XVIV.
Data stood paranoid outside of Heva's door. He had not yet rung her bell, but he felt that he was more nervous than he thought he would become. He held his hand in front of the panel, occasionally shaking it as though waking it up to perform it's duty. After hesitating for nearly ten minutes, he finally pressed it and stood back.
A moment later, the door opened and there Heva stood. Data thought he had been stunned by her last appearance for a date on the holodeck. But this time, he was so taken aback by her that he needed to take a step backward just to express it further.
She looked absolutely exquisite. Her hair was tied in a heavy side bun that peeked over her shoulder. Her bangs were thrown off to the left side, slightly covering her eye. A light shade of violet shadow encircled her eyes, exaggerating the deep color of blue they owned. Her lips were colored in a deep shade of pink, giving them a fuller look as she smiled at him.
Her dress was extraordinary. A long gown, it had a halter effect. The bust had a small, stitched tear drop shape that made either side of it tighten and create small lines of folded material on its edges. The straps connected to this and went behind her neck. Two thick lines of black streamed down the front of the dress from the bust to the floor, it also hemmed the top of the chest, where the straps began; it did so the whole way around the stitching. In between the hems of black was a deep, dark violet shade that seemed to glimmer in the light. She turned around to reveal the back of the dress.
The straps connected at the top of the neck into one wide, upside down triangle of material that hung slightly loose from her back and down to the waist, where the dress continued down. The same pattern repeated itself from the front to the rear, two thickened black stripes with deep violet in between them.
From beneath her dress, her toes stuck out from inside two strapped high heeled shoes. Around her neck was a long, pearl necklace. It tightened a few pillars about her throat and then one long loop hung down, but was knotted halfway to make a second loop that finished the elegance of it. To top it all off, she wore two pearl studs in her ears and carried a small purse that matched her gown.
Data felt that he could not work his breathing in to his awe. He could not believe that a person could look so ravishing.
She stepped forward and looked up at him. "How do I look?" she asked. Her voice, timid.
Data shook his head slightly from side to side and let a small smile grow into his face and whispered "You look positively magnificent."
He felt a certain pleasure in seeing the smile that his compliment brought to her face. Inside of him stirred many emotions, words of praise that he wished to share. But, he felt he must be discreet for now. He held his arm out to her and she laced her fingers on top of it as they walked together to the holodeck.
When they stepped in, she took in a soft gasp of wonder.
The ballroom was dazzling.
The floors were lined with burgundy diamonds of glass that filled with a beige colored tile. There were high pillars that reached toward a ceiling painted in the form of a semi cloudy day. Maroon drapes hung from high windows lining each side of the room, each one peering out into the darkness of space.
On either side, there were several round tables. Each of these was covered in a satin table cloth, a centerpiece which consisted of two candles and a salt and pepper shaker, and cutlery.
Data waved a hand toward a nearby table and led her to it. He pulled her chair out and let her sit. She looked around. There were many people in here with them. Holograms, she suspected. Every one of them talking lightly and laughing loudly with one another. The music was what took her by the most surprise.
It was a light, romantic tune played on a grand piano. A beautiful Japanese woman was singing into a microphone. Her song was so calming, so angelic. She could not understand the words, but she found that she enjoyed them very much.
Data was staring at her over his hands, which were linked together just under his nose. His elbows set on the table and he relaxed his shoulders.
"Do you like it?" he asked.
Heva turned to him; her expression gracefully expressed a calm joy within her. She shook her head in slight disbelief. "It's absolutely wonderful, Data. I love it." Data looked into her eyes and caught her in this precious moment. For a long while, as the song carried on, they did nothing but gaze into one another's eyes. They both smiled and at last, looked away from the other.
The song ended and the crowd applauded. The pianist and the singer bowed their way off the stage and were replaced by a Latin man and a small, mariachi band.
The conductor of the band turned to them and began to conduct. The song was one that Heva recognized from her childhood; it was the dance her parents loved: The Tango.
Data reached over to one of the decorative rose bushes and plucked a long stemmed, blood red rose from it. He held it out to her and as she took it. She stood and followed him to the dance floor.
The crowd dispersed for them and watched intently. Data took one of Heva's hands and swung her around slowly. The song came to a short halt and he pulled her into him suddenly. Their faces were so close that Heva felt Data's nose press up into hers.
Once the music picked up, the tempo had quickened. Data threw Heva from him and twirled her. She spun with the grace of a ballerina and then halted, releasing her hand from his. Data tapped one of his feet on the dance floor, one hand on his hip and the other in the air above his head; snapping his fingers to the tempo. The rose was now in his mouth, centered by its stem. As he did this, Heva took side steps, one foot in front of the other with a small twist in each step as she neared him.
Once she was close enough, Data hooked an arm around her waist and dipped her on one side, swung her in a semicircle in front of him and brought her up briskly so that they were again face to face. They turned their heads in opposite directions, back; Heva retrieving the rose, and then in opposite directions again.
They extended their arms with their hands linked and took long, fast strides from one side of the floor to the other; dipping their heads back dramatically as they did so. They again stopped in the center of the floor and Data snapped Heva's body into his. She threw a leg up around his waist, making him smile mischievously; she returned this with a wink. Data took her left hand in his right and tossed her off of him into a wild spin and then knelt down on one knee to watch her. She stopped the twirl as easily as he had started it and pulled him off of his knees.
They put their hands together in front of each other and turned their bodies to face different directions, then back, and then the other way. They continued this a few times before Data brought her close to him again, a hand on the center of her back, their other arms at an angle with their hands linked once again. They turned slightly and extended their left legs, straightened, turned in the other direction, and extended their legs again.
The music began to quicken and raced toward it's climax. They followed suit by holding their upper bodies in their current position and spinning rapidly, their feet pounding to the tempo.
At last, the song reached a loud climax and Data dipped Heva low and fast, bowing to hover above her as the crowd cheered.
They stood, Heva out of breath and Data bowing. They returned to their table with words of praise from passerby and sat. Heva's chest rose and fell rapidly and Data handed her a glass of water that he took from a passing waiter's tray. She sipped it, leaving a smear of lipstick on the brim. And then she looked at him, he looked at her, and they remained in a trance.
This was the moment that Data reached into his pocket and pulled the bracelet's box out.
"I had this made for you." He said, handing it to her.
She took it, inquisitive. She opened it and her mouth opened, pleasantly surprised. She removed it from its box and looked it over carefully in both of her hands.
"It is called a Forget-Me-Knot bracelet. It is an Irish custom to exchange between friends or…"
She looked up at him when his sentence didn't finish and read his mind. "Or for people in intimate relationships."
Data nodded and stood to round the table. He knelt beside her and tied knots on the outer pearls, then tied the ribbon into a light knot around her wrist. He then moved the silver rings to rest beside the bow he had made.
"The three pearls bring together the three most precious attributes of a human relationship: Friendship, loyalty, and…love." He pointed to each pearl as he named off their traits, Heva staring at him in a fantastic dream like way.
"These silver rings," he pointed to them. "Signify a solid bond between the giver and the receiver of the bracelet. I had this made for you because…I wanted to ask you if you…" he looked up at her at this pause, it was like he was on a cloud. The light feeling of the air around him was as free as a light, summer breeze. She looked at him, entranced by his voice.
"I wanted to request," he repeated. "That you and I become a couple. A boyfriend and a girlfriend…together. Be with one another. If that is desirable to you." He stopped and looked into her face for a prediction on her answer.
Heva looked down at the bracelet on her wrist. She admired the glow of the lights within the reflection of each pearl. Data had gone to so much trouble to make something so sweet into something spectacular and romantic; just for her.
She looked up into his eyes and nodded. "Of course, Data. I was hoping so much that you would ask me." She pressed her forehead against his and they peered into one another, enchanted in their precious moment together.