ON TOP

by Invicta.

DETAILS: DS9 G/B. NC-17 (ish) Despite the suggestive title there is no
actual sex in this story - apologies for any disappointment caused!
However there are several references to sex and stuff, so I've used
NC-17 to be on the safe side. Possibly PG-13 would have done, I don't
really know. Copyright (c) Invicta, July 1998. 

TIMING: mid 5th season
DS9. 

FEEDBACK: Feedback is always welcomed so please feel free to mail
me with any comments or questions. My e mail address is
invicta11@yahoo.com 

DISCLAIMER: Star Trek, the station Deep Space 9
and all of it's characters are owned by Paramount Pictures. All rights
are reserved, and no infringement is meant. 

ARCHIVING: Anyone who
wants to do so is welcome to archive this story, but please include
the full header and disclaimer etc.

*********************************************************************

The slap to the side of his face was delivered so quickly that it took
him completely by surprise. Julian Bashir reeled backwards, but just
managed to prevent himself from falling over. From several feet away,
on the other side of the arena, Elim Garak smirked at him
infuriatingly. The large crowd cheered in encouragement as Julian
moved in to attack Garak, although it was clear to them that he wasn't
performing as well as the tailor. It was only the first round, but
still... when it came to Risian anwra wrestling, Garak had a definite
advantage. The Cardassian had a stockier build and weighed about 10
kilos more than Bashir, which in this particular competition was
beneficial. Even though the doctor had youth on his side, it was
difficult for him to match Garak's extensive combat experience. Quark
had of course been running a book on the wrestling competition from
the start, and all the serious money for this heat was on Garak.

As the match continued Julian began to feel ever more disheartened. He
had never expected to get as far as the semi-finals of Worf's
tournament, which the Klingon had organised with Captain Sisko's
blessing to take everyone's mind off the increasing Dominion threat.
But having got to the semi's, it was only natural that he would start
wondering about the possibility of overall victory. However, the one
thing he had not anticipated was facing Garak in combat. As soon as he
learned the identity of his next opponent, Julian's confidence had
dissolved rapidly. He had watched his friend in action during some of
the earlier heats and knew his strength. It wasn't just the physical
side of the competition, which included a number of permitted blows as
well as conventional wrestling moves, that Garak was so good at. There
was a mental aspect to this particular sport which suited the
Cardassian down to the ground. The wrestling arena was circular, with
a small black inner ring and large orange outer ring which formed the
perimeter of the combat zone. To score a point, a contestant had to
get their opponent on to the floor inside the inner ring, then hold
them down for 20 seconds with both of their shoulders touching the
mat. Whilst this was being attempted the contenders were expected to
try and verbally distract one other. Insults, lies, insinuations,
put-downs - there was no restriction on what could be said in order to
break your adversary's concentration. And Garak had thus far been able
to distract his opponents all too easily. His Obsidian Order training
gave him a flying start when it came to applying the subtle art of
psychological intimidation.

Whilst the two friends circled the arena, each preparing to launch
another attack, it occurred to Julian that Garak would probably have
something special lined up to distract him when they were on the mat
together for the first time. And at the very instant that this thought
crossed his mind, Garak surged forward and grabbed him. Julian was
knocked down within the black ring and Garak climbed on top of him,
forcing his shoulders expertly towards the floor. Julian struggled
fiercely as the crowd egged him on, but the tailor was stronger and
parried his attacks with relative ease. 

As Garak pushed his shoulders down and felt them make contact with the mat, the Cardassian met
Julian's gaze and leaned forward to whisper in his ear. "You are the
sexiest, most beautiful man I've ever seen in my life and I really,
really want to fuck you." 

Julian stared up at him, eyes almost popping out of his head with amazement. 

"We would be magic together, you and I. And I know you want this too Julian, 
that you've fantasised about it just as I have." 

Julian had to hand it to Garak. He'd been so taken
aback by this move that the Cardassian had nearly sneaked a point off
him. Julian just managed to lift one shoulder off the floor in time to
stop the count which Worf, as referee, was carrying out. Gods, but
anyone would be distracted the way Garak was talking! And what a fine
time for him to start the sexy chat too, when their bodies were
pressed close against one another all the way down...  Julian realised
that it was proving very difficult to concentrate on the fight, which
was of course exactly what that Cardassian bastard wanted. Now it was
time to fight back, and fight hard. Damned if he'd let Garak get away
with this - the man would be insufferable for months afterwards! He
looked straight into Garak's eyes, whispered "Like hell I have!" and
heaved him off with one quick movement. The audience applauded and
cheered the two men enthusiastically as Julian leapt up. He was
enraged to find that Garak was still smiling flirtatiously at him. The
nerve of that man! The sheer nerve... and in front of all these people
too!

During the following rounds Garak seized every chance he could to
attack and pin Julian down. And every single time the Cardassian did
so, he continued to whisper erotic and sensual comments into Julian's
ear. Bashir had found that the only way to deal with the increasingly
arousing words was to mentally block Garak out. He made it a policy to
keep his eyes closed and not to respond to Garak's ever more intimate
statements. He had no idea why hearing Garak talk dirty was proving to
be such a turn-on, but right now there wasn't too much time to spend
on self-analysis!

By the start of the ninth round, both men were deeply tired and
sporting a number of cuts and bruises. To Julian the match had begin
to take on all the aspects of a classic nightmare. Garak's endless
verbal barrage was putting him under increasing strain; he now had no
choice but to think about sex and little else, but the thought of
getting a stiffy in front of this large audience terrified him. He
would never, never live it down... although Garak seemed to have his
body under complete control, damn him! At this point Garak had scored
9 points against Julian's 6. The Cardassian only needed one more point
to win. Like any predator Garak was able to sense that his prey was
almost beaten, and he moved forward instinctively for the kill. As
they tackled one another, Garak succeeded in pulling him down once
more and then straddled him. His mouth touched Julian's ear as he
hissed at him "Coward! Every time we meet you shut me out. Fight me
properly Julian, match every verbal attack of mine with one of your
own and see who is the better man then! I dare you!" Bashir managed to
get a hand free and landed a hefty blow to Garak's neck before the
Cardassian pinned him down once more. Julian glared at him defiantly.
"If that's what you want, fine. I'll take you on and beat you at your
own game too!"

The Cardassian applied all of his weight to keep Julian's shoulders
down on the mat. Worf started to count off the seconds as the tailor
spoke quietly, so that only Julian could hear. The noise from the
crowd was becoming a screeching crescendo as match point was reached,
but neither man heard it. Their whole attention was focused totally
and utterly on their own private battle for supremacy.

One, two...

"I fell in love with you on the very first day that I saw you, which
was several days before we even met for the first time." 

"Bullshit," replied Julian angrily. "You've never loved me, you've only used me.
And everyone knows that Cardassians are manipulative bastards who
wouldn't recognise true love if it jumped up and bit them."

Three, four, five...

"Aahhh, but you're so wrong my beloved. We have a deep capacity for
giving and receiving love. You are so lonely, and so am I. We would
make a perfect match. Can't you imagine my massive cock sinking deep
into your body, me taking you, bringing you such pleasure... I'm a
damn good lover, did you know that?" 

"You are damn good liar, I know
that much... and as for your cock, I bet it's minuscule! You couldn't
fuck your way out of a paper bag! A Ferengi dwarf would have a bigger
cock than you!" 

Garak laughed, unconcerned. "Actually I am extremely
well equipped, my love - in every way. But it's not just the physical
side of our relationship which would be supremely pleasurable.
Mentally too we're both highly compatible."

Six, seven eight...

"Oh yeah? We're about as compatible as you and Dukat are. Which means
not compatible at all. We have nothing whatsoever in common." 

Garak rubbed his body against Julian's persistently. "Think about it, my
dearest. We are both intelligent, we both enjoy literature and other
cultural activities. I am in fact the only person on this station, if
not this quadrant, who could stimulate your clever mind to the full."

"Right, I'd be kept pretty busy trying to figure out all the times
that you'd lied to me and deceived me."

Nine, ten, eleven, twelve...

"I know that honesty is an integral part of any intimate relationship.
You'd have no complaints on that score I assure you. In fact I'd make
you very happy. You've got such a lovely pert little ass Julian, do
you mind if I fondle it?" 

"Get off, you bastard!" 

"Now, now, don't be bashful Julian. I'll go a lot further than that when I finally get you
into bed with me. In fact I really cannot wait for that moment to
come!" 

"You'll have to because it never will. I hate you, I hate you,
I hate you!" 

"Oh, I love it when you act so tough with me. Say that
again!"

Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen...

"You are total and utter scum, do you know that? Talking about sex in
front of all my friends, humiliating me..." 

"Well, I had to find some way to tell you how I feel about you. And we're whispering, so nobody
else can hear us. Besides, your friends do have sex too you know. In
fact, you are the only one who's missing out. But not for long now!"

"Get one thing into your ugly little head Garak, we are not going to
be lovers. Not now, not ever." 

"You don't think that I'm ugly, so don't try to convince me that you do. And I've made up my mind that
we're going to be together, so you shouldn't try and fight it. Relax,
and as you humans so poetically say, go with the flow!"

Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen...

Julian fought and strained against Garak's hold but the Cardassian was
immovable. "I'll make you pay for this. I don't know how, but
you_will_suffer for what you've done today." 

Garak smiled cheerfully back at him. "It doesn't matter. An opportunity of this calibre
doesn't come along every day. It's worth any price to get you under me
like this, as it were. And I hope you understand now exactly how much
I want you - and love you."

TWENTY! Worf roared in their faces, and the crowd collectively rose to
it's feet in appreciation of a fine contest. Julian winced as the
noise hit him like a wave and he was shocked back into full awareness
of his surroundings. Utterly composed and smiling happily, Garak
rolled off of him and helped him up. Once Garak had received the
congratulations of Worf, the audience and a clearly dazed Bashir, both
men were hauled off to the infirmary for treatment of their various
injuries. They were checked over in separate rooms, and as soon as he
was allowed to leave Julian went in search of Garak. However the
Cardassian had been released an hour ago and had already left.

Julian felt a sense of deep disappointment at not seeing Garak which
surprised him. Somehow it felt as if there were loose ends which
needed to be resolved. Julian was not at peace with himself mentally.
All that talk of sex and love...  He had to see Garak about this.
Checking with the station's computer gave him the news that Garak was
at Quark's. He headed over there, suddenly unsure of what to expect
from his friend. But when he arrived Garak was clearly as pleased as
usual to see him. In fact Julian couldn't help noticing that the
Cardassian's smile was positively beaming. 

"My dear doctor! I'm so glad to see that you too have made a speedy recovery from our little
ordeal. A most entertaining match, was it not?" 

"Er, yes," replied Julian awkwardly. 

"A most profitable match too," added Quark as he came up to their table. "And what can I get for the gallant loser?" 

"A tarkalean tea please." 

"Coming right up."

As Quark went back to the bar there was a brief pause. Julian felt
unaccountably tongue-tied with his friend, and Garak simply looked at
him with an amused grin on his face. Finally Julian looked up, met
Garak's eyes, and started to laugh heartily. 

"That's much better," said Garak approvingly. "Really doctor, anyone would think I was
trying to come on to you or something!" 

Julian laughed even louder.  "You were, hahaha... so cruel today!" 

"I know. But as a penance for my sins it is I who must compete against Morn in the tournament final
tomorrow. Seeing me being repeatedly hurled around like a sack of corn
by that big lout should more be more than adequate compensation for
you." 

"Well I hope so," replied Bashir with a grin. "And by the way, I
have a confession to make. I could have tried a little harder to win
that last point, but I wanted to get the fight over with so much that
I didn't." 

Garak smiled mischievously "Really? How interesting! I on
the other hand deliberately prolonged the contest by covertly allowing
you to lift your shoulder up during several of my attacks." 

Julian's eyes opened wide. "You devil!" 

"Mmm, perhaps. But I had quite a few things to say, and if things had taken their natural course then there
might not have been time to say them." 

"You mean all those lies about sex and our so called 'relationship'?" 

Garak raised an eyebrow inquiringly. "What makes you think they were lies?" 

Julian gulped.  "But surely... I mean, of course you were lying. We're just friends,
right?" 

Garak stood up. "Please excuse me doctor, it's been a long day
and I'm tired." 

"But just a minute-" 

The Cardassian leaned across the table and looked into Julian's eyes. Such beautiful eyes. "There is
only one thing that you need to know. You've already been told this
once today, but it is worth repeating. Julian, you are the sexiest,
most beautiful man I've ever seen in my life and I really, really want
to fuck you." 

And with a teasing smile Garak walked out of Quark's,
leaving a stunned Julian still sitting at the table. He made it almost
to the door before he heard; "GARAK! FOR GOD'S SAKE COME BACK, WE HAVE
TO TALK ABOUT THIS!" Garak kept right on walking and waited for Julian
to come after him; it was inevitable that this would happen. With a
smug grin the Cardassian mentally congratulated himself on the success
of this plan. Oh doubtless there were obstacles still to be overcome,
but all in all it looked as if this would prove to be a most rewarding
day.

THE END