#verse. ( love me even as you know it. ( jsbashirmd verse. ) )

[lietwice]

@jsbashirmd The young woman who appeared on the screen when the call was answered wasn't nearly as human as the name suggested. Aisha Rafiq, if she was using her own communication unit and it transmitted her actual name, had dark brown hair in curls that looked something like Julian's, though she wore them longer. She had similar eyes too, but most of the resemblance ended there, as she took after her Ivernian parent. Her expression changed quickly from anxious to surprised. "Oh. Hello. I'm sorry, I was trying to catch Julian. Bashir? Have I reached the wrong code?"

WHAT A DELIGHTFUL OPPORTUNITY. Clearly, this is someone who knows Julian, but not someone he's close enough to to share details of his new circumstances. Garak smiles a slow, polite-and-yet-mildly-sinister smile. "Ah, I think that remains to be seen." He doesn't wait for her to process that before he continues. "What is the nature of your call? I'm not certain we have a Julian Bashir residing here, but perhaps I could take a closer look if you were to provide some of your own details?"

[lietwice]

A DELIGHTFUL NOISE. Garak smiles smugly down at him, reading his interest easily. "No, I don't suppose I would. I think it suits you." Why would he 'correct' it, when Julian is sprawled in such a ridiculously, endearingly awkward position? He fully intends to enjoy it, and begins immediately by running his hands over Julian's body, just as though he's inspecting a garment he's just finished sewing and is smoothing out the creases, flattening seams, and straightening embellishments. One of his other favourite ways to try and put Julian at a disadvantage in their games is to make sure he knows exactly how closely Garak is observing him. Garak waits, focus razor-sharp, until he detects the slightest reaction to a particular touch, and then repeats it, refusing to allow it to pass without acknowledgement.

Julian feels the realization that he loves this man wash over him like it's new. He smiles fondly and moves to touch his face, but then he's falling into an awkward sprawl, yelping with surprise. He's in a truly compromised position when Garak greets him like he hasn't done anything, and it reignites Julian's previous lust. It's a sort of squirming panic that makes him wish Garak could reach inside of him and caress his organs. "Hello." He doesn't try to move into a more stable or comfortable position. "You seem to have me at a disadvantage. I don't suppose you'd care to correct that?"

[lietwice]

"No one's ever taken care of me like that." - @jsbashirmd

NEVER? Garak blinks. That would mean... he's the first to treasure Julian the way he deserves. The first to really prioritise him, the first to put his all into Julian's pleasure. It's surprising, because he knows Julian isn't inexperienced. It's difficult to imagine how a person could be intimate with him without feeling the urge to take care of him properly. They must've done a half-job. Taken only what they wanted, and given little in return. Inwardly, Garak scowls at the image he's created of Julian's previous partners. Not one of them deserved to spend a moment in his company.

HE REACHES FOR JULIAN. They're both laying boneless against the pillows, sated and sleepy, but Garak simply can't let this moment pass without action. He rolls so he's half on top of Julian, lifting his head just enough to look down at him. "That, Doctor Bashir, is an absolute crime. Care to pass on the names of all those on this station who have failed to properly appreciate you? I'll pass them onto Odo. I'm sure he'll have them in custody by morning."

[lietwice]

@jsbashirmd said: "Sorry, I've got morning breath."

HOW INTERESTING! Julian's breath differs in the morning compared to the rest of the time? This is perhaps only the third time they've spent the full night together, without either of them arriving late, leaving early, or needing to rush off somewhere. Garak tastes the air with a curious tongue. Then he shifts closer to Julian to do it again. There's a mixture of Julian's scents in the air, and this one adds something different, perhaps, but the balance isn't so bad. "You're sorry because... you don't like it?"

[lietwice]

HE GIVES JULIAN ONE MORE KISS. For luck, or courage, or protection, or all three. "I am," he assures him, then moves his hands to adjust the neck and upper fastenings of Julian's tunic, making it look rumpled and not quite done up. Perfect. With any luck, once they see Garak tending to his appearance, Julian's parents will be displeased by both how comfortable Garak is in adjusting Julian's clothing and the implication that they have recently been undressed together in these quarters.

HE ANSWERS THE DOOR. There's a plain and simple smile on his face as he stands in the doorway, blocking their access for a few seconds longer than is polite. "Ah, Richard and Amsha Bashir," he greets, smiling as though he knows them well. He considered not using their names at all, but decided ultimately that he'd rather drop specific details about both Richard and Amsha into his interactions with them, to imply that either he and Julian have talked about them in great detail, or Garak has somehow found the information elsewhere. What better way to start? "My name is Garak. Please, come in." The plain and simple smile widens into something that should look polite, but has an aura of something threatening about it. As planned, he turns away from them almost immediately, and crosses the room to attend to Julian's tunic. "There. You look wonderful, my dear doctor." The possessive ( and it's definitely possessive, this time ) arm slips around Julian's waist again.

Julian's lips twitch with amusement and he moves his newly-freed hand to Garak's shoulder and leans against him as they walk. He feels young, with his parents around. Like he's still basically a teenager, pretending at adulthood. It's not true, of course, and he knows it, but he doesn't like the vulnerability all the same. Or at least he doesn't like it coming from them. Recontextualizing by letting Garak take care of him as a partner rather than a dependant is helpful.

He hardly even watches as Garak picks clothing for him, but he pulls it on like armor and then gratefully cups one side of his face in his palm and kisses the other. And then the door chimes, and Julian groans as he tilts his head forward like he can hide against him. "Alright. Okay." He looks up again. "Are you ready?"

[lietwice]

garak was never going to not fall for him honestly. look at them.

[lietwice]

THOROUGHLY DISMISSED, GARAK PULLS JULIAN FROM THE ROOM BY THE HAND. He tries to keep his gait at a normal pace, but as he moves, there's an excitable flicking of his tail, and he's gripping Julian's hand with enthusiasm. They may not have discussed how they want their enjoinment to be viewed by the Federation, or specifically which aspects of Federation practice they want to include, but those details can be worked out later. As far as he's concerned, this marks the first very successful step of planning their ceremony.

HE HEADS FOR HIS SHOP. It feels the most natural place to go, to allow them a moment to talk, following the conversation. Plus, he does need to do his job at some point. "How did I do, my dear?"

He stares rather intensely at the pair of them for a long moment, not quite sure how he feels about being considered a friend to either of them. Criminals, the both of them, though admittedly, Odo feels a great deal more comfortable with Bashir now that he knows what he has been so confusingly hiding this whole time. “I am authorized to perform an enjoining ceremony, but you’re correct that it likely won’t be met with a warm reception. Bajor won’t like it either. And that puts him in an uncomfortable place. "Very well. But you’ll need to inform me of just which Federation practices you’re adding. And you should be aware that I do not have authority to officiate a Federation marriage. If you wish it to be recognized that way, you’ll still need to go through Captain Sisko.”

Julian nodded and returned Garak’s squeeze, barely holding back his grin. “We understand. Thank you, Constable.”

Odo just huffed and shook his head, silently dismissing them.

[lietwice]

DISGUSTING. Revolting, in fact. Obscene. Garak loves it. And it shows. He accommodates Julian's tongue in his mouth, lets it move over his teeth, sucks it appreciatively before he lets it go. Then, just to show how difficult it is to handle Julian in his personal space, he throws his leg around him, grabs him by the shirt and yanks him close again. "All I can do is close my eyes and tolerate it." He doesn't look tolerant. He looks exceptionally pleased, in fact, happily nose-to-nose with Julian, and his eyes are open, gazing lovingly at his partner. "Do it again."

“I know, darling. It shows great personal strength, how well you hold back your natural reactions to us humans and our inappropriate behavior all over the station.” Julian catches him in a kiss before he can move too far away from his face, and, just to prove how disgusting and uninhibited he is, immediately shoves his tongue right to the back of Garak’s mouth. Then he lovingly runs his tongue over his teeth before pulling back. “Especially impressive how a good upstanding Cardassian such as yourself handles me in your personal space.”

[lietwice]

THAT'S A YES, THEN. Garak kisses him back, enjoying this human-style of kissing as he enables Julian's attempts to rub up against him and responds with his own movements to provide friction. His hand wanders up and down Julian's body, and he gets so enthralled in just feeling him that he very nearly makes a noise of surprise when Julian rolls him to the side, having almost forgotten what they've just agreed. That's when he realises Julian is scooting down to look at him. A wave of self-consciousness has him pulling his tail between his legs, partly covering himself. He must look a mess, even with the tail in the way, blue arousal colouring all his ridges and pooling in his crests. The chuva in particular is flushed a deep blue, raised ridge running down from it like a little path to be followed. With how visibly aroused he is, it's not like he's really hiding anything so much as he is being just a little bit difficult. Really, Julian shouldn't expect anything different.

Julian doesn't answer verbally. He just surges forward and kisses Garak, his tongue invading his mouth in a teasing preview of what was to come. To be inside of Garak? To claim him in that way? It's going to be wonderful. He presses his hips up to rub his hardening cock against Garak's hip, and continues to kiss and touch and rub up against him until he feels like he's aching for relief again. Then he pulls back enough to roll Garak off of him to the side and scoot down to see what he's working with.

[lietwice]

IT'S SO EASY TO GET OUT OF BED. He's not unbearably cold, clinging to the warmth of his bed, his joints don't protest at the movement, and he has energy. So, for possibly the first time not motivated by fear or panic, Garak practically jumps out of bed to go and do as Julian suggests. And he is very amused. He laughs as soon as he sees himself, reaching up to touch his hair and investigate the curls sticking out. "Perhaps I'll leave it like this, and see if everyone else finds it amusing too." He won't, because Julian is right, it already feels very strange not to have his hair sitting smoothly back away from his face, but it's funny to imagine it just for a moment. "I'll advise you not to get dressed until after breakfast. Taking your clothes off to put new ones on will always be unbearable when you've just woken up cold. It's a little easier when you've been awake for a while and had food and movement to warm up a bit." The next thing that needs immediate attention is the hair on his body. He's distracted by it very quickly, and turns from trying to tame his hair to pulling lightly at his body hair, gasping when it feels different than he expected.

"Because I think you'll be very amused." Julian kisses his temple and then lets him go, no matter how loathe he is to give up the heat source. "Then you can tell me what to wear, because I haven't a clue." Anything would probably be fine, because it's not as though the station often gets warmer, but Julian would hate for Garak to see his body in something he deems unflattering. "You may want to get it wet and push it back, because those fly-away hairs drive me insane on a good day, and I'm not sure how you'll respond, but it's extra stimulation you probably don't need."

[lietwice]

NEITHER ARE GOOD OPTIONS. He'd like to say yes, he is functional enough to come with him, because he could force himself, if he really tries. But then he'll have to finish getting dressed, and then they'll be in the infirmary, and there will be other people around to see him in pain, and he doesn't like that. On the other hand, if he stays here, he's admitting to being in too much pain to go with Julian, and he doesn't like that, either. "When were you planning to go? I... may not be ready for some time."

So no, then. Not at all. He sighs and wishes he'd brought home his travel med kit instead of leaving it sitting in the corner of his office. Slowly, he makes his way to the bed, then lays down and curls himself against Garak's side. "If I need something for angry joints, you probably do too. Are you functional enough to come with me, or should I plan on coming back for you?"

[lietwice]

SO VERY TRAGIC. Visibly pleased, Garak wriggles happily as Julian nuzzles him, tilting his head back to expose his neck for attention despite his continued dramatics. "It's truly awful, I don't know how I've survived this long." The scrape of teeth is such a tease, equal parts arousing and ticklish, that Garak responds with a noise and by tilting his head down and to the side again as if resisting, despite his hopeless smile. The bite gets a delighted gasp for its firmness, and those teasing little kisses have him moving again as if trying to escape, squirming, and yet also turning his head to expose his neck. "Oh, I don't know, Doctor, we'll have to see whether you can cure me or not, won't we? The damage may be permanent!"

Julian squirms his way closer until he can nuzzle up under his jaw, then scrapes his teeth teasingly over his most delicate scales. "Poor thing. That sounds so terribly tragic. I can't imagine how you could be expected to live that way, even for a moment." He bites a little harder, then teases his jaw with little kisses. "It's a really good thing you have me here now, isn't it?"

[lietwice]

OF COURSE HE WILL. He carefully untangles himself from Julian and shifts out from under him, as much as he hates dislodging him from his position. "What sort of game, my dear? Strategy? Luck? Deception?" His personal favourite, and the one he often chooses if it's left to him to decide, is Kotra. But Kotra does require rather a lot of thinking, and he's not certain either of them are entirely in the mood for that tonight.

Julian almost feels guilty about his gratitude for that, but he can’t help but be glad that his partner is as tied up in him as he is in Garak. Julian closes his eyes too, and after a few minutes, he decides he’s not sleeping anymore. “Will you go find a gameboard? I want to play something.”

[lietwice]

HE WANTS ATTENTION. But he can't very well say that, can he? He pulls Julian closer, wasting no time in physically moving him where he wants him. His back pressed to Julian's chest, he reaches behind him to grab Julian's arm and wrap it around himself. That's not enough, though. He doesn't want to just lay here. He wants some sort of input. Some attention. Garak squirms, pressing himself backwards against Julian. "Anything. Do anything," he decides. That's as close to asking for attention as he's capable of, really. Any closer and he'd have to be as intoxicated as he was last night to get the words out of his mouth.

Julian does fall, and with a quiet oomph, he just lays with his face in the sheets until he's grabbed and positioned where Garak likes him. He can't very well give his partner anything less than his total cooperation after hearing his name said like that. "What d'you want me to do, sweetheart? Anything for you."

[lietwice]

HE DOES. And he's glad, as soon as he's on the bed. The sheets are so soft. It's just this sort of tiny luxury he doesn't normally bother with. Garak never would've thought to change the sheets just so they could feel nicer against his new scales. It's a distinctly Julian act of thoughtfulness, which makes it all the better. He rolls on his front, distracted, smoothing his palm over the sheets at his side, and letting his face rest against them too. It's not that his normal sheets ever tend to feel bad or rough against his soft scales, but these sheets feel incredible. He moves his leg, delighting in the sensation of the sheets there, too. Only then does he remember why he's laying down in the first place, and turns to look back at Julian. "Ah... I apologise, my dear. My scales aren't usually so sensitive to texture."

Julian smiles into each kiss and ducks his head to grin, pleased with himself, when Garak praises his efforts. He pulls the sheets off of the bed and puts on new ones that are distinctly softer. Then he takes the oil, kisses Garak's palm, and reads the label just to be certain it's safe for his skin. "Do you want to lay down while I do this?"

[lietwice]

HE DOESN'T WANT TO BELONG TO HIMSELF. But perhaps he does, now. If his body really is his own... he hates it. He hates it for its uselessness. For its failure, for its weakness. His claws dig slightly into his own scales where his hand rests on his leg, matching the sting of the thought of not being worthy of belonging to Cardassia.

THE FOREHEAD KISS IS UNEXPECTED. It makes him blink, his whole face softening for a moment. Nobody has kissed him since... he can't remember. He can't remember the last time anyone kissed his face. Slowly, Garak locks away the part of himself that screams for more, begs for a continuation of the affection he's never really had, and conceals the desperate longing he's sure must've surfaced in his eyes just for a moment. The doctor is just being kind. It isn't a taste of any sort of future that might be in his reach. He doesn't have a future. "As you said, Doctor, I am recovering from brain surgery, and I want to rest. I'd like you to leave. You have other patients to see, I'm sure. Go." Go, so I can end this and free you of your obligation to be kind to me.

"Cardassia got rid of you," Julian replies, remaining stubbornly seated on the edge of the bed. "As far as I'm concerned, that means you belong to you, now. Regardless, a person recovering from brain surgery isn't in the best state to be making informed decisions about this sort of thing." Julian hesitates, because no matter that they've flirted plenty over shared lunches, he really can't know if Garak even sees him as a real friend or if he's simply someone to be put up with because there's no one else. But, after a moment of clear indecision, he leans forward and kisses his forehead, just above his temple. "I don't intend to leave you alone." Not just now, anyway.