Your Best Man
Lao-ma

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Inspired by the song.
Author's note: This is not exactly a nice 'happy-ever-after' piece. A different perspective on how the Worf-Troi thing came to be.

The play begins: I was getting fed up with all your livin up with every girl around town... But now I flipped up, and while your friend was around I gave him a taste of my love I know that I broke your trust for a night of lust, but don't let that break us up.
The Argument: I needed a shoulder to cry on but I got more than a shoulder that night I know that you're mad and you're angry, who gives a damn you didn't treat me right You know that I love you more than anything, you are the center of my life It was just tip, a tap, a little payback, let it go and leave it like that.
Breakdown scene: So many times you broke my heart, I never thought that it would heal So I decided to return the pain you always make me feel Now I won't try to justify what I did, but I'll tell you why If you think someone else is in my life, then maybe you'll treat me right.
Deanna noticed the crystal orchid sitting peacefully by itself on the table nearby. Not the one Thomas had replicated for her, but the original Will had given her on Betazed to compliment their time at the falls. There it set, perfect in its architecture and design, and even more beautiful to behold as it sparkled in the light that reflected off its edges. She went to it. She stared at it for an infinite period of time, admiring it, but somehow, not really concentrating on the beauty of the statue.
Then Deanna picked it up. She pulled back, slammed it down to the floor, shattering into a million pieces, just like those of her broken heart. That was it. She was done with all of it. She was done with him. The photo of him that she had framed on the nightstand next to her bedside stared back at her happily and handsome as ever. And so many times she had looked to that picture to calm her, comfort her, to use as an equalizer whether he was near or not... Except now, it only served as a nuisance, almost mocking her in her fury. Deanna would as well hear his laughter in her ears.
Tears of hurt, frustration, and years of bottled emotion finally got the better of her. They burned her flustered cheeks, but dried as easily as they fell. So began her fit of rage. She picked up the photo and threw it to the nearest wall. "I hate you, Will Riker!" she spat vehemently.
She stood there, sobbing, with no one but herself to hear her cries of desperation. Emotional stability gone, and her strength dwindled, she finally admitted defeat, falling to her knees. Her hand caught a few shards of crystal left broken from the orchid. Blood seeped from where it penetrated her soft skin. Deanna clenched her hand to her chest in pain and sobbed even harder.

END