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There are days when engineering is overflowing with work, everyone having to take double and triple shifts just to get the ship working efficiently.
It’s especially difficult when the captain—no matter how much Geordi respects him—expects them to get days of work done in mere hours. By the time Geordi has finished his final diagnostic and recalibrations he is swaying on his feet, and a sharp, agonizing pain is throbbing in his head. He feels the exhaustion down to the marrow of his bones, and he knows he’s not the only one. His team of engineers look about ready to fall asleep standing up.
He looks over to Sonya Gomez, taking in the dark circles from sleep deprivation under her drowsy eyes. She looks up and meets his gaze. She smiles softly but it doesn’t reach her eyes.
“Gomez, you’re dismissed,” he says in mock formality. “Go to your quarters and sleep for half a day. You’ve earned it.”
Sonya walks over and pats Geordi’s shoulder.
“Get some rest,” she says softly, and walks out of Engineering, presumably to go and sleep for eternity.
Geordi follows closely after, his feet dragging on the carpet floor of the halls. By the time he makes it to his quarters, his mind is already half asleep. He doesn’t even change out of his uniform as he collapses on his bed. He takes off his Visor and places it on the table beside him.
Pulling over his childhood blanket that he kept safely at every starship he had ever been stationed on, Geordi allowed his body and mind to finally fall into unconsciousness.
In his dreams, he is in a grand field full of wildflowers. To his right, Data lays on the grass and reads poetry aloud. Spot purrs in Geordi’s lap, lapping at his fingertips happily.
Geordi woke to the bed dipping beside him.
His eyelids cracked open and he groaned slightly at the disturbance, before quickly realizing who it was.
The quarters, of course, were not solely his.
Data’s fingertips softly run along Geordi’s cheekbone as they rearrange themself to lay down beside him. Their bodies slot together easily, practically muscle memory by now. Geordi sets the side of his head onto Data’s broad chest, humming like a content cat.
“I apologize for waking you up,” Data speaks softly, so as to not further disturb Geordi further. “I know you have had a long week.”
Geordi nods, still feeling tired. He had no idea how long he had slept, but if Data had come home it had to have been a few hours.
“So many repairs, I thought it would never end,” he mumbles softly, knowing Data could hear him anyways. Data’s arm traced featherlight patterns on his spine, easing away the tension that had remained there. “I’m glad you’re home now.”
“As am I,” Data replied, and smiled when Geordi propped himself up unsteadily on one elbow, leaning down to kiss them. Geordi knew how much Data enjoyed the act (the first time they had kissed, it had turned into two hours of kissing with sparse breaks in between for Geordi’s breathing and heartrate to restabilize). Now, Geordi kissed them sleepily, cupping their face in his hand. When they broke apart, Geordi felt the miniscule vibrations of Data’s internal processes beneath his fingertips.
“Geordi, I have been meaning to ask you something,” Data said, their voice containing an ounce of hesitance.
“Yeah?” Geordi asked, feeling himself drifting off.
“Would you be interested in carrying out the act of ‘spooning?’” Data asked. “I heard an officer talk about it a few weeks ago, and admit that I have found myself intrigued by the definitions I have read.”
Geordi couldn’t help a giddy chuckle from escaping his lips, before resolutely shifting on the bed to lay on his side, facing away from his partner. Reaching behind him, he grabbed a hold of one of Data’s hands and pulls it around his waist. Data immediately holds him from behind, and the solid form pressed against Geordi’s back would have made him excitable if he wasn’t so damn tired.
Spot takes the opportunity to hop on the bed and curl up beside their intertwined legs.
Geordi drifts off before he can ask if it was up to Data’s expectations, but could feel the android warm up his body to provide extra comfort beneath the blanket.
Data plants a soft kiss on the back of Geordi’s neck, wishing him rejuvenating rest.
This time, he dreams of getting caught beneath the heavy rains on Earth. He kissed Data the way he always saw on the films he grew up on: epic and passionate and dripping in love.