Androids were different from organic beings in more than one way, Worf knew that—And he also knew that Lore in particular was a unique case; his body was less sturdy than the one of Lieutenant Commander Data, and he was more vulnerable to damage and malfunctions.
He would deny it, of course, but it was something Lore was very insecure about. To Worf, however, none of that really mattered. He loved the android with all of his flaws and imperfections, no matter how big or small they might be—and he cherished their differences. Lore was a machine, yes, but that just made him special.
He enjoyed that Lore matched—outmatched his own strength. And he loved the way Lore's body worked against him to get him to cool down, the whirring of the fans under the bioplast casing that gave away how successful Worf was in making Lore lose his usual composure—and the way the android's cheeks became tinted, warm and citrusy and so unique.
Worf leaned into Lore as they were kissing, bruising and harsh, and Lore held him firmly in place. Worf allowed, welcomed his strength to overpower him and let himself be pushed against the wall—A Klingon shouldn't enjoy that kind of strength over his body, but he had long gotten over the initial feeling of shame.
His hands rose up, framing the android's face. He yearned for Lore, wanted to make his face grow that memorable, golden blush, and he ran one of his strong hands through his meticulously styled hair, ruining it. Lore always insisted he hated it when he did that—yet it was he who let out a strangled noise, and it made Worf feel his desire deepen.
Lore's own hands traveled down, and the sensation of his gentle touch made Worf shiver—Usually, the android's body felt cool, but in these kinds of moments, there was a pleasant warmth to him that Worf never wanted to let go off.
He felt Lore's body temperature rising to be closer to his own; a small, perhaps meaningless gesture to an android, but it meant so much more to Worf.
But something was off this time—he felt the bioplast heathen up underneath his touch, and Lore's internal cooling systems became notably louder.
Worf let go and looked at Lore, to really take in what was going on, and he really wasn't prepared for how dishevelled Lore looked. He would have savored the sight, would it not have been for the fans within the android's body that sounded like they were throttling themselves.
Silence hung between them for several long moments, before Worf reached out to cup Lore's face, only to retract his hand almost immediately.
"Lore," he said slowly, "I believe you are overheating."
There was a shift in Lore's expression, one Worf had learned to recognize—It was an expression he made when he performed a self-diagnostic.
"Ah," he replied evenly, and perhaps Worf was imagining it, but Lore appeared a little bit taken aback. "Don't worry about it," he continued, "It's probably just another malfunction."
Worf blinked back at him. He knew how proud Lore was; he always brushed these things off, and usually, Worf let him. It wasn't his right to tell Lore how his body worked—but this time, something just didn't feel right, and he'd risk upsetting the android if it meant certainty that everything was alright.
Then, as if Lore could read his thoughts—"I'm fine. I'm working within normal parameters." He appeared calm, but Worf noted an almost imperceptible twitch to the corner of Lore's mouth—He was lying.
"Perhaps you should go to engineering," Worf suggested, and Lore snorted, as if he couldn't figure out a way to reassure the Klingon. "I know you and Commander La Forge do not get along, but—"
"I have better things to do than letting some incompetent engineer poke at my circuits because of a minor inconvenience," Lore interrupted and fixed him with a cold glare.
Worf just looked at him. "No, you do not." You are just unwilling to swallow your pride and ask for help, he thought, reflecting what he'd rather not say out loud. "If you are unwilling to go,"-He paused for a moment. He didn't want to upset Lore, but he was so stubborn—"I will take you there."
Lore rolled his eyes dismissively. "It's fi-ine… I'll run a few more checks later and—"
Worf stepped back into his space and rather unceremoniously hefted Lore over his shoulder, sweeping his legs to get him off his feet.
"No, no, no, no, no, we are not doing that," Lore cursed, squirming against Worf's shoulder. "Put me down this instant."
But Worf had already left his quarters, striding through the hallways and directly to engineering. Lore's initial reaction had subsided, and he didn't really bother to fight back; It told him that his suspicion was right, and something was wrong.
The other officers stared at them as he pushed past them, and Worf wondered if it was because he had an android thrown across his shoulder or because they both looked a complete mess.
It was only when they arrived in main engineering that he put Lore back on the ground, who scoffed and threw his head to the side.
"Are you guys fighting again?" came the voice of Geordi. He was smiling, and Worf figured he was teasing them. He still struggled to understand the social behavior of humans.
"Commander La Forge," he said matter of factly, "I must request you to perform a check-up on Lore." He fixed the android with a knowing look. "He appears to be overheating."
Geordi looked Lore up and down. "Yeah, I can see that. Your heat signature is completely off the mark. And you don't sound good, either." He gave them both a once over and raised an eyebrow behind his VISOR. "Whatever happened to you two?"
Worf turned red and awkwardly ran a hand through his messy hair. "We, er—"
"Never mind," Geordi laughed, "I don't need that particular image running around in my head." He waved a hand dismissively. "No, we should get that checked out—if you don't mind."
Lore's eyes flickered between the engineer and the Klingon, and it rested on the latter for several moments. "Fine. Whatever. Just make it quick," He sighed dramatically and roughly pushed past Geordi, who shook his head slightly.
"Please excuse his behavior," Worf apologised in a low voice. "He is… proud."
"Don't worry about it. I understand," Geordi replied, and it made Worf feel bad. He knew how the commander felt about Lore, and he would be lying if he said he could blame him for it.
Worf immediately noted the tension in the room when Lore sat down on the biobed across from Commander La Forge—he couldn't recall that Lore had ever been here for any of his malfunctions; He didn't like being vulnerable, Worf knew.
Once all parties had settled into the awkwardness, the check-up didn't last long. The commander ran diagnostics on all of Lore's systems, and Lore cooperated. He even let La Forge pull open his chest cavity without a struggle.
Worf was no engineer, and if he was being honest, he knew little to nothing about mechanics. He felt rather useless sitting here beside the android, staring blankly at Geordi as he worked—He just hoped that Lore wasn't mad at him for dragging him here, and that he appreciated his company.
"How bad is it?" he asked slowly, briefly glancing at Lore—who looked at a blank spot past Geordi's shoulders, like he was in a sort of trance, and it made Worf's stomach turn.
La Forge hummed pensively. "Well… there is no serious damage," he replied, keeping his eyes focused on the internal workings. "A few cables are a little out of place, and—" His hand moved to nudge one of the fans. "Some components are not fastened right. This guy here is too loose."
He raised his head and his VISOR met Lore's eyes. "That's probably why you overheated. I can fix it right now if that's okay."
Lore was quiet for a moment, then said, "Just get to it."
With reluctant approval from the android, Geordi proceeded, and while he was fixing the mess Worf must have caused, the latter kept his eyes trained on Lore.
"I'm sorry," he said in a low voice, and his gaze was immediately met with Lore's own. His face was unrelieved, just like Lieutenant Commander Data's often was. That expression didn't come as naturally to Lore, however, and was just a facade—At least, he thinks it was—to hide his vulnerability from other people.
"No, you aren't," Lore replied evenly.
Worf's brows drew together. "I was worried, and I was right to be," he blurted. Then, he was quiet for a moment, and when he spoke again, his voice was as soft as a Klingon's voice could be. "I do not regret bringing you here, but I am still sorry I did."
Lore opened his mouth as if he were going to say something, but then changed his mind and closed it again.
They sat in silence until a quiet click stirred them from their thoughts. They looked at Geordi, who awkwardly cleared his throat before speaking—For a moment, Worf had forgotten he was there. "You should be good now."
He carefully closed Lore's chest, before he raised from his chair and clasped his hands together in front of him. "Though if I might make a suggestion… Maybe breathe every once in a while when you, er,"—Geordi gestured vaguely instead of articulating his words— "to help your systems circulate the air."
Lore never breathed, because he didn't have to, and he rarely ever blinked. Most people found it uncanny—A fact which Lore was proud of. But Worf had grown accustomed to it; he even found it charming, in a weird way.
"If it gets you off my case," Lore drawled, putting his shirt back on with a little more force than was necessary, then immediately left main engineering and stood in the hall. Worf's gaze followed him—He thanked Geordi with a polite nod and hurried after the android, who had already vanished.
"I'm not mad at you," he said once Worf had caught up to him. The Klingon sized him up, looking for any sign that he was lying, and Lore looked at him with his wide, golden eyes—Then he huffed a laugh, and Worf instantly relaxed.
He smiled, revealing the edges of his teeth. "I am glad."
A/N: another lorf fic I've had in my drafts for who knows how long. I wanted to write about Lore malfunctioning, and it spiralled into this.
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