I signed up for fluffbingo after seeing lightbird mention it in the comments of another WIP Wednesday. I posted one fic last week, and decided to work on another this week.

Me, last night: 500 words about a picnic in the park. Easy enough.
Me, 45 minutes later: ...so apparently everyone has parental issues this time out.

"Will's father couldn't make either wedding."

"Oh, how unfortunate! Is he ill?" Lwaxana settled down on a pillow on the ground and began pouring out glasses of po.

Riker settled down on the ground across from her. "No, not ill. Just busy with a terraforming project."

Lwaxana stared at him in disbelief. "Too busy to attend his own son's wedding?"

"So it would seem."

Lwaxana lapsed into a silence that wasn't really silence, and Will could feel a faint buzzing in the back of his brain, like inaudible whispers ghosting across his thoughts. Lwaxana and Deanna were having quite the conversation. He knew perfectly well what Deanna's opinion of the matter was, although she had been careful not to actually let her anger out in front of him. In fairness to his father, Kyle Riker had seemed genuinely sorry when he'd called to tell them he wouldn't be coming. Just not sorry enough to get on a ship and return to Earth.

"You know," he said after a few minutes, "it's rude to talk about someone behind his back right in front of his face."

They both had the good grace to look guilty.

"Well!" Lwaxana said. "That's too bad, but we're going to have a wonderful time all the same!"

"Yes we are," Will said. Lwaxana scrutinized him as if trying to see if he was lying. He wasn't. His father was who he was, and Will had long since stopped trying to change him. At least they were on speaking terms now. Time to blatantly change the subject. "How's little Odo?"

"Oh, excellent!" Lwaxana said, and launched into a panegyric about his newly acquired ability to hold a spoon.

"Odo is an interesting name," Deanna said. "You never told me how you came by it."

"Didn't I?" Lwaxana said. "Here, try some safra. I had them make it the way you like it."

"Wasn't the security chief on Deep Space Nine named Odo?" Will asked, vaguely recalling meeting the dour Changeling years before the name of his race had been known.

"Yes, yes, I believe he was. Safra?"

Deanna was confused. "Wait, did you name him after the security chief on DS9? When were you on DS9?"

"A few times, over the years." Lwaxana said. She rearranged her voluminous brown skirt. "Here and there."

"Often enough to name your son after Constable Odo?"

"Well..." Lwaxana cleared her throat. "I was briefly married to him, you see."

"What?!"

Will looked back and forth between them and started to stand. "Maybe I should go for a walk..."

"Sit!" Deanna ordered. "You're part of this family now, for better or worse, remember?"