Chapter Text
The small gusts of wind that rustled through the countryside did nothing to deter the heat. Julian found himself sprawled out in a large swing, basking in what little shade that he could find. Hanging amongst the branches above him, all sorts of chimes and bells clanged lazily in the late afternoon air. His muscles ached from a long day at the local hospital and he had collapsed in the swing bed almost as soon as he got back to the house. Julian was content to stay there all night until he heard the shuffle of feet on the stones and a glass be set on the table next to him.
Groaning as his stiff joints popped, he managed to roll himself over and sit up. “I’ve told you many times that you don’t have to do these sorts of things for me. Your job is to take care of the house— not me.” The young woman just shook her head.
“You had a hard day at the hospital, bringing you some water is the least I could do.”
“Thank you, Pene’el.” He conceded as he took the water from the table and downed it in a few large gulps.
When he was finished, Julian wiped his hands along the condensation of the glass and raked the cool droplets through his hair.
“How was your day?” He asked.
“I’m sure not half as interesting as yours.”
“Interesting indeed. Dozens of kids with sankat burns from going into the lake too early. I spent my whole morning getting out the toxins.” Julian would best compare sankats to leeches. Though, sankants bites left stinging, poison welts on their victims. “Then, I did an observation of a midwife assisting in a labor that took nearly four hours.”
“Have you never performed a delivery before?”
“Plenty, just none of them cardassian. And if I’m going to be staying here then I should know a thing or two if the time ever comes that I need it.”
“And you are?” Pene’el asked hopefully.
“I am what?”
“Staying on Cardassia.”
Julian mulled the question over in his mind. As of right now, he had no idea what he was going to do. When he had taken leave and left for Cardassia two weeks ago he hadn’t much of a plan but to pack a bag and book a transport. The rest, of course, was Garak’s doing. This country house had apparently belonged to Tain and now, subsequently, Garak. He said he hadn’t much use for it. His role as a political leader caused Garak to rarely leave the capital. Thus, Julian ended up here with Pene’el, the housekeeper.
And therefore, no, he had no plans on leaving at least in the near future.
“Well to be honest with you, I don’t really have anywhere else to go as of right now.”
“You don’t have any family?”
Perhaps it was in the nature of all cardassians to pry into other’s lives. Though, it was not as if it particularly bothered Julian. Spending so much time with Garak over the years had gotten him used to such things.
“I suppose. Though we haven’t talked in a long time.”
“I see. Well, if it’s up to me, you can stay as long as you like. It’s nice having someone else around.”
The sentiment made Julian grin. Pene’el was a sweet girl and he knew that he was quite lucky to have her around. When he had first arrived two weeks ago, he knew no one and had nothing but a small bag and the address Garak had sent him. Pene’el walked him through town, introduced him to people at the hospital, showed him how to use local transports— he would have been lost without her. Even if she did dote on him from time to time.
“Thank you.”
“I would come inside though if I were you. The temperature is supposed to get quite cold tonight.”
Julian knew that “cold” for cardassians meant something entirely different than it did to him but he listened anyway. The chains that held up the old swing creaked as he slid off and headed into the house.
According to Pene’el, Garak had let a few local families stay in the large home after the war while their own homes were being rebuilt. Luckily, much of the small town was spared the worst of the damage and so, by the time that Julian had arrived, the large home was almost completely abandoned— other than his new friend of course. The home was clearly rather old and reminded him vaguely of Mediterranean architecture, with mudbrick walls and dark tile roofing.
As he walked into the main living area it had several dozen stained windows that bounced soft colored light around the room. Julian felt as though it made the whole home feel warmer, more inviting than anything he would imagine Tain owning.
Pene’el was at the stove, humming along as she fried some of their fish rations in a large skillet. Julian had let her know that any rations that he was given she was free to use as she pleased in addition to anything from the care package that the O’briens had sent last week. He was, after all, a guest on their planet. Not to mention the fact that the girl insisted on cooking for him, despite his constant protests.
“Do you suppose Minister Garak will be visiting soon?” She asked amidst her work.
“I wouldn’t know. We haven’t spoken since I told him I was fleeing to Cardassia.”
“Ah yes, your spy work,” Pene’el replied, unamused.
When Julian had first arrived here, he was almost immediately berated with questions from the young girl on where he was from and why he was here and how he knew Garak. Julian, of course, thought it would be much more entertaining to tell her that he was a fugitive spy, running from the Federation and seeking asylum on a faraway world. Pene’el didn’t believe a word of it, but it was still fun to joke.
“Shhhh!” He said quite dramatically, looking around the room. “You never know who might be listening.”
Some part of Julian was waiting for Garak to appear from the shadows— to tease him for his still constant naivety— but no such surprises greeted him.
“This home belongs to Minister Garak, if someone was listening, then he would know it.”
“I would wager that if anyone were to be listening, it would be Garak.”
“I would highly doubt such a thing.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t.”
She set down a plate of steaming fish and some sort of root vegetable in yamok sauce. Julian watched as she picked up her utensils but waited for him to eat first. Pene’el had informed him that such practices were commonplace for cardassians and their guests. Though, if Garak ever took part in such customs during their many lunches together, Julian had never noticed. He knew this was just another thing that he would just have to come to accept as he started on his food.
They finished their meals with little but idle chatter, talking of the rain and whether or not it would come tonight or in the morning.
When he had said goodnight to Pene’el and made his way into his room, the heat had all but subsided. While the room was equipped with temperature controls, Julian knew that it would be wrong to waste the energy. Instead, he locked the door and stripped completely bare, laying on the bed with nothing but a thin sheet to cover him. Outside, he could hear the once stagnant air begin to pick up and the ring of wind chimes toning low in the night.
When he woke it was still completely dark and outside the rain angrily pelted down on the tile roof like thousands of muffled gunshots, but that was not what woke him. It was still a few hours off from dawn and as he looked around his surroundings he saw nothing but darkness.
Still, despite not being able to see or hear anything, Julian knew almost instinctually that something was in his room. He kept his breathing as steady as possible, only inhaling and exhaling slowly through relaxed lips. The closest light was all the way at the other side of the room and there was no way to make a quick break to turn it on. For a moment, he considered calling for Pene’el, to make sure that the girl was okay, but quickly decided against it. He had some clue as to what was in his room and silently hoped he was right.
“Garak,” He said under his breath.
There was a beat of silence, a stillness in the room that wasn’t there a moment ago, and then—
“You know, many would find it distasteful to sleep nude in another’s bed without their permission. Though perhaps this is a human custom I am not yet well acquainted with.”
The relief that he felt was quickly taken over by surprise. Julian sat up immediately, suddenly realizing just how exposed he was. He scrambled for his briefs, hanging his torso over the side of the bed and dragging his hands along the stone floors until he found them.
“How can you see?”
Once he had pulled the fabric over, Garak flipped on the lamp, flooding the room with warm light.
He looked the same. From the knowing smile, to the clothes, to the steady way he held himself, Garak looked exactly like that enigmatic man that had left Julian on deep space nine almost two years ago. He didn’t know why, but some part of Julian was expecting this big change— for him to be as different as Julian was now— but Garak was the same as ever. And despite himself, looking at Garak for that first time in two years left him with an aching hole deep in his gut. He shrugged off the feeling.
“Cardassians can see in the dark far better than humans.”
“I was covered by a sheet.”
“A rather thin sheet I might add.”
Julian knew that Garak was just teasing him, but that didn’t stop the heat from rising in his face and chest.
It felt natural to be with him again— to argue and joke like they once had. The adrenaline that still coursed through him made Julian want to jump up and clobber the man in a crushing hug. He didn’t know that two years could feel so long.
“What are you doing here?” He asked with a bewildered laugh.
“I might ask the same to you but there’s no time for that now, doctor. We must hurry.”
Julian was immediately filled with a dozen questions but he knew that Garak would answer none of them. Garak began rummaging through his storage until he seemed to find an outfit that he deemed suitable and laid it on the end of the bed for him.
It was the only long sleeve shirt he had here with him and even though it was raining and the fabric was thin, Julian knew that he would be positively sweltering in that thing.
“I quite literally cannot wear that.”
“And why is that?”
“I’ll sweat to death!” Garak’s response was a huff through his nose as he began searching through his clothes again. Eventually, he pulled another outfit out.
“This will have to do.” Garak conceded and Julian just rolled his eyes at him.
“You do realize that this will be my only day off for a while?” He managed through a yawn.
“I assure you doctor that this will be well worth the hour of sleep you’ll be missing.”
“I sure hope so.”
“I’m afraid I don’t recall you being this pessimistic.”
“What can I say? I’m getting old.”
He stumbled into his clothes and out of the room, making an effort to wake Pene’el down the hall. The storm had fogged up all the windows in the living area so he could hardly see outside but for vague shadows, the only light being a small few bulbs that lit his path. When they got to the door he saw two coats hanging on the wall, both dripping wet.
“Please don’t tell me we’re going out into that storm?” Julian asked, surprised that Garak of all people was one to suggest such a thing.
He knew that Garak hated the cold even more than he hated the possibility of getting his clothes wet or muddy. The other man just ignored Julian’s question and carried on.
“Here you are.” Pulling the coats from the wall, he handed Julian one and began to fasten his own. “I’m afraid that these aren’t quite as appealing as my usual clothing choices, but I assure you they serve their purpose well enough.”
When Julian took the coat he realized that it was similar to a sort of poncho, though the fabric was much more sturdy and lined with what seemed to be an insulating layer.
“Two years of not seeing you and the first thing you do is sneak into my room, force me out of bed, and then take me away to an undisclosed location.” Julian did not mention that he was, in fact, staying in Garak’s home but it was all the same.
“Would you settle for any less?”
Julian just rolled his eyes, knowing that no, he wouldn’t.
He tossed the coat over his shoulders and secured the hood over his head as he had watched Garak do. The chill in the wet morning air hit him the second the door was opened and he only had but a moment to brace himself until he was stepping out into it.
And before he knew it, Garak and he had disappeared into the dark.