#commander riker x male reader

[x-reader-theater]

Even Shields can’t Protect my Heart

Relationship: William T. Riker X Male!Engineer!Reader

Summary: Serving on the Enterprise is a dream come true, and the people only make it better. 

Warnings: Cursing, and lots of engineer jargon that’s probably woefully incorrect. 

Word Count: 10,382 words

A/N: Ho-ly shit. This is a long time coming. And it’s super long. Wow. Well, I didn’t want to do another series so here’s a ten thousand word something that I wrote because I’ve been obsessed with Star Trek for the past two months, and there’s barely any reader stuff for Next Generation, and no Male readers whatsoever, which is disappointing. But, I’ve written something purely for my own amusement. I feel a little bit like Q, but I love them so that’s not a bad thing. Anyways, please like, reblog, and tell me what you think! Asks are always appreciated! <3

"Computer! Where is Commander Riker?" You call out from your personal quarters. You're seated at your desk, papers all around you. 

"Commander Riker is in holodeck three," Computer responds. "Would you like me to hail him?" 

You shake your head. "No, Computer, that's alright thank you." You stand up from your desk and reaffix your badge to your shirt, making sure your pips are still attached to your lapel. Satisfied with how you present you leave your quarters, making a beeline to the holodeck suits. You've used them once or twice before, recreating your small ranch where you're from. It wasn't the same without the actual people there though. There was only so much you could program the computer to do. 

As you round the corner you slam into someone coming at you at full force. You stumble back, catching yourself on the wall before looking up into the face of Data, who was walking through the halls staring at his data-padd. You laugh in your head at that one. 

"I am sorry, Lieutenant. I did not see you there," Data states, looking down at you. 

You straighten out and brush yourself off out of habit. "It's alright Data. What were you so focused on there?" You lean forward to see what he's looking at. 

"Oh, it is just a simple riddle Commander LaForge has given me."

You smile. "If it's so simple, why are you so concerned with it?" Data looks confused for a moment and you pat him on the shoulder. "Sometimes Data, the most complicated questions have the simplest of answers." 

And with that you leave, turning around the corner to the holodeck suits. You hear Data say behind you, "Oh! Silence!" and you laugh as you walk. Coming upon holodeck three, you tap the open button, and watch as the doors open to reveal a bar, 1950s in decoration, and a few men standing on the stage, Commander Riker being one, playing to an empty room. Riker sets down his trombone and looks at you with an eyebrow raised. 

"Commander Riker, I had a question for you… but I seem to have… forgotten it…" you say, trailing off for a moment. "What… is this place?" 

You look around the bar, and cock your head at the sight of no people. "It's just something of my creation. The people held a bad memory, but I love the space, the atmosphere." Riker smiles and looks around. "It's like no other." 

You smile and sit down at one of the tables, saying to the room, “Computer, can I get a glass of whiskey please?” You feel pleased when it appears in your hand. You take a sip of the non-alcoholic recreation and gesture with the glass towards Riker. "Don't stop on my account. Maybe when you're playing the question will return to me," you say with a sly smile. You have no idea where this burst of confidence came from, where this spark of self worth and ability to flirt with the Commander came from. You just really wanted to hear the Commander play. 

You get your wish. Commander Riker picks up the trombone again and perfectly slots himself into the already playing band. His playing makes you close your eyes. You had no idea the commander could play an instrument. He isn't perfect or absolutely amazing to any extent, but he is good. And you are seeing a side of the commander you've never seen before. 

You get up, slowly letting the music carry you to the bar, where you let the holodeck refill your glass of non-alcoholic Whiskey. You smile languidly and watch as the amber liquid fills the cup once more. Picking up the glass you place it to your lips, taking a drink of the burning, but still pleasing, liquid. Setting the glass down you see the Commander start to set down the trombone. You raise your eyebrows and watch as he comes over. 

"Why did you stop?" You ask as he sits across from you. The music hasn't stopped, no you feel all the eyes of the players on your back. For being a simulation, they feel incredibly real. 

Riker summons a glass of a dark liquid. It fizzes and doesn't look like alcohol. It gives off a sweet smell. "It's hard to talk with a 'bone to your lips," he says casually. 

"What do you want to talk about?" You cross your legs and set your glass down on the bar, before folding your hands in your lap. 

Riker sighs and looks at his own glass, the dark liquid filling up again in the glass, as if by magic, but you knew it was the computer. "You're a new officer, correct?" He asks. 

You lean back against the bar slightly, placing an elbow on the dark wood to steady yourself, your fingers still intertwined. You shrug. "Relatively. About two years. Shorter than most on the ship. Much less than yourself," you respond carefully. You don't want to say the wrong thing and break what you have just built up. It was a delicate sort of conversation that was precious. 

The Commander clears his throat and reaches out, as if to touch you, bit he stops himself. "I-uh…" He clears his throat. "I was wondering how you were feeling about your time on the Enterprise? You have progressed remarkably fast through the ranks of Starfleet. There have only been three others faster than you Lieutenant. Ahem, Lieutenant Junior Grade [L/N]." 

You smile and unclasp your hands. "I am enjoying my time here immensely Commander Riker," you respond in kind, a genuine smile on your face. 

The Commander puts his hand up for a moment to stop you from speaking. "Please. In a setting like this, just William is fine." 

You smile. "Okay, William. As long as you call me [Y/N]." 

The Commander, William, nods. "Yes, yes, of course. It's only fair."

You smile, humorously. "And you're nothing if not fair," you joke. He laughs quietly. "But yes, William. I am having a very good time here on the Enterprise. I never thought it possible for me to have this, this position, be on this ship, know these people. After I was transferred from the U.S.S. Valentina, I thought I could never never find family again." You laugh as you lean back, thinking about your messed up family. "The captain, well, he's like an overbearing father you just can't help but love." You laugh at the idea of being a father. "Dr. Crusher is obviously the mother. Lieutenant Commander Data is like a brother, Geordi the same, but also different. Lieutenant Commander Worf is that fun uncle who always tries to get you to do things dad doesn't want you to." You start laughing when you think back to that time Worf tried to teach you how to fight like a Klingon with a Bat Leth. Or that time he trained you to use an actual Klingon D'k Tahg. "And Counselor Troi is like an aunt who always knows what's best for you." 

"What about me?" William asks, leaning forward slightly. 

"You?" You contemplate for a moment. Where did you see him? "I don't exactly know. You're not a brother, an uncle, a father. You've just sort of… been there. I don't know…" you trail off, looking away at the floor. You feel your cheeks flush slightly, and shake your head, hoping William doesn't notice. 

You get up suddenly, not looking at William. You clear your throat. "Ahem, excuse me. I need to get back to work." 

You go to leave, but William grabs your wrist. "Why, we were just getting comfortable." You know he's smirking, and you feel pain in your chest as you pull away. 

"Please Commander. I have neglected my duty long enough. I must get to engineering," you say, walking away from the Commander. 

"Computer, end simulation," Riker says, but that doesn't stop you from walking out of the doors and making your way to engineering, leaving the Commander alone in the empty holodeck. 

--

It's three weeks until you see the Commander again. You've been keeping to yourself, talking to Geordi and Data mostly out of the you've gotten a few direct orders from the Captain and even Commander Riker, but you haven't seen him in person ever since that time in the holodeck. If you even hear him talking in the hallway, without even looking you will turn away, your cheeks flaming up. 

Now, you can't ignore it. The Commander is standing right beside you, leaning over the console, his chest and inch away from your shoulder. 

"What do we see here Lieutenant?" The Commander asks. 

You point to a blip on the screen and say to Riker, "It seems there's some interference coming from the planet below Commander. It's sending out wave after wave of radiation I've never seen before. I asked the computer and they couldn't find a single thing like it!" You exclaim. You have a grin on your face as you say this. 

"Why so cheery Lieutenant?" Commander Riker asks. 

"Well, this is all so new! I've been studying different kinds of radiation since my academy days and I just can't find anything related to it. Permission to do a deep scan and some tests? It would be better to get my hands on some of the radiation up close, but we don't know how dangerous this is!" You exclaim excitedly. 

Riker chuckles and says in a low tone, "Sure. Go for it." You smile and turn to start the deep scan of the radiation. Riker doesn't move. "I didn't know this was an area of expertise for you. I would have had you come on this ship earlier." 

You roll your eyes and look up at him. “Yes because you care so much for engineering.” 

He chuckles and shakes his head. “You’d be surprised about what I’m interested in.” 

“Oh I’d like to know more about those interests that I supposedly do not know about,” you say with a smirk. 

The computer beeps and you and you turn away from the Commander to look at the results. It’s a low grade radiation, something with a lot of energy, not harmful to humanoids but harmful to smaller life forms. Children might be susceptible to it. It’s nothing like you’ve ever seen before. “Hm… Interesting,” you say, leaning into the screen. 

“What is it?” Riker asks, leaning in with you. 

“I’ve never seen anything like this. It must have something to do with the geology of this planet. Permission to run a scan of the surrounding area? I want to make sure everything is safe for the captain to report to Starfleet, so we can actually put a colony here,” you explain. 

The Commander nods. “Of course.” He gets up to leave, but stops before exiting engineering. “And Lieutenant?” You look behind you, pausing in your work for just a moment. “Meet me in Ten Forward. At 2000 hours.” He grins at you and you nod. He walks out of the room and your eyes don’t leave him until the doors from engineering close behind him. You’re smiling, happy with the conversation you just had with the commander, and excited for tonight, for you to meet with the commander tonight. You don’t know what it means, what this flirting thing you have with the commander is, what’s going on between the two of you. But you do know one thing:

You're so fucked. 

--

Ten Forward is close to empty by the time you step into the main room. The secondary shift for the night has taken their positions for the night, which means most of those who usually populate Ten Forward are on duty. 

Commander Riker must have chosen this time specifically because of the lack of distractions. He's very good at what he does. 

You spot him by one of the windows overlooking all of space. He looks very regal silhouetted against the dark expanse of the universe, still in his command uniform. You’d be surprised if he didn’t sleep in it. You yourself have changed out of your engineering gold into something more casual, something that reminds you of home. No one really dresses like this anymore, but your family has always been one for tradition. Your checkered button down is tucked into your boot-cut blue jeans, which are over a pair of old cowboy boots. They were your grandfathers, and they are still in beautiful condition. You walk over to the commander, your hands behind your back, wringing out your fingers as you approach. You can feel the bile rising from your chest but you swallow it down. The hairs on your arms stand on end the closer you walk. The clicking of your boots is the only sound you hear over the roaring of blood in your ears. 

Riker looks up at you as you approach the table. His face breaks out in a smile so genuine you're afraid his face might split in twain. 

You sit down in front of him. There's music playing in the background. Light piano. Nothing you recognize. Riker must have asked Guinan to play it. You sit down in front of the Commander. 

"Hello Mr. [L/N]. I didn’t think you would make it," he says as you take your seat. 

"Hello Mr. Riker. I was caught up in engineering. Geordi had to physically pry me from my chair," you return. 

Riker leans back and chuckles. "Please. Like I said, call me William." 

“And like I responded, call me [Y/N].” You lean back in your chair and cross your arms. “I’m not on duty, am I?” 

William chuckles and leans in as someone comes up to your table, a man who’s carrying a drink tray. “Hello, what can I get you?”

You don’t take your eyes off William as you say to the server, “Whiskey. Real.”

The server turns and begins to address the man leaning into you, but he interrupts. “I would like the same.”

You look up at the server and say to him, “And can you get us some Texas Barbeque? My father’s recipe if you will. It will be under [L/N]’s Texas Barbeque.” The server nods and you smile at him as he walks away. William is staring at you, incredulous and a little confused. “What? I’m feeling nostalgic tonight.” 

“Is that why you’ve dressed up?” William asks 

You chuckle. “I think to most this would be considered dressing down.” William laughs lightly along with you. “But yes. While the rest of the world has progressed past the need to ranch animals, my family has resisted the change. But, with that, they also make the best Barbeque you can find.”

William smiles. “I see. What does this ‘ranching’ entail exactly?” 

You shrug. “It’s mainly just raising animals. My family's been doing it for ages. They used to go into the larger town, I believe it was called Austin before San Antonio grew too large and incorporated it," you explain. "Anyways, they would kill the older chickens, pigs, and cows to sell to local butchers. Or on Sundays there was something called a "Farmers Market" when there were more farmers than there are now." You lean back in your chair and cross your arms. "Now we just raise the animals, taking care of them before they die." You grin as a large plate of Barbeque is brought over and places in front of you. It's beef, you recall as you bring up the family recipe in your mind. "Amd, if an animal gets injured or otherwise can't take care of itself, we kill it, cook up the meat into barbeque, and use the bones, hooves or feet, beaks, and anything 'inedible' and use it to make a broth. That allows us to make soups and other foods that last us a long time. At least until the next animal dies."

You pick up the barbeque with your fingers as William goes for his fork and knife. He looks at you quizzically before setting down the utensils and going in with his bare hands. You smile at that. You take a bite of the sweet but slightly charred meat, the juices running over your tongue and down your chin. You let out a small laugh and chew as you use your napkin to clean up what got on your chin and subsequently, your neck. 

William smiles at you and swallows before saying, "I never thought to eat finger food on the first date." 

Your brain goes blank for a moment. Is this a date? Are you on a date? With your Commander? That's almost as bad as the Captain. But do you want it to be a date? Do you want to go through with this? Yes. 

Your lips quirk into a smile and you taste a little bit of the char still on your lips. "My mother used to say it builds a connection utensils could never hope to achieve. It breaks down walls, and allows everyone to be honest. There's no hiding, no pretend here. You get messy, you work through it together. Just like you should." You smile fondly at the memory. You miss your mother. You haven't seen her in a few years. You talk often enough, but screen communication is never as good as the real thing. You can't hug your mother through a screen. Maybe the next time you're near earth you'll ask if you can make a stop for a few days. 

William smiles at that and picks up a piece of barbeque with his fingers and days before taking a bite, "Your mother is a very wise woman." 

You direct your smile at William now as you say, "She sure is." 

--

“Uh… Commander? I think you’ll want to see this…” You say, directing your comment to Geordi. 

He walks over and leans over your shoulder, huffing as he sees what’s on your monitor. “Well I’ll be…”

“But Commander?” You say, making it more of a question than a statement. “How is this possible? This can’t be real.” You lean in towards the simulation the computer is providing and say quietly, “There’s no way the radiation could be moving!” 

Geordi places a hand on your shoulder. “Well, figure out how. It doesn’t seem to be affecting anything yet but we can’t know for sure.” 

You nod and turn back to the computer, where you start running continuous scans on the now moving radiation. 

--

You lean back in your chair and rub your eyes, letting out a yawn before blinking at the screen in front of you. It’s nearing the end of your shift. You reach out for a glass of water, but your hand hits air. Right. No drinks in engineering. Your stretch your arms as those on the night shift take their place. You feel a hand on your shoulder and jump at the sudden touch. 

“Oh! Sorry Lieutenant, I didn’t mean to startle you,” ensign Torres says. 

You shake your head and press a hand to your temple, a pain starts to drill into your temple. You unclench your jaw but that doesn’t help. “No worries ensign. I was just thinking.” 

He places another hand on your shoulder. “Are you okay? Do you need to go to sick bay?”

You shake your head, but that only makes the pushing pain worse. “No, it’s just a headache. It’ll pass. Eventually.” You start to move from your chair, but you stumble into ensign Torres arms. He reaches out and catches you as you feel the pain deepen, like a screw being pushed into your skull without a drill or a screwdriver to help. You wrench your eyes closed. The engineering lights are too bright. You cry out in pain and can barely hear ensign Torres call out to the computer, “Esign Torres to Sickbay! Medical Emergency in Engineering!” 

You hear someone say from the otherside, “Acknowledged. I’ll be there in a moment. Crusher out.” 

The pain keeps building. Soon you can’t hear the beeping of the Engineering, something that’s come to feel comforting. There’s a buzzing in your ears and your face becomes hot as you continue screaming. You don’t know if there’s any sound coming out anymore, or if your throat has just been run raw, and nothing escapes but air. You feel your knees hit the floor, the pain from the sudden fall gives you a moment to think about something else, before the pain returns to your temples and you feel the air escaping your lungs again. You clutch at your hair and you wouldn’t be surprised if your hands were full of chunks of your own hair. You feel more hands on you, dragging you up to your feet. You’re still screaming when a hypospray is placed at your neck, and you finally fall into unconsciousness. 

The pain doesn’t stop.

--

You look around the dark. You’re not dreaming, you’re actually here. You reach down and feel your shirt, the yellow engineering uniform is coarse underneath your fingers. You look up and shout out, trying to call out to something, but it’s as if you’re in space, and there’s nothing for your voice to bounce back from. Looking around, you realize you’re not in the pitch black you thought you were in. There’s small stars dotting the blackness. 

They’re not stars, you realize, because they start to move. 

They swirl and congeal in front of you, and as you look up, this humanoid made of stars looks up as well. 

“Who are you?” you ask into the quiet room. With the coagulated humanoid in front of you, your voice has something to reflect off of. 

The creature tilts its head and repeats back in a poor imitation of your voice, “Who are you?”

“I’m [Y/N],” you say. “Who are you?”

You reach out a hand, and the stars follow, like a mirror. You reach out your left hand, it reaches out its’ right. “I’m [Y/N],” it mimics again. The voice is closer this time. “Who are you?”

You look down, your arm dropping to your side. You sigh. “This obviously isn’t working…” 

“This obviously isn’t working…” the mimic says. 

You look up and the amalgamation of stars follows. You squint your eyes. You reach out. 

You take a step forward. 

This isn’t a dream. You can move forward. The stars take a step back. 

It doesn’t take a step back exactly the way you took a step forward. It shows hesitation. Your eyes widen. It isn’t a mimic. It’s doing this because it doesn’t know anything else. 

You reach your hands out, gently, trying to be as non-threatening as possible. “It’s okay. I won’t hurt you,” you say softly. 

You take a step forward. 

“It’s okay. I won’t hurt you,” the stars reply back. 

They take a step forward. 

Your face breaks out into a grin and you take another step towards the creature. They take a step towards you. You reach out, each step closing the distance between the two of you. You feel the energy in the air, the charging of electrons the closer you get. The hair on your arms stands on end. You feel goosebumps rise on the back of your neck. There’s a prickling of static building in your fingers. You reach closer. Pins and needles burst from your heart, traveling through your veins out into your limbs, your fingers and toes going numb. 

You reach out. 

Your fingers brush the stars. 

You feel the pushing of the pain from before at the back of your skull, but you feel the stars trying to communicate to you to let go. You close your eyes and feel the stars envelop you. You open your mouth, breath out, and let the stars in. 

They rush into your mouth, into your throat, and for a moment you think you’re choking, but you don’t need to breathe. They settle, higher than your stomach, past your lungs and ribs, right in the middle where your heart sits. 

And you know everything the stars want you to know. 

--

You gasp awake, your eyes split open. The bright lights of sickbay make you want to close them again, but you force yourself not to. You look up and see Dr. Crusher and a few of her nurses standing around you. You can hear them talking, but you can’t understand what they’re saying. You’re still panting when Dr. Crusher walks over and places a soft hand on your back. You shake your head and it's as if your thoughts clear away and you can finally understand what language they're speaking. 

"[Y/N]?" Dr. Crusher asks gently. "Can you hear me?" 

You nod. "Yeah." It comes out as barely a whisper. You wince as your throat screams for water. "W-" you try and say. "Wa-" 

Dr. Crusher looks over at one of her nurses. "Can you get us some water? And something to help with the throat?" The nurse nods and moves away. Dr. Crusher smiles and says, "It's going to be alright. You're going to feel better soon." 

You nod and grab the glass that's handed to you, quickly gulping down what the nurse gives you. She also hands you a throat lozenge, which you quickly pop into your mouth. 

"Better?" Dr. Crusher asks. 

You nod. "Yes," you say, your voice only cracking slightly now. While your voice is quieter, at least you're talking now. "Much better. Thank you Dr. Crusher." 

The doctor smiles. "Please. Call me Beverly."

You smile. "Okay Beverly." You try and lean back against the wall, but you wince. Your body must have tensed up so much your muscles hurt too much to move properly. "Thanks," you say, grateful as she leans you against the wall. 

Suddenly, the doors to sickbay slide open and Commander Riker bursts in, panting. "What happened? Is everything alright?" He asks breathlessly, his eyes locking onto your form. 

Beverly smiles. "Yes. Everything is okay. I'm glad you could make it Commander."

You look at her confused. "While I'm not complaining, I have to ask why Commander Riker is here…" 

She smiles at you and stands up. "You were calling out for him. When you were asleep." 

You feel your face heat up as she leaves the room, leaving you and the Commander alone. 

He sits down where Beverly was sitting before and places a hand on your knee. "How are you feeling?" 

You shrug, but wince as it doesn't come out painlessly. "Sore," you say with a laugh. William laughs along with you. 

He reaches out and grabs your hand. "I was worried about you. When they said who it was I didn't know what happened!" William exclaims, his right hand flying out but his left still holding onto yours. His right hand rests again on your clasped hands and he says quietly, "What did happen?" 

You look him in the eye and say, determined, "I need to talk to the captain." 

You move to get up, but William pushes you back into the sickbay bed. "Whoah whoah whoah. Let's not be too hasty. Do you want to tell me, and I'll tell him?" 

You shake your head, wincing at the pain it causes in your neck, and the phantom pains of the headache fall into the forefront of your mind. "No. It's an emergency. I need to tell him." 

William sighs and squeezes your hands. "Alright. But he's coming here. You're not going to him." You nod carefully and William touches his combadge. "Commander Riker to Captain Picard. Please come to sickbay." William looks at you and says, serious, "It's an emergency." 

You smile, and squeeze William's hands. 

A few minutes later, the captain comes in. "Yes, what's the emergency?" 

William doesn't even say anything. He just gestures to you. You let out a breath. You've only talked to the captain once, when you first came onto the Enterprise. Usually you talk through Geordi. You look up at the captain and say confidently, carefully, "We have to stop scanning the planet." 

"What?" Picard asks confused. "Why?" 

"Because that radiation I detected?" you offer. "That's not radiation. At least, not really. The reason it was moving is because it's alive, captain." 

"What?" The captain looks dumbfounded. 

You sit up more in the sickbay bed. William helps you sit up. "The pain I felt? As it was entering my mind? That's the pain it feels while we're scanning it. The tachyon scans we've been doing have been killing it, captain." 

"But-but that's a class M planet. Others will want to come and claim it." 

You glare at the captain. "Then find a way to protect it." The captain hesitates, obviously thinking about what you're saying. Your eyes narrow even further and you turn to the computer that's against the wall next to your bed. "Computer? Play footage from engineering, 2200 hours." 

The screen lights up and you can clearly see yourself sitting at a computer console, falling asleep in your chair. Ensign Torres comes up behind you, and starts talking to you. It's too quiet to make out what you're saying. You stand up, fall into Ensign Torres' arms, and then all you can hear is your screaming. You look at the captain as he watches, pain and sympathy cross over his features. You just watch him. William squeezes your hands as he watches, tensing up at the sight of you in pain. You remember the pain, as clear as if you were experiencing it now. You tense up as the apology given from the new lifeform rises to the surface as well. 

"Computer," Captain Picard says suddenly, just as Beverly comes into frame. You're still screaming. "Stop video." The video stops and the screen goes dark once again. Captain Picard sighs and places a hand on his forehead. Your eyes haven't left the captain. He looks up at you and says quietly, "I'll see what I can do. Number one, I'll see you on the bride in-" He looks between the two of you, then down at your hands. "I'll see you tomorrow." 

And he walks away. 

You let out a breath you didn't even know you were holding when the doors to sickbay close behind the captain. You lean forward, exhausted after your display and pleading with the captain. William leans forward and catches you, your head resting on his shoulder. He runs his hands through your hair and says quietly, "That was amazing." You smile against his shoulder, but you don't have the energy to move. "Very convincing." You chuckle and reach your arms out to hug him, but you pull back, letting out a small groan of pain. William chuckles and pulls back, pressing his hands to your shoulders to keep you upright while he slides you down the bed. "Come on. You must be exhausted. I'll see if Dr. Crusher can get you something for the pain." He lays you down on the bed and you smile as your eyes close. He leans down and presses a soft kiss to your forehead. 

He gets up to go get Beverly, but by the time they return, you're asleep in your bed. 

--

“[L/N]!” You look up from your personal project you were working on. 

It’s your lunch break and you’re tinkering with a new invention, but every time you use it on something, when you turn it off, the force crushes the object inside. It’s not doing what you want it to, and you have to find a way to stop it from collapsing when it’s turned off. 

Geordi walks over to you in the hallway outside of engineering. “Hey, how are you feeling?” He asks right as you take a bite of your sandwich. 

You hold up a hand, chewing for a few moments as you set down your tools, and you put your device down. You swallow and say, “Sorry.” Geordi holds up a hand as if to say, ‘no worries,’ and you continue. “I’m better. A lot better. Beverly is a true miracle worker.”

Geordi chuckles and says pointedly, “She’s a doctor, not a miracle worker, Lieutenant.” You chuckle along and start gathering up your equipment, popping the last of your lunch into your mouth. You start walking toward the nearest replicator, and Geordi follows along. “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to see you in a while. I’ve been busy.” You nod. You understand how busy the senior officers have been these past few days. 

After leaving the planet, with the new radiation lifeform, the Enterprise was called to Starbase 83 to facilitate a discussion between the Klingons and a new race that was discovered on a mining moon. They drilled into the crust of the planetoid where they discovered a series of underground tunnels and caves, that were home to a race called the Hiyattas. They’re an insectoid race, with humanoid bodies, and they’re so new as an intelligent race they barely have 5,000 words to communicate with. In comparison, Federation Standard has over 170,000 words. William has been too busy to see you for the past few days, but occasionally, when he has the time, or the captain orders him to rest, he’ll ask you to join him in Ten Forward, just to see each other, and to catch up. He’s been updating you on the Hiyattans, and you’ve been telling him about engineering. 

You place the empty plate on the replicator and press a button that dematerializes the plate. “Anyways, I just wanted to know how you’ve been, being back in engineering after… well after what happened,” he says. 

You smile. “I’m fine. Still a little sore, but Beverly told me that’s normal after something like that.” The doors to engineering open and you place the invention and your tools on the table where Ensign Weaver who gets out of their chair and goes back to another station. “Can I ask you a question Commander?”

“Of course,” he says. 

You sit down in your chair, and turn to face him. “Why are you so concerned with me? You’re never like this with anyone else. Why me?” 

He smiles and says cryptically, “Don’t worry about it lieutenant.” He places a hand on your shoulder and squeezes gently. “Welcome back lieutenant.” 

He walks away and you say, confused, “Lieutenant Junior Grade, sir!” He doesn’t acknowledge you and just leaves engineering. You lean back in your chair, more confused than you have been in a very long time. “What just happened?” you mumble to yourself. 

--

You collapse into your chair in Ten Forward, leaning on the table that William is sitting in front of as well. 

“Everything alright?” he asks as your head hits the metal table with a soft thunk. You just groan in response. “Rough day?”

You laugh, though there’s no mirth behind it. “You could say that.” Your voice is muffled by your arms closing around your head on the table. 

William reaches out and touches your arm, grabbing it gently, as if to say, ‘hey, relax.’ You move your arms away from your face and sit up, though you’re still slightly slouched. “Hey, talk to me. What happened?” 

You sigh. “Everyone’s been so weird today. First!” You sit up more and William grabs your hand, not to calm you or anything, but just because he can. “It was Geordi, asking me how I am and talking to me more about personal things than he ever does. Then it was Lieutenant Worf, who refused to talk to me. I wanted to ask when the away team would be back, but every time I tried to contact him over coms, he would just tell me to talk to him later. I had to ask Ensign Martinez to talk to him for me.” You lean forward more. “And then! Chief O’Brien wouldn’t tell me how long the away team was gone for when I went to see him in transporter room three! I tried to run a diagnostic on the energy output from the transporters, so see if we could cut anything down for greater engine efficiency, but he just shooed me out of the room! Told me he’d do it himself and report back later! I asked Keiko what was going on with him but she wouldn’t even give me a straight answer. She would just mumble something about being busy or tired, and then take care of Molly.” You lean back in your chair with a huff, but your hands are still being held by William’s. “The only one who hasn’t been weird is Data, but he’s already weird. He was the only one to actually talk with me today. Though he kept saying ‘I’m sure you’ll be happy today…’” You shake your head. “It’s just been a weird day.” 

William smiles and leans forward, kissing your fingers lightly before encasing your hand in his own. You feel your cheeks heat up and you look away. You’ve been flirty with William, sure, and you talk a lot, but you didn’t think he actually felt anything for you. At least not the same way you feel about him. You were content to remain friends, but this… this feels really good, even if your stomach is doing flips right now. “I can’t wait to see how happy you are.”

You look back at him, your stomach dropping, as well as your shy smile. You groan and drop your head on the table again. “Ugh, not you too!”

He just starts laughing. 

--

You’re in your room the next morning when your combadge beeps at you from the dining table in your quarters. “Captain Picard to Lieutenant Junior Grade [L/N].” 

You pick up your combadge and affix it to your uniform before tapping it. “[L/N] here.”

“Will you come to my ready room? I wish to speak to you about something.” You nod, even though the captain can’t see you. 

“Aye sir.” Your badge beeps to denote the cutting of your connection to the captain, and you let out a deep breath. 

You try and steady your beating heart as you walk out of your room and to the turbolift. You only pass a few people, but you can’t help but feel as though they’re watching you. You don’t realize you’ve been holding your breath until you walk into the turbolift and the doors close behind you. “Bridge,” you say and the turbolift starts moving. You’ve only seen the bridge briefly once before when you first stationed on the enterprise. You were in the turbolift when one of the senior officers went up there. You saw it for as long as the doors were open. You didn’t get a good look at it. 

You feel your heartbeat rising as the lift rises higher and higher. You take deep breaths to steady yourself. You feel like you’re about to faint. The doors to the bridge finally open, and you barely catch a glance at William before your feet take you past the bridge crew and to the captain’s ready room. They’re definitely all watching you. 

You hear Counselor Troi say to someone, probably Commander Riker, before the doors to the Captain's ready room close, "He's definitely nervous." 

The doors close behind you, and suddenly, you're alone with the captain. "Ah. Lieutenant. Please, sit down." 

You do as you're told, but not before saying, "It's lieutenant junior grade, sir." 

He smiles and sits down across from you. "Yes, I've noticed you say that a lot. Is there a reason?" He folds his hands in front of himself. 

You shrug. "My father taught me not to take credit for things that aren't yours. Everyone needs a chance to prove themselves, and you shouldn't take that away from them," you explain. 

Captain Picard smiles and leans back slightly. "That is a very good insight Lieutenant… Junior Grade," he says after a moment. You smile at him. "Do you know why I've asked you here today?" 

"You sound like my principal in highschool," you mumble out. The captain raises an eyebrow at you. "No sir." 

He smiles. "I have heard nothing but good things about you from my senior officers. Geordi, Commander Riker, Deanna, even Data's said something positive about you." You don't say anything. You don't know what to say. You wait with baited breath as he continues. "I have continuously heard great things about you. And so I called you here to congratulate you Lieutenant."

"Congratulate me on what sir?" You don't correct him this time. 

He smiles at you. "On your promotion. Congratulations Lieutenant." 

You stare at him. "I-I don't know what to say Captain. Thank you!" You exclaim. 

He smiles. "It's not me. It's your own accomplishments. Now, we really should get back to work. We have a starship to run after all." 

You nod, still in shock and stand to leave. When you're about halfway to the door, the captain call to you. "Oh, and [Y/N]?" You turn to look at him. "I want to see you on the bridge now. If you could take more shifts on the bridge crew every once and awhile, that would be preferable." Your shock turns into excitement as you nod. "Dismissed."

--

You're sitting at the helm, your fingers don't know what to press first. Sure, you've run all types of simulations in star fleet, and have been reading up since your promotion, but the truth is, you don't know what to do. You've forgotten. Your mind blank. 

"Lieutenant? Are you alright? Do you need me to plot the course to Starbase 116?" Commander Data asks, his voice softer than normal, as if he's trying not to embarrass you. It's all very human. 

You let out a deep breath and shake your head. "No. No Data. I've got it," you say. You reach out, trying to remember which button to push first, when you feel something behind you. 

"Push the red one on the right first," Commander Data says low in your ear. 

You press the button, and with muscle memory start to lay in the course to Starbase 116. You look up and smile as you see Commander Data nod and go back to the Captain's chair. 

This is going to be a long night. 

--

You walk into Ten forward, swaying a little with each step you take. You almost fall into the bar but catch yourself as you walk to the table William is sitting at. You’re still in your uniform form earlier on in the day. You slump into your seat and sigh as you look up at the server that appears next to you.

“Coffee, extra sweet,” you say. William holds up a hand to say he’s good and the server nods and walks away. 

“I thought you hated coffee,” William says. 

“I do.” You lean back in your chair, your arms falling to your side, almost numb. “But I need to stay awake.” 

Riker looks at you, concerned. “Why do you need to stay awake? Do you have a night watch shift?” He asks, a little astounded. You wave him off, blowing a raspberry with your mouth as the server comes back with your coffee. You make a grab for it, but William slides it in front of himself, out of your reach. “No, you don’t get this until you answer me.” You sigh and reach for it, but he just holds your hand. "Why are you drinking coffee?" 

You sigh and place your forehead on the table. Your stomach's been swimming all day, and now it's just gotten worse. You haven't eaten anything since breakfast. You shake your head on the table. William reaches out and you feel him lace his fingers into your hair, touching the tips of your ears with his fingers. You sigh. "I've been taking extra night shifts on the bridge because those are the only times I can do them." 

William looks at you, concerned. "[Y/N], you're working yourself too hard," he says, quietly. 

You shake your head. "I want to do more for the captain, be on the bridge more like he requested, but I can't just give up engineering. It's such  a large part of me I can't just throw it out the window!" You exclaim, though that makes your head spin. You wobble slightly as you close your eyes and take a deep breath. "Whoah…" William sighs and when you open your eyes, you see the same server from before taking your coffee away. "Bu- wa-" you cut yourself off as you reach out towards the server, too tired to actually get up and go after your coffee. 

William stands up and walks around to your chair. "Come on. I'm taking you to bed." 

"But- but I have to be in the bridge in fourteen minutes! Commander Data is expecting me!" You exclaim as William takes your hands and lifts you up, placing a hand around your waist and throwing your own arm over his shoulders. William presses his combadge and says, "Commander Riker to Data."

"Commander Data here sir," comes the reply. 

William starts walking with you, more like dragging you, out of Ten Forward. "Lieutenant [L/N] is unable to come to his shift on the bridge. It's an emergency." 

You hear Data acknowledge it, but he adds on at the end, "Is the Lieutenant okay? He's not hurt is he?" 

William looks down at you. "He's not hurt." 

You can almost imagine Data nodding. "Data out." The comm cuts out. 

"I think Data thinks of you as a friend now." You look up at William as he says this, approaching your door now. You live on deck ten, so it always makes it convenient to go to the forward. 

You smile. "Good. I consider him a friend too." 

The doors to your room open as you approach and William takes you inside. He seats you over to your bed, and you practically throw yourself onto it. You sit up and go to remove your shoes, but William holds up a hand to stop you. You comply, and he removes your shoes for you. He sits down on your bed and you lean over, resting your head on his shoulder. He leans over and kisses your hair lightly. You almost don't feel it in your sleepy haze. 

Looking up, you see William's bright blue eyes. They're alight with affection and warmth, and you want that warmth. You want to feel that affection he apparently has for you. You lean up, pressing your lips to his, moving your hands from the bed to his neck. He starts kissing back, slowly but it's something. He moves his hands to your wrists, and pulls away as he moves your hands away from his skin, some of the only exposed skin on him when he's in uniform. 

He smiles in the dim light and says softly, "I really want this. Trust me, I do. But not when you're tired." 

You nod, and he leans in, pressing a kiss to your jaw before getting up. He lets go of your wrists and they fall back to the bed with a soft "thunk". He smiles and kisses your forehead. 

"Get some sleep. We'll talk tomorrow." You nod and scoot up the bed, falling asleep before you can even watch William walk out the doors.

--

You're sitting in Ten Forward, three days later, your new invention and your tools spread out over one of the tables in Ten Forward. You’re so close to a discovery, to being able to test it, but you have to find a way to not burn out the circuits after every shutdown. You’re hunched over your work and you don’t even notice as someone pulls out the chair and sits down in front of you. 

“Still hard at work, huh?” 

You jump, looking up into the blue eyes of William, who’s smiling at you. You place a hand over your heart, a decoupler pinned between your palm and your breast. “William! You scared me!” 

Even though you’re shocked, you’re laughing with him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were so entranced in your work,” he says. 

You sigh with an exasperated smile. “I’m so close.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever asked you what this is,” he says, pointing towards the invention on the table.

You look up at him, as if to ask, ‘Really?’ but he doesn’t back out of his statement, so you go ahead and explain. “Well, this…” You hold up the metal puck, blue, red, and white wires poke out of the bottom. “…is a personal shielding device. It uses a magnetic resonance created in part by me to cover the body and deflect anything from a phaser blast, to an old earth bullet, to a rock thrown at your head.” William is looking at you with wide eyes. “But-” you say, cutting him off from speaking, “I haven’t figured out how to make it work without the phaser blasts draining the energy from the shield and burning out the internal configuration. Last week I figured out the issue of it crushing the object inside of it when it’s shut off, but it still overloads the power couplings.” 

“This is so over my head, but this is a brilliant invention! How did you come up with it?” William asks. 

You shrug. “I just thought, ‘Why should ships only have shields?’.” 

You grin, and William laughs, leaning back in his chair. You just watch him laugh, his smile so wide you’re surprised his cheeks don’t split to make more room. His eyes are closed, but when you were explaining your technology, you could see adoration in his eyes. As you’re grinning at him while he laughs in his chair, you watch this man you’ve talked to every day for the last few months, and you realize something as his comforting eyes open again. 

You are in love with William T. Riker. 

--

“Alright lieutenant! Let’s fire this up!” Geordi says from the other end of Engineering two days later where he’s monitoring the shielding device. 

You nod and press the final button needed to remotely turn on the device, even though there’s a switch on the side for whoever needs it, for it to be activated. The light hum of the magnetic resonance is almost impossible to hear next to the massive warp engine. You watch as the light reflects for a moment off the shield as it wraps around the vase Data was willing to give you for the test. The magnetic resonance hasn’t vibrated the vase to pieces yet, so that’s good. 

You turn to look behind you, and say, “Commander Data? Fire when ready.” 

He nods and holds up the phaser, firing it on the shield. You watch as the shield pulses from the phaser blast, moving and warping, and you watch with baited breath as the vase wobbles slightly, but stabilizes after only a moment. 

You let out a breath as Geordi calls out, “Shield holding at 83%!” You have to force yourself to focus on your breathing, because you know you will hold your breath until the experiment is done. “Shields holding at 67%!” You watch as the shield starts flickering, but it’s still steady. “Shield falling to 42%!” The phaser still isn’t getting through, even though the resonance is flickering more and more, but you notice the shifting of the field is done around where the phaser is hitting, but it’s solid where the phaser is hitting. “Shield now at 27%!” The buzzing sound of the shield is now louder than the phaser as it pushes itself harder to protect the fragile vase. “Shield falling to 15%!” Geordi calls out to you and Data. “10%!” You watch as the shield starts falling away from the back, still holding strong against the phaser blast. “5%! 4! 3-2! 1%!” You watch as the shield flickers out for one last moment, before the phaser penetrates the magnetic resonance field, and the phaser strikes the vase, shattering it into a thousand tiny pieces. The phaser stops before it can do any more damage.

You watch as, even though the vase isn’t there anymore, the shield comes back online, taking the previous shape of the vase, before collapsing, and turning itself off. 

Data lowers his arm, the phaser resting at his side. Geordi walks over and stands at your side, placing his hands on his hips as he says to you, “Congratulations Lieutenant. You have created the first and only personal shielding device.”

You just stand in shock, a loose grin on your face. 

--

“Why don’t you join us for poker some time! I’m sure Commander Riker has asked you to join a few times?” Beverly asks as you sit in medbay, getting a cut healed from your rather rigorous exercise while fighting a few holodeck romulans. It’s not your program, lieutenant Worf let you use it for the time being. Your shield was being particularly annoying today and you needed to let off some steam. 

You shake your head. “No, no. I don’t play your kind of poker.”

“Seven card stud?” Beverly asks. 

You shrug. “I only know how to play one type of poker, so I think I’d be a little outmatched," you say with a light laugh. 

"Well, what kind of poker do you play?" Beverly asks. "Maybe we can learn!" 

You look up at her and say with a straight face, "Texas Hold 'em." 

She looks at you confused. "What?" 

"It's a poker game that was popular in the 21st century, but after the nuclear wars, only those in Texas really held onto it. Us Texans love anything with the word 'Texas' in it," you say sardonically. 

Beverly laughs as she finishes healing your cut. "Alright. You should be good to go." You smile at her and jump down from the bed, rolling your neck and sighing when you hear the pops it makes. You move to leave, but she stops you with a shout. “Oh lieutenant!” You turn to face her. “Maybe you should steer clear of the holodeck for a little while. Come play poker with us. You can teach us how to play your game, and I’m sure the commander will love to have you there.”

She smiles at you knowingly, and you just smile and nod before leaving sickbay. 

--

“Picard to engineering! Can you get us out of here!” Captain Picard yells over the comms. Because Geordi’s on the bridge, he put you in charge of engineering. 

You press your combadge and shout over the general hustle and bustle of engineering,  “We’re trying our best captain! The tractor beam from the planet’s interfering with our escape plan! I don’t think we’ll be able to leave unless we can shut down that tractor beam!” 

The combadge goes quiet for a few moments and you call out to Barclay to join you at the main engineering consoles situated in the middle of the floor. Your combadge beeps again when Barclay moves to your opposite, continuing his work. “Picard to Mr. [L/N]. I need you on the bridge.”

“Aye,” you say, nodding to Barclay who nods back, and you leave engineering for the bridge. Before you exit, you stop by your station and grab your personal shield, holding onto it as you make your way to the bridge. The ride in the turbolift is silent. No one interrupts. You’re alone. 

Until the door to the bridge opens up and all you can hear is shouting. “[Y/N]! Over here!” Geordi calls out to you, waving you over. You move over to Geordi before the doors to the turbolift can close again. “We’re having a hard time shutting down their tractor beam.��

You lean in next to Data to look at the computer monitor. “Have you tried a reverse tachyon beam?”

Data nods. “Yes. They have a force field up. We can not get through.” 

You nod and start mumbling to yourself, “And we can’t beam anyone in there-”

“Wait, no I think we can,” Geordi says, typing on the display. “Here.” He points to the monitor, where you see the subspace fluctuation in the shield, a hole not big enough for a phaser blast, but just big enough for a transport. 

“Yes, yes. I see,” Data says, before turning to the chaotic bridge. “Captain,” he says, not raising his voice at all. Picard turns, still having been able to hear Data over all the comotion. “I believe we can transport a small away team down into the surface. This is the only way to disable the tractor beam. We have…" Data pauses for a moment and you fill in the rest for him. 

"We have twenty four minutes before the warp core shuts down and we're pulled to the surface," you supply. 

Picard nods. "Commander, assemble an away team." 

Riker nods. "Data, Worf, you're with me." 

They go to leave but you stop them. "Sir?" You interrupt the Commander before he leaves. "Sir. I think I should be the one to beam you all down. I've done the calculations and I know I can get you there safely." 

Riker looks to captain Picard, who nods. Riker motions for you to follow. "[L/N]. You're with me," Commander Riker says. 

You follow them into the turbolift, and down to transporter room one. You walk in and quickly dismiss the ensign on duty. He walks out of the room as you input the exact transporter coordinates. 

You look up and everyone's already on the transporter pad. "Commander, one more thing before you go…" 

You walk up to him, and reach your hand out, grasping your life's greatest work as you place it in the commander's hand. He looks up at you in sock as you say to him, quietly, "You never know what you'll find down there…" 

He looks up at you in shock, and you walk back to the transporter, your fingers over the engagement. 

"Lieutenant? Energize," Riker says. 

You slide your fingers up the panel, and as you do, the three men start to dematerialize. Soon enough, they're gone, and you wait with baited breath, hoping you do it right. 

You feel your heart stop as your combadge beeps and Geordi's voice filters through. "Lieutenant? You did it! Come and join us back on the bridge," 

"Aye sir," you reply. 

--

You wait and watch from the bridge, barely daring to breathe. The bridge has gone silent. It's eerie. The bridge is usually full of life, buttons being pushed, talking from the commanding officer to their officers, and vice versa. Now, you're sitting at OPs, waiting for something, anything to happen. 

You don't have to wait long, because soon enough you're flung against the OPs terminal, and you have to cling to it so you don't Tumblr over it. 

"What was that?" Picard asks the room. 

You start typing on your console but Geordi's faster. "The tractor beam is gone captain. As well as the shield. It seems they were shut down." 

You get up from OPs and look back at the captain, going to say something, but you're interrupted. "Away team to Enterprise. Please beam us directly to sickbay. Commander Riker is hurt." It's Data's voice. 

Your heart stops beating, and you look to the captain. You don’t even need to say anything. He just nods, but as you get up and walk past him, he places a hand on your arm gently. “See me in my ready room after your shift ends.” 

You nod and he lets go, letting you rush down to sickbay. The doors don’t slide open fast enough and you almost slam face first into them. But they do eventually slide apart and you enter, your breathing so fast you’re afraid you may pass out. You spot him, William, lying in one of the sickbay beds against the wall. You push your way through the bustling room and over to William, who grins as he makes eye contact with you. You let out a deep breath and practically throw yourself into the chair next to his bed. He reaches out and you grab his hand. 

You feel something fist sized, warm, machinery. “You saved me. You know that?” 

You let the shield fall to the ground and lean over, kissing William T. Riker. 

--

You let out a nervous breath, clenching and unclenching your hands in the turbolift as you make your way down to William’s room. You’ve never actually been in his room. You’ve imagined it, what he would have in it. Pictures of family, flowers from Deanna, lots of blues and reds. The turbolift doors open, and you have half a mind to turn around and go right back the way you came, but you shake your head, stepping out of the turbolift onto the senior officer’s crew quarters. You walk down the brightly lit hallway and to the door you remember Beverly telling you was William’s. 

You let out a breath, and push the doorbell. 

It only takes a few seconds before the doors slide open, and a shocked William is staring back at you. “[Y/N]! What a nice surprise! What are you doing here?”

“Beverly invited me. She wants to learn how to play my poker,” you explain. “I even brought my own cards.” You hold up the pack you’ve used for years. Your lucky deck. 

“Oh well, come on in!” William steps aside and you carefully make your way inside, smiling as you see Geordi, Beverly, Worf, and Data all sitting around a circular table, chips layed out in front of each of them. William pulls up a chair for you next to Beverly and himself, as well as some chips for you to use. You sit and place your cards on the table, Data scooping up the old cards. 

“What’s the game, [Y/N]?” Beverly asks.

You start to shuffle the deck, almost as well as Data but no one can ever be as good as Data at anything. You stop, placing the cards in front of William to cut as you say, “The game is Texas Hold’em. May the best, win.”

[pb1138]

The Officer’s Ball

And another commission from the other-worldly magnanimous @pinkmoontribe-blog I cannot and will never be able to thank you enough!!

This one is another Emotion Chip!Data x reader where they attend an officer’s ball and share a rather...intimate dance. It’s sfw, but phew? I liked this one a lot. I might try another one later on that’s more Cinderella-y :3 

You could barely recognize the Academy as you approached it with Deanna and Beverly beside you. You had beamed just beyond the building, deep enough in the gardens to appreciate the splendor of it all, “to make an entrance” as Deanna had put it, and the building was even more done up than you lot were. Boothsby had worked some serious magic, it would seem, because each and every flower bed was full to bursting with beautiful, vibrant flowers illuminated by garden lights. Along the walkways were strings of softly-glowing yellow lights, and around every door into the Academy were a myriad of floral strands and bouquets. Music and the sounds of laughter and conversation drifted out through the open doors. Captain Picard, Commander Riker, and Geordi were standing outside the doors, talking animatedly with two other officers you didn’t recognize. Upon seeing the three of you approach, they politely excused themselves and came to greet you. Geordi greeted you with a friendly hug and a warm smile. “You sure clean up well, Y/N.”

You chuckled and nudged his shoulder. “I could say the same to you, Geordi.” He, like most of the male officers in attendance, was dressed in his formal uniform. “Where’s your date?”

Geordi smiled and gestured a short ways away in conversation with a scientist you recognized from your time visiting DS9 this past month. “They’ve been at it for nearly half an hour now. If I were a lesser man, I might be jealous.” You chuckled with him but it died quickly when you began scanning the crowd. Geordi, as if reading your mind, gently patted your shoulder. “He’s around here somewhere. You should head on in. The buffet is to die for.”

You nodded and hugged him quickly before splitting from the group. The inside of the building had been decked out even better than the outside, red and gold carpets laid out and blue tapestries and banners hung overhead. From where you stood atop the grand staircase, you could see nearly everything from below. Groups of people milled about along the edges of the room, and directly across from the staircase was the band, playing a jaunty dance tune. In the center of the room, a few dozen people danced, many of them wearing flashy and fine outfits. You swallowed hard and looked down at your dress, smoothing it down nervously before you set off down the stairs.

As you meandered your way through the crowd and each moment that passed, you grew a little more nervous, a little more disheartened. True, Data hadn’t officially asked you to come to this ball, but you’d hoped he would’ve sought you out and ask you at least for one dance by now. You found yourself at a buffet table, a plate of various finger-foods and desserts in your hands, completely enraptured by a Trill woman who was the very epitome of beauty and grace. She was telling a rapturous tale of adventure to the crowd which had grown to nearly 10 people around her, all of you hanging onto her every word when she stopped mid-sentence to smile brightly. “Worf!” she yelled.

You blinked and looked in the direction she was, surprised to see your former crewmate making his way over to where the crowd was situated, looking very uncomfortable by the amount of people in the room. The small gathering broke away, some people grumbling at the lost end of the story, leaving just you and the Trill woman standing to receive the Klingon. “I have been looking everywhere for you,” he grumbled to her.

She gave him a dazzling grin that made even your knees weak and leaned in to place a warm kiss to his cheek. Though he glowered at her, you could tell he thoroughly enjoyed it, which only added to your confusion. “I’m sorry. I was storytelling.”

Worf shook his head but, upon seeing you, he let a small smile touch his face. “Ensign Y/L/N. It is good to see you. With whom are you here?”

You blinked and smiled warmly. “It’s Lieutenant now, actually. Technically, I’m on my own, but I was hoping to catch a dance or two with Data.”

Worf quirked a brow but nodded. “Congratulations.” Whether on the promotion or the formation of the relationship between you and Data that had occurred after Worf left for DS9, you weren’t sure.

“Aren’t you gonna introduce us, Worf?”

He jumped at the Trill woman’s words and swallowed. “I, uh. Yes. Lieutenant Y/L/N, this is—”

“Jadzia Dax,” she purred, her hand outstretched to you. “Worf is my husband.”

You took her hand, mouth agape. “Your… Oh. Oh wow. Congratulations, Worf! I had no idea!”

He tilted his chin up in an obvious display of pride. “Thank you, Lieutenant.”

“Worf, there you are!” Riker appeared out of seemingly nowhere. “Listen, we’ve got some guys over here who want to hear about that thing you did with the bat’leth and the Risan moonberries, would you mind?”

Worf looked back and forth from you and Jadzia, struggling to find a way to say no, but Jadzia smirked and waved him off. “Go, go.” Turning to you with another knee-wobbling grin, she purred, “Maybe the Lieutenant and I might share a dance?”

“Oh, I—” you started to protest.

“Splendid!” The plate was moved hastily out of your hands before you were dragged out into the very middle of the dancefloor just as the song began to change into a simple waltz in a 4/4 time. You were blushing furiously as Jadzia’s hands slipped easily about your waist and down along your arm to hold your hand. She led you easily, her steps smooth and fluid which more than made up for your stumbling. She grinned at you, her eyes alight with excitement. “You’ve known Worf long, then?” she asked.

You stumbled at the question and had to speak haltingly, your brain fighting to focus on words and feet at the same time. “For about… five years…” You winced as you stepped on her toe, but she didn’t seem to mind. “I was transferred… to the Enterprise… two years before… he left.”

“I see. It’s a shame we’ve never met. You seem fun.”

You blushed under her stare which made her laugh. The song was beginning to come to an end, but just before the last phrase began, Jadzia stopped rather abruptly and turned. You followed her look and grinned brightly, seeing Data standing there, looking very smart in a black tuxedo and bowtie. “May I cut in?” he asked.

Jadzia nodded and stepped back, smiling graciously. “By all means.”

Data took your hand in his and slipped his arm around your waist, pulling you closer than necessary. His lips moved down to press against your cheek in a warm kiss before trailing along to your ear where he whispered, “You look… breathtaking.”

You swallowed hard at the tone in his voice and pressed just a bit closer. “I could say the same about you.”

The next song began. It was alien to you, something you’d never learned before, and for a brief moment you panicked. Data could see the fear in your face and placed a kiss to your forehead. “This is a Denobulan dance reminiscent of a Terran tango. I will lead.”

Except… he stepped away. As you looked around, you saw that most of the other couples were mirroring it, the lead stepping back from the other. You opened your mouth to ask what was about to happen when a string instrument chimed in in a rather sultry way, and Data and the leads stepped in beat. He circled slowly around you, and though you doubted it was part of the song, you could feel his hungry eyes roving over your body like a hunter stalking prey. It was slow, languid, step two three step two three. Then, with a sudden molto crescendo, Data snapped around to the front of you, just barely within arm’s reach, and he reached up slowly, his fingers ghosting along the shape of your nose and across your lips, catching the lower one ever the slightest. You found yourself following his hand as he pulled it away, but the music moved again, and Data slipped closer to you, your bodies nearly flush but not touching. His hands followed the length of your arms, close enough to feel the disturbance of the air left behind his movements, until his hands mirrored yours at your side. “Do as I do,” he breathed, and you found yourself nodding, unable to tear yourself away from his impassioned gaze.

He lifted one hand slowly, brought it up towards your shoulder and curved it back down to your side. You followed his movements easily, and again as he mirrored the movement with his other hand. The music once again changed with a shift not just in volume but in time signature to something a little louder, much faster, split into twos instead of the previous threes.

His movements snapped quickly with the change, one hand slipping into yours, the other coming up to cup your cheek as he pulled you along into a quick set of steps. You stumbled after him, but he did not look away from your face for even a moment, so neither did you. Unsure of what to do with your unoccupied hand, you rested it against his elbow, and from the way his grin twitched, you could tell it was the right move. His thumb brushed against your cheek and down across your lips again in what you doubted was part of the actual song (though, with Denobulans, who knows?) and his eyes followed the movement hungrily, his grin faltering just the slightest while his teeth dragged across his own lip.

His other hand tightened ever the slightest on yours before he slipped from your grasp again, the beat of the song returning to one rather like the first. You stumbled, breathless, and looked around bewildered as did several other dancers. As you righted yourself, he stepped in from your back and you had to stifle a moan as you felt his arms slip about your waist. His lips met the crook of your neck as the two of you stepped slowly, slinking, and his hands roamed across your hips. You leaned against him, putty in his skilled hands, your hands resting easily atop his. He kissed up your neck just below your ear and practically purred. “I will never tire of the way you feel,” he whispered.

You shivered and leaned your head back against his shoulder, blushing furiously. Your mouth opened to whisper his name but his grip on you changed, his hand sliding along your far arm and tugging you into a spin away from him. You stood apart for nearly two whole beats, eyes locked on one another before he slid his way back into your embrace and met you with a fiery kiss, his hand upon the back of your head as the song came to a close. Applause broke out along the ballroom, but you couldn’t bring yourself to care as your arms slipped about Data’s shoulders to pull him closer.

After a long moment, he stepped back, chuckling at your pout, and brought your knuckles to his lips. “I hope that this was a sufficient way to make up for my previous absence.”

You chuckled, squeezing his hand slightly. “Hm, gee, Data, I don’t know. I mean, you did keep me waiting a long time.”

He affected a faux-horrified look and stepped close, already moving in time to the subtle song the band had taken up. “Perish the though, my love. Please, tell me how I can make up for this deficit.”

“Hmm. I can think of a few things. Though, they’ll have to wait.” You cast a glance about the ballroom, taking note of the surprising amount of eyes set upon the two of you. Leaning in, you lowered your voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “I don’t think our present company would be too thrilled by the um… dress code.”

Data let out a hearty laugh that set your heart soaring and tugged you closer to him, practically hugging you as you swayed. “Once we return to the ship, you will have to tell me more.”

You smiled, laying your head against his shoulder. “Oh, I will.” After a few more minutes, you sighed contentedly. “Data?”

“Yes?”

“I love you.”

He placed a kiss to your shoulder. “Mm, I love you, too.”