Chapter Thirteen

Things were working out well. Very well in fact. Dax reported to Odo that Quark seemed to be doing much better, as had Rom. There was a lot of give and take involved with Quark's extra legal affairs, but they were managing. Odo would look the other way on some of Quark's more minor deals in exchange for some information about more nefarious plots in the region, and Quark was displaying more caution in who he made deals with in the first place. Maybe that poisoning had done some good, in the long run.

They had managed to keep their relationship private, at least as far as they knew, though that wasn't too surprising. Out of everyone here, they knew the most about how to move about undetected if they so chose. Well, maybe with the exception of Garek, but if he knew, he was keeping it to himself.

They were once again lying in Quark's quarters. Odo had not told him and had no plans to, but he enjoyed Quark's blue toenails peeking out from beneath the blankets at the foot of the bed. He enjoyed a lot about this, actually.

"Hey, Odo?" Quark asked softly, into the din of the room.

"Yes?"

"When you join in the Great Link with your people, you all share each other's experiences, right?"

"Yes."

"So when you go back and link with them, they'll know about us? About, this?" asked Quark, gesturing to the bed.

"They will." answered Odo, curious where Quark was going with this. That is why they had sent him and the other baby changelings out after all, to gain experiences. It felt quite natural to him, he often longed for that joining, but he could see how Quark could see it as an invasion of privacy. Odo still did not like humanoids seeing him in his plasma state, it was just too foreign for them to understand.

"So… they'll know how much I love you, right?"

Odo smiled into the darkness. "Yes, as they'll know I love you."

"And maybe they'll think, humanoids aren't all bad?"

"I hope so."

"And maybe they'll even want to come visit; buy a trinket or souvenir to commemorate the occasion?"

Odo chuckled. "Maybe. If there's one thing I've learned from you, it's to never say never."

"Glad I can keep expanding your horizons, then."

"More than you'll ever know."

"Aren't you sweet."

"I try." Odo replied drolly, as Quark moved up onto his arms and hovered over him. Odo placed his hands on his back, let his fingertips find the grooves between Quark's ribs. He was well familiar with the arrangement at this point, yet he still found new delight each time he ran the paths.

"I mean it, you know." Quark continued.

"So do I."

"Good."

"Good?" Odo repeated, amused by this response.

"Yeah, good." Quark repeated, smiling, and seeing the twinkle in his eyes, Odo wished he could speak to his past self, the one who found it unfathomable that anyone could fall in love, or that anyone would ever want to. He could vividly imagine his past self's incomprehension at being told he would fall in love with Quark, and he would enjoy telling him about all the inexplicable ripples of good that came from it.

Because in the past, he had so focused on the chaos, the pain, the heartbreak that love brought – the night cycle, to borrow from his earlier simile with Quark, yet he almost completely ignored the day – the joy, the support, the ability love had to transcend borders that nothing else could, for in no other situation could he imagine that Quark would genuinely wish for Odo's people to know how much he was loved, and for that love to change them.

Odo loved his people – even before meeting them, he had loved them – and he too deeply wanted them to know the love he felt for 'the solids' around him, and how it had changed him. He had faith they would, one day, but that was another day yet.

For now, he would appreciate the one he was with, as he smiled in return to Quark and pulled him close.

Finito