AN: Here is another piece to this little universe.
I hope that you enjoy! If you do, please do let me know!
111
"Odo—nobody has ever prepared a nicer picnic for me!" Lwaxana declared.
Odo wondered, briefly, if everyone's wife—or wife-to-be, really—was as complimentary as his. Lwaxana made him feel like everything that he did was the greatest thing that he could do. He had rarely felt so proud of any accomplishment as he did of nearly everything that he did in Lwaxana's presence.
Leaving the infirmary after Dr. Bashir had had his opportunity to look Lwaxana over, and leaving the two doctors to confer about their baby, Odo had inquired about what Lwaxana might most desire in terms of a celebratory picnic.
She had hugged his arm, leaned her head on his shoulder as they walked, and asked if they might simply go back to his quarters. She was exhausted, and all she truly wanted was quiet time with him.
How could he possibly refuse her that?
So, Odo had sent her back to his quarters to take a shower, which she said she very much desired, and to relax. He'd gone by and requested that Quark prepare a picnic basket following all the dietary restrictions outlined for him in the information that Dr. Crusher had loaded onto the padd that she'd given him for him to learn more about what Lwaxana may be experiencing.
With basket in hand, complete with a chilled bottle of sparkling sumarian fruit juice for Lwaxana to enjoy, Odo had felt like he could practically float back to his quarters, knowing that Lwaxana was going to be there and, in some way, this quiet evening would mark the beginning of a whole new life for him.
Odo had never had a family. He'd felt very alone for his entire life. Lwaxana had been the first to truly make him feel like he wasn't alone anymore, and tonight would mark the moment when she would never leave him alone again.
Tonight, Odo's life with a family began, in its own special way.
When he'd gotten back to his quarters, he'd felt like he might actually swell to bursting, and it had been difficult to hold his shape with the excitement of everything, and the knowledge that it was all just beginning.
This was the start of a whole new life for Odo—one that he already treasured beyond anything he could imagine.
Fresh from her shower, Lwaxana had decided to do something just for him. Instead of meeting him in the living room, where he'd made a pallet for her to lounge and sleep until the following day—when he fully intended to acquire whatever furniture would make her happy and comfortable—in a typical dress complete with a wig, makeup, and jewelry, Lwaxana had met him in the way that he most desired her.
He'd been arranging the food for her meal around the pallet, which would serve as their picnic blanket, when she'd appeared in the doorway between his bedroom—which mostly went unused for now—and the living area. She was bare-footed and bare-legged. She wore nothing more than a light blue gown that looked very soft and hung only down to her mid-thigh. She was bare-faced, as well, entirely without makeup. She'd washed her hair, and she'd left the short, dark curls to dry as they might.
And Odo had nearly dropped the glass he was filling with sparkling juice.
Lwaxana smiled softly at him. She bit her bottom lip and struck a pose that Odo instinctively knew was meant to be seductive.
He wasn't sure that the desire to mate worked for him exactly as it did for other species. He had believed, after all, that he either had no desire at all to mate, or very little. He had done without the practice entirely, after all, for all his life. Lwaxana had been his first mate. She had been his only mate.
But Odo did desire her. He desired her with a heat that warmed his entire body. He desired to be as close to her as possible. He desired to touch her—all of her. He desired to feel her breath, and to sense the functions of her body happening beneath the surface of her skin—all of which he knew kept her alive for him and for the life they were promised together. He desired her pleasure, and he drew pleasure from what brought her joy.
And Odo did believe that she was beautiful. She looked like home to him. She looked like family. She looked like belonging and acceptance. She looked like desire—the only desire that he had ever known quite like this, and a desire that he imagined was as close to hunger or thirst as he would ever experience. She looked like peace and happiness.
She looked like his Lwaxana—his beloved.
And he ached to see her there, and to know that she would stay. She would never again leave him—not for good.
"Is this what you want, Odo?" She asked, her voice practically making Odo shiver.
He offered her the glass, and she'd smelled it, possibly trying to discern its ingredients, before he'd told her that it was juice and quite safe for their baby.
"You are—quite possibly the most remarkable woman in all the galaxy," Odo said, meaning every word with every fiber of his being.
Lwaxana's cheeks colored.
"And you flatter me," she said. "What shall we drink to? Or—what shall I drink to in your company? To—a happy marriage with my soon-to-be husband?"
Odo nodded, overwhelmed with the sensation that flooded his chest.
"My wife," he said. "My beloved wife."
"Soon," Lwaxana said. "And—we should drink…to our baby, Odo. A son…or a daughter."
"To whatever it may be," Odo said. He laughed quietly. "I mean that quite literally, since…I am not sure what to expect. I have been the only one of my kind for so long."
"Then—cheers to not being alone any longer," Lwaxana said.
"I have you to thank for that in every way," Odo said. "And—if I were able to drink a toast…I believe that I would drink it to you, Lwaxana, first and foremost, because you are the reason for all that I have at this moment, and for all that I will have in every moment to come. And—now that I don't have to wait, I can say, without hesitation, that I do love you."
She smiled at him. She tipped the glass, and she tasted its contents before renewing her smile.
"I will drink to that, Odo. I do love you, too."
"Come and let's have our picnic," Odo said. "You should eat and rest, Beloved."
And as soon as she'd sat, she'd proclaimed the picnic to be the nicest one ever prepared for her. And, short on the heels of that compliment, she'd praised Odo for being such a thoughtful husband as to make sure that she had such wonderful things when she was feeling so tired and so very hungry.
"Are you certain that—this makes you happy?" Odo asked. "We could have rented a holosuite for whatever environment would have pleased you."
"This environment pleases me most," Lwaxana said. "Besides, Odo, I wouldn't have felt comfortable dressing for you, like this, if we were going out around the station." She reached her hand up and ran her fingers through her hair that was now drying. "Oh—are you certain that you like this? I'm very plain, Odo."
"You are anything but plain to me," Odo said.
Lwaxana laughed quietly, and she took a moment to finish chewing the bite of food that she'd just taken.
"I hope you remember that when you see all the beautiful women who might someday pursue you, Odo. Don't look at them and think that, in comparison, your wife is dreadfully ordinary."
Odo laughed.
"There is nobody that will ever say that you are ordinary, Lwaxana," he said. "Least of all, me. I am very happy that you allow me to see you like this in…in our home."
She smiled at him and nodded.
"In our home," she said, reassuring him that this was real in every possible way.
"I know that you feel plain and ordinary," Odo said, "but that's not how I see you at all. I see—you. As you are. I enjoy seeing you in a way that—I feel is just for me."
"This is very much just for you, Odo," Lwaxana assured him. "Only for my beloved husband."
"Imzadi?" Odo asked.
Lwaxana nodded.
"Imzadi," she echoed, as soon as she swallowed. "Perhaps, one day, we will connect entirely. Then, we will share every kind of possible intimacy."
"What do you mean?" Odo asked.
"Well, there's physical intimacy," Lwaxana said.
"I enjoy that with you," Odo said.
"And I, with you," Lwaxana agreed. "But there's also telepathic and empathic intimacy."
"I believe that—I have felt some of that," Odo said. Lwaxana asked him, with nothing more than an expression, to explain what he meant. "Well—it's only that…I can feel you. Even now, I feel pleasure, because I know that you are enjoying the food that you're eating. I can't taste the food. I have no way to enjoy it in the way that humanoids do, but I am enjoying experiencing you eating it. All day long, I have felt…feelings…that were not my own. Not necessarily. I have shared them with you…and I treasure them, because I know they are yours."
"Since I contracted Zanthi fever, I do project my feelings," Lwaxana said.
Odo felt something of a sinking sensation.
"However," Lwaxana said quickly, "I'm certain that—what we feel is much more profound than any exchange owing only to Zanthi fever. As my imzadi, you feel more than my strongest emotions. You sense…well…everything. Even the gentler feelings. The ones I'm hardly even aware of. Even now, Odo, you must feel that…I am overwhelmingly in love with you, and I can…well…I can barely breathe for the affection that I feel for you. You can feel it, can't you, Odo, as something specially shared between us?"
"I feel it," Odo said. "Can you also feel the love I feel for you?"
"Oh—of course, I do! Odo—it's wonderful! It brings me such happiness."
Odo felt his whole being vibrate with happiness and warmth, possibly something from Lwaxana as much as from his own feelings of joy.
"Will we someday achieve a telepathic connection?" He asked.
"Undoubtedly," Lwaxana said. "Your species doesn't seem to be telepathic naturally. As my imzadi, we will be able to communicate eventually, but I'll need a little more time to work on establishing that connection."
"Does it require much effort on your part?" Odo asked. He picked up a piece of fruit, sensing she might be reaching for it next, and offered it to her. She smiled at the gesture and opened her mouth, taking it from his fingers. She hummed her approval.
"It takes concentration," Lwaxana said. "Focus. Intention."
"I don't want you straining yourself," Odo said. "You have a great deal to think about at this time, and I don't want you to put any unnecessary strain on yourself."
"I will be safe, Odo," she said, with a great deal of affection. "And I will take very good care of our little one. I promise you that. I am simply too tired, at the moment, to try to establish a connection. I've been so worried about the baby, Odo. I've been so…afraid." She sighed loudly. "Now, I feel like I can finally rest."
"You are safe," Odo assured her. "I won't let anyone harm you or the baby."
"Oh—I know you won't," Lwaxana said. "You make us both feel very, very safe, Odo. And very loved."
"The baby can truly sense things, too?" Odo asked.
Lwaxana accepted the next bite of food he offered her and hummed.
"I can sense the thoughts of the baby sometimes," Lwaxana said. "It won't be telepathic until it's much older, but I know how it's feeling, and sometimes its thoughts are clearer. It senses how I feel. It can sense you, Odo—your presence and your love." She gave him a soft look that made him shiver. "The baby loves his papa already." She raised her eyebrows. "Or her papa? Which do you prefer—it's just something to say, until we know more, of course."
"'He' and 'his' will do for now," Odo said. "It doesn't matter to me at all. All the matters to me is…I'm going to be a papa."
"You are a papa," Lwaxana said. She reached for his hand, and he let her have it. She leaned back on one hand and pressed Odo's hand to the lower part of her belly with the other. "You are already a papa. Can you feel it?"
Odo closed his eyes. He closed down his sense of vision. He focused on the feeling that he could feel—the sweet, calm sensation of peace, like a stream of everything pure and good in the world.
"I feel it," he said softly. "It's…wonderful."
"It is wonderful," Lwaxana agreed.
Odo opened his eyes and focused his vision on Lwaxana. He didn't pull his hand back, and she didn't make him move. She continued to eat, leisurely now that most of her hunger had evidently been quelled.
"When will we marry?" Odo asked. "I am anxious to feel like our family is official—that nothing can take any of this away from me."
"Nothing will ever take me away from you, Odo," Lwaxana said. "But—Beverly mentioned that the Enterprise will be docking at the station in around a week or two for maintenance and to conduct some business or what have you. My daughter will be on the ship."
"And you would like her to be present for the wedding," Odo said.
"Do you mind, terribly, waiting?" Lwaxana asked. "Since you haven't got a set tradition for your species, it will give you time to research wedding ceremonies and see…if you have some preference."
"It will allow us time to make sure that everything is to your liking," Odo said.
She smiled.
"I won't mind however you want things to be," Lwaxana said. "I only want to marry you, in the company of our friends and family."
"Then, that is what you shall have," Odo said. "You shall have—everything you have ever wanted, as long as it's in my power to give."
Lwaxana laughed low in her throat.
"For now," she said. "I'm truly very tired. I would be happiest with—with a quiet evening. If you aren't opposed to it…perhaps we could make love? And then, maybe you could hold me, Odo, until you have to leave me to regenerate."
"I would give you anything you desire, but you shall most assuredly have that," Odo promised.