The BLTS Archive - Gargoyle and Phoenix by Frizz the Eccentric --- Published: 10-22-07 Disclaimer: Not mine. A/N: This is related to a chapter of my story "Seashells", called "Stranger on the Promenade." Also, huge thanks to Colbers for beta-ing! --- Warm, very warm, solid, protective. Two arms and one leg gripped Julian possessively to his chest. His chin rested on top of Julian's head, so that the doctor's face was buried in his neck. Together they slept, so close they seemed to be one being. Julian moved, to get a look at the person holding him. Elim Garak smiled sleepily at Julian, and kissed him gently. Julian jerked awake, breathed deeply, then tried to get back into the wonderful, euphoric feeling of the dream, clutching Ezri closer to him. "I loved Ezri, but I like you better." In the deep depths of his mind, Julian had decided the Elim Garak was dead. They'd said goodbye, and he was sure that they'd never meet again. So, as much as it hurt him, Garak had died. Then, after ten years of death, Garak had come back from the grave. There he was, standing in front of him, completely alive, talking to Julian's daughter. And then, even faster then he'd risen from the dead, he vanished once more. It was too much for his mind to handle. Seeing Garak again, him being back, then being ripped away again left him feeling ill. They had been lovers; the rumors were true, but Garak could never replace Ezri. Ezri was his wife, the mother of his children. And Ezri could never replace Garak. They filled different roles in his life. Garak was made of stone, someone who held him, touched him, told him he was beautiful, protected him. He was a gargoyle, cold, hard, impenetrable, who spouted lies in place of water. But there was a fascinating elegance in that. Ezri was an exotic bird, a phoenix, lovely, brilliant and wise, who could rise from death again and again. He could hold her, touch her, tell her how beautiful she was, protect her. He could be made of stone for her. Given the choice, gargoyle or phoenix, Julian had chosen phoenix. He did not regret it, never, not at all. But sometimes he wondered. --- The End