The Renovated Gardens

This new lush space had come a long way since Val had last visited. What was previously a mess of dried brush and weeds had become a small slice of paradise. Jungle trees had been planted, and were so large one would think they were planted ten years ago. Their branches drooped low with hanging moss and vines. Large shrubs had popped up, now sporting colorful flowers and alien fruits in purple, orange and yellow. Val spotted the very same orchids Da-an had sent to his quarters, with their crinkly petals and heady fragrance. Pren's gift of terran bees buzzed happily, pollinating. A small pond dotted with star-like lotuses now resided, creating an oasis so far unseen on Deep Space 15.
Da-an led Val in by the hand. "What do you think?" they droned.

Val was at least a little prepared for how beautiful the gardens would be, having seen the beginning, but the sight of it still gave him butterflies of emotion. He did manage to hold back tears this time.
"It's..." He laughed at himself for still being speechless. "I want to live in it."
He pulled off his robe and shirt so that he could feel the leaves against his skin as he wandered into it, slowly so as not to disturb the bees.

"You're certainly welcome here as often as you'd like," they said, following Val from a distance. "I'm glad you like it here, I hope it's as well received by the other residents. Do you think the crew will like it?" they asked, with a hint of insecurity in their tone. "It isn't too much, is it?"

"Well... I like too much," Val said, running his fingers over the long stalks of an unfolding palm. "You can get an organized, manicured Imperial Garden in the holosuites.. but Ferengi technology doesn't know how to reproduce this. Not to mention the scents and.. Yes, I think it will be a nice escape."

"I believe it's some of my best work yet," they said. "Try the fruit, by the way. I've important so many things from Earth, and there are some Bajoran fruit trees too, you might recognize them." Da-an plucked a Purple Meadow Plum from a nearby tree and offered it shyly.

Val looked back at Da-an, then to the fruit dangling from a vine beside him.
"I'm allowed to?"

"Just you, for now," they said, their faceless head nodding in encouragement.

Val but his lip and pulled the fruit from the vine, the stem snapping back gently. He felt a rush of delight that only comes from doing something forbidden. He smelled the fruit, frowning at a strangely familiar scent. Once tasted, looked at the thing with wonder.
"This is Bajoran. I've never seen it growing in the wild before.. I've only tasted it in drinks and ration packs in a freeze dried state.. It's so much better this way."

"It usually is. When the garden has stabilized, I'll open it up for the whole station to eat from. Won't that be lovely? Less replicated food, more real plants. If I could, I would visit every impoverished planet and do this, but there's only one of me," they said. "I like seeing the looks on people's faces when they have no need anymore."

Val smiled, examining the flesh of the fruit as he chewed and picking out a stone with his fingertips, then examining that too.
"I wish you could live on Bajor."

"I'm afraid I actually know very little about what Bajor has been through, beyond what I've learned from history recordings. Do you think your people would benefit from my work?" Da-an was no longer flirtatious, just fascinated.

"I think they would. Many are still in need, and the agriculture is... not what you'd call prosperous," Val shrugged. "But I am not the right person to ask. It is dangerous there for me, and I'm not endangered. It's probably not a good idea."
He took another bite, tossing his head back with pleasure at the taste and wandering deeper into the well designed jungle.

"Where are you off to?" asked Da-an. They followed him deeper into the brush.

Val laughed playfully, picking up his pace.
"If you want another taste of me, you'll have to catch me this time."

"Slow down!" they exclaimed, letting Val get a head start.

Val sprinted ahead and found a place to hide, holding the half-eaten fruit in his mouth while he hastily got rid of his trousers.

Da-an came wandering through the shrubbery, and slowly peeked around a tree. "Where did you go? I hear you, but I don't see you!" However, they spied Val's ankle in a nearby bush.

Val felt an exhilarating rush of adrenaline which came from trying to evade (albeit playfully) a 7 foot tall non-homonid. He crawled slowly from one shrub to the next, trying to stay silent but still keep close enough to watch Da-an's movements.

Da-an could make out Val's soft bare skin through the leaves. Instead of remaining visible, they simply unraveled, as if a rope twisted apart, and vanished into their surroundings.

Val gasped and straightened up, looking everywhere for Da-an's tendrils.
"You can---! That's not-!" He simply took off running, knowing Da-an could be anywhere now, grinning with excitement.

Val tripped on an upturned root, bringing him to the ground.

Val yelped, scraping his arm on the ground, and scrambling to his feet, only to collapse again. He looked around him wild-eyed for any movement, his chest beating like a frightened bird's.

A thin single vine slowly, sinuously, wrapped around his left ankle.

Val gasped and pulled against the vine's grasp, crawling away from it.

They let him go, allowing Val to scramble away for a few steps before Val found his wrist completely caught on another root.