"Odo, look at you! You look fantastic!" Dax beamed at him fondly, an almost maternal look in her eyes. Or would that be paternal? Odo wondered, thinking of Curzon. "I love the nose," she finished coquettishly, not acting maternal at all.

"Thank you, Dax. I had a very relaxing time."

"We've been hearing great things of you, Constable." That was from Sisko, turning at last from exchanging greetings with Lwaxana, who was already sailing through the room, working the crowd with a skill that Odo had come to appreciate as consummate artistry. Odo let his gaze follow her for a second, before turning his attention to the captain.

"Pure luck." Odo shrugged. "I was in the right place at the right time."

"And with the right abilities, apparently." That came from Bashir, smiling his usual charming smile. "It's good to have you back, Odo."

"Why -- thank you, Doctor." Odo glanced at the floor, and Bashir's eyes narrowed at the hesitation in the shapeshifter's voice. Odo looked up and suddenly froze, his gaze fixed on a far corner of the room.

Kira Nerys stood there looking out of a viewport that faced the location of the wormhole, clearly outlined against the blackness in her blue dress uniform, her hair glowing warm in the subdued light. Odo started toward her as compulsively as any Terran lemming headed for the North Sea, murmuring excuses as he went.

"Major Kira," he said softly, arriving at last behind her.

"Odo!" Kira looked up, startled by his presence. Her eyes widened, and then narrowed a bit as she looked at him. "All you need now is an earring," she commented, trying for a smile but failing. "You have been practicing."

"I started practicing this years before I ever met you," Odo retorted, feeling stung by her lack of enthusiasm. "I'm just now able to get it right."

Kira shrugged. "I guess I got used to you the old way."

"People change, Major."

"So do shapeshifters, apparently."

"Well, we are called changelings," Odo observed. Kira's eyes narrowed, and then she sighed.

"I'm sorry, Odo -- it's a very convincing Bajoran nose. I just -"Kira paused, biting her lower lip. "I guess I just miss the old Odo -- my friend."

Odo started involuntarily to reach for Kira's hand, but caught himself in time. Instead he said simply, "Whatever face or form I may take, Major, I will always be your friend."

"Thank you," Kira whispered. "That's good to hear." She forced herself to look into his eyes -- and thought for a moment that she was going to drown there. Odo's eyes widened in response, the passion there burning like a blue flame -- they both turned their faces away, shunning the intensity of their response, staring out the viewport just as the wormhole flared into life.

"Quick," Kira ordered, desperation in her voice, "wish . . ."

"I -"Odo paused helplessly, before closing his eyes. A moment later, Lwaxana's bell-like voice sounded perversely behind him.

"You two look absolutely spellbound," the Ambassador observed. "Did I miss something?"

"The wormhole just opened," Kira managed quietly.

"You're supposed to make a wish when that happens, aren't you?" Lwaxana smiled brightly, her eyes moving from one of the strained faces before her to the other. "I'm sorry I missed it. Odo, what did you wish for?"

"I -- I couldn't think of anything," Odo said faintly.

"Besides, if you tell your wish it won't come true," Kira added, nearly breathless.

"You two are hopelessly prosaic," Lwaxana chided. "Wait -- there it is again! Now, wish!"

All three of them closed their eyes for a brief moment, and there was a mutual rustling of sighs. Kira then smiled, forcing herself to look at Odo and Lwaxana briefly.

"I really have to be going -- I have the early duty shift tomorrow. Good night, Ambassador -- Constable." Kira turned and walked away, disappearing quickly through the crowd. Odo let his gaze follow her in a long stare, before turning his attention to the woman at his side.

"Did you get anything to eat yet?" he asked politely. "I could fetch you a plate of -"

"Go." Lwaxana said simply.

"You didn't hear yet what I was going to get you."

"Not for food. Go after her."

"Lwaxana . . ." Odo stared at her, reaching out to take her hands in his.

"Don't you want your wish to come true?"

"I -- didn't wish for that."

"What did you wish for?"

"I couldn't think of anything to wish for that wouldn't end up hurting either myself or -- someone else," Odo admitted quietly. "So I just wished for your and Kira's wishes to come true."

"Would you believe that my wish and Kira's were the same?" To Odo's puzzled expression she replied, "Bajorans are a lot easier to read than most humanoids -- I can read a Bajoran three rooms away if I put my mind to it. Now, go." Lwaxana shook her head. "Before I decide that you're hopeless." Lwaxana sailed away, working her way through the crowd to sidle up to Dr. Bashir and place her hand lightly on his elbow. Odo watched her for a moment, a smile of fond admiration touching his face, before turning to exit the room. Ambassador Troi's eyes found his back and followed him out, before flickering closed as if at a stab of pain. Bashir peered at her in concern.

"Ambassador? Are you all right?"

Lwaxana opened her eyes, giving him her usual smile. "It's nothing, Doctor -- just a little pain in my chest."

"Chest pains can mean something serious, Ambassador. Would you like me to examine you?"

"I certainly wouldn't mind you examining me," Lwaxana teased suggestively, before her gaze sobered, "but not for my chest pain."

"If you're sure . . ." Julian continued doubtfully.

"I'm sure," she said with finality. "I know exactly what it is." Her eyes trailed across the room to the door where Odo had disappeared. "You see, I've had it before."

She then headed for her dresser, pulling out what she privately referred to as her "grub suit", as it was as gray and shapeless as some unappealing larva, and looked like it had gone through the entire Resistance on her back. Dropping it on over her head, she then walked over to the replicator, ordering, "A Maraltian seev-ale." Replicated or not, it was better than nothing.

Her hand was just closing around the curve of the glass when her doorcom sounded. Exasperated, Kira called, "Who is it?"

"It's Odo, Major. May I come in?"

"Come," Kira replied faintly, before looking down at herself and wincing. She braced herself, turning in the direction of the door as it opened. Standing there in silhouette, she saw that it was, indeed, Odo -- but the Odo that she knew, with indistinct features that made his eyes stand out all the more, his familiar uniformed appearance neatly 'belted' at the waist. The Odo she -

- Loved.

"Odo," she managed, "what can I do for you?"

"That used to be my line," Odo observed. He stepped a few feet further into the room, apprehensive eyes fixed on her face. "I just wanted to ask you what time the Senior Staff will be meeting tomorrow."

It was a moment before Kira connected his question with the uniform he once again wore. Finally she gasped, "You're staying!"

Odo nodded. "I finally decided. I'm staying. Strange as it might seem, Major, this is my home."

Kira didn't try to hide the look of pure joy that transfigured her face. "Odo, that's -- I'm so glad!" She looked around a little wildly, before gesturing at the couch. "Please -- sit down. I'm sorry I can't offer you anything -"

"I think that may be why so many people have a hard time entertaining shapeshifters," Odo observed. "You can't feed them." He perched gingerly at one end of the couch, while Kira carefully seated herself in a spot next to him, but not too close. Odo looked at the glass she still held in her hand. "A pretty girl like you shouldn't be drinking alone," he commented.

Kira laughed with delight entirely unrelated to the joke, setting aside her glass. "Odo," she said fervently, "it is so good to see you again."

"It's good to see you, too." Odo, with some hesitation, reached out and took her hand briefly in his. "I -- I've missed you, Major."

"I've missed you, too," Kira admitted, relinquishing his hand with reluctance. "Now that you're back -- I suppose you'll be too busy making sure that everything is in order to have time for our Tuesday morning meetings again."

"No, I think I can fit them in. I've decided that they're more -- essential -- than I thought."

Kira looked up at him with a faint smile. "Yes, but what about the belt?"

"Oh." Odo managed a chuckle. "I just remembered that you liked it."

"I like your face, too."

Odo stared into Kira's eyes, a look of grim determination crossing his face. It was mirrored by one in hers.

"Kira, I -"

"Odo -"They spoke simultaneously. Kira smiled. "You first."

"Kira, I need to tell you something -- a number of things, I suppose."

"Go on." Edging back a little, Kira tucked her feet under her, angling her body on the sofa to face him.

"First of all, I suppose you may have guessed that after I left here -- Ambassador Troi and I became lovers."

The joy drained out of Kira's face like water running over marble. "I -- at first I thought that might be true. Later, I wasn't -- sure." Cold hand, squeezing her heart. You wished for him to be happy, she reminded herself sternly. You didn't specify who with.

"She's a very -- emotionally honest person. I can't tell you how much I've come to admire her for that -- you have to be very brave to 'wear your heart on your sleeve', as the humans say."

"Yes, I suppose that's true." I won't cry, Kira told herself angrily. As long as he's happy, I won't cry. Not where he can see me, anyway.

"Anyway, she taught me a very valuable lesson -- at least I hope I've learned it -- that while sharing you feelings isn't easy, it is simple. It's -- an essential. Because otherwise you end up living your life as a question."

"What kind of question?" Kira wasn't really paying attention, too intent on maintaining her calm until she could grieve alone.

"For me, a question of -- what might have been -- had I told you that I'm in love with you."

- in love with you. Kira looked, up, startled, at his final words. "What?" She shook her head, dazed.

Odo stared at her, crestfallen. "I -"He ground hopelessly to a halt, overwhelmed by the ingenuousness of her response. Finally he grated, "Never mind, Major. I think I should go -"

"No!" Kira gasped. She lunged across the sofa, catching him by the arm before he could rise. "I just thought -- what you said about the Ambassador -- I thought you meant -"Kira took a deep breath to steady herself. "Aren't you in love with her?" she finally asked.

"No," Odo replied simply, with genuine sadness. "It's -- unfortunate, but she deserves better than I'll ever be able to give her."

Kira gave him a long look. To his questioning glance she admitted, "I'm sorry, I'm just having trouble envisioning what could be better." Kira inched a little closer to Odo on the couch. Odo stared at her, suddenly intent.

"Nerys . . ."

Sliding his hand across the sofa, Odo trembled as it finally touched hers. Their fingers twined together, and Kira could feel his hand loosing its shape, melting around her fingertips, slipping into the sensitive curve of her palm. Kira let out a little gasp, closing her eyes in pleasure.

"That's lovely," she whispered. "You're lovely." She moved to where she could lean into his side, resting her forehead against his shoulder and feeling the strange quivering that ran through his entire form. Kira eased her hand from Odo's so she could slip her arms around his middle, pressing more closely against him. Odo let his arms settle around her with a sigh, lowering his face to bury it in her hair.

Odo's hands were gentle against Kira's back, one of them sliding up to slowly massage the back of her neck. "You're so tense," he finally commented. His hand shifted a little, spreading to cover more of her skin. Kira sighed, resting her head in the hollow of his throat.

"No, not anymore," she said simply. "I feel like I've reached a place I've been searching for all my life."

"Nerys, li hama piet'el. . ."

Ti hama piet'el. . . name-giver. Kira looked up at him questioningly. "How have I named you?"

"Nerys, do you know much Cardassian?"

"No more than I had to," Kira admitted. "Why?"

"My name . . . Odo . . . is part of a Cardassian word, odo'ital. It was the . . . label on my specimen container when I was in Dr. Mora's laboratory. . . It's the Cardassian word for 'nothing'. When they found out I was sentient, the Bajoran scientists split it into two words, like a Bajoran name -- they called me Odo Ital. It was supposed to be a joke."

"That's awful," Kira said faintly. She ran her hands comfortingly against his back in turn.

"You were the first person," Odo whispered, "to call me something other than 'nothing'."

Kira leaned back so she could look in his eyes, raising her hand to stroke his cheek. "Constable," she murmured. "You know, it used to hurt me that you wouldn't tell me your whole name. It never occurred to me that you didn't really have one." She continued gently caressing his face. "Is that why you never called me Nerys before now? Were you afraid I would ask you what your piet'el was?" Kira used the Bajoran word for one's given name, used only by family and very close friends. Odo smiled.

"I just didn't feel like I had anything to offer in exchange. Bajoran names mean so much -- how could I tell you my whole name and what it meant when I could barely tolerate the sound of it for so long?"

"How do you feel about it now?" Kira asked softly. She thought that she would re-name him herself if he expressed any remaining discontent.

"Odo -- now it just means me. When someone says my name, I hear it echoed in your voice -- and then it just means me."

"I can think of other things to call you now . . ." Kira snuggled more closely against him, lifting her head to whisper in his ear. "Li tanna . . . piet'hom . . . jurga . . ."

Bajoran endearments tended to be both intimate and earthy, and Kira's choices were no exception. Odo felt his substance start churning within him. "Nerys . . . li'tan." He kneaded her back gently through the soft fabric of her robe, and wondered if she had any idea just how badly he wanted her -- to explore every inch of her living flesh with his substance, to move over and within her body while she writhed in ecstasy. Or perhaps even to maintain a solid form until she was more sure of him, sculpting his body to fit perfectly to hers, moving in tandem with her until she cried out in her release. There were all sorts of things he wanted to do, knew that he could do -- in his thoughts, Odo sent a message of heartfelt gratitude to Lwaxana Troi, and hoped that somehow she'd hear it.

Kira could feel his hands grow instinctively more assertive against her back, almost as though they would burn a hole through her clothes to reach her skin. She slipped out of his arms and raised herself to her knees, pulling her 'grub shirt' off over her head and letting it fall to the floor. Odo stared at her wordlessly, before his hands closed on her waist, sliding slowly but unerringly up her ribcage to cover her breasts.

Kira managed a little smile, bringing her hands to rest against his shoulders. "I have to admit -- I'm kind of glad that you already know what you're doing, Odo."

Odo smiled, the pleasure of touching her a gentle hum that vibrated through his whole being. "Let me assure you that virginity is a highly overrated condition."

Kira blushed -- Odo could feel the blood further warming the skin beneath his exploring fingers. "It funny," she confessed, "that's kind of what I feel like now."

"A virgin?"

Kira nodded. "I need to find out what -- pleases you."

"Oh, that's easy." To her questioning look he said simply, "You do." He kissed one of her hands where it rested awkwardly against his shoulder. "Now, close your eyes."

Kira hesitated, then did what he asked. She started as she felt his shoulders shift beneath her hands, the facsimile of fabric melting away to be replaced by smooth skin. She let her hands slide down his arms as far as his elbows and then back again, not daring to open her eyes even while she sighed in pleasure.

"Nerys?"

"Hmm?" she purred.

"You can look now."

The planes of Odo's humanoid body glowed like white marble under Kira's hands, darkening her own fair skin to warm ivory in comparison. His flesh was warm, and impossibly smooth as she ran her hands over it greedily, trying to take in as much of him as she could through that gentle, searching caress. Inching closer, still on her knees, she clasped her arms around him as Odo pulled his legs beneath him and rose on his own knees to meet her, taking her in his arms and letting his hands slide down her back to her hips, pulling her tightly against him. Kira looked at him questioningly. Something was definitely missing.

"Don't worry," he whispered into her ear, "I just want to be sure that it fits."

Kira chuckled a little at the incongruous image -- then gasped as she felt him begin to shift against her groin. She let Odo lower her back against the couch, her thighs opening to receive him -- she let out a low cry of pleasure as his substance expanded to fill her, shaping itself to her wet folds until she thought she would pass out from the delirious joy of the sensation. Odo's movements were strong and tense, somehow questioning against her -- his voice came as a harsh whisper against her ear.

"Say it," he demanded, with sudden breathless ferocity. "I need to hear you say it."

Kira, no longer obtuse, knew exactly what he meant. "Odo," she said, with quiet fervor, "I'm in love with you, too." She ran her hands almost frantically up and down his chest, as though somehow seeking a chink in its smooth perfection. Odo let out a little groan in response.

"Nerys -- it's so hard to -- hold my shape -"

"Then don't," she whispered, "I want you." She watched, enraptured, as his form shifted to a pellucid gold, melting slowly to wrap her body in blazing warmth. Within her, his mass seemed hotter, almost fiery against her tender flesh -- Kira moved her hands through her lover's substance in a mindless caress that spurred him on to such waves of passion that for a dizzy moment she thought she might drown in him. She let her fingers dip in and out of him, feeling Odo shape himself to them gently and then let them go -- until at last her climax began, orgasm on top of orgasm, felt as intensely in her breasts, her thighs, her very fingertips, as it was in her throbbing clitoris, her pulsing labia. Wordlessly, she began to sob, ducking her face into Odo's gelid substance.

Kira felt him taking solid form once again in her arms, pulling her over so that she lay on top of him, running soothing hands over her back and then holding her tightly. "Nerys," Odo whispered, "are you all right?"

She nodded wordlessly, still not trusting her voice. Odo slid his hands up her back to her shoulders, gently massaging her upper arms.

"You're sure?"

Kira shook her head in negation as her sobs intensified. Finally she gasped, "I can't -"She dug her fingers convulsively into Odo's chest.

"Can't what, Nerys?" The quiver of anxiety ran through his entire being.

"Can't believe -- I didn't see that you loved me for so long."

Kira felt the relaxation slip gently through Odo's form, and somehow transmit itself to her own tense body. She went limp against him, pillowing her head against his chest with a tired sigh. Her sobs finally left her, the tears drying slowly on her cheeks.

"How long have you loved me?" she asked softly. Too tired to raise her head to look at him, Kira brought her hand to rest against Odo's face, her fingertips touching his lips.

"Long enough." Kira could feel his gentle smile. "It's not important."

"I'd like to know."

"I finally admitted it to myself a few years ago -- before Bareil died." Odo sounded ashamed of the confession. "The seeds were -- in the beginning."

"Terok Nor," Kira whispered.

"Terok Nor," he agreed. "Have you ever met someone who, from the moment you met them, you knew was going to somehow figure very importantly in your life? Someone you couldn't turn away from if you tried, because from the minute you saw them they somehow stepped inside your -- your circle of existence?"

"Yes . . . you."

Odo ducked his head to absently kiss Kira's shoulder. Then he smiled.

"Did you realize that I haven't really kissed you yet?"

Kira managed a dry laugh. "You're right -- I hadn't noticed."

"I hadn't either, until now."

"Then now must be a good time." Kira inched her way up Odo's body until her mouth was poised over his. He met her halfway, their lips parting in unison and their tongues beginning a gentle, intimate dance -- Kira felt like her soul was draining out through her mouth, draining into Odo. When the kiss finally ended, they were both gasping. Kira raised her hand to her forehead, wondering for a dizzy moment if she was going to faint.

"I never thought," she whispered, "that sex with you would be possible. I never dreamed that it would be so . . . so phenomenal."

"You mean . . ." Odo hesitated, "you mean you've thought about it? Before?"

Even in the darkness, Odo could glimpse the blush that suffused his lover's face. Kira finally confessed, "Odo, you're a shape-shifter -- of course I have. Dax and I once spent a whole hour over drinks at Quark's speculating on the -- possibilities."

For a long moment, the silence grew absolutely deafening. Finally Odo managed, "For a whole hour . . . with Dax . . . at Quark's?"

Kira nodded sheepishly.

"At -- Quark's." Odo took a deep breath before daring to ask the question, "Did Quark -- hear any of it?"

"I think -- well, yes, towards the end," Kira confessed. Her eyes had begun to twinkle.

"And --?"

"Oh, nothing -- he was just speculating what kind of profits a -- um -- shapeshifter holoprogram might generate."

"A holoprogram."

"Um-hm." The corners of Kira's mouth began to twitch, and Odo began to suspect that his leg was being pulled. He caught Kira's hips in his hands, before beginning to slowly stroke her thighs and buttocks. "Well," he rumbled softly, "now that you've done the research -- what kind of profits do you think he might be able to get?" Odo's mouth was shadowed with the faintest ghost of a smile.

Kira caught Odo's face in her hands, kissing him hungrily, her breasts flattened against his chest. He could feel every crease, every crinkle in her nipples as they tightened against his skin -- he laid her back against the couch and began to leisurely send his tongue on a tour of her torso, with long stops to circumnavigate the roseate tips of her breasts -- Kira gasped as he nibbled, then sucked gently at each nipple in turn, before finally moving his attention to chart other realms much further down her shaking body. Kira wondered dimly if certain medical myths were true, if it was possible to come so hard that your brains leaked out your ears, and she clutched at the sides of her head just to make sure. So far, so good -- she was still gasping when Odo slid back up her torso, sowing the ground he had traveled with kisses.

"Nerys . . ."

Kira cried out as Odo once again reverted to his natural form and blanketed her in his living, shining substance -- he glimmered in the subdued light. Kira was more aggressive this time in her handling of him, letting her arms and hands trail through him like a welcoming pool, moving her thighs against him as he melted between them to mingle with her wetness. At some point her body slipped beyond mere movement until she was writhing in ecstasy, completely immersed in her gelid lover -- a sudden shock ran through her entire system, emanating from Odo's skin, and sending her once again over the edge, and when Odo was able to resume his humanoid form, Kira realized that he had finally fallen with her. She ran her fingertips over the surface of his face, touching him as though she were blinded and could only remember him by touch. The smooth, minimal planes seemed somehow softer, more yielding -- Kira let her fingers linger against his lips, before replacing them with her mouth, breathing her life into his.

"I love you," she whispered. She repeated the words over and over like a mantra, like a prayer, a sacred truth that sprang from the core of her being, that exploded in water and fire from the very mouths of the Prophets. Odo took up the chant with her, a soft rush of affirmation to storm heaven itself -- the joy so intense that it felt like pain. It was like his heart was breaking -- only this time to grant Kira admittance to its very core.

"Never leave me again," Kira insisted with sudden fervor. "Promise me."

"Never," Odo assured her, breathing the word against the side of his lover's neck.

"Marry me."

"I will." Words that would have been startling to the point of being inconceivable only one day before now seemed nothing but natural and right.

"Tomorrow."

"All right." Odo acquiesced in a breathless whisper. He felt like some alien ocean ready to burst across the waiting shore.

"Now -- make love to me again."

"Forever." Wave against welcoming sand. The ceaseless rhythm of the tides.

And so the night went.

Odo, resuming his humanoid form, slipped from the tangle of Kira's sprawled limbs and got up quietly from the sofa, reaching down to touch her gently on the cheek. She slept peacefully, her breathing deep and regular between softly parted lips -- sweet Prophets, she loves me, Odo thought with a stab of wonder. Perhaps there's something to this religion nonsense after all.

If there was, he hoped that said Prophets would get him safely through the interview he still faced.

Odo went into the bedroom and returned with a blanket, which he draped over Kira as a substitute for his warm and living self. Noticing the difference, she stirred and murmured, "Odo?"

"Shh . . . go back to sleep. I'll talk to you later."

"Where are you going?" Kira's eyes flew open as she realized that her lover was preparing to leave.

"Not far. I just need to see someone before it gets any later. I'll be back."

Kira sat up on the edge of the bed, pulling the blanket around her. "Ambassador Troi." It was not a question.

"I owe her so much, Nerys." Odo reached out his hand to gently stroke Kira's cheek. "In a way, I owe her you.."

The faintest trace of a smile touched Kira's lips. "I guess that I owe her last night, don't I?"

Odo smiled. "Remind me to tell you sometime about what my first night with her was like. You'll be very grateful that it wasn't you."

"I'd like to hear about it," Kira admitted. She reached out and wrapped her arms tightly around in Odo's thighs in a brief hug. "Take your time -- just be sure to come back."

"Always." Odo leaned over and gave Kira a long, searching kiss on the mouth. He sighed. "I can't believe you're real."

"Believe it. That's an order." Kira smiled, letting him go. "See you at Senior Staff Meeting."

Odo walked quickly through the still quiet corridors of the station, glad that morning was not quite upon him. He had meant to talk to Kira, and then return to Lwaxana's quarters long before now, probably because he had no idea that his interview with Kira would be so -- successful. Despite the fact that Mrs. Troi had sent him on that interview in the first place, he felt guilty for not having returned to her before now, to let her know the outcome of the interview if nothing else. Oh, well, I imagine she's guessed it by now.

He slipped quietly into the Ambassador's quarters, prepared to sit quietly and wait for her to wake up. But Lwaxana was seated on the sofa, well-propped with pillows, sipping absent-mindedly at a cup of her favorite rys tea. She looked up at Odo as he approached her hesitantly, and she tried to smile.

"I take it things went well," she commented. There was a slight catch to her voice that stabbed at Odo like a knife.

"For some of us," Odo admitted. He sat down beside her on the sofa, taking her hand in his. Lwaxana looked at him as though to say something, before burying her face against his shoulder with one anguished sob. Odo wrapped his arms around her, holding her until words could finally re-emerge from the midst of her tears.

"I'm sorry," she gasped. "I didn't mean to do that."

"If anything, I'm the one who should be sorry." Odo rested his face against her dark, sleek hair. "I never thought how this might hurt you in the end."

"That's because you never thought things could turn out the way you wanted them to."

"No -- I suppose not."

Odo continued holding her as Lwaxana slowly resumed what he had come to recognize as her remarkably optimistic approach to life -- even when life had just slapped her in the face. "So," Lwaxana asked, with a fairly successful attempt at brightness, "when's the big event?"

Odo stared at her, looking oddly embarrassed. "Actually, we already --"

The barest trace of hurt flickered through Lwaxana's eyes and was gone. Instead she giggled. "Not that big event. I'm sure that big event's happened a few times by now -- you've had hours."

Odo smiled. "Sorry." Lwaxana's own smile faded a bit.

"You didn't have to be so good at it, you know. How am I ever going to find someone to equal you?"

"I --"

"Rhetorical question." Lwaxana raised her hand to Odo's lips, gently silencing him. "No, what I meant was when's the wedding?"

"What makes you so sure there's going to be one?"

"I don't know -- you just seem like the marrying kind somehow."

Odo managed a dry chuckle. "Nerys suggested today. I agreed to it in -- the heat of the moment, but I think we might actually wait a bit."

"Nonsense!" Lwaxana said briskly. "If you wait I probably can't attend."

Odo stared at her, surprised. "I didn't think you'd want to. Besides, it won't be much, especially not if we do it today."

"I want to see you happy." Lwaxana put her hand on the side of Odo's face and closed her eyes. _I can feel that you're happy, but it's shadowed. Don't let worry about me shadow your happiness._

_It's hard not to -- do you know how important you've been to me?_ Odo amended the thought, _How important you are to me?_

_Me? You mean the woman who went scrambling for the Encyclopedia of Erotic Imagery when you were having a hard time figuring out how to form a penis?_

_That would be the one._ Odo let out a deep, rumbling laugh. "It wasn't the shape -- it was the principle." _It still seems like it should hurt._

_It never hurt me. I guess that you didn't get too many complaints last night, either._

_No -- not too many._ Odo dropped an absent-minded kiss on Lwaxana's forehead, before drawing back awkwardly, remembering their change in status. Lwaxana smiled sadly, letting her hand fall from Odo's face.

"I think on second thought I won't stay for the wedding after all. You see, I always cry at weddings -- and it might be misinterpreted." Her dark eyes sparkled with unshed tears, but her dazzling smile remained, a beacon of unprecedented valor. Odo rested his hand against the side of her neck, fixing an affectionate, admiring gaze on Lwaxana's face.

"You are," he said simply, "the bravest person I've ever met -- you've been a better friend than I ever dreamed -- and I will always love you for it." He leaned over and kissed her -- a slow, cherishing kiss, not untouched with passion. "Thank you, Lwaxana."

"You're welcome, Odo." Lwaxana's smile was threatening to crumble, but she held on gallantly. "Now, go on -- you still have time to have breakfast with Major Kira."

"Yes, but I don't eat." Odo smiled at what was by now an old joke.

"You'll think of something."

"I suppose I will." When he tried to continue, the words he needed to say caught with sharp talons at his throat. "Goodbye, Lwaxana." Odo reached out and touched her cheek one last time, wondering dully at how much it hurt.

Lwaxana shook her head. "That word isn't in my vocabulary. One of the old Earth languages has a good phrase, though -- auf weidershen. Till we meet again."

"Till then." Odo somehow managed to turn and leave, appalled at the conflicting emotions that bubbled in him like boiling oil. He made his way back slowly to Kira's quarters, automatically touching the door chime rather than use the override code. Kira met him at the door, her look at first puzzled, and then understanding.

"Hard stuff," she observed quietly, after having led him to the sofa and gently forced him to sit down.

"I never thought that -- today of all days --"

"What about today?"

"Last night -- was the happiest night of my life. Why am I feeling so -- so miserable now?"

Kira grimaced, shrugging. "You just broke up with someone who loves you very much, Odo. It's not supposed to be easy."

"She was so -- nice about it. She's always treated me with such kindness."

"Odo, it's understandable if you're feeling a little ambivalent. Most people -- well, they don't switch partners quite that abruptly. She sat down beside him, taking his hand in hers. "Maybe -- maybe last night wasn't such a great idea."

Odo's head shot up and he stared at her. "Don't say that," he whispered. "Don't ever say that!"

"Look, it was the happiest night of my life, too! That doesn't make us immune to feeling like crap about it today! How do you think I feel, knowing that I'm the reason you ran off and got involved with another woman in the first place, so that now you end up kicking her in the teeth?"

"I just -- I never expected -- why is love so messy?" Odo's passion for order made him quiver with indignation at the thought. Kira sighed, and shrugged.

"It just is, that's all. All feelings are messy, when you get right down to it."

"Hmph. Maybe the Vulcans have a point after all." Odo glanced up into Kira's questioning brown eyes. "I never thought it would be this hard if you loved me. I knew it was hard when you didn't -- I guess I thought that everything would just fall into place if you did."

"Like I said -- it's not supposed to be easy." Kira drew him gently into her arms. "But I'm still glad you're here with me."

"I'm glad, too," Odo conceded. "I just -- wish I'd told you before."

"I'll give you that." Kira smiled. "If you'd told me a long time ago, we could working on our second baby by now."

Odo raised his eyebrows. "I believe that would be what your vedeks would call a miracle."

"Miracles happen."

"Name one." Odo's renowned cynicism made its last stand --

"Last night."

-- and died without a struggle.