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nonbinaryezrabridger · 6 years

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prophet’s garden

My second work for star trek secret santa 2017. The prompt was Kiradax, from @lisjjabe . @startreksecretsanta

Rating: T. Words: 1707. ao3 link . Summary:

Kira's garden was destroyed in the dominion occupation. Jadzia helps her get it going again, and soon enough they've got more flowers than they know what to do with.

The door slides open at her touch, but Jadzia doesn’t step inside. Nerys doesn’t like having people invade her space, even if that person happens to be her girlfriend. Jadzia can see Nerys in the living area, sitting on the couch with some sort of container in her hands. The lights are dim and she looks deep in thought, so Jadzia pitches her voice low and soft when she calls out:

“May I come in?”

Nerys looks up, eyes sad, but brightens when she sees Jadzia.

“Of course.”

Jadzia joins her on the couch, looking at the container, which is elegantly painted in delicate patterns and bright colors. It obviously has some importance to Nerys, judging by the way she’s gently cradling it and by how sad she looks. Jadzia leans into her, offering her support but not pushing for her attention. If Nerys wants to tell her what’s going on, she will whenever she’s ready.

Nerys leans into Jadzia, curling into her side. She sets down the container and turns to speak to Jadzia. She’s as beautiful as ever, though the crimson red of her lipstick has been smeared slightly. She must be really distressed; she never messes up her makeup.

“There are many different ways to worship the prophets. In my practice, we bring ourselves closer to them through connection with nature, usually by gardening. We keep small personal gardens, obviously I didn’t have room for a very large one...”

Her voice cracks and Jadzia runs a comforting hand over her back. Jadzia frowns down at the empty container, which she now sees is filled with remnants of potting soil. Nerys continues, voice almost cracking:

“But I was proud of it.”

Jadzia pulls her into a hug and Nerys sighs, letting her head drop down on her shoulder. Jadzia gives her a couple minutes to collect herself before she asks:

“What happened?”

Nerys laughs, bitter and sharp enough to cut.

“During the dominion occupation they destroyed as much of our religion as they could get away with. And with the war, I’ve been too busy to start a new garden since.”

Nerys has bowed her head, shame on her face. Jadzia curls her fingers under her chin and gently tilts her head up.

“The prophets will forgive you, Nerys. They are still with you, whether you have a garden or not.”

Nerys smiles, her eyes wet, and leans in for a kiss. When she pulls away she wipes at her eyes, the tears receding.

“Thank you, Jadzia. I know they are always with me, but sometimes my faith wavers. It’s nice to have someone remind me of the truth.”

Jadzia holds her tighter, whispering:

“I’m here whenever you need me.”

------

Jadzia is running late. Nerys frowns; they’d agreed to meet in her quarters and spend their sparse free time together. Before she has time to get too worried, the door chime sounds.

“Come in!”

The door slides open to reveal Jadzia, struggling to hold a large package. She rushes in, setting it on the table and Kira’s heart stops. She recognizes the patterns and colors swirling across the ceramic.

There are plants growing in her container that she’d thrown away, a basic mix but exactly where a prophet garden should start. The plants are young and weak, none of them flowering yet. She runs her fingers over their soft leaves and gasps:

“Where did you get them?”

Jadzia saunters over and settles on the couch. She smiles at Nerys, proud of her gift but still nervous about how it will be received.

“Quark helped me find a seller. I know those are really basic, but I ordered some fancier bulbs as well.”

She pulls out a small bag of delicate bulbs, their dry white skins flaking off at the movement. Nerys rushes over excitedly, taking the bag and feeling the weight of the small bulbs. It awakens the green part of her that’s been dormant since the first garden was destroyed.

She leaves Jadzia on the couch and digs through her bedroom to find the small trowel and watering can. She’s not waiting to plant them, she wants to get started right now!

On her way back to the table she plants a joyful, sloppy kiss on Jadzia’s lips. She leaves her girlfriend dizzy, a dopey fond smile on her face. Then she rushes over to the table, spilling the bulbs across the metal surface. She’s so engrossed in carefully digging out small holes in the dirt that she almost doesn’t notice Jadzia trying to leave.

Fortunately, she turns around just in time to catch her girlfriend sneaking out the door. She frowns and puts the trowel down. Jadzia winces; Nerys has the most powerful puppy eyes she’s ever seen.

“Jadzia, where are you going?”

Jadzia shrugs and looks embarrassed; which is an emotion Nerys rarely sees her express. Neerys stands, brushing dirt off her hands. If Jadzia is struggling with something, Nerys isn’t going to let her hide it. She’s going to do her best to help her through it, whatever it is.

“You said the gardening was kind of personal, so I thought you might not want me to stick around.”

Nerys laughs, and walks over to her. She gently cups one side of Jadzia’s face in her hand and her girlfriend leans into the touch.

“You’re my girlfriend, silly. I would love it if you helped me.”

Jadzia laughs too, her usual confidence rushing back to cover up the vulnerability. Nerys takes her hand and pulls her back to the table.

“I’ll dig the holes and put the bulbs in and then you water them, okay? It’ll go a lot faster with us working together.”

Jadzia takes it seriously, careful not leave any of the bulbs dry or overwater any. The afternoon passes by quickly, and soon enough all of the unoccupied dirt is filled with bulbs.

--------

Jadzia’s door chimes and she yells permission to enter without looking up from her padd. She’s curled up under a soft blanket with her favorite book and she really doesn’t want to move.

The door slides open to reveal Nerys, smiling brightly and holding a large basket in her arms. It’s overflowing with countless cut stems of delicate pink flowers. Nerys is wearing a crown made out of them same flowers and it takes Jadzia’s breath away; she looks like a nature goddess from Trill’s old myths.

Nerys steps inside and carefully sets the heavy basket down, a light dusting of yellow pollen showering the table. Jadzia is suddenly very glad she’s not allergic.

“What’s all this about, Nerys?”

Nerys is beaming, lips pulled back in a beautiful smile and her dark eyes dancing. Jadzia’s heart feels like it’s going to beat out of her chest, unable to handle how much she loves Nerys.

“My prophet’s garden bloomed! I thought you might like to share in the fruits of our labor. Didn’t you get those lovely ice crystal vases shipped in from Andoria?”

Jadzia abandons her comfortable seat in order to dig them out of the cabinet. Even in the dim lighting, the Andorian crystal sparkles with a thousand rainbow facets. Nerys takes them with a nods of thanks and carefully fills them in the sink.

Jadzia takes the chance to bury her face in the flowers and breath in their slightly familiar scent. It’s floral and sweet, but not too overpowering. Jadzia’s pretty sure she’s smelled it in the perfumes of Bajoran visitors to the station before; it must be a popular flower.

Nerys rejoins Jadzia at the table, the water in the crystal sending delicate patterns of light dancing across the bulkheads. Jadzia helps Nerys fill the two vases with the flowers before placing one on the dresser next to her bed. Nerys leaves hers in the main room, on the table.

When Jadzia returns, she notices there’s still a smudge of pink left in the bottom of the basket. It’s a second flower crown, and Nerys quickly picks it up. Jadzia grins and teases:

“That wouldn’t happen to be for me, would it?”

Nerys giggles, but quickly turns serious. She fiddles nervously with the crown, spinning it around her fingers.

“I did make it for you. But I want you to understand why I made it first.”

She pauses and runs her fingers over the table, leaving dark streaks where she’s wiped away the layer of pollen. Her fingertips are so yellow they could have been painted. Everything about her looks like a painting right now; she could be some eternal beauty frozen on a canvas. Jadzia quickly pushes her thoughts down; this is a time for listening to her girlfriend talk, not waxing poetic about her beauty.

“These flowers have a lot of meaning to our people. We only plant them in prophet’s gardens and they’re very rare in the wild. Sharing them with someone means you’re connected with them so deeply that you want even the prophets to acknowledge your bond. I guess it’s like our ultimate love confession.”

Her eyes flit from Jadzia’s face to the floor and she’s blushing slightly. Jadzia has to bite her tongue to keep from busting out and telling her how cute she looks. Nerys raises the crown, carefully, slotting it into place over Jadzia’s ears. Jadzia smiles and whispers:

“I love you too, Nerys.”

Nerys collapses onto the couch, looking relieved. She must have been worried that Jadzia would think it was sappy, or too much too soon. Jadzia would, of course, never think that, but that doesn’t stop Nerys from worrying.

Jadzia joins her girlfriend on the couch, pulling the blanket over both of their laps. She cuddles closer, sheltering Nerys in the curve of her body. Nerys melts into her and Jadzia relaxes too, burying her face in her girlfriend’s hair. The scent of the flowers is there too, and Jadzia breaths it in as deep as she can.

Nerys falls asleep in her arms and Jadzia, very carefully, reaches out and retrieves her padd without waking her. She’s even more content than before; the only thing that could have improved her reading time was having her girlfriend curled up against her, breathing slowly and with her flower crown slightly crooked.

#star trek secret santa 2017 #kiradax #deep space nine #my writing

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