"That ring is a very good choice; Clarinite is a very scared stone to the Bajoran people. Now normally a setting of this quality would be extremely expensive but I'm a romantic at heart so I'll give it to you for just fifteen bars of latinum…"

Icheb's eyes moved from the Ferengi's persuasive, preening face and down to the display case laid out in front of him, a frown of nervous concentration knitting his brows and emphasising his implants as he interrupted the Ferengi's sales pitch. "Are you certain your information is accurate Quark? I have never seen clarinite in the station's temple…"

Quark backtracked, swallowing as he struggled to continue, "Well…" The young Borg lifted his eyebrows expectantly, waiting for him to recover. "Of course it's not! It's not actually scared in the traditional Bajoran sense, nothing to do with the Prophets, more of a folk legend about eternal love…"

"Eternal love…" Icheb mused almost wistfully. Perhaps he should just purchase the ring; he hadn't been having much luck so far apart for receiving Naira's father's permission but all the other Bajoran engagement traditions were proving more difficult to fulfil. Apparently Bajoran women expected to be given at least one bouquet of white Dakarian roses, impossible to get since they were out of season and the ones in the hothouses had been pre-ordered by more forward looking men than he, and a prayer written by their fiancé in Ancient Bajoran without the help of a universal translator to prove the man's perseverance and spirituality… Easier said than done for a former Borg drone whose spiritual experience was limited to attending Starfleet ethics class… Suddenly a sharp female voice behind him broke his dispirited reverie, "Quark! What are you pawning off in that crate of yours? I'm sure you realise that there's fines for selling black market merchandise anywhere on the station, even your bar. Go back to selling drinks or we'll have to talk about in one of the security cells, is that understood?" Colonel Kira, commander of Deep Space Nine and Icheb's ultimate superior while on the station, told the Ferengi in a low tone.

Quark patted Icheb apologetically on the shoulder as he hurriedly packed his case. "Sorry Ensign, I'm afraid my sales permit's just been temporarily revoked." He said loudly before hissing in his ear, "Come back later and you'll get another discount…"

"I heard that Quark." Kira reprimanded with a smirk as she calmly sipped a Klingon coffee. Icheb watched as the Ferengi retreated, grumbling something about the Colonel being even worse than Odo as he disappeared back into the depths of the bar. Kira ignored this and turned to Icheb. "So…mind telling me how you got sucked in by Quark Ensign? I know you are fully aware of the Ferengis tactics…"

"Yes…the Collective have assimilated many more effective Ferengi businessmen than Quark, I am fully aware…" Icheb trailed off, flushing in embarrassment as he realised how close he had been to being striped of ninety percent of his latinum savings by an unscrupulous Ferengi taking advantage of his desperation to fulfil Naira's expectations. His head dropped low in shame. "I apologise Colonel, it won't happen again."

Kira smiled at his sincerity. "Don't worry about it." She chuckled, "Clarinite huh? Who's the lucky girl?"

Icheb stiffened in defensive shyness. "Ensign Vittari, ma'am."

"Oh that's great! We need some good news with all that's been happening. Will you get married here, Bajor or Earth?"

Icheb was somewhat taken aback by her interest. "I do not know. It will be Naira's decision, if she accepts me…"

Kira caught the despondent note in his voice. "Why wouldn't she?"

"Well, my prayer scroll is far from satisfactory, the roses are proving unattainable and none of the rings I have appraised so far have been beautiful enough for her…" Icheb realised he was ranting on to a senior officer about something which was completely irrelevant to her and halted abruptly.

"She won't mind, it's the question and the love behind it that matters." Kira advised gently.

"I know…" He muttered, "But a Bajoran man would give her all these things and more! I don't want her to settle for anything less!" He exclaimed with sudden passion, finally expressing the crux of his concern.

Kira gave his hand a motherly squeeze. "Ensign, if she wanted a Bajoran man she'd have one, but she wants you and what you alone can give her."

She stood to take her take her leave after dispensing this nugget of advice to, despite outward appearances, an uncertain but sweet young man whose thanks was just as heartfelt, if unorthodox. "Thank you Colonel, I will consider your advice."

She nodded but after a thought passed rapidly through her brain turned back to him. "Oh another thing Ensign, if I were you I'd let her pick her own ring, with you buying of course, that would relieve some of your stress and tighten Quark's profit margins."

Icheb looked at her in surprise. That idea had never even occurred to him! It would suit Naira's independent streak and despite Kira's words he still didn't trust his taste in jewellery. "It seems I am in your debt Colonel." He told her softly.

Kira laughed, "I'll remember that next time Starfleet asks for a station efficiency report, maybe you could write it for me!"

That night Icheb returned to the quarters he and Naira shared with a knot of anxiety constantly tightening in his stomach. Naira noticed that something was off with her boyfriend and made several attempts to draw him out as they sat down to their evening meal. After blabbering on about the few humorous things that had happened throughout the day she remembered something sure to perk him up. "Seven called while you were doing that overnight shift to say that the kids Christmas presents finally arrived…" She picked up the dirty dishes and headed to the replicator to dispose of them. "The twins told me themselves how much they love their puzzles; they're talking so much now! But Seven was saying there was a little mishap when Max ended up chewing one of the big jigsaw pieces, Poor Chakotay and Seven are having a really bad time with his teething, I told them about when I…" She turned around in irritation, thinking Icheb wasn't listening to her, only to see Icheb kneeling on the carpet in front of her. "Icheb, what are you doing?" she asked in total bemusement.

Icheb realised he was doing it wrong, on both knees instead of one, and corrected himself hurriedly, disheartened by the still clueless expression on her face. "It's…a human tradition."

Naira's brows furrowed questioningly as she looked down at him."For what?"

"For…" Icheb gulped, but then remembered Chakotay's advice, his heart was screaming at him to go through with it. "For asking someone to marry them…" He saw her mouth open but no words came to relieve his pressure so he blurted out, "I know you could marry anyone you wish but I love you and I hope…"

These murmured words brought Naira out of her stupor and onto the floor beside him, her hands hastening to caress his face. "Icheb, I've never wanted anyone else…" She began but he continued to try and explain himself.

"I'm only halfway through my prayer scroll but I'll complete it by the ceremony I promise and I haven't been able to get any Dakarian roses yet but I ordered some and they should arrive within three months…"

Naira flung her arms impatiently round his neck, stopping him mid-speech. "Icheb, I'm allergic to Dakarian roses and I couldn't read Ancient Bajoran if my life depended on it! I don't care about any of those things!"

Icheb pulled back from her embrace to gauge her sincerity. "Does that mean you'll marry me?"

"Yes!" Naira exclaimed becoming so exasperated that she kissed him deeply to prove her point.

"Do you need to go and pick the ring now?" He asked breathlessly as they broke the prolonged kiss.

Naira grinned impishly at him and sank back into his arms. "The jewellers will still be there in the morning…"

A/n: I hope you don't mind this Icheb-centric chapter, C/7 aren't in it in person at all, sorry! They'll be back next chapter! I just thought why miss an opportunity to write some Icheb based fluff? I hope you agree, please review!