Disclaimer: I don't not own Star Trek DS9 any of it's characters. Do you THINK I would be here If I did?! So I do not in any way shape or form own any of the plot or the characters. They belong to whoever owns 'em. I just took the general idea for a test jaunt. So, don't sue me...not that it would be beneficial, as I am a poor university student, yadda yadda yadda.

Authors Note: This is a Garak and Bashir story. Theirs was a relationship that had so much potential and promise on the show, but unfortunately the Producers and writers turned them a blind eye, leaving us to only fantasize about what could have been. (Cue to a sad, long-suffering sigh).

A/N #2: Unlike in a zoo, feel free to feed the author with your comments and reviews. Not only does it provide us with ideas and constructive criticism, but a good review leaves us with a warm fuzzy feeling inside that lets us know our work is appreciated. So, please read and review. I am excited to see what you all think. I am open to comments, advice, and constructive criticism.

Illusive Innuendos – Chapter 4

The damp silk clung Julian's body as they entered the room, the higher heat of the Cardassian chambers finally beginning to overheat his body. As they nearly stumbled over the threshold Julian momentarily wished he had a moment more to pursue the decor. He had never been in Garak's personal quarters. Ever during the mans illness he had tended to him in the main room, having respected his privacy too much to rummage through his belongings.

So naturally now that he was actually in a position to pursue at his leisure he was insanely curious. One bedroom is a persons most private space and more often then not the decorations come to mirror the owners personality and he was curious indeed how it would in Garak's case. Would it be plain and simplistic to display his secretive nature? With Garak the possibilities could truly be endless.

However he only got a brief glimpse of a statue covered bureau before he found himself nearly airborne, landing on his back on the bed and looking up at the tailor who was slipping out of his boots above him.

Julian soon saw his role as the aggressor dissipate in front of him as quickly as a drop of water in the Sauna program he designed for Garak a year or so earlier in the holodeck. He took in a deep gulping breath as Garak slid the boots from his feet, inspecting his wiggling toes in curiosity. Julian soon came to realize that like in everything else he did, Garak was quite the attentive and skilled lover, showing the will power of a man much stronger then Julian had ever thought possible as he learned the secrets of Julian's body.

Julian endured the pleasure of Garak's touch with mounting sexual tension as the Cardassian's hands mapped out every contour of his body. He seemed to take particular pleasure in raking his fingers through his body hair, fingering the dark hairs in apparent admiration. He was equally as cautious in his perusal when he encountered Julian's dark brown nipples, but just as pleased as Julian moaned aloud when his experimental tongue laved the sensitive pleasure points.

He almost praised the Prophets aloud when Garak's fingers finally made their way to the waistband of his pants. Experienced fingers ghosted his navel as the zipper was finally lowered and Julian's naked erection was emerged from it's confines, finally free from the imprisoning cloth of his pants as they slid to the ground behind them, joining the purple silk thrown half-hazardously behind them as they had made their way into the room.

When that ridged hand finally closed around his cock Julian actually did call out to the prophets, having to reign in the last vestiges of his control not to let go on the spot. After a long moment the urge to come passed and he peeked up at Garak from behind his dark lashes only to find the man gazing at him openly, his face as naked as the golden-toned human breathing beneath him.

Trepidation and self-doubt seeped into his heart, chilling him. They were so different...What if he was too different for Garak? What if he wasn't what the man expected? Self-doubt had always been a facet that had plagued him. Regardless of his enhancements he had always felt unsure and less then adequate in comparison to his peers. But of course, he had always hid those feelings behind a thin veneer of smug superiority and aloofness. His own mask he wore to fool the world, and sometimes even himself.

These thoughts and more invaded his brain until he looked away, suddenly unable to met his eyes. But the second he did, Garak's cool hand turned it back, capturing his lips in a passionate, but soft kiss before resting his forehead against Julians, rubbing his spoon-shaped marking lightly across the smooth skin of his forehead.

"You are beautiful Julian...I can finally say it... so beautiful..." He murmured softly, his voice almost purring out his name, causing tingling zips of arousal and relief coursing through his body.

It was with those simple words, naked in their honesty from the snarky, secretive tailor that his self-doubt and insecurity crumbled, leaving him with the intimate knowledge that he was desired...wanted. And though it had yet to be said... a part of him dared to think he was even loved.

His last few coherent thoughts before his mind spiraled down into heated passion and raw desire were a few colorful curses on the unfathomable difficulties of undoing Cardassian garments before he finally yanked the last clasp free and flipped them over, making the man moan as he began an exploration of his own.

Many hours later Julian awoke, the unaccustomedly high temperature sheening his body in a light layer of sweat, finding a ridged leg slung over his own deliciously stimulating his exhausted flesh. Sitting up he pushed off the soft coverlet, blinking several times as he banished the last vestiges of sleep from his vision. Looking around he had to restrain a chuckle as he observed the room.

Their clothes lay thrown everywhere, covering the floor in a colorful later, the abundance of clothes due primarily to the multiple number of layers Garak wore. He even had to restrain a full-blown laugh in order not to wake his sleeping companion when he spied something that looked suspiciously like his own underwear snagged on the outstretched arm of a Cardassian style statue on the dresser.

A small smile graced his golden features as he looked over at his companion, the low light creating shadows that played across his ridged face. The shadows that flitted across his face with his every movement creating a fascinating contrast of darkness and light, much like the essence of the man himself.

He smiled as he listened to the soft rattle of his breath, feeling the subtle rise and fall of his body pressed against his. His skin still knew the contours of his lovers body, still remembered the number of ridges on his belly, and the scales that shone a dark coal-black along the curve of his spine. Turning back over to face his lover, he pulled back a few hindering strands of hair from his face, swinging it up to join the rest that streamed unhindered in a jet-black curtain across the pillow.

The man looked positively peaceful as he slept, with not even a ghost of tension remaining on his face. Instead, a half-smile graced his lips, his ridges flushed a healthy dark-gray, his neck scales still pleasure swollen from Julian's ardent affections, also held a healthy glow. He ran a light hand over the soft curve of his cheek, smiling when the sleeping man turned into his touch, snuggling himself closer to Julian's warm body as he slept, his face pressed into the curve of Julian's shoulder as he slumbered on peacefully. 'Now that had to be an unconscious reaction.' He thought with a grin as Garak certainly didn't strike him as a snuggler!'

Still smiling he stretched luxuriously as he recalled the passion of the last night, running his hand through the stark black curtain of Garak's tousled hair as he remembered. Garak hadn't let him torture him long, but he had delighted in what he had discovered. It still seemed so surreal...so unbelievable to know he finally had Garak...He felt as if at any moment the computer would tonelessly wake him from slumber and this happy dream would end.

He was now quite certain that there wasn't a spot on the Cardassian's body that wasn't erogenous. With his every touch the man had growled, groaned, and moaned..it was one of Julian's most erotic experiences, and he was the one on the giving end!

When he had finally unclipped the last buckle, yanked off the last clasp and undone the last button, he had begun his long awaited exploration. He discovered, to his secret delight, that the ridges did indeed go all the way down, winding down his thighs to outline the sides of his feet in an almost pure black ridge pattern. He had skimmed his anticipating fingers across the mans nippleless chest, pausing instead to suck on rough ridge, or lather at a cluster of scales.

He kept the man always on his toes, always uncertain of his next move, finding it intensely gratifying to hear his gasping moan when he would be inconspicuously caressing his sides, and then with no warning he would whip back up to inflame those tantalizing neck-ridges, reveling in the husky way he would groan out his name, or utter a curse in the heat of the moment that the universal translator wouldn't quite pick up.

He had been flying by the seat of his pants up until he reached his goal, instilled by a naive sense of confidence his brief readings into Cardassian physiology had provided him. But he came to a rather abrupt and screeching halt when he peeled away the last layer and found that the finishing piece of the masterpiece was rather...absent.

He could only stare for a moment...Having to stop himself from blurting out a panicked: "Where is it?!" And instead took a steadying breath and began exploring the area in more detail, keeping Garak occupied with lingering touches around his belly-ridges. 'After all...' He had reminded himself, 'He had had his own fair share of intimate inter-species relations...and not everyone of them had had all the conventional parts!'

What he had initially mistook for Garak's erection was actually two opposing ridges, much more pronounced in nature, much like his neck-ridges. In between those ridges was a moist slit, the skin around it hued the most lightest of grays.

For a brief moment as he eyed the man's groin, he felt as if he were almost a virgin again, completely out of his element and unsure of what to do next...But in a moment he cast those thought aside and without so much as a tentative pause he ran a light finger along the length of the pale gray slit. The reaction was immediate, Garak sucked in a startled gasp, his hips arching straight off the bed, lifting Julian's weight with him as if he were no lighter then a tribble, his eyes nearly rolling as he seized Julian's hand and held it tightly just above his groin.

"Was that good?" He had asked tentatively, wondering if he might have misinterpreted the oddity's function. It took Garak a moment to respond, but when he did he cracked open a brilliant blue eye, raising a hand to rake his fingers through Julian's curls, the sensation of his hand-ridges brushing his scalp causing him to tingle in pleasure. "For someone who claims to have never slept with a Cardassian, you certainly know how to please one." He managed before Julian's hand returned to his groin, driving him wild as he began to fondle him in earnest.

And wild he got, the caresses drove the usually calm and collected man into an unrestrained and uninhibited being. He attempted to roll them over, a low growl issuing from his throat as Julian ignored the silent invitation.

Finally, acting on inspiration, Julian nipped back up for a quick kiss, moaning into his mouth as Garak experimentally nibbled on his lips before griping his thighs securely, and with no warning he ran his tongue along the length of the slit, discovering a musky but pleasant taste as he did so. Predictably Garak moaned, his hips bucking as he squeezed those beautiful blue eyes closed, his mouth open in a silent cry, his hand flying down to massage his groin.

But before Julian could so much as bask in his small triumph he found himself abruptly rolled to the bottom as this time Garak asked for no permission, using his superior strength to flip Julian under him. He quickly found himself under assault, his mouth captured in Garaks, his body nearly tingling as his hand ran the length of his body, it wasn't until he felt something rub deliciously against his aching erection, and he gasped, not even needing to see those ever-present ridges to know they were there as they stimulated his own pulsing shaft.

When he did look down he was happily greeted by Garak's fully engorged and glistening erection. As alluring as his touches were his curiosity finally bested him and he hazarded to comment. "Fascinating!" He exclaimed unwinding his hands from Garak's hair, grasping the man's penis in a firm grip, so deep in his inspection that he barely noticed Garak's harsh breathing, and the trembling in his muscles as he attempted to maintain his dominant posture above him

Running his fingers along the thick patterns that adorned the shaft he inadvertently spread a naturally occurring lubricant that was being excreted through the Cardassian's pores, the action eliciting a strangled moan from above. Meanwhile, Julian kept up a one sided conversation with himself, his natural curiosity and physicians intuition unable to resist forming a plausible hypothesis for the phenomena even as his own shaft throbbed insistently for his attention.

"An ingenious design really.." He chattered on inspecting the edges where the slit had been with interest. "It really makes sense for a reptilian species to have the penis and testes inside to conserve heat. And the automatic response of excreting a natural lubricant must be a survival trait to aid in procreation in such a dry climate as Cardassian Prime. I wonder if it works in tandem with a females-." But before he could finished his scientific musings, his breath was forced out of his lungs in a rush as a ridged hand closed over his erection and began stroking him in a slow languid rhythm, effectively flooding his mind with pleasure, sending both his attention and blood flow down south, making him entirely forget he had even been talking in the first place.

"I do hope I am not interrupting some crucial Starfleet xenobiological breakthrough my dear.." Garak purred from above him, pausing to deliver a few deep open mouthed kisses, his other hand still working Julian's shaft in the same maddening rhythm."But I have much more pressing matters I wish to...discuss." He finished in a silky whisper. And Julian could only squirm and whimper in pleasure as he was suddenly sent spinning in a haze of heat, sensation and erotic pleasure.

The love making that followed was of a caliber that Julian had never before experienced. No woman, nor indeed man had ever made him feel as Garak had. It was as though he were being assaulted and gentled at the same time. Garak was both a ferociously passionate, but caring loving, staying true for once to his persona of being a man of many extremes.

He had paused, drawing Julian in for a deep kiss before draping himself over him, his gray scales contrasting with his golden skin. Before Garak had finally entered him he had flipped him over, heeding Julian's pleading cry, wrapping a strong arm around his waist, the other placed in between Julian's tensed arms. He had almost come from the sheer intensity of it...feeling him pressed in behind him...

He remembered how his pleasured grunts and moans had echoed erotically off the bulkheads as the ridges that stream-lined Garak's impressive cock stimulated his passage again and again as Garak rammed himself home.

Julian knew he was done for when he felt Garak's cock brushed his prostate, sending such a rippling wave of intense pleasure throughout his entire body that he very nearly collapsed onto the coverlet, his arms visibly trembling as he attempted to remain upright.

Observant as always Garak noted his reaction and despite his warning on his nearness, he positioned himself to hit the same angle and he struck again. It took only a few more brushes before Julian came completely undone. He doubted any human, even one with enhancements such as himself could have withstood that ridged cock for long.

But in true Bashir style, even as the blinding flash of sizzling white pleasure had enveloped his vision, and the mind-numbing euphoria of his orgasm washed all conscious thought away, he had reached around behind him blindly until his fingers found what they sought, and just before he let the sensation consume him completely, he heard Garak yell out his own completion behind him, the combination of Julian's convulsing passage and his measured grip on his neck ridges proving to be too much for even the Cardassian to bear.

He smiled internally, reliving within the privacy of his own mind all the pleasures they had shared. It had felt like hours before they had finally fallen asleep still caught together in an exhausted tangle as the Sandman finally granted them rest. It still felt so unreal to him, to finally have Garak.

He had thought he had come to his realization too late, that Garak had surely given up on him. But instead he had been accepted, desired and even loved after so many years of missed signals, failed romances, casual flirtation, and cultural misunderstandings. And he sighed deeply, feeling a warm sense of contentment wash over him as he stroked an idle hand through his lovers hair, lowering his head to breath in the musky scent of him, the smell alone enough to set his head pounding and his blood running.

Quite obviously still dreaming, he watched as the man turned in his sleep, the thick covers sliding down to reveal a deeply ridged back, a pure black scale pattern adorning the wide ridges that followed the curve of his spine. Julian smiled as he trailed a finger along it, his actions making no secret of the delight he found in finally being able to touch those handsome ridges.

It was only with his companion stirring awake beside him that he was brought from his pleasant reminiscing back to the present, and he grinned down at the sleepy Cardassian as he blinked up at him blurredly.

"Good morning...Or I guess I should say...afternoon." He greeted eying the nearest chronometer as he corrected himself. "Hmph." Garak replied as he turned over, yanking the covers back over him until his whole body was lost in a sea of multi-colored coverlets. "Are all humans so annoyingly good tempered at such an ungodly hour?" He finally replied, his voice muffled slightly from under the covers.

"Just me I'm sure." He teased, peering under the covers at him with a grin, finding that even in the near light the brightness of his blue eyes could not be dimmed. "Besides, it's technically the afternoon cycle anyway." He added grinning when his rejoinder elicited a disgruntled snort from the sleepy Cardassian. "Don't argue semantics with me my dear, as I can guarantee you will lose." He replied coyly, halfway emerging from his self-made cocoon to wrap an arm around his waist, pulling him effortlessly into his embrace, his fingers immediately straying downward to stroke the thin smattering of hair that trailed down his belly.

"Oh I don't know Garak..I did learn from the best." He replied with a laugh, rolling himself atop the man and distracting him with a kiss. It was sometime later before they had both the breath or brain power to speak, as Julian had soon learned how easy it was to inflame the tailors passions, sleepy or not.

They were both startled out of their post-coital sluggishness when Julian's com-badge went off. Like a shot Julian scrambled off the bed in a flurry of flying limbs and blankets as he darted out of the bedroom absolutely butt-naked, Garak's hissing laughter following him as he all but pounced on his sports coat, grabbing the badge he had slipped into the inside pocket the night before, wasting precious seconds as he fumbled with the device, cursing under his breath as he clicked it on.

"Bashir here!" He replied, his brain on red alert as a galaxy full of possibilities as to why he was getting commed on his off hours buzzed through his brain. But all his bravado abruptly drained, leaving him feeling rather ridiculous as he stood completely naked, in the low light of Garak's living room, when the rather timid voice of his newest nurse, a youth fresh from the academy answered.

By the time he had explained how to treat Morn's Tarkilian fish allergy he returned to find Garak missing from their bed, the water shower gurgling in the washroom. Grinning he slipped inside, only just able to make out the fit Cardassian through the veil of steam that already fogged the clear shower stall. Pausing at the threshold as he enjoyed the view, and the unusual pleasure of catching the man unaware.

The man was sinfully delicious. His eyes closed, face upturned into the spray, his black hair slicked back from his face as water streamed down his body, following the curves of his ridges as gravity brought it downward. His smile faded for a moment as he recalled something his pessimistic father had once said in his childhood.

'For every positive outcome there is an equally negative one about to round the next corner.' The rule of the universe his father had called it, and as a young boy he had taken him at his word and had always anticipated an encroaching personal disaster after his every triumph or childhood victory. Not realizing till he was older that they were the jaded words of a bitter man. Even now his father would have him believe that a grave turn would be awaiting him if he embarked on this relationship with this man. Because he could think of no greater victory..or indeed moment in his entire adult life, that he had used every fiber of his being to work for then winning Garak's heart.

'Well I won't have it!' He told himself firmly, finally casting aside the old ghosts of his difficult childhood. From now on the only mantra he would follow was his own. It was time he made his own destiny. And for the first time in all his thirty years, he knew the direction to begin.

Without so much as another thought he squared his shoulders and lithely slipped into the shower with him, hugging him fiercely from behind as he nuzzled his face into his dark neck.

"I am afraid I don't know the proper protocol for seducing a Cardassian in the shower." He whispered huskily, his voice barely audible above the sound of the running water. Reluctantly leaving the neck he had been nibbling on he let his fingers wander, and before long he was drawing pleasured moans from the soaking Cardassian as he began to massage his already inflamed neck-ridges, having to groan himself as Garak's fingers closed around in erection..moving in tandem to Julian's massage.

"This time my dear doctor...The technique is very...very..universal." The man growled his hair falling forward in a sleek curtain as he turned, capturing Julian's lips in a fiery kiss before pinning him to the stalls side. The room soon echoing with Julian's amused laughter before their conversation trailed to a close, being rapidly replaced by an erotic symphony of moans and groans of pleasure.