Work Text:
12. “I just wanted to help. That’s all.”
12 feet of Tholian silk, destroyed. The culprit stretched inside it, languid, the susurrus of silk against skin loud in the silence. Garak observed from his perch on the desk, legs and tail swinging.
“My business has suffered because of you.”
“Mmh.”
“I’ll be ruined, much like the silk you are rolling in.” Julian laughed.
“Thought I already did that?” He said, still stretching and writhing. Quite an enjoyable sight, as Julian no doubt knew, going by the smug and sultry tone of his voice. The smugness wasn’t entirely without merit; Garak’s neck still tingled from the meticulous attention it had received not half an hour ago.
“How presumptuous of you.” Garak said with a turned up nose, then tightened the wool around his shoulders. Julian peeked from under the silk.
“I just wanted to help. That’s all.” Not a trace of shame in the way he fluttered his lashes. It was difficult to not to grin, but Garak was a professional, capable of not falling into traps more than once.
“Do you always end up naked when helping people? Awkward for a doctor, one would think.”
Julian threw the cloth back over his head and sighed.
“Oh, stop whining and come ruin this silk with me.”
“The floor is cold.”
“I’m warm.”
“It’s too hard.”
Julian cackled. Again the skin-like shape of the silk shifted as Julian rolled over onto his stomach. Garak followed the line of Julian’s covered back, mouth dry, stopping for a moment of particular appreciation before continuing down to the thighs and legs. His tail twitched.
Hmm.
With a perfected sigh of suffering, Garak hopped off the desk and lowered himself to the floor. Really it was a nest now, of padding and cloth and a few replicated pillows. Perfectly comfortable. A mess. Cleaning it before morning wasn’t something Garak was looking forward to.
That thought was cut short by a scheming lump of silk, moving over him like a hungry wraith. A sloppy wet kiss was placed on his already tender neck, then another, and another. Garak’s eyes fluttered shut.
Hmm...
“It might be awkward for you to be seen waking in my shop in the morning.” He said, a gasp away from breathless. Julian purred against his skin.
“I don’t mind.” The kisses stopped, and Garak felt Julian tense up.
“...Do you mind?” Yes. He did. A little bit. Mostly the image was amusing. And oh, if Dukat was still on the station. Seeing him witness a bit of Garak’s joy, in the form of a beautiful lover, would be most pleasing. Then again, that would force him to see Dukat as well.
Garak shuddered. Such vile wishes love could conjure up.
“The trouble I’ve gotten into because someone left you unsupervised in the replimat.” He lamented with a deep sigh. Julian snapped up, insecurity forgotten. The silk slipped down to his waist.
“ Unsupervised-- !” Julian nearly shrieked. Garak gave an affirmative hum.
“Like a lure… At the time I did wonder if it were a Starfleet plot, specifically designed to compromise me.“ To Garak’s disappointment Julian gathered the silk back around his shoulders before settling down, with more wiggles and a few indignant huffs.
“You know, if in the future you find yourself wooing a human again, I’d suggest that instead of shoulders you go for the arse, just so they’ll be sure of your intentions.”
“That seems awfully improper.”
“As was your behaviour, Mr. Garak. Deplorable .”
“Says the man frolicking in my precious merchandise.”
“What of this wool then?” Julian yanked at it. Cold air licked over the scales of Garak’s chest. Shivering, he fixed the cloth tighter over his chest, now covered from chin down, and glared.
“This wool isn’t rare or expensive.” But it was warm. Finding warmth had been one of Garak’s daily priorities for years now, ever since his exile. His favourite source of it happened to also be the greatest threat, as the events unfolding proved. Grinning, he snatched Julian into his cocoon and rolled them over, nuzzling into the warm neck.
Julian snickered, while Garak let out a delighted sigh. A hot water bottle with conversational skills. No Cardassian could overlook such properties, if they had any sense.
After a few awkward shuffles and kicks, they settled around into a comfortable position, Julian on his side, Garak curled against him with the wool around them both, the silk spread over on top. Breath by breath, Julian relaxed, his body growing pleasantly heavy. Smiling, Garak slid the hand he had around Julian’s waist lower.
Awake enough to halfheartedly squawk, Julian moved his hand to pinch a shoulder ridge in retaliation. Soon he fell asleep, hand still lightly curled over Garak’s shoulder.
Garak wasn’t far from sleep either, but thoughts of work rattled about. Quark was scheduled to be his first customer, at 0900 hours. Usually he tried to be up at least two hours before an appointment, but if he wanted his shop to be back in order in time even that might not be enough.
“Computer,” He said softly, and checked Julian wasn’t disturbed before continuing, “...set alarm to 0930 hours.”