Chapter Text
Julian Bashir ducked into his office in the infirmary for just a moment to relieve of himself of the burden of numerous padds and his favorite tricorder. When he stepped back out he immediately spotted a small box wrapped in a silky ribbon sitting atop a nearby console. That certainly had not been there a moment ago. There was no note, but Julian didn't really need one. Delavian chocolates were a particular favorite of only one of his friends. And who else would (or could) have delivered them by making them suddenly appear when his back was turned?
Julian smiled to himself as he slipped the ribbon off, opening the package and extracting a small truffle that he popped into his mouth. The faintly bitter dark chocolate was rich and softened to silk on his tongue. Anonymous delivery or not, he was definitely going to have to thank Garak for the treat. His shift was very nearly over; if he handed things over to Jabara quickly, he could make it to the tailor's shop before it closed.
If Garak was more familiar with Earth fauna and the idioms associated, he might have said Bashir swanned into his shop. He knew many of the doctor's grins, but this one was particularly engaging. And most distracting. But Garak was content enough to set his work aside to greet his friend.
"Ah," he said, when he spotted the familiar box in Bashir's hands, "I see now what has prompted that smile you are wearing. For once, I can't fault your exuberance."
"Then you can share the exuberance instead, how about that?" Julian continued to grin cheekily at Garak as he extracted another chocolate for himself, then passed the box over.
Instead of popping the whole thing in his mouth as was his custom, Julian kept in mind Garak's oft-repeated scolds to slow down and savor things. Particularly rare delicacies like this. Pearly teeth bit in delicately and his pink tongue swiped over his lips for any stray chocolate. The box in Garak's hand were forgotten for just a moment as he watched Bashir allow the bite to melt in his mouth with a faint hum of appreciation for the complex flavor.
The bob of the doctor's adam's apple drew Garak's attention to the slender column of his throat and when the tailor finally managed to drag his eyes away again, he could tell Bashir had noticed. His smile was starting to look like a smirk. Julian put the last bite between his lips, then held Garak's eyes as he very deliberately licked a smear of chocolate from his thumb.
Garak watched, expression impressively neutral. But his discomposure was betrayed when the package in his hand suddenly crinkled as his grip unconsciously tightened. He glanced down at it in surprise, having forgotten he was holding it. When he glanced back up, Julian's eyes were wide with pretended innocence.
"Help yourself," he said, gesturing to the rest of the treats.
Garak smiled, inclining his head in a nod of thanks and regaining that usually effortless nonchalance. "How generous of you."
"I know how hard it can be to get a shipment of them way out here. Since you went to so much trouble, it seemed only fair to share them." Julian leaned back, elbows propped on a table, and glanced around the shop, looking very pleasantly content.
He didn't notice that Garak was watching him sharply now."You believe these are a gift from me?" The tailor asked.
"No one else has ever given me Delavian chocolates and I can't imagine who would do so now. Though you could have waited to give them to me at lunch tomorrow instead of leaving them in the infirmary for me to find."
Garak was quiet for a long moment, long enough to draw Julian's attention back to him.
"Am I to understand," Garak very slowly inquired, setting the box of chocolates down on the table, "these just suddenly appeared? That despite the fact you didn't see who delivered them and clearly no note accompanied them, nonetheless you ate them? Did you even consider the possibility they could be poisoned??"
Julian's brow began to crease in a frown and he stood upright. The change in position was enough for him to register that something was decidedly... off right now. Julian couldn't place a finger on what the feeling was, it wasn't quite like any intoxicant the doctor had ever experienced, but he knew what was normal for him and this feeling was certainly not normal.
"Garak...," Julian's eyes were worried now, almost pleading as he looked at the former spy.
Oh, damn the stars. It wasn't the doctor's fault. DS9 was a safe enough place for its Starfleet crew and he knew Bashir didn't have a colorful past full of dangerous enemies as Garak did. There was no specific reason for Julian to be suspicious of such a gift and Garak could not conceive of what the motivation behind harming the doctor could be. There was really no logical reason for anyone to hurt him in such a targeted way.
But logic was not particularly reassuring in the moment, when he was fearful for the health of his dearest friend.
Swiftly, from nowhere that Julian could see, Garak withdrew a sophisticated scanning device. A tailor had no reasonable use for a piece of equipment that was nearly as sensitive than the best medical tricorders, but it would certainly reveal any secrets hidden in the suspect chocolates.
"Doctor, I highly suggest you expel the contents of your stomach while I determine exactly what we are dealing with."
Garak nodded urgently to the lavatory facilities tucked away in his back room even as he shook the remain candies onto his work table, careful to touch only the packaging. As Julian disappeared, the scanner set to analyzing the threat.