So, it’s almost 11pm at night. I still have to pack a week’s worth of shit to go home tomorrow. I have to study vital information for my job and read a contract for a new job. I have to clean my room. I have to finish some work. And I have to get to bed by at least 1 because I have work at 9.

SO HEY LET’S WRITE SOME FANFICTIONS THAT LITERALLY NOBODY ASKED FOR!!! :D

Summary: Quark grabs something he shouldn’t and Data gets very jealous. 

Warnings: Minor unwanted groping, a bit of possessiveness, but otherwise not a whole lot.

The Enterprise arrived at Deep Space 9 at 0930 hours. Most of the crew had elected to go to Bajor to spend some shore leave in the sunshine, but most of the bridge crew and some lower officers, including yourself, decided to stay and explore/study the ex-Cardassian station.

Picard had arranged for nearly two weeks of shore leave since it had been nearly four months since their last chance to take a breather. Everyone, even Data, had begun to get irritable, tired, antsy, you name it. It was surprising that you managed to feel relieved as you stepped onto the station. You had expected it to be little different than stepping from one endless hallway on the Enterprise to another. But, whether it was because of the array of people, the cheers of “DABO!” echoing all the way down to the docking bay, or even just the way the air smelled just the tiniest smidge more like Andorian cuisine, the second you had through the doors you felt a giant weight come off your shoulders, as though the last four months were only three and a half. Mostly, you were excited to see O’Brian. He had been your tutor on board the Enterprise, and a very dear friend. It had been about two years since he and Keiko transferred to DS9 and you hadn’t seen him since then.

Data took your hand in his as he came up behind you. He gave you a genuine smile that you happily returned, and the two of you headed towards the Promenade. As you two stepped over the bulkhead, you heard the screeching of Lwaxana Troi shouting, “Odo!” You could just barely see the brightly clad woman nearly sprinting across the Promenade after a man with a halfway-defined face who was trying to inconspicuously run the other way. Deanna and Will stood off to the side, laughing to themselves. Lwaxana had been talking about practically nothing but the station’s chief of security for the three weeks she was aboard the Enterprise, much to Picard’s relief.

Data quickly became the object of attention, with several alien scientists converging on him, asking him a trillion questions about his processing speeds, his aging processes, his positronic matrix. He started being physically pushed away from you and you just laughed, waving him on. “Go ahead, I’m going to go find O’Brian.” He tried to stammer something out, but waved it off with a sigh and turned his attention to his adoring fans.

You watched him go with a smile before you felt a shoulder bump intentionally into yours. You looked over and saw O’Brian there, smiling widely at you. “Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” he said, folding his arms across his chest.

You laughed and clapped your hand on his shoulder. “Oh, Chief, you have absolutely no idea.”

He chuckled, taking your arm in his, and he started guiding you to what looked like a bar. “Come, let’s have a drink and catch up a bit. You can tell me all about how my ship is holding up.”

The two of you sat at the bar for what felt like minutes (but, judging by the soreness of your butt, was really two or three hours) before O’Brian’s combadge chirped and someone asked him to take a look at a personal replicator which would only produce stale gagh. You said your goodbyes and he left you with a hug, promising to see you again tomorrow.

You turned your back to the bar, leaning your elbows on it and you watched the gambling tables with latent interest. After a while, the Ferengi barkeep approached, wringing his hands nervously. “Um, I’m afraid you two will have to order something else or my brother will—”

He couldn’t finish his idea before another Ferengi, this one not wearing the traditional Ferengi headdress and who was wearing a surprisingly nice suit, swatted him away. “I am so sorry for Rom. He’s an idiot, but he’s family. My name is Quark. Is there something I can get you? A Cardassian Sunrise? Some Dabo chips? Some…time in the holosuite, perhaps?”

You smiled at him, not noticing how the simple action seemed to make him do a double take. “You know, I would love a Romulan Ale. But, considering that it’s illegal, I’ll settle for Bloodwine, neat.”

He nodded and slipped behind the bar. “So, what brings you to DS9?”

You turned to face him, putting your chin in your hand. “Shore leave.”

“Hell of a place for shore leave. Here you go, one ‘Bloodwine.’”

You quirked an eyebrow and smirked at him as you looked down at your clearly-not-red drink. “Why, thank you.” You took a sip and sighed in relaxation. “This is some good ‘Bloodwine.’”

“Only the best for my esteemed customers.” He took to wiping out a raktajino mug, eyeing you up and down. “What ship are you based out of? Obviously Starfleet. You sure seemed to know the Chief, too. If I had to guess, I’d say…Enterprise?”

You nodded to him, taking another sip of your Romulan Ale. “You got it. First shore leave in four months.”

He let out a whistle, learning against his side of the bar. “That’s rough. A pretty thing like you deserves to be in the sun, not cooped up in some boring old starship.”

You raised your eyebrows at him and finished your ale in a quick move. You decided to let the sexism go. Ferengis weren’t known for their political correctness or their appropriate behavior around women. You tapped on the glass and put it back on the bar. “Well, without O’Brian, it’s just me and Geordi who can keep the thing in the air. Er, you know what I mean.”

He refilled your glass, slowly, you suppose so he could stare at your breasts. You kind of regretted your dress, at least the strapless-ness of it. It was floor length, grey with thin white stripes, and the bust was too short for your breasts. But, the bust was tight enough that you didn’t need a bra, and damn if your cleavage didn’t look good. You almost couldn’t be offended that he wanted to stare. You snapped at him, pointing up to your face. “Up here, buddy. Eyes off the merchandise.”

He cleared his throat and stood up, passing you a refilled glass. “So this Geordi guy. He your boyfriend?”

You scoffed. “No. We tried it once. It was terrible. Like, the worst.”

He grew a devious smile and scooted around to sit by you, bringing the bottle of Ale with him and another glass. “You don’t say.”

You subconsciously scooted about halfway off of your stool, away from him. You shrugged, shooting back the glass in one go and passed it to him to refill. “Eh. It was a long time ago.”

You weren’t looking at him, but if you had, you would have seen how his arm didn’t return to his side after he passed your drink back. Instead, it went straight to your ass, which he promptly gave a squeeze. You let out a squeal and jumped to your feet, bumping back into something hard. You turned to look and saw Data and sighed in relief. “Oh, Data. It’s you.”

Data moved around you and partially shielded you from Quark. You saw the Ferengi stumble over his stool, eyes wide as he took in the android. “Hey, look pal, there’s just been some kind of misunderstanding here.”

Data let out a noise that sounded sort of like a growl before he grabbed the Ferengi’s chest and drew the shorter man up off the floor. It was kind of funny to see his legs kicking in the air. “You have inappropriately placed your hands upon my girlfriend. I suggest you begin explaining how there was a ‘misunderstanding.’”

The Ferengi stammered for words, clawing at Data’s hand.

You gently touched Data’s other arm, wrapping yours around it. “Data, honey, it’s not worth it.”

Data looked at you and the anger in his expression instantly faded away. He turned back to Quark and put him down, a little roughly. “Let this be a lesson to you. It is never appropriate to touch somebody without their permission.” He glowered down at Quark. “No matter what you are misconceiving. Without spoken, sober consent, you are committing assault.”

Quark nodded, raising his hands in defense. “I hear you, I hear you. I’ll never touch a woman again.”

Data nodded, and almost turned to leave before he turned back. “And, apologize to the lady.”

Quark started spewing out the fastest, most afraid apology you had ever heard. You held up your hand to him to shut him up, reached across and grabbed the glass of ale, and knocked it back. “Just put these drinks on the house and I’ll let it slide.”

The Ferengi started to protest, no doubt because Romulan Ale is difficult to smuggle in, but thought better of it when he saw Data’s quirked brow. “Of course, yes, please, take the bottle.”

You beamed at him, accepting it from him wordlessly before you turned to leave, tugging on Data’s arm. “Come on, Data. I want to go watch the wormhole.”

The two of you sat on the railing above the Promenade, watching the wormhole open and close with ships coming and going. You looked over at Data, inebriation starting to take hold of your mind. You scooted closer to him and took his hand in yours. “Thank you, Data.”

He turned to you and quirked his brow. “For what?”

You smiled, leaning your head on his shoulder, entwining your fingers in his. “For coming to my rescue. It was a little much, but I still appreciate it.”

He chuckled slightly, leaning his head on top of yours. “I believe I was feeling a new emotion.”

“Oh?” you said, looking up at him.

“Yes. It was a most unusual sensation. I saw you two sitting there and I was happy to see you. And then I observed that you were sitting 13.54 centimeters off of the edge of your stool away from him and I grew concerned. And then, when his hand began to move, I was overcome with such…anger, but not like anger I have ever experienced before. It was…overwhelming. But there was also an element of being insulted, and an element of protection, and also an element of fear and—”

You cut him off by putting your hand on his lips. “Data, babe, that emotion is called jealousy. A little jealousy every now and then is fine, natural, even to a small degree flattering. But, you have to be careful to not let it become too overpowering. There’s a fine line between jealousy and possession.”

He tilted his head, considering your words before his expression grew concerned. “Did I cross that line?”

You smiled slightly and kissed his cheek. “Maybe a little, but I’ll let it slide since you were so gallant. I mean, he did grab my ass.” You chuckled and pressed your lips to his before he could begin to express his next question and he smiled into you, wrapping his arma round your shoulders to pull you closer.