Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.
The Bajoran potter smiled at her as Vamshi examined his merchandise; she was planning a trip to Earth to see her parents again (it had been two years since her last visit), and she was searching for a gift to give her mother. Ravneet loved pottery, and Vamshi noticed a small white pot with blue Bajoran script on it. It was lovely and small, and Vamshi bought it and smiled as the man wrapped it for her.
Gift in hand, she walked down the Promenade, ready to get back to the music shop and focus on her work. She was planning to reorganize her collection of sheet music again, and that would probably take all afternoon.
She unlocked the shop, put her gift below the counter and began to sort the music. She had set up the medium-sized shop so that a neck-high shelf separated the back of the store from the entrance, and she sat on a low stool and stacked the jumbled papers. Bajoran traditional hymns...an hour passed. Earth jazz...another hour. Andorian symphonies...Odo should be getting back any time today, she thought to herself. The bell rang, and she stood, still absorbed in a description for a Vulcan choral piece. She looked up.
The stack of papers slipped from her fingers and scattered onto the floor, and she quickly stepped over them and ran to the man in the entrance. His pale purple eyes followed her mournfully, and tears streamed down his cheeks as she gathered him into her arms. He had never been held so tightly or so desperately before in his life, and the joy that had been missing since he was activated came rushing back.
"Weyoun..." she murmured into his hair, her voice thick with emotion. She couldn't even begin to describe to him how happy she was to see him.
He cried into the crook of her neck, the shame and relief at Odo's sacrifice still very fresh in his mind. How would she accept him when she knew that he was the reason Odo wasn't coming back?
"How did you get here?"
He looked up at her with tear-filled eyes and began to quietly explain his presence. She stared at him the entire time, never taking her eyes from his, and her intense gaze sent cold shivers down his spine.
"He said you were willing to give your life for me, and that it was time he took the same-" He choked on the words and broke down into sobs, and before he knew it, warm, gentle arms surrounded his body once more, and a hand rubbed his back so tenderly it made him tremble.
"I envy you Solids' ability to cry," Vamshi whispered, her voice almost unrecognizable in her joy and grief. "But Weyoun, my dearest...Odo did this for you, and for me. Thank him in the way he told you, and he'll be happy."
"I don't know how I'm going to face the Colonel," he gasped, another sob racking his body.
"I'll go with you when you do...does Captain Sisko know you're here?"
Weyoun nodded. "He contacted Starfleet, and they're sending Admiral Ross here to conduct my debriefing."
"I only hope I can help you be strong, Weyoun. It's not easy to help an enemy because your people are wrong. But you're doing the right thing, and I couldn't be more proud of you."
That elicited another sob from him, and she held him tighter.
"Founder...there's something you should know."
"Founder?" she said with a sober laugh. "Are we back to that again? I thought we had moved past that."
He didn't answer, and she pulled away and examined him, her expression confused.
"Weyoun 5?"
He shook his head, and comprehension dawned in her eyes.
"Six," he corrected softly, "the defective one."
She frowned, then swiftly kissed his forehead. "No...the brave one."
He couldn't keep the tears from streaming down his face, and she quickly wiped them all away, then led him out of the shop (she locked it up again) and down the Promenade to the Replimat. Jake had just gotten back from Bajor with his father, but he was busy writing today. The tables were nearly empty as lunch drew to a close and people started drifting back to their duties. She gently guided him into a chair in the back, then set a glass of water down in front of him.
"You look like you've been crying a little too much for your own good," she commented softly, taking a seat beside him. He guzzled the water and the glass was empty in mere seconds, and he drank two more glasses before she was satisfied.
Her hand gently covered his as they stared at each other, and she let another sober, subdued laugh escape her.
"I can't tell you how many times I was tempted to steal a runabout or sneak aboard a ship to-" Her emotions thickened her voice again, and she stopped and composed herself.
"I missed you so much," she admitted finally, taking his hands in hers and kissing every finger.
"Vamshi!"
She released Weyoun's hands and turned to the Colonel, who walked up with Ziyal. They both stopped dead, and Kira frowned.
"What are you doing here?" she asked Weyoun, and her tone of voice made Vamshi wince.
"Nerys, have a seat."
The Bajoran didn't move. "Where's Odo?"
"Nerys, please...have a seat."
Ziyal prodded Kira into a seat and followed suit, and the two of them stared at Weyoun. Vamshi frowned when she saw despair enter Kira's eyes.
"By the Prophets, no..." she moaned, but Vamshi quickly intervened.
"Odo's not dead, Nerys, he..."
"No," she gasped, her breathing becoming erratic. Ziyal and Vamshi exchanged looks.
"Nerys, he said-"
"I don't care!" she cried, leaping to her feet and stepping toward Weyoun. She raised her hand to strike him, and he instinctively flinched, but the Bajoran's fist was stopped by another hand.
"Nerys, get a grip on yourself," Vamshi growled, holding the struggling Bajoran still. She looked up at the Changeling and let two tears roll down her cheeks. Vamshi had purposefully lowered her voice and added a gravely undertone to it, and in that moment, she sounded just like Odo.
"Colonel, Odo gave you his word that you would see him again. He won't be gone long...not if the Federation can help it. Weyoun will provide them with information that will help us end this war quickly, and when its over...you'll see Odo again."
Nerys stared wide-eyed at her for a minute before breaking down into sobs. Ziyal stood and joined Vamshi in comforting the Bajoran.
"Shh..." Vamshi whispered. "We'll all pray to the Prophets that he is kept safe. They'll take care of him, Nerys. He did help your people during the Occupation, and I'm sure the Prophets haven't forgotten that."
Ziyal led a tearful Kira away toward the Bajoran shrine, and Vamshi returned to her seat.
Weyoun finally allowed himself to relax, and he let out a long breath. He would not have resisted Kira's anger had she succeeded in striking him; in his eyes, he deserved every bit of her rage. He had taken her lover away from her. Vamshi sighed.
"It's not your fault, Weyoun," she murmured, as if reading his thoughts. "And I know Odo will return. He'll find a way."
Weyoun nodded soberly and quickly fetched himself another glass of water. He sipped it quietly, at a loss for words, and she watched him.
"Do you want me to walk you to your quarters?"
"If the guard will allow it."
Vamshi hadn't even noticed the Starfleet security officer who had lingered within earshot of Weyoun at all times. She understood why the guard was there; most people would take time getting used to working with a man who wore the face of a known enemy, and until that time, Weyoun was in danger. She beckoned the man over and asked for permission to stay with Weyoun that night, and the guard politely refused her. She nodded.
"Then I'll see you tomorrow," she murmured to the Vorta as they stood to leave.
She couldn't help but feel an odd mix of sorrow and amusement as Weyoun was led away. He looked like a forlorn puppy without a home, but she was determined to turn that forlorn look into utter joy after his debriefing.
She took the rest of the day off, far too distracted to work at the moment. Weyoun had appeared out of nowhere back into her life, and she felt nervous and excited at the prospect of seeing him again. Her insides tightened at the thought of revealing her love to him, but she reminded herself that he would adore her no matter how she felt about him, that no matter how they decided to establish their relationship, they would be together. She started planning what she was going to say, wishing the hours would hurry up and pass so she could get this over with.
…
Weyoun took a deep breath before he pressed the door buzzer to her quarters. He had finally been debriefed, and Sisko had asked him to join the war council composed of General Martok, Admiral Ross, various Romulan diplomats and Sisko himself. But now a greater challenge lay before him: facing Vamshi and the utterly confusing feelings that were plaguing him.
He heard her call for him to come in, and he stepped into her quarters. Nothing had changed since he had been in here last: the various sculpture-like objects still occupied every corner of the room, and the gray couch was still there. He noticed the drawing Five had made for her hanging on the wall, and it seemed to have a place of prominence among her decorations.
Vamshi was pacing on the other side of the room.
"Have a seat," she said, clasping her hands firmly behind her back. He obeyed, and she continued to pace in front of him. Something was troubling her, and she turned to him several times and opened her mouth to speak, but then went back to pacing. Finally, she turned to him.
"You got the PADD that explained everything to you, right?"
"I did," he replied, bowing his head. "I'm honored that you think so highly of me."
She frowned. "Did you understand what I was getting at?"
He furrowed his brow. "I...I'm not sure."
Vamshi looked away and sighed, then plopped down on the couch beside him. "You know...for a diplomat bred to read people, you are incredibly inept at reading me."
He frowned at her words. "Have I displeased you, Vamshi?"
She laughed nervously. "No, not at all. It's just...why is this so hard?"
He watched in silence as she buried her face in her hands. It pained him to see her so frustrated, and he wished he could help in some way.
"Vamshi, is something wrong?"
She looked up at him and stared for a minute, then shook her head. "No, nothing's wrong...but I need to tell you something."
She took a deep breath, then paused. His heart pounded in anticipation as she leaned forward and brushed his lips with her own, and he gasped involuntarily.
"Weyoun," she whispered, taking his hand. "I'm in love with you."
His heart stopped beating for several seconds as her words sunk in, and his eyes widened. "Vamshi?"
"I'm in love with you," she said a little louder, giggling nervously. "Please don't tell me you never noticed."
"Well, I...suspected you might be attracted to me, but I dismissed the thought as ludicrous."
"Why?" she asked, her eyes filled with grief. "Is it that hard to accept?"
He turned to her. "I...the Founders do not love their servants, the servants love their gods. It is the order of things."
"Are you going to deny yourself this chance for the order of things?"
His heart skipped a beat as she repeated what the voice inside his head had told him, and he realized it was her voice all along. She had become so familiar to him that he could predict the sort of things she might say. He should have never doubted her...
"Unless of course you don't like me that way, in which case, I don't want to jeopardize our friendship. It's up to you."
He trembled as she allowed him to decide, and a tear rolled down his cheek. "All I want is to please you, Vamshi. I will give you everything I have to give, no matter what you decide to do."
She smiled at that. "And all I want is the opportunity to show you how much I love you. Please...let me do this for both of us."
He raised both eyebrows, and nervous sweat pricked his forehead. "And how would you go about doing this?" His heart was pounding in his chest, and the room felt unnaturally hot...
She grinned. "Like this..."
She tilted her head, closed the distance between them, and pressed her lips to his, hard, passionately...desperately. Weyoun breathed in sharply, and a long, shuddering moan escaped his lips. He was glad he was sitting down lest his knees give out beneath him. Vamshi was kissing him, caressing his lips so tenderly and yet so fiercely that he could hardly stand it. Her arms quickly drew him to her body, and the kiss deepened, causing him to moan a second time. The entire length of his torso was pressed firmly to hers, and she could feel his heart thundering in his chest through his clothes. He began to reciprocate, giving her his everything, his all, just as he said he would, and he slowly wrapped his arms around her. Her hands crawled over his back, her fingers ran through his hair, her lips became slow and sensuous. He swore he could almost taste her, and the very thought caused a brilliant hot blush to creep over his cheeks. Weyoun felt a rush of heat, then sudden chills, and he clutched her tightly as she finally pulled away.
His eyes finally opened and he gazed lovingly into her dark, warm eyes. She lightly kissed his cheek, then trailed her lips and nose along his jawline toward his ear.
"You are my sweetest delight," she moaned to him, "my heart's desire. Let me love you, let me care for you and make up for the apathy you've had to endure from my people."
Those words were beyond his wildest dreams. He never even dared to imagine her whispering that in his ear, or kissing him until he was breathless, or asking for the one thing he was longing to give her.
"As you wish," he breathed back, shivering in delight as she kissed every ridge on his elongated ears. He gasped and convulsed at the foreign sensation, and it appeared she had discovered another sensitive area. She abandoned it in favor of claiming his lips again, and they held each other close, whispering plans for the future in each others' ears, completely enthralled, consumed by the sensation of their two spirits finally becoming one.