Work Text:
They talked, eventually.
‘I think the symbiont likes you better than me,’ Ezri confessed, as they sat on the Promenade gangway with their feet dangling, Jake-and-Nog-style. It was the middle of the night, and only the safety lights were on. Nobody else was about.
‘The symbiont can’t like you, it’s part of you,’ Jadzia said, staring into the middle distance.
She didn’t sound at all convinced, but Ezri didn’t mention it. She was more tactful than many of the recent Daxes.
‘It’s all right if you blame me,’ Ezri said, when it didn’t seem as though Jadzia was going to volunteer anything else.
‘Oh, I don’t blame you,’ Jadzia said, a little too quickly. ‘You didn’t know. I’m grateful that you saved the symbiont.’
There were a million things to say. Jadzia could feel them all, waiting to come out as soon as her mouth was open again. How jealous she was of the time Ezri had spent with her friends and loved ones, when she had been apart from them. How she wasn’t sure that Ezri was good enough for Dax. How empty she felt without the memories of the previous hosts. How little she felt able to rely on her own abilities and intuition. How she felt like a shadow, a reflection.
How the worst, worst thing of all was to see her self, every day, living a life that she couldn’t share.
There was no use in saying it. Dax would understand anyway.
‘Do you play Tongo?’ she asked, instead.
Ezri made a face. ‘I’m not very good.’
‘Perfect,’ said Jadzia, with a ghost of a grin.
She got up and started walking. After a moment, Ezri followed.