Drawing by BGM

by kira-nerys

Holiday Greetings

Title: Holiday Greetings
Author: kira-nerys
Codes: G/B
Rating: R [m/m sexual situations]
Disclaimer: These men both belong to Paramount, but I love to play with them.
Feedback: kardasi@kardasi.com

"My word, Doctor! This must be the strangest custom I have ever heard of…I know you humans have many strange ideas but this must be the winner on all counts" Garak stared at the *tree* Bashir had replicated for them and put in the middle of their quarters. A tree in-doors? What a ridiculous concept. It took up almost all of the space between the dining table and the sofa in front of the holo-video equipment. He was just about to protest when he caught the happy glint in Julian's eyes. He hadn't seen him this happy since the Dominion war begun. He didn't have the heart to stop him. So, if Julian was happy about a tree shedding its needles all over their home - then fine!

"I can't believe you have never seen a Christmas tree before, Garak? You've been on the station long enough. But I suppose… we haven't really bothered to celebrate Christmas in the traditional way on the station, have we?"

Garak wouldn't know the traditional way of celebrating Christmas if it jumped up and bit him in the nose, so he simply stared at his young lover and was amazed at the feelings the man could provoke in him. His joyous features was all that was required to make his heart beat faster. Two months had gone by since they had finally admitted their feelings for each other. Garak still had trouble believing that Julian actually desired him and this despite the fact that he had shown him just how much on several occasions. Garak felt like a young man again and he decided that no matter how strange he found this Christmas celebration he would go through it for Julian's sake. Who knew, perhaps he would find some kind of enjoyment in it?

"Why do you celebrate Christmas?" he asked casually as he walked over to the green tree, full of sharp needles. It looked like a really viscious plant to him.

Julian stopped fidgeting with the tree and its - foot. Then he rose to his feet and stared at Garak.

"Well, in the beginning it was a religious thing. Celebrating the birth of Jesus. It has nothing to do with mine and my parent's religion though. Several hundreds of years ago it turned into more of a commercial gimmick. Shops started selling Christmas stuff already in the beginning of November although Christmas isn't until the end of December. They decorated their shops with lights and other things to celebrate Christmas…"

Garak stared at Julian in disbelief. He didn't understand a word of what he was saying. He was ashamed to say that he didn't know much about Earth traditions - there were so many after all. The planet had so many different cultures it was confusing and he supposed that this Christmas thing was one of those strange… holidays.

"Oh, Garak… " Julian said looking a bit helpless. "Let's just say it is a joyous occasion on Earth, a time of the year where we celebrate life and give the people we love presents and enjoy good food… "

Julian's face looked positively wistful

"I understand this is sort of like - birthdays then?" Garak said cautiously not wanting to sound like a complete fool. To his relief Julian nodded enthusiastically and smiled.

"Something like that - or like the Bajoran Gratitude Festival. You buy gifts for your family and you eat traditional foods and then you spend the evening with the people you love enjoying the lovely smell of pine-trees and watch traditional holo-programs and…"

The more Julian talked the more puzzled Garak felt. What was it about Christmas that was so special?

"But we could do this any time of the year…" he said confused.

"You don't get it Garak. This is a holiday and this is the only time of year we spend like this… if you would just choose any day it just wouldn't be the same…"

Garak nodded thoughtfully and said:

"Julian. I have to go out for a while. I'll be back very soon…"

"But we should prepare the Christmas tree," Julian said disappointedly.

"Are we in a hurry to do that?" Garak queried.

Julian sighed and admitted: "No, I suppose we could do that tomorrow night. But Christmas is only a week away, Garak. And I want everything to be just right our first Christmas together… "

Garak nodded and pulled the young man into his embrace.

"We will do that I promise, my dear Julian… "

Then he leaned down for a kiss and when Julian's soft lips pressed against his he almost lost his resolve. But he had to do some research. Christmas was obviously very important to Julian so he wanted to read up on the occasion. He let go of Julian, stared into those passionate hazel depths.

"I will be back soon, love," he said huskily, turned around and strode out of their quarters. He headed for Ops. He needed to talk to another Human. Someone who wasn't so wrapped up in this thing - this Christmas. Julian was like acting like a child. Adorable but - not very coherent…

"Captain," Garak said as he entered Ops.

"Garak, what can I do for you?"

The dark-skinned man didn't exactly light up when he entered Ops, but he didn't kick him out either. Garak took that as a sign that the Captain had gotten over the first shock of finding out that he and Julian had become lovers.

"It is of a somewhat personal matter. Can I speak with you for a moment?"

Sisko's lifted a naked eyebrow and offered him to step into the office. He strode over to the window and stared outside for a moment.

"All right, Garak. What is it that you want?"

No small talk, no polite questions about health or weather. Nothing. Perhaps he had been too quick in his assumption that the Captain didn't hold a grudge against him about Julian anymore, Garak mused.

"I want you to tell me about Christmas," Garak said plainly.

Captain Sisko's face went through a fascinating metamorphosis at the mention of Christmas. His face cracked in a wide grin and his eyes shone.

"Christmas? You want me to tell you about Christmas, Mr. Garak?" he laughed.

Garak nodded, suddenly wishing he hadn't asked. But to his astonishment Sisko offered him to sit down and kept smiling.

"Oh, Christmas," he said with a wistful sigh. "We all look forward to Christmas, Mr.Garak. It is a difficult thing to explain. It means a different thing to all people on Earth. Some don't even celebrate it. But to those who do - it is a joyous occasion. It is a time for love, understanding and giving." Sisko smiled and Garak felt like he still didn't know what this Christmas celebration meant and what it was.

"Thank you, Captain," he said staring at Sisko with disbelief in his eyes. Just like Julian, the Captain now had a goofy smile on his lips and he looked like a happy little boy. Garak felt more and more that he needed to find out what all the fuss was about. He frowned and got up to leave.

"Mr. Garak. I could give you access to the computer and you could do some research of your own," the Captain offered.

"That would be most helpful," Garak neglected to mention that this was indeed what he had been planning to do when he got out of the office. He didn't exactly require the Captain's help - or permission - to get to the computer… But it was quite obvious he wouldn't get anything useful out of either Sisko or Julian - or any of the other humans for that matter. He sighed deeply and got out of Sisko's office and strolled over to one of the computer terminals. He accessed the database and did a search on the word Christmas.

"Christmas: Christian holiday celebrated in memory of the birth of Jesus."

Okay so who was this Jesus person? Garak wondered to himself. He read through the database and realized that this made no more sense than anything he had heard. In essence it seemed this Jesus person had founded a religion called Christianity and he was also called Christ, and this holiday was celebrated at the day of his birth - or so they said. But the more Garak read the more he realized that people on Earth actually didn't know when this Jesus person was born. Then he kept on reading and came across another person named Saint Nicolaus who presumably had given a couple of students a few gifts… these two things had merged into something called Christmas. During the 20:th century the exploitation of this holiday had begun and the shopkeepers and merchants had used it to make huge amounts of money.

Garak watched as images of candles, Christmas trees, gifts wrapped in shiny papers and ribbons, meters and meters of lights covering buildings and something called gingersnaps from Sweden paraded before his eyes on the viewscreen. Different countries evidently had different eating habits during this holiday as well. In Sweden they ate grilled ham covered with something called mustard and bread-crumbs and different kinds of pickled herrings which was evidently some kind of fish. In England they ate something called plum-pudding and in the United States the course of their choice was evidently turkey - some kind of bird. A similar trait in several of the countries was the habit of buying, giving and receiving gifts, but the customs weren't the same in every country. They didn't even agree on which day to open those gifts…

Garak sighed and realized that this holiday was getting more and more confusing for each page of information that rolled by his eyes. Santa Claus - an incarnation of the true Saint Nicolaus was a huge man, with white hair and a white beard crawling down the chimney. This man was wearing a red suit and was giving presents to all children who had been nice all year.

A sarcastic smile crept up on Garak's lips. Any parent would know that this wasn't liable to happen - so in essence - this Santa must have a slow day on Christmas…

* * *

Julian slumped down on the couch in their quarters. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. How could he expect Garak to feel the same way about Christmas as he did? To Garak this was just some obscure holiday, which really meant nothing. He sighed deeply. It had been so long since he had really celebrated Christmas. Sure, Captain Sisko had thrown a few parties on Christmas since he arrived on Deep Space Nine. But for some reason it had never really been the same as it had been at home.

What he longed for were the joyous occasions. The celebrating and spending time with his family. Giving and receiving gifts was only a small part of it all. He missed the special decorations from home and the taste of Amsha's wonderful plum-pudding and the stuffed turkey. He missed the smell of the pine tree and the Christmas songs from Earth. At least he would have the pine tree. He let his eyes follow the replicated tree and inhaled. The smell was indeed the same, and as soon as he had the time he would replicate some decorations to go with the tree as well.

* * *

Days passed and Garak made himself scarce. Julian had no idea what his friend was up to but it was rather annoying. Garak got up early each morning, sometimes even before he did, and on several occasions the tailor had gotten home so late that Julian had already fallen asleep. At lunch the day before Christmas Julian finally had a chance to bring this up.

"Garak, what is wrong?" he asked his lover with concern in his voice. "You and I haven't had much time together for several days now. I miss you!"

Garak leaned forward over the table and grabbed his hand in a gentle gesture. His eyes were filled with concern and a little guilt. He was quiet for a moment before responding.

"My dearest Julian. I am sorry. The truth is I have been extremely busy. I received a large order from Bajor last week and I have been working very hard to meet the request. Luckily I have almost finished. The day after tomorrow everything should return to normal."

"The day after tomorrow?" Julian couldn't keep the disappointment from his voice.

"Is there something wrong?" Garak queried.

Julian closed his eyes and shook his head. It had been rather silly after all. He really shouldn't have expected Garak to see Christmas the way he did.

"No, Garak, there is nothing wrong. I'll be grateful when you have filled your order so that we can spend some more time with each other, that's all."

"I'll try to make it up to you, my dear Julian," Garak said with a seductive smile on his lips.

This time Julian's responding smile was much more sincere. His heart filled with joy at the sight of the love in Garak's eyes. Impulsively he reached out with his hand and caressed Garak's rougher skin. In response Garak turned his hand around and they held hands for the briefest of moments while their eyes locked and revealed all the passion they felt for each other without uttering a word.

"I am sure you will, Elim," Julian whispered.

"I will see to it that I come home a little earlier tonight. I promise," Garak said huskily and the look in his eyes made sure that Julian knew exactly what he had on his mind.

"I wish we could go home right now," Julian admitted.

"Me too, I want to kiss you so badly…"

"Then why don't we? I am sure my nurses can take care of anything that happens at the infirmary for a while… "

"I wish I could, my dear Julian, but I really must be going back to my shop. This order I have is really important. But I will see you in our quarters tonight."

Julian nodded and sighed. He knew he really couldn't bail either, but he wished he could.

* * *

Garak had really been busy, but not with his work. He had been preparing for a multitude of surprises for his beloved Julian for the last couple of days, and what was more, he had enjoyed it so much he had neglected Julian in the process. He was glad that the young man had pointed this out to him. When he thought back on the last few days he realized that they really hadn't spent much time together. The truth of the matter was that they hadn't eaten breakfast together since that day Julian brought the Christmas tree to their quarters. Today was the first day in almost a week they had even had the time to each lunch together. No wonder Julian had seemed a little depressed. He had no idea what was keeping Garak so busy. He was glad he had come up with that cover story about the Bajoran order. It seemed like it had calmed Julian at least. He hadn't meant to upset his lover, on the contrary.

Garak hurried to his shop. The love Julian showed him each day made him feel special and this was his chance to give Julian something in return. But he realized he might have gone a little overboard. He sighed when he realized they hadn't made love for almost a week and feeling Julian's hand caress his at their lunch table today made Garak realize how much he had missed that.

The preparations were almost finished. This meant that this evening he would be able to give Julian his undivided attention, and the day suddenly seemed like it would never end….

* * *

Julian yawned and pushed aside the PADD he had been working on. It was almost dinnertime and he had hurried home from work to be there when Garak came home. He was almost beginning to wonder if the tailor had decided to go back on his promise when he entered their quarters.

"Garak!" Julian breathed and rose from the couch in a swift movement. Within seconds he was enveloped in the Cardassian's firm embrace. He sighed contentedly as he felt Garak's arms tighten around him.

"Julian," Garak answered. "I've missed you today. This day has been far too long… "

"This entire week has been too long," Julian corrected as he pulled the tailor down for a kiss. When their lips met he sighed contentedly and Garak's enthusiasm caused him to feel the familiar first signs of arousal traveling down his spine. Garak's intentions were very clear and Julian was grateful for that. He had longed for Garak for several days now.

"Touch me, Garak…" he whispered huskily and the older man's hands gripped firmly around his buttocks and pressed him closer. Julian gasped as his firmness pressed against the tailor's awakening erection.

"It seems you have missed me, Elim…" he teased and ground his hips almost imperceptibly against the tailor's. Garak hissed and leaned his head back.

"Oh yes, Julian. You have no idea…"

"But I think I do."

Garak's hands traveled from his butt to his back and at last his strong hands dug into Julian's hair and pushed his head back lightly so he could lean over to kiss him. Julian reveled in the feelings of Garak's firm lips moving over the sensitive spots on his neck, his cheek and finally he felt Garak's lips press against his again. Their tongues met in a passionate dance and Julian moaned softly into Garak's mouth.

"Oh, I have really missed this. I want you Garak, so much."

"I know, Julian, oh yes. I know… "

* * *

Next morning Julian woke up at 500 hours. It was his com-badge chirping.

"Nurse Daria to Dr. Bashir!"

Julian rummaged around among the clothes that still lay in a crumpled heap by the bedside until he found his badge.

"Dr. Bashir here."

His voice sounded like he hadn't slept much and that wasn't far from the truth. A sheepish smile crept up on his face when he remembered the activities he and the tailor had immersed in during the night.

"There is an emergency in the Infirmary. We need you down here asap."

"I'm on my way. Bashir out."

"Duty calls I take it?" Garak's voice sounded as tired as he felt. Julian leaned over the bed to kiss him and Garak's enthusiasm made him chuckle knowingly.

"Didn't you get enough last night?"

"I can never get enough of you, Julian!" Garak responded honestly and pulled him down for another kiss.

"Oh Garak," he breathed. "Hold that thought for tonight. Right now they need me in the infirmary. I am sorry… "

"Don't be, Julian. I'll be here when you get back."

He had planned to take the day off today, but as the Chief Medical Officer he had to be prepared for the unexpected and perhaps it was all for the best. If he was working he wouldn't have so much time to think about the fact that yet another Christmas day went by without being properly celebrated.

Julian frowned when he reached the infirmary. The 'emergency' was a minor accident in the storage room. Someone had spilled a biological compound that was slightly toxic. But anyone with the proper training - meaning any of the nurses - could have taken care of that.

"Why did you call me down for this?" he asked, not angry. Just puzzled.

"I am sorry to disturb you like this Dr. Bashir. But nurse Karia experienced a headache and had to leave. I've been treating some minor injuries all morning and I didn't know of anyone else to call for who knows how to handle this kind of contamination."

Nurse Daria smiled apologetically.

"No need to apologize Daria. I'll take care of it," Julian responded with a smile and got to work.

The compound was such that it was very sticky and difficult to clean up. He spent the better part of the morning in the storage room. When he was finished it was close to lunch time and he supposed he might as well drop by his and Garak's quarters to eat lunch with his loved one.

He got rid of the coverall and threw it into the recycler before taking a quick shower and changing into civilian clothes. He decided at once that he would take the rest of the day off. He and Garak really needed to spend some time together and it was - after all - Christmas.

When he reached the quarters he entered with a big smile on his lips. But the room was set in complete darkness.

"Garak?"

No response. He tried again.

"Garak? Are you in here?"

He took another step into the room and suddenly the lights went on. Julian had a hard time taking it all in. There was Garak only a couple of steps away from him dressed in the suit he knew that Julian really liked and to top it off he was wearing a red cap complete with a toft in the end. Julian felt a silly smile spreading on his face when he saw the entire staff of DS9 smiling sheepishly at him. Jadzia lifted her cup in a toast and Miles flashed him a bright smile. Behind them there was the Christmas tree - still naked but there were big heaps of parcels wrapped in beautiful papers and ribbons scattered beneath it. And boxes of decorations lay waiting on their dinner table. Speaking of which - another table was full of pots and cans sending the most delicious smells throughout the room. Julian couldn't help but walk over to see what was there. He could smell the delicious smell of Amsha's Plum pudding.

He turned around to Garak.

"How did you know?"

Garak gave him one of his mysterious smiles.

"I've got my sources… "

Garak's attempt of being secretive failed for once.

"Mother was only too happy to give her favorite future son-in-law the recipe wasn't she?" Julian grinned.

"Ah, you see right through me, my dear Julian!"

"That's got to be a first!"

"Let's listen to some music!" Sisko suggested and he and Jadzia moved over to the computer to choose some suitable Christmas carols. And as "White Christmas" flooded the room Garak smiled, put his arm around Julian and said:

"Let's decorate the tree. I found some things from Cardassia that I made as a boy that you will probably find suitable."

Julian nearly fell over when he saw the exquisite silver stars made out of crystal.

"They are beautiful, Garak! Did you make these?"

"Yes, when I was about Jake's age I crafted those stars. I was quite good at it if I may say so myself."

It seemed that, in just a few days, Garak had managed to capture the whole essence of Christmas…

"Oh, Garak!" Julian said with all the love he could muster in his voice. He lifted his hand to touch the Cardassian's face. Garak leaned into the touch.

"I know Julian," the tailor whispered. "I love you too."

~ End ~