Short Stories: Deep Space Nine

Stargazing [Elim Garak x Julian Bashir]

The panicked young doctor rushed through the halls of Deep Space Nine toward the Promenade. Beads of sweat began to form on his brow as his breathing quickened. His long strides propelled him forward at an astounding rate. His slim figure was tempted to give up and collapse, but the good doctor Julian Bashir would never allow this. Now, you may be thinking: "What happened? Who's been injured?"

Don't worry; everything's fine.

Once again, Julian was late for his weekly lunch with his good friend. The Cardassian had been waiting for his friend to join him for the past fifteen minutes. Drumming his slender fingers lightly on the table, he held his head in his free hand and let out a small sigh of annoyance through his nose, careful not to become too impatient with his human friend. Elim Garak was not one to become impatient.

Besides, he had yet to confess his feelings for the doctor; he couldn't hurt their relationship and expect him to feel the same.

The tailor sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. The sound of a little girl's laughter rang in his ears, causing his lips to curl upward into a small smile. In that moment, a familiar voice interrupted his small reverie.

"Garak, I'm so sorry, this is the third time in a row --"

"There's no need to apologize, my dear doctor," he interrupted, "though I trust you will be more cognizant of the time in the future."

"I promise you, I will," the doctor chuckled in relief, taking a seat across from Garak and staring into his deep brown eyes. Those eyes he loved to get lost in, drawing him in as a tractor beam would. They twinkled perfectly in the light from above, like two stars in the night sky. Julian sighed a little, smiling as the pair maintained eye contact.

"Doctor?"

Julian snapped out of his trance, blinking his eyes a few times. "I'm sorry, there's just... a lot on my mind." It wasn't a lie, goodness, no — Julian Bashir would never lie. It just wasn't the full truth. He had many things on his mind; Starfleet was a very busy career. However, one thought just overpowered all else: Elim Garak.

"I know there's something you're not telling me," Garak observed. "However, I can't say I'm not hiding something as well." He reached across the table and grabbed Julian's wrist, almost dragging him out of his seat. "Come with me." The pair traveled through many long halls until they reached an observation deck. "This is my favorite location on the entire station," Garak said to Julian with a smile. "The stars are beautiful tonight."

"It just so happens to be mine as well," the human replied, sighing and taking a seat. Garak followed, sitting directly to Julian's right. "Garak --" He hesitated for a moment. "There was something you wanted to talk about."

"Ah, yes. But first, Doctor, speak your mind. Something is troubling you."

Julian froze. He desperately wanted to pour out his feelings toward his friend, but the idea daunted him to the point where he considered giving up on this and moving on. "You probably won't understand -- I mean, you would understand perfectly well, but you -- goodness, how can I put this...?" The doctor's voice trailed off, his eyes downcast. He shifted nervously, avoiding eye contact with his friend.

Suddenly, a warm hand on his cheek caused a wave of shivers to travel along the human's spine. It pulled his head to the side so that his eyes met a pair of stern, concerned ones. They burned into his soul, the shield around it collapsing rapidly and leaving him defenseless. He slowly closed his eyes, a tear falling from one of them and a small sob escaping his lips. "Julian, you can tell me anything," a soft voice cooed. "You know I'm good at keeping secrets."

"Garak," he began shakily, opening his eyes once more, "I've found myself hopelessly in love."

The Cardassian's heart fell. All this time, he thought that maybe, just maybe, his dear doctor would love him back. He's fallen for Dax. I should never have gotten my hopes up. "Well, whoever she is, she is quite lucky to be loved by a man such as yourself --"

"You don't understand... it's you." Julian blurted out the last two words, trembling in fear of what his long-time friend would say next.

"Oh my... what an awkward misunderstanding, my dear doctor." Garak grinned, leaning in closer. Julian's eyes fell for a moment as a small, grateful smile crept onto his lips. The pair re-established eye contact once more, their deep-colored eyes luring each other in. Garak was absent-mindedly leaning in towards the human, until he jolted backward at the sudden sensation of his lips against his friend's. He had never kissed anybody in the human way; this sensation was brand new to him. "Your hand," he said, almost a command. The doctor raised his left hand at about eye level. Nervously, Garak raised his right hand and hesitated before touching his palm to Julian's. "This is... how Cardassians kiss."

"Fascinating," Julian muttered under his breath, staring at their touching hands. He then raised his eyes back to the tailor's. "Would you mind if I showed you the human way?"

Garak grinned. "Not at all, my dear doctor...not at all."