Author:
Beta: queenzulu
Fandom: Star Trek: TNG and DS9
Pairing: Data/Geordi, Crusher/Picard, and Jadzia/Worf
Rating: G
Setting: Futurefic where Data and Jadzia are alive.
Words: 2393
Summary: Geordi and Data take a much-needed vacation to Risa.
Geordi liked his coffee strong, and a raktajino was perfect after a morning of teaching at the Academy. Jadzia had turned him onto them, among other things. He smiled and punched some figures in on his PADD, happily taking Cadet Himann off academic warning as her grade in Warp Theory had risen after the last test. Geordi enjoyed the quiet of the teacher's lounge before the lunch rush.
He looked over as the door opened and Jadzia walked through. Straight to the replicator as usual. They met almost every morning. Geordi had always thought that teaching at the Academy would be boring, until he was introduced Jadzia.
She snatched her coffee as soon as it materialized, taking a swallow and sighing before joining him at the table. "I had the most interesting message this morning."
"Really?" Geordi put his PADD down on the table, giving Jadzia his full attention.
"It's true." Jadzia took another large gulp of her drink. Her hands clutched both sides of the cup as she brought it down from her lips. "The Picards are getting a divorce. Which is not completely unexpected. I mean, they're both extremely career-driven people."
Geordi chuckled. He knew it was wrong to chuckle when two of his closest friends' marriage was ending, but there was something in Jadzia's voice. "You won the pool, didn't you?"
"I don't know what you're taking about."
"You took a pool. At their wedding. Of when they would get divorced," Geordi said. The Picard wedding was a high profile celebration and anyone who was anyone had attended. Geordi knew that Jadzia had snuck her way in as an official representative of the House of Martok. He and Data, of course, had attended as personal friends of the bride and groom.
Jadzia made a low sound in the back of her throat. "Just because I did something that the rest of you were thinking."
Geordi leaned back in his chair, frowning. "It's still sad." And yet a bit unbelievable. "They'd been together for so long and I guess you figure that after a while, you just stay. Sure, Beverly, still might find husband number three, but the Admiral." Geordi shook his head.
"You never know," Jadzia said. "A certain archeologist could make her way back from the Gamma Quadrant."
"That'd be a miracle." Geordi knew that neither of them was going to bet money on Vash being alive, much less still in love with Admiral Picard. "It's not like any Starfleet officer – at least the high ranking ones – ever had luck with love."
"Suddenly I get the feeling that we're not talking about the Picards anymore." Even though Jadzia had finished her first raktajino and would surely drink a second, she didn't move from her seat.
Geordi nodded. He always hated how perceptive she could be, but he suspected that had something to do with living seven lifetimes. "I'm just worried about this weekend. We haven't seen each other in a while and we're both so busy these days."
Jadzia reached out her hand and touched Geordi's. "I'm sure everything will be fine. Risa renews everyone's spirits. Did I ever tell you about the time I took Worf there?"
"And he liked it?" Geordi always felt privileged when Jadzia spoke about Worf to him. Ever since his death three years ago, she'd kept her mourning private after the Klingon rituals were done with. Mostly, Geordi was just trying to not imagine Worf in a bathing suit.
"No, he hated it. First, he was jealous of my -- Cuzon's -- ex lover, Arandis, and then he joined up with a terrorist movement to destroy Risa's artificial ecosystem. But it did bring us closer together." Jadzia smiled and squeezed his hand. "Okay, not helping, but in my very extensive life experience, you and Data are great together. He's loyal and honest, and most importantly, you guys were friends for years before becoming lovers."
"I know, it's just hard being apart and then back together," Geordi said. He tried to think about his last couple of classes instead of Risa or the Picards who had also been friends for years.
"Don't worry. You guys will be great. Better than great. And your students and his crew can survive without you."
*****
The weather felt muggier than Geordi expected. He wished he'd worn something with a looser collar. The room was exactly as Jadzia had promised, with a full view of the beach from a seemingly private balcony. The air smelt sweet, like cherry blossoms.
He turned with the door opened with a familiar swish. At least, Geordi had convinced himself that there was still a swish when the doors opened. "I missed you."
"As did I." Data set his bags down and smiled. He'd been using his emotion chip without any problems for about 10 years, eight of them with Geordi. Data had always been quick with his intentions, the chip only slowing him down those first couple times on the battlefield, and soon he stood next to Geordi and pulled him in for a kiss.
Kissing Data wasn't like kissing a humanoid, but it was at the same time. He was warm and tasted like Starfleet standard mint toothpaste; his skin was soft, unlike the plastic or metal surfaces most people associated with androids. Of course, Geordi had known all this long before their lips had ever touched. But it was still something when he hadn't seen Data for months and didn't know if he'd ever see him again.
Geordi softly groaned as he pulled back from the kiss. "I missed you," he repeated before tilting his head to kiss Data again.
Of course, Data wasn't just good at kissing; he was perfect. And Geordi had sworn never to tell anyone about the times when Data wasn't a good kisser. When his lips had moved like the actors on black and white films from the 20th century, an odd plasticity of smooth skin, a mimic of humanity.
Data pulled back, and Geordi raised an eyebrow at him. "The sun is setting," Data said.
"And Risa's known for some of the most beautiful sunsets in the world," Geordi finished. His ocular implants picked up the changes in atmosphere and they were beautiful, even if he still couldn't help but wish the see the actual sunset.
He leaned against Data. "How long were we kissing?" He hadn't remembered the sky darkening, but Jadzia had warned him that Risa did funny things to time when you went with someone you loved.
"Approximately 11 minutes and 43 seconds," Data said.
Geordi smiled at the answer only Data would give him. It was something he'd missed. Starfleet had offered them both jobs at the Academy, but Data had always wanted his own ship and that wasn't something Geordi was going to take from him.
*****
Waking alone on Risa startled Geordi more than he would've thought. But the calm ocean and almost still wind gave the place an eerie silence. Not to mention how lonely he felt. Perhaps Data had gone down to the beach or the mud baths without him. They had been apart long enough that they'd both developed routines that didn't include each other. Not that he expected Data, who didn't need to sleep, to be there when he woke up. It just would've been nice.
"Computer," Geordi said. "Time."
"0900 hours," it chirped back. Geordi had already overslept by two hours by his normal schedule. He tended to rise at the same time every day no matter if he was working or not.
He wanted to find Data, but first he needed a shower.
Geordi had taken notice of the elaborate tub in their suite when he first arrived. Today, with his back starting to bother him, it looked tempting. It would've been tempting if he hadn't been so bent on finding Data.
Instead, Geordi took a quick shower. Life on the Enterprise-D had taught him to wash quickly before his comm chirped again. He was also used to being able to walk down the hall and visit Data. Sometimes he'd fall asleep as Data painted and Spot would decide that Geordi was the best cushion in the place. Spot had died two years ago, and Data had yet to adopt another pet.
When he came out of the shower, Data was sitting by the window. "Hey."
"Good morning." Data smiled at him. His smile was something that Geordi was still getting used to. Or maybe Geordi was just noticing the changes that made it more natural, more human, with practice and time. "I thought that you would enjoy breakfast, but I did not think that you would be up so early."
"Habit." Geordi gladly took the coffee. It tasted sweet, like cinnamon. "Thank you."
"I was thinking that we could go boating today. Most people are unaware that the Risians have excellent waterways lined with native vegetation and animals. In fact, there are 145 different varieties of amphibians which frequent..."
Geordi picked at his fruit with his fork, only half-listening to Data's description of the indigenous life on Risa. Sure, he liked boating, as long as the boat propelled itself, and he wouldn't mind seeing one of those purple frogs that Data was currently describing the mating patterns of, but he'd come here to relax and spent time with Data. He was hoping that they'd lounge around, maybe have sex again, and enjoy the tub.
"What do you think?" Data asked.
When "sure" was the only thing that came out of his mouth, that was how Geordi found himself on a small boat going down the Ptompt River. Which, Data assured him, was easy to swim across and had no waterfalls. Data had, of course, insisted on rowing himself, reminding Geordi that he was perfectly capable of the task. That had only made Geordi feel old.
"How's life on the Prometheus?" Geordi wanted to talk about something besides the flora and fauna. Besides, he knew that Data's chief engineer, Lana Tonkas, was experimenting with slip-stream technology, and there were certain things that engineers left out of official reports. Things that wouldn't slip passed Data.
"Very satisfactorily." Data always surprised Geordi in what he cut short. And lately, it had been the things that Geordi actually wanted to know, like slip-stream experiments and how Data was doing. When Geordi frowned, Data shook his head. "You are trying to dig for information about Lieutenant Tonkas' research, are you not?"
"Am I that obvious?"
"Only to a trained eye."
Geordi chuckled. "You don't trust me?"
"I promised Tonkas that I would not reveal her research, and I am going to honor that. Even with you." Data pulled them over to a bank. "I believe I saw a roma."
"Like the tomato?"
"No, a small mammal. Similar to a Ornithorhynchus anatinus."
*****
The thing that Geordi regretted in the morning was letting Data talk him into an afternoon hike. His body hated him for it, and he'd been so tired by the time they'd made it back to their suite, that he'd eaten and fallen asleep.
Of course, he felt reassured when Data still lay next to him in bed. "You're here."
"Yes." Data touched his cheek. "Yesterday, you seemed unsettled that I was not here."
"I..." Geordi paused. "I missed you. And when you weren't here, I thought you'd found better ways to spend your time. Sometimes, I'm just slowing you down. Like yesterday."
"We should not have gone to the top of that butte."
Geordi couldn't argue with that. "I think hiking's out for me for a while. But if you want to go and spend time with nature, you should."
"Geordi, I came here to spend time with you."
"I know. It's just that we've been apart and aren't adjusted to each other. And I don't want to stop you from doing something that you enjoy just because I'm not as young as I once was."
"It is my error. I should have anticipated this. We could have rented a shuttlecraft."
Geordi didn't want to think of the future where Data might be doing more than renting a shuttlecraft to help him around. He thought of his sister nursing his father in the last days of his life. Helpless and alone, confused and wanting his dead wife. Geordi didn't want that. "I love you," Geordi said. And then he realized that was what had been missing. He hadn't told Data that he loved him in a very long time.
"I love you too." Data's face seemed to light up in a way that Geordi hadn't seen in a while. Like there were emotions that he didn't experience enough to control as well. He leaned in and kissed Geordi.
When they parted, Geordi grinned. "I remember seeing a tub in the bathroom. I think a hot soak would feel rather good right now."
"I think that I would also like that very much."
Geordi was thankful for heated tile under his feet as they made their way toward the bathroom. The tub was almost full by the time they were ready to sink into the water. As he leaned against Data, he started to think that Risa wasn't so bad after all.
*****
Geordi hummed as he started to grade another student paper on warp theory for his 101 course. His raktajino sat on the table, untouched.
"Someone's in a good mood," Jadzia said as she slid into the chair next to him. "I take it that Risa worked its magic on you."
"You could say that."
"Very coy. And while you sit there and try to think of a comeback, I have gossip for you."
"Let me guess, about the Picards." Their divorce was all over the Fleet now, and Geordi had two transmissions he needed to respond to, one from Beverly and one from the Admiral.
"Apparently, she's keeping his name."
Geordi could live as many lifetimes as Jadzia had and probably never figure out just how she always knew the latest Fleet gossip.
"So how's Data?"
Geordi grinned. Data was a much happier topic, and one that he was more willing to talk about. "He's good. Better than good. We're doing great."