LIGHT-YEARS AWAY (Data x Reader) // Star Trek

Chapter Five

You snuggled into your pillow although something was making you feel emotionally unstable. You weren't sure what it was in your tired state. You slowly opened your eyes to the unfamiliar bedroom. "Where am I?" You said as you rubbed your eyes.

"Lieutenant, I see you are awake," A voice said from next to you. Your eyes shot open as you whipped around to see Data sitting on the bed. "You are still located in the same place you fell asleep."

"Data! You are still here!" You exclaimed as you pulled the blanket to cover yourself, despite still wearing pajamas.

"Yes? Is there any reason I should not be? You asked me to stay." Data said as he tilted his head ever so slightly.

You settled down, "Oh, no. I just...I thought maybe yesterday was merely a dream." You laughed quietly, "I thought maybe I would wake up back in my own bed." 

"While that would be a plausible explanation for this scenario, I can confirm to you, that that is not the case." 

"Thanks, Data." You said even though you didn't always need him to state the obvious. You chuckled slightly, "What time is it anyway?" 

"It is what you would call, 4:03 am," Data said.

You whistled, "Wow, it's early! Doubt I'll be falling back to sleep, I'm not really tired anymore. What can we do around here to pass time?" 

"If you would like, I can show you, Ten Forward." 

"Ten Forward?" 

"Ten Forward is the hub for all social activity aboard ship. It is both a place to eat and hold ceremonial events." 

"Oh, like a mess hall?" You asked.

Data paused for a second as he accessed his files on past ships, "Yes." He said. 

"Okay let me just get ready!" You ran into the bathroom and emerged a few minutes later looking sharp. 

"Onwards to Ten Forward!" You called. 

You both left the room and started walking down the corridors, you glanced at Data. "I hope this isn't too...personal of a question-" You began.

"I assure you I do not mind personal questions, as I am not capable of feeling embarrassment," Data said.

"Oh good. This is probably a weird thing to ask regardless, but do you shower? You look exactly the same as yesterday when I met you. Not a hair out of place." 

"I do not require being cleaned as much as organic beings as I do not sweat. However, I do occasionally clean myself if there is contamination such as dirt on my bioplast sheeting. "

"Fascinating..." You said accidentally reminding yourself of Bones' impression of Spock. "And what about your hair?" 

"I can control the rate of my follicle replenishment." 

You thought about the advantages of this, how if you got a hairstyle you liked you would just never grow it and it would always stay the same. "So, you can grow a beard overnight? Or your hair down to your waist?" You asked laughing.

"Yes." He replied. 

You laughed harder. 

"I fail to understand the humor in that remark?" Data said.

"...Oh, I don't know. It must just be the time of day has me laughing about the littlest of things." You smiled at him, he smiled back. 

You reached Ten Forward and entered, shocked to see that is was also much more spacious and sleek looking compared to your Enterprise. It was mostly empty except for a few random people who you assumed were grabbing a meal during their night shift.