(Day 2 – Home recovery)
Garak was the first of the pair to wake the following day. Smiling, he looked over at the peaceful expression on the good Doctor's face. He had been so relieved when they'd finally been rescued only to have his happiness turn immediately into concern when Bashir took ill. It seemed the resilient young man had pushed himself to his limits to keep Garak alive and well. Then, once the responsibility had been passed along to others, his own deteriorating condition suddenly became apparent. It was impressive really, what the Doctor had achieved through sheer force of will. Despite outward appearances to the contrary, Bashir evidently possessed an unshakable mental and physical strength. Lesser men would have faltered long before he did.
Garak didn't know what he had done to deserve the companionship of such an accomplished and extraordinary man. Getting to know the Doctor a little more, as he had over the last week, made it difficult to dismiss his interest as naive and misplaced. Bashir was extremely bright and knew his own mind. He had stubbornly stuck by his side even through all the unpleasantness as his wire malfunctioned. When Garak had attacked the Doctor, meaning to push him away for good, he only managed to reinforce the human's resolve. Bashir then went even further beyond what was expected and tracked down Enabran Tain himself to seek a cure, going toe to toe with the formidable former head of the Obsidian Order. Garak could never have imagined anyone being willing to put his wellbeing so far above their own.
Whatever was going on between them was extremely perplexing, Garak was interested to hear what the Doctor had to say on the matter. Bashir always seemed to have a multitude of willing romantic partners, but he'd never really made anything stick longer than a couple of days. He wasn't interested in becoming another notch on the young man's bedpost. Although, obviously, it wasn't that he wasn't interested in him in that way. Garak had always found the Doctor attractive, right from the day they met. If they'd come together back then, it could have easily just been a passing fancy between the two of them. As things stood, however, their bond of friendship had grown to the point where he assumed neither would want to risk damaging what they had.
Garak gently detangled himself from the Doctor's grasp and made his way into the living room, he didn't see any benefit in waking the young man just yet. Especially, as he'd interrupted Bashir's sleep yesterday with his selfish desire to look upon him with his own eyes. Shaking himself awake, Garak concluded that he'd better freshen up. He had been rather hasty in his dash through the station last night and hardly wanted to spend the day dressed in his pyjamas.
- - -.
Julian woke up feeling almost boneless, he'd had the most restful sleep that he could ever recall having. He had been so content to be curled up with the Cardassian, safe and warm in his own bed. As he rolled his shoulders and stretched, he was dismayed to discover that he was alone. Had Garak snuck out of his quarters while he was sleeping? That was unfortunate, he'd hoped that they could spend the day together. Perhaps, even start to figure out how they were both feeling now that they were out of their intense survival situation. Swallowing down his disappointment, Julian got up and headed out of his bedroom in search of breakfast. Scones and moba jam sounded particularly appealing right now, he wanted something sweet and distracting.
As Julian walked over to his replicator, he jumped in surprise as he noticed a shadow in his peripheral vision. Spinning wildly on the spot, he met the bemused eyes of his guest. Garak was seated on his sofa, now fully dressed and presentable, casually nursing a cup of tea.
Garak lifted his cup in acknowledgement. "Good morning, my Dear. I hope you don't mind that I made use of your replicator. I didn't want to wake you and further disturb your one night of decent sleep. I was under strict Doctor's orders, after all."
Julian found himself laughing, feeling suddenly lighter. It was typical of Garak to have inexplicably followed his last instruction to the letter. Julian grinned widely. "Morning, Garak. Of course, I don't mind. Help yourself to whatever you'd like to eat or drink. I did briefly wonder if I'd dreamed your visit last night, I wasn't exactly firing on all cylinders. I can't imagine I was particularly good company."
Garak's eyes softened. "We both needed rest, you were more coherent that you're giving yourself credit for. You were a perfectly gracious host."
Julian removed his dressing gown and fanned himself, suddenly becoming aware of the unusually warm temperature of his quarters. "Aah, is that why it's so stiflingly hot in here? Good to know that I'm not running some sort of fever."
Garak felt a bit guilty; he hadn't asked for the environmental controls to be adjusted but didn't restore them back to normal this morning. "You can reset everything if you like, I can easily put on another layer to compensate."
Julian had busied himself making his breakfast. As he turned to head over to the sofa, he dismissively swiped his free hand at Garak's offer. "Don't be daft, there's no need for any of that. It makes a nice change from last week's perpetually freezing temperatures. Honestly, at times, I thought I'd never be truly warm again. As long as I'm not going to cause offense wearing less layers than you'd normally see me in."
Garak smirked, his eyes brightening at the thought. "No, you won't offend my delicate sensibilities. I am a tailor after all, I've seen it all before."
Julian had gotten stuck into his scones and almost choked on his current mouthful, amused at the suggestion. "I would be interested to know how you've seen it all before, I would hope there aren't any surveillance devices set up in the fitting room of your shop."
Garak's mouth opened in temporary shock. "Doctor! What a scandalous suggestion! I'm sorry to disappoint you but I am not nearly that interested in the bodies of other species that I would spy on them in that way. That you could imagine such a thing says more about you than it does about me. Please tell me that your decision to pursue medicine wasn't just to sneak a peek under people's clothes."
Julian's face burned in mortification, that had admittedly been an added benefit of learning about the fascinating anatomy of other species, but it was hardly instrumental in his career choice. He had just wanted to help people and learn as much as he could. "Unfortunately for you, I'm not that depraved either. Although, I always found learning about other humanoids more interesting than the study of human biology."
Garak raised a ridge. "You admit then that you prefer those who are different from yourself?"
Julian dropped his gaze. "I suppose you could say that I don't limit myself to what would traditionally be expected of me."
Garak eyed the Doctor with interest, he was being unusually coy and cryptic. Sipping the remnants of his tea, he placed the cup back on Bashir's coffee table. As he reclined, his attention was drawn to the small package he had brought from his quarters. Garak picked up the parcel and slid it across to the good Doctor. "Speaking of what was expected, I have something here for you."
As soon as Julian picked up the soft item, he knew who it was. Smiling, he caught Garak's eye before unfolding the tissue that had been lovingly wrapped around his companion. Kukalaka was fully mended, as promised, and Julian could see that no other major changes had occurred. Garak had been true to his word.
Julian cleared his throat, suddenly overwhelmed. "Thank you, Garak. He looks great! Well, he looks back to his normal self which is exactly what I wanted."
Garak could see each of the Doctor's emotions play out across his expressive face, he was happy that it seemed to be a job well done. He nodded and gestured towards the stuffed bear. "You are both more than welcome, consider it the least I could do for damaging him in the first place. I am not proud of my loss of control."
Julian clutched Kukalaka to him and stood up abruptly. "That reminds me, I have a little something for you."
Garak's eyes widened in surprise, what was Bashir up to now? He watched the Doctor determinedly head out of the room with interest. He didn't think he was missing anything himself that would have needed to be returned. He didn't have to wait long; Bashir quickly strode back into view with a parcel of his own which looked like a bundle of material.
Julian passed the gift to Garak and retook his seat.
Garak took a closer look at the mystery parcel, what he had originally took as a quilt appeared to be some sort of animal pelt. As he unrolled the expanse of fur, he found a small, wrapped item in the centre. Garak opened the present and found that he had been gifted a hot water bottle in a recognisable shade of teal.
Julian leaned forward, absently fidgeting with his hands. "The fur is Tribble. This blanket came to me from a Klingon patient as a gift of thanks for saving his son, not that I wanted anything of the sort. However, Jadzia was insistent that I accept, lest I offend the honour of the giver. While we were stranded, I fantasised about wrapping us both up in it. It was irritating really, knowing I had something in my quarters that would have been useful. When I got back yesterday, I concluded that you have more need of it than I do and wanted you to have it. Oh, and the hot water bottle is just a silly little something. Mine was a present so I wanted to give you one of your own."
Garak was stunned, the Doctor thought he needed a gift to remind him of all that he had done for him? "My Dear, you must stop worrying about me. I am quite alright, as you see. Although I do appreciate the gesture and I accept the gifts, they weren't necessary. I wouldn't be here if it hadn't been for your care and attentions."
Julian blushed and ducked his head. "All in a day's work, I was hardly going to do nothing while it was in my power to keep you safe."
Garak noted that the Doctor used that word again: safe. They both knew that it wasn't just his duty as CMO that had prompted his protective and caring behaviour, his decision to stay behind was more than simply looking after a patient. Would he admit as much out loud, though? Garak wasn't sure. Assessing his companion, he wanted the Doctor to know that he wasn't alone in this. He found himself reaching out towards Bashir with his hand, palm raised upright as he did so.
Julian responded eagerly, bringing his own hand up to align their fingers and palms before pressing forward until they met. He was starting to get used to this gesture and was glad that it was something he only shared with Garak. His stomach flipped as he recalled that he had never observed Garak do it with anyone else.
Garak soaked in the sensation of their joined palms; the simple action brought him more joy than he thought possible. Feeling brave, he held the Doctor's gaze and slowly threaded their fingers together before tightly gripping the back of the Bashir's hand with his own. He broke into a genuine smile as the Doctor followed his lead and firmly held his hand, their palms still connected.
Julian felt like he was on fire, and not just from the heat of the room. He wasn't sure of the exact translation and meaning of their joined hands in this position but could interpret the escalation from the first gesture. If this was anyone else, he'd have already kissed them by now. He wasn't sure what was holding him back. Maybe he was still afraid that he had this wrong? He didn't want to do anything that would scare Garak off or push him away again.
Garak could sense that the Doctor was struggling with something, he had started to frown ever so slightly. The familiar sinking feeling had returned in the pit of his stomach, was he misreading this again? Bashir was arguably affectionate with all his companions, had he overstepped? Garak started to pull his hand back, certain that he was embarrassing himself. Before he could fully free his fingers, he felt the Doctor grab his hand.
Julian didn't know why Garak was pulling back but he knew instinctively that it was now or never. Holding Garak firmly in place, he leant forward with his free hand to caress his scaled cheek with his thumb. He then dragged his fingers through Garak's hair until he reached the back of his head. Smiling at Garak's almost fearful expression, Julian moved to gently bring their foreheads together and felt Garak relax as he closed his eyes. From this position, it felt like the most natural thing in the world to lean in the rest of the way and bring their lips together. Which is exactly what he did.
