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The atmosphere on the station was heavy with unease and tensions were steadily raising. Business at Quark’s bounced back after the scare with Brunt and people seemed more than happy to forget a few of their issues by playing a game or two. The station inhabitants were accustomed to the consistent grumblings of the Constable, however, as Julian noted while sitting at his normal table in the replimat, that since Odo had been denied his shapeshifting abilities the frustration was even more apparent.
You could practically track the Constable’s movements around the Promenade as people scattered away from the presence of the irritable man. Julian continued to watch as he saw a group of Bajoran children dash away from Odo, where he assumed the group had just been gruffly admonished for playing tag on the Promenade.
The scene was not uncommon and usually caused Julian to smile, but with the recent developments he was in a less-than-pleasant mood. He sighed and looked down at the table where his PADD had all of the statistics he had gathered from his research on the quickening.
While he was excited to have been able to save the newborns he was still too stubborn to give up on trying to fully cure the disease. He ran his hands through his already messy hair before resting his elbows on the table to hold his head up. Julian had been so engrossed in the results of his latest test that he had not noticed that his lunch partner stood behind the empty seat across from him.
“Why, my dear doctor, I seem to have missed a message from you.” While Garak’s voice was no louder than normal, his voice cut through the noise of the lunch rush-hour at the replimat and startled Julian out of the calculations running in his mind.
“Wha-! Oh. . . ummm. . .” Julian furrowed his brows trying to let his brain catch up. “Sorry I don’t understand what you mean Garak?”
Garak had a little smile and tilted his head slightly, trying to appear innocent. “It looks as if I have kept you waiting so I assumed that you must have attempted to move the time of our meeting.”
Julian rubbed his eyes and sighed. “Oh no don’t worry about it. I needed a break from the infirmary so I left a little earlier today. I have an appointment later this afternoon with Major Kira and the place is in the perfectly capable hands of the nurses.”
“Well, then in that case we can get in line to retrieve our meals.” Garak waved his hand toward the line letting Julian go first. Julian sluggishly stood and filed in behind a very boisterous Bajoran couple. In comparison there was a comfortable silence between Garak and Julian while they waited in line, ordered, and made their way back to their table.
“Doctor, if I may make an observation, you appear to be less energetic and talkative than you tend to be during our meetings.”
“I’m sorry Garak. Since my original attempts to cure the quickening I have continued to try to solve the problem, which is going nowhere, while dealing with Major Kira’s new pregnancy and, most recently, Odo. . .”
“Ah yes the Constable must be having a difficult time adjusting to the changes occurring in his body.”
“Odo is a proud man and he doesn’t like to let others know how much of a challenge this is for him. However, it may be a bit of a giveaway since he stops into the infirmary much more regularly now. Just the other day I had to remind him that he actually needs to sleep now that he has a solid body.”
“It certainly seems like you have plenty to occupy your mind during the rest of your day. Perhaps we should utilize our lunch period to take a break from running around and discuss our literature?” Julian smiled at that and dove into a more animated discussion with Garak about the historical significance of the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It’s odd to think that a debate with a stubborn Cardassian could be enjoyable, let alone relaxing, but it was one of the first times in weeks when Julian was able to relieve some stress.
* * * * *
When Julian didn’t have to rush off to work he liked to actually sit down and eat his breakfast while reading through his messages. As of late he had to replicate a Tarkalean tea and bagel to go, but today he had the opportunity to leisurely eat. Usually he has the normal Starfleet messages updating him on the most notable news within the organization and the semi-consistent messages from his colleagues. Julian choked a little on his tea when he saw an unusual message from Garak, which is strange to receive in the first place.
Doctor Bashir,
I have something that I think that you would enjoy. Meet me at Quark’s tonight around 2200 hours.
Garak
Julian was distracted the rest of the day wondering what Garak wanted to show him. Luckily he didn’t have any surgeries scheduled and the few appointments he had were minor. A few of his nurses gave him questioning glances when he decided to continue working in his office past the end of his shift. Normally he went to Quark’s or back to his quarters, but he had a couple more hours before his meeting with Garak and he knew that we would get nothing done at either place. At least in his office he could appear to be working on curing some life-threatening disease rather than what he actually was doing, trying to pinpoint what Garak could possibly be planning.
Finally, around 2130 Julian couldn’t wait any longer and, with more bounce in his step then he has had in weeks, made his way to Quark’s.
Upon stepping through the doors he looked around trying to spot his Cardassian friend, but was instead greeted by O’Brien waving to him from a barstool. O’Brien appeared to have been having a drink with Worf and Jadzia so Julian almost thought that he could get away with leaving them be and sit by himself. But he knew that would only raise more questions. Julian’s shoulders slumped a little and went over to join the Chief.
“Hey there Julian! What are you doing here so late?”
“Why Chief it looks as though our doctor is meeting up with someone.” Jadzia had one of her mischievous, knowing smiles as she pointed out Julian’s constant looking around.
O’Brien let out a low whistle. “Dang she must be something special. You’re barely paying us any mind and your eyes keep darting towards the door. Is it anyone we know?”
Julian’s face felt warm, he would never call it a blush. “Ummm . . . well actually I’m meeting up with –”
“Well hello there Garak.” Jadzia’s smile widened as she looked between Julian and Garak.
“Commander Dax, Commander Worf, Chief” Garak punctuated each name with a slight bow in their direction as a greeting. “Quark’s seems to be the place to relax this evening.”
“It certainly does. What are you to up to? This is not your usual lunch date.” Julian’s face somehow got warmer and he nervously scratched the back of his head.
“Oh not much. Garak invited me to see something.”
“Yes and since I appear to be late, yet again, then I should not keep you waiting. My dear if you would like to follow me upstairs.” Garak held out his hand to Quark, who had been eavesdropping throughout the entire conversation. Without a word, Quark quickly placed a data rod in Garak’s outstretched hand before Garak spun on his heels to lead Julian up to the holosuites.
Julian followed silently, but once they were standing shoulder to shoulder at the door of one of the holosuites he couldn’t hold it in anymore.
"Garak I know how much you love to be the man of mystery, but what did you want to show me?”
“My dear doctor, patience is a virtue.” Garak had one of his sly little smiles on his face as he finished preparing the room for them. The doors swept open and Garak waved Julian into the room.
The three officers watched as the two men disappeared into one of Quark’s holosuites on the second level of the bar.
“I still don’t understand his friendship with the Cardassian.” While O’Brien was considerably nicer to Garak now, he still had a little bite to the word. “I mean Julian looked so excited when he came in that I could swear he was meeting up with someone he fancied.”
Worf continued to drink his blood wine in silence while Jadzia began to giggle.
“I think it’s wonderful that they get along so well. And Miles I don’t think that you were too far off with your observations.” O’Brien scrunched up his face in thought at the same time that Quark decided to enter into the conversation.
“I completely agree! In fact I have been running a pool with many of the other usual patrons placing bets on when the two will finally get together. It turns out to be making a nice profit.”
O’Brien scoffed. “What? Garak, the Cardassian spy turned tailor, with Julian, the Starfleet doctor? Don’t be ridiculous! Julian may be young and naive, but he isn’t stupid. He would never. . . Also he fancies women.”
Quark laughed. “Chief you are the only one at theis counter who hasn’t placed a bet in my pool so clearly you are in the minority in this situation.” At that O’Brien and Jadzia looked at the silent Klingon sitting between them.
“Worf!? Even you? What is this station coming to with all of this gossip flying about?!”
Worf set his glass down. “Klingons may not be known for such things relating to romance, but anyone can tell from the way that they flirt that they will end up together. I said that would happen sometime month.”
Jadzia about fell off of her stool laughing at the bewildered look on O’Brien’s face. For the next hour Jadzia, Quark, and Worf all discussed the statistics and likely outcomes of their pool while O’Brien tried to wrap his mind around the idea.
* * * * *
Julian stepped into the holosuite followed closely by Garak. The computer hadn’t started up the program yet so the room was plain and simple.
“My dear you may want to brace yourself.” Julian raised his eyebrows at Garak’s cryptic warning, but before he could question it Garak continued. “Computer, run the program.”
The first thing that Julian noticed was the intense heat that hit him. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the light before he could take in his surroundings. There were several large, flat rocks sitting in the extreme heat of wherever they were.
“Is it too hot?” It was one of the few occasions when Garak seemed to show some concern and it made Julian smile to think that it was directed towards him.
“It is very warm, but I’m more curious as to where it is we are and why.”
Garak settled himself on one of the rocks and began to soak in the wonderful heat. Another rare sight of the Cardassian actually relaxing! Julian joined him on a nearby rock trying to get used to the warmth that was so drastically different from the chill of the station. After several minutes of silent tranquility Julian had given up on getting an answer which made him jump when Garak spoke.
“I realized that when I invited myself to join your spy adventure that I had seen something private. Since then I have been trying to think of a gesture of gratitude I could give you in exchange. At our lunch yesterday you appeared to be running yourself ragged and I thought that this would be the perfect time to repay the favor.”
For once the talkative doctor was left speechless. He had always hoped that Garak actually cared about him and in the light of this new information he began to hope for more of his fantasies to come true.
While Julian remained hushed in daydreaming, Garak kept talking, as Cardassians are wont to do. “I had to specially order this program to be designed, but it has been worth every strip of latinum. As you know, the station is much too cold for my preferences so I got this program of Cardassia Prime. Especially, since that whole incident with the wire I have found myself enjoying this program more.”
Garak had his hands resting behind his head, cradling it comfortably, while lying on his rock. Julian had never seen Garak look so comfortable, vulnerable.
“You appear to be in your elements here. I have never seen your face so relaxed.” Julian mimicked Garak’s position on his particular rock and looked up to the sky. “I have read about the climate on Cardassia Prime, but I didn’t think that it would actually be this hot. It probably doesn’t help that I’m lying on a sun rock.”
Julian glanced over at his friend to see that Garak was giving him a genuine smile. A smile that reached his eyes. Julian’s heart beat faster and he knew that his face was getting redder, although the heat did a fine job of that already.
“Thank you so much for showing me this. I really appreciate you opening up to me. I realize that this was probably not easy for you to do. So, yeah, thank you.” Julian was finding it hard to say anything eloquent with Garak staring at him in such an endearing way. Garak’s soft look was a stark contrast to the rigid rocks that surrounded them.
Finally, Garak broke the silence. “My dear doctor did you know that Quark is running a betting pool that concerns both of us?” Julian sat up and stared at his comfortably sprawled companion in shock.
“What?! But what could it be about? Quark must be getting bored if he couldn’t think of any better gossip to spread about.” Julian looked away from Garak hoping that he wouldn’t notice the hope in his voice. Garak chuckled, actually chuckled.
“I placed my bet saying that we would start dating tonight.”
Julian’s eyes about popped out of his skull and his jaw almost fell off as he turned to look at Garak. However, in his haste he swiveled too quickly and rolled off of the rock he had been perched on. With an undignified squeal he fell to the ground.
“My dear you are not a very observant man. The first time we met I shamelessly flirted with you. In fact if we had been on Cardassia I would have been seen as rather course. For a while I was worried that I would not receive similar affections until I did some research on Terran flirting customs. I felt much more secure after that.” Julian gathered himself up from the ground and peeked out from behind the rock. Garak remained contentedly in his spot. The only thing that had changed was that he was clearly trying to hide more laughter.
“I thought that I had hid my . . . feelings so much better than that!” Julian couldn’t tell if it was the heat or the conversation that was making him lightheaded. He decided it was probably the combination of the two. He put the palm of his right hand to his forehead and closed his eyes trying to calm himself enough to examine the evidence before him.
“My dear-” There is was again. “- you appear to have had enough of this program and the weather. We could move our discussion to a table outside or to my quarters.” Julian knew that he was right that he probably shouldn’t stay in this heat, especially since his body decided to add to it. Yet he was nervous to leave the holosuite.
While Julian had been wishing that something like this would happen he had not taken in account of how everyone on this station was a terrible gossip and would know before he did. He should have known since he is not the most observant when it comes to flirtatious behavior towards him. Perhaps that is why, when he tries to flirt, he makes it painfully obvious.
Julian was too busy thinking about everything and Garak was clearly in his elements, so much so that it was no surprise that he could so quietly sneak up to Julian’s side. Garak re-enacted his first interaction with Julian by softly placing his hands on his shoulders. This brought Julian back down to his body.
“Now I understand what you meant when you said that you were a shameless flirt. In Cardassian society touching the ridges on each other’s shoulders must be an extremely intimate action.”
“Very good, my dear. What I’m doing now is usually only reserved for those who have been in a relationship for several years. Not to mention that our lively debates are considered to be a form of seduction on Cardassia.”
All of a sudden Julian was keenly aware of just how close Garak was physically. “Computer, end program!” Julian couldn’t take the heat of the program anymore and squeaked out the command to turn it off. “I’m sorry Garak, but the heat was really getting to me.” Julian still felt the gentle pressure of Garak’s hands on his shoulders.
“It’s no problem. I actually am surprised at how long you lasted. I thought you were about to pass out near the end there.”
Julian laughed nervously. “I suppose I should have taken your warning more seriously. If I had known what was in store for me I would have brought more appropriate attire.”
Garak scoffed. “Please tell me you will never bring any of your leisure clothes to our next visits. I would never wish that fashion upon even a holo program of Cardassia!”
Julian turned to Garak with a giant, goofy grin plastered on his face. “Our next visit? Now it sounds like you think we will be doing this again.” To anyone else they would not have been able to notice the slight change in the Cardassian’s expression as he stiffened from fear of rejection.
Julian leaned closer to the Cardassian’s wonderfully ridged face and let his right hand trace one of the ridges on his shoulder. This caused a small, involuntary shudder to go through Garak’s body.
Julian mustered up his best sultry voice, “I can think of a few other things that we could do as well.” He closed the gap between them and thoroughly enjoyed their first kiss.
* * * * *
“I just don’t think that it’s fair! I let you place the bet, but you also had tampered with the outcome!”
“Ah but you did let me bet. You knew that I would have ‘tampered’ with the situation for my own selfish results. If this bothers you so, then you shouldn’t have allowed me to enter the pool in the first place. However, you did. Fair is fair and I deserve what I earned.”
Quark glared at the tailor in utter annoyance and growled before he pulled out a PADD to transfer funds.
“I hope you’re happy. Captain Sisko was merely an hour away from winning. I hope the good doctor never catches wind of this, otherwise there may be trouble in paradise.” Quark smirked thinking that he had bested the Cardassian spy, but Garak just gave him a predatory smile.
“Oh no Quark our darling doctor is actually very excited to use the winnings to go out on a date. We’re thinking of trying out the Celestial Café and Ms. Aroya is excited to see us. She has already reserved one of the best tables for our evening out.”
Quark slammed his hands on the counter of his bar. “What?! You aren’t even coming here for your date! First you take my money and then you go to a different restaurant?” Quark folded his arms and grumbled. “Doctor Bashir has no idea what a cold-hearted man he is dating.”
Garak chuckled and turned away from the fuming Ferengi. “It was actually his idea.”
“This is why you can’t trust hoo-mans.” Quark mumbled this for the rest of the day. Poor Rom almost called Dr. Bashir to come in and check on his dear brother.