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Odo spent a lot of his time in Quark’s bar. No one was really sure why. They all knew Odo and Quark despised each other but if that were truly the case, they’d want to spend as little time together as possible. It was a mystery, that was for sure. But then again, Deep Space Nine was full of a lot of mysteries and strange goings-on. Quark and Odo’s antagonistic relationship that neither of them wanted to end was simply one of them.
It was dark on the Promenade. The station had crept into its night cycle and slowly everyone on the station had gone into their quarters. Most people, at least.
Security Chief Odo strolled down the Promenade, keeping an eye out for any trespassers. As usual, there weren’t any suspicious figures but it made him feel more accomplished to make his rounds.
Right on time, he stepped in front of Quark’s Bar, prepared to do his daily inspection of sliding under the locked doors and rummaging around to make sure he had no illegal materials.
To his surprise, however, he found the doors to Quark’s wide open with light spilling out of them as if the bar was open.
Silently, Odo crept inside, keeping an eye out for any merchants, mercenaries, or other suspicious figures.
It didn’t take him long to find someone, however. Quark was sitting at the bar, a drink in one hand, the other clutching his head.
“Quark?” Odo called out, “Quark, what are you doing?”
The Ferengi jumped up, clutching his side.
“Nothing,” he snapped, brandishing his finger accusingly at his foe, “Why are you doing here?”
Odo frowned as he caught a good look at Quark’s face. There was a nasty purple-ish blue splotch on his right cheek. His eye looked enlarged, nearly swollen shut.
“Quark, what happened?”
He ducked his head away, a slight red tinge on the tips of his ears.
“It’s just a bruise, nothing you need to worry about.”
The Changeling slid up next to his friend, leaning in closer to examine the bruise. It looked even worse up close. He could see patches of yellow and orange, even the occasional cut, weakly leaking blood.
“Who did this to you?”
“I told you!” Quark snapped, “It’s nothing!”
Gently, Odo placed a hand on the bruise, causing Quark to hiss in pain.
“You should see Doctor Bashir about this,” he said, genuinely concerned. He may not have the best relationship with the Ferengi (some may even describe it as plain hostile) but Odo hated seeing him hurt.
“No, I’m fine ,” Quark said, shuffling off of the stool and heading towards the door.
Odo watched him leave with a heavy feeling in his chest. He despised Quark, didn’t he? And yet…
Sighing, he left the bar, not even bothering to check for contraband. He could give his friend a break for once.