragments.

His shoulders slumped as he stared at his shattered image, and with his lust slaked, the fear and anger reasserted itself. He hauled his arm back and smashed the mirror into a thousand black feathers, denting the wall behind with his fist as the blood ran down the panel. He screamed as he ripped the sink from the wall, before turning his rage on the rest of his possessions.

It was only when he reached for his violin that something clicked in his mind, and he stopped, his fingers around the slender instrument. He turned it over and over in his hands, smoothing the wood, thumbing the strings, before turning to survey his devastated room. His books; ruined. His artworks; destroyed. He slumped to the floor, his back to the wall, and the violin dropped from his hands. He wrapped his arms around himself and pillowed his face on his knees as his fingers tapped and tapped and tapped.

It was some time before Spot crept out from under the bed to wrap herself around his legs.