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Afterwards, nobody would be quite sure exactly how Quark found out about Christmas, but one thing was crystal clear: the Ferengi knew a tried and true opportunity for profit when he saw it, and leaped feet-first into the world of red-and-green decorations, scads of brightly coloured balls and tinsel, and Christmas carols played at a volume loud enough to spill out onto the Promenade for three shop-lengths in both directions. Odo had made serious growling sounds about slapping him with a slew of noise violation charges, but Sisko, who appeared more amused than anything, overrode the regulations: "After all," he told the glowering Constable in the staff meeting which took place the morning after Quark decked his bar to the gills in holiday cheer, "the Bajorans certainly deserve the opportunity to experience a little Human culture in return, and Christmas is a venerable Terran tradition. As long as he's not trying to sell gift-wrapped tribbles, I suggest we leave him alone."
Odo had grumbled loudly, bearing an uncanny resemblance (Julian later informed Jadzia) to the infamous Grinch Who Stole Christmas… but he'd backed off. Consequently, when Jadzia found herself sitting at the bar in Quark's with Nerys and Miles two evenings later, the holiday party was in full swing — and she had to admit that the Dabo girls, decked out in extremely skimpy Santa Claus costumes, looked quite fetching, although Quark's revised version of "Jingle Bells", which rang out at regular intervals, was far less enchanting:
Mistletoe, ho ho ho,
Drinks and games to play!
Santa's here to bring you cheer,
So run to Quark's today!
For once, though, Quark was exercising truth in his advertising — because every archway, including the entrance to the bar, featured a sprig… no, make that a massive pendulous cluster of green leaves and white berries, each adorned with a cheerfully tacky red sparkly bow that featured the word KISSES! spelled out in silver spangles. Most people passing underneath scarcely gave the exhortation a bemused glance, but a few…
… well, a few were paying a lot more attention.
Jadzia (who had used the mistletoe as an excuse to steal a public kiss from Nerys herself not ten minutes earlier), took a sip of her Arkalian wine and nodded toward the Promenade beyond the bar's entrance. "Somebody's waiting for someone," she remarked to her companions, not bothering to conceal her sly amusement at the sight of Julian hovering in the corridor, pacing back and forth through the Saturday evening crowd, trying to play it cool and failing fairly miserably.
Miles finished taking a pull from his pint of beer, set down the mug, and grimaced. "Yeah… probably that Nubian trader lass he's been mooning over for the past week and a half. She's due to ship out tomorrow. He probably figures tonight is his last chance."
Nerys snorted. "Last chance? He never had a first one!"
"Well…" Miles shrugged eloquently. "Try telling him that. He's grown up this past year, but he's still convinced he's God's gift to women."
"Now now," Jadzia chided gleefully, "don't be so hard on him! He is…" She eyed the tall nervous figure, who had paused in his too-casual stroll around the same ten square meters of floor space and was scanning the crowd anxiously. "… sort of adorable, in his own way."
Nerys wrinkled her nose skeptically. Speaking of adorable… "Is there something you're not telling us?"
Jadzia savoured the warm internal rush of affection the sight provoked, drinking in the beauty of her lover's face: no matter how old the symbiont, some things were wondrous and ever-new. "No," she teased, and reached out her free hand to cover Nerys's fingers, offering a fond squeeze. "But he is cute — like a puppy. Or a Venian puff-cat…"
"Or a tribble?" Quark, who had wandered close enough to "accidentally" overhear their conversation, moved in with a typically loud jacket, a greasily unctuous smile, and a flashing red bulb of a "nose" attached to the tip of his real one. "Because if you're interested in something really adorable, I might be able to arrange something… just in time for Christmas Eve!"
This time Jadzia hid her smile behind the rim of her glass, while Miles looked world-weary and Nerys glared dangerously. "Really, Quark? Well, I'd like to order one — for Constable Odo. I'm sure he'll absolutely love it!"
Quark held up both hands, palms outward in a gesture of pacification, his grin turning equally smooth and nervous. "Major, please!" A deprecating laugh. "Did I say 'tribbles'? I certainly didn't mean…"
The litany of self-defence went on, but Jadzia was no longer paying attention. She was gazing between Quark and Nerys, watching Julian, whose whole body language had changed from "anxious and dejected" to "bright and focussed"… and sure enough, less than two seconds later Garak strolled into view from the direction of his tailor shop, clearly heading to Quark's for a quiet drink after a long day's work. The fact that he didn't even glance in Julian's direction (when Jadzia would have bet the entire Alpha Quadrant that he was keenly aware of Julian's presence and location both) spoke volumes about his state of mind: he wanted to be alone, although he wore his habitual expression of easy affability.
Julian was having none of it. He strode forward on an intercept course, and met Garak at the entrance to the bar. He spoke eagerly: although Jadzia was too far away to hear any words over the background noise of the crowd, she could clearly see how animated he was. Garak's body language remained reserved; he offered a polite smile, but nothing more, even when Julian reached out and curved a hand behind his elbow, guiding him a couple of feet to his left…
… right under the gaudy bundle of mistletoe.
Jadzia's hearts began to beat a little faster as she watched Julian's expression change, becoming solemn and, if possible, even more intent. She knew what was coming even before Julian took a quick step forward, seemingly impulsive, but she knew he must have been planning it for weeks — probably since the day of the Dominion simulation, when he'd seen an illusion of Garak die before his anguished eyes. She saw him press his lips to the lips of the Cardassian spy, and she saw the stiff set of Garak's broad shoulders change from practiced formality to stunned surprise.
It took a few seconds, but the volume of the bar started to dip sharply as more and more people realized what was happening in the entryway and reacted with their own shocked amazement. Quark's defensive babble stopped as if cut off by a bat'leth, and Nerys, following his wide-eyed stare, saw the two men standing chest-to-chest under the mistletoe and gazed in open-mouthed disbelief. And still the kiss went on... and deepened, Julian reaching up to wrap his hand around the back of Garak's head, Garak's hands clenching into fists at his sides. It went on until only the irrepressible clatter of the Dabo tables remained, and when Julian finally broke away Jadzia could clearly hear the deep inhalations as both men as they began to breathe again.
Equally clear was Julian's voice, low and hoarse: "Merry Christmas, Garak."
The silence stretched between them, as deep as the dark tension in Garak's eyes, as taut as the whole bar holding its collective breath. Jadzia, fascinated, wondered if Garak was about to grab Julian to pull him closer or punch him into next week…
… and then Quark shattered the moment by throwing up both hands and yelling cheerfully: "Merry Christmas!"
The rising strain broke in a chorus of cheers and shouts of "Merry Christmas!", and Quark, with a sharp-toothed grin as wide as a wreath, leaned over to whisper for Jadzia's ears alone: "Told you that mistletoe was a brilliant idea!"
Seeing Julian's anxious expression warm to a smile of relief when the slightest curve graced Garak's thoroughly kissed grey lips, Jadzia found herself inclined to agree.
THE END