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It was 03:24 when Odo’s comm badge chirped on the bedside table.
“Dax to Odo.”
Odo formed an arm and head as he reached over Quark to tap the badge. Quark groaned as he was jostled from the nest of blankets and Odo’s natural form he had cocooned himself in as he slept.
“Odo here.”
“Oh, Odo, good! Where are you? One of your security officers went to your quarters to look for you, but you weren’t there.”
“I’m at Quark’s.” Odo’s eyes widened as he realized what he had just said. Why had he said that?
Silence filled the space for a long moment. “Quark’s bar?” Dax asked, confusion suffusing her words.
“No, his quarters.” Odo fully formed his body and bolted out of bed. Quark squawked as he was dislodged from his comfortable sleeping position. What was going on? Why was Odo saying these things? It was as if his lips had a mind of their own.
“You’re in Quark’s room? In the middle of the night?”
Odo intended to deflect, but the words that tumbled out of his mouth did anything but. “Yes. I spend most nights here.” Odo’s hands curled into fists as he growled in frustration. Why was this happening?! Quark sat up, his eyes widening as he processed everything Odo had said.
“I see,” Dax said. “Well, it appears that some sort of substance has been released into the air filtration system and is acting as a sort of truth serum. Everyone is telling the complete and total truth, whether they want to or not.” Odo could hear the amusement in her voice, and he found he did not share the sentiment. “Julian and I are working to create an antidote and purge the remaining remnants from the atmosphere. We were hoping that your unique physiology would make you immune to its effects, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.”
“No, it does not,” Odo groused.
“Since it’s the middle of the night, most of the station is asleep. Captain Sisko has ordered everyone except those of us working on the antidote to remain in their quarters to try to mitigate the fallout of people openly saying anything and everything that’s on their mind. There isn’t a security threat at the moment, so it’s probably best if you stay put for now too. We’ll let you know if anything changes.”
“Please do.”
“Enjoy your night!” Odo could hear her grin and giggle. “Dax out.”
Odo sat heavily on the bed. “I don’t suppose there’s any chance she won’t tell anyone about this.”
Quark snorted in amusement. “Odo, that was Jadzia you just spoke to. Even without this truth serum stuff in the vents, she would definitely tell Worf, Sisko, Dr. Bashir, and probably the major too. With this truth telling thing going on, we’ll be lucky if she doesn’t make a stationwide broadcast about it.”
Odo dropped his head into his hands and sighed. “I was afraid of that.”
Quark rubbed small circles on Odo’s back as he chewed his lower lip. After a few moments, he timidly asked, “Is it really that bad though? I mean, it’s been over a year. They were bound to find out eventually.”
Odo huffed in annoyance. “I hoped no one would ever find out.”
“Why?” Quark crossed his arms and wrinkled his nose. “Can’t have your reputation ruined by letting people know you’re sleeping with a ‘criminal?’”
“No. I didn’t want anyone to know so when you eventually decide to leave me I won’t be publicly humiliated.”
“What?” Quark blinked up at Odo, eyes wide. “What are you talking about?”
It had never been Odo’s intention to tell Quark his fears, but the truth telling agent pushed past his inhibitions. “Come on, Quark. How long do you really expect this to last? I think we both know it’ll only be a matter of time before you get tired of dealing with my rigid, uptight, ‘fascist’ ways.”
Quark reached out to take Odo’s hand. “Odo, where is this coming from? I love you! You know that! I’ve told you that!”
“I know.” Odo sagged into the bed in a way a humanoid could not. “But do you really think this can last long term? What do you think is going to happen? Do you honestly think we’re going to, what, get married and live happily ever after?”
“Why not? I want us to!”
It was Odo’s turn to blink in surprise. “Really?”
“Yes! I wrote a draft of a marriage contract a couple months ago. In it, you retain more rights as the spouse of a Ferengi businessman than any marriage contract to date, I checked. And you and Rom split ownership of the bar in the event of my death.” Quark slapped his hand over his mouth.
A flurry of thoughts swirled through Odo’s mind. Quark wanted to marry him? Enough so that he had already written a draft of a marriage contract? One in which Odo inherited rights to a Ferengi business through a spouse, something almost unheard of, and the ultimate display of devotion in Ferengi society. Unfortunately, he blurted out the dumbest and least important thought of all. “I don’t want the bar.”
Quark smiled softly. “I know, but it affords you higher status on Ferenginar, in case we ever went there. And it generally makes the contract more equal, which I thought you’d appreciate.” Quark attempted to shut his mouth at the end of the sentence, but words continued to push out from behind his lips. “That, and Rom would run the bar into the ground within a month.” Despite the circumstances, Odo found himself amused at the common complaint. “Even if you didn’t help run it, you’d at least hire someone competent enough to keep it afloat and cover my family’s expenses for the rest of their lives. It’s really a win-win all the way around. Everyone gets taken care of.”
Odo warmed as the meaning behind Quark’s words sunk in. Quark didn’t view a prospective marriage with Odo as merely a solidification of their partnership, but as a joining of families. Despite being counter to Ferengi standards at times, Quark cared deeply for his family and did everything he could to take care of them. It was one of the qualities Odo admired most in Quark. In addition to wanting to tie his life with Odo’s, Quark trusted Odo to ensure his family was taken care of if he could no longer do so himself.
“You mean it?” Odo asked, his tone caught between a question and a statement.
“Of course I mean it! I don’t think I’m capable of saying anything I don’t mean at the moment anyway. Besides, do you think I write embarrassingly liberal marriage contracts just for fun? I truly would be the laughing stock of Ferenginar if all the details came out. If you ever let me file it I’ll be paying extra to keep the specifics out of public record.”
Odo pulled his thumb and forefinger down the outer curve of Quark’s ear in an affectionate gesture. Quark sighed and his eyes fluttered shut. Odo murmured warmly, “Well, if you do mean it, I expect the contract on my desk for review by the start of next week.”
Quark’s eyes flew open and his mouth went slack. “Do… do you mean it?”
“As you said, I don’t think either of us is capable of saying something we don’t mean currently.” Odo lowered and softened his voice. “But yes, I do mean it.”
Quark beamed, placed his hands on either side of Odo’s face, and pulled him into a kiss. Odo wrapped his arms around Quark and drew him into his lap. They stayed that way for several long moments before Quark finally pulled back to nuzzle his nose against Odo’s.
“Did we just get engaged?” he whispered into the quiet space between them.
“I agreed to review your contract, but I reserve the right to make any amendments I deem necessary. However, I expect we’ll be able to reach an arrangement that’s agreeable to both of us.”
Adoration and joy shone bright in Quark’s eyes, and Odo felt a little fuzzy to be on the receiving end of it. Quark kissed Odo one more time before he jumped up and began pacing across the room.
“There’s so much to plan, Odo! First we have to figure out how we want to announce our engagement. Jadzia’s already told half the station we’re together, I’m sure, but they still won’t be expecting that we’re engaged. I’ll have to think about how we’ll want to do that. Then there’s the engagement party and the wedding itself. We have to hold the reception at the bar, obviously. I wonder if the Nagus would come if I invited him? No no, scratch that. He’d ask too many questions about the contract. Oh, and Moogie’s going to want a hand in this, of course -”
“Perhaps the plans can be made later.” Odo extended his arm twice as long as usual to lightly tug at Quark’s fingers, pulling him back towards the bed. “It’s still the middle of the night, and we are confined to quarters.”
Quark grinned and crossed the room to climb eagerly into Odo’s lap again.
“If you insist,” he murmured against Odo’s lips.
“I do,” Odo rumbled, thrilled at how the words sounded hung in the air between the two of them.