The planet the away-team was scanning had two moons. One was small and blue, slightly egg-shaped, dim in the setting sun. The other was gold, and so large its rising circumference couldn't be entirely seen over the horizon. It was a pity, Riker thought, that their scans detected no signs of life beyond bacteria- it was too beautiful a sunset to be wasted on a world of mineral and rock.

Data's skin and eyes caught the harsh sunlight and turned it soft, diffusing it to a dim yellow glow. Once Riker saw him, it was hard to look away. He had felt this way before. He knew it well, this swelling thing in his chest.

Data must have perceived him staring (whoops) because he approached, holding out his tricorder to show Riker the readings.

"It seems the planet is composed almost entirely of densely compacted carbon," Data told him. Riker raised his eyebrows.

"Diamond," he said. Data nodded- so earnest, as always.

"Yes, sir," Data replied. "If you look."

He gestured to the rock at their feet, so Riker turned his eyes down. Under the craggy black surface he had hitherto ignored, there was something sparkling.

Riker was on his way out of Engineering- but he was stopped by a sight so abrupt in its alarm that he nearly choked on his own breath. Data was sitting at a desk with a set of prim silver computer tools, and his right arm was split open on the surface before him.

Riker took a step in his direction, and Data looked at him; lips that curled up slightly at the edges, golden eyes that coruscated with their own light. Riker's heart stuttered. Did he look at everyone like that? Riker hadn't noticed before.

"Commander," Data greeted him cheerfully.

"Data," Riker nodded back, but his attention was taken back up by the vaguely gory sight on the table. No, humans did not peel away their own skin and casually perform surgery at work, that much was for sure. "Are you…are you alright?"

"Yes sir, I am only performing a routine maintenance," said Data. "The joint of my wrist has seized due to a blockage in the bio-fluid ducts, decreasing its mobility by thirty-four percent. I am correcting the issue now."

Riker looked a little closer. The metal inside Data had that deep reflective quality of stainless steel, though he guessed it was something even more durable than that. There were wires, too, mostly covered in white and black rubber- one, thicker than the rest, ran horizontally across his wrist, and the colour of the coating was a medical shade of red. It made Riker think uncomfortably of viscera.

"Does it hurt?" Riker asked, and his voice came out softer than he had expected.

"No, sir," Data told him. "I am an android. I am incapable of feeling pain in the human sense."

…Riker rather found he did not like that explanation.

"What about…pain in the non-human sense?"

Data looked back up at him, surprise the colour of marigolds.

"Sir?"

Riker's hand lifted, not quite with his consent, fingertips reaching- he forced the hand back into a fist, a stuttering and abortive motion, and he swallowed a dry lump in his throat.

Data was looking at him with some unearthly, almost expectant expression- not a face Riker had ever seen him make before, but he had not the wherewithal to guess what it meant. Data lifted the lacerated arm slightly from the desk, and said quietly:

"...you may, sir. If you wish."

And Riker probably shouldn't have, but he did, before he could even really think about it he reached out (reached in) and touched the large red wire, as gently as though patting a bird. The first thing he noticed: it was warm.

Data spasmed and Riker withdrew at once, recoiling as though that fragile heat had burnt him.

"Sorry," he said thickly, but Data was quick to shake his head.

"I. I am unharmed, sir. There was a static discharge. I. I believe."

"Static discharge?" Riker echoed this dumbly; he wasn't sure what had just happened, and something told him the android shouldn't be stuttering.

"Static discharge: see, static electricity: an. An imbalance of electric charges within or on the. The surface of a material, or between materials."

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, sir. But. But. But that has never happened before."

A tremor ran through Data then, one long, fluid shiver, and he blinked up at Riker with unusually hazy golden eyes, the lids of which did not open as widely as they normally did. After a beat Data turned to look at Riker's hand as though it were some exotic animal; curious, sure, but softly so, not in that bright, mechanical way Riker was used to. Riker hadn't had anything, it was Tuesday-fucking-morning, but his head was spinning like he'd downed a couple shots.

"That wire," he said, gesturing to the red one, though he dared not touch it again. "It's- you know, it's right where your mark would be. Your soul mark, if you had one."

There was a pause, just long enough for Riker's heart to jump in his throat. Then Data twitched, cocked his head, and his spine minutely straightened, back to a perfect ninety degrees.

"Ah! Yes sir, I suppose it is. However, it carries thermal fluid to and from my central heating system. Its purpose is to regulate my body temperature."

The vocal glitch was all gone, and so was the look on his face- that inexplicably, unbelievably, almost concupiscent look. He was back to being the way he always was.

"I see. Well. Uh- as you were, Lieutenant."

Riker could feel Data's eyes on him as he strode from Engineering, a terrible pressure on the back of his neck. As he walked, he tried to think of something else- anything else- the dullest thing in the world; anything to shake off the low, warm swell in his stomach before he made it back to the bridge.

"You have feelings for him," Deanna said, and rather too smugly for Riker's comfort, as though an 'I told you so' was buried in there somewhere.

"Oh, I have all kinds of feelings," Riker replied, watching her pour the tea. "But he doesn't. Does he?"

"That's not for me to say," Deanna replied, and Riker very nearly rolled his eyes.

"Deanna, you're an empath! Have you ever sensed anything from him? Anything at all?"

That she didn't answer right away was all Riker needed to know; she must have felt how his spirits plunged, dark disappointment and vague anger, because the smile she gave him was tender, and sad.

"No, I have not," she said eventually. "But Betazoids can't pick up on emotions from all living things. Birds, for example- scientists have long agreed that birds have emotions. They recognize their mates and family members, they desire closeness with others, and when they lose these connections they become despondent. They have complex social structures, and yes, they feel things- curiosity, happiness, grief, pride. And love. But I could never look at a bird and tell you what it is feeling."

"Are you saying Data is a bird?" His tone was just jesting enough to get Deanna to smile properly.

"Well, it's not a bad comparison, is it?" she said teasingly, and then she cocked her head sharply to one side as magpie might, and continued in a squawking voice: "'Counsellor, I do not understand that simile. Please explain-'"

"Alright, alright. You've made your point."

"Have I?"

Riker drank some of his tea so as to avoid having to answer that.

"So," he began; he had a vulnerable curiosity. "...you talk to Data?"

"Yes, of course."

"Have you talked to him about…about me?"

Deanna shook her head, and picked up her own teacup. In the dark pools of her eyes there was a kind, but canny light; of course, she knew him better than anyone.

"No, Imzadi. That's your responsibility."

The lights in the bar shifted from pink to blue and back again, and the music thrummed in his veins; Riker had long lost track of the tune. It was his first shore-leave since joining the crew of the Enterprise; the planet in question was colonized by humans but it was poor, and cold. Mid-winter. It reminded him of home.

He wasn't drunk, but he was certainly getting there. Perhaps he was being irresponsible, but he had chosen a club a fair ways away from the docking port, one that wouldn't be flooded tonight by the crew of the Enterprise. Better to get to know the locals, he had always thought. Cultural experiences, and all that.

'Cultural experiences'- there was a pretty blonde girl making eyes at him from the other side of the room. Perhaps he should join her. That's certainly what the pre-Enterprise Riker would have done. And what had changed, really- well, apart from too much.

Riker drained his drink and put the glass down, and at the same time the door to the bar opened with a quiet clatter. Riker looked up, and was shocked; speak of the devil, or think of him, anyway.

It was Data. His head was turned aside, speaking to someone Riker couldn't see, but whoever it was they didn't follow him in, once the door had closed behind him he stood alone.

His eyes were the brightest thing in the place. They had a light all their own- like tiny headlamps, glowing gold.

It would not be quite right to say Data 'looked around', of course- he scanned the room, a fluid left-to-right head movement, and then his eyes locked onto Riker. Riker swallowed hard, and waved. Data approached.

He was wearing the black turtleneck again, and a long gray coat, the cut of which suited him well. Riker doubted he felt the cold- he probably just wanted to fit in. He was very attractive.

"Hey," Riker said, surprising himself with the vaguely salacious tone. "Ahem. Hello, Data. What are you doing here?"

"I have shore leave."

"Of course, but-"

"Counselor Troi insisted that I come to this bar. I do not know why she did not want to come in with me."

Deanna! Riker would have to put her off her meddling, next time he saw her- but at the moment, he was too tipsy to feel annoyed. He was warm, he was comfortable, he liked the atmosphere in this bar- and he liked Data, too. Yes, he could admit that. The thought of going off with some stranger did not hold much appeal to him, not anymore.

"Well, then…" was it wrong to enjoy it so much, just being looked at by the android? At first, Riker had found it unnerving- where had those feelings gone? When Data was with someone, he gave them his full attention- or at least, it seemed that way. He didn't get lost in daydreams or anxieties, or even plain-old boredom, not the way humans did. For the moment, held in the spotlight of those lambent golden eyes, Riker was the center of his world.

"...can I get you a drink?"

Now that definitely sounded suggestive. Did Data know- he must, Christ, he must, he didn't answer right away, he opened his mouth and closed it again.

"If you would like. Sir."

"No need to call me 'sir', Data, we're off the ship now." Maybe Riker was drunker than he thought- or maybe he wasn't. What was holding him back, anyway? All this time spent running around in circles. If not for the stupid mark, there would be nothing unusual about this at all: Will Riker pursuing relations with an attractive man in a bar. So there.

"What do you want?" Riker flagged the bartender.

"I have no preference, si- mm."

"Call me Will. No preference, because you're an android?"

Data nodded once, another little mechanical motion. Riker was starting to doubt that. Yes, he was starting to doubt that very much. Why a violin, instead of any other instrument? Why all the sad songs? Why Starfleet at all?

(Why had he looked at Riker like that, when Riker had reached inside and touched one of his veins-?)

"Alright then. Bartender- another two whiskeys, refill this one. And- hmm- two of the 'specialty' shots."

The shot came first, so Riker clinked his glass to Data's, and they both took it. The warmth that spread under Riker's collar was as much from the feeling of Data's eyes on him as the alcohol. The alcohol was bad, anyway, burned like all heck and tasted overwhelmingly of menthol. Riker whistled as he put his glass down, but Data did not react at all. He was still looking at Riker- more motionless than usual, unblinking. Like a moment frozen in time. For an instant, Riker couldn't breathe.

Caution, meet wind, and all that.

"So," Riker said. "Tell me, Data- if you want- uh…do you have much experience with romance?"

That unfroze him, Riker watched him make all the little 'processing' movements, the twitches and the blinks and the slight forward lean in his seat.

"If you are referring to the physical act of sexual intercourse," Data chirped, and Riker nearly choked on his whiskey. "Then I am programmed with a wide variety of techniques for pleasuring a partner. Anatomically speaking, I am fully functional."

That was almost too much information for Riker in his current state; he shook his head and, very deliberately, opted to put all that on hold for a moment. If he let it sink in, he would probably do something foolish.

(As though he wasn't foolish enough already!)

"Ah, that's-" Riker sat up a little straighter. "Alright. But I mean- not just sex, physically, but the intimacy of it. The…the closeness of having a relationship with someone, like that."

Data frowned slightly.

"I have never been in a long-term romantic relationship," he said. "Or 'dated', if that is what you refer to. I am not an attractive partner for such purposes."

"What?" Riker took another drink, and the flush of heat that came with it. "Why not- I mean, how would you know that?"

A few rapid blinks from the android. What was that? If he were human, would the gesture instead be a blush?

"Humans tend to find my limited social capacity tiresome," Data told him, as matter-of-fact as an explanation of the weather, or a description (to the second) of how long a journey would take. "That is part of why I wish to improve my capabilities. But more importantly, I am not capable of emotion. Most people prefer a partner who can return their amorous feelings."

Yes, Riker thought, there it was. Laid out on the table, plain as day- precisely the thing that had been driving him crazy these last weeks, from the moment the android had turned to him in Holodeck Six and said: I do not have a soul.

He closed his eyes for a moment, rubbed a hand over his face, and then looked at Data. For the first time, he noticed that waterdrops had collected in his dark hair, across his face- it must have been raining, or snowing outside. Riker thought about what had been said, and then he thought about what Deanna had said, and then he thought of music, the unaccompanied sigh of a lonely violin. Then he put his hand over Data's where it lay on the bar, and leaned closer.

"Would you like to try it?" he said, the words distant to the fog in his ears. "A romantic relationship, that is."

Data looked at their hands, and his head cocked. There was a long silence, but he did not pull away.

"...sir. Will. Are you propositioning me?"

Some of the tension cracked- though not all- and Riker laughed out loud.

"Why yes, Mr. Data. I do believe I am."

The shot had gone to his head. The thrumming of the music in the bar had become animalistic, a savage heartbeat. He thought he could feel his own, pounding away somewhere against the inside of his wrist. Data blinked once, then again. Riker was close to him- closer than he had ever been. Was it an illusion, or had he actually heard something click? Data opened his mouth to speak- and no matter what he said, Riker would probably lose his mind.

"Why?"

Riker felt his eyebrows raise into his hairline.

"Why?" he echoed, disbelievingly. "Data, don't you know you're beautiful?"

The pupil in the middle of one golden eye unwound, Riker was close enough to see it; a camera, just like he'd thought. Blink. Click. He heard it for certain this time.

"...I. I do not understand."

"No," Riker murmured, and he took a long draught of the whiskey, finishing the glass. "You know, neither did I, at first."

Poor Data, Riker thought- it was clear from the crease that had appeared in his brow that he didn't know what to make of this at all.

Data's back hit the wall, and if he were anyone else Riker would have winced, but arms stronger than a forklift were wrapping about his neck, and the kiss didn't even have the chance to break. There was no hesitation in the mouth that met his. Whatever Riker had expected, it surely wasn't this- Data was warm, dulcet, it was like he had thawed, all that mechanical rigidity turning fluid in Riker's arms. Liquid gold. His lips were softer than anything Riker had ever felt, his tongue wet, responsive- he didn't taste of anything, not even the alcohol from before, not the way a human partner would; Riker found he didn't care.

When Riker had to breathe he couldn't bring himself to move away, he pressed his cheek to Data's temple and panted, head spinning, not just from the alcohol but also all the feeling. He wasn't sure how they'd made it out of the bar and into the alleyway, his thoughts whirled, but even for this he couldn't bring himself to care. There wasn't a heartbeat in the chest that pressed to his own, instead a low, steady hum, like the engine of a starship at impulse- like a cat's purr. With no distance between them, Riker could feel his own bones vibrating slightly to match.

"Data," he said breathlessly, and he kissed the smooth skin, temple, cheek, jaw. "You- you're okay with this?"

He had to be certain- he wasn't sure if earlier, he'd actually asked first. Data was making tiny nudging motions with his head, like he was trying to get his mouth back under Riker's. Christ.

"Yes, Will." His tone was the same, but his voice came out much quieter than usual. "I. I wa- I want."

The vocal glitch was back, Riker hazily noticed, worse than before; and the thought that it might be some sign of arousal burned through him like lightning. Whatever Data was going to say, Riker didn't have the strength to sit back and let him say it; he kissed him again and the android went back to melting. It was impossible not to notice that his height let Riker bend his neck at the perfect angle, without having to strain too far; that his constructed body fit against Riker's grown one like a puzzle piece. Like parts of a machine, designed to attach to each other.

Riker had to breathe again, and he buried his face in the hollow where Data's throat met his shoulder. He smelled of the fabric that made up his shirt, and the inside of the ship, and snow. Riker felt warm fingers run tentatively through the hair on the back of his head, a prickle against his scalp that sent sparks down his spine. A wave of dizziness swept over his body, numbness in every place where Data wasn't touching him. He never wanted to leave this embrace- unless, of course, it was to go somewhere that would give him better access to the marvelous creature whirring away underneath him.

Yes, there was a good idea: better access. His fingers were clumsy, oddly weak, he barely noticed; all he wanted was to pull the turtleneck down, away from Data's throat. There he could press more kisses, devouring skin that was softer than silk. His teeth scraped over a slight swell where the jugular would have been on a human and Data shivered, vibrated head-to-toe like a machine, he was a machine, he was a wonderful machine. Riker wanted to speak, to get enough air into his lungs to tell this truth, but he couldn't quite remember how; there were shadows and lightning both dancing before his eyes.

"Will," Data said softly, his voice cutting through the fog in Riker's head. "I am detecting a drop in your heart rate and breathing patterns. You are exhibiting signs of severe intoxication."

"Mmmmm," was Riker's eloquent reply; with one palm he cupped Data's cheek, pressed in to kiss him again, but Data angled his head ever so slightly away, so that his words came out against Riker's jaw. There were no puffs of air when he spoke- no breath, only sound.

"I have analyzed the contents of the 'shot' we consumed earlier. I apologize for not having done so sooner. One component of the drink was a powerful synthetic narcotic. According to my records its use is common on this planet- however, your system is unaccustomed to the substance, and you are reacting strongly."

Riker didn't catch the meaning of most of this- he had determined that there was some mechanism in Data's throat that produced sound without air, because he could feel it buzzing against his touch with every word the android spoke. So different, it was a little magical. Riker wanted to cling to these differences- no longer could he even imagine pushing them away. He wanted to know everything, feel everything, cradle the gears that made the clock tick, kiss the wires that sent lightning through bloodless flesh-

"Sir." Data had taken his arms from around Riker's neck, which was unfortunate because the weight of them there had been hugely pleasant; he pushed Riker back, just enough so that the snow-laden air filled Riker's lungs again. Gravity must have gone somewhere, or else it was spinning around Riker like a fly, for he didn't know at all which way was up or down or where he was or how he had gotten there, all he cared about were those wide, innocent eyes- like street lamps, like gold coins, like butterflies.

"Sir, I am going to take you back to the ship. You will receive a hypospray, and then you must rest."

"Nn…no."

Kiss me again, Riker wanted to say; kiss me again and I'll show you what's written on my skin.

"Yes." A comm chirp. "Enterprise, this is Lieutenant Commander Data. Two to transport."

"Will," Riker managed, before the world began to dissolve. "Nn- not- not 'sir'."

Data looked at him, lips slightly parted. There was a furrow in his brow Riker would kiss away.

"Yes. I know."

Then there was blue light, and the familiar tingling sensation, and Riker thought it felt like falling asleep.

Time:23:32:45/conducting external scan; scan complete: circulation: NORMAL body temperature: NORMAL breathing: depressed (5.6%), still within range of NORMAL life signs are stable/COMMANDER RIKER is entering REM/classification error detected; correction: WILL is entering REM/conducting internal scan; scan complete: hydraulics: NORMAL thermal: NORMAL energy output: ELEVATED (22.8%) deactivating sexual program - - energy output: NORMAL/all systems functioning within acceptable parameters.

Time:23:32:46/ automatic subroutine 000004-SM has moved to dormant mode/action flagged due to unfamiliarity; search: history of subroutine 000004-SM: accessing - - subroutine 000004-SM first activated stardate 42372.5/Time:16:15:03/passed eight days, seven hours, seventeen minutes, sixteen seconds/no previous history found; query: reason for activation of subroutine 000004-SM? searching - - answer: UNKNOWN; query: circumstances? searching - - answer: location: ENGINEERING action: SELF-MAINTENANCE condition: all systems within normal parameters accompaniment: COMMANDER RIKER/classification error detected WILL-WILL-WILL - - query: purpose of subroutine 000004-SM? searching - - answer: UNKNOWN - - recalibrating - - query: purpose of subroutine 000004-SM? searching - - retrieving buried file - - decoding buried file - - data:stay/holdembrace-proximity:interlink"entangle"/placeofrest/gift(reference:redthread)(reference:aristophanes)/programINCOMPLETEawaitingKEYCODE/(reference:williamthomasriker)

- -

error detected/recalibrating; query: purpose of subroutine 000004-SM? searching - - answer: UNKNOWN/unable to locate previous file/conducting scan of positronic matrix - - no faults detected all systems functioning within acceptable parameters/error detected; conducting scan of positronic matrix - - no faults detected all systems functioning within acceptable parameters - - error? error?

query: what? query: why? searching - -

answer: UNKNOWN.

Time:23:32:47/motion detected: eyelids, fingers, lips; query: explanation? searching - - accessing human behaviour database - - answer:

WILL is DREAMING.