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“Jasminum. Helianthus annuus. Tagetes. Lavandula.”
Data glanced at Spot; she was curled up under a flowering tomato plant on the coffee table, paws tucked daintily beneath her chin.
“Solanum lycopersicum,” he added. “Or, in layman’s terms: jasmine, sunflower, marigold, lavender, and tomato. All flowering plants.”
He stepped back from his shelf and took a deep breath. There were dozens of layers of scents in the room, ranging from sugary sweet to dense and earthy. It was crowded; pots overflowed with vines, leaves, and bursting flowers. His paints and canvases in the corner of the living quarter were covered artfully, acrylics and watercolors dripping down the paper to recreate the plants.
Although not logical, he felt the paintings lacked depth, as one could not smell the floral scents on paper.
Vines danced over the door. Alien flora from Vulcan, Risa, Andoria, Benzar, Pacifica, and more hung from every available wall spot. An Earth daisy had fallen from its stem and onto the carpeted ground. He made a mental note to water it as soon as possible.
“Bellis perennis, Spot,” he said, picking up the fallen flower and placing it near her. She batted at it lazily before letting it fall to the floor.
Data picked it back up and walked over to his computer, sitting down to log the progress of his experiments, letting the daisy sit atop of the machine.
“Lieutenant Commander personal log, day sixty-two of my botany experiment,” he said. “The tomatoes are just beginning to flower, while the Risian roses are in full bloom. They produced a purple much more vibrant than the holodeck simulation offered. The Klingon vine, however, had to be incinerated after it attempted to strangle Spot in her sleep last night.
“While I cannot say that I know what it feels like to be lonely, the only comparison I can make to being surrounded by these plants is one in which I no longer ‘feel alone’ in my quarters. Like Spot, these non-sentient organisms are more than adequate companions.”
He paused. “I believe that Counselor Troi was correct when she said that I ‘have a penchant for taking care of living things’. At any rate, my experience with these plants would suggest so. The tests run on interactions between the Andorian ice-tulips and the Vulcan sky flowers are running smoothly as well. Further information will be available in the next few days.
“Last on my list of things to do today, I have not yet created the bouquet that I intend to give Geordi. He knows of my new hobby and the experiments I am undergoing, but I do not believe that he is anticipating any sort of gift. The other day when he visited my quarters before dinner he expressed an interest in the Risian roses and the Earth sunflowers. Though, interest may not be enough to describe the smile on his face when he first saw them.”
Taking a second to break from the log, he accessed his recent memories and scanned through the moment Geordi had walked through the door.
~
“Oh, wow,” he said, grin spreading across his face. “This smell is - it’s amazing! It’s like being in a greenhouse or - a field of wildflowers as far as the eye can see.”
He nodded, satisfied with his reaction. Geordi was happy, and when Geordi was happy, Data could almost taste what the emotion really felt like. “I assume it is even more potent for you because of your heightened senses.”
Geordi nodded and angled a bright purple rose toward himself to inhale. “Mmm-hmm. Absolutely.”
He put down the blossom and turned toward his friend, raising an eyebrow. “You know, you might find you have the same experience if you close your eyes for a few minutes. At least for humans, when one of our senses are ‘shut off’ so to speak, the others become more intense.”
He cocked his head to the side and nodded slowly. “I will try it then.”
Eyes closing, he put his hands behind his back and focused on shutting down his visual programming for a minute. He heard Geordi stifle a laugh at his abrupt action. It was always interesting to hear him laugh; his was much more enjoyable to listen to than any of his other friends.
“I believe you are correct, Geordi,” he said after a minute, breathing in deeply. “Everything is more overwhelming, though not necessarily in a negative sense. The smell of the roses is almost cloying.”
He powered his visual fields back on as Geordi responded.
“I don’t find them to be too much. They’re wonderful, Data.” He glanced at Data and rocked back on his heels. “So dinner?”
“Of course,” Data said, giving him a slight smile.
The electronic nerves in his abdomen seemed to be firing sporadically, creating a sort of jittery feeling in his stomach. He made a reminder to himself to get that looked at by Geordi if it continued. The mere thought made the same sensation dance along his entire body. He frowned minutely, but walked out with his friend without complaint.
It was not a bad experience. Simply different.
~
Data pressed the continue button on his log. “He possessed a passion for the roses. I truly hope he enjoys the bouquet. That is all for today. Data out.”
He put the computer into sleep mode and stood up, adjusting his uniform so that it laid nicely. As he went about collecting the flowers for the bouquet, he spoke out loud to Spot. In human terms, he found it to be a nice method of organizing his thoughts.
“Spot, ever since Q granted me that brief minute where I experienced pure joy, I have been trying to imagine situations in which I might feel that way naturally. If I had human emotions of course.” He methodically clipped ten of the purple roses from their roots and began preening them. “The seconds I felt that joy were remarkable.”
Cutting the thorns off the stems, he continued. “To quote a twenty-second century poet, it felt as though I had a supernova inside of my chest. Like I was bursting with something good, a sense of...accomplishment, or something similar. Perhaps something I do not know. The explosion simply had to come out and it felt incredibly intense.”
He laid the roses out in a bundle and reached for the sunflowers, clipping two from their homes. “I must admit, I am not certain why I tell you these things.”
Spot meowed and stood up from her niche. If Data didn’t know better, he might have thought she were responding.
“Regardless of why I talk to you, it certainly is therapeutic. But I have come to realize a dilemma.” He gathered the flowers together and considered which others would match them. “The problem, Spot, is that I am beginning to doubt just how little I feel emotion. Perhaps…”
Data chose a handful of tiny, blue flowers from Andoria. “Perhaps, because I am capable of hoping, capable of thinking of human emotions complexly, I do in fact experience my own form of emotion. Lal did, and though it cost her her life, I do not see how my programming did not cause those emotions. In her, they were simply magnified.”
He walked to his desk and removed a bundle of string he had synthesized earlier, wrapping the bouquet up and tying it together tight.
“To further my dilemma, I have realized that I experience something toward Geordi. It may not be emotion but it certainly is interest, and captivation, and an urgency to know when and where he is. I wish to be with him at all times, for reasons I cannot logically justify,” he said quietly. “I am not convinced that I feel emotion, but I am experiencing something.”
He reached to the floor and patted Spot, scratching her behind her ears. She purred and pressed her face into his hand.
“I am going now to tell Geordi all of these things. He is my best friend, and he deserves to know.”
Data breezed out of his quarters, bouquet in hand. Even away from his room he could detect the faint scent of flowers clinging to his clothes.
“Counselor,” he said as he passed Deanna in the hall. “Have you seen Geordi?”
She glanced at the flowers in his hand and then to his face, soft smile turning into a full blown grin. Placing a gentle hand on top of his, she said, “I believe he is in his quarters. He mentioned not having any plans for the night.”
“Thank you, Deanna,” he said, nodding.
“Oh, and Data?” She touched his shoulder as he began to walk away. “Good luck.”
“I cannot imagine why I would need luck,” he responded.
He knew he sounded oblivious when he said that, but it was true. Geordi was his best friend. Even if he did not reciprocate Data’s complicated...experiences...it would never end badly. That much Data knew absolutely.
He came to Geordi’s quarters near the engineering deck and stood next to the door, alerting him of his presence.
“Permission to enter?” he inquired.
“Granted,” Geordi responded, muffled through the communicator.
Data walked in, doors sliding open to greet him with his friend’s room. Geordi was sitting on the sofa, blanket pulled over his legs, a book in hand.
“Hey, Data, I was just - “ He looked up as the doors slid shut. Data noted that his eyes went wide behind his VISOR while he stood up. The blanket fell to the floor.
“Are those for me?” he asked, pointing to the bouquet.
Data nodded. “They are, Geordi. I know you enjoy the purple roses, and the sunflowers match your uniform color, and the blue ones remind me of you for some reason I cannot quite place.”
He held them out, taking a step toward his friend. Geordi’s mouth was slightly agape as he took them, fingers brushing against Data’s. The same jittery feeling from the other night, the malfunction in his nerve software occured, sending tiny shocks through his arm.
“They’re beautiful,” he said, burying his nose in them and inhaling. “Can I ask why, Data?”
Data nodded again, moving toward the sofa. “Perhaps it would be best if we sat down?”
“Why?” Geordi asked, standing as Data sat down. He held the flowers to his chest as though cradling something dear to him.
“Is that not what humans do when delivering news of great importance?” Data inquired, wondering if he had misinterpreted the best way to approach the situation.
Geordi took his seat, pulling the blanket back up over his legs. The flowers lay gently in his lap.
“No, no, you’re right! I’m just curious about what the news might be…”
Data locked eyes with Geordi and began talking.
“Geordi, we have been friends for many years.”
“Yes, Data, of course.”
“And in those years, I have come to consider you my best friend. My closest friend. You know things about me before most others, and at times I think you may know things about me that not even I understand.”
Geordi chuckled. “You’re definitely right.”
“And some of those things,” Data babbled, heart rate increasing slightly. “Include the way that I interpret emotion. You have said many times that I ‘show it in my own way’ or that I am very near to understanding or experiencing it myself. To put it simply I have been….thinking, very long, and very hard, about the few moments that Q granted me the ability to feel emotion.”
He powered on as Geordi listened intently, a small crease between his brows.
“The emotion he gave me was joyous. I can only describe it accurately in terms of poetry. But it is what you experience almost everyday. The feeling of overwhelming happiness that precedes genuine, heart-felt laughter. It was like pure energy, a feeling in my stomach that I do not think I can explain in words. And now I keep considering who or what would ever make me feel that way again, supposing I could one day feel human emotion. Overwhelmingly, the conclusion I come to again, and again, is that it would be you, Geordi.”
“Oh, Data,” Geordi breathed.
Data did not stop. He was not ready to yet.
“I.” He stopped to compose himself. His neural networks were buzzing, overloaded with his thoughts. “I somehow gave emotion to Lal. She had my programming. I do not understand how she could have experienced emotion and feeling unless I had the capacity to at some miniscule level.
“And I am intrigued by you, Geordi. I miss you when you are not around. I wish to be with you whenever possible. You are the most interesting human being I have ever met; even your laugh piques my interest. You have treated me most like a real person out of anyone I have ever known, and because of you, sometimes I am compelled to believe that I am getting closer to becoming one.
“I suppose what I am trying to tell you, Geordi, is that while I cannot experience love...If I could, it would be with y - “
“Data!”
Data’s eyes widened in shock as Geordi leaned forward and kissed him, throwing his arms around his neck and pulling him closer. He moved the bouquet of flowers to the floor as his friend pressed even closer to him, falling awkwardly into his lap.
He pressed one hand to Geordi’s cheek and the other to his back, kissing back hesitantly. Geordi was warm and his mouth was wet, and he kissed vigorously, gripping tight to Data’s uniform. He stored these thoughts away and reminded himself not to focus so intently on the data-collecting part of the experience.
His chest was jittery again. The light and airy feeling was back.
“G-Geordi, I do not,” he stuttered when Geordi broke away, practically beaming. “I apologize if I am not very good at kissing. I have only kissed a few people.”
Geordi placed his hands on either side of Data’s face. He was shaking slightly.
“Data,” he said very seriously, the smile on his face not fading. “Listen to me for a second. Slow that big, positronic brain of yours and just listen.”
He nodded, eyes wide.
“You are an android, I know. You will probably never experience human emotion without some miracle, I know. But I also know that you are experiencing something amazing, and the fact that I’m involved - “
He broke off, shaking his head. He leaned forward and kissed Data quickly on the nose.
“It’s astounding. You’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met. You’re embarrassing and kind and brilliant and beautiful, so beautiful that my VISOR only reads you as a pure glow," he broke off and laughed disbelievingly. "And even when you drive me crazy with your constant attempts to be something you’re not; I love you. You're my best friend, but I'm in love with you, and I have been for some time now."
A rush of something indescribable overtook Data and he took Geordi’s hand in his, entangling their fingers. His thoughts were muddled, information racing through his brain at light speed, as though even his body could not keep his excitement in check.
“I do not fully understand love,” Data said carefully. “But I will do anything for you. If it pleases you, I would like to go on another holodeck date with you.” He blinked. “And I would like to keep kissing you. It is a very enjoyable experience.”
Geordi sputtered out a laugh, shifting even closer to Data. He held their intertwined hands out and grinned. “I think that’s a great plan.”
Data smiled.