Exploring Humanity (Data x Reader)

Chapter 2: Before the Dinner Discussion

As a result of skipping dinner last night, you woke up pretty early to the grumble of your stomach. A sense of a warm fuzzy feeling along with a smile popped onto you.

"Computer, what time is it? And turn on lights to 30% power," you requested as you took a big stretch.

"It is currently 05:00 on the Enterprise," the voice responded as the lights went on.

"Thank you, computer."

You headed to the restroom. As you took a look at the mirror, you realized that the right side of your face had creases all over as a result of sleeping in your uniform. You sure had a good night's sleep. While brushing your teeth and taking care of your business, you realized that you didn't have a single dress that would go with tonight's dinner discussion.

"Hmm... mid 2020's style. Looks like I will have to head to the ship's store and have one replicated," you quietly told yourself as you ate the replicated breakfast.

It was warm cinnamon rolls with iced coffee. You were lost in thought thinking about Data and what he had said last night. Everything he had mentioned was very personal and valid. He had gone a long way since you had first met him, and you've seen his progress. You wondered what today's discussion would bring along; you were curious. You had a feeling that it wouldn't be the typical Q&A about human behavior and philosophy. After all, he said he wanted to celebrate his new founded feelings and your friendship. You still had an hour and 15 minutes before your shift began at 07:00, so you cleaned up and headed down to the ship's store.

It took you almost an hour down there going through the digital catalogs and picking out your full outfit. You knew that Data was a very detail-oriented person, so you wanted to put in the effort into the one thing he requested. Truth be told, you wanted to look very cute. You were convinced that it was basically impossible for him to like you back, after all, you knew he had limitations to his emotions. Besides, even if he could, why would he like you? With his attractive physical appearance, you figured he was out of your league. But it still didn't hurt to look your best since this was a formal dinner. You had approximately 10 minutes before your shift at the shuttle bay began, so you rushed to your quarters and dropped off your outfit.

Today's shift was very quiet, which made time pass by slow. Not a single shuttle was used or scheduled for today, so all you could do was inspect them to be sure they were ready for any usage. Your crew gossiped some boring things as they also waited for any action, so you sat in your office on the second floor of the bay by yourself, tapping your fingers on the desk. You began to daydream. You wondered how Data would dress up and you began to blush as you imagined him. Maybe he would put on light blue button shirt with khaki colored pants. You didn't look up what men wore in the 2020s, but you were sure they had great taste. Maybe he would style his hair differently, like that messy yet attractive look he had when he was rescued from his away mission that one time he crashed into a primitive planet, lost his memory and he cured a village from radiation poisoning. You imagined greeting him outside the holodeck. He would take your hand and give it a gentle peck, and then look up at you and smile warmly. You blushed even more with that thought. You wrote a mental note to put on scented lotion... you know...just in case. What if he then gave you a bouquet of flowers with a box of chocolate when you both entered the holodeck? Dang, with that act alone you wouldn't mind dying at that second. Your face heated up more. What if he took your hand and guided you to a surprise —wait a minute! This is a discussion dinner, not a date. Your imaginative bubble burst and you shook your head. You were getting too far ahead; he was your friend, not your romantic partner. He told you this was going to be to celebrate his human accomplishments and friendship. You became frustrated with yourself for thinking of such things and you put your fists on your forehead. You would only lead yourself to disappointment if you continued with this nonsense. You took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"Computer, what time is it?" you asked.

"It is currently 14:00 on the Enterprise," the voice responded.

Only 2 hours left of your shift. You stood and looked down the glass wall to see where your crew was. They were in the same spot where you had last left them. You took the mini lift and went down to them.

"Alright, we need to get more work done. Let's deep clean the inside of all the shuttles before this shift it over. It shouldn't take long considering they are mostly clean already," you told everyone.

And with that, you all went to work. You had a pleasant conversation about Earth with one of your crewmates and before you knew it, the shift was over.

It was 16:05, approximately 3 hours before the dinner. You practically flew back to your quarters, very excited that work was over. You decided to take a warm bath to relax yourself. You got out of your bathroom in a robe and decided to look up hairstyles from the mid 2020s with your PADD. You scrolled and decided to go with what was called a "messy bun". So you dried your hair and first went with makeup. You normally didn't wear much, usually you just touched up on your eyebrows, curled your lashes and put on lip balm. But you challenged yourself by adding some eyeshadow, winged eyeliner, mascara, and a light tint of lipstick. Foundation, concealer, highlighter, contour and whatever other products used in the 2020s was too much for your skills. Besides, you wanted to look natural, but with a little something extra to highlight your features. Next you tackled your hair and went for a low bun. The front pieces you pulled out and lightly curled. You took a step back from your mirror and was satisfied. 'Hmm...Not bad', you thought to yourself. You looked at the time on your PADD and you didn't realize how long it took you to finish just the face part of your appearance. It was 18:00; time sure flew by fast. That darn winged eyeliner was almost the death of you, but at the end you somehow managed to draw them evenly. You wondered if Data was still on his shift right now or he was also getting ready. But before you daydreamed again, you carefully put on your dress, heals, and matching handkerchief accessory on your wrist. You asked the computer for the reason of this handkerchief since you found it unusual and it responded:

"After the cure to the virus was found, people wore handkerchiefs on their wrist as a backup mask since it took a couple of years for people's fear to go away and it soon became the biggest fashion staple of the decade."

"Wow, what a scary era to live in," you said out loud.

As a final touch, you put on a gold simple dainty necklace. Your grandmother had given it to you as a gift, something you cherished much. You walked over to your mirror to see your final look.

You had a modest, yet adorable dress on. It was a champagne laced dress. The sleeves went down to your elbows and the length of your dress was just shy above your knees. The heels you paired matched perfectly with your dress, just to your liking. You loved your outfit; it was the first time you had dressed up so elegantly ever since you went to the academy. But you had to admit, you were a little scared of your heels --you weren't used to being 6 centimeters above the floor. So with the remaining time you had left, you decided to pace back and forth around your quarters so you would adjust to the height, which you eventually did. Soon it was 18:50, and your paranoid self decided you better make your way over there in case these heels gave you any trouble and you needed to return. You took one last look at yourself in the mirror and inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly.

'Right, I'm going to meet up with a dear friend of mines, no need to get nervous,' you reminded yourself.

And with that, you were off to holodeck 4.

[Author's Note: Hi there! I hope you are enjoying this work of fanfiction so far. The next setting is really long, which is why it has been broken down to 2 separate chapters. Get your favorite snacks ready because I'm warning you, the next few chapters is going to be REALLY interesting! I encourage you to leave any comment down below to let me know what you thought. With out further ado, proceed to the next chapter! Enjoy! :) -Yours truly, Bobby!]